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Multitasking may be a useful skill in the office, but don’t try it behind the wheel of a vehicle, researchers say.“Nobody thinks they are an average or worse-than-average driver. Everyone thinks they are above average. Of course, that is impossible and is simply a reflection of the human general need to overestimate our ability and to then continue to fool ourselves about our ability,” said psychology professor June Pilcher, a biopsychologist who studies the human brain and how it relates to conscious and unconscious human behavior. The upcoming summer travel season means vacations and road trips. Pilcher provides some “brain tips” for safer driving: The human brain can selectively experience "blindness" to objects. This means that we often see only what we expect to see. For example, many drivers do not see the motorcyclist because they don't expect to. Our brains know when we are tired or sleepy. But we don’t know when sleep onset will occur. The well-known “head-nod” is sleep onset. When this happens, we are not responding to external stimuli such as a car in the oncoming lane or a child on a bike. When this happens, quit driving. The human brain has a limited amount of capacity for attention. For example, when people use their cell phones while driving they are pushing the limits of how much they can pay attention to. “This is not a hands-free phone issue. This is not a motor issue,” Pilcher said. “The brain can handle the motor commands to drive the car and hold the phone to the ear at the same time. What it has trouble with is paying attention to all of the external stimuli while driving and talking on the cell phone.” Generally, people can maintain their car in their lane. What they fail at is responding to unexpected stimuli, such as a kid on a bike. “They don't see it in time to respond because they have diverted much of their attention to the conversation on the cell phone,” Pilcher said. (Image provided by Wikipedia.)
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