Do those beeping bursts of sound warning you when you’re about to hit something or someone while driving actually work?

Absolutely, according to a new study by Abdu Arslanyilmaz, YSU associate professor of Computer Science, pictured.

Arslanyilmaz set out to discover if the beeps and bells that sound in cars when a hazard approaches can improve driving performance of young and inexperienced drivers, especially those who tend to text while in the driver’s seat. So Arslanyilmaz recruited 22 high school students to drive a game-based, multi-player online simulator, which he calls GMOST.

What he found was that the beeps and bells work, leading to earlier detection and reaction to hazards. “Accordingly, a wide-spread use of the GMOST-like training applications by novice drivers would be a proactive approach to lower accident rates caused by texting while driving,” the study concludes.

Arslanyilmaz earned a bachelor’s degree from Gazi University in Turkey, a master’s at the University of Missouri and a PhD from Texas A&M University before joining the YSU faculty in 2007.

The study, “Hazard Warning Systems to Improve Young Distracted Drivers’ Hazard Perception Skills,” is the cover story of the March 2020 issue of Safety Journal