<P> Several recent studies of explicit attention capture have found that when observers are focused on some other object or event, they often experience inattentional blindness . This finding has potentially tragic implications for distracted driving . If a person's attention is focused elsewhere while driving, carrying on a conversation or text messaging, for example, they could fail to notice salient and distinctive objects, such as a stop sign, which could lead to serious injury and possibly even death . There have also been heinous incidents attributed to inattentional blindness behind the wheel . For example, a Pennsylvania highway crew accidentally paved over a dead deer that was lying on the road . When questioned regarding their actions, the workers claimed to have never seen it . </P> <P> Many policies are being implemented around the world to decrease the competition for explicit attention capture while operating a vehicle . For example, there are legislative efforts in many countries aimed at banning or restricting the use of cell phones while driving . Research has shown that the use of both hands - free and hand - held cellular devices while driving results in the failure of attention to explicitly capture other salient and distinctive objects, leading to significantly delayed reaction times, as well as inattentional blindness . A study published in 1997, based on accident data in Toronto, found the risk involved in driving while using a cell phone to be similar to that of driving drunk . In both cases, the risk of a collision was three to six times higher compared to a sober driver not using a cell phone . Moreover, Strayer et al. (2006) found that when controlling for driving difficulty and time on task, cell - phone drivers exhibited greater impairment than intoxicated drivers, using a high - fidelity driving simulator . </P> <P> Inattentional blindness is also prevalent in aviation . The development of heads - up display (HUD) for pilots, which projects information onto the windshield or onto a helmet - mounted display, has enabled pilots to keep their eyes on the windshield, but simulator studies have found that HUD may cause runway incursion accidents, where one plane collides with another on the runway . This finding is particularly concerning because HUDs are being employed in automobiles, which could lead to potential roadway incursions . When a particular object or event captures attention to the extent to which the beholders' attentional capacity is completely absorbed, the resulting inattentional blindness has been known to cause dramatic accidents . For example, an airliner crew, engrossed with a blinking console light, failed to notice the approaching ground and register hearing the danger alarm sounding before the airliner crashed . </P> <P> Collaborative efforts to establish links between science and illusion have examined the relationship of the processes underlying inattentional blindness and the concept of misdirection--a magician's ability to manipulate attention in order to prevent his / her audience from seeing how a trick was performed . In several misdirection studies, including Kuhn and Tatler (2005), participants watch a "vanishing item" magic trick . After the initial trial, participants are shown the trick until they detect the item dropping from the magician's hand . Most participants see the item drop on the second trial . The critical analyses involved differences in eye movements between the detected and undetected trials . These repetition trials are similar to the full - attention trial in the inattentional blindness paradigm, as both involve the detection of the unexpected event and, by detecting the unexpected event on the second trial, demonstrate that the event is readily perceivable . </P>

Explain the concept of inattentional blindness and how this can affect visual perception