The mindful driver: A systematic review of mindfulness and safe driving behavior

Mindfulness, characterized by present-moment awareness and nonreactive attentional control, has increasingly been examined as a psychological factor associated with safer driving behavior. This is important because motor vehicle crashes remain a significant public health and transportation safety concern, with distracted and aggressive driving linked to attentional lapses, mind-wandering, and failures of emotional regulation. This PRISMA-compliant systematic review synthesizes evidence on the relationship between mindfulness, mind-wandering, and driving behavior. A comprehensive database search identified 37 eligible studies published between 2011 and 2024, including cross-sectional, cohort, case-control, and randomized controlled trial designs. Across studies, higher levels of mindfulness were generally associated with safer driving outcomes, particularly fewer attentional lapses, lower distracted driving, and fewer self-reported violations, although findings varied by study design, measurement approach, and driving outcome. Intervention studies generally demonstrated improvements in driving performance, although increases in self-reported mindfulness were less consistently observed. Findings are consistent with attentional control, emotion regulation, and reduced mind-wandering as candidate psychological mechanisms through which mindfulness may be associated with safer driving behavior. Methodological limitations, including heavy reliance on trait mindfulness measures and self-reported driving outcomes, are discussed. Future research should prioritize state-based and driving-specific mindfulness measures alongside objective assessments to advance theory and experimental research in traffic psychology.