This study explores how In-Vehicle Information Systems (IVIS) can influence people´s driving behavior in the real environment. In particular, this thesis investigates important parameters and variables in the so called Driver-Vehicle-Environment (DVE) system. Most of the current knowledge regarding driver distraction is based on simulator studies, since simulators are highly controllable and cost efficient. As a result, the environmental component in the DVE system is not sufficiently addressed. This is a concern, since driving behavior is a combination of influences from both, the information system in the vehicle and the environment. My study, however, aimed to explain phenomena regarding driver distraction in their overall context. This was achieved in two steps. First, important parameters and variables with respect to the three system-elements (Driver, Vehicle, and Environment) were identified from the literature and summarized in a “Big Picture” (extended/substantiated DVE system). Second, after parameters and variables were identified, they were tested/varied in the frame of an onroad experiment. After completing these two steps, the data from the field was analyzed in the context of the extended/substantiated DVE system. I expect this study to have an impact on current knowledge, since it substantiates and contextualizes parameters and variables in the DVE system. Furthermore, my proposed framework, at the end of this thesis, is relevant for a variety of stakeholders, since it illustrates dependencies in an overall- and real life context.