Precision teaching to improve drivers’ lane maintenance

Introduction: This study investigates the effect of precision teaching signals on lane maintenance. Methods: In experiment 1, the control group drove a simulator with no signals. In experiment 2, drivers were presented with auditory signals depending on their position within or outside the lane. In experiment 3, visual signals were presented in addition to auditory signals to examine the effect of redundancy on drivers’ lane maintenance. Results: Results showed an improvement in lane maintenance in experiment 2. Cross-experiment analysis indicated this effect not to be the result of learning. Data from experiment 3 also showed that presenting redundant signals did not further reduce lane variability or help drivers maintain a more central position within the lane. Conclusions: Taken together, data suggest precision teaching be effective as an educational tool to improve lane maintenance. Practical Applications: Our study shows the potential for precision teaching to serve as a valuable tool in driver training.     

How do drivers avoid collisions? A driving simulator-based study

Introduction: Drivers' collision avoidance performance in an impending collision situation plays a decisive role for safety outcomes. This study explored drivers' collision avoidance performances in three typical collision scenarios that were right-angle collision, head-on collision, and collision with pedestrian. Method: A high-fidelity driving simulator was used to design the scenarios and conduct the experiment. 45 participants took part in the simulator experiment. Drivers' longitudinal/lateral collision avoidance performances and collision result were recorded. Results: Experimental results showed that brake only was the most common response among the three collision scenarios, followed by brake combining swerve in head-on and pedestrian collision scenarios. In right-angle collision scenario with TTC (time to collision) largest among three scenarios, no driver swerved, and meanwhile drivers who showed slow brake reaction tended to compensate the collision risk by taking a larger maximum deceleration rate within a shorter time. Swerve-toward-conflict was a prevalent phenomenon in head-on and pedestrian collision scenarios and significantly associated with collision risk. Drivers that swerved toward the conflict object had a shorter swerve reaction time than drivers that swerved away from conflict. Conclusions: Long brake reaction time and wrong swerve direction were the main factors leading to a high collision likelihood. The swerve-toward-conflict maneuver caused a delay in brake action and degraded subsequent braking performances. The prevalent phenomenon indicated that drivers tended to use an intuitive (heuristic) way to make decisions in critical traffic situations. Practical applications: The study generated a better understanding of collision development and shed lights on the design of future advanced collision avoidance systems for semi-automated vehicles. Manufactures should also engage more efforts in developing active steering assistance systems to assist drivers in collision avoidance.     

Do the designated drivers of college students stay sober?

PROBLEM: By numerous accounts, alcohol abuse is considered the number one drug problem facing young people today. Alcohol consumption and its negative consequences, especially those due to drinking and driving, continue to have devastating effects on the college student population. METHOD: This field study examined the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels of male and female designated drivers (DD), non-DD, and their respective passengers as they were leaving drinking establishments in a university town. Also investigated were the effects of group size and gender on DD use. RESULTS: A 2 Gender x 2 Driver type (DD vs. non-DD) analysis of variance (ANOVA) for BAC indicated significant main effects for Gender and Driver type, with higher BAC for men and non-DD (p's<.001). A significant Gender x Driver type interaction (p<.05) was primarily due to female DD having lower BAC than male DD. In addition, larger groups were more likely to have a DD. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Results indicate that the success of DD programs may be influenced by group size and a DD's gender. While larger groups are more likely to have a DD, students riding home with a male DD may still be at risk for the negative consequences of drunk driving.     

Are cellular phone blocking applications effective for novice teen drivers?

ProblemDistracted driving is a significant concern for novice teen drivers. Although cellular phone bans are applied in many jurisdictions to restrict cellular phone use, teen drivers often report making calls and texts while driving.MethodThe Minnesota Teen Driver Study incorporated cellular phone blocking functions via a software application for 182 novice teen drivers in two treatment conditions. The first condition included 92 teens who ran a driver support application on a smartphone that also blocked phone usage. The second condition included 90 teens who ran the same application with phone blocking but which also reported back to parents about monitored risky behaviors (e.g., speeding). A third control group consisting of 92 novice teen drivers had the application and phone-based software installed on the phones to record cellular phone (but not block it) use while driving.ResultsThe two treatment groups made significantly fewer calls and texts per mile driven compared to the control group. The control group data also demonstrated a higher propensity to text while driving rather than making calls.DiscussionSoftware that blocks cellular phone use (except 911) while driving can be effective at mitigating calling and texting for novice teen drivers. However, subjective data indicates that some teens were motivated to find ways around the software, as well as to use another teen's phone while driving when they were unable to use theirs.Practical applicationsCellular phone bans for calling and texting are the first step to changing behaviors associated with texting and driving, particularly among novice teen drivers. Blocking software has the additional potential to reduce impulsive calling and texting while driving among novice teen drivers who might logically know the risks, but for whom it is difficult to ignore calling or texting while driving.     

Car drivers with dementia: Different complications due to different etiologies?

Objective: Older drivers with dementia are an at-risk group for unsafe driving. However, dementia refers to various etiologies and the question is whether dementias of different etiology have similar effects on driving ability.

Methods: The literature on the effects of dementia of various etiologies on driving ability is reviewed. Studies addressing dementia etiologies and driving were identified through PubMed, PsychINFO, and Google Scholar.

Results and Conclusions: Early symptoms and prognoses differ between dementias of different etiology. Therefore, different etiologies may represent different likelihoods with regard to fitness to drive. Moreover, dementia etiologies could indicate the type of driving problems that can be expected to occur. However, there is a great lack of data and knowledge about the effects of almost all etiologies of dementia on driving. One could hypothesize that patients with Alzheimer's disease may well suffer from strategic difficulties such as finding a route, whereas patients with frontotemporal dementia are more inclined to make tactical-level errors because of impaired hazard perception. Patients with other dementia etiologies involving motor symptoms may suffer from problems on the operational level. Still, the effects of various etiologies of dementias on driving have thus far not been studied thoroughly. For the detection of driving difficulties in patients with dementia, structured interviews with patients but also their family members appear crucial. Neuropsychological assessment could support the identification of cognitive impairments. The impact of such impairments on driving could also be investigated in a driving simulator. In a driving simulator, strengths and weaknesses in driving behavior can be observed. With this knowledge, patients can be advised appropriately about their fitness to drive and options for support in driving (e.g., compensation techniques, car adaptations). However, as long as no valid, reliable, and widely accepted test battery is available for the assessment of fitness to drive, costly on-road test rides are inevitable. The development of a fitness-to-drive test battery for patients with dementia could provide an alternative for these on-road test rides, on condition that differences between dementia etiologies are taken into consideration.     

Modeling drivers’ reaction when being tailgated: A Random Forests Method

Background: Tailgating is a common aggressive driving behavior that has been identified as one of the leading causes of rear-end crashes. Previous studies have explored the behavior of tailgating drivers and have reported effective solutions to decrease the amount or prevalence of tailgating. This paper tries to fill the research gap by focusing on understanding highway tailgating scenarios and examining the leading vehicles’ reaction using existing naturalistic driving data. Method: A total of 1,255 tailgating events were identified by using the one-second time headway threshold criterion. Four types of reactions from the leading vehicles were identified, including changing lanes, slowing down, speeding up, and making no response. A Random Forests algorithm was employed in this study to predict the leading vehicle’s reaction based on corresponding factors including driver, vehicle, and environmental variables. Results: The analysis of the tailgating scenarios and associated factors showed that male drivers were more frequently involved in tailgating events than female drivers and that tailgating was more prevalent under sunny weather and in daytime conditions. Changing lanes was the most prevalent reaction from the leading vehicle during tailgating, which accounted for more than half of the total events. The results of Random Forests showed that mean time headway, duration of tailgating, and minimum time headway were three main factors, which had the greatest impact on the leading vehicle drivers’ reaction. It was found that in 95% of the events, leading vehicles would change lanes when being tailgated for two minutes or longer. Practical Applications: Results of this study can help to better understand the behavior and decision making of drivers. This understanding can be used in designing countermeasures or assistance systems to reduce tailgating behavior and related negative safety consequences.     

Factorial structure of recklessness: to what extent are older drivers different?

PROBLEM: This study tests whether the original factorial structure of a recklessness questionnaire can be maintained for the current Spanish population of older drivers. JUSTIFICATION: Our recent interest in dedicating special attention to senior citizen mobility (Monterde, 2001), is due to the impending increase of the aging population in Western countries; this has led us to reinitiate the psychometric study of the construct validity, revising and including older drivers in the psychometric aspects of those evaluation instruments that will then be used in the Spanish psycho-medical check of drivers and in research. METHODS: Factorial analysis was used to determine validity. RESULTS: There was an appearance of a different psychological pattern in elderly drivers, specifically, a psychological anxiety trait related to the task of driving. Furthermore, interesting data were found about the attitude of this sector toward the "traffic society" and toward some of the measures included in Spanish legislation that affect especially older drivers (such as the psycho-medical check). IMPACT ON INDUSTRY, RESEARCH AND PRACTICE: These results suggest the possible existence of some kind of "compensation phenomenon," which could have influence over the scores obtained and their interpretation. Consequently, the evaluation instruments should be tested and, if necessary, adapted or specifically created for use with this age group.     

An investigation of the relationship between organizational climate and professional drivers’ driver behaviours

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between organizational climate and driver behaviours of professional drivers. The sample consisted of 230 male professional drivers. The participants completed a questionnaire including the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ), Hofstede’s Organizational Culture Scale, and a background information form. Results of the factor analysis of Hofstede’s Organizational Culture Scale yielded two dimensions, which were named as “work orientation” and “employee consideration”. Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVA) revealed significant main and interaction effects of organizational climate on errors, and violations after controlling for the statistical effects of age, annual mileage and the organization types. Drivers with low scores of work orientation reported significantly higher frequencies of errors and violations than drivers with high scores of work orientation. It was also found that drivers with low scores of employee consideration reported higher frequencies of errors and violations than drivers with high scores of employee consideration. The effect of interaction between work orientation and employee consideration dimensions was only found on the frequencies of violations.     

Driving self-restriction in high-risk conditions: how do older drivers compare to others?

Introduction

Many older drivers self-restrict or avoid driving under high-risk conditions. Little is known about the onset of driving self-restrictions or how widespread self-restrictions are among drivers of all ages.

Methods

The Second Injury Control and Risk Survey (ICARIS-2) was a nationwide cross-sectional, list-assisted random-digit-dial telephone survey from 2001 to 2003. National prevalence estimates and weighted percentages of those reporting driving self-restrictions were calculated. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore associations between specific self-restrictions and age group, adjusting for other personal characteristics.

Results

More than half of all drivers reported at least one driving self-restriction. The most commonly reported restriction was avoidance of driving in bad weather (47.5%), followed by at night (27.9%) and on highways or high-speed roads (19%). A greater percentage of young adult women (18-24 years) reported self-restricting in bad weather compared to women in other age groups, and the percentage of drivers self-restricting at night, in bad weather, and on highways or high-speed roads increased steeply after age 64. We found that women, those in low income groups, and those who had driven low annual mileage were more likely to self-restrict.

Conclusions

In addition to assessing self-restrictions among older drivers, a new finding from our study is that self-restrictions are also quite prevalent among younger age groups. Driving self-restrictions may be better understood as a spectrum across ages in which drivers’ reasons for restriction change.

Impact on industry

Future research on the ability of driving self-restrictions to reduce actual crash risk and prevent injuries is needed.     

Using retro-reflective cloth to enhance drivers’ judgment of pedestrian walking direction at night-time

Purpose: Fatal pedestrian collisions are over-represented at night and poor conspicuity is believed to be a leading causative factor. Retro-reflective clothing enhances pedestrian conspicuity, particularly when placed in a biological motion or “biomotion” configuration. In this study, we explored how various retro-reflective clothing configurations affected the ability to judge the direction of a pedestrian walking across the road, which has important implications for collision avoidance. Methods: Participants included 21 young drivers (mean age 21.6 ± 2.0 years) with normal vision. A closed-road circuit was used to assess the accuracy of drivers’ judgement of the direction of walking of a pedestrian at night-time wearing one of five different clothing configurations: four with retro-reflective materials placed in different locations (Biomotion, Legs + Torso, Torso Only, Legs Only), and a control wearing only black clothing (Street). Participants were seated in a stationary vehicle with low beam headlamps, 135 m from a pedestrian, who walked across the road from both sides, in different directions (towards the car, straight across the road, or away from the car). Outcome measures included drivers’ response accuracy and confidence ratings for judging pedestrian walking direction. Results: Accuracy in judging pedestrian walking direction differed significantly across the clothing configurations (p < 0.001). Response accuracy was significantly higher for the Biomotion configuration (80% correct), compared to the other retro-reflective (Legs + Torso 64%; Torso Only 53%; Legs Only 50%) and Street configurations (33%). Similar trends were noted for confidence ratings across the clothing conditions, yet the relationship between confidence ratings and response accuracy within each clothing configurations was poor. Conclusions: The use of retro-reflective clothing in a biomotion configuration facilitated the highest accuracy and confidence in drivers’ judgment of pedestrian walking direction, compared to other configurations. These findings highlight the importance of using biomotion clothing for pedestrians at night, to not only facilitate drivers’ earlier recognition of pedestrians, but also increase their accuracy in determining the walking direction of pedestrians as they cross the road. Practical applications: The use of clothing incorporating retro-reflective material in a biomotion configuration for pedestrians crossing roads at night provides enhanced cues for drivers regarding the presence and walking direction of pedestrians.     

How do older adult drivers self-regulate? Characteristics of self-regulation classes defined by latent class analysis

ProblemMotor-vehicle crashes were the second leading cause of injury death for adults aged 65–84 years in 2014. Some older drivers choose to self-regulate their driving to maintain mobility while reducing driving risk, yet the process remains poorly understood.MethodsData from 729 older adults (aged ≥ 60 years) who joined an older adult ride service program between April 1, 2010 and November 8, 2013 were analyzed to define and describe classes of driving self-regulation. Latent class analysis was employed to characterize older adult driving self-regulation classes using driving frequency and avoidance of seven driving situations. Logistic regression was used to explore associations between characteristics affecting mobility and self-regulation class.ResultsThree classes were identified (low, medium, and high self-regulation). High self-regulating participants reported the highest proportion of always avoiding seven risky driving situations and the lowest driving frequency followed by medium and low self-regulators. Those who were female, aged 80 years or older, visually impaired, assistive device users, and those with special health needs were more likely to be high self-regulating compared with low self-regulating.Conclusions and practical applicationsAvoidance of certain driving situations and weekly driving frequency are valid indicators for describing driving self-regulation classes in older adults. Understanding the unique characteristics and mobility limitations of each class can guide optimal transportation strategies for older adults.     

Socio-demographic and experience factors affecting drivers’ runoff risk along horizontal curves of two-lane rural highway

Introduction: An improper driving strategy is one of the causative factors for a high probability of runoff and overturning crashes along the horizontal curves of two-lane highways. The socio-demographic and driving experience factors of a driver do influence driving strategy. Hence, this paper explored the effect of these factors on the driver’s runoff risk along the horizontal curves. Method: The driving performance data of 48 drivers along 52 horizontal curves was recorded in a fixed-base driving simulator. The driving performance index was estimated from the weighted lateral acceleration profile of each driver along a horizontal curve. It was clustered and compared with the actual runoff events observed during the experiment. It yielded high, moderate, and low-risk clusters. Using cross-tabulation, each risk cluster was compared with the socio-demographic and experience factors. Further, generalized mixed logistic regression models were developed to predict the high-risk and high to moderate risk events. Results: The age and experience of drivers are the influencing factors for runoff crash. The high-risk event percentage for mid-age drivers decreases with an increase in driving experience. For younger drivers, it increases initially but decreases afterwards. The generalized mixed logistic regression models identified young drivers with mid and high experience and mid-age drivers with low-experience as the high-risk groups. Conclusions: The proposed index parameter is effective in identifying the risk associated with horizontal curves. Driver training program focusing on the horizontal curve negotiation skills and graduated driver licensing could help the high-risk groups. Practical applications: The proposed index parameter can evaluate driving behavior at the horizontal curves. Driving behavior of high-risk groups could be considered in highway geometric design. Motor-vehicle agencies, advanced driver assistance systems manufacturers, and insurance agencies can use proposed index parameter to identify the high-risk drivers for their perusal.     

Characteristics of crashes and injuries among 14 and 15 year old drivers,by rurality

Purpose: Motor-vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States. The United States has some of the youngest legal driving ages worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine rates and factors associated with injury crashes among 14- and 15-year-old drivers and how these varied by rurality. Methods: Data for this cross-sectional study of 14- and 15-year-old drivers were obtained from the Iowa Department of Transportation from 2001 to 2013. Crash and injury crash rates were calculated by rurality. The relationship between crash and driver factors and injury was assessed using logistic regression. Findings: Teen drivers, aged 14 and 15 years, had a statewide crash rate of 8 per 1,000 drivers from 2001 to 2013. The majority of crashes occurred in urban areas (51%), followed by in town (29%), remote rural areas (13%), and suburban areas (7%). Crash and injury crash rates increased as level of rurality increased. The odds of an injury crash increased more than 10-fold with the presence of multiple other teens as passengers, compared to no passengers (OR = 10.7, 95% CI: 7.1–16.2). Conclusions: Although 14- and 15-year-old drivers in Iowa have either limited unsupervised (school permits) or supervised only driving restrictions, they are overrepresented in terms of crashes and injury crashes. Rural roads and multiple teen passengers are particularly problematic in terms of injury outcomes. Practical applications: Results from this study support passenger restrictions and teen driving interventions designed with a rural focus.     

Prevalence and characteristics of road traffic injuries among young drivers in Oman, 2009–2011

Objectives: Studies from different parts of the world have indicated that the impact of road traffic incidents disproportionally affects young adults. Few known studies have been forthcoming from Arabian Gulf countries. Within Oman, a high proportion of the population is under the age of 20. Coupled with the drastic increase in motorization in recent years, there is a need to understand the state of road safety among young people in Oman. The current research aimed to explore the prevalence and characteristics of road traffic injuries among young drivers aged 17–25 years.

Methods: Crash data from 2009 to 2011 were extracted from the Directorate General of Traffic, Royal Oman Police (ROP) database in Oman. The data were analyzed to explore the impact of road crashes on young people (17–25 years), the characteristics of young driver crashes, and how these differ from older drivers and to identify key predictors of fatalities in young driver crashes.

Results: Overall, young people were overrepresented in injuries and fatalities within the sample time period. Though it is true that many young people in crashes were driving at the time, it was also evident that young people were often victims in a crash caused by someone else. Thus, to reduce the impact of road crashes on young people, there is a need to generally address road safety within Oman. When young drivers were involved in crashes they were predominantly male. The types of crashes these drivers have can be broadly attributed to risk taking and inexperience. Speeding and nighttime driving were the key risk factors for fatalities.

Conclusion: The results highlight the need to address young driver safety in Oman. From these findings, the introduction of a graduated driver licensing system with nighttime driving restrictions could significantly improve young driver safety.     

Ticketing aggressive cars and trucks (TACT): How does it work on city streets?

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of modifying the Ticking Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT) program, originally designed to work on state highways, within a metropolitan area to reduce unsafe interactions and their related crashes between drivers of large trucks and passenger vehicles.

Methods: Using crash data, the driving behaviors most commonly associated with large truck and passenger vehicle crashes were identified. A public awareness campaign using media messaging and increased law enforcement was created targeting these associated behaviors. The frequency of these behaviors both before and after the public awareness campaign was determined through observation of traffic at 3 specific locations within the city. Each location had a sufficient volume of large truck and passenger traffic to observe frequent interactions. Pre- and postintervention data were compared using negative binomial regression with generalized estimating equations to evaluate whether the campaign was associated with a reduction in the identified driving behaviors.

Results: A comparison between crash data from before, during, and after the campaign and crashes during the same time periods in previous years did not show a significant difference (P =.081). The number of large trucks observed in traffic remained the same during pre- and postintervention periods (P =.625). The rates of negative interactions per 100 large trucks decreased for both large trucks and passenger vehicles after the intervention, with calculated rate ratios of 0.58 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.48, 0.70) and 0.31 (95% CI, 0.20, 0.47). The greatest reduction was seen in passenger vehicles following too close, with a rate ratio of 0.21 (95% CI, 0.15, 0.30).

Conclusions: Although designed for reducing crashes on highways, the TACT program can be an effective approach for improving driver behaviors on city streets.     

Is seat belt usage by front seat passengers related to seat belt usage by their drivers?

INTRODUCTION: Unrestrained drivers and passengers are involved in a significant amount of fatalities and injuries in motor-vehicle crashes in the United States. While the literature documents the effectiveness of seat belt usage in reducing crash outcomes, such as fatalities and the severity of injuries, there is a need to evaluate the impact of seat belt usage by drivers and passengers in their respective vehicles. These findings could help develop effective education and enforcement strategies to enhance occupant safety. METHOD: This paper summarizes a study comparing seat belt usage rates of drivers and passengers based on whether or not the driver uses a seat belt. Observational data from 50 sites in the state of Nevada over 3 years are used for analyses. The data are stratified based on the gender of the driver and passengers in the front seat of the vehicle and are based on area type (rural or urban). RESULTS: A comparison of the rates of seat belt usage across for the aggregated data and for various types of disaggregation and statistical analyses to compare the rates of seat belt use among passengers based on the use of seat belts by drivers confirms that when drivers use seat belts, their respective passengers are much more likely to use seat belts. Further, if drivers do not use seat belts, their passengers are not likely to use seat belts. This observation is comparable for male drivers and female drivers, and also for male passengers and female passengers. Further, there are no differences for combinations of the genders of the drivers and passenger (i.e., both male or female, or one male and one female). IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: These results suggest that education and enforcement strategies would benefit most by working toward increasing seat belt usage rates among drivers.