The consequences of unexpected emotional sounds on driving behaviour in risky situations

Recent development of systems for assisted driving has raised questions about what features of the stimuli perceived by a driver may improve driving behaviour and road safety. The present study aimed to uncover whether emotional auditory stimuli can affect risky behaviour in hazardous situations. Forty-nine volunteers rode a motorcycle in a virtual environment and went through a number of preset risky scenarios, some of which were cued by a sound (a beep, a positive emotional sound or a negative sound). Results showed that hearing the beep reduced the frequency of accidents in the upcoming risky situation, while the emotional cues did not. Likewise, the beep induced the drivers to decrease their speed and focus their gaze on relevant areas of the visual field, while the emotional sounds did not. These results suggest that auditory warning systems for vehicles should avoid using emotion-laden sounds, as their affective content might diminish their utility to increase driving alertness. These findings could provide important information for the development of new advanced driver assistance systems and in general for the specification of future Human–Machine-Interaction design guidelines.     

驾驶员注意力分配定量方法研究

驾驶员在不同的路况环境下存在不同的注意力分配模式,为弄清其分配模式特点,利用露天体育场内作为模拟驾驶环境,并利用眼动设备,记录被试者在直道驾驶任务、弯道驾驶任务、复杂路况驾驶任务等3种路况下的眼动数据,采用划分兴趣区域的方式,把视觉信息源划分为原车道兴趣区域FL(Former Lane)和其他兴趣区域OA(Other Areas)两个兴趣区域,对平均百米注视次数、平均百米注视时间、不同兴趣区域注视次数百分比3个眼动指标在两个兴趣区域内的分布情况进行分析和对比,得出不同路况环境下不同的注意力分配模式来揭示驾驶员驾驶过程中的注意力分配特点。研究结果对于驾驶员驾驶培训侧重点的改进、对于预防交通事故都具有重要意义。     

Fatigued driver’s driving behavior and cognitive task performance: Effects of road environments and road environment changes

This study aims to explore the effects of different road environments and their changes on driving behaviors and cognitive task performance of fatigued drivers. Twenty-four participants volunteered in a 2 (road environment) × 3 (fatigue level) within-subjects factorial design simulated driving experiment. Participants were asked to perform basic numerical calculation and distance estimation of traffic signs when driving normally, and provide answers to a questionnaire on fatigue rating. Results show that fatigued drivers faced greater attention demand, were less alert, and tended to overestimate the distance to roadside traffic signs. Fatigue caused by driving in complex road environment had the greatest negative impact on driving behavior and visual distance estimation, and the fatigue transfer effect worsened significantly but differently on both driving behavior and performance of fatigued drivers when switching from a complex to a monotonous road environment and vice versa. Notably, this study shows that fatigued drivers performed relatively better in arithmetic tasks than non-fatigued ones. In addition, when switching from a monotonous to a complex road environment, drivers’ performance in visual distance estimation and arithmetic tasks improved though their driving behavior deteriorated, revealing that the fatigue effect upon drivers might be explained to some extent by their alertness and arousal levels.     

Children’s fear in traffic and its association with pedestrian decisions

Introduction: Research on risk for child pedestrian injury risk focuses primarily on cognitive risk factors, but emotional states such as fear may also be relevant to injury risk. The current study examined children's perception of fear in various traffic situations and the relationship between fear perception and pedestrian decisions. Method: 150 children aged 6–12-years old made pedestrian decisions using a table-top road model. Their perceived fear in the pedestrian context was assessed. Results: Children reported greater emotional fear when they faced quicker traffic, shorter distances from approaching traffic, and red rather than green traffic signals. Children who were more fearful made safer pedestrian decisions in more challenging traffic situations. However, when the least risky traffic situation was presented, fear was associated with more errors in children’s pedestrian decisions: fearful children failed to cross the street when they could have done so safely. Perception of fear did not vary by child age, although safe pedestrian decisions were more common among the older children. Conclusions: Children’s emotional fear may predict risk-taking in traffic. When traffic situations are challenging to cross within, fear may appropriately create safer decisions. However, when the traffic situation is less risky, feelings of fear could lead to excessive caution and inefficiency. Practical applications: Child pedestrian safety interventions may benefit by incorporating activities that introduce realistic fear of traffic risks into broader safety lessons.     

Effects of environment, vehicle and driver characteristics on risky driving behavior at work zones

This study aims to analyze the effects of environment, vehicle and driver characteristics on the risky driving behavior at work zones. A decision tree is developed using the classification and regression tree (CART) algorithm to graphically display the relationship between the risky driving behavior and its influencing factors. This approach could avoid the inherent problems occurred in the conventional logistic regression models and further improve the model prediction accuracy. Based on the Michigan M-94/I-94/I-94BL/I-94BR highway work zone driving behavior data, the decision tree comprising 33 leaf nodes is built. Bad weather, poor road and light conditions, partial/no access control, no traffic control devices, turning left/right and driving in an old vehicle are found to be associated with the risky driving behavior at work zones. The middle-aged drivers, who are going straight ahead in their vehicles with medium service time and equipped with an airbag system, are more likely to take risky behavior at lower work zone speed limits. Further, the middle-aged male drivers engage in risky driving behavior more frequently than the middle-aged female drivers. The number of lanes exhibits opposing effects on risky behavior under different traveling conditions. More specifically, the risky driving behavior is associated with the single-lane road under bad light or weather conditions while drivers are more likely to engage in risky behavior on the multi-lane road under good light conditions.     

Assessing driver behavior using shrp2 adverse weather data

IntroductionThis study explored how drivers adapt to inclement weather in terms of driving speed, situational awareness, and visibility as road surface conditions change from dry to slippery and visibility decreases. The proposed work mined existing data from the SHRP 2 NDS for drivers who were involved in weather-related crash and near-crash events. Baseline events were also mined to create related metadata necessary for behavioral comparisons. Methods: Researchers attempted, to the greatest extent possible, to match non-adverse-weather driving scenarios that are similar to the crash and near-crash event for each driver. The ideal match scenario would be at a day prior to the crash during non-adverse weather conditions having the same driver, at the same time of day, with the same traffic level on the same road on which the crash or near-crash occurred. Once the matched scenarios have been identified, a detailed analysis will be performed to determine how a driver’s behavior changed from normal driving to inclement-weather driving. Results: Data collected indicated that, irrespective of site location (i.e., state), most crashes and near-crashes occurred in rain, with only about 12% occurring in snowy conditions. Also, the number of near-crashes was almost double the number of crashes showing that many drivers were able to avoid a crash by executing an evasive maneuver such as braking or steering. Conclusions: Most types of near crashes were rear-end and sideswipe avoidance epochs, as the drivers may have had a difficult time merging or trying to change lanes due to low visibility or traffic. Hard braking combined with swerving were the most commonly used evasive maneuvers, occurring when drivers did not adjust their speeds accordingly for specific situations. Practical applications: Results from this study are expected to be utilized to educate and guide drivers toward more confident and strategic driving behavior in adverse weather.     

Higher-order cycling skills among 11- to 13-year-old cyclists and relationships with cycling experience,risky behavior,crashes and self-assessed skill

IntroductionIn the Netherlands, young cyclists are extremely vulnerable in traffic, which may partly be due to their still underdeveloped higher-order cycling skill. So far, knowledge on their actual level of skill is lacking. Using a computerized test battery mimicking real-life risky traffic conditions, this study assessed the level of higher-order cycling skill in children 11 and 12 years of age and tested the hypothesis that these skills show caveats. Furthermore, factors potentially influencing the development and impact of these skills were studied, such as cycling experience, risky road behavior, crash involvement, and self-assessed skill.MethodA total of 335 students (49% female) completed computerized tests on hazard perception, gap acceptance, blind spot strategies, and priority decisions in traffic, and completed questionnaires on cycling experience, risky cycling behavior, crashes, and self-assessment of cycling skill.ResultsOn the hazard perception test, one-third of the participants missed at least half of the number of hazards. They made errors in about 50% of the priority decisions, accepted critical gaps when crossing the road, and conversely rejected safe gaps; only 1% of the participants identified all blind spots of a truck correctly, while 69% made unsafe decisions when interacting with trucks in traffic scenarios. Overall, in complex traffic situations performance was worse than in simple ones. The hypothesis of lack of skills was therefore accepted. However, the study failed to demonstrate consistent relationships between subtest performance and cycling experience, risky behavior, crashes, and self-assessed skill, which weakens the theoretical assumptions concerning the subtests.ConclusionsThe results suggest that children at the end of primary school are still lacking elementary skills for safe cycling, calling for measures to accelerate skill development.Practical applicationsTest batteries are essential tools for systematically monitoring skill development in cyclists, evaluating education programs, and for guiding the development of effective road safety education. The next step is the validation of such batteries.     

The provisional license: nighttime and passenger restrictions--a literature review

PROBLEM: Due to inexperience and inadequate driving skills, the road is a very risky place for young and beginning drivers, yet such experience and skills can only be built by increased driving and exposure to risks on the road. Graduated driver licensing (GDL) allows beginning drivers to get their initial driving experience under less risky conditions and gradually eases them into more complex driving situations. This paper reviews the literature exploring two key features of the intermediate licensing phase of GDL, nighttime driving restrictions and passenger restrictions. METHOD: Literature review. RESULTS: Nighttime driving restrictions have been shown to effectively reduce the number and rate of crash involvements on the part of teenage drivers. Data suggest that having passengers in the car increases the likelihood of a fatal injury in young drivers and that this risk increases with the number of passengers. Young drivers were more likely to cause a crash when accompanied by their peers. DISCUSSION: Nighttime driving and passenger restrictions are effective in decreasing injuries among teenage drivers and their passengers, especially in the context of a full GDL system. Several research questions remain to be answered in order to fully refine and optimize the impact of these provisional measures.     

Provisional license

The Provisional or Intermediate license is the central phase in a comprehensive Graduated Licensing System. Young drivers qualify for a Provisional license by completing their Learners phase, reaching a specified age, and passing a road test. Provisional license holders are allowed to drive unsupervised subject to various restrictions. Typical restrictions include prohibitions against night driving, passengers and alcohol. The goal is to limit teen exposure to risky driving situations during their first few months of licensure, a time when their crash rates are extremely high. States with such restrictions have been shown to have lower teen crash rates than states without. Parents indicate strong support both for Graduated Licensing Systems and for the specific restrictions.     

汽车防抱死制动系统性能的研究

汽车防抱死制动系统的性能直接关系到汽车的运行安全,笔者以获得汽车制动最佳效能并能自动适应路况变化为控制系统的设计目标;通过分析车轮制动的动力学原理;运用自寻最优控制理论;进行了基于路面附着系数的汽车防抱死制动系统设计。仿真实验结果表明:该控制系统能充分利用最大附着力制动、实现自动路面识别并可提高汽车制动时的操作稳定性;进而证实了基于路面附着系数的汽车防抱死制动自寻最优控制方法,相对以往的控制方法更为简单和更适合于实际应用。     

Social environment versus cycling competency predicting risk-taking in 11- to 13-year-old cyclists in The Netherlands

Abstract

Objectives: From age 12 onwards, cycling injuries begin rising in The Netherlands. A known contributing factor is younger children’s underdeveloped competency to deal with complex and hazardous traffic situations, and their exposure to such situations strongly increases after transitioning to secondary school. Little is known about intentional risk-taking as a contributing factor. In this developmental stage, children become increasingly vulnerable because of intentional risk-taking, affecting their safety and health. The incidence, predictors in the child’s social environment, and trends of such risks are systematically monitored; for instance, for alcohol use, smoking, and cyber bullying. Such monitors do not include risky road behavior. This exploratory field study examined the frequency of intentional risky cycling, its relationship with the perceived social environment, and relative to cycling competency measured as the ability to detect emerging hazards quickly.

Methods: Three hundred thirty-five students between 11 and 13 years of age (51% male) completed computerized tests of hazard perception skill and surveys on crashes, risk-taking, peer pressure, perceived risk-taking by parents or friends, and exposure to risky driving as passenger.

Results: Frequent risk-taking was associated with higher crash frequency. Stepwise regression confirmed that children who more often took risks on the road were also more sensitive to peer pressure, had more often been passengers of risky drivers, had parents and friends who exhibited risky behaviors in traffic more often, and perceived hazards as less dangerous but, in contrast to expectations, did not do worse on the detection of hazards. The predictors explained 28% of the variance in total risk-taking but varied from 6 to 20% depending on the specific risk-taking behavior concerned.

Conclusions: At least 20% of children sometimes or more often take risks in traffic. Children who feel peer pressure to behave in a risky manner, observe parents and friends behaving in a risky manner in traffic, and have been exposed as passengers to risky driving more often take risks in traffic themselves. These results provide support for including items on risky road behavior in health monitors and to design interventions that address the risk factors in the child’s perceived social environment.     

Young drivers' responses to anti-speeding advertisements: Comparison of self-report and objective measures of persuasive processing and outcomes

Objective: Self-report measures are typically used to assess the effectiveness of road safety advertisements. However, psychophysiological measures of persuasive processing (i.e., skin conductance response [SCR]) and objective driving measures of persuasive outcomes (i.e., in-vehicle Global Positioning System [GPS] devices) may provide further insights into the effectiveness of these advertisements. This study aimed to explore the persuasive processing and outcomes of 2 anti-speeding advertisements by incorporating both self-report and objective measures of speeding behavior. In addition, this study aimed to compare the findings derived from these different measurement approaches.

Methods: Young drivers (N = 20, M age = 21.01 years) viewed either a positive or negative emotion–based anti-speeding television advertisement. While viewing the advertisement, SCR activity was measured to assess ad-evoked arousal responses. The RoadScout GPS device was then installed in participants' vehicles for 1 week to measure on-road speed-related driving behavior. Self-report measures assessed persuasive processing (emotional and arousal responses) and actual driving behavior.

Results: There was general correspondence between the self-report measures of arousal and the SCR and between the self-report measure of actual driving behavior and the objective driving data (as assessed via the GPS devices).

Conclusions: This study provides insights into how psychophysiological and GPS devices could be used as objective measures in conjunction with self-report measures to further understand the persuasive processes and outcomes of emotion-based anti-speeding advertisements.     

情绪对新手驾驶员视觉特性的影响研究

为构建基于驾驶员生理特性情绪识别系统,采用眼动仪等设备对20名新手驾驶员开展不同情绪状态下的模拟驾驶试验,采集高兴、悲伤、愤怒3种情绪状态和无情绪下新手驾驶员的视觉数据,利用Matlab、SPSS软件统计分析新手驾驶员瞳孔变化、眼球扫视、注视点视觉数据.结果 表明:悲伤、愤怒情绪对新手驾驶员瞳孔尺寸分布频率及其变化差异...     

Changes in risky driving behavior from age 21 to 26 years

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine whether the prevalence of risky driving behavior changed between ages 21 and 26 years, among a cohort of young people. Method: This study was part of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, which is a longitudinal study of a birth cohort. This study involved examining changes in the prevalence of risky driving behavior among young adults at ages 21 and 26 years. At both ages, 936 members of the cohort were administered face-to-face interviews, using a structured questionnaire that included items on a range of risky driving and thrill-seeking activities. Results: The results showed that risky driving was predominantly a male activity, but by 26 years of age, many had “matured out” of this behavior. At the same time, the desire for thrill-seeking increased among the males. Among the females, there were few significant changes between ages 21 and 26 years, but at both ages, the prevalence of risky driving and thrill-seeking was relatively low. Impact on industry: These results show that the main target population for road safety interventions aimed at reducing risky driving behavior should be young, male drivers.     

Introducing roadside hazard severity indicator based on evidential reasoning approach

Safety experts have, in recent years, been attentive to roadside accident severity and occurrence. Hitherto, to prioritize road segment hazardousness, there have been little efforts to quantify a well defined indicator. In this regard, the existing indicators are usually very plain and the overall configuration of roadside is rated by experts with an exact number describing its condition. Hence, the uncertainties which come with the subjective judgments cannot be regarded as of any substance. This research contribution therefore presents a procedure to assess the road safety (roadside safety indicator) by means of the evidential reasoning (ER) approach. The betterment of ER as opposed to the available procedures for roadside safety assessment is that the proposed approach makes allowance for the uncertainties which may arise from individual judgments. Additionally, when there is a dearth of evidence concerning factors which affect roadside hazardousness severity to collate several roadside segments, this procedure will offer the benefits of utilizing the maximum/minimum utility function. With the aid of the drawn indicator, organizations and agencies responsible for ensuring road safety can reach more flexible decisions to set in-place uncertain planning and road segments priorities. This indicator can also be utilized as a variable to include roadside conditions in crash severity prediction models. A field case study has also been carried out in an attempt to follow and validate the proposed approach which is based on the run-off accident history for a sample road segments. The crash data confirm the suggested indicator.     

特长隧道环境下驾驶人注视转移特性研究

为了研究不同经验驾驶人在高速公路特长隧道环境下的注视转移特性,在高速公路特长隧道中开展实车实验,利用 iView X HED型眼动仪采集了32名不同经验驾驶人的眼动数据。运用动态聚类方法,对驾驶人注视区域进行划分,分析了职业与非职业驾驶员在高速公路隧道不同段与普通路段的注视转移规律与注意力分配特性。结果表明:相较于非职业驾驶人,职业驾驶员具有较强的注视前瞻性,且在隧道的不同段主要注视的区域因行车环境不同变化较小;驾驶人对同一目标需要重复注视才能提取足够的信息,且当行车环境复杂度增加或驾驶员驾驶经验不足时,重复注视概率增加;驾驶人在不同路段行车时,主要通过注视中间区域获取信息;行车环境与驾驶经验对驾驶人在中间近处、左侧区域及内后视镜区域的注视平稳分布存在显著的交互作用。     

Does seeing it make a difference? The self-reported deterrent impact of random breath testing

Introduction: Random Breath Testing (RBT) remains a primary method to both deter and apprehend drink drivers, yet a large proportion of road fatalities continue to be caused by the offense. Outstanding questions remain regarding how much exposure to RBT operations is needed to influence deterrence-based perceptions and subsequent offending. Method: Given this, licensed motorists (N = 961) in Queensland were recruited to complete a questionnaire either in the community (N = 741) or on the side of the road after just being breath tested (N = 243). Survey items measured different types of exposure to RBT operations (e.g., “seen” vs. “being tested”) and subsequent perceptions of apprehension as well as self-reported drink driving behaviors. Results: The key findings that emerged were: motorists were regularly exposed to RBT operations (both viewing and being tested), such exposure was not significantly correlated with perceptions of apprehension certainty, and a sizable proportion reported engaging in drink driving behaviors (e.g., approx. 25%), although roadside participants naturally reported a lower percentage of offending behaviors. Importantly, it was revealed that current “observations” of RBT was sufficient, but not actual levels of active testing (which needed to be doubled). Nevertheless, higher levels of exposure to RBT operations was found to be predictive of a lack of intention to drink and drive again in the future. Conclusions: This paper suggests that mere exposure to enforcement may not create the intended rule compliance, and that the frequency of exposure is also essential for the roadside.     

A challenge to the assumed generalizability of prediction and countermeasure for risky driving: different factors predict different risky driving behaviors

In road safety, it may be debated whether all risky behaviors are sufficiently similar to be explained by similar factors. The often assumed generalizability of the factors that influence risky driving behaviors has been inadequately tested. Study 1 (N=116) examined the role of demographic, personality and attitudinal factors in the prediction of a range of risky driving behaviors, for young drivers. Results illustrated that different driving behaviors were predicted by different factors (e.g., speeding was predicted by authority--rebellion, while drink driving was predicted by sensation seeking and optimism bias). Study 2 (N=127) examined the generalizability of these results to the general driving population. Study 1 results did not generalize. Predictive factors remained behavior-specific, but different predictor-behavior relationships were observed in the community sample. Overall, results suggest that future research and practice should focus on a multi-factor framework for specific risky driving behaviors, rather than assuming generalizability across behaviors and driving populations.     

Using negative emotional feedback to modify risky behavior of young moped riders

Objective: The aim of this research was to investigate whether the use of messages with negative emotional content is effective in promoting safe behavior of moped riders and how exactly these messages modulate rider behavior.

Methods: Participants received negative feedback when performing risky behaviors using a computer task. The effectiveness of this treatment was subsequently tested in a riding simulator.

Results: The results demonstrated how riders receiving negative feedback had a lower number of traffic accidents than a control group. The reduction in accidents was accompanied by a set of changes in the riding behavior. We observed a lower average speed and greater respect for speed limits. Furthermore, analysis of the steering wheel variance, throttle variance, and average braking force provided evidence for a more even and homogenous riding style. This greater abidance of traffic regulations and friendlier riding style could explain some of the causes behind the reduction in accidents.

Conclusions: The use of negative emotional feedback in driving schools or advanced rider assistance systems could enhance riding performance, making riders aware of unsafe practices and helping them to establish more accurate riding habits. Moreover, the combination of riding simulators and feedback—for example, in the training of novice riders and traffic offenders—could be an efficient tool to improve their hazard perception skills and promote safer behaviors.     

E-bikers’ braking behavior: Results from a naturalistic cycling study

Abstract

Objective: The number of e-bike users has increased significantly over the past few years and with it the associated safety concerns. Because e-bikes are faster than conventional bicycles and more prone to be in conflict with road users, e-bikers may need to perform avoidance maneuvers more frequently. Braking is the most common avoidance maneuver but is also a complex and critical task in emergency situations, because cyclists must reduce speed quickly without losing balance. The aim of this study is to understand the braking strategies of e-bikers in real-world traffic environments and to assess their road safety implications. This article investigates (1) how cyclists on e-bikes use front and rear brakes during routine cycling and (2) whether this behavior changes during unexpected conflicts with other road users.

Methods: Naturalistic data were collected from 6 regular bicycle riders who each rode e-bikes during a period of 2 weeks, for a total of 32.5?h of data. Braking events were identified and characterized through a combined analysis of brake pressure at each wheel, velocity, and longitudinal acceleration. Furthermore, the braking patterns obtained during unexpected events were compared with braking patterns during routine cycling.

Results: In the majority of braking events during routine cycling, cyclists used only one brake at a time, favoring one of the 2 brakes according to a personal pre-established pattern. However, the favored brake varied among cyclists: 66% favored the rear brake and 16% the front brake. Only 16% of the cyclists showed no clear preference, variously using rear brake, front brake, or combined braking (both brakes at the same time), suggesting that the selection of which brake to use depended on the characteristics of the specific scenario experienced by the cyclist rather than on a personal preference. In unexpected conflicts, generally requiring a larger deceleration, combined braking became more prevalent for most of the cyclists; still, when combined braking was not applied, cyclists continued to use the favored brake of routine cycling. Kinematic analysis revealed that, when larger decelerations were required, cyclists more frequently used combined braking instead of single braking.

Conclusions: The results provide new insights into the behavior of cyclists on e-bikes and may provide support in the development of safety measures including guidelines and best practices for optimal brake use. The results may also inform the design of braking systems intended to reduce the complexity of the braking operation.