Drivers' visual behavior when using handheld and hands-free cell phones

ObjectiveThis study investigated driver distraction and how the use of handheld (HH), portable hands-free (PHF), and integrated hands-free (IHF) cell phones affected the visual behavior of motor vehicle drivers.MethodA naturalistic driving study recorded 204 participating drivers using video cameras and vehicle sensors for an average of 31 days. A total of 1564 cell phone calls made and 844 text messages sent while driving were sampled and underwent a video review. Baselines were established by recording epochs prior to the cell phone interactions. Total eyes-off-road time (TEORT) was examined to assess the visual demands of cell phone subtasks while driving. Percent TEORT was reported and compared against the baseline.ResultsVisual-manual subtasks performed on HH, PHF, and IHF cell phones were found to significantly increase drivers' mean percent TEORT. In contrast, conversing on an HH cell phone was found to significantly decrease drivers' mean percent TEORT, indicating that drivers looked at the forward roadway more often. No significant differences in percent TEORT were found for drivers conversing using PHF or IHF cell phones. The mean TEORT durations for visual-manual subtasks performed on an HH cell phone were significantly longer than the mean TEORT durations on either IHF or PHF cell phones.Practical applicationsThis research helps to further reinforce the distinction made between handheld and hands-free cell phone use in transportation distraction policy.     

Driving performance while using cell phones: an observational study

INTRODUCTION: Through spontaneous driving observations, this study sought to examine the impact of using a hands-free cell phone while driving on speed and safe gap keeping behaviors. The study also examined the association between the measure of disturbance created by using a cell phone and the driver's awareness of the disturbance. METHOD: Twenty-three male adults were observed while driving for an hour and a half each; drivers were unaware of being observed. During the session, each of the participants received a phone call, initiated by an associate of the observer. The experiment was divided into two periods during which the experimental parameters were monitored: 10 minutes during conversation on a cell phone and 10 minutes of non-conversation on a hands-free cell phone. After the experiment, the driver was questioned concerning the extent to which his/her driving was disturbed by the cell phone conversation. RESULTS: T-test for matched samples revealed that the gaps between the drivers' cars and those in front of them diminished when drivers were engaged in the cell phone conversations. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that drivers that had short conversations did not change their speed, while drivers who were engaged in long (over 16 minutes) conversations drove faster. No effect of drivers' awareness toward cell phone-related disturbance on actual driving behavior monitored in the present study was found.     

The intercoder agreement when using the Driving Reliability and Error Analysis Method in road traffic accident investigations

Many different classification schemes have been used in the analysis of road traffic accidents but the agreement between coders using the same classification scheme is rarely tested and/or reported. As a high intercoder agreement is a prerequisite for a study’s validity, this is a serious shortcoming. The aim of the present study was, therefore, to test the intercoder agreement of the Driving Reliability and Error Analysis Method (DREAM) version 3.0 by letting seven coders from different European countries analyse and classify the causes of the same four accident scenarios. The results showed that the intercoder agreement for genotypes (contributing factors) ranges from 74% to 94% with an average of 83%, while for phenotypes (observable effects) it ranges from 57% to 100% with an average of 78%. The results also showed that weaknesses in classification schemes, methods, training of coders as well as in presentation of accident information can be identified by testing the intercoder agreement.     

Occupational risk identification using hand-held or laptop computers.

This paper describes the Work Environment Profile (WEP) program and its use in risk identification by computer. It is installed into a hand-held computer or a laptop to be used in risk identification during work site visits. A 5-category system is used to describe the identified risks in 7 groups, i.e., accidents, biological and physical hazards, ergonomic and psychosocial load, chemicals, and information technology hazards. Each group contains several qualifying factors. These 5 categories are colour-coded at this stage to aid with visualization. Risk identification produces visual summary images the interpretation of which is facilitated by colours. The WEP program is a tool for risk assessment which is easy to learn and to use both by experts and nonprofessionals. It is especially well adapted to be used both in small and in larger enterprises. Considerable time is saved as no paper notes are needed.     

Distracted walking: cell phones increase injury risk for college pedestrians

Introduction

Distraction on cell phones jeopardizes motor-vehicle driver safety, but few studies examine distracted walking. At particular risk are college students, who walk frequently in and near traffic, have increased pedestrian injury rates compared to other age groups, and frequently use cell phones. Method: Using an interactive and immersive virtual environment, two experiments studied the effect of cell phone conversation on distraction of college student pedestrians. In the first, we examined whether pedestrians would display riskier behavior when distracted by a naturalistic cell phone conversation than when undistracted. We also considered whether individual difference factors would moderate the effect of the distraction. In a second experiment, we examined the impact of three forms of distraction on pedestrian safety: (a) engaging in a cell phone conversation, (b) engaging in a cognitively challenging spatial task by phone, and (c) engaging in a cognitively challenging mental arithmetic task by phone. Results: Results revealed that cell phone conversations distracted college pedestrians considerably across all pedestrian safety variables measured, with just one exception. Attention to traffic was not affected by the naturalistic phone conversation in Experiment 1, but was altered by the cognitively-demanding content of some types of conversation in Experiment 2. The content of the conversation did not play a major role in distraction across other variables; both mundane and cognitively complex conversations distracted participants. Moreover, no significant associations between individual difference factors and susceptibility to distraction emerged. Impact on Industry: Results may inform researchers, policy makers, and pedestrians themselves. Educational campaigns might discourage telephone conversations in pedestrian environments.     

Physical symptoms in young adults and their use of different computers and mobile phones

This paper presents the use of new technical equipment by young adults (30 years old or younger), and the physical symptoms they have. The paper then analyses how the symptoms are associated with the use of computers and mobile phones, taking into account the background information. The study is based on a survey of 15 000 working-age (18-65) Finns. The responses (1563) covering young adults' physical symptoms were analysed. Altogether 53.3% of all young adults had pretty often or more frequently pain, numbness or aches in the neck and 32.2% had aches in the hip and lower back. Women experienced more pain, numbness or aches in the neck (65.0%) than men (34.5%). The use of different computers at leisure quite often had an association with some symptoms in different parts of the body. In addition, exhaustion at work had associations with some physical symptoms. In the future, it is essential to note ergonomic reasons and exhaustion at work when young adults experience pain, numbness or aches.     

Modelling of BP Texas City refinery accident using dynamic risk assessment approach

Process industries involve handling of hazardous substances which on release may potentially cause catastrophic consequences in terms of assets lost, human fatalities or injuries and loss of public confidence of the company. In spite of using endless end-of-the-pipe safety systems, tragic accidents such as BP Texas City refinery still occur. One of the main reasons of such rare but catastrophic events is lack of effective monitoring and modelling approaches that provide early warnings and help to prevent such event. To develop a predictive model one has to rely on past occurrence data, as such events are rare, enough data are usually not available to better understand and model such behavior. In such situations, it is advisable to use near misses and incident data to predict system performance and estimate accident likelihood. This paper is an attempt to demonstrate testing and validation of one such approach, dynamic risk assessment, using data from the BP Texas City refinery incident.Dynamic risk assessment is a novel approach which integrates Bayesian failure updating mechanism with the consequence assessment. The implementation of this methodology to the BP Texas City incident proves that the approach has the ability to learn from near misses, incident, past accidents and predict event occurrence likelihood in the next time interval.     

大学生人群手机电磁辐射监测与分析

为研究大学生的手机电磁辐射暴露程度,针对手机的3种使用状态(通话、发短信、上网),用TES-593电磁波污染强度计系统地监测了36部手机,监测点代表耳朵、眼睛和手所在处.结果表明,所有监测值均符合国际非电离辐射防护委员会(ICNIRP)的参考水平.3种使用状态下的手机电磁辐射辐射强度大小依次为通话、发短信、上网;在室内通话、发短信和上网状态下,2G手机近背面的平均电场强度依次为15.27 V/m、11.43 V/m和9.57 V/m;手机在室内通话状态下的电场强度大于室外通话状态下的电场强度,2G手机在这两种状态下,听筒处的平均电场强度分别为16.00 V/m、9.46 V/m.多数手机室内通话电场强度容易超过GB 8702-88《电磁辐射防护规定》的参考值.手机发短信、上网时的辐射强度随距离增大而减小,一般情况下不会超过《电磁辐射防护规定》的参考值.     

Thermal risk in batch reactors: Theoretical framework for runaway and accident

Thermal safety and risk of accidents are still challenging topics in the case of batch reactors carrying exothermic reactions. In the present paper, the authors develop an integrated framework focusing on defining the governing parameters for the thermal runaway and evaluating the subsequent risk of accident. A relevant set of criteria are identified in order to find the prior conditions for a thermal runaway: failure of the cooling system, critical temperature threshold, successive derivatives of the temperature (first and second namely) vs. time and no detection in due time (reaction time) of the runaway initiation. For illustrative purposes, the synthesis of peracetic acid (PAA) with hydrogen peroxide (HP) and acetic acid (AA) is considered as case study. The critical and threshold values for the runaway accident are identified for selected sets of input data. Under the conditional probability of prior cooling system failure, Monte Carlo simulations are performed in order to estimate the risk of thermal runaway accident in batch reactors. It becomes then possible to predict the ratio of reactors, within an industrial plant, potentially subject to thermal runaway accident.     

Role of beliefs in accident and risk analysis and prevention

This paper mainly deals with an old psychological theme, i.e., the impact of comprehensive reference systems such as belief systems and culture on safety and accident prevention. It is hypothesized that an understanding of the beliefs people hold about risks and the causes of accidents, as well as their perceptions of risk targets and the need for safety, are important prerequisites for effectively managing risk and designing preventive measures. This viewpoint is posited to be highly crucial today, especially in this era of globalization where workers from different backgrounds are relocating, and increasingly complex technology is being exported. Illustrations are given for both developing and developed countries. Different factors are shown to cause bias in accident explanation and risk perception. Among these, people’s beliefs about their own ability to cope and also their culture are described as important factors. Both defensive explanations of accidents and illusory or biased risk perception are shown to influence safety assessments and to have important implications for defining the best preventive actions and for writing relevant preventive communications.     

Self-reported wrist and finger symptoms associated with other physical/mental symptoms and use of computers/mobile phones

Recently, computer, mobile phone and Internet use has increased. This study aimed to determine the possible relation between self-reported wrist and finger symptoms (aches, pain or numbness) and using computers/mobile phones, and to analyze how the symptoms are specifically associated with utilizing desktop computers, portable computers or mini-computers and mobile phones. A questionnaire was sent to 15,000 working-age Finns (age 18–65). Via a questionnaire, 723 persons reported wrist and finger symptoms often or more with use. Over 80% use mobile phones daily and less than 30% use desktop computers or the Internet daily at leisure, e.g., over 89.8% quite often or often experienced pain, numbness or aches in the neck, and 61.3% had aches in the hips and the lower back. Only 33.7% connected their symptoms to computer use. In the future, the development of new devices and Internet services should incorporate the ergonomics of the hands and wrists.     

Cell phones and driving: review of research

OBJECTIVE: The research literature on drivers' use of cell phones was reviewed to identify trends in drivers' phone use and to determine the state of knowledge about the safety consequences of such use. METHODS: Approximately 125 studies were reviewed with regard to the research questions, type and rigor of the methods, and findings. Reviewed studies included surveys of drivers, experiments, naturalistic studies (continuous recording of everyday driving by drivers in instrumented vehicles), studies of crash risk, and evaluations of laws limiting drivers' phone use. RESULTS: Observational surveys indicate drivers commonly use cell phones and that such use is increasing. Drivers report they usually use hand-held phones. Experimental studies have found that simulated or instrumented driving tasks, or driving while being observed, are compromised by tasks intended to replicate phone conversations, whether using hand-held or hands-free phones, and may be further compromised by the physical distraction of handling phones. Effects of phone use on driving performance when drivers are in their own vehicles are unknown. With representative samples of adequate size, naturalistic studies in the future may provide the means to document the patterns and circumstances of drivers' phone use and their effects on real-world driving. Currently, the best studies of crash risk used cell phone company billing records to verify phone use by crash-involved drivers. Two such studies found a fourfold increase in the risk of a property-damage-only crash and the risk of an injury crash associated with phone use; increased risk was similar for males and females, younger and older drivers, and hands-free and hand-held phones. A number of jurisdictions in the United States and around the world have made it illegal for drivers to use hand-held phones. Studies of these laws show only limited compliance and unclear effects on safety.CONCLUSIONS: Even if total compliance with bans on drivers' hand-held cell phone use can be achieved, crash risk will remain to the extent that drivers continue to use or switch to hands-free phones. Although the enactment of laws limiting drivers' use of all phones is consistent with research findings, it is unclear how such laws could be enforced. At least in the short term, it appears that drivers' phone use will continue to increase, despite the growing evidence of the risk it creates. More effective countermeasures are needed but are not known at this time.     

Driver personality characteristics related to self-reported accident involvement and mobile phone use while driving

A causal model was developed in this study to clarify the effect of mobile phone use on driving safety. Based on the model, a series of questionnaires were developed, and 194 car drivers were interviewed based on these questionnaires. Results showed that perceived risk and mobile phone usage habits varied with different individual traits. Drivers who were prone to accidents revealed a lower perception of safety risks and a higher self-reported accident rate resulting from mobile phone use than those who were not accident-prone. Aggressive drivers were found to use mobile phones more frequently while driving but had a similar accident rate to non-aggressive drivers. Frequency in mobile phone use while driving significantly increased among aggressive male drivers regardless of accident proneness. Findings from this study imply that the perceived risk of drivers might be an ignored but important factor in the relationship between mobile phone use and driving safety. Because of the difficulty in practically identifying who is accident-prone or not, this study suggests that overall prohibition in mobile phone use while driving is needed to reduce the corresponding number of traffic accidents.     

Air Traffic Management accident risk. Part 1: The limits of realistic modelling

The prime goal of the Air Traffic Management (ATM) system is to control accident risk. Some key questions are posed, including: What do design safety targets really mean and imply for risk modelling? In what circumstances can future accident risk really be modelled with sufficient precision? If risk cannot be estimated with precision, then how is safety to be assured with traffic growth and operational/technical changes? This paper endeavours to answer these questions by an analysis of the nature of accidents, causal factors and practical collision risk modelling. The main theme is how best to combine sound safety evidence and real-world hazard analysis in a coherent and systematic framework.     

生产安全事故风险分级与分级监察研究

针对我国安全生产形势严峻现状，为进一步提高安全生产监察效率和质量，强化行政执法力度，提出了在我国建立生产安全事故风险分级与分级监察系统，其方法是首先确定行业相对风险度，再计算企业职业伤害风险系数，据此对企业风险进行分级，根据监察力量和监察计划对不同风险级别的企业进行分级监察，为实行集约型安全生产监察工作提供参考。     

Challenges and proposals for managing major accident risk through the planning process

Major accidents are characterized by complex causal patterns with many factors influencing the occurrence of such accidents. The causes can be found not just in the execution of the work, but also in the preparations and planning before performing the work. In this paper, we have identified a set of challenges related to planning that may influence major accident risk. The basis is theoretical and partly empirical. The theoretical part is from a study of major accident theories. The empirical part includes studies of investigation reports, interviews and a workshop. The challenges identified can be grouped into four main topics including inadequate plan, inadequate planning, inadequate shared overview and understanding and late risk identification. The challenges have subsequently been addressed through a set of proposed improvements, which are aimed at improving the planning process to better manage major accident risk.     

基于事故案例的Natech事件演化模式及风险分析

为探究非巨灾型Natech事件演化模式并降低发生风险,基于164个事故案例,归纳出6种典型演化路径,构建非巨灾型Natech事件演化模式分析框架,并基于突发事件关联网络,分析影响Natech事件风险的水平关键节点及潜在发生路径.结果表明:暴雨灾害是对全局影响力最强的节点,与人为异动的协同作用最显著;电力事故Natech...     

Air Traffic Management accident risk. Part 2: Repairing the deficiencies of ESARR4

This is a critique of ESARR4 and its main supporting documents. ESARR4 is the Eurocontrol Safety Regulatory Requirement Number 4 [Eurocontrol safety regulatory requirement ESARR4, Edition 1.0., Eurocontrol, Safety Regulation Commission, Brussels, 2001]: ‘Risk assessment and mitigation in ATM’, ATM standing for Air Traffic Management. It is demonstrated that ESARR4 and its supporting documents are defective. There is a lack of clarity about responsibilities for ATM safety. The claims ESARR4 etc. make for its proposed methodologies are overstated—not supported by sound evidence from real world hazard analysis. Serious negative effects from this defective document include mis-allocation of scarce safety resources and the diversion of attention away from real safety improvements—wasteful of regulators’ and managers’ time. Suggestions are made for repairing these deficiencies. The most important underlying change would be a refocusing on practical safety assessment based on methods that have already demonstrated their merits.