Injury prevention programs against distracted driving: Are they effective?

Introduction: Distracted driving (talking and/or texting) is a growing public safety problem, with increasing incidence among adult drivers. The aim of this study was to identify the incidence of distracted driving (DD) among health care providers and to create awareness against DD. We hypothesized that distracted driving is prevalent among health care providers and a preventive campaign against distracted driving would effectively decrease distracted driving among health care providers.

Methods: We performed a 4-phase prospective interventional study of all health care providers at our level 1 trauma center. Phase 1: one week of pre-intervention observation; phase 2: one week of intervention; phase 3: one week of postintervention observation; and phase 4: one week of 6 months of postintervention observation. Observations were performed outside employee parking garage at the following time intervals: 6:30–8:30 a.m., 4:40–5:30 p.m., and 6:30–7:30 p.m. Intervention included an e-mail survey, pamphlets and banners in the hospital cafeteria, and a postintervention survey. Hospital employees were identified with badges and scrubs, employees exiting through employee gate, and parking pass on the car. Outcome measure was incidence of DD pre, post, and 6 months postintervention.

Results: A total of 15,416 observations (pre: 6,639, post: 4,220, 6 months post: 4,557) and 520 survey responses were collected. The incident of DD was 11.8% among health care providers. There was a significant reduction in DD in each time interval of observation between pre- and postintervention. On subanalysis, there was a significant decrease in talking (P = .0001) and texting (P = .01) while driving postintervention compared to pre-intervention. In the survey, 35.5% of respondents admitted to DD and 4.5% respondents were involved in an accident due to DD. We found that 77% respondents felt more informed after the survey and 91% respondents supported a state legislation against DD. The reduction in the incidence of DD postintervention was sustained even at 6-month follow-up.

Conclusion: There was a 32% reduction in the incidence of distracted driving postintervention, which remained low even at 6-month follow-up. Implementation of an effective injury prevention campaign could reduce the incidence of distracted driving nationally.     

State all-driver distracted driving laws and high school students' texting while driving behavior

Objective: Texting while driving is highly prevalent among adolescents and young adults in the United States. Texting while driving can significantly increase the risk of road crashes and is associated with other risky driving behaviors. Most states have enacted distracted driving laws to prohibit texting while driving. This study examines effects of different all-driver distracted driving laws on texting while driving among high school students.

Methods: High school student data were extracted from the 2013 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Distracted driving law information was collected from the National Conference of State Legislatures. The final sample included 6,168 high school students above the restricted driving age in their states and with access to a vehicle. Logistic regression was applied to estimate odds ratios of laws on texting while driving.

Results: All-driver text messaging bans with primary enforcement were associated with a significant reduction in odds of texting while driving among high school students (odds ratio = 0.703; 95% confidence interval, 0.513–0.964), whereas all-driver phone use bans with primary enforcement did not have a significant association with texting while driving (odds ratio = 0.846; 95% confidence interval, 0.501–1.429).

Conclusions: The findings indicate that all-driver distracted driving laws that specifically target texting while driving as opposed to all types of phone use are effective in reducing the behavior among high school students.     

融合分心维度的驾驶行为可靠性研究

分心驾驶容易影响驾驶行为,进而导致交通事故的问题。用理论建模方法,研究分心对驾驶行为及其可靠性的影响。介绍分心驾驶的定义和维度。基于驾驶行为理论,建立融合分心维度的驾驶行为模型,分析不同分心维度对驾驶行为的影响机理。基于可靠性理论,建立融合分心维度的驾驶行为可靠性模型,分析不同分心维度对驾驶行为可靠性的影响。结果表明:不同维度分心对驾驶行为的影响具有各自特点和交互性;减少影响系数高的分心维度,有助于提高驾驶行为可靠性;多维度分心比单维度分心会更大程度地降低驾驶行为可靠度,应减少或避免复合分心。     

Identifying risky drivers with simulated driving

Objective: The present study aimed to examine whether high-risk drivers differ from low-risk drivers in driving behavior in a simulated environment.

Method: The 2 risk groups including 36 drivers (18 males and 18 females) performed driving tasks in a simulated environment. The simulated driving behaviors are compared between the 2 risk groups.

Results: The high-risk drivers drove much faster and exhibited larger offsets of the steering wheel than did the low-risk drivers in events without incidents. Additionally, the high-risk drivers used turn signals and horns less frequently than the low-risk drivers.

Conclusions: The present study revealed that the high-risk group differed from the low-risk group in driving behavior in a simulated environment. These results also suggest that simulated driving tasks might be useful tools for the evaluation of drivers’ potential risks.     

城市道路下分心行为对驾驶员驾驶绩效的影响

为探究城市道路条件下常见驾驶分心行为对驾驶绩效的影响,以16名青年志愿者为被试,开展实车驾驶试验,测量车辆纵向和横向行驶参数,对比分析正常驾驶和分心驾驶状态下的驾驶绩效,并探讨驾驶经验的影响。结果表明:3种分心行为均使横向加速度标准差和纵向加速度标准差增加,而使速度均值降低,说明驾驶员通过速度和转向控制补偿分心状态下的驾驶绩效;交谈对速度均值和纵向加速度均值、阅读广告对速度标准差和横向加速度均值具有显著性影响(p<0.05);接听电话时,经验驾驶员速度标准差明显高于新手(p=0.021);接听电话和阅读广告次任务下,经验驾驶员的横向加速度均值均明显较高(p=0.003,p=0.004),说明经验丰富的驾驶员受分心行为的影响程度更低。     

Seat-Belt Use and Related Behaviors Among Young Adults

Seat-belt use among young adults was examined to identify factors associated with nonuse. This research was part of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, which is a study of the health, development, and behavior of a birth cohort of young New Zealanders (n = 1037). At age 21 years, 948 (93%) members of this cohort were administered a face-to-face interview where they were asked about seat-belt use (self and friends), reasons for nonuse, and also their involvement in risky driving practices, motor-vehicle traffic crashes, and some thrill-seeking activities. Results showed relatively high front seat-belt use (85–96%) but low rear use (29–47%). Some differences in use were a function of gender and seating location. Generally, users had higher academic qualifications and lower risky driving behavior (males only), but did not differ significantly as far as crash experiences and thrill-seeking activity was concerned. The main reasons for not using a seat belt were forgetfulness/laziness, a perceived low risk of injury, and discomfort. This study provided information about the background and behavior of young adults who do not use seat belts, which could be helpful when designing strategies to promote seat-belt use in this age group.     

Drink driving and risky behavior among university students in southwestern Nigeria—Implications for policy development

Background: Drink driving contributes significantly to road traffic injuries. Little is known about the relationship between drink driving and other high-risk behaviors in non-Western countries. The study aimed to assess the relationship between drink driving and other risky behaviors including making phone calls, sending text messages, nonuse of protective gear, and driving against traffic.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of risky behavior among undergraduates was conducted. A stratified random sampling method was used to identify young undergraduates who had driven a motorized vehicle in the past year. The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and other tools developed by researchers were used to identify the risky behaviors.

Results: Of 431 respondents, 10.7% had engaged in drink driving in the past 12 months. The most common risky behavior was making phone calls (63.7%), followed by nonuse of helmets (54.7%), driving against traffic (49.2%), nonuse of seat belts (46.8%), and sending text messages (26.1%). Alcohol use was significantly associated with making phone calls (U = 1.148; P < .0001), sending text messages (U = 1.598; P = .021), nonuse of helmets (U = 1.147; P < .0001), driving against traffic (U = 1.234; P < .0001), and nonuse of seat belts (U = 3.233; P = .001). Drink driving was associated with all risky behaviors except nonuse of seat belts (U = 1.842; P = .065).

Conclusion: Alcohol use and drink driving were associated with multiple risky driving behaviors. This provides useful insight for policy development and presents additional challenges for traffic injury prevention.     

Physiological signal analysis for fatigue level of experienced and inexperienced drivers

Objective: We studied the changes in driving fatigue levels of experienced and inexperienced drivers at 3 periods of the day: 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m., 12:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.

Methods: Thirty drivers were involved in 120-min real-car driving, and sleepiness ratings (Stanford Sleepiness Scale, SSS; Hoddes et al. 1973 Hoddes E, Zarcone V, Smythe H, Phillips R, Dement WC. Quantification of sleepiness: a new approach. Psychophysiology. 1973;10:431–436.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, and heart rates (HRs) were recorded. Together with principal component analysis, the relationship between EEG signals and HR was explored and used to determine a comprehensive indicator of driving fatigue. Then the comprehensive indicator was assessed via paired t test.

Results: Experienced and inexperienced drivers behaved significantly differently in terms of subjective fatigue during preliminary trials. At the beginning of trials and after termination, subjective fatigue level was aggravated with prolonged continuous driving. Moreover, we discussed the changing rules of EEG signals and HR and found that with prolonged time, the ratios of δ and β waves significantly declined, whereas that of the θ wave significantly rose. The ratio of (α + θ)/β significantly rose both before trials and after termination, but HR dropped significantly. However, one-factor analysis of variance shows that driving experience significantly affects the θ wave, (α + θ)/β ratio, and HR.

Conclusions: We found that in a monotonous road environment, fatigue symptoms occurred in inexperienced drivers and experienced drivers after about 60 and 80 min of continuous driving, respectively. Therefore, as for drivers with different experiences, restriction on continuous driving time would avoid fatigued driving and thereby eliminate traffic accidents. We find that the comprehensive indicator changes significantly with fatigue level. The integration of different indicators improves the recognition accuracy of different driving fatigue levels.     

基于驾驶员模型参数辨识的疲劳驾驶研究

提出一种利用驾驶员模型反演方法来进行驾驶员疲劳诊断研究的新方法.首先利用预瞄神经网络建立适应于复杂路况条件下的驾驶员-汽车-道路闭环模型,然后定义特定行驶轨迹内理论数据与试验数据的近似度为目标函数,将驾驶员参数的反演问题转化为多目标优化问题,采用基于实数编码混沌变异量子遗传算法的优化方法,获得全局最优解.试验中采用脑电和主观疲劳心理评测结合的方法确定被试者的疲劳状况.在每种疲劳状况下对驾驶员参数进行辨识,对结果进行统计分析表明,在考虑到车型、道路曲率等因素条件下驾驶员参数分布与驾驶员的疲劳状况有很强的相关性.     

低能见度环境中驾驶人危险驾驶行为影响因素分析

为深入研究低能见度下影响驾驶人发生危险驾驶行为的因素,提高道路交通安全性,自编低能见度环境中危险驾驶行为问卷和驾驶能力问卷,用其对314名驾驶人进行调查。采用Pearson相关系数法和结构方程模型(SEM)建模方法,研究低能见度环境中危险驾驶行为与驾驶能力描述性变量间的关系。结果表明,低能见度环境中, 驾驶人危险驾驶行为可分为错误行为和失误行为;性别与错误行为显著相关,且对错误行为影响最大的因素是危险感知能力,其次是低能见度事故,驾龄影响最弱;错误行为正向影响失误行为,且危险感知能力对失误行为有间接影响。     

The role of self-regulation in the context of driver distraction: A simulator study

Objective: There is considerable evidence for the negative effects of driver distraction on road safety. In many experimental studies, drivers have been primarily viewed as passive receivers of distraction. Thus, there is a lack of research on the mediating role of their self-regulatory behavior. The aim of the current study was to compare drivers' performance when engaged in a system-paced secondary task with a self-paced version of this task and how both differed from baseline driving performance without distraction.

Methods: Thirty-nine participants drove in a simulator while performing a secondary visual–manual task. One group of drivers had to work on this task in predefined situations under time pressure, whereas the other group was free to decide when to work on the secondary task (self-regulation group). Drivers' performance (e.g., lateral and longitudinal control, brake reaction times) was also compared with a baseline condition without any secondary task.

Results: For the system-paced secondary task, distraction was associated with high decrements in driving performance (especially in keeping the lateral position). No effects were found for the number of collisions, probably because of the lower driving speeds while distracted (compensatory behavior). For the self-regulation group, only small impairments in driving performance were found. Drivers engaged less in the secondary task during foreseeable demanding or critical driving situations.

Conclusions: Overall, drivers in the self-regulation group were able to anticipate the demands of different traffic situations and to adapt their engagement in the secondary task, so that only small impairments in driving performance occurred. Because in real traffic drivers are mostly free to decide when to engage in secondary tasks, it can be concluded that self-regulation should be considered in driver distraction research to ensure ecological validity.     

大货车驾驶员交通心理与交通安全的研究

笔者从交通心理学的角度,对大货车驾驶员在行驶过程中的心理状况、因攻击性驾驶行为、强烈的冒险动机的驱使、对道路期望心理的失衡及交通安全感偏差等不良心理因素而导致恶性交通事故进行分析.通过研究得出以下结论:大货车驾驶员是一特殊的群体,应重视对该群体的教育、培训与管理,从而提高驾驶员的职业道德水平、性格品质、交通安全感及驾驶技能,以改善道路安全环境和交通安全状况、降低道路交通事故发生率.     

Comparing safety climate factors as predictors of work-related driving behavior

INTRODUCTION: Research suggests safety climate (SC) is a strong predictor of safety-related outcomes in organizations. This study explores the relationship between six SC dimensions and four aspects of work-related driving. METHOD: The SC factors measured were "communication and procedures," "work pressures," "relationships," "safety rules," "driver training," and "management commitment." The aspects of self-reported occupational driving measured were traffic violations, driver error, driving while distracted, and pre-trip vehicle maintenance. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the SC factors accounted for significant amounts of variance in all four aspects of work-related driving, over and above the control factors of age, sex, and work-related driving exposure. However, further investigation indicated certain SC factors (particularly safety rules, communication, and management commitment) were more strongly related to specific aspects of work-related driving behavior than others. Together, the SC factors were better able to predict self-reported distraction from the road than the other aspects of driving behavior measured. Implications for occupational safety, particularly for the management of work-related drivers are discussed.     

Multi-agent traffic simulations to estimate the impact of automated technologies on safety

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this article was to develop a multi-agent traffic simulation methodology to estimate the potential road safety improvements of automated vehicle technologies.

Methods: We developed a computer program that merges road infrastructure data with a large number of vehicles, drivers, and pedestrians. Human errors are induced by modeling inattention, aimless driving, insufficient safety confirmation, misjudgment, and inadequate operation. The program was applied to simulate traffic in a prescribed area in Tsukuba city. First, a 100% manual driving scenario was set to simulate traffic for a total preset vehicle travel distance. The crashes from this simulation were compared with real-world crash data from the prescribed area from 2012 to 2017. Thereafter, 4 additional scenarios of increasing levels of automation penetration (including combinations of automated emergency braking [AEB], lane departure warning [LDW], and SAE Level 4 functions) were implemented to estimate their impact on safety.

Results: Under manual driving, the system simulated a total of 859 crashes including single-car lane departure, car-to-car, and car-to-pedestrian crashes. These crashes tended to occur in locations similar to real-world crashes. The number of crashes predicted decreased to 156 cases with increasing level of automation. All of the technologies considered contributed to the decrease in crashes. Crash reductions attributable to AEB and LDW in the simulations were comparable to those reported in recent field studies. For the highest levels of automation, no assessment data were available and hence the results should be carefully treated. Further, in modeling automated functions, potentially negative aspects such as sensing failure or human overreliance were not incorporated.

Conclusions: We developed a multi-agent traffic simulation methodology to estimate the effect of different automated vehicle technologies on safety. The crash locations resulting from simulations of manual driving within a limited area in Japan were preliminary assessed by comparison with real-world crash data collected in the same area. Increasing penetration levels of AEB and LDW led to a large reduction in both the frequency and severity of rear-end crashes, followed by car-to-car head-on crashes and single-vehicle lane departure crashes. Preliminary estimations of the potential safety improvements that may be achieved with highly automated driving technologies were also obtained.