驾驶中使用手机对驾驶员行为安全绩效影响综述

驾驶中使用手机与交通事故之间存在着高度相关性。为揭示使用手机对驾驶行为安全绩效的影响,探索影响驾驶安全的理论机制,采取更有效的干预措施,结合近10 a来相关研究,综述了与驾驶安全密切相关的驾驶分心问题,主要包括:驾驶员分心的定义及其分类;使用手机对驾驶行为安全绩效的影响,如反应时(RT)、行车速度、路线保持和跟车距离;手机使用对驾驶员分心影响的理论机制,如信息加工理论和计划行为理论(TPB)。分析表明,使用手机会导致驾驶员的反应时延长15%～40%,驾驶路线发生明显偏移,对于行车速度减缓和跟车距离延长的假设需结合驾驶员主客观数据进行比较做进一步验证;驾驶过程中使用手机会增加驾驶员的认知负荷,TPB能够对使用手机行为进行有效的解释和预测,但对该理论中基于信念测量的研究还很少;除手机操作任务,影响驾驶员分心的其他操作任务还需做进一步的研究。     

In-vehicle workload assessment: effects of traffic situations and cellular telephone use

PROBLEM: Assessment of drivers' on-road workload is an important traffic safety consideration. This study was conducted to examine the effects of cellular phone communication on driving performance, with particular emphasis on variations in task demand in different traffic situations. METHOD: Twelve participants were asked to drive on urban roads and motorways with or without concomitant mathematical-addition tests relayed via cellular phone. Measurements included task and driving performance, physiological responses, and compensatory behavior. RESULTS: Analysis of task performance revealed that mean response time was markedly increased (11.9%) for driving on urban roads compared to motorways. The mean driving speed only decreased 5.8% in the presence of phone tasks in comparison to normal driving without distractions. In addition, overall physiological workload increased through compensatory behavior in response to the phone tasks. CONCLUSIONS: Driving with phone use in different traffic environments induced measurable variations in driver workload. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: When faced with heavy traffic, a greater safety margin is typically adopted, with more lowered driving speed and restricted phone use, and it can be assumed that there is a general trade-off between tasks to preserve driving safety.     

Evaluating impaired drivers confidence and intention to "(Please) drink responsibly"

Introduction

Currently, alcohol industry-sponsored advertisements subsume traditional designated driver and don't drink and drive messages within responsible drinking campaigns. Yet, to date, there remains a dearth of literature specifically examining the attitudinal beliefs impaired drivers attach to the responsible drinking message.

Objective

This investigation sought to examine the responsible drinking attitudes and beliefs of impaired drivers, specifically examining their confidence and intention to drink responsibly the next time they consumed alcohol.

Methods

A random sample of 729 students attending a large, public Texas university completed a web-based administration of the Characteristic of Responsible Drinking Survey (CHORDS).

Results

Participants in this sample who had driven while impaired by alcohol exhibited significantly less confidence in refraining from drinking and driving and reported significantly lower intentions to designate a driver, take a taxi, or use a safe-ride program the next time they consumed alcohol. Additionally, they also reported less confidence, and lower intentions, to ensure their blood alcohol concentrations remained below the legal limit (0.08%) the next time they consumed alcohol.

Conclusions

Drivers who had driven while impaired significantly differed in their confidence and intention to drink responsibly the next time they consumed alcohol. Logistic regression results indicate that by increasing one's confidence in responsible drinking, and increasing their intention to drink responsibly, the likelihood of impaired driving can be decreased.

Impact on industry

Results from this investigation demonstrate one’s responsible drinking attitudinal beliefs accounts for a significant amount of the variance associated with one’s alcohol-related behaviors. Thus, further research should examine and establish how individuals conceptualize and practice responsible drinking.     

Gap acceptance behavior at unsignalized intersections: Effects of using a phone and a music player while driving

Objectives: The present study is an attempt to analyze and compare the distraction effects caused by the use of a phone and a music player at unsignalized intersections.

Method: Eighty-eight participants performed simulated driving experiments where they faced a sequence of gaps in the major road traffic at 2 unsignalized intersections. In this process, their driving behavior was evaluated in terms of gap acceptance probability, accepted lag, and maneuver completion time. These parameters were modeled with a generalized estimating equation (GEE) method by considering distraction, demographic factors, driving history, maneuver types, and driving attributes in the approach and completion zones as independent variables.

Results: The results showed that gap acceptance probability decreased by 46% during the conversation task, whereas it increased by 66% during the music player task. Lower gap acceptance could be a compensatory behavior adopted by drivers during the conversation task, whereas no such measure was adapted during the music player task. The results indicate that a higher approach speed during the music player task might have led to increased gap acceptance. Further, though the effect of distraction on the accepted lag was not evident, the completion time was reduced during the conversation task.

Conclusions: Overall, the results suggest that drivers are more likely to adopt a compensatory measure in complex driving situations only if they perceive a high risk. Hence, drivers are exposed to a greater risk while operating a music player, because this is not perceived as risky behavior.     

The role of enforcement programs in increasing seat belt use

Seat belt laws by themselves led to increased belt use in the United States and Canada, but initial effects were limited. Canadian provincial officials launched highly publicized enforcement campaigns in the early 1980s that resulted in substantially increased belt use. Canadian-style enforcement programs subsequently were adopted in the United States, and the use of such programs has grown in recent years. Lessons from these efforts include the importance of police leadership, focused publicity about enforcement, and sustained rather than single-shot efforts. What is needed in the United States to achieve a national belt use rate of 90% or greater is widespread, methodical, and sustained application of enforcement programs augmented by creative publicity. Enhanced penalties-in particular drivers license points-likely will be needed to reach hard-core nonusers.     

On-road driving evaluations: a potential tool for helping older adults drive safely longer

PROBLEM: This paper explores the potential use of on-road driving evaluations as a tool for helping older adults extend their safe driving years. METHOD: Three separate research activities were carried out. The first was a national telephone survey of current and former older drivers. The results of this survey provide information relevant to the potential market for on-road driving evaluations. The second was a series of focus groups with potential stakeholders in the process: driver educators, occupational therapists, and physicians. These groups explored the feasibility and requirements of offering on-road driving evaluations to the wider public. Supplemental data were also collected from a mail survey of driving schools nationwide. RESULTS: Based on the results of these efforts, a number of recommendations are presented for expanding the availability of on-road driving evaluations, specifically to help older adults make more responsible decisions about continuing or stopping driving, and more generally to help them drive safely longer.     

Turning gap acceptance decision-making: the impact of driver distraction

PROBLEM: A number of studies have found that use of in-car phones by drivers can interfere with the cognitive processing necessary for making appropriate and timely vehicle control decisions. However, the specific linkage between communication-based distraction and unsafe decision-making has not been sufficiently explored. METHOD: In a closed-course driving experiment, 39 subjects were exposed to approximately 100 gaps each in a circulating traffic stream of eight vehicles on an instrumented test track that was wet about half the time. The subjects were at the controls of an instrumented car, which was oriented in a typical left-turn configuration (traffic-crossing situation in North America) and with parking brake on and the transmission in neutral. The subjects were instructed to press on the accelerator pedal when they felt that a gap was safe to accept. Their performances were monitored and incentives were provided for balancing safe decision-making with expeditious completion of the task. For half of the gap exposures (randomly assigned), each subject was required to listen and respond to a complex verbal message. RESULTS: When not distracted, the subjects' gap acceptance judgment was found to be significantly influenced by their age, the gap size, the speed of the trailing vehicle, the level of "indecision," and the condition of the track surface. However, when distracted, the subjects did not factor pavement surface condition into the decision process. On wet pavement, the subjects were judged to have initiated twice the level of potential collisions when distracted by the messages that they did when not distracted. DISCUSSION: Listening/responding to verbal messages may reduce the capacity of drivers to process adequately all the important information necessary for safe decision-making. The effects of the messages in our study seemed to cause the subjects to misjudge gap size and speed information when operating under the additional disadvantage of adverse pavement condition. SUMMARY: Attention to complex messages while making decisions about turning through gaps in an on-coming vehicle stream was associated with significantly increased unsafe decision making by subjects in our experiment when the additional complexity of wet surface condition was introduced. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: While the results reflected a somewhat artificial situation where the measure was signaled intention to act rather than the act itself, nevertheless, they do strongly suggest a scenario in which mental distraction could contribute to crash risk. With the rapid proliferation of telematics in the vehicle market, even with the laudable objectives represented by the Intelligent Transportation Systems initiative, there is a danger of the primary task of the driver being subordinated to a perceived need to enhance information flow to/from the external "world." Industry and governments need to work together to ensure that apparently desirable in-vehicle communication improvements do not compromise safety.     

Accident risk of foreign drivers in various road environments

INTRODUCTION: This paper reports on the accident risk of foreign and native drivers in various road environments in Greece. In particular, the analysis aims to determine the combined effect of driver nationality, area type (inside/outside urban area), junction (yes/no), and lighting conditions (day/night) on accident fault risk. METHODS: Data from the national accident database of Greece are used in a hierarchical log-linear analysis. The induced exposure technique is applied due to the lack of exposure data. Estimated and observed odds ratios are then examined for the quantification of the various effects in terms of relative risk. RESULTS: The initial examination of a saturated model leads to the rejection of all three- and higher-order effects within variables, without providing an adequate fit to the data. On the contrary, a non-saturated second-order model presents a very satisfactory overall fit. The examination of single and combined effects indicates that the most significant effect on accident risk rises from the presence of foreign drivers at junctions. CONCLUSIONS: Results confirm that foreign drivers in Greece are at increased risk. However, immigrant permanent residents appear to have a lower risk compared to tourists, regardless of the road environment.     

Examining driver behavior using data gathered from red light photo enforcement cameras

INTRODUCTION: To develop an effective driver assistance system that can prevent red light violations, it is important to have a thorough understanding of contributing factors and circumstances surrounding such violations. METHODS: Red light violation behavior was examined using about 47,000 violation records that were captured by photo enforcement cameras from 11 signalized intersections in the city of Sacramento, California, over a four-year period. This examination identified factors with strong correlation to red light running behavior. RESULTS: Key findings based on Sacramento's red light violation records include: (a) younger drivers showed a higher tendency of running the red light and were more likely to commit such a violation at speeds above the posted speed limit; (b) off-peak time period between 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. had lower violation counts, but red light violators in this time frame had a higher propensity of racing through intersections at high speeds; (c) also during the time period between 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., violators showed a higher probability of entering intersections two or more seconds after the onset of red light; and (d) violators were less likely to cross high traffic-volume intersections with speeds greater than the posted speed limit. DISCUSSION: Sacramento's data suggest that some red light violators might have committed such an offense unintentionally. The top three violation speeds were all below 20 mph and more than 94% of red light runners crossed intersections within 2 seconds after the onset of the red light. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: In the next several years, studies will be executed to assess whether a red light violation warning system can reduce "unintentional red light running" such as drivers who made incorrect judgment regarding the adequate time to clear the intersection and inattentive motorists who fail to observe the presence and status of the red light.