Analysis of Distractions for Teenage Drivers Utilizing a Car Simulator

An experiment was designed and implemented at the University of Tennessee to find the most important factors affecting teenager driving behavior. The factors included distraction, road condition, and gender. Response variables were standard deviation of velocity, standard deviation of lane position, and mean velocity. ANOVA and mixed model were used to determine if distractions, gender, and road condition affected response variables. Additionally, distractions were ranked based on their impact on the response variables’ values. The participants were 22 teenage drivers (16-18 years old), driving in a Ford Focus simulated car. They were faced with 11 internal distractions

“Texting & Driving” Detection Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

The effects of distracted driving are one of the main causes of deaths and injuries on U.S. roads. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), among the different types of distractions, the use of cellphones is highly related to car accidents, commonly known as “texting and driving”, with around 481,000 drivers distracted by their cellphones while driving, about 3450 people killed and 391,000 injured in car accidents involving distracted drivers in 2016 alone. Therefore, in this research, a novel methodology to detect distracted drivers using their cellphone is proposed. For this, a ceiling mounted wide angle camera coupled to a deep learning–convolutional neural network (CNN) are implemented to detect such distracted drivers. The CNN is constructed by the Inception V3 deep neural network, being trained to detect “texting and driving” subjects. The final CNN was trained and validated on a dataset of 85,401 images, achieving an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.891 in the training set, an AUC of 0.86 on a blind test and a sensitivity value of 0.97 on the blind test. In this research, for the first time, a CNN is used to detect the problem of texting and driving, achieving a significant performance. The proposed methodology can be incorporated into a smart infotainment car, thus helping raise drivers’ awareness of their driving habits and associated risks, thus helping to reduce careless driving and promoting safe driving practices to reduce the accident rate.The effects of distracted driving are one of the main causes of deaths and injuries on U.S. roads. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), among the different types of distractions, the use of cellphones is highly related to car accidents, commonly known as “texting and driving”, with around 481,000 drivers distracted by their cellphones while driving, about 3450 people killed and 391,000 injured in car accidents involving distracted drivers in 2016 alone. Therefore, in this research, a novel methodology to detect distracted drivers using their cellphone is proposed. For this, a ceiling mounted wide angle camera coupled to a deep learning–convolutional neural network (CNN) are implemented to detect such distracted drivers. The CNN is constructed by the Inception V3 deep neural network, being trained to detect “texting and driving” subjects. The final CNN was trained and validated on a dataset of 85,401 images, achieving an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.891 in the training set, an AUC of 0.86 on a blind test and a sensitivity value of 0.97 on the blind test. In this research, for the first time, a CNN is used to detect the problem of texting and driving, achieving a significant performance. The proposed methodology can be incorporated into a smart infotainment car, thus helping raise drivers’ awareness of their driving habits and associated risks, thus helping to reduce careless driving and promoting safe driving practices to reduce the accident rate

A New Form of WMD?: Driving With Mobile Devices and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction

This article explores what the legal, sociological, and scientific literature tells us about risky behavior and what the law can – and can’t - do about it. The article focuses on cell phone use – and the push to regulate it - as a parable about the limits of the law in regulating two things which Americans love – advanced technology and the freedom to drive. The article examines the risks – real and perceived – of motorists who drive while using their cell phones to talk or text, providing a scientifically grounded framework to analyze current and proposed laws to govern motorists’ cell phone use. The article has three major sections. First, the article reviews the available safety data and concludes that the actual risks of driving while talking on a cell phone are minimal, although these risks are elevated when dialing or answering a phone. In contrast, texting while driving is quite risky - more than twenty times more likely to cause an accident than normal driving. Second, the article explores the current political, media, and law enforcement landscape surrounding cell phone use. Drawing on what we know about the law’s deterrent impact (including both criminal law and tort law), and the vast literature on drunk driving and motor vehicle safety, the article contends that the current emphasis on banning “hand-held,” but not “hands-free” cell phone use is misguided. Government officials and safety advocates alike have demonized cell –phone wielding drivers, labeling them as selfish and highly dangerous. But in practice the likelihood of being stopped for violating a cell phone ban is so remote that most drivers ignore it, putting their need to be connected to work and family ahead of the miniscule odds of having an accident or being ticketed. Some studies have even suggested that current bans on texting while driving may actually be counter-productive, as drivers who know they are breaking the law will try to hide their texting, and thus take their eyes off the road for even greater lengths of time, increasing the chances of a crash. Third, the article contends that if lawmakers want to decrease cell phone use, especially texting, among motorists, they need to examine cell phone use in the broader context of distracted driving and provide financial and legal incentives to change driver behavior. This is particularly important for teenagers, who are more likely than adults both to have auto accidents and to text. Thus, states must expand and improve driver training programs to incorporate new research about the immature brain. At the same time, states should rely on tort liability and change in insurance rules to encourage cell phone manufacturers and carriers, as well as employers and insurers, to establish and enforce policies to decrease cell phone use, especially texting. Finally, the law should be used to spur technological innovations which could reduce or eliminate the potential distractions of cell phones while driving

Health Support in the Palm of Your Hand: The Role of Technology in Achieving Health Goals

Smartphones have transformed how individuals engage with each other, their leisure time, their work, and even the way they take care of their health. With a qualitative study, we explore how Smartphone apps and social network sites (SNSs) are being used by individuals who want to take care of their health. Findings suggest that individuals are taking advantage of digital technologies to improve their wellbeing in several manners: they use wearable devices to monitor their health and track their physical activity, keep in touch with doctors and health coaches using instant mobile messaging applications, and join virtual communities seeking for advice and support. Being a member of these communities provides certain advantages and rewards that motivate individuals to act on their good intentions toward their health. Given the high rates of adoption of digital technologies, specific social marketing campaigns can be designed to influence health behavior, including health promotion and interventions to help individuals achieve personal goals and improve the quality of their life

Implementing a design thinking approach to de-risk the digitalisation of manufacturing SMEs

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) has proposed a significant shift in the way companies approach manufacturing. However, this new paradigm is not without faults. The integration of processes and equipment (‘digitalisation’) can be prohibitively expensive or too technically complex for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) with limited resources and technical expertise. Another barrier to digitalisation lies in the ambiguity of not knowing what precise practices to adopt to improve productivity. Although these challenges have been identified in the literature, there is still little evidence on how to tackle them. Thus, we explore how design thinking can help overcome these challenges, given that it has been used in many organisations and disciplines to deal with complex and ambiguous problems. We do so by investigating the research question ‘How can designers and design thinking processes assist manufacturing SMEs’ digitalisation?’ We address this research question by presenting a case study of a university–industry collaboration where the authors utilised a design-thinking process to select and implement technologies to capture, process and analyse data for an Australian medical device manufacturer. By reflecting on the case study, we identified the user-centeredness of design thinking as crucial in selecting technologies for implementation that prioritised usability and brought value to all stakeholders. Furthermore, iterative prototyping was critical to scale up the required expertise and deliver a successful sustainable solution without investing vast resources. Our work suggests that designers and design thinking have the potential to help de-risk digitalisation. Finally, we suggest a framework that may assist in guiding other SMEs approaching digitalisation and provide a starting point for further design thinking research in this area

Evaluating the Use of a Mobile App in High School Seniors to Monitor Cellphone Use While Driving: A Quality Improvement Project

Background: Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in teenagers in the United States. Driver distraction is responsible for more than 58% of teen crashes. Evidence from 9 critically appraised articles including two systematic reviews support the need to reduce distracted driving among teenagers; mobile applications along with education can impact behavioral change to encourage teens to refrain from this unsafe practice. Purpose: The use of the mobile application “Safe2Save” that financially rewards users for not unlocking their cellphone while driving may motivate teenagers to reduce this high-risk behavior. The global aim for this project is to incorporate education on distracted driving and the use of mobile apps into High School curriculum. The specific aim of this project is to decrease the amount students unlock their cellphone while driving over a 4-week period measured by the app “Safe2Save” and improve their perception related to distracted driving after education measured by the Distracted Driving Survey (DDS). Methods: Seniors at a high school volunteered to participate in this QI project. Baseline DDS results were collected, then students downloaded the app, received education, and submitted post-surveys. Data was collected from 11/2021 to 1/2022. Evaluation and adjustments were discussed allowing for recommendations for sustainability using IHI’s model of the Plan-Do-Study-Act. Results: Comparing students driving statistics showed an inconsistent correlation between using the app and decreasing cellphone use while driving. Comparison between pre-and post-DDS scores were not done. There was significant drop in post-DDS responses (n=6) compared to pre-DDS responses (n=15). Additionally, the responses to the survey were anonymous. However, both survey responses demonstrated viewing maps as the most prevalent reason to use a cellphone while driving. This calls for more concrete findings whether a mobile app and education reduces the amount teenagers use their cellphone while driving. Discussion: The outcome information suggests that it is uncertain if the use of a mobile app that financially rewards users will influence the amount individuals use their cellphone while driving. This project calls for additional studies to support the incorporation of education including mobile apps into High School curriculum

Distracted Driving in the United States

Distracted driving is a popular topic throughout the world, esspecially within the United States. Although, distracted driving is not the most deadly problem in the United States, all of these deaths are preventable if the distractions are put down. Most states in the United States have laws in place to try to deter drivers from having distractions behind the while. Are these laws enough? Is there enough deterrence within the laws to stop drivers from being distracted? In this study, I analyzed the laws that are in place for the following states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. I analyzed the total amount of automobile crashes, injuries, and deaths the year before and the year after the law went into effect (specific to the state). I found that the states that have the laws in place do not have enough deterrence within them to stop drivers from being distracted. I also came to the conclusion that the earlier the laws was put into effect, the least amount of success of drivers are rarely deterred. Keywords: Distracted Driving, Hands-free, Cellphones, Distraction

GEOFENCING AS APPLIED WITHIN THE FIELD OF CYBERSECURITY: AN OVERVIEW OF POTENTIAL RISKS AND ADVANTAGES

This culminating experience project explores geofencing as a potential risk and advantageous tool within the field of cybersecurity. Geofencing is defined here as a software program feature that allows its users to collect and deliver data within a specific targeted geographical area. Currently used applications are addressed from a cybersecurity mindset by applying the hacker methodology to demonstrate the potential threat. Additionally, geofencing is applied to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework to demonstrate potential benefits for cyber defence. Finally, vulnerabilities associated with applying geofencing to cyber defense, and its potential implications on privacy and cybersecurity laws is discussed and recommendations for further research are suggested. Key findings include: Demonstrating geofencing as an unknown threat in the field of cybersecurity, suggesting attention be dedicated to the type of data that is collected and the safety measures protecting that data. Geofencing can be used as a tool to defend as well as support risk management. By using it as a source of data collection, decisions can be implemented to better manage the risk of devices entering and leaving a specified geographical area. Geofencing can provide data that falls into Personally Identifiable Information (PII) which should make it regulated under most privacy laws. Current privacy policies and laws are insufficient when the scope of geofencing is applied to current methodologies. Geofencing must be regulated in a fashion that ensures data collected is necessary and relevant, and that the data is kept safe from potential threats