Motivation to continue driving while sleepy: the effects on sleepiness and performance levels

Driver sleepiness contributes to a substantial proportion of fatal and severe road crashes and potentially contributes to a greater proportion of less serious crashes. A number of survey studies have reported that some drivers choose to continue to drive while sleepy despite being aware of an increasing level of sleepiness. Additionally, drivers’ motivations to continue driving while sleepy is a stronger predictor of sleepy driving behaviours, overshadowing crash risk perception of sleepy driving. While several survey studies have quantified self-reported aspects of continuing to drive while sleepy, there appears to be lack of studies that examine the actual psychophysiological and performance sequela of continuing to drive when sleepy. The current study sought to examine the effect motivating oneself to apply extra effort to the task of driving when sleepy on physiological and subjective sleepiness and driving performance. In total, 18 participants undertook a 60 minute Hazard Perception test on four occasions – on the four occasions, the participants motivation level (motivated and non-motivated) and sleepiness level (sleepy-alert) were experimentally manipulated. Physiological, subjective, and performance indices of sleepiness were obtained with respect to the effects of the manipulation of motivation and sleepiness levels. The results suggest that no effect of motivation was observed in the Hazard Perception test data. Physiological and subjective sleepiness were both greater in the sleepy conditions than the alert conditions and over the duration of both tests, sleepiness levels increased regardless of the motivation or sleepiness conditions. Considered together, these findings suggest that sleepiness is very resilient to motivations to stay alert and improve performance levels. The present results suggest that continuing to drive while sleepy whereby the drivers motivate themself to apply extra effort to the task of driving is a dangerous driving behaviour

The influence of social factors and personality constructs on drink driving among young licenced drivers

Young adults continue to be overrepresented in alcohol-related crashes on Australian roads. Social factors are important factors associated with drink driving behaviours among young adults and have been the focus of several intervention efforts. However, research also demonstrates that personality constructs are associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in harmful drinking and risky driving behaviours. To better understand the influence of both social and personality constructs with drink driving, 390 male and female licenced drivers aged 18–24 years completed a questionnaire that assessed Akers' social learning theory constructs and the personality constructs of Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) and Behavioural Approach System (BAS) for their association with drink driving in the past 12 months. Result indicated that a relatively large proportion (36.67%) of participants engaged in drink driving. A sequential logistic regression analysis further found that several social and personality variables were associated with drink driving. Specifically, the Akers’ social learning theory constructs of Personal Definitions, Differential Reinforcement–Punishment (High), Differential Association Drink Driving–Friends, and Imitation–Friends variables and the BAS constructs of Fun Seeking and Drive were associated with drink driving. While these findings highlight the importance of targeting the social context around drink driving, the impact of personality constructs also warrants consideration with intervention efforts

Safety considerations for railway crossings in a post-COVID world

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly changed how people live, work, and commute. Indeed, a significant proportion of individuals now work (at least partially) remotely; others continue to commute and are more likely to avoid using public transport to reduce their exposure to potential illnesses. With safety at railway crossings largely contingent on road traffic, such changes impact the safety at level crossings. Investigations are therefore necessary to understand whether the level crossing risks have changed. This study observed road traffic and non-compliance at two urban railway crossings in Australia before the pandemic started (September 2019) and after the end of the first national lockdown in Australia. Counts of road and rail traffic was recorded on a tablet, and non-compliance with the rules of the level crossing. A total of 14,048 road and 94 train movements were observed at the railway crossings. After the lockdown, road traffic at both crossings increased by 15% and 36%, respectively, while train traffic remained similar. Such traffic increase represents a risk increment of 10% and 15%, respectively, using the Australian Level Crossing Assessment Model (ALCAM). There was also an increased proportion of cars, reflecting a reduction in pedestrian and bus traffic. In terms of non-compliance, there was an increase in the number of vehicles that could not proceed through the crossing and were stopped immediately after or on the rail tracks. This increase was up to 3 times at the first crossing, largely over what would be expected due to traffic increase. To the knowledge of the authors at the time of submission, this research is the first to look at the effect of COVID-19 on traffic at railway level crossings in Australia. It aligns with what is known for other parts of the road network and identifies an increase in safety risks at railway crossings

From road distraction to safe driving: Evaluating the effects of boredom and gamification on driving behaviour, physiological arousal, and subjective experience

Low levels of engagement and boredom while driving can pose road safety risks, e.g., inattention during low traffic, routine trips, or semi-automated driving. Digital technology interventions that increase task engagement, e.g., through performance feedback, increased challenge, and incentives (often referred to as ‘gamification’), could therefore offer safety benefits. To explore the impact of such interventions, we conducted experiments in a high-fidelity driving simulator with thirty-two participants. In two counterbalanced conditions (control and intervention), we compared driving behaviour, physiological arousal, and subjective experience. Results indicate that the gamified boredom intervention reduced unsafe coping mechanisms such as speeding while promoting anticipatory driving. We can further infer that the intervention not only increased one’s attention and arousal during the intermittent gamification challenges, but that these intermittent stimuli may also help sustain one’s attention and arousal in between challenges and throughout a drive. At the same time, the gamified condition led to slower hazard reactions and short off-road glances. Our contributions deepen our understanding of driver boredom and pave the way for engaging interventions for safety critical tasks

Increasing awareness of distracted pedestrians at railway level crossings with illuminated in-ground lights

Pedestrian distraction is a growing problem. Current signage at railway level crossings may not be effective for pedestrians distracted by mobile devices, as it is designed for users looking ahead when walking rather than looking downwards as when using a mobile. Illuminated in-ground lights are an innovative solution to address this issue but have not been evaluated for use with distracted pedestrians. We conducted a 2 (in-ground lights yes/no) x 3 (distraction task none/auditory/visual) repeated measures field study (N=34) at a railway level crossing to assess whether distracted pedestrians could detect illuminated in-ground lights and how this impacted on visual scanning behaviour. Pedestrians detected the lights as accurately when distracted (visually or auditorily) compared to when not distracted, and eye scanning behaviour of the rail tracks with the in-ground lights was the same as for non-distracted levels. This is the first study to suggest that illuminated in-ground lights could be effective in attracting the attention of distracted pedestrians at railway level crossings

Efficacy of proxy definitions for identification of fatigue/sleep-related crashes: An Australian evaluation

Fatigue/sleepiness is recognised as an important contributory factor in fatal and serious injury road traffic incidents (RTIs), however, identifying fatigue/sleepiness as a causal factor remains an uncertain science. Within Australia attending police officers at a RTI report the causal factors; one option is fatigue/sleepiness. In some Australian jurisdictions police incident databases are subject to post‐hoc analysis using a proxy definition for fatigue/sleepiness. This secondary analysis identifies further RTIs caused by fatigue/sleepiness not initially identified by attending officers. The current study investigates the efficacy of such proxy definitions for attributing fatigue/sleepiness as a RTI causal factor. Over 1,600 Australian drivers were surveyed regarding their experience and involvement in fatigue/sleep‐related RTIs and near‐misses during the past five years. Driving while fatigued/sleepy had been experienced by the majority of participants (66.0% of participants). Fatigue/sleep‐related near misses were reported by 19.1% of participants, with 2.4% being involved in a fatigue/sleep‐related RTI. Examination of the characteristics for the most recent event (either a near miss or crash) found that the largest proportion of incidents (28.0%) occurred when commuting to or from work, followed by social activities (25.1%), holiday travel (19.8%), or for work purposes (10.1%). The fatigue/sleep related RTI and near‐miss experience of a representative sample of Australian drivers does not reflect the proxy definitions used for fatigue/sleepiness identification. In particular those RTIs that occur in urban areas and at slow speeds may not be identified. While important to have a strategy for identifying fatigue/sleepiness related RTIs proxy measures appear best suited to identifying specific subsets of such RTIs

Crash risk perception of sleepy driving and its comparisons with drink driving and speeding: Which behavior is perceived as the riskiest?

Objective: Driver sleepiness is a major crash risk factor but may be underrecognized as a risky driving behavior. Sleepy driving is usually rated as less of a road safety issue than more well-known risky driving behaviors, such as drink driving and speeding. The objective of this study was to compare perception of crash risk of sleepy driving, drink driving, and speeding. Methods: Three hundred Australian drivers completed a questionnaire that assessed crash risk perceptions for sleepy driving, drink driving, and speeding. Additionally, the participants' perceptions of crash risk were assessed for 5 different contextual scenarios that included different levels of sleepiness (low, high), driving duration (short, long), and time of day/circadian influences (afternoon, nighttime) of driving. Results: The analysis confirmed that sleepy driving was considered a risky driving behavior but not as risky as high levels of speeding (P <.05). Yet, the risk of crashing at 4 a.m. was considered as equally risky as low levels of speeding (10 km over the limit). The comparisons of the contextual scenarios revealed driving scenarios that would arguably be perceived as quite risky because time of day/circadian influences were not reported as high risk. Conclusions: The results suggest a lack of awareness or appreciation of circadian rhythm functioning, particularly the descending phase of circadian rhythm that promotes increased sleepiness in the afternoon and during the early hours of the morning. Yet, the results suggested an appreciation of the danger associated with long-distance driving and driver sleepiness. Further efforts are required to improve the community's awareness of the impairing effects from sleepiness and, in particular, knowledge regarding the human circadian rhythm and the increased sleep propensity during the circadian nadir

Greater rewards in videogames lead to more presence, enjoyment and effort

There is currently limited understanding of whether and how different amounts and diversity of virtual rewards impact on the player experience. A repeated-measures experiment was undertaken in which participants (N = 59) were compared on subjective measures (competence, presence-immersion, tension, effort and enjoyment), as well as psychophysiological measures (electrodermal activity and heart-beat rate), during the play of a videogame with three levels of video game reward (high, medium, low). Effort, enjoyment and presence-immersion significantly varied across conditions such that they were greater when all rewards were present compared to one or both of the other conditions. Heart-beat rate was found to vary across conditions consistent with the explanation that greater rewards lead to greater arousal. Our study suggest a number of advantages to greater amount and diversity of virtual rewards in the context of a casual videogame, with potential application to the design of new gamification systems

Is it safe to cross? Identification of trains and their approach speed at level crossings

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Improving the safety at passive rail crossings is an ongoing issue worldwide. These crossings have no active warning systems to assist drivers’ decision-making and are completely reliant on the road user perceiving the approach of a train to decide whether to enter a crossing or not. This study aimed to better understand drivers’ judgements regarding approaching trains and their perceptions of safe crossing. Thirty-six participants completed a field-based protocol that involved detecting and judging the speeds of fast moving trains. They were asked to report when they first detected an approaching train, when they could first perceive it as moving, as well as providing speed estimates and a decision regarding when it would not be safe to cross. Participants detected the trains ∼2 km away and were able to perceive the trains as moving when they were 1.6 km away. Large differences were observed between participants but all could detect trains within the range of the longest sighting distances required at passive level crossings. Most participants greatly underestimated travelling speed by at least 30%, despite reporting high levels of confidence in their estimates. Further, most participants would have entered the crossing at a time when the lights would have been activated if the level crossing had been protected by flashing lights. These results suggest that the underestimation of high-speed trains could have significant safety implications for road users’ crossing behaviour, particularly as it reduces the amount of time and the safety margins that the driver has to cross the rail crossing

Pedestrian Distraction at Railway Level Crossings: can Illuminated In-ground LEDs attract their Attention Back?

One major contributor to pedestrian risk of injury and death at railway level crossings in Australia and New Zealand are road users who are complacent, distracted or inattentive. Such users can either intentionally or unintentionally travel through a railway crossing, without looking first for oncoming trains. Increased use of mobile devices increases the prevalence of pedestrian distraction and tends to reduce the effectiveness of warning devices installed at level crossings. A potential innovative solution to combat this issue is to use in-ground LED visual warning devices. However, there is currently no evaluation of the safety improvements obtained from such an intervention. This research evaluated pedestrians’ eye gaze behaviour toward illuminated in-ground LEDs while conducting a distractive task with a mobile device or headphones. We conducted a laboratory study (N=20) where participants equipped with an eye tracker had to detect the activation of lights on the floor or on the wall under various distraction conditions. We found that such intervention could be very effective in attracting the attention of distracted pedestrians, even when participants looked at the screen of their phone, as they mainly used peripheral vision during this detection task. The Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation (ACRI) is now partnering with KiwiRail to trial such an intervention in the field at passively protected level crossings