The Effect of Graduated Driver Licensing on Teen Driver Crash Involvement.

Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation was to answer the following questions: 1. What is the effect of each component of Graduated Driver Licensing (learner license duration, required hours of supervised driving, passenger restrictions and nighttime driving restrictions) on 16- and 17-year-old drivers’ fatal crash rates? 2. What is the effect of GDL on 18-year-old drivers’ crash rates, and what mechanisms might be responsible for any increase in rates? Method: To answer question 1, states that introduced a single GDL component, independent of other components were identified. The effect of the single GDL component on 16- and 17-year-old drivers fatal crashes was estimated using single-state time series analysis, adjusting for adult crashes and gas prices. To answer question 2, single-state time series analysis was used to estimate the effect of GDL on 16-, 17-, and 18-year-old drivers’ crashes in Florida and Michigan, where GDL applies to 15- to 17-year-old drivers, and in Maryland, where GDL applies to novice drivers of all ages, adjusting for adult crashes and gas prices. Results: A learner license period that guaranteed six-months delay in licensure to drive independently was associated with a significant decline in 16- and 17-year-old drivers’ fatal crash rates. In one state, novice drivers’ fatal crash rates increased 34.5% following the introduction of 30 hours of required supervised driving. A passenger restriction for the first 12 months of intermediate licensure was followed by a 46% reduction in fatal passenger crash rates that approached significance (p= .06). Nighttime driving restrictions, implemented alongside supervised driving hours, did not reduce fatal nighttime crashes. The introduction of GDL was followed by a significant increase in possible-injury/property-damage-only crashes among 18-year-old drivers in Michigan and by a significant decrease in possible-injury/property-damage-only crashes among 18-year-old drivers’ rates in Maryland. Conclusion: Some GDL components confer a safety benefit. However, the entire program is responsible for a greater reduction in crashes than the additive contribution of individual components. GDL programs applied exclusively to 16- and 17-year-old drivers may result in some teens not being licensed until age 18. Requiring all novice drivers to complete a GDL program is recommended.PHDHealth Behavior & Health EducationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93997/1/jpehsani_1.pd

Measuring Young Drivers’ Behaviors during Complex Driving Situations

Driving behaviors of teenagers and adults in complex driving situations, viz., merges and intersections, from an 18-month longitudinal naturalistic driving study were analyzed. Variables from multiple sources were selected to create an Unsafe Driving Index to rate drivers’ behaviors in these locations. Teenagers scored lower on this index, corresponding to safer driving behaviors, than adults. However, the teenagers’ scores for the index increased across the study period. The interpretations of these findings are discussed with respect to the methodological aspects of the study and in terms of driver training and rule following

Driving performance in older adults: Current measures, findings, and implications for roadway safety

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Over 10,000 people a day turn 65 in the United States. For many older adults, driving represents an essential component of independence and is one of the most important factors in overall mobility. Recent survey studies in older adults suggest that up to 60% of older adult drivers with mild cognitive impairment, and up to 30% with dementia, continue to drive. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive and detailed resource on the topics of cognition and driving for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers working on efforts related to older adult drivers. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Publications on PubMed and Medline and discussions with experts working in geriatrics, technology, driving policy, psychology, and diverse aspects of driving performance were utilized to inform the current review. RESULTS: Research indicates that there is a complex and inverse correlation between multiple cognitive measures, driving performance, and risky driving behaviors. The fragmented nature of available peer-reviewed literature, and a reliance on correlative data, do not currently allow for the identification of the temporal and reciprocal nature of the interplay between cognition and driving endpoints. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: There are currently no widely accepted definitions, conceptual models, or uniform set of analyses for conducting geriatric research that is focused on driving. Establishing conventions for conducting research that harmonizes the fields of geriatrics, cognition, and driving research is critical for the development of the evidence base that will inform clinical practice and road safety policy

Making New Mobility a Win for Public Health

69A3551747128Designing mobility interventions to improve public health requires a framework that formulates strategies for the deployment of mobility to maximize the potential for cross-cutting public health impacts. Researchers developed such a framework using a combination of epidemiology and simulation modeling. A case study is presented to demonstrate how a strategic dose of mobility could improve food access for the South Baltimore community of Cherry Hill

Designing a Study to Investigate Older Novice Drivers

DTNH2217D00031/693JJ920F000207Drivers 15 to 20 years old\u2014many of whom were novice drivers\u2014represented 8.5 percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes but only 5.1 percent of all licensed drivers in 2020. Graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws are the most effective behavioral countermeasure for young drivers. However, although an increasing proportion of young people are delaying licensure until 18 or older, few States currently apply the full GDL program to 18- to 20-year-old novice drivers, and little is known about the safety and driving habits of this group. In this project the research team developed a hypothetical naturalistic driving study to investigate research questions about the safety and driving exposure of younger (15.5 to 16.5 years old) and older (18 to 20 years old) novice drivers in the first year of unsupervised (independent) driving

Determinants of male reproductive health disorders: the Men in Australia Telephone Survey (MATeS)

Background: The relationship between reproductive health disorders and lifestyle factors in middle-aged and older men is not clear. The aim of this study is to describe lifestyle and biomedical associations as possible causes of erectile dysfunction (ED), prostate disease (PD), lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and perceived symptoms of androgen deficiency (pAD) in a representative population of middle-aged and older men, using the Men in Australia Telephone Survey (MATeS). Methods: A representative sample (n = 5990) of men aged 40+ years, stratified by age and State, was contacted by random selection of households, with an individual response rate of 78%. All men participated in a 20-minute computer-assisted telephone interview exploring general and reproductive health. Associations between male reproductive health disorders and lifestyle and biomedical factors were analysed using multivariate logistic regression (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]). Variables studied included age, body mass index, waist circumference, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, co-morbid disease and medication use for hypertension, high cholesterol and symptoms of depression. Results: Controlling for age and a range of lifestyle and co-morbid exposures, sedentary lifestyle and being underweight was associated with an increased likelihood of ED (1.4 [1.1-1.8]; 2.9 [1.5-5.8], respectively) and pAD (1.3 [1.1-1.7]; 2.7 [1.4-5.0], respectively. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease were both associated with ED, with hypertension strongly associated with LUTS and pAD. Current smoking (inverse association) and depressive symptomatology were the only variables independently associated with PD. All reproductive disorders showed consistent associations with depression (measured either by depressive symptomatology or medication use) in both age-adjusted and multivariate analyses. Conclusion: A range of lifestyle factors, more often associated with chronic disease, were significantly associated with male reproductive health disorders. Education strategies directed to improving general health may also confer benefits to male reproductive health.Carol A. Holden, Robert I. McLachlan, Marian Pitts, Robert Cumming, Gary Wittert, Johnathon P. Ehsani, David M. de Kretser, David J. Handelsma

Learning to Drive Safely: Reasonable Expectations and Future Directions for the Learner Period

The young driver problem is typified by high crash rates early in licensure that decline with experience, but are higher initially and decline more slowly for the youngest novices. Despite considerable effort, only Graduated Driver Licensing System (GDLS) policies have been shown to improve novice young driver safety outcomes. Unfortunately, GDLS policies are mostly limited to countries with a relatively young licensure age. Meanwhile, it is not entirely clear how GDLS and other young driver transportation safety efforts, including driver training and testing, supervised practice and parental management of young drivers, can best be configured. Notably, professional training can foster improvements in vehicle management skills that are necessary, but do not assure safe driving behavior. Substantial recent research has focused on training methods to improve driving skills, but the safety benefits of driver training have not been established. While prolonged practice driving increases experience and provides supervisors with opportunities to prepare novices for independent driving, the transition to independent driving challenges novices to employ, on their own, poorly-mastered skills under unfamiliar and complex driving conditions. Licensing policies and parental management practices can limit the complexity of driving conditions while novices gain needed driving experience. Nevertheless, an emerging body of literature suggests that future advances in training and supervision of novice teenage drivers might best focus on the translation of learning to independent driving by fostering safe driving attitudes and norms, judgment, dedicated attention to driving tasks and self-control at the wheel

Comparing G-Force Measurement Between a Smartphone App and an In-Vehicle Accelerometer

Due to their widespread adoption, smartphone applications (apps) could allow for a simple, low-cost assessment of driving behavior on a population scale. A number of existing apps are capable of measuring g-forces while driving, but few evaluations have been conducted to determine their accuracy. The goal of this study was to compare the measurement of g-forces between two devices: a custom-built smartphone app and an in-vehicle device that is currently used for research purposes (DAS). The test occurred under experimental conditions on a test track, where a vehicle, equipped with both the DAS and a smartphone with the app installed, performed a number of different acceleration events (e.g. hard-braking, sharp turning, etc.) under controlled conditions. We found that the app captured data that followed the same overall pattern of the DAS, but had a lower amplitude of measurement and a lower signal-to-noise ratio in the data. In general, the strength of the association between the app and DAS improved as the velocity of the events increased (though this was not true for all maneuvers). The correlations between the app and DAS were weaker for other maneuvers, and this may be due to delays in registering the maneuver. These findings indicate that a smartphone application did not register driving maneuvers in the same way that a dedicated in-vehicle device recorded them. Smartphones are ubiquitous and could represent a valuable driving research tool, however steps such as validation and testing are required, before they can be deployed in field trials

Advancing Transportation Equity and Safety Through Autonomous Vehicles

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States, and disproportionately impact communities of color. Replacing human control with automated vehicles (AVs) holds the potential to reduce crashes and save lives. The benefits of AVs, including automated shuttles, buses, or cars could extend beyond safety to include improvements in congestion, reductions in emissions, and increased access to mobility, particularly for vulnerable populations. However, AVs have not attained the level of public trust that has been expected, given their potential to save lives and increase access to mobility. Public opinion surveys have highlighted safety and security concerns as reasons for this lack of confidence. In this study, we present the findings of an experiment we conducted to actively shift mindsets on AVs toward advancing health equity. We demonstrate through a nationally representative sample of 2265 U.S. adults that the public support for AVs can be improved by expanding their scope of application to include advancing social benefit. The survey began with questions on respondent's support for AVs based on a priori knowledge and beliefs. Consistent with prior surveys, baseline support (strong support and some degree of support) was low at 26.4% (95% confidence interval 24.0?29.0). After introducing information about how AVs could be used to provide mobility for older adults, those with limited income, or the vision-impaired, respondents were asked to reassess their support for AVs. Support significantly increased to include the majority of respondents. By prioritizing the deployment of AVs to serve individuals and communities in greatest need of mobility, AVs would not only demonstrate compelling social value by reducing disparities but would also gain widespread public support among the U.S. public

Teen Driving Risk and Prevention: Naturalistic Driving Research Contributions and Challenges

Naturalistic driving (ND) methods may be particularly useful for research on young driver crash risk. Novices are not safe drivers initially, but tend to improve rapidly, although the pace of learning is highly variable. However, knowledge is lacking about how best to reduce the learning curve and the variability in the development of safe driving judgment. A great deal has been learned from recent naturalistic driving (ND) studies that have included young drivers, providing objective information on the nature of crash risk and the factors that contribute to safety critical events. This research indicates that most learners obtain at least the amount of practice driving recommended and develop important driving skills. Unfortunately, most learners are not exposed during training to more complex driving situations and the instruction provided by supervising parents is mostly reactive and may not fully prepare teens for independent driving. While supervised practice driving is quite safe, crash rates are high during the first six months or so of independent driving then decline rapidly, but remain high for years relative to experienced drivers. Contributing factors to crash risk include exposure, inexperience, elevated gravitational-force event rates, greater willingness to engage in secondary tasks while driving, and social influence from peer passengers. The findings indicate the need and possible objectives for improving practice driving instruction and developing innovative prevention approaches for the first year of independent driving