Driver training interests of a Spanish sample of young drivers and its relationship with their self-assessment skills concerning risky driving behavior

This paper explores what competences are considered by the Spanish young drivers as more relevant to improve their current training as drivers as well as the relationship of these interests with their current risky driving self- assessment skills. For this purpose, a survey research design was planned with the Spanish young drivers (age between 18 and 24 years; no more than 4 years driving experience) as target population. From the initial near 1300 people sample invited to participate, we finally obtained complete data from 321 subjects. Measurement was based on participants self-report of interests about contents to improve their driving, self-report of their risky driving behaviour, and self¿assessment about their likelihood of being involved in a risky driving situation. Two main results arose from our data analysis: (1) novice drivers showed as their main interest to improve competences related to recognize their strengths and weaknesses as drivers (i.e., self-assessment skills); (2) a significant relationship between novice drivers interests and their current risky driving self-assessment skills was found, more especifically, general interest about post-license training was higher for the under confident self-assessors than for the over confident ones. These results provide a relevant input to be taken into account in the design of driver training programs for novice drivers; moreover, the relationship between their training interests and their current risky driving self-assessment skills introduces an additional factor to be considered in the implementation of these training program

Una selección de recursos de Internet para la enseñanza de la estadística: 'Estadisticadospuntocero'

El objetivo de nuestro trabajo es intentar proporcionar una Web 2. O que sirva de apoyo a los estudiantes de Psicología en el proceso de enseñanza aprendizaje de la asignatura de Estadística. Para ello, hemos basado el diseño de este recurso de Internet en una recopilación activa de Applets que faciliten la comprensión y adquisición de algunos conceptos, ya que en estos se suelen integrar procedimientos gráficos y datos que ofrecen una visión sencilla y útil de la materia. Cabe destacar, a su vez, la naturaleza cooperativa del proyecto así como la vinculación al concepto Web 2. O

Modeling item banking: Analysis and design of a computerized system.

Los tests adaptativos informatizados dependen de la existencia de bancos de ítems de los que seleccionar los ítems más adecuados a aplicar a lo largo de la administración del test. Ahora bien, la disponibilidad de bancos de ítems es bastante limitada y, por otra parte, el desarrollo de bancos de ítems suele representar un esfuerzo considerable en la práctica. Ello motivó el desarrollo de este trabajo, centrado en el análisis y diseño de un sistema orientado a dar soporte informatizado a todo el proceso de construcción y mantenimiento de bancos de ítems. Así, el modelo de desarrollo de bancos de ítems propuesto provee las bases para implementar un programa orientado a tal fin y, también, promover la discusión acerca del modelo más conveniente en el desarrollo de tal programa. Es de esperar que la disponibilidad de software para desarrollar y trabajar con bancos de ítems ayude a extender la aplicación de los tests basados en bancos de ítems, como es el caso de los tests adaptativos informatizados

Guide of 'best practices' for the collection, management and analysis of the road accident data in urban zones

The reduction of the number of road accident fatalities by 50 %, by the year 2010, suggested by the EU, involves the active contribution of all the agents in charge of the road safety in Europe. Even though the accidents that happened in urban areas have a relative smaller severity, it is the place where, for the moment, in absolute terms, the major number of accidents take place in the EU countries, as well as generating serious consequences on the more vulnerable users (pedestrians, cyclists, children, the elderly…). The current action has as main objective the creation, validation, discussion and spreading, at European level, of the ‘best practices’ for the collection, processing and analysis of traffic accident (TA) data in urban areas. The foreseen final result fundamentally consists in the disposal of a European guide of advices or of “best practices” in order to implement / improve the traffic accident collection, analysis and monitoring systems in urban areas. For that, a compilation of the current “best practices” and on the exchange of experiences between municipalities from several EU countries will be counted on, added to the practical pilot experience that will be carried out as part of this project in several Spanish cities. With the spreading of this guide, the purpose is to contribute to the development of local tools in order to help giving answers and solutions, with more reliable and accurate knowledge, to the problematic of the accident rate in each municipality. This guide tries to serve as a technical working document to set up measures directed to the improvement of the collection procedures, data quality, and achievement and dissemination of the statistical results. For that purpose, all the ideas and recommendations gathered in the SAU project framework, as well as the ones set in the European Statistics Code of D1.1 [7] Practice developed by the Commission of the European Communities (COM(2005) 217 final), have been compiled. The document is structured in two parts: - On the one hand, a summary of the different phases of the project and the results gathered in the Deliverables I, II and III is presented. - On the other hand, organized in several sections, there is a compilation of best practices and indicators to evaluate the procedures of the road accident data collection, storage, management and analysis. We only want to point out that many of the recommendations might affect several of the considered sections and that the differentiation obeys practical aims to consult and organize the information

Speed and road accidents: behaviors, motives, and assessment of the effectiveness of penalties for speeding

When dealing with the duality of mobility and safety, speed is one of the main factors causing deaths, so this is the reason why speed is one of the most studied topics related to road safety. The main objective of this research was to identify the aspects that modulate the speed-accidents relation. Specifically, the frequency and reasons why drivers speed. On the other hand, it was also considered the perception of drivers regarding the probability of penalty, the penalties imposed, and their severity. Finally, drivers¿ opinion on the effectiveness of such penalty in order to change speeding behavior was also studied. A sample of 1,100 Spanish drivers over 14 years old and having any kind of driving license was used. The results showed that approximately the third part of drivers always or sometimes sped. Among the specific reasons, the hurry, not having noticed, that the limits are too low or that the conditions allow doing so were the most frequent. Likewise, drivers considered as limited the probability of being caught. Finally, more than half of the drivers considered that the penalty they received was appropriate. Moreover, half of the drivers that received a penalty claimed that they changed their speeding habits as a result of such penalty. Drivers who speed are completely aware of the fact that they are breaking the traffic rules. Their speeding behavior is intentional in 80% of the cases. They are not aware of the risks of speeding since they justified their behavior by saying the speed limits are too low, the conditions on the roads allow doing so, or that it was a habit

Consistency between the subjective perception of feeling indisposed, the decision to drive and driving performance

Drivers' health and fitness are essential issues in order to predict traffic crashes, taking into account that these characteristics are essential to perform this task correctly and safety. The purpose of this research was to analyze the frequency in which drivers who feel physically or emotionally unable to drive decide to perform this task, or not, under states of indisposition, as well as the perception of the effect that this indisposition had on driving. This cross-sectional study used a total sample of n=1200 (666 [56%] men and 534 [44%] women) Spanish drivers, who answered a questionnaire designed to collect data about their psychosocial characteristics, driving habits and perceptions about their driving performance and safety behaviors related with physical and mental health. The main selection criteria were to be in possession of any type of driving license for vehicles other than motorcycles and to drive frequently. The results showed that 62.5% of the participants that were not in perfect con- ditions to drive at times decided not to drive and 37.5% decided to use the vehicle. Furthermore, 16.5% of the starting sample experienced inappropriate psychophysical conditions while driving. In the group of drivers who decided to use the vehicle, 46.9% admitted that their driving was affected. It was determined that there is a substantial lack of correspondence between driver's perceptions and behaviors with respect to the impact of health conditions on crash risk, and a growing need to raise people's awareness regarding this fact. A large number of drivers continue driving even when they are not in condition to do so, which is clearly a risky behavior. It seems necessary to implement preventive actions and measures oriented to raise appropriate public awareness about the risks derived from driving under an altered physical or emotional stat

Una selección de recursos de Internet para la enseñanza de la estadística “estadisticadospuntocero”

El objetivo de nuestro trabajo es intentar proporcionar una Web 2.0 que sirva de apoyo a los estudiantes de Psicología en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje de la asignatura de estadística. Para ello, hemos basado el diseño de este recurso de Internet en una recopilación activa de Applets que faciliten la comprensión y adquisición de algunos conceptos, ya que en estos se suelen integrar procedimientos gráficos y datos que ofrecen una visión sencilla y útil de la materia. Cabe destacar, a su vez, la naturaleza cooperativa del proyecto así como la vinculación al concepto Web 2.0

A Plot for the Visualization of Missing Value Patterns in Multivariate Data.

Missing data patterns are the combinations in which the variables with missing values occur. Exploring these patterns in multivariate data can be very useful but there are few specialized tools. The current paper presents a plot that includes relevant information for visualizing these patterns. The plot is also dynamic-interactive; so, selecting elements in it permits the highlighting of those that are more relevant according to certain criteria. An example, based on college data, is used for the purposes of illustrating the capabilities of the plo