Mobile phone use while driving: Underestimation of a global threat

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. The use of mobile phones (cell phones) has increased dramatically in the 21st century. The popularity of mobile phones and smart phones in the computer age can in part be associated with the growing problem of driver distraction. There are indications that the use of mobile phones while driving is one of the leading contributors to road traffic collisions (RTCs). However the true impact of the contribution of mobile phones to RTCs is masked by deficiencies in reporting. This review examines the evidence of association between mobile phone use and RTCs, placing emphasis on the challenges associated with reporting the role of mobile phones in RTCs across different countries, including the United States of America, Canada, China and Great Britain

Correlation between driving-related skill and alcohol use in young-adults from six European countries: the TEN-D by Night Project

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Only few studies with small experimental samples investigated the impact of psychoactive substances on driving performance. We conducted a multicenter international cross-sectional study to evaluate the correlation between alcohol use and driving-related skill as measured by brake reaction time (RT).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Before and after the entrance into randomly selected recreational sites from six European countries, all subjects aged 16-35 years, owning a driver license, were asked to compile a structured socio-demographic questionnaire and measure RT (SimuNomad3 driving simulator), breath alcohol concentration (BAC; Drager Alcoltest), and drug use (Oratect III saliva test, only at the exit). Mixed regression modeling was used to evaluate the independent association between RT and alcohol concentration or drug use.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Before the entrance into the recreational site, 4534 subjects completed all assessments and composed the final sample. Their mean age was 23.1 ± 4.2y; 68.3% were males; 54.7% had BAC > 0 g/L (assumed alcoholics); 7.5% declared illegal drug assumption (mostly cannabis). After the exit, 3019 also completed the second assessment: 71.7% showed BAC > 0 g/L. Controlling for age, gender, educational level, occupation, driver license years, and drug use, BAC was positively associated with RT, achieving significance, however, only when BAC was higher than 0.49 g/L. Significant interaction terms were found between BAC and female gender or drug use, with highest RTs (> 1 sec.) recorded among drug users with BAC > = 1 g/L.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This field study confirms previous experimental data on the negative impact of alcohol use on driving-related skill, supporting regulations and educational campaigns aimed at discouraging driving after consumption of psychoactive substances.</p

Awareness Tool for Safe and Responsible Driving (OSCAR) : A Potential Educational Intervention for Increasing Interest, Openness and Knowledge About the Abilities Required and Compensatory Strategies Among Older Drivers

Abstract : Objective: This pilot study aimed to verify the impact of the awareness tool for safe and responsible driving (OSCAR) on older adults’ (1) interest, openness, and knowledge about the abilities and compensatory strategies required for safe driving; (2) awareness of changes that have occurred in their own driving abilities; and (3) actual utilization of compensatory strategies. Methods: A preexperimental design, including a pretest (T0) and posttest (T1) 8 to 10 weeks after exposure to the intervention, was used with 48 drivers aged between 67 and 84. The participants had a valid driving license and drove at least once a week. Results: Overall, the results demonstrate that OSCAR increased interest, openness, and knowledge about the abilities and compensatory strategies of older drivers (P < .01). After exposure to OSCAR, the majority of the participants confirmed that changes had occurred in at least one of their abilities. Moreover, half of the older drivers reported having started using 6 or more compensatory strategies. Conclusion: In summary, in addition to increasing older adults’ interest, openness, and knowledge to discussion about driving, OSCAR also improved awareness of the changes that could negatively impact safe driving and enhanced utilization of compensatory strategies. While promoting safe driving and the prevention of crashes and injuries, this intervention could ultimately help older adults maintain or increase their transportation mobility. More studies are needed to further evaluate OSCAR and identify ways to improve its effectiveness

Avoiding the Intrinsic Unfairness of the Trolley Problem

As an envisaged future of transportation, self-driving cars are being discussed from various perspectives, including social, economical, engineering, computer science, design, and ethical aspects. On the one hand, self-driving cars present new engineering problems that are being gradually successfully solved. On the other hand, social and ethical problems have up to now being presented in the form of an idealized unsolvable decision-making problem, the so-called "trolley problem", which is built on the assumptions that are neither technically nor ethically justifiable. The intrinsic unfairness of the trolley problem comes from the assumption that lives of different people have different values.In this paper, techno-social arguments are used to show the infeasibility of the trolley problem when addressing the ethics of self-driving cars. We argue that different components can contribute to an "unfair" behaviour and features, which requires ethical analysis on multiple levels and stages of the development process. Instead of an idealized and intrinsically unfair thought experiment, we present real-life techno-social challenges relevant for the domain of software fairness in the context of self-driving cars

Modeling offenses among motorcyclists involved in crashes in Spain

In relative terms, Spanish motorcyclists are more likely to be involved in crashes than other drivers and this tendency is constantly increasing. The objective of this study is to identify the factors that are related to being an offender in motorcycle accidents. A binary logit model is used to differentiate between offender and non-offender motorcyclists. A motorcyclist was considered to be offender when she had committed at least one traffic offense at the moment previous to the crash. The analysis is based on the official accident database of the Spanish general directorate of traffic (DGT) for the 2003-2008 time period. A number of explanatory variables including motorcyclist characteristics and environmental factors have been evaluated. The results suggest that inexperienced, older females, not using helmets, absent-minded and non-fatigued riders are more likely to be offenders. Moreover, riding during the night, on weekends, for leisure purposes and along roads in perfect condition, mainly on curves, predict offenses among motorcyclists. The findings of this study are expected to be useful in developing traffic policy decisions in order to improve motorcyclist safety

Development of a volumetric projection technique for the digital evaluation of field of view

This article was published in the journal, Ergonomics [© Taylor & Francis] and the definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2013.815805Current regulations for field of view requirements in road vehicles are defined by 2D areas projected on the ground plane. This paper discusses the development of a new software-based volumetric field of view projection tool and its implementation within an existing digital human modelling system. In addition, the exploitation of this new tool is highlighted through its use in a UK Department for Transport funded research project exploring the current concerns with driver vision. Focusing specifically on rearwards visibility in small and medium passenger vehicles, the volumetric approach is shown to provide a number of distinct advantages. The ability to explore multiple projections of both direct vision (through windows) and indirect vision (through mirrors) provides a greater understanding of the field of view environment afforded to the driver whilst still maintaining compatibility with the 2D projections of the regulatory standards. Practitioner Summary: Field of view requirements for drivers of road vehicles are defined by simplified 2D areas projected onto the ground plane. However, driver vision is a complex 3D problem. This paper presents the development of a new software-based 3D volumetric projection technique and its implementation in the evaluation of driver vision in small- and medium-sized passenger vehicles

A review of cervical fractures and fracture-dislocations without head impacts sustained by restrained occupants

Crash injury reduction via lap-shoulder belt use has been well documented. Like any other interior car component, lap-shoulder belts may be related to injury in certain crashes. Relatively unknown is the fact that cervical fractures or fracture-dislocations to restrained front seat occupants occur where no head contact was evidenced by both medical records and car inspection. A review of the available literature on car crash injuries revealed more than 100 such cases. A review of the National Accident Severity Study (NASS) 80-88 file was also conducted, revealing more examples. Case capsule descriptions from the authors' files are also detailed along with examples of such injuries in infants and children in child restraints. However, cervical fractures or fracture dislocations are rare, as evidenced by the relatively few cases identified in the literature, in the author's files, and by an analysis of NASS 80-90 data that revealed a cervical spine injury frequency of only .4% at the AIS-3 level (Hueike, Morris, and Mackay 1992).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30429/1/0000050.pd

How are distractibility and hazard prediction in driving related? Role of driving experience as a moderating factor

Distraction constitute one of the ‘five fatal’ behaviours that contribute to road trauma, and some people may be more susceptible to it than others. It is also known that a greater ability to predict danger is related to a lower probability of suffering accidents. It could be hypothesised that drivers with a higher tendency to distraction are worse at predicting traffic hazards, but to what extent might driving experience serve to mitigate this tendency to distraction? The current study collected self-reported attentional errors from drivers by using the Attention-Related Driving Errors Scale (ARDES-Spain) in order to examine whether novice drivers suffered from inattention more than experienced drivers. The results demonstrated that novice drivers scored more highly on ARDES than experienced drivers. ARDES scores were then related to performance in a Hazard Prediction test, where participants had to report what hazard was about to happen in a series of video clips that occlude just as the hazard begins to develop. While experienced drivers were better at the Hazard Prediction test than novice drivers, those participants who reported fewer attention errors were also better able to detect the upcoming hazard following occlusion. In addition, our results demonstrate a relationship between self-reported attentional errors and the ability to predict upcoming hazards on the road, with driving experience having a moderating role. In the case of novice drivers, as their scores in the Manoeuvring Errors ARDES factor increase, their ability in Hazard Prediction diminishes, while for experienced drivers the increase is not significant. Guidance on how to improve training for drivers in order to mitigate the effects of inattention on driving safety can be addressed