The impact of road traffic context on secondary task engagement while driving

IntroductionDriver distraction has been recognized for a long time as a significant road safety issue. It has been consistently reported that drivers spend considerable time engaged in activities that are secondary to the driving task. The temporary diversion of attention from safety-critical driving tasks has often been associated with various adverse driving outcomes, from minor driving errors to serious motor vehicle crashes. This study explores the role of the driving context on a driver’s decision to engage in secondary activities non-critical to the driving task.MethodThe study utilises the Naturalistic Engagement in Secondary Tasks (NEST) dataset, a complementary dataset derived from the SHRP2 naturalistic dataset, the most extensive naturalistic study to date. An initial exploratory analysis is conducted to identify patterns of secondary task engagements in relation to context variables. Maximum likelihood Chi-square tests were applied to test for differences in engagement between types of driver distraction for the selected contextual variables. Pearson residual graphs were employed as a supplementary method to visually depict the residuals that constitute the chi-square statistic.Lastly, a two-step cluster analysis was conducted to identify common execution scenarios among secondary tasks.ResultsThe exploratory analysis revealed interesting behavioral trends among drivers, with higher engagement rates in left curves compared to right curves, while driving uphill compared to driving downhill, in low-density traffic scenarios compared to high-density traffic scenarios, and during afternoon periods compared to morning periods. Significant differences in engagement were found among secondary tasks in relation to locality, speed, and roadway design. The clustering analysis showed no significant associations between driving scenarios of similar characteristics and the type of secondary activity executed.DiscussionOverall, the findings confirm that the road traffic environment can influence how car drivers engage in distracted driving behavior

Problematic Use of Mobile Phones in Australia…Is It Getting Worse?

Rapid technological innovations over the past few years have led to dramatic changes in today's mobile phone technology. While such changes can improve the quality of life of its users, problematic mobile phone use can result in its users experiencing a range of negative outcomes such as anxiety or, in some cases, engagement in unsafe behaviors with serious health and safety implications such as mobile phone distracted driving. The aims of the present study are two-fold. First, this study investigated the current problem mobile phone use in Australia and its potential implications for road safety. Second, based on the changing nature and pervasiveness of mobile phones in Australian society, this study compared data from 2005 with data collected in 2018 to identify trends in problem mobile phone use in Australia. As predicted, the results demonstrated that problem mobile phone use in Australia increased from the first data collected in 2005. In addition, meaningful differences were found between gender and age groups in this study, with females and users in the 18–25 year-old age group showing higher mean Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS) scores. Additionally, problematic mobile phone use was linked with mobile phone use while driving. Specifically, participants who reported high levels of problem mobile phone use, also reported handheld and hands-free mobile phone use while driving

A brief-review of the risk factors for covid-19 severity

The World Health Organization has emphasized that one of the most important questions to address regarding the covid-19 pandemic is to understand risk factors for disease severity. We conducted a brief review that synthesizes the available evidence and provides a judgment on the consistency of the association between risk factors and a composite end-point of severe-fatal covid-19. Additionally, we also conducted a comparability analysis of risk factors across 17 studies. We found evidence supporting a total of 60 predictors for disease severity, of which seven were deemed of high consistency, 40 of medium and 13 of low. Among the factors with high consistency of association, we found age, C-reactive protein, D-dimer, albumin, body temperature, SOFA score and diabetes. The results suggest that diabetes might be the most consistent comorbidity predicting disease severity and that future research should carefully consider the comparability of reporting cases, factors, and outcomes along the different stages of the natural history of covid-19

Assessment of the risk of failure of high voltage substations due to environmental conditions and pollution on insulators

Pollution on electrical insulators is one of the greatest causes of failure of substations subjected to high levels of salinity and environmental pollution. Considering leakage current as the main indicator of pollution on insulators, this paper focus on establishing the effect of the environmental conditions on the risk of failure due to pollution on insulators and determining the significant change in the magnitude of the pollution on the insulators during dry and humid periods. Hierarchical segmentation analysis was used to establish the effect of environmental conditions on the risk of failure due to pollution on insulators. The Kruskal-Wallis test was utilized to determine the significant changes in the magnitude of the pollution due to climate periods. An important result was the discovery that leakage current was more common on insulators during dry periods than humid ones. There was also a higher risk of failure due to pollution during dry periods. During the humid period, various temperatures and wind directions produced a small change in the risk of failure. As a technical result, operators of electrical substations can now identify the cause of an increase in risk of failure due to pollution in the area. The research provides a contribution towards the behaviour of the leakage current under conditions similar to those of the Colombian Caribbean coast and how they affect the risk of failure of the substation due to pollution

Condiciones de trabajo que impactan a la calidad de vida laboral

 Objetivo:Proponer un esquema de clasificación conceptual (ECC) basado en el método de análisis de contenidos, con el fin determinar brechas en el conocimiento en cuanto a las variables de condiciones de trabajo que impactan la Calidad de Vida Laboral. Materiales y métodos: Seutilizó una metodología integral de clasificación que considera 54 artículos científicos comprendidos en el periodo 1992 - 2012, a partir de los cuales se estructuraron diferentes categorías, tales como: año de publicación del artículo, titulo de la revista científica en la cual se publicó y un esquema conceptual basado en preguntas. Resultados:Las investigaciones relacionadas con el tema de estudio han aumentado en la última década. El total de artículos revisados aumentó de 6 en el período 1992 - 2001 a 48 en el período 2002 - 2012. Por otra parte, el 76 % de los artículos analizados llega a la conclusión de que existe una estrecha relación entre las condiciones de trabajo analizadas y el impacto en la salud física y mental de los trabajadores. No obstante, con un porcentaje del 9 % diferentes investigaciones exponen la relación entre las condiciones favorables de trabajo y el incremento en la productividad. Conclusiones: Los avances realizados en el campo han dado frutos y actualmente se están estimando nuevas metodologías y/o herramientas que permitan evaluar las condiciones a las que están expuestos los trabajadores, y de esta manera involucrarlos a conseguir no solo los objetivos financieros y de operaciones de la empresa, sino también los beneficios en pro de su desarrollo personal y profesional

Assessing risky and protective behaviors among pedestrians in the Dominican Republic: New evidence about pedestrian safety in the Caribbean

Introduction Research on pedestrians' behavior and safety in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) is scarce, compared to high-income economies. This study aimed to present the validation of the Walking Behavior Questionnaire (WBQ), which has not been tested before in the Dominican Republic, and to evaluate age differences in walking-related self-reported behaviors. Methods For this study, a nationwide sample of 1026 pedestrians answered a questionnaire on risky and safe walking behaviors. Psychometric properties of the WBQ, variable correlations and age-based differences in walking were tested. Results Overall, the WBQ presented an adequate structure, goodness-of-fit indexes, and high reliability. Significant correlations between walking-related variables and demographic factors, as well as key differences in walking behaviors among young people, adults, and aging adults were found. Conclusions These results provide a strong background for assessing walking behaviors through the WBQ (for the first time in an LMIC), as -apart from presenting fair psychometric properties-it highlights the existence of walking pattern-related and demographic differences in the risky behaviors performed by pedestrians. Implications In practical settings, this is the first large-scale behavioral questionnaire-based research on pedestrian safety conducted in the Dominican Republic, whose outcomes support the value of implementing effective evidence-based policies and educational interventions that consider age-related specificities for strengthening both healthier and safer walking. Furthermore, these implications may be applied in other countries of the region or with similar socio-economic features

Impact of working conditions on the quality of working life: Case manufacturing sector colombian Caribbean Region

This paper investigate the impact of Working Conditions on Quality of Working Life of human talent of manufacturing sector in the Colombian Caribbean region. To analyze this process interviewed 518 employees in the sector. The experimental design used was not descriptive cross type; each participant was applied an interview with the instrument of Working Conditions and Quality of Working Life Tool (Wage and Subjective Conditions). Data were analyzed using correlation analysis and logistic regression models. The results showed that the thermal environment and safety standard at work positively affects the Quality of Working Life. These results show that the relationship between working conditions and CVL is based on competition and far from linear or simple relationship relating to the consideration of the presence or absence of working conditions. This has implications when formulating policies, programs and interventions to prevent the negative effects of working conditions and enhance the industrial safety within industrial companies

Infrastructural and Human factors affecting safety outcomes of cyclists

The increasing number of registered road crashes involving cyclists during the last decade and the high proportion of road crashes resulting in severe injuries and fatalities among cyclists constitutes a global issue for community health, urban development and sustainability. Nowadays, the incidence of many risk factors for road crashes of cyclists remains largely unexplained. Given the importance of this issue, the present study has been conducted with the aim of determining relationships between infrastructural, human factors and safety outcomes of cyclists. Objectives: This study aimed, first, to examine the relationship between key infrastructural and human factors present in cycling, bicycle-user characteristics and their self-reported experience with road crashes. And second, to determine whether a set of key infrastructural and human factors may predict their self-reported road crashes. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, a total of 1064 cyclists (38.8% women, 61.2% men; M = 32.8 years of age) from 20 different countries across Europe, South America and North America, participated in an online survey composed of four sections: demographic data and cycling-related factors, human factors, perceptions on infrastructural factors and road crashes suffered. Results: The results of this study showed significant associations between human factors, infrastructural conditions and self-reported road crashes. Also, a logistic regression model found that self-reported road crashes of cyclists could be predicted through variables such as age, riding intensity, risky behaviours and problematic user/infrastructure interactions. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that self-reported road crashes of cyclists are influenced by features related to the user and their interaction with infrastructural characteristics of the road

The Impact of Built Environment on Speeding Behavior: An Analysis in Curitiba - Brazil

The speeding behavior of vehicle drivers is one of the main risk factors for traffic crashes, influencing the severity and the risk of occurrence of these crashes. City development characteristics, including the built environment, can influence the road safety performance in urban environments. In this context, the main objective of this paper is to investigate the influence of the built environment on speeding behavior, using the city of Curitiba, Brazil, as the study setting. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) models were applied to analyze the effects of six dimensions of the built environment on speeding rate, using traffic analysis zones as the zonal level. The speeding data was extracted from a naturalistic driving study, which included 16 participating drivers. It was observed that the density of speed cameras was significantly associated with lower speeding rates. The current sample of performed trips was not enough to cover all traffic analysis zones and the GWR models did not achieve the expected performance. Therefore, future work should include the development of new models with larger samples to reach more conclusions. Keywords: built environment, road safety, speeding behavior, naturalistic driving studyO comportamento de excesso de velocidade de condutores de automóveis é um dos principais fatores de risco de sinistros de trânsito, influenciando na gravidade e no risco de ocorrência desses sinistros. As características do desenvolvimento espacial de uma cidade, incluindo o ambiente construído, podem influenciar o desempenho da segurança viária em ambientes urbanos. Neste contexto, o objetivo principal do presente trabalho é investigar a influência do ambiente construído na prática do excesso de velocidade, utilizando a cidade de Curitiba, Brasil, como cenário de estudo. Modelos de regressão geograficamente ponderada (RGP) foram aplicados para analisar os efeitos de seis dimensões do ambiente construído sobre a taxa de excesso de velocidade, utilizando zonas de tráfego como unidade de análise. Os dados de excesso de velocidade foram extraídos de um estudo naturalístico de direção, que incluiu 16 condutores participantes. Observou-se que a densidade de radares foi significativamente associada a menores taxas de excesso de velocidade. A amostra atual de viagens percorridas não foi o suficiente para cobrir todas as zonas de tráfego e os modelos RGP não atingiram o desempenho esperado. Portanto, futuros trabalhos devem incluir o desenvolvimento de novos modelos com amostras maiores para a obtenção de análises mais representativas. Palavras-chave: ambiente construído, segurança viária, excesso de velocidade, estudo naturalístico de condução.Peer Reviewe