Age-related differences in takeover performance:A comparative analysis of older and younger drivers in prolonged partially automated driving

Objective: Vehicle automation technologies have the potential to address the mobility needs of older adults. However, age-related cognitive declines may pose new challenges for older drivers when they are required to take back or “takeover” control of their automated vehicle. This study aims to explore the impact of age on takeover performance under partially automated driving conditions and the interaction effect between age and voluntary non-driving-related tasks (NDRTs) on takeover performance. Method: A total of 42 older drivers (M = 65.5 years, SD = 4.4) and 40 younger drivers (M = 37.2 years, SD = 4.5) participated in this mixed-design driving simulation experiment (between subjects: age [older drivers vs. younger drivers] and NDRT engagement [road monitoring vs. voluntary NDRTs]; within subjects: hazardous event occurrence time [7.5th min vs. 38.5th min]). Results: Older drivers exhibited poorer visual exploration performance (i.e., longer fixation point duration and smaller saccade amplitude), lower use of advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS; e.g., lower percentage of time adaptive cruise control activated [ACCA]) and poorer takeover performance (e.g., longer takeover time, larger maximum resulting acceleration, and larger standard deviation of lane position) compared to younger drivers. Furthermore, older drivers were less likely to experience driving drowsiness (e.g., lower percentage of time the eyes are fully closed and Karolinska Sleepiness Scale levels); however, this advantage did not compensate for the differences in takeover performance with younger drivers. Older drivers had lower NDRT engagement (i.e., lower percentage of fixation time on NDRTs), and NDRTs did not significantly affect their drowsiness but impaired takeover performance (e.g., higher collision rate, longer takeover time, and larger maximum resulting acceleration). Conclusions: These findings indicate the necessity of addressing the impaired takeover performance due to cognitive decline in older drivers and discourage them from engaging in inappropriate NDRTs, thereby reducing their crash risk during automated driving.</p

A social-ecological model of working from home during COVID-19

Working from Home (WFH) is emerging as a critical measure for reducing transport demand. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that trip avoidance measures, especially WFH, could help address Sustainable Development Goal 11.2 (creating sustainable transport systems in cities) by decreasing commuter trips by private motor vehicles. This study aimed to explore and identify the attributes that supported WFH during the pandemic and construct a Social-Ecological Model (SEM) of WFH within the context of travel behaviour. We conducted in-depth interviews with 19 stakeholders from Melbourne, Australia and found that WFH during COVID-19 has fundamentally changed commuter travel behaviour. There was a consensus among participants that a hybrid-work model will emerge post-COVID-19 (e.g., working three days in the office and two days at home). We identified 21 attributes that influenced WFH and mapped these attributes across the five traditional SEM levels (intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, community and public policy). In addition, we proposed a sixth higher-order level: “global”, to reflect the worldwide phenomena of COVID-19 and computer programs that also supported WFH. We found that WFH attributes were concentrated at the intrapersonal (individual) and institutional (workplace) levels. Indeed, workplaces are key to supporting WFH in the long-term. Whereby, workplace provision of laptops, office equipment, internet connection and flexible work policies enable WFH, and unsupportive organisational cultures and managers are potential barriers to WFH. This SEM of WFH benefits both researchers and practitioners by providing guidance of the key attributes required to sustain WFH behaviours post-COVID-19.Peer reviewe

Travel behaviour change research : A scientometric review and content analysis

A travel behaviour change approach complements hard transport measures to develop more sustainable transport systems. Travel behaviour change is a growing field of research, with a range of theories, behaviours and tools being studied. Consequently, a wide-angled review is critical for synthesising knowledge in this field. This study conducted a scientometric review of travel behaviour change literature, identifying the main characteristics, key journals, research categories, keywords, authors, institutions, countries and cited references. In addition, a content analysis was conducted to identify current research trends and gaps in the field and develop a future research agenda. The scientometric component of the review analysed the bibliographic data of 323 academic records. The review identified that the field has a long history and has grown significantly since 2011. The content analysis of recent research (n = 17 articles) supported previous findings that travel behaviour change interventions can result in changing behaviour. The main target behaviours are private motor vehicle use, bicycling and public transport. Notably absent is trip avoidance research. Information dissemination strategies are the main tools trialled, including personalised travel plans, websites and apps. Finally, we propose six research directions for the travel behaviour change field: multiple research methods; identify effective intervention components; locally contextualised research; further segmentation research; longer-term studies; and trip avoidance research. Trip avoidance research is most urgent, as experiences due to COVID-19 have shown, working from home could have a significant positive impact on the sustainability of our transport systems.Peer reviewe

Examining coroners’ recommendations for health and safety management of ageing heavy vehicle drivers:a STAMP analysis

Recommendations were analysed from coronial cases involving ageing heavy vehicle drivers (≥55 years) and mapped onto a Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP) control structure to identify the controllers and control actions influential in the heavy vehicle industry with regard to health and safety. A National Coronial Information System (NCIS) database search revealed 38 coroners’ recommendations arising from 14 unique cases of ageing driver involvement. There were no ageing themes identified in the analysis of coroners’ findings and recommendations. An examination of the STAMP control structure identified that the highest concentration of recommendations was in the level of regulation, the second most senior level of control, although safety constraints were advised for all five levels of the system. In regard to identifying themes of control flaws in the recommendations, the study found that “unidentified hazards” were the most common type of safety failure in the analysis of cases of ageing drivers, concentrated at the regulatory level, which indicates that additional risk identification methods by upper levels of control are needed. Therefore, a recommendation arising from the current study is that additional controls in safety intervention are necessitated in the upper and middle levels of the road freight transportation system; in particular, formalising health and safety education for organisational managers, with a focus on identifying ageing issues, would fill a gap in the system for managing ageing heavy vehicle drivers. In conclusion, this study has found that improving the health and safety of ageing heavy vehicle drivers necessitates additional safety constraints with a focus on formalised safety education for organisational managers, in addition to a means to detect emerging and unforeseen hazards in the road freight transportation industry.</p

Health, safety, and wellbeing interventions in the workplace, and how they may assist ageing heavy vehicle drivers : A meta review

The health, safety, and wellbeing of heavy vehicle drivers is complicated by the isolation they encounter in a complex road transportation system. Heavy vehicle drivers work in an industry characterised by high incidences of workplace deaths and injuries. As they age in their careers, drivers face further barriers to maintaining their health, safety, and wellbeing on the road. There are many levels of the road transportation system which exert an influence upon the health and safety of heavy vehicle drivers including government, regulators, transportation company strategic management, local management, industry equipment, and the surrounding environment including other road users. Yet responsibility for creating a safe, healthy, and well workplace, is primarily directed towards the driver. A meta review was conducted to map out the existing workplace interventions to illustrate the control system for managing drivers, so any gaps could be identified. A search of published literature identified 65 articles that featured occupational interventions on health, safety, and wellbeing. There were no occupational interventions that specifically targeted ageing heavy vehicle drivers. There were two articles on the transportation industry, and one separate article on ageing workers. Mapping the interventions for all industries with a Systems-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes framework found that most of the workplace controls were conducted at the Local Management level. This level of control features interventions aimed at changing some aspect of the worker's health, safety, or wellbeing behaviour, attitudes or skillset within the workplace. Thus, the findings of the meta review revealed that occupational interventions are generally conducted with a reductionist mindset in that both responsibility and reform in creating a better system, is directed towards the worker. In addition, this objective is expected to be completed with limited support from other levels of the control system. Ideally responsibility and reform should be shared throughout the system, with each level of the system complementing the other levels.</p

A preliminary study on the barriers and facilitators to improving the health, safety, and well-being of aging heavy vehicle drivers

Introduction. Managers from road freight transportation organizations were interviewed on barriers and facilitators to implementation of occupational health, safety, and well-being interventions for aging heavy vehicle drivers. As aging drivers are more likely to be seriously injured or die in a work-related incident than younger drivers, it is important to recognize strengths and weaknesses throughout the system to identify intervention that addresses their specific needs. Method: A Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP) control structure was constructed to chart the controllers, controls, and feedback channels in the system to identify gaps in health, safety, and well-being intervention in the system. The STAMP control structure also charted the barriers and facilitators within levels across the system. Eleven managers were recruited into the study representing a range of road freight transportation organizations throughout Australia. Results: Interview data revealed that barriers and facilitators existed at most levels of the system. Facilitators included advice from external agencies, support from upper management, modern technology, and regular social communication with drivers. Barriers were a lack of guidance on aging issues, operational conflicts with health and safety objectives, and the drivers’ fear of disclosing health information associated with their driving role. In regards to formalized intervention in place to support aging heavy vehicle drivers, the system is reliant on fitness to drive medical assessments based on age and jurisdiction. Conclusions: As there was generally a lack of senior direction cited from the upper levels of the system on aging issues, there was much variation across the study on how aging risks are managed in the workplace for heavy vehicle drivers. Practical Applications: This study recommends that managers across the road freight transportation industry receive formalized aging-awareness health and safety training in how to manage work-related driving hazards for aging heavy vehicle drivers.</p

A city-level transport vision for 2050: Reimagined since COVID-19

Transformative changes are needed in the transport sector to limit global warming. Radical transport disruptions experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as greater Working from Home (WFH) and active travel, present a unique opportunity to reimagine more sustainable transport systems. The aim of the current study was to develop a 2050 transport vision and identify short term priorities for Melbourne (Australia) based on in-depth stakeholder interviews. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first backcasting study since COVID-19. As the city with the ‘longest lockdown’, Melbourne has valuable lessons for the rest of the world. Overall, participants reported that they were uncertain about the future of the central business district. Participants envisaged that the transport system would be carbon-neutral or carbon-positive. However, private motor vehicles (including electric and automated) were not considered the solution for handling the scale of trips anticipated with the projected population size. Instead, participants perceived that in Melbourne by 2050, there will be less work-related travel due to greater job flexibility and WFH. More localised neighbourhood living (20-minute cities), with most short trips undertaken by active travel, and longer trips by public transport. Furthermore, it was projected that regional centres will grow and the transport system will be for the whole state of Victoria and not just Melbourne. Finally, the study identified short term (2021–2030) travel behaviour priorities and eight immediate actions, including: urban design focusing on inspiring active travel; reallocating road space to prioritise active and public transport modes; planning for micromobility urban freight; improving public transport services; expanding public transport networks; installing electric vehicle charging infrastructure; supporting WFH to encourage trip avoidance; and encouraging political consensus when building major transport projects

Work-related injury and illness among older truck drivers in Australia : A population based, retrospective cohort study

The professional truck driver population is aging in Australia and internationally. However, there is currently a gap in knowledge related to the morbidity of workers in the transport industry. Understanding the health and wellbeing of workers employed in the transport industry should be a priority to ensure the appropriate allocation of resources to prevention and rehabilitation efforts. This study explored the landscape of work-related injury and disease in the Australian transport industry, by measuring injury and illness resulting in time loss in truck drivers by age group. The study used a population based, retrospective cohort study based on claim data collected from the National Dataset for Compensation-based Statistics in Australia. Analysis on a total of 120,742 accepted workers’ compensation claims was performed to characterize the distribution of workers’ compensation claims by four time periods (2004–2006, 2007–2009, 2010–2012, and 2013–2015), age groups, and jurisdictions. Three key findings were identified: the relative risk of workers’ compensation claims increased with age; older truck drivers (i.e., 65 years and over) did not have significantly higher rates of musculoskeletal injury (MSK) or fracture injuries, and; older truck drivers had a significantly larger proportion of neurological injury compared to younger age groups. The findings of this research support the need for context sensitive, multi-domain, interventions targeted at older truck drivers in order to both prevent work-related injury and disease and reduce the burden of disability once an injury or disease has occurred.</p