Does age matter? Examining age-dependent differences in at-fault collisions after attending a refresher course for older drivers

Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Abstract: The “Driver 65+” course is a voluntary refresher course offered to all drivers aged 65 years or older in Norway. The current study estimated differences in at-fault motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) between older drivers who had attended in the course and older drivers who had not attended the course. Methods: Two samples of drivers were selected from the database of an insurance company and were sent a questionnaire in the mail. The first sample consisted of 2039 car owners aged 70 years or older who had reported a collision to the insurance company during the last 24 months. The second sample consisted of 1569 drivers aged 70 or older who had not reported any collisions during the last 24 months. Results: The results indicated an age-dependent effect; drivers attending the course before 75 years of age had a significantly lower risk of being the at-fault driver in a multi-MVC than older drivers who did not attend the course. Conclusion: The results indicate that the refresher course had a beneficial effect on collision risk for drivers who attended the course before reaching 75 years of age. One possible explanation of this age-dependent effect is that a certain level of visual, cognitive, and motor functioning is needed to implement the strategies learned in the course. However, the design of the study makes it difficult to draw definite conclusions about the causal relationship between course attendance and later collision involvement.Does age matter? Examining age-dependent differences in at-fault collisions after attending a refresher course for older driverspublishedVersio

Measures to enhance mobility among older people in Scandinavia. A literature review of best practice.

Mobiliteten eller rörligheten för äldre människor är fortfarande ett område under utveckling. Det visar en VTI-studie gällande Norge, Danmark och Sverige där man har studerat äldre personers resande med personbil, kollektivtrafik, cykel, gång och i viss mån även övriga transportmedel som definieras av motoriserade rullstolar, skotrar, mopedbilar, etc. Åtgärder för att öka resandet med kollektivtrafik är på dagordningen i alla tre länderna. Det återstår dock mycket som kan förbättras enligt de forskningsrapporter och utvärderingar som ingått i studien. Exempelvis är mer än 200-300 meter en för lång promenadsträcka till eller från busshållplatsen för många äldre människor och miljön på stationer och hållplatser upplevs av många äldre som obehaglig och stressig. Dessutom bör information före och under resan vara både visuell och hörbar, informationstavlor bör placeras i ögonhöjd, tidtabeller ska vara lätta att läsa och förstå, det ska vara lätt att köpa en biljett och hantera biljettautomater, låggolvsfordon är att föredra, lediga platser ska finnas ombord och föraren ska inte börja köra innan passagerarna har satt sig. Det kan ofta vara små förbättringar som utgör skillnader för dem som reser, till exempel att trottoarer är utan trappor och att det finns bänkar på gångvägen till busshållplatsen. Dessutom handlar strategier och åtgärder för att förbättra kollektivtrafiken inte bara om frågor som tillgängliga fordon, vindskydd och enkla trottoarer vid busshållplatser, utan också om frekvens och rutter i förhållande till resmönstren hos den nya rörliga generationen äldre. Dock är bristen på information och kunskap om kollektivtrafiken ofta utbredd bland äldre människor, vilket resulterar i att de reser mindre än de skulle ha gjort eller avstår helt från att använda kollektivtrafiken. Informationskampanjer skulle kunna samordnas bättre för att möta äldre människors resmönster. Nya sätt att sprida information med den senaste tekniken skulle också kunna organiseras i större utsträckning för att möta behoven hos äldre människor. Egentligen är problemet ibland inte brist på information, utan för mycket information eller fel slags information.The present report is part of a larger project about mobility and its impact on older people\u92s well-being and welfare: Mobile age: The impact of everyday mobility for elderly people\u92s welfare and well-being. The heterogenity of older people is emphasised, not only with respect to physical age but also with respect to the specific resource situation and social context of everyday life. The geographical context of the project is Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The report is a literature review examining and evaluating measures designed to improve the independency of mobility among older people. While a few good examples of \u93best practice\u94 in the Scandinavian area (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) have been highlighted, gaps and weaknesses remain. The areas which are examined in the present report are private car, public transport, cycling, walking and to some extent other transport modes defined by motorized wheelchairs, scooters, four-wheeled mopeds/motorcycles, etc. Measures to increase travel with public transport are on the agenda in all three countries, i.e. accessible vehicles and increased accessibility to the interchanges. Also, often small amendments through the travel route could make difference, such as pavements without stairs and benches on the way to the bus stop. Furthermore, strategies and measures for improving public transport concern not only issues such as accessible vehicles, wind shelters and plain pavements at bus stops, but also frequency and routes in relation to the mobility needs of a new generation of older people. However, lack of information and knowledge about public transport services is often rife among older people, which results in them travelling less than they might have done or shying away completely from using public transport. Information campaigns could be synchronised consciously to meet older people\u92s travel trajectories. New ways of providing information using the latest technology could be found to meet the needs of older people. Actually, sometimes the problem is not lack of information but too much of it or the wrong kind

Cognitive Control Functions in Unipolar Major Depression with and without Co-Morbid Anxiety Disorder

Background: Impaired cognitive control functions have been demonstrated in both major depression (MDD) and anxiety disorder (A), but few studies have systematically examined the impact of MDD with co-morbid A (MDDA), which is the main aim of this study. Method: We compared patients with MDD with (MDDA; n = 24) and without co-morbid A (n = 37) to a group of healthy controls (HC; n = 92) on three subtests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery; intra–extra dimensional, stop signal task, and spatial working memory. These tasks correspond to a theoretical model consisting of three separable but interrelated executive control functions: Shifting, Inhibition, and Updating. A simple psychomotor speed measure was also included. Results: After controlling for age, gender, and education level, the results showed that the MDDA group displayed significantly impaired performance on the functions Shifting and Updating compared to HC. There emerged no significant differences between any of the patient groups and HC regarding Inhibition. The pure MDD group did not display dysfunctions relative to the HC group on the main executive control variables, but displayed slowed psychomotor speed. Contrary to expectation there were no significant differences between the MDDA and the MDD groups. Conclusion: Co-morbid anxiety should be taken into account when studying cognitive control functions in major depression

Influencing subgroups of young drivers and their passengers. Motivational influences of personality traits on risk-taking attitudes and driving behaviour.

In Norway, as well as in many other countries, traffic accidents are one of the greatest threats against adolescents’ health. Young Norwegian drivers are found to have 10-15 times as high a risk of being involved in traffic accidents compared to other drivers, and more than every forth Norwegian driver who is involved in traffic accidents resulting in physical injuries is 24 years of age or younger. The high accident rate indicates that traffic safety promotion may be of particular relevance to young drivers. One way of influencing safer driving practices is through the use of public road safety campaigns. The effect of such campaigns has, however, been questioned. Several literature reviews have concluded that the majority of traffic safety campaigns aimed at influencing drivers’ attitudes or behaviour have failed to document any effects on the number of accidents. The supposed influence of attitudes on driving behaviour has also been questioned. On the other hand, a metaanalysis carried out recently suggests that campaigns be the most efficient measure to improve safety on the roads. This suggests that road safety campaigns still may be a useful mean for promoting road safety. There may be several reasons for the campaigns’ apparent lack of success, as well as the uncertain relation between attitudes, driving behaviour and traffic accidents. This thesis aims at giving a more thoroughly insight into the dimensionality of adolescents attitudes to traffic safety, as well as the association between attitudes and driving behaviour. The motivations underlying attitudes and behaviour are also studied in terms of the correspondence between personality traits and young drivers’ safety orientation in traffic. Finally, the role of adolescent passengers as “guardian angels” is addressed. The present thesis consists of four studies. The first study aims at developing a reliable and valid measure of adolescents’ risk-taking attitudes and how such a measure relates to driving behaviour and accident involvement. The second study investigates how personality dispositions are related to adolescents’ safety orientation in traffic. The third study aims at identifying reliable and valid subtypes of young drivers on the basis of personality characteristics. The fourth study has a different point of departure, focusing on the role of adolescent passengers rather than the drivers. This last study examines factors that may enhance or prevent adolescent passengers to promote safe driving among their peer drivers. The results of study 1 demonstrated that adolescents’ attitudes towards risk-taking in traffic were multidimensional. The reported attitudes on the dimensions demonstrated that adolescents think differently concerning these aspects of traffic safety. On some dimensions, most adolescents report quite ideal attitudes concerning safety, on other dimensions the picture is the opposite. The attitude dimensions identified were related to both risk-taking behaviour in traffic and accident involvement. However, the influence of the various dimensions on behaviour differed in magnitude. This implies that some dimensions were more important predictors of behaviour than others. Thus, the attitude dimensions with the highest correspondence with self-reported behaviour could be given special attention when traffic safety programs are carried out. The results of study 2 suggested that the relation between the personality traits and driving violations was mediated through attitudes. On this basis it was concluded that personality traits primarily influence risky driving behaviour indirectly through affecting the attitudinal determinants of the behaviour. This suggests that deeperlying motivations represented as personality traits is reflected in adolescents’ attitudes towards traffic safety. A practical implication of the results would be to acknowledge the importance of personality traits in traffic safety campaigns. Consequently, the messages of attitude campaigns could be tailored according to certain personality characteristic, in order to appeal to high-risk drivers. However, if risk-taking attitudes are partly a consequence of permanent motivational factors, this implies that drivers’ risk-taking attitudes may be difficult to change trough traditional mass-media campaigns. Study 3 identified six subtypes of young drivers on the basis of a cluster analysis of personality measures. The subtypes were found to differ on self-reported risky driving behaviour, attitudes towards traffic safety, risk perception, estimation of own driving skills, and accident involvement. Two of the subtypes were identified as high-risk groups in traffic. The subtypes were also found to differ on how they evaluated and responded to a traffic safety campaign. The results indicated that the campaign seemed to appeal most to the low-risk subtypes and least to the high-risk subtypes. Gender differences within each subtype were also found on the different traffic related measures, as well as on response to the campaign. It is concluded that young drivers should not be treated as a homogenous group pertaining to road safety. Study 4 showed that there were several factors influencing adolescents’ willingness to address risky driving. Females were in general most likely to report that they spoke out to the driver when feeling unsafe in the car. Males seemed to perceive more negative consequences of addressing unsafe drives, to be less confident in their ability to influence an unsafe driver, to be more likely to accept risk taking from other drivers, and perceive less risk than females. In turn, these beliefs affected the likelihood of confronting an unsafe driver. The results also demonstrated that a relatively large proportion of the adolescents thought that it is acceptable to ride with an unsafe driver. This kind of belief lessened the likelihood of addressing unsafe driving, as well as being most prominent among passengers who ride with friends with risky driving habits. Possible implications of the results of the four studies for both driver-focused and peer-focused interventions aimed at promoting road safety are discussed

Social design feedback: evaluations with users in online ad-hoc groups

Social design feedback is a novel approach to usability evaluation where user participants are asked to comment on designs asynchronously in online ad-hoc groups. Two key features of this approach are that (1) it supports interaction between user participants and development team representatives and (2) user participants can see and respond to other participants’ comments. Two design cases, involving 250 user participants, were studied to explore the output of social design feedback and investigate the effect of the two key features of this approach. Of all the design feedback, 17% was rated highly useful, and 21% contained change suggestions. The presence of an active moderator, representing the development team and interacting with the user participants, increased the usefulness of the design feedback. The opportunity to see and respond to others’ design feedback had a minor effect on the kind of design feedback provided, but no effect on usefulness. Based on the findings, we offer advice on how to implement social design feedback and suggest future research

Is established knowledge about cross-cultural differences in individualism-collectivism not applicable to the military? A multi-method study of cross-cultural differences in behavior

Preparing for international military collaboration includes raising knowledge about cultural differences. The differences in individualism–collectivism between countries are among the most central aspects likely to impact collaboration. However, are the differences in individualism–collectivism between countries as documented in a significant amount of civilian research (e.g., Hofstede, 2001a) generalizable to a military context? Or are the differences not the same in a military context, as suggested by Soeters (1997) on the bases of a values survey? Quasi-experiments were conducted in a distributed collaborative computer game environment. The study is multimethod, employing self-reporting, observer ratings and direct behavioral measures, and it is the first study of cross-cultural differences in individualism–collectivism in behavior in a military context. By studying differences in collectivist-type behaviors in a sample of military officers (N = 154) in 4 different countries (the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway), this study seeks to determine whether the cross-cultural differences in values found by Soeters from a military context are reflected in behavior. The study also includes a values survey using Hofstede’s (2007) measurement tool, the Values Survey Module (VSM), consistent with Soeters’ study. The study is considered exploratory because of a somewhat limited sample. The results from the 6 different measures of collectivist behaviors provide no support for the suggestion that cross-cultural differences in individualism–collectivism are not the same in military organizations as in civilian organizations. Although not conclusive, the results raise doubt concerning the appropriateness of using the VSM in military samples. The implications are discussed. The behavior observed in an experimental situation conducted in 4 countries indicated no support for the suggestion proposed by Soeters in 1997 that cross-cultural variations in individualism–collectivism are different in military organizations compared with civilian organizations. The findings gave no contraindications to using the literature based on results from civilian samples in military education and preparation for international work. However, the study raised doubt concerning the appropriateness of using Hofstede’s Values Survey Module-94 survey instrument in military samples

Unveiling the Dynamics of Shared Autonomous Vehicle Acceptance: Insights into the General Acceptance Factor, Social Preferences, and Design Components

The technology behind shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) is developing rapidly and may revolutionize public transport in metropolitan areas. To take full advantage of the potential benefits, it is paramount to understand the public acceptance of this new technology. One of the leading models for explaining technology uptake is the UTAUT (Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology). This model is vast and has received numerous suggested extensions and revisions, even being developed into the Multi-Level Model of Autonomous Vehicle Acceptance (MAVA). More research is needed to consolidate the model to best measure the acceptance of SAVs, and to determine which extensions capture the unique social situation arising within SAVs. The current study used survey data from 1902 respondents to perform a principal component analysis (PCA) of key constructs suggested by the MAVA. We found that these items were reducible to a single general acceptance factor (GAF), with three additional constructs measuring interpersonal security, sociability, and attractivity. The GAF was, by a large margin, the most efficacious predictor of intention to use SAVs. The overlap between GAF and intention to use may suggest that these are best conceptualized as a single component. The GAF could be further reduced to as little as two predictors, trust and usefulness, accounting for over 70 % of the variance in intention to use. There is, however, also an argument to be made that the other three components of SAV acceptance may be important for capturing different nuances of the service. Interaction terms show that there is differences between genders in their rating of sociability, and how this impacts intentions to use SAVs. Our results have important implications for future research within the field. It cements the importance of trust and usefulness and corroborates the claim that acceptance of SAVs is best represented by a single latent component. However, more research should investigate the individual level moderating effects on the other components, as this may unlock new insights about how best to design a future SAV service

“I trust Norway” – investigating acceptance of shared autonomous shuttles using open and closed questions in short-form street interviews

Shared autonomous shuttles (SASs) could improve the mobility infrastructure in the worlds’ growing cities. This novel service could reduce congestion and improve sustainability, while making public transport more available. To facilitate the implementation of SASs, more research is needed on the psychological aspects of sharing a small, intimate shuttle with strangers. The current study presents the first investigation using open-ended questions with the Multi-Level Model on Automated Vehicle Acceptance (MAVA)-framework. We investigate whether the MAVA needs adaptation to the domain of SASs using both qualitative and quantitative data. We had 236 participants answer short-form interviews during the summer of 2022. Respondents seem very positive about the proposed new transport service. We found that perceived usefulness, hedonic motivation, trust, and social influence shared large correlations with intentions to use. Other factors such as demographics, technology savviness and use of public transport did not share a linear relationship with intentions to use. Directed content analysis suggests that, while most people do not mind sharing shuttles with strangers, some could find the social situation deterring. People seem most concerned with availability, effectiveness, travel cost and safety. The reported positive attitudes towards the service seem predicated upon trust in the government regulation and proper testing of the technology, that many think of as immature. Regulation and thorough testing may be paramount in keeping people positive. This study emphasizes the importance of trust and safety to adoption of SAS, while suggesting new factors that need further investigation

Investigating willingness to share autonomous shuttles with strangers: The mediating effects of trust and optimism

If autonomous vehicles are to have beneficial impacts on society, people must be willing to use them in their everyday lives. Many studies have engaged in questions regarding the technology of automation and how drivers will interact with it. However, little research has focused on the social situation arising from small shared autonomous shuttles (SASs) used in public transportation. This study aims to investigate a conceptual framework suggested by previous research and the MAVA-model. We tested a conceptual model where the background variables’ impact is mediated through trust in SASs and technology optimism. Our two dependent variables were the intention to use SASs with strangers without a steward onboard and the importance of social distance. The current article uses data collected using two identical online surveys conducted in 2020 (n=922) and 2021 (n=608). The data were collected before and after a pilot using SAS was employed in a suburban area outside Oslo. Examining the same population before and after the pilot gives us crucial insight into the development of attitudes toward automated vehicles when exposed to them in regular traffic. We find that trust in SASs and technological optimism positively predict willingness to use SAS. However, the passage of time had a negative effect on trust and tech-optimism, which in turn lowered the intentions to use. The background variables have little effect on the mediators. Contrary to previous research, we find that familiarity with the pilots predicted lower technological optimism and thus lower intentions to use. Older participants and women reported less trust in SASs and less tech-optimism compared to others. In the next step, these mediators lowered the intention to use SASs. These two groups also feel that it is more important to be able to keep social distance while riding SASs. The participants who use active transport modes think it is less important with social distance. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may also impact the results. The proposed model was less suited for predicting desire for social distance than for intentions to use. Our results suggest that future pilots should take care not to leave a negative impression by employing immature technology in neighborhoods, as this may be detrimental to the perception of SASs. Furthermore, transportation providers should take care to meet the social needs of exposed groups in the novel social context created by SASs