729 research outputs found
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The Impact of Crosswalk Design on Driver Performance: Implications for Pedestrian Safety
No full textCrosswalks are designed to enhance pedestrian visibility and right-ofway. This study examines driver performance at two different crosswalks with different pedestrian signal designs: (1) Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) and (2) Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons (PHB). Mixed effects linear models showed that the drivers’ speed significantly decreased when a signal was activated, with a larger decrease observed at a PHB signal when there was no lead vehicle. Mixed effects logistic models showed that drivers’ likelihood to change distracting status was higher when a pedestrian signal was activated. The change could occur in both directions: from being engaged to not and from not engaged to distracted. Males and females responded differently to the RRFB in terms of speed differential and likelihood to engage in distractions from an undistracted state. In summary, PHB was able to decrease driver speed more effectively, while RRFB appeared to promote less travel delays for drivers
Cognitive Load During Automation Affects Gaze Behaviours and Transitions to Manual Steering Control
No full textAutomated vehicles (AVs) are being tested on-road with plans for imminent large-scale deployment. Many AVs are being designed to control vehicles without human input, whilst still relying on a human driver to remain vigilant and responsible for taking control in case of failure. Drivers are likely to use AV control periods to perform additional non-driving related tasks, however the impact of this load on successful steering control transitions (from AV to the human) remains unclear. Here, we used a driving simulator to examine the effect of an additional cognitive load on gaze behavior during automated driving, and on subsequent manual steering control. Drivers were asked to take-over control after a short period of automation caused trajectories to drift towards the outside edge of a bending road. Drivers needed to correct lane position when there was no additional task (“NoLoad”), or whilst also performing an auditory detection task (“Load”). Load might have affected gaze patterns, so to control for this we used either: i) Free gaze, or ii) Fixed gaze (to the road center). Results showed that Load impaired steering, causing insufficient corrections for lane drift. Free gaze patterns were influenced by the added cognitive load, but impaired steering was also observed when gaze was fixed. It seems then that the driver state (cognitive load and gaze direction) during automation may have important consequences for whether the takeover of manual vehicle control is successful
Mapping Visual Fields in a Panoramic Driving Simulator Under Different Task Loads in Patients with Glaucoma
No full textGlaucoma causes visual field loss, which may impair detection of objects and hazards during driving. Standard clinical visual field testing, developed to address status of disease, is not designed to capture the effects of visual field loss in ecological settings. To address this need, we developed a driving stimulus detection task (DSVF) similar to clinical perimetry for deployment in a panoramic driving simulator. The outcome measure is a gray scale map of the driver’s response to visual test stimuli in the panoramic driving environment 22 glaucoma subjects and 18 controls completed the DSVF under: a) conditions similar to clinic perimetry with a fixation target; b) a no-driving condition with eye and head movements allowed; and c) while driving. The derived visual field index (DSVFVFI) decreased with increasing task load in both groups, and more so in glaucoma. A predictive formula was generated that allows an estimate of the driver’s available field of view under different task loads from clinical perimetry result
Can Virtual Reality Headsets be Used to Measure Accurately Drivers’ Anticipatory Behaviors?
No full textVR headsets are several orders of magnitude less expensive than driving simulators. Their use in research and clinical settings could explode were it shown that the results obtained with VR headsets were similar to those obtained with more standard driving simulators. Towards this end, the current study expands on a previous initial validation study of VR headsets. In particular, it has been shown in conventional driving simulation and on-road studies that middle-aged drivers glance longer at latent hazards than their younger counterparts. In this study the total time middle-aged drivers spend glancing at a latent hazard and the average duration of each glance were compared to these same times for younger drivers using a VR headset and fixed-based driving simulator. The results indicate that the middle-aged participants glanced longer than their younger counterparts on both platforms at latent hazards, as measured by the total glance duration but had no difference when measured by the average glance duration. Moreover, the magnitude of the difference between middle-aged and younger drivers was the same across the two platforms. These results are in line with previous simulator studies. There appears here a real opportunity to expand the powers of simulation using VR headsets, both for purposes of research and clinical practice
Driving Simulator Performance in the Acute Post-Injury Phase Following a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Among Young Drivers
No full textWhile mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can lead to cognitive and functional impairments, little is known about how mTBI may affect driving, especially among young drivers who are at an increased risk of mTBI and motor vehicle collisions compared to other age groups. The objective of this multisite, pilot study was to examine the feasibility of assessing driving performance acutely post-injury (i.e., mTBI sustained < 2 weeks at assessment) among young drivers with and without mTBIs (N=42; nmTBI= 21; ncontrol=21) using high-fidelity driving simulators. Driving performance was hypothesized to be significantly degraded, especially under conditions of high cognitive load, among drivers with mTBI compared to matched controls. Neurocognitive measures used in clinical assessment of mTBI (i.e., Cogstate Brief Battery) were hypothesized to correlate with driving simulator performance metrics. Risk management protocols were successful (i.e., no participants withdrew due to simulator sickness) and no significant increase in post-concussion symptoms was found from pre-assessment to immediately following driving assessment. Group differences on key driving variables did not emerge; however, drivers with mTBI showed a differential pattern of driving under high cognitive load. Neurocognitive correlates of simulated driving performance suggested processing speed, attention, and working memory are important functions for driving. Implications and future directions discussed
Predicting a Driver's Personality from Daily Driving Behavior
No full textA wealth of literature has shown the predictive and preventive utility of the Big Five personality traits model (BIG5) for various kinds of unsafe driving. However, the commonly used method for BIG5 measurement requires subjects to answer long and stressful questionnaires, making its applicability limited. In this paper, we study the potential for predicting a driver's BIG5 traits from his/her daily driving behavior. We collected naturalistic driving data on (A) car usage behavior (driving frequency, distance, duration, etc.) and (B) driving operation behavior (operation of steering wheel, accelerator and brake pedal, etc.) from 140 Japanese subjects over two months. By analyzing the data while focusing on various specific driving conditions, we were able to find features which significantly correlate with BIG5 traits from both (A) and (B). In the evaluation, the features we found predicted whether the traits scores are above μ + σ or below μ - σ (μ: average, σ: standard deviation) at an accuracy of ROC-AUC 0.62~0.85, confirming the potential for predicting BIG5 traits from daily driving behavior
Mind-Wandering and Driving: Comparing Thought Report and Individual Difference Measures
No full textMind-wandering is a cognitive state in which attention is diverted from the main task and towards more personal thoughts, which can interfere with performance. This study investigated differences in patterns of mind-wandering and driving performance measured during thought-probe versus post-task selfreport conditions, and further differentiated based on individual differences in working memory—as measured by the Operation Span (OSPAN) and Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART). Participants completed two 30-minute drives. Those in the thought-probe condition were asked whether they were thinking of driving; the proportion of trials where they answered “no” was used as the index of mind-wandering. In the post-task condition participants estimated the percentage of time they had mind-wandered during each drive. Speed, steering variability, headway distance, and hazard response time to a lead vehicle braking were also measured. Results showed that the magnitude of mind-wandering captured in the thought-probe condition was greater than in the post-task condition, though hazard response times were also faster despite greater mindwandering reports. Higher OSPAN scores were associated with greater reports of mind-wandering, but only in the post-task condition. Conversely, in the post-task condition those with low SART scores responded slower to hazards than those with high scores; in the thought-probe condition these groups did not differ. Findings indicate a differential impact of report-type on participant experience, emphasizing the need for more covert measures of mind-wandering—e.g., eyetracking or electroencephalography—that provide accurate estimates of task engagement but don’t interfere with task flow
The Effects of Chewing Gum on the Driving Performance of Emergency Medicine Residents After Overnight Shift Work
No full textThis is a comparison study evaluating the influence of chewing gum on driving performance by computer simulation in emergency medicine residents doing overnight shift work. A total of eleven subjects were tested. Four simulations were randomized to each test subject at different points in the study. Data was analyzed comparing pre- and post-shift tests for each study group, as well as chewing gum versus non-chewing gum use during testing. Results showed no significant difference in lateral deviation, described as the root mean squared of lane departure measured in feet, or braking reaction time, defined as the time to break measured in seconds when triggered by a predetermined cue, in those using gum versus no gum. Between- and within-group differences were assessed by split-plot analysis measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Our study showed statistical significance in that divided attention response time, designated as the time in seconds to perform a secondary task while driving, was longer in those driving with chewing gum versus without chewing gum (p < 0.05). This pilot study serves as a potential foundation for further investigation into augmenting the driving performance of emergency medicine residents performing overnight shift work with chewing gum use
Driver Behavior in Overtaking Accidents as a Function of Driver Age, Road Capacity and Vehicle Speed: A Case Study in Iraq
No full textOvertaking accidents are one of the most serious types of road traffic accidents in terms of personal injury. They are mostly caused by drivers’ misjudgment of the situation due to human factors (e.g., limited skills and/or information processing abilities), speeding, roadway capacity, and weather condition. Although the overtaking maneuver can be necessary, drivers’ use of it is often not justified. The present study aims to identify factors affecting driver behavior in critical overtaking maneuvers. The study collected and analyzed 4,902 real overtaking accidents that occurred on highways in Iraq for the years 2005- 2016. Three categories of overtaking accidents were extracted and analyzed in terms of driver age, road capacity (number of lanes and curvature), and vehicles type and speed: 1) head-on collisions that occur when the overtaking vehicle strikes the front-end of an oncoming vehicle; 2) rear-end collisions that occur when the overtaking vehicle strikes the rear-end of a vehicle ahead; and 3) side-impact collisions that occur when the overtaking vehicle strikes or is struck by a vehicle in the adjacent lane. The results indicate that number and types of overtaking accidents were significantly affected by driver age, while the tendency of drivers to overtake was influenced by the type of leading vehicles. A significant interaction between driver age and road capacity was detected in terms of higher accident rates. Correlations between overtaking accidents types, road curvature, and overtaking speed were also identified. The findings have implications for the future design of drivers assistance systems
German Validation of the Prosocial and Aggressive Driving Inventory (PADI)
No full textThis paper presents the German adaptation of the Prosocial and Aggressive Driving Inventory (PADI) (Harris et al., 2014). The self-report questionnaire measures safe (prosocial) and unsafe (aggressive) driving behavior. The questionnaire was translated using a forward-backward method. The translation clarity and its applicability were tested in a pilot study. The German version was then validated online with N = 291 participants. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the same factor structure as in the English original. Multiple regression analysis was employed to investigate existing connections between driving behavior and the Big Five personality traits. Aggressive driving behavior was associated with higher scores on Extraversion and lower scores on Agreeableness, Openness, and Conscientiousness. Prosocial driving behavior was associated with higher scores on Openness and Conscientiousness and with participants that were older and female. This questionnaire might be used to investigate effective forms of driving behavior