Search results for " Driving"
showing 10 items of 115 documents
The Attentional Demand of Automobile Driving Revisited: Occlusion Distance as a Function of Task- Relevant Event Density in Realistic Driving Scenari…
2014
Objective: We studied the utility of occlusion distance as a function of task-relevant event density in realistic traffic scenarios with self-controlled speed. Background: The visual occlusion technique is an established method for assessing visual demands of driving. However, occlusion time is not a highly informative measure of environmental task-relevant event density in self-paced driving scenarios because it partials out the effects of changes in driving speed. Method: Self-determined occlusion times and distances of 97 drivers with varying backgrounds were analyzed in driving scenarios simulating real Finnish suburban and highway traffic environments with self-determined vehicle speed…
Predicting fruit and vegetable consumption in long-haul heavy goods vehicle drivers: Application of a multi-theory, dual-phase model and the contribu…
2017
Fruit and vegetable intake is insufficient in industrialized nations and long-haul heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers are considered a particularly at-risk group. The aim of the current study was to test the effectiveness of a multi-theory, dual-phase model to predict fruit and vegetable consumption in Australian long-haul HGV drivers. A secondary aim was to examine the effect of past fruit and vegetable consumption on model paths. A prospective design with two waves of data collection spaced one week apart was adopted. Long-haul HGV drivers (N = 212) completed an initial survey containing theory-based measures of motivation (autonomous motivation, intention), social cognition (attitudes, su…
Driving under the influence of alcohol: frequency, reasons, perceived risk and punishment
2015
Background The aim of this study was to gain information useful to improve traffic safety, concerning the following aspects for DUI (Driving Under the Influence): frequency, reasons, perceived risk, drivers' knowledge of the related penalties, perceived likelihood of being punished, drivers’ perception of the harshness of punitive measures and drivers’ perception of the probability of behavioral change after punishment for DUI. Methods A sample of 1100 Spanish drivers, 678 men and 422 women aged from 14 to 65 years old, took part in a telephone survey using a questionnaire to gather sociodemographic and psychosocial information about drivers, as well as information on enforcement, clustered…
Further development of a commercial driving simulation for research in occupational medicine
2012
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to refine a commercial car driving simulation for occupational research. As the effects of ethanol on driving behavior are well established, we choose alcohol as a test compound to investigate the performance of subjects during simulation. Materials and Methods: We programmed a night driving scenario consisting of monotonous highway and a rural road on a Foerst F10-P driving simulator. Twenty healthy men, 19-30 years, participated in a pilot study. Subjects were screened for simulator sickness, followed by training on the simulator one hour in total. Experiments were performed in the morning on a separate day. Participants were randomized into eithe…
Driving habits and risk factors for traffic accidents among sleep apnea patients - a European multi-centre cohort study
2014
Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with increased motor vehicle accident risk, and improved detection of patients at risk is of importance. The present study addresses potential risk factors in the European Sleep Apnea Database and includes patients with suspected obstructive sleep apnea [n = 8476, age 51.5 (12.5) years, body mass index 31.0 (6.6) kg m(-2) , 82.4% driver's licence holders]. Driving distance (km year(-1) ), driver's licence type, sleep apnea severity, sleepiness and comorbidities were assessed. Previously validated risk factors for accident history: Epworth Sleepiness Scale ≥16; habitual sleep time ≤5 h; use of hypnotics; and driving ≥15 000 km year(-1) were analysed acro…
Stress-related psychosocial factors at work, fatigue, and risky driving behavior in bus rapid transport (BRT) drivers
2016
Abstract Introduction There is consistent scientific evidence that professional drivers constitute an occupational group that is highly exposed to work related stressors. Furthermore, several recent studies associate work stress and fatigue with unsafe and counterproductive work behaviors. This study examines the association between stress-related work conditions of Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) drivers and risky driving behaviors; and examines whether fatigue is a mechanism that mediates the association between the two. Method A sample of 524 male Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) operators were drawn from four transport companies in Bogota, Colombia. The participants answered a survey which included an…
Expert Drivers' Prospective Thinking-Aloud to Enhance Automated Driving Technologies - Investigating Uncertainty and Anticipation in Traffic.
2020
Abstract Current automated driving technology cannot cope in numerous conditions that are basic daily driving situations for human drivers. Previous studies show that profound understanding of human drivers’ capability to interpret and anticipate traffic situations is required in order to provide similar capacities for automated driving technologies. There is currently not enough a priori understanding of these anticipatory capacities for safe driving applicable to any given driving situation. To enable the development of safer, more economical, and more comfortable automated driving experience, expert drivers’ anticipations and related uncertainties were studied on public roads. First, dri…
Semantic distance as a critical factor in icon design for in-car infotainment systems
2017
In-car infotainment systems require icons that enable fluent cognitive information processing and safe interaction while driving. An important issue is how to find an optimised set of icons for different functions in terms of semantic distance. In an optimised icon set, every icon needs to be semantically as close as possible to the function it visually represents and semantically as far as possible from the other functions represented concurrently. In three experiments (N = 21 each), semantic distances of 19 icons to four menu functions were studied with preference rankings, verbal protocols, and the primed product comparisons method. The results show that the primed product comparisons me…
The long-term effects of rally driving on spinal pathology
2000
Abstract Objectives. To investigate the consequences of rally driving on lumbar degenerative changes. Background. Vehicular driving is suspected to accelerate disc degeneration through whole-body vibration, leading to back problems. However, in an earlier well-controlled study of lumbar MRI findings in monozygotic twins, significant effects of lifetime driving on disc degeneration were not demonstrated. Another study of machine operators found only long-term exposure to vibration on unsprung seats led to a reduction in disc height. Design. Case-control study comparing rally drivers with population sample. Methods. Eighteen top rally drivers and co-drivers, mean age 43 yrs (SD, 10), voluntee…
Digit ratio (2D:4D) is associated with traffic violations for male frequent car drivers
2009
Digit ratio (2D:4D) is a putative marker of prenatal hormone exposure. A lower digit ratio has been suggested as an index of higher testosterone relative to estrogen exposure during prenatal development. Digit ratio has been associated with a variety of psychological sex-dimorphic variables, including spatial orientation, aggression, or risk-taking behavior. The present study aimed to relate digit ratio to traffic violations for a male sample (N = 77) of frequent car drivers. Digit ratio was assessed via printout scans of the hand, and traffic offense behavior was assessed via self-reported penalty points as registered by the Central Register of Traffic Offenders in Germany. In addition, so…