Longitudinal Degradation of Pavement Marking Detectability for Mobile LiDAR Sensing Technology in Real-World Use.

Recent advancements in vehicle automation and driver-assistance systems that detect pavement markings has increased the importance of the detectability of pavement markings through various sensor modalities across weather and road conditions. Among the sensing techniques, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors have become popular for vehicle-automation applications. This study used low-cost mobile multi-beam LiDAR to assess the performance of several types of pavement marking materials installed on a limited-access highway in various conditions, and quantified the degradation in detection performance over three years.

Design, synthesis, and evaluation of peptide-imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine bioconjugates as potential bivalent inhibitors of the VirB11 ATPase HP0525.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections have been implicated in the development of gastric ulcers and various cancers: however, the success of current therapies is compromised by rising antibiotic resistance. The virulence and pathogenicity of H.

An examination of teen drivers' car-following behavior under naturalistic driving conditions: With and without an advanced driving assistance system.

Teen drivers are overrepresented in motor vehicle crashes, and most studies concluded it was mainly due to their lack of experiences and tendencies of risk-taking. The design of advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) aims to provide assistance in multiple stages in human information processing during driving, including environmental sensing, information processing, decision making, and vehicle controlling, in order to improve driving safety. It is expected that novice drivers may benefit more from using ADAS than adult drivers as such technologies can compensate for their frequent errors.

Motion sickness in passenger vehicles during test track operations.

As automation transforms drivers into passengers, the deployment of automated vehicles (AVs) has the potential to greatly increase the incidence of motion sickness. A study was conducted to quantify motion sickness response of front-seat passengers performing ecologically relevant passenger activities during conditions consistent with driving on public roadways. Fifty-two adults with a large range of self-reported levels of motion sickness susceptibility and age participated in data collection on a closed test track in a passenger sedan.

Examining drivers' eye glance patterns during distracted driving: Insights from scanning randomness and glance transition matrix.

Introduction: Visual attention to the driving environment is of great importance for road safety. Eye glance behavior has been used as an indicator of distracted driving. This study examined and quantified drivers' glance patterns and features during distracted driving.

A spectral power analysis of driving behavior changes during the transition from nondistraction to distraction.

Objective: This article investigated and compared frequency domain and time domain characteristics of drivers' behaviors before and after the start of distracted driving.

Method: Data from an existing naturalistic driving study were used. Fast Fourier transform (FFT) was applied for the frequency domain analysis to explore drivers' behavior pattern changes between nondistracted (prestarting of visual-manual task) and distracted (poststarting of visual-manual task) driving periods.

Can vehicle longitudinal jerk be used to identify aggressive drivers? An examination using naturalistic driving data.

This paper investigated the characteristics of vehicle longitudinal jerk (change rate of acceleration with respect to time) by using vehicle sensor data from an existing naturalistic driving study. The main objective was to examine whether vehicle jerk contains useful information that could be potentially used to identify aggressive drivers. Initial investigation showed that there are unique characteristics of vehicle jerk in drivers' gas and brake pedal operations.

Effects of an integrated collision warning system on teenage driver behavior.

Introduction: Crash warning systems have been shown to provide safety benefits, but no studies have examined how teenagers respond. This study sought to find out whether young, inexperienced drivers change behavior in response to warnings.

Methods: Forty 16-17 year-olds drove an instrumented vehicle equipped with a system that warned for lane departures and potential rear-end and lane change/merge crashes.

Real-world effects of using a phone while driving on lateral and longitudinal control of vehicles.

Introduction: Technologies able to augment human communication, such as smartphones, are increasingly present during all daily activities. Their use while driving, in particular, is of great potential concern, because of the high risk that distraction poses during this activity. Current countermeasures to distraction from phone use are considerably different across countries and not always widely accepted/adopted by the drivers.

Using naturalistic driving data to examine drivers' seatbelt use behavior: Comparison between teens and adults.

Problem: Teens and young drivers are often reported as one driver group that has significantly lower seatbelt use rates than other age groups.

Objective: This study was designed to address the questions of whether and how seatbelt-use behavior of novice teen drivers is different from young adult drivers and other adult drivers when driving on real roads.

Method: Driving data from 148 drivers who participated in two previous naturalistic driving studies were further analyzed.

2- and 3-substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazines as inhibitors of bacterial type IV secretion.

A novel series of 8-amino imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazine derivatives has been developed as inhibitors of the VirB11 ATPase HP0525, a key component of the bacterial type IV secretion system. A flexible synthetic route to both 2- and 3-aryl substituted regioisomers has been developed. The resulting series of imidazo[1,2-a]pyrazines has been used to probe the structure-activity relationships of these inhibitors, which show potential as antibacterial agents.

Heavy-truck drivers' following behavior with intervention of an integrated, in-vehicle crash warning system: a field evaluation.

Objective: This study is designed to evaluate heavy-truck drivers' following behavior and how a crash warning system influences their headway maintenance.

Background: Rear-end crashes are one of the major crash types involving heavy trucks and are more likely than other crash types to result in fatalities. Previous studies have observed positive effects of in-vehicle crash warning systems in passenger car drivers.

The conspicuity of first-responder safety garments.

Introduction: This study compared the conspicuity of three types of first-responder safety garments (NFPA 1971-2007 turnout gear coats, and ANSI/ISEA 107 and 207 safety vests).

Method: Participants drove instrumented vehicles on a closed track during both daytime and nighttime, indicating when they could first detect pedestrians in a simulated emergency response scene. Pedestrians wore one of the safety garments and stood on either side of the emergency scene, facing or perpendicular to oncoming traffic, and either stationary or walking in place.

The roles of garment design and scene complexity in the daytime conspicuity of high-visibility safety apparel.

Introduction: This study examines the effects of high-visibility garment design on daytime pedestrian conspicuity in work zones. Factors assessed were garment color, amount of background material, pedestrian arm motion, scene complexity, and driver age.

Method: The study was conducted in naturalistic conditions on public roads in real traffic.

Radiant heat and thermal comfort in vehicles.

Infrared-reflective (IRR) treatment of automotive glass has been shown to reduce air temperature in vehicle cabins, thereby increasing fuel economy and occupant comfort. Its effect on radiant heat, however, may augment these benefits. In this study, the hypothesis that radiant heat affects subjective comfort ratings in a vehicle was tested.

High visibility safety apparel and nighttime conspicuity of pedestrians in work zones.

Problem: Every year numerous occupational fatalities result from pedestrians being struck by motor vehicles intruding into work zones.

Method: Attributes of retroreflective personal safety garments on pedestrian conspicuity at night were assessed in a field study. Using instrumented vehicles on a closed track, participants drove through simulated work zones attempting to detect pedestrians located in the work zones.