The response patterns of young bicyclists to a right-turning motorcycle: a simulator study.

This study was designed to assess how bicyclists (30 men, 30 women) responded to right-turning motorised vehicles, which is a risky situation for bicyclists, and employed a scenario in which a motorcycle made a right turn in front of a bicyclist. The factors of speed difference and cut-in time gap were generated to objectively investigate steering control, speed, and the associated collisions in a bicycle simulator. There was no effect for sex, but as expected, for shorter cut-in time gaps, the steering angles were smaller (deflected to the right to avoid the passing motorcycle), the speeds were lower, and the variations in the steering angle and speed were larger.

Comparison among load-, ROM-, and displacement-controlled methods used in the lumbosacral nonlinear finite-element analysis.

Study Design: For lumbosacral nonlinear analysis, the characteristics and differences between the load- and range-of-motion (ROM)-controlled methods (LCM and RCM) were compared using the numerical approach.

Objective: This study aimed to discuss the LCM and RCM problems inherent in the method assumption and calculation procedure. A displacement-controlled method (DCM) based on the nodal movement at the lumbosacral top was proposed to offer a more efficient and equivalent comparison between the evaluated models.

Biomechanical effects of disc degeneration and hybrid fixation on the transition and adjacent lumbar segments: trade-off between junctional problem, motion preservation, and load protection.

Study Design: The biomechanical effects of disc degeneration and hybrid fixation on the transition and adjacent segments were evaluated using a numerical approach.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the rigidity-rising effects of the dehydrated disc and bridged fixator on the kinematic and mechanical redistribution of the transition and adjacent segments.

Summary Of Background Data: After static fixation, a dynamic fixator can be used to preserve motion and share loads for the transition segments.

Responses in a manual tracking and visual detection task.

To investigate interference between the sustained and occasional attention required in driving, performance of 36 participants engaged in a focal manual tracking task and a peripheral detection task, representing sustained and occasional attention, respectively, was studied. Error ratio, tracking distance, tracking speed, and root mean squared tracking distance error were taken for manual tracking, and response times were measured on the detection task. Analysis indicated that multiple tasks or highly sustained attentional demands preceded lower performance on sustained attention tasks.

Driving performance assessment: effects of traffic accident location and alarm content.

According to accident statistics for Taiwan, the two most common traffic accident locations in urban areas are roadway segments and intersections. On roadway segments, most collisions are due to drivers not noticing the status of leading vehicle. At intersections, most collisions are due to the other driver failing to obey traffic signs.

Driver fatigue and highway driving: a simulator study.

Long duration of driving is a significant cause of fatigue-related accidents on motorways or major roadways. The fatigue caused by driving for extended periods acutely impairs driver alertness and performance and can compromise transportation safety. This study quantitatively measured the progression of driver fatigue and identified the conservative safe duration of continuous highway driving.

Rectification of legibility distance in a driving simulator.

Visual differences lead to differences in the legibility distances of traffic signs between driving simulators and real road environments. To ensure that the legibility distance in a simulator is similar to that in the real world, this study proposes a theoretical equation for predicting legibility distance and a simple algorithm for determining the magnifying power of a traffic sign for a display system in a simulator. Experiments of traffic sign recognition using a simulator were conducted under quasi-static and dynamic driving conditions.