Background: Globally, road traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for young adults. The P Drivers Project was a trial of a behavioural change program developed for, and targeted at, young Australian drivers in their initial months of solo driving when crash risk is at its highest.
Methods: In a parallel group randomised controlled trial, drivers (N = 35,109) were recruited within 100 days of obtaining their probationary licence (allowing them to drive unaccompanied) and randomised to an intervention or control group.
Intersections are typically associated with a higher level of crash risk than other types of facilities on the road network. Standard cross-road intersections are particularly hazardous because by their very design, drivers may travel through at speeds that are incompatible with human biomechanical tolerance should a crash occur. Further, drivers are exposed to dangerous conflict angles, which are likely to result in serious injury.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHumans often make inflated or erroneous estimates of their own ability or performance. Such errors in calibration can be due to incomplete processing, neglect of available information or due to improper weighing or integration of the information and can impact our decision-making, risk tolerance, and behaviors. In the driving context, these outcomes can have important implications for safety.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMusculoskeletal pain is commonly reported by police officers. A potential cause of officer discomfort is a mismatch between vehicle seats and the method used for carrying appointments. Twenty-five police officers rated their discomfort while seated in: (1) a standard police vehicle seat, and (2) a vehicle seat custom-designed for police use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Crashes involving a passenger car and a motorcycle, where the car is turning across the path of the motorcycle, are a major crash type of motorcycle riders. It has been proposed that the incidence of such crashes could be reduced through improvements in motorcycle conspicuity. Operation of low-beam headlights on motorcycles has been discussed as one approach for improving the "sensory conspicuity" of motorcycles during daylight hours, whilst previous experience as a rider may serve to heighten "cognitive conspicuity" through raised awareness of motorcyclists on our roads.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study examined the effects of performing scrollable music selection tasks using a portable music player (iPod Touch™) on simulated driving performance and task-sharing strategies, as evidenced through eye glance behaviour and secondary task performance. A total of 37 drivers (18-48 yrs) completed the PC-based MUARC Driver Distraction Test (DDT) while performing music selection tasks on an iPod Touch. Drivers' eye glance behaviour was examined using faceLAB eye tracking equipment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInterface design is an important factor in assessing the potential effects on safety of interacting with an in-vehicle information system while driving. In the current study, the layout of information on a visual display was manipulated to explore its effect on driving performance in the context of music selection. The comparative effects of an auditory-verbal (cognitive) task were also explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSafety-compromising accidents occur regularly in the led outdoor activity domain. Formal accident analysis is an accepted means of understanding such events and improving safety. Despite this, there remains no universally accepted framework for collecting and analysing accident data in the led outdoor activity domain.
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