Investigate moped-car conflicts in China using a naturalistic driving study approach.

Problem: Mopeds are a popular transportation mode in Europe and Asia. Moped-related traffic accidents account for a large proportion of crash fatalities. To develop moped-related crash countermeasures, it is important to understand the characteristics of moped-related conflicts.

A validation of the low mileage bias using naturalistic driving study data.

Introduction: This paper evaluated the low mileage bias (LMB) phenomenon for senior drivers using data mined from the Second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Naturalistic Driving Study. Supporters of the LMB construct postulate that it is only those seniors who drive the lowest annual mileage who are primarily responsible for the increased crash rates traditionally attributed to this population in general.

Method: The current analysis included 802 participants, all aged 65 or older who were involved in 163 property damage and injury crashes, and deemed to be at-fault in 123 (75%) of those instances.

The influence of daily sleep patterns of commercial truck drivers on driving performance.

Fatigued and drowsy driving has been found to be a major cause of truck crashes. Lack of sleep is the number one cause of fatigue and drowsiness. However, there are limited data on the sleep patterns (sleep duration, sleep percentage in the duration of non-work period, and the time when sleep occurred) of truck drivers in non-work periods and the impact on driving performance.

The effects of age on crash risk associated with driver distraction.

Background: Driver distraction is a major contributing factor to crashes, which are the leading cause of death for the US population under 35 years of age. The prevalence of secondary-task engagement and its impacts on distraction and crashes may vary substantially by driver age.

Methods: Driving performance and behaviour data were collected continuously using multiple cameras and sensors in situ for 3542 participant drivers recruited for up to 3 years for the Second Strategic Highway Research Program Naturalistic Driving Study.

Older driver fitness-to-drive evaluation using naturalistic driving data.

Problem: As our driving population continues to age, it is becoming increasingly important to find a small set of easily administered fitness metrics that can meaningfully and reliably identify at-risk seniors requiring more in-depth evaluation of their driving skills and weaknesses.

Method: Sixty driver assessment metrics related to fitness-to-drive were examined for 20 seniors who were followed for a year using the naturalistic driving paradigm. Principal component analysis and negative binomial regression modeling approaches were used to develop parsimonious models relating the most highly predictive of the driver assessment metrics to the safety-related outcomes observed in the naturalistic driving data.

Higher crash and near-crash rates in teenaged drivers with lower cortisol response: an 18-month longitudinal, naturalistic study.

Importance: Road traffic crashes are one of the leading causes of injury and death among teenagers worldwide. Better understanding of the individual pathways to driving risk may lead to better-targeted intervention in this vulnerable group.

Objective: To examine the relationship between cortisol, a neurobiological marker of stress regulation linked to risky behavior, and driving risk.

Individual driver risk assessment using naturalistic driving data.

Driving risk varies substantially among drivers. Identifying and predicting high-risk drivers will greatly benefit the development of proactive driver education programs and safety countermeasures. The objective of this study is twofold: (1) to identify factors associated with individual driver risk and (2) predict high-risk drivers using demographic, personality, and driving characteristic data.