Comparing the self-assessed and examiner-assessed driving skills of Japanese driving school students

Previous research about subjective driving skills has revealed that drivers, especially younger males, tend to rate their driving skills more highly than those of the average driver. This study examines the accuracy of Japanese novice drivers' self-evaluation of their driving skills by comparing their self-assessments with assessments made by a driving examiner. We also examined the effects of gender and age on the accuracy of driver self-evaluation of their skills.     

Impact of driving style,behaviour and anger on crash involvement among Iranian intercity bus drivers

In developing countries such as Iran, due to the inadequate infrastructure for rail and air transportation facilities, intercity buses are the most common type of transportation for long distances. Because of the long hours of driving, bus driving is considered a challenging job. Moreover, given the high capacity of these vehicles, a small error from the driver could endanger many passengers' health. So, studying drivers' behaviours can be a key factor in decreasing the risk factors of crash involvement in these drivers. However, few studies have focused on intercity bus drivers' behaviours. This research uses a sample of 254 professional drivers that answered a self-report questionnaire on driving style (MDSI), driving behaviour (DBQ), and driving anger (DAS). A structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to investigate the psychometric properties of these questionnaires. The results show a positive correlation between maladaptive driving styles and driving behaviour, and a negative correlation between adaptive styles and driving behaviour. Significant differences are observed among drivers with and without crash history on their maladaptive driving styles and their driving anger scale. A binary logistic regression model is also developed to predict traffic crashes as a function of driving misbehaviour. The results suggest that factors related to driving anger are the main factors that increase the probability of misbehaviour and traffic crashes. The results also suggest that driving style and driving behaviour significantly predict crash risk among bus drivers. Aggressive driving is associated with an increased probability of crash involvement among intercity bus drivers. The findings can be used to inform the health promotion policies and provide regular interventions designed to improve driving safety among intercity bus drivers.     

Drivers' perceptions regarding speeding and driving on urban residential streets with a 30 km/h speed limit

Previous studies have shown very little information regarding drivers' opinions, attitudes and behaviours with respect to speeding and driving on urban residential streets with a 30 km/h speed limit. The present research aims to address this issue by conducting a questionnaire study with a sample of 367 Japanese drivers. The results showed that drivers tended to have positive beliefs about complying with the 30 km/h speed limit and understand the negative consequences of speeding; however, a majority of the drivers considered breaking the speed limit as a way to reduce their travel time. While the extent of speeding was found to be very serious, a number of drivers still supported the use of a 30 km/h speed limit on residential streets and favoured protecting the right of vulnerable street users. The logistic regression models developed in this study identified that the drivers who did not support the 30 km/h speed limit were associated with those who had committed traffic-law violations, who had negative beliefs about complying with the speed limit, who did not consider residents' opinions, who believed it is acceptable for them to drive at a high speed, and who felt it difficult to refrain from speeding. With regard to anti-speeding countermeasures, under drivers' point of view, streets should be designed to make the 30 km/h speed limit more credible, although this study also showed evidence supporting the application of public awareness programmes and social campaigns as speeding interventions. In addition, this research investigated drivers' speed choices in various specific driving circumstances, and six underlying factors affecting drivers' speed choices were determined. On the basic of the findings, the implications and suggestions for speeding interventions were also discussed.     

Driver behavior formulation in intersection dilemma zones with phone use distraction via a logit-Bayesian network hybrid approach

Use of cellular phone while driving is one of the top contributing factors that induce traffic crashes, resulting in significant loss of life and property. A dilemma zone is a circumstance near signalized intersections where drivers hesitate when making decisions related to their driving behaviors. Therefore, the dilemma zone has been identified as an area with high crash potential. This article utilizes a logit-based Bayesian network (BN) hybrid approach to investigate drivers' decision patterns in a dilemma zone with phone use, based on experimental data from driving simulations from the National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS). Using a logit regression model, five variables were found to be significant in predicting drivers' decisions in a dilemma zone with distractive phone tasks: older drivers (50–60 years old), yellow signal length, time to stop line, handheld phone tasks, and driver gender. The identified significant variables were then used to train a BN model to predict drivers' decisions at a dilemma zone and examine probabilistic impacts of these variables on drivers' decisions. The analysis results indicate that the trained BN model was effective in driver decision prediction and variable influence extraction. It was found that older drivers, a short yellow signal, a short time to stop line, nonhandheld phone tasks, and female drivers are factors that tend to result in drivers proceeding through intersections in a dilemma zone with phone use distraction. These research findings provide insight in understanding driver behavior patterns in a dilemma zone with distractive phone tasks.     

Traffic safety culture of drivers in Canada: Implications for new traffic law implementation to enhance traffic safety

This study investigates Canada's traffic safety culture (TSC) as part of a global research project. The TSC survey data collected by an online survey is used to predict drivers' perception of changes in traffic problems in the past 3 years, driver's support, opposition towards enforcement of additional traffic laws, and drivers' perceived threat towards risky driving behaviors. A two-step procedure is followed to build models. The first step includes feature selection using the chi-square test of independence. The second step comprises building classification models using the Random Forest technique. Results suggest that drivers' personal attributes like the number of accident records, driving frequency, geographic region of nationality, and religion are top predictor variables for drivers' perception towards changes in traffic problems. In addition, compared to others most drivers perceive distracted driving as a major traffic problem today. There is strong disapproval of drivers against the following driving behaviors and strong support to implement laws against it: speeding in school zones, talking on a hand-held cell phone, tying text messages or e-mails, drowsy driving, driving without wearing their seatbelt, drive with passengers not wearing seatbelts, running through red lights, and impaired driving. In contrast, following risky driving behaviors is less of a perceived threat: speeding over limit on a freeway, on a residential street, and in an urban area and talking on a hands-free cell phone while driving. In addition, a driver's accident record is a significant indicator for a perceived threat towards risky driving behaviors followed by age and accumulated demerit points. The results from this study can be used to guide educational campaigns to transform the traffic safety culture of target groups and make more informed policy decisions.     

Role of steering wheel feedback on driver performance: driving simulator and modeling analysis

When driving in curves, how do drivers use the force appearing on the steering wheel? As it carries information related to lateral acceleration, this force could be necessary for drivers to tune their internal model of vehicle dynamics; alternatively, being opposed to the drivers' efforts, it could just help them stabilize the steering wheel position. To assess these two hypotheses, we designed an experiment on a motion-based driving simulator. The steering characteristics of the vehicle were modified in the course of driving, unknown to drivers. Results obtained with standard drivers showed a surprisingly wide range of adaptation, except for exaggerated modifications of the steering force feedback. A two-level driver model, combining a preview of vehicle dynamics and a neuromuscular steering control, reproduces these experimental results qualitatively and indicates that adaptation occurs at the haptic level rather than in the internal model of vehicle dynamics. This effect is related to other theories on the manual control of dynamics systems, wherein force feedback characteristics are abstracted at the position control level. This research also illustrates the use of driving simulation for the study of driver behavior and future intelligent steering assistance systems.     

基于SOM神经网络的多工况驾驶风格识别

不同的驾驶员对车辆的各项性能可能有个性化地要求,因此有必要对驾驶风格的分类与识别问题进行研究。首先在驾驶模拟器上采集不同驾驶员在多工况下的数据,利用主成分分析法选取驾驶员在各个工况下的特征参数,SOM神经网络分别对起步、加速及制动工况下的驾驶数据进行了聚类分析,然后以驾驶风格聚类分析结果为基础,建立了基于SOM神经网络的驾驶风格识别系统,该系统可根据驾驶员驾驶历史数据来判断其驾驶风格,最后以某一温和型驾驶风格识别结果为例验证了系统的合理性。     

Intelligent speed adaptation: Preliminary results of on-road study in Penang,Malaysia

The first field experiment with intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) in Malaysia was held in December 2010 in the State of Penang. Eleven private cars were instrumented with an advisory system. The system used in the present study included a vocal warning message and a visual text message that is activated when the driver attempts to exceed the speed limit. When the driver decreases the speed, the warning stops; otherwise it is continuously repeated. The test drivers drove the vehicles for three months with the installed system, and the speed was continuously logged in all vehicles. The warning was however only activated in the second month of the three month period. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of an advisory ISA on driving speed, traffic safety, and drivers' attitude, behavior, and acceptance of the system. To examine these effects, both the survey and the logged speed data were analyzed and explored. The results show a significant reduction in the mean, maximum and 85th percentile speed due to the use of the system. However, there was no long-lasting effect on the speed when the system was deactivated. In the post-trial survey, drivers declared that the system helped them well in following the speed limits and that it assisted them in driving more comfortably. Furthermore, the warning method was more accepted compared to a supportive system, such as active accelerator pedal (AAP). After the trial, most drivers were willing to keep an ISA system.     

基于Python的驾驶员打哈欠在线检测方法研究

驾驶疲劳是造成交通事故的主要诱因之一。由世界卫生组织发布的调查研究结果表明,在高速公路中由疲劳驾驶引起的交通事故率占了将近百分之四十,驾驶疲劳检测和预警的技术也越来越受到研究人员的重视。而驾驶员打哈欠是疲劳形成过程中的一个直观指标,文章提出基于Python平台开发一套在线检测驾驶员打哈欠的系统,方法简单、指标稳定可靠,具有实际应用价值。     

Assessing the effect of inattention-related error and anger in driving on road accidents among Iranian heavy vehicle drivers

Extensive studies have examined the effect of variables such as demographic characteristics, insomnia, and working conditions of drivers individually on inattention-related error as well as expression of anger in driving. Nevertheless, so far no study has tested the concurrent effect of these factors on crashes. This study has dealt with indirect investigation of the effect of variables including demographic characteristics, insomnia, and working conditions of drivers on inattention-related error and expression of anger in driving (as mediation model). Next, the effect of these two variables on the probability of incidence of road crashes has been assessed among truck drivers. For this purpose, 780 Iranian truck drivers were interviewed by validated questionnaires including insomnia severity index (ISI), attention related driving errors scale (ARDES), and driving anger expression (DAX). To confirm the validity of these questionnaires, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used. Next, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for investigating the relationships between these latent variables and truck drivers' demographic characteristics, working conditions and their crash involvement. SEM results indicated that as the severity of insomnia among drivers increased, they committed more inattention-related errors, and also expressed more anger during driving. Generally, the results of this study indicated that with increase in the extent of experience and safety knowledge of drivers and improvement in their working conditions and their sleep status, it is possible to reduce inattention-related error and expression of anger during driving among heavy vehicle drivers.     

Vehicle sensor data-based analysis on the driving style differences between operating indoor simulator and on-road instrumented vehicle

Abstract

Indoor simulator and on-road instrumented vehicle are the most popular ways to analyze driving behaviors by using collected Vehicle Sensor Data (VSD). However, for a same driver, the driving performance could be different in the real world and in the simulated world. Even though many studies have been conducted to discover the differences of driving behaviors in these two circumstances, little research has focused on analyzing the differences in driving style, which can provide more integrated knowledge of a driver from the natural structure, stimulus–response mechanism, of driving behaviors. Therefore, in this paper, the driving styles in both the real world and the simulated world are extracted by implementing the nonnegative matrix factorization method on the collected VSD data. Through this analysis, the driving style differences can be quantitatively described and discussed in detail. It is found that the drivers tend to be more unstable and sometimes aggressive when driving the simulator and the deviation in the perception of temporal gap in two circumstances is also discovered. The research findings are particularly valuable to calibrate the driving simulator and construct more reliable driving behavior models.     

北京市驾驶行为与影响因素分析

研究北京市驾驶行为的特征及其影响因素。对曼彻斯特驾驶行为问卷进行修订,考虑多种因素对驾驶行为的影响,对135名北京市汽车驾驶者进行问卷调查。经因子分析,得到5个驾驶行为因子分别是＂错误＂、＂失误＂、＂非故意违规＂、＂故意违规＂和＂过激行为＂,符合预期的因子结构。对驾驶行为的各类影响因素进行方差分析,结果表明与驾驶行为紧密相关的影响因素主要是驾驶者的自我评价和态度,如驾驶者对自己是否易受情绪影响的评价和对交通法规的态度等。驾驶培训经历,包括驾驶培训的地点和驾驶培训的时间跨度,也对驾驶行为存在一定影响。性别、年龄等其他因素对驾驶行为的影响相对较小。与西方男家相比,中国汽车化历史较短,驾驶行为具有不同的特点。     

Factors affecting lane change crashes

This study aims to investigate the contributing factors affecting the occurrence of crashes while lane-changing maneuvers of drivers. Two different data sets were used from the same drivers' population. The first data set was collected from the traffic police crash reports and the second data set was collected through a questionnaire survey that was conducted among 429 drivers. Two different logistic regression models were developed by employing the two sets of the collected data. The results of the crash occurrence model showed that the drivers' factors (gender, nationality and years of experience in driving), location and surrounding condition factors (non-junction locations, light and road surface conditions) and roads feature (road type, number of lanes and speed limit value) are the significant variables that affected the occurrence of lane-change crashes. About 57.2% of the survey responders committed that different sources of distractions were the main reason for their sudden or unsafe lane change including 21.2% was due to mobile usage. The drivers' behavior model results showed that drivers who did sudden lane change are more likely to be involved in traffic crashes with 2.53 times than others. The drivers who look towards the side mirrors and who look out the windows before lane-change intention have less probability to be involved in crashes by 4.61 and 3.85 times than others, respectively. Another interesting finding is that drivers who reported that they received enough training about safe lane change maneuvering during issuing the driving licenses are less likely to be involved in crashes by 2.06 times than other drivers.     

Motion cueing in high-performance vehicle simulators

The majority of motion cueing algorithms have been developed for passenger car applications, with correspondingly less research dedicated to race-car and high-performance vehicle simulators. In the high-performance context, the focus is on cueing the vehicle's behavioural and handling characteristics, particularly when driving near the limits of performance. In race-car simulators the cueing requirements are therefore quite different, with the problem made all the more challenging by the presence of large accelerations. To understand the drivers' cueing needs, the vehicle's stability and handling response characteristics must be examined near the performance boundary. Frozen-time eigenvalue analyses are used to determine stability and response characteristics across all vehicle operating conditions, including accelerating and braking under cornering, with the results used to determine motion cueing algorithm requirements. Lateral acceleration and yaw cueing filters are designed in order to retain information critical to understanding the vehicle's behaviour on its performance boundary. Cueing filters are then tested, with the help of a professional race-car driver, and are found to provide the cues necessary for the driver to control the vehicle on the limit of performance.     

Mining of the association rules between driver electrodermal activity and speed variation in different road intersections

It is commonly acknowledged that the human factor and the interaction between the human factor and the road environment are among the most common causes of road accidents. Physiological signals can provide a real-time assessment of the driver's state because they can be collected continuously without interfering with the driver's task performance or the drivers' perception of the road. This study presents a method for measuring and quantifying drivers' physiological responses when approaching T-junctions and roundabouts using electrodermal activity and speed variations. Speed and electrodermal activity were collected continuously during a driving study which took place on a test environment based at Cranfield University and surrounding roads. Twenty participants were involved in the study. The analysis focused on four crossing manoeuvres on two T-junctions and a roundabout. The association Rule with the Apriori algorithm was used in order to evaluate associations between the variables related to electrodermal activity, i.e. the number and amplitude of the SCR peaks (assessed by the Electrodermal Impact Index in aggregate form), and the variables related to speed, i.e. the speed variation and its sign (positive or negative), for each type of intersection. The main results of this study can be summarized as follows: 1) the rules obtained for the manoeuvres on the T-Junctions show that the T-junctions induce low variations in the electrodermal activity and are often associated with a significant speed increase (between 20% and 30%); 2) the rules obtained for the manoeuvres on the roundabout highlights that the roundabout induces high variations in the electrodermal activity and is associated with a significant speed reduction (between 20% and 40%).     

新能源汽车续驶里程焦虑及维修技术研究

续驶里程焦虑是新能源汽车售后市场抱怨最多的问题。文章从售后角度分析了导致续驶里程焦虑的原因及维修排查技术,提出了一些建议性措施。旨在为售后相关人员提供一定的理论指导,从而推动售后市场更好的发展。     

Behavioral aspects of safety culture: Identification of critical safety-related behaviors of motorcyclists in Indonesia's urban areas via the application of behavioral-based safety programs

Many violations and accidents involving motorcyclists occur in the urban areas of Indonesia. It can be said that the failure to develop a good traffic safety culture causes poor motorcyclist behavior, as shaped by existing programs and mechanisms. This study aimed to identify motorcyclists' critical behaviors by conducting investigations using the reciprocal safety culture model as a framework. We tried to identify and clarify the safe behaviors expected by local governments from the existing driving safety program. By applying the antecedent-behavior-consequence model of the behavioral-based safety program, we obtained sixty-three behaviors associated with the six criteria of safe driving. We surveyed motorcyclists (N = 97) to review the sixty-three motorcyclist behaviors in the urban area. The relationship between the behavioral and psychological aspects of the reciprocal safety culture model was investigated to obtain the motorcyclists' critical behaviors. Multiple linear regression model, optimized by the stepwise regression, described the influence motorcyclist behavior on the perception of driving safety. We identified eight critical safety-related behaviors engaged in by motorcyclists. Observation revealed some cultural issues embedded in motorcyclists' eight critical safety-related behaviors that need to be intervened by the local government. The reciprocal safety culture model could be applied in the behavioral-based safety program to approach traffic safety culture issues. In order to develop a good traffic safety culture in the urban area, the local government needs to review the existing driving safety program by understanding drivers' behaviors as they relate to such a program.     

New viewpoints for evaluation of in-vehicle information systems: applying methods in cognitive engineering

This study describes new viewpoints for the evaluation of human interfaces of in-vehicle information systems. Firstly, by using quantitative analysis, the drivers' characteristics were compared and investigated in the cases of using a navigation system and a paper map. The results show that it is difficult to clarify what caused the difference of drivers' behavior. A new framework which includes methods based on cognitive science was introduced and the drivers' behavior was investigated using the framework. The results indicate that it is important to investigate the driver's cognitive process and that this framework is effective for evaluation of the human interface.     

用心工作·专心驾驶·尽心服务——记浙江省2010年度道路客运安全驾驶标兵何铁华

一位平凡的驾驶员,26年来如一日地爱岗敬业,默默奉献.在这26年里,他没有惊天动地的业绩,没有留下任何违章违规的记录,没有一次有责质量投诉,有的只是安全行车203万km无事故的记录!何铁华,一位杭州长运集团公司普通的驾驶员,在他平凡的岗位上书写了不平凡的记录.2010年度被评为“浙江省道路客运安全驾驶标兵”,是对他26年来安全行车的肯定.     

基于TruckSim的客车行驶安全因素研究

一些行驶的车辆在一些紧急情况下可能会因为驾驶员对路面情况判断失误而导致交通事故的发生,客车相对于一些小型车辆来说重心高,稳定性相对较低,在路面上行驶安全性也相对较低,可能会出现侧滑、甩尾现象。文章研究客车行驶的稳定性,通过TruckSim软件对客车进行建模仿真,得到客车在不同道路条件路面上行驶时的试验性能曲线,分析影响客车的安全因素,有助于帮助驾驶员在安全地行驶速度下运行,提高客车安全性。