76 FR 68328 - Commercial Driver's License Information System State Procedures Manual, Release 5.2.0

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-04

... mandating CDLIS and discusses types of CDLIS users. This Manual also includes descriptions, excerpted from... Manual, Release 5.2.0 AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT. ACTION: Final...) Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS) State Procedures Manual (the Manual) (Release 5.2.0...

Basic Collision Warning and Driver Information Systems: Human Factors Research Needs

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-11-01

As part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) program, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) investigated the human factors research needs for integrating in-vehicle safety and driver information technolo...

Field deployment to quantify the value of real-time information by integrating driver routing decisions and route assignment strategies.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-05-01

Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) have been proposed as a mechanism to generate and : distribute real-time travel information to drivers for the purpose of improving travel experience : represented by experienced travel time and enhancing ...

A Concept for Continuous Monitoring that Reduces Redundancy in Information Assurance Processes

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-01

System.out.println(“Driver loaded”); String url=“jdbc:postgresql://localhost/IAcontrols”; String user = “ postgres ”; String pwd... postgres ”; Connection DB_mobile_conn = DriverManager.getConnection(url,user,pwd); System.out.println(“Database Connect ok...user = “ postgres ”; String pwd = “ postgres ”; Connection DB_mobile_conn = DriverManager.getConnection(url,user,pwd); System.out.println

A Study of Driver's Route Choice Behavior Based on Evolutionary Game Theory

PubMed Central

Jiang, Xiaowei; Ji, Yanjie; Deng, Wei

2014-01-01

This paper proposes a route choice analytic method that embeds cumulative prospect theory in evolutionary game theory to analyze how the drivers adjust their route choice behaviors under the influence of the traffic information. A simulated network with two alternative routes and one variable message sign is built to illustrate the analytic method. We assume that the drivers in the transportation system are bounded rational, and the traffic information they receive is incomplete. An evolutionary game model is constructed to describe the evolutionary process of the drivers' route choice decision-making behaviors. Here we conclude that the traffic information plays an important role in the route choice behavior. The driver's route decision-making process develops towards different evolutionary stable states in accordance with different transportation situations. The analysis results also demonstrate that employing cumulative prospect theory and evolutionary game theory to study the driver's route choice behavior is effective. This analytic method provides an academic support and suggestion for the traffic guidance system, and may optimize the travel efficiency to a certain extent. PMID:25610455

A study of driver's route choice behavior based on evolutionary game theory.

PubMed

Jiang, Xiaowei; Ji, Yanjie; Du, Muqing; Deng, Wei

2014-01-01

This paper proposes a route choice analytic method that embeds cumulative prospect theory in evolutionary game theory to analyze how the drivers adjust their route choice behaviors under the influence of the traffic information. A simulated network with two alternative routes and one variable message sign is built to illustrate the analytic method. We assume that the drivers in the transportation system are bounded rational, and the traffic information they receive is incomplete. An evolutionary game model is constructed to describe the evolutionary process of the drivers' route choice decision-making behaviors. Here we conclude that the traffic information plays an important role in the route choice behavior. The driver's route decision-making process develops towards different evolutionary stable states in accordance with different transportation situations. The analysis results also demonstrate that employing cumulative prospect theory and evolutionary game theory to study the driver's route choice behavior is effective. This analytic method provides an academic support and suggestion for the traffic guidance system, and may optimize the travel efficiency to a certain extent.

Car drivers' perceptions of electronic stability control (ESC) systems.

PubMed

Vadeby, Anna; Wiklund, Mats; Forward, Sonja

2011-05-01

As a way to reduce the number of car crashes different in-car safety devices are being introduced. In this paper one such application is being investigated, namely the electronic stability control system (ESC). The study used a survey method, including 2000 private car drivers (1000 driving a car with ESC and 1000 driving a car without ESC). The main objective was to investigate the effect of ESC on driver behaviour. Results show that drivers report that they drive even more carelessly when they believe that they have ESC, than when they do not. Men are more risk prone than women and young drivers more than older drivers. Using the theory of planned behaviour the results show that attitude, subjective norm and perceived control explain between 62% and 67% of driver's variation of intentions to take risks. When descriptive norm was added to the model a small but statistically significant increase was found. The study also shows that more than 35% erroneously believe that their car is equipped with an ESC system. These findings may suggest that driver behaviour could reduce the positive effect ESC has on accidents. It also shows that drivers who purchase a new car are not well informed about what kind of safety devices the car is equipped with. These findings highlight the need for more targeted information to drivers. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated deployment architecture for predictive real-time traffic routing incorporating human factors considerations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-05-01

As Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) are being more widely accessed by drivers, understanding drivers behavioral responses to real-time travel information through ATIS and its consequential benefits are important to the widespread deplo...

Leveraging Intelligent Vehicle Technologies to Maximize Fuel Economy (Presentation)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gonder, J.

2011-11-01

Advancements in vehicle electronics, along with communication and sensing technologies, have led to a growing number of intelligent vehicle applications. Example systems include those for advanced driver information, route planning and prediction, driver assistance, and crash avoidance. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is exploring ways to leverage intelligent vehicle systems to achieve fuel savings. This presentation discusses several potential applications, such as providing intelligent feedback to drivers on specific ways to improve their driving efficiency, and using information about upcoming driving to optimize electrified vehicle control strategies for maximum energy efficiency and battery life. The talk also covers the potentialmore » of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and related technologies to deliver significant fuel savings in addition to providing safety and convenience benefits.« less

Improving the driver-automation interaction: an approach using automation uncertainty.

PubMed

Beller, Johannes; Heesen, Matthias; Vollrath, Mark

2013-12-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether communicating automation uncertainty improves the driver-automation interaction. A false system understanding of infallibility may provoke automation misuse and can lead to severe consequences in case of automation failure. The presentation of automation uncertainty may prevent this false system understanding and, as was shown by previous studies, may have numerous benefits. Few studies, however, have clearly shown the potential of communicating uncertainty information in driving. The current study fills this gap. We conducted a driving simulator experiment, varying the presented uncertainty information between participants (no uncertainty information vs. uncertainty information) and the automation reliability (high vs.low) within participants. Participants interacted with a highly automated driving system while engaging in secondary tasks and were required to cooperate with the automation to drive safely. Quantile regressions and multilevel modeling showed that the presentation of uncertainty information increases the time to collision in the case of automation failure. Furthermore, the data indicated improved situation awareness and better knowledge of fallibility for the experimental group. Consequently, the automation with the uncertainty symbol received higher trust ratings and increased acceptance. The presentation of automation uncertaintythrough a symbol improves overall driver-automation cooperation. Most automated systems in driving could benefit from displaying reliability information. This display might improve the acceptance of fallible systems and further enhances driver-automation cooperation.

Untangling the drivers of nonlinear systems with information theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wing, S.; Johnson, J.

2017-12-01

Many systems found in nature are nonlinear. The drivers of the system are often nonlinearly correlated with one another, which makes it a challenge to understand the effects of an individual driver. For example, solar wind velocity (Vsw) and density (nsw) are both found to correlate well with radiation belt fluxes and are thought to be drivers of the magnetospheric dynamics; however, the Vsw is anti-correlated with nsw, which can potentially confuse interpretation of these relationships as causal or coincidental. Information theory can untangle the drivers of these systems, describe the underlying dynamics, and offer constraints to modelers and theorists, leading to better understanding of the systems. Two examples are presented. In the first example, the solar wind drivers of geosynchronous electrons with energy range of 1.8-3.5 MeV are investigated using mutual information (MI), conditional mutual information (CMI), and transfer entropy (TE). The information transfer from Vsw to geosynchronous MeV electron flux (Je) peaks with a lag time (t) of 2 days. As previously reported, Je is anticorrelated with nsw with a lag of 1 day. However, this lag time and anticorrelation can be attributed mainly to the Je(t + 2 days) correlation with Vsw(t) and nsw(t + 1 day) anticorrelation with Vsw(t). Analyses of solar wind driving of the magnetosphere need to consider the large lag times, up to 3 days, in the (Vsw, nsw) anticorrelation. Using CMI to remove the effects of Vsw, the response of Je to nsw is 30% smaller and has a lag time < 24 hr, suggesting that the loss mechanism due to nsw or solar wind dynamic pressure has to start operating in < 24 hr. nsw transfers about 36% as much information as Vsw (the primary driver) to Je. Nonstationarity in the system dynamics are investigated using windowed TE. When the data is ordered according to high or low transfer entropy it is possible to understand details of the triangle distribution that has been identified between Je(t + 2 days) vs. Vsw(t). In the second example, the previously identified causal parameters of the solar cycle such as the solar polar field, meridional flow, polar faculae (proxy for polar field), dipole axis strength, are investigated. We discuss the response lag times of the sunspot numbers and information transferred to the sunspot numbers from the dynamic time series of these parameters.

Integration of ATIS and crash avoidance in-vehicle information : preliminary simulator study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-12-01

This study investigated three issues relevant to Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) design: (1) the influence of an ATIS on driver performance in reduced visibility conditions, (2) the influence of an ATIS on drivers' reactions to unexpected...

Factors correlated with traffic accidents as a basis for evaluating Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.

PubMed

Staubach, Maria

2009-09-01

This study aims to identify factors which influence and cause errors in traffic accidents and to use these as a basis for information to guide the application and design of driver assistance systems. A total of 474 accidents were examined in depth for this study by means of a psychological survey, data from accident reports, and technical reconstruction information. An error analysis was subsequently carried out, taking into account the driver, environment, and vehicle sub-systems. Results showed that all accidents were influenced by errors as a consequence of distraction and reduced activity. For crossroad accidents, there were further errors resulting from sight obstruction, masked stimuli, focus errors, and law infringements. Lane departure crashes were additionally caused by errors as a result of masked stimuli, law infringements, expectation errors as well as objective and action slips, while same direction accidents occurred additionally because of focus errors, expectation errors, and objective and action slips. Most accidents were influenced by multiple factors. There is a safety potential for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), which support the driver in information assimilation and help to avoid distraction and reduced activity. The design of the ADAS is dependent on the specific influencing factors of the accident type.

Changing drivers' minds: the evaluation of an advanced driver coaching system.

PubMed

Stanton, N A; Walker, G H; Young, M S; Kazi, T; Salmon, P M

2007-08-01

This paper reports on the study of an advanced driver coaching system. The study distinguishes between different types of post-licensure programmes in order to explore a system based on a model of identifying and responding to hazards, called 'information, position, speed, gear and acceleration' (IPSGA). Previous literature has been sceptical about the benefits of advanced driver education; thus, the current study was designed to control for the effects of coaching drivers in the 'IPSGA' system (the treatment group) against the effects of being accompanied (control group 1), as well as the mere effects of time (control group 2). Measures were taken before the driver coaching began (as a baseline measure) and again after 8 weeks (to see if any changes had occurred). These measures included driver knowledge via a post-drive interview, observations of driving skill and driver attitude using a locus of control scale. The results suggest that advanced driver coaching using the IPSGA system had a beneficial effect on all of these measures. Drivers in the coaching condition improved their situation awareness, driving skills and reduced attributions of external locus of control. The study lends support to the case for one-to-one individualized driver coaching using a systematic model of driving.

DriveID: safety innovation through individuation.

PubMed

Sawyer, Ben; Teo, Grace; Mouloua, Mustapha

2012-01-01

The driving task is highly complex and places considerable perceptual, physical and cognitive demands on the driver. As driving is fundamentally an information processing activity, distracted or impaired drivers have diminished safety margins compared with non- distracted drivers (Hancock and Parasuraman, 1992; TRB 1998 a & b). This competition for sensory and decision making capacities can lead to failures that cost lives. Some groups, teens and elderly drivers for example, have patterns of systematically poor perceptual, physical and cognitive performance while driving. Although there are technologies developed to aid these different drivers, these systems are often misused and underutilized. The DriveID project aims to design and develop a passive, automated face identification system capable of robustly identifying the driver of the vehicle, retrieve a stored profile, and intelligently prescribing specific accident prevention systems and driving environment customizations.

Minimum Required Attention: A Human-Centered Approach to Driver Inattention.

PubMed

Kircher, Katja; Ahlstrom, Christer

2017-05-01

To propose a driver attention theory based on the notion of driving as a satisficing and partially self-paced task and, within this framework, present a definition for driver inattention. Many definitions of driver inattention and distraction have been proposed, but they are difficult to operationalize, and they are either unreasonably strict and inflexible or suffer from hindsight bias. Existing definitions of driver distraction are reviewed and their shortcomings identified. We then present the minimum required attention (MiRA) theory to overcome these shortcomings. Suggestions on how to operationalize MiRA are also presented. MiRA describes which role the attention of the driver plays in the shared "situation awareness of the traffic system." A driver is considered attentive when sampling sufficient information to meet the demands of the system, namely, that he or she fulfills the preconditions to be able to form and maintain a good enough mental representation of the situation. A driver should only be considered inattentive when information sampling is not sufficient, regardless of whether the driver is concurrently executing an additional task or not. The MiRA theory builds on well-established driver attention theories. It goes beyond available driver distraction definitions by first defining what a driver needs to be attentive to, being free from hindsight bias, and allowing the driver to adapt to the current demands of the traffic situation through satisficing and self-pacing. MiRA has the potential to provide the stepping stone for unbiased and operationalizable inattention detection and classification.

Regenerative braking failures in battery electric vehicles and their impact on the driver.

PubMed

Cocron, Peter; Neumann, Isabel; Kreußlein, Maria; Wanner, Daniel; Bierbach, Maxim; Krems, Josef F

2018-09-01

A unique feature of battery electric vehicles (BEV) is their regenerative braking system (RBS) to recapture kinetic energy in deceleration maneuvers. If such a system is triggered via gas pedal, most deceleration maneuvers can be executed by just using this pedal. This impacts the driving task as different deceleration strategies can be applied. Previous research has indicated that a RBS failure leading to a sudden reduced deceleration represents an adverse event for BEV drivers. In the present study, we investigated such a failure's impact on the driver's evaluation and behavior. We conducted an experiment on a closed-off test track using a modified BEV that could temporarily switch off the RBS. One half of the 44 participants in the study received information about an upcoming RBS failure whereas the other half did not. While 91% of the drivers receiving prior information noticed the RBS failure, only 48% recognized it in the "uniformed" group. In general, the failure and the perception of its occurrence influenced the driver's evaluation and behavior more than receiving prior information. Nevertheless, under the tested conditions, drivers kept control and were able to compensate for the RBS failure. As the participants drove quite simple maneuvers in our experiment, further studies are needed to validate our findings using more complex driving settings. Given that RBS failures could have severe consequences, appropriate information and warning strategies for drivers are necessary. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intravehicular, Short- and Long-Range Communication Information Fusion for Providing Safe Speed Warnings

PubMed Central

Jiménez, Felipe; Naranjo, Jose Eugenio; Serradilla, Francisco; Pérez, Elisa; Hernández, María Jose; Ruiz, Trinidad; Anaya, José Javier; Díaz, Alberto

2016-01-01

Inappropriate speed is a relevant concurrent factor in many traffic accidents. Moreover, in recent years, traffic accidents numbers in Spain have fallen sharply, but this reduction has not been so significant on single carriageway roads. These infrastructures have less equipment than high-capacity roads, therefore measures to reduce accidents on them should be implemented in vehicles. This article describes the development and analysis of the impact on the driver of a warning system for the safe speed on each road section in terms of geometry, the presence of traffic jams, weather conditions, type of vehicle and actual driving conditions. This system is based on an application for smartphones and includes knowledge of the vehicle position via Ground Positioning System (GPS), access to intravehicular information from onboard sensors through the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, vehicle data entry by the driver, access to roadside information (short-range communications) and access to a centralized server with information about the road in the current and following sections of the route (long-range communications). Using this information, the system calculates the safe speed, recommends the appropriate speed in advance in the following sections and provides warnings to the driver. Finally, data are sent from vehicles to a server to generate new information to disseminate to other users or to supervise drivers’ behaviour. Tests in a driving simulator have been used to define the system warnings and Human Machine Interface (HMI) and final tests have been performed on real roads in order to analyze the effect of the system on driver behavior. PMID:26805839

Toward best practice in Human Machine Interface design for older drivers: A review of current design guidelines.

PubMed

Young, K L; Koppel, S; Charlton, J L

2017-09-01

Older adults are the fastest growing segment of the driving population. While there is a strong emphasis for older people to maintain their mobility, the safety of older drivers is a serious community concern. Frailty and declines in a range of age-related sensory, cognitive, and physical impairments can place older drivers at an increased risk of crash-related injuries and death. A number of studies have indicated that in-vehicle technologies such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and In-Vehicle Information Systems (IVIS) may provide assistance to older drivers. However, these technologies will only benefit older drivers if their design is congruent with the complex needs and diverse abilities of this driving cohort. The design of ADAS and IVIS is largely informed by automotive Human Machine Interface (HMI) guidelines. However, it is unclear to what extent the declining sensory, cognitive and physical capabilities of older drivers are addressed in the current guidelines. This paper provides a review of key current design guidelines for IVIS and ADAS with respect to the extent they address age-related changes in functional capacities. The review revealed that most of the HMI guidelines do not address design issues related to older driver impairments. In fact, in many guidelines driver age and sensory cognitive and physical impairments are not mentioned at all and where reference is made, it is typically very broad. Prescriptive advice on how to actually design a system so that it addresses the needs and limitations of older drivers is not provided. In order for older drivers to reap the full benefits that in-vehicle technology can afford, it is critical that further work establish how older driver limitations and capabilities can be supported by the system design process, including their inclusion into HMI design guidelines. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Role Of Driver Inattention In Crashes; New Statistics From The 1995 Crashworthiness Data System

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-08-08

INTELLIGENT VEHICLE INITIATIVE OR IVI : IN 1995, NHTSA BEGAN EMPLOYING THE CRASHWORTHINESS DATA SYSTEM (CDS) TO OBTAIN MORE IN-DEPTH INFORMATION ON DRIVER INATTENTION-RELATED CRASH CAUSES, INCLUDING DROWSINESS AND MANY FORMS OF DISTRACTION. CDS IS PO...

A Context-Aware S-Health Service System for Drivers.

PubMed

Chang, Jingkun; Yao, Wenbin; Li, Xiaoyong

2017-03-17

As a stressful and sensitive task, driving can be disturbed by various factors from the health condition of the driver to the environmental variables of the vehicle. Continuous monitoring of driving hazards and providing the most appropriate business services to meet actual needs can guarantee safe driving and make great use of the existing information resources and business services. However, there is no in-depth research on the perception of a driver's health status or the provision of customized business services in case of various hazardous situations. In order to constantly monitor the health status of the drivers and react to abnormal situations, this paper proposes a context-aware service system providing a configurable architecture for the design and implementation of the smart health service system for safe driving, which can perceive a driver's health status and provide helpful services to the driver. With the context-aware technology to construct a smart health services system for safe driving, this is the first time that such a service system has been implemented in practice. Additionally, an assessment model is proposed to mitigate the impact of the acceptable abnormal status and, thus, reduce the unnecessary invocation of the services. With regard to different assessed situations, the business services can be invoked for the driver to adapt to hazardous situations according to the services configuration model, which can take full advantage of the existing information resources and business services. The evaluation results indicate that the alteration of the observed status in a valid time range T can be tolerated and the frequency of the service invocation can be reduced.

Driver acceptance of commercial vehicle operations (CVO) technology in the motor carrier environment. Executive summary, Critical issues relating to acceptance of technology by interstate truck and bus drivers

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-05-01

The California database incorporated in the Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) is derived from the California TASAS (Traffic Accident Surveillance and Analysis System). The system, maintained by the Traffic Operations Office of Caltrans, is a m...

Designing Fatigue Warning Systems: The perspective of professional drivers.

PubMed

Meng, Fanxing; Li, Shuling; Cao, Lingzhi; Peng, Qijia; Li, Musen; Wang, Chunhui; Zhang, Wei

2016-03-01

Professional drivers have been characterized as experiencing heavy fatigue resulting from long driving time in their daily work. This study aimed to explore the potential demand of Fatigue Warning Systems (FWSs) among professional drivers as a means of reducing the danger of fatigue driving and to examine their opinions regarding the design of FWSs. Six focus groups with 35 participants and a questionnaire survey with 600 respondents were conducted among Chinese truck and taxi drivers to collect qualitative and quantitative data concerning the current situation of fatigue driving and opinions regarding the design of FWSs. The results revealed that both truck and taxi drivers had a positive attitude toward FWSs, and they hoped this system could not only monitor and warn them regarding their fatigue but also somewhat relieve their fatigue before they could stop and rest. As for warning signals, participants preferred auditory warnings, as opposed to visual, vibrotactile or electric stimuli. Interestingly, it was proposed that verbal warnings involving the information regarding consequences of fatigue driving or the wishes of drivers' family members would be more effective. Additionally, different warning patterns, including graded, single and continuous warnings, were discussed in the focus group. Finally, the participants proposed many other suggestions, as well as their concerns regarding FWSs, which will provide valuable information for companies who wish to develop FWSs for professional drivers. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The driver, the road, the rules … and the rest? A systems-based approach to young driver road safety.

PubMed

Scott-Parker, B; Goode, N; Salmon, P

2015-01-01

The persistent overrepresentation of young drivers in road crashes is universally recognised. A multitude of factors influencing their behaviour and safety have been identified through methods including crash analyses, simulated and naturalistic driving studies, and self-report measures. Across the globe numerous, diverse, countermeasures have been implemented; the design of the vast majority of these has been informed by a driver-centric approach. An alternative approach gaining popularity in transport safety is the systems approach which considers not only the characteristics of the individual, but also the decisions and actions of other actors within the road transport system, along with the interactions amongst them. This paper argues that for substantial improvements to be made in young driver road safety, what has been learnt from driver-centric research needs to be integrated into a systems approach, thus providing a holistic appraisal of the young driver road safety problem. Only then will more effective opportunities and avenues for intervention be realised. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

49 CFR 38.35 - Public information system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Public information system. 38.35 Section 38.35... SPECIFICATIONS FOR TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES Buses, Vans and Systems § 38.35 Public information system. (a... a public address system permitting the driver, or recorded or digitized human speech messages, to...

Speech-based E-mail and driver behavior: effects of an in-vehicle message system interface.

PubMed

Jamson, A Hamish; Westerman, Stephen J; Hockey, G Robert J; Carsten, Oliver M J

2004-01-01

As mobile office technology becomes more advanced, drivers have increased opportunity to process information "on the move." Although speech-based interfaces can minimize direct interference with driving, the cognitive demands associated with such systems may still cause distraction. We studied the effects on driving performance of an in-vehicle simulated "E-mail" message system; E-mails were either system controlled or driver controlled. A high-fidelity, fixed-base driving simulator was used to test 19 participants on a car-following task. Virtual traffic scenarios varying in driving demand. Drivers compensated for the secondary task by adopting longer headways but showed reduced anticipation of braking requirements and shorter time to collision. Drivers were also less reactive when processing E-mails, demonstrated by a reduction in steering wheel inputs. In most circumstances, there were advantages in providing drivers with control over when E-mails were opened. However, during periods without E-mail interaction in demanding traffic scenarios, drivers showed reduced braking anticipation. This may be a result of increased cognitive costs associated with the decision making process when using a driver-controlled interface when the task of scheduling E-mail acceptance is added to those of driving and E-mail response. Actual or potential applications of this research include the design of speech-based in-vehicle messaging systems.

Simulation-based evaluation of an in-vehicle smart situation awareness enhancement system.

PubMed

Gregoriades, Andreas; Sutcliffe, Alistair

2018-07-01

Situation awareness (SA) constitutes a critical factor in road safety, strongly related to accidents. This paper describes the evaluation of a proposed SA enhancement system (SAES) that exploits augmented reality through a head-up display (HUD). Two SAES designs were evaluation (information rich vs. minimal information) using a custom-made simulator and the Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique with performance and EEG measures. The paper describes the process of assessing the SA of drivers using the SAES, through a series of experiments with participants in a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment. The effectiveness of the SAES was tested in a within-group research design. The results showed that the information rich (radar-style display) was superior to the minimal (arrow hazard indicator) design and that both SAES improved drivers' SA and performance compared to the control (no HUD) design. Practitioner Summary: Even though driver situation awareness is considered as one of the leading causes of road accidents, little has been done to enhance it. The current study demonstrates the positive effect of a proposed situation awareness enhancement system on driver situation awareness, through an experiment using virtual prototyping in a simulator.

Display formats and commercial vehicle operator (CVO) workload

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-09-01

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of display modality, level of driver interaction, and amount of information on the driving performance and system operation performance of commercial drivers. Introducing any level of interacti...

LINKING GPS DATA TO GIS DATABASES IN NATURALISTIC STUDIES: EXAMPLES FROM DRIVERS WITH OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA

PubMed Central

Dawson, Jeffrey D.; Yu, Lixi; Sewell, Kelly; Skibbe, Adam; Aksan, Nazan S.; Tippin, Jon; Rizzo, Matthew

2015-01-01

Summary In naturalistic studies, it is vital to give appropriate context when analyzing driving behaviors. Such contextualization can help address the hypotheses that explore a) how drivers perform within specific types of environment (e.g., road types, speed limits, etc.), and b) how often drivers are exposed to such specific environments. In order to perform this contextualization in an automated fashion, we are using Global Positioning System (GPS) data obtained at 1 Hz and merging this with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) databases maintained by the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT). In this paper, we demonstrate our methods of doing this based on data from 43 drivers with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We also use maps from GIS software to illustrate how information can be displayed at the individual drive or day level, and we provide examples of some of the challenges that still need to be addressed. PMID:26665183

Characteristics of fatal road crashes involving unlicensed drivers or riders: Implications for countermeasures.

PubMed

Sagberg, Fridulv

2018-08-01

Drivers or riders without a valid license are involved in 10% of fatal road crashes in Norway. This was shown by an analysis of data from all fatal crashes in the period 2005-2014. A literature review shows that unlicensed drivers have a considerably increased crash risk. Such crashes could be prevented by electronic driver authentication, i.e., a technical system for checking that a driver or rider has legal access to a vehicle before driving is permitted. This can be done by requiring the driver/rider to identify themselves with a national identity number and a unique code or biometric information before driving may commence. The vehicle thereafter verifies license availability and vehicle access by communication with a central register. In more than 80% of fatal crashes with unlicensed drivers/riders, speeding and/or drug influence contributed to the crash. This means that a majority of crashes with unlicensed drivers alternatively could be prevented by already available systems, such as alcolock and speed limit dependent speed adapters. These systems will have a wider influence, by preventing crashes also among licensed drivers. Mandatory implementation of alcolock, speed limiter, and electronic driver authentication in all motorized vehicles is estimated to prevent up to 28% of fatal road crashes, depending on effectiveness of the systems. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two visual systems in monitoring of dynamic traffic: effects of visual disruption.

PubMed

Zheng, Xianjun Sam; McConkie, George W

2010-05-01

Studies from neurophysiology and neuropsychology provide support for two separate object- and location-based visual systems, ventral and dorsal. In the driving context, a study was conducted using a change detection paradigm to explore drivers' ability to monitor the dynamic traffic flow, and the effects of visual disruption on these two visual systems. While driving, a discrete change, such as vehicle location, color, or identity, was occasionally made in one of the vehicles on the road ahead of the driver. Experiment results show that without visual disruption, all changes were detected very well; yet, these equally perceivable changes were disrupted differently by a brief blank display (150 ms): the detection of location changes was especially reduced. The disruption effects were also bigger for the parked vehicle compared to the moving ones. The findings support the different roles for two visual systems in monitoring the dynamic traffic: the "where", dorsal system, tracks vehicle spatiotemporal information on perceptual level, encoding information in a coarse and transient manner; whereas the "what", ventral system, monitors vehicles' featural information, encoding information more accurately and robustly. Both systems work together contributing to the driver's situation awareness of traffic. Benefits and limitations of using the driving simulation are also discussed. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In-Vehicle Signing Functions and Systems Concepts

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-01-01

This paper describes functional requirements and system concepts for an In-Vehicle Signing (IVS) system, which will bring information from roadway signs, signals, and pavement markings into the vehicle for presentation to the driver. Information filt...

Drivers and synergies in the management of inland fisheries: Searching for sustainable solutions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lynch, Abigail; Beard, Douglas

2015-01-01

At the 2015 Global Conference on Inland Fisheries, we convened a Drivers and Synergies panel and working group to discuss competing sectors (e.g., hydropower, transportation, agriculture, mining and oil and gas extraction, forestry, tourism and recreation, and aquaculture) and large-scale drivers which exist predominately outside of the water sectors (e.g., economic growth, diversifying economies, population growth, urbanization, and climate change).  Drivers will influence these sectors and tradeoffs will be made.  Management of sustainable inland water systems requires making informed choices emphasizing those services that will provide sustainable benefits for humans while maintaining well-functioning ecological systems.  

Prediction of Driver’s Intention of Lane Change by Augmenting Sensor Information Using Machine Learning Techniques

PubMed Central

Kim, Il-Hwan; Bong, Jae-Hwan; Park, Jooyoung; Park, Shinsuk

2017-01-01

Driver assistance systems have become a major safety feature of modern passenger vehicles. The advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) is one of the active safety systems to improve the vehicle control performance and, thus, the safety of the driver and the passengers. To use the ADAS for lane change control, rapid and correct detection of the driver’s intention is essential. This study proposes a novel preprocessing algorithm for the ADAS to improve the accuracy in classifying the driver’s intention for lane change by augmenting basic measurements from conventional on-board sensors. The information on the vehicle states and the road surface condition is augmented by using an artificial neural network (ANN) models, and the augmented information is fed to a support vector machine (SVM) to detect the driver’s intention with high accuracy. The feasibility of the developed algorithm was tested through driving simulator experiments. The results show that the classification accuracy for the driver’s intention can be improved by providing an SVM model with sufficient driving information augmented by using ANN models of vehicle dynamics. PMID:28604582

Dynamic characteristics of a 20 kHz resonant power system - Fault identification and fault recovery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wasynczuk, O.

1988-01-01

A detailed simulation of a dc inductor resonant driver and receiver is used to demonstrate the transient characteristics of a 20 kHz resonant power system during fault and overload conditions. The simulated system consists of a dc inductor resonant inverter (driver), a 50-meter transmission cable, and a dc inductor resonant receiver load. Of particular interest are the driver and receiver performance during fault and overload conditions and on the recovery characteristics following removal of the fault. The information gained from these studies sets the stage for further work in fault identification and autonomous power system control.

Smart Vehicle System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pahadiya, Pallavi; Gupta, Rajni

2010-11-01

An approach to overcome the accidental problem happens in the night, while the driver is drunk or feels sleepy. This system controls the speed of the vehicle at steep turns. It is designed, to provide the information to the driver, whether the next turn is right/left, is there any traffic jam or land sliding in the coming way. It also assists during heavy rains and mist conditions. It may be implemented by using computer or by using a dedicated microcontroller. If we have a group of vehicles connected with the system then we can locate them by using the cameras, at different places. Information regarding any vehicle can be transmitted anywhere using Internet provided at the monitoring system, so as to prevent accidents or provide information during any calamity.

Modeling of Steer-by-Wire System Used in New Braking Handwheel Concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Messaoudène, K.; Oufroukh, N. Ait; Mammar, S.

2008-06-01

The handwheel is one of the primary control mechanisms of automobile thus interaction between the handwheel and the driver is critical to safety. The driver applies forces that direct the vehicle while the handwheel communicates feedback information to the driver of the forces experience by the car within its environment. The handwheel also provides a predictable mechanical feel to the driver to allow smooth and safe control. Many researchers tried to reproduce this feeling by creating steer-by-wire systems. This paper explores this new concept of handwheel and it describes the modeling steps of the components including the restitution mechanism for force feedback and its various links with the vehicle lateral dynamics and the pneumatic contacts. The aim is to explore the possibility to combine a braking device within the steer-by-wire system in order to provide a more suitable and ergonomic device to the driver.

An examination of driver performance under reduced visibility conditions when using an in-vehicle signing and information system (ISIS)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-12-01

Recent technological innovations and the need for increased safety and congestion reduction on the world's roads have led to the introduction of In-Vehicle Information Systems (IVIS). These systems will provide navigation and advisory information to ...

Coming back into the loop: Drivers' perceptual-motor performance in critical events after automated driving.

PubMed

Louw, Tyron; Markkula, Gustav; Boer, Erwin; Madigan, Ruth; Carsten, Oliver; Merat, Natasha

2017-11-01

This driving simulator study, conducted as part of the EU AdaptIVe project, investigated drivers' performance in critical traffic events, during the resumption of control from an automated driving system. Prior to the critical events, using a between-participant design, 75 drivers were exposed to various screen manipulations that varied the amount of available visual information from the road environment and automation state, which aimed to take them progressively further 'out-of-the-loop' (OoTL). The current paper presents an analysis of the timing, type, and rate of drivers' collision avoidance response, also investigating how these were influenced by the criticality of the unfolding situation. Results showed that the amount of visual information available to drivers during automation impacted on how quickly they resumed manual control, with less information associated with slower take-over times, however, this did not influence the timing of when drivers began a collision avoidance manoeuvre. Instead, the observed behaviour is in line with recent accounts emphasising the role of scenario kinematics in the timing of driver avoidance response. When considering collision incidents in particular, avoidance manoeuvres were initiated when the situation criticality exceeded an Inverse Time To Collision value of ≈0.3s -1 . Our results suggest that take-over time and timing and quality of avoidance response appear to be largely independent, and while long take-over time did not predict collision outcome, kinematically late initiation of avoidance did. Hence, system design should focus on achieving kinematically early avoidance initiation, rather than short take-over times. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Context-Aware EEG Headset System for Early Detection of Driver Drowsiness.

PubMed

Li, Gang; Chung, Wan-Young

2015-08-21

Driver drowsiness is a major cause of mortality in traffic accidents worldwide. Electroencephalographic (EEG) signal, which reflects the brain activities, is more directly related to drowsiness. Thus, many Brain-Machine-Interface (BMI) systems have been proposed to detect driver drowsiness. However, detecting driver drowsiness at its early stage poses a major practical hurdle when using existing BMI systems. This study proposes a context-aware BMI system aimed to detect driver drowsiness at its early stage by enriching the EEG data with the intensity of head-movements. The proposed system is carefully designed for low-power consumption with on-chip feature extraction and low energy Bluetooth connection. Also, the proposed system is implemented using JAVA programming language as a mobile application for on-line analysis. In total, 266 datasets obtained from six subjects who participated in a one-hour monotonous driving simulation experiment were used to evaluate this system. According to a video-based reference, the proposed system obtained an overall detection accuracy of 82.71% for classifying alert and slightly drowsy events by using EEG data alone and 96.24% by using the hybrid data of head-movement and EEG. These results indicate that the combination of EEG data and head-movement contextual information constitutes a robust solution for the early detection of driver drowsiness.

A Context-Aware EEG Headset System for Early Detection of Driver Drowsiness

PubMed Central

Li, Gang; Chung, Wan-Young

2015-01-01

Driver drowsiness is a major cause of mortality in traffic accidents worldwide. Electroencephalographic (EEG) signal, which reflects the brain activities, is more directly related to drowsiness. Thus, many Brain-Machine-Interface (BMI) systems have been proposed to detect driver drowsiness. However, detecting driver drowsiness at its early stage poses a major practical hurdle when using existing BMI systems. This study proposes a context-aware BMI system aimed to detect driver drowsiness at its early stage by enriching the EEG data with the intensity of head-movements. The proposed system is carefully designed for low-power consumption with on-chip feature extraction and low energy Bluetooth connection. Also, the proposed system is implemented using JAVA programming language as a mobile application for on-line analysis. In total, 266 datasets obtained from six subjects who participated in a one-hour monotonous driving simulation experiment were used to evaluate this system. According to a video-based reference, the proposed system obtained an overall detection accuracy of 82.71% for classifying alert and slightly drowsy events by using EEG data alone and 96.24% by using the hybrid data of head-movement and EEG. These results indicate that the combination of EEG data and head-movement contextual information constitutes a robust solution for the early detection of driver drowsiness. PMID:26308002

Presenting hazard warning information to drivers using an advanced traveler information system

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-02-01

Although Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) devices have the potential to improve travel safety, efficiency, and comfort, they represent a new frontier in ground transportation. In order to realize this potential, they must be designed in a ...

Driving performance at lateral system limits during partially automated driving.

PubMed

Naujoks, Frederik; Purucker, Christian; Wiedemann, Katharina; Neukum, Alexandra; Wolter, Stefan; Steiger, Reid

2017-11-01

This study investigated driver performance during system limits of partially automated driving. Using a motion-based driving simulator, drivers encountered different situations in which a partially automated vehicle could no longer safely keep the lateral guidance. Drivers were distracted by a non-driving related task on a touch display or driving without an additional secondary task. While driving in partially automated mode drivers could either take their hands off the steering wheel for only a short period of time (10s, so-called 'Hands-on' variant) or for an extended period of time (120s, so-called 'Hands-off' variant). When the system limit was reached (e.g., when entering a work zone with temporary lines), the lateral vehicle control by the automation was suddenly discontinued and a take-over request was issued to the drivers. Regardless of the hands-off interval and the availability of a secondary task, all drivers managed the transition to manual driving safely. No lane exceedances were observed and the situations were rated as 'harmless' by the drivers. The lack of difference between the hands-off intervals can be partly attributed to the fact that most of the drivers kept contact to the steering wheel, even in the hands-off condition. Although all drivers were able to control the system limits, most of them could not explain why exactly the take-over request was issued. The average helpfulness of the take-over request was rated on an intermediate level. Consequently, providing drivers with information about the reason for a system limit can be recommended. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A low-cost wireless system for autonomous generation of road safety alerts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banks, B.; Harms, T.; Sedigh Sarvestani, S.; Bastianini, F.

2009-03-01

This paper describes an autonomous wireless system that generates road safety alerts, in the form of SMS and email messages, and sends them to motorists subscribed to the service. Drivers who regularly traverse a particular route are the main beneficiaries of the proposed system, which is intended for sparsely populated rural areas, where information available to drivers about road safety, especially bridge conditions, is very limited. At the heart of this system is the SmartBrick, a wireless system for remote structural health monitoring that has been presented in our previous work. Sensors on the SmartBrick network regularly collect data on water level, temperature, strain, and other parameters important to safety of a bridge. This information is stored on the device, and reported to a remote server over the GSM cellular infrastructure. The system generates alerts indicating hazardous road conditions when the data exceeds thresholds that can be remotely changed. The remote server and any number of designated authorities can be notified by email, FTP, and SMS. Drivers can view road conditions and subscribe to SMS and/or email alerts through a web page. The subscription-only form of alert generation has been deliberately selected to mitigate privacy concerns. The proposed system can significantly increase the safety of travel through rural areas. Real-time availability of information to transportation authorities and law enforcement officials facilitates early or proactive reaction to road hazards. Direct notification of drivers further increases the utility of the system in increasing the safety of the traveling public.

Advanced Traveler Information Systems and Commercial Vehicle Operations Components of the Intelligent Transportation Systems: On-road Evaluation of ATIS Messages

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-03-01

This report describes the results of an on-road study that examined how Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) information influences driver behavior. The objective of the study was to develop ATIS design guidelines, primarily for In-Vehicle Si...

Human factors of in-vehicle driver information systems : an executive summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

This report summarizes a multiyear program concerning driver interfaces for future cars. The goals were to develop (1) human Factors guidelines, (2) methods for testing safety and ease of use, and (3) a model that predicts human performance with thes...

Final report : model deployment of a regional, multi-modal 511 traveler information system

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-02-01

A survey was designed and conducted, to extend prior work discussed in the Driver Fatigue and Alertness Study literature review, by collecting additional data about commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers and their job characteristics. It also sought ...

Prevalence of driver physical factors leading to unintentional lane departure crashes.

PubMed

Cicchino, Jessica B; Zuby, David S

2017-07-04

Some lane-keeping assist systems in development and production provide autonomous braking and steering to correct unintentional lane drift but otherwise require drivers to fully control their vehicles. The goal of this study was to quantify the proportion of drivers involved in unintentional lane drift crashes who would be unable to regain control of their vehicles to inform the design of such systems. The NHTSA's National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey collected in-depth, on-scene data for a nationally representative sample of 5,470 U.S. police-reported passenger vehicle crashes during 2005-2007 that occurred between 6 a.m. and midnight and for which emergency medical services were dispatched. The physical states of drivers involved in the 631 lane drift crashes in the sample, which represented 259,034 crashes nationally, were characterized. Thirty-four percent of drivers who crashed because they drifted from their lanes were sleeping or otherwise incapacitated. These drivers would be unlikely to regain full control of their vehicles if an active safety system prevented their initial drift. An additional 13% of these drivers had a nonincapacitating medical issue, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) ≥ 0.08%, or other physical factor that may not allow them to regain full vehicle control. When crashes involved serious or fatal injuries, 42% of drivers who drifted were sleeping or otherwise incapacitated, and an additional 14% were impacted by a nonincapacitating medical issue, BAC ≥ 0.08%, or other physical factor. Designers of active safety systems that provide autonomous lateral control should consider that a substantial proportion of drivers at risk of lane drift crashes are incapacitated. Systems that provide only transient corrective action may not ultimately prevent lane departure crashes for these drivers, and drivers who do avoid lane drift crashes because of these systems may be at high risk of other types of crashes when they attempt to regain control. Active lane-keeping assist systems may need to be combined with in-vehicle driver monitoring to identify incapacitated drivers and safely remove them from the roadway if the systems are to reach their maximum potential benefit.

Design and Implementation of Real-Time Vehicular Camera for Driver Assistance and Traffic Congestion Estimation

PubMed Central

Son, Sanghyun; Baek, Yunju

2015-01-01

As society has developed, the number of vehicles has increased and road conditions have become complicated, increasing the risk of crashes. Therefore, a service that provides safe vehicle control and various types of information to the driver is urgently needed. In this study, we designed and implemented a real-time traffic information system and a smart camera device for smart driver assistance systems. We selected a commercial device for the smart driver assistance systems, and applied a computer vision algorithm to perform image recognition. For application to the dynamic region of interest, dynamic frame skip methods were implemented to perform parallel processing in order to enable real-time operation. In addition, we designed and implemented a model to estimate congestion by analyzing traffic information. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated using images of a real road environment. We found that the processing time improved by 15.4 times when all the proposed methods were applied in the application. Further, we found experimentally that there was little or no change in the recognition accuracy when the proposed method was applied. Using the traffic congestion estimation model, we also found that the average error rate of the proposed model was 5.3%. PMID:26295230

Design and Implementation of Real-Time Vehicular Camera for Driver Assistance and Traffic Congestion Estimation.

PubMed

Son, Sanghyun; Baek, Yunju

2015-08-18

As society has developed, the number of vehicles has increased and road conditions have become complicated, increasing the risk of crashes. Therefore, a service that provides safe vehicle control and various types of information to the driver is urgently needed. In this study, we designed and implemented a real-time traffic information system and a smart camera device for smart driver assistance systems. We selected a commercial device for the smart driver assistance systems, and applied a computer vision algorithm to perform image recognition. For application to the dynamic region of interest, dynamic frame skip methods were implemented to perform parallel processing in order to enable real-time operation. In addition, we designed and implemented a model to estimate congestion by analyzing traffic information. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated using images of a real road environment. We found that the processing time improved by 15.4 times when all the proposed methods were applied in the application. Further, we found experimentally that there was little or no change in the recognition accuracy when the proposed method was applied. Using the traffic congestion estimation model, we also found that the average error rate of the proposed model was 5.3%.

Automatic Recognition of Road Signs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inoue, Yasuo; Kohashi, Yuuichirou; Ishikawa, Naoto; Nakajima, Masato

2002-11-01

The increase in traffic accidents is becoming a serious social problem with the recent rapid traffic increase. In many cases, the driver"s carelessness is the primary factor of traffic accidents, and the driver assistance system is demanded for supporting driver"s safety. In this research, we propose the new method of automatic detection and recognition of road signs by image processing. The purpose of this research is to prevent accidents caused by driver"s carelessness, and call attention to a driver when the driver violates traffic a regulation. In this research, high accuracy and the efficient sign detecting method are realized by removing unnecessary information except for a road sign from an image, and detect a road sign using shape features. At first, the color information that is not used in road signs is removed from an image. Next, edges except for circular and triangle ones are removed to choose sign shape. In the recognition process, normalized cross correlation operation is carried out to the two-dimensional differentiation pattern of a sign, and the accurate and efficient method for detecting the road sign is realized. Moreover, the real-time operation in a software base was realized by holding down calculation cost, maintaining highly precise sign detection and recognition. Specifically, it becomes specifically possible to process by 0.1 sec(s)/frame using a general-purpose PC (CPU: Pentium4 1.7GHz). As a result of in-vehicle experimentation, our system could process on real time and has confirmed that detection and recognition of a sign could be performed correctly.

ISG hybrid powertrain: a rule-based driver model incorporating look-ahead information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Shuiwen; Zhang, Junzhi; Chen, Xiaojiang; Zhong, Qing-Chang; Thornton, Roger

2010-03-01

According to European regulations, if the amount of regenerative braking is determined by the travel of the brake pedal, more stringent standards must be applied, otherwise it may adversely affect the existing vehicle safety system. The use of engine or vehicle speed to derive regenerative braking is one way to avoid strict design standards, but this introduces discontinuity in powertrain torque when the driver releases the acceleration pedal or applies the brake pedal. This is shown to cause oscillations in the pedal input and powertrain torque when a conventional driver model is adopted. Look-ahead information, together with other predicted vehicle states, are adopted to control the vehicle speed, in particular, during deceleration, and to improve the driver model so that oscillations can be avoided. The improved driver model makes analysis and validation of the control strategy for an integrated starter generator (ISG) hybrid powertrain possible.

Virtual prototyping and testing of in-vehicle interfaces.

PubMed

Bullinger, Hans-Jörg; Dangelmaier, Manfred

2003-01-15

Electronic innovations that are slowly but surely changing the very nature of driving need to be tested before being introduced to the market. To meet this need a system for integrated virtual prototyping and testing has been developed. Functional virtual prototypes of various traffic systems, such as driver assistance, driver information, and multimedia systems can now be easily tested in a driving simulator by a rapid prototyping approach. The system has been applied in recent R&D projects.

Driver fatigue alarm based on eye detection and gaze estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Xinghua; Xu, Lu; Yang, Jingyu

2007-11-01

The driver assistant system has attracted much attention as an essential component of intelligent transportation systems. One task of driver assistant system is to prevent the drivers from fatigue. For the fatigue detection it is natural that the information about eyes should be utilized. The driver fatigue can be divided into two types, one is the sleep with eyes close and another is the sleep with eyes open. Considering that the fatigue detection is related with the prior knowledge and probabilistic statistics, the dynamic Bayesian network is used as the analysis tool to perform the reasoning of fatigue. Two kinds of experiments are performed to verify the system effectiveness, one is based on the video got from the laboratory and another is based on the video got from the real driving situation. Ten persons participate in the test and the experimental result is that, in the laboratory all the fatigue events can be detected, and in the practical vehicle the detection ratio is about 85%. Experiments show that in most of situations the proposed system works and the corresponding performance is satisfying.

Adapting ISA system warnings to enhance user acceptance.

PubMed

Jiménez, Felipe; Liang, Yingzhen; Aparicio, Francisco

2012-09-01

Inappropriate speed is a major cause of traffic accidents. Different measures have been considered to control traffic speed, and intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) systems are one of the alternatives. These systems know the speed limits and try to improve compliance with them. This paper deals with an informative ISA system that provides the driver with an advance warning before reaching a road section with singular characteristics that require a lower safe speed than the current speed. In spite of the extensive tests performed using ISA systems, few works show how warnings can be adapted to the driver. This paper describes a method to adapt warning parameters (safe speed on curves, zone of influence of a singular stretch, deceleration process and reaction time) to normal driving behavior. The method is based on a set of tests with and without the ISA system. This adjustment, as well as the analysis of driver acceptance before and after the adaptation and changes in driver behavior (changes in speed and path) resulting from the tested ISA regarding a driver's normal driving style, is shown in this paper. The main conclusion is that acceptance by drivers increased significantly after redefining the warning parameters, but the effect of speed homogenization was not reduced. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Human factors evaluation of the effectiveness of multi-modality displays in advanced traveler information systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-12-01

To achieve the goals for Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS), significant information will necessarily be provided to the driver. A primary ATIS design issue is the display modality (i.e., visual, auditory, or the combination) selected for p...

Commercial Skills Test Information Management System final report and self-sustainability plan : [technology brief].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-04-01

The Commercial Skills Test Information Management System (CSTIMS) was developed to address the fraudulent issuance of commercial drivers licenses (CDLs) across the United States. CSTIMS was developed as a Web-based, software-as-a-service system to...

Exploring driver acceptance of in-vehicle information systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-01-01

This document is part of an integrated program to develop human factors guidelines for advanced in-vehicle information systems. This document provides both an analytic and empirical determination of the human factors issues specific to user acceptanc...

Using a 'value-added' approach for contextual design of geographic information.

PubMed

May, Andrew J

2013-11-01

The aim of this article is to demonstrate how a 'value-added' approach can be used for user-centred design of geographic information. An information science perspective was used, with value being the difference in outcomes arising from alternative information sets. Sixteen drivers navigated a complex, unfamiliar urban route, using visual and verbal instructions representing the distance-to-turn and junction layout information presented by typical satellite navigation systems. Data measuring driving errors, navigation errors and driver confidence were collected throughout the trial. The results show how driver performance varied considerably according to the geographic context at specific locations, and that there are specific opportunities to add value with enhanced geographical information. The conclusions are that a value-added approach facilitates a more explicit focus on 'desired' (and feasible) levels of end user performance with different information sets, and is a potentially effective approach to user-centred design of geographic information. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Modeling of driver's collision avoidance maneuver based on controller switching model.

PubMed

Kim, Jong-Hae; Hayakawa, Soichiro; Suzuki, Tatsuya; Hayashi, Koji; Okuma, Shigeru; Tsuchida, Nuio; Shimizu, Masayuki; Kido, Shigeyuki

2005-12-01

This paper presents a modeling strategy of human driving behavior based on the controller switching model focusing on the driver's collision avoidance maneuver. The driving data are collected by using the three-dimensional (3-D) driving simulator based on the CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE), which provides stereoscopic immersive virtual environment. In our modeling, the control scenario of the human driver, that is, the mapping from the driver's sensory information to the operation of the driver such as acceleration, braking, and steering, is expressed by Piecewise Polynomial (PWP) model. Since the PWP model includes both continuous behaviors given by polynomials and discrete logical conditions, it can be regarded as a class of Hybrid Dynamical System (HDS). The identification problem for the PWP model is formulated as the Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) by transforming the switching conditions into binary variables. From the obtained results, it is found that the driver appropriately switches the "control law" according to the sensory information. In addition, the driving characteristics of the beginner driver and the expert driver are compared and discussed. These results enable us to capture not only the physical meaning of the driving skill but the decision-making aspect (switching conditions) in the driver's collision avoidance maneuver as well.

Coherent motion of chaotic attractors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Louodop, Patrick; Saha, Suman; Tchitnga, Robert; Muruganandam, Paulsamy; Dana, Syamal K.; Cerdeira, Hilda A.

2017-10-01

We report a simple model of two drive-response-type coupled chaotic oscillators, where the response system copies the nonlinearity of the driver system. It leads to a coherent motion of the trajectories of the coupled systems that establishes a constant separating distance in time between the driver and the response attractors, and their distance depends upon the initial state. The coupled system responds to external obstacles, modeled by short-duration pulses acting either on the driver or the response system, by a coherent shifting of the distance, and it is able to readjust their distance as and when necessary via mutual exchange of feedback information. We confirm these behaviors with examples of a jerk system, the paradigmatic Rössler system, a tunnel diode system and a Josephson junction-based jerk system, analytically, to an extent, and mostly numerically.

A novel collinear optical system with annulus mirrors for holographic disc driver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ye

2008-12-01

This paper focus on a novel collinear lens system with annulus mirrors for holographic disc driver, both information beam and reference beam are use same laser beam. The expanded and parallel laser beam, center part of it as the information beam then through Fourier transform lens, the beam around center part as a reference beam. On this axis, the ring reference beam reflected by two annulus shaped mirrors, then became a convergent beam, together with the information beam which through the first Fourier transform lens then produce holographic pattern to be write into the holographic disc behind of them, this lens system with two mirrors made the angle between information beam and reference beam more wide, can improved the multiplex level of holographic storage. Pair of Fourier transform lens with advance performance is designed in this paper.

Commercial Skills Test Information Management System (CSTIMS) final report and self-sustainability plan.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

The Commercial Skills Test Information Management System (CSTIMS) was developed as a Web-based, software-as-a-service system to prevent and deter fraud perpetrated by third-party commercial drivers license (CDL) examiners in the portion of the CDL...

49 CFR 38.35 - Public information system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Public information system. 38.35 Section 38.35 Transportation Office of the Secretary of Transportation AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) ACCESSIBILITY... a public address system permitting the driver, or recorded or digitized human speech messages, to...

LAVIA--an evaluation of the potential safety benefits of the French intelligent speed adaptation project.

PubMed

Driscoll, R; Page, Y; Lassarre, S; Ehrlich, J

2007-01-01

This paper presents the potential safety benefits of the experimental French LAVIA Intelligent Speed Adaptation system, according to road network and system mode, based on observed driving speeds, distributions of crash severity and crash injury risk. Results are given for car frontal and side impacts that together, represent 80% of all serious and fatal injuries in France. Of the three system modes tested (advisory, driver select, mandatory), our results suggest that driver select would most significantly reduce serious injuries and death. We estimate this 100% utilization of cars equipped with this type of speed adaptation system would decrease injury rates by 6% to 16% over existing conditions depending on the type of crash (frontal or side) and road environment considered. Some limitations associated with the analysis are also identified. LAVIA is the acronym for Limiteur s'Adaptant à la VItesse Autorisée, a French Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) project that was set up towards the end of 1999. At the time, 1998 French national road safety statistics recorded 8437 road related deaths, a figure which had shown virtually no positive evolution since 1994. Detailed analysis of the contributory factors involved in fatal road crashes highlighted the time-honoured crash and injury causation mechanisms - alcohol, speed and seatbelts. Of the three, excessive speed (over and above the posted speed limit) was a contributory factor in half of all fatal crashes Inappropriate behaviour such as excessive speeding can be dealt with either by legislative or driver-incentive programmes. The first of these two solutions involves the introduction of new legislation and/or the enforcement of existing laws. This is the domain of Public Authorities and will not be discussed in detail here. Alternatively, incentive schemes can involve the implementation of speed related driver assistance systems, categorised according to their voluntary or mandatory character and the degree of autonomy proposed to or imposed on the driver. The LAVIA project set out to address several possible combinations of these two factors. The generic term Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) encompasses a wide range of different technologies aimed at improving road safety by reducing traffic speed and homogenising traffic flow, within the limit of posted speed limits. "Fixed speed limit" systems inform the vehicle of the posted speed limit whereas "variable speed limit" systems take into account certain locations on the road network where a speed below the posted limit is desirable, such as sharp curves, pedestrian crossings or crash black spots. Taken one step further, speed limit systems may also take into account weather and traffic flow conditions. These systems are known as "dynamic speed limit" systems and benefit from real time updates for a specific location. The different ISA systems are generally characterised by the degree of freedom of choice given to the driver in moderating his or her speed. Speed limit technologies may be advisory (informing drivers of the current speed limit and speed limit changes), voluntary (allowing the driver to decide whether or not to implement speed limitation) or mandatory (imposing the current speed limit). The information supplied may be provided by way of the road infrastructure (and associated equipment), may be acquired autonomously by the vehicle or may be based on an interaction between the infrastructure and the vehicle. Even the most basic of these systems should be considered as a very useful driver aid, helping the driver to stay within the posted speed limit, avoiding "unnecessary" speeding fines through inattention, modelling driver behaviour through the long term reduction of speeds and reducing driver workload by limiting visual speedometer controls. Vehicle-based ISA systems should not be confused with internal systems. These latter systems rely upon the driver entering the desired travel speed, which is then maintained by cruise control or set as a maximum value by automatic speed regulators. Although these systems will not be discussed in detail here, it should be noted that the engine management technologies that they employ are a vital component of ISA systems.

Drivers from the deep: the contribution of collicular input to thalamocortical processing.

PubMed

Wurtz, Robert H; Sommer, Marc A; Cavanaugh, James

2005-01-01

A traditional view of the thalamus is that it is a relay station which receives sensory input and conveys this information to cortex. This sensory input determines most of the properties of first order thalamic neurons, and so is said to drive, rather than modulate, these neurons. This holds as a rule for first order thalamic nuclei, but in contrast, higher order thalamic nuclei receive much of their driver input back from cerebral cortex. In addition, higher order thalamic neurons receive inputs from subcortical movement-related centers. In the terminology popularized from studies of the sensory system, can we consider these ascending motor inputs to thalamus from subcortical structures to be modulators, subtly influencing the activity of their target neurons, or drivers, dictating the activity of their target neurons? This chapter summarizes relevant evidence from neuronal recording, inactivation, and stimulation of pathways projecting from the superior colliculus through thalamus to cerebral cortex. The study concludes that many inputs to the higher order nuclei of the thalamus from subcortical oculomotor areas - from the superior colliculus and probably other midbrain and pontine regions - should be regarded as motor drivers analogous to the sensory drivers at the first order thalamic nuclei. These motor drivers at the thalamus are viewed as being at the top of a series of feedback loops that provide information on impending actions, just as sensory drivers provide information about the external environment.

Driver behavior following an automatic steering intervention.

PubMed

Fricke, Nicola; Griesche, Stefan; Schieben, Anna; Hesse, Tobias; Baumann, Martin

2015-10-01

The study investigated driver behavior toward an automatic steering intervention of a collision mitigation system. Forty participants were tested in a driving simulator and confronted with an inevitable collision. They performed a naïve drive and afterwards a repeated exposure in which they were told to hold the steering wheel loosely. In a third drive they experienced a false alarm situation. Data on driving behavior, i.e. steering and braking behavior as well as subjective data was assessed in the scenarios. Results showed that most participants held on to the steering wheel strongly or counter-steered during the system intervention during the first encounter. Moreover, subjective data collected after the first drive showed that the majority of drivers was not aware of the system intervention. Data from the repeated drive in which participants were instructed to hold the steering wheel loosely, led to significantly more participants holding the steering wheel loosely and thus complying with the instruction. This study seems to imply that without knowledge and information of the system about an upcoming intervention, the most prevalent driving behavior is a strong reaction with the steering wheel similar to an automatic steering reflex which decreases the system's effectiveness. Results of the second drive show some potential for countermeasures, such as informing drivers shortly before a system intervention in order to prevent inhibiting reactions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Risk Compensation Behavior on Night Vision Enhancement System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hiraoka, Toshihiro; Masui, Junya; Nishikawa, Seimei

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) such as a forward obstacle collision warning system (FOCWS) and a night vision enhancement system (NVES) aim to decrease driver's mental workload and enhance vehicle safety by provision of useful information to support driver's perception process and judgment process. On the other hand, the risk homeostasis theory (RHT) cautions that an enhanced safety and a reduced risk would cause a risk compensation behavior such as increasing the vehicle velocity. Therefore, the present paper performed the driving simulator experiments to discuss dependence on the NVES and emergence of the risk compensation behavior. Moreover, we verified the side-effects of spontaneous behavioral adaptation derived from the presentation of the fuel-consumption meter on the risk compensation behavior.

What benefit does Intelligent Speed Adaptation deliver: a close examination of its effect on vehicle speeds.

PubMed

Lai, Frank; Carsten, Oliver

2012-09-01

Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) is a driver support system which brings the speed limit information into the vehicle. This paper describes the UK ISA field trials taken place between 2004 and 2006 and presents evidence on how drivers' choice of speed is altered. The ISA system was observed to have a distinctive effect in transforming the speed distribution from a conventional bell shape to an asymmetric distribution biased towards the high speed end. ISA not only diminished excessive speeding, but also led to a reduction in speed variation, prompting a positive implication to accident reduction. The use of an overridable ISA system also provided an opportunity to investigate where drivers would choose to have ISA based on observed behaviour instead of opinion. Evidence shows that ISA tends to be overridden on roads where it was perhaps needed most. Behavioural difference among driver groups also suggests that ISA tends to be overridden by those drivers who in safety terms stand to benefit most from using it, as with other safety systems. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

76 FR 30422 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments for a New Information Collection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-25

... HOV lanes. These naturally occurring dynamic ridesharing systems operate by having drivers and riders... Houston, TX) to study the informal, dynamic carpooling systems in each city. The government expects the... (EAR) Program initial stage research on the topic of Dynamic Ridesharing. Background: The Exploratory...

A Context-Aware S-Health Service System for Drivers

PubMed Central

Chang, Jingkun; Yao, Wenbin; Li, Xiaoyong

2017-01-01

As a stressful and sensitive task, driving can be disturbed by various factors from the health condition of the driver to the environmental variables of the vehicle. Continuous monitoring of driving hazards and providing the most appropriate business services to meet actual needs can guarantee safe driving and make great use of the existing information resources and business services. However, there is no in-depth research on the perception of a driver’s health status or the provision of customized business services in case of various hazardous situations. In order to constantly monitor the health status of the drivers and react to abnormal situations, this paper proposes a context-aware service system providing a configurable architecture for the design and implementation of the smart health service system for safe driving, which can perceive a driver’s health status and provide helpful services to the driver. With the context-aware technology to construct a smart health services system for safe driving, this is the first time that such a service system has been implemented in practice. Additionally, an assessment model is proposed to mitigate the impact of the acceptable abnormal status and, thus, reduce the unnecessary invocation of the services. With regard to different assessed situations, the business services can be invoked for the driver to adapt to hazardous situations according to the services configuration model, which can take full advantage of the existing information resources and business services. The evaluation results indicate that the alteration of the observed status in a valid time range T can be tolerated and the frequency of the service invocation can be reduced. PMID:28304330

Using event-triggered naturalistic data to examine the prevalence of teen driver distractions in rear-end crashes.

PubMed

Carney, Cher; Harland, Karisa K; McGehee, Daniel V

2016-06-01

While teen driver distraction is cited as a leading cause of crashes, especially rear-end crashes, little information is available regarding its true prevalence. The majority of distraction studies rely on data derived from police reports, which provide limited information regarding driver distraction. This study examined over 400 teen driver rear-end crashes captured by in-vehicle event recorders. A secondary data analysis was conducted, paying specific attention to driver behaviors, eyes-off-road time, and response times to lead-vehicle braking. Among teens in moderate to severe rear-end crashes, over 75% of drivers were observed engaging in a potentially distracting behavior. The most frequently seen driver behaviors were cell phone use, attending to a location outside the vehicle, and attending to passengers. Drivers using a cell phone had a significantly longer response time than drivers not engaged in any behaviors, while those attending to passengers did not. Additionally, in about 50% of the rear-end crashes where the driver was operating/looking at a phone (e.g., texting), the driver showed no driver response (i.e., braking or steering input) before impact, compared to 10% of crashes where the driver was attending to a passenger. The high frequency of attending to passengers and use of a cell phone leading up to a crash, compounded with the associated risks, underlines the importance of continued investigation in these areas. Parents and teens must be educated regarding the frequency of and the potential effects of distractions. Additional enforcement may be necessary if Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) programs are to be effective. Systems that alert distracted teens could also be especially helpful in reducing rear-end collisions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.

The effects of momentary visual disruption on hazard anticipation and awareness in driving.

PubMed

Borowsky, Avinoam; Horrey, William J; Liang, Yulan; Garabet, Angela; Simmons, Lucinda; Fisher, Donald L

2015-01-01

Driver distraction is known to increase crash risk, especially when a driver glances inside the vehicle for especially long periods of time. Though it is clear that such glances increase the risk for the driver when looking inside the vehicle, it is less clear how these glances disrupt the ongoing processing of information outside the vehicle once the driver's eyes return to the road. The present study was aimed at exploring the effect of in-vehicle glances on the top-down processes that guide the detection and monitoring of hazards on the forward roadway. Using a driving simulator, 12 participants were monitored with an eye-tracking system while they navigated various hazardous scenarios. Six participants were momentarily interrupted by a visual secondary task (simulating a glance inside the vehicle) prior to the occurrence of a potential hazard and 6 were not. Eye movement analyses showed that interrupted drivers often failed to continue scanning for a potential hazard when their forward view reappeared, especially when the potential threat could not easily be localized. Additionally, drivers' self-appraisal of workload and performance of the driving task indicated that, contrary to what one might expect, drivers in the interruption condition reported workload levels lower than and performance equal to drivers in the no interruption condition. Drivers who are momentarily disrupted even for a brief duration are at risk of missing important information when they return their gaze to the forward roadway. In addition, because they are not aware of missing this information they are likely to continue engaging in in-vehicle tasks even though they are demonstrably unsafe. The implications for safety, calibration, and targeted remediation are discussed.

The impact of distraction mitigation strategies on driving performance.

PubMed

Donmez, Birsen; Boyle, Linda Ng; Lee, John D

2006-01-01

An experiment was conducted to assess the effects of distraction mitigation strategies on drivers' performance and productivity while engaged in an in-vehicle information system task. Previous studies show that in-vehicle tasks undermine driver safety and there is a need to mitigate driver distraction. An advising strategy that alerts drivers to potential dangers and a locking strategy that prevents the driver from continuing the distracting task were presented to 16 middle-aged and 12 older drivers in a driving simulator in two modes (auditory, visual) and two road conditions (curves, braking events). Distraction was a problem for both age groups. Visual distractions were more detrimental than auditory ones for curve negotiation, as depicted by more erratic steering, F (6, 155) = 26.76, p < .05. Drivers did brake more abruptly under auditory distractions, but this effect was mitigated by both the advising, t (155) = 8.37, p < .05, and locking strategies, t (155) = 8.49, p < .05. The locking strategy also resulted in longer minimum time to collision for middle-aged drivers engaged in visual distractions, F (6, 138) = 2.43, p < .05. Adaptive interfaces can reduce abrupt braking on curve entries resulting from auditory distractions and can also improve the braking response for distracted drivers. These strategies can be incorporated into existing in-vehicle systems, thus mitigating the effects of distraction and improving driver performance.

76 FR 61136 - Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information Collection Request: Commercial Driver...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-03

...,'' submissions; 75 minutes for paper and 70 minutes for electronic Driver Survey and Job Descriptive Index from... paper Driver Survey and Job Descriptive Index x 75 minutes per driver / 60 minutes + 200 CMV drivers completing paper Driver Survey and Job Descriptive Index x 70 minutes per driver / 60 minutes = 26,466 hours...

77 FR 15182 - Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information Collection Request: Commercial Driver...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-14

... Descriptive Index from the Follow-Up Survey submission; and 10 minutes for the Form MCSA-5865, ``Fleet... + 800 CMV drivers completing paper Driver Survey and Job Descriptive Index x 75 minutes per driver/ 60 minutes + 200 CMV drivers completing paper Driver Survey and Job Descriptive Index x 70 minutes per driver...

75 FR 82135 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Notice of Request for Approval of a New Information...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-29

... off of the success of three meeting-place based dynamic ridesharing systems that exist in Houston, San... dynamic ridesharing systems operate by having drivers and riders meet at central, easily accessible... they are a critical component to these robust dynamic ridesharing systems which serve thousands of...

Young drivers and their cars: Safe and sound or the perfect storm?

PubMed

Oviedo-Trespalacios, Oscar; Scott-Parker, Bridie

2018-01-01

Consistent with the experiences in high-income countries, young drivers remain overrepresented in road trauma statistics in low- and middle-income countries. This article pursues the emerging interest of approaching the young driver problem from a systems thinking perspective in order to design and deliver robust countermeasures. Specifically, the focus of this paper is the cars driven by young drivers. The study of vehicles' characteristics and their interaction with driving behaviour is, more often than not, considered a minor concern when developing countermeasures in young drivers' safety not only in developed nations, but especially in developing nations. Participants completed an online survey containing the 44-item Behaviour of Young Novice Drivers Scale Spanish version (BYNDS-Sp), in addition to providing information regarding their vehicle, any crash involvement, and driving offences. Based on the vehicle model information, the assessment of vehicle safety was conducted for three safety programs (ANCAP, Latin NCAP, U.S. NCAP). Young drivers in Colombia reported a breadth of risky driving behaviours worth targeting in broader interventions. For example, interventions can target speeding, particularly as three quarters of the participants drove small-medium cars associated with poorer road safety outcomes. Moreover, risky driving exposure was highly prevalent amongst the young driver participants, demonstrating the need for them to be driving the safest vehicles possible. It is noteworthy that few cars were able to be assessed by the Latin NCAP (with half of the cars rated having only 0-2 star ratings), and that there was considerable discrepancy between ANCAP, U.S. NCAP, and Latin NCAP ratings. The need for system-wide strategies to increase young driver road safety-such as improved vehicle safety-is vital to improve road safety outcomes in jurisdictions such as Colombia. Such improvements may also require systemic changes such as enhanced vehicle safety rating scales and investigation of the nature of vehicles sold in developing nations, particularly as these vehicles typically contain fewer safety features than their counterparts sold in developed nations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Driver behaviour profiles for road safety analysis.

PubMed

Ellison, Adrian B; Greaves, Stephen P; Bliemer, Michiel C J

2015-03-01

Driver behaviour is a contributing factor in over 90 percent of road crashes. As a consequence, there is significant benefit in identifying drivers who engage in unsafe driving practices. Driver behaviour profiles (DBPs) are introduced here as an approach for evaluating driver behaviour as a function of the risk of a casualty crash. They employ data collected using global positioning system (GPS) devices, supplemented with spatiotemporal information. These profiles are comprised of common risk scores that can be used to compare drivers between each other and across time and space. The paper details the development of these DBPs and demonstrates their use as an input into modelling the factors that influence driver behaviour. The results show that even having controlled for the influence of the road environment, these factors remain the strongest predictors of driver behaviour suggesting different spatiotemporal environments elicit a variety of psychological responses in drivers. The approach and outcomes will be of interest to insurance companies in enhancing the risk-profiling of drivers with on-road driving and government through assessing the impacts of behaviour-change interventions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pixel color feature enhancement for road signs detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Qieshi; Kamata, Sei-ichiro

2010-02-01

Road signs play an important role in our daily life which used to guide drivers to notice variety of road conditions and cautions. They provide important visual information that can help drivers operating their vehicles in a manner for enhancing traffic safety. The occurrence of some accidents can be reduced by using automatic road signs recognition system which can alert the drivers. This research attempts to develop a warning system to alert the drivers to notice the important road signs early enough to refrain road accidents from happening. For solving this, a non-linear weighted color enhancement method by pixels is presented. Due to the advantage of proposed method, different road signs can be detected from videos effectively. With suitably coefficients and operations, the experimental results have proved that the proposed method is robust, accurate and powerful in road signs detection.

Safety implications of providing real-time feedback to distracted drivers.

PubMed

Donmez, Birsen; Boyle, Linda Ng; Lee, John D

2007-05-01

A driving simulator study was conducted to assess whether real-time feedback on a driver's state can influence the driver's interaction with in-vehicle information systems (IVIS). Previous studies have shown that IVIS tasks can undermine driver safety by increasing driver distraction. Thus, mitigating driver distraction using a feedback mechanism appears promising. This study was designed to test real-time feedback that alerts drivers based on their off-road eye glances. Feedback was displayed in two display locations (vehicle-centered, and IVIS-centered) to 16 young and 13 middle-aged drivers. Distraction was observed as problematic for both age groups with delayed responses to a lead vehicle-braking event as indicated by delayed accelerator releases. Significant benefits were not observed for braking and steering behavior for this experiment, but there was a significant change in drivers' interaction with IVIS. When given feedback on their distracted state, drivers looked at the in-vehicle display less frequently regardless of where feedback was displayed in the vehicle. This indicates that real-time feedback based on the driver state can positively alter driver's engagement in distracting activities, helping them attend better to the roadway.

Modeling and formal analysis of urban road traffic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avram, Camelia; Machado, José; Aştilean, Adina

2013-10-01

Modern life in cities leads to complex urban traffic road and, sometimes, to go from one point to another, in a city, is a hard and very complex task. The use of assisted systems for helping drivers on their task of reaching the desired destination is being common, mainly systems like GPS location systems or other similar systems. The main gap of those systems is that they are not able to assist drivers when some unexpected changes occur, like accidents, or another unexpected situations. In this context, it would be desirable to have a dynamic system to inform the drivers, about everything that is happening "online". This work is inserted in this context and the work presented here is one part of a bigger project that has, as main goal, to be a dynamic system for assisting drivers under hard conditions of urban road traffic. In this paper is modeled, and formally analyzed, the intersection of four street segments, in order to take some considerations about this subject. This paper presents the model of the considered system, using timed automata formalism. The validation and verification of the road traffic model it is realized using UPPAAL model-checker.

Cyclist-related content in novice driver education and training.

PubMed

Bonham, Jennifer; Johnson, Marilyn

2018-02-01

In Australia, the increasing public profile and policy interest in cycling contrasts with variable cycling participation rates across jurisdictions (Australian Bicycle Council, 2017) and lack of cyclist-specific infrastructure. Cyclists and drivers often share road space, usually without indication from the built environment about how to maximise each other's safety and utility. Yet despite this regular interaction, cyclists are largely absent from the driver licensing process in Australia. That is, novice drivers are not taught how to share the road with cyclists. This case study used a mixed methods approach to examine the cyclist-related content in the Graduated Driver Licensing System (GDLS) in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The case study was conducted in four stages: 1) content analysis of all documents used through the GDLS; 2) observations of the Road Ready course and learner driver lessons; 3) online survey; and, 4) semi-structured interviews. Cyclists are rarely mentioned in the GDLS in the ACT and references often constructed cyclists as problematic or were based in instructors' personal opinion (rather than scripted responses). Outcomes from this study have directly informed a new vulnerable road user driver licence competency in the ACT and findings include recommendations for greater inclusion of cyclists in the driver licensing system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Graphical Route Information Panel Signs for Southbound I-35 and SH 130 Travel through Austin

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

A Graphic Route Information Panel (GRIP) is a proposed on-roadway signage approach to deliver information in advance of a driver decision point, using a combination of text, colors, and representative maps of the roadway system. The information basis...

Human-factors engineering for smart transport: design support for car drivers and train traffic controllers.

PubMed

Lenior, Dick; Janssen, Wiel; Neerincx, Mark; Schreibers, Kirsten

2006-07-01

The theme Smart Transport can be described as adequate human-system symbiosis to realize effective, efficient and human-friendly transport of goods and information. This paper addresses how to attune automation to human (cognitive) capacities (e.g. to take care of information uncertainty, operator trust and mutual man-machine adaptations). An introduction to smart transport is presented, including examples of best practice for engineering human factors in the vehicle ergonomics and train traffic control domain. The examples are representative of an ongoing trend in automation and they show how the human role changes from controller to supervisor. Section 2 focuses on the car driver and systems that support, or sometimes even take over, critical parts of the driving task. Due to the diversity of driver ability, driving context and dependence between driver and context factors, there is a need for personalised, adaptive and integrated support. Systematic research is needed to establish sound systems. Section 3 focuses on the train dispatcher support systems that predict train movements, detect potential conflicts and show the dispatcher the possibilities available to solve the detected problems. Via thorough analysis of both the process to be controlled and the dispatcher's tasks and cognitive needs, support functions were developed as part of an already very complex supervision and control system. The two examples, although from a different field, both show the need for further development in cognitive modelling as well as for the value of sound ergonomics task analysis in design practice.

78 FR 54723 - Information Collection Activities: Submission for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-05

... (NHTSA) proposes to collect information from older adult licensed drivers about their driver license... . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OMB Control Number: 2127-New. Title: Older Driver Compliance with Licensing Restrictions. Form No.: NHTSA Form 1186. Type of Review: Regular. Respondents: Drivers age 70 and older who...

Advanced Traveler Information System Capabilities : Human Factors Research Needs

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-11-01

As part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) program, the Federal Highway Administration investigated the human factors research needs for integrating in-vehicle safety and driver information technologies in...

76 FR 77846 - Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-14

..., passport and/or drivers license information, biometric information, such as photographs and fingerprints... watch list, when in fact they only bear a similarity in name or other identifier to an individual on the...

Changes in glance behaviour when using a visual eco-driving system - A field study.

PubMed

Ahlstrom, Christer; Kircher, Katja

2017-01-01

While in-vehicle eco-driving support systems have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save fuel, they may also distract drivers, especially if the system makes use of a visual interface. The objective of this study is to investigate the visual behaviour of drivers interacting with such a system, implemented on a five-inch screen mounted above the middle console. Ten drivers participated in a real-world, on-road driving study where they drove a route nine times (2 pre-baseline drives, 5 treatment drives, 2 post-baseline drives). The route was 96 km long and consisted of rural roads, urban roads and a dual-lane motorway. The results show that drivers look at the system for 5-8% of the time, depending on road type, with a glance duration of about 0.6 s, and with 0.05% long glances (>2s) per kilometre. These figures are comparable to what was found for glances to the speedometer in this study. Glance behaviour away from the windscreen is slightly increased in treatment as compared to pre- and post-baseline, mirror glances decreased in treatment and post-baseline compared to pre-baseline, and speedometer glances increased compared to pre-baseline. The eco-driving support system provided continuous information interspersed with additional advice pop-ups (announced by a beep) and feedback pop-ups (no auditory cue). About 20% of sound initiated advice pop-ups were disregarded, and the remaining cases were usually looked at within the first two seconds. About 40% of the feedback pop-ups were disregarded. The amount of glances to the system immediately before the onset of a pop-up was clearly higher for feedback than for advice. All in all, the eco-driving support system under investigation is not likely to have a strong negative impact on glance behaviour. However, there is room for improvements. We recommend that eco-driving information is integrated with the speedometer, that optional activation of sound alerts for intermittent information is made available, and that the pop-up duration should be extended to facilitate self-regulation of information intake. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Speech-based interaction with in-vehicle computers: the effect of speech-based e-mail on drivers' attention to the roadway.

PubMed

Lee, J D; Caven, B; Haake, S; Brown, T L

2001-01-01

As computer applications for cars emerge, a speech-based interface offers an appealing alternative to the visually demanding direct manipulation interface. However, speech-based systems may pose cognitive demands that could undermine driving safety. This study used a car-following task to evaluate how a speech-based e-mail system affects drivers' response to the periodic braking of a lead vehicle. The study included 24 drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 years. A baseline condition with no e-mail system was compared with a simple and a complex e-mail system in both simple and complex driving environments. The results show a 30% (310 ms) increase in reaction time when the speech-based system is used. Subjective workload ratings and probe questions also indicate that speech-based interaction introduces a significant cognitive load, which was highest for the complex e-mail system. These data show that a speech-based interface is not a panacea that eliminates the potential distraction of in-vehicle computers. Actual or potential applications of this research include design of in-vehicle information systems and evaluation of their contributions to driver distraction.

In-Vehicle Safety Advisory And Warning System (Ivsaws), Volume I: Executive Summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-03-01

THE INVEHICLE SAFETY ADVISORY AND WARNING SYSTEM (IVSAWS) IS A FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION EFFORT TO DEVELOP A NATIONWIDE VEHICULAR INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES DRIVERS WITH ADVANCE, SUPPLEMENTAL NOTIFICATION OF DANGEROUS ROAD CONDITIONS USING...

Two way assessment of other physical work demands while measuring the whole body vibration magnitude

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiemessen, Ivo J. H.; Hulshof, Carel T. J.; Frings-Dresen, Monique H. W.

2008-03-01

Direct observation, instead of using self-administered questionnaires might give more reliable and specific information about physical work demands at the workplace. This information is of use in a population already at risk of developing low back pain (LBP) due to whole body vibration (WBV) exposure. The aims of this study are to assess the WBV exposure in an exposed population and to assess other physical work demands in two ways, by direct observation and with the use of a self-administered questionnaire. We therefore assessed the WBV magnitude and 5 WBV-related physical work demands by using the PalmTrac system and a self-administered questionnaire in a group of drivers ( N=10). The main findings are 7 out of 10 drivers are exceeding the EU action value. About 50% of the drivers under-estimated the time 'bending', 60% the time 'walking+standing' and 60% over-estimated the time when 'lifting.' We concluded that 7 drivers from this group are at risk of developing LBP and substantial differences exists for the 5 physical work demands comparing the PalmTrac method with the questionnaire. Direct observational assessment in WBV measurements yields extra information. This is useful for preventive activities necessary as drivers are exceeding the EU action value.

The effects of driver identity on driving safety in a retrospective feedback system.

PubMed

Zhao, Guozhen; Wu, Changxu

2012-03-01

Retrospective feedback that provides detailed information on a driver's performance in critical driving situations at the end of a trip enhances his/her driving behaviors and safe driving habits. Although this has been demonstrated by a previous study, retrospective feedback can be further improved and applied to non-critical driving situations, which is needed for transportation safety. To propose a new retrospective feedback system that uses driver identity (i.e., a driver's name) and to experimentally study its effects on measures of driving performance and safety in a driving simulator. We conducted a behavioral experimental study with 30 participants. "Feedback type" was a between-subject variable with three conditions: no feedback (control group), feedback without driver identity, and feedback with driver identity. We measured multiple aspects of participants' driving behavior. To control for potential confounds, factors that were significantly correlated with driving behavior (e.g., age and driving experience) were all entered as covariates into a multivariate analysis of variance. To examine the effects of speeding on collision severity in driving simulation studies, we also developed a new index - momentum of potential collision - with a set of equations. Subjects who used a feedback system with driver identity had the fewest speeding violations and central-line crossings, spent the least amount of time speeding and crossing the central line, had the lowest speeding and central-line crossing magnitude, ran the fewest red lights, and had the smallest momentum of potential collision compared to the groups with feedback without driver identity and without feedback (control group). The new retrospective feedback system with driver identity has the potential to enhance a person's driving safety (e.g., speeding, central-line crossing, momentum of potential collision), which is an indication of the valence of one's name in a feedback system design. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

49 CFR 384.205 - CDLIS information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false CDLIS information. 384.205 Section 384.205... information. Before issuing a CLP or a CDL to any person, the State must, within the period of time specified in § 384.232, perform the check of the Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS) in...

TravTek evaluation Orlando test network study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-03-01

THE INVEHICLE SAFETY ADVISORY AND WARNING SYSTEM (IVSAWS) IS A FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION EFFORT TO DEVELOP A NATIONWIDE VEHICULAR INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES DRIVERS WITH ADVANCE, SUPPLEMENTAL NOTIFICATION OF DANGEROUS ROAD CONDITIONS USING...

Mind over motor mapping: Driver response to changing vehicle dynamics.

PubMed

Bruno, Jennifer L; Baker, Joseph M; Gundran, Andrew; Harbott, Lene K; Stuart, Zachary; Piccirilli, Aaron M; Hosseini, S M Hadi; Gerdes, J Christian; Reiss, Allan L

2018-06-08

Improvements in vehicle safety require understanding of the neural systems that support the complex, dynamic task of real-world driving. We used functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and pupilometry to quantify cortical and physiological responses during a realistic, simulated driving task in which vehicle dynamics were manipulated. Our results elucidate compensatory changes in driver behavior in response to changes in vehicle handling. We also describe associated neural and physiological responses under different levels of mental workload. The increased cortical activation we observed during the late phase of the experiment may indicate motor learning in prefrontal-parietal networks. Finally, relationships among cortical activation, steering control, and individual personality traits suggest that individual brain states and traits may be useful in predicting a driver's response to changes in vehicle dynamics. Results such as these will be useful for informing the design of automated safety systems that facilitate safe and supportive driver-car communication. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Investigation of user stereotypes and preferences

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-12-01

The presentation of in-vehicle information to the driver is an important issue for highway safety. A review of the guideline literature revealed that although attempts have been made to develop guidelines for in-vehicle information systems, few guide...

Driver compliance to take-over requests with different auditory outputs in conditional automation.

PubMed

Forster, Yannick; Naujoks, Frederik; Neukum, Alexandra; Huestegge, Lynn

2017-12-01

Conditionally automated driving (CAD) systems are expected to improve traffic safety. Whenever the CAD system exceeds its limit of operation, designers of the system need to ensure a safe and timely enough transition from automated to manual mode. An existing visual Human-Machine Interface (HMI) was supplemented by different auditory outputs. The present work compares the effects of different auditory outputs in form of (1) a generic warning tone and (2) additional semantic speech output on driver behavior for the announcement of an upcoming take-over request (TOR). We expect the information carried by means of speech output to lead to faster reactions and better subjective evaluations by the drivers compared to generic auditory output. To test this assumption, N=17 drivers completed two simulator drives, once with a generic warning tone ('Generic') and once with additional speech output ('Speech+generic'), while they were working on a non-driving related task (NDRT; i.e., reading a magazine). Each drive incorporated one transition from automated to manual mode when yellow secondary lanes emerged. Different reaction time measures, relevant for the take-over process, were assessed. Furthermore, drivers evaluated the complete HMI regarding usefulness, ease of use and perceived visual workload just after experiencing the take-over. They gave comparative ratings on usability and acceptance at the end of the experiment. Results revealed that reaction times, reflecting information processing time (i.e., hands on the steering wheel, termination of NDRT), were shorter for 'Speech+generic' compared to 'Generic' while reaction time, reflecting allocation of attention (i.e., first glance ahead), did not show this difference. Subjective ratings were in favor of the system with additional speech output. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SystemSketch Poster

EPA Science Inventory

SystemSketch is a dynamic, graphic visualization tool to help stakeholders better understand system context and access information resources.  It is constructed using the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response framework, and functions both as a stand-alone tool and as a component ...

Effect of directional speech warnings on road hazard detection.

PubMed

Serrano, Jesús; Di Stasi, Leandro L; Megías, Alberto; Catena, Andrés

2011-12-01

In the last 2 decades, cognitive science and the transportation psychology field have dedicated a lot of effort to designing advanced driver support systems. Verbal warning systems are increasingly being implemented in modern automobiles in an effort to increase road safety. The study presented here investigated the impact of directional speech alert messages on the participants' speed to judge whether or not naturalistic road scenes depicted a situation of impending danger. Thirty-eight volunteers performed a computer-based key-press reaction time task. Findings indicated that semantic content of verbal warning signals can be used for increasing driving safety and improving hazard detection. Furthermore, the classical result regarding signal accuracy is confirmed: directional informative speech messages lead to faster hazard detection compared to drivers who received a high rate of false alarms. Notwithstanding some study limitations (lack of driver experience and low ecological validity), this evidence could provide important information for the specification of future Human-Machine-interaction (HMI) design guidelines.

Attacking the information access problem with expert systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ragusa, James M.; Orwig, Gary W.

1991-01-01

The results of applications research directed at finding an improved method of storing and accessing information are presented. Twelve microcomputer-based expert systems shells and five laser-optical formats have been studied, and the general and specific methods of interfacing these technologies are being tested in prototype systems. Shell features and interfacing capabilities are discussed, and results from the study of five laser-optical formats are recounted including the video laser, compact, and WORM disks, and laser cards and film. Interfacing, including laser disk device driver interfacing, is discussed and it is pointed out that in order to control the laser device from within the expert systems application, the expert systems shell must be able to access the device driver software. Potential integrated applications are investigated and an initial list is provided including consumer services, travel, law enforcement, human resources, marketing, and education and training.

Architecture for removable media USB-ARM

DOEpatents

Shue, Craig A.; Lamb, Logan M.; Paul, Nathanael R.

2015-07-14

A storage device is coupled to a computing system comprising an operating system and application software. Access to the storage device is blocked by a kernel filter driver, except exclusive access is granted to a first anti-virus engine. The first anti-virus engine is directed to scan the storage device for malicious software and report results. Exclusive access may be granted to one or more other anti-virus engines and they may be directed to scan the storage device and report results. Approval of all or a portion of the information on the storage device is based on the results from the first anti-virus engine and the other anti-virus engines. The storage device is presented to the operating system and access is granted to the approved information. The operating system may be a Microsoft Windows operating system. The kernel filter driver and usage of anti-virus engines may be configurable by a user.

Driver Support Functions under Resource-Limited Situations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inagaki, Toshiyuki; Itoh, Makoto; Nagai, Yoshitomo

This paper reports results of an experiment with a driving simulator in order to answer the following question: What type of support should be given to an automobile driver when it is determined, via some monitoring method, that the driver's situation awareness may not be appropriate to a given traffic condition? This paper compares (a) warning type support in which an auditory warning is given to the driver to enhance situation awareness and (b) action type support in which an autonomous safety control is executed as a soft protection for avoiding an accident. Although the both types of driver support are effective, the former sometimes fail to assure safety, which suggests a limitation of the human locus of control assumption, while efficacy of the latter may be degraded by an incorrect human reasoning that can happen under uncertainty. This paper discusses viewpoints needed in the design of systems for supporting drivers in resource-limited situations in which information or time available for a driver is limited in a given traffic condition.

Advanced Traveler Information Systems and Commercial Vehicle Operations Components of the Intelligent Transportation Systems: Head-up Displays and Driver Attention for Navigation Information

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-03-01

Since the initial development of prototype automotive head-up displays (HUDs), there has been a concern that the presence of the HUD image may interfere with the driving task and negatively impact driving performance. The overall goal of this experim...

76 FR 19023 - Commercial Driver's License Information System State Procedures Manual, Release 5.2.0

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-06

... public docket for this rulemaking. In August 2005, section 4123 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible... force and effect of law. V. Implementation Date The Agency is currently working with AAMVA and the... are currently working to pass required implementing legislation, modify their information systems to...

Negotiating a Systems Development Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karlsson, Fredrik; Hedström, Karin

Systems development methods (or methods) are often applied in tailored version to fit the actual situation. Method tailoring is in most the existing literature viewed as either (a) a highly rational process with the method engineer as the driver where the project members are passive information providers or (b) an unstructured process where the systems developer makes individual choices, a selection process without any driver. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate that important design decisions during method tailoring are made by project members through negotiation. The study has been carried out using the perspective of actor-network theory. Our narratives depict method tailoring as more complex than (a) and (b) show the driver role rotates between the project members, and design decisions are based on influences from several project members. However, these design decisions are not consensus decisions.

Use and disclosure of health information and protection of patient privacy in Taiwan.

PubMed

Liu, Han-Hsi

2010-03-01

This paper examines Taiwan's current regulatory system for the use of healthcare information from the viewpoint of patient privacy protection. The author proposes a patient-centered, cooperative system centered on the "traffic light theory", as a solution to the potential conflict between the use of healthcare information and the protection of patient privacy. Taiwan, a country with a national healthcare insurance program and state-of-the-art electronic technology, takes a distinctive approach to the protection of patient privacy. On January 1st, 2004, the Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) implemented a comprehensive embedded integrated circuit (IC) card, which puts the wide-ranging health information of its 22 million beneficiaries online to facilitate review of use and disclosure. It is well understood that healthcare information is of a personal and sensitive nature, demanding stringent privacy protection. Nevertheless, there is no denying the potential benefit of using personal health information (PHI) to achieve public good, especially in the area of cost containment. The comprehensive e-health system in Taiwan greatly facilitates copying, transmission, and use of PHI, but does the regulatory system provide enough safeguards for patient privacy? Because the law in Taiwan does not provide clear standards for the use and disclosure of healthcare information, healthcare providers are either too conservative or too aggressive. While most healthcare providers keep their oath of confidentiality, some rogue members severely abuse patient privacy. This paper proposes a "traffic-light system" to remedy this situation. Flashing yellow lights allow aggressive drivers to ignore others, while causing overly cautious drivers to be too hesitant. The author contends that clear standards should have been established for healthcare providers. Like car drivers, healthcare providers need red and green traffic signals. The law should indicate, through workable privacy regulations and guidelines, when the light is red or green-when to stop or to advance.

In-vehicle signing functions of an in-vehicle information system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tufano, D.R.; Knee, H.E.; Spelt, P.F.

The definition of In-Vehicle Signing (IVS) functions was guided by the principles of traffic engineering as they apply to the design and placement of roadway signs. Because of the dynamic and active nature of computing, communications, and display technology, IVS can fulfill the signing principles of traffic engineering in ways that have been impossible with conventional signage. Current signing technology represents a series of compromises of these principles, especially the data and equations contributing to the calculation of required sight distance. A number of conditions relevant to sight distance are quite variable, e.g.: vehicle speed, visibility, weather, and driver reactionmore » time. However, conventional signing requires that there are fixed values of each variable for the determination of (e.g.) legibility distance. IVS, on the other hand, will be able to tailor the timing of sign presentation to the dynamically diverse variable values of all of these conditions. A clear, in-vehicle sign display, adaptive to ambient and driver conditions, will in fact obviate the entire issue of sign legibility. These capabilities, together with information filtering functions, will truly enhance the presentation of sign information to drivers. The development of IVS is a critical step in the development of an integrated In-Vehicle Information System (IVIS).« less

Negativity Bias in Dangerous Drivers.

PubMed

Chai, Jing; Qu, Weina; Sun, Xianghong; Zhang, Kan; Ge, Yan

2016-01-01

The behavioral and cognitive characteristics of dangerous drivers differ significantly from those of safe drivers. However, differences in emotional information processing have seldom been investigated. Previous studies have revealed that drivers with higher anger/anxiety trait scores are more likely to be involved in crashes and that individuals with higher anger traits exhibit stronger negativity biases when processing emotions compared with control groups. However, researchers have not explored the relationship between emotional information processing and driving behavior. In this study, we examined the emotional information processing differences between dangerous drivers and safe drivers. Thirty-eight non-professional drivers were divided into two groups according to the penalty points that they had accrued for traffic violations: 15 drivers with 6 or more points were included in the dangerous driver group, and 23 drivers with 3 or fewer points were included in the safe driver group. The emotional Stroop task was used to measure negativity biases, and both behavioral and electroencephalograph data were recorded. The behavioral results revealed stronger negativity biases in the dangerous drivers than in the safe drivers. The bias score was correlated with self-reported dangerous driving behavior. Drivers with strong negativity biases reported having been involved in mores crashes compared with the less-biased drivers. The event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed that the dangerous drivers exhibited reduced P3 components when responding to negative stimuli, suggesting decreased inhibitory control of information that is task-irrelevant but emotionally salient. The influence of negativity bias provides one possible explanation of the effects of individual differences on dangerous driving behavior and traffic crashes.

Negativity Bias in Dangerous Drivers

PubMed Central

Chai, Jing; Qu, Weina; Sun, Xianghong; Zhang, Kan; Ge, Yan

2016-01-01

The behavioral and cognitive characteristics of dangerous drivers differ significantly from those of safe drivers. However, differences in emotional information processing have seldom been investigated. Previous studies have revealed that drivers with higher anger/anxiety trait scores are more likely to be involved in crashes and that individuals with higher anger traits exhibit stronger negativity biases when processing emotions compared with control groups. However, researchers have not explored the relationship between emotional information processing and driving behavior. In this study, we examined the emotional information processing differences between dangerous drivers and safe drivers. Thirty-eight non-professional drivers were divided into two groups according to the penalty points that they had accrued for traffic violations: 15 drivers with 6 or more points were included in the dangerous driver group, and 23 drivers with 3 or fewer points were included in the safe driver group. The emotional Stroop task was used to measure negativity biases, and both behavioral and electroencephalograph data were recorded. The behavioral results revealed stronger negativity biases in the dangerous drivers than in the safe drivers. The bias score was correlated with self-reported dangerous driving behavior. Drivers with strong negativity biases reported having been involved in mores crashes compared with the less-biased drivers. The event-related potentials (ERPs) revealed that the dangerous drivers exhibited reduced P3 components when responding to negative stimuli, suggesting decreased inhibitory control of information that is task-irrelevant but emotionally salient. The influence of negativity bias provides one possible explanation of the effects of individual differences on dangerous driving behavior and traffic crashes. PMID:26765225

The case for driver science in motorsport: a review and recommendations.

PubMed

Potkanowicz, Edward S; Mendel, Ronald W

2013-07-01

When discussing sports and the athletes who participate in them, it has long been recognized that fitness is a prerequisite for optimal performance. The goal of training to improve fitness levels in athletes is ultimately to minimize the stress that the body experiences during competition. When it comes to the topic of racecar drivers, however, drivers and their trainers have largely been left to their own devices to figure out the stressors and the areas of specific training focus. Unfortunately, racecar drivers have battled the stereotype that they are not athletes, and with little regard for them as athletes, drivers are seldom the focus of scientific research related to their performance. Like the cars they drive, driver-athletes are complex, but from a physiological perspective. However, unlike the cars they drive, driver-athletes have not been examined, evaluated, and tweaked to the same degree. The purpose of this review is two-fold: first, by examining the available literature, to make the case for new research into the driver's role in the driver-car system (i.e. driver science) and the stresses experienced; second, to make the case for more extensive use of microtechnology in the real-time monitoring of driver-athletes. With the miniaturization of sensors and the advent of portable data storage devices, the prospect of quantifying the stresses unique to the driver are no longer as daunting, and the relative impossibility and difficulties associated with measuring the driver-athlete in real-time no longer need to be as challenging. Using microtechnology in the assessment of the driver-athlete and with a more public discussion and dissemination of information on the topic of driver science, the scientific community has the opportunity to quantify that which has been largely assumed and speculated. The current article will offer the following recommendations: first, rather than examining a singular physiological stressor, to examine the interaction of stressors; second, to examine variables/stressors that are more representative of the changing driver demographics; third, to measure drivers in real-time during actual race events; lastly, to work to develop training programs that more accurately apply to the driver and the stresses experienced. In uncovering this information, there is an opportunity to contribute to racing becoming that much safer, that much more competitive, and that much more comprehensive for the driver, the team, and the sport.

CONTEXTUALIZING NATURALISTIC DRIVING DATA IN A RURAL STATE AMONG DRIVERS WITH AND WITHOUT OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA

PubMed Central

Dawson, Jeffrey D.; Bair, Elizabeth; Askan, Nazan; Sewell, Kelly; Tippin, Jon; Rizzo, Matthew

2017-01-01

Summary In naturalistic studies, Global Positioning System (GPS) data and date/time stamps can link driver exposure to specific environments (e.g., road types, speed limits, night driving, etc.), providing valuable context for analyzing critical events, such as crashes, near crashes, and breaches of accelerometer limits. In previous work, we showed how to automate this contextualization, using GPS data obtained at 1 Hz and merging this with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) databases maintained by the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT). Here we further demonstrate our methods by analyzing data from 80 drivers with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and 48 controls, and comparing the two groups with respect to several factors of interest. The majority of comparisons found no difference between groups, suggesting similar patterns of exposures to driving environments in OSA and control drivers. However, OSA drivers appeared to spend slightly more time on roads with annual traffic counts of 500–10,000 and less time driving on wider highways, during twilight, and on roads with 10,000–25,000 annual traffic counts. PMID:29629434

Advanced Traffic Signal Control Algorithms Phase II

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-12-15

The goal of the project was to design and implement an in-vehicle system that calculates and provide speed advice to the driver of the vehicle, using Signal Phase and Timing (SPaT) and Geometric Information Description (GID) information of the signal...

Review of and preliminary guidelines for integrating transit into transportation management centers

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-07-01

The advent of intelligent vehicle-highway system (IVHS) : technologies has fostered the development and implementation of : automated systems that control traffic and provide traffic : information to drivers. However, one very important element of : ...

EU-US standards harmonization task group report : testing for ITS security.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-03-01

THE INVEHICLE SAFETY ADVISORY AND WARNING SYSTEM (IVSAWS) IS A FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION EFFORT TO DEVELOP' A NATIONWIDE VEHICULAR INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES DRIVERS WITH ADVANCE, SUPPLEMENTAL NOTIFICATION OF DANGEROUS ROAD CONDITIONS USIN...

Examples of variable speed limit applications : speed management workshop

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-09

VSL systems are a type of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) that utilizes traffic : speed and volume detection, weather information, and road surface condition technology to determine appropriate speeds at which drivers should be traveling, giv...

Behavioral System Feedback Measurement Failure: Sweeping Quality under the Rug

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mihalic, Maria T.; Ludwig, Timothy D.

2009-01-01

Behavioral Systems rely on valid measurement systems to manage processes and feedback and to deliver contingencies. An examination of measurement system components designed to track customer service quality of furniture delivery drivers revealed the measurement system failed to capture information it was designed to measure. A reason for this…

Development of Human Factors Guidlines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems and Commercial Vehicle Operations: Investigation of ATIS Function Transition and the Effects of an In-Vehicle ATIS on Driver Performance

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-12-01

The objective of the first experiment reported here was to measure the cognitive demands associated with transitioning across Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) functions. This required the development of both objective and subjective indice...

Application of Open-Source Enterprise Information System Modules: An Empirical Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Sang-Heui

2010-01-01

Although there have been a number of studies on large scale implementation of proprietary enterprise information systems (EIS), open-source software (OSS) for EIS has received limited attention in spite of its potential as a disruptive innovation. Cost saving is the main driver for adopting OSS among the other possible benefits including security…

Contrasting models of driver behaviour in emergencies using retrospective verbalisations and network analysis.

PubMed

Banks, Victoria A; Stanton, Neville A

2015-01-01

Automated assistance in driving emergencies aims to improve the safety of our roads by avoiding or mitigating the effects of accidents. However, the behavioural implications of such systems remain unknown. This paper introduces the driver decision-making in emergencies (DDMiEs) framework to investigate how the level and type of automation may affect driver decision-making and subsequent responses to critical braking events using network analysis to interrogate retrospective verbalisations. Four DDMiE models were constructed to represent different levels of automation within the driving task and its effects on driver decision-making. Findings suggest that whilst automation does not alter the decision-making pathway (e.g. the processes between hazard detection and response remain similar), it does appear to significantly weaken the links between information-processing nodes. This reflects an unintended yet emergent property within the task network that could mean that we may not be improving safety in the way we expect. This paper contrasts models of driver decision-making in emergencies at varying levels of automation using the Southampton University Driving Simulator. Network analysis of retrospective verbalisations indicates that increasing the level of automation in driving emergencies weakens the link between information-processing nodes essential for effective decision-making.

Mitigating driver distraction with retrospective and concurrent feedback.

PubMed

Donmez, Birsen; Boyle, Linda Ng; Lee, John D

2008-03-01

An experiment was conducted to assess the effects of retrospective and combined retrospective and concurrent feedback on driver performance and engagement in distracting activities. A previous study conducted by the authors showed that concurrent (or real time) feedback can help drivers better modulate their distracting activities. However, research also shows that concurrent feedback can pose additional distractions due to the limited time and resources available during driving. Retrospective feedback, which is presented at the end of a trip (i.e., post-drive), can include additional information on safety critical situations during a trip and help the driver learn safe driving habits. A driving simulator study was conducted with 48 participants and 3 conditions: retrospective feedback, combined feedback (both retrospective and concurrent), and no feedback (baseline case). The feedback conditions (retrospective and combined) resulted in faster response to lead vehicle braking events as depicted by shorter accelerator release times. Moreover, combined feedback also resulted in longer glances to the road. The results suggest that both feedback types have potential to improve immediate driving performance and driver engagement in distractions. Combined feedback holds the most promise for mitigating the effects of distraction from in-vehicle information systems.

Process Synchronization and Data Communication between Processes in Real Time Local Area Networks.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-12-01

52 APPENDIX A: PROCEDURE MAKETABLE .............. 54 APPENDIX B: PROCEDURE MAKEMESSAGE ............. 56 APPENDIX C: PROCEDURE...item. The relation table is built by the driver during system initialization by the procedure maketable , see Appendix A. This procedure reads the file... MAKETABLE Procedure maketable is the first procedure called by the driver. It sets up the relation table in local RAM of SBC 1 by reading the information

System-Level Action Required for Wide-Scale Improvement in Quality of Primary Health Care: Synthesis of Feedback from an Interactive Process to Promote Dissemination and Use of Aggregated Quality of Care Data.

PubMed

Bailie, Jodie; Laycock, Alison; Matthews, Veronica; Bailie, Ross

2016-01-01

There is an enduring gap between recommended practice and care that is actually delivered; and there is wide variation between primary health care (PHC) centers in delivery of care. Where aspects of care are not being done well across a range of PHC centers, this is likely due to inadequacies in the broader system. This paper aims to describe stakeholders' perceptions of the barriers and enablers to addressing gaps in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander chronic illness care and child health, and to identify key drivers for improvement. This paper draws on data collected as part of a large-scale continuous quality improvement project in Australian Indigenous PHC settings. We undertook a qualitative assessment of stakeholder feedback on the main barriers and enablers to addressing gaps in care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and in chronic illness care. Themes on barriers and enablers were further analyzed to develop a "driver diagram," an improvement tool used to locate barriers and enablers within causal pathways (as primary and secondary drivers), enabling them to be targeted by tailored interventions. We identified 5 primary drivers and 11 secondary drivers of high-quality care, and associated strategies that have potential for wide-scale implementation to address barriers and enablers for improving care. Perceived barriers to addressing gaps in care included both health system and staff attributes. Primary drivers were: staff capability to deliver high-quality care; availability and use of clinical information systems and decision support tools; embedding of quality improvement processes and data-driven decision-making; appropriate and effective recruitment and retention of staff; and community capacity, engagement and mobilization for health. Suggested strategies included mechanisms for increasing clinical supervision and support, staff retention, reorientation of service delivery, use of information systems and community health literacy. The findings identify areas of focus for development of barrier-driven, tailored interventions to improve health outcomes. They reinforce the importance of system-level action to improve health center performance and health outcomes, and of developing strategies to address system-wide challenges that can be adapted to local contexts.

Promising personalized therapeutic options for diffuse large B-cell Lymphoma Subtypes with oncogene addictions.

PubMed

Steinhardt, James J; Gartenhaus, Ronald B

2012-09-01

Currently, two major classification systems segregate diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) into subtypes based on gene expression profiles and provide great insights about the oncogenic mechanisms that may be crucial for lymphomagenesis as well as prognostic information regarding response to current therapies. However, these current classification systems primarily look at expression and not dependency and are thus limited to inductive or probabilistic reasoning when evaluating alternative therapeutic options. The development of a deductive classification system that identifies subtypes in which all patients with a given phenotype require the same oncogenic drivers, and would therefore have a similar response to a rational therapy targeting the essential drivers, would significantly advance the treatment of DLBCL. This review highlights the putative drivers identified as well as the work done to identify potentially dependent populations. These studies integrated genomic analysis and functional screens to provide a rationale for targeted therapies within defined populations. Personalizing treatments by identifying patients with oncogenic dependencies via genotyping and specifically targeting the responsible drivers may constitute a novel approach for the treatment of DLBCL. ©2012 AACR.

75 FR 75539 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Revision of a Currently-Approved Information Collection...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-03

... Request: Training Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination Vehicles AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier..., ``Training Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination Vehicles.'' This ICR is necessary because the training certificates drivers are required to present to prospective employers serve as proof the drivers...

Information-Seeking Triggered by Age.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ng, Sik Hung; And Others

1991-01-01

Asked college students what information they would glean from drivers (aged 16 to 91) involved in traffic accident for assigning accident responsibility. Found ageist information-seeking across lifespan independent of driver gender, participant age, and participant gender. Participants would ask younger drivers about driving conduct (drinking,…

Driver response to the TetraStar Navigation Assistance System by age and sex

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-07-01

This study is part of the evaluation of the FAST-TRAC operational test of an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) in Michigan and is concerned with user perceptions and behaviors with Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS). The use and perce...

Preliminary Human Factors Design Guidelines For Driver Information Systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-01-01

During the summer and fall of 2000, a group of high level public safety and transportation officials was brought together by the US Department of Transportations (USDOT) Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Program to consider the interaction bet...

Shared Resources: Sharing Right-Of-Way For Telecommunications, Guidance On Legal And Institutional Issues

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-03-01

THE INVEHICLE SAFETY ADVISORY AND WARNING SYSTEM (IVSAWS) IS A FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION EFFORT TO DEVELOP A NATIONWIDE VEHICULAR INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES DRIVERS WITH ADVANCE, SUPPLEMENTAL NOTIFICATION OF DANGEROUS ROAD CONDITIONS USING...

US-Japan collaborative research on probe data : assessment report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-11-01

This flyer summarizes the identified human factors research needs for integrated in-vehicle systems for Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO), one of five configurations of in-vehicle safety and driver information systems. A complete review of the rese...

Intelligent transportation systems field operational test cross-cutting study : advanced traveler information systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-09-01

Approximately 2 million roadside inspections of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) are conducted annually, primarily through the joint Federal and State Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). Vehicles and drivers with serious safety problems ...

CVO driver fatigue and complex in-vehicle systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-10-01

As one of a series of studies aimed at gathering data to develop human factors design guidelines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) and Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO), the present study utilized a driving simulator to study CVO dri...

A novel estimating method for steering efficiency of the driver with electromyography signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yahui; Ji, Xuewu; Hayama, Ryouhei; Mizuno, Takahiro

2014-05-01

The existing research of steering efficiency mainly focuses on the mechanism efficiency of steering system, aiming at designing and optimizing the mechanism of steering system. In the development of assist steering system especially the evaluation of its comfort, the steering efficiency of driver physiological output usually are not considered, because this physiological output is difficult to measure or to estimate, and the objective evaluation of steering comfort therefore cannot be conducted with movement efficiency perspective. In order to take a further step to the objective evaluation of steering comfort, an estimating method for the steering efficiency of the driver was developed based on the research of the relationship between the steering force and muscle activity. First, the steering forces in the steering wheel plane and the electromyography (EMG) signals of the primary muscles were measured. These primary muscles are the muscles in shoulder and upper arm which mainly produced the steering torque, and their functions in steering maneuver were identified previously. Next, based on the multiple regressions of the steering force and EMG signals, both the effective steering force and the total force capacity of driver in steering maneuver were calculated. Finally, the steering efficiency of driver was estimated by means of the estimated effective force and the total force capacity, which represented the information of driver physiological output of the primary muscles. This research develops a novel estimating method for driver steering efficiency of driver physiological output, including the estimation of both steering force and the force capacity of primary muscles with EMG signals, and will benefit to evaluate the steering comfort with an objective perspective.

36 CFR 1192.35 - Public information system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... COMPLIANCE BOARD AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES... the driver, or recorded or digitized human speech messages, to announce stops and provide other...

Truck driver fatigue risk assessment and management: a multinational survey.

PubMed

Adams-Guppy, Julie; Guppy, Andrew

2003-06-20

As part of an organizational review of safety, interviews and questionnaire surveys were performed on over 700 commercial goods drivers and their managers within a series of related companies operating across 17 countries. The results examine the reported incidence of fatigue-related problems in drivers and their associations with near miss and accident experience as well as work and organizational factors. Experience of fatigue problems while driving was linked to time of day and rotation of shifts, though most associations were small. There were significant associations found between fatigue experiences and driver and management systems of break taking and route scheduling. The quantitative combined with qualitative information suggested that, where feasible, more flexible approaches to managing the scheduling and sequencing of deliveries assisted drivers in managing their own fatigue problems through appropriate break-taking. The results are interpreted within the overarching principles of risk assessment and risk control.

75 FR 38595 - Guidance to States Regarding Driver History Record Information Security, Continuity of Operation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-02

... Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division maintains a Computer Security Resource Center... Regarding Driver History Record Information Security, Continuity of Operation Planning, and Disaster... (SDLAs) to support their efforts at maintaining the security of information contained in the driver...

Characterizing driver-response relationships in marine pelagic ecosystems for improved ocean management.

PubMed

Hunsicker, Mary E; Kappel, Carrie V; Selkoe, Kimberly A; Halpern, Benjamin S; Scarborough, Courtney; Mease, Lindley; Amrhein, Alisan

2016-04-01

Scientists and resource managers often use methods and tools that assume ecosystem components respond linearly to environmental drivers and human stressors. However, a growing body of literature demonstrates that many relationships are-non-linear, where small changes in a driver prompt a disproportionately large ecological response. We aim to provide a comprehensive assessment of the relationships between drivers and ecosystem components to identify where and when non-linearities are likely to occur. We focused our analyses on one of the best-studied marine systems, pelagic ecosystems, which allowed us to apply robust statistical techniques on a large pool of previously published studies. In this synthesis, we (1) conduct a wide literature review on single driver-response relationships in pelagic systems, (2) use statistical models to identify the degree of non-linearity in these relationships, and (3) assess whether general patterns exist in the strengths and shapes of non-linear relationships across drivers. Overall we found that non-linearities are common in pelagic ecosystems, comprising at least 52% of all driver-response relation- ships. This is likely an underestimate, as papers with higher quality data and analytical approaches reported non-linear relationships at a higher frequency (on average 11% more). Consequently, in the absence of evidence for a linear relationship, it is safer to assume a relationship is non-linear. Strong non-linearities can lead to greater ecological and socioeconomic consequences if they are unknown (and/or unanticipated), but if known they may provide clear thresholds to inform management targets. In pelagic systems, strongly non-linear relationships are often driven by climate and trophodynamic variables but are also associated with local stressors, such as overfishing and pollution, that can be more easily controlled by managers. Even when marine resource managers cannot influence ecosystem change, they can use information about threshold responses to guide how other stressors are managed and to adapt to new ocean conditions. As methods to detect and reduce uncertainty around threshold values improve, managers will be able to better understand and account for ubiquitous non-linear relationships.

78 FR 43262 - Use of Wireless Mobile Data Devices as Transponders for the Commercial Motor Vehicle Information...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-19

... Data Devices as Transponders for the Commercial Motor Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN...; announcement of policy. SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) network devices... information between the driver and the inspection site as the dedicated short-range communication (DSRC...

77 FR 38215 - Change to FMCSA Policy on Calculating and Publicizing the Driver, Vehicle, and Hazardous...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-27

... Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) to calculate the OOS rates representing the top or worst... INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Roxane Greene, at [email protected] or phone (202) 366-0735; or John Hardridge... holidays. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The HMSP requirement became effective for motor carriers as of January...

Development of an in-vehicle intersection collision countermeasure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierowicz, John A.

1997-02-01

Intersection collisions constitute approximately twenty-six percent of all accidents in the United States. Because of their complexity, and demands on the perceptual and decision making abilities of the driver, intersections present an increased risk of collisions between automobiles. This situation provides an opportunity to apply advanced sensor and processing capabilities to prevent these collisions. A program to determine the characteristics of intersection collisions and identify potential countermeasures will be described. This program, sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, utilized accident data to develop a taxonomy of intersection crashes. This taxonomy was used to develop a concept for an intersection collision avoidance countermeasure. The concept utilizes in-vehicle position, dynamic status, and millimeter wave radar system and an in-vehicle computer system to provide inputs to an intersection collision avoidance algorithm. Detection of potential violation of traffic control device, or proceeding into the intersection with inadequate gap will lead to the presentation of a warning to the driver. These warnings are presented to the driver primarily via a head-up display and haptic feedback. Roadside to vehicle communication provides information regarding phased traffic signal information. Active control of the vehicle's brake and steering systems are described. Progress in the development of the systems will be presented along with the schedule of future activities.

Information theoretical approach to discovering solar wind drivers of the outer radiation belt

DOE PAGES

Wing, Simon; Johnson, Jay R.; Camporeale, Enrico; ...

2016-07-29

The solar wind-magnetosphere system is nonlinear. The solar wind drivers of geosynchronous electrons with energy range of 1.8–3.5 MeV are investigated using mutual information, conditional mutual information (CMI), and transfer entropy (TE). These information theoretical tools can establish linear and nonlinear relationships as well as information transfer. The information transfer from solar wind velocity ( Vsw) to geosynchronous MeV electron flux ( Je) peaks with a lag time of 2 days. As previously reported, Je is anticorrelated with solar wind density ( nsw) with a lag of 1 day. However, this lag time and anticorrelation can be attributed at leastmore » partly to the Je( t + 2 days) correlation with Vsw( t) and nsw( t + 1 day) anticorrelation with Vsw( t). Analyses of solar wind driving of the magnetosphere need to consider the large lag times, up to 3 days, in the ( Vsw, nsw) anticorrelation. Using CMI to remove the effects of Vsw, the response of Je to nsw is 30% smaller and has a lag time < 24 h, suggesting that the MeV electron loss mechanism due to nsw or solar wind dynamic pressure has to start operating in < 24 h. nsw transfers about 36% as much information as Vsw (the primary driver) to Je. Nonstationarity in the system dynamics is investigated using windowed TE. Here, when the data are ordered according to transfer entropy value, it is possible to understand details of the triangle distribution that has been identified between Je( t + 2 days) versus Vsw( t).« less

Information theoretical approach to discovering solar wind drivers of the outer radiation belt

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wing, Simon; Johnson, Jay R.; Camporeale, Enrico

The solar wind-magnetosphere system is nonlinear. The solar wind drivers of geosynchronous electrons with energy range of 1.8–3.5 MeV are investigated using mutual information, conditional mutual information (CMI), and transfer entropy (TE). These information theoretical tools can establish linear and nonlinear relationships as well as information transfer. The information transfer from solar wind velocity ( Vsw) to geosynchronous MeV electron flux ( Je) peaks with a lag time of 2 days. As previously reported, Je is anticorrelated with solar wind density ( nsw) with a lag of 1 day. However, this lag time and anticorrelation can be attributed at leastmore » partly to the Je( t + 2 days) correlation with Vsw( t) and nsw( t + 1 day) anticorrelation with Vsw( t). Analyses of solar wind driving of the magnetosphere need to consider the large lag times, up to 3 days, in the ( Vsw, nsw) anticorrelation. Using CMI to remove the effects of Vsw, the response of Je to nsw is 30% smaller and has a lag time < 24 h, suggesting that the MeV electron loss mechanism due to nsw or solar wind dynamic pressure has to start operating in < 24 h. nsw transfers about 36% as much information as Vsw (the primary driver) to Je. Nonstationarity in the system dynamics is investigated using windowed TE. Here, when the data are ordered according to transfer entropy value, it is possible to understand details of the triangle distribution that has been identified between Je( t + 2 days) versus Vsw( t).« less

Real-time EEG-based detection of fatigue driving danger for accident prediction.

PubMed

Wang, Hong; Zhang, Chi; Shi, Tianwei; Wang, Fuwang; Ma, Shujun

2015-03-01

This paper proposes a real-time electroencephalogram (EEG)-based detection method of the potential danger during fatigue driving. To determine driver fatigue in real time, wavelet entropy with a sliding window and pulse coupled neural network (PCNN) were used to process the EEG signals in the visual area (the main information input route). To detect the fatigue danger, the neural mechanism of driver fatigue was analyzed. The functional brain networks were employed to track the fatigue impact on processing capacity of brain. The results show the overall functional connectivity of the subjects is weakened after long time driving tasks. The regularity is summarized as the fatigue convergence phenomenon. Based on the fatigue convergence phenomenon, we combined both the input and global synchronizations of brain together to calculate the residual amount of the information processing capacity of brain to obtain the dangerous points in real time. Finally, the danger detection system of the driver fatigue based on the neural mechanism was validated using accident EEG. The time distributions of the output danger points of the system have a good agreement with those of the real accident points.

Injury severity analysis of commercially-licensed drivers in single-vehicle crashes: Accounting for unobserved heterogeneity and age group differences.

PubMed

Osman, Mohamed; Mishra, Sabyasachee; Paleti, Rajesh

2018-05-18

This study analyzes the injury severity of commercially-licensed drivers involved in single-vehicle crashes. Considering the discrete ordinal nature of injury severity data, the ordered response modeling framework was adopted. The moderating effect of driver's age on all other factors was examined by segmenting the parameters by driver's age group. Additional effects of the different drivers' age groups are taken into consideration through interaction terms. Unobserved heterogeneity of the different covariates was investigated using the Mixed Generalized Ordered Response Probit (MGORP) model. The empirical analysis was conducted using four years of the Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) data that included 6247 commercially-licensed drivers involved in single-vehicle crashes in the state of Minnesota. The MGORP model elasticity effects indicate that key factors that increase the likelihood of severe crashes for commercially-licensed drivers across all age groups include: lack of seatbelt usage, collision with a fixed object, speeding, vehicle age of 11 years or more, wind, night time, weekday, and female drivers. Also, the effects of several covariates were found to vary across different age groups. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

National energy efficient driving system (NEEDS). Volume 3, Home vehicle use study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1981-12-15

Eight vehicles were instrumented to permit travel distance and fuel consumption to be measured. Following the collection of baseline measures, three different systems were provided to feed back distance and fuel information to drivers: manual, a week...

Computer vision for driver assistance systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Handmann, Uwe; Kalinke, Thomas; Tzomakas, Christos; Werner, Martin; von Seelen, Werner

1998-07-01

Systems for automated image analysis are useful for a variety of tasks and their importance is still increasing due to technological advances and an increase of social acceptance. Especially in the field of driver assistance systems the progress in science has reached a level of high performance. Fully or partly autonomously guided vehicles, particularly for road-based traffic, pose high demands on the development of reliable algorithms due to the conditions imposed by natural environments. At the Institut fur Neuroinformatik, methods for analyzing driving relevant scenes by computer vision are developed in cooperation with several partners from the automobile industry. We introduce a system which extracts the important information from an image taken by a CCD camera installed at the rear view mirror in a car. The approach consists of a sequential and a parallel sensor and information processing. Three main tasks namely the initial segmentation (object detection), the object tracking and the object classification are realized by integration in the sequential branch and by fusion in the parallel branch. The main gain of this approach is given by the integrative coupling of different algorithms providing partly redundant information.

Traffic Safety Facts, 2001: Young Drivers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

This document provides statistical information on U.S. traffic accidents involving young drivers. Data tables include: (1) driver fatalities and drivers involved in fatal crashes among drivers 15 to 20 years old, 1991-2001; (2) drivers involved in fatal crashes and driver involvement rates by age group, 2001; (3) drivers 15 to 20 years old…

Young Drivers. Traffic Safety Facts, 2000.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

This document provides statistical information on U.S. traffic accidents involving young drivers. Data tables include: (1) driver fatalities and drivers involved in fatal crashes among drivers 15 to 20 years old, 1990-2000; (2) drivers involved in fatal crashes and driver involvement rates by age group, 2000; (3) drivers 15 to 20 years old…

Phase modulation in RF tag

DOEpatents

Carrender, Curtis Lee; Gilbert, Ronald W.

2007-02-20

A radio frequency (RF) communication system employs phase-modulated backscatter signals for RF communication from an RF tag to an interrogator. The interrogator transmits a continuous wave interrogation signal to the RF tag, which based on an information code stored in a memory, phase-modulates the interrogation signal to produce a backscatter response signal that is transmitted back to the interrogator. A phase modulator structure in the RF tag may include a switch coupled between an antenna and a quarter-wavelength stub; and a driver coupled between the memory and a control terminal of the switch. The driver is structured to produce a modulating signal corresponding to the information code, the modulating signal alternately opening and closing the switch to respectively decrease and increase the transmission path taken by the interrogation signal and thereby modulate the phase of the response signal. Alternatively, the phase modulator may include a diode coupled between the antenna and driver. The modulating signal from the driver modulates the capacitance of the diode, which modulates the phase of the response signal reflected by the diode and antenna.

Simulator training with a forward collision warning system: effects on driver-system interactions and driver trust.

PubMed

Koustanaï, Arnaud; Cavallo, Viola; Delhomme, Patricia; Mas, Arnaud

2012-10-01

The study addressed the role of familiarization on a driving simulator with a forward collision warning (FCW) and investigated its impact on driver behavior. Drivers need a good understanding of how an FCW system functions to trust it and use it properly. Theoretical and empirical data suggest that exploring the capacities and limitations of the FCW during the learning period improves operating knowledge and leads to increased driver trust in the system and better driver-system interactions.The authors tested this hypothesis by comparing groups of drivers differing in FCW familiarity. During the familiarization phase, familiarized drivers were trained on the simulator using the FCW, unfamiliarized drivers simply read an FCW manual, and control drivers had no contact with the FCW. During the test, drivers drove the simulator and had to interact with traffic; both familiarized and unfamiliarized drivers used the FCW, whereas controls did not. Simulator familiarization improved driver understanding of FCW operation. Driver-system interactions were more effective: Familiarized drivers had no collisions, longer time headways, and better reactions in most situations. Familiarization increased trust in the FCW but did not raise system acceptance. Familiarization on the simulator had a positive effect on driver-system interactions and on trust in the system. The limitations of the familiarization method are discussed in relation to the driving simulator methodology. Practicing on a driving simulator with driving-assistance systems could facilitate their use during real driving.

The relative importance of real-time in-cab and external feedback in managing fatigue in real-world commercial transport operations.

PubMed

Fitzharris, Michael; Liu, Sara; Stephens, Amanda N; Lenné, Michael G

2017-05-29

Real-time driver monitoring systems represent a solution to address key behavioral risks as they occur, particularly distraction and fatigue. The efficacy of these systems in real-world settings is largely unknown. This article has three objectives: (1) to document the incidence and duration of fatigue in real-world commercial truck-driving operations, (2) to determine the reduction, if any, in the incidence of fatigue episodes associated with providing feedback, and (3) to tease apart the relative contribution of in-cab warnings from 24/7 monitoring and feedback to employers. Data collected from a commercially available in-vehicle camera-based driver monitoring system installed in a commercial truck fleet operating in Australia were analyzed. The real-time driver monitoring system makes continuous assessments of driver drowsiness based on eyelid position and other factors. Data were collected in a baseline period where no feedback was provided to drivers. Real-time feedback to drivers then occurred via in-cab auditory and haptic warnings, which were further enhanced by direct feedback by company management when fatigue events were detected by external 24/7 monitors. Fatigue incidence rates and their timing of occurrence across the three time periods were compared. Relative to no feedback being provided to drivers when fatigue events were detected, in-cab warnings resulted in a 66% reduction in fatigue events, with a 95% reduction achieved by the real-time provision of direct feedback in addition to in-cab warnings (p < 0.01). With feedback, fatigue events were shorter in duration a d occurred later in the trip, and fewer drivers had more than one verified fatigue event per trip. That the provision of feedback to the company on driver fatigue events in real time provides greater benefit than feedback to the driver alone has implications for companies seeking to mitigate risks associated with fatigue. Having fewer fatigue events is likely a reflection of the device itself and the accompanying safety culture of the company in terms of how the information is used. Data were analysed on a per-truck trip basis, and the findings are indicative of fatigue events in a large-scale commercial transport fleet. Future research ought to account for individual driver performance, which was not possible with the available data in this retrospective analysis. Evidence that real-time driver monitoring feedback is effective in reducing fatigue events is invaluable in the development of fleet safety policies, and of future national policy and vehicle safety regulations. Implications for automotive driver monitoring are discussed.

49 CFR 395.15 - Automatic on-board recording devices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... information concerning on-board system sensor failures and identification of edited data. Such support systems... driving today; (iv) Total hours on duty for the 7 consecutive day period, including today; (v) Total hours...-driver operation; (7) The on-board recording device/system identifies sensor failures and edited data...

Basic collision warning and driver information systems : human factors research needs : summary report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1992-09-01

For the past 20 years, federal-aid highway programs have been directed primarily toward the construction, reconstruction, and improvement of highways on the federal-aid interstate, primary, secondary,and urban systems. As the result of legislation co...

Wireless Roadside Inspection Proof of Concept Test Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Capps, Gary J; Franzese, Oscar; Knee, Helmut E

2009-03-01

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) FMCSA commissioned the Wireless Roadside Inspection (WRI) Program to validate technologies and methodologies that can improve safety through inspections using wireless technologies that convey real-time identification of commercial vehicles, drivers, and carriers, as well as information about the condition of the vehicles and their drivers. It is hypothesized that these inspections will: -- Increase safety -- Decrease the number of unsafe commercial vehicles on the road; -- Increase efficiency -- Speed up the inspection process, enabling more inspections to occur, at least on par with the number of weight inspections; -- Improve effectiveness --more » Reduce the probability of drivers bypassing CMV inspection stations and increase the likelihood that fleets will attempt to meet the safety regulations; and -- Benefit industry -- Reduce fleet costs, provide good return-on-investment, minimize wait times, and level the playing field. The WRI Program is defined in three phases which are: Phase 1: Proof of Concept Test (POC) Testing of commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) or near-COTS technology to validate the wireless inspection concept. Phase 2: Pilot Test Safety technology maturation and back office system integration Phase 3: Field Operational Test Multi-vehicle testing over a multi-state instrumented corridor This report focuses on Phase 1 efforts that were initiated in March, 2006. Technical efforts dealt with the ability of a Universal Wireless Inspection System (UWIS) to collect driver, vehicle, and carrier information; format a Safety Data Message Set from this information; and wirelessly transmit a Safety Data Message Set to a roadside receiver unit or mobile enforcement vehicle.« less

A novel algorithm for finding optimal driver nodes to target control complex networks and its applications for drug targets identification.

PubMed

Guo, Wei-Feng; Zhang, Shao-Wu; Shi, Qian-Qian; Zhang, Cheng-Ming; Zeng, Tao; Chen, Luonan

2018-01-19

The advances in target control of complex networks not only can offer new insights into the general control dynamics of complex systems, but also be useful for the practical application in systems biology, such as discovering new therapeutic targets for disease intervention. In many cases, e.g. drug target identification in biological networks, we usually require a target control on a subset of nodes (i.e., disease-associated genes) with minimum cost, and we further expect that more driver nodes consistent with a certain well-selected network nodes (i.e., prior-known drug-target genes). Therefore, motivated by this fact, we pose and address a new and practical problem called as target control problem with objectives-guided optimization (TCO): how could we control the interested variables (or targets) of a system with the optional driver nodes by minimizing the total quantity of drivers and meantime maximizing the quantity of constrained nodes among those drivers. Here, we design an efficient algorithm (TCOA) to find the optional driver nodes for controlling targets in complex networks. We apply our TCOA to several real-world networks, and the results support that our TCOA can identify more precise driver nodes than the existing control-fucus approaches. Furthermore, we have applied TCOA to two bimolecular expert-curate networks. Source code for our TCOA is freely available from http://sysbio.sibcb.ac.cn/cb/chenlab/software.htm or https://github.com/WilfongGuo/guoweifeng . In the previous theoretical research for the full control, there exists an observation and conclusion that the driver nodes tend to be low-degree nodes. However, for target control the biological networks, we find interestingly that the driver nodes tend to be high-degree nodes, which is more consistent with the biological experimental observations. Furthermore, our results supply the novel insights into how we can efficiently target control a complex system, and especially many evidences on the practical strategic utility of TCOA to incorporate prior drug information into potential drug-target forecasts. Thus applicably, our method paves a novel and efficient way to identify the drug targets for leading the phenotype transitions of underlying biological networks.

Assessing driving forces of land use and land cover change by a mixed-method approach in north-eastern Ghana, West Africa.

PubMed

Kleemann, Janina; Baysal, Gülendam; Bulley, Henry N N; Fürst, Christine

2017-07-01

Land use and land cover change (LULCC) is the result of complex human-environmental interactions. The high interdependencies in social-ecological systems make it difficult to identify the main drivers. However, knowledge of key drivers of LULCC, including indirect (underlying) drivers which cannot be easily determined by spatial or economic analyses, is essential for land use planning and especially important in developing countries. We used a mixed-method approach in order to detect drivers of LULCC in the Upper East Region of northern Ghana by different qualitative and quantitative methods which were compared in a confidence level analysis. Viewpoints from experts help to answer why the land use is changing, since many triggering effects, especially non-spatial and indirect drivers of LULCC, are not measurable by other methodological approaches. Geo-statistical or economic analyses add to validate the relevance of the expert-based results. First, we conducted in-depth interviews and developed a list of 34 direct and indirect drivers of LULCC. Subsequently, a group of experts was asked in a questionnaire to select the most important drivers by using a Likert scale. This information was complemented by remote sensing analysis. Finally, the driver analysis was compared to information from literature. Based on these analyses there is a very high confidence that population growth, especially in rural areas, is a major driver of LULCC. Further, current farming practice, bush fires, livestock, the road network and climate variability were the main direct drivers while the financial capital of farmers and customary norms regarding land tenure were listed as important indirect drivers with high confidence. Many of these driving forces, such as labour shortage and migration, are furthermore interdependent. Governmental laws, credits, the service by extension officers, conservational agriculture and foreign agricultural medium-scale investments are currently not driving land use changes. We conclude that the mixed-method approach improves the confidence of findings and the selection of most important drivers for modelling LULCC, especially in developing countries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Discovering mutated driver genes through a robust and sparse co-regularized matrix factorization framework with prior information from mRNA expression patterns and interaction network.

PubMed

Xi, Jianing; Wang, Minghui; Li, Ao

2018-06-05

Discovery of mutated driver genes is one of the primary objective for studying tumorigenesis. To discover some relatively low frequently mutated driver genes from somatic mutation data, many existing methods incorporate interaction network as prior information. However, the prior information of mRNA expression patterns are not exploited by these existing network-based methods, which is also proven to be highly informative of cancer progressions. To incorporate prior information from both interaction network and mRNA expressions, we propose a robust and sparse co-regularized nonnegative matrix factorization to discover driver genes from mutation data. Furthermore, our framework also conducts Frobenius norm regularization to overcome overfitting issue. Sparsity-inducing penalty is employed to obtain sparse scores in gene representations, of which the top scored genes are selected as driver candidates. Evaluation experiments by known benchmarking genes indicate that the performance of our method benefits from the two type of prior information. Our method also outperforms the existing network-based methods, and detect some driver genes that are not predicted by the competing methods. In summary, our proposed method can improve the performance of driver gene discovery by effectively incorporating prior information from interaction network and mRNA expression patterns into a robust and sparse co-regularized matrix factorization framework.

78 FR 7431 - Cbr Systems, Inc.; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-01

... include any sensitive personal information, like anyone's Social Security number, date of birth, driver's... limited to, the following: name, address, email address, telephone number, date of birth, Social Security... collects personal information, such as fathers' Social Security numbers, and the company collects...

Assessment of the Adequacy of U.S.-Canadian Infrastructure to Accommodate Trade through Eastern Border Crossings. Appendix 4. Niagara Frontier.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-03-01

THE INVEHICLE SAFETY ADVISORY AND WARNING SYSTEM (IVSAWS) IS A FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION EFFORT TO DEVELOP' A NATIONWIDE VEHICULAR INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES DRIVERS WITH ADVANCE, SUPPLEMENTAL NOTIFICATION OF DANGEROUS ROAD CONDITIONS USIN...

Los Angeles congestion reduction demonstration (Metro ExpressLanes) program. National evaluation : traffic system data test plan.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

This document reports on the formal evaluation of the targeted (limited but highly focused) deployment of the Advanced Driver and Vehicle Advisory Navigation ConcEpt (ADVANCE), an in-vehicle advanced traveler information system designed to provide sh...

Los Angeles congestion reduction demonstration (Metro ExpressLanes) program. National evaluation : content analysis test plan.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-11-01

This flyer summarizes the identified human factors research needs for integrated in-vehicle systems for transit vehicles, one of five configurations of in-vehicle safety and driver information systems. A complete review of the research needs for all ...

Requirements of a system to reduce car-to-vulnerable road user crashes in urban intersections.

PubMed

Habibovic, Azra; Davidsson, Johan

2011-07-01

Intersection crashes between cars and vulnerable road users (VRUs), such as pedestrians and bicyclists, often result in injuries and fatalities. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs) can prevent, or mitigate, these crashes. To derive functional requirements for such systems, an understanding of the underlying contributing factors and the context in which the crashes occur is essential. The aim of this study is to use microscopic and macroscopic crash data to explore the potential of information and warning providing ADASs, and then to derive functional sensor, collision detection, and human-machine interface (HMI) requirements. The microscopic data were obtained from the European project SafetyNet. Causation charts describing contributing factors for 60 car-to-VRU crashes had been compiled and were then also aggregated using the SafetyNet Accident Causation System (SNACS). The macroscopic data were obtained from the Swedish national crash database, STRADA. A total of 9702 crashes were analyzed. The results show that the most frequent contributing factor to the crashes was the drivers' failure to observe VRUs due to reduced visibility, reduced awareness, and/or insufficient comprehension. An ADAS should therefore help drivers to observe the VRUs in time and to enhance their ability to interpret the development of events in the near future. The system should include a combination of imminent and cautionary collision warnings, with additional support in the form of information about intersection geometry and traffic regulations. The warnings should be deployed via an in-vehicle HMI and according to the likelihood of crash risk. The system should be able to operate under a variety of weather and light conditions. It should have the capacity to support drivers when their view is obstructed by physical objects. To address problems that vehicle-based sensors may face in this regard, the use of cooperative systems is recommended. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Driver sleepiness on YouTube: A content analysis.

PubMed

Hawkins, A N; Filtness, A J

2017-02-01

Driver sleepiness is a major contributor to severe crashes and fatalities on our roads. Many people continue to drive despite being aware of feeling tired. Prevention relies heavily on education campaigns as it is difficult to police driver sleepiness. The video sharing social media site YouTube is extremely popular, particularly with at risk driver demographics. Content and popularity of uploaded videos can provide insight into the quality of publicly accessible driver sleepiness information. The purpose of this research was to answer two questions; firstly, how prevalent are driver sleepiness videos on YouTube? And secondly, what are the general characteristics of driver sleepiness videos in terms of (a) outlook on driver sleepiness, (b) tone, (c) countermeasures to driver sleepiness, and, (d) driver demographics. Using a keywords search, 442 relevant videos were found from a five year period (2nd December 2009-2nd December 2014). Tone, outlook, and countermeasure use were thematically coded. Driver demographic and video popularity data also were recorded. The majority of videos portrayed driver sleepiness as dangerous. However, videos that had an outlook towards driver sleepiness being amusing were viewed more often and had more mean per video comments and likes. Humorous videos regardless of outlook, were most popular. Most information regarding countermeasures to deal with driver sleepiness was accurate. Worryingly, 39.8% of videos with countermeasure information contained some kind of ineffective countermeasure. The use of humour to convey messages about the dangers of driver sleepiness may be a useful approach in educational interventions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Traffic jam driving with NMV avoidance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milanés, Vicente; Alonso, Luciano; Villagrá, Jorge; Godoy, Jorge; de Pedro, Teresa; Oria, Juan P.

2012-08-01

In recent years, the development of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) - mainly based on lidar and cameras - has considerably improved the safety of driving in urban environments. These systems provide warning signals for the driver in the case that any unexpected traffic circumstance is detected. The next step is to develop systems capable not only of warning the driver but also of taking over control of the car to avoid a potential collision. In the present communication, a system capable of autonomously avoiding collisions in traffic jam situations is presented. First, a perception system was developed for urban situations—in which not only vehicles have to be considered, but also pedestrians and other non-motor-vehicles (NMV). It comprises a differential global positioning system (DGPS) and wireless communication for vehicle detection, and an ultrasound sensor for NMV detection. Then, the vehicle's actuators - brake and throttle pedals - were modified to permit autonomous control. Finally, a fuzzy logic controller was implemented capable of analyzing the information provided by the perception system and of sending control commands to the vehicle's actuators so as to avoid accidents. The feasibility of the integrated system was tested by mounting it in a commercial vehicle, with the results being encouraging.

Driver performance modelling and its practical application to railway safety.

PubMed

Hamilton, W Ian; Clarke, Theresa

2005-11-01

This paper reports on the development and main features of a model of driver information processing. The work was conducted on behalf of Network Rail to meet a requirement to understand and manage the driver's interaction with the infrastructure through lineside reminder appliances. The model utilises cognitive theory and modelling techniques to describe driver performance in relation to infrastructure features and operational conditions. The model is capable of predicting the performance time, workload and error consequences of different operational conditions. The utility of the model is demonstrated through reports of its application to the following studies: Research on the effect of line speed on driver interaction with signals and signs. Calculation of minimum reading times for signals. Development of a human factors signals passed at danger (SPAD) hazard checklist, and a method to resolve conflicts between signal sighting solutions. Research on the demands imposed on drivers by European train control system (ETCS) driving in a UK context. The paper also reports on a validation of the model's utility as a tool for assessing cab and infrastructure drivability.

Drivers of routine immunization coverage improvement in Africa: findings from district-level case studies

PubMed Central

LaFond, Anne; Kanagat, Natasha; Steinglass, Robert; Fields, Rebecca; Sequeira, Jenny; Mookherji, Sangeeta

2015-01-01

There is limited understanding of why routine immunization (RI) coverage improves in some settings in Africa and not in others. Using a grounded theory approach, we conducted in-depth case studies to understand pathways to coverage improvement by comparing immunization programme experience in 12 districts in three countries (Ethiopia, Cameroon and Ghana). Drawing on positive deviance or assets model techniques we compared the experience of districts where diphtheria–tetanus–pertussis (DTP3)/pentavalent3 (Penta3) coverage improved with districts where DTP3/Penta3 coverage remained unchanged (or steady) over the same period, focusing on basic readiness to deliver immunization services and drivers of coverage improvement. The results informed a model for immunization coverage improvement that emphasizes the dynamics of immunization systems at district level. In all districts, whether improving or steady, we found that a set of basic RI system resources were in place from 2006 to 2010 and did not observe major differences in infrastructure. We found that the differences in coverage trends were due to factors other than basic RI system capacity or service readiness. We identified six common drivers of RI coverage performance improvement—four direct drivers and two enabling drivers—that were present in well-performing districts and weaker or absent in steady coverage districts, and map the pathways from driver to improved supply, demand and coverage. Findings emphasize the critical role of implementation strategies and the need for locally skilled managers that are capable of tailoring strategies to specific settings and community needs. The case studies are unique in their focus on the positive drivers of change and the identification of pathways to coverage improvement, an approach that should be considered in future studies and routine assessments of district-level immunization system performance. PMID:24615431

49 CFR 391.23 - Investigation and inquiries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... following investigations and inquiries with respect to each driver it employs, other than a person who has... previous motor carrier employers should send the information requested. (1) General driver identification... data, including the driver identification information and dates of employment. (2) Take all precautions...

Development of a conceptual integrated traffic safety problem identification database

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-12-01

The project conceptualized a traffic safety risk management information system and statistical database for improved problem-driver identification, countermeasure development, and resource allocation. The California Department of Motor Vehicles Drive...

Modelling how drivers respond to a bicyclist crossing their path at an intersection: How do test track and driving simulator compare?

PubMed

Boda, Christian-Nils; Dozza, Marco; Bohman, Katarina; Thalya, Prateek; Larsson, Annika; Lubbe, Nils

2018-02-01

Bicyclist fatalities are a great concern in the European Union. Most of them are due to crashes between motorized vehicles and bicyclists at unsignalised intersections. Different countermeasures are currently being developed and implemented in order to save lives. One type of countermeasure, active safety systems, requires a deep understanding of driver behaviour to be effective without being annoying. The current study provides new knowledge about driver behaviour which can inform assessment programmes for active safety systems such as Euro NCAP. This study investigated how drivers responded to bicyclists crossing their path at an intersection. The influences of car speed and cyclist speed on the driver response process were assessed for three different crossing configurations. The same experimental protocol was tested in a fixed-base driving simulator and on a test track. A virtual model of the test track was used in the driving simulator to keep the protocol as consistent as possible across testing environments. Results show that neither car speed nor bicycle speed directly influenced the response process. The crossing configuration did not directly influence the braking response process either, but it did influence the strategy chosen by the drivers to approach the intersection. The point in time when the bicycle became visible (which depended on the car speed, the bicycle speed, and the crossing configuration) and the crossing configuration alone had the largest effects on the driver response process. Dissimilarities between test-track and driving-simulator studies were found; however, there were also interesting similarities, especially in relation to the driver braking behaviour. Drivers followed the same strategy to initiate braking, independent of the test environment. On the other hand, the test environment affected participants' strategies for releasing the gas pedal and regulating deceleration. Finally, a mathematical model, based on both experiments, is proposed to characterize driver braking behaviour in response to bicyclists crossing at intersections. This model has direct implications on what variables an in-vehicle safety system should consider and how tests in evaluation programs should be designed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

49 CFR 563.11 - Information in owner's manual.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... hitting a road obstacle, data that will assist in understanding how a vehicle's systems performed. The EDR is designed to record data related to vehicle dynamics and safety systems for a short period of time... systems in your vehicle were operating; • Whether or not the driver and passenger safety belts were...

Parent attitudes toward integrating parent involvement into teenage driver education courses.

PubMed

Hartos, Jessica; Huff, David C

2008-01-01

The widespread adoption of graduated driver licensing (GDL) policies has effectively reduced crash risk for young drivers; however, parents must support, reinforce, and enforce GDL for it to be effective, and research indicates that parents need better information and instruction for adhering to GDL requirements, conducting supervised practice driving, and restricting independent teenage driving. Because teenagers in most states must take driver education to enter the licensing process prior to age 18, integrating parent involvement into driver education may be an effective way to inform and instruct parents on a large scale about teen driver safety. This study assessed parent attitudes (overall and by rural status, minority status, and income level) toward integrating parent involvement into teenage driver education classes. In this study, 321 parents of teenagers enrolled in driver education classes across the state of Montana completed surveys about current involvement in driver education and attitudes toward required involvement. The results indicated that parents were not very involved currently in their teenagers' driver education classes, but 76% reported that parents should be required to be involved. If involvement were required, parents would prefer having written materials sent home, access to information over the Internet, or discussions in person with the instructor; far fewer would prefer to attend classes or behind-the-wheel driving instruction. There were few differences in parent attitudes by rural or minority status but many by income level. Compared to higher income parents, lower income parents were more likely to endorse required parent involvement in teenage driver education classes and to want parent information from driver education about many teen driving issues. That the majority of parents are open to required involvement in their teenagers' driver education classes is promising because doing so could better prepare parents to understand and adhere to GDL policies, supervise teenagers' practice driving, and manage teen independent driving, all of which could further increase teen driver safety.

Driver behaviour with adaptive cruise control.

PubMed

Stanton, Neville A; Young, Mark S

2005-08-15

This paper reports on the evaluation of adaptive cruise control (ACC) from a psychological perspective. It was anticipated that ACC would have an effect upon the psychology of driving, i.e. make the driver feel like they have less control, reduce the level of trust in the vehicle, make drivers less situationally aware, but workload might be reduced and driving might be less stressful. Drivers were asked to drive in a driving simulator under manual and ACC conditions. Analysis of variance techniques were used to determine the effects of workload (i.e. amount of traffic) and feedback (i.e. degree of information from the ACC system) on the psychological variables measured (i.e. locus of control, trust, workload, stress, mental models and situation awareness). The results showed that: locus of control and trust were unaffected by ACC, whereas situation awareness, workload and stress were reduced by ACC. Ways of improving situation awareness could include cues to help the driver predict vehicle trajectory and identify conflicts.

Advancing the integration of spatial data to map human and natural drivers on coral reefs

PubMed Central

Gove, Jamison M.; Walecka, Hilary R.; Donovan, Mary K.; Williams, Gareth J.; Jouffray, Jean-Baptiste; Crowder, Larry B.; Erickson, Ashley; Falinski, Kim; Friedlander, Alan M.; Kappel, Carrie V.; Kittinger, John N.; McCoy, Kaylyn; Norström, Albert; Nyström, Magnus; Oleson, Kirsten L. L.; Stamoulis, Kostantinos A.; White, Crow; Selkoe, Kimberly A.

2018-01-01

A major challenge for coral reef conservation and management is understanding how a wide range of interacting human and natural drivers cumulatively impact and shape these ecosystems. Despite the importance of understanding these interactions, a methodological framework to synthesize spatially explicit data of such drivers is lacking. To fill this gap, we established a transferable data synthesis methodology to integrate spatial data on environmental and anthropogenic drivers of coral reefs, and applied this methodology to a case study location–the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI). Environmental drivers were derived from time series (2002–2013) of climatological ranges and anomalies of remotely sensed sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a, irradiance, and wave power. Anthropogenic drivers were characterized using empirically derived and modeled datasets of spatial fisheries catch, sedimentation, nutrient input, new development, habitat modification, and invasive species. Within our case study system, resulting driver maps showed high spatial heterogeneity across the MHI, with anthropogenic drivers generally greatest and most widespread on O‘ahu, where 70% of the state’s population resides, while sedimentation and nutrients were dominant in less populated islands. Together, the spatial integration of environmental and anthropogenic driver data described here provides a first-ever synthetic approach to visualize how the drivers of coral reef state vary in space and demonstrates a methodological framework for implementation of this approach in other regions of the world. By quantifying and synthesizing spatial drivers of change on coral reefs, we provide an avenue for further research to understand how drivers determine reef diversity and resilience, which can ultimately inform policies to protect coral reefs. PMID:29494613

SAE J2735 standard : applying the systems engineering process.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-11-01

As part of the U.S. Department of Transportations Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) program, the Federal Highway Administration investigated the human factors research needs for integrating in-vehicle safety and driver information technologies ...

Discovering potential driver genes through an integrated model of somatic mutation profiles and gene functional information.

PubMed

Xi, Jianing; Wang, Minghui; Li, Ao

2017-09-26

The accumulating availability of next-generation sequencing data offers an opportunity to pinpoint driver genes that are causally implicated in oncogenesis through computational models. Despite previous efforts made regarding this challenging problem, there is still room for improvement in the driver gene identification accuracy. In this paper, we propose a novel integrated approach called IntDriver for prioritizing driver genes. Based on a matrix factorization framework, IntDriver can effectively incorporate functional information from both the interaction network and Gene Ontology similarity, and detect driver genes mutated in different sets of patients at the same time. When evaluated through known benchmarking driver genes, the top ranked genes of our result show highly significant enrichment for the known genes. Meanwhile, IntDriver also detects some known driver genes that are not found by the other competing approaches. When measured by precision, recall and F1 score, the performances of our approach are comparable or increased in comparison to the competing approaches.

Scenarios to prioritize observing activities on the North Slope, Alaska in the context of resource development, climate change and socio-economic uncertainties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, O. A.; Eicken, H.; Payne, J. F.; Lassuy, D.

2014-12-01

The North Slope of Alaska is experiencing rapid changes in response to interacting climate and socioeconomic drivers. The North Slope Science Initiative (NSSI) is using scenarios as a tool to identify plausible, spatially explicit future states of resource extraction activities on the North Slope and adjacent seas through the year 2040. The objective of the scenarios process is to strategically assess research and monitoring needs on the North Slope. The participatory scenarios process involved stakeholder input (including Federal, State, local, academic, industry and non-profit representatives) to identify key drivers of change related to resource extraction activities on the North Slope. While climate change was identified as a key driver in the biophysical system, economic drivers related to oil and gas development were also important. Expert-reviewed informational materials were developed to help stakeholders obtain baseline knowledge and stimulate discussions about interactions between drivers, knowledge gaps and uncertainties. Map-based scenario products will allow mission-oriented agencies to jointly explore where to prioritize research investments and address risk in a complex, changing environment. Scenarios consider multidecadal timescales. However, tracking of indicator variables derived from scenarios can lead to important insights about the trajectory of the North Slope social-environmental system and inform management decisions to reduce risk on much shorter timescales. The inclusion of stakeholders helps provide a broad spectrum of expert viewpoints necessary for considering the range of plausible scenarios. A well-defined focal question, transparency in the participation process and continued outreach about the utility and limitations of scenarios are also important components of the scenarios process.

Intelligent on-board system for driving assistance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rombaut, Michele; Le Fort-Piat, N.

1995-09-01

We present in this paper, an electronic copilot embedded in a real car. The system objective is to help the driver by sending alarms or warnings in order to avoid dangerous situtations. An onboard perception system based on CCD cameras and proprioceptive sensors is used ot provide information concerning the environment and the internal state of the vehicle. From this set of information, the copilot is able to analyze the situation and to generate adequate warnings to the driver according to the circumstances. The definition and the development of such a system deal with multisensor data fusion and supervision strategies. The framework of this work was the European Prometheus Pro-Art program. The electronic copilot has been integrated in a prototype vehicle called Prolab2. This French demonstrator integrates the works of nine research laboratories and two car companies: PSA and RENAULT. After a brief presentation of the global demonstrator, we present the two principal parts developed in our laboratory corresponding to the high level modules of the system: the dynamic data manager and the situation supervision.

EMERGENCE OF "DRIVERS" FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT.

PubMed

Castro Jaramillo, Hector Eduardo; Moreno-Mattar, Ornella; Osorio-Cuevas, Diana

2016-01-01

Health technology assessment (HTA) examines the consequences of the application of health technologies and is aimed at better informing decision-makers. Over the past 30 years, different countries have implemented HTA organizations. Colombia established by law its own HTA agency (IETS) in 2011 which started operations in November 2012. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of conducting and using HTA to inform decision-making in this context. Through a qualitative approach, ten "drivers" emerged with the ability to help or hinder HTA development in this context: availability and quality of data, implementation strategy, cultural aspects, local capacity, financial support, policy/political support, globalization, stakeholder pressure, health system context, and usefulness perception. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key HTA researchers, after following rigorous transcription, and thematic content analysis, those aspects that may be barriers or facilitator for HTA development and use in Colombia were identified. Although HTA has become a tool to inform decision-making around the world, its use may vary according to setting. Determining those aspects which may enable or interfere with HTA development and use in Colombia may be useful for other countries when considering the establishment of HTA systems. The conceptual transferability of concepts like "drivers" with caveats may be of interest for similar settings trying to incorporate HTA processes and institutions into systematic decision-making.

Characteristics of Single Vehicle Crashes with a Teen Driver in South Carolina, 2005-2008.

PubMed

Shults, Ruth A; Bergen, Gwen; Smith, Tracy J; Cook, Larry; Kindelberger, John; West, Bethany

2017-09-22

Teens' crash risk is highest in the first years of independent driving. Circumstances surrounding fatal crashes have been widely documented, but less is known about factors related to nonfatal teen driver crashes. This study describes single vehicle nonfatal crashes involving the youngest teen drivers (15-17 years), compares these crashes to single vehicle nonfatal crashes among adult drivers (35-44 years) and examines factors related to nonfatal injury producing crashes for teen drivers. Police crash data linked to hospital inpatient and emergency department data for 2005-2008 from the South Carolina Crash Outcomes Data Evaluation System (CODES) were analyzed. Nonfatal, single vehicle crashes involving passenger vehicles occurring on public roadways for teen (15-17 years) drivers were compared with those for adult (35-44 years) drivers on temporal patterns and crash risk factors per licensed driver and per vehicle miles traveled. Vehicle miles traveled by age group was estimated using data from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey. Multivariable log-linear regression analysis was conducted for teen driver crashes to determine which characteristics were related to crashes resulting in a minor/moderate injury or serious injury to at least one vehicle occupant. Compared with adult drivers, teen drivers in South Carolina had 2.5 times the single vehicle nonfatal crash rate per licensed driver and 11 times the rate per vehicle mile traveled. Teen drivers were nearly twice as likely to be speeding at the time of the crash compared with adult drivers. Teen driver crashes per licensed driver were highest during the afternoon hours of 3:00-5:59 pm and crashes per mile driven were highest during the nighttime hours of 9:00-11:59 pm. In 66% of the teen driver crashes, the driver was the only occupant. Crashes were twice as likely to result in serious injury when teen passengers were present than when the teen driver was alone. When teen drivers crashed while transporting teen passengers, the passengers were >5 times more likely to all be restrained if the teen driver was restrained. Crashes in which the teen driver was unrestrained were 80% more likely to result in minor/moderate injury and 6 times more likely to result in serious injury compared with crashes in which the teen driver was restrained. Despite the reductions in teen driver crashes associated with Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL), South Carolina's teen driver crash rates remain substantially higher than those for adult drivers. Established risk factors for fatal teen driver crashes, including restraint nonuse, transporting teen passengers, and speeding also increase the risk of nonfatal injury in single vehicle crashes. As South Carolina examines strategies to further reduce teen driver crashes and associated injuries, the state could consider updating its GDL passenger restriction to either none or one passenger <21years and dropping the passenger restriction exemption for trips to and from school. Surveillance systems such as CODES that link crash data with health outcome data provide needed information to more fully understand the circumstances and consequences of teen driver nonfatal crashes and evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to improve teen driver safety. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Modular Engine Instrumentation System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rice, W. J.; Birchenough, A. G.

1982-01-01

System that provides information and measurements never obtained before in real time has been developed. System shows not only real-time measurements but also results of computations of key combustion parameters in meaningful and easily understood display. Standard commercially-available shaft encoder plus data from pressure transducer act as principal drivers to device. Eventually, modular system could be developed into onboard controller for automobile engines.

Classifying visuomotor workload in a driving simulator using subject specific spatial brain patterns

PubMed Central

Dijksterhuis, Chris; de Waard, Dick; Brookhuis, Karel A.; Mulder, Ben L. J. M.; de Jong, Ritske

2013-01-01

A passive Brain Computer Interface (BCI) is a system that responds to the spontaneously produced brain activity of its user and could be used to develop interactive task support. A human-machine system that could benefit from brain-based task support is the driver-car interaction system. To investigate the feasibility of such a system to detect changes in visuomotor workload, 34 drivers were exposed to several levels of driving demand in a driving simulator. Driving demand was manipulated by varying driving speed and by asking the drivers to comply to individually set lane keeping performance targets. Differences in the individual driver's workload levels were classified by applying the Common Spatial Pattern (CSP) and Fisher's linear discriminant analysis to frequency filtered electroencephalogram (EEG) data during an off line classification study. Several frequency ranges, EEG cap configurations, and condition pairs were explored. It was found that classifications were most accurate when based on high frequencies, larger electrode sets, and the frontal electrodes. Depending on these factors, classification accuracies across participants reached about 95% on average. The association between high accuracies and high frequencies suggests that part of the underlying information did not originate directly from neuronal activity. Nonetheless, average classification accuracies up to 75–80% were obtained from the lower EEG ranges that are likely to reflect neuronal activity. For a system designer, this implies that a passive BCI system may use several frequency ranges for workload classifications. PMID:23970851

Validation of an electronic device for measuring driving exposure.

PubMed

Huebner, Kyla D; Porter, Michelle M; Marshall, Shawn C

2006-03-01

This study sought to evaluate an on-board diagnostic system (CarChip) for collecting driving exposure data in older drivers. Drivers (N = 20) aged 60 to 86 years from Winnipeg and surrounding communities participated. Information on driving exposure was obtained via the CarChip and global positioning system (GPS) technology on a driving course, and obtained via the CarChip and surveys over a week of driving. Velocities and distances were measured over the road course to validate the accuracy of the CarChip compared to GPS for those parameters. The results show that the CarChip does provide valid distance measurements and slightly lower maximum velocities than GPS measures. From the results obtained in this study, it was determined that retrospective self-reports of weekly driving distances are inaccurate. Therefore, an on-board diagnostic system (OBDII) electronic device like the CarChip can provide valid and detailed information about driving exposure that would be useful for studies of crash rates or driving behavior.

Trilogy Operational Test

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-09-29

The Trilogy project was an ITS demonstration of the broadcast of freeway system traveler information to both commercial and commuter drivers over a 25-mile (40.3 km) radius of the Twin : Cities metropolitan area. In this project, real-time freeway sy...

Does assisted driving behavior lead to safety-critical encounters with unequipped vehicles' drivers?

PubMed

Preuk, Katharina; Stemmler, Eric; Schießl, Caroline; Jipp, Meike

2016-10-01

With Intelligent Transport Systems (e.g., traffic light assistance systems) assisted drivers are able to show driving behavior in anticipation of upcoming traffic situations. In the years to come, the penetration rate of such systems will be low. Therefore, the majority of vehicles will not be equipped with these systems. Unequipped vehicles' drivers may not expect the driving behavior of assisted drivers. However, drivers' predictions and expectations can play a significant role in their reaction times. Thus, safety issues could arise when unequipped vehicles' drivers encounter driving behavior of assisted drivers. This is why we tested how unequipped vehicles' drivers (N=60) interpreted and reacted to the driving behavior of an assisted driver. We used a multi-driver simulator with three drivers. The three drivers were driving in a line. The lead driver in the line was a confederate who was followed by two unequipped vehicles' drivers. We varied the equipment of the confederate with an Intelligent Transport System: The confederate was equipped either with or without a traffic light assistance system. The traffic light assistance system provided a start-up maneuver before a light turned green. Therefore, the assisted confederate seemed to show unusual deceleration behavior by coming to a halt at an unusual distance from the stop line at the red traffic light. The unusual distance was varied as we tested a moderate (4m distance from the stop line) and an extreme (10m distance from the stop line) parameterization of the system. Our results showed that the extreme parametrization resulted in shorter minimal time-to-collision of the unequipped vehicles' drivers. One rear-end crash was observed. These results provided initial evidence that safety issues can arise when unequipped vehicles' drivers encounter assisted driving behavior. We recommend that future research identifies counteractions to prevent these safety issues. Moreover, we recommend that system developers discuss the best parameterizations of their systems to ensure benefits but also the safety in encounters with unequipped vehicles' drivers. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Safe Driving Knowledge Dissemination and Testing Techniques. Volume II: Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKnight, James; Green, Molly A.

In order to determine the effectiveness of improved information dissemination and assessment techniques in reducing highway accidents, a set of seven targeted driver license manuals and tests were developed for the following groups of drivers: new drivers, youthful drivers, renewal applicants, older drivers, traffic violators, accident repeaters,…

Safe Driving Knowledge Dissemination and Testing Techniques. Volume 1: General Findings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKnight, James; Green, Molly A.

In order to determine the effectiveness of improved information dissemination and assessment techniques in reducing highway accidents, a set of seven targeted driver license manuals and tests were developed for the following groups of drivers: new drivers, youthful drivers, renewal applicants, older drivers, traffic violators, accident repeaters,…

76 FR 32388 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Comment; Extension of an Information...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-06

... Collection: Hours of Service (HOS) of Drivers Regulations AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration... (HOS) of Drivers Regulations.'' The hours-of-service (HOS) rules require most commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers to maintain on the CMV an accurate record of duty status (RODS) in either paper or...

Deep Learning-Based Gaze Detection System for Automobile Drivers Using a NIR Camera Sensor.

PubMed

Naqvi, Rizwan Ali; Arsalan, Muhammad; Batchuluun, Ganbayar; Yoon, Hyo Sik; Park, Kang Ryoung

2018-02-03

A paradigm shift is required to prevent the increasing automobile accident deaths that are mostly due to the inattentive behavior of drivers. Knowledge of gaze region can provide valuable information regarding a driver's point of attention. Accurate and inexpensive gaze classification systems in cars can improve safe driving. However, monitoring real-time driving behaviors and conditions presents some challenges: dizziness due to long drives, extreme lighting variations, glasses reflections, and occlusions. Past studies on gaze detection in cars have been chiefly based on head movements. The margin of error in gaze detection increases when drivers gaze at objects by moving their eyes without moving their heads. To solve this problem, a pupil center corneal reflection (PCCR)-based method has been considered. However, the error of accurately detecting the pupil center and corneal reflection center is increased in a car environment due to various environment light changes, reflections on glasses surface, and motion and optical blurring of captured eye image. In addition, existing PCCR-based methods require initial user calibration, which is difficult to perform in a car environment. To address this issue, we propose a deep learning-based gaze detection method using a near-infrared (NIR) camera sensor considering driver head and eye movement that does not require any initial user calibration. The proposed system is evaluated on our self-constructed database as well as on open Columbia gaze dataset (CAVE-DB). The proposed method demonstrated greater accuracy than the previous gaze classification methods.

75 FR 22578 - Proposed Agency Information Collection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-29

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Proposed Agency Information Collection AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy... information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The In-Vehicle Driver Feedback study... feedback devices can enable drivers to achieve measurable improvements in fuel economy, the information...

Ethical Predispositions to Violate or Obey Traffic Rules and the Mediating Role of Driving Styles.

PubMed

Holman, Andrei C; Popusoi, Simona A

2018-07-04

Traffic law violations are the most important determinants of traffic accidents. This study examined the influence of drivers' ethical perspective on their traffic violations and the mediating role of driving styles in these relationships. A sample of 313 drivers participated in the study. Contrary to expectations, high ethical relativism was found to be associated with fewer aggressive traffic violations. This suggests that the informal normative system that parallels the official traffic regulations is the more salient reference against which drivers usually assess the adequacy of their behaviors, highly relativistic drivers being more willing to also take into consideration the official traffic code in these appraisals. We also found significant interactions between idealism and relativism on both ordinary and aggressive violations. Idealism emerged as a predictor of these violations only in drivers low in relativism. In this group, one's concern about the harm that he/she might cause to other traffic participants induces higher traffic law abidingness. These influences of idealism were mediated by certain driving styles. Drivers' general ethical perspective fosters a specific pattern of driving styles and, consequently, the tendency to commit or to refrain from traffic violations.

Presence of psychoactive substances in injured Belgian drivers.

PubMed

Legrand, Sara-Ann; Silverans, Peter; de Paepe, Peter; Buylaert, Walter; Verstraete, Alain G

2013-01-01

To estimate the percentage of drivers involved in a traffic crash in Belgium who have alcohol and drugs in their blood. Blood samples of the drivers injured in a traffic crash and admitted to the emergency departments of 5 hospitals in Belgium between January 2008 and May 2010 were analyzed for ethanol (with an enzymatic method) and 22 other psychoactive substances (with ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry). One thousand seventy-eight drivers were included in the study. Alcohol (≥0.1 g/L) was the most common substance (26.2%). A large majority of the drivers (64%) who were positive for alcohol had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) ≥1.3 g/L (legal limit in Belgium: 0.5 g/L). These high BACs were most frequent among male injured drivers. Cannabis was the most prevalent illicit drug (5.3%) and benzodiazepines (5.3%) were the most prevalent medicinal drugs. Approximately 1 percent of the drivers were positive for cocaine and amphetamines. No drivers tested positive for illicit opioids. Medicinal drugs were more likely to be found among female drivers and drivers older than 35 years, and alcohol and illicit drugs were more likely to be found among male drivers and drivers younger than 35 years. A high percentage of the injured drivers were positive for a psychoactive substance at the time of injury. Alcohol was the most common substance, with 80 percent of the positive drivers having a BAC ≥0.5 g/L. Compared to a roadside survey in the same area, drivers/riders with high BACs and combinations of drugs were overrepresented. Efforts should be made to increase alcohol and drug enforcement. The introduction of a categorization and labeling system might reduce driving under the influence of medicinal drugs by informing health care professionals and patients.

Association of Graduated Driver Licensing With Driver, Non-Driver, and Total Fatalities Among Adolescents.

PubMed

Zhu, Motao; Zhao, Songzhu; Long, D Leann; Curry, Allison E

2016-07-01

Graduated driver licensing systems typically require an extended learner permit phase, and create night-time driving or passenger restrictions for adolescent drivers. Restricted driving might increase the use of alternative transportation to replace driving and consequently increase crashes and injuries for passengers, bus riders, pedestrians, and bicyclists. This study examined whether graduated driver licensing increases non-driver fatalities among adolescents, and whether it reduces total traffic fatalities combining drivers and non-drivers. Longitudinal analyses were conducted using data from the 1995-2012 U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Adjusted rate ratios were estimated for being fatally injured in a crash according to: (1) presence/absence of a graduated driver licensing system; and (2) four levels of graduated driver licensing systems (absent, weak, medium, strong). Analyses were conducted in 2015. Among adolescents aged 16 years, graduated driver licensing was not associated with increased passenger fatalities (adjusted rate ratio, 0.96; 95% CI=0.90, 1.03) or pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities (adjusted rate ratio, 1.09; 95% CI=0.85, 1.39), but was associated with an 11% reduction in total traffic fatalities. Among those aged 17 years, graduated driver licensing was not associated with increased fatalities as passengers, pedestrians, or bicyclists, and was not associated with reduced total traffic fatalities. In general, graduated driver licensing systems were not associated with increased fatalities as passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and bus riders. Graduated driver licensing systems were associated with reduced total fatalities of adolescents aged 16 years. Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching Driver Education Technology to Novice Drivers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Anthony

A cybernetic unit in driver education was developed to help grade 10 students develop the skills needed to acquire and process driver education information and prepare for the driving phase of driver education in grade 11. Students used a simulator to engage in a series of scenarios designed to promote development of social, behavioral, and mental…

49 CFR 391.23 - Investigation and inquiries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... paragraph from all previous employers of the applicant that employed the driver to operate a CMV within the... CMV. (2) Exception. For drivers required to have a commercial driver's license under part 383 of this... information before allowing the driver to operate a CMV: (A) The type of operation the driver self-certified...

49 CFR 391.23 - Investigation and inquiries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... paragraph from all previous employers of the applicant that employed the driver to operate a CMV within the... CMV. (2) Exception. For drivers required to have a commercial driver's license under part 383 of this... information before allowing the driver to operate a CMV: (A) The type of operation the driver self-certified...

49 CFR 391.23 - Investigation and inquiries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... paragraph from all previous employers of the applicant that employed the driver to operate a CMV within the... CMV. (2) Exception. For drivers required to have a commercial driver's license under part 383 of this... information before allowing the driver to operate a CMV: (A) The type of operation the driver self-certified...

Trilogy : operational test : final report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-09-29

The Trilogy project was an ITS demonstration of the broadcast of freeway system traveler information to both commercial and commuter drivers over a 25-mile (40.3 km) radius of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. In this project, real-time freeway syst...

Automated low-cost and real-time truck parking information system : [research summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-11-01

Overnight truck parking is a significant safety problem nationwide. Commercial drivers : seeking to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations Hours of : Service regulations often park illegally on freeway shoulders and ramps whe...

Traffic-Light-Preemption Vehicle-Transponder Software Module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bachelder, Aaron; Foster, Conrad

2005-01-01

A prototype wireless data-communication and control system automatically modifies the switching of traffic lights to give priority to emergency vehicles. The system, which was reported in several NASA Tech Briefs articles at earlier stages of development, includes a transponder on each emergency vehicle, a monitoring and control unit (an intersection controller) at each intersection equipped with traffic lights, and a central monitoring subsystem. An essential component of the system is a software module executed by a microcontroller in each transponder. This module integrates and broadcasts data on the position, velocity, acceleration, and emergency status of the vehicle. The position, velocity, and acceleration data are derived partly from the Global Positioning System, partly from deductive reckoning, and partly from a diagnostic computer aboard the vehicle. The software module also monitors similar broadcasts from other vehicles and from intersection controllers, informs the driver of which intersections it controls, and generates visible and audible alerts to inform the driver of any other emergency vehicles that are close enough to create a potential hazard. The execution of the software module can be monitored remotely and the module can be upgraded remotely and, hence, automatically

Systems Analysis of Remote Piloting/Robotics Technology Applicable to Assault Rafts.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-01-01

LTOG 3.936 m n Driver Position Driver is only member of crew seated under armor - seated in front leftI of hull - 3 M17 periscopes - single piece...hatch cover. Vision Data Summary I.D - 3P; H - 82.5* to 165* V - 110 to 220 SC - Is not under armor ; therefore has freedom of vision. Mobility Information... under armor - seated in front left * of hull - 3 Ml7 periscopes - single piece hatch cover. 4Vision Data Summary SD - 3P; H - 82.50 to 1650 V - 110 to

Driving with indirect viewing sensors: understanding the visual perception issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Kane, Barbara L.

1996-05-01

Visual perception is one of the most important elements of driving in that it enables the driver to understand and react appropriately to the situation along the path of the vehicle. The visual perception of the driver is enabled to the greatest extent while driving during the day. Noticeable decrements in visual acuity, range of vision, depth of field and color perception occur at night and under certain weather conditions. Indirect viewing sensors, utilizing various technologies and spectral bands, may assist the driver's normal mode of driving. Critical applications in the military as well as other official activities may require driving at night without headlights. In these latter cases, it is critical that the device, being the only source of scene information, provide the required scene cues needed for driving on, and often-times, off road. One can speculate about the scene information that a driver needs, such as road edges, terrain orientation, people and object detection in or near the path of the vehicle, and so on. But the perceptual qualities of the scene that give rise to these perceptions are little known and thus not quantified for evaluation of indirect viewing devices. This paper discusses driving with headlights and compares the scene content with that provided by a thermal system in the 8 - 12 micrometers micron spectral band, which may be used for driving at some time. The benefits and advantages of each are discussed as well as their limitations in providing information useful for the driver who must make rapid and critical decisions based upon the scene content available. General recommendations are made for potential avenues of development to overcome some of these limitations.

Process connectivity in a naturally prograding river delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sendrowski, Alicia; Passalacqua, Paola

2017-03-01

River deltas are lowland systems that can display high hydrological connectivity. This connectivity can be structural (morphological connections), functional (control of fluxes), and process connectivity (information flow from system drivers to sinks). In this work, we quantify hydrological process connectivity in Wax Lake Delta, coastal Louisiana, by analyzing couplings among external drivers (discharge, tides, and wind) and water levels recorded at five islands and one channel over summer 2014. We quantify process connections with information theory, a branch of mathematics concerned with the communication of information. We represent process connections as a network; variables serve as network nodes and couplings as network links describing the strength, direction, and time scale of information flow. Comparing process connections at long (105 days) and short (10 days) time scales, we show that tides exhibit daily synchronization with water level, with decreasing strength from downstream to upstream, and that tides transfer information as tides transition from spring to neap. Discharge synchronizes with water level and the time scale of its information transfer compares well to physical travel times through the system, computed with a hydrodynamic model. Information transfer and physical transport show similar spatial patterns, although information transfer time scales are larger than physical travel times. Wind events associated with water level setup lead to increased process connectivity with highly variable information transfer time scales. We discuss the information theory results in the context of the hydrologic behavior of the delta, the role of vegetation as a connector/disconnector on islands, and the applicability of process networks as tools for delta modeling results.

User's operating procedures. Volume 1: Scout project information programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, C. G.; Harris, D. K.

1985-01-01

A review of the user's operating procedures for the Scout Project Automatic Data System, called SPADS is given. SPADS is the result of the past seven years of software development on a Prime minicomputer located at the Scout Project Office. SPADS was developed as a single entry, multiple cross reference data management and information retrieval system for the automation of Project office tasks, including engineering, financial, managerial, and clerical support. The instructions to operate the Scout Project Information programs in data retrieval and file maintenance via the user friendly menu drivers is presented.

User's operating procedures. Volume 3: Projects directorate information programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haris, C. G.; Harris, D. K.

1985-01-01

A review of the user's operating procedures for the scout project automatic data system, called SPADS is presented. SPADS is the results of the past seven years of software development on a prime mini-computer. SPADS was developed as a single entry, multiple cross-reference data management and information retrieval system for the automation of Project office tasks, including engineering, financial, managerial, and clerical support. This volume, three of three, provides the instructions to operate the projects directorate information programs in data retrieval and file maintenance via the user friendly menu drivers.

Effects of in-vehicle warning information displays with or without spatial compatibility on driving behaviors and response performance.

PubMed

Liu, Yung-Ching; Jhuang, Jing-Wun

2012-07-01

A driving simulator study was conducted to evaluate the effects of five in-vehicle warning information displays upon drivers' emergent response and decision performance. These displays include visual display, auditory displays with and without spatial compatibility, hybrid displays in both visual and auditory format with and without spatial compatibility. Thirty volunteer drivers were recruited to perform various tasks that involved driving, stimulus-response, divided attention and stress rating. Results show that for displays of single-modality, drivers benefited more when coping with visual display of warning information than auditory display with or without spatial compatibility. However, auditory display with spatial compatibility significantly improved drivers' performance in reacting to the divided attention task and making accurate S-R task decision. Drivers' best performance results were obtained for hybrid display with spatial compatibility. Hybrid displays enabled drivers to respond the fastest and achieve the best accuracy in both S-R and divided attention tasks. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Opportunities and limitations for intersection collision intervention-A study of real world 'left turn across path' accidents.

PubMed

Sander, Ulrich

2017-02-01

Turning across the path of oncoming vehicle accidents are frequent and dangerous. To date not many car manufacturers have introduced Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) systems addressing this type of conflict situation, but it is foreseeable that these scenarios will be part of the Euro NCAP 2020 rating. Nine out of ten collisions are caused by the driver of the turning vehicle. An AEB system evaluating the ego and conflict vehicle driver's possibilities to avoid a pending crash by either braking or steering was specified for application in various constellations of vehicle collisions. In virtual simulation, AEB system parameters were varied, covering parameters that are relevant for driver comfort such as longitudinal and lateral acceleration (to define avoidance possibilities), expected steering maneuvers to avoid conflict, and intervention response characteristics (brake delay and ramp up) to assess the safety benefit. The reference simulation showed a potential of the AEB system in the turning vehicle to avoid approximately half of the collisions. An AEB system of the straight going vehicle was less effective. The effectiveness of the turning vehicle's AEB system increases if spatial limitations for the collision-avoidance steering maneuver are known. Such information could be provided by sensors detecting free space in or around the road environment or geographical information shared via vehicle to cloud communication. AEB interventions rarely result in collision avoidance for turning vehicles with speeds above 40km/h or for straight going vehicles with speeds above 60km/h. State of the art field-of-views of forward looking sensing systems designed for AEB rear-end interventions are capable of addressing turning across path situations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Driver Distraction Using Visual-Based Sensors and Algorithms.

PubMed

Fernández, Alberto; Usamentiaga, Rubén; Carús, Juan Luis; Casado, Rubén

2016-10-28

Driver distraction, defined as the diversion of attention away from activities critical for safe driving toward a competing activity, is increasingly recognized as a significant source of injuries and fatalities on the roadway. Additionally, the trend towards increasing the use of in-vehicle information systems is critical because they induce visual, biomechanical and cognitive distraction and may affect driving performance in qualitatively different ways. Non-intrusive methods are strongly preferred for monitoring distraction, and vision-based systems have appeared to be attractive for both drivers and researchers. Biomechanical, visual and cognitive distractions are the most commonly detected types in video-based algorithms. Many distraction detection systems only use a single visual cue and therefore, they may be easily disturbed when occlusion or illumination changes appear. Moreover, the combination of these visual cues is a key and challenging aspect in the development of robust distraction detection systems. These visual cues can be extracted mainly by using face monitoring systems but they should be completed with more visual cues (e.g., hands or body information) or even, distraction detection from specific actions (e.g., phone usage). Additionally, these algorithms should be included in an embedded device or system inside a car. This is not a trivial task and several requirements must be taken into account: reliability, real-time performance, low cost, small size, low power consumption, flexibility and short time-to-market. The key points for the development and implementation of sensors to carry out the detection of distraction will also be reviewed. This paper shows a review of the role of computer vision technology applied to the development of monitoring systems to detect distraction. Some key points considered as both future work and challenges ahead yet to be solved will also be addressed.

Driver Distraction Using Visual-Based Sensors and Algorithms

PubMed Central

Fernández, Alberto; Usamentiaga, Rubén; Carús, Juan Luis; Casado, Rubén

2016-01-01

Driver distraction, defined as the diversion of attention away from activities critical for safe driving toward a competing activity, is increasingly recognized as a significant source of injuries and fatalities on the roadway. Additionally, the trend towards increasing the use of in-vehicle information systems is critical because they induce visual, biomechanical and cognitive distraction and may affect driving performance in qualitatively different ways. Non-intrusive methods are strongly preferred for monitoring distraction, and vision-based systems have appeared to be attractive for both drivers and researchers. Biomechanical, visual and cognitive distractions are the most commonly detected types in video-based algorithms. Many distraction detection systems only use a single visual cue and therefore, they may be easily disturbed when occlusion or illumination changes appear. Moreover, the combination of these visual cues is a key and challenging aspect in the development of robust distraction detection systems. These visual cues can be extracted mainly by using face monitoring systems but they should be completed with more visual cues (e.g., hands or body information) or even, distraction detection from specific actions (e.g., phone usage). Additionally, these algorithms should be included in an embedded device or system inside a car. This is not a trivial task and several requirements must be taken into account: reliability, real-time performance, low cost, small size, low power consumption, flexibility and short time-to-market. The key points for the development and implementation of sensors to carry out the detection of distraction will also be reviewed. This paper shows a review of the role of computer vision technology applied to the development of monitoring systems to detect distraction. Some key points considered as both future work and challenges ahead yet to be solved will also be addressed. PMID:27801822

A comparison of drug use in driver fatalities and similarly exposed drivers

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1977-07-01

Author's abstract: Crash information, urine, blood and bile samples from 900 fatally injured drivers were collected by medical examiners in 22 areas of the country. Randomly selected living drivers were interviewed at times and places of recent fatal...

Effects of automobile steering characteristics on driver vehicle system dynamics in regulation tasks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcruer, D. T.; Klein, R.

1975-01-01

A regulation task which subjected the automobile to a random gust disturbance which is countered by driver control action is used to study the effects of various automobile steering characteristics on the driver/vehicle system. The experiments used a variable stability automobile specially configured to permit insertion of the simulated gust disturbance and the measurement of the driver/vehicle system characteristics. Driver/vehicle system dynamics were measured and interpreted as an effective open loop system describing function. Objective measures of system bandwidth, stability, and time delays were deduced and compared. These objective measures were supplemented by driver ratings. A tentative optimum range of vehicle dynamics for the directional regulation task was established.

Truck Drivers' Use of the Internet: A Mobile Health Lifeline.

PubMed

Heaton, Karen; Combs, Bryan; Griffin, Russell

2017-06-01

Because of their social isolation, irregular and unpredictable schedules, limited access to health care, and long periods of travel, long-haul truckers may benefit from the use of mobile health applications on Internet-capable devices. The purpose of this study was to determine Internet access and usage among a sample of long-haul truck drivers. In this cross-sectional study, truck drivers completed a pencil and paper survey with questions on demographics, work and health histories, and Internet access and usage for both personal and job reasons. A total of 106 truck drivers were recruited from trucking industry trade shows, by word of mouth, and directly from trucking companies. Overall, the truck drivers' use of the Internet was limited. Their usage for personal and job-related reasons differed. Social connectivity and access to health and wellness information were important during personal usage time. Job-related Internet use was highly practical, and applied to seeking information for directions and maps, fuel stops and pricing, and communicating with employers or transmitting documents. Age and experience were associated with Internet use. Younger, less-experienced drivers used the Internet more than older, experienced drivers. Targeted mobile health messaging may be a useful tool to inform truck drivers of health conditions and plans, and may provide links to primary care providers needing to monitor or notify drivers of diagnostic results or treatment plans.

Design and Implementation of Vehicle Navigation System in Urban Environments using Internet of Things (Iot)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godavarthi, Bhavana; Nalajala, Paparao; Ganapuram, Vasavi

2017-08-01

Advanced vehicle monitoring and tracking system based on embedded Linux board and android application is designed and implemented for monitoring the school vehicle from any location A to location B at real time. The present system would make good use of new technology that based on embedded Linux namely Raspberry Pi and Smartphone android application. This system works on GPS/GPRS/GSM SIM900A. GPS finds the current location of the vehicle, GPRS sends the tracking information to the server and the GSM is used for sending alert message to vehicle’s owner mobile. This system is placed inside the vehicle whose position is to be determined on the web page and monitored at real time. There is a comparison between the current vehicle path already specified paths into the file system. Inside the raspberry pi’s file system taken from vehicle owners through android phone using android application. Means the selection of path from location A to B takes place from vehicle owner’s android application which gives more safety and secures traveling to the traveler. Hence the driver drives the vehicle only on the vehicle owner’s specified path. The driver drives the vehicle only on the vehicle owner’s specified path but if the driver drives in wrong path the message alert will be sent from this system to the vehicle owners mobile and also sent speakers alert to driver through audio jack. If the vehicles speed goes beyond the specified value of the speed, then warning message will be sent to owner mobile. This system also takes care of the traveler’s safety by using Gas leakage and Temperature sensors

The ADVANCE project : formal evaluation of the targeted deployment. Volume 2

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

This document reports on the formal evaluation of the targeted (limited but highly focused) deployment of the Advanced Driver and Vehicle Advisory Navigation ConcEpt (ADVANCE), an in-vehicle advanced traveler information system designed to provide sh...

The ADVANCE project : formal evaluation of the targeted deployment. Volume 1

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

The Advanced Driver and Vehicle Advisory Navigation ConcEpt (ADVANCE) was an in-vehicle advanced traveler information system (ATIS) that operated in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. It was designed to provide origin-destination shortest-ti...

Child restraint use survey : LATCH use and misuse

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-12-01

NHTSA conducted a survey from April to October 2005 to collect information about the types of restraint systems that were being used to keep children safe while riding in passenger vehicles. In particular, NHTSA was interested in whether drivers with...

Driver behavior in car-to-pedestrian incidents: An application of the Driving Reliability and Error Analysis Method (DREAM).

PubMed

Habibovic, Azra; Tivesten, Emma; Uchida, Nobuyuki; Bärgman, Jonas; Ljung Aust, Mikael

2013-01-01

To develop relevant road safety countermeasures, it is necessary to first obtain an in-depth understanding of how and why safety-critical situations such as incidents, near-crashes, and crashes occur. Video-recordings from naturalistic driving studies provide detailed information on events and circumstances prior to such situations that is difficult to obtain from traditional crash investigations, at least when it comes to the observable driver behavior. This study analyzed causation in 90 video-recordings of car-to-pedestrian incidents captured by onboard cameras in a naturalistic driving study in Japan. The Driving Reliability and Error Analysis Method (DREAM) was modified and used to identify contributing factors and causation patterns in these incidents. Two main causation patterns were found. In intersections, drivers failed to recognize the presence of the conflict pedestrian due to visual obstructions and/or because their attention was allocated towards something other than the conflict pedestrian. In incidents away from intersections, this pattern reoccurred along with another pattern showing that pedestrians often behaved in unexpected ways. These patterns indicate that an interactive advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) able to redirect the driver's attention could have averted many of the intersection incidents, while autonomous systems may be needed away from intersections. Cooperative ADAS may be needed to address issues raised by visual obstructions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Acoustic Levitation With One Driver

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, T. G.; Rudnick, I.; Elleman, D. D.; Stoneburner, J. D.

1985-01-01

Report discusses acoustic levitation in rectangular chamber using one driver mounted at corner. Placement of driver at corner enables it to couple effectively to acoustic modes along all three axes. Use of single driver reduces cost, complexity and weight of levitation system below those of three driver system.

A driver-adaptive stability control strategy for sport utility vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Shenjin; He, Yuping

2017-08-01

Conventional vehicle stability control (VSC) systems are designed for average drivers. For a driver with a good driving skill, the VSC systems may be redundant; for a driver with a poor driving skill, the VSC intervention may be inadequate. To increase safety of sport utility vehicles (SUVs), this paper proposes a novel driver-adaptive VSC (DAVSC) strategy based on scaling the target yaw rate commanded by the driver. The DAVSC system is adaptive to drivers' driving skills. More control effort would be exerted for drivers with poor driving skills, and vice versa. A sliding mode control (SMC)-based differential braking (DB) controller is designed using a three degrees of freedom (DOF) yaw-plane model. An eight DOF nonlinear yaw-roll model is used to simulate the SUV dynamics. Two driver models, namely longitudinal and lateral, are used to 'drive' the virtual SUV. By integrating the virtual SUV, the DB controller, and the driver models, the performance of the DAVSC system is investigated. The simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the DAVSC strategy.

Using naturalistic driving films as a design tool for investigating driver requirements in HMI design for ADAS.

PubMed

Wang, Minjuan; Sun, Dong; Chen, Fang

2012-01-01

In recent years, there are many naturalistic driving projects have been conducted, such as the 100-Car Project (Naturalistic Driving study in United State), EuroFOT(European Large-Scale Field Operational Tests on Vehicle Systems), SeMi- FOT(Sweden Michigan Naturalistic Field Operational Test and etc. However, those valuable naturalistic driving data hasn't been applied into Human-machine Interaction (HMI) design for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), a good HMI design for ADAS requires a deep understanding of drive environment and the interactions between the driving car and other road users in different situations. The results demonstrated the benefits of using naturalistic driving films as a mean for enhancing focus group discussion for better understanding driver's needs and traffic environment constraints. It provided an efficient tool for designers to have inside knowledge about drive and the needs for information presentation; The recommendations for how to apply this method is discussed in the paper.

Preliminary evaluation of the North Carolina graduated driver licensing system : effects on young driver crashes

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-07-01

In December 1997, North Carolina became the second state to enact a comprehensive Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) system. The purpose of the GSL is to reduce young driver crashes by introducing beginning drivers to the full range of driving experien...

Advanced driver assistance systems: Using multimodal redundant warnings to enhance road safety.

PubMed

Biondi, Francesco; Strayer, David L; Rossi, Riccardo; Gastaldi, Massimiliano; Mulatti, Claudio

2017-01-01

This study investigated whether multimodal redundant warnings presented by advanced assistance systems reduce brake response times. Warnings presented by assistance systems are designed to assist drivers by informing them that evasive driving maneuvers are needed in order to avoid a potential accident. If these warnings are poorly designed, they may distract drivers, slow their responses, and reduce road safety. In two experiments, participants drove a simulated vehicle equipped with a forward collision avoidance system. Auditory, vibrotactile, and multimodal warnings were presented when the time to collision was shorter than five seconds. The effects of these warnings were investigated with participants performing a concurrent cell phone conversation (Exp. 1) or driving in high-density traffic (Exp. 2). Braking times and subjective workload were measured. Multimodal redundant warnings elicited faster braking reaction times. These warnings were found to be effective even when talking on a cell phone (Exp. 1) or driving in dense traffic (Exp. 2). Multimodal warnings produced higher ratings of urgency, but ratings of frustration did not increase compared to other warnings. Findings obtained in these two experiments are important given that faster braking responses may reduce the potential for a collision. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing drivers' response during automated driver support system failures with non-driving tasks.

PubMed

Shen, Sijun; Neyens, David M

2017-06-01

With the increase in automated driver support systems, drivers are shifting from operating their vehicles to supervising their automation. As a result, it is important to understand how drivers interact with these automated systems and evaluate their effect on driver responses to safety critical events. This study aimed to identify how drivers responded when experiencing a safety critical event in automated vehicles while also engaged in non-driving tasks. In total 48 participants were included in this driving simulator study with two levels of automated driving: (a) driving with no automation and (b) driving with adaptive cruise control (ACC) and lane keeping (LK) systems engaged; and also two levels of a non-driving task (a) watching a movie or (b) no non-driving task. In addition to driving performance measures, non-driving task performance and the mean glance duration for the non-driving task were compared between the two levels of automated driving. Drivers using the automated systems responded worse than those manually driving in terms of reaction time, lane departure duration, and maximum steering wheel angle to an induced lane departure event. These results also found that non-driving tasks further impaired driver responses to a safety critical event in the automated system condition. In the automated driving condition, driver responses to the safety critical events were slower, especially when engaged in a non-driving task. Traditional driver performance variables may not necessarily effectively and accurately evaluate driver responses to events when supervising autonomous vehicle systems. Thus, it is important to develop and use appropriate variables to quantify drivers' performance under these conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.

Traffic safety issues in North Dakota : phase II : driver knowledge, attitude, behavior and beliefs : focus group : young male drivers

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-10-01

Traffic safety is a widespread social concern. Tackling the problem requires understanding the people : who are driving. This includes information about driver behavior, but also about perceptions these drivers : hold regarding their driving. North D...

Effective cues for accelerating young drivers' time to transfer control following a period of conditional automation.

PubMed

Wright, Timothy J; Agrawal, Ravi; Samuel, Siby; Wang, Yuhua; Zilberstein, Shlomo; Fisher, Donald L

2018-07-01

During conditional automated driving, a transition from the automated driving suite to manual control requires the driver to take over control at a moment's notice. Thus, it is critical that a driver be made situationally aware as quickly as possible in those conditions where he or she may not be paying full attention. Recent research suggests that specific cues about upcoming hazards (e.g., "crosswalk ahead") can increase the drivers' situation awareness during these safety-critical take-over situations when compared with a general cue ("take over control"). The current study examines whether this increased situation awareness which occurs as a result of more specific cues translates into improved hazard mitigation performance within the same limited time window. Fifty-seven drivers were randomly assigned to one of five between-subjects conditions (one control condition and four experimental auditory cue conditions) that varied in the specificity of information provided about an upcoming hazard. The four experimental conditions included a period of conditional automated driving where the driver was engaged in a driving-irrelevant task and looked away from the forward roadway prior to a take-over request. Drivers in the fifth condition had no cue and drove manually throughout. The same six simulator scenarios were used in all five conditions to evaluate how well the driver mitigated a hazard. The average velocity, standard deviation of velocity, and average absolute acceleration were recorded along with the glance behaviors of drivers. In general, during the 4s prior to a latent hazard (following the alerting cues in the automated driving conditions), the more likely a driver was to glance towards a latent hazard, the more likely the driver was to reduce his or her speed. Moreover, analyses focusing solely on hazard mitigation behavior revealed patterns that mirrored the glance behavior results. Specifically, drivers that were presented with cues that described the environments in which hazards were likely to occur were more likely to demonstrate vehicle behaviors that were consistent with speed reductions (lower velocity, higher speed variability, and higher absolute acceleration) than were drivers who were presented general cues or cues about the identity of the upcoming hazards. Even in as little as 4s prior to a potential hazard, cues that inform the driver of the environment in which the hazard is likely to occur increase the likelihood that the driver mitigates the crash compared with drivers who are provided general information or threat identity information. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prospect theory based estimation of drivers' risk attitudes in route choice behaviors.

PubMed

Zhou, Lizhen; Zhong, Shiquan; Ma, Shoufeng; Jia, Ning

2014-12-01

This paper applied prospect theory (PT) to describe drivers' route choice behavior under Variable Message Sign (VMS), which presented visual traffic information to assist them to make route choice decisions. A quite rich empirical data from questionnaire and field spot was used to estimate parameters of PT. In order to make the parameters more realistic with drivers' attitudes, they were classified into different types by significant factors influencing their behaviors. Based on the travel time distribution of alternative routes and route choice results from questionnaire, the parameterized value function of each category was figured out, which represented drivers' risk attitudes and choice characteristics. The empirical verification showed that the estimates were acceptable and effective. The result showed drivers' risk attitudes and route choice characteristics could be captured by PT under real-time information shown on VMS. For practical application, once drivers' route choice characteristics and parameters were identified, their route choice behavior under different road conditions could be predicted accurately, which was the basis of traffic guidance measures formulation and implementation for targeted traffic management. Moreover, the heterogeneous risk attitudes among drivers should be considered when releasing traffic information and regulating traffic flow. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design of DroDeASys (Drowsy Detection and Alarming System)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Juvale, Hrishikesh B.; Mahajan, Anant S.; Bhagwat, Ashwin A.; Badiger, Vishal T.; Bhutkar, Ganesh D.; Dhabe, Priyadarshan S.; Dhore, Manikrao L.

The paper discusses the Drowsy Detection & Alarming System that has been developed, using a non-intrusive approach. The system is basically developed to detect drivers dozing at the wheel at night time driving. The system uses a small infra-red night vision camera that points directly towards the driver`s face and monitors the driver`s eyes in order to detect fatigue. In such a case when fatigue is detected, a warning signal is issued to alert the driver. This paper discusses the algorithms that have been used to detect drowsiness. The decision whether the driver is dozing or not is taken depending on whether the eyes are open for a specific number of frames. If the eyes are found to be closed for a certain number of consecutive frames then the driver is alerted with an alarm.

Research on fatigue driving pre-warning system based on multi-information fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xuyang; Ye, Wenwu

2018-05-01

With the development of science and technology, transportation network has grown faster. But at the same time, the quantity of traffic accidents due to fatigue driving grows faster as well. In the meantime, fatigue driving has been one of the main causes of traffic accidents. Therefore, it is indispensable for us to study the detection of fatigue driving to help to driving safety. There are numerous approaches in discrimination method. Each type of method has its reasonable theoretical basis, but the disadvantages of traditional fatigue driving detection methods have been more and more obvious since we study the traditional physiology and psychological features of fatigue drivers. So we set up a new system based on multi-information fusion and pattern recognition theory. In the paper, the fatigue driving pre-warning system discriminates fatigue by analyzing the characteristic parameters, the parameters derived from the steering wheel angle, the driver's power of gripping and the heart rate. And the data analysis system is established based on fuzzy C-means clustering theory. Finally, KNN classifier is used to establish the relation between feature indexes and fatigue degree. It is verified that the system has the better accuracy, agility and robustness according to our confirmatory experiment.

Microcontroller based driver alertness detection systems to detect drowsiness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adenin, Hasibah; Zahari, Rahimi; Lim, Tiong Hoo

2018-04-01

The advancement of embedded system for detecting and preventing drowsiness in a vehicle is a major challenge for road traffic accident systems. To prevent drowsiness while driving, it is necessary to have an alert system that can detect a decline in driver concentration and send a signal to the driver. Studies have shown that traffc accidents usually occur when the driver is distracted while driving. In this paper, we have reviewed a number of detection systems to monitor the concentration of a car driver and propose a portable Driver Alertness Detection System (DADS) to determine the level of concentration of the driver based on pixelated coloration detection technique using facial recognition. A portable camera will be placed at the front visor to capture facial expression and the eye activities. We evaluate DADS using 26 participants and have achieved 100% detection rate with good lighting condition and a low detection rate at night.

The Drivers of ERP Implementation and Its Impact on Organizational Capabilities and Performance and Customer Value

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hwang, Woosang

2011-01-01

In a constantly changing global business environment, firms have no other choice but to continually expand their capabilities and sharpen their competitive edge. Toward this goal, an increasing number of organizations are turning to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. An ERP system utilizes various kinds of information processing…

What Are Drivers for Informal Learning?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schürmann, Eva; Beausaert, Simon

2016-01-01

Purpose: The topic of informal learning at work has received increasing attention in the past years. The purpose of this study is to explore in which informal learning activities employees engage and what are the drivers for informal learning. Design/Methodology/Approach: Semi-structured interviews were taken from ten human resources (HR) and ten…

Vehicle-to-vehicle communications : readiness of V2V technology for application.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-08-01

The purpose of this research report is to assess the readiness for application of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) : communications, a system designed to transmit basic safety information between vehicles to facilitate warnings to : drivers concerning impend...

An Agent-Based Information System for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Deployment

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-08-18

The current scarcity of public charging infrastructure is one of the major barriers to mass household adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). Although most PEV drivers can recharge their vehicles at home, the limited driving range of the vehicl...

23 CFR 750.106 - Class 3 and 4 signs within informational sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... the main-traveled way of the Interstate System, or is of such low intensity or brilliance as not to cause glare or to impair the vision of the driver of any motor vehicle, or to otherwise interfere with...

23 CFR 750.106 - Class 3 and 4 signs within informational sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... the main-traveled way of the Interstate System, or is of such low intensity or brilliance as not to cause glare or to impair the vision of the driver of any motor vehicle, or to otherwise interfere with...

23 CFR 750.106 - Class 3 and 4 signs within informational sites.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... the main-traveled way of the Interstate System, or is of such low intensity or brilliance as not to cause glare or to impair the vision of the driver of any motor vehicle, or to otherwise interfere with...

Management Advisory Memorandum of Federal Aviation Administration's Fiscal Year 1996 Apportionment of Formula Grants

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-06-25

Implementation of the Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) program will result in enhanced safety for drivers and trucks and improved operating efficiencies for government agencies and motor carriers. In turn, both the public a...

A technology to measure multiple driving behaviors without self-report or participant reactivity.

PubMed Central

Boyce, T E; Geller, E S

2001-01-01

An in-vehicle information system (IVIS) was used to videotape drivers (N = 61) without their knowledge while driving 22 miles in normal traffic. The drivers were told that they were participating in a study of direction following and map reading. Two data-coding procedures were used to analyze videotapes. Safety-related behaviors were counted during consecutive 15-s intervals of a driving trial, and the occurrence of certain safety-related behaviors was assessed under critical conditions. These two methods of data coding were assessed for practicality, reliability, and sensitivity. Interobserver agreement for the five different driving behaviors ranged from 85% to 95%. Within-subject variability in safe driving was more pronounced among younger drivers and decreased as a function of age. Contrary to previous research that has relied on self-reports, driver risk taking did not vary significantly as a function of gender. These results are used to illustrate the capabilities of the technology introduced here to design and evaluate behavior-analytic interventions to increase safe driving. PMID:11317986

Children in fatal crashes: driver blood alcohol concentration and demographics of child passengers and their drivers.

PubMed

Voas, Robert B; Fisher, Deborah A; Tippetts, A Scott

2002-11-01

This study examines whether differences in two risk factors for crash-related injury for children-riding with a drinking driver and failure to use restraints-are related to various driver characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity and drinking. Data on driver blood alcohol concentration (BAC), use of restraints and certain demographics were drawn from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Ethnicity data came from the Multiple Cause of Death File and socioeconomic information from the US Census. The use of restraints by child passengers and the drinking of alcohol by adult drivers are examined as a function of age, gender and membership of five racial/ethnic groups: White American, Black American, Native American, Asian/Pacific Islander American and Hispanic American. This study covers 160,770 drivers and 12,266 children younger than 16 years killed in motor vehicle crashes from January 1,1990 to December 31,1996. As might be expected, analyses of fatally injured drivers showed that, compared with men, women were more likely to be accompanied by children at the time of their crash, but those children were more likely to be restrained than if travelling with men. Drivers who had been drinking at the time of their crash were less likely to be transporting children and those children were less likely to be restrained. Analyses of killed children indicated that some ethnic groups, compared with White drivers, were more likely to be BAC-positive and children were less likely to be restrained. These findings underscore the continuing need to understand cultural factors in traffic safety and develop and disseminate culturally appropriate education programs.

Vital Sign Monitoring and Mobile Phone Usage Detection Using IR-UWB Radar for Intended Use in Car Crash Prevention.

PubMed

Leem, Seong Kyu; Khan, Faheem; Cho, Sung Ho

2017-05-30

In order to avoid car crashes, active safety systems are becoming more and more important. Many crashes are caused due to driver drowsiness or mobile phone usage. Detecting the drowsiness of the driver is very important for the safety of a car. Monitoring of vital signs such as respiration rate and heart rate is important to determine the occurrence of driver drowsiness. In this paper, robust vital signs monitoring through impulse radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) radar is discussed. We propose a new algorithm that can estimate the vital signs even if there is motion caused by the driving activities. We analyzed the whole fast time vital detection region and found the signals at those fast time locations that have useful information related to the vital signals. We segmented those signals into sub-signals and then constructed the desired vital signal using the correlation method. In this way, the vital signs of the driver can be monitored noninvasively, which can be used by researchers to detect the drowsiness of the driver which is related to the vital signs i.e., respiration and heart rate. In addition, texting on a mobile phone during driving may cause visual, manual or cognitive distraction of the driver. In order to reduce accidents caused by a distracted driver, we proposed an algorithm that can detect perfectly a driver's mobile phone usage even if there are various motions of the driver in the car or changes in background objects. These novel techniques, which monitor vital signs associated with drowsiness and detect phone usage before a driver makes a mistake, may be very helpful in developing techniques for preventing a car crash.

Vital Sign Monitoring and Mobile Phone Usage Detection Using IR-UWB Radar for Intended Use in Car Crash Prevention

PubMed Central

Leem, Seong Kyu; Khan, Faheem; Cho, Sung Ho

2017-01-01

In order to avoid car crashes, active safety systems are becoming more and more important. Many crashes are caused due to driver drowsiness or mobile phone usage. Detecting the drowsiness of the driver is very important for the safety of a car. Monitoring of vital signs such as respiration rate and heart rate is important to determine the occurrence of driver drowsiness. In this paper, robust vital signs monitoring through impulse radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) radar is discussed. We propose a new algorithm that can estimate the vital signs even if there is motion caused by the driving activities. We analyzed the whole fast time vital detection region and found the signals at those fast time locations that have useful information related to the vital signals. We segmented those signals into sub-signals and then constructed the desired vital signal using the correlation method. In this way, the vital signs of the driver can be monitored noninvasively, which can be used by researchers to detect the drowsiness of the driver which is related to the vital signs i.e., respiration and heart rate. In addition, texting on a mobile phone during driving may cause visual, manual or cognitive distraction of the driver. In order to reduce accidents caused by a distracted driver, we proposed an algorithm that can detect perfectly a driver's mobile phone usage even if there are various motions of the driver in the car or changes in background objects. These novel techniques, which monitor vital signs associated with drowsiness and detect phone usage before a driver makes a mistake, may be very helpful in developing techniques for preventing a car crash. PMID:28556818

An evaluation of the real-world safety effect of a lane change driver support system and characteristics of lane change crashes based on insurance claims data.

PubMed

Isaksson-Hellman, Irene; Lindman, Magdalena

2018-02-28

Lane changes, which frequently occur when vehicles travel on major roads, may contribute to critical situations that significantly affect the traffic flow and traffic safety. Thus, knowledge of lane change situations is important for infrastructure improvements as well as for driver support systems and automated driving development projects. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the crash avoidance performance of a lane change driver support system, the Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) in Volvo car models, and to describe the characteristics of lane change crashes by analyzing detailed information from insurance claim reports. An overall evaluation of the safety effect of BLIS was performed by analyzing crash rate differences in lane change situations for cars with and without the optionally mounted BLIS system based on a population of 380,000 insured vehicle years. Further, crashes in which the repair cost of the host vehicle exceeded approximately US$1,250 were selected and compared. Finally, the study examined different precrash factors and crash configurations, using in-depth insurance claims data from representative lane change crash cases including all severity levels in a population of more than 200,000 insured vehicle years. The technology did not significantly reduce the overall number of crashes when all types of lane change crashes and severity levels were considered, though a significant crash-reducing effect of 31% for BLIS cars was found when more severe crashes with a repair cost exceeding US$1,250 were analysed. Cars with the BLIS technology also have a 30% lower claim cost on average for reported lane change crashes, indicating reduced crash severity. When stratifying the data into specific situations, by collecting precrash information in a case-by-case study, the influence of BLIS was indicated to differ for the evaluated situations, although no significant results were found. For example, during general lane change maneuvers (i.e., not while exiting or entering highways or during weaving/merging situations) the crash rate was reduced by 14%, whereas in weaving/merging situations the crash rate increased. The insurance data analyzed provided useful information about real-world lane change crash characteristics by covering collisions in all crash severities and thus revealed information beyond what is available in, for example, data sets of police-reported crashes. This will guide further development of driver support systems. For crashes with repair cost exceeding US$1,250, a significant crash reduction was found, although the technology did not significantly reduce the total number of lane change crashes. An average lower insurance claim cost for cars equipped with the BLIS technology also indicated that the technology contributes to reduced crash severity even if crashes were not totally avoided. Stratifying the data into different lane change crash situations gave indications of the condition-specific performance of the system, even if the results were not statistically significant at the 95% level.

A Decision-Oriented Investigation of Air Force Civil Engineering’s Operations Branch and the Implications for a Decision Support System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-09-01

information when making a decision [ Szilagyi and Wallace , 1983:3201." Driver and Mock used cognitive complexity ideas to develop this two dimensional...flexible AMOUNT OF INFORMATION USED High hierarchic integrative Figure 6. Cognitive Complexity Model ( Szilagyi and Wallace , 1983:321) Decisive Style. The...large amount of inform- ation. However, he processes this information with a multiple focus approach ( Szilagyi and Wallace , 1983:320-321). 26 McKenney

A predictive control framework for torque-based steering assistance to improve safety in highway driving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ercan, Ziya; Carvalho, Ashwin; Tseng, H. Eric; Gökaşan, Metin; Borrelli, Francesco

2018-05-01

Haptic shared control framework opens up new perspectives on the design and implementation of the driver steering assistance systems which provide torque feedback to the driver in order to improve safety. While designing such a system, it is important to account for the human-machine interactions since the driver feels the feedback torque through the hand wheel. The controller should consider the driver's impact on the steering dynamics to achieve a better performance in terms of driver's acceptance and comfort. In this paper we present a predictive control framework which uses a model of driver-in-the-loop steering dynamics to optimise the torque intervention with respect to the driver's neuromuscular response. We first validate the system in simulations to compare the performance of the controller in nominal and model mismatch cases. Then we implement the controller in a test vehicle and perform experiments with a human driver. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed system in avoiding hazardous situations under different driver behaviours.

Driver usage and understanding of adaptive cruise control.

PubMed

Larsson, Annika F L

2012-05-01

Automation, in terms of systems such as adaptive/active cruise control (ACC) or collision warning systems, is increasingly becoming a part of everyday driving. These systems are not perfect though, and the driver has to be prepared to reclaim control in situations very similar to those the system easily handles by itself. This paper uses a questionnaire answered by 130 ACC users to discuss future research needs in the area of driver assistance systems. Results show that the longer drivers use their systems, the more aware of its limitations they become. Moreover, the drivers report that ACC forces them to take control intermittently. According to theory, this might actually be better than a more perfect system, as it provides preparation for unexpected situations requiring the driver to reclaim control. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Reduce volume of head-up display by image stitching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiu, Yi-Feng; Su, Guo-Dung J.

2016-09-01

Head-up Display (HUD) is a safety feature for automobile drivers. Although there have been some HUD systems in commercial product already, their images are too small to show assistance information. Another problem, the volume of HUD is too large. We proposed a HUD including micro-projectors, rear-projection screen, microlens array (MLA) and the light source is 28 mm x 14 mm realized a 200 mm x 100 mm image in 3 meters from drivers. We want to use the MLA to reduce the volume by virtual image stitching. We design the HUD's package dimensions is 12 cm x 12 cm x 9 cm. It is able to show speed, map-navigation and night vision information. We used Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) as our image source due to its brighter image output required and the minimum volume occupancy. The MLA is a multi aperture system. The proposed MLA consists of many optical channels each transmitting a segment of the whole field of view. The design of the system provides the stitching of the partial images, so that we can see the whole virtual image.

A system to preserve pedicab as cultural heritage in Solo city, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sari, Wahyu Apri W.; Handayani, Cahyaning D.; Putri, Yulina Rahayu L.; Dewa, Ratna T.

2017-06-01

Pedicab, a traditional three-wheeled transportation operated manually, has become the cultural heritage for decades, or even before the Indonesia Independence Day. Today, this kind of traditional transportation ought to compete with other modern transportation modes, such as bus, motorcycle, and taxi. This research investigated the possibility to divert the function of pedicab from conventional usage to the tourism usage that can provide more additional value to compete with other means of transportations. Descriptive qualitative was used as the method to gather the information, in addition to literature studies on the previous researches and the fundamental theories. We also did some interviews to the both sides, namely the public transportation users and the pedicab drivers. However, a city will be recognized if it has many uniqueness and cultural senses. By this consideration, it is expected that the pedicab drivers will have a capacity to approach and introduce their services directly to the tourists, which is supported by additional support systems, such as information and training system. Hopefully, the existence of pedicab can still be preserved for many decades ahead.

Real-time qualitative reasoning for telerobotic systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pin, Eancois G.

1993-01-01

This paper discusses the sensor-based telerobotic driving of a car in a-priori unknown environments using 'human-like' reasoning schemes implemented on custom-designed VLSI fuzzy inferencing boards. These boards use the Fuzzy Set theoretic framework to allow very vast (30 kHz) processing of full sets of information that are expressed in qualitative form using membership functions. The sensor-based and fuzzy inferencing system was incorporated on an outdoor test-bed platform to investigate two control modes for driving a car on the basis of very sparse and imprecise range data. In the first mode, the car navigates fully autonomously to a goal specified by the operator, while in the second mode, the system acts as a telerobotic driver's aid providing the driver with linguistic (fuzzy) commands to turn left or right, speed up, slow down, stop, or back up depending on the obstacles perceived by the sensors. Indoor and outdoor experiments with both modes of control are described in which the system uses only three acoustic range (sonar) sensor channels to perceive the environment. Sample results are presented that illustrate the feasibility of developing autonomous navigation modules and robust, safety-enhancing driver's aids for telerobotic systems using the new fuzzy inferencing VLSI hardware and 'human-like' reasoning schemes.

DIRECT operational field test evaluation natural use study. Part 4, Recommendations for expanded deployment

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-08-01

The DIRECT project compared four low-cost driver information systems. Of the four that were : compared, the RDS approach proved superior to the others in toggling reliability and voice quality. The DIRECT project planned to expand the implementation ...

Drivers and challenges of personal health systems in workplace health promotion.

PubMed

Ilvesmäki, Antti

2007-01-01

Novel technologies such as wearable sensors, electronic health diaries and personalized web services are thought to have the potential to improve population health in a cost- efficient manner. The use of personal health systems in workplace health promotion is of particular interest, since the workplace often provides an excellent setting and infrastructure to support health- related interventions. Compared to the elderly or those already debilitated by disease, working people are also generally more capable of taking advantage of information technology. Extant research on the use of ICT in health promotion has recognized several functional and technological requirements, but relatively little is known about other factors that affect the commercialization and adoption of such systems. This paper attempts to identify some economic and structural drivers and challenges that may be relevant to the success of personal health systems in workplace health promotion.

Conceptual design of data acquisition and control system for two Rf driver based negative ion source for fusion R&D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soni, Jigensh; Yadav, R. K.; Patel, A.; Gahlaut, A.; Mistry, H.; Parmar, K. G.; Mahesh, V.; Parmar, D.; Prajapati, B.; Singh, M. J.; Bandyopadhyay, M.; Bansal, G.; Pandya, K.; Chakraborty, A.

2013-02-01

Twin Source - An Inductively coupled two RF driver based 180 kW, 1 MHz negative ion source experimental setup is initiated at IPR, Gandhinagar, under Indian program, with the objective of understanding the physics and technology of multi-driver coupling. Twin Source [1] (TS) also provides an intermediate platform between operational ROBIN [2] [5] and eight RF drivers based Indian test facility -INTF [3]. A twin source experiment requires a central system to provide control, data acquisition and communication interface, referred as TS-CODAC, for which a software architecture similar to ITER CODAC core system has been decided for implementation. The Core System is a software suite for ITER plant system manufacturers to use as a template for the development of their interface with CODAC. The ITER approach, in terms of technology, has been adopted for the TS-CODAC so as to develop necessary expertise for developing and operating a control system based on the ITER guidelines as similar configuration needs to be implemented for the INTF. This cost effective approach will provide an opportunity to evaluate and learn ITER CODAC technology, documentation, information technology and control system processes, on an operational machine. Conceptual design of the TS-CODAC system has been completed. For complete control of the system, approximately 200 Nos. control signals and 152 acquisition signals are needed. In TS-CODAC, control loop time required is within the range of 5ms - 10 ms, therefore for the control system, PLC (Siemens S-7 400) has been chosen as suggested in the ITER slow controller catalog. For the data acquisition, the maximum sampling interval required is 100 micro second, and therefore National Instruments (NI) PXIe system and NI 6259 digitizer cards have been selected as suggested in the ITER fast controller catalog. This paper will present conceptual design of TS -CODAC system based on ITER CODAC Core software and applicable plant system integration processes.

A System for Traffic Violation Detection

PubMed Central

Aliane, Nourdine; Fernandez, Javier; Mata, Mario; Bemposta, Sergio

2014-01-01

This paper describes the framework and components of an experimental platform for an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) aimed at providing drivers with a feedback about traffic violations they have committed during their driving. The system is able to detect some specific traffic violations, record data associated to these faults in a local data-base, and also allow visualization of the spatial and temporal information of these traffic violations in a geographical map using the standard Google Earth tool. The test-bed is mainly composed of two parts: a computer vision subsystem for traffic sign detection and recognition which operates during both day and nighttime, and an event data recorder (EDR) for recording data related to some specific traffic violations. The paper covers firstly the description of the hardware architecture and then presents the policies used for handling traffic violations. PMID:25421737

A system for traffic violation detection.

PubMed

Aliane, Nourdine; Fernandez, Javier; Mata, Mario; Bemposta, Sergio

2014-11-24

This paper describes the framework and components of an experimental platform for an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) aimed at providing drivers with a feedback about traffic violations they have committed during their driving. The system is able to detect some specific traffic violations, record data associated to these faults in a local data-base, and also allow visualization of the spatial and temporal information of these traffic violations in a geographical map using the standard Google Earth tool. The test-bed is mainly composed of two parts: a computer vision subsystem for traffic sign detection and recognition which operates during both day and nighttime, and an event data recorder (EDR) for recording data related to some specific traffic violations. The paper covers firstly the description of the hardware architecture and then presents the policies used for handling traffic violations.

Task analysis of intersection driving scenarios : information processing bottlenecks

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-08-01

The purpose of this report is to identify the information processing bottlenecks that drivers face in specific intersection driving scenarios. These bottlenecks represent situations in which drivers may become 'overloaded' by driving demands, which c...

Driver expectancy in highway design and traffic operations

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1986-05-01

Expectancy relates to a driver's readiness to respond to situations, events, and information in predictable and successful ways. It influences the speed and accuracy of information handling, and affects all aspects of highway design and operations, a...

Driver-centred vehicle automation: using network analysis for agent-based modelling of the driver in highly automated driving systems.

PubMed

Banks, Victoria A; Stanton, Neville A

2016-11-01

To the average driver, the concept of automation in driving infers that they can become completely 'hands and feet free'. This is a common misconception, however, one that has been shown through the application of Network Analysis to new Cruise Assist technologies that may feature on our roads by 2020. Through the adoption of a Systems Theoretic approach, this paper introduces the concept of driver-initiated automation which reflects the role of the driver in highly automated driving systems. Using a combination of traditional task analysis and the application of quantitative network metrics, this agent-based modelling paper shows how the role of the driver remains an integral part of the driving system implicating the need for designers to ensure they are provided with the tools necessary to remain actively in-the-loop despite giving increasing opportunities to delegate their control to the automated subsystems. Practitioner Summary: This paper describes and analyses a driver-initiated command and control system of automation using representations afforded by task and social networks to understand how drivers remain actively involved in the task. A network analysis of different driver commands suggests that such a strategy does maintain the driver in the control loop.

Critical Issues in the Development of Health Information Systems in Supporting Environmental Health: A Case Study of Ciguatera

PubMed Central

Goater, Sarah; Derne, Bonnie; Weinstein, Philip

2011-01-01

Background Emerging environmental pressures resulting from climate change and globalization challenge the capacity of health information systems (HIS) in the Pacific to inform future policy and public health interventions. Ciguatera, a globally common marine food-borne illness, is used here to illustrate specific HIS challenges in the Pacific and how these might be overcome proactively to meet the changing surveillance needs resulting from environmental change. Objectives We review and highlight inefficiencies in the reactive nature of existing HIS in the Pacific to collect, collate, and communicate ciguatera fish poisoning data currently used to inform public health intervention. Further, we review the capacity of existing HIS to respond to new data needs associated with shifts in ciguatera disease burden likely to result from coral reef habitat disruption. Discussion Improved knowledge on the ecological drivers of ciguatera prevalence at local and regional levels is needed, combined with enhanced surveillance techniques and data management systems, to capture environmental drivers as well as health outcomes data. Conclusions The capacity of public HIS to detect and prevent future outbreaks is largely dependent on the future development of governance strategies that promote proactive surveillance and health action. Accordingly, we present an innovative framework from which to stimulate scientific debate on how this might be achieved by using existing larger scale data sets and multidisciplinary collaborations. PMID:21163721

Critical issues in the development of health information systems in supporting environmental health: a case study of ciguatera.

PubMed

Goater, Sarah; Derne, Bonnie; Weinstein, Philip

2011-05-01

Emerging environmental pressures resulting from climate change and globalization challenge the capacity of health information systems (HIS) in the Pacific to inform future policy and public health interventions. Ciguatera, a globally common marine food-borne illness, is used here to illustrate specific HIS challenges in the Pacific and how these might be overcome proactively to meet the changing surveillance needs resulting from environmental change. We review and highlight inefficiencies in the reactive nature of existing HIS in the Pacific to collect, collate, and communicate ciguatera fish poisoning data currently used to inform public health intervention. Further, we review the capacity of existing HIS to respond to new data needs associated with shifts in ciguatera disease burden likely to result from coral reef habitat disruption. Improved knowledge on the ecological drivers of ciguatera prevalence at local and regional levels is needed, combined with enhanced surveillance techniques and data management systems, to capture environmental drivers as well as health outcomes data. The capacity of public HIS to detect and prevent future outbreaks is largely dependent on the future development of governance strategies that promote proactive surveillance and health action. Accordingly, we present an innovative framework from which to stimulate scientific debate on how this might be achieved by using existing larger scale data sets and multidisciplinary collaborations.

Motor vehicle fatal crash profiles of 13-15-year-olds.

PubMed

Williams, Allan F; Tison, Julie

2012-04-01

The goal was to provide a description of fatal crashes involving 13-15-year-old drivers and passengers. Information was obtained from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System for 2005-2009. The 1,994 passenger deaths during the 2005-2009 period far exceeded the number of driver deaths (299) or the number of drivers in fatal crashes (744). Passenger deaths occurring with teenage drivers, particularly 16-17-year-olds, increased with passenger age. Most 13-15-year-old drivers in crashes were driving either with no license or permit (63%), or with a permit but without required adult presence (10 percent). Fatal crashes involving illegal driving were most likely to involve high-risk actions such as speeding and nonuse of belts. Supervised learners were few in number (about 12 per year) and had the lowest rates of high-risk actions. The main issues for 13-15-year-olds' motor vehicle deaths are passenger deaths and driving without a license or adult supervision. Parents, pediatricians, and others need to recognize the increase in motor vehicle occupant deaths that occurs in the early teen years. Copyright © 2012 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Google glass: a driver distraction cause or cure?

PubMed

Sawyer, Ben D; Finomore, Victor S; Calvo, Andres A; Hancock, P A

2014-11-01

We assess the driving distraction potential of texting with Google Glass (Glass), a mobile wearable platform capable of receiving and sending short-message-service and other messaging formats. A known roadway danger, texting while driving has been targeted by legislation and widely banned. Supporters of Glass claim the head-mounted wearable computer is designed to deliver information without concurrent distraction. Existing literature supports the supposition that design decisions incorporated in Glass might facilitate messaging for drivers. We asked drivers in a simulator to drive and use either Glass or a smartphone-based messaging interface, then interrupted them with an emergency brake event. Both the response event and subsequent recovery were analyzed. Glass-delivered messages served to moderate but did not eliminate distracting cognitive demands. A potential passive cost to drivers merely wearing Glass was also observed. Messaging using either device impaired driving as compared to driving without multitasking. Glass in not a panacea as some supporters claim, but it does point the way to design interventions that effect reduced load in multitasking. Discussions of these identified benefits are framed within the potential of new in-vehicle systems that bring both novel forms of distraction and tools for mitigation into the driver's seat.

Can younger drivers be trained to scan for information that will reduce their risk in roadway traffic scenarios that are hard to identify as hazardous?

PubMed Central

Pradhan, A.K.; Pollatsek, A.; Knodler, M.; Fisher, D.L.

2009-01-01

Younger drivers (18–21 years) are over-involved in crashes. Research suggests that one of the reasons for this over-involvement is their failure to scan areas of the roadway for information about potential risks in situations that are hazardous, but not obviously so. The primary objective of the present study is to develop and evaluate a training program that addresses this failure. It was hypothesised that PC-based hazard anticipation training would increase the likelihood that younger drivers would scan for potential hazards on the open road. In order to test this hypothesis, 12 trained and 12 untrained drivers' eye movements were measured as they drove a vehicle on local residential, feeder and arterial roads. Overall, the trained drivers were significantly more likely to gaze at areas of the roadway that contained information relevant to the reduction of risks (64.4%) than were the untrained drivers (37.4%). Significant training effects were observed even in situations on the road that were quite different from those shown in training. These findings have clear implications for the type of training of teen drivers that is necessary in order to increase their anticipation of hazards. PMID:19296315

Research and Design of Embedded Wireless Meal Ordering System Based on SQLite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jihong; Chen, Xiaoquan

The paper describes features and internal architecture and developing method of SQLite. And then it gives a design and program of meal ordering system. The system realizes the information interaction among the users and embedded devices with SQLite as database system. The embedded database SQLite manages the data and achieves wireless communication by using Bluetooth. A system program based on Qt/Embedded and Linux drivers realizes the local management of environmental data.

Drivers' safety needs, behavioural adaptations and acceptance of new driving support systems.

PubMed

Saad, Farida; Van Elslande, Pierre

2012-01-01

The aim of this paper is to discuss the contribution of two complementary approaches for designing and evaluating new driver support systems likely to improve the operation and safety of the road traffic system. The first approach is based on detailed analyses of traffic crashes so as to estimate drivers' needs for assistance and the situational constraints that safety functions should address to be efficient. The second approach is based on in depth-analyses of behavioral adaptations induced by the usage of new driver support systems in regular driving situations and on drivers' acceptance of the assistance provided by the systems.

On the efficiency of driver state monitoring systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dementienko, V. V.; Dorokhov, V. B.; Gerus, S. V.; Markov, A. G.; Shakhnarovich, V. M.

2007-06-01

Statistical data on road traffic and the results of laboratory studies are used to construct a mathematical model of a driver-driver state monitor-automobile-traffic system. In terms of the model, the probability of an accident resulting from the drowsy state of the driver is determined both in the absence and presence of a monitor. The model takes into account the efficiency and safety level provided by different monitoring systems, as well as psychological factors associated with the excessive reliance of drivers upon monitoring.

Preliminary Development of Real Time Usage-Phase Monitoring System for CNC Machine Tools with a Case Study on CNC Machine VMC 250

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budi Harja, Herman; Prakosa, Tri; Raharno, Sri; Yuwana Martawirya, Yatna; Nurhadi, Indra; Setyo Nogroho, Alamsyah

2018-03-01

The production characteristic of job-shop industry at which products have wide variety but small amounts causes every machine tool will be shared to conduct production process with dynamic load. Its dynamic condition operation directly affects machine tools component reliability. Hence, determination of maintenance schedule for every component should be calculated based on actual usage of machine tools component. This paper describes study on development of monitoring system to obtaining information about each CNC machine tool component usage in real time approached by component grouping based on its operation phase. A special device has been developed for monitoring machine tool component usage by utilizing usage phase activity data taken from certain electronics components within CNC machine. The components are adaptor, servo driver and spindle driver, as well as some additional components such as microcontroller and relays. The obtained data are utilized for detecting machine utilization phases such as power on state, machine ready state or spindle running state. Experimental result have shown that the developed CNC machine tool monitoring system is capable of obtaining phase information of machine tool usage as well as its duration and displays the information at the user interface application.

Impact of Increased Corn Production on Ground Water Quality and Human Health

EPA Science Inventory

In this study, we use a complex coupled modeling system to assess the impacts of increased corn production on groundwater. In particular, we show how the models provide new information on the drivers of contamination in groundwater, and then relate pollutant concentration change...

Human Factors Design Of Automated Highway Systems: Scenario Definition

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-09-01

Attention to driver acceptance and performance issues during system design will be key to the success of the Automated Highway System (AHS). A first step in the process of defining driver roles and driver-system interface requirements of AHS is the d...

Driver drowsiness detection using multimodal sensor fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andreeva, Elena O.; Aarabi, Parham; Philiastides, Marios G.; Mohajer, Keyvan; Emami, Majid

2004-04-01

This paper proposes a multi-modal sensor fusion algorithm for the estimation of driver drowsiness. Driver sleepiness is believed to be responsible for more than 30% of passenger car accidents and for 4% of all accident fatalities. In commercial vehicles, drowsiness is blamed for 58% of single truck accidents and 31% of commercial truck driver fatalities. This work proposes an innovative automatic sleep-onset detection system. Using multiple sensors, the driver"s body is studied as a mechanical structure of springs and dampeners. The sleep-detection system consists of highly sensitive triple-axial accelerometers to monitor the driver"s upper body in 3-D. The subject is modeled as a linear time-variant (LTV) system. An LMS adaptive filter estimation algorithm generates the transfer function (i.e. weight coefficients) for this LTV system. Separate coefficients are generated for the awake and asleep states of the subject. These coefficients are then used to train a neural network. Once trained, the neural network classifies the condition of the driver as either awake or asleep. The system has been tested on a total of 8 subjects. The tests were conducted on sleep-deprived individuals for the sleep state and on fully awake individuals for the awake state. When trained and tested on the same subject, the system detected sleep and awake states of the driver with a success rate of 95%. When the system was trained on three subjects and then retested on a fourth "unseen" subject, the classification rate dropped to 90%. Furthermore, it was attempted to correlate driver posture and sleepiness by observing how car vibrations propagate through a person"s body. Eight additional subjects were studied for this purpose. The results obtained in this experiment proved inconclusive which was attributed to significant differences in the individual habitual postures.

Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Sy, V.; Herold, M.; Achard, F.; Beuchle, R.; Clevers, J. G. P. W.; Lindquist, E.; Verchot, L.

2015-12-01

Land use change in South America, mainly deforestation, is a large source of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Identifying and addressing the causes or drivers of anthropogenic forest change is considered crucial for global climate change mitigation. Few countries however, monitor deforestation drivers in a systematic manner. National-level quantitative spatially explicit information on drivers is often lacking. This study quantifies proximate drivers of deforestation and related carbon losses in South America based on remote sensing time series in a systematic, spatially explicit manner. Deforestation areas were derived from the 2010 global remote sensing survey of the Food and Agricultural Organisation Forest Resource Assessment. To assess proximate drivers, land use following deforestation was assigned by visual interpretation of high-resolution satellite imagery. To estimate gross carbon losses from deforestation, default Tier 1 biomass levels per country and eco-zone were used. Pasture was the dominant driver of forest area (71.2%) and related carbon loss (71.6%) in South America, followed by commercial cropland (14% and 12.1% respectively). Hotspots of deforestation due to pasture occurred in Northern Argentina, Western Paraguay, and along the arc of deforestation in Brazil where they gradually moved into higher biomass forests causing additional carbon losses. Deforestation driven by commercial cropland increased in time, with hotspots occurring in Brazil (Mato Grosso State), Northern Argentina, Eastern Paraguay and Central Bolivia. Infrastructure, such as urban expansion and roads, contributed little as proximate drivers of forest area loss (1.7%). Our findings contribute to the understanding of drivers of deforestation and related carbon losses in South America, and are comparable at the national, regional and continental level. In addition, they support the development of national REDD+ interventions and forest monitoring systems, and provide valuable input for statistical analysis and modelling of underlying drivers of deforestation.

Driver Education Task Analysis. Volume I: Task Descriptions. Final Report (August 1969-July 1970).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKnight, A. James; Adams, Bert B.

This resource guide is the first of a 4-volume report dealing with the development of driver education objectives through an analysis of the driver's task. Included are a detailed description of the behaviors required of passenger car drivers, rated criticalities of these behaviors, and items of supporting information relating to driver…

Safe Driving Knowledge Dissemination and Testing Techniques. Volume III: Handbook. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKnight, James; Green, Molly A.

Guidelines are presented for use by driver licensing agencies in the development of driver manuals, tests, and other means of disseminating information and testing license applicants. An introductory chapter discusses the purposes of written license tests and of drivers' manuals, focusing on the needs of groups of drivers based on kind of vehicle,…

76 FR 50313 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Request for Comment; Extension of an Information...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-12

..., ``Hours of Service (HOS) of Drivers Regulations.'' The HOS rules require most commercial motor vehicle... motor carriers and enforcement officials in monitoring compliance with the HOS rules. On June 6, 2011... INFORMATION: Title: Hours of Service (HOS) of Drivers Regulations. OMB Control Number: 2126-0001. Type of...

Using Self-Reliance Factors to Decide How to Share Control Between Human Powered Wheelchair Drivers and Ultrasonic Sensors.

PubMed

Sanders, David A

2017-08-01

A shared-control scheme for a powered wheelchair is presented. The wheelchair can be operated by a wheelchair driver using a joystick, or directed by a sensor system, or control can be combined between them. The wheelchair system can modify direction depending on the local environment. Sharing the control allows a disabled wheelchair driver to drive safely and efficiently. The controller automatically establishes the control gains for the sensor system and the human driver by calculating a self-reliance factor for the wheelchair driver. The sensor system can influence the motion of the wheelchair to compensate for some deficiency in a disabled driver. Practical tests validate the proposed techniques and designs.

Applications drivers for data parking on the Information Superhighway

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Clark E., Jr.; Foeller, Thomas

1994-01-01

As the cost of data storage continues to decline (currently about one-millionth of its cost four decades ago) entirely new applications areas become economically feasible. Many of these new areas involved the extraordinarily high data rates and universal connectivity soon to be provided by the National Information Infrastructure (NII). The commonly held belief is that the main driver for the NII will be entertainment applications. We believe that entertainment applications as currently touted (multi-media, 500 video channels, video-on-demand, etc.) will play an important but far from dominant role in the development of the NII and its data storage components. The most pervasively effective drivers will be medical applications such as telemedicine and remote diagnosis, education and environmental monitoring. These applications have a significant funding base and offer a clearly perceived opportunity to improve the nation's standard of living. The NII's wideband connectivity both nationwide and worldwide requires a broad spectrum of data storage devices with a wide-range of performance capabilities. These storage centers will be dispersed throughout the system. Magnetic recording devices will fill the majority of these new data storage requirements for at least the rest of this century. The storage needs of various application areas and their respective market sizes will be explored. The comparative performance of various magnetic technologies and competitive alternative storage systems will be discussed.

Human Factors in the Automated Highway System: Transferring Control to the Driver

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-10-01

Driver capabilities and limitations must be considered to ensure successful implementation of the Automated Highway System (AHS). Human factors investigations of driver performance characteristics provide the basis for determining system design confi...

Contributing Factors to Driver's Over-trust in a Driving Support System for Workload Reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itoh, Makoto

Avoiding over-trust in machines is a vital issue in order to establish intelligent driver support systems. It is necessary to distinguish systems for workload reduction from systems for accident prevention/mitigation. This study focuses on over-trust in an Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system as a typical driving support system for workload reduction. By conducting an experiment, we obtained a case in which a driver trusted the ACC system too much. Concretely speaking, the driver just watched the ACC system crashing into a stopped car even though the ACC system was designed to ignore such stopped cars. This paper investigates possible contributing factors to the driver' s over-trust in the ACC system. The results suggest that emerging trust in the dimension of performance may cause over-trust in the dimension of method or purpose.

How does a collision warning system shape driver's brake response time? The influence of expectancy and automation complacency on real-life emergency braking.

PubMed

Ruscio, Daniele; Ciceri, Maria Rita; Biassoni, Federica

2015-04-01

Brake Reaction Time (BRT) is an important parameter for road safety. Previous research has shown that drivers' expectations can impact RT when facing hazardous situations, but driving with advanced driver assistance systems, can change the way BRT are considered. The interaction with a collision warning system can help faster more efficient responses, but at the same time can require a monitoring task and evaluation process that may lead to automation complacency. The aims of the present study are to test in a real-life setting whether automation compliancy can be generated by a collision warning system and what component of expectancy can impact the different tasks involved in an assisted BRT process. More specifically four component of expectancy were investigated: presence/absence of anticipatory information, previous direct experience, reliability of the device, and predictability of the hazard determined by repeated use of the warning system. Results supply indication on perception time and mental elaboration of the collision warning system alerts. In particular reliable warning quickened the decision making process, misleading warnings generated automation complacency slowing visual search for hazard detection, lack of directed experienced slowed the overall response while unexpected failure of the device lead to inattentional blindness and potential pseudo-accidents with surprise obstacle intrusion. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Drugs and Alcohol: Their Relative Crash Risk

PubMed Central

Romano, Eduardo; Torres-Saavedra, Pedro; Voas, Robert B.; Lacey, John H.

2014-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine (a) whether among sober (blood alcohol concentration [BAC] = .00%) drivers, being drug positive increases the drivers' risk of being killed in a fatal crash; (b) whether among drinking (BAC > .00%) drivers, being drug positive increases the drivers' risk of being killed in a fatal crash; and (c) whether alcohol and other drugs interact in increasing crash risk. Method: We compared BACs for the 2006, 2007, and 2008 crash cases drawn from the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) with control drug and blood alcohol data from participants in the 2007 U.S. National Roadside Survey. Only FARS drivers from states with drug information on 80% or more of the drivers who also participated in the 2007 National Roadside Survey were selected. Results: For both sober and drinking drivers, being positive for a drug was found to increase the risk of being fatally injured. When the drug-positive variable was separated into marijuana and other drugs, only the latter was found to contribute significantly to crash risk. In all cases, the contribution of drugs other than alcohol to crash risk was significantly lower than that produced by alcohol. Conclusions: Although overall, drugs contribute to crash risk regardless of the presence of alcohol, such a contribution is much lower than that by alcohol. The lower contribution of drugs other than alcohol to crash risk relative to that of alcohol suggests caution in focusing too much on drugged driving, potentially diverting scarce resources from curbing drunk driving. PMID:24411797

Myocardial infarction in Swedish subway drivers.

PubMed

Bigert, Carolina; Klerdal, Kristina; Hammar, Niklas; Gustavsson, Per

2007-08-01

Particulate matter in urban air is associated with the risk of myocardial infarction in the general population. Very high levels of airborne particles have been detected in the subway system of Stockholm, as well as in several other large cities. This situation has caused concern for negative health effects among subway staff. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is an increased incidence of myocardial infarction among subway drivers. Data from a population-based case-control study of men aged 40-69 in Stockholm County in 1976-1996 were used. The study included all first events of myocardial infarction in registers of hospital discharges and deaths. The controls were selected randomly from the general population. National censuses were used for information on occupation. Altogether, 22 311 cases and 131 496 controls were included. Among these, 54 cases and 250 controls had worked as subway drivers. The relative risk of myocardial infarction among subway drivers was not increased. It was 0.92 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.68-1.25] when the subway drivers were compared with other manual workers and 1.06 (95% CI 0.78-1.43) when the subway drivers were compared with all other gainfully employed men. Subgroup analyses indicated no influence on the risk of myocardial infarction from the duration of employment, latency time, or time since employment stopped. Subway drivers in Stockholm do not have a higher incidence of myocardial infarction than other employed persons.

Battery electric vehicles - implications for the driver interface.

PubMed

Neumann, Isabel; Krems, Josef F

2016-03-01

The current study examines the human-machine interface of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) from a user-perspective, focussing on the evaluation of BEV-specific displays, the relevance of provided information and challenges for drivers due to the concept of electricity in a road vehicle. A sample of 40 users drove a BEV for 6 months. Data were gathered at three points of data collection. Participants perceived the BEV-specific displays as only moderately reliable and helpful for estimating the displayed parameters. This was even less the case after driving the BEV for 3 months. A taxonomy of user requirements was compiled revealing the need for improved and additional information, especially regarding energy consumption and efficiency. Drivers had difficulty understanding electrical units and the energy consumption of the BEV. On the background of general principles for display design, results provide implications how to display relevant information and how to facilitate drivers' understanding of energy consumption in BEVs. Practitioner Summary: Battery electric vehicle (BEV) displays need to incorporate new information. A taxonomy of user requirements was compiled revealing the need for improved and additional information in the BEV interface. Furthermore, drivers had trouble understanding electrical units and energy consumption; therefore, appropriate assistance is required. Design principles which are specifically important in the BEV context are discussed.

Reduction of low frequency vibration of truck driver and seating system through system parameter identification, sensitivity analysis and active control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xu; Bi, Fengrong; Du, Haiping

2018-05-01

This paper aims to develop an 5-degree-of-freedom driver and seating system model for optimal vibration control. A new method for identification of the driver seating system parameters from experimental vibration measurement has been developed. The parameter sensitivity analysis has been conducted considering the random excitation frequency and system parameter uncertainty. The most and least sensitive system parameters for the transmissibility ratio have been identified. The optimised PID controllers have been developed to reduce the driver's body vibration.

Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue And Alertness Study Executive Summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-11-01

THE DRIVER FATIGUE AND ALERTNESS STUDY (DFAS) WAS THE LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE OVER-THE-ROAD STUDY EVER CONDUCTED ON DRIVER FATIGUE AND ALERTNESS IN NORTH AMERICA. IT PROVIDES EXTENSIVE INFORMATION ON THE ALERTNESS, DRIVING PERFORMANCE, AND PHY...

2007 motor vehicle occupant safety survey : driver education and graduated driver licensing

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-12-01

This Research Note summarizes selected results from the 2007 MVOSS. It focuses primarily on information collected regarding driver education and GDL. This was a new module introduced in 2007. The data are weighted to yield national estimates.

78 FR 45949 - Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended; Notice of a New System of Records

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-30

...: Social Security numbers, drivers license numbers, vehicle identification numbers, license plate numbers... or retention of an employee or contractor, or the issuance of a security clearance, license, contract..., tribal or foreign) for the purpose of providing background search information on individuals for legally...

78 FR 5865 - Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-28

... Reminder System Survey. Type of Request: New collection of information. OMB Control Number: 2127--NEW... the driving public to determine drivers' and car passengers' seat belt usage habits as well as the... of the potential benefits of requiring a rear SBRS. A national telephone survey will be administered...

Thermal APU/hydraulics analysis program. User's guide and programmer's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deluna, T. A.

1976-01-01

The User's Guide information plus program description necessary to run and have a general understanding of the Thermal APU/Hydraulics Analysis Program (TAHAP) is described. This information consists of general descriptions of the APU/hydraulic system and the TAHAP model, input and output data descriptions, and specific subroutine requirements. Deck setups and input data formats are included and other necessary and/or helpful information for using TAHAP is given. The math model descriptions for the driver program and each of its supporting subroutines are outlined.

Creating pedestrian crash scenarios in a driving simulator environment.

PubMed

Chrysler, Susan T; Ahmad, Omar; Schwarz, Chris W

2015-01-01

In 2012 in the United States, pedestrian injuries accounted for 3.3% of all traffic injuries but, disproportionately, pedestrian fatalities accounted for roughly 14% of traffic-related deaths (NHTSA 2014 ). In many other countries, pedestrians make up more than 50% of those injured and killed in crashes. This research project examined driver response to crash-imminent situations involving pedestrians in a high-fidelity, full-motion driving simulator. This article presents a scenario development method and discusses experimental design and control issues in conducting pedestrian crash research in a simulation environment. Driving simulators offer a safe environment in which to test driver response and offer the advantage of having virtual pedestrian models that move realistically, unlike test track studies, which by nature must use pedestrian dummies on some moving track. An analysis of pedestrian crash trajectories, speeds, roadside features, and pedestrian behavior was used to create 18 unique crash scenarios representative of the most frequent and most costly crash types. For the study reported here, we only considered scenarios where the car is traveling straight because these represent the majority of fatalities. We manipulated driver expectation of a pedestrian both by presenting intersection and mid-block crossing as well as by using features in the scene to direct the driver's visual attention toward or away from the crossing pedestrian. Three visual environments for the scenarios were used to provide a variety of roadside environments and speed: a 20-30 mph residential area, a 55 mph rural undivided highway, and a 40 mph urban area. Many variables of crash situations were considered in selecting and developing the scenarios, including vehicle and pedestrian movements; roadway and roadside features; environmental conditions; and characteristics of the pedestrian, driver, and vehicle. The driving simulator scenarios were subjected to iterative testing to adjust time to arrival triggers for the pedestrian actions. This article discusses the rationale behind creating the simulator scenarios and some of the procedural considerations for conducting this type of research. Crash analyses can be used to construct test scenarios for driver behavior evaluations using driving simulators. By considering trajectories, roadway, and environmental conditions of real-world crashes, representative virtual scenarios can serve as safe test beds for advanced driver assistance systems. The results of such research can be used to inform pedestrian crash avoidance/mitigation systems by identifying driver error, driver response time, and driver response choice (i.e., steering vs. braking).

Feeding the world healthily: the challenge of measuring the effects of agriculture on health

PubMed Central

Hawkesworth, Sophie; Dangour, Alan D.; Johnston, Deborah; Lock, Karen; Poole, Nigel; Rushton, Jonathan; Uauy, Ricardo; Waage, Jeff

2010-01-01

Agricultural production, food systems and population health are intimately linked. While there is a strong evidence base to inform our knowledge of what constitutes a healthy human diet, we know little about actual food production or consumption in many populations and how developments in the food and agricultural system will affect dietary intake patterns and health. The paucity of information on food production and consumption is arguably most acute in low- and middle-income countries, where it is most urgently needed to monitor levels of under-nutrition, the health impacts of rapid dietary transition and the increasing ‘double burden’ of nutrition-related disease. Food availability statistics based on food commodity production data are currently widely used as a proxy measure of national-level food consumption, but using data from the UK and Mexico we highlight the potential pitfalls of this approach. Despite limited resources for data collection, better systems of measurement are possible. Important drivers to improve collection systems may include efforts to meet international development goals and partnership with the private sector. A clearer understanding of the links between the agriculture and food system and population health will ensure that health becomes a critical driver of agricultural change. PMID:20713404

Design of a steering stabilizer based on CAN bus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhan, Zhaomin; Yan, Yibin

2018-04-01

This design realizes a posture correction device of griping steering wheel based on CAN bus, which is embedded in the steering wheel of vehicles. The system aims to detect the drivers' abnormal griping postures and provides drivers with classification alerts, by combining the recorded griping postures data and the vehicle speed data that are obtained via the CAN bus. The warning information are automatically stored and retained in the device for 12 months. To enhance the alerting effect, the count of this warning message for both the latest month and the last 12 months are displayed on the dashboard panel. In addition to prevent itself from being blocked and self-detect any faults in advance, the appliance also provide a self-test function, which will communicate with the integrated instrument system in vehicle and do simulation test right after the vehicle power on. This appliance can help to urge and ensure drivers to operate the steering wheel correctly, effectively, and timely; prevent some typical incorrect behaviors which commonly happen along with the change of griping postures, such as the using cellphone, and ultimately, reduce the incidence of traffic accidents.

Deep Learning-Based Gaze Detection System for Automobile Drivers Using a NIR Camera Sensor

PubMed Central

Naqvi, Rizwan Ali; Arsalan, Muhammad; Batchuluun, Ganbayar; Yoon, Hyo Sik; Park, Kang Ryoung

2018-01-01

A paradigm shift is required to prevent the increasing automobile accident deaths that are mostly due to the inattentive behavior of drivers. Knowledge of gaze region can provide valuable information regarding a driver’s point of attention. Accurate and inexpensive gaze classification systems in cars can improve safe driving. However, monitoring real-time driving behaviors and conditions presents some challenges: dizziness due to long drives, extreme lighting variations, glasses reflections, and occlusions. Past studies on gaze detection in cars have been chiefly based on head movements. The margin of error in gaze detection increases when drivers gaze at objects by moving their eyes without moving their heads. To solve this problem, a pupil center corneal reflection (PCCR)-based method has been considered. However, the error of accurately detecting the pupil center and corneal reflection center is increased in a car environment due to various environment light changes, reflections on glasses surface, and motion and optical blurring of captured eye image. In addition, existing PCCR-based methods require initial user calibration, which is difficult to perform in a car environment. To address this issue, we propose a deep learning-based gaze detection method using a near-infrared (NIR) camera sensor considering driver head and eye movement that does not require any initial user calibration. The proposed system is evaluated on our self-constructed database as well as on open Columbia gaze dataset (CAVE-DB). The proposed method demonstrated greater accuracy than the previous gaze classification methods. PMID:29401681

Modeling Human Steering Behavior During Path Following in Teleoperation of Unmanned Ground Vehicles.

PubMed

Mirinejad, Hossein; Jayakumar, Paramsothy; Ersal, Tulga

2018-04-01

This paper presents a behavioral model representing the human steering performance in teleoperated unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). Human steering performance in teleoperation is considerably different from the performance in regular onboard driving situations due to significant communication delays in teleoperation systems and limited information human teleoperators receive from the vehicle sensory system. Mathematical models capturing the teleoperation performance are a key to making the development and evaluation of teleoperated UGV technologies fully simulation based and thus more rapid and cost-effective. However, driver models developed for the typical onboard driving case do not readily address this need. To fill the gap, this paper adopts a cognitive model that was originally developed for a typical highway driving scenario and develops a tuning strategy that adjusts the model parameters in the absence of human data to reflect the effect of various latencies and UGV speeds on driver performance in a teleoperated path-following task. Based on data collected from a human subject test study, it is shown that the tuned model can predict both the trend of changes in driver performance for different driving conditions and the best steering performance of human subjects in all driving conditions considered. The proposed model with the tuning strategy has a satisfactory performance in predicting human steering behavior in the task of teleoperated path following of UGVs. The established model is a suited candidate to be used in place of human drivers for simulation-based studies of UGV mobility in teleoperation systems.

Assessing the utility of TAM, TPB, and UTAUT for advanced driver assistance systems.

PubMed

Rahman, Md Mahmudur; Lesch, Mary F; Horrey, William J; Strawderman, Lesley

2017-11-01

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are intended to enhance driver performance and improve transportation safety. The potential benefits of these technologies, such as reduction in number of crashes, enhancing driver comfort or convenience, decreasing environmental impact, etc., have been acknowledged by transportation safety researchers and federal transportation agencies. Although these systems afford safety advantages, they may also challenge the traditional role of drivers in operating vehicles. Driver acceptance, therefore, is essential for the implementation of these systems into the transportation system. Recognizing the need for research into the factors affecting driver acceptance, this study assessed the utility of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) for modelling driver acceptance in terms of Behavioral Intention to use an ADAS. Each of these models propose a set of factors that influence acceptance of a technology. Data collection was done using two approaches: a driving simulator approach and an online survey approach. In both approaches, participants interacted with either a fatigue monitoring system or an adaptive cruise control system combined with a lane-keeping system. Based on their experience, participants responded to several survey questions to indicate their attitude toward using the ADAS and their perception of its usefulness, usability, etc. A sample of 430 surveys were collected for this study. Results found that all the models (TAM, TPB, and UTAUT) can explain driver acceptance with their proposed sets of factors, each explaining 71% or more of the variability in Behavioral Intention. Among the models, TAM was found to perform the best in modelling driver acceptance followed by TPB. The findings of this study confirm that these models can be applied to ADAS technologies and that they provide a basis for understanding driver acceptance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Where We Look When We Drive with or without Active Steering Wheel Control

PubMed Central

Mars, Franck; Navarro, Jordan

2012-01-01

Current theories on the role of visuomotor coordination in driving agree that active sampling of the road by the driver informs the arm-motor system in charge of performing actions on the steering wheel. Still under debate, however, is the nature of visual cues and gaze strategies used by drivers. In particular, the tangent point hypothesis, which states that drivers look at a specific point on the inside edge line, has recently become the object of controversy. An alternative hypothesis proposes that drivers orient gaze toward the desired future path, which happens to be often situated in the vicinity of the tangent point. The present study contributed to this debate through the analyses of the distribution of gaze orientation with respect to the tangent point. The results revealed that drivers sampled the roadway in the close vicinity of the tangent point rather than the tangent point proper. This supports the idea that drivers look at the boundary of a safe trajectory envelop near the inside edge line. Furthermore, the study investigated for the first time the reciprocal influence of manual control on gaze control in the context of driving. This was achieved through the comparison of gaze behavior when drivers actively steered the vehicle or when steering was performed by an automatic controller. The results showed an increase in look-ahead fixations in the direction of the bend exit and a small but consistent reduction in the time spent looking in the area of the tangent point when steering was passive. This may be the consequence of a change in the balance between cognitive and sensorimotor anticipatory gaze strategies. It might also reflect bidirectional coordination control between the eye and arm-motor systems, which goes beyond the common assumption that the eyes lead the hands when driving. PMID:22928043

Microelectromechanical Systems; A DoD Dual Use Technology Industrial Assessment.

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-12-01

systems, • embedded sensors and actuators for condition-based maintenance of machines and vehicles, on-demand amplified structural strength in...will transmit temperature, pressure, and number-of- rotations information to a hand-held receiver used by the maintenance and service personnel. This...automobile industry being the major driver for most micro- machined sensors (pressure, acceleration and oxygen). In 1994 model year Projected Growth

Lunar Exploration Architecture Level Key Drivers and Sensitivities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodliff, Kandyce; Cirillo, William; Earle, Kevin; Reeves, J. D.; Shyface, Hilary; Andraschko, Mark; Merrill, R. Gabe; Stromgren, Chel; Cirillo, Christopher

2009-01-01

Strategic level analysis of the integrated behavior of lunar transportation and lunar surface systems architecture options is performed to assess the benefit, viability, affordability, and robustness of system design choices. This analysis employs both deterministic and probabilistic modeling techniques so that the extent of potential future uncertainties associated with each option are properly characterized. The results of these analyses are summarized in a predefined set of high-level Figures of Merit (FOMs) so as to provide senior NASA Constellation Program (CxP) and Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) management with pertinent information to better inform strategic level decision making. The strategic level exploration architecture model is designed to perform analysis at as high a level as possible but still capture those details that have major impacts on system performance. The strategic analysis methodology focuses on integrated performance, affordability, and risk analysis, and captures the linkages and feedbacks between these three areas. Each of these results leads into the determination of the high-level FOMs. This strategic level analysis methodology has been previously applied to Space Shuttle and International Space Station assessments and is now being applied to the development of the Constellation Program point-of-departure lunar architecture. This paper provides an overview of the strategic analysis methodology and the lunar exploration architecture analyses to date. In studying these analysis results, the strategic analysis team has identified and characterized key drivers affecting the integrated architecture behavior. These key drivers include inclusion of a cargo lander, mission rate, mission location, fixed-versus- variable costs/return on investment, and the requirement for probabilistic analysis. Results of sensitivity analysis performed on lunar exploration architecture scenarios are also presented.

Driver fatigue detection based on eye state.

PubMed

Lin, Lizong; Huang, Chao; Ni, Xiaopeng; Wang, Jiawen; Zhang, Hao; Li, Xiao; Qian, Zhiqin

2015-01-01

Nowadays, more and more traffic accidents occur because of driver fatigue. In order to reduce and prevent it, in this study, a calculation method using PERCLOS (percentage of eye closure time) parameter characteristics based on machine vision was developed. It determined whether a driver's eyes were in a fatigue state according to the PERCLOS value. The overall workflow solutions included face detection and tracking, detection and location of the human eye, human eye tracking, eye state recognition, and driver fatigue testing. The key aspects of the detection system incorporated the detection and location of human eyes and driver fatigue testing. The simplified method of measuring the PERCLOS value of the driver was to calculate the ratio of the eyes being open and closed with the total number of frames for a given period. If the eyes were closed more than the set threshold in the total number of frames, the system would alert the driver. Through many experiments, it was shown that besides the simple detection algorithm, the rapid computing speed, and the high detection and recognition accuracies of the system, the system was demonstrated to be in accord with the real-time requirements of a driver fatigue detection system.

Informatics Metrics and Measures for a Smart Public Health Systems Approach: Information Science Perspective

PubMed Central

Shea, Christopher Michael

2017-01-01

Public health informatics is an evolving domain in which practices constantly change to meet the demands of a highly complex public health and healthcare delivery system. Given the emergence of various concepts, such as learning health systems, smart health systems, and adaptive complex health systems, health informatics professionals would benefit from a common set of measures and capabilities to inform our modeling, measuring, and managing of health system “smartness.” Here, we introduce the concepts of organizational complexity, problem/issue complexity, and situational awareness as three codependent drivers of smart public health systems characteristics. We also propose seven smart public health systems measures and capabilities that are important in a public health informatics professional's toolkit. PMID:28167999

Informatics Metrics and Measures for a Smart Public Health Systems Approach: Information Science Perspective.

PubMed

Carney, Timothy Jay; Shea, Christopher Michael

2017-01-01

Public health informatics is an evolving domain in which practices constantly change to meet the demands of a highly complex public health and healthcare delivery system. Given the emergence of various concepts, such as learning health systems, smart health systems, and adaptive complex health systems, health informatics professionals would benefit from a common set of measures and capabilities to inform our modeling, measuring, and managing of health system "smartness." Here, we introduce the concepts of organizational complexity, problem/issue complexity, and situational awareness as three codependent drivers of smart public health systems characteristics. We also propose seven smart public health systems measures and capabilities that are important in a public health informatics professional's toolkit.

[Risk factors for road traffic injury in agricultural vehicle drivers].

PubMed

Cui, M J; Chen, Y; Li, Y; Hu, J; Zhang, X J

2017-08-20

Objective: To examine the risk factors for road traffic injury in agricultural vehicle drivers. Methods: A total of 103 drivers (who had suffered agricultural vehicle road traffic injury within the past year based on the road traffic injury registrar from the Traffic Management Bureau) who were involved in the annual agricultural vehicle inspection from December 2014 to January 2015 were randomly sampled from the Yixing Agricultural Vehicle Station as the case group for this study. Based on a 1∶2 assignment ratio and matched for sex, age, and education, a total of 206 drivers who had not suffered any agricultural vehicle road traffic injury within the past year were selected as the control group. The general information, vehicle information, driving information, driving behavior, and accident details of the agricultural vehicle drivers were analyzed. Results: The incidence rate of road traffic injury was 7.24% given the 103 agricultural vehicle drivers who had suffered agricultural vehicle road traffic injury in the past year. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that drinking, debt, pressure, history of car accident, history of drunk driving, smoking and phone use during driving, fatigue driving, and driving with illness were the risk factors for road traffic injury in agricultural vehicle drivers ( OR =2.332, 2.429, 19.778, 5.589, 8.517, 2.125, 3.203, 10.249 and 5.639, respectively) . Multivariate logistic regression analysis also demonstrated that pressure, history of car accident, history of drunk driving, fatigue driving, and driving with illness were the risk factors for road traffic injury in agricultural vehicle drivers ( OR =12.139, 11.184, 6.729, 5.939, and 6.544, respectively) . Conclusion: Pressure, history of car accident, history of drunk driving, fatigue driving, and driving with illness are the major risk factors for road traffic injury in agricultural vehicle drivers.

The relative risk of involvement in fatal crashes as a function of race/ethnicity and blood alcohol concentration

PubMed Central

Torres, Pedro; Romano, Eduardo; Voas, Robert B.; de la Rosa, Mario; Lacey, John H.

2014-01-01

Introduction The literature presents a puzzling picture of Latinos being overrepresented in alcohol-related crashes, but not in noncrash drinking and driving. This report examines if, like other demographic variables in which some groups are at a higher crash risk than others (e.g., young drivers), different racial/ethnic groups face different crash risks Method This study compares blood-alcohol information from the 2006–2007 U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) with control data from the 2007 U.S. National Roadside Survey. Logistic regression, including a dual interaction between BAC and race/ethnicity, was used to estimate crash risk at different BAC levels. Results It was found that, although Hispanic and African-American drivers were less likely to be involved in single-vehicle crashes than their White counterparts, all drivers face similar BAC relative crash risk regardless of their group membership. The overrepresentation of Latino drivers in alcohol-related crashes could be explained by differences in patterns of consumption, driving exposure, lack of awareness of driving rules, and/or socioeconomics. PMID:24529097

Crash and risky driving involvement among novice adolescent drivers and their parents.

PubMed

Simons-Morton, Bruce G; Ouimet, Marie Claude; Zhang, Zhiwei; Klauer, Sheila E; Lee, Suzanne E; Wang, Jing; Albert, Paul S; Dingus, Thomas A

2011-12-01

We compared rates of risky driving among novice adolescent and adult drivers over the first 18 months of adolescents' licensure. Data-recording systems installed in participants' vehicles provided information on driving performance of 42 newly licensed adolescent drivers and their parents. We analyzed crashes and near crashes and elevated g-force event rates by Poisson regression with random effects. During the study period, adolescents were involved in 279 crashes or near crashes (1 involving injury); parents had 34 such accidents. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) comparing adolescent and parent crash and near-crash rates was 3.91. Among adolescent drivers, elevated rates of g-force events correlated with crashes and near crashes (r = 0.60; P < .001). The IRR comparing incident rates of risky driving among adolescents and parents was 5.08. Adolescents' rates of crashes and near crashes declined with time (with a significant uptick in the last quarter), but elevated g-force event rates did not decline. Elevated g-force events among adolescents may have contributed to crash and near-crash rates that remained much higher than adult levels after 18 months of driving.

Child Passengers Injured in Motor Vehicle Crashes

PubMed Central

Romano, Eduardo; Kelley-Baker, Tara

2015-01-01

Introduction—During 2010, 171,000 children aged 0-14 were injured in motor vehicle crashes. Despite the severity of the problem, research has been limited, and most of what we know about these children emanates from fatal crash databases. Method—Using information from the General Estimates System, this effort examines the occurrence of non-fatal crashes among children aged 0-14 over the last decade. Results—We found about 1% of the non-injured children in the file had been driven by a driver who was positive for alcohol. This percentage climbed to about 2% among children who had suffered injuries. Compared with the proportion of alcohol-positive drivers at the time of the crash, the proportion of drivers who sped or failed to obey a traffic signal were significantly higher. Practical Applications—The finding that drinking and driving with children did not decrease over time questions the adequacy of the extant child endangerment laws. PMID:25662876

Using a Handheld Device for Patient Data Collection: A Pilot for Medical Countermeasures Surveillance.

PubMed

Daley, Matthew F; Goddard, Kristin; McClung, Melissa; Davidson, Arthur; Weiss, Gretchen; Palen, Ted; Nyirenda, Carsie; Platt, Richard; Courtney, Brooke; Reichman, Marsha E

2016-01-01

Medical countermeasures (MCMs) are medical products used during public health emergencies. This study, conducted within the Mini-Sentinel Initiative, sought to develop the patient identification and matching processes necessary to assess safety outcomes for MCMs. A handheld device was used to collect identifying information (e.g., name, birthdate, and sex) from the driver's licenses of 421 individuals presenting for routine care at their primary care medical office. Overall, 374 individuals (88.8%) could be linked to their electronic health data using driver's license information. The device was also pilot-tested at a seasonal influenza immunization clinic: detailed vaccine information (e.g., lot number and manufacturer) was captured with a high degree of accuracy. This investigation demonstrated that a handheld device is a feasible means of collecting patient identity and medical product receipt data. This capacity should be useful for safety surveillance of MCMs, particularly when dispensed in settings outside the traditional health-care delivery system.

78 FR 72145 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension of an Approved Information Collection...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-02

...: Training Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination Vehicles AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [Docket No. FMCSA-2013... requests approval to renew the ICR entitled ``Training Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination...

A global simulation approach to optics, lighting, rendering, and human perception for the improvement of safety in automobiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delacour, Jacques; Fournier, Laurent; Menu, Jean-Pierre

2005-02-01

In order to provide optimum comfort and safety conditions, information must be seen as clearly as possible by the driver and in all lighting conditions, by day and by night. Therefore, it is becoming fundamental to anticipate in order to predict what the driver will see in a vehicle, in various configurations of scene and observation conditions, so as to optimize the lighting, the ergonomics of the interfaces and the choice of surrounding materials which can be a source of reflection. This information and choices which will depend on it, make it necessary to call upon simulation techniques capable of modeling, globally and simultaneously, the entire light phenomena: surrounding lighting, display technologies, the inside lighting, taking into consideration the multiple reflections caused by the reflection of this light inside the vehicle. This has been the object of an important development, which results in the solution SPEOS Visual Ergonomics, led by company OPTIS. A unique human vision model was developed in collaboration with worldwide specialists in visual perception to transform spectral luminance information into perceived visual information. This model, based on physiological aspects, takes into account the response of the eye to light levels, to color, to contrast, and to ambient lighting, as well as to rapid changes in surrounding luminosity, in accordance with the response of the retina. This unique tool, and information now accessible, enable ergonomists and designers of on board systems to improve the conditions of global visibility, and in so doing the global perception of the environment that the driver will have.

Idaho Driver Education Administrative Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Idaho State Dept. of Education, Boise.

This guide provides information for school administrators and directors of commercial driver training schools about conducting driver education courses in Idaho. The first part of the guide, which applies to both public schools and commercial schools, covers the following areas: administration, sample letters and forms, instructional time…

Toyota drivers' experiences with Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Pre-Collision System, and Lane-Keeping Assist.

PubMed

Eichelberger, Angela H; McCartt, Anne T

2016-02-01

Advanced crash avoidance and driver assistance technologies potentially can prevent or mitigate many crashes. Previous surveys with drivers have found favorable opinions for many advanced technologies; however, these surveys are not necessarily representative of all drivers or all systems. As the technologies spread throughout the vehicle fleet, it is important to continue studying driver acceptance and use of them. This study focused on 2010-2013 Toyota Sienna and Prius models that were equipped with adaptive cruise control, forward collision avoidance, and lane departure warning and prevention (Prius models only). Telephone interviews were conducted in summer 2013 with 183 owners of vehicles with these technologies. About 9 in 10 respondents wanted adaptive cruise control and forward collision avoidance on their next vehicle, and 71% wanted lane departure warning/prevention again. Males and females reported some differences in their experiences with the systems; for example, males were more likely to have turned on lane departure warning/prevention than females, and when using this system, males reported more frequent warnings than did females. Relative to older drivers, drivers age 40 and younger were more likely to have seen or heard a forward collision warning. Consistent with the results in previous surveys of owners of luxury vehicles, the present survey found that driver acceptance of the technologies was high, although less so for lane departure warning/prevention. Experiences with the Toyota systems differed by driver age and gender to a greater degree than in previous surveys, suggesting that the responses of drivers may begin to differ as crash avoidance technology becomes available on a wider variety of vehicles. Crash avoidance technologies potentially can prevent or mitigate many crashes, but their success depends in part on driver acceptance. These systems will be effective only to the extent that drivers use them. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.

Acquisition of business intelligence from human experience in route planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bello Orgaz, Gema; Barrero, David F.; R-Moreno, María D.; Camacho, David

2015-04-01

The logistic sector raises a number of highly challenging problems. Probably one of the most important ones is the shipping planning, i.e. plan the routes that the shippers have to follow to deliver the goods. In this article, we present an artificial intelligence-based solution that has been designed to help a logistic company to improve its routes planning process. In order to achieve this goal, the solution uses the knowledge acquired by the company drivers to propose optimised routes. Hence, the proposed solution gathers the experience of the drivers, processes it and optimises the delivery process. The solution uses data mining to extract knowledge from the company information systems and prepares it for analysis with a case-based reasoning (CBR) algorithm. The CBR obtains critical business intelligence knowledge from the drivers experience that is needed by the planner. The design of the routes is done by a genetic algorithm that, given the processed information, optimises the routes following several objectives, such as minimise the distance or time. Experimentation shows that the proposed approach is able to find routes that improve, on average, the routes made by the human experts.

Development of Data Acquisition Card Driver for ICRH System on EAST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Daming; Luo, Jiarong; Zhao, Yanping; Qin, Chengming

2008-04-01

Presented in this paper is the development of the driver for the data acquisition card with a peripheral component interconnection (PCI) local bus on the ion cyclotron range of frequency heating (ICRH) system. The driver is mainly aimed at the embedded VxWorks system (real-time operating system) which is widely used in various fields of real-time systems. An efficient way is employed to develop this driver, which will advance the real-time control of the ICRH system on the experimental advanced superconductor tokamak (EAST). The driver is designed using the TORNADO integrated development environment (IDE), and implemented in C plus language. The details include the hardware configuration, analogue/digital (A/D) and digital/analogue (D/A) conversion, input and output (I/O) operation of the driver to support over five cards. The data acquisition card can be manipulated in a low-level program and meet the requirements of A/D conversion and D/A outputs.

Driving context influences drivers' decision to engage in visual-manual phone tasks: Evidence from a naturalistic driving study.

PubMed

Tivesten, Emma; Dozza, Marco

2015-06-01

Visual-manual (VM) phone tasks (i.e., texting, dialing, reading) are associated with an increased crash/near-crash risk. This study investigated how the driving context influences drivers' decisions to engage in VM phone tasks in naturalistic driving. Video-recordings of 1,432 car trips were viewed to identify VM phone tasks and passenger presence. Video, vehicle signals, and map data were used to classify driving context (i.e., curvature, other vehicles) before and during the VM phone tasks (N=374). Vehicle signals (i.e., speed, yaw rate, forward radar) were available for all driving. VM phone tasks were more likely to be initiated while standing still, and less likely while driving at high speeds, or when a passenger was present. Lead vehicle presence did not influence how likely it was that a VM phone task was initiated, but the drivers adjusted their task timing to situations when the lead vehicle was increasing speed, resulting in increasing time headway. The drivers adjusted task timing until after making sharp turns and lane change maneuvers. In contrast to previous driving simulator studies, there was no evidence of drivers reducing speed as a consequence of VM phone task engagement. The results show that experienced drivers use information about current and upcoming driving context to decide when to engage in VM phone tasks. However, drivers may fail to sufficiently increase safety margins to allow time to respond to possible unpredictable events (e.g., lead vehicle braking). Advanced driver assistance systems should facilitate and possibly boost drivers' self-regulating behavior. For instance, they might recognize when appropriate adaptive behavior is missing and advise or alert accordingly. The results from this study could also inspire training programs for novice drivers, or locally classify roads in terms of the risk associated with secondary task engagement while driving. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A Quantitative and Qualitative Review of the Implementation of a Healthcare Information Network.

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-04-01

Kekre , Sunder , Mayuram S. Krishnan. "Drivers of Customer Satisfaction for Software Products: Implications for Design and Service Support." Management...1995. Huth, E.J. "Needed: An Economic Approach to Systems for Medical Information." Ann Internal Med. 103, no. 4 (1985): 617-19. Kekre , Sunder ... Kekre et. al. discuss similar issues 32 as Goodhue and Austin, but they use slightly different terminology. Kekre’s team determined that

75 FR 54945 - Notice of Request for Information (RFI): Training Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-09

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration [Docket No. FMCSA-2010-0273] Notice of Request for Information (RFI): Training Certification for Drivers of Longer Combination Vehicles AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT. ACTION: Notice; request for...

Developing a robust survey methodology for collecting information on the port truck drayage industry.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-09-01

This paper describes the population characteristics in the drayage trucking population of the Port of Seattle as determined by the 2013 Truck : Driver Survey. The 2013 Truck Driver Survey was created to give the Port of Seattle more information on th...

Alcohol use by drivers fatally injured in motor vehicle collisions in Canada in 2007 and the previous 20 years

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-12-01

This leaflet provides information on the blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of drivers fatally injured in motor vehicle collisions in the Canadian provinces and territories. The information is derived from the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIR...

The emotional side of cognitive distraction: Implications for road safety.

PubMed

Chan, Michelle; Singhal, Anthony

2013-01-01

Driver distraction is estimated to be one of the leading causes of motor vehicle accidents. However, little is known about the role of emotional distraction on driving, despite evidence that attention is highly biased toward emotion. In the present study, we used a dual-task paradigm to examine the potential for driver distraction from emotional information presented on roadside billboards. This purpose was achieved using a driving simulator and three different types of emotional information: neutral words, negative emotional words, and positive emotional words. Participants also responded to target words while driving and completed a surprise free recall task of all the words at the end of the study. The findings suggest that driving performance is differentially affected by the valence (negative versus positive) of the emotional content. Drivers had lower mean speeds when there were emotional words compared to neutral words, and this slowing effect lasted longer when there were positive words. This may be due to distraction effects on driving behavior, which are greater for positive arousing stimuli. Moreover, when required to process non-emotional target stimuli, drivers had faster mean speeds in conditions where the targets were interspersed with emotional words compared to neutral words, and again, these effects lasted longer when there were positive words. On the other hand, negative information led to better memory recall. These unique effects may be due to separate processes in the human attention system, particularly related to arousal mechanisms and their interaction with emotion. We conclude that distraction that is emotion-based can modulate attention and decision-making abilities and have adverse impacts on driving behavior for several reasons. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experimental Research in Boost Driver with EDLCs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumoto, Hirokazu

The supply used in servo systems tends to have a high voltage in order to reduce loss and improve the response of motor drives. We propose a new boost motor driver that comprises EDLCs. The proposed driver has a simple structure, wherein the EDLCs are connected in series to the supply, and comprises a charge circuit to charge the EDLCs. The proposed driver has three advantages over conventional boost drivers. The first advantage is that the driver can easily attain the stable boost voltage. The second advantage is that the driver can reduce input power peaks. In a servo system, the input power peaks become greater than the rated power in order to accelerate the motor rapidly. This implies that the equipments that supply power to servo systems must have sufficient power capacity to satisfy the power peaks. The proposed driver can suppress the increase of the power capacity of supply facilities. The third advantage is that the driver can store almost all of the regenerative energy. Conventional drivers have a braking resistor to suppress the increase in the DC link voltage. This causes a considerable reduction in the efficiency. The proposed driver is more efficient than conventional drivers. In this study, the experimental results confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed driver and showed that the drive performance of the proposed driver is the same as that of a conventional driver. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the results of the simulation of a model of the EDLC module, whose capacitance is dependent on the frequency, correspond well with the experimental results.

Design of a Fatigue Detection System for High-Speed Trains Based on Driver Vigilance Using a Wireless Wearable EEG.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaoliang; Li, Jiali; Liu, Yugang; Zhang, Zutao; Wang, Zhuojun; Luo, Dianyuan; Zhou, Xiang; Zhu, Miankuan; Salman, Waleed; Hu, Guangdi; Wang, Chunbai

2017-03-01

The vigilance of the driver is important for railway safety, despite not being included in the safety management system (SMS) for high-speed train safety. In this paper, a novel fatigue detection system for high-speed train safety based on monitoring train driver vigilance using a wireless wearable electroencephalograph (EEG) is presented. This system is designed to detect whether the driver is drowsiness. The proposed system consists of three main parts: (1) a wireless wearable EEG collection; (2) train driver vigilance detection; and (3) early warning device for train driver. In the first part, an 8-channel wireless wearable brain-computer interface (BCI) device acquires the locomotive driver's brain EEG signal comfortably under high-speed train-driving conditions. The recorded data are transmitted to a personal computer (PC) via Bluetooth. In the second step, a support vector machine (SVM) classification algorithm is implemented to determine the vigilance level using the Fast Fourier transform (FFT) to extract the EEG power spectrum density (PSD). In addition, an early warning device begins to work if fatigue is detected. The simulation and test results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed fatigue detection system for high-speed train safety.

Attitudes of truck drivers and carriers on the use of electronic logging devices and driver harassment.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-11-01

The research contained herein is an examination of managerial harassment experienced by drivers, and whether harassment is associated with the method used to log hours of service (HOS). Similar information was gathered from a sample of carriers. : Tr...

75 FR 38821 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Application-Alternative Inspection Services (SENTRI...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-06

... Activities: Application-- Alternative Inspection Services (SENTRI Application and FAST Commercial Driver... Form 823S) and the FAST Commercial Driver Application (CBP Form 823F). This request for comment is...: Application--Alternative Inspection Services including the SENTRI Application and the FAST Commercial Driver...

System for memorizing maximum values

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr. (Inventor)

1992-01-01

The invention discloses a system capable of memorizing maximum sensed values. The system includes conditioning circuitry which receives the analog output signal from a sensor transducer. The conditioning circuitry rectifies and filters the analog signal and provides an input signal to a digital driver, which may be either linear or logarithmic. The driver converts the analog signal to discrete digital values, which in turn triggers an output signal on one of a plurality of driver output lines n. The particular output lines selected is dependent on the converted digital value. A microfuse memory device connects across the driver output lines, with n segments. Each segment is associated with one driver output line, and includes a microfuse that is blown when a signal appears on the associated driver output line.

System for memorizing maximum values

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr.

1992-08-01

The invention discloses a system capable of memorizing maximum sensed values. The system includes conditioning circuitry which receives the analog output signal from a sensor transducer. The conditioning circuitry rectifies and filters the analog signal and provides an input signal to a digital driver, which may be either linear or logarithmic. The driver converts the analog signal to discrete digital values, which in turn triggers an output signal on one of a plurality of driver output lines n. The particular output lines selected is dependent on the converted digital value. A microfuse memory device connects across the driver output lines, with n segments. Each segment is associated with one driver output line, and includes a microfuse that is blown when a signal appears on the associated driver output line.

System for Memorizing Maximum Values

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr. (Inventor)

1996-01-01

The invention discloses a system capable of memorizing maximum sensed values. The system includes conditioning circuitry which receives the analog output signal from a sensor transducer. The conditioning circuitry rectifies and filters the analog signal and provides an input signal to a digital driver, which may be either liner or logarithmic. The driver converts the analog signal to discrete digital values, which in turn triggers an output signal on one of a plurality of driver output lines n. The particular output lines selected is dependent on the converted digital value. A microfuse memory device connects across the driver output lines, with n segments. Each segment is associated with one driver output line, and includes a microfuse that is blown when a signal appears on the associated driver output line.

Evaluation of key driver categories influencing sustainable waste management development with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP): Serbia example.

PubMed

Tot, Bojana; Srđević, Bojan; Vujić, Bogdana; Russo, Mário Augusto Tavares; Vujić, Goran

2016-08-01

The problems of waste management have become increasingly complex in recent decades. The increasing amount of generated waste, adopted legislation in the field of waste management, administrative issues, economic impacts and social awareness are important drivers in achieving a sustainable waste management system. However, in practice, there are many other drivers that are often mutually in conflict. The purpose of this research is to define the precise driver and their corresponding sub-drivers, which are relevant for developing a waste management system and, on the basis of their importance, to determine which has the predominant influence on the slow development of a waste management system at the national and regional level, within the Republic of Serbia and similar countries of southeast Europe. This research presents two levels of decision making: the first is a pair-wise comparison of the drivers in relation to the goal and the second is a pair-wise comparison of the sub-drivers in relation to the driver and in relation to the goal. Results of performed analyses on the waste management drivers were integrated via the decision-making process supported by an analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The final results of this research shows that the Institutional-Administrative driver is the most important for developing a sustainable waste management system. © The Author(s) 2016.

Adaptive Capacity and Social-Environmental Change: Theoretical and Operational Modeling of Smallholder Coffee Systems Response in Mesoamerican Pacific Rim

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eakin, Hallie; Bojórquez-Tapia, Luis A.; Diaz, Rafael Monterde; Castellanos, Edwin; Haggar, Jeremy

2011-03-01

Communities who rely directly on the natural environment for their survival typically have developed risk management strategies to enable them to avoid dangerous thresholds of change to their livelihoods. Development policy appropriate for natural resource-based communities requires an understanding of the primary drivers of social-ecological change, the ways in which affected households autonomously respond to such drivers, and the appropriate avenues for intervention to reduce vulnerability. Coffee has been, and still remains, one of the most important commodities of the Mesoamerican region, and hundreds of thousands of smallholder households in the region are dependent in some way on the coffee industry for their livelihood stability. We used the Analytical Network Process to synthesize expert knowledge on the primary drivers of livelihood change in the region as well as the most common household strategies and associated capacities necessary for effective response. The assessment identified both gradual systemic processes as well as specific environmental and market shocks as significant drivers of livelihood change across the region. Agronomic adjustments and new forms of social organization were among the more significant responses of farmers to these changes. The assessment indicates that public interventions in support of adaptation should focus on enhancing farmers' access to market and technical information and finance, as well as on increasing the viability of farmers' organizations and cooperatives.

Adaptive capacity and social-environmental change: theoretical and operational modeling of smallholder coffee systems response in Mesoamerican Pacific Rim.

PubMed

Eakin, Hallie; Bojórquez-Tapia, Luis A; Monterde Diaz, Rafael; Castellanos, Edwin; Haggar, Jeremy

2011-03-01

Communities who rely directly on the natural environment for their survival typically have developed risk management strategies to enable them to avoid dangerous thresholds of change to their livelihoods. Development policy appropriate for natural resource-based communities requires an understanding of the primary drivers of social-ecological change, the ways in which affected households autonomously respond to such drivers, and the appropriate avenues for intervention to reduce vulnerability. Coffee has been, and still remains, one of the most important commodities of the Mesoamerican region, and hundreds of thousands of smallholder households in the region are dependent in some way on the coffee industry for their livelihood stability. We used the Analytical Network Process to synthesize expert knowledge on the primary drivers of livelihood change in the region as well as the most common household strategies and associated capacities necessary for effective response. The assessment identified both gradual systemic processes as well as specific environmental and market shocks as significant drivers of livelihood change across the region. Agronomic adjustments and new forms of social organization were among the more significant responses of farmers to these changes. The assessment indicates that public interventions in support of adaptation should focus on enhancing farmers' access to market and technical information and finance, as well as on increasing the viability of farmers' organizations and cooperatives.

U.S. truck driver anthropometric study and multivariate anthropometric models for cab designs.

PubMed

Guan, Jinhua; Hsiao, Hongwei; Bradtmiller, Bruce; Kau, Tsui-Ying; Reed, Matthew R; Jahns, Steven K; Loczi, Josef; Hardee, H Lenora; Piamonte, Dominic Paul T

2012-10-01

This study presents data from a large-scale anthropometric study of U.S. truck drivers and the multivariate anthropometric models developed for the design of next-generation truck cabs. Up-to-date anthropometric information of the U.S. truck driver population is needed for the design of safe and ergonomically efficient truck cabs. We collected 35 anthropometric dimensions for 1,950 truck drivers (1,779 males and 171 females) across the continental United States using a sampling plan designed to capture the appropriate ethnic, gender, and age distributions of the truck driver population. Truck drivers are heavier than the U.S.general population, with a difference in mean body weight of 13.5 kg for males and 15.4 kg for females. They are also different in physique from the U.S. general population. In addition, the current truck drivers are heavier and different in physique compared to their counterparts of 25 to 30 years ago. The data obtained in this study provide more accurate anthropometric information for cab designs than do the current U.S. general population data or truck driver data collected 25 to 30 years ago. Multivariate anthropometric models, spanning 95% of the current truck driver population on the basis of a set of 12 anthropometric measurements, have been developed to facilitate future cab designs. The up-to-date truck driver anthropometric data and multivariate anthropometric models will benefit the design of future truck cabs which, in turn, will help promote the safety and health of the U.S. truck drivers.

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

PubMed

Wang, Yuan; Bao, Shan; Du, Wenjun; Ye, Zhirui; Sayer, James R

2017-12-01

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. Data from an existing naturalistic driving study were used. Entropy rate was calculated and used to assess the randomness associated with drivers' scanning patterns. A glance-transition proportion matrix was defined to quantity visual search patterns transitioning among four main eye glance locations while driving (i.e., forward on-road, phone, mirrors and others). All measurements were calculated within a 5s time window under both cell phone and non-cell phone use conditions. Results of the glance data analyses showed different patterns between distracted and non-distracted driving, featured by a higher entropy rate value and highly biased attention transferring between forward and phone locations during distracted driving. Drivers in general had higher number of glance transitions, and their on-road glance duration was significantly shorter during distracted driving when compared to non-distracted driving. Results suggest that drivers have a higher scanning randomness/disorder level and shift their main attention from surrounding areas towards phone area when engaging in visual-manual tasks. Drivers' visual search patterns during visual-manual distraction with a high scanning randomness and a high proportion of eye glance transitions towards the location of the phone provide insight into driver distraction detection. This will help to inform the design of in-vehicle human-machine interface/systems. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Evaluation of the operational and demonstration test of short-range weather forecasting decision support within an advanced rural traveler information system

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-11-01

THIS IS THE TECHNICAL SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH REPORT, COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVER FATIOUE AND ALERTNESS STUDY BY WYLIE ET AL., THE LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE OVER-THE-ROAD STUDY ON THIS SUBJECT EVER CONDUCTED IN NORTH AMERICA. THE DATA COLLEC...

Effectiveness and driver acceptance of a semi-autonomous forward obstacle collision avoidance system.

PubMed

Itoh, Makoto; Horikome, Tatsuya; Inagaki, Toshiyuki

2013-09-01

This paper proposes a semi-autonomous collision avoidance system for the prevention of collisions between vehicles and pedestrians and objects on a road. The system is designed to be compatible with the human-centered automation principle, i.e., the decision to perform a maneuver to avoid a collision is made by the driver. However, the system is partly autonomous in that it turns the steering wheel independently when the driver only applies the brake, indicating his or her intent to avoid the obstacle. With a medium-fidelity driving simulator, we conducted an experiment to investigate the effectiveness of this system for improving safety in emergency situations, as well as its acceptance by drivers. The results indicate that the system effectively improves safety in emergency situations, and the semi-autonomous characteristic of the system was found to be acceptable to drivers. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Drivers Impacting the Adoption of Sustainable Agricultural Management Practices and Production Systems of the Northeast and Southeast U.S

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Agricultural production responds to economic, social, environmental, and technological drivers operating both internal and external to the production system. These drivers influence producers’ decision making processes, and act to shape the individual production systems through modification of produ...

Control of autonomous ground vehicles: a brief technical review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babak, Shahian-Jahromi; Hussain, Syed A.; Karakas, Burak; Cetin, Sabri

2017-07-01

This paper presents a brief review of the developments achieved in autonomous vehicle systems technology. A concise history of autonomous driver assistance systems is presented, followed by a review of current state of the art sensor technology used in autonomous vehicles. Standard sensor fusion method that has been recently explored is discussed. Finally, advances in embedded software methodologies that define the logic between sensory information and actuation decisions are reviewed.

78 FR 32001 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Approval of a New Information Collection Request...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-28

... consultants and academic researchers with expertise in the motor carrier industry and survey design...: Driver and Carrier Surveys Related to Electronic Onboard Recorders (EOBRs), and Potential Harassment... the collection of survey data, the issue of driver harassment and determine the extent to which...

49 CFR 384.225 - CDLIS driver recordkeeping.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... operating a CMV. (c) Make CDLIS driver record information required by this section available to the users....231(d). (e) Only the following users or their authorized agents may receive the designated information... procedures. (f) The content of the report provided a user authorized by paragraph (e) of this section from...

78 FR 48540 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Requests for Comments; Clearance of Renewed Approval of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-08

... collection. Background: Information to be collected will focus on pilot, controller, or vehicle driver practices and/or feedback on specific runway safety initiatives, such as training programs, Runway Safety... incursions. Respondents: An estimated 8,900 pilots, aircraft support vehicle drivers, airport/airfield...

Examination of supplemental driver training and online basic driver education courses : traffic tech.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-08-01

The first six months of unsupervised driving are the most : hazardous in a novice drivers driving experience. Most : States adopted graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems : to give novice drivers experience in a protective environment, : gradual...

Understanding the knowledge and attitudes of commercial drivers in Ghana regarding alcohol impaired driving

PubMed Central

Asiamah, G; Mock, C; Blantari, J

2002-01-01

Objectives: The knowledge and attitudes of commercial drivers in Ghana as regards alcohol impaired driving were investigated. This was done in order to provide information that could subsequently be used to develop antidrunk driving social marketing messages built upon the intrinsic values and motivation of these drivers. Methods: Focus group discussions were held with 43 bus and minibus drivers in the capital city, Accra. A structured discussion guide was used to capture information related to values, risk perceptions, leisure time activities, and attitudes on alcohol impaired driving. Results: The majority of drivers expressed an understanding that drunk driving was a significant risk factor for crashes. There was a significant under-appreciation of the extent of the problem, however. Most believed that it was only rare, extremely intoxicated drivers who were the problem. The drivers also had a minimal understanding of the concept of blood alcohol concentration and related legal limits. Despite these factors, there was widespread support for increased enforcement of existing antidrunk driving laws. Conclusions: In Ghana, commercial drivers understand the basic danger of drunk driving and are motivated to assist in antidrunk driving measures. There are misconceptions and deficits in knowledge that need to be addressed in subsequent educational campaigns. PMID:11928975

Real-Time Navigation System Implementation Within the Scope of 3d Geographic Information Systems for Multi Storey CAR Park

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yenigun, B.; Karas, I. R.; Demiral, E.

2016-10-01

Today, a large increase in the number of vehicles in traffic with population growth and economic development are observed. This increase brings with it many problems. One of these problems is the parking problem as a result of the need to park the vehicle. Impractical and inadequate parking areas have a negative impact on drivers. To minimize these drawbacks, car parking is intended to develop a system to come to the aid of users. This system is planned to be developed which can be applied to indoor and multi-storey parking structure. Considered in this study, in the garage, drivers are intended to be directed as soon as possible in place of the convenient parking. However, the amount of fuel spent looking for parking tool that are caused by air and noise pollution, and to search for a parking lot when looking for a place to park the lost time, the resulting stress is minimized, it is expected that.

Economics of human performance and systems total ownership cost.

PubMed

Onkham, Wilawan; Karwowski, Waldemar; Ahram, Tareq Z

2012-01-01

Financial costs of investing in people is associated with training, acquisition, recruiting, and resolving human errors have a significant impact on increased total ownership costs. These costs can also affect the exaggerate budgets and delayed schedules. The study of human performance economical assessment in the system acquisition process enhances the visibility of hidden cost drivers which support program management informed decisions. This paper presents the literature review of human total ownership cost (HTOC) and cost impacts on overall system performance. Economic value assessment models such as cost benefit analysis, risk-cost tradeoff analysis, expected value of utility function analysis (EV), growth readiness matrix, multi-attribute utility technique, and multi-regressions model were introduced to reflect the HTOC and human performance-technology tradeoffs in terms of the dollar value. The human total ownership regression model introduces to address the influencing human performance cost component measurement. Results from this study will increase understanding of relevant cost drivers in the system acquisition process over the long term.

49 CFR 177.816 - Driver training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Driver training. 177.816 Section 177.816... Information and Regulations § 177.816 Driver training. (a) In addition to the training requirements of § 177... employee who will operate a motor vehicle has been trained in the applicable requirements of 49 CFR parts...

49 CFR 177.816 - Driver training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Driver training. 177.816 Section 177.816... Information and Regulations § 177.816 Driver training. (a) In addition to the training requirements of § 177... employee who will operate a motor vehicle has been trained in the applicable requirements of 49 CFR parts...

California's Bus Driver's Training Course. Instructor's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California State Dept. of Education, Sacramento.

This instructor's manual was designed to help graduates of the California Bus Driver Instructor Course provide effective instruction to school bus driver trainees. It contains enough material for 20-30 hours of classroom training. The information is organized in 12 instructional units that cover the following topics: introduction to the course;…

Studying the response of drivers against different collision warning systems: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muzammel, M.; Yusoff, M. Zuki; Malik, A. Saeed; Mohamad Saad, M. Naufal; Meriaudeau, F.

2017-03-01

The number of vehicle accidents is rapidly increasing and causing significant economic losses in many countries. According to the World Health Organization, road accidents will become the fifth major cause of death by the year 2030. To minimize these accidents different types of collision warning systems have been proposed for motor vehicle drivers. These systems can early detect and warn the drivers about the potential danger, up to a certain accuracy. Many researchers study the effectiveness of these systems by using different methods, including Electroencephalography (EEG). From the literature review, it has been observed that, these systems increase the drivers' response and can help to minimize the accidents that may occur due to drivers unconsciousness. For these collision warning systems, tactile early warnings are found more effective as compared to the auditory and visual early warnings. This review also highlights the areas, where further research can be performed to fully analyze the collision warning system. For example, some contradictions are found among researchers, about these systems' performance for drivers within different age groups. Similarly, most of the EEG studies focus on the front collision warning systems and only give beep sound to alert the drivers. Therefore, EEG study can be performed for the rear end collision warning systems, against proper auditory warning messages which indicate the types of hazards. This EEG study will help to design more friendly collision warning system and may save many lives.

Changes in Drivers’ Visual Performance during the Collision Avoidance Process as a Function of Different Field of Views at Intersections

PubMed Central

Yan, Xuedong; Zhang, Xinran; Zhang, Yuting; Li, Xiaomeng; Yang, Zhuo

2016-01-01

The intersection field of view (IFOV) indicates an extent that the visual information can be observed by drivers. It has been found that further enhancing IFOV can significantly improve emergent collision avoidance performance at intersections, such as faster brake reaction time, smaller deceleration rate, and lower traffic crash involvement risk. However, it is not known how IFOV affects drivers’ eye movements, visual attention and the relationship between visual searching and traffic safety. In this study, a driving simulation experiment was conducted to uncover the changes in drivers’ visual performance during the collision avoidance process as a function of different field of views at an intersection by using an eye tracking system. The experimental results showed that drivers’ ability in identifying the potential hazard in terms of visual searching was significantly affected by different IFOV conditions. As the IFOVs increased, drivers had longer gaze duration (GD) and more number of gazes (NG) in the intersection surrounding areas and paid more visual attention to capture critical visual information on the emerging conflict vehicle, thus leading to a better collision avoidance performance and a lower crash risk. It was also found that female drivers had a better visual performance and a lower crash rate than male drivers. From the perspective of drivers’ visual performance, the results strengthened the evidence that further increasing intersection sight distance standards should be encouraged for enhancing traffic safety. PMID:27716824

Panarchy use in environmental science for risk and resilience planning

USGS Publications Warehouse

Angeler, David G.; Allen, Craig R.; Garmestani, Ahjond S.; Gunderson, Lance H.; Linkov, Igor

2016-01-01

Environmental sciences have an important role in informing sustainable management of built environments by providing insights about the drivers and potentially negative impacts of global environmental change. Here, we discuss panarchy theory, a multi-scale hierarchical concept that accounts for the dynamism of complex socio-ecological systems, especially for those systems with strong cross-scale feedbacks. The idea of panarchy underlies much of system resilience, focusing on how systems respond to known and unknown threats. Panarchy theory can provide a framework for qualitative and quantitative research and application in the environmental sciences, which can in turn inform the ongoing efforts in socio-technical resilience thinking and adaptive and transformative approaches to management.

Virtual instrument: remote control and monitoring of an artificial heart driver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, An H.; Farrar, David

1993-07-01

A development of a virtual instrument based on the top-down model approach for an artificial heart driver is presented. Driver parameters and status were being dynamically updated on the virtual system at the remote station. The virtual system allowed the remote operator to interact with the physical heart driver as if he/she were at the local station. Besides use as an effective training tool, the system permits an expert operator to monitor and also control the Thoratec heart driver from a distant location. We believe that the virtual instrument for biomedical devices in general and for the Thoratec heart driver in particular, not only improves system reliability but also opens up a real possibility in reducing medical cost. Utilizing the top-down scheme developed recently for telerobotics, realtime operation in both instrument display and remote communication were possible via a low bandwidth telephone medium.

Decentralized real-time simulation of forest machines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freund, Eckhard; Adam, Frank; Hoffmann, Katharina; Rossmann, Juergen; Kraemer, Michael; Schluse, Michael

2000-10-01

To develop realistic forest machine simulators is a demanding task. A useful simulator has to provide a close- to-reality simulation of the forest environment as well as the simulation of the physics of the vehicle. Customers demand a highly realistic three dimensional forestry landscape and the realistic simulation of the complex motion of the vehicle even in rough terrain in order to be able to use the simulator for operator training under close-to- reality conditions. The realistic simulation of the vehicle, especially with the driver's seat mounted on a motion platform, greatly improves the effect of immersion into the virtual reality of a simulated forest and the achievable level of education of the driver. Thus, the connection of the real control devices of forest machines to the simulation system has to be supported, i.e. the real control devices like the joysticks or the board computer system to control the crane, the aggregate etc. Beyond, the fusion of the board computer system and the simulation system is realized by means of sensors, i.e. digital and analog signals. The decentralized system structure allows several virtual reality systems to evaluate and visualize the information of the control devices and the sensors. So, while the driver is practicing, the instructor can immerse into the same virtual forest to monitor the session from his own viewpoint. In this paper, we are describing the realized structure as well as the necessary software and hardware components and application experiences.

Thermally Activated Driver

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kinard, William H.; Murray, Robert C.; Walsh, Robert F.

1987-01-01

Space-qualified, precise, large-force, thermally activated driver (TAD) developed for use in space on astro-physics experiment to measure abundance of rare actinide-group elements in cosmic rays. Actinide cosmic rays detected using thermally activated driver as heart of event-thermometer (ET) system. Thermal expansion and contraction of silicone oil activates driver. Potential applications in fluid-control systems where precise valve controls are needed.

Lane change warning threshold based on driver perception characteristics.

PubMed

Wang, Chang; Sun, Qinyu; Fu, Rui; Li, Zhen; Zhang, Qiong

2018-08-01

Lane Change Warning system (LCW) is exploited to alleviate driver workload and improve the safety performance of lane changes. Depending on the secure threshold, the lane change warning system could transmit caution to drivers. Although the system possesses substantial benefits, it may perturb the conventional operating of the driver and affect driver judgment if the warning threshold does not conform to the driver perception of safety. Therefore, it is essential to establish an appropriate warning threshold to enhance the accuracy rate and acceptability of the lane change warning system. This research aims to identify the threshold that conforms to the driver perception of the ability to safely change lanes with a rear vehicle fast approaching. We propose a theoretical warning model of lane change based on a safe minimum distance and deceleration of the rear vehicle. For the purpose of acquiring the different safety levels of lane changes, 30 licensed drivers are recruited and we obtain the extreme moments represented by driver perception characteristics from a Front Extremity Test and a Rear Extremity Test implemented on the freeway. The required deceleration of the rear vehicle corresponding to the extreme time is calculated according to the proposed model. In light of discrepancies in the deceleration in these extremity experiments, we determine two levels of a hierarchical warning system. The purpose of the primary warning is to remind drivers of the existence of potentially dangerous vehicles and the second warning is used to warn the driver to stop changing lanes immediately. We use the signal detection theory to analyze the data. Ultimately, we confirm that the first deceleration threshold is 1.5 m/s 2 and the second deceleration threshold is 2.7 m/s 2 . The findings provide the basis for the algorithm design of LCW and enhance the acceptability of the intelligent system. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time to death analysis of road traffic accidents in relation to delta V, drunk driving, and restraint systems.

PubMed

Ju, Yonghan; Sohn, So Young

2014-01-01

The main goal of this research is to identify variables related to the expected time to death due to road traffic accidents (RTAs). Such research is expected to be useful in improving safety laws and regulations and developing new safety systems. The resulting information is crucial not only for reducing accident fatalities but for assessing related insurance policies. In this article, we analyze factors that are potentially associated with variation in the expected survival time after a road traffic accident using Weibull regression. In particular, we consider the association with alcohol involvement, delta V, and restraint systems. Our empirical results, obtained based on the NASS-CDS, indicate that the expected survival time for non-alcohol-impaired drivers is 3.23 times longer at a delta V of 50 km/h than that for alcohol-impaired drivers under the same conditions. In addition, it was observed that, even when occupants were alcohol-impaired, if they were protected by both air bags and seat belts, their expected survival time after an RTA increased 2.59-fold compared to alcohol-impaired drivers who used only seat belts. Our findings may be useful in improving road traffic safety and insurance policies by offering insights into the factors that reduce fatalities.

Driver Behavioral Changes through Interactions with an Automatic Brake System for Collision Avoidance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itoh, Makoto; Fujiwara, Yusuke; Inagaki, Toshiyuki

This paper discusses driver's behavioral changes as a result of driver's use of an automatic brake system for preventing a rear-end collision from occurring. Three types of automatic brake systems are investigated in this study. Type 1 brake system applies a strong automatic brake when a collision is very imminent. Type 2 brake system initiates brake operation softly when a rear-end crash may be anticipated. Types 1 and 2 are for avoidance of a collision. Type 3 brake system, on the other hand, applies a strong automatic brake to reduce the damage when a collision can not be avoided. An experiment was conducted with a driving simulator in order to analyze the driver's possible behavioral changes. The results showed that the time headway (THW) during car following phase was reduced by use of an automatic brake system of any type. The inverse of time to collision (TTC), which is an index of the driver's brake timing, increased by use of Type 1 brake system when the deceleration rate of the lead vehicle was relatively low. However, the brake timing did not change when the drivers used Type 2 or 3 brake system. As a whole, dangerous behavioral changes, such as overreliance on a brake system, were not observed for either type of brake system.

Development of the physics driver in NOAA Environmental Modeling System (NEMS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, H.; Iredell, M.; Tripp, P.

2016-12-01

As a key component of the Next Generation Global Prediction System (NGGPS), a physics driver is developed in the NOAA Environmental Modeling System (NEMS) in order to facilitate the research, development, and transition to operations of innovations in atmospheric physical parameterizations. The physics driver connects the atmospheric dynamic core, the Common Community Physics Package and the other NEMS-based forecast components (land, ocean, sea ice, wave, and space weather). In current global forecasting system, the physics driver has incorporated major existing physics packages including radiation, surface physics, cloud and microphysics, ozone, and stochastic physics. The physics driver is also applicable to external physics packages. The structure adjustment in NEMS by separating the PHYS trunk is to create an open physics package pool. This open platform is beneficial to the enhancement of U.S. weather forecast ability. In addition, with the universal physics driver, the NEMS can also be used for specific functions by connecting external target physics packages through physics driver. The test of its function is to connect a physics dust-radiation model in the system. Then the modified system can be used for dust storm prediction and forecast. The physics driver is also developed into a standalone form. This is to facilitate the development works on physics packages. The developers can save instant fields of meteorology data and snapshots from the running system , and then used them as offline driving data fields to test the new individual physics modules or small modifications to current modules. This prevents the run of whole system for every test.

Ontology-Based Architecture for Intelligent Transportation Systems Using a Traffic Sensor Network.

PubMed

Fernandez, Susel; Hadfi, Rafik; Ito, Takayuki; Marsa-Maestre, Ivan; Velasco, Juan R

2016-08-15

Intelligent transportation systems are a set of technological solutions used to improve the performance and safety of road transportation. A crucial element for the success of these systems is the exchange of information, not only between vehicles, but also among other components in the road infrastructure through different applications. One of the most important information sources in this kind of systems is sensors. Sensors can be within vehicles or as part of the infrastructure, such as bridges, roads or traffic signs. Sensors can provide information related to weather conditions and traffic situation, which is useful to improve the driving process. To facilitate the exchange of information between the different applications that use sensor data, a common framework of knowledge is needed to allow interoperability. In this paper an ontology-driven architecture to improve the driving environment through a traffic sensor network is proposed. The system performs different tasks automatically to increase driver safety and comfort using the information provided by the sensors.

Ontology-Based Architecture for Intelligent Transportation Systems Using a Traffic Sensor Network

PubMed Central

Fernandez, Susel; Hadfi, Rafik; Ito, Takayuki; Marsa-Maestre, Ivan; Velasco, Juan R.

2016-01-01

Intelligent transportation systems are a set of technological solutions used to improve the performance and safety of road transportation. A crucial element for the success of these systems is the exchange of information, not only between vehicles, but also among other components in the road infrastructure through different applications. One of the most important information sources in this kind of systems is sensors. Sensors can be within vehicles or as part of the infrastructure, such as bridges, roads or traffic signs. Sensors can provide information related to weather conditions and traffic situation, which is useful to improve the driving process. To facilitate the exchange of information between the different applications that use sensor data, a common framework of knowledge is needed to allow interoperability. In this paper an ontology-driven architecture to improve the driving environment through a traffic sensor network is proposed. The system performs different tasks automatically to increase driver safety and comfort using the information provided by the sensors. PMID:27537878

Risk of thoracic injury from direct steering wheel impact in frontal crashes.

PubMed

Chen, Rong; Gabler, Hampton C

2014-06-01

The combination of airbag and seat belt is considered to be the most effective vehicle safety system. However, despite the widespread availability of airbags and a belt use rate of more than 85%, US drivers involved in crashes continue to be at risk of serious thoracic injury. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of steering wheel deformation on driver injury risk in frontal automobile crash. The analysis is based on cases extracted from the National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System database for case years 1993 to 2011. The approach was to compare the adjusted odds of frontal crash injury experienced by drivers in vehicles with and without steering wheel deformation. Among frontal crash cases with belted drivers, observable steering wheel deformation occurred in less than 4% of all cases but accounted for 30% of belted drivers with serious (Abbreviated Injury Scale [AIS] score, 3+) thoracic injuries. Similarly, steering wheel deformation occurred in approximately 13% of unbelted drivers but accounted for 60% of unbelted drivers with serious thoracic injuries. Belted drivers in frontal crashes with steering wheel deformation were found to have two times greater odds of serious thoracic injury. Unbelted drivers were found to have four times greater odds of serious thoracic injury in crashes with steering wheel deformation. In frontal crashes, steering wheel deformation was more likely to occur in unbelted drivers than belted drivers, as well as higher severity crashes and with heavier drivers. The results of the present study show that airbag deployment and seat belt restraint do not completely eliminate the possibility of steering wheel contact. Even with the most advanced restraint systems, there remains an opportunity for further reduction in thoracic injury by continued enhancement to the seat belt and airbag systems. Furthermore, the results showed that steering wheel deformation is an indicator of potential serious thoracic injury and can be useful to prehospital personnel in improving the diagnosis of serious injuries. Prognostic study, level III.

Road Anomalies Detection System Evaluation.

PubMed

Silva, Nuno; Shah, Vaibhav; Soares, João; Rodrigues, Helena

2018-06-21

Anomalies on road pavement cause discomfort to drivers and passengers, and may cause mechanical failure or even accidents. Governments spend millions of Euros every year on road maintenance, often causing traffic jams and congestion on urban roads on a daily basis. This paper analyses the difference between the deployment of a road anomalies detection and identification system in a “conditioned” and a real world setup, where the system performed worse compared to the “conditioned” setup. It also presents a system performance analysis based on the analysis of the training data sets; on the analysis of the attributes complexity, through the application of PCA techniques; and on the analysis of the attributes in the context of each anomaly type, using acceleration standard deviation attributes to observe how different anomalies classes are distributed in the Cartesian coordinates system. Overall, in this paper, we describe the main insights on road anomalies detection challenges to support the design and deployment of a new iteration of our system towards the deployment of a road anomaly detection service to provide information about roads condition to drivers and government entities.

Use, perceptions, and benefits of automotive technologies among aging drivers.

PubMed

Eby, David W; Molnar, Lisa J; Zhang, Liang; St Louis, Renée M; Zanier, Nicole; Kostyniuk, Lidia P; Stanciu, Sergiu

2016-12-01

Advanced in-vehicle technologies have been proposed as a potential way to keep older adults driving for as long as they can safely do so, by taking into account the common declines in functional abilities experienced by older adults. The purpose of this report was to synthesize the knowledge about older drivers and advanced in-vehicle technologies, focusing on three areas: use (how older drivers use these technologies), perception (what they think about the technologies), and outcomes (the safety and/or comfort benefits of the technologies). Twelve technologies were selected for review and grouped into three categories: crash avoidance systems (lane departure warning, curve speed warning, forward collision warning, blind spot warning, parking assistance); in-vehicle information systems (navigation assistance, intelligent speed adaptation); and other systems (adaptive cruise control, automatic crash notification, night vision enhancement, adaptive headlight, voice activated control). A comprehensive and systematic search was conducted for each technology to collect related publications. 271 articles were included into the final review. Research findings for each of the 12 technologies are synthesized in relation to how older adults use and think about the technologies as well as potential benefits. These results are presented separately for each technology. Can advanced in-vehicle technologies help extend the period over which an older adult can drive safely? This report answers this question with an optimistic "yes." Some of the technologies reviewed in this report have been shown to help older drivers avoid crashes, improve the ease and comfort of driving, and travel to places and at times that they might normally avoid.

Detecting Driver Drowsiness Based on Sensors: A Review

PubMed Central

Sahayadhas, Arun; Sundaraj, Kenneth; Murugappan, Murugappan

2012-01-01

In recent years, driver drowsiness has been one of the major causes of road accidents and can lead to severe physical injuries, deaths and significant economic losses. Statistics indicate the need of a reliable driver drowsiness detection system which could alert the driver before a mishap happens. Researchers have attempted to determine driver drowsiness using the following measures: (1) vehicle-based measures; (2) behavioral measures and (3) physiological measures. A detailed review on these measures will provide insight on the present systems, issues associated with them and the enhancements that need to be done to make a robust system. In this paper, we review these three measures as to the sensors used and discuss the advantages and limitations of each. The various ways through which drowsiness has been experimentally manipulated is also discussed. We conclude that by designing a hybrid drowsiness detection system that combines non-intusive physiological measures with other measures one would accurately determine the drowsiness level of a driver. A number of road accidents might then be avoided if an alert is sent to a driver that is deemed drowsy. PMID:23223151

Central American information system for energy planning (in English; Spanish)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fonseca, M.G.; Lyon, P.C.; Heskett, J.C.

1991-04-01

SICAPE (Sistema de Information Centroamericano para Planificacion Energetica) is an expandable information system designed for energy planning. Its objective is to satisfy ongoing information requirements by means of a menu driver operational environment. SICAPE is as easily used by the novice computer user as those with more experience. Moreover, the system is capable of evolving concurrently with future requirements of the individual country. The expansion is accomplished by menu restructuring as data and user requirements change. The new menu configurations require no programming effort. The use and modification of SICAPE are separate menu-driven processes that allow for rapid data query,more » minimal training, and effortless continued growth. SICAPE's data is organized by country or region. Information is available in the following areas: energy balance, macro economics, electricity generation capacity, and electricity and petroleum product pricing. (JF)« less

Jerky driving--An indicator of accident proneness?

PubMed

Bagdadi, Omar; Várhelyi, András

2011-07-01

This study uses continuously logged driving data from 166 private cars to derive the level of jerks caused by the drivers during everyday driving. The number of critical jerks found in the data is analysed and compared with the self-reported accident involvement of the drivers. The results show that the expected number of accidents for a driver increases with the number of critical jerks caused by the driver. Jerk analyses make it possible to identify safety critical driving behaviour or "accident prone" drivers. They also facilitate the development of safety measures such as active safety systems or advanced driver assistance systems, ADAS, which could be adapted for specific groups of drivers or specific risky driving behaviour. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Truck driver informational overload, fiscal year 1992. Final report, 1 July 1991-30 September 1992

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

MacAdam, C.C.

1992-09-01

The document represents the final project report for a study entitled 'Truck Driver Informational Overload' sponsored by the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association through its Motor Truck Research Committee and associated Operations/Performance Panels. As stated in an initial project statement, the objective of the work was to provide guidance for developing methods for measuring driving characteristics during information processing tasks. The contents of the report contain results from two basic project activities: (1) a literature review on multiple task performance driver information overload, and (2) a description of driving simulator side-task experiments and a discussion of findings from tests conducted withmore » eight subjects. Two of the key findings from a set of disturbance-input tests conducted with the simulator and the eight test subjects were that: (1) standard deviations of vehicle lateral position and heading (yaw) angle measurements showed the greatest sensitivity to the presence of side-task activities during basic information processing tasks, and (2) corresponding standard deviations of driver steering activity, vehicle yaw rate, and lateral acceleration measurements were seen to be largely insensitive indicators of side-task activity.« less

The effect of varying levels of vehicle automation on drivers' lane changing behaviour.

PubMed

Madigan, Ruth; Louw, Tyron; Merat, Natasha

2018-01-01

Much of the Human Factors research into vehicle automation has focused on driver responses to critical scenarios where a crash might occur. However, there is less knowledge about the effects of vehicle automation on drivers' behaviour during non-critical take-over situations, such as driver-initiated lane-changing or overtaking. The current driving simulator study, conducted as part of the EC-funded AdaptIVe project, addresses this issue. It uses a within-subjects design to compare drivers' lane-changing behaviour in conventional manual driving, partially automated driving (PAD) and conditionally automated driving (CAD). In PAD, drivers were required to re-take control from an automated driving system in order to overtake a slow moving vehicle, while in CAD, the driver used the indicator lever to initiate a system-performed overtaking manoeuvre. Results showed that while drivers' acceptance of both the PAD and CAD systems was high, they generally preferred CAD. A comparison of overtaking positions showed that drivers initiated overtaking manoeuvres slightly later in PAD than in manual driving or CAD. In addition, when compared to conventional driving, drivers had higher deviations in lane positioning and speed, along with higher lateral accelerations during lane changes following PAD. These results indicate that even in situations which are not time-critical, drivers' vehicle control after automation is degraded compared to conventional driving.

Cedar Avenue driver assist system evaluation report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-12-01

This paper summarizes an evaluation of the Driver Assist System (DAS) used by the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MTVA) for bus shoulder operations. The DAS is a GPS-based technology suite that provides lane-position feedback to the driver via a ...

The Impact of Emerging Electronic Highway Control Systems on Motorist Information Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huchingson, R. Dale; Dudek, Conrad L.

1974-01-01

Advanced forms of electronic and computerized control systems are being developed to optimize traffic flow in and between cities. Modern technology permits communication of real-time information via signs and auditory messages and allows motorists to plan ahead for safer and more efficient travel. This paper describes an on-going research program for defining drivers' information needs and behavior in response to various message types and modes of presentation. Human engineer design criteria for real-time displays will be investigated in the laboratory and in research vehicles with field testing in actual city corridors. The results will be incorporated into a design handbook for use by sign design engineers.

Higher Education Cost Drivers, Including Two Hidden Ones with Cost Containment Possibilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Micceri, Ted

Identifying higher education cost drivers and working to limit their effects appears to be a necessity if higher education is to retain the support historically allocated by society. Costs occur for three groups: students, institutions, and society. This paper summarizes information about cost drivers in higher education and identifies two that…

6 CFR 37.19 - Machine readable technology on the driver's license or identification card.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., States must use the ISO/IEC 15438:2006(E) Information Technology—Automatic identification and data... 6 Domestic Security 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Machine readable technology on the driver's..., Verification, and Card Issuance Requirements § 37.19 Machine readable technology on the driver's license or...

6 CFR 37.19 - Machine readable technology on the driver's license or identification card.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., States must use the ISO/IEC 15438:2006(E) Information Technology—Automatic identification and data... 6 Domestic Security 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Machine readable technology on the driver's..., Verification, and Card Issuance Requirements § 37.19 Machine readable technology on the driver's license or...

A novel active heads-up display for driver assistance.

PubMed

Doshi, Anup; Cheng, Shinko Yuanhsien; Trivedi, Mohan Manubhai

2009-02-01

In this paper, we introduce a novel laser-based wide-area heads-up windshield display which is capable of actively interfacing with a human as part of a driver assistance system. The dynamic active display (DAD) is a unique prototype interface that presents safety-critical visual icons to the driver in a manner that minimizes the deviation of his or her gaze direction without adding to unnecessary visual clutter. As part of an automotive safety system, the DAD presents alerts in the field of view of the driver only if necessary, which is based upon the state and pose of the driver, vehicle, and environment. This paper examines the effectiveness of DAD through a comprehensive comparative experimental evaluation of a speed compliance driver assistance system, which is implemented on a vehicular test bed. Three different types of display protocols for assisting a driver to comply with speed limits are tested on actual roadways, and these are compared with a conventional dashboard display. Given the inclination, drivers who are given an overspeed warning alert reduced the time required to slow down to the speed limit by 38% (p < 0.01) as compared with the drivers not given the alert. Additionally, certain alerts decreased distraction levels by reducing the time spent looking away from the road by 63% (p < 0.01). Ultimately, these alerts demonstrate the utility and promise of the DAD system.

Eye movement and brake reactions to real world brake-capacity forward collision warnings--a naturalistic driving study.

PubMed

Wege, Claudia; Will, Sebastian; Victor, Trent

2013-09-01

The purpose of this field operational test study is to assess visual attention allocation and brake reactions in response to a brake-capacity forward collision warning (B-FCW), which is designed similarly to all forward collision warnings on the market for trucks. Truck drivers' reactions immediately after the warning (threat-period) as well as a few seconds after the warning (post-threat-recovery-period) are analyzed, both with and without taking into consideration the predictability of an event and driver distraction. A B-FCW system interface should immediately direct visual attention toward the threat and allow the driver to make a quick decision about whether or not to brake. To investigate eye movement reactions, we analyzed glances 30s before and 15s after 60 naturally occurring collision warning events. The B-FCW events were extracted from the Volvo euroFOT database, which contains data from 30 Volvo trucks driving for approximately 40000 h for four million kilometers. Statistical analyses show that a B-FCW leads to immediate attention allocation toward the roadway and drivers hit the brake. In addition to this intended effect during the threat-period, a rather unexpected effect within the post-threat-recovery-period was discovered in unpredictable events and events with distracted drivers. A few seconds after a warning is issued, eye movements are directed away from the road toward the warning source in the instrument cluster. This potentially indicates that the driver is seeking to understand the circumstances of the warning. Potential reasons for this are discussed: properties relating to the termination of the warning information, the position of the visual and/or audio warning, the conspicuity of the warning, the duration of the warning, and the modality of the warning. The present results are particularly valuable because all on-market collision warning systems in trucks (and almost all in cars) involve visual warnings positioned in the instrument cluster like the one in this study. Acknowledging the fact that human machine interface (HMI)-design is challenging, the conclusions lead the way toward HMI design recommendations for collision warning systems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Driver trust in five driver assistance technologies following real-world use in four production vehicles.

PubMed

Kidd, David G; Cicchino, Jessica B; Reagan, Ian J; Kerfoot, Laura B

2017-05-29

Information about drivers' experiences with driver assistance technologies in real driving conditions is sparse. This study characterized driver interactions with forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, active lane keeping, side-view assist, and lane departure warning systems following real-world use. Fifty-four Insurance Institute for Highway Safety employees participated and drove a 2016 Toyota Prius, 2016 Honda Civic, 2017 Audi Q7, or 2016 Infiniti QX60 for up to several weeks. Participants reported mileage and warnings from the technologies in an online daily-use survey. Participants reported their level of agreement with five statements regarding trust in an online post-use survey. Responses were averaged to create a composite measure of trust ranging from -2 (strongly disagree) to +2 (strongly agree) for each technology. Mixed-effect regression models were constructed to compare trust among technologies and separately among the study vehicles. Participants' free-response answers about what they liked least about each system were coded and examined. Participants reported driving 33,584 miles during 4 months of data collection. At least one forward collision warning was reported in 26% of the 354 daily reports. The proportion of daily reports indicating a forward collision warning was much larger for the Honda (70%) than for the Audi (18%), Infiniti (15%), and Toyota (10%). Trust was highest for side-view assist (0.98) and lowest for active lane keeping (0.20). Trust in side-view assist was significantly higher than trust in active lane keeping and lane departure warning (0.53). Trust in active lane keeping was significantly lower than trust in adaptive cruise control (0.67) and forward collision warning (0.71). Trust in adaptive cruise control was higher for the Audi (0.72) and Toyota (0.75) compared with the Honda (0.30), and significantly higher for the Infiniti (0.93). Trust in Infiniti's side-view assist (0.58) was significantly lower than trust in Audi (1.17) and Honda (1.23) systems. Coding of answers to free-response questions showed that more than 80% of complaints about Honda's adaptive cruise control were about the way it functioned and/or performed. Infiniti's side-view assist was the only one with complaints mentioning circumstances where it was used. Trust in forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and active lane keeping was not significantly different among vehicles. Driver trust varied among driver assistance technologies, and trust in adaptive cruise control and side-view assist differed among vehicles. Trust may affect real-world use of driver assistance technologies and limit the opportunity for the systems to provide their intended benefits.

Smart Roadside System for Driver Assistance and Safety Warnings: Framework and Applications

PubMed Central

Jang, Jeong Ah; Kim, Hyun Suk; Cho, Han Byeog

2011-01-01

The use of newly emerging sensor technologies in traditional roadway systems can provide real-time traffic services to drivers through Telematics and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITSs). This paper introduces a smart roadside system that utilizes various sensors for driver assistance and traffic safety warnings. This paper shows two road application models for a smart roadside system and sensors: a red-light violation warning system for signalized intersections, and a speed advisory system for highways. Evaluation results for the two services are then shown using a micro-simulation method. In the given real-time applications for drivers, the framework and certain algorithms produce a very efficient solution with respect to the roadway type features and sensor type use. PMID:22164025

Assessment of a drowsy driver warning system for heavy-vehicle drivers : final report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-04-01

Drowsiness has a globally negative impact on performance, slowing reaction time, decreasing situational awareness, and impairing judgment. A field operational test of an early prototype Drowsy Driver Warning System was conducted as a result of 12 yea...

Driver face recognition as a security and safety feature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vetter, Volker; Giefing, Gerd-Juergen; Mai, Rudolf; Weisser, Hubert

1995-09-01

We present a driver face recognition system for comfortable access control and individual settings of automobiles. The primary goals are the prevention of car thefts and heavy accidents caused by unauthorized use (joy-riders), as well as the increase of safety through optimal settings, e.g. of the mirrors and the seat position. The person sitting on the driver's seat is observed automatically by a small video camera in the dashboard. All he has to do is to behave cooperatively, i.e. to look into the camera. A classification system validates his access. Only after a positive identification, the car can be used and the driver-specific environment (e.g. seat position, mirrors, etc.) may be set up to ensure the driver's comfort and safety. The driver identification system has been integrated in a Volkswagen research car. Recognition results are presented.

Broadband vehicle-to-vehicle communication using an extended autonomous cruise control sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heddebaut, M.; Rioult, J.; Ghys, J. P.; Gransart, Ch; Ambellouis, S.

2005-06-01

For several years road vehicle autonomous cruise control (ACC) systems as well as anti-collision radar have been developed. Several manufacturers currently sell this equipment. The current generation of ACC sensors only track the first preceding vehicle to deduce its speed and position. These data are then used to compute, manage and optimize a safety distance between vehicles, thus providing some assistance to car drivers. However, in real conditions, to elaborate and update a real time driving solution, car drivers use information about speed and position of preceding and following vehicles. This information is essentially perceived using the driver's eyes, binocular stereoscopic vision performed through the windscreens and rear-view mirrors. Furthermore, within a line of vehicles, the frontal road perception of the first vehicle is very particular and highly significant. Currently, all these available data remain strictly on-board the vehicle that has captured the perception information and performed these measurements. To get the maximum effectiveness of all these approaches, we propose that this information be shared in real time with the following vehicles, within the convoy. On the basis of these considerations, this paper technically explores a cost-effective solution to extend the basic ACC sensor function in order to simultaneously provide a vehicle-to-vehicle radio link. This millimetre wave radio link transmits relevant broadband perception data (video, localization...) to following vehicles, along the line of vehicles. The propagation path between the vehicles uses essentially grazing angles of incidence of signals over the road surface including millimetre wave paths beneath the cars.

Holding on and letting go: the perspectives of pre-seniors and seniors on driving self-regulation in later life.

PubMed

Rudman, Deborah Laliberte; Friedland, Judith; Chipman, Mary; Sciortino, Paola

2006-01-01

Although decisions related to driving are vital to well-being in later life, little is known about how aging drivers who do not experience a medical condition that requires driving cessation regulate their driving. This exploratory, qualitative study used focus groups with 79 such community-dwelling individuals to examine driving self-regulation from the perspective of pre-senior (aged 55-64) drivers, senior (aged 65 years or over) drivers, and senior ex-drivers. Themes resulting from inductive analysis addressed the importance of driving, mechanisms of self-monitoring and self-regulation, people who influenced decision making, and opinions regarding licensing regulations. A preliminary model of the process of self-regulation that highlights intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental influences on why, how, and when aging drivers adapt or cease driving is presented. The model identifies areas for future research to enhance understanding of this process, including the effectiveness of self-regulation. Findings suggest that increased public awareness of issues related to driving and aging could assist aging drivers, their families, and their family physicians in optimizing driving safety for this population. Since a near accident or accident was seen as the only factor that would lead many informants to stop driving and few informants planned for driving cessation, there is a need for interventions that help aging drivers make the transition to ex-driver in a timely and personally acceptable way.

Device Driver Safety Through a Reference Validation Mechanism

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-01

microkernels and other research operat- ing systems [2, 9, 21, 24] run device drivers in user space ∗Supported by NICECAP cooperative agreement FA8750...device driver architecture in the Nexus trusted operating system [28], which has many similarities to traditional microkernels , including hardware... microkernel operating sys- tems, every flaw in a device driver is a potential secu- rity hole given the absence of mechanisms to contain the (mis

The use of technology to address patterns of risk among teenage drivers.

PubMed

Brovold, Shawn; Ward, Nic; Donath, Max; Simon, Stephen; Shankwitz, Craig; Creaser, Janet

2007-01-01

The crash risk of teens is high, with fatal crash rates of teen drivers higher than any other age group. New approaches to reduce teen traffic fatalities are clearly needed. A possible approach to reduce the incidence of teen driver crashes and fatalities is through the use of vehicle-based intelligent driver support systems. To be most effective, the system should address the behaviors associated with an overwhelming number of teen fatal crashes: speed, low seatbelt use, and alcohol impairment. In-vehicle technology also offers an opportunity to address the issue of inexperience through enforcement of certain Graduated Driver's License provisions. To fully understand the capability of such technologies, there should be a concerted effort to further their development, and human factors testing should take place to understand their effects on the driver. If successfully implemented, a Teen Driver Support System (TDSS), such as the one described here, could significantly decrease the number of teens killed in traffic crashes.

Drivers' communicative interactions: on-road observations and modelling for integration in future automation systems.

PubMed

Portouli, Evangelia; Nathanael, Dimitris; Marmaras, Nicolas

2014-01-01

Social interactions with other road users are an essential component of the driving activity and may prove critical in view of future automation systems; still up to now they have received only limited attention in the scientific literature. In this paper, it is argued that drivers base their anticipations about the traffic scene to a large extent on observations of social behaviour of other 'animate human-vehicles'. It is further argued that in cases of uncertainty, drivers seek to establish a mutual situational awareness through deliberate communicative interactions. A linguistic model is proposed for modelling these communicative interactions. Empirical evidence from on-road observations and analysis of concurrent running commentary by 25 experienced drivers support the proposed model. It is suggested that the integration of a social interactions layer based on illocutionary acts in future driving support and automation systems will improve their performance towards matching human driver's expectations. Practitioner Summary: Interactions between drivers on the road may play a significant role in traffic coordination. On-road observations and running commentaries are presented as empirical evidence to support a model of such interactions; incorporation of drivers' interactions in future driving support and automation systems may improve their performance towards matching driver's expectations.

Substance use and social, health and safety-related factors among fatally injured drivers.

PubMed

Karjalainen, Karoliina; Blencowe, Tom; Lillsunde, Pirjo

2012-03-01

The aim of this study was to examine different socio-demographic, health and safety-related factors, and psychoactive substance use among fatally injured drivers in road traffic accidents in Finland during 2006-2008. An accident information register maintained by the Traffic Safety Committee of Insurance Companies (VALT) of the Finnish Motor Insurers' Centre was used as basic data, and the basic data were complemented with further toxicological analytical information retrieved from autopsy reports from the Department of Forensic Medicine, Helsinki University. The data included all the drivers (n=556) who were driving a motor vehicle and who died in a road traffic accident in Finland during 2006-2008. Of all the 556 fatally injured drivers 43% (n=238) had psychoactive substance findings. 51% (n=121) of substance positive drivers had a finding for alcohol only, the rest had a finding for one or more illicit/medicinal drugs impairing driving ability, and possibly also alcohol. Fatally injured drivers with alcohol findings were significantly younger (mean age 34 years) than sober drivers (mean age 44 years) or drivers with findings for drugs (mean age 45 years). Socio-demographic background did not differ substantially among drunken/drugged and sober drivers, although drivers with alcohol findings had a slightly lower education and socioeconomic position. Previous substance abuse problems were highly prevalent among drivers with substance findings and mental or both mental and physical health problems were more common among drivers with drug findings. The non-use of safety equipment and driving at a high speed were more common among fatally injured drivers with substance findings. Substance abuse and mental health problems, as well as reckless driving behavior were more pronounced among fatally injured drivers with substance findings when compared to sober drivers. Thus, prevention and early intervention concerning substance abuse, mental health problems and DUI are essential. Improved traffic safety cannot be achieved by means of traffic policy only, but integration with other policies, such as health and social policy should be strengthened. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recognition of Damaged Arrow-Road Markings by Visible Light Camera Sensor Based on Convolutional Neural Network.

PubMed

Vokhidov, Husan; Hong, Hyung Gil; Kang, Jin Kyu; Hoang, Toan Minh; Park, Kang Ryoung

2016-12-16

Automobile driver information as displayed on marked road signs indicates the state of the road, traffic conditions, proximity to schools, etc. These signs are important to insure the safety of the driver and pedestrians. They are also important input to the automated advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), installed in many automobiles. Over time, the arrow-road markings may be eroded or otherwise damaged by automobile contact, making it difficult for the driver to correctly identify the marking. Failure to properly identify an arrow-road marker creates a dangerous situation that may result in traffic accidents or pedestrian injury. Very little research exists that studies the problem of automated identification of damaged arrow-road marking painted on the road. In this study, we propose a method that uses a convolutional neural network (CNN) to recognize six types of arrow-road markings, possibly damaged, by visible light camera sensor. Experimental results with six databases of Road marking dataset, KITTI dataset, Málaga dataset 2009, Málaga urban dataset, Naver street view dataset, and Road/Lane detection evaluation 2013 dataset, show that our method outperforms conventional methods.

Recognition of Damaged Arrow-Road Markings by Visible Light Camera Sensor Based on Convolutional Neural Network

PubMed Central

Vokhidov, Husan; Hong, Hyung Gil; Kang, Jin Kyu; Hoang, Toan Minh; Park, Kang Ryoung

2016-01-01

Automobile driver information as displayed on marked road signs indicates the state of the road, traffic conditions, proximity to schools, etc. These signs are important to insure the safety of the driver and pedestrians. They are also important input to the automated advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), installed in many automobiles. Over time, the arrow-road markings may be eroded or otherwise damaged by automobile contact, making it difficult for the driver to correctly identify the marking. Failure to properly identify an arrow-road marker creates a dangerous situation that may result in traffic accidents or pedestrian injury. Very little research exists that studies the problem of automated identification of damaged arrow-road marking painted on the road. In this study, we propose a method that uses a convolutional neural network (CNN) to recognize six types of arrow-road markings, possibly damaged, by visible light camera sensor. Experimental results with six databases of Road marking dataset, KITTI dataset, Málaga dataset 2009, Málaga urban dataset, Naver street view dataset, and Road/Lane detection evaluation 2013 dataset, show that our method outperforms conventional methods. PMID:27999301

Trends in teen driver licensure, driving patterns and crash involvement in the United States, 2006-2015.

PubMed

Shults, Ruth A; Williams, Allan F

2017-09-01

The Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey provides nationally-representative annual estimates of licensure and driving patterns among U.S. teens. A previous study using MTF data reported substantial declines in the proportion of high school seniors that were licensed to drive and increases in the proportion of nondrivers following the recent U.S. economic recession. To explore whether licensure and driving patterns among U.S. high school seniors have rebounded in the post-recession years, we analyzed MTF licensure and driving data for the decade of 2006-2015. We also examined trends in teen driver involvement in fatal and nonfatal injury crashes for that decade using data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System, respectively. During 2006-2015, the proportion of high school seniors that reported having a driver's license declined by 9 percentage points (11%) from 81% to 72% and the proportion that did not drive during an average week increased by 8 percentage points (44%) from 18% to 26%. The annual proportion of black seniors that did not drive was consistently greater than twice the proportion of nondriving white seniors. Overall during the decade, 17- and 18-year-old drivers experienced large declines in fatal and nonfatal injury crashes, although crashes increased in both 2014 and 2015. The MTF data indicate that licensure and driving patterns among U.S. high school seniors have not rebounded since the economic recession. The recession had marked negative effects on teen employment opportunities, which likely influenced teen driving patterns. Possible explanations for the apparent discrepancies between the MTF data and the 2014 and 2015 increases in crashes are explored. MTF will continue to be an important resource for clarifying teen driving trends in relation to crash trends and informing strategies to improve teen driver safety. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Keep the driver in control: Automating automobiles of the future.

PubMed

Banks, Victoria A; Stanton, Neville A

2016-03-01

Automated automobiles will be on our roads within the next decade but the role of the driver has not yet been formerly recognised or designed. Rather, the driver is often left in a passive monitoring role until they are required to reclaim control from the vehicle. This research aimed to test the idea of driver-initiated automation, in which the automation offers decision support that can be either accepted or ignored. The test case examined a combination of lateral and longitudinal control in addition to an auto-overtake system. Despite putting the driver in control of the automated systems by enabling them to accept or ignore behavioural suggestions (e.g. overtake), there were still issues associated with increased workload and decreased trust. These issues are likely to have arisen due to the way in which the automated system has been designed. Recommendations for improvements in systems design have been made which are likely to improve trust and make the role of the driver more transparent concerning their authority over the automated system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Detection of driver metabolites in the human liver metabolic network using structural controllability analysis

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Abnormal states in human liver metabolism are major causes of human liver diseases ranging from hepatitis to hepatic tumor. The accumulation in relevant data makes it feasible to derive a large-scale human liver metabolic network (HLMN) and to discover important biological principles or drug-targets based on network analysis. Some studies have shown that interesting biological phenomenon and drug-targets could be discovered by applying structural controllability analysis (which is a newly prevailed concept in networks) to biological networks. The exploration on the connections between structural controllability theory and the HLMN could be used to uncover valuable information on the human liver metabolism from a fresh perspective. Results We applied structural controllability analysis to the HLMN and detected driver metabolites. The driver metabolites tend to have strong ability to influence the states of other metabolites and weak susceptibility to be influenced by the states of others. In addition, the metabolites were classified into three classes: critical, high-frequency and low-frequency driver metabolites. Among the identified 36 critical driver metabolites, 27 metabolites were found to be essential; the high-frequency driver metabolites tend to participate in different metabolic pathways, which are important in regulating the whole metabolic systems. Moreover, we explored some other possible connections between the structural controllability theory and the HLMN, and find that transport reactions and the environment play important roles in the human liver metabolism. Conclusion There are interesting connections between the structural controllability theory and the human liver metabolism: driver metabolites have essential biological functions; the crucial role of extracellular metabolites and transport reactions in controlling the HLMN highlights the importance of the environment in the health of human liver metabolism. PMID:24885538

Driver drowsiness classification using fuzzy wavelet-packet-based feature-extraction algorithm.

PubMed

Khushaba, Rami N; Kodagoda, Sarath; Lal, Sara; Dissanayake, Gamini

2011-01-01

Driver drowsiness and loss of vigilance are a major cause of road accidents. Monitoring physiological signals while driving provides the possibility of detecting and warning of drowsiness and fatigue. The aim of this paper is to maximize the amount of drowsiness-related information extracted from a set of electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG), and electrocardiogram (ECG) signals during a simulation driving test. Specifically, we develop an efficient fuzzy mutual-information (MI)- based wavelet packet transform (FMIWPT) feature-extraction method for classifying the driver drowsiness state into one of predefined drowsiness levels. The proposed method estimates the required MI using a novel approach based on fuzzy memberships providing an accurate-information content-estimation measure. The quality of the extracted features was assessed on datasets collected from 31 drivers on a simulation test. The experimental results proved the significance of FMIWPT in extracting features that highly correlate with the different drowsiness levels achieving a classification accuracy of 95%-- 97% on an average across all subjects.

Modeling of Driver Steering Operations in Lateral Wind Disturbances toward Driver Assistance System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurata, Yoshinori; Wada, Takahiro; Kamiji, Norimasa; Doi, Shun'ichi

Disturbances decrease vehicle stability and increase driver's mental and physical workload. Especially unexpected disturbances such as lateral winds have severe effect on vehicle stability and driver's workload. This study aims at building a driver model of steering operations in lateral wind toward developing effective driver assistance system. First, the relationship between the driver's lateral motion and its reactive quick steering behavior is investigated using driving simulator with lateral 1dof motion. In the experiments, four different wind patterns are displayed by the simulator. As the results, strong correlation was found between the driver's head lateral jerk by the lateral disturbance and the angular acceleration of the steering wheel. Then, we build a mathematical model of driver's steering model from lateral disturbance input to steering torque of the reactive quick feed-forward steering based on the experimental results. Finally, validity of the proposed model is shown by comparing the steering torque of experimental results and that of simulation results.

Impact of Connecticut's graduated driver licensing system on teenage motor vehicle crash rates.

PubMed

Rogers, Steven C; Bentley, George C; Campbell, Brendan; Borrup, Kevin; Saleheen, Hassan; Wang, Zhu; Lapidus, Garry

2011-11-01

In response to high rates of teen motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) many states have enacted graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems. GDL delays full licensure and allows beginners to obtain experience under lower risk conditions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact over the past 10 years to determine its effect on teen MVCs. Connecticut MVC data from 1999 to 2008 were analyzed. Percent change (1999 vs. 2008) in MVC rates per 10,000 registered drivers was calculated by age, gender, during the night restriction (11:00 pm and 5:00 am), and MVCs with passengers. Linear regression analysis estimated the decrease of MVC rates each year. The MVC rate decreased by 40% for 16-year-old and 30% for 17-year-old drivers. In comparison, rates among 18-year-old, 19-year-old, 25- to 29-year-old, and 30- to 59-year-old drivers were reduced by 16%, 7%, 8%, and 11%, respectively. The MVC rate for 20- to 24-year-old drivers increased by 1%. During nighttime restricted driving times, MVC rates decreased by 54% among 16-year-old and 49% among 17-year-old drivers. The MVC rate with passengers decreased by 65% for 16-year-old and 53% for 17-year-old drivers. In comparison, rates of nighttime and with passenger MVCs among older drivers were significantly less. Implementation of Connecticut's GDL system has resulted in significant reductions in MVC rates among novice drivers. This analysis provides a method for other states to examine the impact of their GDL system.

Impacts of the driver's bounded rationality on the traffic running cost under the car-following model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Tie-Qiao; Luo, Xiao-Feng; Liu, Kai

2016-09-01

The driver's bounded rationality has significant influences on the micro driving behavior and researchers proposed some traffic flow models with the driver's bounded rationality. However, little effort has been made to explore the effects of the driver's bounded rationality on the trip cost. In this paper, we use our recently proposed car-following model to study the effects of the driver's bounded rationality on his running cost and the system's total cost under three traffic running costs. The numerical results show that considering the driver's bounded rationality will enhance his each running cost and the system's total cost under the three traffic running costs.

Learning Your Way around Town: How Virtual Taxicab Drivers Learn to Use Both Layout and Landmark Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Ehren L.; Caplan, Jeremy B.; Kirschen, Matthew P.; Korolev, Igor O.; Sekuler, Robert; Kahana, Michael J.

2007-01-01

By having subjects drive a virtual taxicab through a computer-rendered town, we examined how landmark and layout information interact during spatial navigation. Subject-drivers searched for passengers, and then attempted to take the most efficient route to the requested destinations (one of several target stores). Experiment 1 demonstrated that…

49 CFR 40.331 - To what additional parties must employers and service agents release information?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... employer of Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) drivers holding commercial driving licenses (CDLs) or as a third party administrator for owner-operator CMV drivers with CDLs, you are authorized to comply with State... DOT drug and alcohol testing rules (including positive tests and refusals) by any CMV driver holding a...

49 CFR 40.331 - To what additional parties must employers and service agents release information?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... employer of Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) drivers holding commercial driving licenses (CDLs) or as a third party administrator for owner-operator CMV drivers with CDLs, you are authorized to comply with State... DOT drug and alcohol testing rules (including positive tests and refusals) by any CMV driver holding a...

The Multiple-Car Method. Exploring Its Use in Driver and Traffic Safety Education. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association, Washington, DC.

Primarily written for school administrators and driver education teachers, this publication presents information on planning and implementing the multiple car method of driver instruction. An introductory section presents a definition of the multiple car method and its history of development. It is defined as an off-street paved area incorporating…

77 FR 4881 - Commercial Driver's license (CDL) Standards; Rotel North American Tours, LLC; Application for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-31

... permitting 22 drivers employed by Rotel and possessing German CDLs, to operate commercial motor vehicles in... holders of German CDLs. Rotel asks that the current exemption, due to expire July 30, 2012, be renewed... drivers with German CDLs (75 FR 45200). Further information about past Rotel exemption requests and...

Bicycles in Traffic. A North Carolina Driver Education Handbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

East Carolina Univ., Greenville, NC.

This unit is designed to provide driver educators with information for teaching automobile drivers about the traffic-mix problem between bicycles and motor vehicles on roadways. The purpose of the unit is to improve the safety of bicyclists on North Carolina highways and help to decrease the number of bicycle deaths and injuries caused by traffic…

Supplemental Driver Safety Program Development Volume II--Pilot and Field Test Module Materials. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McPherson, Kenard; Weidman, James R.

This volume contains materials to supplement existing driver education programming offered by high schools to youthful (16- to 18-year old) drivers. Section I contains three drinking/driving modules: an information-only module, a self-image module, and a three-unit peer intervention module. An instructor's guide provided for each module includes…

An Intelligent Parking Management System for Urban Areas.

PubMed

Vera-Gómez, Juan A; Quesada-Arencibia, Alexis; García, Carmelo R; Suárez Moreno, Raúl; Guerra Hernández, Fernando

2016-06-21

In this article we describe a low-cost, minimally-intrusive system for the efficient management of parking spaces on both public roads and controlled zones. This system is based on wireless networks of photoelectric sensors that are deployed on the access roads into and out of these areas. The sensors detect the passage of vehicles on these roads and communicate this information to a data centre, thus making it possible to know the number of vehicles in the controlled zone and the occupancy levels in real-time. This information may be communicated to drivers to facilitate their search for a parking space and to authorities so that they may take steps to control traffic when congestion is detected.

Analysis of spatial variations in the effectiveness of graduated driver's licensing (GDL) program in the state of Michigan.

PubMed

Chen, Yu; Berrocal, Veronica J; Bingham, C Raymond; Song, Peter X K

2014-04-01

Injury resulting from motor vehicle crashes is the leading cause of death among teenagers in the US. Few programs or policies have been found to be effective in reducing the risk of fatal car crashes for young novice drivers. One effective policy that has been widely implemented is Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL). Published articles have mostly reported on the temporal effectiveness of GDL in the US. This article reports on the development of spatial statistical modeling approaches to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of GDL policy across eighty-three counties in the state of Michigan. Data were gathered from several publicly available databases, including the US Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), US Census Bureau, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and US Department of Agriculture. To account for spatial dependence among crash counts from adjacent counties we invoke spatial random effects, which we provide with a Conditionally AutoRegressive (CAR) prior. Our analysis confirms previous findings that GDL in Michigan is an effective policy that significantly reduces the risk of fatal car crashes among novice teenage drivers. In addition, it indicates that rurality is an important contextual variable associated with spatial differences in GDL effectiveness across the state of Michigan. Finally, our findings provide information that can be used to strengthen GDL policy and its implementation to further enhance teenage-driver safety. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults Who Do Not Drive: Association With Mobility Resources and Perceived Transportation Barriers

PubMed Central

Choi, Namkee G.; DiNitto, Diana M.

2016-01-01

Purpose of the Study: To examine alternative means of mobility that nondriving older adults rely on and their impact on well-being. Design and Methods: Data from the 2011 (T1, N = 6,680) and 2012 (T2, N = 5,413) interview waves of the National Health and Aging Trends Study were used to examine sample characteristics by driving status, use of alternative mobility resources, and perceived transportation-related barriers among ex-drivers and nondrivers, and their association with depressive symptoms. Results: A majority of nondrivers relied on their informal support system and/or paid assistance to drive them to places. About half reported walking/using a wheelchair or scooter. A significant proportion of never drivers also used public transportation and van/shuttle services, whereas a smaller proportion of ex-drivers used them. Nondrivers who walked for transport had lower depressive symptoms than those who did not walk at either T1 or T2, and perception of transportation barriers to visiting friends/family was associated with higher depressive symptoms at T1 only. Implications: Older adults’ mobility needs should be met through increasing walkability, public and paratransit transportation, supplemental senior transportation, and increasing informal caregivers-transportation providers’ ability to aid older adults. PMID:25601389

Drunk Driver Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

Systems Technology, Inc. developed a technique to study/measure behavioral changes brought on by long term isolation is now being used in a system for determining whether a driver is too drunk to drive. Device is intended to discourage intoxicated drivers from taking to the road by advising them they are in no condition to operate a vehicle. System is being tested experimentally in California.

Emergency Vehicle Alarm System for Deaf Drivers by Using LEDs and Vibration Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuwahara, Noriaki; Morimoto, Kazunari; Kozuki, Kazumasa; Kawamura, Tomonori

We are developing the emergency vehicle alarm system for deaf drivers by using LEDs and vibration devices. In order to design the alarm for deaf drivers, we have conducted basic experiment in order to evaluate perceptual characteristic on visibility of LED.

Airframe integration trade studies for a reusable launch vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dorsey, John T.; Wu, Chauncey; Rivers, Kevin; Martin, Carl; Smith, Russell

1999-01-01

Future launch vehicles must be lightweight, fully reusable and easily maintained if low-cost access to space is to be achieved. The goal of achieving an economically viable Single-Stage-to-Orbit (SSTO) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) is not easily achieved and success will depend to a large extent on having an integrated and optimized total system. A series of trade studies were performed to meet three objectives. First, to provide structural weights and parametric weight equations as inputs to configuration-level trade studies. Second, to identify, assess and quantify major weight drivers for the RLV airframe. Third, using information on major weight drivers, and considering the RLV as an integrated thermal structure (composed of thrust structures, tanks, thermal protection system, insulation and control surfaces), identify and assess new and innovative approaches or concepts that have the potential for either reducing airframe weight, improving operability, and/or reducing cost.

Airframe Integration Trade Studies for a Reusable Launch Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dorsey, John T.; Wu, Chauncey; Rivers, Kevin; Martin, Carl; Smith, Russell

1999-01-01

Future launch vehicles must be lightweight, fully reusable and easily maintained if low-cost access to space is to be achieved. The goal of achieving an economically viable Single-Stage-to-Orbit (SSTO) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) is not easily achieved and success will depend to a large extent on having an integrated and optimized total system. A series of trade studies were performed to meet three objectives. First, to provide structural weights and parametric weight equations as inputs to configuration-level trade studies. Second, to identify, assess and quantify major weight drivers for the RLV airframe. Third, using information on major weight drivers, and considering the RLV as an integrated thermal structure (composed of thrust structures, tanks, thermal protection system, insulation and control surfaces), identify and assess new and innovative approaches or concepts that have the potential for either reducing airframe weight, improving operability, and/or reducing cost.

Understanding Road Usage Patterns in Urban Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Pu; Hunter, Timothy; Bayen, Alexandre M.; Schechtner, Katja; González, Marta C.

2012-12-01

In this paper, we combine the most complete record of daily mobility, based on large-scale mobile phone data, with detailed Geographic Information System (GIS) data, uncovering previously hidden patterns in urban road usage. We find that the major usage of each road segment can be traced to its own - surprisingly few - driver sources. Based on this finding we propose a network of road usage by defining a bipartite network framework, demonstrating that in contrast to traditional approaches, which define road importance solely by topological measures, the role of a road segment depends on both: its betweeness and its degree in the road usage network. Moreover, our ability to pinpoint the few driver sources contributing to the major traffic flow allows us to create a strategy that achieves a significant reduction of the travel time across the entire road system, compared to a benchmark approach.

Low-thrust chemical rocket engine study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mellish, J. A.

1981-01-01

Engine data and information are presented to perform system studies on cargo orbit-transfer vehicles which would deliver large space structures to geosynchronous equatorial orbit. Low-thrust engine performance, weight, and envelope parametric data were established, preliminary design information was generated, and technologies for liquid rocket engines were identified. Two major engine design drivers were considered in the study: cooling and engine cycle options. Both film-cooled and regeneratively cooled engines were evaluated. The propellant combinations studied were hydrogen/oxygen, methane/oxygen, and kerosene/oxygen.

Explosive Transient Camera (ETC) Program

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-10-01

VOLTAGES 4.- VIDEO OUT CCD CLOCKING UNIT UUPSTAIRS" ELECTRONICS AND ANALOG TO DIGITAL IPR OCECSSER I COMMANDS TO DATA AND STATUS INSTRUMENT INFORMATION I...and transmits digital video and status information to the "downstairs" system. The clocking unit and regulator/driver board are the only CCD dependent...A. 1001, " Video Cam-era’CC’" tandari Piells" (1(P’ll m-norartlum, unpublished). Condon,, J.J., Puckpan, M.A., and Vachalski, J. 1970, A. J., 9U, 1149

From theory to practice: what drives the core business of public health?

PubMed

Smith, Tina Anderson; Minyard, Karen J; Parker, Christopher A; Van Valkenburg, Rachel Ferencik; Shoemaker, John A

2007-01-01

In 1994, the Public Health Functions Steering Committee proffered a description of the Essential Public Health Services (Essential Services). Questions remain, however, about the relationship between the roles defined therein and current public health practice at state and local levels. This case study describes the core business of public health in Georgia relative to the theoretical ideal and elucidates the primary drivers of the core business, thus providing data to inform future efforts to strengthen practice in the state. The principal finding was that public health in Georgia is not aligned with the Essential Services. Further analysis revealed that the primary drivers or determinants of public health practice are finance-related rather than based in need or strategy, precluding an integrated and intentional focus on health improvement. This case study provides a systems context for public health financing discussions, suggests leverage points for public health system change, and furthers the examination of applications for systems thinking relative to public health finance, practice, and policy.

Effectiveness of Ford's belt reminder system in increasing seat belt use

PubMed Central

Williams, A; Wells, J; Farmer, C

2002-01-01

Objectives: The study investigated the effectiveness in increasing seat belt use of Ford's belt reminder system, a supplementary system that provides intermittent flashing lights and chimes for five minutes if drivers are not belted. Methods: Seat belt use of drivers in relatively new cars with and without the reminder system was unobtrusively observed as vehicles were brought to dealerships for service. Results: Overall use rates were estimated at 71% for drivers in vehicles without the reminder system and 76% for drivers in vehicles with belt reminders (p<0.01). Conclusions: Seat belt use is relatively low in the United States. The present study showed that vehicle based reminder systems can be at least modestly effective in increasing belt use, which may encourage further development of such systems. PMID:12460965

Automatic Fatigue Detection of Drivers through Yawning Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azim, Tayyaba; Jaffar, M. Arfan; Ramzan, M.; Mirza, Anwar M.

This paper presents a non-intrusive fatigue detection system based on the video analysis of drivers. The focus of the paper is on how to detect yawning which is an important cue for determining driver's fatigue. Initially, the face is located through Viola-Jones face detection method in a video frame. Then, a mouth window is extracted from the face region, in which lips are searched through spatial fuzzy c-means (s-FCM) clustering. The degree of mouth openness is extracted on the basis of mouth features, to determine driver's yawning state. If the yawning state of the driver persists for several consecutive frames, the system concludes that the driver is non-vigilant due to fatigue and is thus warned through an alarm. The system reinitializes when occlusion or misdetection occurs. Experiments were carried out using real data, recorded in day and night lighting conditions, and with users belonging to different race and gender.

A Design Rationale Capture Tool to Support Design Verification and Re-use

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hooey, Becky Lee; Da Silva, Jonny C.; Foyle, David C.

2012-01-01

A design rationale tool (DR tool) was developed to capture design knowledge to support design verification and design knowledge re-use. The design rationale tool captures design drivers and requirements, and documents the design solution including: intent (why it is included in the overall design); features (why it is designed the way it is); information about how the design components support design drivers and requirements; and, design alternatives considered but rejected. For design verification purposes, the tool identifies how specific design requirements were met and instantiated within the final design, and which requirements have not been met. To support design re-use, the tool identifies which design decisions are affected when design drivers and requirements are modified. To validate the design tool, the design knowledge from the Taxiway Navigation and Situation Awareness (T-NASA; Foyle et al., 1996) system was captured and the DR tool was exercised to demonstrate its utility for validation and re-use.

Framework for End-User Programming of Cross-Smart Space Applications

PubMed Central

Palviainen, Marko; Kuusijärvi, Jarkko; Ovaska, Eila

2012-01-01

Cross-smart space applications are specific types of software services that enable users to share information, monitor the physical and logical surroundings and control it in a way that is meaningful for the user's situation. For developing cross-smart space applications, this paper makes two main contributions: it introduces (i) a component design and scripting method for end-user programming of cross-smart space applications and (ii) a backend framework of components that interwork to support the brunt of the RDFScript translation, and the use and execution of ontology models. Before end-user programming activities, the software professionals must develop easy-to-apply Driver components for the APIs of existing software systems. Thereafter, end-users are able to create applications from the commands of the Driver components with the help of the provided toolset. The paper also introduces the reference implementation of the framework, tools for the Driver component development and end-user programming of cross-smart space applications and the first evaluation results on their application. PMID:23202169

Child passengers injured in motor vehicle crashes.

PubMed

Romano, Eduardo; Kelley-Baker, Tara

2015-02-01

During 2010, 171,000 children aged 0-14 were injured in motor vehicle crashes. Despite the severity of the problem, research has been limited, and most of what we know about these children emanates from fatal crash databases. Using information from the General Estimates System, this effort examines the occurrence of non-fatal crashes among children aged 0-14 over the last decade. We found that about 1% of the non-injured children in the file had been driven by a driver who was positive for alcohol. This percentage climbed to about 2% among children who had suffered injuries. Compared with the proportion of alcohol-positive drivers at the time of the crash, the proportion of drivers who sped or failed to obey a traffic signal was significantly higher. The finding that drinking and driving with children did not decrease over time questions the adequacy of the extant child endangerment laws. Copyright © 2014 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Leptospirosis in American Samoa 2010: Epidemiology, Environmental Drivers, and the Management of Emergence

PubMed Central

Lau, Colleen L.; Dobson, Annette J.; Smythe, Lee D.; Fearnley, Emily J.; Skelly, Chris; Clements, Archie C. A.; Craig, Scott B.; Fuimaono, Saipale D.; Weinstein, Philip

2012-01-01

Leptospirosis has recently been reported as an emerging disease worldwide, and a seroprevalence study was undertaken in American Samoa to better understand the drivers of transmission. Antibodies indicative of previous exposure to leptospirosis were found in 15.5% of 807 participants, predominantly against three serovars that were not previously known to occur in American Samoa. Questionnaires and geographic information systems data were used to assess behavioral factors and environmental determinants of disease transmission, and logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with infection. Many statistically significant factors were consistent with previous studies, but we also showed a significant association with living at lower altitudes (odds ratio [OR] = 1.53, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03–2.28), and having higher numbers of piggeries around the home (OR = 2.63, 95% CI: 1.52–4.40). Our findings support a multifaceted approach to combating the emergence of leptospirosis, including modification of individual behavior, but importantly also managing the evolving environmental drivers of risk. PMID:22302868

V-Alert: Description and Validation of a Vulnerable Road User Alert System in the Framework of a Smart City.

PubMed

Hernandez-Jayo, Unai; De-la-Iglesia, Idoia; Perez, Jagoba

2015-07-29

V-Alert is a cooperative application to be deployed in the frame of Smart Cities with the aim of reducing the probability of accidents involving Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) and vehicles. The architecture of V-Alert combines short- and long-range communication technologies in order to provide more time to the drivers and VRU to take the appropriate maneuver and avoid a possible collision. The information generated by mobile sensors (vehicles and cyclists) is sent over this heterogeneous communication architecture and processed in a central server, the Drivers Cloud, which is in charge of generating the messages that are shown on the drivers' and cyclists' Human Machine Interface (HMI). First of all, V-Alert has been tested in a simulated scenario to check the communications architecture in a complex scenario and, once it was validated, all the elements of V-Alert have been moved to a real scenario to check the application reliability. All the results are shown along the length of this paper.

From the Office of the National Coordinator: the strategy for advancing the exchange of health information.

PubMed

Williams, Claudia; Mostashari, Farzad; Mertz, Kory; Hogin, Emily; Atwal, Parmeeth

2012-03-01

Electronic health information exchange addresses a critical need in the US health care system to have information follow patients to support patient care. Today little information is shared electronically, leaving doctors without the information they need to provide the best care. With payment reforms providing a strong business driver, the demand for health information exchange is poised to grow. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Department of Health and Human Services, has led the process of establishing the essential building blocks that will support health information exchange. Over the coming year, this office will develop additional policies and standards that will make information exchange easier and cheaper and facilitate its use on a broader scale.

Adult Competency Education Kit. Basic Skills in Speaking, Math, and Reading for Employment. Part Q. ACE Competency Based Job Descriptions: #91--Meat Cutter; #92--Shipping Clerk; #93--Long Haul Truck Driver; #94--Truck Driver--Light.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

San Mateo County Office of Education, Redwood City, CA. Career Preparation Centers.

This fourteenth of fifteen sets of Adult Competency Education (ACE) Based Job Descriptions in the ACE kit contains job descriptions for Meat Cutter, Shipping Clerk, Long Haul Truck Driver, and Truck Driver--Light. Each begins with a fact sheet that includes this information: occupational title, D.O.T. code, ACE number, career ladder, D.O.T.…

An empirical assessment of driver motivation and emotional states in perceived safety margins under varied driving conditions.

PubMed

Zhang, Yu; Kaber, David B

2013-01-01

Motivation models in driving behaviour postulate that driver motives and emotional states dictate risk tolerance under various traffic conditions. The present study used time and driver performance-based payment systems to manipulate motivation and risk-taking behaviour. Ten participants drove to a predefined location in a simulated driving environment. Traffic patterns (density and velocity) were manipulated to cause driver behaviour adjustments due to the need to conform with the social norms of the roadway. The driving environment complexity was investigated as a mediating factor in risk tolerance. Results revealed the performance-based payment system to closely relate to risk-taking behaviour as compared with the time-based payment system. Drivers conformed with social norms associated with specific traffic patterns. Higher roadway complexity led to a more conservative safety margins and speeds. This research contributes to the further development of motivational models of driver behaviour. This study provides empirical justification for two motivation factors in driver risk-taking decisions, including compliance with social norm and emotions triggered by incentives. Environment complexity was identified as a mediating factor in motivational behaviour model. This study also recommended safety margin measures sensitive to changes in driver risk tolerance.

Algorithm to illustrate context using dynamic lighting effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

John, Roshy M.; Balasubramanian, T.

2007-09-01

With the invention of Ultra-Bright LED, solid state lighting has come to something which is much more efficient and energy saving when compared to conventional incandescent or fluorescent lighting. With the use of proper driver electronics now a days it is possible to install solid state lighting systems with the cost same as that of any other lighting technology. This paper is a part of the research project we are doing in our lab, which deals with using ultra bright LEDs of different colors for lighting applications. The driver electronics are made in such a way that, the color and brightness of the lights will change according to context. For instance, if one of the users is reading a story or listening to music in a Personal Computer or in a hand held device such as a PDA, the lighting systems and the HVAC (Heating Ventilation Air-conditioning) systems will change dramatically according to the content of the story or the music. The vulnerability of solid-state lighting helps to accomplish such an effect. Such a type of system will help the reader to feel the story mentally and physically as well. We developed complete driver electronics for the system using multiple microcomputers and a full software suite which uses complex algorithms to decode the context from text or music and synchronize it to lighting and HVAC information. The paper also presents some case-study statistics which shows the advantage of using the system to teach kindergarten children, deaf and dumb children and for language learning classes.

Comparison of older and younger novice driver crash rates: Informing the need for extended Graduated Driver Licensing restrictions.

PubMed

Curry, Allison E; Metzger, Kristina B; Williams, Allan F; Tefft, Brian C

2017-11-01

Few previous studies have directly compared crash rates of older and younger novice drivers. To inform discussion about whether Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) policies that are applied in the US for younger novice drivers should be applied to older novice drivers, we conducted a longitudinal study to examine overall, nighttime, and multiple passenger crash rates over the initial four years of licensure differ for novice drivers licensed at different ages. Using data from the New Jersey Traffic Safety Outcomes (NJ-TSO) data warehouse, we selected all NJ drivers who obtained their initial intermediate driver's license from 2006 through 2014 and had at least one month of follow-up from the date of licensure to study end or death (n=1,034,835). Novice drivers were grouped based on age at licensure: age 17; 18-20; 21-24; and 25 or older. We estimated monthly rates for overall crashes (per 10,000 licensed drivers) as well as: late night crashes (11:01 p.m.-4:59 a.m.); early night crashes (9:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.); and multiple passenger crashes (two or more passengers). Average monthly rates were calculated for specific relevant time periods and Poisson regression models were used to compare rates: (1) between novice driver groups with the same time since licensure; (2) over the first 48 months of licensure within each novice driver group; and (3) between same-aged 21-year-old drivers with varying lengths of licensure. Although initial (three months post-licensure) overall crash rates of novice NJ drivers age 21 and older were higher than rates of same-aged experienced drivers, they were substantially lower than initial rates for 17- to 20-year-old novice drivers, who are licensed under GDL policies. Moreover, older novice drivers experience much less steep crash reductions over the first year of licensure than younger novice drivers. Nighttime crash rates among the 21- to 24-year old and aged 25 and older novice driver groups were stable over the first year of licensure. For novice drivers under age 21, early night crash rates declined rapidly over the course of licensure, while changes in late night crashes were much smaller. First-year multiple passenger crash rates were highest for drivers licensed at age 18-20, and novice driver groups experienced varying amounts of reduction in multiple passenger crashes over time. Study findings support NJ's current GDL policies for 17- to 20-year-old novice drivers and the potential for added benefits from beginning the nighttime restriction at 9:00 p.m. Conversely, there was a lack of compelling evidence for additional policies for drivers licensed at age 21-24 and no evidence to indicate a need for additional GDL policies for NJ novices aged 25 years and older. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

75 FR 9486 - Qualification of Drivers; Exemption Renewals; Vision

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-02

... commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Mary D. Gunnels, Director... Federal vision exemptions for James S. Ayers, Vernon J. Dohrn, Mark A. Massengill, Douglas J. Mauton...

Activity-based costing via an information system: an application created for a breast imaging center.

PubMed

Hawkins, H; Langer, J; Padua, E; Reaves, J

2001-06-01

Activity-based costing (ABC) is a process that enables the estimation of the cost of producing a product or service. More accurate than traditional charge-based approaches, it emphasizes analysis of processes, and more specific identification of both direct and indirect costs. This accuracy is essential in today's healthcare environment, in which managed care organizations necessitate responsible and accountable costing. However, to be successfully utilized, it requires time, effort, expertise, and support. Data collection can be tedious and expensive. By integrating ABC with information management (IM) and systems (IS), organizations can take advantage of the process orientation of both, extend and improve ABC, and decrease resource utilization for ABC projects. In our case study, we have examined the process of a multidisciplinary breast center. We have mapped the constituent activities and established cost drivers. This information has been structured and included in our information system database for subsequent analysis.

Feed Forward Programming of Car Drivers’ Eye Movement Behavior. A System Theoretical Approach. Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-02-01

Standardization February 1980 13. NUMBER OF PAGES Group ( UK ), Box 65, FPO New York 09510 216 14. MONITORING AGENCY NAME A ADDRESS(I differmt bar...with lateral information input, s they- xate on the road’s lines frequently. Beginners, as driving tiea - chers report, have great difficulties in...perceptual system. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1966. GIBSON, J.J.: Principles of perceptual learning and develop- ment. New Jersey , Prentice Hall Inc

Characteristics of turn signal use at intersections in baseline naturalistic driving.

PubMed

Sullivan, John M; Bao, Shan; Goudy, Roy; Konet, Heather

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a driver's use of turn signals is sufficiently reliable to forecast a vehicle's future path around an intersection, when detailed information about the intersection is unavailable. Naturalistic observations of turn signal use among 108 drivers on surface streets were extracted from the baseline portion of a field operational test of a safety system. Left and right turns that resulted in heading changes of between 70 and 110° and turn radii between 18 and 90 m were selected from the dataset. The odds that a driver would signal a turn were modeled as a function of road type, turn direction, presence of a forward vehicle, whether the vehicle stopped before the turn, and driver age and gender. Overall, 25 percent of left turns and 29 percent of right turns were not signaled. Road type, turn direction, and presence of a forward vehicle were found to influence the odds that a turn is signaled, while gender and age of the driver did not. The results suggest that situational factors like road type and turn direction are more powerful predictors of whether a turn will be signaled than either age or gender. Signaling on major and minor surface roads was about 5 times more likely than on local roads and 1.5 times more likely when a forward vehicle was present, suggesting a possible effect of traffic volume. It was concluded that turn signal activation alone may be insufficiently reliable to forecast a driver's path. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fatal crash involvement of unlicensed young drivers: county level differences according to material deprivation and urbanicity in the United States.

PubMed

Hanna, Christian L; Laflamme, Lucie; Bingham, C Raymond

2012-03-01

This study assessed the association between county level material deprivation and urbanization with fatal road traffic crashes involving young unlicensed drivers in the United States (US). Road traffic crashes have been positively associated with area deprivation and low population density but thus far few studies have been concerned specifically with young drivers, especially those that are unlicensed. A county material deprivation index was derived from the Townsend Material Deprivation Index, with variables extracted from the US Census (2000). An urbanicity scale was adapted from the US Department of Agriculture's Rural-Urban Continuum Codes (2003). Data on fatal crashes involving a young unlicensed driver during a seven-year period (2000-2006; n=3059) were extracted from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The effect of deprivation and urbanicity on the odds of the occurrence of at least one fatal crash at the county level was modeled by conditional and unconditional logistic regression. The conditional model found a positive association between material deprivation and a fatal crash involving a young unlicensed driver (OR=1.19, 95% CI 1.17, 1.21). The interaction between urbanicity and material deprivation was negatively associated in suburban counties for fatal crashes (OR=0.92, 95% CI 0.90, 0.95). An association with material deprivation and the likelihood of a fatal crash involving a young unlicensed driver is a new finding. It can be used to inform specific county-level interventions and promote state licensing policies to provide equity in young people's mobility regardless of where they live. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Aggregate driver model to enable predictable behaviour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chowdhury, A.; Chakravarty, T.; Banerjee, T.; Balamuralidhar, P.

2015-09-01

The categorization of driving styles, particularly in terms of aggressiveness and skill is an emerging area of interest under the broader theme of intelligent transportation. There are two possible discriminatory techniques that can be applied for such categorization; a microscale (event based) model and a macro-scale (aggregate) model. It is believed that an aggregate model will reveal many interesting aspects of human-machine interaction; for example, we may be able to understand the propensities of individuals to carry out a given task over longer periods of time. A useful driver model may include the adaptive capability of the human driver, aggregated as the individual propensity to control speed/acceleration. Towards that objective, we carried out experiments by deploying smartphone based application to be used for data collection by a group of drivers. Data is primarily being collected from GPS measurements including position & speed on a second-by-second basis, for a number of trips over a two months period. Analysing the data set, aggregate models for individual drivers were created and their natural aggressiveness were deduced. In this paper, we present the initial results for 12 drivers. It is shown that the higher order moments of the acceleration profile is an important parameter and identifier of journey quality. It is also observed that the Kurtosis of the acceleration profiles stores major information about the driving styles. Such an observation leads to two different ranking systems based on acceleration data. Such driving behaviour models can be integrated with vehicle and road model and used to generate behavioural model for real traffic scenario.

Integrating cost information with health management support system: an enhanced methodology to assess health care quality drivers.

PubMed

Kohli, R; Tan, J K; Piontek, F A; Ziege, D E; Groot, H

1999-08-01

Changes in health care delivery, reimbursement schemes, and organizational structure have required health organizations to manage the costs of providing patient care while maintaining high levels of clinical and patient satisfaction outcomes. Today, cost information, clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction results must become more fully integrated if strategic competitiveness and benefits are to be realized in health management decision making, especially in multi-entity organizational settings. Unfortunately, traditional administrative and financial systems are not well equipped to cater to such information needs. This article presents a framework for the acquisition, generation, analysis, and reporting of cost information with clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction in the context of evolving health management and decision-support system technology. More specifically, the article focuses on an enhanced costing methodology for determining and producing improved, integrated cost-outcomes information. Implementation issues and areas for future research in cost-information management and decision-support domains are also discussed.

Estimating the over-involvement of suspended, revoked, and unlicensed drivers as at-fault drivers in California fatal crashes.

PubMed

Brar, Sukhvir S

2014-09-01

Quasi-induced exposure analysis was used to estimate annual fatal crash involvement rates for validly licensed, suspended or revoked (S/R), and unlicensed drivers in California from 1987 through 2009 using fatal crash data obtained from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System and crash culpability determinations from the California Highway Patrol's Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. Although there was some year-to-year fluctuation in the annual estimates, S/R and unlicensed drivers were over-involved as at-fault drivers in fatal crashes during every year of the 23-year time period relative to validly licensed drivers. The fatal crash involvement ratios combined across all years were 0.86 for validly licensed drivers, 2.23 for S/R drivers, and 2.34 for unlicensed drivers. Hence, compared to validly licensed drivers, the odds of being at-fault for a fatal crash were 160% higher for S/R drivers (involvement ratio=2.60) and 173% higher for unlicensed drivers (involvement ratio=2.73). The excess risks of S/R and unlicensed drivers are somewhat lower than estimates found in a prior study using the same technique, but the results nonetheless provide evidence that S/R and unlicensed drivers are much more hazardous on the road than are validly licensed drivers and emphasize the importance of using strong countermeasures-including vehicle impoundment-to reduce their high crash risk. These findings support interventions to help reduce driving among S/R and unlicensed drivers. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Effects of lead time of verbal collision warning messages on driving behavior in connected vehicle settings.

PubMed

Wan, Jingyan; Wu, Changxu; Zhang, Yiqi

2016-09-01

Under the connected vehicle environment, vehicles will be able to exchange traffic information with roadway infrastructure and other vehicles. With such information, collision warning systems (CWSs) will be able to warn drivers with potentially hazardous situations within or out of sight and reduce collision accidents. The lead time of warning messages is a crucial factor in determining the effectiveness of CWSs in the prevention of traffic accidents. Accordingly, it is necessary to understand the effects of lead time on driving behaviors and explore the optimal lead time in various collision scenarios. The present driving simulator experiment studied the effects of controlled lead time at 16 levels (predetermined time headway from the subject vehicle to the collision location when the warning message broadcasted to a driver) on driving behaviors in various collision scenarios. Maximum effectiveness of warning messages was achieved when the controlled lead time was within the range of 5s to 8s. Specifically, the controlled lead time ranging from 4s to 8s led to the optimal safety benefit; and the controlled lead time ranging from 5s to 8s led to more gradual braking and shorter reaction time. Furthermore, a trapezoidal distribution of warning effectiveness was found by building a statistic model using curve estimation considering lead time, lifetime driving experience, and driving speed. The results indicated that the controlled lead time significantly affected driver performance. The findings have implications for the design of collision warning systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. All rights reserved.

On an efficient and effective intelligent transportation system (ITS) safety and traffic efficiency application with corresponding driver behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ekedebe, Nnanna; Yu, Wei; Lu, Chao

2015-06-01

Driver distraction could result in safety compromises attributable to distractions from in-vehicle equipment usage [1]. The effective design of driver-vehicle interfaces (DVIs) and other human-machine interfaces (HMIs) together with their usability, and accessibility while driving become important [2]. Driving distractions can be classified as: visual distractions (any activity that takes your eyes away from the road), cognitive distraction (any activity that takes your mind away from the course of driving), and manual distractions (any activity that takes your hands away from the steering wheel [2]). Besides, multitasking during driving is a distractive activity that can increase the risks of vehicular accidents. To study the driver's behaviors on the safety of transportation system, using an in-vehicle driver notification application, we examined the effects of increasing driver distraction levels on the evaluation metrics of traffic efficiency and safety by using two types of driver models: young drivers (ages 16-25 years) and middle-age drivers (ages 30-45 years). Our evaluation data demonstrates that as a drivers distraction level is increased, less heed is given to change route directives from the in-vehicle on-board unit (OBU) using textual, visual, audio, and haptic notifications. Interestingly, middle-age drivers proved more effective/resilient in mitigating the negative effects of driver distraction over young drivers [2].

Defining Information Quality Into Health Websites: A Conceptual Framework of Health Website Information Quality for Educated Young Adults

PubMed Central

LeRouge, Cynthia; Smith, K Jody; De Leo, Gianluca

2017-01-01

Background Today’s health care environment encourages health care consumers to take an active role in managing their health. As digital natives, young educated adults do much of their health information management through the Internet and consider it a valid source of health advice. However, the quality of information on health websites is highly variable and dynamic. Little is known about the understandings and perceptions that young educated adults have garnered on the quality of information on health websites used for health care–related purposes. Objective To fill this gap, the aim of this study was to develop a conceptual framework of health website information quality with quality dimensions (ie, criteria) and associated quality drivers (ie, attributes) specified in the context of young educated adults’ use of health websites for health care–related purposes. This aim was achieved by (1) identifying information quality dimensions of health websites from the perspective of young educated adults; (2) identifying the importance ratings of these quality dimensions; and (3) constructing a framework of health website information quality with quality dimensions and associated drivers specified in the context of young educated adults’ use of health websites for health care–related purposes. Methods The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods. Methods included semistructured group interviews and an individual quality assessment exercise grounded in visiting various websites and responding to Likert scale questions regarding the importance ratings of information quality dimensions and open-ended questions with specifying website quality drivers. Study participants included junior and senior undergraduate and graduate students in business, allied health, and public health majors. Qualitative, open-coding procedures were used to develop the conceptual framework reflecting the participants’ means of assessing information quality on health websites. Results Five dimensions of information quality for health websites were identified: Completeness of information, Understandability of information, Relevance of information, Depth of information, and Accuracy of information. Completeness of information and Understandability of information were rated as the two most important quality dimensions by the study participants. Results indicated that these five information quality dimensions for health websites were supported by the following main driver themes: Content, Design, Links, Consumer resources, Search functionality, Supporting references, User focus, Content FAQ, Open access, Policy statements, and Site performance. Conclusions This study contributes to the literature by developing a health website information quality conceptual framework with quality dimensions and associated drivers specified for a young educated adult population. The detailed quality drivers supporting the corresponding quality dimensions provide a rich picture of young educated adults’ perceptions on health website information quality. This framework can be used to guide the development of health websites, as well as the foundation for a means to evaluate health information from existing health websites with young educated adults as the target audience. PMID:28986336

Defining Information Quality Into Health Websites: A Conceptual Framework of Health Website Information Quality for Educated Young Adults.

PubMed

Tao, Donghua; LeRouge, Cynthia; Smith, K Jody; De Leo, Gianluca

2017-10-06

Today's health care environment encourages health care consumers to take an active role in managing their health. As digital natives, young educated adults do much of their health information management through the Internet and consider it a valid source of health advice. However, the quality of information on health websites is highly variable and dynamic. Little is known about the understandings and perceptions that young educated adults have garnered on the quality of information on health websites used for health care-related purposes. To fill this gap, the aim of this study was to develop a conceptual framework of health website information quality with quality dimensions (ie, criteria) and associated quality drivers (ie, attributes) specified in the context of young educated adults' use of health websites for health care-related purposes. This aim was achieved by (1) identifying information quality dimensions of health websites from the perspective of young educated adults; (2) identifying the importance ratings of these quality dimensions; and (3) constructing a framework of health website information quality with quality dimensions and associated drivers specified in the context of young educated adults' use of health websites for health care-related purposes. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods. Methods included semistructured group interviews and an individual quality assessment exercise grounded in visiting various websites and responding to Likert scale questions regarding the importance ratings of information quality dimensions and open-ended questions with specifying website quality drivers. Study participants included junior and senior undergraduate and graduate students in business, allied health, and public health majors. Qualitative, open-coding procedures were used to develop the conceptual framework reflecting the participants' means of assessing information quality on health websites. Five dimensions of information quality for health websites were identified: Completeness of information, Understandability of information, Relevance of information, Depth of information, and Accuracy of information. Completeness of information and Understandability of information were rated as the two most important quality dimensions by the study participants. Results indicated that these five information quality dimensions for health websites were supported by the following main driver themes: Content, Design, Links, Consumer resources, Search functionality, Supporting references, User focus, Content FAQ, Open access, Policy statements, and Site performance. This study contributes to the literature by developing a health website information quality conceptual framework with quality dimensions and associated drivers specified for a young educated adult population. The detailed quality drivers supporting the corresponding quality dimensions provide a rich picture of young educated adults' perceptions on health website information quality. This framework can be used to guide the development of health websites, as well as the foundation for a means to evaluate health information from existing health websites with young educated adults as the target audience. ©Donghua Tao, Cynthia LeRouge, K Jody Smith, Gianluca De Leo. Originally published in JMIR Human Factors (http://humanfactors.jmir.org), 06.10.2017.

77 FR 71477 - Reports, Forms, and Recordkeeping Requirements; Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-30

... waves. Over the program period, 24,000 drivers would be surveyed, 12,000 in each State. Estimated...-person to a licensed driver population 18 years and older, before and after three program waves. Over 3 waves (i.e., 6 measurement periods), 24,000 drivers would be surveyed in both States (12,000 in each...

Convergence of Cortical and Sensory Driver Inputs on Single Thalamocortical Cells

PubMed Central

Groh, Alexander; Bokor, Hajnalka; Mease, Rebecca A.; Plattner, Viktor M.; Hangya, Balázs; Stroh, Albrecht; Deschenes, Martin; Acsády, László

2014-01-01

Ascending and descending information is relayed through the thalamus via strong, “driver” pathways. According to our current knowledge, different driver pathways are organized in parallel streams and do not interact at the thalamic level. Using an electron microscopic approach combined with optogenetics and in vivo physiology, we examined whether driver inputs arising from different sources can interact at single thalamocortical cells in the rodent somatosensory thalamus (nucleus posterior, POm). Both the anatomical and the physiological data demonstrated that ascending driver inputs from the brainstem and descending driver inputs from cortical layer 5 pyramidal neurons converge and interact on single thalamocortical neurons in POm. Both individual pathways displayed driver properties, but they interacted synergistically in a time-dependent manner and when co-activated, supralinearly increased the output of thalamus. As a consequence, thalamocortical neurons reported the relative timing between sensory events and ongoing cortical activity. We conclude that thalamocortical neurons can receive 2 powerful inputs of different origin, rather than only a single one as previously suggested. This allows thalamocortical neurons to integrate raw sensory information with powerful cortical signals and transfer the integrated activity back to cortical networks. PMID:23825316

Fatigue and crashes: the case of freight transport in Colombia.

PubMed

Torregroza-Vargas, Nathaly M; Bocarejo, Juan Pablo; Ramos-Bonilla, Juan P

2014-11-01

Truck drivers have been involved in a significant number of road fatalities in Colombia. To identify variables that could be associated with crashes in which truck drivers are involved, a logistic regression model was constructed. The model had as the response variable a dichotomous variable that included the presence or absence of a crash during a specific trip. As independent variables the model included information regarding a driver's work shift, with variables that could be associated with driver's fatigue. The model also included potential confounders related with road conditions. With the model, it was possible to determine the odds ratio of a crash in relation to several variables, adjusting for confounding. To collect the information about the trips included in the model, a survey among truck drivers was conducted. The results suggest strong associations between crashes (i.e., some of them statistically significant) with the number of stops made during the trip, and the average time of each stop. Survey analysis allowed us to identify the practices that contribute to generating fatigue and unhealthy conditions on the road among professional drivers. A review of national regulations confirmed the lack of legislation on this topic. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does contracting with owner operators lead to worse safety outcomes for US motor carriers? Evidence from the Motor Carrier Management Information System.

PubMed

Monaco, Kristen; Redmon, Brydey

2012-03-01

Using data from the Motor Carrier Management Information System, we model crashes as a function of firm characteristics, with a focus on the employment relationship. We find that very small firms (one driver, one truck) and firms that contract with owner operators have fewer crashes than employee-only companies, once other firm characteristics and exposure are controlled. Additionally, though very small firms are more likely to have severe crashes, we find no relationship between the share of owner operators and crash severity. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Car Club Teacher's Guide. An Educational Program on Safety Belt Use for Junior High School Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT), Washington, DC.

This information packet describes the teacher's role in Car Club, a program designed to convince junior high school students to use motor vehicle safety belts. Students are approached as both passengers and future drivers to help them examine their roles and responsibilities relating to safety belts and occupant protection systems, including air…

NASA Standards Inform Comfortable Car Seats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2014-01-01

NASA developed standards, which included the neutral body posture (NBP), to specify ways to design flight systems that support human health and safety. Nissan Motor Company, with US offices in Franklin, Tennessee, turned to NASA's NBP research for the development of a new driver's seat. The 2013 Altima now features the new seat, and the company plans to incorporate the seats in upcoming vehicles.

Exploiting the explosion of information associated with whole genome sequencing to tackle Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in global food production systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The rates of foodborne disease caused by gastrointestinal pathogens continue to be a concern in both the developed and developing worlds. The growing world population, the increasing complexity of agri-food networks and the wide range of foods now associated with STEC are potential drivers for incre...

Physician input and licensing of at-risk drivers: a review of all-inclusive medical evaluation forms in the US and Canada.

PubMed

Meuser, Thomas M; Berg-Weger, Marla; Niewoehner, Patricia M; Harmon, Annie C; Kuenzie, Jill C; Carr, David B; Barco, Peggy P

2012-05-01

This article details a systematic review of medical evaluation forms in support of licensing decisions for medically at-risk drivers. Comparisons were made between all-inclusive forms utilized by 52 State and Provincial Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMVs) in the US and Canada. Comparisons focused on length, format, content, instructional quality, medical coverage, ease of use, and other qualitative characteristics. Median page length was 2 (range 1-10), and mean word count was 1083 (494-3884). Common response options included open-ended (98%), forced choice (87%), and check box (81%). While the majority of forms (77%) required driver consent, only 24% requested information from the driver. Less than half (46%) included text on confidentiality protection. While all forms requested general medical information, just over half included specific sections for vision (54%) and cognitive/neurological conditions (56%). Most forms (81%) required that a judgment be made concerning driver safety, and half prompted for possible license restrictions. Criterion-based quality ratings were assigned on a five-point Likert scale by group consensus. One third of forms were rated as marginal or poor in comprehensiveness and utility, and just two garnered an excellent overall rating. Findings are discussed relative to current research on driver fitness and elements of a proposed model form. Best practice recommendations include a page length limitation, emphasis on in-person evaluation (i.e., as opposed to a records-only review), prompts to collect crash and other driving history information, clear instructions and stepwise format, content prompts across relevant medical categories, documentation of functional status and impairment levels, options for driving with restrictions in lieu of de-licensing, and emphasis on relative (vs. absolute) clinical judgments of overall driver safety. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Talking to your car can drive you to distraction.

PubMed

Strayer, David L; Cooper, Joel M; Turrill, Jonna; Coleman, James R; Hopman, Rachel J

2016-01-01

This research examined the impact of in-vehicle information system (IVIS) interactions on the driver's cognitive workload; 257 subjects participated in a weeklong evaluation of the IVIS interaction in one of ten different model-year 2015 automobiles. After an initial assessment of the cognitive workload associated with using the IVIS, participants took the vehicle home for 5 days and practiced using the system. At the end of the 5 days of practice, participants returned and the workload of these IVIS interactions was reassessed. The cognitive workload was found to be moderate to high, averaging 3.34 on a 5-point scale and ranged from 2.37 to 4.57. The workload was associated with the intuitiveness and complexity of the system and the time it took participants to complete the interaction. The workload experienced by older drivers was significantly greater than that experienced by younger drivers performing the same operations. Practice did not eliminate the interference from IVIS interactions. In fact, IVIS interactions that were difficult on the first day were still relatively difficult to perform after a week of practice. Finally, there were long-lasting residual costs after the IVIS interactions had terminated. The higher levels of workload should serve as a caution that these voice-based interactions can be cognitively demanding and ought not to be used indiscriminately while operating a motor vehicle.

Heavy vehicle driver workload assessment. Task 7A, in-cab text message system and cellular phone use by heavy vehicle drivers on road

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

This report covers the seventh in a series of tasks involving the assessment of driver workload in heavy vehicle operation associated with in-cab devices or systems. This report addresses the application of a workload assessment protocol and measurem...

Health Systems' Responsiveness and Its Characteristics: A Cross-Country Comparative Analysis

PubMed Central

Robone, Silvana; Rice, Nigel; Smith, Peter C

2011-01-01

Objectives Responsiveness has been identified as one of the intrinsic goals of health care systems. Little is known, however, about its determinants. Our objective is to investigate the potential country-level drivers of health system responsiveness. Data Source Data on responsiveness are taken from the World Health Survey. Information on country-level characteristics is obtained from a variety of sources including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Study Design A two-step procedure. First, using survey data we derive a country-level measure of system responsiveness purged of differences in individual reporting behavior. Secondly, we run cross-sectional country-level regressions of responsiveness on potential drivers. Principal Findings Health care expenditures per capita are positively associated with responsiveness, after controlling for the influence of potential confounding factors. Aspects of responsiveness are also associated with public sector spending (negatively) and educational development (positively). Conclusions From a policy perspective, improvements in responsiveness may require higher spending levels. The expansion of nonpublic sector provision, perhaps in the form of increased patient choice, may also serve to improve responsiveness. However, these inferences are tentative and require further study. PMID:21762144

How shall we design the future vehicle for Chinese market.

PubMed

Chen, Fang; Wang, Minjuan; Zhu, Xi Chan; Li, Jiaqi

2012-01-01

Surface transportation system is developing very fast in China and the number of vehicles is increasing quickly as well. This development creates a lot of problems on traffic safety and the number of accident is also increasing. In this paper, we made deep analysis of different possible causes of safety problems through three aspects: the traffic environment and infrastructure, in-vehicle information system design and the characteristics of drivers. There are many factors in each aspects may contribute to the transportation safety problems. Problems with infrastructure design and traffic design contribute over 50% of the traffic accident. Another important factor is that people has very little traffic safety concept and very weak on understanding the important of right behavior on the road. This paper has pointed the urgent needs to study the human factors in road and transportation system and vehicle HMI design, as there are very few such studies available in literature based on Chinese situation. The paper also proposed the needs to develop proactive educational system that can promote driver's understanding of traffic safety and to take the right action during drive.

Steering disturbance rejection using a physics-based neuromusculoskeletal driver model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehrabi, Naser; Sharif Razavian, Reza; McPhee, John

2015-10-01

The aim of this work is to develop a comprehensive yet practical driver model to be used in studying driver-vehicle interactions. Drivers interact with their vehicle and the road through the steering wheel. This interaction forms a closed-loop coupled human-machine system, which influences the driver's steering feel and control performance. A hierarchical approach is proposed here to capture the complexity of the driver's neuromuscular dynamics and the central nervous system in the coordination of the driver's upper extremity activities, especially in the presence of external disturbance. The proposed motor control framework has three layers: the first (or the path planning) plans a desired vehicle trajectory and the required steering angles to perform the desired trajectory; the second (or the musculoskeletal controller) actuates the musculoskeletal arm to rotate the steering wheel accordingly; and the final layer ensures the precision control and disturbance rejection of the motor control units. The physics-based driver model presented here can also provide insights into vehicle control in relaxed and tensed driving conditions, which are simulated by adjusting the driver model parameters such as cognition delay and muscle co-contraction dynamics.

The influence of highly automated driving on the self-perception of drivers in the context of Conduct-by-Wire.

PubMed

Kauer, Michaela; Franz, Benjamin; Maier, Alexander; Bruder, Ralph

2015-01-01

Today, new driving paradigms are being introduced that aim to reduce the number of standalone driver assistance systems by combining these into one overarching system. This is done to reduce the demands on drivers but often leads to a higher degree of automation. Feasibility and driver behaviour are often the subject of studies, but this is contrasted by a lack of research into the influence of highly automated driving on the self-perception of drivers. This article begins to close this gap by investigating the influences of one highly automated driving concept--Conduct-by-Wire--on the self-perception of drivers via a combined driving simulator and interview study. The aim of this work is to identify changes in the role concept of drivers indicated by highly automated driving, to evaluate these changes from the drivers' point of view and to give suggestions of possible improvements to the design of highly automated vehicles.

Panarchy use in environmental science for risk and resilience ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Environmental sciences have an important role in informing sustainable management of built environments by providing insights about the drivers and potentially negative impacts of global environmental change. Here, we discuss panarchy theory, a multi-scale hierarchical concept that accounts for the dynamism of complex socio-ecological systems, especially for those systems with strong cross-scale feedbacks. The idea of panarchy underlies much of system resilience, focusing on how systems respond to known and unknown threats. Panarchy theory can provide a framework for qualitative and quantitative research and application in the environmental sciences, which can in turn inform the ongoing efforts in socio-technical resilience thinking and adaptive and transformative approaches to management. The environmental sciences strive for understanding, mitigating and reversing the negative impacts of global environmental change, including chemical pollution, to maintain sustainability options for the future, and therefore play an important role for informing management.

Effects of rearview cameras and rear parking sensors on police-reported backing crashes.

PubMed

Cicchino, Jessica B

2017-11-17

The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of rearview cameras, rear parking sensors, and both systems combined in preventing police-reported backing crashes. Negative binomial regression was used to compare rates of police-reported backing crash involvements per insured vehicle year in 22 U.S. states during 2009-2014 between passenger vehicle models with backing technologies and the same vehicle models where the optional systems were not purchased, controlling for other factors affecting crash risk. Rearview cameras were examined from four automakers, rear parking sensors from 2 automakers, and both systems combined from a single automaker. Rearview cameras reduced backing crash involvement rates by 17%. Reductions were larger for drivers 70 and older (36%) than for drivers younger than 70 (16%); however, estimates for older and younger drivers did not differ significantly from one another. The Buick Lucerne's rear parking sensor system reduced backing crash involvement rates significantly by 34%, but the reduction for Mercedes-Benz vehicles fit with a sensor system was small and not statistically significant. When averaged between the 2 automakers, effects were significantly larger for drivers 70 and older (38% reduction) than for drivers younger than 70 (1% increase); effects were significant for older but not younger drivers. Backing crash involvement rates were 13% lower among Mercedes-Benz vehicles with a rearview camera and parking sensors than among vehicles without, but this finding was not significant. Rearview cameras are effective in preventing police-reported backing crashes. Effects of rear parking sensors are less straightforward; it is unclear whether the Buick Lucerne system's benefits are due to the older age of its drivers, characteristics of the vehicle or system, or a combination. Systems may be especially beneficial to older drivers who might have limitations that make backing challenging. Although effect estimates did not differ significantly between older and younger drivers for both system types, the magnitude of the differences was large and the pattern of results was consistent across 6 of the 7 systems examined. When rear visibility systems become required equipment on new passenger vehicles in 2018, rearview cameras can be expected to prevent 1 in 6 backing crashes reported to police that involve equipped vehicles.

Design and evaluation of steering protection for avoiding collisions during a lane change.

PubMed

Itoh, Makoto; Inagaki, Toshiyuki

2014-01-01

This paper discusses the design of a driver assistance system for avoiding collisions with vehicles in blind spots. The following three types of support systems are compared: (1) a warning system that provides the driver with an auditory alert, (2) a 'soft' protection system that makes the steering wheel stiffer to tell the driver that a lane-change manoeuvre is not recommended and (3) a 'hard' protection system that cancels the driver's input and controls the tyre angle autonomously to prevent lane departure. The results of an experiment showed that the hard protection system was more effective for collision avoidance than either the warning or the soft protection system. The warning and soft protection systems were almost the same in terms of collision avoidance. The results suggest that the human-centred automation principle, which requires the human to have the final authority over the automation, can be violated depending on the context.

Teen Driver Safety: Additional Research Could Help States Strengthen Graduated Driver Licensing Systems. Report to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Its Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, House of Representatives. GAO-10-544

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleming, Susan A.

2010-01-01

Teen drivers ages 16 to 20 have the highest fatality rate of any age group in the United States. As a result, states have increasingly adopted laws to limit teen driving exposure, such as Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) systems, which consist of three stages: a learner's permit allowing driving only under supervision; intermediate licensure…

NDAS Hardware Translation Layer Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nazaretian, Ryan N.; Holladay, Wendy T.

2011-01-01

The NASA Data Acquisition System (NDAS) project is aimed to replace all DAS software for NASA s Rocket Testing Facilities. There must be a software-hardware translation layer so the software can properly talk to the hardware. Since the hardware from each test stand varies, drivers for each stand have to be made. These drivers will act more like plugins for the software. If the software is being used in E3, then the software should point to the E3 driver package. If the software is being used at B2, then the software should point to the B2 driver package. The driver packages should also be filled with hardware drivers that are universal to the DAS system. For example, since A1, A2, and B2 all use the Preston 8300AU signal conditioners, then the driver for those three stands should be the same and updated collectively.

Design of a Fatigue Detection System for High-Speed Trains Based on Driver Vigilance Using a Wireless Wearable EEG

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xiaoliang; Li, Jiali; Liu, Yugang; Zhang, Zutao; Wang, Zhuojun; Luo, Dianyuan; Zhou, Xiang; Zhu, Miankuan; Salman, Waleed; Hu, Guangdi; Wang, Chunbai

2017-01-01

The vigilance of the driver is important for railway safety, despite not being included in the safety management system (SMS) for high-speed train safety. In this paper, a novel fatigue detection system for high-speed train safety based on monitoring train driver vigilance using a wireless wearable electroencephalograph (EEG) is presented. This system is designed to detect whether the driver is drowsiness. The proposed system consists of three main parts: (1) a wireless wearable EEG collection; (2) train driver vigilance detection; and (3) early warning device for train driver. In the first part, an 8-channel wireless wearable brain-computer interface (BCI) device acquires the locomotive driver’s brain EEG signal comfortably under high-speed train-driving conditions. The recorded data are transmitted to a personal computer (PC) via Bluetooth. In the second step, a support vector machine (SVM) classification algorithm is implemented to determine the vigilance level using the Fast Fourier transform (FFT) to extract the EEG power spectrum density (PSD). In addition, an early warning device begins to work if fatigue is detected. The simulation and test results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed fatigue detection system for high-speed train safety. PMID:28257073

CAMAC driver for the RSX-11M V3 operating system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tippie, J. W.; Cannon, P. H.

1977-01-01

A driver for Kinetic Systems 3911A dedicated crate controller and 3992 serial highway driver for RSX-11M is described. The implementation includes a modified UCB structure. With this structure, multiple active I/O requests are supported to a single controller. The completion of an I/O request may be tied to external events via a WAIT-FOR-LAM command. Features of the driver include the ability to pass a list of FNA's in a single QIO call, serial highway overhead transparent at the QIO level, and special control commands to the driver passed in the FNA list. 1 figure.

What the drivers do and do not tell you: using verbal protocol analysis to investigate driver behaviour in emergency situations.

PubMed

Banks, Victoria A; Stanton, Neville A; Harvey, Catherine

2014-01-01

Although task analysis of pedestrian detection can provide us with useful insights into how a driver may behave in emergency situations, the cognitive elements of driver decision-making are less well understood. To assist in the design of future Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, such as Autonomous Emergency Brake systems, it is essential that the cognitive elements of the driving task are better understood. This paper uses verbal protocol analysis in an exploratory fashion to uncover the thought processes underlying behavioural outcomes represented by hard data collected using the Southampton University Driving Simulator.

Use patterns among early adopters of adaptive cruise control.

PubMed

Xiong, Huimin; Boyle, Linda Ng; Moeckli, Jane; Dow, Benjamin R; Brown, Timothy L

2012-10-01

The objective of this study was to investigate use patterns among early adopters of adaptive cruise control (ACC). Extended use ofACC may influence a driver's behavior in the long-term, which can have unintended safety consequences. The authors examined the use of a motion-based simulator by 24 participants (15 males and 9 females). Cluster analysis was performed on drivers' use of ACC and was based on their gap settings, speed settings, number of warnings issued, and ACC disengaged. The data were then examined on the basis of driving performance measures and drivers' subjective responses to trust in ACC, understanding of system operations, and driving styles. Driving performance measures included minimum time headway, adjusted minimum time to collision, and drivers' reaction time to critical events. Three groups of drivers were observed on the basis of risky behavior, moderately risky behavior, and conservative behavior. Drivers in the conservative group stayed farther behind the lead vehicle than did drivers in the other two groups. Risky drivers responded later to critical events and had more ACC warnings issued. Safety consequences with ACC may be more prevalent in some driver groups than others. The findings suggest that these safety implications are related to trust in automation, driving styles, understanding of system operations, and personalities. Potential applications of this research include enhanced design for next-generation ACC systems and countermeasures to improve safe driving with ACC.

PILOT RESULTS ON FORWARD COLLISION WARNING SYSTEM EFFECTIVENESS IN OLDER DRIVERS

PubMed Central

Lester, Benjamin D.; Sager, Lauren N.; Dawson, Jeffrey; Hacker, Sarah D.; Aksan, Nazan; Rizzo, Matthew; Kitazaki, Satoshi

2016-01-01

Summary Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) have largely been developed with a “one-size-fits-all” approach. This approach neglects the large inter-individual variability in perceptual and cognitive abilities that affect aging ADAS users. We investigated the effectiveness of a forward collision warning (FCW) with fixed response parameters in young and older drivers with differing levels of cognitive functioning. Drivers responded to a pedestrian stepping into the driver’s path on a simulated urban road. Behavioral metrics included response times (RT) for pedal controls and two indices of risk penetration (e.g., maximum deceleration and minimum time-to-collision (TTC)). Older drivers showed significantly slower responses at several time points compared to younger drivers. The FCW facilitated response times (RTs) for older and younger drivers. However, older drivers still showed smaller safety gains compared to younger drivers at accelerator pedal release and initial brake application when the FCW was active. No significant differences in risk metrics were observed within the condition studied. The results demonstrate older drivers likely differ from younger drivers using a FCW with a fixed parameter set. Finally, we briefly discuss how future research should examine predictive relationships between domains of cognitive functioning and ADAS responses to develop parameter sets to fit the individual. PMID:27135061

Safety impact issues of job-associated sleep

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-09-01

This research investigated the safety impact issues of job-associated sleep in truck drivers. The research focused on the anonymous survey of professional truck drivers. Information was gathered regarding perception of driving performance and its rel...

Integrated technologies for solid waste bin monitoring system.

PubMed

Arebey, Maher; Hannan, M A; Basri, Hassan; Begum, R A; Abdullah, Huda

2011-06-01

The integration of communication technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID), global positioning system (GPS), general packet radio system (GPRS), and geographic information system (GIS) with a camera are constructed for solid waste monitoring system. The aim is to improve the way of responding to customer's inquiry and emergency cases and estimate the solid waste amount without any involvement of the truck driver. The proposed system consists of RFID tag mounted on the bin, RFID reader as in truck, GPRS/GSM as web server, and GIS as map server, database server, and control server. The tracking devices mounted in the trucks collect location information in real time via the GPS. This information is transferred continuously through GPRS to a central database. The users are able to view the current location of each truck in the collection stage via a web-based application and thereby manage the fleet. The trucks positions and trash bin information are displayed on a digital map, which is made available by a map server. Thus, the solid waste of the bin and the truck are being monitored using the developed system.

An Evaluation of Graduated Driver Licensing Effects on Fatal Crash Involvements of Young Drivers in the United States

PubMed Central

Fell, James C.; Jones, Kristina; Romano, Eduardo; Voas, Robert

2013-01-01

Objective Graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems are designed to reduce the high crash risk of young novice drivers. Almost all states in the United States have some form of a three-phased GDL system with various restrictions in the intermediate phase. Studies of the effects of GDL in various states show significant reductions in fatal crash involvements of 16- and 17-year-old drivers; however, only a few national studies of GDL effects have been published. The objective of this national panel study was to evaluate the effect of GDL laws on the fatal crash involvements of novice drivers while controlling for possible confounding factors not accounted for in prior studies. Methods The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) was used to examine 16- and 17-year-old driver involvement in fatal crashes (where GDL laws are applied) relative to two young driver age groups (19-20, 21-25) where GDL would not be expected to have an effect. Dates when various GDL laws were adopted in the states between 1990 and 2007 were coded from a variety of sources. Covariates in the longitudinal panel regression analyses conducted included four laws that could have an effect on 16- and 17-year-old drivers: primary enforcement seat belt laws, zero-tolerance (ZT) alcohol laws for drivers younger than age 21, lowering the blood alcohol concentration limit for driving to .08, and so-called “use and lose” laws where drivers aged 20 and younger lose their licenses for underage drinking violations. Results The adoption of a GDL law of average strength was associated with a significant decrease in fatal crash involvements of 16- and 17-year-old drivers relative to fatal crash involvements of one of the two comparison groups. GDL laws rated as “good” showed stronger relationships to fatal crash reductions, and laws rated as “less than good” showed no reductions in crash involvements relative to the older driver comparison groups. Conclusions States that adopt a basic GDL law can expect a decrease of 8 to 14% in the proportion of 16- and 17-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes (relative to 21- to 25-year-old drivers), depending upon their other existing laws that affect novice drivers, such as those used in these analyses. This finding is consistent with recent national studies that used different outcome measures and covariates. The results of this study provide additional support for states to adopt, maintain, and upgrade GDL systems to reduce youthful traffic crash fatalities. PMID:21972851

Novel compact panomorph lens based vision system for monitoring around a vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thibault, Simon

2008-04-01

Automotive applications are one of the largest vision-sensor market segments and one of the fastest growing ones. The trend to use increasingly more sensors in cars is driven both by legislation and consumer demands for higher safety and better driving experiences. Awareness of what directly surrounds a vehicle affects safe driving and manoeuvring of a vehicle. Consequently, panoramic 360° Field of View imaging can contributes most to the perception of the world around the driver than any other sensors. However, to obtain a complete vision around the car, several sensor systems are necessary. To solve this issue, a customized imaging system based on a panomorph lens will provide the maximum information for the drivers with a reduced number of sensors. A panomorph lens is a hemispheric wide angle anamorphic lens with enhanced resolution in predefined zone of interest. Because panomorph lenses are optimized to a custom angle-to-pixel relationship, vision systems provide ideal image coverage that reduces and optimizes the processing. We present various scenarios which may benefit from the use of a custom panoramic sensor. We also discuss the technical requirements of such vision system. Finally we demonstrate how the panomorph based visual sensor is probably one of the most promising ways to fuse many sensors in one. For example, a single panoramic sensor on the front of a vehicle could provide all necessary information for assistance in crash avoidance, lane tracking, early warning, park aids, road sign detection, and various video monitoring views.

Evaluating impacts of different longitudinal driver assistance systems on reducing multi-vehicle rear-end crashes during small-scale inclement weather.

PubMed

Li, Ye; Xing, Lu; Wang, Wei; Wang, Hao; Dong, Changyin; Liu, Shanwen

2017-10-01

Multi-vehicle rear-end (MVRE) crashes during small-scale inclement (SSI) weather cause high fatality rates on freeways, which cannot be solved by traditional speed limit strategies. This study aimed to reduce MVRE crash risks during SSI weather using different longitudinal driver assistance systems (LDAS). The impact factors on MVRE crashes during SSI weather were firstly analyzed. Then, four LDAS, including Forward collision warning (FCW), Autonomous emergency braking (AEB), Adaptive cruise control (ACC) and Cooperative ACC (CACC), were modeled based on a unified platform, the Intelligent Driver Model (IDM). Simulation experiments were designed and a large number of simulations were then conducted to evaluate safety effects of different LDAS. Results indicate that the FCW and ACC system have poor performance on reducing MVRE crashes during SSI weather. The slight improvement of sight distance of FCW and the limitation of perception-reaction time of ACC lead the failure of avoiding MVRE crashes in most scenarios. The AEB system has the better effect due to automatic perception and reaction, as well as performing the full brake when encountering SSI weather. The CACC system has the best performance because wireless communication provides a larger sight distance and a shorter time delay at the sub-second level. Sensitivity analyses also indicated that the larger number of vehicles and speed changes after encountering SSI weather have negative impacts on safety performances. Results of this study provide useful information for accident prevention during SSI weather. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of Automation on Drivers' Performance in Agricultural Semi-Autonomous Vehicles.

PubMed

Bashiri, B; Mann, D D

2015-04-01

Drivers' inadequate mental workload has been reported as one of the negative effects of driving assistant systems and in-vehicle automation. The increasing trend of automation in agricultural vehicles raises some concerns about drivers' mental workload in such vehicles. Thus, a human factors perspective is needed to identify the consequences of such automated systems. In this simulator study, the effects of vehicle steering task automation (VSTA) and implement control and monitoring task automation (ICMTA) were investigated using a tractor-air seeder system as a case study. Two performance parameters (reaction time and accuracy of actions) were measured to assess drivers' perceived mental workload. Experiments were conducted using the tractor driving simulator (TDS) located in the Agricultural Ergonomics Laboratory at the University of Manitoba. Study participants were university students with tractor driving experience. According to the results, reaction time and number of errors made by drivers both decreased as the automation level increased. Correlations were found among performance parameters and subjective mental workload reported by the drivers.

Modelling the influence of sensory dynamics on linear and nonlinear driver steering control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nash, C. J.; Cole, D. J.

2018-05-01

A recent review of the literature has indicated that sensory dynamics play an important role in the driver-vehicle steering task, motivating the design of a new driver model incorporating human sensory systems. This paper presents a full derivation of the linear driver model developed in previous work, and extends the model to control a vehicle with nonlinear tyres. Various nonlinear controllers and state estimators are compared with different approximations of the true system dynamics. The model simulation time is found to increase significantly with the complexity of the controller and state estimator. In general the more complex controllers perform best, although with certain vehicle and tyre models linearised controllers perform as well as a full nonlinear optimisation. Various extended Kalman filters give similar results, although the driver's sensory dynamics reduce control performance compared with full state feedback. The new model could be used to design vehicle systems which interact more naturally and safely with a human driver.

Informing the Development of Educational Programs to Support Older Adults in Retiring from Driving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryanton, Olive; Weeks, Lori E.

2014-01-01

It is clear that while transition from being a driver to being a non-driver is an important, and often negative, event in the life of older adults, there is little support available to help older adults through this transition. This study focuses on increasing our understanding of issues about driving cessation and to inform the development of…

To delegate or not to delegate: A review of control frameworks for autonomous cars.

PubMed

Richards, Dale; Stedmon, Alex

2016-03-01

There have been significant advances in technology and automated systems that will eventually see the use of autonomous cars as commonplace on our roads. Various systems are already available that provide the driver with different levels of decision support. This paper highlights the key human factors issues associated with the interaction between the user and an autonomous system, including assistive decision support and the delegation of authority to the automobile. The level of support offered to the driver can range from traditional automated assistance, to system generated guidance that offers advice for the driver to act upon, and even more direct action that is initiated by the system itself without driver intervention. In many of these instances the role of the driver is slowly moving towards a supervisory role within a complex system rather than one of direct control of the vehicle. Different paradigms of interaction are considered and focus is placed on the partnership that takes place between the driver and the vehicle. Drawing on the wealth of knowledge that exists within the aviation domain and research literature that examines technology partnerships within the cockpit, this paper considers important factors that will assist the automotive community to understand the underlying issues of the human and their interaction within complex systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Perception and biodynamics in unalerted precrash response.

PubMed

McGehee, Daniel V; Carsten, Oliver M J

2010-01-01

This research seeks to better understand unalerted driver response just prior to a serious vehicle crash. Few studies have been able to view a crash from the inside-with a camera focused on the driver and occupants. Four studies are examined: 1) a high-fidelity simulator study with an unalerted intersection incursion crash among 107 drivers; 2) four crashes from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) 100 car study; 3) 58 crashes from vehicles equipped with an event triggered video recorder; and 4) a custom-designed high-fidelity simulator experiment that examined unalerted driver response to a head-on crash with a heavy truck. Analyses concentrate on decomposing driver perception, action, facial and postural changes with a focus on describing the neurophysiologic mechanisms designed to respond to danger. Results indicate that drivers involved in severe crashes generally have preview that an impact is about to occur. They respond first with vehicle control inputs (accelerator pedal release) along with facial state changes and withdrawal of the head back towards the head restraint. These responses frequently occur almost simultaneously, providing safety system designers with a number of reliable driver performance measures to monitor. Understanding such mechanisms may assist future advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), advanced restraints, model development of advanced anthropomorphic test dummies (ATDs), injury prediction and the integration of active and passive safety systems.

A meta-analysis of in-vehicle and nomadic voice-recognition system interaction and driving performance.

PubMed

Simmons, Sarah M; Caird, Jeff K; Steel, Piers

2017-09-01

Driver distraction is a growing and pervasive issue that requires multiple solutions. Voice-recognition (V-R) systems may decrease the visual-manual (V-M) demands of a wide range of in-vehicle system and smartphone interactions. However, the degree that V-R systems integrated into vehicles or available in mobile phone applications affect driver distraction is incompletely understood. A comprehensive meta-analysis of experimental studies was conducted to address this knowledge gap. To meet study inclusion criteria, drivers had to interact with a V-R system while driving and doing everyday V-R tasks such as dialing, initiating a call, texting, emailing, destination entry or music selection. Coded dependent variables included detection, reaction time, lateral position, speed and headway. Comparisons of V-R systems with baseline driving and/or a V-M condition were also coded. Of 817 identified citations, 43 studies involving 2000 drivers and 183 effect sizes (r) were analyzed in the meta-analysis. Compared to baseline, driving while interacting with a V-R system is associated with increases in reaction time and lane positioning, and decreases in detection. When V-M systems were compared to V-R systems, drivers had slightly better performance with the latter system on reaction time, lane positioning and headway. Although V-R systems have some driving performance advantages over V-M systems, they have a distraction cost relative to driving without any system at all. The pattern of results indicates that V-R systems impose moderate distraction costs on driving. In addition, drivers minimally engage in compensatory performance adjustments such as reducing speed and increasing headway while using V-R systems. Implications of the results for theory, design guidelines and future research are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teenaged Drivers and Fatal Crash Responsibility. Preliminary Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Allan F.; Karpf, Ronald S.

According to data obtained for the year 1978 from the Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) and from state governments under contract to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, teenaged drivers (especially males) have much higher rates of fatal crash involvement than older drivers. In addition, teenaged drivers are more likely than…

An Intelligent Parking Management System for Urban Areas

PubMed Central

Vera-Gómez, Juan A.; Quesada-Arencibia, Alexis; García, Carmelo R.; Suárez Moreno, Raúl; Guerra Hernández, Fernando

2016-01-01

In this article we describe a low-cost, minimally-intrusive system for the efficient management of parking spaces on both public roads and controlled zones. This system is based on wireless networks of photoelectric sensors that are deployed on the access roads into and out of these areas. The sensors detect the passage of vehicles on these roads and communicate this information to a data centre, thus making it possible to know the number of vehicles in the controlled zone and the occupancy levels in real-time. This information may be communicated to drivers to facilitate their search for a parking space and to authorities so that they may take steps to control traffic when congestion is detected. PMID:27338397

Comprehending Consumption: The Behavioral Basis and Implementation of Driver Feedback for Reducing Vehicle Energy Use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stillwater, Tai

A large body of evidence suggests that drivers who receive real-time fuel economy information can increase their vehicle fuel economy by 5%, a process commonly known as ecodriving. However, few studies have directly addressed the human side of the feedback, that is, why drivers would (or would not) be motivated to change their behavior and how to design feedback devices to maximize the motivation to ecodrive. This dissertation approaches the question using a mixed qualitative and quantitative approach to explore driver responses and psychology as well as to quantify the process of behavior change. The first chapter discusses the use of mile-per-gallon fuel economy as a metric for driver feedback and finds that an alternative energy economy metric is superior for real-time feedback. The second chapter reviews behavioral theories and proposes a number of practical solutions for the ecodriving context. In the third chapter the theory of planned behavior is tested against driver responses to an existing feedback system available in the 2008 model Toyota Prius. The fourth chapter presents a novel feedback design based on behavioral theories and drivers' responses to the feedback. Finally, chapter five presents the quantitative results of a natural-driving study of fuel economy feedback. The dissertation findings suggest that behavior theories such as the Theory of Planned Behavior can provide important improvements to existing feedback designs. In addition, a careful analysis of vehicle energy flows indicates that the mile-per-gallon metric is deeply flawed as a real-time feedback metric, and should be replaced. Chapters 2 and 3 conclude that behavior theories have both a theoretical and highly practical role in feedback design, although the driving context requires just as much care in the application. Chapters 4 and 5 find that a theory-inspired interface provides drivers with engaging and motivating feedback, and that integrating personal goal into the feedback is the most motivating theory-based addition. Finally, the behavioral model results in chapter 5 suggest that driver goals not only influence in-vehicle energy use, but are themselves flexible constructs that can be directly influenced by energy feedback.

Association between commercial vehicle driver at-fault crashes involving sleepiness/fatigue and proximity to rest areas and truck stops.

PubMed

Bunn, Terry L; Slavova, Svetla; Rock, Peter J

2017-11-22

There is ongoing concern at the national level about the availability of adequate commercial vehicle rest areas and truck stops for commercial vehicle drivers to rest or to wait for a delivery window. A retrospective case-control study was conducted to determine the association between the occurrence of sleepiness/fatigue-related (cases) vs. all other human factor-related commercial vehicle driver at-fault crashes (controls) and proximity to rest areas, weigh stations with rest havens, and truck stops. Commercial vehicle driver at-fault crashes involving sleepiness/fatigue were more likely to occur on roadways where the nearest rest areas/weigh stations with rest havens/truck stops were located 20 miles or more from the commercial vehicle crash site (Odds Ratio [OR]=2.32; Confidence Interval [CI] 1.615, 3.335] for 20-39.9 miles vs. <20 miles; and OR=6.788 [CI 2.112, 21.812] for 40+ miles) compared to commercial vehicle at-fault driver crashes with human factors other than sleepiness/fatigue cited in crash reports. Commercial vehicle driver at-fault crashes involving sleepiness/fatigue also were more likely to occur on parkways compared to interstates (adjusted OR=3.747 [CI 2.83, 4.95]), during nighttime hours (adjusted OR=6.199 [CI 4.733, 8.119]), and on dry pavement (adjusted OR 1.909, [CI 1.373, 2.655]). The use of statewide crash data analysis coupled with ArcGIS mapping capabilities provided the opportunity to both statistically determine and to visualize the association between rest area/weigh station with rest haven/truck stop distance and the occurrence of commercial vehicle driver at-fault crashes involving sleepiness/fatigue. Implementation and evaluation of commercial vehicle employer policies and interventions such as the use of commercial vehicle driver fatigue alert systems may help to reduce fatigue and sleepiness in commercial vehicle drivers. These results can be used by state and local highway transportation officials to inform and increase truck parking availability, especially on parkways. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The California corridor transportation system: A design summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

A design group was assembled to find and research criteria relevent to the design of a California Corridor Transportation System. The efforts of this group included defining the problem, conducting a market analysis, formulation of a demand model, identification and evaluation of design drivers, and the systematic development of a solution. The problems of the current system were analyzed and used to determine design drivers, which were divided into the broad categories of cost, convenience, feasibility, environment, safety, and social impact. The relative importance of individual problems was addressed, resulting in a hierarchy of design drivers. Where possible, methods of evaluating the relative merit of proposed systems with respect to each driver were developed. Short takeoff vertical landing aircraft concepts are also discussed for supersonic fighters.

49 CFR 391.23 - Investigation and inquiries.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... and employment verification information. (2) The data elements as specified in § 390.15(b)(1) of this... before allowing the driver to operate a CMV: (A) The type of operation the driver self-certified that he...

Longitudinal control behaviour: Analysis and modelling based on experimental surveys in Italy and the UK.

PubMed

Pariota, Luigi; Bifulco, Gennaro Nicola; Galante, Francesco; Montella, Alfonso; Brackstone, Mark

2016-04-01

This paper analyses driving behaviour in car-following conditions, based on extensive individual vehicle data collected during experimental field surveys carried out in Italy and the UK. The aim is to contribute to identify simple evidence to be exploited in the ongoing process of driving assistance and automation which, in turn, would reduce rear-end crashes. In particular, identification of differences and similarities in observed car-following behaviours for different samples of drivers could justify common tuning, at a European or worldwide level, of a technological solution aimed at active safety, or, in the event of differences, could suggest the most critical aspects to be taken into account for localisation or customisation of driving assistance solutions. Without intending to be exhaustive, this paper moves one step in this direction. Indeed, driving behaviour and human errors are considered to be among the main crash contributory factors, and a promising approach for safety improvement is the progressive introduction of increasing levels of driving automation in next-generation vehicles, according to the active/preventive safety approach. However, the more advanced the system, the more complex will be the integration in the vehicle, and the interaction with the driver may sometimes become unproductive, or risky, should the driver be removed from the driving control loop. Thus, implementation of these systems will require the interaction of human driving logics with automation logics and then an enhanced ability in modelling drivers' behaviour. This will allow both higher active-safety levels and higher user acceptance to be achieved, thus ensuring that the driver is always in the control loop, even if his/her role is limited to supervising the automatic logic. Currently, the driving mode most targeted by driving assistance systems is longitudinal driving. This is required in various driving conditions, among which car-following assumes key importance because of the huge number of rear-end crashes. The increased availability of lower-cost information and communication technologies (ICTs) has enhanced the possibility of collecting copious and reliable car-following individual vehicle data. In this work, data collected from three different experiments, two carried out in Italy and one in the UK, are analysed and compared. The experiments involved 146 drivers (105 Italian drivers and 41 UK drivers). Data were collected by two instrumented vehicles. Our analysis focused on inter-vehicular spacing in equilibrium car-following conditions. We observed that (i) the adopted equilibrium spacing can be fitted using lognormal distributions, (ii) the adopted equilibrium spacing increases with speed, and (iii) the dispersion between drivers increases with speed. In addition, according to different headway thresholds (up to 1 second) a significant number of potentially dangerous behaviours is observed. Three different car-following paradigms are also applied to each of the experiments, and modelling parameters are calibrated and compared to obtain indirect confirmation about the observed similarities and differences in driving behaviour. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Intelligent computer-aided tutoring system for diagnosing anomalies of spacecraft in operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rolincik, Mark; Lauriente, Michael; Koons, Harry C.; Gorney, David

1993-01-01

A new rule-based, expert system for diagnosing spacecraft anomalies is under development. The knowledge base consists of over two-hundred (200) rules and provides links to historical and environmental databases. Environmental causes considered are bulk charging, single event upsets (SEU), surface charging, and total radiation dose. The system's driver translates forward chaining rules into a backward chaining sequence, prompting the user for information pertinent to the causes considered. When the user selects the novice mode, the system automatically gives detailed explanations and descriptions of terms and reasoning as the session progresses, in a sense teaching the user. As such it is an effective tutoring tool. The use of heuristics frees the user from searching through large amounts of irrelevant information and allows the user to input partial information (varying degrees of confidence in an answer) or 'unknown' to any question. The system is available on-line and uses C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS), an expert shell developed by the NASA Johnson Space Center AI Laboratory in Houston.

Using head-on collisions to compare risk of driver death by frontal air bag generation: a matched-pair cohort study.

PubMed

Braver, Elisa R; Kufera, Joseph A; Alexander, Melvin T; Scerbo, Marge; Volpini, Karen; Lloyd, Joseph P

2008-03-01

US air bag regulations were changed in 1997 to allow tests of unbelted male dummies in vehicles mounted and accelerated on sleds, resulting in longer crash pulses than rigid-barrier crashes. This change facilitated depowering of frontal air bags and was intended to reduce air bag-induced deaths. Controversy ensued as to whether sled-certified air bags could increase adult fatality risk. A matched-pair cohort study of two-vehicle, head-on, fatal collisions between drivers involving first-generation versus sled-certified air bags during 1998-2005 was conducted by using Fatality Analysis Reporting System data. Sled certification was ascertained from public information and a survey of automakers. Conditional Poisson regression for matched-pair cohorts was used to estimate risk ratios adjusted for age, seat belt status, vehicle type, passenger car size, and model year for driver deaths in vehicles with sled-certified air bags versus first-generation air bags. For all passenger-vehicle pairs, the adjusted risk ratio was 0.87 (95% confidence interval: 0.77, 0.98). In head-on collisions involving only passenger cars, the adjusted risk ratio was 1.04 (95% confidence interval: 0.85, 1.29). Increased fatality risk for drivers with sled-certified air bags was not observed. A borderline significant interaction between vehicle type and air bag generation suggested that sled-certified air bags may have reduced the risk of dying in head-on collisions among drivers of pickup trucks.

An explanatory analysis of driver injury severity in rear-end crashes using a decision table/Naïve Bayes (DTNB) hybrid classifier.

PubMed

Chen, Cong; Zhang, Guohui; Yang, Jinfu; Milton, John C; Alcántara, Adélamar Dely

2016-05-01

Rear-end crashes are a major type of traffic crashes in the U.S. Of practical necessity is a comprehensive examination of its mechanism that results in injuries and fatalities. Decision table (DT) and Naïve Bayes (NB) methods have both been used widely but separately for solving classification problems in multiple areas except for traffic safety research. Based on a two-year rear-end crash dataset, this paper applies a decision table/Naïve Bayes (DTNB) hybrid classifier to select the deterministic attributes and predict driver injury outcomes in rear-end crashes. The test results show that the hybrid classifier performs reasonably well, which was indicated by several performance evaluation measurements, such as accuracy, F-measure, ROC, and AUC. Fifteen significant attributes were found to be significant in predicting driver injury severities, including weather, lighting conditions, road geometry characteristics, driver behavior information, etc. The extracted decision rules demonstrate that heavy vehicle involvement, a comfortable traffic environment, inferior lighting conditions, two-lane rural roadways, vehicle disabled damage, and two-vehicle crashes would increase the likelihood of drivers sustaining fatal injuries. The research limitations on data size, data structure, and result presentation are also summarized. The applied methodology and estimation results provide insights for developing effective countermeasures to alleviate rear-end crash injury severities and improve traffic system safety performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Drivers' Visual Search Behavior Toward Vulnerable Road Users at Junctions as a Function of Cycling Experience.

PubMed

Robbins, Chloe Jade; Chapman, Peter

2018-06-01

The current study investigated the behavior and visual attention of two groups of drivers with differing pedal cycling experience (pedal cyclists and nonpedal cyclists) towards vulnerable road users at junctions in a driving simulator. Pedal cyclists and motorcyclists are involved in a disproportionate number of crashes given the distance they travel, with a high proportion of these crashes occurring at junctions. Many studies have found that car drivers who also hold a motorcycle license have increased awareness towards motorcycles. The task involved approaching a T-junction and turning right when it was deemed to be safe. In Study 1, the junction was controlled by a give way sign, and in Study 2, the junction was controlled by a stop sign. Each T-junction contained a target vehicle (car, motorcycle, or pedal cycle), approaching from a near, medium, or far distance from the junction. Participants did not look at pedal cycles approaching from a far distance for as long as they looked at approaching motorcycles and cars, despite all vehicles travelling at identical speeds. No differences were found between pedal cyclists and nonpedal cyclists on any visual attention measures, indicating that pedal cycling experience was not associated with differences in drivers' attention toward pedal cycles. Findings have implications for road safety, demonstrating subtle differences in drivers' everyday visual attention toward differing vehicle types. This research has the potential to inform the development of in-car technical assistive systems, improving the safety of vulnerable road users at junctions.

Distraction and task engagement: How interesting and boring information impact driving performance and subjective and physiological responses.

PubMed

Horrey, William J; Lesch, Mary F; Garabet, Angela; Simmons, Lucinda; Maikala, Rammohan

2017-01-01

As more devices and services are integrated into vehicles, drivers face new opportunities to perform additional tasks while driving. While many studies have explored the detrimental effects of varying task demands on driving performance, there has been little attention devoted to tasks that vary in terms of personal interest or investment-a quality we liken to the concept of task engagement. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of task engagement on driving performance, subjective appraisals of performance and workload, and various physiological measurements. In this study, 31 participants (M = 37 yrs) completed three driving conditions in a driving simulator: listening to boring auditory material; listening to interesting material; and driving with no auditory material. Drivers were simultaneously monitored using near-infrared spectroscopy, heart monitoring and eye tracking systems. Drivers exhibited less variability in lane keeping and headway maintenance for both auditory conditions; however, response times to critical braking events were longer in the interesting audio condition. Drivers also perceived the interesting material to be less demanding and less complex, although the material was objectively matched for difficulty. Drivers showed a reduced concentration of cerebral oxygenated hemoglobin when listening to interesting material, compared to baseline and boring conditions, yet they exhibited superior recognition for this material. The practical implications, from a safety standpoint, are discussed. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Enhancing the Quantitative Representation of Socioeconomic Conditions in the Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) using the International Futures Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rothman, D. S.; Siraj, A.; Hughes, B.

2013-12-01

The international research community is currently in the process of developing new scenarios for climate change research. One component of these scenarios are the Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs), which describe a set of possible future socioeconomic conditions. These are presented in narrative storylines with associated quantitative drivers. The core quantitative drivers include total population, average GDP per capita, educational attainment, and urbanization at the global, regional, and national levels. At the same time there have been calls, particularly by the IAV community, for the SSPs to include additional quantitative information on other key social factors, such as income inequality, governance, health, and access to key infrastructures, which are discussed in the narratives. The International Futures system (IFs), based at the Pardee Center at the University of Denver, is able to provide forecasts of many of these indicators. IFs cannot use the SSP drivers as exogenous inputs, but we are able to create development pathways that closely reproduce the core quantitative drivers defined by the different SSPs, as well as incorporating assumptions on other key driving factors described in the qualitative narratives. In this paper, we present forecasts for additional quantitative indicators based upon the implementation of the SSP development pathways in IFs. These results will be of value to many researchers.

Performance of an Additional Task During Level 2 Automated Driving: An On-Road Study Comparing Drivers With and Without Experience With Partial Automation.

PubMed

Solís-Marcos, Ignacio; Ahlström, Christer; Kircher, Katja

2018-05-01

To investigate the influence of prior experience with Level 2 automation on additional task performance during manual and Level 2 partially automated driving. Level 2 automation is now on the market, but its effects on driver behavior remain unclear. Based on previous studies, we could expect an increase in drivers' engagement in secondary tasks during Level 2 automated driving, but it is yet unknown how drivers will integrate all the ongoing demands in such situations. Twenty-one drivers (12 without, 9 with Level 2 automation experience) drove on a highway manually and with Level 2 automation (exemplified by Volvo Pilot Assist generation 2; PA2) while performing an additional task. In half of the conditions, the task could be interrupted (self-paced), and in the other half, it could not (system-paced). Drivers' visual attention, additional task performance, and other compensatory strategies were analyzed. Driving with PA2 led to decreased scores in the additional task and more visual attention to the dashboard. In the self-paced condition, all drivers looked more to the task and perceived a lower mental demand. The drivers experienced with PA2 used the system and the task more than the novice group and performed more overtakings. The additional task interfered more with Level 2 automation than with manual driving. The drivers, particularly the automation novice drivers, used some compensatory strategies. Automation designers need to consider these potential effects in the development of future automated systems.

The Role of Interaction Patterns with Hybrid Electric Vehicle Eco-Features for Drivers' Eco-Driving Performance.

PubMed

Arend, Matthias G; Franke, Thomas

2017-03-01

The objective of the present research was to understand drivers' interaction patterns with hybrid electric vehicles' (HEV) eco-features (electric propulsion, regenerative braking, neutral mode) and their relationship to fuel efficiency and driver characteristics (technical system knowledge, eco-driving motivation). Eco-driving (driving behaviors performed to achieve higher fuel efficiency) has the potential to reduce CO 2 emissions caused by road vehicles. Eco-driving in HEVs is particularly challenging due to the systems' dynamic energy flows. As a result, drivers are likely to show diverse eco-driving behaviors, depending on factors like knowledge and motivation. The eco-features represent an interface for the control of the systems' energy flows. A sample of 121 HEV drivers who had constantly logged their fuel consumption prior to the study participated in an online questionnaire. Drivers' interaction patterns with the eco-features were related to fuel efficiency. A common factor was identified in an exploratory factor analysis, characterizing the intensity of actively dealing with electric energy, which was also related to fuel efficiency. Driver characteristics were not related to this factor, yet they were significant predictors of fuel efficiency. From the perspective of user-energy interaction, the relationship of the aggregated factor to fuel efficiency emphasizes the central role of drivers' perception of and interaction with energy conversions in determining HEV eco-driving success. To arrive at an in-depth understanding of drivers' eco-driving behaviors that can guide interface design, authors of future research should be concerned with the psychological processes that underlie drivers' interaction patterns with eco-features.

Wireless and wearable EEG system for evaluating driver vigilance.

PubMed

Lin, Chin-Teng; Chuang, Chun-Hsiang; Huang, Chih-Sheng; Tsai, Shu-Fang; Lu, Shao-Wei; Chen, Yen-Hsuan; Ko, Li-Wei

2014-04-01

Brain activity associated with attention sustained on the task of safe driving has received considerable attention recently in many neurophysiological studies. Those investigations have also accurately estimated shifts in drivers' levels of arousal, fatigue, and vigilance, as evidenced by variations in their task performance, by evaluating electroencephalographic (EEG) changes. However, monitoring the neurophysiological activities of automobile drivers poses a major measurement challenge when using a laboratory-oriented biosensor technology. This work presents a novel dry EEG sensor based mobile wireless EEG system (referred to herein as Mindo) to monitor in real time a driver's vigilance status in order to link the fluctuation of driving performance with changes in brain activities. The proposed Mindo system incorporates the use of a wireless and wearable EEG device to record EEG signals from hairy regions of the driver conveniently. Additionally, the proposed system can process EEG recordings and translate them into the vigilance level. The study compares the system performance between different regression models. Moreover, the proposed system is implemented using JAVA programming language as a mobile application for online analysis. A case study involving 15 study participants assigned a 90 min sustained-attention driving task in an immersive virtual driving environment demonstrates the reliability of the proposed system. Consistent with previous studies, power spectral analysis results confirm that the EEG activities correlate well with the variations in vigilance. Furthermore, the proposed system demonstrated the feasibility of predicting the driver's vigilance in real time.

Technology and teen drivers.

PubMed

Lee, John D

2007-01-01

The rapid evolution of computing, communication, and sensor technology is likely to affect young drivers more than others. The distraction potential of infotainment technology stresses the same vulnerabilities that already lead young drivers to crash more frequently than other drivers. Cell phones, text messaging, MP3 players, and other nomadic devices all present a threat because young drivers may lack the spare attentional capacity for vehicle control and the ability to anticipate and manage hazards. Moreover, young drivers are likely to be the first and most aggressive users of new technology. Fortunately, emerging technology can also support safe driving. Electronic stability control, collision avoidance systems, intelligent speed adaptation, and vehicle tracking systems can all help mitigate the threats to young drivers. However, technology alone is unlikely to make young drivers safer. One promising approach to tailoring technology to teen drivers is to extend proven methods for enhancing young driver safety. The success of graduated drivers license programs (GDL) and the impressive safety benefit of supervised driving suggest ways of tailoring technology to the needs of young drivers. To anticipate the effects of technology on teen driving it may be useful to draw an analogy between the effects of passengers and the effects of technology. Technology can act as a teen passenger and undermine safety or it can act as an adult passenger and enhance safety. Rapidly developing technology may have particularly large effects on teen drivers. To maximize the positive effects and minimize the negative effects will require a broad range of industries to work together. Ideally, vehicle manufacturers would work with infotainment providers, insurance companies, and policy makers to craft new technologies so that they accommodate the needs of young drivers. Without such collaboration young drivers will face even greater challenges to their safety as new technologies emerge.