Consistency between subjectively and objectively measured hazard perception skills among young male drivers

Assessing the effectiveness of an online cycling training for adults to master complex traffic situations

BACKGROUND

Acknowledging the significance of both subjective and objective safety in promoting cycling, there is a need for effective measures aimed at improving cycling skills among a broader population. Hence, the aim of the current study is to evaluate and investigate the impact of online cycling training targeted at adults.

METHODS

An online cycling training consisting of three modules was developed to train safe behaviour in seven prototypical safety-relevant situations. 10,000 individuals were invited to participate, with 700 individuals completing the training. The effectiveness of the training was evaluated using a mixed-methods approach combining self-report measures with behavioural measures. Self-report measures were collected using four items of the Cycling Skills Inventory and knowledge-based questions. On a behavioural level, effectiveness was investigated using a virtual reality cycling simulator.

RESULTS

Participants' self-reported cycling skills were evaluated before and after participation in the online training. Three out of four self-reported skills (i.e. predicting traffic situations, showing consideration, knowing how to act) improved on average, across participants. Moreover, participants who cycle less frequently benefited more from the training as they indicated their ability to recognise hazards, to predict traffic situations and to know how to appropriately after completion of the online training. Finally, all participants indicated that they felt more comfortable while cycling after completing the training. In the training evaluation, it was found that the treatment group navigated through traffic more safely on a behavioural level, and/or possessed the required knowledge-based skills in three out of five evaluated situations.

CONCLUSION

These promising findings indicate that online cycling training is one potential avenue to develop cycling skills within a target audience of adult cyclists: not only on a knowledge level, but also on a behavioural level. Notwithstanding limitations, we conclude that an online cycling training can contribute to safer cycling and the promotion of cycling in general.

Identifying novice drivers in need of hazard perception ability improvement for takeover performance in Level 3 automated driving

Takeover performance is a crucial constraint on deploying Level 3 automated driving. Not all drivers can adopt appropriate strategies to take over vehicle control during safety-critical situations. The hazard perception abilities of novice drivers may cause individual differences in urgent takeover performance. This research examines the urgent takeover performances of novice drivers with different hazard perception abilities for takeover safety improvement. Forty novice drivers took over in urgent cut-in situations at a driving simulator. The hazard perception tests evaluated their hazard perception abilities. This study formulated moderating effect models based on experimental data. Results indicated that hazard perception ability indirectly affected the significance of the correlation between takeover reaction and steering behaviors. Drivers with improved hazard perception abilities are less likely to turn sharply on the steering wheel. In this study, 39.8% of the participants need to improve their hazard perception abilities. Their z-scores were longer than 0.002 in hazard perception tests. Findings can identify the individuals who need hazard perception training to enhance their takeover performance effectively.

Evaluating helmet-wearing of single-vehicle overspeeding motorcycle crashes: Insights from temporal instability in parsimonious pooled framework

OBJECTIVE

A lower helmet-wearing rate and overspeeding in Pakistan are critical risk behaviors of motorcyclists, causing severe injuries. To explore the differences in the determinants affecting the injury severities among helmeted and non-helmeted motorcyclists in motorcycle crashes caused by overspeeding behavior, single-vehicle motorcycle crash data in Rawalpindi city for 2017-2019 is collected. Considering three possible crash injury severity outcomes of motorcyclists: fatal injury, severe injury and minor injury, the rider, roadway, environmental, and temporal characteristics are estimated.

METHODS

To provide a mathematically simpler framework, the current study introduces parsimonious pooled random parameters logit models. Then, the standard pooled random parameters logit models without considering temporal effects are also simulated for comparison. By comparing the goodness of fit measure and estimation results, the parsimonious pooled random parameters logit model is suitable for capturing the temporal instability. Then, the non-transferability among helmeted and non-helmeted overspeeding motorcycle crashes is illustrated by likelihood ratio tests and out-of-sample prediction, and two types of models provide robust results. The marginal effects are also calculated.

RESULTS

Several variables, such as age, cloudy and weekday indicators illustrate temporal instability. Moreover, several variables are observed to only show significance in non-helmeted models, showing non-transferability across helmeted and non-helmeted models.

CONCLUSIONS

More educational campaigns, regulation and enforcement, and management countermeasures should be organized for non-helmeted motorcyclists and overspeeding behavior. Such findings also provide research reference for the risk-compensating behavior and self-selected group issues under overspeeding riding considering the usage of helmets.

Effects of hazard type and confidence level on hazard perception in young male drivers: an ERP study

Hazard perception refers to a driver's ability to identify potential hazards on the road. Although studies have shown that overconfidence affects drivers' ability to perceive hazards, the neural processing of hazard perception in overconfident drivers under different hazard types has rarely been investigated. A mixed experimental design of 2 (hazard type: hazards, no hazards) × 2 (driver group: overconfident driver, control group) was used. A total of 120 images (60 with hazards and 60 without hazards) were presented to 25 overconfident drivers and 25 drivers in the control group. Reaction time, response accuracy, P200 (200-250 ms), and N2 (280-330 ms) components were measured via event-related potential (ERP) technology. Response times of overconfident drivers are slower than those of the control group regardless of hazard types. The P200 latency of overconfident drivers was longer than that of their peers in hazard situations, while the P200 latency was similar between the two groups in no-hazard situations. Although a significant interaction was found on the N2 amplitude, no significant differences were found between the two groups in both hazard and no-hazard situations. Overconfident drivers have worse hazard perception performance in hazard situations with slower reaction times and greater P200 latencies than their peers. More importantly, P200 amplitude and N2 amplitude are sensitive to hazard types, while P200 amplitude and N2 latency can discriminate between driver groups. The findings help understand the negative impact of overconfidence on young drivers and contribute to the development and training of hazard perception tests.

Simulator-based driving test prescreening as a complement to driver testing - Toward safer and more risk-aware drivers

Young people represent a high-risk group of drivers and the prevalence of road traffic crashes among young drivers is high. Thus, to increase traffic safety, it is essential to ensure that new drivers are both sufficiently educated in and assessed for risk awareness. The aim of this study was to examine the possibility and potential benefit of using a driving simulator screening test as a complement to the existing on-road driving test. The main idea is to detect drivers who are not ready to proceed to the driving test. A comparative study was performed with participants who passed and failed a simulator test and an on-road driving test, respectively. A comparison between subjective and objective measures of performance and risk was also included. A driving simulator was placed at a traffic school and customers were recruited as participants. In total, 70 participants took part in the study and the simulated drive consisted of rural roads, urban traffic, and motorways with 16 different scenarios, constructed from the second level of the GDE matrix, to examine driving behavior, attention, and risk perception. The results show that with a screening test in a driving simulator, it is possible to detect drivers who consider themselves ready to take a driving test, but who have not yet reached the level of risk awareness required to be a safe driver. Test scenarios should be suited to detect deficiencies in risk awareness, test different levels of the GDE matrix and, to complement the driving test, be difficult to assess in an on-road driving test. Deficiencies in self-evaluation that are well-known among young drivers are again confirmed. To practice self-evaluation, the driving simulator is suggested as a pedagogical tool, linked to the GDE matrix.

Correlations among self-report, static image, and video-based hazard perception assessments: The validity of a new Lithuanian hazard prediction test

Scholars suggest that improving hazard perception (HP) skills among different road users can lead to safer driving. To this end, a small number of countries have developed a national hazard perception test for their licensing procedures. The purpose of the current research is to develop and validate a new video-based hazard prediction test for the Lithuanian driving context. Eighty-eight drivers participated in the study. Initially, 25 naturalistic clips were included and edited into a hazard prediction test following the "what happens next?" paradigm. The overall score of the test was higher for experienced drivers when compared with novices. On further inspection the overall group difference was driven by 12 clips. The Lithuanian Hazard Perception test HPT-LIT featuring static images (Tūskė et al., 2019) and Hazard Perception Questionnaire developed by White et al. (2011) were used to validate the new test. This new version of the test (12 clips, LHP₁₂) showed acceptable psychometric properties. Drivers with less driving experience demonstrated poorer hazard prediction skills than experienced drivers. The results revealed a negative correlation between hazard prediction scores on LHP₁₂ and crash involvement in the novice driver group, as well as a positive correlation between prediction scores and self-reported hazard prediction skills. It was concluded that the new Lithuanian hazard test shows potential for future research.

Research on drivers' hazard perception in plateau environment based on visual characteristics

A good visual search mode is an important prerequisite for a driver to perceive the hazard in the traffic environment timely and accurately. However, hypoxia conditions in the plateau environment might affect drivers' cognitive and judgment ability, posing potential threats to safe driving. This study analyzed the eye movement behaviors of drivers when faced with traffic hazards in the plateau environment, to examine the impact level of altitude on drivers' perception and reaction. Nine typical traffic hazard scenarios were investigated at four locations with four different altitudes, including Linzhi, Lhasa, Naqu, and Yanghu Scenic Area based on UC-WIN / ROAD driving simulation software. Then, drivers' visual search modes were analyzed according to drivers' eye movement data collected by ASL Mobile Eye monocular eye tracker. As the altitude increased, the drivers' first fixation time and the average saccade amplitude decreased, while the fixation duration percentage increased. Drivers with fewer years of driving experience had a larger percentage of fixation duration and a smaller saccade amplitude. In addition, a shorter acclimation period also negatively influenced the percentage of fixation time. The increase of altitude would weaken the drivers' visual sensitivity and cognitive processing ability of hazard information, which would reduce drivers' hazard perception skills, and the increase of driving experience might help alleviate such negative impacts to some extent. Based on the visual characteristics of traffic hazard scenarios obtained in this paper, the training of highly accident-prone drivers can be guided specifically to improve their visual search strategies, thereby improving driving safety.

A cross-cultural comparison of visual search strategies and response times in road hazard perception testing

Road hazard perception is considered the most prominent higher-order cognitive skill related to traffic-accident involvement. Regional cultures and social rules that govern acceptable behavior may influence drivers' interpretation of a traffic situation and, consequently, the correct identification of potentially hazardous situations. Here, we aimed to compare hazard perception skills among four European countries that differ in their traffic culture, policies to reduce traffic risks, and fatal crashes: Ukraine, Italy, Spain, and Sweden. We developed a static hazard perception test in which driving scenes with different levels of braking affordance were presented while drivers' gaze was recorded. The test required drivers to indicate the action they would undertake: to brake vs. to keep driving. We assessed 218 young adult drivers. Multilevel models revealed that the scenes' levels of braking affordance (i.e., road hazard) modulated drivers' behavior. As the levels of braking affordance increased, drivers' responses became faster and their gaze entropy decreased (i.e., visual search strategy became less erratic). The country of origin influenced these effects. Ukrainian drivers were the fastest and Swedish drivers were the slowest to respond. For all countries, the decrement in response times was less marked in the case of experienced drivers. Also, Spanish drivers showed the most structured (least erratic) visual search strategy, whereas the Italians had the most rigid (most constant) one. These results suggest that road hazard perception can be defined cross-culturally, with cultural factors (e.g., traffic climate, legislation) modulating response times and visual search strategies. Our results also support the idea that a multimodal assessment methodology is possible for mass testing of road hazard perception and its outcomes would be relevant to understand how different traffic cultures shape driving behavior.

Effects of hazard types on drivers' risk rating and hazard response in a video-based hazard perception task

Hazard perception is crucial for identifying potential hazards on the road, and how quick drivers can respond to the hazard partially relies on their risk rating of the hazard after they detect it. Although many studies have attempted to reveal the relationship between drivers’ response latencies and their risk ratings, this relationship has not been extensively explored under different hazard types. The present study addresses this issue using a video-based hazard perception task. Forty novice drivers and 35 experienced drivers were recruited and 26 video clips containing either an overt hazard (continuous visibility) or a covert hazard (interrupted visibility) were shown to participants. Participants were asked to finish the hazard perception task first and then rated the risk level of the hazard when each video clip was replayed. Participants’ confidence in their answers for risk ratings was also determined. Results showed that experienced drivers responded to overt and covert hazards faster than did novice drivers. A negative and significant correlation was found between drivers’ risk ratings of covert hazards and their response latencies. Such a relationship was not found for overt hazards. More importantly, drivers rated the risk level of covert hazards higher than that of overt hazards, and higher risk ratings of covert hazards resulted in faster responses to these hazards. The findings of the present study indicate that hazard types not only influence drivers’ risk ratings and response latencies but also determine their relationships.