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PubMed2005

Assessment of muscle fatigue in low level monotonous task performance during car driving.

Knowledge of the muscle activation and the development of muscle fatigue may provide more inside in the effects of long-term driving in the occurrence of health problems in the neck/shoulder/back area. The basic assumption behind fatigue detection with electromyography (EMG) is an increase in the EMG amplitude and a decrease of the mean frequency (MF). This study aimed at checking this assumption in monotonous task performance with low level activity during car driving. Surface electromyography was captured from left and right trapezius and deltoid muscles, during a repetitive, non-continuous, driving task (gearing and steering) and the active parts were separated from the non-active parts. Muscle stiffness was reported by more than half of the subjects after a 1 h drive. Only for the active parts a significant decrease of the MF was seen. But also the EMG amplitude decreased significantly. Two possible mechanisms are posted in literature for this finding: no extra recruitment of motor units (MU) and potentiation of muscle fibers. Literature also hypothesizes that low-force occupational work engages only a fraction of the MU available for recruitment and that these units are selectively type I muscle fibers (Cinderella fibers). Initiators of this phenomenon are probably the time lag between activations and the stress from driving and vibration exposure.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Views of US drivers about driving safety.

PROBLEM: To assess how drivers view dangers on the highway, what motivates them to drive safely, how they say they reduce their crash and injury risk, and how they rate their own driving skills. RESULTS: Most drivers rated their skills as better than average. The biggest motivating factor for safe driving was concern for safety of others in their vehicle, followed by negative outcomes such as being in a crash, increased insurance costs, and fines. The greatest threats to their safety were thought to be other drivers' actions that increase crash risk such as alcohol impairment or running red lights. In terms of reducing crashes and injuries, drivers tended to focus on actions they could take such as driving defensively or using seat belts. There was less recognition of the role of vehicles and vehicle features in crash or injury prevention. IMPACT ON RESEARCH, PRACTICE, AND POLICY: Knowing how drivers view themselves and others, their concerns, and their motivations and techniques for staying out of trouble on the roads provides insight into the difficulty of changing driving practices.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2003

Driving disability and dizziness.

PROBLEM: People with dizziness caused by vestibular (i.e., inner ear) disorders complain of difficulty driving. Physicians occasionally warn their patients with vestibular disorders not to drive. Few studies have asked patients about their driving performance, so little data are available. METHOD: Using the Driving Habits Questionnaire, the authors did structured interviews with people with several different vestibular disorders and with normal subjects. The self-reported crash rate and rate of citations for moving violations did not differ between the subject groups. RESULTS: Patients report reduced driving skills, particularly in situations when visual information is reduced, rapid head movements are used, and specific path integration or spatial navigation skills are needed.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Effects of naturalistic cell phone conversations on driving performance.

PROBLEM: The prevalence of automobile drivers talking on cell phones is growing, but the effect of that behavior on driving performance is unclear. Also unclear is the relationship between the difficulty level of a phone conversation and the resulting distraction. METHOD: This study used a driving simulator to determine the effect that easy and difficult cell phone conversations have on driving performance. RESULTS: Cell phone use caused participants to have higher variation in accelerator pedal position, drive more slowly with more variation in speed, and report a higher level of workload regardless of conversation difficulty level. CONCLUSIONS: Drivers may cope with the additional stress of phone conversations by enduring higher workloads or setting reduced performance goals. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Because an increasing number of people talk on the phone while driving, crashes caused by distracted drivers using cell phones will cause disruptions in business, as well as injury, disability, and permanent loss of personnel.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2005

Freight transport and non-driving work duties as predictors of falling asleep at the wheel in urban areas of Crete.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the impact of subjective reports of drowsy driving and non-driving duties on the falling asleep responses and road crash involvement of professional drivers in Crete. An attempt was also made to elucidate other driving parameters, such as freight transportation, which could be potential predictors of risky driving, after controlling for lifestyle patterns. METHOD: A sample of 317 professional drivers was studied through personal interviews. The interview questionnaire included items about sleep and fatigue as contributing factors to falling asleep probability and crash risk. In addition, the drivers reported the type of freight they carried in their last trip, as well as practices such as smoking and alcohol consumption. RESULTS: The first logistic regression analysis showed that the most significant predictors of falling asleep at the wheel were transportation of fruits/vegetables and livestock, non-driving hours of work, insufficient hours of sleep, and smoking. The second logistic regression analysis revealed all the previous items as powerful factors of crash probability, including the transportation of express freight and freezer. IMPACT: The findings of the current study are discussed as they pertain to directions for future studies and for the development of fatigue countermeasures.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2006

Driving performance while using cell phones: an observational study.

INTRODUCTION: Through spontaneous driving observations, this study sought to examine the impact of using a hands-free cell phone while driving on speed and safe gap keeping behaviors. The study also examined the association between the measure of disturbance created by using a cell phone and the driver's awareness of the disturbance. METHOD: Twenty-three male adults were observed while driving for an hour and a half each; drivers were unaware of being observed. During the session, each of the participants received a phone call, initiated by an associate of the observer. The experiment was divided into two periods during which the experimental parameters were monitored: 10 minutes during conversation on a cell phone and 10 minutes of non-conversation on a hands-free cell phone. After the experiment, the driver was questioned concerning the extent to which his/her driving was disturbed by the cell phone conversation. RESULTS: T-test for matched samples revealed that the gaps between the drivers' cars and those in front of them diminished when drivers were engaged in the cell phone conversations. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that drivers that had short conversations did not change their speed, while drivers who were engaged in long (over 16 minutes) conversations drove faster. No effect of drivers' awareness toward cell phone-related disturbance on actual driving behavior monitored in the present study was found.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMed2006

Alcohol-impaired driving and its consequences in the United States: the past 25 years.

INTRODUCTION: Progress in dealing with the alcohol-impaired driving problem in the United States during the past 25 years is addressed. METHODS: Trends in various measures of the problem were tracked and a thorough review of the relevant literature conducted. RESULTS: In the 1980s and continuing into the early 1990s, major decreases occurred in alcohol-impaired driving and its consequences. The contribution of alcohol to fatal crashes dropped by 35-40% during this period. Two primary reasons for the decline appear to be the emergence of citizen activist groups that mobilized public support and attention to the problem, and the proliferation of effective laws. Since about 1995 the alcohol-impaired driving problem has stabilized at a reduced but still quite high level. CONCLUSIONS: Highway safety organizations and citizen activist groups have continued to highlight the problem, but its status as a social issue has diminished. We basically know what the primary target groups are, and we know measures that would work to reduce the problem if implemented more fully. We know that political leadership, state task forces, and media advocacy are important ingredients in addressing the problem. It is likely that a resurgence in citizen activism will be necessary to foster these elements and refocus the nation on the unfinished battle against alcohol-impaired driving. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Alcohol-impaired driving is still a major problem that needs continuing attention.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2006

Longitudinal examination of underage drinking and subsequent drinking and risky driving.

INTRODUCTION: Alcohol use, alcohol misuse, and risky driving from adolescence into young adulthood were compared by drinking onset age. METHODS: Surveys were administered in Grades 5/6, 6/7, 7/8, 10, 12, and at approximately age 23. Participants were placed into Drinking Onset groups based on self-reported alcohol use frequency on the adolescent surveys. Driving records were examined in three age periods: under 21, 21-25, and 26+. RESULTS: The earliest drinking initiators reported higher alcohol use and misuse on each survey, and were more likely to have risky driving offenses before age 21 and to have alcohol driving offenses in all three age periods. DISCUSSION: The earliest drinking initiators engaged in risky drinking behavior and risky driving behavior that was consistently higher than those with later drinking initiation, beginning in adolescence and persisting well into young adulthood.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2002

Driving performance of drivers with impaired central visual field acuity.

This study investigated the performance of drivers with impairment to their central field of vision but with normal peripheral vision, due to retinoschisis, in a safety critical driving tasks. The performance of five male drivers with impaired vision (VA 0.2), aged between 40 and 50 years, all with more than 250,000 km life-time driving experience and a good safety record, and five normal vision controls, matched by gender, age, driving experience and safety record, were tested in 40 km/h city traffic and in a motorway car following situation. All participants displayed appropriate driving ability in city traffic and all were able to detect and respond adequately to a conflicting 'stunt pedestrian' and 'stunt cyclist' situation. There were no apparent differences between the drivers with impaired vision and those with normal vision. In the car following situation, the participants drove at 80 km/h, 50 m behind a lead car, on a 30 km section of motorway in normal traffic. During each trial, the lead car started to decelerate at an average of 0.53 m/s2 while the participant either looked at the car in front (control) or performed a memory and addition task (non-visual attention) while looking at the car in front. The participants were required to press the brake pedal when they noticed a decrease in headway. The participant's brake reaction time to the onset of the lead car's brake lights was also tested. The drivers with impaired vision were significantly slower, by 0.2 s, in detecting the onset of brake lights than the normal vision drivers. Their headway closure detection was 0.7 s slower than normal vision drivers, but this difference was not statistically significant in this small data. In spite of some impairment in car following (central vision task), the results together with the clean record of these drivers with retinoschisis support the idea that visual acuity of 0.5 (the European Union norm) is not a necessary prerequisite for safe driving.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Driving performance during concurrent cell-phone use: are drivers aware of their performance decrements?

Prior research has documented the manner in which a variety of driving performance measures are impacted by concurrent cell-phone use as well as the influence of age and gender of the driver. This current study examined the extent to which different driver groups are aware of their associated performance decrements. Subjects' confidence in dealing with distractors while driving and their ratings of task performance and demand were compared with their actual driving performance in the presence of a cell-phone task. While high confidence ratings appeared to be predictive of better driving performance for male drivers (as confidence increased, the size of the distraction effects decreased), this relationship did not hold for females; in fact, for older females, as confidence increased, performance decreased. Additionally, when drivers were matched in terms of confidence level, brake responses of older females were slowed to a much greater extent (0.38 s) than were brake responses of any other group (0.10s for younger males and females and 0.07 s for older males). Finally, females also rated the driving task as less demanding than males, even though their performance was more greatly affected by distraction. These results suggest that many drivers may not be aware of their decreased performance while using cell-phones and that it may be particularly important to target educational campaigns on driver distraction towards female drivers for whom there tended to be a greater discrepancy between driver perceptions and actual performance.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Reducing the effects of driving fatigue with magnitopuncture stimulation.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of reducing driving fatigue with magnitopuncture stimuli on Dazhui (DU14) point and Neiguan (PC6) points using heart rate (HR), reaction time (RT) testing, right rate (RR), critical flicker fusion frequency (CFF) and subjective evaluation. Forty healthy subjects were randomly divided into two groups: study and control groups. All subjects were required to be well rested before the experiment. The subjects were engaged in high speed driving at a constant vehicle velocity of 80 km/h continuously for 3h on a test course simulating an expressway. During the driving magnitopunctures (Haci Five Elements Needle, 250 mT, made by Haci Company limited) were applied to the Dazhui (DU14) point and Neiguan (PC6) points for the study group when the subject performed the task for 2.5h, and for the control group magnitopunctures were applied to non-acupuncture points during the same time session. The results of this study show a significant effect of magnitopuncture stimuli on RT, RR and CFF. Subjective evaluation also exhibited significant differences (P < 0.05) between the two groups after the driving task. The findings showed that magnitopuncture stimuli on DU14 point and PC6 points could reduce the effects of driving fatigue.

Acupuncture Points↗
PubMed1997

Reckless driving in adolescence: 'state' and 'trait' factors.

Reckless driving practices were studied among 139 high school students aged 17-18. A majority of both boys and girls reported driving at high speeds, and a majority of boys reported racing in a car and passing in a no-passing zone. About one-quarter of boys and girls reported driving while intoxicated. Sensation seeking and aggressiveness were found to be related to reckless driving practices. Fifty-nine of the students kept a log of their driving episodes over a 10-day period. Analysis of these data indicated that the participants drove faster when in an angry mood than when in any other mood. Also, they drove faster when alone or with friends than when their parents were present.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Hispanics, Blacks and White driving under the influence of alcohol: results from the 1995 National Alcohol Survey.

OBJECTIVE: To report nationwide survey data on patterns of driving under the influence of alcohol among Whites, Blacks and Hispanics. METHOD: Data were obtained from a probability sample consisting of 1582 Blacks, 1585 Hispanics and 1636 Whites in the US household population. Interviews averaging 1 h in length were conducted in respondents' homes by trained interviewers. RESULTS: Self-reported rates of driving a car after having drunk enough 'to be in trouble if stopped by the police' were highest among White and Hispanic men (22 and 21%, respectively), as were lifetime arrest rates for driving under the influence of alcohol (13% for White men, 19% for Hispanic men). Additionally, our analyses suggest that drinkers who drive under the influence of alcohol are more likely to be men (regardless of ethnicity), consume more alcohol, and be alcohol dependent than drinkers who do not engage in alcohol-impaired driving.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Characteristics of drivers and driving record after traumatic and nontraumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether individuals with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or stroke (cerebrovascular accident [CVA]) have an increased risk of subsequent motor vehicle crash or moving violation. DESIGN: A retrospective study comparing the driving records of four cohorts hospitalized with TBI, CVA, isolated extremity fractures (FX), and appendicitis (APPY) with the records of four age-matched, gender-matched, and zip code-matched nonhospitalized cohorts. SETTING: Eligible drivers in the state of Washington, 1991 to 1993. PARTICIPANTS/METHODS: Four cohorts hospitalized in 1992 with TBI, CVA, FX, or APPY were identified from Washington state hospital discharge data. The state driver's license database identified patients with drivers' licenses. Each hospitalized cohort was compared with its own age-matched, gender-matched, and zip code-matched nonhospitalized cohort. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Crashes and citations for moving violations 12 months after hospitalization adjusted for age, gender, and prior driving record. RESULTS: The relative risks (RRs) of any subsequent crash or receipt of citation were not greater for those with either CVA or TBI than for nonhospitalized individuals, nor were the risks of experiencing two or more of these events in the 12 months after hospitalization significantly elevated. After adjustment for prior driving record, modest elevations were observed only for the risks of subsequent driving violation among those with TBI (RR=1.3, 1.0-1.7) and among patients with FX (RR=1.2, 1.1-1.4). CONCLUSIONS: The results do not support the hypothesis that individuals who have sustained a brain injury are at increased risk of motor vehicle crashes. Although patients with TBI were more likely to subsequently receive citations than nonhospitalized individuals, a similar increase was observed among patients without brain injury who had FX, suggesting an inability to completely control for driver characteristics that may be related to risk-taking behavior and that are also associated with an increased risk of driving violation.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2002

Aggressive behavior while driving as predictor of self-reported car crashes.

PROBLEM: In Greece, there is a lack of scientific evidence on the relationship between aggressive behavior while driving and young drivers' involvement in car crashes; this study examined this potential relationship. METHODS: The randomly selected samples of 356 young drivers (18-24 years old) were interviewed through a questionnaire of self-reported car crash involvement, which mainly focused on their behavior on the road and the number of car crashes in which they had been involved. RESULTS: The statistical methods used were principal components analysis (PCA) and multiple regression analysis. Two factors relevant to aggressive driving emerged: (a) driving violations and (b) irritability while driving. The multivariate model suggested that driving just for fun (joyriding) and irritability were predictors of young drivers' involvement in car crashes. It was found that younger age was negatively associated with young drivers' involvement in car crashes. IMPACT ON GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY: The findings of this study can contribute in the formation of public policies aiming to prevent young drivers' car crashes. These findings can also be the starting point of some health promotion interventions trying to reduce car crashes and casualties on the road. Finally, the insurance companies may be interested in applying these findings into their field of interest.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1998

Fexofenadine's effects, alone and with alcohol, on actual driving and psychomotor performance.

BACKGROUND: Fexofenadine is the hydrochloride salt of terfenadine's active metabolite. OBJECTIVE: Fexofenadine's effects on performance were assessed in this study for the purpose of determining its safety of use by patients who engage in potentially dangerous activities, especially car driving. METHODS: Fexofenadine was administered in daily doses of 120 or 240 mg, each in single and divided units given over 5 days. Two milligrams of clemastine given twice daily and placebo were given in similar series. Twenty-four healthy volunteers (12 men, 12 women; age range, 21 to 45 years) participated in a double-blind six-way crossover study. Psychomotor tests (critical tracking, choice reaction time, and sustained attention) and a standardized actual driving test were undertaken between 1.5 to 4 hours after administration of the morning dose on days 1, 4, and 5 of each series. On day 5, subjects were challenged with a moderate alcohol dose before testing. RESULTS: Fexofenadine did not impair driving performance. On the contrary, driving performance was consistently better during twice daily treatment with 120 mg fexofenadine than during treatment with placebo, significantly so on day 4. Both of the 240 mg/day regimens significantly attenuated alcohol's adverse effect on driving on day 5. Effects in psychomotor tests were not significant, with the exception of the critical tracking test in which the first single doses of fexofenadine, 120 and 240 mg, had significantly impairing effects. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that fexofenadine has no effect on performance after being taken in the recommended dosage of 60 mg twice daily.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Occupational driving and lumbar disc degeneration: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Back problems are reported more by occupational drivers than by any other occupational group. One explanation is that whole-body vibration caused by the vehicle leads to accelerated disc degeneration, herniation, and associated symptoms. We aimed to investigate the effects of lifetime driving exposure on lumbar disc degeneration in monozygotic twins with very different histories of occupational driving during their life. METHODS: We assessed 45 male monozygotic twin pairs from the population-based Finnish Twin Cohort who had greatly different patterns of occupational driving during their life. Data were obtained for driving exposures and potential confounding factors through an extensive, structured interview. We assessed disc degeneration with lumbar MRI. FINDINGS: Disc degeneration did not differ between occupational drivers and their twin brothers. We also did not identify any overall tendency for greater degeneration or pathology in occupational drivers than their twin brothers. INTERPRETATIONS: Although driving may exacerbate symptoms of back problems, it does not damage the disc. Our inability to identify structural damage should be encouraging to those employed in occupations involving motorised vehicles and operation of heavy equipment.

Automobile Driving↗
PubMed1999

Approach to the vestibular patient and driving: A patient perspective.

OBJECTIVES: To learn about the impact of dizziness on driving from a patient perspective and to present an approach to the vestibular patient and driving. DESIGN: An anonymous questionnaire completed by 265 dizzy patients at 3 different centers. RESULTS: The participants were experienced drivers who needed to drive to function normally (83%). Those with constant or severe dizziness comprised a higher risk group of drivers. Although few had ever been warned not to drive, 52% said that if they were warned to stop driving, they would not. Most thought that it was the doctor's role to report unsafe drivers to the authorities (P < 0.001, chi2 = 87.2670). CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of a vestibular disorder should not alone be grounds to suspend a patient's driver's license. Legislation should be amended to better reflect the views of doctors and patients alike.

Adult↗