Items Under Tag: distraction
A paper titled “Which are the effects of driver distraction and brain pathologies on reaction time and accident risk?” authored by Dimosthenis Pavlou, Panagiotis Papantoniou, Eleonora Papadimitriou, Sophia Vardaki, George Yannis, Costas Antoniou, John Golias and Sokratis G. Papageorgiou is now published in Advances in Transportation Studies an international Journal. A driving simulator experiment with 140 participants (out of which 109 were patients) was carried out by an interdisciplinary research team of neurologists, neuropsychologists and transportation engineers. The brain pathologies examined include early Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Mild Cognitive Impairment. A statistical analysis was carried out by means of mixed generalized linear modelling and the results indicated significant differences between the driving performance of healthy drivers and patients. Patients with cerebral diseases reacted significantly slower at unexpected incidents than the healthy ones and were more likely to be involved in an accident. The mobile phone use had a significant negative effect on both reaction time and accident probability. 
The Road Safety Unit of DG Move of the European Commission has recently released a Report titled ‘Study on good practices for reducing road safety risks caused by road user distractions’ prepared by TRL, TNO and RAPPTrans. The study concluded that 10-30% of road accidents in the EU could have distraction as a contributory factor, although limitations of both data and their definitions mean that this figure requires further validation.
The Study identified a series of countermeasures that can be used to address driver distraction, including non-technology-based approaches
[legislation, certification, public awareness campaigns and education during the licensing acquisition process (as well as for professional drivers)] and the most promising technologies[collision warning systems (forward collision warning and lane departure warning), voice recognition, biometry, head up displays, artificial intelligence, and vehicle automation]. Standardised Human-Machine Interface design should also be an important component of an EU-wide approach to distraction. The Study concluded with nine key cost beneficial recommendations related to data, technologies, awareness & education, and standards addressed to the European Commission but also to all national and international road safety stakeholders (Authorities, Industry, Research, Interest groups). 
The 4th International Conference on Driver Distraction and Inattention (DDI 2015) organised by the ARRB Group together with SAFER took place with great success was held in Sydney, Australia, on 9-11 November 2015. As driver distraction and inattention continue to be major contemporary road safety problems worldwide, DDI 2015 brought into the spotlight developments in research from mainstream and neighbouring disciplines, and showcased new and emerging technologies, products and countermeasures. The major themes for the conference this year included distraction and the automated vehicle, and the relationship between research findings yielded in experimental versus real world studies. 
A paper titled ‘Assessment of Driving Simulator Studies on Driver Distraction‘ co-authored by Panagiotis Papantoniou, Eleonora Papadimitriou and George Yannis is now published in Advances in Transportation Studies Journal. The objective of this research is the critical assessment of driving simulator studies on driver distraction. For this purpose 45 scientific papers have been examined with respect to the design of driving simulator experiments on the effects of various sources of driver distraction (in-vehicle or external). Through this analysis it appears that the most common distraction sources examined are visual distraction and cell phone use, while other sources of distraction have received notably less attention in existing studies. The simulated road environment of most experiments was rural, whereas far less is known on the effects of distraction in urban areas; furthermore, ambient traffic is not explicitly simulated and the effect of traffic flow on distracted driving may be a key question for further investigation. Finally, driver distraction is expressed by a number of measurements, in terms of its impact to driver attention (hands-off the wheel, eyes-off the road), driver behaviour (vehicle speed, headway, lateral position, driver reaction time) and driver accident risk. Although these different measurements describe different aspects of the distracted driving mechanism, it would be important to focus on the most sensitive ones, keeping in mind the entire chain of distracted driving causes and impacts, in order to significantly enhance the potential of exploitation of the results of existing studies.
Panagiotis Papantoniou has successfully defended his PhD thesis titled:Risk factors, driver behaviour and accident probability. The case of distracted driving. This PhD thesis was carried out at the Department of Transportation Planning and Engineering at the School of Civil Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens under the supervision of Prof. George Yannis.
The objective of the PhD thesis is the analysis of the effect of road, traffic and driver risk factors on driver behaviour and accident probability at unexpected incidents, with particular focus on distracted driving. For this purpose, a large driving simulator experiment took place in which 95 participants were asked to drive under different types of distraction (no distraction, conversation with passenger, cell phone use) in different road (urban/rural) and traffic conditions (high/low). Then, within the framework of an advanced statistical methodology, latent analysis through a sequence of four Structural Equation Models allowed to go well beyond the piecemeal analyses of driving performance measures to a sound combined analysis of the interrelationship between risk factors, driving performance, driver error and accident probability at unexpected incidents. Results indicate that more likely to commit driving errors are young or old female drivers at urban areas while more likely to be involved in an accident at an unexpected incident are female drivers in low traffic conditions while talking on the cell phone. 
A paper titled ‘Impact of texting on young drivers’ behaviour and safety in urban and rural roads through a simulation experiment‘ co-authored by George Yannis,Alexandra Laiou, Panagiotis Papantoniou and Charalambos Christoforou is now published in Journal of Safety Research. A driving simulator experiment was carried out in which 34 young participants drove in different driving scenarios; specifically, driving in good weather, in raining conditions, in daylight and in night were examined. Lognormal regression methods were used to investigate the influence of texting as well as various other parameters on the mean speed and mean reaction time. Binary logistic methods were used to investigate the influence of texting use as well as various other parameters in the probability of an accident. It appears that texting leads to statistically significant decrease of the mean speed and increase of the mean reaction time in urban and rural road environment. Simultaneously, it leads to an increased accident probability due to driver distraction and delayed reaction at the moment of the incident. It appeared that drivers using mobile phones with a touch screen present different driving behavior with respect to their speed, however, they had an even higher probability of being involved in an accident.
A Seminar on the Impact of Distracted Driving and Sleepiness on Road Safety, organised by the International Transport Forum, took place in Paris on 15 April 2014, during the Transport Research Arena Conference. The objectives of the Seminar were to discuss latest research work in ITF countries to better understand the impact of distraction and fatigue on driving performance and road safety and identify measures that can help in the short and longer term in mitigating the effects on crash occurrence. The Seminar involved key stakeholders, including researchers, policy advisors, industry, police, user associations to highlight latest knowledge on these emerging road safety issues, and discuss forthcoming developments in regulation, vehicle and IT technology that have an impact on distraction and fatigue. All presentations are now available.
The XXI World Congress of Neurology, organised by the World Federation of Neurology, took place in Vienna on 21-26 September 2013.
NTUA presentation concerned “The impact of neurological condition on driver distraction in a driving simulator experiment: Preliminary findings”
The 3rd International Conference on Driver Distraction and Inattention organised by the SAFER – Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre of the Chalmers University took place in Gothenburg on 4-6 September 2013, having brought together more than 150 Experts and stakeholders from more than 20 countries.
Driver Distraction and Inattention Conference 2013 brought into the spotlight relevant developments in research from mainstream and neighbouring disciplines, and showcased new and emerging technologies, products and countermeasures. All papers, abstracts and presentations are now available.
NTUA presentations concerned:
Effects of cerebral diseases on driver distraction
Impact of Texting on Young Drivers’ Behaviour and Safety on Motorways by the Use of a Driving Simulator
Impact of Mobile Phone Use and Music on Driver Behaviour and Safety by the Use of a Driving Simulator
The Twenty-third Meeting of the European Neurological Society, organised by the Spanish Society of Neurology, took place on 8-11 June in Barcelona.
NTUA presentation concerned “Neuropsychological parameters associated with driver distraction in a driving simulator experiment: presentation of methodology and preliminary findings”.
NTUA presentation concerned “Neuropsychological parameters associated with driver distraction in a driving simulator experiment: presentation of methodology and preliminary findings”. 
A paper titled ‘Reaction times of young alcohol-impaired drivers’ co-authored by Z.Christoforou, M.Karlaftis and G.Yannis is now available at the Accident Analysis and Prevention Journal. The paper focuses on young individuals who drive under the influence of alcohol and are having a higher relative risk of crash involvement; as such, the literature has extensively investigated the factors affecting such involvement through both post-accident surveys and simulator experiments. The results suggested that increased reaction times before consuming alcohol strongly affect post-consumption reaction times, while increased BrAC levels prolong reaction times, a 10% increase in BrAC levels results in a 2% increase in reaction time. Moreover, individuals with faster alcohol absorption times perform better regardless of absolute BrAC level, while recent meals lead to higher reaction times and regular exercising to lower reaction times.
A paper titled ‘Mobile phone use and traffic characteristics‘ co-authored by G.Yannis, E.Papadimitriou, P.Papantoniou and N.Petrellis is just published in the Traffic Engineering & Control Journal. The objective of this research is the analysis of the impact of mobile phone use on vehicle traffic speed and headways. It was found that vehicle speed is increased for young drivers (aged 18-25 years), male drivers and taxi drivers, and decreased for older drivers (>55 years) and for drivers using their mobile phone while driving. Vehicle’s time headways were not found to be affected by cell phone use. However, headspaces, estimated as the product of vehicle speed and time headways, were found to be decreased for drivers using their mobile phone, young drivers and older drivers.
A Diploma Thesis titled ‘Impact of texting on young drivers’ traffic and safety on motorways by the use of a driving simulator‘ was presented by Christos Gartzonikas in July 2012. An experimental process on a driving simulator was carried out, in which all the participants drove in different driving scenarios. Lognormal regression methods were used to investigate the influence of text messaging as well as various other parameters on the mean speed and the mean distance from the front vehicle. Binary logistic methods were used to investigate the influence of text messaging as well as various other parameters in the probability of an accident. It appears thattext messaging leads to statistically significant decrease of the mean speed and to increase of the headway in normal and in specific conditions in motorways and simultaneously leads to an increase of accident’s probability, probably due to increased reaction time of the driver in case of an incident.
A Diploma Thesis titled ‘Simulation of texting impact on young drivers’ behaviour and safety in urban and rural road‘ was presented by Charalambos Christoforou in July 2012. An experimental process on a driving simulator was carried out, in which all the participants drove in different driving scenarios. Lognormal regression methods were used to investigate the influence of texting as well as various other parameters on the mean speed and mean reaction time. Binary logistic methods were used to investigate the influence of text messaging use as well as various other parameters in the probability of an accident. It appears that text messaging leads to statistically significant decrease of the mean speed and increase the mean reaction time in urban and interurban road environment and simultaneously leads to an increase of accident’s probability, perhaps due to distraction of driver attention and as a result of the delayed reaction time at the moment of the incident.
A Diploma Thesis titled ‘Attitudes of Greek drivers towards mobile phone use while driving‘ was presented by Paraskevi Marinou in July 2012. The research is based on the data of the pan-European SARTRE 4 survey, which was conducted on a representative sample of Greek drivers in 2011. The analysis of the drivers’ behavior was carried out by the statistical methods of factor and cluster analysis. According to the results of factor analysis, Greek drivers’ responses in the selected questions were summarized into seven factors, describing road behavior, accident involvement probability, but also their views on issues concerning other drivers’ road behavior, enforcement for road safety and mobile phone use while driving. The results of cluster analysis indicated four different groups of Greek drivers: the cautious, the moderate, the conservative and the thoughtless drivers and the characteristics of each group where identified.
A paper titled “A statistical analysis of the impact of advertising signs on road safety” co-authored by G.Yannis, E.Papadimitriou, P.Papantoniou and C.Voulgari is just published in the International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion. An exhaustive review of international literature was carried out on the effect of advertising signs on driver behaviour and safety and a before-and-after statistical analysis with control groups was applied on several road sites with different characteristics in the Athens metropolitan area. The statistical analysis shows no statistical correlation between road accidents and advertising signs in none of the nine sites examined, as the confidence intervals of the estimated safety effects are non-significant at 95% confidence level. This can be explained by the fact that, in the examined road sites, drivers are overloaded with information, so that the additional information load from advertising signs may not further distract them.
The International Conference on Distracted Driving organised by the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) and the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF), took place in Toronto, Canada on March 1st, 2012. This Conference highlighted current research initiatives from around the world regarding a broad range of distractions, explored lessons learned from legislation and enforcement, and shared experiences drawn from private, public and community approaches to increase awareness and change behaviours.
NTUA Professor George Yannis presented “The Effects of Different Types of Driver Distractions: Findings from the EU”.
A Diploma Thesis titled ‘The impact of mobile phone use and music on the driver behaviour and safety by the use of a driving simulator’ was presented by Elena Papathanasiou and Evridiki Postantzi in March 2011. The analysis of the experiment results revealed that the lower speed and the increase of the distance from the middle of the road of the drivers who have a difficult conversation at the mobile phone while driving, cannot compensate for the much greater risk of an accident, in case of an unexpected event, due to increased reaction time.
A Diploma Thesis titled ‘Investigation of the impact of the conversation with passenger, eating and smoking on the driver behavior and the probability of being involved in an accident by the use of a driving simulator’ was presented by Charalampos Bairamis and Vasileios Sklias in October 2010. From the lognormal regression models developed it appeared that conversation, eating and smoking lead to a statistically significant decrease in speed, while the difficult conversation leads also to an increase in reaction time and decrease in the distance of the vehicle from the right borderline. From the binary logistic model developed it appeared that the difficult conversation leads to an increased likelihood of an incident. In summary, it appears that the lower speed and the deviation to the right of the drivers who have a difficult conversation while driving cannot offset the much greater risk of an accident due to increased reaction time.
A research titled ‘Mobile phone use by young drivers: effects on traffic speed and headways’ co-authored by G.Yannis, E.Papadimitriou, X.Karekla and F.Kontodima was published in Transportation Planning and Technology in June 2010. A field survey was carried out in real road traffic conditions, in which drivers’ speeds and headways were measured while using or not using a mobile phone. Results show that mobile phone use leads to a statistically significant reduction in traffic speeds of young drivers in all types of traffic conditions.
A Diploma Thesis titled ‘Investigation of the impact of mobile phone use to driver behaviour and safety with the use of driving simulator’ was presented by Leonidas Roumpas in February 2010. Lognormal regression and binary logistic methods were used to investigate the influence of mobile phone use as well as various other parameters on the mean speed and the probability of an accident. From the models application it appears that mobile phone use leads to a statistically significant decrease of the mean speed in urban and interurban environment and to an increase of accident’s probability, probably due to distraction of driver attention and as a result, delayed reaction time at the moment of the incident. It appeared that in rainy conditions drivers did not present different driving behaviour, however, they had a high probability of being involved in an accident.
According to an observational study carried out by NTUA under the coordination of Prof. George Kanellaidis, 9% of passenger car drivers use mobile phone during driving, whereas 2% of Power Two Wheelers use mobile phone while driving. Mobile phone use rate is increased inside built-up areas and for young drivers (16 – 24), especially for young female passenger car drivers (16%) and young female PTW riders (12%).
Mobile telephone use as a major road safety issue has been highlighted at the recently released synthesis of the European Road Safety Observatory as prepared by the SafetyNet project. A range of studies conclude that the use of a mobile phone while driving distracts the driver and causes various changes in driving behaviour that negatively affect traffic safety. Driver reaction times are 30% slower when telephoning while driving than driving with BAC levels of 80mg/100ml and 50% slower than under normal driving conditions.
A Diploma Thesis titled ‘Mobile phone use and traffic characteristics‘ was presented by Panagiotis Papantoniou and Nikolaos Petrelis in July 2008. Appropriate data were collected through an experimental process in real road conditions of urban environment. From the mathematical application of the models, it appears that the cell phone use leads to statistically significant decrease of traffic speed and space headways.
