Learning to drive with cognitive impairment : the experience of young ADHD diagnosed drivers and their parent supervisors

A subset of novice drivers exhibit executive function impairments which may adversely impact on the learn-to-drive period and subsequent driving experience, potentially explaining their overrepresentation in traffic offences and crashes. This paper presents the results of a qualitative analysis of a small series of in-depth semi-structured interviews undertaken individually with affected young drivers (n = 7) and each of their parent supervisors (n = 6). Young drivers were selected on the basis of their ADHD diagnosis, as a sample particularly affected by executive function impairments. Standardised rating scale measures confirmed the currency of the young drivers’ ADHD symptoms and executive function impairment. Results are discussed in terms of common experiences of the young affected drivers and those of their parents as supervising drivers of the learn-to-drive process and subsequent driving behaviour. Key themes included difficulties that were related to core executive function impairments symptomatic of ADHD. Themes also included common emotions that the young drivers associated with driving, with particular types of impact on their driving behaviour. Common strategies that were used by both the young driver and their parent during this learning process and their perceived effectiveness are also discussed. Those that were perceived to be most effective tended to focus on reducing the cognitive load for the young driver when introducing new information and skills.

Barriers and facilitators of a designated driver program

The general aim of designated driver programs is to reduce the level of drink driving by encouraging potential drivers to travel with a driver who has abstained from (or at least limited) consuming alcohol. Designated driver programs are quite widespread around the world, however a limited number have been rigorously evaluated. This paper reports the qualitative results from an evaluation of a designated driver program known as ‘Skipper’, in a provincial city in Queensland. Focus groups were conducted with 108 individuals from the intervention area. These focus groups aimed to assess the barriers and facilitators to the programs’ effectiveness by obtaining information about the patrons’ views on various aspects of the program, as well as designated driver and travelling after drinking more generally. A brief questionnaire was also given to participants in order to present responses in terms of the participants’ characteristics. Results suggest general support for the designated driver concept and the ‘Skipper’ program specifically. Facilitating factors reported by participants included the media coverage highlighting the risks associated with drink driving and the social acceptability of choosing not to drink. However, there was also some suggestion that the impact of the program was mainly to encourage those who already engage in designated driver behaviour to continue doing so, rather than encouraging the uptake of the behaviour among potential new users. Some of the suggested barriers to this kind of behaviour change include: social pressure to drink; alcohol dependency; and a failure to plan ahead.

Promoting creativity in education : from policy to practice : an Australian perspective

In the 21st century, our global community is changing to increasingly value creativity and innovation as driving forces in our lives. This paper will investigate how educators need to move beyond the rhetoric to effective practices for teaching and fostering creativity. First, it will describe the nature of creativity at different levels, with a focus on personal and everyday creativity. It will then provide a brief snapshot of creativity in education through the lens of new policies and initiatives in Queensland, Australia. Next it will review two significant areas related to enriching and enhancing students’ creative engagement and production: 1) influential social and environmental factors; and 2) creative self-efficacy. Finally, this paper will propose that to effectively promote student creativity in schools, we need to not only emphasise policy, but also focus on establishing a shared discourse about the nature of creativity, and researching and implementing effective practices for supporting and fostering creativity. This paper has implications for educational policy, practice and teacher training that are applicable internationally.

Enhancing road safety for young drivers : how Graduate Driver Licensing initiatives can complement "anti-hooning" legislation

Street racing and associated (hooning) behaviours have attracted increasing concern in recent years. While New Zealand and all Australian jurisdictions have introduced “antihooning” legislation and allocated significant police resources to managing the problem, there is limited evidence of the road safety implications of hooning. However, international and Australian data suggests that drivers charged with a hooning offence tend to be young males who are accompanied by one or more peers, and hooning-related crashes tend to occur at night. In this regard, there is considerable evidence that drivers under the age of 25 are over-represented in crash statistics, and are particularly vulnerable soon after obtaining a Provisional licence, when driving at night, and when carrying peer-aged passengers. The similarity between the nature of hooning offenders, offences and crashes, and road safety risks for young drivers in general, suggests that hooning is an issue that may be viewed as part of the broader young driver problem. Many jurisdictions have recently implemented a range of evidence-based strategies to address young driver road safety, and this paper will present Queensland crash and offence data to highlight the potential benefit of Graduated Driver Licensing initiatives, such as night driving restrictions and peer-aged passenger restrictions, to related road safety issues, including hooning. An understanding of potential flow-on effects is important for evaluations of anti-hooning legislation and Graduated Driver Licensing programs, and may have implications for future law enforcement resource allocation and policy development.

A model to predict hypovigilance during a monotonous task

The driving task requires sustained attention during prolonged periods, and can be performed in highly predictable or repetitive environments. Such conditions could create drowsiness or hypovigilance and impair the ability to react to critical events. Identifying vigilance decrement in monotonous conditions has been a major subject of research, but no research to date has attempted to predict this vigilance decrement. This pilot study aims to show that vigilance decrements due to monotonous tasks can be predicted through mathematical modelling. A short vigilance task sensitive to short periods of lapses of vigilance called Sustained Attention to Response Task is used to assess participants’ performance. This task models the driver’s ability to cope with unpredicted events by performing the expected action. A Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is proposed to predict participants’ hypovigilance. Driver’s vigilance evolution is modelled as a hidden state and is correlated to an observable variable: the participant’s reactions time. This experiment shows that the monotony of the task can lead to an important vigilance decline in less than five minutes. This impairment can be predicted four minutes in advance with an 86% accuracy using HMMs. This experiment showed that mathematical models such as HMM can efficiently predict hypovigilance through surrogate measures. The presented model could result in the development of an in-vehicle device that detects driver hypovigilance in advance and warn the driver accordingly, thus offering the potential to enhance road safety and prevent road crashes.

The impact of police speed enforcement practices on self-reported speeding: An exploration of the effects of visibility and mobility

Research has highlighted the relationship between vehicle speed and increased crash risk and severity. Evidence suggests that police speed enforcement, in particular speed camera operations, can be an effective tool for reducing traffic crashes. A quantitative survey of Queensland drivers (n = 852) was conducted to investigate the impact of police speed enforcement methods on self-reported speeding behaviour. Results indicate that visible enforcement was associated with significantly greater self-reported compliance than covert operations irrespective of the mobility of the approach, and the effects on behaviour were longer lasting. The mobility of operations appeared to be moderated the visibility of the approach. Specifically, increased mobility was associated with increase reported compliant behaviour, but only for covert operations, and increased longevity of reported compliant behaviour, but only for overt operations. The perceived effectiveness of various speed enforcement approaches are also analysed across a range of driving scenarios. Results are discussed in light of the small effect sizes. Recommendations for policy and future research are presented.

"There's no way in hell I would pull up" : Deterrent and other effects of vehicle impoundment laws for hooning

Traffic law enforcement is based on deterrence principles, whereby drivers control their behaviour in order to avoid an undesirable sanction. For “hooning”-related driving behaviours in Queensland, the driver’s vehicle can be impounded for 48 hours, 3 months, or permanently depending on the number of previous hooning offences. It is assumed that the threat of losing something of value, their vehicle, will discourage drivers from hooning. While official data shows that the rate of repeat offending is low, an in-depth understanding of the deterrent effects of these laws should involve qualitative research with targeted drivers. A sample of 22 drivers who reported engaging in hooning behaviours participated in focus group discussions about the vehicle impoundment laws as applied to hooning offences in Queensland. The findings suggested that deterrence theory alone cannot fully explain hooning behaviour, as participants reported hooning frequently, and intended to continue doing so, despite reporting that it is likely that they will be caught, and perceiving the vehicle impoundment laws to be extremely severe. The punishment avoidance aspect of deterrence theory appears important, as well as factors over and above legal issues, particularly social influences. A concerning finding was drivers’ willingness to flee from police in order to avoid losing their vehicle permanently for a third offence, despite acknowledging risks to their own safety and that of others. This paper discusses the study findings in terms of the implications for future research directions, enforcement practices and policy development for hooning and other traffic offences for which vehicle impoundment is applied.

Applying data mining to assess crash risk on curves

The wide range of contributing factors and circumstances surrounding crashes on road curves suggest that no single intervention can prevent these crashes. This paper presents a novel methodology, based on data mining techniques, to identify contributing factors and the relationship between them. It identifies contributing factors that influence the risk of a crash. Incident records, described using free text, from a large insurance company were analysed with rough set theory. Rough set theory was used to discover dependencies among data, and reasons using the vague, uncertain and imprecise information that characterised the insurance dataset. The results show that male drivers, who are between 50 and 59 years old, driving during evening peak hours are involved with a collision, had a lowest crash risk. Drivers between 25 and 29 years old, driving from around midnight to 6 am and in a new car has the highest risk. The analysis of the most significant contributing factors on curves suggests that drivers with driving experience of 25 to 42 years, who are driving a new vehicle have the highest crash cost risk, characterised by the vehicle running off the road and hitting a tree. This research complements existing statistically based tools approach to analyse road crashes. Our data mining approach is supported with proven theory and will allow road safety practitioners to effectively understand the dependencies between contributing factors and the crash type with the view to designing tailored countermeasures.

Sunglasses, traffic signals, and color vision deficiencies

Purpose: To determine (a) the effect of different sunglass tint colorations on traffic signal detection and recognition for color normal and color deficient observers, and (b) the adequacy of coloration requirements in current sunglass standards. Methods: Twenty color-normals and 49 color-deficient males performed a tracking task while wearing sunglasses of different colorations (clear, gray, green, yellow-green, yellow-brown, red-brown). At random intervals, simulated traffic light signals were presented against a white background at 5° to the right or left and observers were instructed to identify signal color (red/yellow/green) by pressing a response button as quickly as possible; response times and response errors were recorded. Results: Signal color and sunglass tint had significant effects on response times and error rates (p < 0.05), with significant between-color group differences and interaction effects. Response times for color deficient people were considerably slower than color normals for both red and yellow signals for all sunglass tints, but for green signals they were only noticeably slower with the green and yellow-green lenses. For most of the color deficient groups, there were recognition errors for yellow signals combined with the yellow-green and green tints. In addition, deuteranopes had problems for red signals combined with red-brown and yellow-brown tints, and protanopes had problems for green signals combined with the green tint and for red signals combined with the red-brown tint. Conclusions: Many sunglass tints currently permitted for drivers and riders cause a measurable decrement in the ability of color deficient observers to detect and recognize traffic signals. In general, combinations of signals and sunglasses of similar colors are of particular concern. This is prima facie evidence of a risk in the use of these tints for driving and cautions against the relaxation of coloration limits in sunglasses beyond those represented in the study.

Drivers' and cyclists' experiences of sharing the road : incidents, attitudes and perceptions of visibility

This study explored the beliefs and attitudes of cyclists and drivers regarding cyclist visibility, use of visibility aids and crashes involving cyclists and motorists. Data are presented for 1460 participants (622 drivers and 838 cyclists) and demonstrate that there are high rates of cyclist–vehicle crashes, many of which were reported to be due to the driver not seeing the cyclist in time to avoid a collision. A divergence in attitudes was also apparent in terms of attribution of responsibility in cyclist–vehicle conflicts on the road. While the use of visibility aids was advocated by cyclists, this was not reflected in self-reported wearing patterns, and cyclists reported that the distance at which they would be first recognised by a driver was twice that estimated by the drivers. Collectively, these results suggest that interventions should target cyclists’ use of visibility aids, which is less than optimal in this population, as well as re-educating both groups regarding visibility issues.

The on-road difficulties of older drivers and their relationship with self-reported motor vehicle crashes

OBJECTIVES: To quantify the driving difficulties of older adults using a detailed assessment of driving performance and to link this with self-reported retrospective and prospective crashes. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: On-road driving assessment. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred sixty-seven community-living adults aged 70 to 88 randomly recruited through the electoral roll. MEASUREMENTS: Performance on a standardized measure of driving performance. RESULTS: Lane positioning, approach, and blind spot monitoring were the most common error types, and errors occurred most frequently in situations involving merging and maneuvering. Drivers reporting more retrospective or prospective crashes made significantly more driving errors. Driver instructor interventions during self-navigation (where the instructor had to brake or take control of the steering to avoid an accident) were significantly associated with higher retrospective and prospective crashes; every instructor intervention almost doubled prospective crash risk. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that on-road driving assessment provides useful information on older driver difficulties, with the self-directed component providing the most valuable information.

Deeply divergent mitochondrial lineages reveal patterns of local endemism in chironomids of the Australian Wet Tropics

The Wet Tropics bioregion of north-eastern Australia has been subject to extensive fluctuations in climate throughout the late Pliocene and Pleistocene. Cycles of rainforest contraction and expansion of dry sclerophyll forest associated with such climatic fluctuations are postulated to have played a major role in driving geographical endemism in terrestrial rainforest taxa. Consequences for the distributions of aquatic organisms, however, are poorly understood.The Australian non-biting midge species Echinocladius martini Cranston (Diptera: Chironomidae), although restricted to cool, well-forested freshwater streams, has been considered to be able to disperse among populations located in isolated rainforest pockets during periods of sclerophyllous forest expansion, potentially limiting the effect of climatic fluctuations on patterns of endemism. In this study, mitochondrial COI and 16S data were analysed for E. martini collected from eight sites spanning theWet Tropics bioregion to assess the scale and extent of phylogeographic structure. Analyses of genetic structure showed several highly divergent cryptic lineages with restricted geographical distributions. Within one of the identified lineages, strong genetic structure implied that dispersal among proximate (<1 km apart) streams was extremely restricted. The results suggest that vicariant processes, most likely due to the systemic drying of the Australian continent during the Plio-Pleistocene, might have fragmented historical E. martini populations and, hence, promoted divergence in allopatry.

Safeguarding rural Australia : addressing masculinity and violence in rural settings. Data report No. 4 - Risky behaviour - misuse of alcohol, illicit drugs, firearms use and abuse, other risky behaviour

This report focuses on our examination of extant data which have been sourced with respect to personally and socially risky behaviour associated with males living in regional and remote Australia . The AIHW (2008: PHE 97:89) defines personally risky behaviour, on the one hand, as working, swimming, boating, driving or operating hazardous machinery while intoxicated with alcohol or an illicit drug. Socially risky behaviour, on the other hand, is defined as creating a public disturbance, damaging property, stealing or verbally or physically abusing someone while intoxicated with alcohol or an illicit drug. Additional commentary resulting from exploration, examination and analyses of secondary data is published online in complementary reports in this series.

In-vehicle technology functional requirements for older drivers

Older drivers represent the fastest growing segment of the road user population. Cognitive and physiological capabilities diminishes with ages. The design of future in-vehicle interfaces have to take into account older drivers' needs and capabilities. Older drivers have different capabilities which impact on their driving patterns and subsequently on road crash patterns. New in-vehicle technology could improve safety, comfort and maintain elderly people's mobility for longer. Existing research has focused on the ergonomic and Human Machine Interface (HMI) aspects of in-vehicle technology to assist the elderly. However there is a lack of comprehensive research on identifying the most relevant technology and associated functionalities that could improve older drivers' road safety. To identify future research priorities for older drivers, this paper presents: (i) a review of age related functional impairments, (ii) a brief description of some key characteristics of older driver crashes and (iii) a conceptualisation of the most relevant technology interventions based on traffic psychology theory and crash data.

An investigation into how work-related road safety can be enhanced

Despite the facts that vehicle incidents continue to be the most common mechanism for Australian compensated fatalities and that employers have statutory obligations to provide safe workplaces, very few organisations are proactively and comprehensively managing their work-related road risks. Unfortunately, limited guidance is provided in the existing literature to assist practitioners in managing work-related road risks. The current research addresses this gap in the literature. To explore how work-related road safety can be enhanced, three studies were conducted. Study one explored the effectiveness of a range of risk management initiatives and whether comprehensive risk management practices were associated with safety outcomes. Study two explored barriers to, and facilitators for, accepting risk management initiatives. Study three explored the influence of organisational factors on road safety outcomes to identify optimal work environments for managing road risks. To maximise the research sample and increase generalisability, the studies were designed to allow data collection to be conducted simultaneously drawing upon the same sample obtained from four Australian organisations. Data was collected via four methods. A structured document review of published articles was conducted to identify what outcomes have been observed in previously investigated work-related road safety initiatives. The documents reviewed collectively assessed the effectiveness of 19 work-related road safety initiatives. Audits of organisational practices and process operating within the four researched organisations were conducted to identify whether organisations with comprehensive work-related road risk management practices and processes have better safety outcomes than organisations with limited risk management practices and processes. Interviews were conducted with a sample of 24 participants, comprising 16 employees and eight managers. The interviews were conducted to identify what barriers and facilitators within organisations are involved in implementing work-related road safety initiatives and whether differences in fleet safety climate, stage of change and safety ownership relate to work-related road safety outcomes. Finally, questionnaires were administered to a sample of 679 participants. The questionnaires were conducted to identify which initiatives are perceived by employees to be effective in managing work-related road risks and whether differences in fleet safety climate, stage of change and safety ownership relate to work-related road safety outcomes. Seven research questions were addressed in the current research project. The key findings with respect to each of the research questions are presented below. Research question one: What outcomes have been observed in previously investigated work-related road safety initiatives? The structured document review indicated that initiatives found to be positively associated with occupational road safety both during and after the intervention period included: a pay rise; driver training; group discussions; enlisting employees as community road safety change agents; safety reminders; and group and individual rewards. Research question two: Which initiatives are perceived by employees to be effective in managing work-related road risks? Questionnaire findings revealed that employees believed occupational road risks could best be managed through making vehicle safety features standard, providing practical driver skills training and through investigating serious vehicle incidents. In comparison, employees believed initiatives including signing a promise card commitment to drive safely, advertising the organisation’s phone number on vehicles and consideration of driving competency in staff selection process would have limited effectiveness in managing occupational road safety. Research question three: Do organisations with comprehensive work-related road risk management practices and processes have better safety outcomes than organisations with limited risk management practices and processes? The audit identified a difference among the organisations in their management of work-related road risks. Comprehensive risk management practices were associated with employees engaging in overall safer driving behaviours, committing less driving errors, and experiencing less fatigue and distraction issues when driving. Given that only four organisations participated in this research, these findings should only be considered as preliminary. Further research should be conducted to explore the relationship between comprehensiveness of risk management practices and road safety outcomes with a larger sample of organisations. Research question four: What barriers and facilitators within organisations are involved in implementing work-related road safety initiatives? The interviews identified that employees perceived six organisational characteristics as potential barriers to implementing work-related road safety initiatives. These included: prioritisation of production over safety; complacency towards work-related road risks; insufficient resources; diversity; limited employee input in safety decisions; and a perception that road safety initiatives were an unnecessary burden. In comparison, employees perceived three organisational characteristics as potential facilitators to implementing work-related road safety initiatives. These included: management commitment; the presence of existing systems that could support the implementation of initiatives; and supportive relationships. Research question five: Do differences in fleet safety climate relate to work-related road safety outcomes? The interviews and questionnaires identified that organisational climates with high management commitment, support for managing work demands, appropriate safety rules and safety communication were associated with employees who engaged in safer driving behaviours. Regression analyses indicated that as participants’ perceptions of safety climate increased, the corresponding likelihood of them engaging in safer driving behaviours increased. Fleet safety climate was perceived to influence road safety outcomes through several avenues. Some of these included: the allocation of sufficient resources to manage occupational road risks; fostering a supportive environment of mutual responsibility; resolving safety issues openly and fairly; clearly communicating to employees that safety is the top priority; and developing appropriate work-related road safety policies and procedures. Research question six: Do differences in stage of change relate to work-related road safety outcomes? The interviews and questionnaires identified that participants’ perceptions of initiative effectiveness were found to vary with respect to their individual stage of readiness, with stage-matched initiatives being perceived most effective. In regards to safety outcomes, regression analyses identified that as participants’ progress through the stages of change, the corresponding likelihood of them being involved in vehicle crashes decreases. Research question seven: Do differences in safety ownership relate to work-related road safety outcomes? The interviews and questionnaires revealed that management of road risks is often given less attention than other areas of health and safety management in organisations. In regards to safety outcomes, regression analyses identified that perceived authority and perceived shared ownership both emerged as significant independent predictors of self-reported driving behaviours pertaining to fatigue and distractions. The regression models indicated that as participants’ perceptions of the authority of the person managing road risks increases, and perceptions of shared ownership of safety tasks increases, the corresponding likelihood of them engaging in driving while fatigued or multitasking while driving decreases. Based on the findings from the current research, the author makes several recommendations to assist practitioners in developing proactive and comprehensive approaches to managing occupational road risks. The author also suggests several avenues for future research in the area of work-related road safety.