Systematic variation of the severity of motor vehicle accident-related traumatic brain injury vignettes produces different post-concussion symptom reports

This study investigated the specificity of the post-concussion syndrome (PCS) expectation-as-etiology hypothesis. Undergraduate students (n = 551) were randomly allocated to one of three vignette conditions. Vignettes depicted either a very mild (VMI), mild (MI), or moderate-to-severe (MSI) motor vehicle-related traumatic brain injury (TBI). Participants reported the PCS and PTSD symptoms that they imagined the depicted injury would produce. Secondary outcomes (knowledge of mild TBI, and the perceived undesirability of TBI) were also assessed. After data screening, the distribution of participants by condition was: VMI (n = 100), MI (n = 96), and MSI (n = 71). There was a significant effect of condition on PCS symptomatology, F(2, 264) = 16.55, p < .001. Significantly greater PCS symptomatology was expected in the MSI condition compared to the other conditions (MSI > VMI; medium effect, r = .33; MSI > MI; small-to-medium effect, r = .22). The same pattern of group differences was found for PTSD symptoms, F(2, 264) = 17.12, p < .001. Knowledge of mild TBI was not related to differences in expected PCS symptoms by condition; and the perceived undesirability of TBI was only associated with reported PCS symptomatology in the MSI condition. Systematic variation in the severity of a depicted TBI produces different PCS and PTSD symptom expectations. Even a very mild TBI vignette can elicit expectations of PCS symptoms.

Does legal heritage affect obesity? The channel of motor vehicle dependence

We find a robust relationship between motor vehicle ownership, its interaction with legal heritage and obesity in OECD countries. Our estimates indicate that an increase of 100 motor vehicles per thousand residents is associated with about a 6% point increase in obesity in common law countries, whereas it has a much smaller or insignificant impact in civil law countries. These relations hold whether we examine trend data and simple correlations, or conduct cross-section or panel data regression analysis. Our results suggest that obesity rises with motor vehicle ownership in countries following a common law tradition where individual liberty is encouraged, whereas the link is small or statistically non-existent in countries with a civil law background where the rights of the individual tend to be circumscribed by the power of the state.

Commercial vehicle pre-clearance programs : current issues and recommendations for potential implementation

The regulation of overweight trucks is of increasing importance. Quickly growing heavy vehicle volumes over-proportionally contribute to roadway damage. Raising maintenance costs and compromised road safety are also becoming a major concern to managing agencies. Minimizing pavement wear is done by regulating overloaded trucks on major highways at weigh stations. However, due to lengthy inspections and insufficient capacities, weigh stations tend to be inefficient. New practices, using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) transponders and weigh-in-motion technologies, called preclearance programs, have been set up in a number of countries. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the current issues with regard to the implementation and operation of the preclearance program. The State of Queensland, Australia, is used as a case study. The investigation focuses on three aspects; the first emphasizes on identifying the need for improvement of the current regulation programs in Queensland. Second, the operators of existing preclearance programs are interviewed for their lessons-learned and the marketing strategies used for promoting their programs. The trucking companies in Queensland are interviewed for their experiences with the current weighing practices and attitudes toward the potential preclearance system. Finally, the estimated benefit of the preclearance program deployment in Queensland is analyzed. The penultimate part brings the former four parts together and provides the study findings and recommendations. The framework and study findings could be valuable inputs for other roadway agencies considering a similar preclearance program or looking to promote their existing ones.

Bus and car travel time on urban networks : integrating Bluetooth and bus vehicle identification data

Travel time in an important transport performance indicator. Different modes of transport (buses and cars) have different mechanical and operational characteristics, resulting in significantly different travel behaviours and complexities in multimodal travel time estimation on urban networks. This paper explores the relationship between bus and car travel time on urban networks by utilising the empirical Bluetooth and Bus Vehicle Identification data from Brisbane. The technologies and issues behind the two datasets are studied. After cleaning the data to remove outliers, the relationship between not-in-service bus and car travel time and the relationship between in-service bus and car travel time are discussed. The travel time estimation models reveal that the not-in-service bus travel time are similar to the car travel time and the in-service bus travel time could be used to estimate car travel time during off-peak hours

Adaptive metering algorithm for electronic commercial vehicle preclearance systems

This paper presents an adaptive metering algorithm for enhancing the electronic screening (e-screening) operation at truck weight stations. This algorithm uses a feedback control mechanism to control the level of truck vehicles entering the weight station. The basic operation of the algorithm allows more trucks to be inspected when the weight station is underutilized by adjusting the weight threshold lower. Alternatively, the algorithm restricts the number of trucks to inspect when the station is overutilized to prevent queue spillover. The proposed control concept is demonstrated and evaluated in a simulation environment. The simulation results demonstrate the considerable benefits of the proposed algorithm in improving overweight enforcement with minimal negative impacts on nonoverweighed trucks. The test results also reveal that the effectiveness of the algorithm improves with higher truck participation rates in the e-screening program.

Growing profitable or growing from profits : putting the horse in front of the cart?

Top lists of and praise for the economy's fastest growing firms abound in business media around the world. Similarly, in academic research there has been a tendency to equate firm growth with business success. This tendency appears to be particularly pronounced in-but not confined to­ entrepreneurship research. In this study we critically examine this tendency to portray firm growth as more or less universally favorable. While several theories suggest that growth drives profitability we first show that the available empirical evidence does not support the existence of a general, positive relation­ ship between growth and profitability. Using the theoretical lens of the Resource-Based View (RBV) we then argue that sound growth usually starts with achieving sufficient levels of profitability. In summary, our theoretical argument is as follows: In a population of SMEs, superior profitability is likely to be indicative of having built a resource-based competitive advantage. Building such a valuable and hard to-copy advantage may at first constrain growth. However, the underlying advantage itself and the financial resources generated through high profitability make it possible for firms in this situation to now achieve sound and sustainable growth - which may require building a series of temporary advantages- without having to sacrifice profitability. By contrast, when firms strive for high growth starting from low profitability, the latter often indicates lack of competitive advantage. Therefore growth must be achieved in head-to-head competition with equally attractive alternatives, leading to profitability deterioration rather than improvement. In addition, these low profitability firms are unlikely to be able to finance strategies toward building valuable and difficult-to-imitate advantages while growing.

Effects of eco-driving instructions using a vehicle with automatic transmission on urban roads

Eco-driving instructions could reduce fuel consumption to up to 20% (EcoMove, 2010). Participants (N=13) drove an instrumented vehicle (i.e. Toyota Camry 2007) with an automatic transmission. Fuel consumption of the participants were compared before and after they received eco-driving instructions. Participants drove the same vehicle on the same urban route under similar traffic conditions. Results show that, on free flow sections of the track, all participants drove slightly faster (on average, 0.7 Km/h faster), during the lap for which they were instructed to drive in an eco-friendly manner as compared to when they were not given the eco-driving instruction. Suprisingly, eco-driving instructions increased the RPM significantly in most cases. Fuel consumption slightly decreased (6%) after the eco-driving instructions. We have found strong evidence showing that the fuel saving observed in our experiment (urban environment, automatic transmission) fall short of the 20% reduction claimed in other international trials.

The implications of cross-regional differences for the design of In-vehicle Information Systems : a comparison of Australian and Chinese drivers

The increasing global distribution of automobiles necessitates that the design of In-vehicle Information Systems (IVIS) is appropriate for the regions to which they are being exported. Differences between regions such as culture, environment and traffic context can influence the needs, usability and acceptance of IVIS. This paper describes two studies aimed at identifying regional differences in IVIS design needs and preferences across drivers from Australia and China to determine the impact of any differences on IVIS design. Using a questionnaire and interaction clinics, the influence of cultural values and driving patterns on drivers' preferences for, and comprehension of, surface- and interaction-level aspects of IVIS interfaces was explored. Similarities and differences were found between the two regional groups in terms of preferences for IVIS input control types and labels and in the comprehension of IVIS functions. Specifically, Chinese drivers preferred symbols and Chinese characters over English words and were less successful (compared to Australians) at comprehending English abbreviations, particularly for complex IVIS functions. Implications in terms of the current trend to introduce Western-styled interfaces into other regions with little or no adaptation are discussed.

Vehicle-to-vehicle real-time relative positioning using 5.9 GHz DSRC media

Vehicular accidents are one of the deadliest safety hazards and accordingly an immense concern of individuals and governments. Although, a wide range of active autonomous safety systems, such as advanced driving assistance and lane keeping support, are introduced to facilitate safer driving experience, these stand-alone systems have limited capabilities in providing safety. Therefore, cooperative vehicular systems were proposed to fulfill more safety requirements. Most cooperative vehicle-to-vehicle safety applications require relative positioning accuracy of decimeter level with an update rate of at least 10 Hz. These requirements cannot be met via direct navigation or differential positioning techniques. This paper studies a cooperative vehicle platform that aims to facilitate real-time relative positioning (RRP) among adjacent vehicles. The developed system is capable of exchanging both GPS position solutions and raw observations using RTCM-104 format over vehicular dedicated short range communication (DSRC) links. Real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning technique is integrated into the system to enable RRP to be served as an embedded real-time warning system. The 5.9 GHz DSRC technology is adopted as the communication channel among road-side units (RSUs) and on-board units (OBUs) to distribute GPS corrections data received from a nearby reference station via the Internet using cellular technologies, by means of RSUs, as well as to exchange the vehicular real-time GPS raw observation data. Ultimately, each receiving vehicle calculates relative positions of its neighbors to attain a RRP map. A series of real-world data collection experiments was conducted to explore the synergies of both DSRC and positioning systems. The results demonstrate a significant enhancement in precision and availability of relative positioning at mobile vehicles.

Biomechanical aspects of seating comfort in vehicle seating package engineering

In this paper, problems are described which are related to the ergonomic assessment of vehicle package design in vehicle systems engineering. The traditional approach, using questionnaire techniques for a subjective assessment of comfort related to package design, is compared to a biomechanical approach. An example is given for ingress design. The biomechanical approach is based upon objective postural data. The experimental setup for the study is described and methods used for the biomechanical analysis are explained. Because the biomechanic assessment requires not only a complex experimental setup but also time consuming data processing, a systematic reduction and preparation of biomechanic data for classification with an Artificial Neural Network significantly improves the economy of the biomechanical method.

The impact of interface modality on police officers' visual behaviour when using an in-vehicle system

Background Standard operating procedures state that police officers should not drive while interacting with their mobile data terminal (MDT) which provides in-vehicle information essential to police work. Such interactions do however occur in practice and represent a potential source of driver distraction. The MDT comprises visual output with manual input via touch screen and keyboard. This study investigated the potential for alternative input and output methods to mitigate driver distraction with specific focus on eye movements. Method Nineteen experienced drivers of police vehicles (one female) from the NSW Police Force completed four simulated urban drives. Three drives included a concurrent secondary task: imitation licence plate search using an emulated MDT. Three different interface methods were examined: Visual-Manual, Visual-Voice, and Audio-Voice (“Visual” and “Audio” = output modality; “Manual” and “Voice” = input modality). During each drive, eye movements were recorded using FaceLAB™ (Seeing Machines Ltd, Canberra, ACT). Gaze direction and glances on the MDT were assessed. Results The Visual-Voice and Visual-Manual interfaces resulted in a significantly greater number of glances towards the MDT than Audio-Voice or Baseline. The Visual-Manual and Visual-Voice interfaces resulted in significantly more glances to the display than Audio-Voice or Baseline. For longer duration glances (>2s and 1-2s) the Visual-Manual interface resulted in significantly more fixations than Baseline or Audio-Voice. The short duration glances (<1s) were significantly greater for both Visual-Voice and Visual-Manual compared with Baseline and Audio-Voice. There were no significant differences between Baseline and Audio-Voice. Conclusion An Audio-Voice interface has the greatest potential to decrease visual distraction to police drivers. However, it is acknowledged that an audio output may have limitations for information presentation compared with visual output. The Visual-Voice interface offers an environment where the capacity to present information is sustained, whilst distraction to the driver is reduced (compared to Visual-Manual) by enabling adaptation of fixation behaviour.

Understanding the impact of legislative changes on child car seating and restraint practices in regional Queensland

Road crashes contribute to a significant amount of child mortality and morbidity in Australia. In fact, passenger injuries contribute to the majority of child crash road trauma. A number of factors contribute to child injury and death in motor vehicles, including inappropriate seating position, inappropriate choice of restraint, and incorrect installation and use of child restraints. Prior to March 2010, child restraint legislation in Queensland only required children twelve months and younger to be seated in a properly adjusted and fastened child restraint. This legislation left older infants and young children potentially suboptimally protected. From March 2010, new legislation specified seating position and type of child restraint required, depending on the age of the child. This research was underpinned by the Health Belief Model (HBM), which explores health related behaviour, behaviour change, environmental factors influencing behaviour change (including legislative changes) and is flexible enough to be used in relation to parents' health practices for their children, rather than parent health directly. This thesis investigates the extent to which the changes to child restraint legislation have led parents in regional areas of Queensland to use appropriate restraint practices for their children and determines the extent to which the constructs of the HBM, parental perceptions, barriers and environmental factors contribute to the appropriateness of child seating and restraint use. Study One included three sets of observations taken in two regional cities of Queensland prior to the legislative amendment, during an educative period of six months, and after the enactment of the legislation. Each child's seating position and restraint type were recorded. Results showed that the proportion of children observed occupying the front seat decreased by 15.6 per cent with the announcement the legislation. There was no decrease in front seat use at the enactment of the legislation. The proportion of children observed using dedicated child restraints increased by 8.8 per cent with the announcement of the legislation when there was one child in the vehicle. Further, there was a 10.1 per cent increase in the proportion of children observed using a seat belt that fit with the announcement when there was one child in the vehicle and with the enactment of the legislation regardless of the number of children in the vehicle (21.8 per cent for one child, 39.7 per cent for two children and 40.2 per cent for three or more children). Study Two comprised initial intercept interviews, later followed up by telephone, with parents with children aged eight years and younger at the announcement and telephone interviews at the enactment of the legislation in one regional city in Queensland. Parents reported their child restraint practices, and opinions, knowledge and understanding of the requirements of the new legislation. Parent responses were analysed in terms of the constructs in the HBM. When asked which seating position their child 'usually' used, parents reported child front seat use was nil (0.0 per cent) and did not change with the enactment of the legislative amendment. However, when parents were asked whether they allowed children to use the front seat at some point within the six months prior to the interview, reported child front seat use was 7 (5.4 per cent) children at T2 and 10 (9.6 per cent) at T3. Reported use of age-appropriate child restraints did not increase with the enactment of the legislation (p = 0.77, ns). Parents reported restraint practices were classed as either appropriate or inappropriate. Parents who reported appropriate restraint practices were those whose children were sitting in optimal restraints and seating positions for their age according to the requirements of the legislation. Parents who reported inappropriate restraint practices were those who had one or more children who were suboptimally restrained or seated for their age according to the requirements of the legislation. Neither parents' perceptions about their susceptibility of being in a crash nor the likelihood of severity of child injury if involved in a crash yielded significant differences in the appropriateness of reported parent restraint practices over time with the enactment of the legislation. A trend in the data suggested parents perceived a benefit to using appropriate restraint practices was to avoid fines and demerit points. Over 75 per cent of parents who agreed that child restraints provide better protection for children than an adult seat belt reported appropriately seating and restraining their children (2 (1) = 8.093, p<.05). The self-efficacy measure regarding parents' confidence in installing a child restraint showed a significant association with appropriate parental restraint practices (2 (1) = 7.036, p<.05). Results suggested that some parents may have misinterpreted the announcement of the legislative amendment as the announcement of the enforcement of the legislation instead. Some parents who correctly reported details of the legislation did not report appropriate child restraint practices. This finding shows that parents' knowledge of the legislative amendment does not necessarily have an impact on their behaviour to appropriately seat and restrain children. The results of these studies have important implications for road safety and the prevention of road-related injury and death to children in Queensland. Firstly, parents reported feeling unsure of how to install restraints, which suggests that there may be children travelling in restraints that have not been installed correctly, putting them at risk. Interventions to alert and encourage parents to seek advice when unsure about the correct installation of child restraints could be considered. Secondly, some parents in this study although they were using the most appropriate restraint for their children, reported using a type that was not the most appropriate restraint for the child's age according to the legislation. This suggests that intervention may be effective in helping parents make a more accurate choice of the most appropriate type of restraint to use with children, especially as the child ages and child restraint requirements change. Further research could be conducted to ascertain the most effective methods of informing and motivating parents to use the most appropriate restraints and seating positions for their children, as these results show a concerning disparity between reported restraint practices and those that were observed.

Impacts of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies on electricity market operations

The Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) concept is based on the newly developed and marketed technologies of hybrid petrol-electric vehicles, most notably represented by the Toyota Prius, in combination with significant structural changes to the world's energy economy, and the growing strain on electricity networks. The work described in this presentation focuses on the market and economic impacts of grid connected vehicles. We investigate price reduction effects and transmission system expansion cost reduction. We modelled a large numbers of plug-in-hybrid vehicle batteries by aggregating them into a virtual pumped-storage power station at the Australian national electricity market's (NEM) region level. The virtual power station concept models a centralised control for dispatching (operating) the aggregated electricity supply/demand capabilities of a large number of vehicles and their batteries. The actual level of output could be controlled by human or automated agents to either charge or discharge from/into the power grid. As previously mentioned the impacts of widespread deployments of this technology are likely to be economic, environmental and physical.

Vehicle energy throughput analysis as a drivetrain motor design aid

There are many variables to consider in the design of an electric motor. However, meeting the performance requirements for an electric vehicle drive may cause a designer to loose focus on its typical operation and hence fail to optimise the motor in the region where it processes the most power. This paper investigates operating requirements of electric vehicle motor drives using the University concept vehicle as an example. The paper outlines a methodology for determining primary operating region of a vehicle drive. The methodology is applied to standard driving cycles that are commonly used in the design and testing of vehicles.

Ironless wheel motor for a direct drive vehicle application

An ironless motor for use as direct wheel drive is presented. The motor is intended for use in a lightweight (600kg), low drag, series hybrid commuter vehicle under development at The University of Queensland. The vehicle will utilise these ironless motors in each of its rear wheels, with each motor producing a peak torque output of 500Nm and a maximum rotational speed of 1500rpm. The axial flux motor consists of twin Ironless litz wire stators with a central magnetic ring and simplified Halbach magnet arrays on either side. A small amount of iron is used to support the outer Halbach arrays and to improve the peak magnetic flux density. Ducted air cooling is used to remove heat from the motor and will allow for a continuous torque rating of 250Nm. Ironless machines have previously been shown to be effective in high speed, high frequency applications (+1000Hz). They are generally regarded as non-optimal for low speed applications as iron cores allow for better magnet utilisation and do not significantly increase the weight of a machine. However, ironless machines can also be seen to be effective in applications where the average torque requirement is much lower than the peak torque requirement such as in some vehicle drive applications. The low spinning losses in ironless machines are shown to result in very high energy throughput efficiency in a wide range of vehicle driving cycles.