Caregiving Is Driving My Time: Caregiver and Care Recipient Driving Behaviors and Hours of Care

Informal caregivers often provide transportation assistance as older adult care recipients (CRs) begin regulating their driving (e.g., avoid certain driving situations, decrease/cease driving). This study examined how caregiver and CR driving frequency and CR’s driving avoidance behaviors impact caregiving intensity. Using data from Round 7 of the National Health and Aging Trends Study and the linked National Survey of Caregiving (n=1048 dyads), results indicated that caregiving intensity was highest among caregivers who drove everyday (5.38 hours) and for CRs who had not driven in the last month/did not drive (4.65 hours). Negative binomial regression techniques were used to assess and compare driving-related predictors. Compared to CRs who reported no avoidance of nighttime driving, caregivers of CRs who do not drive at all can expect to provide about 36% more hours of caregiving per day. Caregiving intensity was not significantly related to CR’s driving alone, on the highway, or in bad weather avoidance behaviors. CRs who drove every day, most days, and rarely required between 33% and 40% fewer expected hours per day of caregiving compared to CRs who had not driven in the past month. The expected number of hours spent providing care per day was 36% higher among caregivers who drove the care recipient every day, 28% higher among most-day drivers, and 30% higher among those who never drove as opposed to caregivers who drove some days per week. Results suggest that caregiving intensity is related more to caregiver and CR driving frequency than CR driving avoidance behaviors.

Determination of Speed-Dependent Roadway Luminance for an Adequate Feeling of Safety at Nighttime Driving

The purpose of this work is to determine as a function of velocity the minimal roadway luminance that is required to be judged as being bright enough for a driver to perform a nighttime driving task with an adequate feeling of safety. In this context, it shall also be evaluated which areas of the vehicle forefield are most crucial for the driver’s general brightness perception. A field study with 23 subjects and dimmable LED headlights was conducted, in which the subjects were given the task to assess their perceived brightness for different luminance levels caused by the headlights’ low-beam distribution in the vehicle’s forefield on a 5-step rating scale. The experiments were repeated for three different driving velocities of 0 km h−1 (static case), 30 km h−1, and 60 km h−1, respectively. Results for the static case indicate that, for the roadway to be perceived as bright enough by 50% of the subjects, an average roadway luminance of 0.88 cd m−2 is required in an area up to 32 m in front of the vehicle. Furthermore, a significant effect of driving speed is observed. For example, at 60 km h−1, the luminance must be increased to 1.54 cd m−2 to be still perceived as sufficiently bright by 50% of the subjects.

Looming in Forensics: Misapplication, Correction and Extension

In recent litigation Human Factors Experts have been misapplying the analysis of the looming threshold for offset motions. Looming (or image size expansion) analysis is appropriate for a rapid direct approach to an object (i.e., rear-end collisions) but is inappropriate for offset motions. Typically, looming threshold analysis is applied to nighttime driving when approaching a slow-moving or stopped vehicle presenting no visual cues other than rear tail lights. This paper lays out the foundation for looming, derives the accepted mathematical equation, and compares it to the rate of visual angle change, which is more applicable to offset motions. An appropriate offset looming threshold equation is derived. In addition, a special case of collision due to looming combined with lateral motion is addressed which has historical significance in open water vessel navigation.

Older Adults’ Daily Activity and Mood Changes Detected During the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Remote Unobtrusive Monitoring Technologies

Background and Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic has limited older adults’ access to in-person medical care, including screenings for cognitive and functional decline. Remote, technology-based tools have shown recent promise in assessing changes in older adults’ daily activities and mood, which may serve as indicators of underlying health-related changes (e.g., cognitive decline). This study examined changes in older adults’ driving, computer use, mood, and travel events prior to and following the COVID-19 emergency declaration using unobtrusive monitoring technologies and remote online surveys. As an exploratory aim, the impact of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) on these changes was assessed. Research Design and Methods Participants were 59 older adults (41 Cognitively Intact, 18 MCI) enrolled in a longitudinal aging study. Participants had their driving and computer use behaviors recorded over a five-month period (75 days pre- and 76 days post-COVID emergency declaration) using unobtrusive technologies. Measures of mood, overnight guests, and frequency of overnight travel were also collected weekly via remote online survey. Results After adjusting for age, gender, and education, participants showed a significant decrease in daily driving distance, number of driving trips, highway driving, and nighttime driving, post-COVID-19 as compared to pre-COVID-19 (p <0.001) based on generalized estimating equation models. Further, participants spent more time on the computer per day post-COVID-19 (p = 0.03). Participants endorsed increases in blue mood (p <0.01) and loneliness (p <0.001) and decreases in travel away from home and overnight visitors (p < 0.001) from pre- to post-COVID-19. Cognitive status did not impact these relationships. Discussion and Implications From pre- to post-COVID-19 emergency declaration, participants drove and traveled less, used their computer more, had fewer overnight visitors and reported greater psychological distress. These results highlight the behavioral and psychological effects of stay-at-home orders on older adults who are cognitively intact and those with MCI.

ASSESSING THE VISIBILITY OF RAISED PAVEMENT MARKERS AND ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF DELINEATION

Raised Pavement Markers (RPMs) are used by a number of transportation agencies with the objective of improving roadway safety, especially in complex roadway geometries and along wet roads. Because of maintenance and cost issues, many transportation agencies are exploring alternatives to RPMs such as wet reflective pavement tape and barrier-mounted reflective delineators. In order to assess the relative potential of these devices to contribute to nighttime driving safety, the luminances of new and used RPM samples from different manufacturers and having different colors and of several alternative delineation devices were measured in the laboratory using a range of geometric conditions relevant to the driving task. From these data, Luminances under representative low-beam headlight illumination were determined and these quantities were used to estimate driver visual performance. Large variations in luminance yielded relatively small differences in visual performance for a viewing distance of 100 m, primarily because of the plateau characteristic of visual performance. Differences in threshold visibility distances were greater, with distances at identification threshold for the devices measured ranging approximately from 150 to 400 m. Used RPMs had luminances 20…30% lower than new RPMs but similar visibility characteristics as new devices. The analysis method in this study may be useful for practitioners seeking to characterize the visual effectiveness of RPMs and other roadway delineation devices and systems.