Reversing Poor Safety Records: Identifying Best Practices to Improve Fleet Safety

Commercial motor vehicle safety is of utmost importance, as crashes involving commercial motor vehicles often result in significant property damage, injuries, fatalities, and financial loss for fleets. However, fleet managers are often unsure what strategies other fleets have used to successfully improve safety. To identify best practices, researchers completed case studies with nine commercial motor vehicle fleets that successfully improved their safety performance. A content analysis was performed, and the successful strategies were organized into the Haddon Matrix. Results showed that there was no one single strategy that fleets used to improve safety. Instead, fleets relied on a comprehensive approach focusing on pre-crash countermeasures, including addressing hiring practices, driver training, fleet safety culture, safety technologies, scheduling, and maintenance. However, an enhanced safety culture and advanced safety technology were identified as critical components to their safety improvement. Results from this study may help fleets understand what their peers have used to successfully improve safety and which strategies may not be as helpful.

Features of changes in heart rate variability indices in driving school cadets with different levels of preparedness

The research was carried out on two independent experimental groups of boys and girls. The first was observed in traffic conditions, the second during the period of auto-simulator training. The HRV indices were determined: HR - heart rate, IN - index of tension of regulatory systems, AMo - amplitude of the mode, LF/HF - index of vagosympathetic interaction. A pronounced sympathetic reaction of more prepared cadets to the training load with the subsequent restoration of the studied characteristics was revealed. Key words: heart rate variability, autonomic regulation, vagosympathetic interaction, driver training, level of preparedness.

Analysis of Crash Frequency and Crash Severity in Thailand: Hierarchical Structure Models Approach

Currently, research on the development of crash models in terms of crash frequency on road segments and crash severity applies the principles of spatial analysis and heterogeneity due to the methods’ suitability compared with traditional models. This study focuses on crash severity and frequency in Thailand. Moreover, this study aims to understand crash frequency and fatality. The result of the intra-class correlation coefficient found that the spatial approach should analyze the data. The crash frequency model’s best fit is a spatial zero-inflated negative binomial model (SZINB). The results of the random parameters of SZINB are insignificant, except for the intercept. The crash frequency model’s significant variables include the length of the segment and average annual traffic volume for the fixed parameters. Conversely, the study finds that the best fit model of crash severity is a logistic regression with spatial correlations. The variances of random effect are significant such as the intersection, sideswipe crash, and head-on crash. Meanwhile, the fixed-effect variables significant to fatality risk include motorcycles, gender, non-use of safety equipment, and nighttime collision. The paper proposes a policy applicable to agencies responsible for driver training, law enforcement, and those involved in crash-reduction campaigns.

Head Scanning Behavior Predicts Hazard Detection Safety Before Entering an Intersection

Objective We conducted a driving simulator study to investigate scanning and hazard detection before entering an intersection. Background Insufficient scanning has been suggested as a factor contributing to intersection crashes. However, little is known about the relative importance of the head and eye movement components of that scanning in peripheral hazard detection. Methods Eleven older (mean 67 years) and 18 younger (mean 27 years) current drivers drove in a simulator while their head and eye movements were tracked. They completed two city drives (42 intersections per drive) with motorcycle hazards appearing at 16 four-way intersections per drive. Results Older subjects missed more hazards (10.2% vs. 5.2%). Failing to make a scan with a substantial head movement was the primary reason for missed hazards. When hazards were detected, older drivers had longer RTs (2.6s vs. 2.3s), but drove more slowly; thus, safe response rates did not differ between the two groups (older 83%; younger 82%). Safe responses were associated with larger (28.8° vs. 20.6°) and more numerous (9.4 vs. 6.6) gaze scans. Scans containing a head movement were stronger predictors of safe responses than scans containing only eye movements. Conclusion Our results highlight the importance of making large scans with a substantial head movement before entering an intersection. Eye-only scans played little role in detection and safe responses to peripheral hazards. Application Driver training programs should address the importance of making large scans with a substantial head movement before entering an intersection.

PP26 Stepping up: interviews with student paramedics and lecturers about a scheme to increase workforce capacity within an English ambulance service during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundDuring the UK’s first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, ambulance services acted to increase capacity rapidly. One English ambulance service recruited existing supernumerary student paramedics into a new, paid, hybrid role, working as one half of a double-crewed ambulance team.MethodsTen student paramedics and two university lecturers were interviewed remotely in one-to-one sessions with a single interviewer. Students participated from 3 of 4 partner universities, and lecturers from 2 of the 4. Their responses were transcribed and coded into a framework of the four processes of organisational entry: analysis, recruitment, selection, and induction.ResultsThe participants described barriers and facilitators to the success of the scheme in all four processes. Analysis: job descriptions and working conditions were not always clear to interviewees. Recruitment: some students described feeling under pressure to take part. Lecturers criticised communications, particularly around some of their student paramedics who had withdrawn from study. Selection: students were critical of some aspects of physical assessment being omitted for this new role, but later reinstated for subsequent paramedic recruitment events. Induction: most students praised the initial training and their induction onto ambulance stations, but many felt they should have been given driver training. Lecturers raised concerns that students at risk of failing in placement may not be supported adequately in this new role. Almost all participants praised the scheme’s intentions and overall delivery, and some suggested a similar role bears consideration for future business-as-usual university placements.ConclusionsParticipants were broadly positive about this scheme, with some suggesting that elements of this hybrid role could feature in a post-pandemic student paramedic programme. Limitations include recall bias and response bias, particularly in that students who declined to take part in the scheme also declined to take part in this interview study.

Hazard perception of novice drivers in mountain roads: a case study in Ecuador

Novice drivers are more likely to be involved in a traffic accident than experienced drivers. Detecting danger is one of the skills that these drivers must acquire with age and experience. This can reduce this probability, especially on mountain roads. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to analyze the hazard perception of novice drivers on mountain roads. Thirty-seven drivers participated in the experiment, who watched videos of road sites. After each video, they had to answer a survey about the hazards they observed on the site. Based on this survey, the hazard perception was estimated, which was compared with the actual hazard, calculated by iRAP. As expected, drivers do not recognize hazards properly, especially in the most dangerous places. No significant differences were found among sex, age, and type of driver's license. However, relationships were found among hazard perception, the actual hazard, and the error between them, so four linear equations were calibrated. This research will help public and private institutions related to road safety optimize resources in driver training by: a) including the hazard detection of danger in the curriculum, or b) offering a complementary course to those who have already obtained their license.

Blueprint for a Simulation Framework to Increase Driver Training Safety in North America: Case Study

Despite numerous recent advances in the classroom and in-vehicle driver training and education over the last quarter-century, traffic accidents remain a leading cause of mortality for young adults—particularly, those between the ages of 16 and 19. Obviously, despite recent advances in conventional driver training (e.g., classroom, in-vehicle, Graduated Driver Licensing programs), this remains a critical public safety and public health concern. As advanced vehicle technologies continue to evolve, so too does the unintended potential for mechanical, visual, and/or cognitive driver distraction and adverse safety events on national highways. For these reasons, a physics-based modeling and high-fidelity simulation have great potential to serve as a critical supplementary component of a near-future teen-driver training framework. Here, a case study is presented that examines the specification, development, and deployment of a “blueprint” for a simulation framework intended to increase driver training safety in North America. A multi-measure assessment of simulated driver performance was developed and instituted, including quantitative (e.g., simulator-measured), qualitative (e.g., evaluator-observed), and self-report metrics. Preliminary findings are presented, along with a summary of novel contributions through the deployment of the training framework, as well as planned improvements and suggestions for future directions.

METHODOLOGY FOR DETERMINING THE OPTIMAL TIME OF SIMULATOR TRAINING OF CANDIDATES FOR DRIVERS

This article analyzes the actions of drivers and their impact on the occurrence of emergency road traffic situations. The model of the stages of professional training of candidates for drivers is presented, the method of determining the optimal time of simulator training is considered, the qualitative assessment of the level of driver training is determined, taking into account the ranking of the main parameters that affect road safety. The optimal time of training in the training center is established, taking into account the personal qualities of candidates for drivers.