Benjamin McManus

Differential impact of personality traits on distracted driving behaviors in teens and older adults

OBJECTIVE To determine the impact of personality on distracted driving behaviors. METHOD Participants included 120 drivers (48 teens, 72 older adults) who completed the 45-item Big Five Personality questionnaire assessing self-reported personality factors and the Questionnaire Assessing Distracted Driving (QUADD) assessing the frequency of distracted driving behaviors. Associations for all five personality traits with each outcome (e.g., number of times texting on the phone, talking on the phone, and interacting with the phone while driving) were analyzed separately for teens and older adults using negative binomial or Poisson regressions that controlled for age, gender and education. RESULTS In teens, higher levels of openness and conscientiousness were predictive of greater reported texting frequency and interacting with a phone while driving, while lower levels of agreeableness was predictive of fewer reported instances of texting and interacting with a phone while driving. In older adults, greater extraversion was predictive of greater reported talking on and interacting with a phone while driving. Other personality factors were not significantly associated with distracted driving behaviors. CONCLUSIONS Personality traits may be important predictors of distracted driving behaviors, though specific traits associated with distracted driving may vary across age groups. The relationship between personality and distracted driving behaviors provides a unique opportunity to target drivers who are more likely to engage in distracted driving behavior, thereby increasing the effectiveness of educational campaigns and improving driving safety.

The Impact of Billboards on Driver Visual Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review

Objective: External distraction appears to affect at least 6–9% of distraction-affected motor vehicle collisions. Billboards may be good models for studying external distraction in general, and it is also desirable to understand billboard-related distraction per se. However, there has not yet been a clear consensus on the scope of billboard-related distraction or its dynamics with respect to characteristics of drivers, billboards, traffic, and the roadway. To narrow these knowledge gaps, a systematic literature review was conducted on billboard-related changes in driver visual behavior. Methods: A systematic literature search yielded 443 results, of which 8 studies met all inclusion criteria. Five studies meeting all inclusion criteria were later identified and added. Results were analyzed in terms of 4 categories of visual behavior: (1) gaze variability (GV), glance pattern activity (GPA), and percentage of time spent glancing at the forward roadway; (2) glances at unexpected drive-relevant stimuli; (3) glances at expected drive-relevant stimuli; and (4) glances at billboards. Results: There was considerable evidence that about 10–20% of all glances at billboards were ≥0.75 s, that active billboards drew more glances and more long glances (≥0.75 s, ≥2.0 s) than passive billboards but did not attract a longer average glance, and that there was large variability among individual billboards within categories (e.g., active vs. passive). The extent to which billboards attracted glances ≥ 2.0 s was uncertain. There was tentative evidence that billboards did not affect GPA, glances at expected drive-relevant stimuli, or the proportion of time drivers spent glancing at the forward roadway and that they did affect vertical GV and glances at unexpected drive-relevant stimuli. Conclusions: Generally, billboard-related distraction appeared to be minor and regulated by drivers as the demands of the driving task changed. However, this reviews findings suggest that this may not be true in all cases. Future research should emphasize the tails of the distribution in addition to average cases, in terms of both the analysis of visual behavior and the complexity of driving tasks. Further research is also needed to understand the effects of billboard design, driver characteristics, and road and traffic context.

Predicting Motor Vehicle Collisions in a Driving Simulator in Young Adults Using the Useful Field of View Assessment

Objective: Being involved in motor vehicle collisions is the leading cause of death in 1- to 34-year-olds, and risk is particularly high in young adults. The Useful Field of View (UFOV) task, a cognitive measure of processing speed, divided attention, and selective attention, has been shown to be predictive of motor vehicle collisions in older adults, but its use as a predictor of driving performance in a young adult population has not been investigated. The present study examined whether UFOV was a predictive measure of motor vehicle collisions in a driving simulator in a young adult population. Method: The 3-subtest version of UFOV (lower scores measured in milliseconds indicate better performance) was administered to 60 college students. Participants also completed an 11-mile simulated drive to provide driving performance metrics. Results: Findings suggested that subtests 1 and 2 suffered from a ceiling effect. UFOV subtest 3 significantly predicted collisions in the simulated drive. Each 30 ms slower on the subtest was associated with nearly a 10% increase in the risk of a simulated collision. Post hoc analyses revealed a small partially mediating effect of subtest 3 on the relationship between driving experience and collisions. Conclusion: The selective attention component of UFOV subtest 3 may be a predictive measure of crash involvement in a young adult population. Improvements in selective attention may be the underlying mechanism in how driving experience improves driving performance.

The Useful Field of View Assessment Predicts Simulated Commercial Motor Vehicle Driving Safety

ABSTRACT Objective: The Useful Field of View (UFOV) assessment, a measure of visual speed of processing, has been shown to be a predictive measure of motor vehicle collision (MVC) involvement in an older adult population, but it remains unknown whether UFOV predicts commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driving safety during secondary task engagement. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the UFOV assessment predicts simulated MVCs in long-haul CMV drivers. Method: Fifty licensed CMV drivers (Mage = 39.80, SD = 8.38, 98% male, 56% Caucasian) were administered the 3-subtest version of the UFOV assessment, where lower scores measured in milliseconds indicated better performance. CMV drivers completed 4 simulated drives, each spanning approximately a 22.50-mile distance. Four secondary tasks were presented to participants in a counterbalanced order during the drives: (a) no secondary task, (b) cell phone conversation, (c) text messaging interaction, and (d) e-mailing interaction with an on-board dispatch device. Results: The selective attention subtest significantly predicted simulated MVCs regardless of secondary task. Each 20 ms slower on subtest 3 was associated with a 25% increase in the risk of an MVC in the simulated drive. The e-mail interaction secondary task significantly predicted simulated MVCs with a 4.14 times greater risk of an MVC compared to the no secondary task condition. Subtest 3, a measure of visual speed of processing, significantly predicted MVCs in the email interaction task. Each 20 ms slower on subtest 3 was associated with a 25% increase in the risk of an MVC during the email interaction task. Conclusions: The UFOV subtest 3 may be a promising measure to identify CMV drivers who may be at risk for MVCs or in need of cognitive training aimed at improving speed of processing. Subtest 3 may also identify CMV drivers who are particularly at risk when engaged in secondary tasks while driving.

Commercial motor vehicle driving performance: An examination of attentional resources and control using a driving simulator.

Commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers often multitask when driving to increase travel efficiency and to increase alertness. Secondary tasks have been shown to impact CMV driving differentially, and attentional resources have been posited as a key factor. However, underlying mechanisms of secondary task engagement on attention and task performance have not been fully examined. Additionally, it is unknown if attentional control moderates these differential effects of secondary tasks and task performance. The current study aimed to examine decrements in driving performance from a resource-control theory by determining the specific relation between attentional resources and attentional control. To achieve this goal, 2 objectives were determined. Objective 1 considered the differential impact of secondary tasks on attentional resources in CMV driving performance. Objective 2 investigated individual differences in attentional control in the sample of CMV drivers. Fifty CMV drivers (Mage = 39.8 years, SD = 8.36) completed the 10-min psychomotor vigilance task providing measures of attentional control and also drove in a CMV driving simulator 4 times while presented with 1 of 4 secondary tasks. Findings linked secondary tasks to attentional resources, which, consequently affected CMV driving performance. The mediating effect of attentional resources significantly differed among varying levels of attentional control.

A Pilot Study of Sleep, Work Practices, Visual Processing Speed, and 5-Year Motor Vehicle Crash Risk Among Truck Drivers

The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the relationships between sleep, work practices, speed of processing, and 5-year motor vehicle crash risk among a group of older truck drivers. Anthropometric, demographic, and psychological data were recorded, along with health, sleep, and work histories from a sample of 23 truck drivers. Results from this pilot study suggest that physical fatigue may play a role in processing speed. Future studies should be designed with adequate power and include objective measures of sleep and repeated measures over time to determine 5-year MVC rates. Implications for occupational health nursing research, practice, and education are presented.

The neuroprotective influence of employment on cognitive reserve: Implications for an aging HIV population

ABSTRACT Many adults with HIV often have physical and neuropsychiatric challenges that may interfere with their ability to work and earn a living. Others may stop working to reduce job-related stress, hoping this will improve their health. Yet, cognitive stimulation from engagement in employment may exert neuroprotective effects on one’s cognitive reserve and cognitive health, which may facilitate successful cognitive aging. This point is particularly germane given that: (1) by 2020 nearly 70% of adults with HIV will be 50 and older, (2) over half of adults with HIV experience HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders, and (3) only 20% of adults with HIV are continuously employed full-time. This article describes several ways in which employment can be neuroprotective of cognitive reserve and cognitive functioning as it relates specifically to adults with HIV. Implications for practice and research are provided, especially as this premise may also be applicable to other clinical populations.

Commercial Truck Driver Health and Safety Exploring Distracted Driving Performance and Self-Reported Driving Skill

Reducing distracters detrimental to commercial truck driving is a critical component of improving the safety performance of commercial drivers, and makes the highways safer for all drivers. This study used a driving simulator to examine effects of cell phone, texting, and email distractions as well as self-reported driver optimism bias on the driving performance of commercial truck drivers. Results revealed that more visually demanding tasks were related to poorer driving performance. However, the cell phone task resulted in less off-the-road eye glances. Drivers reporting being “very skilled” displayed poorer driving performance than those reporting being “skilled.” Onboard communication devices provide a practical, yet visually and manually demanding, solution for connecting drivers and dispatchers. Trucking company policies should minimize interaction between dispatchers and drivers when the truck is in motion. Training facilities should integrate driving simulators into the instruction of commercial drivers, targeting over-confident drivers.