Cándida Castro

Attentional Networks Functioning, Age, and Attentional Lapses While Driving

Objective: Based on Posners (1994) model of attentional functions, the relationship between age and personal proneness to attention-related errors while driving and the functioning of the 3 attentional networks were explored by means of attentional behavioral measures and self-report data. Methods: A sample of 55 drivers was drawn from the general population of Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Attention Network Test for Interactions (ANTI) (Callejas et al. 2004) task was used to obtain behavioral measures of the attentional networks, and we used the Attention-Related Driving Error Scale (ARDES) (Ledesma et al. 2010) questionnaire to obtain a self-report measure of attention-related driving errors. Results: Drivers reporting the greatest propensity to experience attention-related errors showed an overall slowdown in performance, less endogenous preparation for high = priority warning signs, and a better response to conflict in the presence of valid cues than drivers less prone to attention-related errors while driving. Older participants showed a slowdown in performance, less endogenous preparation for high-priority warning signs, and worse cognitive control when solving conflict in comparison with younger drivers. Conclusions: We suggest that each group variable, attention-related error proneness and age, shows a particular combination of attentional network functioning that implies different ways of being distracted, which have different practical implications for safe driving. It can be inferred that drivers who are more prone to commit attentional errors while driving run less risk in situations in which they can deal with response conflict in the presence of valid cues because of the particular way in which their attentional networks are combined when a valid cue is present, could serve to compensate, with a better response conflict, their general slowdown and less endogenous preparedness for high-priority signs. It can be inferred that older drivers might show a reduction of the general state of alertness to signs that indicate the presence of a dangerous driving situation and in solving conflict in traffic circumstances.

Development and Validation of the Spanish Hazard Perception Test

Objective: The aim of the current study is to develop and obtain valid evidence for a hazard perception test suitable for the Spanish driving population. To obtain valid evidence to support the use of the test, the effect of hazardous and quasi-hazardous situations on the participants’ hazard prediction is analyzed and the pattern of results for drivers with different driving experience—that is, learner, novice, and expert drivers and reoffender vs. nonoffender drivers—is compared. Potentially hazardous situations are those that develop without involving any real hazard (i.e., the driver did not actually have to decelerate or make any evasive maneuver to avoid a potential collision). The current study analyzed repeat offender drivers attending compulsory reeducation programs as a result of reaching the maximum number of penalty points on their driving license due to repeated violations of traffic laws. Method: A new video-based hazard perception test was developed, using a total of 20 hazardous situation videos plus 8 quasi-hazardous situation videos. They were selected from 167 recordings of natural hazards in real Spanish driving settings. Results: The test showed adequate psychometric properties and evidence of validity, distinguishing between different types of drivers. Psychometric results confirm a final version of the hazard perception test composed of 11 video clips of hazards and 6 video clips of quasi-hazards, for which an overall Cronbachs alpha coefficient of.77 was obtained. A lack of ability to detect quasi-hazards and distinguish them from hazardous situations was also found for learner, novice, and reoffender drivers. Learner drivers obtained lower average scores than novice and experienced drivers with the hazardous situation videos, and learner drivers obtained lower average scores than experienced drivers with the quasi-hazardous situation videos, suggesting that the ability to correctly identify hazardous traffic situations may develop early by accumulating initial driving experience. However, the ability to correctly identify quasi-hazardous situations may develop later with the accumulation of further driving experience. Developing this ability is also difficult for reoffender drivers. Conclusion: The test has adequate psychometric properties and is useful in distinguishing between learner, novice, and expert drivers. In addition, it is useful in that it analyzes the performance of both safe and unsafe drivers (reoffenders who have already lost their driving license).

A driving-emulation task to study the integration of goals with obligatory and prohibitory traffic signs

This research aims to analyse how drivers integrate the information provided by traffic signs with their general goals (i.e. where they want to go). Some previous studies have evaluated the comparative advantages of obligatory and prohibitory traffic signs using a judgement task. In this work, a new experimental task with greater similarity to driving situations is proposed. Participants imagine they are driving a vehicle and must make right or left turn manoeuvres according to a previously indicated objective and the information from obligatory and prohibitory traffic signs. Eighty-two participants took part in two different experiments. According to the results, an obligatory traffic sign is associated with faster and more accurate responses only when the participants initial objective is allowed. When the initial objective was not allowed, an advantage in accuracy was observed with prohibitory traffic signs and there was no significant difference in reaction time between the two types of sign. These results suggest that having an obligatory traffic sign may facilitate a correct response when the drivers goal is effectively allowed, whereas a prohibitory traffic sign could be more effective in preventing error when the driver has a not-allowed goal in mind. However, processing a prohibitory sign requires an extra inference (i.e. deciding which is the allowed manoeuvre), and thus the potential advantage in reaction time of the prohibitory sign may disappear. A second experiment showed that the results could not be explained by a potential congruency effect between the location (left or right) of the road signs and the position of the key or the hand used to respond (such as the Simon effect or the spatial Stroop effect). Also, an increase in the difficulty of the task (using an incongruent hand to respond) affected performance more strongly in experimental conditions that required making inferences. This made the advantage of the obligatory sign over the prohibitory sign in this condition more noteworthy. The evidence gathered in the current study could be of particular interest in some applied research areas, such as the assessment of road traffic signalling strategies or the ergonomic design of GPS navigation systems.

Efectos de facilitacion de repeticion y semantica en el reconocimiento de senales de indicacion y peligro

espanolEn el presente experimento estudiamos los efectos de facilitacion (priming) semantico y de repeticion en el reconocimiento de senales. Utilizamos tanto senales de indicacion como de peligro. Obtuvimos un claro efecto de facilitacion de repeticion: la repeticion de senales identicas produce respuestas mas rapidas y precisas. Sin embargo, no se encontro efecto de facilitacion semantica cuando se presentaban dos senales de la misma categoria (indicacion o peligro). Basandonos en los resultados encontrados, sugerimos metodos para mejorar la senalizacion. Proponemos procedimientos de presenalizacion y planteamos la necesidad de revisar las categorias de las senales de trafico forma que sean mas relevantes desde el punto de vista psicologico. Podrian, asi, aprovecharse las relaciones semanticas entre ellas con el fin de incrementar su eficacia. EnglishOne experiment is presented that studies repetition and semantic priming effects in the recognition of traffic signs. Both indication and warning signs were used. We obtained a clear repetition priming effect, showing that the repetition of identical signs results in faster and more accurate responses. However, no reliable semantic priming effect was found when two signs of the same category - indication or warning - were presented. We suggest possible ways of applying the results to the improvement of traffic signalling. We propose procedures for presignalling traffic signs and argue that traffic-sign categories should be revised in order to make them more psychologically relevant. This way, semantic relationships between them could be used as a way to enhance their effectiveness.

The moderating effects of vigilance on other components of attentional functioning

BACKGROUND Previous research suggested that vigilance may moderate the functioning of other attentional components. However, vigilance is usually neglected when comparing the attentional functioning between groups of clinical and/or healthy participants. NEW METHOD We combined data from several studies using the Attention Network Test for Interactions and Vigilance (ANTI-V), which includes a vigilance measure plus phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control scores. We estimated, for the first time, the reliability of the vigilance performance indices in the ANTI-V, by analyzing split-half correlations of 10,000 permutations of the trials. In addition, we tested whether a different attentional functioning would be found across the group of healthy participants varying in their vigilance performance, by using a considerably larger sample size (226 participants) than previous studies. RESULTS Vigilance indices were the most reliable among the different attentional scores. Regression models show an inverse relationship between vigilance and phasic alertness and executive control. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS No previous study has analysed the reliability of the vigilance performance indices in the ANTI-V. In comparison with other ANT variations, the ANTI-V provides a reliable measure of vigilance together with the typical phasic alertness, orienting and executive control scores. In addition, we provide estimates, based on a large sample size, of the magnitude of the link between vigilance and other attentional functions. CONCLUSIONS When assessing the multiple functions of attention, the current study highlights the importance of measuring vigilance, which may modulate the functioning of other attentional components, such as phasic alertness or executive control.

614 Can users’ opinions help to improve traffic calming interventions?

Background Traffic calming interventions attempt to reduce accidents, improve mobility of users and enhance the liveability of the local environment. Speed limit reductions and adaptation of the infrastructure are some actions frequently implemented. Results of these types of interventions can be explored by analysing users’ opinions, such as their needs and preferences before, during and after the intervention. Methods A survey was performed to explore the effects on infrastructure remodelling of the Cartuja Campus at the University of Granada in Spain. Habits, opinions and attitudes from a total population of 21,892 users were collected. A total of 393 users from a stratified random sample took part in this study. The user groups included were: “residents on campus”, “workers of nearby shops”, “students”, “teaching and research staff”, “administration and service workers”, and “parents and teachers of a school located on the campus”. A questionnaire was used to collect the users’ opinions in four basic areas: mobility, environment, safety and informing users about the objectives of the engineering works. Results Results found that the following issues were considered to be very important and necessary for the user: an improvement of fluidity and functionality of public transport, accessibility to the campus for both pedestrians and vehicles, perceived road safety conditions and usability of the campus. However, users considered themselves to be poorly or not informed regarding the aims, planning and developing of the engineering works, and during the implementation of works, 22.1% of them reported to have changed their mean of transportation as a result of that engineering activity. The key groups affected by the changes were students, campus workers and users of the school. Conclusions This current survey, taking place during the engineering interventions, will subsequently serve as baseline for the second phase once the infrastructure remodelling work in completed. In particular it will analyse the impact on mobility of the Campus Cartuja remodelling, evaluate the success of the “traffic calming” measures, and investigate if healthy mobility has been successfully encouraged. From these combined results, implications about road design and planning will be derived, as well as additional suggestions for improving traffic calming: these will be reported back to the infrastructure designers and used to further refine the infrastructure changes.

887 Analysing the offender driver behaviour: recidivism, just the tip of the Iceberg?

Background The Subjective Risk Estimation (SER) depends on the own driving skills self- assessment and the calibration made between the benefits and cost involved in this risk at the moment of driving. Offender drivers’ assumption of higher risk could be related with a more general factor that also involves the assumption of higher risk in other facets of their lives that could derive in drugs taking or other kind of additions. Deficient SER could be considered as a TRAIT, a higher proneness or disposition that only some drivers could show as another characteristic of their personality (measured with the DOSPERT (Domain-Specific Risk Taking). It could also be possible to establish a relation with other personality measures related to Anger or Aggressive Driving, measured with DAS (Driving Anger Scale). Methods The Subjective Risk Estimation (SER) is measured with the DOSPERT (Domain-Specific Risk Taking Scale). The Anger to Aggressive Driving is measured with DAS (Driving Anger Scale). Results In this work we would like to find out if could deficient SER be considered as a TRAIT of personality and some drivers could show a higher proneness to it (i.e. offender drivers) and if does deficient SER take part of a more general pattern of behaviour related with risk behaviour (drugs taking, alcohol consumption, and addiction to food or sex) that should be also trait to sort the problem out. Results are in progress. Conclusions This knowledge could be useful to better understand the different profiles of drivers. To plan prevention and to settle better strategies of intervention and treatment of the specific lacks for each group of drivers, for instance, reducing aggressive driving or helping to be aware of the problem and dealing with the Anger in offender drivers.

How to evaluate the accident data for older drivers? Age, gender and gravity of accidents: a new estimation of driving frequency based on litres of fuel consumed

Published online: 2 May 2012 # Etrasa 2012 Abstract In order to assess the accident rate of older drivers and judge the severity of the figures in this and other age and gender groups, the analysis of a new estimation rate has been developed. The current re- search proposes a new pro rata estimation rate relating the raw data on number of accidents to driving fre- quency, taking into account the number of litres of fuel put in the tank. That is, the raw accident rates of older drivers are low, but the estimation shows a dangerous increase when their low driving frequency is taken into account. This new index shows that it is not only the pro rata accident rates of young drivers that are worrying. The strategies of older drivers (cautious driving) are unable to compensate satisfactorily for the deterioration in their psychomotor driving skills in order to guarantee safe driving. Previous studies have calculated the accident rate using subjective

¿Cómo valorar los datos de accidentalidad de los conductores mayores? Edad, género y gravedad de los accidentes: Una nueva estimación de la frecuencia de conducción basada en los litros de combustible consumido

Published online: 2 May 2012 # Etrasa 2012 Abstract In order to assess the accident rate of older drivers and judge the severity of the figures in this and other age and gender groups, the analysis of a new estimation rate has been developed. The current re- search proposes a new pro rata estimation rate relating the raw data on number of accidents to driving fre- quency, taking into account the number of litres of fuel put in the tank. That is, the raw accident rates of older drivers are low, but the estimation shows a dangerous increase when their low driving frequency is taken into account. This new index shows that it is not only the pro rata accident rates of young drivers that are worrying. The strategies of older drivers (cautious driving) are unable to compensate satisfactorily for the deterioration in their psychomotor driving skills in order to guarantee safe driving. Previous studies have calculated the accident rate using subjective