Steven W. Clarke

Measuring road rage: development of the Propensity for Angry Driving Scale

Abstract Problem: Recent reports indicate incidents of aggressive driving have risen 51% since 1990 (Vest, Cohen, & Tharp, 1997) , and they continue to rise about 7% per year (Pepper, 1977). Current estimates attribute more than 218 deaths and 12,610 injuries to aggressive driving since 1990 (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 1997) . Method: College students as well as safety professionals were used in a four phase investigation to develop a Propensity for Angry Driving Scale (PADS). The PADS was designed to identify individuals with the greatest propensity to become angry while driving and subsequently engage in hostile driving behaviors or acts of “road rage.” Results: Results of the investigation reveal the PADS to be a unidimensional measure with acceptable alpha levels (.88–.89) and adequate test–retest reliability (.91). In addition, the PADS demonstrated significant and positive correlations with the Buss–Durkee Hostility Index (BDHI; r =.40) and the trait subscale of the State–Trait Anger Scale (STAS; r =.40). The PADS had a modest but significant correlation with Eysencks impulsivity scale ( r =.28) and was uncorrelated with Eysencks venturesomeness scale, ( r =.00). Summary: With the ability to identify anger prone drivers, research can begin addressing the underlying emotional mechanisms or thought processes that trigger angry and hostile reactions while driving. Given the win/lose hostile climate present on our highways, the PADS is a timely instrument that could be used to identify, study, and intervene on angry drivers prone to experience road rage.

Impact of electronic prescribing in a hospital setting: a process-focused evaluation.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate effects of a natural CPOE implementation in a hospital setting and inform the efficacy of using CPOE rather than traditional paper medication orders. DESIGN A multiple-baseline, quasi-experimental study of a naturally occurring CPOE intervention, with a non-equivalent control site. MEASUREMENTS Compliance with medication-ordering protocols and time to first dose of antibiotics. RESULTS Medication orders placed using CPOE were significantly more compliant than paper-based medication orders, and first doses of antibiotics were delivered significantly faster when ordered with CPOE than when placed using the standard paper-based system (p<.01). CONCLUSION Findings support the use of CPOE and justify the need for interventions to increase CPOE adoption and consistent use among physicians.

SAFETY BELT PROMOTION ON A NAVAL BASE: A COMPARISON OF INCENTIVES VS. DISINCENTIVES

Media campaigns employing incentives or disincentives to promote safety belt use were studied by applying an ABA reversal design at two large naval bases with safety belt use mandates in effect. The base police delivered each type of intervention by issuing warning tickets for the disincentive program or by entering the license plate numbers of vehicles with drivers buckled up in a prize drawing for the incentive program. At one navy base (with a daily entrance/exit traffic volume of approximately 75,000 vehicles), the use of safety belts increased from a baseline of 51% (33,173 observations) to 61% (28,517 observations) during the 4-week incentive program. At the other base (with a daily entrance/exit traffic volume of approximately 46,000 vehicles), the baseline belt use of 55% (17,221 observations) increased to 79% (18,305 observations) during the 3-week disincentive phase. The greater impact of the disincentive program was due almost entirely to a dramatic increase in belt use when vehicles entered the gates guarded by Marines. The impacts of the interventions were equivalent with regard to belt use: (a) on the base, (b) when vehicles exited the base, and (c) during postintervention follow-up phases. Males and females increased their safety belt use equivalently during the incentive and disincentive phases; but when the campaigns ended, females showed significantly more response maintenance than males. Cost-effectiveness comparisons are discussed, as well as specific needs for follow-up investigation.

Evaluating the Behavioral Effectiveness of a Multi-Modal Voice Warning Sign in a Visually Cluttered Environment

This research examined the effects of a multi-modal warning sign on compliance behavior. Participants followed a set of printed instructions to perform a chemistry task that involved measuring and mixing disguised (nonhazardous) chemicals. Whether participants wore protective equipment as directed by the warning was measured. The environment around the sign was either visually cluttered or uncluttered. In some conditions, pictorials, a voice warning, and/or a flashing strobe light were added. The results showed that compliance was significantly greater when the warning was presented in an uncluttered environment compared to a cluttered environment. The results also showed that the presence of a voice warning produced a strong and reliable increase in compliance compared to conditions without a voice warning. No statistically reliable effects of pictorials or strobe were found though the results did show a trend of greater compliance when they were present. In addition, compliance was positively related to memory of the warning, perception of hazard, and reported carefulness. The results call attention to the importance of the context in which a warning is placed, and the potential benefits of voice warnings.

Posted Warning Placard: Effects on College Students Knowledge of Alcohol Facts and Hazards

Federal legislation requires a warning label on all alcoholic beverage containers sold in the U.S. However, this method of communicating the hazards of alcohol consumption is lacking because (a) it is not designed to reach the underage population, (b) the warning label is small and contains limited information, and (c) the information is not communicated when alcoholic beverages are not served in their original container (e.g., by the glass). The present study was conducted to determine if a posted placard would effectively convey alcohol-related information to college students. A warning sign containing this information was field-tested in eight fraternities assigned to conditions of a Solomon four-group (pre-post) design. In the warning intervention conditions, signs were posted at various locations in fraternity houses. A questionnaire was distributed that assessed knowledge of five categories of hazards associated with alcohol consumption. Results indicated that, in general, students were knowledgeable about alcohol consumption facts and hazards, but that knowledge of alcohol-related information significantly increased as a result of exposure to the warning.

The Additive Impact of Group and Individual Publicly Displayed Feedback: Examining Individual Response Patterns and Response Generalization in a Safe-Driving Occupational Intervention

Additive effects of publicly posting individual feedback following group goal-setting and feedback were evaluated. The turn-signal use of pizza deliverers was studied in a multiple baseline design across two pizza stores. After baseline observations, pizza deliverers voted on a group turn-signal goal and then received 4 weeks of group feedback on their turn-signal use (i.e., group feedback phase). Then, for the next 4 weeks, individual turn-signal use means were publicly posted along with the group feedback (i.e., individual feedback phase). Deliverers at Store A (n = 24) increased their use of turn signals from a mean of 5% during baseline to 16.9% during the group feedback phase and then to 30% during the individual feedback phase. Turn-signal use at Store B (n = 20) increased from 28.9% during baseline to 43.6% during group feedback phase and to 56% during the subsequent individual feedback phase. Individual analyses suggested that deliverers who improved the target behavior during group feedback phase did not increase their turn-signal use further when individual feedback was added. Conversely, most deliverers who did not improve during the group feedback phase increased their turn-signal use when individual feedback was added. Complete intersection stopping increased concurrently with the turn-signal intervention phases from baseline means of 12% and 30% at Store A and B, respectively, to means of 21% and 48% during the interventions.