Tom Triggs

Descriptive epidemiology of drowning deaths in a surf beach swimmer and surfer population

Retrospective data extraction from two complementary mortality datasets determined the descriptive epidemiology and population rates in unintentional drowning deaths at surf beaches (nu200a=u200a129). The annual average crude surf beach drowning rate was 0.28 per 100u2009000 population for males and 2.36 per 100u2009000 population for international tourists. The study generated hypotheses for risk assessment to assist intervention: adult males, international tourists, people with cardiovascular conditions, and exposure to rip currents.

Impact of internal versus external cueing on driving performance in people with Parkinson's disease.

Numerous aspects of driving performance seem compromised in people with Parkinsons disease (PD). Measures of cognitive impairment consistently correlate with poor driving simulator performance in this population; however, the effects of specific cognitive difficulties on discrete aspects of driving behavior have not been investigated thoroughly. Previous studies have demonstrated that people with PD exhibit difficulties internally cueing cognitive processes. This study examined the impact of impaired internal cueing on specific driving behaviors. A simulator measured the driving behavior of 18 current drivers in the mild‐to‐moderate stages of PD and 18 matched controls. Participants navigated through different driving conditions where the opportunity to use internal and external cues was manipulated. People with PD exhibited difficulties using internal cues to regulate driving behavior around traffic signals and curves. Instead of using internal cues, participants with PD were more reliant on external cues to regulate driving behavior. They were also less able to adapt their driving behavior to suit driving conditions. Because all participants with PD were current drivers in the mild‐to‐moderate stages of the disease, findings challenge the widely‐held assumption that cognitive difficulties only impact on driving performance in the moderate‐to‐severe stages of PD.

Self-reported water and drowning risk exposure at surf beaches

Objective: To document patterns of water exposure at surf beaches by gender and identify factors that predict bather confidence to return to shore if caught in a rip current.

How Does Motion Influence the Use of Touch Screen In-Vehicle Information Systems?

While the use of in-vehicle touch screen devices is currently common in both military and civilian settings, the effects of motion on the use of such systems has not been researched extensively. This paper presents the findings from a driving simulator study that aimed to explore the influence of motion on task performance when using a touch screen device. The touch screen task was a mock battle management system intended for use in military surface transport vehicles. Twenty participants engaged in a series of battle management system tasks that required both the pull and push of information, for example, reading symbols and entering text. This was done while participants were seated in the front passenger seat in the simulator with an experimenter driving at a constant speed. High motion was simulated by driving along the road edge way, while low motion was simulated by driving along a sealed rural road. Motion profiles confirmed the greater amplitudes in acceleration across multiple axes of movement. The findings illustrate that almost all aspects of battle management system performance were degraded in the high motion condition, although the level of degradation was not as severe as participants gained more experience with the system.