Explore the vast range of titles available.

The primary purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of threat appeals in influencing impulsive decision making associated with texting while driving. The participants in the treatment group were exposed to a threatening message about the danger of texting while driving, whereas those in the control group were exposed to a non-threatening message. Following the exposure to either message, the participants completed a delay-discounting task that assessed the degree of impulsive decision making in a hypothetical texting-while-driving scenario. A comparison between the groups revealed that the threat appeals reduced the degree of impulsive decision making associated with texting while driving. In addition, the threat appeals led to greater anticipated regret from texting while driving, less favorable attitudes toward texting while driving, and decreased intentions to text while driving in the future in the treatment group. These results suggest that video-based threat appeals are promising intervention strategies for the public health challenge of texting while driving. Implications from the behavioral economic perspective are discussed.

BackgroundSpeeding is responsible for countless traffic collisions and road traffic injuries (RTIs) around the world. It threatens the lives of passengers in motor vehicles as well as the safety of other individuals sharing the public roads. Little evidence has been provided by low- and middle-income countries on speed transgression patterns.ObjectiveTo document the prevalence of speeding in motor vehicles with four or more wheels and to analyse the associated factors in four Mexican cities.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study in the cities of Guadalajara-Zapopan, León, Cuernavaca and Villahermosa. Data on speed, drivers, vehicles, road infrastructure and the environment were collected from a randomly selected sample of urban road segments. We identified the factors associated with speeding through a logistic multiple regression model.ResultsWith an overall prevalence of 47% (95% CI 45.83 to 48.18), speeding occurred most frequently in Villahermosa (61.07%, 95% CI 59.10 to 63.01) as compared to León (51%, 95% CI 48.07 to 53.92), Cuernavaca (47.6%, 95% CI 45.35 to 49.85) and Guadalajara-Zapopan (20.76%, 95% CI 18.75 to 22.88). Speeding increased in the afternoons, on roads with numerous lanes, on Thursdays and Sundays and in foggy weather, but decreased in cities with speed control strategies and on roads with low visibility. No differences were observed between sexes or among age groups.ConclusionsEvidence from our study highlights the urgent need to implement speed control measures such as changes in road infrastructure and design, and to promote comprehensive speeding legislation aimed at reducing exposure to this important risk factor.

Background Child passenger safety is an important public health problem in China. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of child passenger restraint use while riding in a car in the city of Shantou in China from 2012 to 2017. Methods Three large-scale cross-sectional observational studies were conducted in 2012, 2015 and 2017, respectively. The observation sites included randomly selected hospitals, kindergartens, and primary and secondary schools. The outcome measures included the changes in percentages of seating position (e.g., front vs. rear), whether sitting on lap, and use of child restraint systems (CRS) or seat belts by year and by age group. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to address the study aims. Results A total of 9858 commuting children aged 17 and younger were observed in passenger cars in Shantou, China during the study. The proportion of children aged 0–5 sitting on adult’s lap decreased from 26.6% in 2012 to 24.6% in 2017, while the proportion of CRS use among the children sitting in the rear row increased among children aged 0–5 (from 0.7% in 2012 to 14.2% in 2017) and children aged 6–11 (from 0.7% in 2012 to 2.4% in 2017). Comparing children aged 0–11 in 2012, children in the same ages were less likely to sit in the front row in 2015 (OR = 0.42, 95%CI = 0.37, 0.48) and in 2017 (OR = 0.27, 95%CI = 0.23, 0.31). Children aged 0–11 were more likely to sit in the rear row with CRS use in 2015 (OR = 8.50, 95%CI = 5.44, 13.28) and in 2017 (OR = 10.95, 95%CI = 7.02, 17.08) comparing with children in the same ages in 2012. As for children aged 12–17, they were more likely to use seat belt in 2017 (OR = 1.40, 95%CI = 1.06, 1.85) compared with those children in 2012. Conclusions While child passenger safety behaviors improved from 2012 to 2017 in Shantou, China, more efforts are needed to protect child passengers from injuries.

Background Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs) are the third highest cause of death in Zambia, claiming about 2000 lives annually, with pedestrians and cyclists being the most vulnerable. Human error accounts for 87.3% of RTCs. Minibus and big bus public service vehicles (PSVs) are among the common vehicle types involved in these crashes. Given the alarmingly high rate of road traffic crashes involving PSV minibuses and big buses within Zambia, there is a need to mitigate this through innovative solutions. In other settings, it has been shown that stickers in PSVs encouraging passengers to speak out against reckless driving can reduce RTCs, but it is unclear whether such an intervention could work in Zambia. Based on this evidence, the Zambia Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) has developed a road safety bus sticker campaign for PSVs and before national scale-up, RTSA is interested in evidence of the impact of these stickers. Methods This evaluation will be a stratified two-arm randomized controlled trial with a one-to-one ratio. The sample will be stratified by vehicle type, thus creating a two-arm trial for minibuses and a separate two-arm trial for big buses. The sample will include 2110 minibuses and 300 big buses from four towns in Zambia. The primary outcome of interest will be the difference in the rate of RTCs over a 14-month period (7-months before the intervention and 7 months after) between buses with and without the new RTSA road safety bus stickers. Discussion This study will provide evidence on the impact of the Zambian sticker program on road traffic crashes as implemented through minibuses and big buses, that can help inform the scale up of a national ‘Zambia road safety bus sticker campaign’. Trial registration PACT-R, PACTR201711002758216 . Registered 13 November 2017-Retrospectively registered.

Background: We evaluated the effects of cognitive training on self-rated health at 1, 2, 3, and 5 years post-baseline. Methods: In the ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly) randomized controlled trial, 2,802 older adults (≥65 years) were randomly assigned to memory, reasoning, speed of processing, or no-contact control intervention groups. Complete data were available for 1,804 (64%) of the 2,802 participants at five years. A propensity score model was adjusted for attrition bias. The self-rated health question was coded using the Diehr et al. (2001) transformation (E = 95/VG = 90/G = 80/F = 30/P = 15), and analyzed with change-score regression models. Results: The speed of processing (vs. no-contact control) group had statistically significant improvements (or protective effects) on changes in self-rated health at the 2, 3 and 5 year follow-ups. The 5-year improvement was 2.8 points (p = 0.03). No significant differences were observed in the memory or reasoning groups at any time. Conclusion: The speed of processing intervention significantly protected self-rated health in ACTIVE, with the average benefit equivalent to half the difference between excellent vs. very good health.

Objective: This study examines predictors of later risky driving behavior in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: Stepwise logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were used to explore baseline predictors of risky driving behavior for adolescents who completed the 8-year follow-up assessment in the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA). Results: Stepwise logistic regression analysis explained 19% of the total variance in risky driving behavior. Increased likelihood of risky driving behavior was associated with parental history of conduct disorder, low parental monitoring and supervision, and increased age. ROC analysis identified discriminative predictors for adolescents older and younger than 16 years of age at follow-up. The most discriminative predictors of later risky driving behavior were parental stress at baseline (for children 16 years or older) and increased child-rated parental protectiveness (for children less than 16 years old). Conclusion: Risky driving behavior was significantly predicted by baseline characteristics for the MTA cohort. Aspects of parenting behavior (or the child's perception of them), including parental stress levels, parental protectiveness, and parental levels of monitoring and supervision, were most informative in predicting these outcomes. Our results suggest that interventions to reduce high-risk behaviors in these high-risk children with ADHD might involve targeted parenting interventions.

Despite the recent advancements that Autonomous Vehicles have shown in their potential to improve safety and operation, considering differences between Autonomous Vehicles and Human-Driven Vehicles in accidents remain unidentified due to the scarcity of real-world Autonomous Vehicles accident data. We investigated the difference in accident occurrence between Autonomous Vehicles’ levels and Human-Driven Vehicles by utilizing 2100 Advanced Driving Systems and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and 35,113 Human-Driven Vehicles accident data. A matched case-control design was conducted to investigate the differential characteristics involving Autonomous’ versus Human-Driven Vehicles’ accidents. The analysis suggests that accidents of vehicles equipped with Advanced Driving Systems generally have a lower chance of occurring than Human-Driven Vehicles in most of the similar accident scenarios. However, accidents involving Advanced Driving Systems occur more frequently than Human-Driven Vehicle accidents under dawn/dusk or turning conditions, which is 5.25 and 1.98 times higher, respectively. Our research reveals the accident risk disparities between Autonomous Vehicles and Human-Driven Vehicles, informing future development in Autonomous technology and safety enhancements. Through a matched case-control analysis this study reveals accident risk disparities between autonomous and human-driven vehicles. It suggests that accidents of vehicles equipped with Advanced Driving Systems generally have lower occurrence chance than human-driven ones in most scenarios.

In a study of novice and experienced drivers in cars in which cameras and sensors had been installed, the authors found significant associations between secondary tasks (e.g., cell-phone dialing) and the risk of a crash or near-crash, particularly among novice drivers. Drivers who are 15 to 20 years of age constitute 6.4% of all drivers, but they account for 10.0% of all motor vehicle traffic deaths and 14.0% of all police-reported crashes resulting in injuries. 1 These rates are thought to result from a combination of young age, inexperience, and risky driving behaviors. 2 One of the riskiest driving behaviors is the performance of a secondary task, and novice drivers appear to be particularly prone to this distraction. 3 Distracted driving has been defined as the “diversion of attention away from activities critical for safe driving toward a competing activity.” 4 Drivers engage in many . . .

Study Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been associated with an increased risk of motor vehicle crashes. This driving risk can be reduced (≥ 50%) by treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). However residual excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) can persist for some patients who regularly use CPAP. The current study was designed to assess the effect of armodafinil on simulated driving performance and subsequent CPAP treatment compliance in newly diagnosed OSA patients with EDS during a 2-week “waiting period” prior to initiation of CPAP. Methods: Sixty-nine newly diagnosed OSA patients, awaiting CPAP therapy, were randomized (1:1) to placebo or armodafinil (150 mg/day) treatment. Simulated driving tests and self-report measures were completed at baseline, after 2 weeks of drug treatment, and following 6 weeks of CPAP treatment. CPAP compliance was evaluated at the end of 6 weeks of CPAP. Results: Compared to placebo, armodafinil improved simulated driving safety performance in OSA patients awaiting CPAP therapy (p = 0.03). Improvement was seen in lane position deviation (p = 0.002) and number of lane excursions (p = 0.02). Improvement was also observed on measures of sleepiness using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and sleep related quality of life. Following 6 weeks of CPAP, there was also significant improvement observed on multiple measures of simulated driving performance. CPAP compliance did not differ between armodafinil-treated and placebo-treated patients (p = 0.80). Conclusions: Armodafinil was found to improve simulated driving performance in OSA patients with EDS prior to initiation of CPAP. Treatment with armodafinil showed no effect on subsequent CPAP compliance. Citation: Kay GG; Feldman N. Effects of armodafinil on simulated driving and self-report measures in obstructive sleep apnea patients prior to treatment with continuous positive airway pressure. J Clin Sleep Med 2013;9(5):445-454.

The accurate evaluation of crash causal factors can provide fundamental information for effective transportation policy, vehicle design, and driver education. Naturalistic driving (ND) data collected with multiple onboard video cameras and sensors provide a unique opportunity to evaluate risk factors during the seconds leading up to a crash. This paper uses a National Academy of Sciences-sponsored ND dataset comprising 905 injurious and property damage crash events, the magnitude of which allows the first direct analysis (to our knowledge) of causal factors using crashes only. The results show that crash causation has shifted dramatically in recent years, with driver-related factors (i.e., error, impairment, fatigue, and distraction) present in almost 90% of crashes. The results also definitively show that distraction is detrimental to driver safety, with handheld electronic devices having high use rates and risk.