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This study aimed at investigating how driver's mental workload could be assessed during driving, using driving performance as well as electrophysiological and subjective data. Participants had to follow a lead vehicle at a safe and constant distance and to deal with two particular driving events (overtaking and pedestrian occurrence) within two sessions (baseline and experimental) on a driving simulator. Traffic density and time pressure (overtaking event) and time pressure (pedestrian event) were increased in the experimental session in order to induce a higher workload. Participants filled NASA TLX questionnaire after each driving session. Electrophysiological parameters (SCL, ECG), driving performance (SDLP and response to speed change of the lead vehicle: coherence, delay and gain) were analysed after each event in two temporal windows (30 sec and 5 min). Results showed that both performance and physiological variables differed as a function of traffic conditions and time pressure. Moreover, while performance variations were systematically observed over a long period (five minutes after the events), effects on mean SCL data obtained from experimental session notably differed from baseline values within thirty seconds after the events. Results are discussed in term of mental workload and suggestions are made about the safety systems that could monitor driver's mental state.

Purpose Most school bus related injury events in Sweden take place when the child is outside the bus. In order to enhance their safety, the societal costs of four different measures applied on “bus stops” on high speed roads were investigated. Methods From a door-to-door perspective, a measure hierarchy, comprising the four existing measures, viz.: Rerouting using the current operating vehicle, New construction, Rerouting using a different operating vehicle, Speed reduction in the vicinity of the “bus stop” was applied. Results By allocating 7.7 € per child per school day, almost nine out of ten children’s transportation safety may substantially be enhanced, simply by rerouting the current operating vehicle or using alternative operating vehicles. Conclusions In the investigated municipality it was feasible to enhance school transportation safety for children by implementing cheap and alternative measures.