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12th ICBEN Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem, ZURICH, SUISSE, 18-/06/2017 - 22/06/2017; Objectives: Exposure to aircraft noise has been shown to have adverse effects on health and particularly on sleep. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between aircraft noise exposure and subjective sleep quality in the population living near airports in France. Methods: Sleep interview was made through a questionnaire administered to 1,244 residents of three major French airports: Paris-CDG, Lyon-Saint-Exupéry and Toulouse-Blagnac. For each participant, aircraft noise exposure was estimated at home using noise maps. Logisticregression models were used with adjustment for potential confounders. Results: Aircraft noise exposure was associated with the risk of being a short sleeper (sleep duration £ 6h), and with the feeling of tiredness while awakening in the morning. An increase of 10 dBA in aircraft noise level at night was respectively associated with an OR of 1.66 (95% CI: 1.16 to 2.35) and an OR of 1.24 (95% CI: 1.00 to 1.63). Conclusion: These findings contribute to the overall evidence suggesting that aircraft noise exposure at nighttime may decrease subjective quality of sleep.

In this paper, a machine-learning framework is used for riding pattern recognition. The problem is formulated as a classification task to identify the class of riding patterns using data collected from 3-D accelerometer/gyroscope sensors mounted on motorcycles. These measurements constitute an experimental database used to analyze powered two-wheeler rider behavior. Several well-known machine-learning techniques are investigated, including the Gaussian mixture models, the $k$ -nearest neighbor model, the support vector machines, the random forests, and the hidden Markov models (HMMs), for both discrete and continuous cases. Additionally, an approach for sensor selection is proposed to identify the significant measurements for improved riding pattern recognition. The experimental study, performed on a real data set, shows the effectiveness of the proposed methodology and the effectiveness of the HMM approach in riding pattern recognition. These results encourage the development of these methodologies in the context of naturalistic riding studies.

This study used data from 3D Inertial Measurement Unit (accelerometers/gyroscopes) mounted on the Powered Two Wheelers (PTW) to analyze and classify PTW rider’s behavior. In our work, we hypothesize that by learning riding patterns, useful information pertaining to the conditions of riding environment can be provided for riders in order to assist them on the one hand, and on the other hand, we can provide efficient tools that can be exploited in a more general aim of designing expert systems to aid the researchers in performing an in-depth study of PTW rider’s activity rider’s activity in these specific situations. Therefore, the riding pattern recognition problem is formulated as a classification problem aiming to identify the class of the riding situation namely, Straight Line (SL), Right Turn (RT), Left Turn (LT), Round About (RA) and STop (ST). A key issue in the design of such systems is that in the first stage, six machine learning techniques are used as single classifiers and in the second stage these classifiers are combined to constitute a multi-expert system. Two main strategies are applied for combining classifiers: fusion based on majority voting rule and fusion based on Bayesian formalism.

Contexte : Le cortisol, reflet de l'activité de l'axe hypothalamo-pituito-surrénalien (HPS), est un marqueur possible du stress induit par l'exposition au bruit des transports et pourrait se positionner comme un facteur intermédiaire dans la relation entre cette exposition et la survenue de pathologies cardiovasculaires. Cependant, les effets de l'exposition au bruit des transports sur la sécrétion de cortisol sont encore largement discutés. Objectif : L'objectif de l'étude est de rechercher l'existence d'une association entre l'exposition au bruit des avions et la variation journalière du cortisol salivaire. Méthodes : En 2013, 954 participants âgés de 18 ans et plus ont prélevé deux échantillons de leur salive, un au lever et un au coucher. Des informations relatives à leur état de santé, leur statut socioéconomique et leurs habitudes de vie ont été collectées grâce à un questionnaire administré en face-à-face par un enquêteur à leur domicile. L'exposition moyenne au bruit des avions au domicile des participants a été estimée à partir de cartes de bruit. Des modèles de régression log-linéaire ont été ajustés afin d'évaluer l'effet de cette exposition sur la variation horaire journalière des niveaux de cortisol salivaire. Résultats : L'exposition au bruit des avions serait associée à une diminution statistiquement significative de la variation horaire du cortisol salivaire au cours de la journée, avec des niveaux de cortisol inchangés au lever, mais plus élevés au coucher. Cette exposition engendrerait ainsi une modification du cycle physiologique de la sécrétion du cortisol. Conclusion: Ces résultats soutiennent l'hypothèse selon laquelle l'exposition au bruit des avions serait génératrice d'un stress psychologique induisant une perturbation du fonctionnement endocrinien et du cycle circadien du cortisol. Cette relation pourrait contribuer à favoriser l'émergence de pathologies cardiovasculaires.

Background: Many studies have demonstrated adverse effects of exposure to aircraft noise on health. Possible biological pathways for these effects include hormonal disturbances. Few studies deal with aircraft noise effects on saliva cortisol in adults, and results are inconsistent. Objective: We aimed to assess the effects of aircraft noise exposure on saliva cortisol levels and its variation in people living near airports. Methods: This study focused on the 1300 residents included in the HYENA and DEBATS cross-sectional studies, with complete information on cortisol sampling. All the participants followed a similar procedure aiming to collect both a morning and an evening saliva cortisol samples. Socioeconomic and lifestyle information were obtained during a face-to-face interview. Outdoor aircraft noise exposure was estimated for each participant's home address. Associations between aircraft noise exposure and cortisol outcomes were investigated a priori for male and female separately, using linear regression models adjusted for relevant confounders. Different approaches were used to characterize cortisol levels, such as morning and evening cortisol concentrations and the absolute and relative variations between morning and evening levels. Results: Statistically significant increases of evening cortisol levels were shown in women with a 10-dB(A) increase in aircraft noise exposure in terms of LAeq, 16h (exp(?) = 1.08; CI95% = 1.00-1.16), Lden (exp(?) = 1.09; CI95% = 1.01-1.18), Lnight (exp(?) = 1.11; CI95% = 1.02-1.20). A statistically significant association was also found in women between a 10-dB(A) increase in terms of Lnight and the absolute variation per hour (exp(?) = 0.90; CI95% = 0.80-1.00). Statistically significant decreases in relative variation per hour were also evidenced in women, with stronger effects with the Lnight (exp(?) = 0.89; CI95% = 0.83-0.96) than with other noise indicators. The morning cortisol levels were unchanged whatever noise exposure indicator considered. There was no statistically significant association between aircraft noise exposure and cortisol outcomes in men. Conclusions: The results of the present study show statistically significant associations between aircraft noise exposure and evening cortisol levels and related flattening in the (absolute and relative) variations per hour in women. Further biological research is needed to deepen knowledge of the pathway between noise exposure and disturbed hormonal regulation, and specially the difference in effects between genders.

26th World Road Congress, Abou Dhabi, EMIRATS ARABES UNIS, 06-/10/2019 - 10/10/2019; When dealing with road safety in Africa, one should bear in mind that road safety problems in Africa must be seen in their own context as the solutions proposed to address them. While it is relevant to take into account international good practices, African stakeholders should become owners of the interventions addressing their problems and take the responsibility for developing and implementing the appropriate solutions, taking advantage of suitable technical assistance, if needed. Based on these considerations, in this paper a presentation is made of the process used in the European research project "SaferAfrica - Innovating dialogue and problems appraisal for a safer Africa" to develop Safe System road safety intervention proposals for Africa. SaferAfrica aims at supporting policy makers and stakeholders with evidence on critical risk factors, related actions and good practices drawn from high quality data and knowledge. This project also serves as a platform to foster effective cooperation in road safety and to propose possible next road safety steps and identify possible funding sources in those countries were capacity review is carried out. In the project, road safety and traffic management capacity reviews at the country level were carried out in four countries (Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Tunisia and Kenya), following the World Bank guidelines. After conducting such a capacity review, these guidelines recommend the preparation and implementation of Safe System projects, «stand-alone, multisector initiatives targeting high-risk corridors and areas, with outcomes large enough to be reliably measured». In SaferAfrica, this approach aims at facilitating the implementation of Safe System projects in the considered countries, by identifying detailed short-term improvement plans, and producing contextualized Terms of Reference for a number of interventions per selected country. These interventions are remedial in nature, they address high-priority concerns and demonstrate the viability of high potential gains within current administrative and legislative frameworks. In order to design interventions suitable to the existing context, a transferability assessment tool is adopted within a "participative" process, involving all possible interested parties, from the institutions to NGOs. The tool will indicate which immediate enabling actions are required to overcome legislative, regulatory, organisational, institutional and other barriers that may prevent measures or actions from being implemented. Results from the process are presented and discussed.

59th ERSA, LYON, FRANCE, 27-/08/2019 - 30/08/2019; Introduction : HYENA (HYpertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports), a well-known study on the health effects of aircraft noise, involved 4,861 participants from six European countries (except France). DEBATS (Discussion on the health effects of aircraft noise), a study with a similar protocol, included 1,244 participants from France. Saliva samples were obtained for 439 and 954 participants in HYENA and DEBATS respectively, to determine cortisol concentration as a possible marker of noise-induced stress. Associations were found between aircraft noise and cortisol levels in each study separately, but they were not consistent between the two studies. The objective of the present study was to combine datasets to improve statistical power. Methods : We investigated the associations between aircraft noise levels and, the log-cortisol levels in the morning and in the evening, and the log-relative variation per hour, adjusted for relevant confounders. Results : We found evidence in women for an increase in the log-evening cortisol level ?=0.09 (95%CI 0.01;0.17), and for flattening of the log-relative variation per hour ?=-0.09 (95%CI -0.16;-0.02), with a LDEN 10-dB(A) increase, but no significant effects in men. Conclusions : These findings provide some support for psychological stress induced by aircraft noise exposure, resulting in disruption of hormonal rhythms.

International audience; Simulation appears as an indispensable tool for automotive manufacturers to validate autonomous vehicle development, this latter reported to require billions of miles of driving. To involve the end users in this validation process, a project of large scale public application on smartphone allowing them to test and submit specific use cases, is presented in this paper. A first version of this application “3DAV Explore” has been released and is already available, allowing users to see in Virtual Reality traffic scenarios in subjective view from the autonomous vehicle and/or from an exterior view. This paper details more deeply the development steps and the libraries used for the second version of this application. Further development steps and implications are also detailed in the conclusion.

47th International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering (inter-noise 2018) , CHICAGO, ETATS-UNIS, 26-/08/2018 - 29/08/2018; Aircraft noise has been shown to have adverse effects on health and particularly on sleep. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between aircraft noise exposure and objective sleep quality in the population living near airports in France. Methods: Actimetric measurements were performed during eight nights to evaluate sleep quality of 112 participants in terms of total sleep time, sleep onset latency, wake time and sleep efficiency. Simultaneously, acoustic measurements were performed inside and outside (at the façade) the participants' bedroom in order to estimate integrated indicators as well as the number of noise events. Logistic regression models were used with adjustment for potential confounders. Results: Integrated indicators as well as the number of noise events were significantly associated with objective sleep quality: increased levels or numbers of aircraft noise events increased time to fall asleep and total wake time, but decreased sleep efficiency. Unexpectedly, they also increased total sleep time, and time in bed, and delayed get up time. These latter results can be interpreted as an adaptation mechanism to sleep deprivation. Conclusion: Noise event indicators have been shown to be more often associated with sleep disturbances than integrated indicators.

Background: The effects of aircraft noise on psychological ill-health have not been largely investigated and remain to be discussed. No study has been performed in France on the health effects of aircraft noise. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between aircraft noise in dB and in terms of annoyance and psychological ill-health in populations living near airports in France. Methods: A total of 1244 individuals older than 18 and living near three French airports (Paris&ndash, Charles de Gaulle, Lyon&ndash, Saint-Exup&eacute, ry and Toulouse&ndash, Blagnac) were randomly selected to participate in the study. Information about their personal medical history and socioeconomic and lifestyle factors was collected by means of a face-to-face questionnaire performed at their place of residence by an interviewer. Psychological ill-health was evaluated with the 12-item version of the General Heath Questionnaire (GHQ-12). For each participant, outdoor aircraft noise exposure in dB was estimated by linking their home address to noise maps. Objective noise exposure in dB was considered to be the primary exposure of interest. Four noise indicators referring to three different periods of the day were derived and used for the statistical analyses: Lden, LAeq,24hr, LAeq,6hr&ndash, 22hr, and Lnight. Noise annoyance and noise sensitivity were the secondary risk factors of interest. Logistic regression models were used with adjustment for potential confounders. Results: The participation rate in the study was 30%. Approximately 22% of the participants were considered to have psychological ill-health according to the GHQ-12. No direct association was found between exposure to aircraft noise in dB and psychological ill-health. However, annoyance due to aircraft noise and noise sensitivity were both significantly associated with psychological ill-health. Moreover, a gradient was evidenced between annoyance and psychological ill-health, with increasing ORs from 1.79 (95% CI 1.06&ndash, 3.03) for people who were not all annoyed to 4.00 (95% CI 1.67&ndash, 9.55) for extremely annoyed people.Conclusions: These findings confirm the results of previous studies, suggesting there is no direct association between aircraft noise exposure in dB and psychological ill-health, but there is a significant relationship between noise sensitivity or annoyance due to aircraft noise and psychological ill-health. This supports the hypothesis that psychological aspects, such as noise annoyance and noise sensitivity, play important roles in the association between environmental noise and adverse effects on health. However, further studies are necessary in order to better understand the links between these variables.

EUROEPI 2018, European Congress of Epidemiology , Lyon, FRANCE, 04-/07/2018 - 06/07/2018; Background: Noise in the areas near airports is considered as a public health issue. Exposure to aircraft noise has been shown to have adverse effects on health and particularly on sleep. Sleep disturbances are the most investigated health effects related to environmental noise. Many studies support that noise at night can affect subjective and objective sleep quality. If habituation to noise can be observed for subjective sleep quality, no habituation has been shown with objective sleep quality. However, few studies have evaluated the effects of aircraft noise on sleep quality with objective measurements at home. No such studies have been performed around French airports. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between aircraft noise exposure and objective sleep quality in the population living near airports in France. Methods: Our study includes 112 people living around Paris-CDG and Toulouse-Blagnac airports. Actimetric measurements were performed during eight nights to objectively evaluate the sleep quality of the participants in terms of sleep onset latency, wake time, total sleep time and sleep efficiency. Simultaneously, acoustic measurements were performed inside and outside (at the bedroom façade) the participants' bedroom in order to identify aircraft noise and to evaluate the impact of this noise in the participants' bedroom. Thus, integrated (that is related to energetic average for a given period of time) as well as noise event indicators (that is the number of events that exceed a given threshold) were estimated. Logistic regression models taking into account measurements repetition were used with adjustment for potential confounders: age, gender, marital status, education and body mass index (BMI). Results and discussion: Integrated indicators as well as noise event indicators were significantly associated with objective sleep quality. Increased levels of aircraft noise or increased numbers of aircraft noise events increased time to fall asleep, total wake time and decreased sleep efficiency. Unexpectedly, they also increased total sleep time, time in bed and delayed get up time. This latter result can be interpreted as an adaptation mechanism to sleep deprivation. If deterioration of the sleep quality has been observed with an increase in time to fall asleep and in total wake time, a process of recovery and sleep maintenance has been shown with an increase in total sleep time. Noise event indicators seemed to be more often associated with sleep disturbances than integrated indicators. Increased numbers of noise events during the sleep period have been found to degrade objective sleep quality. Conclusion: The present study is the first one to investigate the effects of aircraft noise exposure around French airports on sleep quality evaluated with objective measurements. The findings contribute to the overall evidence suggesting that aircraft noise exposure at nighttime may decrease objective quality of sleep. Aircraft noise exposure affects objective sleep quality whatever the type of noise indicator. In front of this nuisance, adaptation mechanisms to sleep deprivation could be observed.

EUROEPI 2018, European Congress of Epidemiology , Lyon, FRANCE, 04-/07/2018 - 06/07/2018; Background : Many studies have evidenced adverse effects of exposure to aircraft noise on health, such as annoyance, sleep disturbance, cardiovascular diseases or altered cognitive performance. Mental health has been less investigated. In France, about 18% of the population suffer from mental disorders. The effects of noise annoyance on psychological distress have rarely been evaluated, and no study exists in France. We investigated associations between annoyance due to aircraft noise and psychological distress for people living near airports in France. Methods : The DEBATS longitudinal study included 1,244 residents around three French airports: Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, Toulouse-Blagnac, and Lyon-Saint-Exupéry. Information about psychological distress was assessed by a face-to-face questionnaire, including a single question about the feeling of depression, and the 12-version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Annoyance due to aircraft noise was assessed with the following question 'Thinking about the last 12 months, when you are at home, how much does aircraft noise annoy you?' The five-point verbal scale proposed by the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Noise was used: extremely, very, moderately, slightly or not at all. Associations with psychological distress were investigated using logistic regressions including relevant confounders such as gender, age, country of birth, occupational activity, marital status, alcohol consumption, smoking, sleep duration, number of stressful life events, education, income, and antidepressant use. Results : About 13% of the participants reported depression and 22% were considered to have psychological distress according to the GHQ-12. Significant associations were found between annoyance due to aircraft noise and the feeling of depression, and between annoyance due to aircraft noise and psychological distress evaluated with the GHQ-12. The Odds Ratio (OR) for the feeling of depression ranged from 0.89 (95% CI 0.50-1.59) to 2.61 (95% CI 1.09-6.23). The OR for the GHQ-12 ranged from 1.49 (95% CI 0.94-2.39) to 3.64 (95% CI 1.70-7.78). For the both outcomes, OR reached the maximum estimate for people reporting to be extremely annoyed compared to those who are not at all annoyed. Discussion : The present study found significant associations between annoyance due to aircraft noise and psychological distress assessed both with a single question about the feeling of depression and with the GHQ-12, with gradual ORs according to the different categories of noise annoyance. This result is in line with the findings of a cross-sectional study performed in Minneapolis. However the direction of the association can be questioned. Extremely annoyed people might be more at risk to have psychological disorders, and it is also possible that people with psychological disorders might be more at risk to be annoyed.

18th International Conference Road Safety on Five Continents (RS5C 2018), JEJU, COREE, REPUBLIQUE DE, 16-/05/2018 - 18/05/2018; The expected total cost of accidents for France amounted between 37.5 and 50 billion Euros in 2014. It would represent between 1.5 % and 2 % of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). At the European level, the total costs of crashes vary between 0.4% and 4.1% of the GDP and the total costs related to serious injuries vary between 0.04% of the GDP for Ireland and 2.7% for Poland, according figures advanced by a recent European research project (Safetycube). For France, the total costs of serious injury crashes/serious injuries is estimated at 10.5 billion Euros in 2014 and the total costs of slight injury crashes/slight injuries is estimated at 0,7 billion Euros. However,, the monetary values used for valuing the different types of injury are estimated by applying a simple percentage of the Statistical Value Of Life (VOSL) (3 billion Euros per fatality, 2010 value), aligned with the HEATCO or CEMT recommendations. Consequently, in France, there is no real and accurate knowledge of the amount of costs for the different components of the total costs of road injuries and there is a relative uncertainty concerning the assessment of that cost. However, that figure is quite crucial, because it could help the public decision maker in deciding to implement or not some road safety countermeasures, but also in establishing some hierarchies among the efficient road safety measures. That contribution proposes first a state of the art related to the estimation of the cost of the road injuries for the French case, the different components, and the potential sources of information and methods of estimation and second few methodological propositions in order to better identify the costs of injuries. It would sum-up the crucial information dealing with the cost of injuries, and especially the personal damage. In some way, it will propose for the first time in France a survey and a critical analysis of the most recent information available on that question. It would provide additional information collected from on-going projects.

According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015 of WHO (WHO, 2015), 'road traffic injuries claim more than 1.2 million lives each year and have a huge impact on health and development'. Using WHO classification of regions, there has been a further deterioration in road fatality rates in the WHO Africa region from 24.1 fatalities per 100,000 populations in 2010 to 26.6 fatalities per 100,000 in 2013. Over the same period, there was a further improvement in road fatality rates in the WHO Europe region. Road trauma in Africa is expected to get worse, with fatalities per capita projected to double over the period 20152030 (Small and Runji, 2014). SaferAfrica project aims at establishing a Dialogue Platform between Africa and Europe focused on road safety and traffic management issues. It will represent a high-level body with the main objective of providing recommendations to update the African Road Safety Action Plan and the African Road Safety Charter, as well as fostering the adoption of specific initiatives, properly funded. The main objective of work package 3 is to assess the implementation of the Action Plan 2011-2020 (AUUNECA, 2010). This assessment has been supported by SWOT and PESTEL analysis completed at different geopolitical scales (continental, regional economic communities/corridors and country). The second main objective is to define some initiatives for different topics designed to foster the implementation of the Action Plan. The initiatives will be based on the outputs of WP3, WP4, WP5 and WP6 and will address technical, administrative and economic concerns. The aim is to prepare turnkey project for the Dialogue Platform Management Board. The objective of Task 3.1 on which is based this deliverable is the Assessment of the implementation of the Action Plan and of regional instruments. The analysis has been realized at different spatial levels, country, corridor and continental levels. For the continental level the choice is made to focus the analysis on the recommendations issued from the midterm review of the African Road Safety Action Plan (ARSAP) (AUUNECA, 2015a, 2015b) and on SWOT and PESTEL approaches by pillar of the Action Plan. For the country level, 5 countries are chosen for a detailed evaluation: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Kenya, South Africa and Tunisia. For these countries the analysis is based on results of the country on each of the five pillars and on results andknowledge of partners in charge of these countries, for example through Capacity Reviews realized in WP5. Regional analyses are made on Corridor Abidjan-Lagos, involving 5 countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Data has been collected through questionnaires distributed by WP4 and international databases (mainly WHO data). A specific process of data validation has been proposed and realized by partners in order to reinforce quality of the information and of the analysis. Based on those data and methodological choices, results allow us to highlight recommendations that were proposed by midterm review of the ARSAP and which are still reliable and new recommendations which seem important in order to improve Road Safety in Africa. These recommendations will be discussed through the dialog platform.; According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015 of WHO (WHO, 2015), 'road traffic injuries claim more than 1.2 million lives each year and have a huge impact on health and development'. Using WHO classification of regions, there has been a further deterioration in road fatality rates in the WHO Africa region from 24.1 fatalities per 100,000 populations in 2010 to 26.6 fatalities per 100,000 in 2013. Over the same period, there was a further improvement in road fatality rates in the WHO Europe region. Road trauma in Africa is expected to get worse, with fatalities per capita projected to double over the period 20152030 (Small and Runji, 2014). SaferAfrica project aims at establishing a Dialogue Platform between Africa and Europe focused on road safety and traffic management issues. It will represent a high-level body with the main objective of providing recommendations to update the African Road Safety Action Plan and the African Road Safety Charter, as well as fostering the adoption of specific initiatives, properly funded. The main objective of work package 3 is to assess the implementation of the Action Plan 2011-2020 (AUUNECA, 2010). This assessment has been supported by SWOT and PESTEL analysis completed at different geopolitical scales (continental, regional economic communities/corridors and country). The second main objective is to define some initiatives for different topics designed to foster the implementation of the Action Plan. The initiatives will be based on the outputs of WP3, WP4, WP5 and WP6 and will address technical, administrative and economic concerns. The aim is to prepare turnkey project for the Dialogue Platform Management Board. The objective of Task 3.1 on which is based this deliverable is the Assessment of the implementation of the Action Plan and of regional instruments. The analysis has been realized at different spatial levels, country, corridor and continental levels. For the continental level the choice is made to focus the analysis on the recommendations issued from the midterm review of the African Road Safety Action Plan (ARSAP) (AUUNECA, 2015a, 2015b) and on SWOT and PESTEL approaches by pillar of the Action Plan. For the country level, 5 countries are chosen for a detailed evaluation: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Kenya, South Africa and Tunisia. For these countries the analysis is based on results of the country on each of the five pillars and on results andknowledge of partners in charge of these countries, for example through Capacity Reviews realized in WP5. Regional analyses are made on Corridor Abidjan-Lagos, involving 5 countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Data has been collected through questionnaires distributed by WP4 and international databases (mainly WHO data). A specific process of data validation has been proposed and realized by partners in order to reinforce quality of the information and of the analysis. Based on those data and methodological choices, results allow us to highlight recommendations that were proposed by midterm review of the ARSAP and which are still reliable and new recommendations which seem important in order to improve Road Safety in Africa. These recommendations will be discussed through the dialog platform.

Young reseachers seminar 2017, Berlin, ALLEMAGNE, 16-/05/2017 - 18/05/2017; Nowadays, the development of new technologies in the automotive industry integrates more and more different complex safety systems. Some of these security systems (ADAS) are based on the monitoring of the driver's cognitive state (Wang, Xu, & Gong, 2010). To this aim, these systems take into account some physiological and/or behavioural parameters in order to estimate for example the level of stress/anxiety or the level of mental workload. Nevertheless, most of these systems do not integrate in their functioning the type of driving situation in which the driver is (e.g., overtaking of a truck, sudden occurrence of a pedestrian). Furthermore, the temporal period for which physiological and behavioral data are affected by a given driving situation still needs to be determined. Therefore, a study has been driven on a simulator so as to investigate how 1) driving could impact drivers' internal state; 2) which indicator (physiological and/or behavioural) was the more sensitive to these changes. Participants had to perform three different driving situations (left-turn, overtaking and pedestrian occurrence) within two sessions (baseline and experimental sessions). The traffic conditions were manipulated to increase traffic density and/or time pressure for each situation of the experimental session, when compared to the baseline session. After each driving situation, the driver had to perform a standardized car following task (Brookhuis, Waard, & Mulder, 1994) during five minutes while the driver's cognitive state was analyzed through physiological (EDA and ECG) and behavioural (driving performance parameters). Besides, subjective measures (questionnaires) were performed after each driving session. The results highlighted the relationship between high mental workload and physiological variations after all experimental situations. Nevertheless, behavioural reactions following the unexpected event seemed to differ from those obtained after a situation inducing anxiety, because of a high traffic density. Moreover, the signatures of behavioural and physiological reactions to the experimental situations did not present the same duration. While, physiological data quickly returned to their baseline value, (after one minute following the situation), behavioural variations persisted on a longer period (variations visible during the five minutes following the situation). Despite the fact that these results have to be confirmed by future studies, suggestions can already be made for the conception of the future ADAS centered on the driver's cognitive state.

Estimation of the risk of being responsible for a fatal crash when driving while impaired by drugs (alcohol, cannabis, amphetamines, cocaine, opiates), Estimation du risque d'être responsable d'un accident mortel en conduisant sous l'emprise de drogues (alcool, cannabis, amphétamines, cocaïne, opiacés)

Objectives The largest study until now around 6 major European airports, the HYENA (HYpertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports) study, reported an excess risk of hypertension related to long-term aircraft noise exposure. The DEBATS (Discussion on the health effects of aircraft noise) study investigated the relationship between this exposure and the risk of hypertension in men and in women near French airports. Methods Blood pressure of 1244 participants older than 18 years of age was measured. Information about health, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors was collected by means of a face-to-face questionnaire performed at home by an interviewer. Aircraft noise exposure was assessed for each participant9s home address using noise maps. They were calculated with the Integrated Noise Model with a 1 dB(A)-resolution. The major potential confounders being risk factors for hypertension were included in the logistic regression models: age, occupational activity, body mass index, physical activity and alcohol consumption. Results After adjustment for the main potential confounders, an exposure–response relationship was evidenced between the risk of hypertension and aircraft noise exposure at night for men only. A 10-dB(A) increase in L night was associated with an OR of 1.34 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.97). Conclusions These findings contribute to the overall evidence suggesting that aircraft noise exposure at night-time may increase the risk of hypertension in men. Hypertension is a well-known and established risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The association reported in the present study between aircraft noise and hypertension implies that aircraft noise might be a risk factor also for cardiovascular disease.

12th ICBEN Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem, ZURICH, SUISSE, 18-/06/2017 - 22/06/2017; The impact of exposure to aircraft noise on health is of growing concern because of a steady rise in flights. While many studies address the annoyance associated with aircraft noise, very few studies consider the health status perceived by the population itself. We investigated associations between aircraft noise exposure and perceived health for people living near airports in France. The DEBATS longitudinal study included 1,244 residents around three French airports: Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, Toulouse-Blagnac, and Lyon-Saint-Exupéry. Information about perceived health was assessed by a face-to-face questionnaire. Aircraft noise exposure was evaluated for each participant's home address. Associations with perceived health were investigated using logistic regressions including relevant confounders.No association was found between aircraft noise exposure and perceived health. After stratification on gender, significant associations were observed for men: OR=1.55 (95%CI=1.02-2.35) per 10-dB(A) Lnight-increase. The associations observed in this study could be due to residual confounding or to declaration bias which cannot be excluded. Further studies are necessary in order to better understand these associations.

TAP 2016, 21st International Transport and Air Pollution Conference, LYON, FRANCE, 24-/05/2016 - 26/05/2016; The health impact of living in the vicinity of an airport has been of growing concern. The reduction of aircraft noise nuisance has been considered to be the main issue for a long time but in recent years, the question of air pollution around airports has been raised. Air pollution has been found to be associated with cardiovascular disease (Brook et al (2010)). As several studies have shown an association between aircraft noise exposure and hypertension (Babisch and van Kamp (2009)) or mortality from cardiovascular disease (Huss et al (2010), Hansell et al (2013)), concerns for disentangling the effects of air pollution and of noise on cardiovascular outcomes have increased. We performed an ecological study addressing the issue of an association between exposure to aircraft noise and mortality for cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction and stroke. A secondary aim was to examine if this association was modified when air pollution was taken into account. The study was based on 161 communes (the smallest administrative unit in France) close to three major French airports: Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Lyon Saint-Exupéry and Toulouse-Blagnac. The mortality data were provided by the French Center on Medical Causes of Death. Based on noise maps produced by the French Civil Aviation Authority with the 'Integrated Noise Model', a population-weighted average exposure to aircraft noise was computed at the commune level. The average air pollution exposure for both NO2 and PM10 indicators was estimated with dispersion modelling by Airparif institute for the Paris area, and by Air Rhône-Alpes institute for the Lyon area (data for the Toulouse area were missing). The average concentration in NO2 was estimated to 22.3 mg/m3, the average concentration in PM10 to 23.9 mg/m3 and the average exposure to aircraft noise to 49.6 dBA, as shown in Table 1. NO2 and PM10 concentrations were positively correlated. NO2 concentrations were moderately correlated to aircraft noise levels while PM10 concentrations were not. Regardless of aircraft noise, neither NO2 nor PM10 concentrations were significantly associated with mortality. However, positive associations were observed between exposure to aircraft noise and mortality for all causes of interest except stroke. These associations were not attenuated when air pollution was taken into account. The present study seems to confirm the findings of recent studies suggesting that air pollution does not appear to be a confounding factor in the relationship between aircraft noise and mortality from cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction. However, the potential for ecological bias and the possibility that this association could be due to unmeasured factors cannot be excluded. Further individual studies are necessary in order to better understand this association. This work was supported by funds from the French Ministry of Health, the French Ministry of Environment, and the French Civil Aviation Authority.

7th AHFE - International Applied Human Factors and ergonomic conference 2016, Orlando, ETATS-UNIS, 27-/07/2016 - 31/07/2016; Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are designed to improve driving safety by reducing the risk of human error. Some of these systems process information about the driver's internal state such as stress, fatigue, vigilance or drowsiness in order to assist him and to prevent potential risks (Wang, 2010). Except for few systems, most of ADAS exploit the driver's internal state by means of behavioural or physiological measurements independently of the driving context. A difficulty for innovation in the development of efficient ADAS consists in the fact that the internal state is dynamically constructed through the driving event and affective states felt by the driver (e.g., mental wellness, relaxation or satisfaction) and reciprocally, that the internal states could have an effect on driving behaviour. Nevertheless, to our knowledge, the driver's behaviour merged with physiological data has not yet been taken into account in the assessment of his/her global internal state when considering the driving context. The present study investigated how an external factor such as the traffic conditions and time pressure can influence the driver's behaviour and internal state as a whole. For this purpose, an experiment had been conducted on a driving simulator examining how the drivers performed the same three different driving events (left-turn, overtaking and pedestrian events) under two conditions: baseline and experimental. Traffic density and time pressure were increased in the experimental condition when compared to the baseline condition so as to affect the driver's internal state. The effects of Condition and Event on the driver's internal state were investigated through electrophysiological (ECG and EDA), behavioural (driving performance parameters) and subjective (questionnaires) measures. Each driving event was followed by a car-following task to assess its impact on the following driving behaviour. The results suggested that the drivers react with more accuracy to changes in speed of the lead vehicle after the events in the experimental condition, probably because of an increase in vigilance when also considering the electrophysiological driver's activity. Nevertheless after the sudden occurrence of a pedestrian crossing the road, the drivers lowered other aspects of performance such as standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP). Thus, in absence of an avoidance manoeuvre (e.g., car-following), SDLP could constitute a pertinent behavioural parameter that has already been demonstrated as an indicator of a decrease in performance (Harrison & Fillmore, 2011). Besides, it was observed that the amplitude of the skin conductance level that is very sensitive to stress/mental workload, decreases very quickly after the events. In this regard, some links between physiological and driving data are evidenced. The present study demonstrates the interest to combine electrophysiological and behavioural parameters for assessing overall changes in the driver's internal state. Whereas the interpretations have to be confirmed, some recommendations can already be made for improving ADAS in the automotive industry.

This article sets out to identify the typical risky situations experienced by novice motorcyclists in the real world just after licensing. The procedure consists of a follow-up of six novices during their first two months of riding with their own motorbike instrumented with cameras. The novices completed logbooks on a daily basis in order to identify the risky situations they encountered, and were given face-to-face interviews to identify the context and their shortcomings during the reported events. Data show a large number of road configurations considered as risky by the riders (248 occurrences), especially during the first two weeks. The results revealed that a lack of hazard perception skills contributed to the majority of these incidents. These situations were grouped together to form clusters of typical incident scenarios on the basis of their similarities. The most frequent scenario corresponds to a lane change in dense traffic (15% of all incidents). The discussion shows how this has enhanced our understanding of novice riders' behaviour and how the findings can improve training and licensing. Lastly, the main methodological limitations of the study and some guidelines for improving future naturalistic riding studies are presented. Practitioner Summary: This article aims to identify the risky situations of novice motorcyclists in real roads. Two hundred forty-eight events were recorded and 13 incident scenarios identified. Results revealed that a lack of hazard perception contributed to the majority of these events. The most frequent scenario corresponds to a lane change in dense traffic.

ISAL 2015 - International Symposium on Automotive Lighting, Darmstadt, ALLEMAGNE, 28-/09/2015 - 30/09/2015; The most frequent motorcycle accidents involve another vehicle violating the motorcycle's right-of-way at an intersection. In-depth accident studies have shown that perceptual errors made by other vehicle drivers are a very frequent cause of motorcyclists' accidents and fatalities. Two kinds of perceptual errors can be distinguished. The first one is no or late detection of the motorcycle, which is mainly due to its low visual conspicuity (especially because of their small size). The principal safety measure in the past has been the use of daytime running lights (DRLs) by motorcycles, which became compulsory in the seventies in many countries. This conspicuity advantage of motorcycles as the only vehicles with DRLs is presently getting lost by the growing use of DRLs by cars as well. In an earlier study we have shown that car DRLs are actually competing light patterns that create visual noise and decrease the detectability of motorcycles. The second kind of perceptual error, less well known, is the misperception of the approaching motorcycle's speed (which is underestimated) and time-to-arrival (which is overestimated) that also contributes to accident occurrence. In order to reduce motorcycle accidents, and especially to improve motorcycle perceptibility (both detection and speed perception) by other vehicle drivers, ITS based on vehicle-to-vehicle communication will probably provide effective long-term solutions (>15 years). But until then, other solutions have to be found and could quite easily be implemented, by considering innovative headlight configurations for motorcycles. In two simulator studies, we tested various motorcycle headlight configurations, intended for remedying simultaneously the two perceptual errors made by other vehicle drivers. The impact of different headlight configurations (using colour coding and additional lights) was studied in the presence of visual distractors (car front lights: only LEDs, only dipped beams, LEDs and dipped beams) and in different illumination conditions (nighttime, dusk and daytime conditions). The results of the first study on motorcycle motion perception indicated that headlight configurations that accentuate the vertical dimension of the motorcycle (additional lights on the fork and on the rider's helmet) led automobilists to adopt larger safety margins towards motorcycles. The advantage provided by the innovative headlight configuration showed up especially at low illumination conditions (night and dusk) where the motorcycle outline was not visible or difficult to perceive. On the contrary, a triangular design (with two additional lights on the handlebars) showed no significant improvement.The findings of the second study on motorcycle detection showed that additional yellow lights (on the motorcyclist's helmet and the motorcycle fork) significantly improved motorcycle conspicuity and produced the best motorcycle detection performance, even in the presence of a great number of competing car headlights (when LEDs and dipped beams were lit at the same time). When combining the results of our studies, we suggest a motorcycle headlight configuration that consists in one white central headlamp, an additional yellow light on the helmet and two additional yellow lights on the fork. This ergonomic solution has the potential of successfully counteracting the two kinds of perceptual errors made by other vehicles drivers.

ICAP 2014, 28TH International congress of applied psychology, PARIS, FRANCE, 08-/07/2014 - 13/07/2014; Background/Objectives: Independence for older people is linked to driving, this being their main mode of travel. Even in normal aging, sensory, functional, and cognitive deficits appear, and are more severe in brain pathology leading to dementia. These may profoundly affect driving, which is a complex task involving all of these functions. Many studies show that older drivers modify their driving habits (reduced distance, avoiding certain driving situations ...). When this regulation process occurs in later life, gender differences have been reported. Women regulate their driving more than men and do so earlier. Gender differences in image and roles could lead women to loss mobility prematurely and lead men to make insufficient driving regulation. The purpose of the study was to investigate driving regulation with a focus on gender, cognitive deficits and Central Nervous System pathologies. Design: Longitudinal Study over six years. Setting: the Three-City Cohort of Bordeaux, a longitudinal study of 2104 people aged 65 years and above. Participants: 523 drivers, 273 men and 250 women. Measurements: Our range of measurements included socio-demographic characteristics, driving habits, health variables, cognitive evaluation and dementia diagnosis. Results: Fifty seven percent of the population aged 76 years on average restricted their driving over six years. In gender specific models, pre-dementia, Parkinson's disease, advanced age and high initial mobility by car were common factors of restriction in both genders. But other restriction factors were gender specific. In men, prevalent dementia, depressive symptomatology and a decline in at least one Instrumental Activities in Daily Living were specific factors. The only cognitive factor was low performance in the Benton Visual Retention Test. Specific restriction factors in women were low income and fear of falling. Slow Trail Making Test A execution time or a severe decline in Mini Mental Status Examination performance were the cognitive factors specifically associated with female restriction. Conclusion: The results could allow advising certain persons to make changes in driving behavior, in order to conciliate mobility and security in older drivers.

L'expérimentation présentée étudie l'effet de 4 configurations de feux avant de moto sur l'acceptation de créneaux temporels par des automobilistes lorsqu'ils tournent à gauche face à des motocycles.

While many surveys carried out both in France and abroad address aircraft noise annoyance or report adverse effects on sleep quality, much fewer consider at the same time the physiological effects of this noise exposure. The largest study to date, the HYENA study, has evidenced an association between aircraft noise exposure and hypertension. DEBATS is a research program (2011-2018) aiming to characterize the relations between aircraft noise exposure and the health status of the French population living in the vicinity of airports.

International Motorcycle Conference, Brussels, BELGIQUE, 04-/03/2014 - 05/03/2014; Ce poster présente une série d'expérimentations sur la perceptibilité des motocycles.

ICAP 2014, 28th International Congress of Applied Psychology, Paris, FRANCE, 08-/07/2014 - 13/07/2014; Executive function Parkinson disease - driving simulator

OBJECTIVES: To identify factors associated with driving restriction in elderly men and women. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study of French drivers from 2003 to 2009. SETTING: The Three-City Cohort of Bordeaux, a prospective study of 2,104 people aged 65 and older. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred twenty-three drivers with a mean age of 76 (273 male, 250 female). MEASUREMENTS: Sociodemographic characteristics, driving habits, health variables, cognitive evaluation and dementia diagnosis. Predementia was defined as no dementia at one follow-up and dementia at the next follow-up. RESULTS: Over the 6-year period, 54% of men and 63% of women stopped driving or reduced the distance they drove. Predementia, Parkinson's disease, older age, and a high number of kilometers previously driven were common restriction factors in both sexes. Prevalent dementia, depressive symptomatology, a decline in one or more instrumental activities of daily living, and poor visual working memory were specific factors in men. In women, low income, fear of falling, slow processing speed, and severe decline in global cognitive performance all affected driving restriction. CONCLUSION: Older women restricted their driving activity more than older men, regardless of the number of kilometers previously driven, physical health, and cognitive status. Factors affecting driving restriction differed according to sex, and women were more likely to stop driving than men in the period preceding a dementia diagnosis.

In Côte d'Ivoire alcohol and drugs consumption in the general population is a serious issue. However, their role in Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) has never been investigated. Our study aimed to estimate the prevalence of alcohol-impaired road users at the time of the RTA and report psychoactive drug use, in various categories of casualties, and in various circumstances of the crash. We conducted a cross-sectional study including 893 casualties involved in fatal or non-fatal RTAs and admitted at the Emergency Room or the Forensic Institute from March to September 2012. Blood alcohol dosage (BAC) and urine drug screening were carried out, and results were linked with hospital and police crash report data. The mean BAC in positive cases indicated heavy drinking before the crash: drivers (1.9 g/L), pedestrians (2.1 g/L), passengers (1.5 g/L). The prevalence of alcohol-impairment was significantly higher in drivers (41%) and riders (27%) compared to pedestrians (17%) and passengers (13%). Over 75% of casualties that tested positive for alcohol had a BAC largely above the legal limit. Psychoactive drug use was twice more prevalent in alcohol-impaired drivers than in sober drivers (20% vs 10%). Binge drinking is an emerging issue in African countries, which should be taken into account in the management or prevention of road traffic injuries.

WIiT Paris 2014 : Women's Issues in Transportation - 5ème Conférence Internationale sur les Femmes et le Transport - Construire les ponts, PARIS, FRANCE, 14-/04/2014 - 16/04/2014; In aging populations, maintaining the well-being and the health status of the elderly people is crucial. For drivers, this requires the maintenance of driving in safely way as long as possible. Sensory, functional, and minor cognitive changes appear in the course of normal aging, and are more severe in dementia-inducing brain pathologies. They may profoundly affect driving [1], which is a complex task involving all of these functions, particularly attention and decision-making which are necessary for the selection of relevant information and situation-specific action. Many studies show that older drivers modify their driving habits [2, 3]. Any driving regulation will have the positive impact of decreasing the risk of accident. Conversely, the absence of, or insufficient driving regulation can have negative consequences in terms of road safety, and excessive regulation could increase the risk of social exclusion, depression, loss of autonomy and pathological brain aging [4, 5]. When this regulation process occurs in later life, gender differences have been reported in non-prospective studies [6-10]. Women regulate their driving more than men and do so earlier. Choi et al. think that these differences can be understood in the context of 'gender roles' [11] with the car occupying a more important place for men than women, in a context of masculinity, speed than women [12, 13] . Women could also have shorter "career" as drivers than men. They may obtain their license at an older age and stop driving for longer periods [14] . From an organizational point of view, women could also be less dependent on their car for mobility than men [11]. This difference in daily car use could facilitate driving regulation. These gender differences in images and roles could also lead women to enjoy driving less than men or to doubt in their driving abilities and this could lead to premature loss of mobility [15] and cause more men to make insufficient driving regulation. However the results of prospective studies are controversial. Some show that women are more likely to regulate than men [3, 16-18], while others have found no evidence of greater regulation in women [19-24]. These discrepancies can be partly explained by age, observation periods and different measures of regulation. As for the factors which might explain regulation, to our knowledge, only one prospective study has examined driving cessation factors in men and women separately [25]. However, this study did not include people with low global cognitive score. Nor did it take into account CNS pathologies which are known to change driving habits significantly and possibly differently in men and women. A study by Seiler et al. showed, that in demented people , women were more likely to cease driving than men at a pre-demential stage [26]. It is important to understand the regulation process in men and women, in the general population, in order to identify the factors of this regulation, factors due to pathological aging or not. In order to do so, we decided to study regulatory processes in men and in women, taking into account cognitive performance and CNS pathologies, based on prospective data providing information on changes in mobility, living arrangements, health status, cognitive performances and CNS pathologies over time. The 490 drivers of this study, 253 men and 237 women with a mean age of 76 years, were drawn from the Three-City Cohort of Bordeaux, a longitudinal study of people aged 65 years and older [27]. The participants were interviewed at home by a psychologist in 2003, 2006 and 2009 on a range of topics including socio-demographic characteristics, health (measures of motor and sensorial functions and several medical conditions) a cognitive evaluation and driving habits. A dementia diagnosis was also conducted for all participants by a neurologist. Driving restriction covers both driving cessation and a kilometer reduction. To study driving restriction factors, we used several Cox proportional hazard models with time dependent covariables. In this prospective study, the rate of driving restriction is high. Fifty seven percent of participants had restricted their driving over the follow-up. Women restricted their driving more frequently than men: 54% of men and 63% of women were reduced their distance driven or ceased to drive over six years. Pre-dementia, Parkinson's disease, advanced age and high initial mobility by car were common restriction factors in both genders. Prevalent dementia, depressive symptomatology, a decline in at least one Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and poor visual working memory performance were specific factors in men. In women, a low income, fear of falling, a slow execution time or a severe decline in global cognitive performance explain a regulation. This study confirmed that in later life women restrict their driving more than men, and that restriction factors differ according to gender. The pattern of results suggests that, when cognitive deficits are present, women restrict their driving at an earlier stage than men. It remains to be seen if excessive restriction in women could have negative consequences

DEBATS is an on-going research program (2011-2018) involving adult residents around three French airports: Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Toulouse-Blagnac, and Lyon Saint-Exupéry. It aims to characterize the relations between aircraft noise exposure and health status of the French population living in the vicinity of airports, both physically and mentally but also in terms of annoyance. In particular, it includes a longitudinal field study whose objective is to follow-up approximately 1,200 of the above-mentioned airports residents during four years. At inclusion and two and four years later, annoyance and health status (in terms of sleep disturbances, cardiovascular diseases and anxiety and depressive disorders) are assessed by a questionnaire asked by an interviewer at the place of residence of participants. Physiological variables like blood-pressure, heart rate or salivary cortisol are also considered within the frame of this study. A pilot study was performed in 2011 in order to test and validate the protocol on 100 residents around Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. The results of this pilot study will be presented and discussed. They will concern self-reported doctor-diagnosed hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, and measured blood-pressure, heart rate and salivary cortisol.

Background. Previous case-control studies on bicycle helmet efficacy are mostly Anglo-Saxon, and based on data from the early 1990’s when hard-shell helmets were common. Methods. In France, the Rhône county (1.6 million inhabitants) is covered by a road trauma registry that includes ED visits, inpatients and fatalities. Over the 1998-2008 period, 13,797 cyclist casualties were identified (outpatients, inpatients and deceased). The injuries sustained were coded using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) for injuries to the head (AIS1+ and AIS3+), face (AIS 1+) or neck (AIS1+). The study uses a case-control design where the control group includes cyclists injured below the neck, i.e. not injured in the region associated with the helmet. We adjusted for age, gender and crash severity. Results. The adjusted odds ratios of helmeted vs. unhelmeted cyclists are: for AIS1+ head injuries 0.69, 95% CI=[0.59-0.81], i.e. reduction of risk by 31%; for AIS3+ head injuries, 0.30, 95% CI=[0.16-0.50] i.e. reduction of risk by 70%; for AIS1+ facial injuries, 0.72, 95% CI=[ 0.62-0.83], i.e. reduction of risk by 28%; and for AIS1+ neck injuries, 1.18, 95% CI=[0.94-1.47], non significant. Conclusion. This study confirms the protective effect for head and facial injuries, even though soft-shell helmets have now become more common. The reduction of risk is greater for serious head injuries. The study is inconclusive about the risk of neck injuries.

RIVM Workshop NATO Airbase, UTRECHT, PAYS-BAS, 10-/10/2013 - 11/10/2013; A national survey carried out in 2005 shows that 6.6% of the French population are annoyed by aircraft noise. DEBATS aims to characterize the relations between aircraft noise exposure and health status of residents around airports. It is an on-going epidemiological research program including: An ecological study based on drug prescriptions, and on nonprescription drug sales, A longitudinal field study consisting in following-up approximately 1,200 of the Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Toulouse-Blagnac, and Lyon Saint-Exupéry airports residents during four years. Annoyance and health status are assessed by questionnaires. Physiological variables like blood-pressure or salivary cortisol are also considered within the frame of this study. A complementary study aiming to characterize specifically acute effects of aircraft noise on sleep quality using precise noise exposure measurements. Sleep quality of a sub-sample of 100 individuals will be evaluated using a wrist actimeter. Simultaneously, a sonometer located in their bedroom will record their noise exposure. A second sonometer set up outside (at the bedroom façade) will allow us to identify the aircraft noises and to investigate a link with sleep quality.

This study is concerned initial motorcycle training delivered in motorcycle schools in France. Novice motorcyclists are a particularly vulnerable group of road users in Europe and in France. However, scientific attempts to achieve a better understanding of their behaviors have been limited. The potential value of studying initial motorcycle training, both for research purposes and with regard to public policy, is readily apparent. The aims of this paper are to describe the real educational content of training in motorcycle schools and analyze to what extent this content is related to riding after licensing. A case study of all the training process of one trainee (38 hours) was carried out in real world. Audiovisual recordings and interview data of the rider and instructors were collected at each session. This study was supplemented by ethnographic observations of the educational content provided in three motorcycle schools throughout the instructors’ working days. The results that merged from both studies show (1) the riding skills that were fostered (i.e. control skills, and especially emergency skills, in stable and restricted environments) and undervalued (i.e. hazard perception skills, everyday skills) during initial training, and (2) the poverty of observed training settings: learners spend almost all their training time riding in the same setting that is used in the test. In addition to being repeated to excess, these settings are quite different from the real traffic. These results are discussed regarding the scientific literature on motorcycle education. The conclusion presents the implications of these results for public policy in order to design a future rider training system.

The most frequent cause of motorcycle accidents involves another vehicle violating the motorcycle's right-of-way at an intersection. In addition to detection errors, the misperception of the approaching motorcycle's speed and time-to-arrival is another driver error that may account for these accidents (e.g., Horswill et al., 2005). This misperception has been shown to be related to the small size of the motorcycle and the small angular velocity when it is approaching. In two experiments we tested the impact of different motorcycle headlight configurations in various ambient lighting conditions (daytime, dusk and nighttime). The participants drove the driving simulator and had to turn left across a line of vehicles composed of motorcycles and cars. The motorcycles were equipped with either a "standard" front light, a "horizontal configuration" (additionally to the standard front light, two lights were appended on the rear view mirrors so as to visually increase the horizontal dimension of the motorcycle), a "vertical configuration" (one light on the rider helmet and two lights on the fork were added to the standard front light so as to increase the vertical dimension of the motorcycle), or a "combined" configuration (combining the horizontal and vertical configurations). The findings indicated that in nighttime conditions both the "vertical" and "combined" configurations significantly increased the gap car drivers accepted towards motorcycles when compared with the standard configuration, and that the accepted gaps did not significantly differ from those accepted towards cars. The advantage of the vertical and combined configurations showed up especially when the approach speed of the motorcycle was high. A similar pattern appeared in dusk conditions, whereas benefits were less pronounced in daytime conditions. Results will be discussed with respect to a possible applications on motorcycles.

Background: The rapid increase in mobile telephone use has generated concern about possible health risks of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from these devices. Methods: A case-control study of 1105 patients with newly diagnosed acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma) and 2145 controls was conducted in 13 countries using a common protocol. Past mobile phone use was assessed by personal interview. In the primary analysis, exposure time was censored at one year before the reference date (date of diagnosis for cases and date of diagnosis of the matched case for controls); analyses censoring exposure at five years before the reference date were also done to allow for a possible longer latent period. Results: The odds ratio (OR) of acoustic neuroma with ever having been a regular mobile phone user was 0.85 (95% confidence interval 0.69-1.04). The OR for >= 10 years after first regular mobile phone use was 0.76 (0.52-1.11). There was no trend of increasing ORs with increasing cumulative call time or cumulative number of calls, with the lowest OR (0.48 (0.30-0.78)) observed in the 9th decile of cumulative call time. In the 10th decile (>= 1640 h) of cumulative call time, the OR was 1.32 (0.88-1.97); there were, however, implausible values of reported use in those with >= 1640 h of accumulated mobile phone use. With censoring at 5 years before the reference date the OR for >= 10 years after first regular mobile phone use was 0.83 (0.58-1.19) and for >= 1640 h of cumulative call time it was 2.79(1.51-5.16). but again with no trend in the lower nine deciles and with the lowest OR in the 9th decile. In general, ORs were not greater in subjects who reported usual phone use on the same side of the head as their tumour than in those who reported it on the opposite side, but it was greater in those in the 10th decile of cumulative hours of use. Conclusions: There was no increase in risk of acoustic neuroma with ever regular use of a mobile phone or for users who began regular use 10 years or more before the reference date. Elevated odds ratios observed at the highest level of cumulative call time could be due to chance, reporting bias or a causal effect. As acoustic neuroma is usually a slowly growing tumour, the interval between introduction of mobile phones and occurrence of the tumour might have been too short to observe an effect, if there is one. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.