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• Novice driver education had little or no impact on crash rates through the 2000s. • A new understanding of the causes of novice driver crashes was driven by a knowledge of eye movement patterns. • This led to the development, evaluation and subsequent implementation of novice driver training along with policy changes. • Simple, scalable solutions were the key to success at each stage. Novice drivers are at a greatly inflated risk of crashing. This led in the 20th century to numerous attempts to develop training programs that could reduce their crash risk. Yet, none proved effective. Novice drivers were largely considered careless, not clueless. This article is a case study in the United States of how a better understanding of the causes of novice driver crashes led to training countermeasures targeting teen driving behaviors with known associations with crashes. These effects on behaviors were large enough and long-lasting enough to convince insurance companies to develop training programs that they offered around the country to teen drivers. The success of the training programs at reducing the frequency of behaviors linked to crashes also led to several large-scale evaluations of the effect of the training programs on actual crashes. A reduction in crashes was observed. The cumulative effect has now led to state driver licensing agencies considering as a matter of policy both to include items testing the behaviors linked to crashes on licensing exams and to require training on safety critical behaviors. The effort has been ongoing for over a quarter century and is continuing. The case study highlights the critical elements that made it possible to move from a paradigm shift in the understanding of crash causes to the development and evaluation of crash countermeasures, to the implementation of those crash countermeasures, and to subsequent policy changes at the state and federal level. Key among these elements is the development of simple, scalable solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the eastern Central Range of Taiwan there is a regional variation in the orientation of maximum finite stretch across the slate belt, with down-dip maximum stretch found in the western Central Range and along-strike maximum stretch in the eastern Central Range. Incremental strain histories from syntectonic fibers in pyrite pressure shadows indicate a progressive change in extension direction from down dip to along strike during deformation, there is a corresponding temporal variation in stretching direction shown in samples from the eastern edge of the Central Range, a pattern that mimics the regional west-to-east spatial variation. These observed temporal and spatial strain distributions are used to evaluate the kinematics associated with slaty cleavage development during advection through the Taiwan orogenic system. The subduction zone beneath the island of Taiwan is influenced by two types of obliquity that have the potential to generate the observed along-strike stretching. First, the plate motion vector of the Philippine Sea plate relative to the Eurasian plate is slightly oblique to the regional strike of the mountain range, which could result in partitioning of strike slip shearing into the interior of the collision. Second, the north-south Luzon volcanic arc on the Philippine Sea Plate is obliquely oriented relative to the northeast-southwest edge of the Eurasian continental margin, which could result in lateral extrusion of the ductile core of the range. Incremental strain histories in cleavage-parallel samples represent a time-for-space equivalence where the stretching direction is fixed relative to the position within the mountain belt architecture (e.g., the topographic divide), and temporal variations in the eastern central Range reflect lateral advection through the strain field in response to accretionary and erosional fluxes. Incremental strain histories in cleavage perpendicular samples show both clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation of strain, indicating the possibility of bulk coaxial strain and lateral extrusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a method for fitting trishear models to surface profile data, by restoring bedding dip data and inverting for model parameters using a Markov chain Monte Carlo method. Trishear is a widely-used kinematic model for fault-propagation folds. It lacks an analytic solution, but a variety of data inversion techniques can be used to fit trishear models to data. Where the geometry of an entire folded bed is known, models can be tested by restoring the bed to its pre-folding orientation. When data include bedding attitudes, however, previous approaches have relied on computationally-intensive forward modeling. This paper presents an equation for the rate of change of dip in the trishear zone, which can be used to restore dips directly to their pre-folding values. The resulting error can be used to calculate a probability for each model, which allows solution by Markov chain Monte Carlo methods and inversion of datasets that combine dips and contact locations. These methods are tested using synthetic and real datasets. Results are used to approximate multimodal probability density functions and to estimate uncertainty in model parameters. The relative value of dips and contacts in constraining parameters and the effects of uncertainty in the data are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quartz veins from a subhorizontal shear zone in the Kodiak accretionary complex in southwest Alaska record cycles of cracking and sealing contemporaneous with simple shear, and analysis of the vein array in the context of silica dissolution, diffusion, and precipitation leads to the conclusion that the time needed to seal after a fracture event overlaps with the time scales associated with the recurrence of slip instabilities along active megathrusts. The central belt of the Kodiak accretionary complex is interpreted as a shear zone developed adjacent to a paleo-decollement that was active in the Late Cretaceous based on large strain magnitudes, recumbent isoclinal folds, and regional cleavage patterns that depict rotation of the steep cleavage that characterizes most of the Kodiak Formation into the horizontal fabrics of the central belt. Within this regional shear zone, crack-seal veins composed of quartz with phyllosilicate inclusion bands are spaced at less than a cm but en echelon vein arrays are spaced at 500 cm. These arrays indicate top-to-the southeast shear on southeast dipping brittle-ductile shear zones. Vein textures indicate cracking and sealing of thin veins in the matrix, but thicker veins in en echelon sets record initial cracking and sealing followed by periodic collapse of fracture porosity at a frequency that is lower than the frequency of crack-seal cycles. Silica depletion zones in the wall rock adjacent to veins indicate local transport of silica by diffusion. By combining the maximum time in which diffusion could dominate over advection with the time needed to precipitate the quartz associated with one crack-seal band, we show that a reasonable range of Δ P , or pressure difference between matrix and crack, can produce crack seal bands in less than 10 days. This time frame is less than the recurrence of earthquakes, and similar to the duration of some slow earthquakes in nature. Therefore, silica redistribution could play a role in modulating the frequency of plate boundary slip instabilities along convergent plate boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study compares, on a simulator, drivers’ performance (eye fixations and yielding behavior) at marked mid-block crosswalks in multi-threat scenarios when the crosswalks have advance yield markings and pedestrian crosswalk prompt signs versus their performance in such scenarios when the crosswalks have standard markings. Advance yield markings and prompt signs in multi-threat scenarios lead to changes in drivers’ behaviors which are likely to reduce pedestrian–vehicle conflicts, including increases in the likelihood that the driver glances towards the pedestrian, increases in the distance at which the first glance towards the pedestrian is taken, and increases the likelihood of yielding to the pedestrian. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study examined types of errors that occurred or were recovered in a simulated environment by student nurses. Errors occurred in all four rule-based error categories, and all students committed at least one error. The most frequent errors occurred in the verification category. Another common error was related to physician interactions. The least common errors were related to coordinating information with the patient and family. Our finding that 100% of student subjects committed rule-based errors is cause for concern. To decrease errors and improve safe clinical practice, nurse educators must identify effective strategies that students can use to improve patient surveillance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Variable message signs often require multiple phases in order to convey a complete message to drivers. The dual necessity of maximizing the understandability of these messages and minimizing the time required to convey these messages to the driver is an obvious one, especially during traffic incident management. The objectives of the research were to analyze the factors that affect the readability and comprehension of multiple phase messages presented on variable message signs during a simulated driving task, and to identify the levels of the factors that maximize driver performance. Specifically, a mid-level driving simulator was used to study the joint effect on driver performance of: obstructions of variable message signs by traffic or road geometry; the sequence in which the individual phases of a two phase message are presented to the driver; the message content; and the number and direction of lane changes required by the driver based on the message presented. The above factors were evaluated for two types of message duration (i.e., the duration for which each phase of a two phase message is presented), one based on existing recommendations and the other based on a proposed duration. Driver performance was evaluated for both durations. Clear advantages were obtained when a message was presented for a relatively short duration and repeated twice during the time in which it was visible. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Weathering rind thicknesses were measured on ∼ 200 basaltic clasts collected from three regionally extensive alluvial fill terraces (Qt 1, Qt 2, and Qt 3) preserved along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Mass balance calculations suggest that conversion of unweathered basaltic core minerals (plagioclase and augite) to authigenic minerals in the porous rind (kaolinite, allophane, gibbsite, Fe oxyhydroxides) is iso-volumetric and Ti and Zr are relatively immobile. The hierarchy of cation mobility (Ca ≈ Na > K ≈ Mg > Si > Al > Fe ≈ P) is similar to other tropical weathering profiles and is indicative of differential rates of mineral weathering (anorthite > albite ≈ hypersthene > orthoclase ≫ apatite). Alteration profiles across the cm-thick rinds document dissolution of plagioclase and augite and the growth of kaolinite, with subsequent dissolution of kaolinite and precipitation of gibbsite as weathering rinds age. The rate of weathering rind advance is evaluated using a diffusion-limited model which predicts a parabolic rate law for weathering rind thickness, rr, as a function of time, t(rr =κt), and an interface-limited model which predicts a linear rate law for weathering rind thickness as a function of time (rr = kappt). In these rate laws, κ is a diffusion parameter and kapp is an apparent rate constant. The rate of advance is best fit by the interface model.Terrace exposures are confined to the lower reaches of streams draining the Pacific slope near the coast where the stream gradient is less than ∼3 m/km, and terrace deposition is influenced by eustatic sea level fluctuations. Geomorphological evidence is consistent with terrace deposition coincident with sea level maxima when the stream gradient would be lowest. Assigning the most weathered regionally extensive terrace Qt 1 (mean rind thickness 6.9 ± 0. 6cm) to oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 7 (ca. 240 ka), and assuming that at time = 0 rind thickness = 0, it is inferred that terrace Qt 2 (rr = 2.9 ± 0.1 cm) is coincident with stage 5e (ca. 125 ka) and that Qt 3 (rr = 0.9 ± 0.1 cm) is consistent with OIS 3 (ca. 37 ka). These assignments yield a value of kapp of 8.6 × 10−13 cm s−1 (R2 = 0.99). Only this value satisfies both the existing age controls and yields ages coincident with sea level maxima. Using this value, elemental weathering release fluxes across a weathering rind from Qt 2 range from 6.0 × 10−9 mol Si m−2 s−1 to 2.5 × 10−11 mol K m−2 s−1. The rate of rind advance for the Costa Rican terraces is 2.8 × 10−7 m yr−1. Basalt rind formation rates in lower temperature settings described in the literature are also consistent with interface-controlled weathering with an apparent activation energy of about 50 kJ mol−1. Rates of rind formation in Costa Rica are an order of magnitude slower than reported for global averages of soil formation rates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Research on young drivers' glance behavior while using automation is limited. • Vehicle automation led to longer glances off the road. • There was no effect of ADHD symptomatology on glance behavior. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common mental disorder that affects drivers' attention maintenance skills. Vehicle automation is another factor that has an increasingly important effect on drivers' attention or concentration level during driving. This driving simulator study aimed to investigate how drivers' glance behavior changed under different levels of vehicle automation and according to high or low ADHD symptomology. During the drive, participants were asked to complete a map task on a tablet while their glance behavior was recorded. Results imply that the participants tend to have a longer mean off-road glance duration and a larger long off-road glance ratio when they were under the L2 automation level compared to manual mode. ADHD symptomatology and the interaction between ADHD and vehicle automation were not found to be significant. These findings indicate that vehicle automation negatively impacts drivers' attention maintenance skills. Future work would consider more kinds of secondary tasks that can assess the participants' attention maintenance skills from various aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nod-like receptors (NLRs) are cytoplasmic pattern recognition receptors that are promising targets for the development of anti-inflammatory therapeutics. Drug discovery efforts targeting NLRs have been hampered by their inherent tendency to form aggregates making protein generation and the development of screening assays very challenging. Herein we report the results of an HTS screen of NLR family member NLRP1 (NLR family, pyrin domain-containing 1) which was achieved through the large scale generation of recombinant GST-His-Thrombin-NLRP1 protein. The screen led to the identification of a diverse set of ATP competitive inhibitors with micromolar potencies. Activity of these hits was confirmed in a FP binding assay, and two homology models were employed to predict the possible binding mode of the leading series and facilitate further lead-optimization. These results highlight a promising strategy for the identification of inhibitors of NLR family members which are rapidly emerging as key drivers of inflammation in human disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Convexities in the longitudinal profiles of actively incising rivers are typically considered to represent the morphologic signal of a transient response to external perturbations in tectonic or climatic forcing. Distinguishing such knickzones from those that may be anchored to the channel network by spatial variations in rock uplift, however, can be challenging. Here, we combine stream profile analysis, 10Be watershed-averaged erosion rates, and numerical modeling of stream profile evolution to evaluate whether knickzones in the Abukuma massif of northeast Japan represent a temporal or spatial change in rock uplift rate in relation to forearc shortening. Knickzones in channels that drain the eastern flank of the Abukuma massif are characterized by breaks in slope–area scaling and separate low-gradient, alluvial upper-channel segments from high-gradient, deeply-incised lower channel segments. Average erosion rates inferred from 10Be concentrations in modern sediment below knickzones exceed erosion rates above knickzones by 20–50%. Although profile convexities could be interpreted as a transient response to an increase in rock uplift rate associated with slip on the range-bounding fault, geologic constraints on the initiation of fault slip and the magnitude of displacement cannot be reconciled with a recent, spatially uniform increase in slip rate. Rather, we find that knickzone position, stream profile gradients, and basin averaged erosion rates are best explained by a relatively abrupt spatial increase in uplift rate localized above a flat-ramp transition in the fault system. These analyses highlight the importance of considering spatially non-uniform uplift in the interpretation of stream profile evolution and demonstrate that the adjustment of river profiles to fault displacement can provide constraints on fault geometry in actively eroding landscapes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Older drivers are known to look less often for hazards when turning at T-intersections or at four way intersections. The present study is an extension of Romoser and Fisher (2009) and attempts to further analyze the differences in scanning behavior between older and experienced younger drivers in intersections. We evaluated four hypotheses that attempt to explain the older drivers’ failure to properly scan in intersections: difficulty with head movements, decreases in working memory capacity, increased distractibility, and failure to recall specific scanning patterns. To test these hypotheses, older and younger experienced drivers’ point-of-gaze was monitored while they drove a series of simulated intersections with hidden hazards outside of the turning path. Our results suggest that none of these hypotheses can fully explain our finding that older adults are more likely to remain fixated on their intended path of travel and look less than younger drivers towards other areas where likely hazards might materialize. Instead, the results support a complementary hypothesis that at least some of the difficulties older adults have scanning intersections are due to a specific attentional deficit in the older drivers’ ability to inhibit what has become their prepotent goal of monitoring the vehicle’s intended path of travel, thereby causing older drivers to fail to scan hazardous areas outside this intended path of travel. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Thrust faulting is a fundamental mode of crustal deformation, yet many of the key geometrical attributes of thrust faults and the controls on fault rupture, growth, and linkage remain poorly resolved. Numerous surface-rupturing thrust faults cut through upper Quaternary glacial outwash terraces within the Ostler Fault zone, an active thrust system in the Southern Alps, New Zealand. We use these deformed marker surfaces to define the three-dimensional deformation field associated with their surface expression and to map displacement and length on ∼40 fault segments. Displacement transfer across two fault segment arrays occurs in distinctly different styles. In one, displacement is transferred between en échelon fault segments to produce a smooth, linear displacement gradient. In the other, large-scale folding and a population of small faults transfer displacement between two non-overlapping fault segments, with a residual displacement minimum within the transfer zone. Size distribution of fault-segment length and maximum displacement follow a power-law scaling relationship. Maximum displacement (D max) scales linearly with and represents ∼1% of segment trace length (L). D max/L data from the segments of the Ostler Fault zone display similar scaling to a global fault dataset. This similarity is surprising, given that the observed displacements along the Ostler Fault represent only 20ky of slip on fault segments that are likely to be many times older. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Drivers must actively supervise automation as it can only function in limited conditions. A failure to supervise the system has negative consequences in terms of missed requests to take over control and may cause crashes or jeopardize safety. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of a novel, 3M (Mistakes, Mentoring, and Mastery) training program on drivers' behavior while using level 2 driving automation systems. To achieve this, 36 participants were assigned randomly to three different training programs (3M training, User manual, and Placebo) and drove through scenarios on a fixed-based driving simulator. The results showed that drivers in the 3M training group took back control more effectively when the driving automation system reached its limits compared to drivers who received User manual or Placebo training. Drivers in the 3M training Group also had higher situation awareness and improved trust in automation. The results indicate that an interactive approach to training with regards to vehicle automation can help drivers more safely interact with automation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Evaluates whether STRAP improves young drivers' strategic hazard anticipation. • Drivers engaged in two kinds of distracting secondary tasks on a driving simulator. • Secondary task engagement was fully user paced. • STRAP-trained drivers were more likely to detect latent hazards and clues. • STRAP-trained drivers were more likely to limit their in-vehicle task engagement. The current study evaluates a training program – STRAP (Secondary Task Regulatory & Anticipatory Program) – designed to improve young drivers' strategic hazard anticipation skills by training them to strategically detect the clues (e.g., a crosswalk sign) to the presence of a potential hazard prior to being able to tactically anticipate the latent hazard (e.g., a pedestrian at a crosswalk). Following the completion of either STRAP or placebo training, forty-eight young drivers aged between 18 and 21 years navigated eight scenarios on a driving simulator while performing secondary tasks, with their eye movements recorded. The secondary tasks included those that require drivers to take their eyes off the road (e.g., a coin change task) and those which do not (e.g., a cell phone conversation). The drivers were instructed to voluntarily engage in as many secondary tasks as possible during the drive. STRAP did not explicitly instruct them to either disengage from or not engage in secondary tasks. The results show that STRAP-trained drivers were more likely to detect latent hazards and associated clues to those hazards than placebo-trained drivers. Moreover, the STRAP-trained drivers were more likely to limit the duration of their secondary task engagement in the presence of such hazards than the placebo-trained drivers. Strategic hazard anticipation training programs may promote defensive driving among young drivers by allowing them to anticipate clues to latent road hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Young drivers are not homogenous and have different driving styles. • Young drivers were classified as either careful or careless drivers. • A training program was developed to improve young drivers’ cognitive skills. • Training improved the performance of only careful drivers, not careless drivers. Abstract Drivers aged 16–24 are overrepresented in fatal crashes compared to middle-aged, more experienced drivers. This age-related difference in crash rates partly arises from younger drivers’ poorer performance on three cognitive skills known to be related to crash involvement: hazard anticipation, hazard mitigation and attention maintenance. Training programs have been shown effective at improving these skills within a short period of time. However, young drivers are not homogenous and they have different driving styles. The driving styles can interact with driving skills by influencing both their acquisition and, once acquired, their execution. A study was undertaken on a driving simulator to determine whether the effectiveness of an already existing training program aimed at improving the three above mentioned skills is moderated by driving style. In particular, drivers were classified as either careful or careless drivers based both on their scores on measures designed to evaluate two general traits relevant to discriminating between careful and careless drivers (sensation seeking and aggressiveness) as well as on their scores designed to evaluate driving specific behaviors that discriminate between careful and careless drivers (aggressive driving behaviors and driving violations and errors). It was found that training improved the hazard anticipation and attention maintenance performance of only the careful drivers, not the careless drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective During conditional automated driving, a transition from the automated driving suite to manual control requires the driver to take over control at a moment’s notice. Thus, it is critical that a driver be made situationally aware as quickly as possible in those conditions where he or she may not be paying full attention. Recent research suggests that specific cues about upcoming hazards (e.g., “crosswalk ahead”) can increase the drivers’ situation awareness during these safety-critical take-over situations when compared with a general cue (“take over control”). The current study examines whether this increased situation awareness which occurs as a result of more specific cues translates into improved hazard mitigation performance within the same limited time window. Method Fifty-seven drivers were randomly assigned to one of five between-subjects conditions (one control condition and four experimental auditory cue conditions) that varied in the specificity of information provided about an upcoming hazard. The four experimental conditions included a period of conditional automated driving where the driver was engaged in a driving-irrelevant task and looked away from the forward roadway prior to a take-over request. Drivers in the fifth condition had no cue and drove manually throughout. The same six simulator scenarios were used in all five conditions to evaluate how well the driver mitigated a hazard. The average velocity, standard deviation of velocity, and average absolute acceleration were recorded along with the glance behaviors of drivers. Results In general, during the 4 s prior to a latent hazard (following the alerting cues in the automated driving conditions), the more likely a driver was to glance towards a latent hazard, the more likely the driver was to reduce his or her speed. Moreover, analyses focusing solely on hazard mitigation behavior revealed patterns that mirrored the glance behavior results. Specifically, drivers that were presented with cues that described the environments in which hazards were likely to occur were more likely to demonstrate vehicle behaviors that were consistent with speed reductions (lower velocity, higher speed variability, and higher absolute acceleration) than were drivers who were presented general cues or cues about the identity of the upcoming hazards. Conclusion Even in as little as 4 s prior to a potential hazard, cues that inform the driver of the environment in which the hazard is likely to occur increase the likelihood that the driver mitigates the crash compared with drivers who are provided general information or threat identity information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have demonstrated that young drivers fail both to scan for and mitigate latent hazards mostly due to their cluelessness. This study aims to investigate whether these skills could be improved by providing young drivers with alerts in advance of the upcoming threat using a driving simulator experiment. In particular, the warning was presented on the head-up displays (HUD) either 2 s, 3 s or 4 s in advance of a latent threat. The hazard anticipation, hazard mitigation and attention maintenance performance of forty-eight young drivers aged 18–25 was evaluated across eight unique scenarios either in the presence or in the absence of latent threat alerts displayed on a HUD. There were four groups overall: one control group (no alert) and three experimental groups (2 s alert, 3 s alert and 4 s alert). The analysis of the hazard anticipation data showed that all three experimental groups with HUD warnings (2 s, 3 s, 4 s) significantly increased the likelihood that drivers would glance towards latent pedestrian and vehicle hazards when compared to the control group. The hazard mitigation analysis showed that in situations involving a pedestrian threat, HUD alerts provided 3 or 4 s in advance of a potential threat led drivers to travel significantly slower than the control group or the 2 s group. No significant effect of a HUD alert on drivers’ speed was found when the latent hazard was a vehicle. An analysis of eye behaviors showed that only 7 out of 597 glances at the HUD were longer than 2 s safety-threshold, indicating that the warnings do not seem to distract the driver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proactive route choice refers to a driver's taking into account future diversion possibilities enabled by real-time information in a network with random travel times. Route choice experiments were conducted in three types of networks with increasing complexity, where the simplest one has no diversion possibilities and is used to gauge risk attitude. Two apparatuses with different cognitive load, a driving simulator and PC were used. Aggregate analyses show that network complexity negatively affects subjects' ratio of choosing the risky option on a driving simulator; cognitive load negatively affects subject's ratio of choosing the risky option in the simplest network, but not in more complex networks. A mixed Logit model with two latent classes, proactive and myopic, is specified and estimated. Results show that subjects learn to be more proactive over time. The impact of network complexity or cognitive load on being proactive is not statistically significant. Cognitive load however increases myopic subjects' risk aversion. • Proactive route choice entails choosing a contingency plan instead of a fixed path. • Empirical evidence shows that some human subjects learn to be proactive over time. • No significant network complexity or cognitive load effect on proactive behaviors. • Proactive subjects are more risk seeking than myopic subjects. • Myopic subjects are more risk averse on a driving simulator than a PC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driver visual distraction is known to increase the likelihood of being involved in a crash, especially for long glances inside the vehicle. The detrimental impact of these in-vehicle glances may carry over and disrupt the ongoing processing of information after the driver glances back up on the road. This study explored the effect of different types of visual tasks inside the vehicle on the top-down processes that guide the detection and monitoring of road hazards after the driver glances back towards the road. Using a driving simulator, 56 participants were monitored with an eye tracking system while they navigated various hazardous scenarios in one of four experimental conditions. In all conditions, a potential hazard was visible 4–5 s before the driver could strike the potential hazard were it to materialize. All interruptions were exactly two seconds in length. After the interruption the potential hazard again became visible for about a half-second after which the driver passed by the hazard. The nature of the in-vehicle visual interruption presented to the participants was varied across conditions: (1) Visual interruptions comprised of spatial, driving unrelated, tasks; (2) visual interruptions comprised of non-spatial, driving unrelated, tasks; (3) visual interruptions with no tasks added; and (4) no visual interruptions. In the first three conditions drivers glancing on the forward roadway was momentarily interrupted (either with or without a task) just after the potential hazard first became visible by the occurrence of an in-vehicle task lasting two seconds. In the last condition (no interruptions) the driver could not see the potential hazard after it just became visible because of obstructions in the built or natural environment. The obstruction (like the interruption) lasted for two seconds. In other words, across all conditions the hazard was visible, then became invisible, and finally became visible again. Importantly, the results show that the presence of an interruption (as opposed to an obstruction) negatively impacted drivers’ ability to anticipate the potential hazard. Moreover, the various types of interruptions had differential effects on hazard detection. The implications of this study for the design of in-vehicle displays are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Training programs exist that prove effective at teaching novice drivers to anticipate latent hazards (RAPT), mitigate hazards (ACT) and maintain attention (FOCAL). The current study (a) measures the effectiveness of a novel integrated training program (SAFE-T) that takes only a third as long to complete compared to the three individual training programs and (b) determines if integrating the training of all the three higher cognitive skills would yield results comparable to the existing programs. Three groups were evaluated: SAFE-T, RAPT and Placebo. The results show that the drivers in the SAFE-T-trained group were more likely to anticipate hazards, quicker and more effective at responding to hazards, and more likely to maintain glance durations under a critical threshold of 2 s as compared to drivers in the Placebo-trained group who received a control program that does not actively train on any of the three cognitive skills. Moreover, the results show that the drivers in the SAFE-T trained group were just as likely to anticipate hazards as the drivers in the RAPT trained group. Finally, when compared with prior studies, the drivers in the SAFE-T trained group showed similar effects of attention maintenance training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] PC based attention maintenance training program evaluated on a driving simulator. [•] Training program focused on limiting the duration of drivers’ in-vehicle glances. [•] Distribution of eye movement durations of trained and placebo group was compared. [•] Training effectively reduced proportion of long glances inside the vehicle. [•] Training was not found to limit long glances at out-of-vehicle distractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Studies have shown that direct peer pressure and conversations affect young driver behavior. [•] Impact of a non-interacting passenger and subtle modes of peer influence on driver behavior are unknown. [•] Driver attention was affected by Passenger Presence. [•] Driver characteristics were associated with driving performance with a passenger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Peroxiredoxin 6 (Prdx6) and cytosolic GSH peroxidase (GPx1), both GSH-dependent peroxidases, were compared for the effects of their knockout on injury and lipid peroxidation in: (a) lungs of mice exposed to 0.85 or 1.0atm O2, (b) isolated perfused mouse lungs exposed to 5mM tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BOOH) or 1mM paraquat, and (c) primary mouse pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells exposed to 50μM t-BOOH. Derangements in GPx1 null were similar or slightly greater than in wild type for all parameters in the various models of oxidant stress, whereas Prdx6 null showed markedly increased effects. GSH peroxidase activity with phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide as substrate in GPx1-null lung homogenate was decreased only slightly vs wild type, whereas activity in Prdx6-null lungs was decreased by ~95%, indicating that Prdx6 is the major enzyme for reduction of oxidized lung phospholipids. Expression levels of oxidant-related genes measured with a PCR-based gene array indicated no significant differences between the Prdx6 and the GPx1 null except for the target genes and IL-19. Thus, Prdx6-null mice are significantly more sensitive to oxidant stress compared to GPx1 null, suggesting that scavenging of phospholipid hydroperoxides by Prdx6 plays a major role in lung antioxidant defense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Novice drivers (teen drivers with their solo license for 6 months or less) are at a greatly inflated risk of crashing. Post hoc analyses of police accident reports indicate that novice drivers fail to anticipate hazards, manage their speed, and maintain attention. These skills are much too broadly defined to be of much help in training. Recently, however, driving simulators have been used to identify those skills which differentiate the novice drivers from older, more experienced drivers in the areas of hazard anticipation and speed management. Below, we report an experiment on a driving simulator which compares novice and experienced drivers’ performance in the third area believed to contribute especially heavily to crashes among novice drivers: attention to the forward roadway. The results indicate that novice drivers are much more willing to glance for long periods of time inside the vehicle than are experienced drivers. Interestingly, the results also indicate that both novice and experienced drivers spend equal amounts of time glancing at tasks external to the vehicle and in the periphery. Moreover, just as a program has been designed to train the scanning skills that clearly differentiate novice from experienced drivers, one might hope that a training program could be designed to improve the attention maintenance skills of novice drivers. We report on the initial piloting of just such a training program. Finally, we address a question that has long been debated in the literature: Do the results from driving simulators generalize to the real world? We argue that in the case of hazard anticipation, speed management, and attention maintenance the answer is yes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drivers who make wrong-way entries onto highway exit ramps or restricted roads are at serious risk of injuring themselves or others. One cause of these wrong-way entries may be the actual signage itself. A good sign in this context should draw attention to itself and then convey its message as quickly and clearly as possible. However, the existence of wrong-way entries suggests that this is not always happening with the recommended two-dimensional Do Not Enter plus One-Way sign that is currently posted at most exit ramp terminals. Several alternative Do Not Enter signs were evaluated on the University of Massachusetts driving simulator, signs which based on a preliminary evaluation should better draw attention to themselves and more quickly convey their message. The alternative signs included both a three-dimensional Do Not Enter sign and a combined One-Way plus No Right Turn sign (without the usual symbology). Participants noticed more wrong-way entries when exit ramp terminals were posted with the combined One-Way plus No Right Turn sign than when they were posted with all other alternatives, though this difference was only marginally significant when compared with the standard two-dimensional Do Not Enter plus One-Way sign. These results were consistent with multiple resource theory, which assumes different resource pools are used to process verbal and spatial information. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• We examined young drivers' hazard anticipation and mitigation skills in a L2 DAS. • Hazard anticipation skills were lower in the L2 DAS compared to manual driving. • Some, but not all, hazard mitigations skills were lower while driving the L2 DAS. • Skills of drivers with high and low ADHD symptomatology were diversely impacted. Level 2 (L2) driving automation systems that maintain latitudinal and longitudinal control of the vehicle decrease mental workload and result in drivers failing to monitor and respond to potential roadway hazards. This issue is potentially important for young drivers with symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) since they have known difficulties anticipating and mitigating potential hazards on the road, a skill which requires attention. The objective of this study is to investigate how the use of partially automated (L2) systems and manual systems impacts hazard anticipation and mitigation among young drivers with varying levels of ADHD symptomatology. Sixty-eight drivers, classified into two groups – high and low ADHD symptomatology—navigated twice through three scenarios on a driving simulator, once with an L2 and once with a manual system. The results indicated that: (i) the hazard anticipation skills of drivers with both high and low ADHD symptomatology were depressed in the L2 condition relative to the manual condition; (ii) the hazard mitigations skills of drivers with both high and low ADHD symptomatology were depressed in the L2 condition relative to the manual condition on two measures, but improved on a third measure; and (iii) the hazard anticipation and mitigation skills of drivers with high and low ADHD symptomatology were differentially impacted, both within and across the two levels of automation. Taken together, the results indicate the pernicious and often hard to predict consequences of higher levels of automation for different populations of younger drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]