Distracting Events Research Articles

Simulation-Oriented Analysis and Modeling of Distracted Driving

Distracted driving significantly affects the efficiency and safety of traffic flow. Modeling distracted driving behavior in microscopic traffic flow simulation is essential for understanding its critical impacts on traffic flow. However, due to the influence of various external factors and the considerable uncertainties in behavior characteristics, modeling distracted driving behavior remains a challenge. This study proposed a model which incorporates distraction features into the microscopic traffic flow model to simulate distracted driving behavior. Specifically, the study first examines the characteristics of distracted driving, including the intervals and durations of distraction events, as well as the patterns and environments of distraction. It then introduces distraction parameters into the Intelligent Driver Model (IDM), including reaction time delays and perception deviations in both speed difference and following distance. These parameters are quantified by probabilistic distributions to reflect the uncertainty and individual differences in driving behavior. The model is calibrated and validated using 772 distracted following events from the Shanghai Naturalistic Driving Study (SH-NDS) data. Three patterns of distraction (excessive, moderate, mild) are distinguished and modeled separately. The results show that the model’s accuracy surpasses that of the IDM under various road types and traffic volumes, with an average improvement in model accuracy of about 11.30% on expressways with high traffic volume, 4.54% on expressways with low traffic volume, and 4.46% on surface roads. Meanwhile, the model can effectively simulate the variations in reaction times and perceptual deviations in both speed and following distance for different distraction modes at the individual level, maintaining consistency with reality. Finally, the study simulates distracted driving behavior under different road environments and traffic volumes to explore the impact of distracted driving on traffic flow. The simulation results indicate that an increase in the proportion of distraction reduces the efficiency and safety of traffic flow, which is consistent with real-world observations. Since the model considers human distraction factors, it can generate more dangerous driving scenarios in simulations, which holds significant importance for safety-related research. The findings from this study are expected to be helpful for understanding distracted driving behavior and mitigate its negative influence on the efficiency and safety of traffic flow.

A Quantitative Analysis of Intraoperative Distractions and When They Occur During General Surgical Operations.

Introduction Distractions in operating theatres prevent team members from concentrating on the complex tasks required for a successful operation. This can be a potential hazard to care for, and previously, correlations have been made between increased theatre distractions and adverse events. However, it remains unclear how frequently such events occur during routine care in theatres. The present study aims to quantify distractions and analyse any differences between staff groups, operative stages, and modes of operation. Methods A single-centre prospective study was conducted to assess disruptions in general surgical theatres. Events were recorded using a previously described categorization system on a proforma by a single researcher. The source and severity of distraction were recorded, as well as the mode of operation (elective/emergency), stage of operation, and staff team (scrubbed/floor). Results A total of 4,219 minutes of surgery were observed over four weeks, and 1,095 distraction events were recorded. Of the 14 elective and nine emergency procedures recorded, there was a mean of 54.8 distractions per procedure and a frequency of one distraction every three minutes and 51 seconds (15.6 hr-1). Irrelevant communication relating to the patient's case was the most common source, accounting for 24.7% of all distractions. The most frequently disrupted stage of the procedure for scrubbed staff was during anastomosis/resection for both elective and emergency procedures, with 16.9 and 32.6 distractions occurring per hour, respectively. Scrubbed staff were significantly more susceptible to distraction in emergency procedures than the floor staff. Discussion Our study reflects previous assessments with irrelevant communications and emergency procedures yielding the highest prevalence of distraction. This investigation provides novel information about the different stages of general surgery and the frequency of distractions that occur.

Reducing Distracted Driving and Improving Consistency with Brine Truck Automation

Salt brine is routinely used by transportation agencies to pre-treat critical infrastructure such as bridges, ramps, and underpasses in advance of winter storms. This requires an operator turning on and off brine controls while driving at highway speeds, introducing driver distraction and consistency challenges. In urban areas, such as Indianapolis, a 5500-gallon tractor trailer with a gross vehicle weight of 80,000 pounds is typically used and the driver may have 1200 on/off activations while covering 318 miles during a pre-treatment shift. This study conducted in collaboration with Indiana Department of Transportation has worked with their truck upfitters to adapt geo-fenced agriculture spraying controls to seven trucks that use the Global Positioning System (GPS) position of the truck to activate the sprayer valves when the trucks enter and exit geo-fenced areas that require pre-treatment. This automated brine system enhances safety, reduces driver workload, and ensures the consistent application of brine in designated areas. Furthermore, as additional environmental constraints and reporting requirements evolve, this system has the capability of reducing application rates in sensitive areas and provides a comprehensive geo-coded application history. The Indiana Department of Transportation has scaled deployment for treating interstates and major arterials with brine. This deployment on 5500-gallon tankers, used on I-64/65/69/70/74, and 465, eliminates over 10,000 driver distraction events during every statewide pre-treatment event.

Visual cues in VR for guiding attention vs. restoring attention after a short distraction

Distraction in VR training environments may be mitigated with a visual cue intended to guide user attention to a target. A survey of related literature suggests a past focus on “search and selection” tasks to evaluate a cue’s capability for guidance. We investigate the capability of 9 eye-tracked cues with a new type of task that focuses on how to restore attention when a short distraction (e.g., a notification) shifts focus away from a target. Our study includes a guidance task in which subjects gaze at objects in a randomized order and a restoration task in which gaze sequences are interrupted by distraction events after which gaze must be returned to an object. We consider a wider variety of factors and metrics than previous studies, varying object spacing, gaze dwell time, and distraction distance and duration, and breaking down guidance time into subcomponents. Results show a general positive trend for cues that directly connect the user’s gaze to the target rather than indirectly suggesting direction. Results further reveal different patterns of cue effectiveness for the restoration task than for conventional guidance. This may be attributed to knowledge that subjects have about the location of the object from which they were distracted. An implication for more complex distraction tasks is that we expect them to be between the short distraction and regular guidance in terms of memory of object position. So, we speculate cue performance for other tasks would vary between the short distraction and guidance results. For restoration, some cues add complexity that reduces, rather than improves, performance.

From Gambling to Gaming: The Crowding Out Effect

This paper investigates how noise trading behavior is influenced by limited attention. As the daily price limit rules of the Chinese stock market provide a scenario for the exhibition of salient payoffs, speculators elevate prices to attract noise traders into the market. Utilizing a series of distraction events stemming from mobile games as exogenous shocks, we obtain statistical evidence that the gambler-like behavior, termed as “Hitting game” may be crowded out. Consistent with our attention mechanism, indicators such as trading volume decline in response to these game shocks.

Home Enrichment Is Associated with Visual Working Memory Function in Preschoolers

AbstractHome enrichment plays an important role in shaping children's development. In the current study, we inquired whether home enrichment was associated with pre‐schoolers' visual working memory (VWM) function, a critical cognitive system necessary for maintaining information for short periods of time. Home enrichment was assessed using an adapted version of the Home Observation Measurement of the Environment Interview. VWM behavior and brain function were collected as children engaged with a color change detection task. Home enrichment was associated with right‐lateralized fronto‐parietal engagement. Specifically, greater home enrichment was linked to increased activation in the right angular gyrus, important for working memory maintenance, and suppression in the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), important for re‐orienting attention to distracting events. Critically, home enrichment‐related rIFG suppression was linked to better VWM performance. This work sheds light on potential mechanism(s) through which enrichment in homes might be involved with cognitive function during the preschool years.

Proactive suppression can be applied to multiple salient distractors in visual search.

There is a growing body of research demonstrating that the capture of attention by a single salient distractor can be prevented via proactive suppression. In real-world contexts, there are often several distracting events that compete for attention, but it is entirely unknown whether multiple objects can be suppressed concurrently. We used behavioral and electrophysiological measures to investigate the existence and time course of multiple-item suppression. We employed search displays that contained either one or two uniquely colored distractors that differed in their salience (S+ and S-), or no such distractors. Search performance improved with the number of salient distractors, indicating that the suppression of multiple items reduced the effective display set size. This was also the case when the target color was no longer fully predictable, ruling out an alternative explanation in terms of attentional guidance by target templates. In an experiment where S+ and S- always appeared together in the same display, the PD component (a marker of proactive suppression) was triggered exclusively by the more salient distractor (S+), indicative of single-item suppression. However, when displays with one or both salient distractors were intermixed, a reliable PD component was also triggered by S-, even when it was accompanied by S+ in the same display. These results show that multiple concurrent salient signals can be proactively inhibited. They demonstrate that signal suppression processes can be adaptively employed to counteract visual distraction at different locations, in order to facilitate the attentional selection of relevant objects in crowded visual environments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Flow Disruptions as A Result of Personal Electronic Devices in Orthopedic Surgery

The operating room (OR) is a complex environment in which highly trained individuals perform cognitively demanding tasks. Distractions in this environment may lead to deleterious effects, as a loss of situational awareness can interfere with surgical procedures. The present study aims to quantify the frequency and nature of distracting events associated with personal electronic devices (PEDs) during twenty elective orthopedic surgery cases. PED use was coded using a real-time, custom data collection tool beginning in the pre-operative area and terminating at the time of handoff with the post-anesthesia care team. PED use accounted for 242 flow disruptions in the OR. The vendor showed the highest frequency of flow disruptions (73), followed by the circulating nurse (52) and the certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) (52). Thus, taking a proactive safety approach to account for intraoperative distractions associated with PEDs among OR team members will be critical to ensure high-quality patient care.

European NCAP Driver State Monitoring Protocols: Prevalence of Distraction in Naturalistic Driving.

examine the prevalence of driver distraction in naturalistic driving when implementing European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP)-defined distraction behaviours. The 2023 introduction of Occupant Status monitoring (OSM) into Euro NCAP will accelerate uptake of Driver State Monitoring (DSM). Euro NCAP outlines distraction behaviours that DSM must detect to earn maximum safety points. Distraction behaviour prevalence and driver alerting and intervention frequency have yet to be examined in naturalistic driving. Twenty healthcare workers were provided with an instrumented vehicle for approximately two weeks. Data were continuously monitored with automotive grade DSM during daily work commutes, resulting in 168.8 hours of driver head, eye and gaze tracking. Single long distraction events were the most prevalent, with .89 events/hour. Implementing different thresholds for driving-related and driving-unrelated glance regions impacts alerting rates. Lizard glances (primarily gaze movement) occurred more frequently than owl glances (primarily head movement). Visual time-sharing events occurred at a rate of .21 events/hour. Euro NCAP-described driver distraction occurs naturalistically. Lizard glances, requiring gaze tracking, occurred in high frequency relative to owl glances, which only require head tracking, indicating that less sophisticated DSM will miss a substantial amount of distraction events. This work informs OEMs, DSM manufacturers and regulators of the expected alerting rate of Euro NCAP defined distraction behaviours. Alerting rates will vary with protocol implementation, technology capability, and HMI strategies adopted by the OEMs, in turn impacting safety outcomes, user experience and acceptance of DSM technology.

Improving Communication in the Medical Intensive Care Unit Through Standardization of Handoff Format: A Quality Improvement Project

ObjectiveTo decrease interruptions in handoff, increase compliance with a structured verbal handoff format, and increase compliance with handoff template completion in electronic medical records without increasing the length of handoff time. Patients and MethodsThe project timeline was from April 1, 2019, to February 1, 2020. Define phase data were obtained through a survey of stakeholders to identify the gap in needs. The baseline data included components from the illness severity, patient summary, action list, situational awareness and contingency plans, and synthesis by receiver (IPASS) handoff tool because this tool best aligned with information identified in the define phase. Observational data were collected in person and reviewed via audio recording for accuracy. Results were analyzed to determine adherence to the chosen intervention, the IPASS handoff tool, on which the stakeholders were educated and assessed prior to implementation. Five plan-do-study-act cycles were completed over 3 months to optimize the intervention. Final data were collected and analyzed using the same method as baseline data. ResultsAfter implementation of the IPASS handoff tool, there were more care plan components mentioned in the provider handoffs across all unique IPASS components, there were fewer observed distracting events, and there was increased compliance with electronic medical record handoff completion. The time of handover increased by 3 minutes. ConclusionA standardized handoff tool improved communication during provider handoffs by increasing the mention of pertinent details and reducing distracting events during handoff.

Detection of driver distraction in the Australian naturalistic driving study videos using pre-trained models and transfer learning

Naturalistic driving data (NDS), collected from fitted vehicles with multiple sensors, including cameras, is a rich source to understand how drivers become distracted. However, detecting the distraction events traditionally required watching NDS videos which is expensive and time-consuming. Adopting state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to automate distraction detection using videos will save effort and money. Reducing/annotating a random sample of the videos and using it to train a machine learning model to carry out the data reduction for the rest of the dataset is possible. This paper investigates the feasibility of using pre-trained deep neural networks and random forest to detect driver distraction in the Australian Naturalistic Driving Study (ANDS) video data.The pre-trained model was fine-tuned using transfer learning; therefore, it can be used to classify (i.e. distracted/non-distracted) successive frames independently. To capture the time dependency between the consecutive images/frame during the training phase, we converted the 1-D output probability of the fine-tuned model into a higher dimension space. The distraction probability of each frame at a time is transformed into a vector by concatenating the distraction output probabilities of all frames within a time window centred at time. Moreover, the vector centred at the time was assigned the actual label of the frame at this time. Then we used Random Forest (RF) classifier to model the non-linear relationship between the probabilities in this new space and the distracted/non-distracted labels. This proposed framework was trained using some ANDS trips and tested using another set of trips. When applied to the dashboard camera, the proposed framework achieved 0.609, 0.218 and 0.325 for the true positive rate (TPR), the false positive rate (FPR), and the precision, respectively. Moreover, the face camera achieved 0.748, 0.344 and 0.651 for TPR, the FPR and the precision, respectively. These promising results suggest the proposed framework can be used routinely in many other data reduction tasks.

Using contextual data to predict risky driving events: A novel methodology from explainable artificial intelligence

Usage-based insurance has allowed insurers to dynamically tailor insurance premiums by understanding when and how safe policyholders drive. However, telematics information can also be used to understand the driving contexts experienced by the driver within each trip (e.g., road types, weather, traffic). Since different combinations of these conditions affect exposure to accidents, this understanding introduces predictive opportunities in driving risk assessment. This paper investigates the relationships between driving context combinations and risk using a naturalistic driving dataset of 77,859 km. In particular, XGBoost and Random Forests are used to determine the predictive significance of driving contexts for near-misses, speeding and distraction events. Moreover, the most important contextual factors in predicting these risky events are identified and ranked through Shapley Additive Explanations. The results show that the driving context has significant power in predicting driving risk. Speed limit, weather temperature, wind speed, traffic conditions and road slope appear in the top ten most relevant features for most risky events. Analysing contextual feature variations and their influence on risky events showed that low-speed limits increase the predicted frequency of speeding and phone unlocking events, whereas high-speed limits decrease harsh accelerations. Low temperatures decrease the expected frequency of harsh manoeuvres, and precipitations increase harsh acceleration, harsh braking, and distraction events. Furthermore, road slope, intersections and pavement quality are the most critical factors among road layout attributes. The methodology presented in this study aims to support road safety stakeholders and insurers by providing insights to study the contextual risk factors that influence road accident frequency and driving risk.

Alcohol impairs driver attention and prevents compensatory strategies

While the negative effects of alcohol on driving performance are undisputed, it is unclear how driver attention, eye movements and visual information sampling are affected by alcohol consumption. A simulator study with 35 participants was conducted to investigate whether and how a driver’s level of attention is related to self-paced non-driving related task (NDRT)-engagement and tactical aspects of undesirable driver behaviour under increasing levels of breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) up to 1.0 ‰. Increasing BrAC levels lead to more frequent speeding, short time headways and weaving, and higher NDRT engagement. Instantaneous distraction events become more frequent, with more and longer glances to the NDRT, and a general decline in visual attention to the forward roadway. With alcohol, the compensatory behaviour that is typically seen when drivers engage in NDRTs did not appear. These findings support the theory that alcohol reduces the ability to shift attention between multiple tasks. To conclude, the independent reduction in safety margins in combination with impaired attention and an increased willingness to engage in NDRTs is likely the reason behind increased crash risk when driving under the influence of alcohol.

On the impact of advanced driver assistance systems on driving distraction and risky behaviour: An empirical analysis of irish commercial drivers

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) present promising benefits in mitigating road collisions. However, these benefits are limited when risky drivers continue engaging in distraction events. While there is evidence that real-time warnings help improve driving behaviour, the sustained benefits of warning-based ADAS on reducing driving distraction in light commercial vehicle (LCV) drivers remain unclear. This research determines the effect of receiving instant distraction warnings over two years using a naturalistic driving dataset comprising around one million trips from 373 LCV drivers in the Republic of Ireland. Furthermore, the study applies Association Rule Mining (ARM) to find the contextual variables (e.g., speed limit, road type, traffic conditions) that increase the likelihood of distraction events. The results show that warning-based ADAS providing real-time warnings helps reduce distraction events triggering driver inattention, forward collision, and lane departure warnings. Over half of the studied fleet reduced these warnings by at least 50% – lane departure after two months and driver inattention and forward collision after six months. It is found that both passive and active monitoring systems, coupled with coaching and rewards, significantly reduce aggressive driving behaviours tied to harsh acceleration (by 76%) and harsh braking (by 65%). The results of ARM show that the driving context introduces explanatory information for road safety programs. Low-speed urban roads and the summer season increase the likelihood of driver inattention and forward collision warnings. In contrast, high-speed rural roads increase the likelihood of lane departure warnings. These research findings support road safety stakeholders in developing risk assessments based on warning-based ADAS, targeted campaigns to reduce driving distraction, and driving coaching programs.

“Top-down” local government mergers: Political and institutional factors facilitating radical amalgamation reforms

ABSTRACT Why are some countries able to go ahead with comprehensive top-down local government amalgamation reforms, despite the many challenges such a reform entails? So far, we have limited theoretical and empirical understanding of how central governments manage to adopt such reforms. Drawing on different theoretical frameworks around public policy as well as research into territorial reforms, this article presents key political and institutional factors that are likely to facilitate top-down municipal mergers and examines whether these theoretical propositions help to explain the adoption of comprehensive top-down municipal amalgamation in four cases: Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, and Portugal. Key political and institutional factors identified in existing frameworks provide a useful starting point for understanding and explaining top-down comprehensive municipal amalgamation reforms, such as the role played by the breaking up of existing policy monopolies and emergence of new venues for discussing the reform. At the same time, the cases also reveal some important nuances that at times run counter to theoretical expectations. Our cases also reveal further factors, including the “bundling” of amalgamation reforms with other wider initiatives, and the potential effect of “distracting events” that should be taken into account in the further development of theoretical frameworks concerning top-down amalgamations.

How do distracting events influence children’s arithmetic performance?

To understand how distraction influences children’s arithmetic performance, we examined effects of irrelevant sounds on children’s performance while they solve arithmetic problems. Third and fifth graders were asked to verify true/false, one-digit addition problems (e.g., 9 + 4 = 12. True? False?) under silence and sound conditions. The sounds began when the problems started to appear on the screen (Experiment 1; N = 76) or slightly after (Experiment 2; N = 92) and continued until participants responded. The results showed that (a) children solved arithmetic problems more quickly in the sound condition than in the silence condition when the sounds started with problem display (phasic arousal effects); (b) children were slower on the arithmetic problem verification task when the sounds was played slightly after the problems started to appear on the screen (distraction effects); (c) phasic arousal effects were found only in third graders, whereas distraction effects were found in both grades, although their magnitudes were smaller in fifth graders; (d) distraction effects increased with increasing latencies in third graders but did not change across the entire latency distribution in fifth graders; and (e) distraction effects on current trials were smaller after sound trials than after silence trials in both age groups (sequential modulations of distraction effects). These findings have important implications for furthering our understanding of effects of irrelevant sounds on arithmetic performance as well as cognitive processes involved in children’s arithmetic.

Market quality surrounding anticipated distraction events: Evidence from the FIFA World Cup

This study examines the effects of intra-day anticipated distraction events on market quality. This is achieved by exploiting the quasi-random nature by which FIFA World Cup football matches overlap with the domestic trading hours of participating countries. Utilizing stock market data from 24 countries and a sample of 95 football matches, I find that match days exhibit pre-match increases to trading volume and contemporaneous declines to trading activity. Market volatility follows a similar trend. Realized spreads are increased during matches. Match time is associated with increased price efficiency, suggesting reduced noise trading.

An evolutionary gap in primate default mode network organization

SUMMARYThe human default mode network (DMN) is engaged at rest and in cognitive states such as self-directed thoughts. Interconnected homologous cortical areas in primates constitute a network considered as the equivalent. Here, based on a cross-species comparison of the DMN between humans and non-hominoid primates (macaques, marmosets, and mouse lemurs), we report major dissimilarities in connectivity profiles. Most importantly, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of non-hominoid primates is poorly engaged with the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), though strong correlated activity between the human PCC and the mPFC is a key feature of the human DMN. Instead, a fronto-temporal resting-state network involving the mPFC was detected consistently across non-hominoid primate species. These common functional features shared between non-hominoid primates but not with humans suggest a substantial gap in the organization of the primate’s DMN and its associated cognitive functions.

A Preliminary Study of Assessing Gaze, Interoception and School Performance among Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: The Feasibility of VR Classroom.

Children with developmental disabilities (DDs) have sensory modulation disorders that interrelate school performance. Virtual reality (VR) has demonstrated the potential to become a neuropsychological assessment modality. This study was conducted to explore the feasibility of the VR classroom for assessing their characteristics of gaze, school performance, and interoception. School-aged children were assigned to the DD group or control group. A VR classroom was designed to evaluate their gaze patterns to distracting events. Interoception was assessed using the Heart Rate Perception test and the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA). The DD group had a significantly longer gaze duration on the virtual teacher during 30–45 s of the VR classroom event (p < 0.05). The mean score of the quiz and the Heart Rate Perception test showed a significant tendency to be lower than the children of the control group. The DD group scored significantly lower in six of eight subscales of the MAIA. These results showed the potential of VR classroom to evaluate the difference of sensory modulation between school-aged children with DDs and typically developed children. Future research is necessary to investigate the validity of the VR environment used in this study.

The frequency and effects of distractions in operating theatres.

Operating theatres (OTs) are complex environments where team members complete difficult tasks under stress. Distractions in these environments can lead to errors that compromise patient safety. A range of potential distractions exist in OTs and previous research suggests they are common. This study assesses the nature, frequency and impact of distracting events in the OT at a tertiary New Zealand hospital. Prospective observational study of the frequency, type and impact of OT distractions during a 3-month period. Two observational methods - the frequency of door openings and a validated tool - were used to categorize OT distractions for a range of acute and elective, paediatric and adult surgical procedures according to their cause and effect. There were 57 procedures (2037 intraoperative minutes) observed. During this time, 721 door openings and 1152 other distracting events were recorded. On average, either a door opening or other distracting event was recorded 56 times per hour of intraoperative time. The frequency of distractions did not vary in relation to acute versus elective or paediatric versus adult procedures but were more common in the morning. Communication unrelated to the case was the most common distracting event: these and equipment issues had the greatest effect on the entire surgical team, usually by causing some interruption to operative flow. Distractions in OTs were common, occurring nearly every minute. Most were trivial, but some had the potential to disrupt the operative procedure and result in patient harm. Reducing distractions in surgery could reduce patient harm and improve resource use.