Middle-aged Drivers Research Articles

Pilot Study on Gaze Characteristics of Older Drivers While Watching Driving Movies.

Objective: This study aims to clarify the gazing characteristics of older drivers while driving cars using a gaze analysis device. Methods: The participants included 16 older and 12 middle-aged drivers who drove cars daily. After conducting cognitive and attentional function tests, eye gaze while watching driving videos was measured using an eye tracker. Ten driving videos were prepared. In addition, a total of 34 hazard areas were analyzed. Results: The results of the gaze measurement parameters were statistically compared between the two groups. In the older group, the gaze analysis results indicated that while viewing driving videos, the search for areas close to the car was expanded. In addition, in several hazard areas, we observed a decrease in the number of drivers gazing at the driver, shortened total gazing time, delay in the timing of gazing, and decrease in the number of visits. Conclusions: Older drivers' eye movement is increased; however, it is characterized by gazing at unimportant areas, indicating an inefficient scanning pattern. Although these results do not indicate an obvious decline in driving ability among older drivers, the decline in hazard perception may become apparent in some situations. The data contain underpowered results and require revalidation in larger studies.

Prevalence and predictors of driver distractions in Cyprus: An observational study

ObjectiveDriver distractions are a significant contributor to road accidents and fatalities worldwide. The present research investigated the prevalence of observable driver distractions on both sides of Nicosia, as well as exploring the effect of drivers’ characteristics and time-related variables on their prevalence. MethodsRoadside observations were conducted at eight randomly selected locations in the city of Nicosia, Cyprus. Four of these sites were located in the area of Nicosia controlled by the Republic of Cyprus, and the other four were in the area that is referred to as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) by its administration. ResultsA total of 16,070 drivers were observed, with 8,948 being in the Republic of Cyprus (South) and 7,122 in the Turkish-controlled section of Nicosia (North). A slightly higher proportion of drivers were observed driving distracted in the South (28.0%) than was found in the northern part of the city (25.7%). The most commonly observed secondary tasks in the South were using headphones (9.2%), talking to a passenger (8.1%) and using a mobile 0.4%, 3.7% talking and 2.7% texting). In contrast, the most commonly observed secondary tasks in the North were talking to passengers (10.2%), wearing headphones (8.4%) and using a mobile 0.6% for talking and 2.5% for texting). Gender-related differences were found for a number of different distractions (i.e., talking to passengers, drinking, and handheld mobile phone conversations), and age emerged as a significant predictor for most secondary tasks, including talking to passengers, smoking, hands-free mobile phone use, handheld mobile phone use, texting/keying numbers, drinking and engagement in any type of distraction (all distractions combined). The overall pattern for age was that middle-aged and older drivers were less likely to be distracted than younger drivers. ConclusionsA relatively high proportion of drivers on both sides of Nicosia were engaged in a secondary task while driving. These findings clearly indicate that younger drivers are more likely to drive distracted, which probably contributes to their higher crash rates.

The impact of auditory advanced driver distraction warning devices on the behaviour of middle-aged drivers along urban roads

Driver distraction is one of the main causes of road crashes worldwide, with a relevant number of collisions, some fatal, especially among middle-aged drivers. In 2019, the European Regulation EU 2019/2144 mandated the installation of Advanced Driver Distraction Warning (ADDW) devices on all new vehicles by 2026. After the confirmation of its effectiveness in motorway driving, this driving simulation study evaluated the effectiveness of an auditory ADDW device in mitigating distraction on urban roads. Thirty middle-aged participants (fifteen females, aged between 25 and 35) were asked to read and respond to text messages on their cell phones, regardless of the device alert. They all drove (i) without being distracted (baseline condition), (ii) while distracted, and (iii) while distracted but supported by the ADDW device. Each participant faced three scenarios: (i) interaction with pedestrians at a mid-block crosswalk, (ii) driving in free-flow conditions on a dual-carriageway arterial, and (iii) driving behind another vehicle.The results revealed a degradation in driving performance and worsening safety conditions. In contrast to what was demonstrated for motorway driving, the ADDW device did not produce significant improvements in driving performance along urban roads. For drivers who continue to text while driving, no positive effect of the ADDW auditory device was observed. Unlike the motorway scenario, the urban environment produces a variety of stimuli that render distracted driving dangerous irrespective of the use of an ADDW.

Does exposure to online content encouraging illegal driving influence behaviour? Exploring perspectives of different age groups

A substantial amount of online content on illegal driving behaviours is shared on social media platforms. Yet, the influence of online content on behaviours remains unclear. Accordingly, this qualitative study explored perspectives across different age groups on a) the nature and extent of social media content that encourages illegal driving behaviours and b) whether such content influences engagement in these behaviours. Sixty-six licenced drivers within Queensland, Australia, participated in a focus group. The sessions were conducted with three different age groups: younger drivers (17–25 years), middle-aged drivers (26–49 years), and older drivers (50 + years). Data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, resulting in three recognised themes: 1) exposure to online illegal driving behaviours on social media, 2) the influence of online illegal driving content on behaviour, and 3) drivers’ engagement with online content that encourages illegal driving behaviours. A key finding was that young drivers are frequently exposed to online content encouraging illegal driving behaviours, whereas middle-aged and older drivers are rarely exposed to this content. Opinions surrounding the influence of online content on illegal driving behaviours was varied, yet across ages it was believed that young drivers may be most susceptible to this content. The findings from this study provide support for the potential link between social media exposure and illegal driving behaviours. Implications for future research are discussed, with an emphasis on longitudinal research to examine the impact of social media content on changes in behaviour, specifically for younger drivers.

Revisiting Older Drivers' Risks of At-fault Motor Vehicle Collisions in Japan.

In Japan, older drivers have been encouraged to surrender their driving licenses for traffic safety, despite the potential adverse social and health outcomes of driving cessation. We reconsidered such policies and social pressure by comparing the risk of at-fault motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) across the age groups of drivers. Using the national data of police-reported MVCs that occurred between 2016 and 2020, we examined the number of at-fault MVCs per licensed driver (MVC rate) and the number of fatally and non-fatally injured persons per at-fault MVC by the sex and age groups of at-fault drivers. The MVC rate of older drivers was higher than that of middle-aged drivers but lower than that of young drivers. The number of injured persons among the collided counterparts (collided car occupants, motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians) per MVC caused by older drivers was not greater than that by drivers in other age groups. In fatal MVCs caused by older drivers, drivers themselves or their passengers tend to be killed rather than their collided counterparts. Overall, the results were mostly consistent between male and female drivers. The risk of at-fault MVCs increased with the advancing age of drivers after middle age; however, this risk among older drivers did not exceed that among young drivers, without posing a high risk of injuries to their collided counterparts.

Exploring the injury severity of vulnerable road users to truck crashes by ensemble learning

Large numbers of vulnerable road users were killed in truck crashes. In this study, ensemble machine learning models are constructed to predict the injury severity of the vulnerable road user (VRU) to truck (VRU-T) crashes. The study is based on the five years (2017–2021) of VRU-T crash data in the Shandong Province from the Center for Accident Research in Zibo. The injury severity of VRUs is estimated using machine learning ensemble models- Stacking, Voting, Random Forest, and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost). Compared to the other three models, the Stacking has excellent predictive performance on the pedestrian and non-motorized datasets. Then, SHapley Additive exPlanations and Partial Dependence Plot box are introduced to analyze risk factors qualitatively and quantitatively. The innovative findings of this study are as follows: (1) as VRUs age, they are more likely to be seriously injured in truck crashes; (2) middle-aged truck drivers and truck drivers with medium driving experience increase the probability of VRUs being severe and fatally injured in truck crashes; (3) crashes involving heavy trucks, under signalized crossing, or on the national and provincial road and urban road have a positive effect on the crash severity for cyclists, and E-Bike riders.

News coverage of older drivers' fatal car crashes: is it over-represented?

Japan's stringent licensing policies for older drivers have not been questioned, possibly due to negative perceptions of older drivers potentially influenced by media coverage of their car crashes. We examined whether older drivers' fatal crashes are over-represented in the news articles. To examine the news coverage of fatal crashes that occurred between January 2016 and December 2020, we extracted driver- and crash-related data from articles reporting fatal crashes in the two best-selling newspapers, Yomiuri and Asahi. We obtained the corresponding data of police-reported fatal crashes during the same period. We calculated the proportion of newspaper-reported fatal crashes to police-reported fatal crashes by at-fault driver's age group and crash characteristics. Of 12,987 police-reported fatal crashes, 5,888 (45%) and 2,909 (22%) crashes were reported in Yomiuri and Asahi newspapers, respectively. Excluding 2,098 crashes where at-fault drivers or their ages were not identifiable, Yomiuri reported 39%, 35%, and 31%, and Asahi reported 20%, 16%, and 14% of fatal crashes caused by drivers aged <30 years, 30-69 years, and 70 years or older, respectively. Crashes that caused more fatalities or killed children tended to be reported regardless of at-fault drivers' age groups. Compared with young and middle-aged drivers, older drivers' fatal crashes involving child fatalities were more reported, whereas their single fatal crashes ending in their own deaths were less reported. Older drivers' at-fault fatal crashes were not over-represented in the news coverage of overall fatal crashes, and their crashes killing themselves were under-reported.

&amp;gt;ADVOCATING FOR ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE OLDER ADULT DRIVING LONGEVITY

Abstract To age-in-place, older adults need to access their community. As most older adults live in suburban/rural areas, driving is the primary and preferred means of mobility. While recent research has shown that drivers in the seventies have fewer crashes than middle-aged drivers, it is likely due to less exposure. However, it demonstrates that driving decisions need to be based on function, not age. Moreover, with the aging population and increase numbers of older adults with cognitive impairment and/or slowed processing speed, other strategies are needed to preserve and lengthen the driving lifetime. While efforts for developing alternative transportation options are working in some places, rural areas lack the infrastructure and potential for public transportation or volunteer programs beyond medical necessity. This presentation will present some roadway engineering proven countermeasures and community strategies that can protect and benefit aging drivers so they can drive longer while reducing crash risk. Stepping outside the typical gerontological community, this presenter became a contributing member of their state’s highway safety five-year plan. As an older driver advocate, I was successful in achieving older adults as an “emphasis” area in the present plan. For the next five-year plan, researching engineering solutions was deemed essential to advocate for specific strategies that protect both aging drivers and pedestrians. Since every state is required have a five-year plan for highway safety to receive federal funding, the presenter will outline successful strategies to participate in innovative ways for improving safety such as influencing engineering and department of motor vehicles partners.

Identification of hotspot areas for traffic accidents and analyzing drivers’ behaviors and road accidents

Despite the significant efforts made by the government to reduce traffic accidents in the UAE, there is still a need to understand the root causes of these accidents. Therefore, this research paper investigates the various causes of road accidents in Abu Dhabi city, including circumstantial factors, demographic characteristics, traffic violations, accident faults, and driver behavior. The study employs a GIS statistical approach, namely spatial autocorrelation analysis, to identify the hotspots of traffic accidents in the city for the year 2014. Additionally, a questionnaire survey was conducted in 2017 among drivers involved in road accidents in Abu Dhabi City, which was divided into six major categories: accident-related, seatbelt-related, speed-related, policy-related, and general socio-related. The responses of 1,072 drivers were analyzed using logistical regression models, revealing careless driving as the primary reason for city road accidents. The study also found that age and driving experience had a significant impact on accident probability, indicating that middle-aged drivers were more likely to be involved in accidents and that the risk rate decreased as driving experience increased. The study concludes with suggestions for preventive measures to improve traffic safety in Abu Dhabi City. Finally, the study evaluated the hypothesis that most accidents occur near central business districts using 2014 crash data for Abu Dhabi city. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic method in pinpointing and ranking high-density vehicle crash areas near the central business district of Abu Dhabi urban settings.

The influence of middle-aged male driver profile on driving performance and the effects of three perceptual countermeasures: A simulator study

The human-environment-vehicle triad and how it relates to crashes has long been a topic of discussion, in which the human factor is consistently seen as the leading cause. Recently, more sophisticated approaches to Road Safety have advocated for a road-driver interaction view, in which human characteristics influence road perception and road environment affects driver behavior. This study focuses on road-driver interaction by using a driving simulator. The objective is to investigate how the driver profile influences driving performance and the effects of three countermeasures (peripheral transverse lines before and after the beginning of the curves and roadside poles in the curves). Fifty-six middle-aged male participants drove a non-challenging rural highway simulated scenario based on a real road where many single-vehicle crashes occurred. The drivers' profiles were assessed through their behavioral history measured by a validated version of the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) comprising three dimensions: Errors (E), Ordinary Violations (OV), and Aggressive Violations (AV). The relationship between speed and trajectory measures and drivers' profiles was investigated using random-parameter models with heterogeneity in the means. The models' results showed that the DBQ subscale scores in OV explained a considerable part of the heterogeneity found in drivers' performance. Furthermore, the heterogeneity in the means caused by the DBQ subscale scores in OV and E in the presence of peripheral transverse lines indicates a difference in how drivers react to the countermeasures. The peripheral lines were more efficient than roadside poles to moderate speed but did not positively influence all drivers' trajectories. Although the peripheral lines could be seen as an alternative to change driver behavior in a non-challenging or monotonous road environment, the design used in this study should be reviewed.

Factors associated with driver injury severity of motor vehicle crashes on sealed and unsealed pavements: Random parameter model with heterogeneity in means and variances

The effect of sealed or unsealed road pavements on motorist’s injury severities has not been extensively explored. This study collected a four-year crash dataset (2015–2018) from South Australia to explore this issue. The data shows 3,812 and 1,086 crashes at sealed and unsealed pavement surfaces, respectively, during those years. This study examines the consequence of sealed and unsealed pavements on driver injury severity outcomes of motor vehicle crashes. A mixed logit model was developed by accounting for heterogeneity in means and variances of the random parameters. The variables were distributed among several categories: driver, temporal, spatial, roadway characteristics, crash type, vehicle type, and vehicle movement. Four random parameters were observed in the sealed model, whereas five parameters were in the unsealed one. Moreover, the sealed pavements model showed substantial heterogeneity in means of four of the random parameters, while the unsealed pavements model has some heterogeneity in both means and variances of some of the random parameters. Marginal effect results indicate that two indicator variables have enlarged the likelihood of driver severe injury consequences in sealed, alcohol involvement and posted speed limit > 100 km/hr. Additionally, four other significant variables sustain the probability of severe injury outcomes at unsealed pavement like male drivers, middle-aged drivers, rollover crash types, and crashes at straight roads. Based on these variables, various countermeasures were recommended to enhance the safety of both types of pavements.

Calm down, please!: Exploring the effects of driving anger expression (DAX) on traffic locus of control (T-LOC) and crash involvement among drivers in Tehran, Iran

Since driving anger expression and its adverse consequences is an issue that has not been resolved over the last years or even has increased among Iranian drivers over time, this study aimed to evaluate the driving anger expression (DAX) and its impacts on the traffic locus of control (T-LOC) and crash involvement among drivers in Tehran, Iran. By collecting data from 1035 participants, exploratory factor analysis identified significant constructs of DAX including “Adaptive, “Verbal anger expression”, “Use of the vehicle to express anger”, and “Personal physical anger expression” and T-LOC including “Self”, “Other drivers”, “Vehicle/environment”, and “Fate/luck”. A two-phase approach of K-means clustering and a logistic regression model was then used to evaluate the effects of driving anger expression on T-LOC and crash involvement. The results revealed that while males and younger drivers reported more aggressive orientation in driving anger situations, females, older drivers, and those with higher driving experience significantly showed a higher level of adaptive orientation in driving anger situations. The logistic regression models showed that external T-LOC (believing that other people and factors are responsible for an accident, not themselves) was significantly higher in middle-aged drivers and those with 11–20 years of driving experience. Also, drivers with adaptive anger expression were less likely to report a high level of external T-LOC. On the other hand, the use of the vehicle to express anger increased the probability of external T-LOC. According to the results, using the vehicle to express anger can significantly increase the probability of crash involvement among drivers.

Temporal instability and age differences of determinants affecting injury severities in nighttime crashes

Driving at nighttime may make drivers more likely to be involved in fatal crashes. To investigate the temporal instability and age differences of contributors determining different injury severity levels in nighttime crashes, this paper estimates three groups of random parameters logit models with heterogeneity in the means and variances (young/middle-age/old groups). Nighttime single-vehicle crashes in this study are gathered over four years in California, from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2017, provided by Highway Safety Information System, including single-vehicle crashes occurring under dark, dawn, and dusk lighting conditions. Simultaneously, to investigate the temporal instability and transferability of nighttime crash severity relating to drivers of different ages, three disaggregate groups are defined: young drivers (15–29 years old), middle-age drivers (30–49 years old), old drivers (over 49 years old). Three injury-severity categories are determined as outcome variables: severe injury, minor injury, and no injury, while multiple factors are investigated as explanatory variables, including driver characteristics, vehicle characteristics, roadway characteristics, environmental characteristics, crash characteristics, and temporal characteristics. Two series of likelihood ratio tests are undertaken to unveil the contributors determining nighttime crash injury severities varying among drivers of different ages over time. Besides, the current study also compares the differences between out-of-sample and within-sample predictions. The results indicate the unstable direction of predictions across different age groups over time and underscore the necessity to adequately accommodate the temporal instability and age differences in accident prediction. More studies can be conducted to accommodate the self-selectivity issue and the out-of-sample prediction differences between using the parametric models and non-parametric models.

Safety potential of crash avoidance features, improved headlights, and V2V-enhanced technologies for older drivers

Introduction: Age-related changes and frailty are among the reasons that older drivers are overrepresented in certain crash types. Vehicle safety features that address these crash types may therefore deliver greater safety benefits for older drivers than for other age groups even though they are designed for the general population. Methods: U.S. crash data from 2016–2019 were used to estimate the proportion of crash involvements and fatal and nonfatal driver injuries for older (70 years old and above) and middle-aged (35–54 years old) drivers from crash scenarios to which current crash avoidance features, improved headlights, and forthcoming vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)-connected intersection-assistance features could be relevant. Risk ratios were then calculated to determine the relative benefits of each technology for older drivers compared with middle-aged drivers. Results: Combined, these technologies were potentially relevant to 65 % of older driver and 72 % of middle-aged driver fatalities during the study period. Intersection assistance features showed the most promise for older drivers. Such features were potentially relevant to 32 % of older driver crash involvements, 38 % of older driver injuries, and 31 % of older driver fatalities. Intersection assistance features were significantly more likely to be relevant to older driver deaths than middle-aged driver fatalities (RR, 3.52; 95 % CI, 3.33–3.71). Conclusions: Vehicle technologies have the potential to substantially reduce or mitigate crashes and the injuries that they cause for everyone, but the potential safety impact of each technology varies by driver age because different age groups are over- or underrepresented in specific crash scenarios. Practical applications: With the older driver population growing, these findings underscore the need to bring intersection assistance technologies to the consumer market. At the same time, everyone stands to benefit from currently available crash avoidance features and improved headlights, so their use should be promoted among all drivers.

Age differences in driver visual behavior and vehicle control when driving with in-vehicle and on-road deliveries of service logo signs

With the advances in vehicle technologies, more information is communicated in real-time to the driver via an in-vehicle interface. In-vehicle messaging may deliver safety-related information such as warnings as well as non-safety-related information such as an upcoming lodging place. While much research has focused on the design of messaging safety-related information, little is known about the best practice in in-vehicle messaging of non-safety-related information. This study investigated the effects of information source and load on driver signage logo identification, glance behavior, and vehicle control among younger, middle-aged and older drivers. The logos were presented on: (1) an on-road sign panel, (2) an in-vehicle display, or (3) a combination of both, with half of the drives showing logo only, and the other half of the drives showing logo plus additional text. The general findings support the use of in-vehicle displays, especially when it is presented simultaneously with on-road signs. In-vehicle displays did not lead to a higher workload or more visual distraction, and simultaneous presentations resulted in slightly better speed control. The findings also showed minimal negative impacts on logo identification from increased information load. Older drivers performed less well in signage identification and vehicle control, and they made longer glances to logo information suggesting design considerations should be made to accommodate specific driver characteristics.

Understanding the drowsy driving crash patterns from correspondence regression analysis

Abstract: Drowsy driving-related crashes have been a key concern in transportation safety. In Louisiana, 14% (1,758 out of 12,512) of police-reported drowsy driving-related crashes during 2015–2019 resulted in injury (fatal, severe, or moderate). Amid the calls for action against drowsy driving by national agencies, it is of paramount importance to explore the key reportable attributes of drowsy driving behaviors and their potential association with crash severity. Method: This study used 5-years (2015–2019) of crash data and utilized the correspondence regression analysis method to identify the key collective associations of attributes in drowsy driving-related crashes and interpretable patterns based on injury levels. Results: Several drowsy driving-related crash patterns were identified through crash clusters – afternoon fatigue crashes by middle-aged female drivers on urban multilane curves, crossover crashes by young drivers on low-speed roadways, crashes by male drivers during dark rainy conditions, pickup truck crashes in manufacturing/industrial areas, late-night crashes in business and residential districts, and heavy truck crashes on elevated curves. Several attributes – scattered residential areas indicating rural areas, multiple passengers, and older drivers (aged more than 65 years) – showed a strong association with fatal and severe injury crashes. Practical Applications: The findings of this study are expected to help researchers, planners, and policymakers in understanding and developing strategic mitigation measures to prevent drowsy driving.

Research on Emotion Activation Efficiency of Different Drivers

Emotion is an implicit psychological characteristic that changes over time. When it accumulates to a certain extent, it will be accompanied by certain external manifestations. Drivers with different traits have different emotional performance, which leads to different effects from different driver traits on the driver’s emotional activation efficacy. In this study, we thoroughly explore the effects of different genders, age, driving competence, driving anger tendency, driving safety attitude and stress state on driver’s emotional activation efficacy. This paper selects 74 young and middle-aged drivers with an age distribution between 20 and 41 years old. The eight most typical driving emotions (anger, surprise, fear, anxiety, helplessness, contempt, ease and pleasure) were screened through questionnaires. An experimental framework for the emotional stimulation and measurement of eight driving emotions was designed based on multiple emotional stimulation methods and PAD emotional model. The effect of emotional activation on drivers of different genders, age, driving competence, driving anger tendency, driving safety attitude and stress state was explored in depth. The results show that gender, age, driving safety attitude, driving anger tendency, stress state, etc., all have different degrees of influence upon the activation efficacy of emotion. The research results reveal the rules for the generation of different driving emotions to a certain extent and provide a theoretical basis for further exploring the cognitive and behavioral characteristics of drivers with different emotions.

Changing vehicles to reduce older driver fatalities: An effective approach?

Introduction: Age-related frailty leaves older drivers with the greatest fatality risk when involved in a crash compared with younger demographics. This study explored how vehicle features differed between crash-involved older and middle-aged drivers and estimated how those differences contribute to excess older driver fatalities. Methods: We merged Florida's crash data from 2014–2018 with Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Highway Loss Data Institute databases. We compared the distribution of passenger vehicle age, type, size, and safety features among crash-involved older drivers (ages 70 and older) with crash-involved middle-aged drivers (ages 35–54). From logistic regression models, we estimated declines in older driver fatalities if they drove vehicles like those driven by middle-aged drivers under all and side-impact crash scenarios. Results: Older drivers in crashes were more likely to be in vehicles that were lighter, older, and without standard electronic stability control, standard head-protecting side airbags, and ratings of good in two IIHS crash tests than middle-aged drivers. In adjusted models, the fatality risk for older drivers in all crashes was significantly higher when ESC was not standard (odds ratio [OR], 1.37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12–1.68) or when driving small passenger cars relative to large SUVs (OR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.25–3.26); in driver-side crashes, the fatality risk doubled when vehicles did not have standard head-protecting side airbags (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.58–2.62). If older drivers drove vehicles similar to middle-aged drivers, we estimated 3.3% and 4.7% fewer deaths in all and side-impact crashes, respectively. Conclusions: These results contribute to evidence suggesting that newer, more crashworthy vehicles with crash mitigation features benefit older drivers because of their heightened risk of crash-related fatality. Practical Applications: At a minimum, older drivers should aim to drive equipped vehicles with widely available features proven to reduce fatalities.

Older driver vehicle preferences and perceptions of safety: A survey

Introduction: Older adults drive older vehicles despite the safety benefits of newer, more crashworthy vehicles. We aimed to build upon previous research and assess vehicle preferences, buying and ownership patterns, and perceptions of safety among older drivers compared with middle-aged drivers. Methods: Mixed-mode telephone and online panel surveys were conducted with a nationally representative sample of drivers ages 35–54 and 70 and older. Participants were interviewed about their primary vehicle and the characteristics they deemed important at purchase, along with general attitudes surrounding vehicle safety. Results: Fifty-eight percent of drivers ages 70–79 and 63% of drivers 80 and older reported keeping a vehicle on average for 7 years or more before replacing it, compared with 32% of drivers 35–54. At purchase, older drivers were less likely than middle-aged drivers to have insisted upon safety technologies and were less likely to consider safety ratings; 10% of drivers 80 and older and 9% of those 70–79 indicated ratings were not at all important, compared with 4% of those ages 35–54. Among drivers 70 and older, driving patterns and income were strongly associated with vehicle age and type of vehicle driven. Conclusions: Older drivers place lower importance on vehicle safety and are less likely to seek safety features at purchase than middle-aged drivers. Compounding this, drivers 70 and older who do not drive frequently or who associate low mileage with vehicle safety are less likely to replace their older, low-mileage vehicles. Practical Application: Increasing older drivers’ understanding of the importance of advancements in vehicle safety may result in greater ownership of safer vehicles and fewer road injuries.

Severity Analysis of Large-Truck Wrong-Way Driving Crashes in the State of Florida

Wrong-way driving (WWD) crashes lead to severe injuries and fatalities, especially when a large truck is involved. This study investigates the factors associated with crash-injury severity in large-truck WWD crashes in Florida. Various driver, roadway, weather, and traffic characteristics were explored as explanatory variables through a random parameter ordered logit model. The study also accounted for heterogeneity by identifying random parameters in the model and introducing interaction effects as potential sources of such heterogeneity. The findings indicate that not using a seatbelt, driving under the influence of drugs, and a driving speed of 50–74 mph were more likely to result in fatal crashes. On the contrary, female drivers, private roadways, and sideswipe collisions showed negative impacts on crash-injury severity. The model identified two random parameters, including a speed of 25–49 mph and early-morning crashes. The interaction effects showed that when driving at a speed of 25–49 mph, young drivers (under 20 years old) and middle-aged drivers (36–50 years old) were the sources of heterogeneity, decreasing crash-injury severity. Understanding the contributing factors of large-truck WWD crashes can help policymakers develop safety countermeasures to reduce the associated injury severity and improve truck safety.