Traffic Psychology Research Articles

Is the street-crossing behavior with a head-mounted display different from that behavior in a CAVE? A study among young adults and children

The use of virtual reality (VR) has become increasingly popular in the field of traffic psychology, where realistic traffic situations can be simulated and pedestrians‘ actual crossing behavior can be studied. There are two main kinds of pedestrian simulators: one uses a technology based on rear-projection screens (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment, or CAVE); the other uses a head-mounted display (HMD). Despite their extensive use, it is yet to determine whether they are equally suitable for studying street crossing. The present study was aimed at comparing street-crossing behavior and subjective evaluations in an HMD-based (HTC vive pro) pedestrian simulator and a CAVE-like pedestrian simulator, among young adults and 12-year-old children. Thirty young adults and twenty-six children performed 36 street-crossing trials (combining different speeds, traffic conditions, and gap sizes) on each of the two simulators. The results indicated that, compared to the CAVE-condition participants, HMD-condition participants accepted more crossing trials (hence, shorter gaps), initiated their crossings sooner, crossed at a slower speed, had shorter safety margins, and caused more collisions. The main difference between the two devices was in crossing initiation, which occurred markedly earlier (1.72 s) with the HMD than in the CAVE: the perception–action coupling was less finely tuned in the CAVE, probably because visual information in front of the pedestrian was missing due the absence of ground projection and 3D rendering. A significant effect of vehicle-approach speed was observed for both devices, with more unsafe behaviors at 60 km/h than at 40 km/h. Children displayed riskier crossing behavior than young adults did, with more accepted crossings, slower crossing speeds, shorter safety margins, and higher collision rates, especially in the HMD. Compared to the CAVE, the HMD received higher ratings for level of presence and a preference for VR, but also higher simulator-sickness scores. No adverse effects of exposure to virtual reality was found on stereoacuity or postural balance. The suitability of using CAVE and HMD simulators is discussed, especially for studying child pedestrians.

Aggressive driving: Do driving overconfidence and aggressive thoughts behind the wheel, drive professionals off the road?

Aggressive driving has emerged as one of the most studied behaviors in the traffic psychology context due to its association with odds of motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) and especially fatal ones. Nevertheless, behavioral (aggression) and affective (anger) aspects of aggressive driving have been deeply studied; its cognitive part hasn’t gained much attention; However, its role in understanding the process of aggression and designing interventions couldn’t be neglected. This research investigated the contribution of overconfidence (as the driver’s cognitive bias), aggressive thoughts, driver’s aggression, and risk perception in driver’s performance and the number of self-reported active accidents. The unique contribution of this study is its sample of urban bus drivers that have less been studied to date. Structural equation modeling (SEM), and mediation analysis revealed that overconfidence contributes to aggressive driving through aggressive thoughts behind the wheel. Moreover, overconfidence decreased the risk perception and driving performance of individuals, which were associated with a higher number of driver’s accidents. Besides, aggressive thoughts behind the wheel predicted physically aggressive expression and using the vehicle to express anger, which were associated with a decreased level of driving performance and an increased number of accidents. This study brings further evidence, supporting the importance of cognition in understanding and preventing aggressive driving and its adverse outcomes.

Statistical Evaluation of BIS-11 and DAQ Tools in the Field of Traffic Psychology

This paper focuses on the statistical evaluation of two independent research tools in the field of traffic psychology. Our research focuses on young drivers in the Slovak Republic and conducts an international comparison. At present, these young drivers make up only about 7% of the total number of drivers, but they cause about 20% of accidents. The paper analyzes the traffic accident rate of young as well as inexperienced drivers. All drivers in the survey had a short period of driving experience. The traffic-psychological survey obtained detailed data via two independent tools. We aimed to find relations between the factors and subfactors of the tools used, namely the BIS-11 (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale) and DAQ (Driver Attitude Questionnaire). The researchers also used these tools in other countries, so it was possible to compare the results obtained. The results from these tools should reveal the psychological causes of as many traffic accidents as possible. Our paper shows the possibilities for the evaluation of the tools used with correlation analysis. The results of our research are shown in symmetrical matrixes of correlation coefficients. Our study also compares its values with the results of foreign authors. Such research has revealed some facts about young drivers’ violations connected with drunk driving, speeding, and other traffic offenses. Our aim was to find connections between the driver’s history (skills, traffic accidents, age, etc.) and psychological characteristics, and we have answered several research questions. In conclusion, we have highlighted the most significant relationships between the factors of driver psychology.

Компетентностная модель специалиста по медико-психологической работе в области безопасности дорожного движения

This article is aimed at highlighting the problem of training practicing psychologists for medical and psychological work on the prevention, prevention of accidents and road traffic accidents, as well as a system for assessing suitability for driving a vehicle in the Russian Federation. The analysis of international experience in the development of educational and professional standards within the framework of the model of medical and psychological support for safe mobility is presented. The content of the activities of specialists in the field of traffic psychology is considered, the role of interaction with specialists in the field of transport medicine and transport pedagogy is emphasized. The issues related to the problem of replicating foreign models of training specialists in the field of road safety for modern Russian realities are touched upon. The results of the initial stage of development of the competence model of specialists (based on the Federal State Educational Standard) in the direction of preparation 44.04.02 "Psychological and pedagogical education" of the master's program "Traffic Psychology" are presented.

The sustainable promotion strategy of transfer hub in megapolis

This article presents a methodological approach to the development of promotion strategy for a transport hub in a metropolis. In response to the modern megapolises’ growth, transport hubs perform the role of multi-functional public facility, implementing a wide set of not only transport and logistics services, but also a combination of social, shopping and entertainment functions to passengers, both tourists and local residents. The material deals with the concept of transfer hub as a transport and communication space – a territory of human existence and activities, so the issues of integration of promotion tools and marketing strategy implementation are vital on every stage of transfer hub’s existence. The adaptation of the Rodrigue-Notteboom model is proposed with the embedded marketing tools and activities to ensure transfer hub’s functioning as a transport and communication space. The stages of marketing promotion strategy implementation include marketing research of region’s economic and geographical position, traffic development and management, consumer satisfaction, promotion and marketing support of transfer hub’s services and commercial facilities among the population and tourists. The implementation of transfer hub project based on the effective marketing strategy to change certain social and cultural environment and the traffic psychology of the population of the metropolis area.

Benchmarking model for culture of urban traffic-safety management in India: interpretive structural modeling framework

PurposeResearchers have studied processes of improving road traffic-safety culture by explicitly evaluating the socio-psychological phenomenon of traffic-risk. The implicit traffic-system cues play an important role in explaining urban traffic-culture. This paper aims to ascertain an interpretive framework of the alternative processes of road traffic safety culture is antecedent to promote traffic-safety behaviour in Indian urban context. Subsequently, the authors discussed the reasons for those relationships exists.Design/methodology/approachFour experts of the urban traffic-safety domain participated in total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) study by completing an interpretive consensus-driven questionnaire. The drafted interpretive model was evaluated for road users proactive action orientation about the traffic-safety decision.FindingsThe evolved directed graph (digraph) of the culture of urban traffic-safety management was a serial three-mediator model. The model argued: In the presence of traffic-risk cues, people may become apprised to safety goals that initiate traffic-safety action. Consequently, expectancy-value evaluation motivates the continuation of traffic-safety intention that may lead to the implementation of adaptation plan (volitional control), thus habituating road users to traffic-safety management choice.Practical implicationsThe modellers of traffic psychology may empirically estimate and test for the quality criteria to ascertain the applicability of the proposed mechanism of urban traffic-safety culture. The decision-makers should note the importance of arousal of emotions regarding traffic-risk, reduce the impact of maladaptive motivations and recursively improve control over safety actions for promoting safety interventions.Originality/valueThe authors attempted to induce an interpretive model of urban traffic-safety culture that might augment extant discussion regarding how and why people behave in an urban traffic system.

The Influence of Different Auditory Stimuli on Attentiveness and Responsiveness in Road Traffic in Simulated Traffic Situations.

The use of portable media has become an integral part of our increasingly mobile society. The use of digital audio books is also growing steadily in Germany. The connection between the psychological effect of music of different volumes and rhythms and the change in reaction in road traffic with a corresponding increase in risk behavior, especially when driving, has already been proven in previous studies. Only a few studies are available on the effects of listening to radio plays on reaction behavior and concentration in road traffic as well as on risk behavior among pedestrians and cyclists. In the present study, we have investigated the influences of pop music and a radio play on reaction behavior and thus driving ability during the execution of a traffic psychological test series from the “Wiener Test System”. The central topic deals with the performance of the test subjects in the individual tests. Conclusions are drawn on the reaction behavior and concentration during participation in road traffic and thus the risk of distraction and possible increased risk of accidents. Studies on the influence of auditory stimuli and their effects on concentration and reaction during participation in traffic are of great interest from the point of view of traffic psychology and occupational medicine, since a reduction in the risk of accidents can increase general traffic safety and lead to a decrease in sick leave and therefore fewer absences from work.

Psikolojik Semptomların Trafikte Heyecan Arama ile İlişkisinin İncelenmesi

Dünya genelinde trafik psikolojisi kapsamında ele alınan çalışmalar trafik kazalarında insan faktörünün en önemli etken olduğunu göstermektedir (Sümer ve Özkan, 2002; Şehirli, 2000; Türkoğlu ve Eldoğan, 2002). Trafikte riskli olan kişilik özelliklerinin, sürücülük tarzlarının ve psikolojik belirtilerin bu bağlamda ele alınması trafik güvenliği için önem arz etmektedir. Bu çalışmada psikolojik belirtiler ile trafikte olumsuz çıktılarla ilişkisi olan trafikte heyecan arama değişkeninin ilişkisi araştırılmıştır. Araştırmaya 70’i kadın ve 78’i erkek olmak üzere 19-65 yaşları arasında toplam 148 sürücü katılmıştır (Ort. = 29.43, SS = 10.21). Çalışmada Kısa Semptom Envanteri, Trafikte Heyecan Arama Ölçeği ve kişisel bilgi formu kullanılmıştır. Yapılan hiyerarşik regresyon analiz sonuçlarına göre anksiyete sakin sürücülük tarzı ile negatif, hız yönelimli sürücülük ile ise pozitif yönde ilişkili bulunmuştur. Ayrıca kadın sürücüler daha sakin sürücülük tarzı rapor ederken erkekler ise daha hız yönelimli ve araçtan güç alan sürücülük tarzına sahip olduklarını raporlamışlardır. Bulgularının tartışılmasında psikolojik semptomların ve trafikte heyecan aramanın ilişkisi göz önünde bulundurulup sürücü davranışlarını değerlendirirken dikkat edilmesi gerektiği vurgulanmıştır.

Psychobiological risk assessment in emergency medical service drivers: study protocol for structural equation modeling

BackgroundJob stress can lead to several complications including physical, psychological, and behavioral consequences. Emergency medical services (EMS) drivers are more likely to be exposed to stress than other occupations due to the nature of their job. High-risk driving and stress-related psychological responses can have irretrievable consequences. Therefore, increasing the amount of attention to traffic psychology and periodic psychobiological risk assessment for this group are essential. Hence, this paper tries to present how to develop a validated battery for assessing psychobiological risk assessment (PBRA) based on bio-centric health management (BHM).Participants and procedureThe study will be conducted in two methodological and modeling phases: In the methodological phase, the psychometric proper-ties of the Health Cube Battery (HCB) will be analyzed, and in the second phase, researchers will model BHM in Iran using a structural equation model (SEM).ResultsThe study population consists of EMS drivers. The tool that will be developed in this study is an HCB, which consists of dif-ferent dimensions of BHM.ConclusionsAt the end of the study, a standard HCB will be developed and validated. Also, the BHM model will be mapped based on psy-chobiological risk assessment for EMS drivers. Other researchers can also cross-culturally adapt and use the battery, and the model could be adopted for other contexts and cultures.

The bibliometric studies in the field of Ibero-American psychology

La bibliometría consiste en el tratamiento matemático y estadístico de la información científica y, por ello, se la concibe como la cuantificación de la información bibliográfica susceptible de ser analizada. Más allá de que algunos autores la conciban como una metodología y otros como una técnica, la bibliometría facilita la organización, selección y categorización de la información para un tratamiento cuantitativo y cualitativo. Desde hace más de tres décadas, los estudios bibliométricos han comenzado a proliferar con diferentes usos, orientaciones y aplicaciones en el campo de la psicología iberoamericana. En este trabajo se analizan los estudios bibliométricos en el campo de la psicología iberoamericana recuperados de tres bases de datos: Dialnet (España), Redalyc (México) y SciELO (Brasil). A partir de una muestra de 81 trabajos seleccionados, se realizó una categorización según las diferentes líneas de investigación, los autores más frecuentes, los países de los autores, el rango de años de las publicaciones, el idioma de las publicaciones, el género en la redacción de los trabajos, las revistas que más estudios bibliométricos publicaron y las más analizadas desde la perspectiva bibliométrica. También se analizó el contexto histórico de aparición de los estudios bibliométricos en el campo de la psicología de Iberoamérica. Se concluye que los estudios bibliométricos son un importante recurso metodológico para la evaluación de la disciplina y profesión psicológica, siempre que logren ir más allá de la mera descripción de datos cuantitativos y puedan complementarse con análisis cualitativos, lo que brindaría mayor potencialidad interpretativa y explicativa.

Assessing Psychological Fitness to Drive for Intoxicated Drivers: Relationships of Cognitive Abilities, Fluid Intelligence, and Personality Traits.

Our study explores the relationships between traffic-psychological driving-related personality traits, fluid intelligence, and cognitive abilities for drivers whose driver license has been revoked due to intoxicated driving (alcohol and/or drugs). We were able to show that high significant impacts on cognitive functions derive from the participants’ age and fluid intelligence. In addition, driving-related personality traits like emotional instability, sense of responsibility and self-control contributed significantly to some of the cognitive abilities that are important for the fitness to drive. Additionally, mediating effects of fluid intelligence in the model are discussed. Traffic psychologists can use this knowledge in their assessment of drivers, mainly regarding the possible compensation of cognitive deficits regarding the fitness to drive.

Reliability and Validity of a Method for Assessment of Executive Functions in Drivers.

The quality of drivers’ performance is one of the crucial components related to road safety. One of the key cognitive characteristics related to the ability to drive safely are executive functions. The main goal of the presented research is to propose a new method (Trace-route task) for assessment of executive functions in drivers. The present article discusses the results of two consecutive studies. Study one aims to determine the validity and reliability of the method used and includes 134 participants, equally divided in two groups—people with disturbances in executive functions and people from the general population. Study two aims to assess the ability of the method to distinguish drivers with risky behavior. It includes 1440 participants divided in two groups—people with and without actual risky driving behavior. The results from the studies show that people with different neurological or psychiatric diseases and drivers with different road violations demonstrate worse planning ability, working memory, decision making, and cognitive flexibility. This data show that the trace-route task method is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing executive functions and has the ability to distinguish people with risky driving behavior from those who drive safely. This study reveals that the proposed method can be used for implementation in the area of traffic psychology.

Проблема исследования водительского поведения в современной зарубежной психологии

The purpose of this article is to consider the problems of driving behavior research in modern traffic psychology. The article describes an integrative pattern of behavior, the socio-cognitive theory and the theory of planning behavior. It shows that the concept of "driving behavior" can be interpreted differently in the works of different authors and also that it differs from the concepts, which are designated in national psychology as "driving activity" or "driving." The article also provides a brief description of the basic psychological methods of studying driving behavior, analyzes their potentials and limitations. The material can be used by psychologists working in the field of road safety, as well as lecturers presenting the course "Psychophysiological basics of the driver's activity" and who can plan psychological studies of driving and driving behavior of students in driving school.

A generic multi-level framework for microscopic traffic simulation with automated vehicles in mixed traffic

With an increasing number of automated vehicles (AV) appearing on roads and interacting with conventional traffic, there is a need for improved simulation approaches to replicate and forecast the resulting effects. Interactions between AVs and their drivers, and interaction with other human drivers involve new types of complex behavioural processes. There is an increasing necessity to explicitly incorporate these human factor processes in simulation, which cannot be properly accounted for with most current models. In this paper, we present an extended conceptual simulation framework based on human factors processes and applicable for automated driving that does this. The framework makes use of previously constructed constructs to include the effects of driver task demand, situation awareness and fundamental diagrams of task demand to extend to automated driving. This is especially considered for the case of transition of control (ToC), as an important aspect of vehicle-driver interaction. The framework is demonstrated in two experimental cases that consider different ToC situations and is found to be face valid within the applied assumptions. Challenges remain in regard to a lack of quantitative evidence from traffic psychology, automated vehicle dynamics & control and human-vehicle interaction. With increasing amounts of research on-going in these areas, the extended framework will act as a valuable approach to further study and quantify the effects of AVs in mixed traffic in the future.

Meaningful human control as reason-responsiveness: the case of dual-mode vehicles

In this paper, in line with the general framework of value-sensitive design, we aim to operationalize the general concept of “Meaningful Human Control” (MHC) in order to pave the way for its translation into more specific design requirements. In particular, we focus on the operationalization of the first of the two conditions (Santoni de Sio and Van den Hoven 2018) investigated: the so-called ‘tracking’ condition. Our investigation is led in relation to one specific subcase of automated system: dual-mode driving systems (e.g. Tesla ‘autopilot’). First, we connect and compare meaningful human control with a concept of control very popular in engineering and traffic psychology (Michon 1985), and we explain to what extent tracking resembles and differs from it. This will help clarifying the extent to which the idea of meaningful human control is connected to, but also goes beyond, current notions of control in engineering and psychology. Second, we take the systematic analysis of practical reasoning as traditionally presented in the philosophy of human action (Anscombe, Bratman, Mele) and we adapt it to offer a general framework where different types of reasons and agents are identified according to their relation to an automated system’s behaviour. This framework is meant to help explaining what reasons and what agents (should) play a role in controlling a given system, thereby enabling policy makers to produce usable guidelines and engineers to design systems that properly respond to selected human reasons. In the final part, we discuss a practical example of how our framework could be employed in designing automated driving systems.

Cognitive function and driving in middle adulthood: Does age matter?

ObjectiveThere is an established relationship in the literature between cognitive function and driving performance in older drivers and new evidence suggests that this relationship also exists in younger drivers. Given this, it follows that this relationship may exist for all drivers, however the relationship between cognitive function and driving in drivers in middle adulthood has not yet been examined. The current study therefore aims to examine this relationship of overall cognitive function and driving, as well as the individual cognitive domains relevant to driving for drivers in middle adulthood. MethodThe participants were 89 drivers aged between 25 and 65 years. Each participant was assessed on a battery of cognitive tests and completed a drive on a driving simulator. Measures of driving performance included speeding, lane deviation, and an overall driving performance score. ResultsThe results showed new evidence to suggest overall cognitive function can predict speeding and overall driving performance. In addition, the cognitive domains of mental status, executive function and memory were found to be significant individual predictors in this cohort. ConclusionsTaken together with previous findings, this study provides evidence to suggest that cognitive function is important to driving across the lifespan. The generalisability of the current results are limited due to the majority of participants being from a university sample, therefore these findings will need to be replicated in a more representative sample. Future research should focus on the development of a comprehensive model to explain driving performance across all ages and across traffic psychology disciplines.

The contribution of traffic psychology to building a society in which all citizens can play an active role

The contribution of traffic psychology to building a society in which all citizens can play an active role

A Survey on Awareness of Traffic Safety among Drivers in Delhi, India

Increasing number of road accidents coupled with increasing vehicle population means an increase in the number of aggressive road users resulting in incidence of road rage. Inexperienced drivers often experience anxiety due to their underdeveloped and declining skills, which influence their behaviour. To highlight the effectiveness of correct training on the drivers' performance, this research work was initiated at Traffic Psychological Laboratory in CSIR-CRRI. In this study, a purposive sample of two groups of 102 drivers was selected and they were administered the road sign test. Findings: The analysis of the data highlights that maximum level of awareness about road sign of driving on hill roads (89%), seat belts usage while driving (89%) the safe way of stopping during emergency (40%), safe place of parking the vehicle (39%) and road markings (27%). Overall, drivers have shown average and above average level of awareness 52% to 77%.

Cycling Skill Inventory: Assessment of motor–tactical skills and safety motives

Objective: It is well established within the traffic psychology literature that a distinction can be made between driving skill and driving style. The majority of self-report questionnaires have been developed for car drivers, whereas only limited knowledge exists on the riding skill and style of cyclists. Individual differences in cycling skills need to be understood in order to apply targeted interventions.Methods: This study reports on a psychometric analysis of the Cycling Skill Inventory (CSI), a self-report questionnaire that asks cyclists to rate themselves from definitely weak to definitely strong on 17 items. Herein, we administered the CSI using an online crowdsourcing method, complemented with respondents who answered the questionnaire using paper and pencil (n = 1,138 in total). Our analysis focuses on understanding the major sources of variance of the CSI and its correlates with gender, age, exposure, and self-reported accident involvement as a cyclist.Results: The results showed that 2 components underlie the item data: Motor–tactical skills and safety motives. Correlational analyses indicated that participants with a higher safety motives score were involved in fewer self-reported cycling accidents in the past 3 years. The analysis also confirmed well-established gender differences, with male cyclists having lower safety motives but higher motor–tactical skills than female cyclists.Conclusions: The nomological network of the CSI for cyclists is similar to that of the Driving Skill Inventory for car drivers. Safety motives are a predictor of self-reported accident involvement among cyclists.

Modeling of individual differences in driver behavior

Computational transportation is a scientific discipline which uses traffic flow simulation for intervention design and analysis. Realistic traffic flow simulation depends on realistic computational modeling of individual agents such as drivers. Whereas, realistic agent model relies on realistic modeling of microscopic driver behaviors. IDM and MOBIL are considered de-facto car-following and lane change models respectively. All the prominent microscopic models have been developed with engineering perspective i.e. to reproduce perfect driving behavior. Whereas human driving behavior exhibit individual difference and is prone to risks and errors. This study focuses on development of a personality-based model of driver behavior. The parameters that have been modeled to represent driving preferences have been identified. In their existing forms, model parameters could be assigned arbitrary values from a prescribed range to define different driver profiles. This way, theoretically, infinite driver profiles could be created, many of which does not exist in real. Whereas, literature of traffic psychology suggests that there are few prevalent classes of drivers which exhibit certain behavioral patterns. These classes are characterized with the help of human personality. In proposed study, a relationship between personality traits and model parameters have been modeled. This enhancement may reproduce individual differences in driving behaviors.