This programme of research was designed to investigate the role of driver boredom in road safety. It aimed to determine whether driver boredom is prevalent and whether and how it mediates relationships between human factors [e.g. age, sex, personality] and driver behaviour [e.g. speed, distraction, error]. The research comprised two phases. A preliminary phase of the research explored the value of and developed a larger study. Focus group discussions were held with a sample of eight drivers and transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. The results indicated that driver boredom is likely to be prevalent, compromise road safety, and vary between individuals. This phase of research provided the foundation upon which the questionnaire used in the main phase of the study was based. The qestionnaire was used to test whether driver boredom mediates relationships between human factors and driver behaviour. The sample comprised 1,550 male and female drivers aged between 17-65+ years. The self-report questionnaire provided data pertaining to human factors, driver boredom, and driver behaviour. Results indicate that some people [specifically those younger, female, more easily bored generally, with a higher sense of time urgency, and less enthusiastic about driving] are likely to pose a higher threat to road safety, at least in part because they are more likely to suffer driver boredom. The results of this programme of research indicated that driver boredom warrants attention in efforts to understand driver behaviour and its impact on road safety. The results show that those more enthusiastic about driving are much less likely to suffer driver boredom. Because those more enthusiastic about driving are likely to be more engaged in the driving task, they are likely to have more complex knowledge relating to the task, and perceive higher levels of stimulation therein. Further research could be conducted to test whether engagement in the driving task, knowledge relating to it, and levels of perceived stimulation therein mediate relations between driver enthusiasm and driver boredom. Assuming this is the case, intervention programmes could be designed to educate people such that they drive in a more engaged style, are more knowledgeable about the driving task, and perceive higher levels of stimulation therein. Intervention programmes would need to be tested and if they could be shown to be effective, they could be used to minimise driver boredom and its negative implications for road safety.

Anger is generally considered to result from a combination of physiological arousal, individual evaluation and situational characteristics. However, within the driving context, anger has often, but not always, been considered from either a person-centred approach, examining the influence of trait factors and individual differences in driving anger, or from a situation-focussed perspective, considering anger as a response to the current driving situation. The research reported in this thesis aimed to investigate the role of the individual and the situation in how drivers experience and express anger while driving.

Accidents caused by drivers’ drowsiness behind the steering wheel have a high fatality rate because of the discernible decline in the driver’s abilities of perception, recognition, and vehicle control abilities while sleepy. Preventing such accidents caused by drowsiness is highly desirable but requires techniques for continuously detecting, estimating, and predicting the level of alertness of drivers and delivering effective feedback to maintain maximum performance. The main objective of this research study is to develop a reliable metric and system for the detection of driver impairment due to drowsiness. More specifically, the goal of the research is to develop the best possible metric for detection of drowsiness, based on measures that can be detected during driving. This thesis describes the new studies that have been performed to develop, validate, and refine such a metric. A computer vision system is used to monitor the driver’s physiological eye blink behaviour. The novel application of green LED illumination overcame one of the major difficulties of the eye sclera segmentation problem due to illumination changes. Experimentation in a driving simulator revealed various visual cues, typically characterizing the level of alertness of the driver, and these cues were combined to infer the drowsiness level of the driver. Analysis of the data revealed that eye blink duration and eye blink frequency were important parameters in detecting drowsiness. From these measured parameters, a continuous measure of drowsiness, the New Drowsiness Scale (NDS), is derived. The NDS ranges from one to ten, where a decrease in NDS corresponds to an increase in drowsiness. Based upon previous research into the effects of drowsiness on driving performance, measures relating to the lateral placement of the vehicle within the lane are of particular interest in this study. Standard deviations of average deviations were measured continuously throughout the study. The NDS scale, based upon the gradient of the linear regression of standard deviation of average blink frequency and duration, is demonstrated as a reliable method for identifying the development of drowsiness in drivers. Deterioration of driver performance (reflected by increasingly severe lane deviation) is correlated with a decreasing NDS score. The final experimental results show the validity of the proposed model for driver drowsiness detection.

This research contributes to the literature by conducting four empirical investigations and the more specific objectives are as follows: (i) To study the underlying mechanism of the inverted U-shaped relationship between MVC deaths and economic growth, (ii) To study the relationship between motorcycle deaths and economic growth, (iii) To examine the effect of political freedom, the quality of governance, and medical care and technology improvements on motorcycle and MVC deaths. (iv) To identify what factors influence the decision to enact road safety laws.

Driver sleepiness is known to be a major contributor to road traffic incidents (RTIs). An initial literature review identified many studies reporting untreated obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) sufferers as having impaired driving performance and increased RTI risk. It is consistently reported that treatment with continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) improves driving performance and decreases RTI risk, although most of these studies are conducted less than one year after starting treatment. UK law allows treated OSA patients to continue driving if their doctor states that treatment has been successful. Despite the wealth of publications surrounding OSA and driving, 6 key areas were identified from the literature review as not fully investigated, the: (i) prevalence of undiagnosed OSA in heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers in the UK; (ii) impact of sleep restriction on long term CPAP treated OSA compared with healthy controls; (iii) ability of treated OSA participants to identify sleepiness when driving; (iv) impact of one night CPAP withdrawal on driving performance; (v) individual difference in driving performance of long term CPAP treated OSA participants; (vi) choice of countermeasures to driver sleepiness by two groups susceptible to driver sleepiness, OSA and HGV drivers. Key areas (i) and (vi) were assessed using questionnaires. 148 HGV drivers were surveyed to assess OSA symptoms and preference of countermeasures to driver sleepiness. All participants completing the driving simulator study were also surveyed. 9.5% of HGV drivers were found to have symptoms of suspected undiagnosed OSA. Additionally the OSA risk factors were more prevalent for HGV drivers than reported in national statistics reports for the general population. The most effective countermeasures to driver sleepiness (caffeine and a nap) were not the most popular. Being part of a susceptible group (OSA or HGV driver) and prior experience of driver sleepiness did not promote effective choice of countermeasure. Key areas (ii) to (v) were assessed using a driving simulator. Driving simulators present a safe environment to test participants in a scenario where they may experience sleepiness without endangering other road users.