Thesis (M.Sc. Chemistry)--University of Waikato, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the World Wide Web.

Esta dissertação examina a situação geral dos Acidentes Viários, no contexto do transporte rodoviário, cujas evidências apontam o Fator Humano como o maior responsável por tais eventos. Entende-se que um maior conhecimento sobre ele possibilitará melhorar a segurança do tráfego e da produção transporte. O estudo pretende destacar a importância das análises relacionadas com a atividade transporte rodoviário, as variações da demanda do sistema de circulação e a tarefa do motorista, sob a ótica da ergonomia. Objetiva ele, também, mostrar importância desses estudos para melhor avaliar as interações dos fatores homemmáquina- ambiente viário e para o desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias e produtos de segurança viária. A revisão bibliográfica dos capítulos iniciais revelam o estado da arte e a importância da segurança de trânsito, em nível internacional. Também revelaram que todas nações sofrem do mesmo mal em suas redes viárias, que varia de acordo com a realidade de cada um. Embora o acidente de trânsito seja um fenômeno comum às nações, aqui eles atingiram a dimensão de flagelo social, em razão da sua severidade; e de calamidade econômica, face a elevação dos custos de produção na atividade do transporte rodoviário. São analisadas as características do fator humano, fundamentais na tarefa de condução, e o respectivo nexo causal das falhas com a gênese do acidente, num sistema multifatorial e interativo. O trabalho fundamenta-se em extensa revisão bibliográfica. O estudo de caso, desenvolvido a partir da revisão dos dados de uma pesquisa anterior, comprova a hipótese que o “álcool-direção”, considerado na literatura como o maior causador de acidentes viários, tem sua presença marcada por elevados índices nas rodovias do RS, contrariando a conclusão da pesquisa anterior. Ao final, também oferece recomendações para o desenvolvimento de ações objetivas para melhorar a segurança viária. / This dissertation examines road accidents within the context of traffic systems, evidencing the participation of the Human Factor as the key responsible for accidents. It is thought that a better understanding on the subject of Human Factor will contribute towards improving traffic management and increasing the productivity of road transportation systems. The study emphasizes the need to analyse, under an ergonomical view, the variable task demands imposed to drivers during different traffic conditions. It depicts the value of research aimed at better estimating the Human Factor- Machine-Road Environment interaction, and developing new technology and road safety equipment. The initial chapters review the state-of-the-art of work directed to road safety. They reveal that every nation suffers from losses due to road accidents. Whilst being a common phenomenon to all nations, road accidents in Brazil, on account of their frequency and severity, reached the dimension of a serious social problem. Road accidents are also interpreted as an economical calamity by virtue of growing production costs imposed to road freight activities. The focus of this dissertation is centered on the characteristics of the Human Factor which is of fundamental importance to the driving task. The study also incorporates amulti-factor and interative evaluation of faults and the generation of accidents. The work is supported by a comprehensive bibliographic review. The case study benefits form field data previously collected along roads of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It confirms the drunk-driving hypothesis, mentioned in the literature as the biggest road accident factor, has a market incidence in the southernmost state of Brazil. These results contrast with an earlier interpretation that did not take into consideration the period drivers drunk before the field data was collected. The work also offers subsidies to those interested in developing actions to improve road safety conditions.

Esta dissertação examina a situação geral dos Acidentes Viários, no contexto do transporte rodoviário, cujas evidências apontam o Fator Humano como o maior responsável por tais eventos. Entende-se que um maior conhecimento sobre ele possibilitará melhorar a segurança do tráfego e da produção transporte. O estudo pretende destacar a importância das análises relacionadas com a atividade transporte rodoviário, as variações da demanda do sistema de circulação e a tarefa do motorista, sob a ótica da ergonomia. Objetiva ele, também, mostrar importância desses estudos para melhor avaliar as interações dos fatores homemmáquina- ambiente viário e para o desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias e produtos de segurança viária. A revisão bibliográfica dos capítulos iniciais revelam o estado da arte e a importância da segurança de trânsito, em nível internacional. Também revelaram que todas nações sofrem do mesmo mal em suas redes viárias, que varia de acordo com a realidade de cada um. Embora o acidente de trânsito seja um fenômeno comum às nações, aqui eles atingiram a dimensão de flagelo social, em razão da sua severidade; e de calamidade econômica, face a elevação dos custos de produção na atividade do transporte rodoviário. São analisadas as características do fator humano, fundamentais na tarefa de condução, e o respectivo nexo causal das falhas com a gênese do acidente, num sistema multifatorial e interativo. O trabalho fundamenta-se em extensa revisão bibliográfica. O estudo de caso, desenvolvido a partir da revisão dos dados de uma pesquisa anterior, comprova a hipótese que o “álcool-direção”, considerado na literatura como o maior causador de acidentes viários, tem sua presença marcada por elevados índices nas rodovias do RS, contrariando a conclusão da pesquisa anterior. Ao final, também oferece recomendações para o desenvolvimento de ações objetivas para melhorar a segurança viária. / This dissertation examines road accidents within the context of traffic systems, evidencing the participation of the Human Factor as the key responsible for accidents. It is thought that a better understanding on the subject of Human Factor will contribute towards improving traffic management and increasing the productivity of road transportation systems. The study emphasizes the need to analyse, under an ergonomical view, the variable task demands imposed to drivers during different traffic conditions. It depicts the value of research aimed at better estimating the Human Factor- Machine-Road Environment interaction, and developing new technology and road safety equipment. The initial chapters review the state-of-the-art of work directed to road safety. They reveal that every nation suffers from losses due to road accidents. Whilst being a common phenomenon to all nations, road accidents in Brazil, on account of their frequency and severity, reached the dimension of a serious social problem. Road accidents are also interpreted as an economical calamity by virtue of growing production costs imposed to road freight activities. The focus of this dissertation is centered on the characteristics of the Human Factor which is of fundamental importance to the driving task. The study also incorporates amulti-factor and interative evaluation of faults and the generation of accidents. The work is supported by a comprehensive bibliographic review. The case study benefits form field data previously collected along roads of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It confirms the drunk-driving hypothesis, mentioned in the literature as the biggest road accident factor, has a market incidence in the southernmost state of Brazil. These results contrast with an earlier interpretation that did not take into consideration the period drivers drunk before the field data was collected. The work also offers subsidies to those interested in developing actions to improve road safety conditions.

Esta dissertação examina a situação geral dos Acidentes Viários, no contexto do transporte rodoviário, cujas evidências apontam o Fator Humano como o maior responsável por tais eventos. Entende-se que um maior conhecimento sobre ele possibilitará melhorar a segurança do tráfego e da produção transporte. O estudo pretende destacar a importância das análises relacionadas com a atividade transporte rodoviário, as variações da demanda do sistema de circulação e a tarefa do motorista, sob a ótica da ergonomia. Objetiva ele, também, mostrar importância desses estudos para melhor avaliar as interações dos fatores homemmáquina- ambiente viário e para o desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias e produtos de segurança viária. A revisão bibliográfica dos capítulos iniciais revelam o estado da arte e a importância da segurança de trânsito, em nível internacional. Também revelaram que todas nações sofrem do mesmo mal em suas redes viárias, que varia de acordo com a realidade de cada um. Embora o acidente de trânsito seja um fenômeno comum às nações, aqui eles atingiram a dimensão de flagelo social, em razão da sua severidade; e de calamidade econômica, face a elevação dos custos de produção na atividade do transporte rodoviário. São analisadas as características do fator humano, fundamentais na tarefa de condução, e o respectivo nexo causal das falhas com a gênese do acidente, num sistema multifatorial e interativo. O trabalho fundamenta-se em extensa revisão bibliográfica. O estudo de caso, desenvolvido a partir da revisão dos dados de uma pesquisa anterior, comprova a hipótese que o “álcool-direção”, considerado na literatura como o maior causador de acidentes viários, tem sua presença marcada por elevados índices nas rodovias do RS, contrariando a conclusão da pesquisa anterior. Ao final, também oferece recomendações para o desenvolvimento de ações objetivas para melhorar a segurança viária. / This dissertation examines road accidents within the context of traffic systems, evidencing the participation of the Human Factor as the key responsible for accidents. It is thought that a better understanding on the subject of Human Factor will contribute towards improving traffic management and increasing the productivity of road transportation systems. The study emphasizes the need to analyse, under an ergonomical view, the variable task demands imposed to drivers during different traffic conditions. It depicts the value of research aimed at better estimating the Human Factor- Machine-Road Environment interaction, and developing new technology and road safety equipment. The initial chapters review the state-of-the-art of work directed to road safety. They reveal that every nation suffers from losses due to road accidents. Whilst being a common phenomenon to all nations, road accidents in Brazil, on account of their frequency and severity, reached the dimension of a serious social problem. Road accidents are also interpreted as an economical calamity by virtue of growing production costs imposed to road freight activities. The focus of this dissertation is centered on the characteristics of the Human Factor which is of fundamental importance to the driving task. The study also incorporates amulti-factor and interative evaluation of faults and the generation of accidents. The work is supported by a comprehensive bibliographic review. The case study benefits form field data previously collected along roads of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It confirms the drunk-driving hypothesis, mentioned in the literature as the biggest road accident factor, has a market incidence in the southernmost state of Brazil. These results contrast with an earlier interpretation that did not take into consideration the period drivers drunk before the field data was collected. The work also offers subsidies to those interested in developing actions to improve road safety conditions.

The adverse health and safety consequences of excessive alcohol consumption are a leading problem around the world. Alcoholic beverages are a routine part of socializing in many societies. However, alcohol is also a significant contributor to worldwide morbidity, disability, and mortality. To lessen the harm produced by alcohol, governments have adopted different alcohol control policies. These control policies can be group into four basic strategies: deterrence, prevention, communications and outreach, and alcohol treatment. Among the prevention measures, restricting physical access to alcohol by limiting the alcohol outlets' density, raising the legal age to purchase alcohol, and reducing the affordability of alcohol through taxation have been extensively shown as cost-effective and feasible measures against alcohol-related harms. However, there are still topics related to the affordability of alcohol that have not been investigated. The role of promotional price practices at on-premises alcohol outlets on health and social outcomes, and the effects of policies enacted to prevent these practices on motor vehicle crashes remained an unexplored research topic. The main goals of this dissertation were to summarize evidence regarding the health effects of drink specials and to estimate the effects of policies restricting drink special practices as preventive tools for fatal motor vehicle crashes. Specifically, I summarized the research evidence of the effects of drink special practices on health and social outcomes (Aim 1). I examined the association between drink special laws and alcohol-related fatal motor vehicle crashes contrasting results for two methodological approaches, difference-in-difference-in-differences (Aim 2) and synthetic controls (Aim 3). This dissertation contains five chapters. The introduction in chapter one provides a background review of relevant literature that serves as the conceptual framework for this dissertation and an overview of chapters two, three, four, and five. The systematic review of the literature relevant to Aim 1 is presented in chapter two. This review included studies on the effects that drink specials and drink special laws have on alcohol consumption, binge drinking, and alcohol-related harms. Twelve studies examined the effect of drink specials in seven countries between 1978 and 2018. Consistent evidence supported associations between drink specials and increased alcohol consumption, heavy drinking, alcohol intoxication, and other alcohol-related outcomes. For aims 2 and 3, I examined 36-years of data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Census Bureau, and NIH’s Alcohol Policy Information System and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism from 1982 to 2017. In chapter three, I presented results from difference-in-difference-in-differences analyses of the effects of implementing six drink special laws on alcohol- and non-alcohol-related motor vehicle fatal crash rates in the United States (U.S.). I assessed exposure to implementation as any law, number of laws, and each law. Random effects generalized least squares regression models adjusted for the proportion of males in the state, youth involved in fatal crashes, gallons of ethanol per capita among the population age 21 years and older, and autonomy index were fitted across 24 treated and 18 non-treated states. Results revealed that the implementation of any drink special law was associated with reductions in overall and alcohol-related fatal crash rates compared to untreated states. Also, drink special laws mitigated incremental rates of non-alcohol related crashes among treated states with any drink special law compared to untreated states. In chapter four, I presented results from synthetic control analyses for single and multiple treated units. I assessed the association between drink special laws and alcohol-related fatal motor vehicle crashes and adjusted for the same covariates as in chapter three. Results in chapter four indicated that states treated with any drink special law reduced alcohol-related fatal crash rates only in years three, five, and ten post-implementation compared to the synthetic control trend. The effects of any drink special law were more consistent at different times in the post-implementation for reducing non-alcohol-related fatal crash rates than the synthetic control trend. Findings for the number of laws implemented and each drink special laws were mixed. Chapter five presents a synthesis and discussion of findings in chapters two, three, and four, as well as policy recommendations for stakeholders and future research.

Driving anxiety that has developed following crashes has been studied relatively frequently, but anxiety per se and its effects on driving has not as yet garnered much attention in the literature. The current study included 1121 participants and found higher levels of general anxiety were related to a wide variety of dangerous driving behaviors. While there were clear and expected sex differences on many dangerous driving variables, there were still more such differences with regard to anxiety levels and independent of sex, higher levels of anxiety were associated with greater levels of dangerous driving. Of particular import, it was found that the high anxiety group had caused significantly more crashes and engaged in more DUI episodes than the low and/or medium anxiety groups. Taken as a whole, the results suggest there is a tremendous need for more research in the area of anxiety and dangerous driving and that interventions for highly anxious drivers may well be warranted.

Self-reported alcohol use in 500 men (mean age 36 yrs) arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) of intoxicants was examined in relation to MMPI profile patterns identified by multivariate procedures. Although DUI offenders were found to share mild antisocial tendencies, it was possible to isolate profile patterns associated with comparatively higher levels of self-reported drinking. Most pronounced was the relationship between higher levels of estimated average alcohol consumption and patterns in which indices of depression and social deviance were elevated, or the 2-4 2-point code type pattern. Comparisons of prototypic profile patterns derived from samples of DUI offenders, alcoholics, and psychiatric patients revealed limited profile replicability. However, the 2-4 code type pattern was consistently found in samples of DUI offenders and alcoholics, and a single profile pattern indicative of moderate social deviance and impulsivity was common to each sample. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).

Two of the leading causes of automobile accidents are driver impairment due to alcohol and drowsiness. Apparently, a relatively large percentage of these accidents occur because drivers are unaware of the degree to which they are impaired due to these sources. The purpose of this research was to develop models which could detect driver impairment due to alcohol, drowsiness, or the combination of alcohol and drowsiness, and which could be practically implemented in an automobile. Such detection models, if successfully implemented in conjunction with a system to warn an impaired driver of his or her condition, could potentially save hundreds of lives each year. Six driver-subjects operated a computer controlled driving simulator during each of four conditions. The four conditions consisted of a control condition, an alcohol condition, a sleep-deprived condition, and a combination alcohol and sleep-deprived condition. Moderate levels of alcohol and sleep deprivation were used for this study. Nineteen performance and behavioral measures were collected during this study. Each measure was evaluated singly and in combination with other measures to determine potential value for detection of driver impairment. Detection models were then formulated using the most promising detection measures. The results indicated that a useful on-board drowsiness impairment detection device is possible and practical for highway driving. This device would also, in all likelihood, provide useful detection information regardless of whether low to moderate amounts of alcohol were present in a drowsy driver. The results also showed that on-board alcohol impairment detection may be possible at moderate to high BAC. / Master of Science

The problem of driving and drinking has been examined in terms of prevention, enforcement, punishment, and education. From the sale of alcoholic beverages, it remains apparent that people will continue to drink and problems associated with that behavior will persist. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the judges in Montgomery County, Virginia, treated defendants brought to court for driving while under the influence of alcohol or driving on a license suspended due to alcohol abuse from July, 1982 through September, 1983. An analysis of the role played by the Montgomery County, Virginia, judges in the driving and drinking problem has shown that there were significant differences in the (number of continuations allowed, the type of verdict granted, and the form of punishment given. Defendants arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol were much more likely to receive a guilty verdict (81%) than were people arrested for driving on a license suspended due to alcohol abuse (34%). These same judges were consistent in their treatment of male and female defendants in all areas except punishment where it was found that no females went to jail. Personal interviews with the judges substantiated the statistical results, but of even more significance was the accent placed on educating both the public, beginning in elementary school, and the drunk driver. Many recommendations for further research and further action were presented. / Ed. D. / incomplete_metadata

The objective of the present study was to investigate the use of a video game task in comparison to _a pursuit tracking task for the purpose of· detecting alcohol impairment. To carry out this objective, the two tasks used in this study were compared for difficulty in Phase I. The conclusions from Phase I are: 1) that subjects selected higher RPM's to represent a higher level of difficulty, and 2) that the higher RPM's selected resulted in decreased performance compared to lower RPM's. Performance on the two tasks under various levels of BAC was then measured in Phase II. The general conclusions from Phase II are: 1) that performance of both tasks was significantly affected by BAC and Difficulty, and 2) that a greater decrement in performance due to BAC was observed for the video game task than for the pursuit tacking task. The results and implications of the two phases of research will be discussed further in the following two subsections. / Master of Science