Automotive manufacturers are competing to be the first to introduce customer-ready autonomous vehicles. Some manufacturers are claiming to launch their first self-driving cars as early as 2020. Which all sounds very good and futuristic; however, the question arises, are customers even ready to adopt this new technological advancement? Therefore, this pilot study is aimed at finding out the answer to this question in the Austrian market. This study discovers the standpoint of Austrian consumers concerning the acceptance of self-driving cars for daily usage and gives an overview of the current point of view regarding autonomous vehicles (AVs). The data for this study was collected using an online, user-friendly, Likert scale survey. The collected data were processed and analyzed for empirical significance in SPSS using Spearman's rank correlation and the Mann-Whitney U test supported by descriptive analysis. The results of the study indicate that Austrian consumers are well aware of autonomous vehicles and their technology. However, they have specific concerns about reliability, cybersecurity, and futuristic car-sharing models. Therefore, these concerns about AVs should be addressed by auto manufactures in order to gain consumers' trust and sell them a new form of mobility.

Licensed drivers arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol have increased rates of vehicle crashes, moving violations, traffic tickets, and contribute to an estimated 120 million occurrences of impaired driving per year (Evans, 2004; Jewett et al., 2015). Survey research on DUI offenders indicates traits of impulsivity (e.g., sensation seeking). Together, these pieces of evidence suggest that DUI offenders display patterns of impulsive action and risk-taking while driving. However, to-date DUI offenders are rarely studied in a laboratory setting, and not much is known about how they respond to a dose of alcohol. The present study examined the degree to which DUI offenders display an increased sensitivity to the acute impairing effects of alcohol on mechanisms of behavioral impulsivity, skill and risk-based driving simulations, and subjective evaluations of driving fitness and perceived intoxication following alcohol consumption. A sample of 20 DUI offenders were compared to a demographically-matched sample of 20 control drivers. All participants attended two dose sessions in which they received either a 0.65 g/kg dose of alcohol or a placebo dose, counterbalanced, on separate days. Results indicated that alcohol affected all of the behavioral outcome measures. More specifically, alcohol increased impulsive choice responses and decreased response inhibition on the behavioral impulsivity tasks. Alcohol also increased risky driving behaviors and decreased driving-related skills. Furthermore, alcohol generally decreased participants’ self-reported willingness and ability to drive a motor vehicle, and increased levels of intoxication and BAC estimations relative to placebo. With regard to group differences, DUI offenders showed an increased sensitivity to the disrupting effects of alcohol on impulsive choices, such that DUI offenders showed a significantly greater preference for impulsive choices under alcohol relative to placebo than controls. Taken together, these findings provide some of the first pieces of evidence that compared to controls, DUI offenders display an increased tendency for impulsive decisions under alcohol, which likely contributes to risky decisions to drive after drinking, despite clear evidence for their behavioral impairment. These findings could have important implications for understanding the mechanisms underlying maladaptive behaviors in this high-risk population, and sheds light on possible targets for intervention to reduce DUI recidivism.

The prevalence of drugged driving has increased in the United States, and some prescription medications (e.g., zolpidem) cause impairment after the predicted duration of therapeutic action has elapsed. The aim of this study is to determine if bedtime administration of alprazolam similarly impacts driving performance the following day. Volunteers were 14 healthy adults (6 males) who completed a double-blind, double-dummy within-subjects design study examining the effects of alprazolam (0.5, 1, & 2mg), zolpidem (10mg), and placebo administered at bedtime on driving performance the following day. The positive control condition was alprazolam (1mg) administered on the test morning. Driving simulator measures, cognitive and psychomotor tasks, and questionnaires querying drug effects were collected the afternoon before drug administration and for 5.5 hours the next day and analyzed using symmetry and mixed-model approaches. The positive control was robustly impairing. Driving impairment equivalent to that seen with alcohol at the legal limit was observed up to 12.5hr after bedtime alprazolam 2mg and for 8.5hr after bedtime zolpidem 10mg. Volunteers were not fully aware of their own level of impairment. These results suggest that alprazolam used before bed may pose an as yet unrecognized public safety risk in the form of next-day drugged-driving.

A la faveur d'un accroissement de la répression et de l'introduction des techniques de managérialisation (telles que la comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité) au sein de l'institution judiciaire, les magistrats des juridictions lyonnaise, roannaise et stéphanoise adoptent des pratiques standardisées en matière de répression de la délinquance routière. Cette apparition d'un modèle managérial et standardisé du traitement de la délinquance routière, privilégiant une réponse pénale systématique, rapide, normée et sévère, redéfinit le cadre de travail de tous les acteurs de la chaîne pénale, en l'occurrence des forces de l'ordre, des parquetiers, des juges et des avocats. Plus précisément, remettant en cause les principes d'individualisation de la peine et d'autonomie propre à la profession de magistrat, les parquetiers et, par effet domino, les juges alignent leurs pratiques sur les prescriptions ministérielles qui sont de plus en plus répressives. Ce travail montre que la déclinaison de la politique pénale en matière de délinquance routière au niveau local est le produit d'une action top-down, traduisant un «Etat en action » et non pas en « interaction ». La politique pénale de sécurité routière et le traitement de la délinquance routière restent plus que jamais des secteurs régaliens dans lesquels l'Etat veut réaffirmer son leadership. / As a consequence of the increase in repression and of the implementation of management standards(such as the plea bargaining) in Justice, the substitutes of the prosecutor and the judges adopt standardized practices as regards repression of the road delinquency in Lyon, Roanne and Saint-Etienne. The implementation of management standards as regards the road delinquency, privileging systematic and fast penal answer, redefines the framework of ali the actors of the criminal justice system (police, substitutes of the prosecutor, judges and lawyers). More precise! y, the substitutes of the prosecutor and the judges put into question fundamental principles such as individualized judgments and autonomy. They align their practices on the ministerial directives, which are increasingly repressive. This work shows that the variation in criminal policy as regards road delinquency at the local leve! is the product of a top-down action, translating a "State into action" and not in "interaction". The cri minai policy of road safety and the treatment of road delinquency remain sectors in which the State wants to reaffirm its leadership.

A driving simulator study of perceptual countermeasures to speeding is described. Perceptual countermeasures (PC) manipulate the drivers' visual scene to help them moderate their driving speed without a conscious deliberation to do so. The use of synchronized warning lights in work zones as a PC is similar to "aero plane runway lights" flashing towards the diver. Based on the literature survey, this effect was postulated to make drivers think they were driving fast at lower vehicular speeds with lesser speed fluctuations. The effect did not achieve statistical significance in reducing mean speeds within work zones to match with the posted speed limit. A frequency domain analysis of driving speed fluctuation within work zones demonstrated that any form of flashing lights can have a pronounced effect on some individuals compared to static lights. The ramifications of using such perceptual countermeasures that are currently being implemented around the world is disused.

Previous studies have shown that the experience of negative emotions is rarer, while experience of positive emotions is more frequent in the elderly, suggesting an overall improvement in emotional well-being as people age. However, most research did not account for the dynamic characteristics of emotions (e.g. peak intensity, latency, duration) and the levels of emotional challenges. In addition, since most previous studies have focused on studying the experience, expression, and psychophysiological response of emotion, it is still not fully understood how performance in cognitive or behavioral tasks (e.g., automobile driving) can be affected by emotions in older age. To address this gap, the current study examined the effect of normal aging on the dynamic processes of emotion during different levels of emotional challenge (aim 1), and the effect of emotion on driving in older adults as compared to middle-aged adults (aim 2). Parkinson’s disease (PD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease that shares similar pathological characteristics with the process of normal aging (i.e., reduced dopamine), but to a much higher degree. In addition to investigating the effect of normal aging, the current study also examined the effect of “abnormal aging” on emotion and driving using PD as a model (aim 3). Participants included 16 older (65 - 79 years old), 16 middle-aged (38 - 55 years old) neurologically normal adults, and 16 patients with mild PD (56 - 80 years old). This study focused on fear and anger, the two negative emotions that are most likely to be elicited by driving experiences and to disrupt driving behaviors. Low-level and high-level fear and anger challenges were created using simulated driving scenarios: 1) Low fear task, participants drove in fog and frequently encountered static obstacles on the road; 2) High fear task, participants drove at nighttime and frequently encountered deer running across the road; 3) Low anger task, participants drove following a slow-moving vehicle; 4) High anger task, participants followed a slow vehicle and were honked at by a tailgating vehicle. Participants rated the intensity of fear and anger experiences at 1- minute intervals when they were driving. Comparing older adults against middle-aged adults, it was found that 1) fear intensity was lower in older adults in the low fear task. In contrast, latency and duration of fear were similar between groups in both fear tasks. 2) Anger intensity was lower in older adults in both anger tasks. Anger latency and duration were similar between groups in the high anger task, but anger took longer to develop and was of shorter duration in older adults in the low anger task. 3) In the low fear task, older adults exhibited more cautious driving behaviors (e.g., more frequent uses of brake). In the high anger task older adults were less able to control the acceleration and brake pedals smoothly (e.g., higher forces for brake and acceleration). These results suggest that age differences in the dynamic processes of emotion and the effect of emotion on driving may depend on the type of emotion and level of emotional challenge. When comparing PD patients against age- and education-matched neurologically normal participants (n = 18), it was found that the PD patients reported experiencing similar degrees of fear and anger as the normal comparisons. However, in the high fear task PD patients were less responsive to deer running across the road (e.g., mean and variation of force for brake was lower in PD patients). This finding suggests an impaired ability in PD patients to respond to the sudden appearance of driving hazards. Collectively, the findings of this study provide a window into how the moment-to-moment experience of negative emotions in response to environmental challenges may contribute to the overall emotional well-being of older adults. They also suggest that both the type of emotion and the level of challenge may be important factors in determining the experience of emotion and the effect of emotion on driving during “normal” and “abnormal” aging.

The number of accidents over the past decade involving emergency vehicles is a major concern for emergency service providers. This study assessed the effectiveness of adding a driving simulator to a traditional training program. Potential relationships with students' learning styles using Gregorc Mind Style Delineator were also examined. The general research design consisted of a quantitative portion (quasi-experimental) and a qualitative portion (phenomenological). The sample population consisted of Emergency Medical Technician students attending the National EMS Academy in Lafayette, LA. The didactic session was conducted first with 102 participants in attendance. The driving portion was conducted over five days. The group self-scheduled which day they would attend the driving portion of the class. This resulted in 52 participants in the control group and 50 participants in the treatment group. The treatment group used a driving simulator prior to driving on the competency course. The results indicated that the treatment group took significantly less time to drive through the competency course on the first run (t=3.74, p=0.0003), acquired significantly fewer penalty points on the first run (t=2.41, p=0.0178), and required significantly fewer runs to complete the course (t=3.53, p=0.0006). Participants with Abstract Random learning styles performed significantly better on a written, knowledge test than those with Abstract Random/Concrete Random learning styles and Abstract Sequential learning styles. When examining the participants' performance on the competency course in relationship to their learning styles, those with a sequential learning style took less total time to drive the competency course on the first run than those with random learning styles. A t-test was significant, t=2.13, p=0.0357. A simulator improves the individual's ability to drive an ambulance on the required competency course. The use of a driving simulator has potential savings for the emergency service industry and increases the safety of training drivers. In addition, the qualitative portion of the study found all participants had a favorable attitude toward using a simulator to learn to drive an emergency vehicle as part of the training program.

The need to lead an independent and fuller life is as much a right of a person with physical disability as any other human being. Driving capabilities of a person with a disability have been assessed and evaluated using qualitative techniques. However, certain inadequacies that arise using qualitative measures can be avoided if the assessment is based on quantitative techniques. The above requirement necessitates the need to devise a method and a system which is focused on the right development of the techniques used in assessing and measuring different capabilities (such as range of motion and force input) of the person with a disability in a detailed manner. This thesis focuses on developing an experimental method which can be adopted as an assessment tool to evaluate different capabilities of a person with a disability. The test bed used for this purpose consists of two independent systems combined together by an interface. They are the six-degree of freedom force reflecting hand controller known as the PHANTOM haptic device [12] and a commercially available adaptive driving control system known as the AEVIT system [15]. The test bed provides compatibility between the PHANTOM and AEVIT which makes it feasible for the PHANTOM to model and control the driving input devices (steering and gas/brake) of the AEVIT system.

This thesis is in the form of a novel about three work colleagues who, as part of their job, have to drive long distances together. The story is told from the perspective of all of them but mainly from one of the women who tells the story in the first person. The man and two women are so different from each other in personality and outlook on life, and the basis of the novel is their interactions with each other, the frictions within their relationships, and the thoughts that go through their heads while they are driving. These people spend long hours together in the car and in motel rooms yet they never get any closer to each other. The only one of them who seems to get anything from the experience is the woman who is in the first person, as she achieves a greater sense of her own identity. The other two regard the experiences as just another job and of no great importance in their lives. / Master of Arts (Hons)

This thesis tests one of the major propositions of deterrence theory: that increases in the severity of punishment can reduce the likelihood of offending. To this end, a case study in which the statutory penalties were doubled for almost all drink-driving offences in New South Wales, Australia, is examined. Two quasi-experimental studies were undertaken to assess the impact of these legislative changes: an interrupted time-series analysis of road crash rates (Study 1) and an analysis of drink-driving reoffending rates before and after the penalty changes were implemented (Study 2). Study 1 showed a significant increase in a surrogate measure of alcohol-related road crashes after the tougher drink-driving penalties were introduced. Further analyses suggested that this increase was driven primarily by a secular rise in non alcohol-related crashes that coincided with the policy???s implementation. Two possible conclusions about the deterrent effect of the policy are drawn from these findings: (1) that there was a reduction in alcohol-related road crashes which was overwhelmed by the rise in non alcohol-related crashes occurring around the same time or (2) that there was no change in crash rates. Study 2 found that drink-drivers who were convicted under the new penalty regime were less likely, and took longer, to reoffend than drink-drivers convicted before the introduction of the new penalties. This reduction in reoffending was only apparent for drink-drivers residing in country and regional areas and was small in magnitude.These latter findings are consistent with the possibility that the penalty changes coincided with a reduction in alcohol-related crashes but suggest that any decrease is likely to have been relatively small. A third study using a scenario-based survey methodology was also undertaken to examine the relationship between legal sanctions and willingness to drink-drive, controlling for other factors. The results of this study showed that participants who were more knowledgeable about drink-driving penalties were less likely to state that they would offend in the drink-driving scenario than participants who were less knowledgeable about the law. The implications of these findings for deterrence theory and criminal justice policy are discussed.