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Road related fatalities are a global problem. In NSW, excess speed is thought to be one of the leading contributing factors for fatal motor vehicle crashes. Speed management remains an elusive skill for many young drivers.ÌýÌý
Using lessons learnt from aviation and road domains in Australia, the present research aimed to develop a new practical approach to improve young drivers' speed management behaviour.ÌýÌý
Experiment oneÌý
Experiment one tested the effect of three cognitive-based training approaches, namely: self-explanation, reflection and combined feedback (ie. performance, financial implications, safety implications or combination) in a driving simulator to improve young drivers' speed management behaviour immediately post-training, one-week post-training (short-term) and six months post-training (long-term) in three different speed zones (low, moderate, high).ÌýÌý
The results reflected positively on both self-explanation and combined feedback. Self-explanation improved young drivers' speed management behaviour in the low-speed zone of 40km/h, across all time periods. However, combined feedback led to improvement in all three speed zones across all time periods.ÌýÌý
Experiment twoÌý
Experiment two examined which aspect of the combined feedback (ie. performance, financial implications, safety implications or combination) yielded positive changes in speed management under the same test conditions as in experiment one.ÌýÌý
The results reflected positively on the different aspects of feedback, with the elements of performance, finance and safety feedback yielding the most positive results.ÌýÌý
Experiment threeÌý
Experiment three moved from the laboratory out onto the road and investigated the effect of two cognitive-based training interventions (ie. combined feedback and self-explanation) on young drivers' speed management behaviour in the operational environment. In contrast to the previous two experiments, participants were tested at two post-training time periods, namely: immediately post-training and one-week post-training.ÌýÌý
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The results revealed that combined feedback was the most effective training intervention, followed by the combination of self-explanation and combined feedback, at each time period, and in all three speed zones. The findings from the three experiments provide insight into various training methods and their effectiveness in improving young drivers' speed management behaviour.Ìý
Category: Driver trainingÌý
Researcher: Dr Oleksandra KrasnovaÌý
Supervisor: Dr Brett MolesworthÌý
Level: PhDÌý
Status: CompletedÌý
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AnÌýinvestigationÌýintoÌýhumanÌýfactorsÌýinfluencingÌýdriverÌýbehaviour andÌýtrafficÌýlawÌýenforcement in Jordan
This dissertation investigates the human factors influencing driver behaviour and traffic law enforcement in Jordan.Ìý
The research was carried out using two separate survey studies that aimed to determine the factors that are significantly associated with receiving traffic fines and being involved in crashes and to investigate the perceptions of drivers and trafficÌýpoliceÌýconcerning traffic law enforcement and driver behaviour. A total of 501 drivers and 180ÌýpoliceÌýofficers were surveyed.
Study one
Study oneÌýfocused on driver attitudes, behaviour and compliance factors. The results showed that gender modified the relationship between some independent factors and study outcomes. Crashes for males were significantly associated with previously receiving distraction fines, instances of being stopped byÌýpolice, being intimidated by other drivers and previously receiving traffic fines.Ìý
Crashes for females were significantly associated with violating traffic signs, being intimidated by other drivers and previously receiving traffic fines. StudyÌýoneÌýalso showed that more than half of drivers reported a sense of unfair treatment andÌýpoliceÌýselectivity and favouritism regarding traffic law enforcement. These factors might be profoundly affecting many Jordanian drivers' motivation to violate traffic rules.
Study two
Study twoÌýinvestigatedÌýpoliceÌýofficers work environment, enforcement perceptions and practices. The results showed that manyÌýpoliceÌýofficers complained of their work conditions, life and work pressures and unpleasant treatment when dealing with drivers.
There was some lack of understanding of the role ofÌýreligionÌýin road safety and anÌýunderestimationÌýof the level of risk of some driver behaviour as well as a reduced capacity in assessing crash contributors. Some factors related to aÌýdriver's networking, authority, position and nepotism were found to affectÌýpoliceÌýenforcement decisions.
Conclusion
The findings of both studies areÌýdiscussed,Ìýand some recommendations have been suggestedÌýregardingÌýdrivers and trafficÌýpoliceÌýto improve road safety in Jordan.Ìý
ItÌýappears that the role of religion along with Jordanian social cultureÌýregardingÌýcare for family and individual safety on Jordan’s roads, and respect for road laws and theÌýpoliceÌýwho enforce them, can be utilised to improve road safety in Jordan.
Category:ÌýDriver training
Researcher:ÌýDr FaisalÌýMagableh
Supervisor:ÌýProfessor RaphaelÌýGrzebieta
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The main objective of this research is to investigate the safety impact of smartphone speech interface on driving performance. This involves the study of three major points:ÌýÌý
- the use of the smartphone speech interface among drivers in AustraliaÌý
- the acceptability and usability of the smartphone speech interfaceÌý
- the relative impact on performance of smartphone speech interface versus visual/manual for texting and emailing.Ìý
Category: Driver trainingÌý
Researcher: Dr Nurul IbrahimÌý
Supervisor: Dr Carlo CaponecchiaÌý
Level: PhDÌý
Status: CompletedÌý
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EnhancingÌýnovice drivers' hazard perception has long been a critical challenge in road safety. This research aims to explore an innovative training approach, termedÌýimplicit training, that operates without explicit instructionsÌýto mitigate the cognitive burden experienced by novice drivers during training.Ìý
Category of research: Driver Training
Your name: Nan Ma
Your primary supervisor: Prof Brett Molesworth
Level: PhD
Status: Current
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Research from the aviation industry has demonstrated that a cognitive training method, termed episodic training, can improve a pilots' risk management in a simulated environment.ÌýÌý
Experiment oneÌý
Drawing from this research, experiment one aimed to investigate whether episodic training could produce similar improvements in motorists' risk management behaviour, namely in the area of speeding. The results revealed that episodic training was an effective method to reduce young novice drivers' tendency to speed in a simulated driving environment.ÌýÌý
Experiment twoÌý
Experiment two aimed to examine the impact of episodic training on drivers' cognitive resources, with the introduction of a secondary task. The results revealed that implementing a speed management strategy through episodic training was successful in isolation; however, when performed in conjunction with a secondary task, there was a trade-off in terms of how cognitive resources were allocated.ÌýÌý
Experiment threeÌý
This result prompted experiment three to explore the cognitive underpinnings of how young novice drivers distributed cognitive resources when performing a dual-task and whether it was possible to train how these resources were allocated.Ìý
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Cognitive resource allocation was calculated by assessing performance on a dual visual and auditory computer task. The results from this experiment revealed that individuals opted to evenly distribute cognitive resources in the dual-task exercise rather than allocate based on the demand characteristics of the task.ÌýÌý
The results also revealed that cognitive resource allocation can be trained by providing explicit feedback about performance.Ìý
Category: Driver trainingÌý
Researcher: Dr Prasannah PrabhakharanÌý
Supervisor: Dr Brett MolesworthÌý
Level: PhDÌý
Status: CompletedÌý
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Deficiency in hazard management (HM) and speed management (SM) is identified as a key contributor to the overrepresentation among young novice drivers in car crashes. Training one may not naturally improve the other. Skill transfer is highly unlikely because these skills rely on completely different mental processes.
To address this overrepresentation among young novice drivers, the present research investigates a training approach that can concurrently improve these two critical road safety skills.Ìý
Study 1
Study 1 systematically identified and examined existing training interventions aimed at enhancing HM and SM skills, including an investigation of possible skill generalisation between the two. The PRISMA framework was employed to search for the articles across several databases.
The results showed that training effectively improves targeting skills (HM and SM). However, skill transfer between these two skill domains is limited.
Experiment 1
Experiment 1 employed a driving simulator to investigate possible skill transfer from improved HM skills to SM skills, and vice versa. Commentary training with or without HM feedback was used to enhance HM skills, while SM (combined feedback) was employed to improve SM skills. The testing drives were conducted immediately after training and at one-week post-training, during which young novice drivers drove in three different speed zones and encountered nine hazardous events.
The results indicated that while the positive effects of improved targeted skills were confirmed, the skill transfer from HM training to SM skills was limited to the vicinity of hazards. Moreover, there is no transfer of reduced SM behaviour to HM skills across a one-week interval.
Experiment 2
Experiment 2 examined a new integrated training approach, alongside SM feedback and HM commentary training. Moreover, this experiment tested feedback, including different HM components (Perception (HP) + Hazard Projection (HPr) + Action; HP + HPr; and HP feedback), to determine which is most impactful for HM improvement.Ìý
Integrated training with HM and SM feedback demonstrated effectiveness in improving these HM and SM concurrently. Furthermore, HP and HPr feedback were shown to be the most impactful for developing HM skills.
Experiment 3
Experiment 3 extended the investigation into the benefits of integrated training by examining the effects of training under higher cognitive demands, such as degraded visibility and/or a secondary task. This study was conducted in a driving simulator, in which young novice drivers were tested on two occasions, with two speed zones and twelve hazardous events.Ìý
Young novice drivers who received the integrated training, particularly augmented with HM and SM feedback, demonstrated improved HM and SM performance even under higher cognitive demands.Ìý
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Category: Driver Training
Researcher: Boripat (Max) Ratchaneepun
Supervisor: Prof Brett MolesworthÌý
Level: PhDÌý
Status: Current