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Results for “Automobile Driving”

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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

PubMed2006

Active prompting to decrease cell phone use and increase seat belt use while driving.

Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for those aged 3 to 33, with 43,005 (118 per day) Americans killed in 2002 alone. Seat belt use reduces the risk of serious injury in an accident, and refraining from using a cell phone while driving reduces the risk of an accident. Cell phone use while driving increases accident rates, and leads to 2,600 U.S. fatalities each year. An active prompting procedure was employed to increase seat belt use and decrease cell phone use among drivers exiting a university parking lot. A multiple baseline with reversal design was used to evaluate the presentation of two signs: "Please Hang Up, I Care" and "Please Buckle Up, I Care." The proportion of drivers who complied with the seat belt prompt was high and in line with previous research. The proportion of drivers who hung up their cell phones in response to the prompt was about equal to that of the seat belt prompt. A procedure that reduces cell phone use among automobile drivers is a significant contribution to the behavioral safety literature.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2004

Sleep. 5: Driving and automobile crashes in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome.

Driving is a complex task involving distinct cognitive, perceptual, motor, and decision making skills. After placing the vehicle on the road, the driver must constantly survey the ever changing roadway environment to keep the vehicle in the lane and moving at an appropriate safe speed. This surveillance involves two distinct visual tasks: estimating and responding to the oncoming curvature and controlling lane position. Driving is therefore a divided attention task involving speed and lane control as well as monitoring. To do this in a safe manner requires careful attention and alertness which can be problematic for patients with obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS) or other sleep disorders.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2002

[Psychiatric disorders and fitness to drive an automobile. An overview].

The revised version of the guidelines for driving ability and the new driving license decree in Germany are outlined regarding forensic implications, general rules, and guidelines for psychiatric illness. Patients suffering from acute organic psychosis, severe dementia, acute schizophrenia, mania, severe depression, and alcoholism must be seen as unable to drive cars. Regarding effects of psychotropic medication on driving performance, multiple data with healthy volunteers are available, with very few patients, however. Based on new data showing differences between older and newer antidepressants and antipsychotics, individual drug selection is strongly recommended.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2003

Lower-extremity function for driving an automobile after operative treatment of ankle fracture.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine when patients recover the ability to safely operate the brakes of an automobile following operative repair of an ankle fracture. METHODS: A computerized driving simulator was developed and tested. Eleven healthy volunteers were tested once to establish normal mean values (Group I), and a group of thirty-one volunteers with a fracture of the right ankle were tested at six, nine, and twelve weeks following operative repair (Group II). The subjects were tested with a series of driving scenarios (city, suburban, and highway). Scores on the Short Form Musculoskeletal Assessment were recorded at six, nine, and twelve weeks and were compared with the results of the driving test. We investigated the effect of the time of the visit and of the testing condition on the braking times. RESULTS: The total braking time was 1079 msec for Group I and 1330, 1172, and 1160 msec for Group II at six, nine, and twelve weeks, respectively, postoperatively (p = 0.0094). The total braking time consistently improved for each of the driving scenarios at each successive data point (p = 0.05). The increase in the total braking time at six weeks meant an increase in the distance traveled by the automobile before braking of 22 ft (6.7 m) at 60 mph (96.6 km/hr), and the increase at nine weeks meant an increase of 8 ft (2.4 m) at 60 mph. The functional outcome improved at each successive visit, although no significant association was found between the functional scores and normalization of total braking time. CONCLUSION: By nine weeks, the total braking time of patients who have undergone fixation of a displaced right ankle fracture returns to the normal, baseline value.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2002

Falling asleep while driving and automobile accidents among patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome.

Among 448 patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), 40 patients (8.9%) had been involved in one or more automobile accidents during the preceding 5 years. The main cause of these accidents was falling asleep while driving. Excessive sleepiness during driving was associated with an Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) score of > 11 and/or an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of > 15. The automobile accident rate among 182 patients with severe OSAHS (AHI > 30) was significantly higher than the rate among 106 simple snorers (AHI < 5). Although four of the simple snorers were involved in automobile accidents, their ESS scores were all very high (15 or more).

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed2001

The relevance of stereopsis for motorists: a pilot study.

PURPOSE: To study the influence of stereoscopic depth perception on automobile driving performance. METHODS: Ten patients with strabismus and defective stereopsis were compared with ten healthy controls with respect to their performance in a series of automobile driving manoeuvres. The two groups were individually matched as to age, annual miles driven, years of licence holding and type of vehicle owned. After an ophthalmologic examination the subjects in each group performed the following series of driving tests: (1) stopping in front of an obstacle, (2) reversing into a parking space, (3) driving through a slalom course, (4) estimating the relative positions of two cars. All tests were performed binocularly and monocularly (with the non-dominant eye covered). RESULTS: Only in the slalom test did the normal subjects perform significantly better than the stereo-deficient subjects (odds ratio 10.5; P<0.01). In estimating position, normal subjects actually performed significantly worse (odds ratio 0.091; P<0.01). A significant distance ratio of 2.5 (95% CI 1.1-5.5; P=0.033) of the monocular with respect to the binocular performance of the normal subjects was found for the stopping task only, while the subjects with defective stereopsis showed no difference between their monocular and binocular performance. CONCLUSION: In this study, stereopsis had a positive effect on driving performance only in dynamic situations at intermediate distances.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Suicide by gunshot while driving an automobile.

Suicide by a motor vehicle occurs more commonly than is realized, and may be difficult to prove. Suicide by other means while driving a vehicle is far less common. An automobile driven by a young woman left a road at high speed, became airborne, and came to rest on its top in a front yard. This was initially assumed to be a fatal traffic accident. Upon righting the vehicle, a .357 revolver was found on the ground beside it. A single, fatal, self-inflicted gunshot wound was found in the decedent's midanterior thorax. A suicide note was found in her purse. She had been chronically depressed and had twice attempted suicide. Vehicular suicides may constitute 10-30% of fatal single-vehicle crashes, and must be considered in any vehicular mishap lacking another reasonable explanation. Suicide by other means while driving is far less common than suicidal vehicular collision and suicidal death from carbon monoxide in motor vehicles. An autopsy should be performed in each of these sometimes-low-priority single-vehicle deaths in order to certify vehicular accidents correctly; to discover and document vehicular suicides; and to detect homicides disguised as vehicular mishaps.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed1975