The effect of positive and negative emotions on young drivers: A simulator study

The study examined the influence of affect induction on actual risk-taking behavior in a driving simulator, as well as the links between personal variables (relevance of driving to self-esteem, sensation seeking) and the level of risky driving. Eighty young drivers aged 18–21 (M = 19.24, SD = 0.75) were randomly divided into four induction groups: relaxing positive affect; arousing positive affect; negative affect; and neutral affect. The participants drove on a simulator, with various parameters of risky driving measured before and after emotion priming.As predicted, arousing positive affect and negative affect led to increased risky driving, whereas relaxing positive affect moderated risk-taking. In addition, the results confirm previous findings regarding the personal variables, revealing that higher levels of relevance of driving to self-esteem and sensation seeking are associated with higher levels of risk-taking in the simulated driving.The findings indicate that the driver’s emotional state has a significant effect on risk-taking on the road. Moreover, they show that the conventional use of negative affect in safe driving campaigns is liable to heighten the tendency for risky driving rather than reduce it. In contrast, relaxing positive affect was found to lead to lower risk-taking. The study is unique in revealing a correlation between results previously obtained for the willingness to drive recklessly and actual risky driving behavior observed on a driving simulator. By expanding the understanding of the motivations for youngsters’ risky driving, the study may aid in designing effective, theoretically sound, interventions aimed at reducing the tendency for dangerous driving among young drivers.     

Attentional capture in driving displays

Drivers face frequent distraction on the roadways, but little is known about situations placing them at risk of misallocating visual attention. To investigate this issue, we asked participants to search for a red target embedded within simulated driving scenes (photographs taken from inside a car) in three experiments. Distraction was induced by presenting, via a GPS unit, red or green distractors positioned in an irrelevant location at which the target never appeared. If the salient distractor captures attention, visual search should be slower on distractor‐present trials than distractor‐absent trials. In Experiment 1, salient distractors yielded no such capture effect. In Experiment 2, we decreased the frequency of the salient distractor from 50% of trials to only 10% or 20% of trials. Capture effects were almost five times larger for the 10% occurrence group than for the 20% occurrence group. In Experiment 3, the amount of available central resources was manipulated by asking participants to either simultaneously monitor or ignore a stream of spoken digits. Capture effects were much larger for the dual‐task group than for the single‐task group. In summary, these findings identify risk factors for attentional capture in real‐world driving scenes: distractor rarity and diversion of attention.     

Exploring the theoretical underpinnings of driving whilst influenced by illicit substances

An increasing number of studies are highlighting the alarming proportion of motorists that drive after having consumed illicit drugs. However presently, little attention has focused on the factors that may facilitate drug driving from a criminogenic paradigm. This study evaluated the contribution of deterrence, defiance, and deviance theories on intentions to drug drive to determine factors that might facilitate or reduce this behaviour. A total of 922 individuals completed a questionnaire that assessed frequency of drug use and a variety of perceptions on deterrence, defiance, and deviance constructs. The analysis showed that the defiance constructs (i.e., experiencing feelings of shame and believing in the legitimacy of sanctioning authority) and the deviance constructs (i.e., moral attachment to the norm and having a criminal conviction) were predictive of drug driving intentions. The facets of deterrence theory were not found to be significant predictors. Ultimately, this study illustrates that a range of behavioural and perceptual factors have the capacity to influence decisions to drug drive. As a result, there appears the need to extend the focus of research endeavours beyond legal sanctions to examine other factors that may be utilised to both understand the aetiology of drug driving as well as increase the possibility of compliance with the corresponding legislation.     

« Femmes au volant,danger au tournant » Les conductrices sont-elles victimes d’une menace de stéréotype ?

Owing to the sexuation of occupations associating technical attributes with men and relational skills with women, the latter are less numerous in professions where driving is involved. The negative stereotype associating women with poor driving skills is thus likely to have a cognitive and behavioral impact. According to the model of the stereotype threat, could activation of the threat inhibit the performance of women in a Highway Code test? After performing an association task that demonstrated a largely negative stereotype, 56 female students took a Highway Code test in two conditions: an experimental condition where the stereotype was activated by a comparison between men and women (N = 17); and a control condition without activation (N = 39). Subjects performed less well in the experimental condition, demonstrating the expected effects of the stereotype threat.     

An analytic tableau calculus for a temporalised belief logic

A tableau is a refutation-based decision procedure for a related logic, and is among the most popular proof procedures for modal logics. In this paper, we present a labelled tableau calculus for a temporalised belief logic called TML⁺, which is obtained by adding a linear-time temporal logic onto a belief logic by the temporalisation method of Finger and Gabbay. We first establish the soundness and the completeness of the labelled tableau calculus based on the soundness and completeness results of its constituent logics. We then sketch a resolution-type proof procedure that complements the tableau calculus and also propose a model checking algorithm for TML⁺ based on the recent results for model checking procedures for temporalised logics. TML⁺ is suitable for formalising trust and agent beliefs and reasoning about their evolution for agent-based systems. Based on the logic TML⁺, the proposed labelled tableau calculus could be used for analysis, design and verification of agent-based systems operating in dynamic environments.     

A clausal resolution method for extended computation tree logic ECTL

A temporal clausal resolution method was originally developed for linear time temporal logic and further extended to the branching-time framework of Computation Tree Logic (CTL). In this paper, following our general idea to expand the applicability of this efficient method to more expressive formalisms useful in a variety of applications in computer science and AI requiring branching time logics, we define a clausal resolution technique for Extended Computation Tree Logic (ECTL). The branching-time temporal logic ECTL is strictly more expressive than CTL in allowing fairness operators. The key elements of the resolution method for ECTL, namely the clausal normal form, the concepts of step resolution and a temporal resolution, are introduced and justified with respect to this new framework. Although in developing these components we incorporate many of the techniques defined for CTL, we need novel mechanisms in order to capture fairness together with the limit closure property of the underlying tree models. We accompany our presentation of the relevant techniques by examples of the application of the temporal resolution method. Finally, we provide a correctness argument and consider future work discussing an extension of the method yet further, to the logic CTL^*, the most powerful logic of this class.     

Screening for drugs in oral fluid: Illicit drug use and drug driving in a sample of urban and regional Queensland motorists

Police services in a number of Australian states and overseas jurisdictions have begun to implement or consider random road-side drug testing of drivers. This paper outlines research conducted to provide an estimate of the extent of drug driving in a sample of Queensland drivers in regional, rural and metropolitan areas. Oral fluid samples were collected from 2657 Queensland motorists and screened for illicit substances including cannabis (delta 9 tetrahydrocannibinol [THC]), amphetamines, ecstasy, and cocaine. Overall, 3.8% of the sample (n = 101) screened positive for at least one illicit substance, although multiple drugs were identified in a sample of 23 respondents. The most common drugs detected in oral fluid were ecstasy (n = 53), and cannabis (n = 46) followed by amphetamines (n = 23). A key finding was that cannabis was confirmed as the most common self-reported drug combined with driving and that individuals who tested positive to any drug through oral fluid analysis were also more likely to report the highest frequency of drug driving. Furthermore, a comparison between drug vs. drink driving detection rates for one region of the study, revealed a higher detection rate for drug driving (3.8%) vs. drink driving (0.8%). This research provides evidence that drug driving is relatively prevalent on Queensland roads, and may in fact be more common than drink driving. This paper will further outline the study findings’ and present possible directions for future drug driving research.     

Perceived distance of targets in convex mirrors

We investigated the perceived distance of targets in convex and plane mirrors. In Experiment 1, 20 subjects matched the distance of targets in a real scene to the distance of a virtual target in different mirrors. The matched distances were much larger for convex mirrors than for a plane mirror. In Experiment 2, 20 subjects viewed two targets in a mirror and adjusted their own positions so that the distance to the closer target was perceived to equal the distance between the targets. The mean distance to the closer target was smaller for the convex mirrors than for the plane mirror. In Experiment 3, 20 subjects adjusted the position of a target so that the distance to it in a mirror was perceived to equal the distance designated by the experimenter. The best-fitting power functions showed that the scaling factors were larger for the convex mirrors than for the plane mirror, but the exponents were smaller for the convex mirrors than for the plane mirror. It is suggested that distance in the convex mirrors was perceived to be larger than in the plane mirror, and that the growth of perceived distance in the convex mirrors was slower than in the plane mirror.     

Gender differences in attitudes towards driving and demand for private Insurance: Evidence from middle class drivers

This article examines the existence of associations between the gender of the driver, their risk behavior when driving motor vehicles and their inclination to acquire automobile insurance. To conduct this investigation a random survey was carried out with 566 middle class adults in 66 Brazilian towns and cities. By using non-parametric tests and logit models, the results suggest that even when controlling for other variables, women feel a greater need to have automobile insurance to protect themselves in the event of possible accidents under rainy conditions and also to have access to driver support services. Women also tend to have more respect for speed limits in various situations, such as during the rush hour, on local roads and on highways. The results also showed that men feel safer than women driving in more precarious situations: at night, in unfamiliar areas, after drinking, or even when they are tired. These results, in addition to contributing to the theoretical development of road traffic and transportation safety, are of special relevance to the financial industry and the regulatory agency. The insurance industry may find these results particularly helpful in designing future policies and setting premiums.