Recent European Projects on Driver Impairment

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Recent European Projects on Driver Impairment

• Dr. N. Ward
• University of Minnesota
• Dr. K. Brookhuis
• University of Gronigen

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Outline

• Overview approaches to impairment.
• Summarize conclusions from recent European
  projects.
• www.cordis.lu
• Discuss limitations and future issues for
  impairment research.

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Driver Impairment
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Objectives

• Reduce crashes from impairment in population by
  individual control of risk
• (1) driving performance
• roadside testing, vehicle monitoring
• (2) driver exposure
• license assessment.
• Differentiate control approaches based on
  impairment form
• Acute (e.g., alcohol, drugs, attention, fatigue)
• Chronic (e.g., age-related disease, illness)

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Projects
Method Roadside Vehicle License
Factor Acute Chronic
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Process (Normative)

• Follow the scientific process
• Description
• Quantify risk.
• Explanation
• Identify risk factors.
• Prediction
• Model factors to estimate risk.
• Control
• Set accepted risk and calculate factor levels.
• Key questions
• What level of risk to accept?
• What layer of risk factor to control?

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Issues
Dose
Psychomotor
Performance
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ROSITA http//www.rosita.org/

• Transport RTD Work Programme (DG-VII) Jun, 1999
  to July, 2001.
• University of Gent (BE).
• Inventory of drugs and medicines.
• Inventory of immunoassay devices for roadside
  drug screening.
• Identify operational, user and legal
  requirements.
• Evaluate feasibility of devices.

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Results

• A definite need for roadside testing.
• Agencies would rather use imperfect system than
  no system.
• Saliva testing preferred, but some limitations in
  this method.
• Insufficient data to set tolerance levels for
  drug compounds.
• Requirement for EU Technical Review Committee for
  adoption of uniform regulations.

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CERTIFIED http//www.psyc.leeds.ac.uk/certified/

• Transport RTD Work Programme (DG-VII) Jan, 1999
  to Sept, 2000.
• University of Leeds (UK).
• Review impairment risk for drugs.
• Review and pilot roadside testing.
• Formulate verification methodology.
• Identify key policy issues.

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Prioritization

• Various qualitative rankings exist
• Reliability requires a standard index of hazard
  (IH)
• Exposure
• fatal cases
• Hazard
• impairment
• Outcome
• culpability

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Testing

• Primary Task Estimate of Time-to-contact (when
  red dot arrives at centre)
• Secondary task
• Estimate if the shape in the centre is
  replicated in any corner

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Drug ResultsDr. Riedel, W.J. Lamers, C.T.J.
(Brain Behavior Institute, Maastricht
University)
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SAVE/AWAKE http//www.iao.fhg.de/projects/SAVE/

• Transport Telematics Work Programme (DGVIII)
  1996 1999.
• Information Society Telematics Programme 2001
  2004.
• Helgeco SA, (Greece).
• Real-time integrated in-vehicle system to detect
  driver impairment
• Alcohol
• Drugs (abuse)
• Inattention
• Fatigue
• Breakdown

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Concept
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Results
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IMMORTAL

• Competitive and Sustainable Growth (GROW-2000)
  2001 2004.
• University of Leeds, UK (UMN)
• Roadside testing
• Licensing protocols
• Policy support (workshops, CBA)
• Chronic Ageing, mental illness and medical
  disease
• Acute Alcohol, drugs and medicines

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Ageing, Illness Disease

• Culpability of risk groups.
• Prospective analysis of accidents.
• Depressives and anti-depressants.
• Diabetics (relative to BAC 0.05).
• Standard license assessment protocols for
  impaired elderly.
• Driving assessment methods for drivers with
  learning difficulties.

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Alcohol, Drugs Medicines

• Qualitative analysis of causal factors.
• Epidemiological survey to quantify relative risk
  (baselines).
• Roadside impairment test methods linked to sample
  from epidemiological survey.
• Road and simulation studies of impairment from
  amphetamines, ecstasy, and flu medications.

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Conclusions

• EC is focused on driver impairment.
• Main impairment factors include fatigue, drugs,
  ageing.
• Interventions based on vehicle technology,
  roadside systems and licensing.
• Efforts are multi-method, multi-institutional and
  multi-national.
• Key is the development of practical methods with
  valid tolerance levels.

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Future
Metric
Construct
Low
High
Drunk Fatigued Distracted Dementia