This editorial serves as an extended introduction to the Special Issue on Technologies for Risk Mitigation and Support of Impaired Drivers. It gives the context to recent advances in assisted and automated driving and the new challenges that arise when modern technology meets human users. The Special Issue focuses on the development of robust sensors and detection algorithms for driver state monitoring of fatigue, stress, and inattention, and on the development of personalized multimodal, user-oriented, and adaptive information, warning, actuation, and handover strategies. A summary of more recent developments serves as a motivation for each article that follows.

This paper presents initial work on a context-dependent driver distraction detection algorithm called AttenD2.0, which extends the original AttenD algorithm with elements from the Minimum Required Attention (MiRA) theory. Central to the original AttenD algorithm is a time buffer which keeps track of how often and for how long the driver looks away from the forward roadway. When the driver looks away the buffer is depleted and when looking back the buffer fills up. If the buffer runs empty the driver is classified as distracted. AttenD2.0 extends this concept by adding multiple buffers, thus integrating situation dependence and visual time-sharing behaviour in a transparent manner. Also, the increment and decrement of the buffers are now controlled by both static requirements (e.g. the presence of an on-ramp increases the need to monitor the sides and the mirrors) as well as dynamic requirements (e.g., reduced speed lowers the need to monitor the speedometer). The algorithm description is generic, but a real-time implementation with concrete values for different parameters is showcased in a driving simulator experiment with 16 bus drivers, where AttenD2.0 was used to ensure that drivers are attentive before taking back control after an automated bus stop docking and depot procedure. The scalability of AttenD2.0 relative to available data sources and the level of vehicle automation is demonstrated. Future work includes expanding the concept to real-world environments by automatically integrating situational information from the vehicles environmental sensing and from digital maps.

Eye tracking (ET) has been used extensively in driver attention research. Amongst other findings, ET data have increased our knowledge about what drivers look at in different traffic environments and how they distribute their glances when interacting with non-driving related tasks. Eye tracking is also the go-to method when determining driver distraction via glance target classification. At the same time, eye trackers are limited in the sense that they can only objectively measure the gaze direction. To learn more about why drivers look where they do, what information they acquire foveally and peripherally, how the road environment and traffic situation affect their behavior, and how their own expertise influences their actions, it is necessary to go beyond counting the targets that the driver foveates. In this perspective paper, we suggest a glance analysis approach that classifies glances based on their purpose. The main idea is to consider not only the intention behind each glance, but to also account for what is relevant in the surrounding scene, regardless of whether the driver has looked there or not. In essence, the old approaches, unaware as they are of the larger context or motivation behind eye movements, have taken us as far as they can. We propose this more integrative approach to gain a better understanding of the complexity of drivers' informational needs and how they satisfy them in the moment.

To successfully get around in traffic it is often necessary to keep track of several relevant targets at the same time. This can be done by combining foveal and peripheral visual information sampling. Especially if no detailed input is needed, for example when confirming the absence of road users, it may be enough to use peripheral vision only. Using a driving simulator with an urban scenery, 35 participants passed three zebra crossings with a) no pedestrians nearby, b) pedestrians standing nearby and c) pedestrians nearby of whom one started walking towards the street. In the last case, all participants foveated the walking person, albeit around one third of the participants already released the throttle before the first glance at the pedestrian. The standing pedestrians were foveated in almost all instances, whereas the roadside nearby the zebra crossing without people nearby was not foveated by around a quarter of the participants. Taken together, the results indicate that peripheral vision may suffice to confirm the absence or presence of pedestrians. With people present, a glance towards them is initiated, likely to check for additional information. Throttle release before foveation is an indication that the walking pedestrian was detected as relevant with peripheral vision.

Hours of service regulations govern the working hours of commercial motor vehicle drivers, but these regulations may become more flexible as highly automated vehicles have the potential to afford periods of in-cab rest or even sleep while the vehicle is moving. A prerequisite is robust continuous monitoring of when the driver is resting (to account for reduced time on task) or sleeping (to account for the reduced physiological drive to sleep). The overall aims of this paper are to raise a discussion of whether it is possible to obtain successful rest during automated driving, and to present initial work on a hypothetical data driven algorithm aimed to estimate if it is possible to gain driving time after resting under fully automated driving. The presented algorithm consists of four central components, a heart rate-based relaxation detection algorithm, a camera-based sleep detection algorithm, a fatigue modelling component taking time awake, time of day and time on task into account, and a component that estimates gained driving time. Real-time assessment of driver fitness is complicated, especially when it comes to the recuperative value of in-cab sleep and rest, as it depends on sleep quality, time of day, homeostatic sleep pressure and on the activities that are carried out while resting. The monotony that characterizes for long-haul truck driving is clearly interrupted for a while, but the long-term consequences of extended driving times, including user acceptance of the key stakeholders, requires further research.

The effects of driver sleepiness are often quantified as deteriorated driving performance, increased blink durations and high levels of subjective sleepiness. Driver sleepiness has also been associated with increasing levels of electroencephalogram (EEG) power, especially in the alpha range. The present exploratory study investigated a new measure of driver sleepiness, the EEG fixation-related lambda response. Thirty young male drivers (23.6±1.7years old) participated in a driving simulator experiment in which they drove on rural and suburban roads in simulated daylight versus darkness during both the daytime (full sleep) and night-time (sleep deprived). The results show lower lambda responses during night driving and with longer time on task, indicating that sleep deprivation and time on task cause a general decrement in cortical responsiveness to incoming visual stimuli. Levels of subjective sleepiness and line crossings were higher under the same conditions. Furthermore, results of a linear mixed-effects model showed that low lambda responses are associated with high subjective sleepiness and more line crossings. We suggest that the fixation-related lambda response can be used to investigate driving impairment induced by sleep deprivation while driving and that, after further refinement, it may be useful as an objective measure of driver sleepiness.

Assisted and automated driving brings new challenges and opportunities when it comes to driver fatigue. With lower levels of vehicle automation, driver monotony and boredom in combination with demanding attentive monitoring leads to higher levels of fatigue, especially during the night when the sleep pressure is high. With higher levels of vehicle automation, when the driver is not required to continuously monitor the roadway and the automation system, task-related fatigue can be counteracted by engaging in non-driving-related activities. Finally, with the highest levels of vehicle automation, it may even become possible for drivers to sleep while on the move. Aside from making it possible for private car drivers to take strategic naps during a drive, this also opens up the possibility for more flexible, risk management-based, hour of service regulations for professional drivers. This chapter summarises the current state of the art on how assisted and piloted driving affects driver fatigue and how automation may facilitate recovery and recuperation from fatigue while on the move. It also covers how automated functions will impact driver monitoring systems and how new ways of counteracting driver fatigue may arise when automation is available.

While the negative effects of alcohol on driving performance are undisputed, it is unclear how driver attention, eye movements and visual information sampling are affected by alcohol consumption. A simulator study with 35 participants was conducted to investigate whether and how a driver's level of attention is related to self-paced non-driving related task (NDRT)-engagement and tactical aspects of undesirable driver behaviour under increasing levels of breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) up to 1.0 ‰. Increasing BrAC levels lead to more frequent speeding, short time headways and weaving, and higher NDRT engagement. Instantaneous distraction events become more frequent, with more and longer glances to the NDRT, and a general decline in visual attention to the forward roadway. With alcohol, the compensatory behaviour that is typically seen when drivers engage in NDRTs did not appear. These findings support the theory that alcohol reduces the ability to shift attention between multiple tasks. To conclude, the independent reduction in safety margins in combination with impaired attention and an increased willingness to engage in NDRTs is likely the reason behind increased crash risk when driving under the influence of alcohol. © 2023

The objective of this study was to compare the development of sleepiness during manual driving versus level 2 partially automated driving, when driving on a motorway in Sweden. The hypothesis was that partially automated driving will lead to higher levels of fatigue due to underload. Eighty-nine drivers were included in the study using a 2 × 2 design with the conditions manual versus partially automated driving and daytime (full sleep) versus night-time (sleep deprived). The results showed that night-time driving led to markedly increased levels of sleepiness in terms of subjective sleepiness ratings, blink durations, PERCLOS, pupil diameter and heart rate. Partially automated driving led to slightly higher subjective sleepiness ratings, longer blink durations, decreased pupil diameter, slower heart rate, and higher EEG alpha and theta activity. However, elevated levels of sleepiness mainly arose from the night-time drives when the sleep pressure was high. During daytime, when the drivers were alert, partially automated driving had little or no detrimental effects on driver fatigue. Whether the negative effects of increased sleepiness during partially automated driving can be compensated by the positive effects of lateral and longitudinal driving support needs to be investigated in further studies. © 2021 The Author(s)

The number of bicycling fatalities was 19 450 between 2010 and 2018 in Europe. The number of bicyclists killed when intoxicated by alcohol is harder to establish given the lack of reliable data. In Sweden, drunk bicycling is socially acceptable and legal (unless reckless). This experiment aimed to investigate how alcohol intoxication affect bicycling stability performance, executive functions, and self-rated ability. The experiment was completed on a wide treadmill that allowed control of several influencing factors such as speed and physical effort. Intoxicated and sober participants bicycled on the treadmill for five 10 minute sessions. Alcohol as administered incrementally to reach a target breath alcohol concentration level of 0.8‰. Stability decreased with intoxication; especially roll rate measurements were identified as being adequate indicators of bicycling instability. Executive function was negatively affected, and ability ratings decreased due to intoxication. The intoxicated participants were aware of their reduced ability to bicycle in a safe manner on a group level but not on an individual level. However, this insight does not affect their intention to bicycle intoxicated.

Syftet med Ride the future - living lab

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Att ha tillgång till transportsystemet är extra viktig, men även utmanande för personer med synnedsättningar. Resande med synnedsättningar är vanligtvis mer beroende av sin hörsel och av god förutsägbarhet under resans samtliga moment. I en framtid kan detta förväntas bli en ännu större utmaning med fler autonoma och elektrifierade fordon i transportsystemet.

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att fånga synnedsattas behov och önskningar kring stöd för att tillgängliggöra resande med framtidens autonoma bussar. Fokus har varit på digitala lösningar och där två systerprojekt har använts som ingång. Det ena projektet handlar om Augmented Reality (förstärkt verklighet - AR) baserade lösningar i kollektivtrafiken, det andra är mobilitetsplattformen i Linköping kallad Ridethefuture, i vilken 2 mindre autonoma elektrifierade bussar har använts för medåkande med syftet att fånga synnedsattas reflektioner.

Studien omfattar en inledande kunskapsgenomgång där såväl en benchmarking som en litteraturgenomgång gjorts. Vidare har en inledande fokusgrupp med fokus på synnedsattas resande generellt och deras förväntningar på framtidens autonoma system genomförts och därefter medåkandeobservationer med synnedsatta. En kompletterade uppgiftsanalys genomfördes i syfte att öka kunskapen om vilka behov resande har i allmänhet.

The overall aim of this work is to develop guidelines for evaluation of potential treatments, categorized as “self-explaining treatments” by the use of a driving simulator. More specific the driving simulator study had the aim:

• • To evaluate the effectiveness of curve treatments, in particular to determine whether a combination of treatments on curves according to their severity could help drivers correctly establish the severity of a curve in advance, and therefore adapt their speed appropriately.

In total 35 participants, divided into two groups, drove approximately 46 minutes on a rural road with 3 baseline curves without treatment and 9 curves with treatment of varying levels. In total three different treatment levels and three different curves were used. One group received treatments before each curve that correspond to the severity of the curve (slight curve – low treatment level; moderate curve – medium treatment level; severe curve – high treatment level); the other group experienced inconsistent treatments by being exposed to all nine possible combination of curve and treatments.

The analysis of the effects on speed in average and at each point (v0 to v5) was done with Mixed Model ANOVA. Dependent variables were speed measurements in the different points along the curve (v0 to v5) and the average speed through the total curve (from point v0 to v5). The analyses were done both for absolute speeds and for the relative change in speed from starting point (v0). Independent variables were consistent/inconsistent group; curve (1-3), treatment level (1–3) and time on task, here called order (1–9). Subject was used as random and nested on group. In addition the most severe curve was analysed separately in order to compare the groups.

In conclusion the result showed that in most cases there were significant effects for treatment levels, severity of the curve, order (time on task), and for subject. There was no significant main effect on group (consistent/inconsistent). However, there was an interaction between curve and group, telling us that the consistent marking significantly reduced the average speed among those with consistent treatment. This holds true also for the speed at point v2, v3 and v5. A final argument for the effectiveness of consistent treatment is that if only the severe curve was considered, there was a significant effect of group.

Guidelines for evaluation

It was found that our used method to evaluate the effects of speed adjustment worked well. 35 participants each drove approximately 45 minutes. They were divided into a consistent and one inconsistent group. Three levels of treatment and three severities of curves were used. The dependent variable was the speed measured at three points along the curve. This methodology could be used to evaluate other types of self-explaining treatments. But since a driving simulator study requires a lot of planning (expensive) it is suggested to initially do an expert workshop to evaluate and select the suitable SER treatment and also detailed scenario description.

Travelling by bus is one of the safest modes of transport. However, crashes still happen and studies have found that the most severe crashes are related to rollovers, mainly on rural roads. The most severe injuries occur when unbuckled passengers are thrown out through the windows or get stuck under the bus. In Sweden the use of a seat belt and information about seat belt use when traveling by bus is regulated in Traffic Ordinance (1998: 1276) Chapter 4 §10a. In short, all bus passengers three years or older should be seated in a place with a seat belt, if there is such a place, and should use the belt. If there is no seat belt available, it is allowed to stand in the bus (if the bus is approved for standing places). The legal responsibility to inform and make sure passengers under 15 use the belt are on the bus driver. Despite existing regulations there is no clear view on the usage rate of seat belt in buses, or on the travellers’ view of their own usage and the reasons to not buckle up. This study aims to evaluate seat belt usage in buses and to understand travellers’ incentives of seatbelt usage.

This study aims to evaluate seat belt usage in buses and to understand travellers' incentives of seat belt usage. Methods used are observational studies (10 cities, with 328 bus observations), focus group discussion (7 groups with a total of 32 participants) and a web survey (n = 1737 respondents). The results show that the seat belt use among bus passengers can be improved especially in regional and commercial bus traffic. It is more common to buckle up on long trips than on short trips. However, even though observations show high usage during long trips, travellers report that they remove the seat belt after a while if they want to sleep or for comfort reasons. For the bus drivers it is not possible to control passengers' usage. Dirty seat belts and technical malfunction might deter some passengers from using them and therefore systematic cleaning and control of seats and belts are recommended. On short trips one reason for not using the belt is related to worries about getting stuck and not being ready to get off in time. In general, it is most important to increase the usage on high-speed roads (>60 km/ h), in lower speed it might be more important to provide a seat for each passenger. Based on the results a list of recommendations is presented.

BACKGROUND: Approximately 30% of Swedish urban bus drivers report having been exposed to threats or violence. As 50% of drivers have voiced concerns about the occurrences, threats and violence also represent contributing factors to driver stress and fatigue.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore bus drivers' experience of threats and violence; how threats and violence manifests and how the problem is handled by drivers. Gaining understanding of the circumstances is important to reduce the number of threats and violent incidents to provide healthy and attractive working conditions for drivers.

METHODS: This study is based on in-depth interviews with 12 urban bus drivers in the City of Malmo in Sweden.

RESULTS: Urban bus drivers experience threats daily from passengers, although physical violence occurs less often. The most common situations resulting in threats involve asking passengers to show valid tickets, denying child carriages onboard and running late to a bus stop. The drivers have not received clear guidelines as to strategic handling of the invalid ticket situation.

CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations include a clear policy and consensus with regard to handling invalid tickets, providing drivers with guidelines for appropriate procedures for passengers refusing to pay, improving reporting routines and establishing a strategy for the Public Transportation provider and operator to follow with regard to reports, in-vehicle surveillance cameras including informing passengers that they are being video recorded as well as harmonizing the location of alarm buttons on buses.

Ride the future is a mobility solution with three electrified autonomous buses that operate a 4.2 km long loop at Linköping University and Vallastaden. There is a need to summarize the results obtained, to achieve Ride the future’s goal of showing how an autonomous electrified bus can be part of the mobility in the modern dense city. The purpose of this report is to summarize and discuss these with a starting point in what this means for the users and where aspects around vehicles and operation, infrastructure, the users’ perception of attractiveness, accessibility, convenience and inclusion are included.

A compilation of completed user studies shows that the majority of travellers who have tested the buses are positive about the journey, but that efforts are required to attract motorists. Furthermore, an increased focus is needed on the development of how the vehicles should be able to communicate with passengers on the bus, but also with those who interact with the bus outside (pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicle drivers). The driver is important from the point of view of the situation we have today with somewhat immature technology. The drivers support both the bus and the passengers, especially children, the elderly and people with disabilities. However, for the mobility service to be available to all passengers development and improvement of both physical infrastructure and digital solutions is needed.

Ride the future intends to continue with the joint ambition of the project's parties to test and contribute to the development of the solutions required for a future sustainable mobility system within both the dense city and the countryside. Within this ambition, both technical, inter-personal and business issues are identified as necessary to work on.

The interest in operating autonomous vehicles is growing and several demonstration sites using automated shuttles have been established all over the world. Major work is involved in setting up an automated shuttle operation that involves more than identifying the relevant site, including adhering to current regulations and obtaining approval, as well as a considerable amount of preparation and commissioning required at the site. The shuttle must pass relevant national vehicle regulations, and the operation site has to undergo a site assessment. This paper is based on lessons learned achieved from setting up automated shuttle operations in three different areas in Europe: Brussel (Belgium), Linköping (Sweden) and Turin (Italy). The focus is on the practical aspects of operation. Through the experience we have gained of setting up demonstration sites at three locations in Europe, we have identified the need to summarise the lessons learned from preparing AV shuttle operation sites in order to facilitate the implementation of other operation sites. Hence, this paper aims to consolidate lessons learned during preparation and implementation of automated shuttle operations in near urban environments and to identify the path toward future implementation The three sites operate different brands and number of shuttles, different types of infrastructure and varying local conditions. The focus here was on generic lessons learned and not to understand differences between brands and operators. It is clear that further development of the AV shuttles is vital to ensure that they operate smoothly in complex traffic situations considering lane and road width, shared spaces, snow, dust, rain, leaves, birds, etc. Adapting the road infrastructure to enable the shuttles to run in the autonomous mode should be avoided, instead the shuttle development should prioritise fitting into the existing traffic environment and eco system. Mitigation areas have been identified covering: road infrastructure, weather dependant operation, season dependent operation, improvement of localisation, digital infrastructure, design and working conditions, and citizens’ user experience.

This chapter describes challenges faced in fatigue research and in fatigue evaluation for various purposes including crash statistics and enforcement and for selection of appropriate countermeasures. The challenges are related to both the causes and the consequences of fatigue. Differences between sleep-related and task-related fatigue are discussed in relation to countermeasures for fatigue. The chapter also describes how individual characteristics including age, chronotype, and personality influence the development of fatigue and add to the complexity of choosing appropriate fatigue countermeasures. Difficulties in measuring and providing proof that an individual is fatigued are discussed in relation to law enforcement.

Rumble strips in the center of two-lane rural roads and on the shoulder of motorways are a countermeasure aimed to help drivers who unintentionally are about to leave the lane, for example, due to fatigue or inattention. Rumble strips are widely used. They are installed in the raised profile or as in-ground (milled or pressed). The design varies in width, depth, length, and design. The most effective are the in-ground ones. Evaluations show an effect of 10% reduction of all injury crashes and 37% reduction on target crashes (head-on, single crashes to the left, etc.). Rumble strips contribute to speed reduction of 2–5 km/h and an increased distance to them with 10–15 cm, something that is good for vehicle-to-vehicle interactions, but less good for pedestrians and cyclist using the shoulder. To summarize, rumble strips save lives to a rather small cost in relation to other infrastructure-based countermeasures.

Driver fatigue is a contributing factor in about 20% of all fatal road crashes worldwide. Countermeasures are urgently needed and one of the most promising and currently available approaches for that are in-vehicle systems for driver fatigue detection. The main objective of this paper is to present a video-based driver sleepiness detection system set up as a two-stage model with (1) a generic deep feature extraction module combined with (2) a personalised sleepiness detection module. The approach was designed and evaluated using data from 13 drivers, collected during naturalistic driving conditions on a motorway in Sweden. Each driver performed one 90-minute driving session during daytime (low sleepiness condition) and one session during night-time (high sleepiness condition). The sleepiness detection model outputs a continuous output representing the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) scale from 1-9 or a binary decision as alert (defined as KSS 1-6) or sleepy (defined as KSS 7-9). Continuous output modelling resulted in a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.54 KSS units. Binary classification of alert or sleepy showed an accuracy of 92% (sensitivity = 91.7%, specificity = 92.3%, F1 score = 90.4%). Without personalisation, the corresponding accuracy was 72%, while a standard fatigue detection PERCLOS-based baseline method reached an accuracy of 68% on the same dataset. The developed real-time sleepiness detection model can be used in the management of sleepiness/fatigue by detecting precursors of severe fatigue, and ultimately reduce sleepiness-related road crashes by alerting drivers before high levels of fatigue are reached.

The overall purpose of the study was to explore differences in experiences and perceived barriers of public transport between people with neuropsychiatric disabilities (NPD) and people who do not have NPD. Another purpose was to study the extent to which NPD and experiences of public transport have been studied previously and what research has shown. A literature study and a questionnaire study have been conducted. The literature study included 15 studies, most concerned autism only. Difficulties that people with NPD experience with public transport are revealed; as well as the importance of being able to travel independently; parents’ concerns about their children’s travels; how travelers can train mobility and adapt to the transport system and how the system can be adapted for users through the design of transport systems and urban environments. 

The questionnaire was answered by 433 people with one or more NP diagnoses such as language disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, autism and/or ADHD/ADD and 457 people without any diagnosis, all over 15 years of age. The survey shows that people with NPD experience more difficulties with public transport compared with people without a diagnosis. They are more dependent on public transport for daily travel and more often feel tired from travelling. They avoid traveling by public transport to a greater extent and stay home from work and school because of how they experience it. Crowds, sounds and smells are the most common barriers. Respondents with NPD state that they often or very often worry about different situations such as not getting a seat on board, that the service does not arrive on time and problems with payment. The study shows that NPD limits accessibility by public transport as travel is avoided due to consequences such as fatigue, anxiety, stress and sensory overstimulation. Public transport service and organization is not adapted for people with social difficulties, sensory hypersensitivity and difficulties with planning and organization. The study provides suggestions for measures and further research that can facilitate the transport situation for people with NPD.

Introduction: A recognised potential benefit of autonomous vehicles is increased mobility for older adults. However, this group is more apprehensive about adoption, which may hinder uptake. Shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) represent a use case that may be especially relevant for older people due to emerging applications in retirement villages and similar precincts. However, little research has examined the SAV-related concerns of older adults and strategies to address them. This study used an exploratory approach involving SAV exposure to identify strategies that may increase older people's receptiveness to SAVs. Method: Older adults living in retirement villages (n = 63) were interviewed while interacting with an SAV to examine their needs, expectations, and concerns regarding SAVs. The interview data were coded and thematically analysed. Results: Participants recommended the following approaches to ensuring SAVs are useful and acceptable to older adults: providing physical accessibility for those with mobility impairments, comfortable and practical internal layouts, and operating SAVs on convenient routes at useful speeds. Strategies such as exposing older adults to SAVs in operation to encourage uptake and initially ensuring a human assistant is present were suggested methods of increasing receptivity. Discussion: The findings suggest older passengers are likely to share many of the same reactions to SAVs as the broader population, but with a stronger focus on issues relating to accessibility and the physical layout of the vehicles. The solutions to these issues suggested by the study participants may be useful for those designing SAVs for use in older people's settings and beyond.

BACKGROUND: Many workers routinely transition between day and night shifts—including pilots, where night flights are commonly considered more stressful. The physiological toll from this transition is not fully understood, though fatigue is a factor in many aviation accidents. This research investigated the changes in physiological markers of stress and cognitive performance as F-22 pilots transitioned from day flying to night flying. methods: There were 17 fully-qualified F-22 pilots who took part in a 2-wk data collection using salivary swabs, wrist-worn activity monitors, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) inventory, and a go/no-go (GNG) test. results: No differences were found in comparing day and night flying on the GNG reaction time/accuracy, NASA-TLX scores, or sleep quantity. Cortisol levels were significantly higher than civilian levels in all experimental conditions and control days. Participants had higher than predicted cortisol levels postflight in the day-flying condition and lower than predicted cortisol levels postflight in the night-flying condition, relative to levels from control day patterns. We also found smaller changes in cortisol (pre- to postflight) in the day-flying condition for those with more F-22 experience. Finally, we found a negative correlation between Perceived Stress Scale scores and age of pilots (r 5 -20.72). discussion: We hypothesized that the night-flying environment would be more stressful, but our results disputed this claim. Our results suggest day flying elicits more of a stress response; however, a larger sample size is required to verify results. Preliminary findings of potential stress adaptation may suggest stress adaptation in the F-22 community needs further investigation.

Automated vehicles are entering the roads and automation is applied to cars, trucks, buses, and even motorcycles today. High automation foresees transitions during driving in both directions. The driver and rider state become a critical parameter since reliable automation allows safe intervention and transit control to the automation when manual driving is not performed safely anymore. When the control transits from automation to manual an appropriate driver state needs to be identified before releasing the automated control. The detection of driver states during manual and automated driving and an appropriate design of the human-machine interaction (HMI) are crucial steps to support these transitions. State-of-the-art systems do not take the driver state, personal preferences, and predictions of road conditions into account. The ADAS&ME project, funded by the H2020 Programme of the European Commission, proposes an innovative and fully adaptive HMI framework, able to support driver/rider state monitoring-based transitions in automated driving. The HMI framework is applied in the target vehicles: passenger car, truck, bus, and motorcycle, and in seven different use cases.

During the fall of 2021, the Swedish Transport Agency was commissioned by the Swedish Government to analyze and, if necessary, submit proposals for how changed traffic rules could lead to an increase in the proportion of road users who travel by bicycle. Against this background, the Swedish Transport Agency has engaged VTI, the Swedish Road and Transport Research Institute, to assist in the work by describing the state of knowledge based on current research in the relevant areas.

The aim of this study has been to investigate the spatial requirements of cyclists in different traffic situations and develop a basis for recommendations for designing cycling infrastructure regarding widths. Today, there are no rules or common construction practices for the physical design of cycle paths or cycle lanes in Sweden. Instead, it is up to each road authority to produce their own cross sections or recommendations and follow up on compliance.

The results in this report are based on literature studies regarding design standards and research on spatial requirements of cyclists. Recommendations are presented on minimum widths of cycle paths and cycle lanes depending on the possibility of meetings and overtaking, including consideration of cargo bikes, as well as safe distances to obstacles beside the road. An approach to model structure for assessing spatial requirements at higher flows of cyclists has also been developed.

The width of cycle paths can be varied depending on the desired dimensioning traffic situation. The dimensioning traffic situation is defined as the possibility of safe meetings or overtaking of a certain number of cyclists and pedestrians simultaneously on a cycle path or mixed-use path. From a maintenance perspective, however, it is advantageous to build bicycle infrastructure with a width of at least 2.5 meters, regardless of the traffic situation. Less width than that can result in lower efficiency for operation and maintenance with increased life cycle costs as a result.

In order to manage driver fatigue in transportation it is important to understand the underlying reasons behind fatigue and to recognise that most often fatigue is caused by multiple factors. When designing countermeasures, it is vital that the proposed approach is targeted at the specific problem (cause of fatigue). The most effective approach to fatigue management will include a mix of countermeasures to be deployed in the short, medium, and long term. For any approach to fatigue management to be effective there is a need for shared responsibility. A wide range of involved parties will be influential, including drivers and their families, managers, companies, regulators, unions, and enforcement agencies. This chapter includes a four-step method to evaluate a company’s fatigue situation, understand problem areas, and propose countermeasures that are targeted to be most likely to succeed. This is achieved through the following: (1) understanding the current situation through data collection, (2) synthesising findings into key insights, (3) mapping potential solutions onto identified problems, and (4) implementing countermeasures and review. An open organisational culture is essential for successful fatigue management. A step-by-step approach is likely to be most beneficial, with smaller, easier-to-accept changes being introduced and accepted first before moving up to more sophisticated solutions over time.

A mathematical model, Visibility, for computation of the visibility distances of longitudinal road markings, was developed within the European research project COST 331 in the 1990s. The distance is computed from measurable parameters such as the coefficient of retroreflected luminance, RL, and from assumptions regarding the vehicle headlamps, the driver, and the road. The Visibility model has recently been updated regarding the model of luminous intensity of the vehicle headlamps, to better reflect modern headlamps. Furthermore, the model has been made more flexible, by making the parameter Visibility Level (VL), which is a threshold for what is regarded as visible, adjustable. The present study aimed at validating the updated version of Visibility with data from a field experiment.

Sixteen drivers, 55–65 years old, participated in the experiment. Their task was to assess the visibility distance of nine edge lines with RL in the range of approximately 30 to 300 mcd/m2/lx, while sitting in the driver’s seat in a passenger car. Retroreflective road studs were placed along the edge lines, as reference points for the assessment. All assessments were made at night in low-beam illumination and in dry road conditions. The nine edge lines, all of which were broken lines, were located on straight and flat roads.

A Nordic certification system for road marking materials was introduced in 2015. The system is based on documented performance measurements of material samples applied on test fields on public roads. The certification system includes both flat (type I) and structured/profiled (type II) markings, antiskid materials (materials with enhanced friction), temporary markings, inlaid markings (Norway only), materials for hand application and materials with enhanced durability for illuminated high-traffic urban areas. 

Material tests are carried out at two test sites: one in Norway and one in Denmark. The test fields are situated on public roads and the tested materials are thus exposed to real traffic conditions and to weather conditions representative for the Nordic countries. The materials are followed up by performance measurements for one or two years. The certification includes requirements on coefficient of retroreflected luminance RL under dry and wet conditions, luminance coefficient under diffuse illumination Qd, friction and chromaticity coordinates. The number of wheel passages is measured at the test sites annually. The certification system includes material identification, which allows for future material sampling and analysis. 

The certification system is based on the European standards EN 1824 Road marking materials – Road trials, EN 1436 Road marking materials – Road marking performance for road users, EN 12802 Road marking materials – Laboratory methods for identification, and EN 1423 Road marking materials – Drop on materials – Glass beads, antiskid aggregates and mixtures of the two. 

This document constitutes the guidelines for the Nordic certification system. The document describes the certification procedure, what type of products that are included in the system and the requirements for certification. Furthermore, the procedures and methods used for application of materials, performance measurement and identification analysis are described. The document also gives specifications and practical information regarding the test sites and regarding registration and application of products for certification.

A Nordic certification system for road marking materials was introduced in 2015. The system is based on documented performance measurements of material samples applied on test fields on public roads. The certification system includes both flat (type I) and structured/profiled (type II) markings, antiskid materials (materials with enhanced friction), temporary markings, inlaid markings (Norway only), materials for hand application and materials with enhanced durability for illuminated high-traffic urban areas. 

Material tests are carried out at two test sites: one in Norway and one in Denmark. The test fields are situated on public roads and the tested materials are thus exposed to real traffic conditions and to weather conditions representative for the Nordic countries. The materials are followed up by performance measurements for one or two years. The certification includes requirements on coefficient of retroreflected luminance RL under dry and wet conditions, luminance coefficient under diffuse illumination Qd, friction and chromaticity coordinates. The number of wheel passages is measured at the test sites annually. The certification system includes material identification, which allows for future material sampling and analysis. 

The certification system is based on the European standards EN 1824 Road marking materials – Road trials, EN 1436 Road marking materials – Road marking performance for road users, EN 12802 Road marking materials – Laboratory methods for identification, and EN 1423 Road marking materials – Drop on materials – Glass beads, antiskid aggregates and mixtures of the two. 

This document constitutes the guidelines for the Nordic certification system. The document describes the certification procedure, what type of products that are included in the system and the requirements for certification. Furthermore, the procedures and methods used for application of materials, performance measurement and identification analysis are described. The document also gives specifications and practical information regarding the test sites and regarding registration and application of products for certification.

Many people with intellectual disability experience their needs and desires not being fully considered. Responding to this problem, the purpose of this study is to investigate how children with mild intellectual disability experience self-driving buses. On each bus, a person called "safety driver" monitors the ride and takes control if a problematic situation arises. The purpose is also to investigate what roles support persons and safety drivers play. In addition, the research aims to propose improvements in how the design of these self-driving buses can better motivate children with intellectual disability to use them in support of their agency. To address this, we arranged and studied seven rides on self-driving buses, for 16 children diagnosed to have mild intellectual disability, and their support persons. Interviews with the children were held after the rides, and both the rides and interviews were video recorded.

The analysis was in part inductive but also employed a theory based on motivation: self-determination theory. For several children, the bus worked as a vehicle for a social sightseeing tour of the local environment, and the current design did not hinder such an experience. Overall, many of the children had a positive experience, but there is room for improvement regarding the design of the buses. Some children expressed curiosity and a few frustrations with how the bus behaved in traffic. For instance, it was difficult for the children to understand why the bus braked for things that were hard for them to perceive. From observation, it appears that the accompanying support person and safety driver played an important role in making children safe and shaping the social environment on the bus. The support persons were also essential for some children to ride the bus at all. The safety driver provided the children with information about how the bus worked. Both the safety driver and the support person had a positive impact on the children's experience.

Objective The objective of this study was to understand the relationship between some of the most common diseases that are known to contribute to excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and traffic injury crashes. Specific focus was on the relationship between disease and crash type (single-vehicle or multiple-vehicle crash) and between disease and injury severity. Methods This registry-based study considered all passenger car drivers involved in a crash in Sweden between 2011 and 2016 who were 40 years or older at the time of the crash (n = 54,090). For each crash-involved driver, selected medical diagnoses registered from 1997 until the day before the crash were extracted from the National Patient Register. The drivers were assigned to 1 of 4 groups, depending on prior diseases: sleep apnea (SA; group 1, n = 2,165), sleep disorders (group 2, n = 724), Parkinson's or epilepsy (group 3, n = 645) and a reference group (group 4, n = 50,556). Logistic regression analysis compared single-vehicle crashes with multiple-vehicle crashes and moderately/severely injured drivers with slightly/uninjured drivers. Results Drivers with EDS-related diseases (groups 1-3) had higher probability of a single-vehicle crash than a multiple-vehicle crash compared to the reference group. The most sizeable effect was found for Parkinson's/epilepsy with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.5 (confidence interval [CI], 2.1-3.0). For multiple-vehicle crashes, the probability of a moderate/severe injury was higher for drivers with other sleep disorders (OR = 1.5; CI, 1.0-2.2) and Parkinson's/epilepsy (OR = 1.6; CI, 1.1-2.3) compared to the reference group. Conclusions This study has made first steps toward understanding the relationship between some of the most common diseases that are known to contribute to EDS and crashes. Having Parkinson's/epilepsy, in particular, elevated the probability of a single-vehicle crash compared to a multiple-vehicle crash. A single-vehicle crash was seen as indicative of causing a crash; thus, having Parkinson's/epilepsy could be interpreted as a risk factor for crash involvement. Having Parkinson's/epilepsy, as well as other sleep disorders, was also related to more severe outcomes in multiple-vehicle crashes, given that a crash occurred. This was not identified in single-vehicle crashes.

The H2020-funded SHOW project (SHared automation Operating models for Worldwide adoption) supports the deployment of connected, cooperative and automated mobility (CCAM) through real-life pilot demonstrations taking place in 20 cities across Europe. While CCAM has the potential to bring great benefits to citizens and society, user acceptance is a crucial challenge to address. In this paper, we explore the importance of citizen and stakeholder engagement in the development of new mobility services, and how such aspects have been integrated and applied in SHOW. User acceptance surveys are being conducted at different stages in the project. In addition, dedicated citizen and stakeholder engagement activities are organized, including Ideathons and Hackathons. By engaging both citizens as potential end-users and stakeholders in the development process, we aim to ensure that SHOW services meet their needs and requirements and to increase the positive impacts on society.

New mobility solutions have so far primarily been designed to meet the mobility needs of affluent user groups and have had limited impacts on objectives related to justice. This paper sheds light on a bike-sharing system implemented by a local authority in Sweden and discusses the findings in relation to the literature on transport justice. The study is based on a single case study and demonstrates that the system mainly attracts users who already have high accessibility. That docking stations were placed in low-income residential areas, combined with the fact that the price model was affordable, suggests that the system has potential to promote transport justice. The study indicates that this equality profile was primarily treated as an add-on in the design and setting up of the system. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Objective. The objective of this paper is to present a driver sleepiness detection model based on electrophysiological data and a neural network consisting of convolutional neural networks and a long short-term memory architecture.

Approach. The model was developed and evaluated on data from 12 different experiments with 269 drivers and 1187 driving sessions during daytime (low sleepiness condition) and night-time (high sleepiness condition), collected during naturalistic driving conditions on real roads in Sweden or in an advanced moving-base driving simulator. Electrooculographic and electroencephalographic time series data, split up in 16 634 2.5 min data segments was used as input to the deep neural network. This probably constitutes the largest labeled driver sleepiness dataset in the world. The model outputs a binary decision as alert (defined as ≤6 on the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, KSS) or sleepy (KSS ≥ 8) or a regression output corresponding to KSS [1-5, 6, 7, 8, 9].

Main results. The subject-independent mean absolute error (MAE) was 0.78. Binary classification accuracy for the regression model was 82.6% as compared to 82.0% for a model that was trained specifically for the binary classification task. Data from the eyes were more informative than data from the brain. A combined input improved performance for some models, but the gain was very limited.

Significance. Improved classification results were achieved with the regression model compared to the classification model. This suggests that the implicit order of the KSS ratings, i.e. the progression from alert to sleepy, provides important information for robust modelling of driver sleepiness, and that class labels should not simply be aggregated into an alert and a sleepy class. Furthermore, the model consistently showed better results than a model trained on manually extracted features based on expert knowledge, indicating that the model can detect sleepiness that is not covered by traditional algorithms.

Cycling on the pavement is commonly seen in urban environments despite often being prohibited. This study explores this practice by analysing cycling on pavements in the wider socio-technical context in which it occurs. Using data from two field studies and one questionnaire study, as well as applying a Social Practice Theory (SPT) based analytical approach, the study explores the frequency of cycling on the pavement. The results show that riding on the pavement is common among cyclists. Three main configurations of meaning, material and competence constitutes this practice which is summarised as follows: avoiding the space of the car, increasing smoothness of the ride and unclear infrastructure design. Cycling on the pavement can be regarded as a way of managing safety and risk, seeking more efficient and comfortable paths of travel, as well as the outcome of perceiving the infrastructure as ambiguous. Overall, the study argues that cycling on the pavement is a consequence of skewed power relations between different modes of transport, as well as policies, urban planning and infrastructure not harmonising with demands for safe and smooth travel by cyclists.

This study has had the overall purpose of describing and understanding people's ways of traveling and using transport during the covid-19 pandemic, what consequences it has entailed, and how travel may change in the future. This report presents an overview of the results from a survey and interview study that have been conducted within the project.

A Nordic certification system for road marking materials, that applies to the countries of Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, was introduced in 2015. In these countries, a documented product approval is required in order to use a road marking material on roads managed by the national road authorities. A product approval is based on monitored and documented performance measurements of material samples applied on test fields on public roads. The materials are approved (certified) in relation to the number of wheel passages they will stand, with preserved function.

The certification system includes road marking materials for longitudinal and transverse road markings in categories with respect to colour (white, yellow), type (type I, type II, type II inlaid, antiskid, hand application, non-reflective with enhanced durability, and temporary) and thickness (0.4, 0.6, 1.5, 3 and 5 mm).

The present report documents the follow-up performance measurements that were carried out at the Danish test site in 2020, i.e. one-year follow-up measurements for materials applied in 2019 and the two year follow-up measurements for materials applied in 2018. The performance parameters include the coefficient of retroreflected luminance (RL) under dry and wet conditions, the luminance coefficient under diffuse illumination (Qd), the friction, and the chromaticity in daylight.

A Nordic certification system for road marking materials, that applies to Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, was introduced in 2015. In these countries, a documented product approval is required in order to use a road marking material on roads managed by the national road authorities. Product approval is based on monitored and documented performance measurements of material samples applied on test fields on public roads. The materials are approved (certified) in relation to the number of wheel passages they will stand, with preserved function.

The certification system includes road marking materials for longitudinal and transverse road markings in categories with respect to colour (white, yellow), type (type I, type II, type II inlaid, antiskid, hand application, non-reflective with enhanced durability, and temporary) and thickness (0.4, 0.6, 1.5, 3 and 5 mm).

The present report documents the follow-up performance measurements that were carried out at the Icelandic-Norwegian-Swedish test site in 2020, i.e. one-year follow-up measurements for materials applied in 2019 and two-year follow-up measurements for materials applied in 2018. The performance parameters include the coefficient of retroreflected luminance (RL) under dry and wet conditions, the luminance coefficient under diffuse illumination (Qd), the friction, the chromaticity in daylight, and the chromaticity of retroreflected light (yellow materials, only).

A certification system for road marking materials, NordicCert, applies to Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. In these countries, a documented product approval is required to use a road marking material on roads managed by the national road authorities. Product approval is based on monitored and documented performance measurements of material samples applied on test fields on public roads. The materials are approved (certified) in relation to the number of wheel passages they will stand, with preserved performance. 

The certification system includes road marking materials for longitudinal and transverse road markings in categories with respect to colour (white, yellow), type (type I, type II, type II inlaid, antiskid, hand application, non-reflective with enhanced durability, and temporary) and thickness (0.4, 0.6, 1.5, 3 and 5 mm). 

The present report documents the follow-up performance measurements that were carried out at the test fields in 2021, i.e., one-year follow-up measurements for materials applied in 2020, two-years follow-up measurements for materials applied in 2019 and three-years follow-up measurements for materials applied in 2018. The performance parameters include the coefficient of retroreflected luminance (RL) under dry and wet conditions, the luminance coefficient under diffuse illumination (Qd), the friction, the chromaticity in daylight, and the chromaticity of retroreflected light (yellow materials, only). 

Out of the 44 materials applied at the Icelandic-Norwegian-Swedish test site in 2020, 29 fulfilled the performance requirements in at least one roll-over class P0–P4 after one year. Out of the 51 materials applied in 2019, 6 fulfilled the performance requirements in roll-over class P5 after two years. Out of the 42 materials applied in 2018, none fulfilled the performance requirements in roll-over class P5.5 after three years.

A certification system for road marking materials, NordicCert, applies to Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. In these countries, a documented product approval is required to use a road marking material on roads managed by the national road authorities. Product approval is based on monitored and documented performance measurements of material samples applied on test fields on public roads. The materials are approved (certified) in relation to the number of wheel passages they will stand, with preserved performance. 

The certification system includes road marking materials for longitudinal and transverse road markings in categories with respect to colour (white or yellow), type (type I, type II, type II inlaid, antiskid, hand application, non-reflective with enhanced durability, and temporary) and thickness (0.4, 0.6, 1.5, 3 and 5 mm). 

The present report documents the follow-up performance measurements that were carried out at the test fields in 2022, i.e., one-year follow-up measurements for materials applied in 2021 and two-years follow-up measurements for materials applied in 2020. The performance parameters include the coefficient of retroreflected luminance (RL) under dry and wet conditions, the luminance coefficient under diffuse illumination (Qd), the friction, the chromaticity in daylight, and the chromaticity of retroreflected light (yellow materials, only). 

Out of the 34 materials applied at the Icelandic-Norwegian-Swedish test site in 2021, 28 fulfilled the performance requirements in at least one roll-over class P0–P4 after one year. Out of the 44 materials applied in 2020, 2 fulfilled the performance requirements in roll-over class P5 after two years. 

Out of the 8 materials applied at the Danish test site in 2021, 5 fulfilled the performance requirements in at least one roll-over class P0–P5 after one year. No material application was carried out in Denmark in 2020.

Even though often travelling on the same roads, it has been shown that cyclists and car drivers interpret their environment differently, which can lead to misunderstandings and collisions. Based on the Minimum Required Attention (MiRA) theory and the Salience, Effort, Expectancy, Value (SEEV) model, it is investigated whether the attentional requirements put on drivers and cyclists are different in urban intersections, and how difficult it is to fulfil the requirements for the two road user groups. Additionally, glance data from 23 participants who both cycled and drove along an urban route are compared with respect to information sampling strategies and the fulfilment of attentional requirements depending on its type for three intersections. Generally, more attentional requirements existed for cyclists, and due to where they occur relative to the infrastructure, in combination with the physical aspects of cycling, they are less likely to be fulfilled. This was also corroborated by the empirical data, which showed that requirements clearly visible from the infrastructural design are fulfilled more often than those that are not. Overall, the theoretical evaluation of the infrastructure was confirmed by the empirical data, such that the proposed method can be used as a starting point for a theoretical, human centred evaluation of traffic infrastructure.

Driver attention is often assessed via glance behaviour, typically by measuring glances away from the forward roadway or by directly measuring glances to non-driving related targets. This approach can be used to detect distracting events, but it does not check whether all situationally relevant targets are sampled. Here, we evaluate the usefulness of the MiRA-theory as basis for attention assessment. A field study was conducted with 23 participants driving an instrumented vehicle on an urban route. The participants wore a head-mounted eye tracker. Data reduction included the identification of target areas that needed to be sampled, whether they were sampled or not, and whether relevant or irrelevant other traffic was present. Additionally, a gaze-by-gaze analysis identified gaze direction, purpose, and target. As predicted, drivers sampled all required target areas that necessitated a glance away from forward. Target areas roughly in the forward direction, like zebra crossings, were probably sampled with peripheral vision, but this could not be reliably confirmed with the equipment used. The glance direction distribution was found to correspond well to the a- priori-defined requirements. A higher number of parallel requirements induced a larger share of glances with the purpose to check for traffic. Relevant traffic was monitored more than irrelevant traffic. A higher number of parallel requirements was associated with reduced spare visual capacity. Nominal glance target identification was less linked to the requirements. We therefore recommend that “traditional” glance-based attention assessment should be complemented with a purpose-based glance assessment protocol coupled with situation dependent pre-defined requirements.

One of the more hazardous situations for a bicyclist is to go straight on in an intersection where a motor vehicle is turning right, and especially so when heavy vehicles are involved. The aim of this study was to investigate truck drivers’ speed choice, gaze behaviour and interaction strategies in relation to vulnerable road users (VRU) when turning right in signalised and non-signalised intersections. Truck drivers experienced (n = 14) or inexperienced (n = 15) with urban traffic drove a 15 km long test route in an urban environment. To guarantee the presence of VRUs, a confederate cyclist with the task to cycle straight on was present in three intersections. Overall, the results suggest that the specific experience of driving a truck in the city has little effect on the strategies employed when interacting with cyclists in a right turn scenario. Neither gaze nor strategic placement or speed related variables differed significantly between the groups, though the drivers inexperienced with urban traffic tended to be more cautious. Glance and driving behaviour were more related to the preconditions afforded by the infrastructure and to interaction type, which is a combination of those infrastructural preconditions and the truck driver's own choice of action. The likelihood of a favourable interaction should be increased, where the truck remains behind the VRUs on the approach to the intersection, something which eliminates the potential for a collision. Education of truck drivers, infrastructure design and improved traffic light sequences are potential ways to reduce the occurrence of more demanding and dangerous interaction types.

With encounters between trucks and cyclists still being a major safety issue and physical as well as technological improvements far from ubiquitous implementation, training truck drivers in anticipatory driving to improve their interaction with cyclists may be a way forward. After a baseline drive in an urban environment, truck drivers inexperienced with urban driving received a dedicated training on anticipatory driving, followed by another drive along the same route several weeks later. The drivers were also interviewed about their opinion about the training. The drivers' behaviour changed from before to after training, resulting in a better speed management in general, and a more intensive monitoring of the cyclists. There were also some improvements with respect to the placement in relation to the cyclist, but this effect was limited mainly because truck drivers performed well already before the training. The observed results correspond well to the opinions and feelings about the training that were reported by the drivers in the interview. Thus, driver training can possibly be one contributor to an increase in safety in urban areas.

The goal of the project was to assess fitness to drive, and specifically how alcohol intoxication interacts with driver attention and drowsiness. A test track and simulator study involved 35 participants driving in a simulator and on a test track while sober and under the influence of alcohol with increasing levels of breath alcohol content. The data collected included video recordings of the driver's head and eye movements, recordings of the inside of the cabin and the driver's upper body, heart activity measurements and driving behaviour.

The study aimed to evaluate how various behavioural and psychophysiological measures froma driver monitoring system are affected by intoxication levels and if a single camera system can still robustly measure them. It was also found that attention proportion measures were not suitable for intoxication detection due to data loss, while psychophysiological measures like fixation duration and rate and saccade amplitudes were good candidates for universal intoxication detection. Blink dynamics also showed a clear effect of intoxication. It was also found that camera placement should be taken into account for future algorithm development.

The measured variables were categorized into three groups: attention, non-driving related task (NDRT) engagement, and driving quality. Most of these variables were not highly correlated. The study found that overall, all three variable groups were negatively affected after alcohol consumption. Participants tended to glance away from the forward roadway for longer periods of time, while glances to the mirrors decreased. The number of NDRTs executed increased with higher BrAC levels, and the mean glance duration to the NDRT screen almost doubled in the 1.0 ‰ condition compared to sober. Furthermore, the quality of driving deteriorated, with participants driving faster and weaving more, and their safety margins towards others were reduced.

The study suggests that the combination of decreased attention, increased NDRT engagement, and compromised driving quality creates a "dangerous cocktail" of ingredients. A discriminant analysis was conducted to assess the combined variables' indicative value for BrAC classification. The study found that alcohol impairs attention, leads to decreased safety margins in driving and less restrictive engagement in NDRT.

Cycling in rural areas is different from cycling in urban areas in that speeds of motorised vehicles are usually higher, and the interactions with other traffic almost exclusively consist of encountering oncoming traffic or being overtaken at the discretion of other traffic. Most cycling related research and politics focus on urban areas and the acquired knowledge cannot always be transferred to rural areas. The aim of this report is to provide an overview of the literature focusing on cycling in rural areas mainly with respect to safety, comfort, adequacy for cycling, and barriers and enablers for cycling. Findings and results are presented and discussed by topic, followed by a higher-level discussion focusing on issues and possibilities for increased and safe cycling. This also includes an identification of knowledge gaps. 

Presently, cycling is marginalised as a mode of transportation in the public discourse, in policies, provision of infrastructure, financing and research, and this is even more distinct for cycling in rural areas. For cycling to increase substantially in modal share, it is not enough to increase the number of cycling trips made by people who already cycle today. It is necessary that also people who do not cycle must take up cycling, which means that provisions have to be made that cater to those people’s needs. While further research is necessary here, it is known that bikeable routes that are well connected are a basic precondition, which must be coupled with effective incentives to increase cycling. This requires a remaking of the transportation policy as a whole with a systematic prioritisation of sustainable travel, which incorporates the heterogeneity of current and prospective cyclists. Special care must be taken to also consider the conditions in rural areas, to make the most of the total potential for cycling.

This study aimed to explore how travelling in different group constellations (alone, with known or with unknown people) affects children's and adults’ visual behaviour in traffic when cycling or walking. Additionally, mobile phone/earphone usage was considered, too. A follow-along study (n = 43) and an observation study (n = 898) were conducted to observe travellers in a natural setting. In the follow-along study, eye-tracking was used to investigate children's glances behaviour on their way to school and how well they manage to fulfil attentional requirements. The observational study focused on children's and adults' visual behaviour at several intersections. The main result of the study was that group membership appears to have a large influence on individuals' visual sampling strategy. In formal groups reliance on each other was found to be stronger than in informal groups. People with a natural responsibility in the group, such as parents or other adults, take a more active role in visual monitoring. Reliance on others is found to a greater extent among pedestrians than cyclists. Regarding communication devices, the use of earphones did not significantly affect glance behaviour towards relevant areas. In naturalistic situations, group constellation, age and phone/earphone usage are interlinked, which needs to be considered when studying these factors.

In this report, we present the results from a study commissioned by the research foundation of Länsförsäkringar (Länsförsäkringsbolagens forskningsfond). The aim was to develop and evaluate methods for testing how well-suited different bicycle lights are as vision aid, while at the same time making the cyclist visible and recognisable. Rather than comparing specific brands, the goal has been to evaluate generic features like brightness, beam shape, blinking versus steady beams, mounting position and so on.

Nine front and nine rear lamps from a wide price and design range have been selected from the bicycle lights available on the market. Brightness and beam shape were documented with lux measurements and via photographs. Six participants were asked whether they could, from a distance of 300 metres, identify front and rear lights and whether they showed a blinking, steady or rolling beam, and to rate the light setup for subjective preference. Gap acceptance and estimated ease of speed and distance judgements depending on beam type, mounting position and cyclist speed was investigated in a dynamic setting in an urban environment. Additional lighting features were demonstrated with films and photographs.

In darkness it is legally obligatory to light vehicles, both to enable their operators to see where they are travelling and to make the vehicle visible and recognisable to other road users. Legal requirements differ between vehicle types and, for bicycle lighting, also between countries. So far, in spite of some indications, there is no definite evidence of a relationship between crashes involving cyclists and darkness, nor on the presence of bicycle lighting and crash risk in darkness, possibly due to a lack of prevalence data. There are no standards for scientific or consumer testing of bicycle lights, and visibility-related results are inconclusive. Three test methods were employed to evaluate generic bicycle light features such as beam shape, brightness, steady versus flashing beam, and mounting position for their effects on seeing and being seen, while investigating which method was best suited for which type of evaluation. In static indoor laboratory testing, brightness was measured and beam shape documented photographically. In static outdoor testing, visibility from 300 m was evaluated, subjective ratings were collected, and beam shape documented. Three front-light beam types were then evaluated for their effect on gap acceptance in a dynamic setting in an urban environment, and subjective ratings were collected. All 18 tested lamps fulfilled the legal requirements, with a bright, steady front beam receiving the highest subjective ratings. Gap acceptance was influenced only by cyclist speed, but neither by beam type nor mounting position. To capture the effect of generic bicycle light features on perception, behaviour, and acceptance, one single method is not enough, and standardised laboratory tests should be combined with research-question–specific dynamic testing. © 2021 The Authors