Older pedestrians are over-represented in crash statistics and those with cognitive impairment (CI) are potentially at greater risk. Prior research has focused on examining individual pedestrian behaviours, and to date there has been no mapping of the stages of behaviour that pedestrian engage in when crossing the road. This study had two aims; firstly to map the pedestrian behaviours of older adults and use this to develop a theoretical understanding of the stages of street crossing, and secondly to better understand the role that key demographic characteristics including age, sex and cognitive status have on the pattern of street crossing behaviours for older adults. Published studies available on PsycINFO, Medline, and Scopus up to April 2024 were included in the review. Studies included a measure of pedestrian behaviour and participants over the age of 60 years. Forty studies met the inclusion criteria, and they examined 11 different behaviours. These mapped on to three stages of street crossing: the approach, step off, and crossing. There was evidence that older adults, particularly females, are much more cautious at the approach stage than younger adults, however they are more unsafe during the step off and crossing stages. A small amount of evidence shows that older pedestrians with CI had poorer safety across all three stages than those without CI. Speaking a common language for the stages of street crossing is beneficial for identifying areas to target improvements. There are opportunities for targeted training and practical road designs to be implemented to improve older adult pedestrian safety. Further research to examine other predictors of pedestrian behaviours beyond demographic factors, such as, perceptual, cognitive, and physical predictors of safe road crossing would be beneficial.

BackgroundHazard perception (HP) has been argued to improve with experience, with numerous training programs having been developed in an attempt to fast track the development of this critical safety skill. To date, there has been little synthesis of these methods. Objective: The present study sought to synthesise the literature for all road users to capture the breadth of methodologies and intervention types, and quantify their efficacy.Data Sources: A systematic review of both peer reviewed and non-peer-reviewed literature was completed. A total of 57 papers were found to have met inclusion criteria. Results: Research into hazard perception has focused primarily on drivers (with 42 studies), with a limited number of studies focusing on vulnerable road users, including motorcyclists (3 studies), cyclists (7 studies) and pedestrians (5 studies). Training was found to have a large significant effect on improving hazard perception skills for drivers (g = 0.78) and cyclists (g = 0.97), a moderate effect for pedestrians (g = 0.64) and small effect for motorcyclists (g = 0.42). There was considerable heterogeneity in the findings, with the efficacy of training varying as a function of the hazard perception skill being measured, the type of training enacted (active, passive or combined) and the number of sessions of training (single or multiple). Active training and single sessions were found to yield more consistent significant improvements in hazard perception. Conclusions: This study found that HP training improved HP skill across all road user groups with generally moderate to large effects identified. HP training should employ a training method that actively engages the participants in the training task. Preliminary results suggest that a single session of training may be sufficient to improve HP skill however more research is needed into the delivery of these single sessions and long-term retention. Further research is also required to determine whether improvements in early-stage skills translate to improvements in responses on the road, and the long-term retention of the skills developed through training.

Vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of human deaths worldwide, with crashes predominately attributed to failures of human drivers. Whilst increasing vehicle automation is argued to reduce road crashes via decreased driver involvement, automation also raises concerns around driver blame and stakeholder responsibility. This study examines blame for crash scenarios across four different forms of driver distraction behaviours (phone, sleep, work and driving under the influence), and across four levels of vehicle automation (no automation [manual], partially automated, highly automated, fully automated), using a mixed (qualitative and quantitative) methods approach. Participants (n = 205) were randomised into one of the four levels of vehicle automation and were presented with vignette crash scenarios involving a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle. Results revealed that scenarios varying the driver behaviour at the time crash had no significant impact on participants' blame attribution or selected course of action. The qualitative analysis revealed that despite semantic distinction between some driver behaviours, drivers were deemed responsible for the crash. As automation increased, attribution of blame towards the driver decreased, but did not disappear. Blame simultaneously increased towards other stakeholders including the manufacturer and the government, as level of automation increased. These findings mirror that of previous research and further highlight the need for legal frameworks for crashes with automated vehicles, irrespective of driver behaviours.

This report documents the outcomes of research designed to: examine what role, if any, registration and licensing authorities should undertake to ensure that licence applicants are competent in the use of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS; SAE Levels 0-2) and automated driving features (ADF; SAE Level 3); and determine whether there is a need to review the current driver licensing framework to address gaps (perceived or real) in driver competency when operating these systems and features. The study involved a literature review, stakeholder consultations, a training needs analysis and an assessment of key issues specified by Austroads. It concluded that registration and licensing authorities have a potential role to play in the learning and assessment of the use of ADAS/ADF by light and heavy vehicle drivers, but that there is no need to review the current driver licensing framework; however, research and crash data in relation to ADAS/ADF should be monitored to identify if future changes are justified. Options for specific learning and assessment initiatives are proposed.

Driving is a complex task; with research suggesting cognitive function plays a significant role in driver behaviour. Recent studies have investigated the role of cognitive function in younger drivers who are experiencing brain maturation and are over-represented in crash statistics. Emerging evidence suggests poor cognitive functioning is one explanation for this high crash risk. For younger drivers, the relationship between cognitive function and driving ability has been consistently shown for speeding and lane deviations. However, the driving skill most consistently linked to crash involvement is hazard perception, which is the ability to anticipate and respond to potentially dangerous traffic situations. The aim of this study was to investigate the cognitive correlates of hazard perception in younger drivers. Seventy-nine undergraduate students completed a hazard perception test and a battery of cognitive tests that have previously demonstrated a relationship with safe driving. The newly created hazard perception test measured accuracy of hazard identification, response times when anticipating the hazard, and response times when taking action to avoid the hazard. Hazard perception accuracy was significantly related to visuo-spatial skills, executive functioning and global cognitive status. Anticipation response times were significantly related to inhibitory control, with no significant relationship found between cognitive function and action response times. These findings are discussed in line with limitations in the study. Future research into the role of specific cognitive domains could lead to the enhancement of hazard perception testing for licensing with cognitive training and assessment, with the potential to reduce the crash risk of vulnerable younger drivers. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Whilst public opinion towards automated vehicles is largely favourable, there are recurrent concerns around responsibility in the event of a crash (Kyriakidis et al., 2015). There is debate about the complexities regarding the legal responsibility of crashes involving automated vehicles, with opinions ranging from the driver is always accountable to the impossibility of holding an ‘automated driver’ responsible. Whilst “who is responsible” for a crash at different levels of vehicle automation has been debated, little is known about public opinion around the attribution of blame in automated vehicle crashes. In order to better understand how these might impact trust and adoption of these technologies, the present study aimed to understand public perceptions of responsibility for crashes involving different levels of automation, and the perceived consequences of that responsibility. A total of 129 undergraduate students, aged between 19 and 61 (M = 24.6, SD = 7.64) read four vignettes which detailed a pedestrian crash scenario with level of vehicle automation being manipulated in each vignette (manual driving, partially automated, highly automated and fully automated driving). Participants were asked three open-ended questions; ‘Where do you assign blame?’, ‘Based on where you assign blame, what course of action would you take from here?’, and ‘How could this event be prevented in the future?’. Results revealed that participants attributed blame to six stakeholder categories (driver, pedestrian, car, government, manufacturer and programmer). As automation increased, the proportion of participants who blamed the driver decreased, whilst those blaming the manufacturer increased. Participants commonly identified legal action against the driver, the manufacturer or both as their course of action. The proportions varied across level of automation, with legal action against the ‘driver’ still identified when the vehicle was fully automated. Furthermore, as level of automation increased, there were increased calls for automation to be reviewed, improved or completely avoided. Overwhelmingly the findings from this study highlight that the public believe that the ultimate responsibility for a crash is in the hands of the human driver, rather than the ‘automated driver’. These findings have implications for the public trust and rates of adoption of automated vehicles. Further it highlights the need for greater governance and legal frameworks around the outcomes of crashes involving automated vehicles.

Background: Poor hazard perception, or the ability to anticipate potentially dangerous road and traffic situations, has been linked to an increased crash risk. Novice and younger road users are typically poorer at hazard perception than experienced and older road users. Road traffic authorities have recognised the importance of hazard perception skills, with the inclusion of a hazard perception test in most Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) systems. Objectives: This review synthesises studies of hazard perception tests in order to determine best practice methodologies that discriminate between novice/younger and experienced/older road users. Data sources: Published studies available on Psychlnfo, Scopus and Medline as at April 2018 were included in the review. Studies included a hazard perception test methodology and compared non-clinical populations of road users (car drivers, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians), based on age and experience, or compared methodologies. Results: 49 studies met the inclusion criteria. There was a high degree of heterogeneity in the studies. However all methodologies - video, static image, simulator and real-world test-drive were able to discriminate road user groups categorised by age and/or experience, on at least one measure of hazard perception. Conclusions: Whilst there was a high level of heterogeneity of studies, video methodology utilising temporal responses (e.g. press a button when detecting the potential hazard) are a consistent measure of hazard perception across road user groups, whereas spatial measures (e.g. locate potential hazard in the scenario) were inconsistent. Staged footage was found to discriminate as well as unstaged footage, with static images also adding valuable information on hazard perception. There were considerable inconsistencies in the categorising of participants based on age and experience, limited application of theoretical frameworks, and a considerable lack of detail regarding post hoc amendments of hazardous scenarios. This research can guide further developments in hazard perception testing that may improve driver licensing and outcomes for road users.

There is growing interest in young driver training that addresses age-related factors, including incompletely developed impulse control. Two studies investigated whether training of response inhibition can reduce risky simulated driving in young drivers (aged 16-24 years). Each study manipulated aspects of response inhibition training then assessed transfer of training using simulated driving measures including speeding, risky passing, and compliance with traffic controls. Study 1 (n = 65) used a Go/No-go task, Stop Signal Task and a Collision Detection Task. Designed to promote engagement, learning, and transfer, training tasks were driving-relevant and adaptive (i.e. difficulty increased as performance improved), included performance feedback, and were distributed over five days. Control participants completed matching "filler" tasks. Performance on trained tasks improved with training, but there was no significant improvement in simulated driving. Study 2 enhanced response inhibition training using Go/No-go and SST tasks, with clearer performance feedback, and 10 days of training. Control participants completed testing only, in order to avoid any possibility of training response inhibition in the filler tasks. Again performance on trained tasks improved, but there was no evidence of transfer of training to simulated driving. These findings suggest that although training of sufficient interest and duration can improve response inhibition task performance, a training schedule that is likely to be acceptable to the public does not result in improvements in simulated driving. Further research is needed to investigate whether response inhibition training can improve risky driving in the context of real-world motivations for risky driving.

Impulsiveness contributes to young drivers’ risky driving. Three studies tested whether responseinhibition training reduced young drivers’ risky simulated driving. Study 1 participants completed 600 or 1200 Go/No-go trials. Performance worsened with training, and test drive speeding increased (relative to controls). Study 2 participants completed 2200 trials of driving-relevant Go/No-go task, Stop Signal and Collision Detection tasks over five days. Study 3 participants completed 1800 Go/No-go and Stop Signal Task enhanced-feedback trials over 10 days. Task performance improved in both studies. Risky driving reduced slightly in Study 3. Any effect of response-inhibition training on simulated driving is likely to be small and difficult to achieve. Background There is growing interest in young driver training that addresses age-related factors, including incompletely developed impulse control (e.g. Hatakka et al., 2002). Four of seven studies that have examined transfer of impulse control training amongst young people showed post-training improvements in impulsive behaviours (i.e. consumption of high-calorie foods and alcohol consumption, gambling, and ADHD symptoms; Spierer, Chavan, & Manuel, 2013). The present research sought to investigate the effect of impulse control training on young drivers’ risky driving. Training parameters were refined over three studies.

The risky driving of young drivers may owe in part to youthful motivations (such as experience-seeking, authority rebellion, desire for peer approval) combined with incompletely developed impulse control. Although self-reported impulsiveness has been positively associated with self-reports of risky driving, results based on objective measures of response inhibition (e.g., Go/No-go tasks) have been inconclusive. The present study examined interrelationships between measures of response inhibition, self-report impulsiveness scales, and responses to events during a simulated drive that were designed to detect impulsive, unsafe behaviours (e.g., turning across on-coming traffic). Participants were 72 first-year Psychology students. More speeding and "Unsafe" responding to critical events during simulated driving were associated with poorer impulse control as assessed by commission errors during a Go/No-Go task. These results consolidate evidence for a relationship between impulse control and risky driving amongst young drivers.

Bicycle/pedestrian shared paths are an increasingly popular solution to providing cycling infrastructure, despite evidence suggesting safety issues. Improved design and management of shared paths should be informed by understanding of bicyclist and pedestrian behaviour on shared paths, and of relevant safety initiatives (e.g. centreline marking). However, relevant research is lacking. Bicyclist/pedestrian passing events (n = 407) were observed on three relatively busy shared paths in Sydney, Australia - one of them without centreline marking. User characteristics, relevant behaviours and incidents (aggression, near - misses, crashes) were recorded. A tendency toward left-hand travel, as on Australian roads, was stronger for cyclists than for pedestrians, and where centreline was present. Cyclists were often estimated to travel above 10 km/h, a speed limit that has been suggested based on pedestrian safety considerations, but that would be unacceptable for long stretches of commuter cycling. Centreline was associated with lower estimated speeds. Cyclists typically adhered to their responsibility of giving way to pedestrians, but often passed on the left, passed too close, passed without slowing, or passed without warning (e.g. with a bell). Use of mobile telephones and mp3 players is common, particularly amongst pedestrians. Five near collisions were observed, and 53 survey participants reported 2 collisions and 13 near misses. Contributing factors appear to include path users using potentially distracting devices, or straying from the rules of thumb to keep to the left, and to overtake on the right.A survey of cyclists and pedestrians suggested that there are issues with perceptions of space ownership. These results represent an important contribution to the evidence - base for initiatives to improve the safety of shared paths. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Background: A training method known as Episodic training has shown promise in reducing speeding behavior in young drivers (Prabhakharan and Molesworth, 2011). The present study aimed to investigate how cognitive resources are utilized to implement this behavioral change.Method: 60 participants were randomly divided into four groups and completed a simulated training drive in Week 1 followed by a 10 km simulated test drive in Week 2. As part of the test drive, two groups were asked to complete a secondary task (mental arithmetic task) in addition to the test drive.Results: The results indicated that implementing a speed management strategy elicited by Episodic training was successful in isolation, but came at a cognitive trade-off when performed in conjunction with a secondary task.Conclusion: From an applied perspective, these results suggest driver training programmes should compartmentalize driver training in order to reduce the cognitive load experienced by trainee drivers, and hence facilitate in driver skill acquisition. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Background: Young drivers under the age of 25 throughout the world continue to be over-represented in motor vehicle accidents (WHO, 2007).A contributing factor to a large number of these motor vehicle accidents is speeding. Reducing drivers' tendency to speed remains a challenge. In aviation, one method that has yielded positive results in terms of improving pilots' risk management behaviour involves engaging pilots cognitively in the task (Molesworth et al., 2006). This type of training is hypothesized to repair faulty cognitive structures known as scripts. Therefore, the main aim of the present research was to examine the utility of a training program where drivers are actively engaged following a driving episode by giving them personalised feedback in order to reduce their tendency to speed.Method: 58 young (16-24 years) motorists were divided into four groups. All participants completed both a 'training' session followed by a test session one week apart. Training consisted of either, reading three accident cases involving speeding, cases with rules associated with the offence, a simulated drive with personalised post-drive feedback regarding speeding and its legal ramifications or a card sorting task (control). The main dependent variables were percentage of distance speeding and frequency of zone violations during the simulated drive in the test session.Results: A series of planned contrast analysis with family-wise error corrected at 017 revealed that receiving personalised feedback regarding speeding behaviour following a simulated drive significantly reduced speeding tendency in the test session, when compared to control. Reading case examples alone, or coupled with rules, appeared to have no impact on speeding behaviour, compared to control.Conclusion: The results suggest that training programs that actively engage individuals about a driving episode by providing them with personalised feedback may be effective in curbing young drivers' speeding behaviour. These results are discussed from a theoretical and applied perspective. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Young drivers are overrepresented in crash statistics, partly because of their risky driving. Some risky driving results from inexperience and error, but intentional risky driving probably owes more to youth-related factors, such as risk motivation and poor impulse control. Research demonstrating relationships between impulse control and risky driving has typically relied on self-report measures of impulsivity and risky driving. To avoid the concerns with self-reported measurements, a few recent studies have considered relationships of performance measures of response inhibition with driving. However, the results of these studies are somewhat ambiguous. The Hazard Perception Test [HPT] that is used in the licensing procedures in New South Wales [NSW] Australia includes some scenarios that appear to involve impulse control. Performance on these scenarios demonstrates the best prediction of later offenses and crashes, but association with performance during a continuous drive is yet to be assessed. Further investigation of the relationship between performance measures of impulse control and risky driving is warranted.