National Academies Press: OpenBook

Distracted Driving Countermeasures for Commercial Vehicles (2012)

Chapter: Appendix C - Survey Results from Motor Coaches

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix C - Survey Results from Motor Coaches." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Distracted Driving Countermeasures for Commercial Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14638.
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Page 51
Page 52
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C - Survey Results from Motor Coaches." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Distracted Driving Countermeasures for Commercial Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14638.
×
Page 52
Page 53
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C - Survey Results from Motor Coaches." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Distracted Driving Countermeasures for Commercial Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14638.
×
Page 53
Page 54
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C - Survey Results from Motor Coaches." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2012. Distracted Driving Countermeasures for Commercial Vehicles. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/14638.
×
Page 54

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52 APPENDIX C Survey Results from Motor Coaches There were 13 total responses from motor coaches. In this summary, the number of responses to a particular item is listed immediately to the left of the checkbox and underlined. Text comments are provided verbatim from the respondents. The response mean is calculated where appropriate (for the mean, a higher number indicates a more positive response). Background Information 1. Number of years you have been a manager for commercial vehicle: operations: Me an (M ) = 15. 9 2. Your approximate number of years experience in commercial: vehicle operations: M = 19. 0 3. Please estimate the percent of your work time focused primarily on safety concerns (as opposed to other, non- sa fe ty ma na gement ar ea s su ch as op er at io na l ma na gement , ad mi ni st ra ti on , an d sa le s) : M = 49 .2 % 4. 5. Ho w wo ul d yo u ch ar ac te ri ze yo ur fl eet s pr im ar y op er at io n (s el ec t on e) 0 For hire: local/short-haul (less than 100 miles from home base) 0 For hire: long-haul (over 500 miles from home base) 0 Private Fleet: long-haul 0 Private Fleet: local/short-haul 5 Passenger carrier: long-haul 4 Passenger carrier: local transit 0 Other (please specify): 6. What is your primary type of business? (check all that apply) 0 Truckload 0 Less-than-Truckload 0 Bulk/Tankers 0 Hazmat 1 Specialized 3 Private Fleet 10 Other (please specify): 7. What type of truck drivers do you primarily employ? (check all that apply) 12 Employee Drivers 1 Owner-Operators with own authority 0 Leased Owner-Operators/Independent Contractors Role of Driver Distraction in the Overall Safety Picture 1. Driver distraction, from all sources (internal and external), is a significant safety issue for my fleet operations. (Mean = 4.5) 8 Strongly Agree 4 Agree 0 Neutral 1 Disagree 0 Strongly Disagree Number of power units in your company’s fleet: _________

53 2. Driver distraction from drivers’ personal electronic devices brought into the vehicle is, in particular, a significant safety issue for my fleet operations. (Personal electronic devices are defined here as cell phones, smart phones, electronic tablets (such as iPads), and portable music players (such as iPods).) (M ea n = 4. 1) 8 Strongly Agree 1 Agree 2 Neutral 1 Disagree 1 Strongly Disagree 3. Driver distraction from job-related electronic devices (i.e., dispatch and/or customer interface) is, in particular, a significant safety issue for my fleet operations. (Mean = 3.6) 4 Strongly Agree 4 Agree 2 Neutral 2 Disagree 1 Strongly Disagree Please provide any further comments on your view of safety management issues relating to driver distraction: As a passenger transportation company, we have passenger distractions to contend with as well. My drivers are tour drivers, by definition they are distracted drivers without adding dispatch communication and operation of items such as DVDs, etc. School and passenger buses have a different type of risk to individual’s safety because they carry a large amount of passengers on highways. As a safety expert in this business, companies and operators need to refrain from all distractions (no cell phones, pagers, iPods or any other devices) and concentrate totally on their job of transporting passengers in a total safe environment. Enforcement needs to be increased against both drivers individually who violate these restrictions as well as fines against the companies who permit the drivers to violate. A dedicated education forum needs to be done on both the internet as well as within companies also to ensure that all motorcoach operators are aware of the distraction problem. Passenger behavior. You have covered most issues of driver distraction. Assessment of Distracted Driving 1. Please indicate which of the following behaviors while driving you believe constitute distracted driving (select all that apply): 11 passenger interactions 11 personal: eating, drinking, smoking 10 personal: grooming/hygiene 11 reading a map or directions 6 reading billboards 12 talking on mobile phone (hand-held) 8 talking on mobile phone (hands-free) 12 texting/dialing on mobile phone 9 searching for objects in the cab 10 reaching for objects in the cab 9 adjusting on-board entertainment or climate control systems 3 other (see below):

54 Anything but two hands on the wheel and two eyes on the road. Using iPods, etc. The items not checked above could be distractions depending on the particular situation. 2. Please indicate which of the following devices you believe contribute to distracted driving (select as many as applicable): 12 personal electronic devices 9 job-related electronic and/or dispatching devices 4 aftermarket active safety systems (lane departure warning, forward collision warning, etc.) 10 onboard entertainment systems 7 GPS navigation systems 1 weigh-in-motion or vehicle-in-motion inspections 0 other (please specify): Please provide any further comments on your view of behavioral- and device-related driver distraction: I believe the Commercial Driver does an outstanding job given all of the distractions required of him besides safe driving. The industry needs to take distracted driving seriously. There have been way too many motorcoach accidents that could have been avoided if proper rules and laws had been followed. Along with distractions, driver fatigue still continues to affect many accident problems as you are well aware of. Identification of Effective Distracted Driving Countermeasures Please indicate which of the following distracted driving countermeasures you believe to be effective (whether present or not in your current operations) External to Company 5 insurance penalties for phone-linked crashes 9 increased fines for crashes with cell phone use 9 cell phone prohibition laws 9 broad education campaigns on risk of driving while using cell phones in particular 10 broad education campaigns on risks of distracted driving in general Internal to Company 12 maintaining a strong safety culture 13 strong focus on recruiting drivers with a demonstrated safety record 11 clear employee policies and consequences for policy violation 10 having a post-incident coaching tool (or metric) that addresses potential distraction issues that could have played a role in a safety critical event 10 specific training techniques Internal to Vehicle 10 company policy banning use of all personal communication devices while driving 7 company policy only banning cell phone use while driving 9 company policy only allowing hands-free or voice-operated communication devices while driving 7 fleet managers locking out certain functions on employer-provided communication devices 6 use of in-vehicle placards to remind drivers to “stay alert” 11 paying careful attention to placement of aftermarket devices within vehicle to minimize distraction

55 6 providing messaging from dispatcher with different levels of urgency so that driver can defer reading non-emergency messages 8 using active safety systems to augment driver’s situational awareness and improve reaction time 8 physiological monitoring of driver attention placement (typically head- or eye-trackers) and warning driver when needed 9 monitoring systems that provide retrospective feedback on the driver’s distraction stat 9 conducting observations / ride-alongs to assess driver’s behavior and provide feedback 12 use of on-board safety monitoring systems which capture video of the driver and traffic environment when extreme maneuvers occur to identify training needs 1 other (please specify): Actually all of these could be checked but then again we have the enforcement issue of what happens when someone does get distracted through their own violation of policies or laws. Assessment of Driver–Machine Interface Techniques A series of questions assessing opinions on the relative effectiveness of (a) audible, (b) visual, and (c) haptic means of communicating information to the driver via devices not integrated into the vehicle. 1. Please indicate your view of the effectiveness of driver warnings based on audible alerts. 3 Highly Effective 6 Effective 4 Neutral 0 Ineffective 0 Highly Ineffective Highly Effective Effective Neutral Ineffective Highly Ineffective Highly Effective Effective Neutral Ineffective Highly Ineffective Highly Effective Effective Neutral Ineffective Highly Ineffective 2. Please indicate your view of the effectiveness of driver warnings based on visual alerts. (Mean = 3.5 on a 5-point scale) 0 7 5 1 0 3. Please indicate your view of the effectiveness of driver warnings based on haptic alerts (such as a vibrating seat or steering wheel). (Mean = 3.6 on a 5-point scale) 3 2 8 0 0 4. Please indicate your view of the effectiveness of graded warnings (early indication of potential issue with warning escalating as situation becomes more risky) versus single stage warnings. (Mean = 3.8 on a 5-point scale) 3 4 6 0 0 Please indicate here if you would be willing to participate in a follow-up interview of approximately ½ hour, focusing on your fleet’s experience with distracted driving issues. Yes 3 No 9 No Response 1 Follow-Up (Mean = 3.9 on a 5-point scale)

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TRB’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 24: Distracted Driving Countermeasures for Commercial Vehicles examines driving distractions, as well as any protective (safety-enhancing) effects of particular devices. Distracted driving for commercial drivers is defined as attending to tasks not directly related to operating the vehicle.

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