Transcript Personal Factors That Affect Driving

Personal Factors That Affect
Driving
Personal Factors Include:
Alcohol, Drugs,
and Fatigue
Good Driving Habits Include:
•Search
•Evaluate
•Execute
Search Categories
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Motor Vehicles
Non-motorized Users
Road Conditions
Traffic Control Devices
Evaluate
• Identify
• Predict
• Decide
Execute the Decision
• Speed adjustment
• Lane position adjustment
• Lane change
Alcohol
• ~50% of all traffic deaths due to alcohol
related crash
• 2/5 involved in alcohol related crash in
lifetime
Why?
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Who drinks?
Why drink?
Why drink and drive?
Why does it matter? (What is the problem
with drinking and driving?)
The problem
• Risk: the chance of damage, injury, or
loss.
• Impairs physical ability to drive
• Impairs judgment and reasoning
Why/How does alcohol impair
driving?
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BAC
Coordination
Ability to scan and see clearly
Ability to judge right from wrong
Overall ability to make reduced risk
decisions
Maryland Intoxication Laws
• Driving While Impaired
BAC of 0.07
• Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
BAC of 0.08
What happens if I get caught?
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License suspension
License revocation
Fines
Jail time
Drugs
• Marijuana
• Prescriptions
• Over the counter medications
Number One?
• Marijuana: other than alcohol, it is the
number one drug related to vehicular
crashes.
• Same problems as alcohol, but sometimes
worse. Effects have been shown to last
up to 24 hours after exposure.
Other Drugs and Driving
• Prescriptions and OTC Medications: May
cause drowsiness (e.g. NyQuil)
• Synergistic Effect: mixing two or more
drugs causes the effects of both to
increase (including alcohol)
Fatigue
• Physical
• Emotional/Mental
• Illness-induced
Causes and Effects of Fatigue?
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Physical
Mental/Emotional
Illness-induced
Overall effect on driving (Highway
Hypnosis)
What’s being done to combat
driving fatigue?
• Rumble strips
• HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane
Conclusion
• There are many factors that affect driving
• They are mostly negative
• However, something can be done…
What can I do?
• Don’t drink and drive
• Read medication labels to know whether
or not it will make you drowsy
• Sleep before driving, change drivers at a
regular basis, power nap, HVAC