Dogs Double Risk for Distracted Driving

Distracted driving is something we usually associate with teens and their cell phones, or frenzied mothers and their minivan full of kids.  However the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration defines it as “anything that could potentially remove a driver’s eyes from the road, their hands from the steering wheel or their concentration from the task of driving.”

And that includes pets…

While most states have enacted legislation to curb the use of cell phones while driving, only one – Hawaii – has laws that specifically restrict drivers from having a pet in their lap. But a new study could be about to change all that.  The University of Alabama at Birmingham, research enrolled 2,000 drivers age 70 and older, of whom 691 had pets. Participants took a survey on driving habits, and those with pets were asked about the frequency of driving with pets. They also underwent visual sensory and higher-order visual processing testing.

The results showed that senior drivers who take a pet in the car are at increased risk for being involved in a motor vehicle collision. Both overall, and at-fault, crash rates for drivers 70 years or older were higher for those whose pet habitually rode with them.

More than half the pet owners said they took their pet with them in the car at least occasionally, usually riding on the front passenger seat or in the back seat.

“That is consistent with previous studies looking at all drivers, which indicate that slightly more than half of all drivers take a pet with them at times,” said Gerald McGwin, PhD, senior author of the study. “And it’s interesting to note that earlier surveys indicate that 83% of those surveyed agreed that an unrestrained dog was likely dangerous in a moving vehicle, yet only 16% have ever used any type of restraint on their own pet.”

The crash risk for drivers who always drove with their pets was double that of drivers who never drove with a pet, while crash rates for those who sometimes or rarely drove with pets were consistent with the rates for non-pet owners.

“This is the first study to evaluate the presence of pets in a vehicle as a potential internal distraction for elderly drivers,” said McGwin. “The increased crash rate for elderly drivers who always drive with pets is important in the context of increasing driver awareness about potentially dangerous driving habits. There is no direct evidence that driving with pets is or is not a threat to public safety, however, indirect evidence exists based on distracted driving research on texting, eating or interacting with electronics or even other passengers and there are certainly anecdotal reports in the news media of crashes and even fatalities caused by drivers distracted by a pet in the vehicle.”

The authors suggest that when confronted with an increased cognitive or physical workload while driving, elderly drivers have exhibited slower cognitive performance and delayed response times in comparison to younger age groups. Adding another distracting element, especially an animal, provides more opportunity for an older driver to respond to a driving situation in a less than satisfactory way.

Given the current debate about all types of distracted driving, further study of pet-related distracted driving behaviors among drivers, is warranted to appropriately inform the need for policy regulation on this issue.

Do you have thoughts on driving with pets?  Please let us know.

Put on the red light

We’ve all been there, some of us more often than others. You know what I’m talking about. That mid-afternoon moment where we find ourselves crashing at our computers. Or nodding off into our notebooks.

And it’s not just our productivity that’s affected.  It turns out that acute or chronic sleep deprivation and the resulting fatigue is one of the leading causes of workplace incidents and related injuries. Most performance failures, including car accidents, occur in the mid-afternoon hours known as the “post-lunch dip.”  Typically this occurs sometime between 2-4 p.m., or about 16-18 hours after the previous night’s bedtime.

Now a new study from the Lighting Research Center [who knew there was such a thing?]  at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – the nation’s oldest technological university – suggests that there may be a way to alleviate afternoon accidents.  Their research shows that exposure to certain wavelengths and levels of light have the potential to increase alertness during the post-lunch dip. These results pave the way for a non-pharmacological intervention to increase alertness during the daytime.

Mariana Figueiro, LRC Light and Health Program director, has previously conducted studies that show that light has the potential to increase alertness at night. Exposure to strong levels of white light at night increases performance, elevates core body temperature, and increases heart rate.

In most studies to date, the alerting effects of light have been linked to its ability to suppress the circadian rhythm regulating hormone – melatonin, the levels of which are typically lower during the daytime, and higher at night. However, results from a previous study by Figueiro demonstrated that acute melatonin suppression is not needed for light to affect alertness during the nighttime. While both short-wavelength (blue) and long-wavelength (red) lights increased measures of alertness, only short-wavelength light suppressed melatonin.

Based on this finding the researchers hypothesized that if light can impact alertness via pathways other than melatonin suppression, then certain wavelengths and levels of light might also increase alertness during the middle of the afternoon.

During the study, participants experienced two experimental lighting conditions in addition to darkness. Long-wavelength “red” light and short-wavelength “blue” light were delivered to the corneas of each participant by arrays of light emitting diodes (LEDs) placed in light boxes. Participant alertness was measured by electroencephalogram (EEG) and subjective sleepiness (KSS scale).

The team found that, compared to remaining in darkness, exposure to red light in the middle of the afternoon significantly improves alertness.

Co-author Levent  Sahin, a doctoral student  at the Lighting Research Center, was interested in this study from a transportation safety perspective, and what the results could mean to the transportation industry. “Safety is a prerequisite and one of the most important quality indicators in the transportation industry,” said Sahin. “Our recent findings provided the scientifically valid underpinnings in approaching fatigue related safety problems in 24 hour transportation operations.”

Those of us who remember the lyrics of the 1978 Police hit Roxanne – “You don’t have to put on the red light,” may need to rethink…

Even though the present results don’t fully explain the underlying mechanisms of light-induced changes in alertness it seems we could all benefit from a little red light on our desks.

Wrap Rage and other Holiday Hazards

Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la. 

 Yes, it’s that time of year again. Tis’ the season to trim the Christmas tree and decorate the house. Tis’ also the season for accidents!

Holiday-related injuries rose last year and expectations are that too much festive fa la la will have people packing emergency departments again this season.

The leading cause of holiday injuries – falling from ladders while stringing lights. Injuries can range from a loss of pride to loss of life. Almost 20 years ago a highly respected colleague and friend of mine, gastroenterologist Dr Bernard Smits died as a result of a head injury sustained while doing exactly that.

But even assuming you skip the light hanging you’re not entirely safe from danger…

Here’s a list of the Top 3 holiday-related injuries:

Holiday Decorations – More than 13,000 people were treated as a result of cuts from ornaments during the 2010 holiday season alone.

Dangerous/Malfunctioning Toys  – According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) more than 250,000 people were treated in emergency rooms due to toy-related accidents in 2010. Of these around 181,500 were children younger than 15.

Wrap Rage – Adults and kids become so frustrated with that hard plastic around toys and electronics that they cut themselves when they try to tear it open. The cuts come from both the scissors or other sharp tools used when prying the package open and/or the really sharp edges on the packaging itself.  Census Bureau research claims that people suffer two times more injuries from trying to open packaging than injuries from skateboards or swimming pools combined!

So how can you avoid a trip to the ER this year?   Here’s some advice from Doctors Express and the CPSC:

• Immediately discard plastic wrappings or other packaging on toys before they become dangerous play things
• Unlike what Mom or Dad taught us, kids don’t always have to share – be sure to keep toys appropriate for older children away from younger siblings
• Adults should open toys and install batteries BEFORE wrapping them and putting them under the tree
• Charging batteries should be supervised by adults. Chargers and adapters can pose thermal burn hazards to young children

So now you know!

Don we now our gay apparel,
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.
Troll the ancient Yule tide carol,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.