Personal Factors That Affect Driving

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Personal Factors That Affect Driving
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Personal Factors Include

• Alcohol, Drugs, and Fatigue

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Good Driving Habits Include

• Search
• Evaluate
• Execute

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Search Categories

• Motor Vehicles
• Non-motorized Users
• Road Conditions
• Traffic Control Devices

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Evaluate

• Identify
• Predict
• Decide

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Execute the Decision

• Speed adjustment
• Lane position adjustment
• Lane change

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Alcohol

• 50 of all traffic deaths due to alcohol related
  crash
• 2/5 involved in alcohol related crash in lifetime

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Why?

• Who drinks?
• Why drink?
• Why drink and drive?
• Why does it matter? (What is the problem with
  drinking and driving?)

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The problem

• Risk the chance of damage, injury, or loss.
• Impairs physical ability to drive
• Impairs judgment and reasoning

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Why/How does alcohol impair driving?

• BAC
• Coordination
• Ability to scan and see clearly
• Ability to judge right from wrong
• Overall ability to make reduced risk decisions

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Maryland Intoxication Laws

• Driving While Impaired
• BAC of 0.07
• Driving Under the Influence (DUI)
• BAC of 0.08

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What happens if I get caught?

• License suspension
• License revocation
• Fines
• Jail time

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Drugs

• Marijuana
• Prescriptions
• Over the counter medications

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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.

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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)

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Fatigue

• Physical
• Emotional/Mental
• Illness-induced

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Causes and Effects of Fatigue?

• Physical
• Mental/Emotional
• Illness-induced
• Overall effect on driving (Highway Hypnosis)

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Whats being done to combat driving fatigue?

• Rumble strips
• HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane

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Conclusion

• There are many factors that affect driving
• They are mostly negative
• However, something can be done

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What can I do?

• Dont 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