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Browsing by Author "Li, Kaigang"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Factors Influencing Learner Permit Duration
    Ehsani, Johnathon P.; Li, Kaigang; Grant, Brydon J. B.; Gershon, Pnina; Klauer, Charlie; Dingus, Thomas A.; Simons-Morton, Bruce G. (MDPI, 2016-12-22)
    An increasing number of countries are requiring an extended learner permit prior to independent driving. The question of when drivers begin the learner permit period, and how long they hold the permit before advancing to independent licensure has received little research attention. Licensure timing is likely to be related to “push” and “pull” factors which may encourage or inhibit the process. To examine this question, we recruited a sample of 90 novice drivers (49 females and 41 males, average age of 15.6 years) soon after they obtained a learner permit and instrumented their vehicles to collect a range of driving data. Participants completed a series of surveys at recruitment related to factors that may influence licensure timing. Two distinct findings emerged from the time-to-event analysis that tested these push and pull factors in relation to licensure timing. The first can be conceptualized as teens’ motivation to drive (push), reflected in a younger age when obtaining a learner permit and extensive pre-permit driving experience. The second finding was teens’ perceptions of their parents’ knowledge of their activities (pull); a proxy for a parents’ attentiveness to their teens’ lives. Teens who reported higher levels of their parents’ knowledge of their activities took longer to advance to independent driving. These findings suggest time-to-licensure may be related to teens’ internal motivation to drive, and the ability of parents to facilitate or impede early licensure.
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    Modeling of drinking and driving behaviors among adolescents and young adults in the United States: Complexities and Intervention outcomes
    Hosseinichimeh, Niyousha; MacDonald, Rod; Li, Kaigang; Fell, James C.; Haynie, Denise L.; Simons-Morton, Bruce; Banz, Barbara C.; Camenga, Deepa R.; Iannotti, Ronald J.; Curry, Leslie A.; Dziura, James; Andersen, David F.; Vaca, Federico E. (Elsevier, 2024-07-22)
    Alcohol-impaired driving is a formidable public health problem in the United States, claiming the lives of 37 individuals daily in alcohol-related crashes. Alcohol-impaired driving is affected by a multitude of interconnected factors, coupled with long delays between stakeholders’ actions and their impacts, which not only complicate policy-making but also increase the likelihood of unintended consequences. We developed a system dynamics simulation model of drinking and driving behaviors among adolescents and young adults. This was achieved through group model building sessions with a team of multidisciplinary subject matter experts, and a focused literature review. The model was calibrated with data series from multiple sources and replicated the historical trends for male and female individuals aged 15 to 24 from 1982 to 2020. We simulated the model under different scenarios to examine the impact of a wide range of interventions on alcohol-related crash fatalities. We found that interventions vary in terms of their effectiveness in reducing alcohol-related crash fatalities. In addition, although some interventions reduce alcohol-related crash fatalities, some may increase the number of drinkers who drive after drinking. Based on insights from simulation experiments, we combined three interventions and found that the combined strategy may reduce alcohol-related crash fatalities significantly without increasing the number of alcohol-impaired drivers on US roads. Nevertheless, related fatalities plateau over time despite the combined interventions, underscoring the need for new interventions for a sustained decline in alcohol-related crash deaths beyond a few decades. Finally, through model calibration we estimated time delays between actions and their consequences in the system which provide insights for policymakers and activists when designing strategies to reduce alcohol-related crash fatalities.
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    Personality and Crash Risk
    Ehsani, Johnathon P.; Simons-Morton, Bruce G.; Li, Kaigang; Perlus, Jessamyn G.; O'Brien, Fearghal (2014-08-25)
    Personality characteristics are associated with many risk behaviors. However, the relationship between personality traits, risky driving behavior, and crash risk is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between personality, risky driving behavior, and crashes and near-crashes, using naturalistic driving research methods. Method: Participants' driving exposure, kinematic risky driving (KRD), high-risk secondary task engagement, and the frequency of crashes and near-crashes (CNC) were assessed over the first 18 months of licensure using naturalistic driving methods. A personality survey (NEO-Five Factor Inventory) was administered at baseline. The association between personality characteristics, KRD rate, secondary task engagement rate, and CNC rate was estimated using a linear regression model. Mediation analysis was conducted to examine if participants' KRD rate or secondary task engagement rate mediated the relationship between personality and CNC. Data were collected as part of the Naturalistic Teen Driving Study. Results: Conscientiousness was marginally negatively associated with CNC (path c = − 0.034, p = .09) and both potential mediators KRD (path a = − 0.040, p = .09) and secondary task engagement while driving (path a = − 0.053, p = .03). KRD, but not secondary task engagement, was found to mediate (path b = 0.376, p = .02) the relationship between conscientiousness and CNC (path c′ = − 0.025, p = .20). Conclusions: Using objective measures of driving behavior and a widely used personality construct, these findings present a causal pathway through which personality and risky driving are associated with CNC. Specifically, more conscientious teenage drivers engaged in fewer risky driving maneuvers, and suffered fewer CNC. Practical Applications: Part of the variability in crash risk observed among newly licensed teenage drivers can be explained by personality. Parents and driving instructors may take teenage drivers' personality into account when providing guidance, and establishing norms and expectations about driving.