Convergent validity of vision based technology (VBT) among professional bus drivers.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Due to the relative rarity of crashes, researchers use traffic offenses, police records, public complaints, and In-Vehicle Data Recorder (IVDR) data as proxies for assessing crash risk. In this study, a unique IVDR system, called Vision-Based Technology [(VBT), (Mobileye Inc.)] was used to monitor perilous naturalistic driving events, such as insufficient distance from other vehicles and pedestrian or bicycle rider near-misses. The study aimed to test the convergent validity of VBT as an indicator of crash involvement risk. METHODS: Data from 61 professional drivers working for a large bus company were analyzed (16 of 77 in the original data cohort were excluded for insufficient VBT data). Data included recorded VBT data, objective data collected from official records (crash records provided by the bus company, and public complaints of reckless driving), self-report data regarding crash involvement, and police tickets. The correlation between VBT, objective and self-reported data was analyzed. Binary-logistic regression modeling (BLM) was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for participants involved in a car crash. RESULTS: Correlations were found between the total VBT risk score and official crash records, public complaints, and self-reports of crash involvement. The BLM correctly classified 90% of those who were involved in a crash (sensitivity) and 60% of those who were "crash-free" (specificity). The VBT total risk score was the only significant contributing factor to crash risk, and for each point of increase, the odds of being involved in a crash increased by a factor of 1.55. CONCLUSIONS: It is the first study to provide empirical evidence validating the VBT as an indicator of crash involvement and driver safety among professional bus drivers. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS VBT technology can provide researchers and clinicians a better understanding of bus drivers' risky driving behaviors- a valuable contribution to road safety interventions for this target group.