The Efficacy of a Functional Meta-Cognitive Intervention to Improve Human Factors of Professional Drivers

Tel Aviv University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Driving Behavior; Human Risk Factors; Meta-cognition

Treatments: Behavioral: The employer's training; Behavioral: Functional Meta-Cognitive Intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02903147

Rachel Shichrur

Navah Ratzon (Other Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The objective of the study is to examine the effectiveness of a functional-meta-cognitive intervention program to reduce driving risk factors amongst professional bus drivers.

Full description

In Israel, the percentage of professional drivers involved in lethal car accidents is high in relation to their number on the roads. Every car accident involving a bus driver could potentially put at risk the lives of tens of passengers, and cause damages both direct and indirect at high costs. Due to the high risk of the bus drivers and their passengers, it is highly important to identify and improve the driving characteristics which are necessary for safer driving of said drivers. Many studies have assessed and identified the risk factors of safe driving, but there is relatively little research-based evidence concerning the ability to improve the driving skills of drivers in general and in particular of bus drivers, which are considered a high risk group.

According to the National Road Safety Authority, 88% of road accidents are caused by driver errors. Therefore, the real challenge is to provide a better understanding in the role of human factors in causing road accidents to try and develop a variety of effective interventions to reduce these risk factors. This understanding can contribute both to a better assessment of professional drivers' driving fitness and to intervene accordingly. In this study, we have focused on main aspects that exist in relevant literature and are human risk factors: Cognitive-perceptual, ergonomic and personality risk factors, and checked the connection between these risk factors and actual monitored driving scores as recorder by an In-Vehicle Data Recorder (IVDR). In addition, we examined the effectiveness of a functional-meta-cognitive intervention program designed to increase drivers' awareness to their way of driving. The research model is based on previous driving models and the guiding occupational therapy practice framework model in Israel, while adjusting the model to the professional driving in public transportation line of work and its particular risk factors.

Enrollment: 77 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 21+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Male gender.
• Having a valid bus driver's license.
• Working for a specific large bus company in the center of Israel.

Exclusion criteria

• Drivers who had less than 50 hours of IVDR data were excluded.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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77 participants in 2 patient groups

Functional Meta-Cognitive Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

The intervention is aimed to improve human factors of professional bus drivers

Treatment:

Behavioral: Functional Meta-Cognitive Intervention

Control group

Active Comparator group

Description:

The control group had the employer's training - The company holds routine covert inspections, summons to conversations with the security offices and records in the drivers' personal files.

Treatment:

Behavioral: The employer's training