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SUMMARY Cognitive models of insomnia suggest that selective attention may be involved in maintaining the disorder. However, direct assessment of selective attention is limited. Using the inducing change blindness (ICB) paradigm we aimed to determine whether there is attentional preference for sleep-related stimuli in psychophysiological insomnia (PI) relative to delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) and good sleepers (GS). In the ICB task, a visual scene, comprising both sleep-related and neutral stimuli, ÔflickersÕ back and forth with one element (sleep or neutral) of the scene changing between presentations. Therefore, a 2 · 3 totally between-participants design was employed.The dependent variable was the number of flickers it took for the participant to identify the change. Ninety individuals (30 per group) were classified using ICSD-R criteria, self-report diaries and wrist actigraphy. As predicted, PI detected a sleep-related change significantly quicker than DSPS and GS, and significantly quicker than a sleep-neutral change. Unexpectedly, DSPS detected a sleep-related change significantly quicker than GS. No other differences were observed between the two controls. These results support the notion that there is an attention bias to sleep stimuli in PI, suggesting that selective attention tasks such as the ICB may be a useful objective index of cognitive arousal in insomnia. The results also suggest that there may be an element of sleep preoccupation associated with DSPS. Results are discussed with reference to other experiments on attentional processing in insomnia.

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The contract manager for this report was Dr. Marvin M. Levy (NHTSA). Dunlap and Associates, Inc., of Stamford, CT, and the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Association were subcontractors. Eric Rodgman contributed to the data processing and analysis. Laura Sandt and Michael Daul contributed to the report design, layout, and editing process. AbstractThe purpose of this study was to identify and implement a comprehensive countermeasure program that could reduce deaths and injuries among pedestrians in a large urban environment. Miami-Dade County, Florida, was selected as the focus of this study. Using pedestrian crash data from 1996 to 2001, four zones were identified within the county as having abnormally high pedestrian-crash experiences. Based on locational crash characteristics, as well as pedestrian (age, ethnicity) factors, a total of 16 different types of education, enforcement, and engineering treatments were selected and targeted to reduce pedestrian crashes specifically in the four zones, and also countywide.A before-after study was used with three separate control groups to evaluate the effects of the combined pedestrian safety program on pedestrian crashes. A three-year "after" period was used (2002)(2003)(2004). Multivariate intervention autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) time series analysis was used, along with nonparametric (i.e., Mann-Whitney U-tests) to test for statistically significant differences in pedestrian crash experiences. Results showed that, at the peak of the program effects in 2003 and 2004, the pedestrian safety program reduced countywide pedestrian crash rates by between 8.5% and 13.3%, depending on which control group was used. This effect translates to approximately 180 fewer crashes annually in Miami-Dade County, or 360 pedestrian crashes reduced in 2003 and 2004 combined. Countywide, the greatest crash reductions were found among children and adult pedestrians as a result of the program. Educational and other measures to reduce crashes involving older pedestrians showed no effect. A number of lessons learned were identified for future implementation of such a program. Key Words:Pedestrian, safety, education, enforcement, engineering, effectiveness, evaluation, countermeasure, comprehensive safety program, crash analysis, local partnerships Distribution StatementThis report is free of charge from the NHTSA Web site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors wish to acknowledge a number of people for their contribution to the overall study effort. These include: Table 53). In urban areas where pedestrian activity and traffic volumes are greater compared to rural areas, pedestrians often comprise 25% of traffic deaths or more.During the 1970s, a research project series sought to identify causal factors of pedestrian crashes and appropriate countermeasures. The research by Snyder and Knoblauch (1971) focused on urban pedestrian crashes, but subsequent studies extended the methodology to rural and freeway crashes (see Stutts et al., 1992, for a review). Fr...

Background:In the United States, promoting active transportation to school has received increased attention as a means of encouraging physical activity and preventing obesity among youth. However, little systematic evaluation of existing programs such as Walk to School (WTS) has occurred.Methods:WTS coordinators from across the United States were surveyed (via Web, mail, and telephone) about program activities, school and environmental characteristics, and perceived changes in children walking to school. As an exploratory aim, logistic-regression analyses were used to examine program characteristics associated with perceived increases in children walking.Results:From a database of 783 coordinators, 493 usable surveys were returned. Almost all respondents (98.2%) participated in a 1-day WTS event. Other common activities included promotional activities (72.7%), safety trainings (49.6%), walkability audits (48.5%), and designated safe walking routes (46.5%). As part of their WTS efforts, 24.4% made policy changes and 38.4% made changes to the physical environment. Logistic-regression analyses showed that policy changes, physical environment improvements, and number of activities were associated with the largest perceived increased in children walking to school.Conclusions:These findings help address the gap in knowledge about schools’ participation in WTS programs, and strategies are suggested to increase active transportation to school.

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This report describes the implementation and evaluation of a traffic safety program in Wichita, Kansas.. The goal of the program was to reduce the .incidence of speeding, alcohol-impaired driving (DWI) and non-use of safety belts through well-publicized enforcement strategies focusing attention on all three areas.The Wichita Police Department selected "Traffic Trifecta: Buckle Up -Slow Down -Drive Sober. Don't gamble with a life!" as the theme for their program. The program sequentially emphasized five different combined enforcement strategies over a period of approximately one year. A public information and education program that focused on each strategy ran for about two months. Though several unusual occurrences including abortion protests, severe. weather conditions and increased gang-related activities taxed police resources there was a significant increase in DWI enforcement and associated reductions in alcohol-related crashes.Speeding enforcementactivity actually decreased somewhat during the project period and thus there were no positive changes in speed outcome measures. Even though there were moderate increases in safety belt enforcement activity, belt use did not increase. -It is concluded that the competing demands of non-traffic enforcement activities prevented a fair test of the combined enforcement concept in Wichita.