INCREASE OF SAFETY IN THE TRANSPORTATION OF DANGEROUS GOODS. A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF DEVICES AGAINST DROWSY AND DISTRACTED DRIVING FOR PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS.

Road accidents caused by distraction and drowsiness are two of the main causes of mortality on Italian roads. The impact of this category of accidents is maximized when heavy vehicles for the transport of dangerous goods are involved. The road transport of dangerous goods, regulated according to the international agreement ADR (Accord européen relatif au transport international des marchandises Dangereuses par Route), corresponds to 70% of the Italian transport of dangerous substances. Technologies against distracted and drowsy driving (TAD3) may represent a possible solution to be adopted within this sector. Therefore, the objective of this MS thesis consists in the preliminary analysis of experimental research that compares TAD3 devices through the behavioural response of professional drivers. The research starts from an in-depth study of the scientific literature concerning distraction and drowsiness during the driving activity, investigating mainly how the phenomena occur and through which physiological and behavioural parameters can be detected. Within the scientific background there are the main types of TAD3 technologies, as accessible tools within the automotive after-market, effective in preventing road accidents. The analysis of technical and scientific literature has allowed to elaborate a wide-ranging survey concerning the perception of road safety by the professional driver. The anonymous questionnaire, administered to 320 subjects, is proposed as the first study method to learn the behaviours of haulers regarding the factors of drowsiness and distraction while driving. Data processing has involved the division of the sample on the basis of two information deemed relevant: falling asleep behind the wheel and distraction due to the improper use of electronic devices while driving, such as smartphones, GPS and radios. The drafting of the questionnaire was also necessary to get a real picture of the opinions on the TAD3 devices. The results of the survey have highlighted the desire to introduce, within the cockpits, comfortable devices for detecting fatigue and alert status. Thanks to the respondents' preferences, four TAD3 devices were purchased: two cameras for facial and eye tracking, one headset with visual sensor for pupil movement and one double wearable ring for the measurement of skin conductance. The DIATI driving simulation laboratory of the Polytechnic University of Turin was the protagonist in six functional tests on the four TAD3 devices that allowed to understand the possible use in future experiments. The knowledge learned from the functional tests led to the preliminary design of two experiments to evaluate the response of TAD3 devices on a sample subject to the drowsiness and distraction phenomena while driving. The experimental protocol design is elaborated through virtual guides to the driving simulator, an instrument that better allows the detection of physiological variables in different driving conditions and in total safety. Finally, from the theoretical design of the experiments, a classification was proposed based on two objective parameters, such as accuracy of the responses and commercial price of the TAD3 devices, and a subjective parameter based on the preference in terms of driver comfort. The bibliographic research and the used methods are presented as the necessary steps to be faced in order to verify if the project is adequate, to establish its feasibility or to obtain information that allows