Singing in the car not good

Do you sing in the car? If you do, your reaction times are slower than if you drive along in silence, according to Australian researchers.

They also found that singing drivers drive at more varied rates, though overall more slowly. They also showed less movement within lanes than those driving without musical accompaniment either from themselves or the radio.

The researchers are Genevieve M Hughesa, Christina M Rudin-Brown, and Kristie L Young from the Department of Psychology, Monash University.

Kids driven to school 'don't know neighborhoods'

Children who are regularly or mostly driven to school don't have the same relationship with their neighborhoods as those who walk or cycle, writes Brian Byrne.

This is one conclusion from a study in the US which also found that children in neighbourhoods with heavy traffic have a much more negative attitude to the area where they live than do those in areas with light traffic exposure.

Researcher Bruce Appleyard asked 9/10 year-olds to draw maps of their neighborhoods in the different suburban areas. He found that those with what he calls 'a windshield perspective' couldn't accurately draw how streets in their community connected, while the walking or cycling youngsters produced very accurate drawings.

Those in the heavy traffic areas also produced much more 'negative' drawings, highlighted by 'danger' colours and details, whereas the kids who knew their locality showed elements like trees and parks.

Other research includes a poll that showed only 18 percent of US children walk or cycle to school now, compared to 71 percent of their parents.

One hand or two while driving?

We have always felt that drinking coffee, eating, or even smoking while driving are arguably as bad as using a mobile phone, writes Brian Byrne. Now there's research that seems to agree with us.

Carried out by the University of Leeds for the esure car insurance company, scientists found that sipping a drink worsened reaction times by more than a fifth than when both hands were on the wheel.

Using a driving simulator, the researchers found that almost the same percentage tended to veer out of lane while drinking a beverage.

In a survey carried out by the insurance company, nearly one in ten respondents said they had had an accident or a near miss while fiddling with the radio controls.

The insurance company compiled the results in a report 'Two Hands are Better than One'.

Elderly drivers 'less likely' to see pedestrians

Elderly drivers are half as likely to see pedestrians on the sidewalk, because they may have a more limited field of view.

That's one of the conclusions from a study carried out by researchers from Ben Gurion University in Israel. The elderly driving subjects performed 'braking actions' half as often as younger drivers in response to pedestrians being on sidewalks or hard shoulders.

The study also showed that the elderly drivers are generally aware of this, and tend to drive more slowly to compensate for not being as aware of potential hazards as younger drivers.

The researchers concluded that more signs and lane markings should be considered to inform drivers of potential upcoming hazards.

There are now more drivers over 65 on the road than ever globally, and the group is the fastest growing.

Biofuel breakthrough

While the limelight seems to have shifted of late from biofuels, in favour of electric technology developments, research is ongoing to get more efficient methods of extracting biofuels from less food-sensitive sources.

This latest breakthrough looks promising. From Technology Review.