The article deals with the influence of professional drivers' fatigue on the occurrence of traffic events. The study of various scientific works on the causes of traffic events related to human psychophysiological qualities has revealed that all of these works highlight the complex work process of a driver as an operator of a certain mechanism. It is governed by the regulatory documents reviewed in this article. Driver's fatigue is a quite frequent accident-causing human factor. Building upon the results of the study on human idiosyncrasies, the authors suggest a methodology for professional selection of drivers. This methodology is based on practical data, i.e. on a comprehensive analysis of performance peculiarities of professional drivers employed at Joint-Stock Company 'Vilnius Public Transport' (in Lithuanian -UAB 'Vilniaus viešasis transportas'). Application of the suggested methodology enables to reduce the number of road accidents caused by city passenger transport drivers by up to 40÷50%. The article proposes a methodology for compilation of professional selection criteria for passenger transport drivers, also applicable to drivers working in other transportation areas, as well as to employees of field investigation services and other persons who constantly face nervous and emotional stress and experience a lack of information and time.

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The main goals of the work are to define consistent patterns of impacts exercised by vibration of the vehicle in emergency braking on the vehicle’s movement mode and on the braking distance and to analyze the formation of oscillation. Besides, it is aimed to extend expert’s opportunities for modeling vehicle movement for investigation of accidents’ circumstances related to vehicle braking with the aid of the developed models. A mathematical model of impact exercised by bumper’s characteristics on the vehicle’s braking process has been designed, enabling the determination of coefficients of longitudinal relative forces of the vehicle’s front and rear axles, which depend on the road’s pavement and its condition. The obtained research results extend the vehicle vibration theory in transitional movement modes, which are used in the design and improvement of vehicle suspensions, as well as in traffic accident’s investigation and improvement of methodology of their expertise calculations.

The Research on Competitiveness of Road Transport Enterprises: Lithuanian Case In the paper, various opinions of Lithuanian and foreign authors of scientific publications are reviewed and the criteria for assessing competitiveness of road transport are discussed upon. On assessment of competitiveness of services provided by Lithuanian road transport enterprises, not only technical options are taken into account. It is proposed to assess competitiveness of enterprises upon taking into consideration the total set of services provided as well as their quality and the marketing level of the enterprise. In the paper, the factors impacting competitiveness of road transport are discussed upon and the research works required for objective assessment of competitiveness of road transport are foreseen. A model for assessing competitiveness of road transport enterprises realized by the authors is provided. In the end of the paper, conclusions and recommendations are provided.

Objectives: The article analyzes the driver's psychophysiological qualities such as complex reaction and individual ability to control the vehicle that has suddenly lost its stability. The comparative analysis of the duration of reaction time was performed to assess the negative influence of speaking on a phone and driving with one hand. Material and Methods: The experimental research was carried out on special training grounds with the road surface having low adhesion coefficient, where sudden lateral vehicle destabilization was caused by the moving plate mounted on the road surface. The vehicle onboard equipment was used for identifying the difference between the destabilization moment and the responsive driver's steering wheel movement which in this research was assumed as the reaction time. Results: Statistical methods of research applied for the analysis of results showed high probability that the driver's actions would be significantly late in controlling a vehicle. When stabilizing a vehicle movement, the complex reaction time of a vehicle driver speaking on a mobile phone is increased by 18.1% as compared with the conventional driving by a driver not speaking on a phone. Conclusions: The risk of using the phone depends on the driver characteristics, traits and attitudes that affect the level of their experienced dangers, and the intensity of using mobile phones and driving. Speaking on a phone while driving increases the driver's reaction time and mental workload, and changes his or her visual overview ability as well as understanding of the situation. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2018;31(5):633 -648