Traffic Safety

CERIN, E., B. E. SAELENS, J. F. SALLIS, and L. D. FRANK. Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale: Validity and Development of a Short Form. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 38, No. 9, pp. 1682-1691, 2006. Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the factorial and criterion validity of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS) and to develop an abbreviated

Mega elliptical roundabouts are considered a new kind of intersection and can be found on rural multilane highways. Their form is that of an elongated ellipse. They combine the best advantages of an unconventional median U-turn intersection and roundabout. The purpose of this research is analyzing safety performance for mega elliptical roundabout interchange using the VISSIM software version 4.30 and the surrogate safety assessment model (SSAM) software version 3. This research also considered eight other interchange designs to compare them with the mega elliptical roundabout interchange. In total, 20 scenarios were analyzed using VISSIM version 4.30 then tested by SSAM software version 3. To compare the different interchanges in terms of the mean values of conflicts, the one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted. Based on the research results, a mega elliptical roundabout interchange was one of the best interchanges studied in this research in relation to the frequency of conflicts as a total and the frequency of crossing conflicts.

This paper reviews theoretical and empirical evidence relating to the effectiveness of fear (threat) appeals in improving driver safety. The results of the review highlight the mixed and inconsistent findings that have been reported in the literature. While fear arousal appears important for attracting attention, its contribution to behaviour change appears less critical than other factors, such as perceptions of vulnerability and effective coping strategies. Furthermore, threatening appeals targeting young males (a high-risk group of concern) have traditionally relied on the portrayal of physical harm. However, the available evidence questions the relevance, and hence effectiveness, of strong physical threats with this group. Consequently, further research is required to determine the optimum way to utilise fear in road safety advertising, as well as the type of threat(s) most effective with different road users.

This study compares the effectiveness of different approaches to training complex cognitive and psychomotor skills within the framework of road safety education for primary school children. A method involving roadside behavioral training, a classroom instruction method and a method combining these two approaches were developed to teach basic skills critical to the safe crossing of intersections. These three methods were presented to pupils of the first grade of primary schools (6-7-year-olds) and both the knowledge of the necessary crossing skills and the ability to perform these skills under normal traffic conditions was measured using a before/after treatment design. The results indicate that knowledge and behavioural improvements can be achieved by both classroom instruction and the behavioral training, even though the latter approach appeared to be slightly superior. This suggests that instruction carried out in the classroom can be beneficial in acquiring complex psychomotor skills, which is in contrast to earlier findings indicating that classroom instruction can only affect knowledge and does not improve road crossing skills. The conclusion is reached that precise formulation of the educational objectives and use of audiovisual media are essential factors determining the effectiveness of cognitive instruction of road crossing skills in the classroom. Young pedestrians between 4 and 9 years of age are disproportionally involved in traffic accidents. Traffic is in fact one of the major causes of death for children in developed countries (Foot, Chapman & Wade, 1982). Accident analyses indicate that inappropriate behavior of children, in particular failing to stop and look before crossing, is an important

Knowledge of crash causes is important because it directs the mind to the consideration of potential prevention actions and because knowledge of the frequency with which various causes arise in crashes is necessary for determining the promise of potential prevention actions. Clinical crash causation studies consistently found that in the majority of crashes the road user was the sole cause and that in almost all crashes the road user was one of the causes. This is a 'quasi-finding' which provides false respectability to a style of road safety management that makes the road-user the primary target of prevention actions. For the knowledge obtained by clinical crash causation studies to be useful 'cause' has appropriately defined.

A disaggregate spatial analysis, using enumeration district data for London was conducted with the aim of examining how congestion may affect traffic safety. It has been hypothesized that while congested traffic conditions may increase the number of vehicle crashes and interactions, their severity is normally lower than crashes under uncongested free flowing conditions. This is primarily due to the slower speeds of vehicles when congestion is present. Our analysis uses negative binomial count models to examine whether factors affecting casualties (fatalities, serious injuries and slight injuries) differed during congested time periods as opposed to uncongested time periods. We also controlled for congestion spatially using a number of proxy variables and estimated pedestrian casualty models since a large proportion of London casualties are pedestrians. Results are not conclusive. Our results suggest that road infrastructure effects may interact with congestion levels such that in London any spatial differences are largely mitigated. Some small differences are seen between the models for congested versus uncongested time periods, but no conclusive trends can be found. Our results lead us to suspect that congestion as a mitigator of crash severity is less likely to occur in urban conditions, but may still be a factor on higher speed roads and motorways.

The Swedish code concerning car drivers' responsibility to give way to pedestrians was strengthened in 2000. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the short-term effects of the change in code. Another goal is to look at the effects of the reconstruction of four sites in Borås, Sweden. One site had changes made prior to the change of code, two test sites had countermeasures implemented during the study, and one comparison site was left unchanged. All the sites were chosen because schools were situated nearby. The focus of the evaluation was on children and elderly as pedestrians and cyclists.

Since the STS-114 mission in August of 2005, the FAA has partnered with NASA to protect aircraft flying in the National Airspace System from the potential hazards associated with a catastrophic failure of a reentering Space Shuttle orbiter, similar to that which occurred during ...

This study uses state-level and city-level data from the U.S. to assess the relationship between the homicide rate and the motor-vehicle fatality rate. The analysis of ecological data for a multiyear period reveals that there is a mild to moderate relationship between homicide rates and traffic-fatality rates. The limitations of ecological data are discussed. The authors argue that law enforcement can play a minor but significant role in determining the level of each type of fatality and that public perception of police activity is important. Police are most visible in their patrol and traffic functions and research suggests that controlling traffic flow has an effect on crime. Alternatively, the traffic equivalent to``broken windows'' might be``crumpled fenders.'' Lack of enforcement may send a signal to residents that police are absent or uncaring, leading not only to a disregard of the traffic safety rules and to higher accident rates but also to higher rates of crime in the community generally, as reflected through the homicide statistics.

In 2004, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) began a comprehensive program to implement engineering countermeasures to address the needs of older drivers. The countermeasures included the use of Clearview Font on Guide Signs (freeway and non-freeway), installation of Box Span signals, installation of pedestrian countdown signals, use of Fluorescent Yellow Sheeting on warning signs, and use of arrow-per-lane on guide signs. This study aimed at evaluating safety benefits of the selected countermeasures. Evaluation was performed through a perception survey of Michigan drivers and analysis of crash data. Safety Performance Functions (SPF) for these improvements were developed as part of the study. Crash Modification Factors (CMF) for each countermeasure were developed through the before-after analysis of crash data. Finally, the benefit cost analysis of each countermeasure was performed and is documented in this report.

Space is an EU-wide design philosophy for inner-city shopping and high streets which is, however, not new and has been fully incorporated in German and Dutch regulations for some time now. Implementation of Shared Space projects have already had its effect on the city planning of sensitive street and open spaces. The measures are based on mutual agreement among motorists, cyclists and pedestrians concerning the widest possible elimination of traffic controls, light signals and signing. Investigating case-study areas reveals that improved traffic safety might generally be achieved. At the same time, conflicts have also arisen, revealing that there are requirements and limits on the range of applications. This article will explore these issues in detail.

serves as an interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of ideas, methodologies, research, and applications aimed at improving road safety globally. Conference proceedings provide the opportunity for research in its formative stages to be shared, allowing our readers to gain early insights in the type of work currently being conducted and for the researchers to receive valuable feedback to help inform ongoing activities. This conference in particular offers an array of research topics not often covered by this journal from researchers practicing in over 11 countries. As is common with publishing conference proceedings, the papers published in this issue did not go through the normal JSR review process. Each paper included in this issue did meet the Road Safety and Simulation conference review requirements. They reflect varying degrees of scientific rigor, methodological design, and groundbreaking application. The proceedings published in this special issue of JSR draw from the following road safety research sectors represented at the conference: driving simulation, crash causality, naturalistic driving, and new research methods. It is our hope that the publication of these important proceedings will stimulate vigorous dialogue, rigorous research, and continuing innovative initiatives and applications, leading, ultimately, to fewer traffic fatalities, injuries, and crashes.

As use of handheld multimedia devices has exploded globally, safety experts have begun to consider the impact of distraction while talking, text-messaging, or listening to music on traffic safety. This study was designed to test how talking on the phone, texting, and listening to music may influence pedestrian safety. 138 college students crossed an interactive, semi-immersive virtual pedestrian street. They were randomly assigned to one of four groups: crossing while talking on the phone, crossing while texting, crossing while listening to a personal music device, or crossing while undistracted. Participants distracted by music or texting were more likely to be hit by a vehicle in the virtual pedestrian environment than were undistracted participants. Participants in all three distracted groups were more likely to look away from the street environment (and look toward other places, such as their telephone or music device) than were undistracted participants. Findings were maintained after controlling for demographics, walking frequency, and media use frequency. Distraction from multimedia devices has a small but meaningful impact on college students’ pedestrian safety. Future research should consider the cognitive demands of pedestrian safety, and how those processes may be impacted by distraction. Policymakers might consider ways to protect distracted pedestrians from harm and to reduce the number of individuals crossing streets while distracted.► Talking, texting, or listening to music may impact college student pedestrian safety. ► 138 students randomly assigned to cross a virtual street undistracted or distracted. ► Music or texting distraction caused greater likelihood of collision with vehicles. ► All distracted individuals looked away from the street environment more often. ► Multimedia device distraction has small but meaningful impact on pedestrian safety.

Physical attributes of local environments may influence walking. We used a modified version of the Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Scale to compare residents' perceptions of the attributes of two neighbourhoods that differed on measures derived from Geographic Information System databases. Residents of the high-walkable neighbourhood rated relevant attributes of residential density, land-use mix (access and diversity) and street connectivity, consistently higher than did residents of the low-walkable neighbourhood. Traffic safety and safety from crime attributes did not differ. Perceived neighbourhood environment characteristics had moderate to high test-retest reliabilities. Neighbourhood environment attribute ratings may be used in population surveys and other studies. r

Purpose: This study examined factors related to two sources of physical activity for youth: active use of recreation sites and active transport to recreation sites. Methods: Parents of children (n = 87) and matched pairs of parents and adolescents (n = 124 pairs) in three US cities reported on youths' active use of, proximity to, and walking/biking to 12 recreation sites and on neighborhood walkability and safety. Multivariate regression models evaluated factors associated with youths' frequent site use and active transport to sites. Results: Proximity to the site was associated with frequent use of large parks and public open space. Walking/biking to the site was associated with frequent use of most sites (indoor recreation sites, small and large parks, basketball courts, walking/running tracks, school recreation sites, playgrounds, and public open space). After controlling for proximity and demographic factors, active transport to sites remained significantly associated (P G 0.05) with frequent use of four sites for children (indoor recreation, walking/running tracks, school recreation facilities, and public open space) and all but three sites for adolescents (indoor recreation, playfields/courts, and beach/ lake/rivers). Adolescents' active transport to more sites was most positively related to higher perceived traffic safety and to better pedestrian infrastructure and was negatively related to crime threat. Adolescents with driver's licenses walked/biked to recreation sites less often. Conclusions: Active transport was strongly associated with the use of multiple recreation sites by children and adolescents, even when accounting for proximity and demographic factors. Adolescents living in neighborhoods with better traffic safety walked/ biked to more recreation sites for physical activity. Findings support the need for built environments and transportation policies that facilitate safe, active transport to recreation sites for youth physical activity.

Problem: Recent reports indicate incidents of aggressive driving have risen 51% since 1990 (Vest, Cohen, & Tharp, 1997), and they continue to rise about 7% per year (Pepper, 1977). Current estimates attribute more than 218 deaths and 12,610 injuries to aggressive driving since 1990 (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 1997). Method: College students as well as safety professionals were used in a four phase investigation to develop a Propensity for Angry Driving Scale (PADS). The PADS was designed to identify individuals with the greatest propensity to become angry while driving and subsequently engage in hostile driving behaviors or acts of``road rage.'' Results: Results of the investigation reveal the PADS to be a unidimensional measure with acceptable alpha levels (.88 ± .89) and adequate test ± retest reliability (.91). In addition, the PADS demonstrated significant and positive correlations with the Buss ± Durkee Hostility Index (BDHI; r =.40) and the trait subscale of the State ± Trait Anger Scale (STAS; r =.40). The PADS had a modest but significant correlation with Eysenck's impulsivity scale (r =.28) and was uncorrelated with Eysenck's venturesomeness scale, (r =.00). Summary: With the ability to identify anger prone drivers, research can begin addressing the underlying emotional mechanisms or thought processes that trigger angry and hostile reactions while driving. Given the win/lose hostile climate present on our highways, the PADS is a timely instrument that could be used to identify, study, and intervene on angry drivers prone to experience road rage.

Globally, pedestrians represent 23% of all road deaths. Many solutions to protect pedestrians are proposed; in this paper, we focus on technical solutions of the ADAS–Advanced Driver Assistance Systems–type. Concerning the interaction between drivers and pedestrians, we want to have a closer look at two aspects: how to protect pedestrians with the help of vehicle technology, and how pedestrians–but also car drivers–perceive and accept such technology. The aim of the present study was to analyze and describe the experiences, needs, and preferences of pedestrians–and drivers–in connection with ADAS, or in other words, how ADAS should work in such a way that it would protect pedestrians and make walking more relaxed. Moreover, we interviewed experts in the field in order to check if, in the near future, the needs and preferences of pedestrians and drivers can be met by new generations of ADAS. A combination of different methods, specifically, an original questionnaire, on-the-spot inte...

This paper starts by presenting a conceptualization of indicators, criteria and accidents' causes that can be used to describe traffic safety. The paper provides an assessment of traffic safety conditions for rural roads in Egypt. This is done through a three-step procedure. First, deaths per million vehicle kilometers are obtained and compared for Egypt, three other Arab countries and six of the G-7 countries. Egypt stands as having a significantly high rate of deaths per 100 million vehicle kilometers. This is followed by compiling available traffic and accident data for five main rural roads in Egypt over a 10-year period (1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999). These are used to compute and compare 13 traffic safety indicators for these roads. The third step for assessing traffic safety for rural roads in Egypt is concerned with presenting a detailed analysis of accident causes.

The use of driver behavior has been considered a complex way to solve road safety complications. Car drivers are usually involved in various risky driving factors which lead to accidents where people are fatally or seriously injured. The present study aims to dissect and rank the significant driver behavior factors related to road safety by applying an integrated multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model, which is structured as a hierarchy with at least one 5 5 (or bigger) pairwise comparison matrix (PCM). A real-world, complex decision-making problem was selected to evaluate the possible application of the proposed model (driver behavior preferences related to road safety problems). The application of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) alone, by precluding layman participants, might cause a loss of reliable information in the case of the decision-making systems with big PCMs. Evading this tricky issue, we used the Best Worst Method (BWM) to make the layman's evaluator task easier and timesaving. Therefore, the AHP-BWM model was found to be a suitable integration to evaluate risky driver behavior factors within a designed three-level hierarchical structure. The model results found the most significant driver behavior factors that influence road safety for each level, based on evaluator responses on the driver behavior questionnaire (DBQ). Moreover, the output vector of weights in the integrated model is more consistent, with results for 5 5 PCMs or bigger. The proposed AHP-BWM model can be used for PCMs with scientific data organized by traditional means.

We present a cost-benefit analysis of the Stockholm congestion charging system. The calculation of the value of social costs and benefits is based on observed data (rather than model-forecasted data). The most important data sources are the travel time and traffic flow measurements made the year before the charges were introduced (during April 2005) and the first spring with the charges (during April 2006, four months after the charges wre introduced).

Rechtlichen Anforderungen an automatisiertes Fahren basieren unter anderem auf dem Wiener Übereinkommen über den Straßenverkehr von 1968, das einen Rechtsrahmen für nationale Straßenverkehrsgesetze vorgibt. In Deutschland erfolgte mit Wirkung vom 21. Juni 2017 die Ergänzung der Paragraphen 1a und 1b in das Straßenverkehrsgesetz (StVG). Entsprechend dem § 1a Absatz 1 StVG ist der Betrieb eines Kraftfahrzeugs „mittels hoch- oder vollautomatisierter Fahrfunktion“ grundsätzlich zulässig, unter der Bedingung, dass die Funktion bestimmungsgemäß verwendet wird. Wegen der Bedeutsamkeit des Themas hatten sich 2015, 2018 und 2019 Arbeitskreise beim deutschen Verkehrsgerichtstag für Empfehlungen zum automatisierten Fahren ausgetauscht.
Hier wurde auch auf den bereits mehrfach von dem Juristen Prof. Dr. Dr. Hilgendorf zitierten „Aschaffenburger Fall“ von Januar 2012 hingewiesen. Dabei wurde davon ausgegangen, dass ein wegen Schlaganfall bewusstloser Fahrzeugführer durch einen aktivierten Lenkassistent in einen Ort eingefahren ist und im Anschluss zwei Menschen getötet hat. Das Fahrzeug entsprach dem Stand der Technik und Hilgendorf begrenzt in diesem konkreten Fall die Sorgfaltspfl icht des Herstellers durch den Grundsatz des erlaubten Risikos. Im Rahmen der Produktbeobachtungspflicht müssen jedoch seiner Meinung nach zukünftige Neuentwicklungen Konsequenzen aus diesem nun bekannten Verkehrsunfall ziehen. Als weiteres Beispiel wurde der tödliche Unfall in Tempe im US-Staat Arizona angesprochen, bei dem ein Uber-Testfahrzeug im selbstfahrenden autonomen Modus mit einer Fußgängerin und ihrem Fahrrad kollidierte. Es handelt sich dabei um den ersten aufgezeichneten tödlichen Fußgängerunfall mit einem selbstfahrenden Uber-Testfahrzeug. Auf der Basis von veröffentlichten Fotos des Deformierten Volvo XC90, der Unfallstelle mit den Endlagen konnte vom Verfasser eine Unfallrekonstruktion mit PC-Crash angefertigt werden. Unter Annahme einer Geschwindigkeit von 64 km/h (17,8 m/s) und einer sofort wirkenden Notbremsung 1,3 Sekunden vor Kollision mit einer Verzögerung von 6,8 m/s2 wäre der Unfall vermieden worden.
Als Basis für systematische Unfallanalysen mit künstlicher Intelligenz und Risikobewertungsmethoden (beispielsweise AcciMap, das Systems-Theoretical Accident and Process Model - STAMP und die Functional Resonance Analysis Method - FRAM) im Rahmen der Produktbeobachtung, dem Freigabeprozess und der Entwicklung von automatisierten empfiehlt sich eine flächendeckende Speicherung der Unfall-, Verkehrsfluss-, Wetter- und Fahrzeugbetriebsdaten.

Legal requirements for automated driving are based, amongst others, on the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 1968, which provides a legal framework for national road traffic laws pretends. In Germany, paragraphs 1a and 1b were added to the Road Traffic Act (StVG) with effect from 21 June 2017. According to Section 1a, Paragraph 1 of the StVG, the operation of a motor vehicle "by means of a highly or fully automated driving function" is generally permissible, provided that the function is used as intended. Due to the importance of the topic, working groups had exchanged recommendations for automated driving at the German Traffic Court Conference in 2015, 2018 and 2019.
Here reference was also made to the "Aschaffenburg case" of January 2012, which has already been quoted several times by the lawyer Prof. Dr. Dr. Hilgendorf. This case was based on the assumption that a driver who was unconscious due to a stroke had entered a town by means of an activated steering assistant and subsequently killed two people. The vehicle was state of the art and Hilgendorf limited the manufacturer's duty of care in this specific case by the principle of permissible risk. In his opinion, however, future new developments must draw consequences from this now known traffic accident within the framework of the product monitoring obligation. As a further example, the fatal accident in Tempe in the US state of Arizona was mentioned, in which an Uber test vehicle collided with a pedestrian and her bicycle in self-propelled autonomous mode. This is the first recorded fatal pedestrian accident involving a self-propelled Uber test vehicle. On the basis of published photos of the deformed Volvo XC90, the accident site with the end positions, the author was able to make an accident reconstruction with PC-Crash. Assuming a speed of 64 km/h (17.8 m/s) and an immediately effective emergency braking 1.3 seconds before collision with a deceleration of 6.8 m/s2 the accident would have been avoided.
As a basis for systematic accident analyses and risk assessment or Artificial Intelligence methods (e.g. AcciMap, the Systems-Theoretical Accident and Process Model - STAMP and the Functional Resonance Analysis Method - FRAM) in the context of product monitoring, the release process and the development of automated ones, it is recommended that accident, traffic flow, weather and vehicle operating data be stored area-wide.

For more than five decades, wrong-way driving (WWD) has been notorious as a traffic safety issue for controlled-access highways. Numerous studies and efforts have tried to identify factors that contribute to WWD occurrences at these sites in order to delineate between WWD and non-WWD crashes. However, none of the studies investigate the effect of various confounding variables on the injury severity being sustained by the at-fault drivers in a WWD crash. This study tries to fill this gap in the existing literature by considering possible variables and taking into account the ordinal nature of injury severity using three different ordered-response models: ordered logit or proportional odds (PO), generalized ordered logit (GOL), and partial proportional odds (PPO) model. The findings of this study reveal that a set of variables, including driver's age, condition (i.e., intoxication), seatbelt use, time of day, airbag deployment, type of setting, surface condition, lighting condition, and type of crash, has a significant effect on the severity of a WWD crash. Additionally, a comparison was made between the three proposed methods. The results corroborate that the PPO model outperforms the other two models in terms of modeling injury severity using our database. Based on the findings, several countermeasures at the engineering, education, and enforcement levels are recommended.

This paper presents the results of an online survey of licensed driver comprehension of the right-turn signal displays with a focus on the flashing yellow arrow (FYA) and also including the circular green and red and red arrow. Recruitment postcards were mailed to a random sample of 9,872 residents in Oregon. The online survey yielded 399 responses. The open-ended responses were coded for comprehension and analyzed. The results suggest that FYA for right turns is well understood by Oregon drivers despite its current novelty (only two locations at the time of the research). Importantly, survey respondents were more likely to recognize the yielding requirement of the permissive movement and associate the yielding with pedestrians with the FYA over the circular green (CG) display. The research also confirmed that the expected driver response to the red arrow display for right turns is not well understood (only 52% of the respondents correctly stated the expected driver response). Binary logistic regression modeling revealed that the driver's age and their educational level were significant factors in comprehension.

This thesis describes the development of models for predicting accidents at the intersections in a road network, from the turning traffic volumes at each intersection. The accident prediction models were developed using Poisson and negative binomial regression for each of the major accident types, at each of the major intersection types. Countrywide models that predict the motor vehicle accidents (accidents involving motor vehicles only) in a five year period, from the product of the conflicting traffic volumes were developed for each accident type. Accident prediction models have also been developed to predict the number of motor vehicle accidents occurring in different periods of the day (eg. the morning peak, 7am to 9am) and in different urban centres.
This thesis also describes three case studies, where the accident prediction models have been used to predict the total number of accidents (major accident types) at the intersections in
three road networks. Case studies were performed on the Christchurch Southern Arterial network, Christchurch Central network and the Lower Hutt network. For the two latter networks the total number of intersection accidents predicted was quite similar to that observed. In the Southern Arterial network, however, the total number of intersection accidents was under-predicted considerably

Distracted driving behavior is a perennial safety concern that affects not only the vehicle's occupants but other road users as well. Distraction is typically caused by engagement in secondary tasks and activities such as manipulating objects and passenger interaction, among many others. This study provides an in-depth analysis of the increased crash/near-crash risk associated with different secondary tasks using the largest real-world naturalistic driving dataset (SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Study). Several statistical and data-mining techniques were developed to analyze the distracted driving and crash risk. First, a bivariate probit model was constructed to investigate the relationship between engagement in a secondary task and the safety-critical events likelihood. Subsequently, two different techniques were implemented to quantify the increased crash/near-crash risk because of involvement in a particular secondary task. The first technique used the baseline-category logits model to estimate the increased crash risk in terms of conditional odds ratios. The second technique used the a priori association rule mining algorithm to reveal the risk associated with each secondary task in terms of support, confidence, and lift indexes. The results indicate that reaching for objects, manipulating objects, reading, and cell phone texting are the highest crash risk factors among various secondary tasks. Recognizing the effect of different secondary tasks on traffic safety in a real-world environment helps legislators enact laws that reduce crashes resulting from distracted driving, as well as enabling government officials to make informed decisions about the allocation of available resources to reduce roadway crashes and improve traffic safety.

This case study examines the translation of evidence on the effectiveness of laws to reduce the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of drivers into policy. It was reconstructed through discussions among individuals involved in the processes as well as a review of documentation and feedback on oral presentations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated extensively with federal and non-federal partners and stakeholders in conducting a rigorous systematic review, using the processes of the Guide to Community Preventive Services to evaluate the body of empirical evidence on 0.08% BAC laws. The timely dissemination of the findings and related policy recommendationsdmade by the independent Task Force on Community Preventive Servicesdto Congress very likely contributed to the inclusion of strong incentives to States to adopt 0.08 BAC laws by October 2003. Subsequent dissemination to partners and stakeholders informed decision-making about support for state legislative and policy action. This case study suggests the value of: clearly outlining the relationships between health problems, interventions and outcomes; systematically assessing and synthesizing the evidence; using a credible group and rigorous process to assess the evidence; having an impartial body make specific policy recommendations on the basis of the evidence; being ready to capitalize in briefly opening policy windows; engaging key partners and stakeholders throughout the production and dissemination of the evidence and recommendations; undertaking personalized, targeted and compelling dissemination of the evidence and recommendations; involving multiple stakeholders in encouraging uptake and adherence of policy recommendations; and addressing sustainability. These lessons learned may help others working to translate evidence into policy. Ann Epidemiol 2010;20:412-420. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The primary objectives of this study are to develop two roundabout entry capacity models using a regression-based multiple non-linear regression model (MNLR) and artificial intelligence (AI)-based ANFIS (adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system) model under heterogeneous traffic conditions. ANFIS is the latest technique in the field of AI that integrates both neural networks and fuzzy logic principles in a single framework. Required data have been collected from 27 roundabouts in eight states of India. To assess the significance of these models and select the best model among them, modified rank index is applied in this study. The coefficient of determination ( R2) and Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient ‘ E’ values are found to be 0.92, 0.91 and 0.98, 0.98 for the MNLR and ANFIS model, respectively. The ANFIS model is found to be the best model in this study. However, from a practical point of view, the MNLR model is recommended for determining roundabout entry capacity under ...

As use of handheld multimedia devices has exploded globally, safety experts have begun to consider the impact of distraction while talking, text-messaging, or listening to music on traffic safety. This study was designed to test how talking on the phone, texting, and listening to music may influence pedestrian safety. 138 college students crossed an interactive, semi-immersive virtual pedestrian street. They were randomly assigned to one of four groups: crossing while talking on the phone, crossing while texting, crossing while listening to a personal music device, or crossing while undistracted. Participants distracted by music or texting were more likely to be hit by a vehicle in the virtual pedestrian environment than were undistracted participants. Participants in all three distracted groups were more likely to look away from the street environment (and look toward other places, such as their telephone or music device) than were undistracted participants. Findings were maintained after controlling for demographics, walking frequency, and media use frequency. Distraction from multimedia devices has a small but meaningful impact on college students' pedestrian safety. Future research should consider the cognitive demands of pedestrian safety, and how those processes may be impacted by distraction. Policymakers might consider ways to protect distracted pedestrians from harm and to reduce the number of individuals crossing streets while distracted.

In a near future, vehicles will be provided with a variety of new sensors capable of gathering information from their surroundings. These vehicles will also be capable of sharing the harvested information via Vehicular Ad hoc NETworks (VANETs) with nearby vehicles, or with the emergency services in case of an accident. Hence, distributed applications based on VANETs will need to agree on a 'common understanding' of context for interoperability, and therefore, it is necessary to create a standard structure which enables data interoperability among all the different entities involved in transportation systems. In this paper, we focus on traffic safety; specifically, we present a Car Accident lightweight Ontology for VANETs (CAOVA). The instances of our ontology are filled with: (i) the information collected when an accident occurs, and (ii) the data available in the General Estimates System (GES) accidents database. We assess the reliability of our proposal in two different ways: one via realistic crash tests, and the other one using a network simulation framework.

The growing population and motorization generate more movements. In many cities, the increase of population and motorization is much greater than the development of the capacity of the transportation network. For unprotected road users, the risk of getting in a traffic accident increases and the risk of being more severely injured in an accident. In March 2020, a pandemic was declared because of a Coronavirus. More people started to work/study from home to prevent the virus from spreading by avoiding unnecessary trips, gatherings, and crowded areas. Therefore, travel behaviours have shifted during the pandemic compared to previous years. This project aims to get knowledge of how mobility and traffic accidents are affected by significant shifts of travel flow, predict the effect of traffic accidents based on mobility, and evaluate the risk of travelling on a particular road segment.

Mobility data has been collected from Google Mobility, Apple Mobility, the Environmental Barometer, Trafikkontoret, and traffic accident data collected from STRADA. Mobility and traffic accident data have been analysed using Excel, QGIS, and PTV Visum Safety. The accident rates have been calculated to determine if the accident rate has changed during the pandemic, and three scenarios for 2021 have been predicted. A risk analysis model has also been used to calculate the risk of being involved in an accident on particular streets using a car, cycle, or walking.

It was found that mobility has decreased, and the usage of transportation modes has shifted. During the pandemic, it has been more popular to cycle, which is also reflected in the traffic accident data, where the percentages of cyclists being involved in traffic accidents have increased. No matter the degree of injury or transportation mode, the total number of traffic accidents had decreased in 2020. However, the number of severe accidents is almost the same as in previous years. Males are overrepresented in traffic accidents, and the differences are even more significant for 2020. In 2020, the travel speed on the roads increased, which might be due to decreased traffic volume, making it possible to drive faster. The percentage of accidents involving alcohol also increased. The results from the risk analysis show whether the risk of getting into a traffic accident on a particular street using a specific transportation mode has increased or decreased depending on the street and transportation mode. Three scenarios (better, same, worse) of the risk of travelling on the particular road stretches in 2021 have also been calculated.

To make better predictions, additional years should be considered. For future work, it would also be interesting to consider the weather since it greatly impacts the transportation mode used and the risk of accidents. The infrastructure was not considered in this project, which would be interesting since the transportation mode, route used, and speed might depend on the infrastructure and current constructions.

Abstract
Knowledge of crash causes is important because it directs the mind to the consideration of potential prevention actions and  because knowledge of the frequency with which various causes arise in crashes is necessary for determining the promise of potential prevention actions. Clinical crash causation studies consistently found that in the majority of crashes the road user was the sole cause and that in almost all crashes the road user was one of the causes. This is a ‘quasi-finding’ which provides false respectability to a style of road safety management that makes the road-user the primary target of prevention actions. For the knowledge obtained by clinical crash causation studies to be useful ‘cause’ has appropriately defined.

In this chapter, a survey of the current state of research on autonomous driving is given and is set in the context of the requirements of an autonomous vehicle following the vision of an automated taxi. The overview is based on (scientific) publications and self-reports of the developing teams. Aspects of interest for this summary are approaches on environmental perception, self-perception, mission accomplishment, localization, cooperation, map usage, and functional safety. Typically, emphasis is given to reliance on global satellite systems (e.g., GPS) and map data. Only a few approaches focus on environmental perception and scene understanding. Even though impressive demonstrations of autonomous driving have been presented in recent decades, this overview concludes that many aspects still remain only partially solved or even unsolved, especially when driving autonomously in public road traffic.

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs), and particularly pedestrian protection systems (PPSs), have become an active research area aimed at improving traffic safety. The major challenge of PPSs is the development of reliable on-board pedestrian detection systems. Due to the varying appearance of pedestrians (e.g., different clothes, changing size, aspect ratio, and dynamic shape) and the unstructured environment, it is very difficult to cope with the demanded robustness of this kind of system. Two problems arising in this research area are the lack of public benchmarks and the difficulty in reproducing many of the proposed methods, which makes it difficult to compare the approaches. As a result, surveying the literature by enumerating the proposals one-after-another is not the most useful way to provide a comparative point of view. Accordingly, we present a more convenient strategy to survey the different approaches. We divide the problem of detecting pedestrians from images into different processing steps, each with attached responsibilities. Then, the different proposed methods are analyzed and classified with respect to each processing stage, favoring a comparative viewpoint. Finally, discussion of the important topics is presented, putting special emphasis on the future needs and challenges.

There is much debate in the UK, North America and Australia within both crime prevention and planning concerning New Urbanism and the design of suburban housing layouts. New Urbanism promotes high-density, mixed-use residential developments in 'walkable' neighbourhoods close to public transport, employment and amenities. One significant factor is New Urbanism's support for permeability and the preference of the grid street layout over the cul-de-sac . The authors present the evidence as it relates to the grid and the cul-de-sac across a range of inter-disciplinary issues such as crime, walkability, social interaction, travel behaviour, traffic safety, cost and sustainability and housing preferences.

The primary objectives of this study are to develop the two roundabout entry capacity model by utilizing regression based Multiple Non-linear Regression model (MNLR) and artificial intelligence based ANFIS (Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Inference System) model under heterogeneous traffic conditions. ANFIS is the latest technique in the field of Artificial intelligence that integrates both neural networks and fuzzy logic principles in a single framework. Required data have been collected from 27 roundabouts spanning across 8 states of India. To assess the significance of these models and select the best model among them modified rank index (MRI) is applied in this study. The coefficient of determination (R 2) and Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient 'E' values are found to be (0.92, 0.91) & (0.98, 0.98) of MNLR & ANFIS model respectively. ANFIS model is found to be the best model in this study. But in a practical point of view, MNLR model is recommended for determining roundabout entry capacity under heterogeneous traffic conditions. Sensitivity analysis reports that critical gap is the prime variable and sharing 18.43 % for the development of roundabout entry capacity. As compared to Girabase formula (France), Brilon wu formula (Germany) & HCM 2010 models, the proposed MNLR model is quite reliable under low to medium range of traffic volumes.

In many developing countries motorcycles are used not only for personal travel (commuting, leisure, etc.) but also to deliver documents and small commodities (e.g., food) or to provide taxi services. Incomes of these commercial motorcyclists are generally based on the number of services they are able to provide within a given amount of time. Some have suggested that this incentive might induce commercial motorcyclists to engage in risky behaviors – that is they might be more likely to drive fast and break traffic laws in order to maximize income. To empirically test for differences between commercial and non-commercial motorcyclists, I estimated a logistic regression model using data from a survey conducted by the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) between 2012 and 2013 in Bogota and Barranquilla, Colombia. My results support the hypothesis that motorcycles used for commercial activities and whose income is generally based on the number of services they are able to provide are at a higher risk of being involved in a crash. The probability of being involved in a crash is higher when using motorcycles for taxi services than when using motorcycles for non-commercial purposes or for commercial activities other than courier or taxi services (after controlling for exposure, demographic characterizes, vehicle features, and other possible explanatory variables, though this finding may be affected by a possible reporting bias by those providing (illegal) taxi services). By contrast, motorcyclists who provide courier services have neither a higher nor lower probability of being involved in a crash compared to those riding motorcycles for non-commercial purposes or for commercial activities other than courier or taxi services. Other variables associated with crash occurrence include age, owning the motorcycle, and riding in Bogota. While I see evidence that the financial incentives of being paid per job motivate risky driving behaviors among commercial motorcyclists, better data and further research are needed to fully understand the causes of differential crash risks among types of motorcyclists.

Accident is not an act of God; but it is a man-made epidemic which is amenable by rational analysis and countermeasures. There is no difference between road traffic injuries and other diseases. Road traffic crashes are fast growing relative to other diseases. Though roads are a vital part of any country’s growth and development but with more traffic, more and more traffic crash related injuries and fatalities are eminent. Apart from the human suffering, crashes cost a country a great deal of money, time and effort. Bangladesh is a very densely populated low lying country with more than 140 million inhabitants living in an area of about 147,570 square kilometers. Each year nearly 5000 crashes as reported by police occur in Bangladesh. About 10% of these reported crashes occur on national highways. Of the crashes and fatalities of known locations, the share of national highways is much higher, 56 % and 61% respectively. Among the national highways of Bangladesh, Dhaka-Chittagong highway is considered to be the major crashprone highway. The goal of the paper is to analyze the crash patterns in this highway. It was found that high incidence of crashes are closely related to the inbuilt roads and roadside hazards, not related to weather conditions and sunlight availability. Detailed field observations in two sites of this national highway were carried out to evaluate the extent of hazards and risk conditions associated with the road environment, road users and road vehicles. Most of the crashes at these locations are found to be of fatal types and pedestrians are the most vulnerable group susceptible to road traffic crashes. On the basis of field investigation and analysis, summary of important findings and recommendations (such as providing proper pedestrian facilities, dividers, widening of the highways etc.) to minimize crash numbers and severity have also been presented in this paper work.