A novel conceptual framework investigating the relationship between roadside advertising and road safety: The driver behaviour and roadside advertising conceptual framework

This paper proposes a conceptual framework to understand the relationship between roadside advertising signs, driver behaviour, and road safety outcomes. Roadside advertising signs are external distractions that may take a driver's attention away from safety-critical driving tasks, potentially increasing crash risk through driver distraction and inattention. Although studies report safety concerns, as a whole, the body of research in the field is inconclusive with inconsistent quality, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions. Definitive links between roadside advertising and road trauma are not yet evident, which has major consequences for road regulators' capacity to develop evidence-based policy to safely administer public roads. However, a lack of consistent evidence does not indicate an absence of risk but underscores its complexity. To address this problem, the Driver Behaviour and Roadside Advertising Conceptual Framework (DBRA framework) was developed to strategically investigate and conceptualise the phenomena of roadside advertising. A new term – “extended engagement” – has also been proposed to account for situations of prolonged attentional engagement with a roadside advertising sign. Further, it is posited that important variations in driving performance may be associated with a driver's extended engagement with a roadside advertising sign. Built on extant theories of driver behaviour and empirical research, the DBRA framework is designed to be a robust tool that encourages a common agenda for future roadside advertising research.     

The effect of drivers’ eye contact on pedestrians’ perceived safety

Many fatal accidents that involve pedestrians occur at road crossings, and are attributed to a breakdown of communication between pedestrians and drivers. Thus, it is important to investigate how forms of communication in traffic, such as eye contact, influence crossing decisions. Thus far, there is little information about the effect of drivers’ eye contact on pedestrians’ perceived safety to cross the road. Existing studies treat eye contact as immutable, i.e., it is either present or absent in the whole interaction, an approach that overlooks the effect of the timing of eye contact. We present an online crowdsourced study that addresses this research gap. 1835 participants viewed 13 videos of an approaching car twice, in random order, and held a key whenever they felt safe to cross. The videos differed in terms of whether the car yielded or not, whether the car driver made eye contact or not, and the times when the driver made eye contact. Participants also answered questions about their perceived intuitiveness of the driver’s eye contact behavior. The results showed that eye contact made people feel considerably safer to cross compared to no eye contact (an increase in keypress percentage from 31% to 50% was observed). In addition, the initiation and termination of eye contact affected perceived safety to cross more strongly than continuous eye contact and a lack of it, respectively. The car’s motion, however, was a more dominant factor. Additionally, the driver’s eye contact when the car braked was considered intuitive, and when it drove off, counterintuitive. In summary, this study demonstrates for the first time how drivers’ eye contact affects pedestrians’ perceived safety as a function of time in a dynamic scenario and questions the notion in recent literature that eye contact in road interactions is dispensable. These findings may be of interest in the development of automated vehicles (AVs), where the driver of the AV might not always be paying attention to the environment.     

Do cyclists need HMIs in future automated traffic? An interview study

Cyclists are expected to interact with automated vehicles (AVs) in future traffic, yet we know little about the nature of this interaction and the safety implications of AVs on cyclists. On-bike human–machine interfaces (HMIs) and connecting cyclists to AVs and the road infrastructure may have the potential to enhance the safety of cyclists. This study aimed to identify cyclists’ needs in today’s and future traffic, and explore on-bike HMI functionality and the implications of equipping cyclists with devices to communicate with AVs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 cyclists in Norway and 15 cyclists in the Netherlands. Thematic analysis was used to identify and contextualise the factors of cyclist-AV interaction and on-bike HMIs. From the analysis, seven themes were identified: Interaction, Bicycles, Culture, Infrastructure, Legislation, AVs, and HMI. These themes are diverse and overlap with factors grouped in sub-themes. The results indicated that the cyclists prefer segregated future infrastructure, and in mixed urban traffic, they need confirmation of detection by AVs. External on-vehicle or on-bike HMIs might be solutions to fulfil the cyclists’ need for recognition. However, the analysis suggested that cyclists are hesitant about being equipped with devices to communicate with AVs: Responsibility for safety should lie with AV technology rather than with cyclists. A device requirement might become a barrier to cycling, as bicycles are traditionally cheap and simple, and additional costs might deter people from choosing cycling as a transport mode. Future studies should investigate user acceptance of on-bike HMIs among cyclists on a larger scale to test the findings’ generalisability, and explore other, perhaps more viable solutions than on-bike HMIs for enhancing AV-cyclist interaction.     

Drinking,drug use and road rage in Turkish drivers

Alcohol or drug use and road rage behaviors in drivers are threats to traffic safety. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between alcohol or drug use and aggression in Turkish drivers, and to evaluate the mediating role of driving anger in this relationship. 270 amateur and professional Turkish drivers (170 male, 100 female) have filled up Driving Anger Scale (DAS), Driver Aggression Indicators Scale (DAIS), Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Questionnaire Form. 15.9% of the participants scored 8 and higher on the AUDIT scale (alcohol problem). The most prevalent substance is cannabis, used at least once in a lifetime (20%). The results of mediated regression analysis indicates that driving anger has an increasing mediating role in the relationship between alcohol use and driver aggression. Due to limitations in the data, we could not reveal the relationship between substance use and driver aggression. These findings have led us to think that drinking use may contribute to being a perpetrator and/or a victim of the road rage. Taking precautions against drinking driving and road rage and going over the current implementations is important in order to create a safer traffic environment. Scientific researches carried out in this field must aim to provide the desired efficiency on prevention and intervention programs that reduce the prevalance of such dangerous acts.     

Exploring the characteristics of potential and current users of mobility scooters,among older people in Israel

Recognizing the decline in the ability of older people to serve as vehicle drivers and their physical limitations for long walks, mobility scooters are considered as an alternative mobility means for older people. An increasing popularity of scooters is recently being observed in Israel, raising safety concerns. This study explored the characteristics of potential users of mobility scooters among older people in Israel and the behaviours of their current users, by means of an opinion survey and field observations in urban areas. The opinion survey applied structured interviews, with 110 persons aged 65+. The survey's results showed that most people agreed that scooters may improve their mobility and quality of life. However, they expressed a relatively low willingness to use scooters, mostly, due to the preference for private cars but also the lack of appropriate infrastructure for safe scooter travel in the city. An increasing potential for scooters' use was associated with ages 70–84, people who are aware of their health problems and less involved in physical activities but still maintain an active lifestyle, living independently and appreciating scooter benefits. The observations included 55 video-records with older scooter riders. They showed that regardless the types of urban road or junction, the majority of scooter riders behaved like a vehicle, i.e. travelled on the roadway. Scooters' moving on a sidewalk did not create conflicts with pedestrians, while scooters travelling on the roads sometimes disturbed vehicle flows and created dangerous situations. To ensure safety of the scooter users, their travels on the sidewalks should be stimulated and, thus, appropriate adjustments of urban infrastructure are required.     

Safety implications of co-locating road signs: A driving simulator investigation

BackgroundAs road complexity increases the requirement for number of road signs also increases, although the amount of road side space does not. One practical strategy to address this is to present multiple road signs on the same gantry (sign co-location). However, there is very little research on the safety implications of this practice.Method36 participants (mean age = 42.25 years, SD = 13.99, 18 females) completed three driving simulator scenarios, each scenario had a different sign co-location condition: no co-location, dual co-location and triple co-location. Each scenario presented similar information using direction signs, variable message signs and variable speed limit signs, under. Each drive included standard motorway driving (100 km/h speed zone) in free flow traffic and one emergency event where a lead vehicle suddenly braked. The scenario order was counterbalanced and the emergency event vehicle varied.ResultsOverall, there was no impact of co-locating signs on general driving performance. No significant difference was observed between conditions for reaction time and minimum headway in response to the emergency event. Participants were able to correctly choose their destination whether the signs were co-located or not.DiscussionFor the particular configuration of signs tested there is no evidence that co-location negatively impacts driving performance. However, there may be some implications for travel speed and the manner in which the emergency event is responded to. Future work should confirm the findings on real roads. These findings provided support for sign co-location as a practical and safe option for displaying multiple road signs in a confined area.     

Factors underlying bus-related crashes in Hanoi,Vietnam

Road traffic crashes accounted for almost 13% of the total mortality recorded at the public health facilities in Vietnam in 2010. This qualitative study investigated factors related to bus-related crashes in Hanoi, Vietnam using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews among 75 participants who are bus drivers, motorcycle users, bus passengers, bus company managers, traffic policemen and local authorities. The results suggested that bus drivers were not the sole contributor to road traffic crashes with other vehicles. The rapid population growth due to rural to urban migration and the poor transport system appeared to be important contributing factors. In addition, “village culture” was likely to influence both the traffic behaviors of road users and the practices of law enforcement officers. Moreover, drink-driving behaviors appeared to be an important contributor to bus-related crashes. Supervision and penalty policies of bus companies also appeared to influence the driving performance of bus drivers. For a long-term solution to reduce bus-related crashes, it is vital to improve the transport infrastructure and the state management capacity regarding road safety as well as to assist the positive transition of citizens migrating from rural areas to their new urban lifestyle.     

Key challenges in tram/streetcar driving from the tram driver’s perspective – A qualitative study

Tram drivers have a difficult task in controlling one of the heaviest vehicles on the road whilst negotiating a complex road environment with multiple road users. Like all public transport drivers, tram drivers need to ensure passenger safety and to run on time. However, very little research has been conducted evaluating tram driving tasks and even less on evaluating tram drivers opinion on how other road users are affecting tram road safety. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the key tram driving challenges, to identify the key road user factors affecting tram road safety as well as to explore the potential safety improvement initiatives on tram routes from the tram drivers’ viewpoint. The study incorporated five focus groups involving thirty tram drivers in Melbourne. The key themes emerged inductively from focus groups were identified through a data coding process. Outcomes of the focus groups revealed seven major challenges in tram driving: ensuring safety for all people in and around the tram, pressure for running on-time, maintaining constant concentration on roads, predicting other road users’ behavior in advance to avoid any crash incident, preventing passenger falls on board, accepting the operational constraints of trams and managing fatigue workloads. Tram drivers identified that other road users are unaware of safety issues around trams, have a poor understanding of road rules about driving with trams and often violate road rules around trams, and they mentioned this road user behaviors as the key challenges for safe tram driving. Tram drivers proposed rendering greater law enforcement on the tram network to penalize road users who are violating road rules around trams, introducing more safety campaigns and safety education to increase awareness among road users to improve tram road safety. Findings of this research enhance understanding of tram driving challenges, provide an in-depth knowledge of road user factors affecting tram road safety and suggest effective planning strategies for transit agencies to improve road safety.     

Changes in children’s perception-action tuning over short time scales: Bicycling across traffic-filled intersections in a virtual environment

This investigation examined short-term changes in child and adult cyclists’ gap decisions and movement timing in response to general and specific road-crossing experiences. Children (10- and 12-year-olds) and adults rode a bicycle through a virtual environment with 12 intersections. Participants faced continuous cross traffic and waited for gaps they judged were adequate for crossing. In the control condition, participants encountered randomly ordered gaps ranging from 1.5 to 5.0 s at all intersections. In the high-density condition, participants encountered high-density intersections sandwiched between sets of control intersections. These high-density intersections were designed to push participants toward taking tighter gaps. Participants in both conditions were more likely to accept 3.5-, 4.0-, 4.5-, and 5.0-s gaps at the last set of intersections than at the first set of intersections, whereas participants in the high-density condition were also more likely to accept very tight 3.0-s gaps at the last intersections than at the first intersections. Moreover, individuals in the high-density condition who waited less and took shorter gaps at the middle intersections were also more likely to take very tight 3.0-s gaps at the last intersections. The 10-year-olds in both conditions had more time to spare when they cleared the path of the oncoming car at the last intersections, whereas the 12-year-olds and adults showed no change in time to spare across intersections. The discussion focuses on linking short-term change in perceptual-motor functioning to longer term perceptual-motor development.     

Persuading young car drivers to take part in a driving skills test: The influence of regulatory fit on informational-assessment value and persuasion

Two studies were conducted to examine the relative effectiveness of differently framed messages advising young car drivers to take part in a driving skills test. It was hypothesized that messages promoting such detection behaviour should be more persuasive when the message frame was compatible versus incompatible with the recipient’s level of perceived risk. It was also hypothesized that such effects would occur because the “feeling right” experience resulting from the compatibility effects based on regulatory fit could be transferred to the informational-assessment value of the proposed feedback. Consistently, moderate perceived driving skills (Experiment 1) and high perceived risk drivers (Experiment 2) found the driving skills test more valuable for assessment purposes after having read a loss versus gain framed message and consequently, were more interested in taking part in the test. Furthermore, low perceived risk drivers (Experiment 2) showed a reversed pattern of responses. Implications for message framing in the road safety area are discussed.