Sharing is (s)caring? Interactions between buses and bicyclists on bus lanes shared with bicyclists

This paper presents the results of an observation study of interactions between bicyclists and buses on shared bus lanes. The aim of the paper is to analyse bicyclists’ safety on bus lanes shared with bicyclists. Straight sections of two bus lanes shared with bicyclists in Belgium are observed. All interactions between bicyclists and buses over two full weeks are recorded and analysed. Additionally, the lateral position and riding speed of bicyclists that are in interaction with buses are compared with the behaviour of bicyclists that are not in interaction with buses. One of the observed bus lanes is in line with road design guidelines in a number of countries that state that a sufficiently narrow bus lane (<3.5 m) is hypothesised to be safer than a somewhat wider bus lane; the other observed bus lane is deemed too wide according to these guidelines and is hypothesised to lead to close overtaking manoeuvres.The results show that close interactions between bicyclists and buses are relatively frequent on both types of analysed bus lanes. Close overtaking manoeuvres (a bus overtakes a bicyclist with a lateral distance less than 1 m) as well as close bicycle-following situations (a bus drives behind a bicyclist with a time gap less than 2 s) are quite common on both analysed bus lanes. The analyses could not confirm the hypothesis that a sufficiently narrow bus lane is safer than a wider bus lane. On the contrary, close interactions seem even slightly more common on the narrower bus lane. Slightly more close overtaking manoeuvres take place on the narrower bus lane, but the difference is not statistically significant. Additionally, more bicycle-following situations take place on the narrower bus lane because overtaking is more difficult. The results show that buses often maintain a close time gap in these situations. The overtaking speed of the buses is, however, significantly higher on the wider bus lane compared to the narrower one.Moreover, the presence of a bus has an influence on the behaviour of bicyclists. Bicyclists who get overtaken by a bus ride more closely to the edge of the road than bicyclists who are not in interaction with a bus. While the road design guidelines assume that bicyclists take up a width of one meter from the edge on bus lanes shared with bicyclists, the observations show that bicyclists take up much less space while being overtaken. The presence of a bus does not have a significant influence on the standard deviation of the lateral position of the bicyclist. On the narrower bus lane, some findings suggest that bicyclists who are involved in an interaction with a bus ride faster than bicyclists who are not involved in an interaction with a bus.     

How to define the accident risk level of car drivers by combining objective and subjective measures of driving style

Perceived risk can be defined as the expectation of being involved in a traffic accident. Traffic risk perception is often subjectively evaluated being risk perception as highly individual, and depending on experiences with accidents. For this reason, a subjective measure of risk level can be useful. On the other hand, accident risk level can be measured also through objective measures, consisting in kinematic parameters defining the driving style. At this aim, it is very important to analyse instantaneous and geo-referenced travelling kinematic parameters of the vehicle recorded by real tests on the road.The aim of this paper is to identify the accident risk level of each driver based on a methodology combining both subjective and objective parameters. Specifically, by using the proposed methodology the risk can be measured immediately by using only the kinematic parameters adopted when driving; we defined three levels of risk of being involved in a road accident (low, medium, and high risk). We retain that our research can give a contribution in terms of improvement of road safety, because the distorted perception of risk level is one of the main causes of road accidents. Very often, drivers are not aware of the risk taking; therefore, it is necessary to raise the awareness of drivers to have safer driving. The proposed method can be useful for informing the driver on the level of risk he/she assumes, so that he/she can take the necessary precautions next time that will cover that stretch of road.     

核与放射应急医学准备和响应中的心理干预

通过探讨核与放射事故产生的心理危害特点，提出心理干预方法，对核与放射事故造成的危害、不同对象的问题表现进行探讨。结果显示，提出心理干预原则和应对措施。因此，及时、有效的心理干预是核与放射应急医学响应的重要组成部分，能减少社会危害，降低可能发生的长期有害影响。     

A mixed effects negative binomial analysis of road mortality determinants in Sub-Saharan African countries

This paper uses aggregate data for a panel of 23 Sub-Saharan African countries to explore the potential predictors of road traffic fatalities between 2001 and 2010. In addition to the Gross Domestic Product per capita, the set of covariates includes some demographic, safe driving behavior, health and infrastructure-related variables. Estimations from a mixed effects negative binomial regression suggest that the fraction of populations aged between 15 and 64 years, the size of the road network and seat belt laws significantly increase fatalities. However, populations of age 65 and above, hospital beds and physicians’ densities, and road audits significantly decrease these fatalities. Moreover, traffic fatalities are found to increase with the Gross Domestic Product per capita. The economic implications of this finding is not to lower the economic growth but to design policies and technologies that could prevent African countries from experiencing the same road tragedy observed in industrialized countries during their development process.     

Relations between a laboratory-based sustained attention task and traffic violations in an Iranian sample of drivers

The role of cognitive abilities regarding driver behavior is crucially important in the occurrence of traffic violations and preventing tragic motor vehicle collisions. Sustained attention is one cognitive ability that may contribute to safe driving behavior. The present study investigated the relation between sustained attention and traffic violations. One hundred and one Iranian male drivers (age: M = 37.17, SD = 8.37) with at least 2 years driving experience voluntarily participated in the study. Participants were categorized into two groups based on the number of driving rule violations they committed over the last 2 years (n = 48 clean record, n = 53 violators). Sustained attention was measured by performance on the Conjunctive Continuous Performance Task (CCPT). Four CCPT performance measures were computed: (1) Mean reaction time for correct responses (M-RT); (2) standard deviation of reaction times for correct responses (SD-RT); (3) percent of omission errors (failure to respond to target stimulus); (4) percent of commission errors (identification of a non-target stimulus as target). Results showed after controlling for age and education, there was a significant group difference on M-RT, indicating that individuals with no traffic violations had faster reaction times as compared to those who had 1 or more traffic violations. No effect of group on any of the other outcomes was present after correcting for alpha inflation. When assessing the effect of age and education, education was significantly related to average reaction time and percent of omission errors. No significant effect of age was apparent. Findings suggest cognitive function, specifically sustained attention measured with a laboratory-based measure, may be associated with safe driving behavior.     

Should drivers be informed about the equipment of drivers with green light optimal speed advisory (GLOSA)?

Previous research demonstrated that green light optimal speed advisory (GLOSA) affects driving behavior at signalized intersections: On the one hand, drivers assisted with GLOSA show more energy-efficient and eco-friendly driving. Following unequipped vehicles’ drivers (UVDs) also adapt their driving behavior to the assisted one. On the other hand, safety issues can be found in encounters with UVDs who also perceive assisted driving behavior negatively. Therefore, in a multi-driver simulator study (N = 60 participants sorted in groups of n = 2 UVDs), we tested whether informing UVDs about the GLOSA of an assisted driver results in more behavioral adaptation of UVDs to the assisted driving behavior, less safety issues, and less frustration of UVDs. Two UVDs followed a lead vehicle driven by a confederate. The confederate was equipped with GLOSA and knew when traffic lights switched from green to red and, consequently, slowed down when approaching a green traffic light. The degree of information UVDs received was manipulated: The group “no information” did not receive any information. The group “information” knew about the equipment of the assisted confederate with GLOSA and the group “detailed information” received additional information about its functionality and benefit. Results show that UVDs of the group “detailed information” adapted their driving behavior to the assisted driver. However, these UVDs also showed smaller minimum time-to-collision (TTC) values indicating safety issues. Results are discussed and implications made with regard to providing information to UVDs and to further investigate these challenges in the context of autonomous vehicles.     

Exploring traffic safety culture and drunk driving: An examination of the community and DUI related fatal crashes in the U.S. (1993–2015)

This project explores the relationship between structural level factors associated with community traffic safety culture toward alcohol and alcohol related fatal crashes in the United States from 1993 to 2015. Multilevel growth curve models were estimated to explore these relationships within longitudinal data. As hypothesized, increases in factors associated with anti-alcohol community norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs were related to decreases in alcohol related crashes at the county level. Conversely, measures associated with pro-alcohol factors were related to increased alcohol related crashes. These findings are consistent with traffic safety culture, social norms theory, and the Positive Community Framework (PCF).     

Public health consequences of road traffic injuries – Estimation of seriously injured persons based on risk for permanent medical impairment

Despite the fact, that Sweden has one of the safest traffic environments in the world, a large number of people are still injured in road traffic accidents in Sweden. The core concept of the Vision Zero that was adopted by the Swedish parliament in 1997 is to decrease the number of deaths and serious injuries caused by traffic. The vision has been followed-up in terms of decreased mortality, but there was not a consensus on how the concept “seriously injured” should be measured at that time. The aim of this paper is to describe how to develop a measure to estimate the number of seriously injured people in Sweden. The results show that it is possible to estimate the health impact of road traffic accidents based on the definition of medical impairment. According to the results, 8389 people were seriously injured (permanently medical impaired more then 1%) in the road transport area in Sweden in 2013. If the number of people who had slipped or fallen down without any vehicle being involved is excluded, the number of seriously injured was around 4700. The result of the study has been included in the road safety goal for Sweden with the aim to have 25% less seriously injured people in 2020 than the average for the years 2006–2008. The results also showed that 91% of the seriously injured were transported by car, bike or by foot. The relatively high proportion of pedestrian fall accidents happening within the transport system irrespective of whether a vehicle was moving or not raises the question whether these types of accidents should be included in the reporting of formal road traffic accidents.     

Can traffic violations be traced to gender-role,sensation seeking,demographics and driving exposure?

BackgroundTraffic safety is often expressed as the ‘inverse of accidents’. However, it is more than the mere absence of accidents. Past studies often looked for associations between accidents and self-reports like the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ; Reason, Manstead, Stradling, Baxter, & Campbell, 1990). The focus in this study changed from counting accidents to quantifying unsafe acts as violations. The objective was to show that drivers' specific violations can be traced to personal characteristics such as sensation seeking (SSS-V; Zuckerman, 1994), gender role (BSRI; Bem sex role inventory, Bem, 1974), demographics, and driving exposure.MethodA web-based questionnaire was distributed, integrating several known questionnaires. Five hundred and twenty-seven questionnaires were completed and analyzed.ResultsSensation seeking, gender role, experience, and age predicted respondents’ score on the DBQ, as well as the interaction of sensation seeking with gender and gender role. Gender role was a more valid predictor of driver behavior than gender.ConclusionsThe effect of gender role on drivers’ self-reported violation tendency is the most interesting and the most intriguing finding of this survey and indicates the need to further examine gender role affects in driving.