The effects of traffic wardens on the red-light infringement behavior of vulnerable road users

In some Chinese cities, traffic wardens are employed to maintain traffic order at the intersections with a high mixed traffic flow in peak hours. The main work of a traffic warden is to advise pedestrians and riders to wait at the appropriate area during red light periods. In many other countries, there are also traffic wardens at the areas with dense crowds or vehicles, such as at some large parking lots near parks and shopping malls. This paper investigated the effects of traffic wardens on the crossing behavior of pedestrians, cyclists and electric bike riders at signalized intersections. A total of 795 samples with traffic wardens and 773 samples without traffic wardens at intersections in Beijing, China were observed. Logistic regression and multivariate analysis of variance were used to test the effect of traffic wardens on the red-light crossing behavior. The results indicated that the presence of traffic wardens would significantly reduce by 21% red-light infringement behavior of vulnerable road users. However, the effects of traffic wardens were different among different groups. The effect of traffic wardens on reducing the violation rate for pedestrians was smaller compared to cyclists and electric bike riders (8% vs. 23% and 27%, respectively). The effect of traffic wardens was significant for the individuals approaching straight ahead the intersection, while it was not significant for the individuals approaching from the left and right sides of the observed direction. The possible reasons for the different effects and some practical countermeasures to reduce red light infringement were discussed. This study provides insights into the effects of traffic wardens on enhancing the safety of vulnerable road users under mixed traffic conditions. It is useful for the administrators to evaluate the supervision performance of traffic wardens and make informed decisions to employ traffic wardens at locations with dense crowds or vehicles.     

Tendency to commit traffic violations and presence of passengers in the car

The present study examined whether the tendency to commit traffic violations differed when drivers were with and without the presence of other persons in the car. One thousand and eight drivers were observed by the road side. The data registered by the observers included estimated age of the driver and the passengers, sex of the driver and number of passengers. Four dependent variables were registered for each driver, which are, wearing seatbelt, signaling, using hand-held cellular phone and keeping the distance from the vehicle in front. It has been found that for both males and females, old and young, a greater proportion of drivers who were alone committed traffic violations as compared to drivers who were not alone. These results are discussed in relation to social influences on drivers and allow insight into how the presence of passengers has an impact on driver behavior and traffic safety.     

Examination of driver detection of roadside traffic signs and advertisements using eye tracking

Research shows that driver factors, particularly driver distraction, are the most common cause of traffic accidents. Among various visual distractions, objects such as advertisements that are commonly prevailing elements at the roadside, represent an important external distractor that may affect driving performance. Research findings on the influence that roadside signs or advertisements have on driver’s attention focus are not consistent. Therefore, with the application of eye-tracking technology, this research was designed to test several assumptions regarding drivers’ detection and perception of roadside elements. Seventeen volunteer participants, 19–76 years old, performed ten kilometres of urban driving, in which they were visually challenged with 56 traffic signs and 31 advertisements. It was found that drivers’ age is not associated with the number of roadside objects detected. Those drivers who detected more traffic signs were also more attentive to visual advertisements. Furthermore, a positive and large effect size between the number of detected street-level and raised-level advertisements was also found.     

Field study on the behavior of right-turning vehicles in Malaysia and their contribution on the safety of unsignalized intersections

Behavior of right turning vehicles in the context of safety is characterized by their use of turning indicators and compliance with the stop rule. They are influence by the width of the carriageway and the variation in volume on the major road with respect to the traffic moving in the near and far side direction. Other factors affecting the behavior are the speed and spacing between vehicles moving on the major road. Lack of adequate past knowledge on the effect of geometric variation in terms of road width and directional variation in volume on the safety of unsignalized intersections have provided the motivation for this study. This paper focuses on the many factors that affect the behavior of right-turning vehicles resulting into conflicts. A brief account of the unique indigenous maneuver termed as the “Weaving Merging Right Turn” (WMRT) is provided and its effectiveness with respect to conventional right turn is evaluated. Data of 39,016 vehicles collected on 10 sites between January and June 2014 was analyzed. Multiple accidents were observed only on sites which had near side traffic volume greater than far side traffic volume. This result remains consistent with sites having single as well as multiple lanes per direction on the major roads. The number of conflicts for vehicles performing the WMRT was 2.5 times less as compared to the conventional right turn. Moreover WMRT was found to be the maneuver of choice for right turning motorcyclists with 60% of them opting for it over the conventional right turn on intersections having major road width less than 9 m. None of the motorcyclists, which were involved in a traffic conflict, were observed to use their turning indicator. Moreover none of the motorcyclists, which experienced a traffic conflict, were found to comply with the stopping rule at sites with major road width less than 9 m. On sites with major road width greater than 9 m, 45% of motorcyclists, involved in a traffic conflict, complied with the stopping rule as compared to 79% by vehicles other than motorcycles.     

Attitudes,risk perception and risk-taking behaviour among regular cyclists in Norway

The main aim of the study was to investigate whether attitudes toward traffic safety, risk perception, worry, risk tolerance, safety priority, and accident involvement are associated with cyclists’ risk-taking behaviour. Two types of cyclists’ risk-taking behaviour were studied: (1) ‘violation of traffic rules, and (2) ‘conflicts with other road users when cycling’. The study was based on a questionnaire survey carried out in 2017 among regular cyclists in Norway (n = 426). The results revealed that cyclists’ risk-taking behaviour was influenced by their attitudes, risk perception, and accident involvement. Pragmatic attitudes toward traffic rule violations and safety priority were found to be important predictors of the frequency of rule violations when cycling. Attitudes towards the enforcement of traffic rules for cyclists and dissatisfaction with the traffic rules for cyclists were found to be important predictors for the frequency of situations involving conflicts with other road users. Risk perception and accident involvement were found to be associated with conflicts with other road users, but not with rule violations when cycling. The findings show that risk perception and attitudes toward traffic safety are important for cyclists’ risk-taking behaviour in traffic. The road infrastructure and the traffic regulations are primarily planned for car drivers and pedestrians. If cyclists’ attitudes are to be changed, the cycling infrastructure and traffic rules for cyclists would need to be adjusted to cyclists as road users. When building new infrastructure and implementing new safety measures for cyclists, it is important to include attitude campaigns, as well as communications to the public about safety and the risks linked to cycling. Attitude campaigns could be used to strengthen the authorities’ communications that cyclists are prioritized as road users.     

Can infrastructure improvements mitigate unsafe traffic safety culture: A driving simulator study exploring cross cultural differences

This paper presents the results of a cross-cultural study to investigate the influence of traffic safety culture and infrastructure improvements on driver behaviour. To achieve this, the driving style of UK drivers was compared with that of Nigerians with and without experience of driving in the UK. A driving simulator experiment compared the actual driving style of these three groups of drivers in different safety critical scenarios. The simulated road environment varied depending on how much infrastructure was provided (low or high infrastructure). In addition, the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire was used to collect self-reported data on violations, errors and lapses. It was hypothesised that Nigerian drivers with no experience of driving in a UK road system would report and engage in more unsafe driving behaviour compared to the other two groups, and that increasing infrastructure would have little positive benefit. Overall, the results supported these hypotheses, indicating that the behaviours of drivers are interpretable in relation to their traffic safety culture, compared to changes in their driving environment.     

Protecting people in research: a comparison between biomedical and traffic research

Traffic research shares a fundamental dilemma with other areas of empirical research in which humans are potentially put at risk. Research is justified because it can improve safety in the long run. Nevertheless, people can be harmed in the research situation. Hence, we need to balance short-term risks against long-term safety improvements, much as in other areas of research with human subjects. In this paper we focus on ethical issues that arise when human beings are directly affected in the performance of research by examining how the ethical requirements in biomedical research can inform traffic research. After introducing the basic ethical requirements on biomedical research, each of the major requirements is discussed in relation to traffic research. We identify the main areas where biomedical research and traffic research differ, and where the ethical requirements from the former cannot easily be transferred to the latter. Finally, we argue that there is a need for systematic studies of the ethics of traffic research and point to some of the issues that need to be addressed.     

Fatalistic beliefs,risk perception and traffic safe behaviors

IntroductionRoad safety is a major worldwide concern especially for developing countries where a certain feeling of helplessness predominate. Local authorities are seeking ways to change people's behaviors considered as the first causal factor of traffic accidents. Risk perception and fatalistic beliefs have been identified as important socio-cognitive functioning patterns, which can shed light on people's behaviors towards risks, for prevention purpose. But the way fatalistic beliefs are associated with risk perception and safety behaviors remains blurred in literature.ObjectiveThis article examined the relationship between fatalistic beliefs, risk perception and traffic safety-related behaviors.MethodThe study was carried out in Cameroon on a sample of 525 road users with a questionnaire made up of scales measuring fatalistic beliefs, perceived risk for dangerous traffic events and reported safe behaviors.ResultsAs expected, participants with higher levels of fatalistic beliefs perceived dangerous traffic situations as less risky and reported less safe behaviors. Perceived risk partially mediated the association between fatalistic beliefs and reported safe behaviors.ConclusionPerceiving dangerous traffic situations as risky can mitigate the magnitude of one's fatalistic beliefs on the engagement in protective behaviors. The implications for more effective prevention including both beliefs and perceptions are suggested. One can explain to people how to avoid accidents, emphasizing on their capacity to change their behavior and the gains they retrieved from that behavioral change.     

Child restraint system use in the United Arab Emirates

ObjectiveDeaths and injuries among infants due to traffic crashes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are very high when compared to other countries. An efficient way to improve the safety of children in moving vehicles is to use Child Restraint Systems (CRS) to hold the child during any possible collision. The aim of this study is to estimate the rate of CRS use among children under the age of five in UAE, to determine demographic characteristics that affect CRS use, such as parent’s age, and education level, and to assess parents’ perceptions and knowledge of this issue.MethodsA roadside observational study was done in two of the seven emirates that constitute UAE, involving 1000 randomly taken observations. Also, a questionnaire was randomly distributed to a sample of 494 parents of children under the age of five.ResultsResults of the observational study show that 16.7% of parents restrain their children in moving motor vehicles. Questionnaire results show that approximately 9% of respondents reported not or rarely restraining their children in moving motor vehicles. Also, 3.4% of them indicated their disbelief in the importance of CRS in reducing harm in case of a crash. Moreover, questionnaire results indicate that young, less educated and male parents reported lower use rate and have less belief in the importance of CRS use in harm reduction in crashes than other groups of parents.ConclusionsCRS use in UAE is very low and awareness of its importance needs to be improved. Based on the results, practical suggestions are put forward to increase CRS use rate and improve safety conditions for this group of road users.