Factor In Road Accidents Research Articles

A Bayesian Network Approach to Causation Analysis of Road Accidents Using Netica

Based on an overall consideration of factors affecting road safety evaluations, the Bayesian network theory based on probability risk analysis was applied to the causation analysis of road accidents. By taking Adelaide Central Business District (CBD) in South Australia as a case, the Bayesian network structure was established by integrating K2 algorithm with experts’ knowledge, and Expectation-Maximization algorithm that could process missing data was adopted to conduct the parameter learning in Netica, thereby establishing the Bayesian network model for the causation analysis of road accidents. Then Netica was used to carry out posterior probability reasoning, the most probable explanation, and inferential analysis. The results showed that the Bayesian network model could effectively explore the complex logical relation in road accidents and express the uncertain relation among related variables. The model not only can quantitatively predict the probability of an accident in certain road traffic condition but also can find the key reasons and the most unfavorable state combination which leads to the occurrence of an accident. The results of the study can provide theoretical support for urban road management authorities to thoroughly analyse the induction factors of road accidents and then establish basis in improving the safety performance of the urban road traffic system.

Missing value imputation for the analysis of incomplete traffic accident data

Death, injury and disability resulting from road traffic crashes continue to be a major global public health problem. Recent data suggest that the number of fatalities from traffic crashes is in excess of 1.25 million people each year with non-fatal injuries affecting a further 20–50 million people. It is predicted that by 2030 road traffic accidents will have progressed to be the 5th leading cause of death and that the number of people who will die annually from traffic accidents will have doubled from current levels. Both developed and developing countries suffer from the consequences of increase in human population, and therefore, vehicle population. Therefore, methods to reduce accident severity are of great interest to traffic agencies and the public at large. To analyse traffic accident factors effectively we need a complete traffic accident historical database. Any missing data in the database could prevent the discovery of important environmental and road accident factors and lead to invalid conclusions. In this paper, we present a novel imputation method that exploits the within-record and between-record correlations to impute missing data of numerical or categorical values. In addition, our algorithm accounts for uncertainty in real world data by sampling from a list of potential imputed values according to their affinity degree. We evaluated our algorithm using four publicly available traffic accident databases from the United States, the first of which is the largest open federal database (explore.data.gov) in the United States, and the second is based on the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) of the city and county of Denver (data.opencolorado.org). The other two are from New York's open data portal (Motor Vehicle Crashes-case information: 2011 and Motor Vehicle Crashes-individual information: 2011, data.ny.gov). We compare our algorithm with four state-of-the-art imputation methods using missing value imputation accuracy and RMSE. Our results indicate that the proposed method performs significantly better than the existing algorithms we compared.

АНАЛИЗ ФАКТОРОВ ДОРОЖНО-ТРАНСПОРТНЫХ ПРОИСШЕСТВИЙ, ПОЗВОЛЯЮЩИХ АВТОМАТИЗИРОВАТЬ РЕШЕНИЕ ЗАДАЧ ИХ РЕКОНСТРУКЦИИ

We consider a list of factors of road accidents on the basis of which it is possible the implementation of the analysis of the event by the automation-solution of the problems arising in this connection. Identify gaps autotechnical expertise related to the lack of awareness of experts and contribute to the issuance of erroneous decisions. The possibilities of new technologies in the process of examination of road accidents, allowing automated vat solution of problems of reconstruction the event in question

Real-time driver drowsiness feedback improves driver alertness and self-reported driving performance

Driver drowsiness has been implicated as a major causal factor in road accidents. Tools that allow remote monitoring and management of driver fatigue are used in the mining and road transport industries. Increasing drivers’ own awareness of their drowsiness levels using such tools may also reduce risk of accidents. The study examined the effects of real-time blink-velocity-derived drowsiness feedback on driver performance and levels of alertness in a military setting. A sample of 15 Army Reserve personnel (1 female) aged 21–59 (M=41.3, SD=11.1) volunteered to being monitored by an infra-red oculography-based Optalert Alertness Monitoring System (OAMS) while they performed their regular driving tasks, including on-duty tasks and commuting to and from duty, for a continuous period of 4–8 weeks. For approximately half that period, blink-velocity-derived Johns Drowsiness Scale (JDS) scores were fed back to the driver in a counterbalanced repeated-measures design, resulting in a total of 419 driving periods under “feedback” and 385 periods under “no-feedback” condition. Overall, the provision of real-time feedback resulted in reduced drowsiness (lower JDS scores) and improved alertness and driving performance ratings. The effect was small and varied across the 24-h circadian cycle but it remained robust after controlling for time of day and driving task duration. Both the number of JDS peaks counted for each trip and their duration declined in the presence of drowsiness feedback, indicating a dynamic pattern that is consistent with a genuine, entropy-reducing feedback mechanism (as distinct from random re-alerting) behind the observed effect. Its mechanisms and practical utility have yet to be fully explored. Direct examination of the alternative, random re-alerting explanation of this feedback effect is an important step for future research.

State of the Art of Slovenian Road Safety

The State of the Art of Slovenian Road Safety aims to provide a short description of road safety situation in Slovenia as well as to record all activities taken in Slovenia. This article is based on ROSEE ROad safety in South East European regions report. The road safety performance of Slovenia in comparison to other countries of South Eastern Europe is discussed. Basic road safety trends in Slovenia and a macroscopic analysis of road accident factors related to road users, road environment and vehicles are presented. Also the assessment of road safety legislation, policy and institutional capacity in Slovenia is undertaken. In this article, the assessment of needs and availability of road safety related data and information in Slovenia is also presented. Finally, the road network conditions in Slovenia, a general road safety assessment of the interurban road network and the status of Road Safety Audits are described.

Regional determinants of road traffic accidents in Nigeria: identifying risk areas in need of intervention

Road traffic accidents have become an issue of great concern in recent times in Nigeria. Several intervention efforts have been designed to reduce the accident rates and traffic mortality levels. This article analyses regional variations in road traffic accidents in Nigeria and their causes. Data on road traffic accidents for year 2003 to 2007, economic development, traffic density, urbanization, population size, and road infrastructure were assembled and analyzed using stepwise linear regression. Besides the national analysis, four separate regression models were estimated for northern, southern, urban and rural Nigeria. Results indicate that the length of asphalt concrete roads was a significant factor in road accidents at the national (R2 = 19.7%; p = 0.006) and rural scales (R2 = 35.8%; p = 0.011). Equally significant was the length of federal roads in urban (R2 = 41.5%; p = 0.011) and southern Nigeria (R2 = 50.1%; p = 0.001). Meanwhile, in northern Nigeria, urbanization and the length of asphalt concrete roads appeared to be dominant factors in road traffic accidents (R2 = 54.3%; p = 0.001). Given the observed geographical differences, this study recommends the design of area-specific strategies for the prevention and control of road traffic accidents in Nigeria.

Accidentalidad vial por consumo de drogas y alcohol: estado actual

Introducción: el consumo de alcohol se reconoce como causa importante de accidentes de tránsito por el efecto depresor sobre el sistema nervioso central. Aunque las drogas recreacionales o ilegales tienen una acción similar es poco lo que se conoce sobre su relación con la accidentalidad vial. Objetivo: conocer la situación actual en Colombia y el mundo sobre los efectos del alcohol y las sustancias psicoactivas ilegales en el sistema nervioso central como posibles causas de accidentes de tránsito. Métodos: revisión de la literatura en bases electrónicas utilizando los términos DeCS y MeSH: street drugs, designed drugs, ethanol, cocaine, cannabinoides, amphetamines, injuries, accident traffic y automobile driving. Resultados: algunos estudios en especial en Estados Unidos, se reporta una relación estrecha entre el consumo de sustancias psicoactivas y la accidentalidad vial, con cifras cercanas a las del alcohol. En México también se ha demostrado esta relación. En Colombia la mayoría de publicaciones sobre factores de accidentalidad vial no diferencian el consumo de alcohol de las sustancias psicoactivas, lo cual refleja la falta de programas de promoción y prevención sobre el riesgo de conducir bajo la acción de estas sustancias. Los exámenes para determinar su presencia no se ordenan en forma rutinaria y por los datos existentes no reflejan los costos reales derivados de la atención a víctimas de accidentes de tránsito causados por conducir bajo sus efectos. Conclusiones: la situación actual sobre la accidentalidad vial muestra un preocupante aumento de la mortalidad, morbi­ lidad y discapacidad en países en vías de desarrollo como el nuestro. Se analizaron los efectos del alcohol, cocaína, canabinoides y metanfetaminas sobre el sistema nervioso central que disminuyen las habilidades del individuo para la conducción.

A comparison of the hazard perception ability of accident-involved and accident-free motorcycle riders

Hazard perception is the ability to read the road and is closely related to involvement in traffic accidents. It consists of both cognitive and behavioral components. Within the cognitive component, visual attention is an important function of driving whereas driving behavior, which represents the behavioral component, can affect the hazard perception of the driver. Motorcycle riders are the most vulnerable types of road user. The primary purpose of this study was to deepen our understanding of the correlation of different subtypes of visual attention and driving violation behaviors and their effect on hazard perception between accident-free and accident-involved motorcycle riders. Sixty-three accident-free and 46 accident-involved motorcycle riders undertook four neuropsychological tests of attention (Digit Vigilance Test, Color Trails Test-1, Color Trails Test-2, and Symbol Digit Modalities Test), filled out the Chinese Motorcycle Rider Driving Violation (CMRDV) Questionnaire, and viewed a road-user-based hazard situation with an eye-tracking system to record the response latencies to potentially dangerous traffic situations. The results showed that both the divided and selective attention of accident-involved motorcycle riders were significantly inferior to those of accident-free motorcycle riders, and that accident-involved riders exhibited significantly higher driving violation behaviors and took longer to identify hazardous situations compared to their accident-free counterparts. However, the results of the regression analysis showed that aggressive driving violation CMRDV score significantly predicted hazard perception and accident involvement of motorcycle riders. Given that all participants were mature and experienced motorcycle riders, the most plausible explanation for the differences between them is their driving style (influenced by an undesirable driving attitude), rather than skill deficits per se. The present study points to the importance of conceptualizing the influence of different driving behaviors so as to enrich our understanding of the role of human factors in road accidents and consequently develop effective countermeasures to prevent traffic accidents involving motorcycles.

A European study on alcohol and drug use among young drivers: the TEND by Night study design and methodology

BackgroundYoung individuals are the age group with the highest risk of car accidents. One of main explanations relies on the use of psychoactive substances (alcohol, illegal and medicinal drugs), which are known to be major risk factors of road accidents, and whose consumption is almost universally more common among younger drivers. Although the correlation between psychoactive substances use and decrease in driving performance has been established in controlled experimental or laboratory settings, few studies were conducted in naturalistic circumstances. The TEND by Night project has been designed to evaluate the relationship between driving performance and psychoactive substances assumption in young drivers enrolled at typical places of consumption.Methods/DesignThe TEND by Night project, endorsed by the European Commission, is a multidisciplinary, multi-centric, cross-sectional study conducted in six European countries (Italy, Belgium/Netherlands, Bulgaria, Spain, Poland and Latvia). The study population consists of 5000 young drivers aged 16-34 years, attending recreational sites during weekend nights. The intervention is based on the portal survey technique and includes several steps at the entrance and exit of selected sites, including the administration of semi-structured questionnaires, breath alcohol test, several drug assumption test, and measurement of the reaction time using a driving simulator. The main outcome is the difference in reaction time between the entrance and exit of the recreation site, and its correlation with psychoactive substances use. As a secondary outcome it will be explored the relationship between reaction time difference and the amount of consumption of each substance. All analyses will be multivariate.DiscussionThe project methodology should provide some relevant advantages over traditional survey systems. The main strengths of the study include the large and multicentric sample, the objective measurement of substance assumption (which is typically self-reported), the application of a portal survey technique and the simultaneous evaluation of several psychoactive substances.

Use of CCTV to determine road accident factors in urban areas

This paper sets out to assess whether there is a potential use for images collected through the increasingly ubiquitous use of CCTV cameras in urban areas as a means of increasing understanding of the causes of road traffic accidents. Information on causation and contributory factors is essential as a means of understanding why accidents occurred and how the occurrence of similar events may be prevented in the future. CCTV records of accidents could provide an independent perspective on an accident and have the potential to increase both the quality and quantity of information available to the safety researcher. This study focuses on an area of central Leeds in the UK and shows that an existing CCTV camera system used for urban traffic management reasons has the potential to record around a quarter of the accidents which occur in the area, based on patterns of past occurrence. Most city centres in the UK will have similar camera systems set-up. By the introduction of additional strategically placed cameras and replacement of existing cameras with ones dedicated to accident recording, this figure could be increased substantially. The paper also considers how effective cameras and video records will be as a means of identifying contributory factor information once an accident is recorded. The contributory factor classification used by a recently introduced system in Britain is assessed in terms of how visible each of the factors is likely to be on video and their relative frequency of occurrence. It is concluded that CCTV has a high potential to provide corroborative evidence about many of the most commonly occurring factors, and to throw further light on accident causation.

Self‐Awareness of Impairment and the Decision to Drive after an Extended Period of Wakefulness

Fatigue is an increasingly noted factor in road accidents. The ability to predict and be aware of impairment in terms of driving capability is important for potential legal liability and road safety. However, to date, there have been few studies that have investigated the accuracy of individuals in predicting how safely they could drive during conditions of sleep loss. Research has demonstrated that individuals rate themselves as better than the population average in a number of domains, including driving‐related skills. Therefore, this study also aimed to investigate self‐ratings of predicted driving ability during extended wakefulness and compare them to ratings made of a hypothetical other person under the same conditions. Thirty‐two participants remained awake for a period of 40 h. Every 2 h, they completed the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) and rated on a seven‐point scale how well they thought they could drive safely, react quickly in an emergency, and stay in their own lane. They were also asked to assess how they thought someone else in their own position could drive. The participants rated their driving ability as becoming significantly poorer at the same time that their PVT performance became significantly slower. Self‐ratings indicating a qualitative assessment of poorer than neutral driving occurred at 03:00 h for both the “drive safely” and “react quickly” questions, after 19 h of continuous wakefulness (starting at 08:00 h). This occurred at 05:00 h for the “keep in my lane” question. Previous studies with a similar protocol demonstrated that under these conditions, individuals exhibit a performance decrements equivalent to someone with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05% (the legal driving limit in Australia). Participants consistently rated the ability of others to drive as poorer than their own. The main implication from this study for road safety and legal liability is that it is reasonable to focus on a person's perception of the situation, as it does align with objective reality to a certain extent. A concern in terms of road safety is potential overconfidence, indicated by rating others consistently poorer than themselves.

A statistical profile of road accidents during cross-flow turns

In-depth studies of behavioral factors in road accidents using conventional methods are often inconclusive and costly. In a series of studies exploring alternative approaches, 200 cross-flow junction road accidents were sampled from the files of Nottinghamshire Constabulary, England, coded for computer analysis using a specially devised ‘Traffic Related Action Analysis Language’, and then examined using different computational and statistical techniques. For comparison, the same analyses were also carried out on 100 descriptions of safe turns, and 100 descriptions of hypothetical accidents provided by experienced drivers. The present study used statistical methods to explore the database of cases. The youngest and oldest groups of drivers were found to be over-represented in the junction accidents, and were the least likely to stop before turning. The young drivers had particular problems turning onto major roads. Women were more likely than men to stop before turning; they tended to have their collisions with other women; and they were under-represented as drivers of the non-turning vehicle. In hypothetical accidents, informants tended to blame the younger driver, increasingly so for male informants as they got older. Female informants tended to blame male drivers.

THE ESTIMATION OF HIGHWAY GEOMETRY FOR ROAD ACCIDENT ANALYSIS.

There is no documentation recording the geometric alignment of the greater part of Britain's road network. Highway geometry is an important factor in road accidents, particularly in rural areas where speeds are high and injuries tend to be severe and numbers of sites requiring investigation are large. Hence there is an important role for new tools that can estimate the geometry, for use in accident research and in other applications that depend on two- or three-dimensional visualization without on-site surveying. This paper describes methods for estimating horizontal and vertical curvature from digital data sources and the development of a geographical information system (GIS) application that can link accident data to the alignment. It is anticipated that such an application will provide a platform for future research to improve the understanding of the relationships between accident frequency and highway geometry. (A)

Junction road accidents during cross-flow turns: a sequence analysis of police case files

In-depth studies of behavioural factors in road accidents using conventional methods are often inconclusive and costly. In a series of studies exploring alternative approaches, 200 cross-flow junction road accidents were sampled from the files of Nottinghamshire Constabulary, UK, coded for computer analysis using a specially devised Traffic Related Action Analysis Language, and then examined using different computational and statistical techniques. For comparison, the same analyses were carried out on 100 descriptions of safe turns, and 100 descriptions of hypothetical accidents provided by experienced drivers. The present study employed a range of sequence analysis techniques to examine the patterns of events preceding accidents of different types. Differences were found between real accidents, hypothetical ones and safe turns; between accidents turning onto and off a road with the right of way; between the accidents of younger and older drivers; between accidents on minor roads and major roads; and between the accident expectations (but not the real accidents) of male and female drivers. Pairs of successive events often provided particularly good cues for discriminating accident types.

Machine learning in road accident research: decision trees describing road accidents during cross-flow turns

In-depth studies of behavioural factors in road accidents using conventional methods are often inconclusive and costly. In a series of studies exploring alternative approaches, 200 cross-flow junction road accidents were sampled from the files of Nottinghamshire Constabulary, UK, coded for computer analysis using a specially devised ‘Traffic Related Action Analysis Language’, and then examined using different computational and statistical techniques. The present study employed an AI machine-learning method based on Quinlan's ‘ID3’ algorithm to create decision trees distinguishing the characteristics of accidents that resulted in injury or in damage only; accidents of young male drivers; and those of the relatively more and less dangerous situations. For example the severity of accidents involving turning onto a main road could be determined with 79% accuracy from the nature of the other vehicle, season, junction type, and whether the Turner failed to notice another road user. Accidents involving young male drivers could be identified with 77% accuracy by knowing if the junction was complex, and whether the Turner waited or slowed before turning.

Behavioural factors in accidents at road junctions: The use of a genetic algorithm to extract descriptive rules from police case files

In-depth studies of behavioural factors in road accidents using conventional methods are often inconclusive and costly. To explore an alternative approach, 200 cross-flow junction road accidents were sampled from the files of Nottinghamshire Constabulary, England, coded for computer analysis using a specially devised ‘Traffic Related Action Analysis Language’, and then examined using a genetic algorithm (or ‘rulefinder’ program). For comparison, the same analyses were carried out on 100 descriptions of safe turns, and 100 of hypothetical accident descriptions provided by experienced drivers. A number of findings emerged, distinguishing between accidents turning onto and off major roads; those of younger and older drivers; those that resulted in injury or in damage only; and so on. The study suggests that multiple case-studies based on police case files could be very promising, provided homogeneous samples of accidents are used. Genetic algorithms could play a useful role in preliminary assessment, but an ‘information bottleneck’ remains to be overcome in capturing enough detail from each case for analysis.

Socio-Medical Problems Related to Alcohol Consumption

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5915/20-4-13300 Alcoholic beverages have been used since antiquity. Unfortunately, there is a tremendous increase in its consumption in the last three decades, bort in the developed and developing countries. The socio-economic losses are staggering. Alcohol consumption is a major factor in road accidents, industrial injuries and crimes of violence. Industrial loss is tremendous, and in many countries alcohol abuse is the most important cause of absenteeism, loss of production and hooliganism. Incest, rape and other sexual crimes are usually committed under the influence of alcohol. Wife and child batterers are usually heavy drinkers. This article discusses the increasing incidence of alcohol dependence and the ensuing socio-medical problems.

Personality Factors in Road Accidents

Present investigation attempts to isolate those personality factors which are predominent in accident-prone drivers. The study was conducted at the Passenger Bus Depot of the U.P. State Road Transport Corporation, Azamgarh. Hindi version of Cattell's 16 PF Test was used to assess the personality of these drivers. The study was conducted on a total sample of 40 drivers divided into two groups of 20 drivers in the each group. The first group included drivers with accident records (AG), and the second group included those driverss who were free from accidents (NAG). The accident group was further divided into two sub-groups, namely, multi-accident group (MAG) and single-accident group (SAG). There were 14 drivers in the SAG and 6 in the MAG.The results were analysed in terms of mean, S. D., and F-ratios. The findings of the study indicate that drivers involved in accidents are characterized by such personality traits as happygo-lucky, impulsive, gay, enthusiastic, shy, restrained, diffident, timid, tenderminded, dependent, overprotected, sensitive, apprehensive, worrying, depressive, throubled adequacy, anxiety and introversion. Those drivers who were free from accidents were found to be sober, prudent, serious, venturesome, socially bold, uninhibited, spontaneous, tough-minded, self-reliant, realistic, placid, confident, serence, adjusted and extravert.

Drugs and Alcohol as Factors in Road Accidents

Drugs and Alcohol as Factors in Road Accidents

The drinking driver or the driving drinker? Alcohol, alcoholism and other factors in road accidents.

This study has investigated the age and drinking habits of persons killed in road traffic accidents, and at the same time we have checked on the evidence of aicohol-caused liver damage in these subjects. Over a period of 14 months we have examined the records and accident data of 120 fatalities in Brisbane. A social worker obtained data about past health, drinking habits and other details from friends and families of the deceased. Among 46 drivers and motor cyclists there was a preponderance of younger men, many of whom were regarded as moderate drinkers, but who often showed high blood alcohol levels. Only six of the drivers could be classed as abnormal drinkers. The 48 pedestrians were somewhat older than the drivers and often had been drinking heavily. Twenty-five passengers were also killed as a result of these accidents. There were 31 single vehicle accidents, predominantly involving younger men, many of whom had been drinking beforehand. Only six subjects showed cirrhosis of the liver, of whom two were drivers. We were not able to confirm that major liver damage resulting from alcohol was a common finding among drivers killed on the roads. The overall impression was that young men, not necessarily alcoholics or heavy drinkers, made a disproportionate contribution to driver fatalities after an unusual amount of alcohol had been consumed. In the light of our results and the social worker's investigations, a number of recommendations have been made to try to reduce drunken driving and to assist the families of the victims of road accidents.