Promote Road Safety Research Articles

Exploring injury severity of children and adolescents involved in traffic crashes in Greece

For the purpose of exploring the factors affecting injury severity of children and adolescents involved in traffic crashes in Greece, disaggregate crash data including 13,431 involving children and adolescents from all regions of Greece for the period 2006–2015 were utilized. In order to identify factors affecting injury severity and account for potential unobserved heterogeneity, a series of mixed logit models were utilized. To explore and address potential temporal instability of crash-related risk factors, the likelihood ratio test was applied. Results indicated that night crashes, crashes outside urban areas as well as crashes involving bicycles or powered-two-wheelers are associated with higher injury severity of children and adolescents. Interestingly, crashes involving pedestrians are associated with lower injury severity than head-on collisions and run-off-road collisions with fixed objects. Side and sideswipe crashes also result in lower injury severities. The likelihood ratio test indicated that crash-related factors are instable when comparing the models utilizing data before and after 2010 respectively. This study contributes to the current knowledge in the field, as to the best of our knowledge this is the first study that addresses unobserved heterogeneity when analyzing child and adolescent injury severity. Overall, the findings of this study provide useful insights and could assist in unveiling crash risk factors and prioritize programs and measures to promote road safety of children and adolescents. • Injury severity of children and adolescents involved in crashes are explored. • To account for potential unobserved heterogeneity, mixed logit models are applied. • Crashes outside urban areas increase severity of children and adolescents. • Night crashes and crashes involving two-wheelers also lead to more severe injuries. • The likelihood ratio test confirmed the temporal instability of risk factors.

The number of patients hospitalized with bicycle injuries is increasing - A cry for better road safety

IntroductionNorwegian authorities encourage people to commute by bicycle to improve public health, decrease rush-hour traffic jams and reduce pollution. However, increasing the number of bicyclists, especially in the rush-hour traffic, may increase the number of serious bicycle injuries. ObjectiveTo explore trends in hospitalized bicycle injuries at a Norwegian level I trauma centre during the last decade. MethodsData was extracted from the prospectively registered institutional trauma registry. We identified patients admitted after bicycle injuries between 2005 and 2016. ResultsA total of 1543 patients were identified. Median age was 40 years (range 3–91) and 73 % were males. The majority of weekday injuries occurred in the morning and during the afternoon rush-hour, peaking at 8 am. and 4 pm. The annual number of admitted bicycle injuries increased from 79 to 184 during the study period. Also, an increase in the share of bicyclists using helmets was observed. The median Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 10 remained unchanged. 63 % had serious trauma (ISS ≥ 9), while 34 % suffered severe trauma (ISS ≥ 16). The absolute number of both serious and severe trauma increased annually. 36 % had head and neck injuries, while 16 % had chest injuries graded with Abbreviated Injury Scale ≥3. Loss of consciousness with Glasgow Coma Scale score <9 was seen in 7%. Median length of hospitalization was 3 days, and 39 % had surgery in one or more body regions. The 30-day mortality was 2.3 %. ConclusionsThe number of admitted bicycle injuries to our trauma centre is increasing. Rush-hour injuries dominate during weekdays. Bicycle injuries can be devastating and deserve more public attention to promote road safety.

An Improved Approach to Analyze Accidents and Promote Road Safety using Association Rule Mining and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Methods

Background: Road accidents have become a major social and health problem for being dramatically increasing day after day worldwide. Scientists are conducting their studies to define the main attributes that share the severity of road accidents. Finding a new approach to analyze road accidents is of great urgency. Data mining techniques are best fitting to discover useful information out of enormous data which are used to make proactive decisions. Methods: This paper tempts a rule-based machine learning method known as association rule mining, which can identify strong rules discovered in databases using interesting measures. Given a data- set from the Lebanese territory for the years 2016-2017, the application of association rule mining, the Apriori method takes its place. However, its implementation leads to a very large number of rules. The task that is the most difficult is extracting meaningful and non-redundant rules. In order to find out the most interesting and relevant rules out of fatal rules such, ELECTRE TRI and PROMETHEE methods, the most significant methods of decision making, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) are integrated to resolve the outranking problem. The integration is presented by the use of the same set of weights and the same constant values of Indifference and Preference thresholds used in ELECTRE-TRI method to define the linear preference function needed by PROMETHEE method. Realizing the sensitivity of the final output of alternatives ranking to the changes of the input parameters of the decision-making tool, this proposed integration helps the decision makers to overcome their ambivalence between preference and indifference thresholds and to cope adequately with the issue of the uncertainty of MCDA procedures; it comes up with the complete ranking of rules. Results: The obtained ranked rules declare the most significant attributes or combinations of attributes that influence the severity of road accidents. Four main factors of fatal road accidents are pinpointed: over-speeding mainly leading up to rollover crashes, pedestrians encountering in the context, distracted driving leading to fatal road vehicle collisions with Pedestrian victims; and wet roads particularly in the case of single car accidents. Meanwhile, the importance of ELECRE-TRI and PROMETHEE and their integration in dealing with such complex phenomena and corresponding database with a large number of involved attributes have been validated. Conclusion: This paper studies the phenomenon of road accidents. Association rule mining has been applied to discover all possible relations between the various attributes. The integration of ELECTRE- TRI and PROMETHEE MCDA techniques aims at extracting meaningful information from the big dataset. The obtained results have shown how influencing the behavior of the driver is on the occurrence of fatal road accidents. These findings contribute to supporting decision makers to draw new design conceptions for road infrastructure and develop preventive measures that improve road safety in Lebanon.

Effectiveness of a school-based road safety educational program for lower secondary school students in Denmark: A cluster-randomized controlled trial

Road accidents are one of the leading causes of death and injuries among adolescents and young adults. Road safety education programs aim to promote safe traffic behavior through information, skills training or fear appeals. During the last decade, an intervention type using victim testimonials has been developed. These types of programs aim to promote road safety by connecting a personal narrative of choices and consequences to the beliefs and behaviors of the audience. Studies on the effectiveness of this type of road safety programs among youngsters who are not yet drivers are still limited.This study used a cluster-randomized and controlled trial design to examine the effect of a Danish school-based road safety educational program using testimonials for students in lower secondary schools in Denmark on a) knowledge of risks factors in traffic and b) two types of behavior specifically relevant for the pre-driver target group: seatbelt use and safe bicycle behavior. Our analysis sample comprised 1007 students from 57 schools with a matched baseline and four-month follow-up response.Linear regression analyses suggest a small positive effect on the students’ knowledge of the three most important risk factors in traffic but not on the age group most at risk. Concerning seatbelt use or overall cycling behavior no effect was found, although a small positive effect was found on helmet use. Neither was the effectiveness modified by gender, parental educational background, or risky cycling behavior at baseline.Although classroom-based interventions using testimonials may have the potential to increase knowledge of risk factors in traffic among adolescents, translating knowledge into safe traffic behavior is challenging. More studies are needed on how to further adapt the intervention to an age group who are not yet drivers. Such research may focus on mechanisms of change including the age-specific relevance of the ambassador’s testimonial and on employing strong elements of action guidance.

Evaluating the impact of Heavy Goods Vehicle driver monitoring and coaching to reduce risky behaviour

Determining the impact of driver-monitoring technologies to improve risky driving behaviours allows stakeholders to understand which aspects of onboard sensors and feedback need enhancement to promote road safety and education. This study investigates the influence of camera monitoring on Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers’ risky behaviours. We also assess whether monitoring affects individual driving events further when coupled with safe driving practices coaching. We evaluate the outcome of those practices on three telematics incidents heavily reliant on driving errors and violations, i.e., the number of vehicle harsh braking, harsh cornering and over speeding incidents. The objective is to understand how frequently individual incidents caused by risky driving behaviour occur (a) without camera monitoring and without any coaching; (b) after camera installation; and (c) after camera installation and coaching. We investigate two commercial HGV companies (Company 1 and Company 2) with 263 and 269 vehicles, respectively, over a 16 months period, from which the first 8 months contain data collected before the installation of cameras (baseline) and the rest of the dataset contains incident counts after the installation of cameras (intervention). Company 1 provides coaching during the intervention phase while Company 2 does not offer coaching. Our analysis considers the baseline and the intervention phases during the same seasons to eliminate any possible bias due to the influence of weather on driving behaviour. Results show an overall significant reduction in the mean frequency of harsh braking incidents from baseline to intervention by 16.82% in Company 1 and 4.62% in Company 2, and a significant reduction in the mean frequency of over speeding incidents from baseline to intervention by 34.29% in Company 1 and 28.13% in Company 2. Furthermore, the effect of coaching has a significant difference in reducing the frequency of harsh braking (p = .011) and harsh cornering (p < .001) compared to just camera monitoring. These results suggest that coaching interventions are more effective in reducing driving errors while monitoring reduces both driving errors and violations.

Developing a National Integrated Road Traffic Injury Registry System: A Conceptual Model for a Multidisciplinary Setting.

IntroductionDespite a high burden of traffic injuries, effective integrated or linked injury surveillance systems are rarely available in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The aim of the current study was to define a conceptual model for developing a national integrated traffic injury registry in Iran.MethodsA mult-method study financially and technically supported by the World Health Organization, Iranian Ministry of Health, Iranian Traffic Police, and the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization was conducted. A theoretical framework, forming the core conceptual components, was developed based on expert reviews. The preliminary conceptual model was developed by a panel of experts and tailored through a national workshop of 50 scientists, authorities and experts from nearly all sectors related to road safety promotion and injury management. It was then sent out to external reviewers in order to assess and improve the content validity of the model.ResultsThe conceptual model was developed to have six components. These included 1) aims and core definitions; 2) content and core measurements; 3) data flow; 4) data collection routines; 5) organizational matrix; 6) implementation organization. The Haddon’s matrix was adapted to be used as the theoretical framework in defining the content and data flow components of IRTIR. Five subcomponents were defined in the content and core measurements component with each having several subcategories. Each subcomponent/subcategory was finally divided into several item groups to guide defining the final data measurement variables. The data flow component was defined with six data sequence stations. Through the organizational matrix component, five major organizations relevant to road traffic safety were defined as core data production contributors. Some organizations also owned several sub-organizations which contributed in this regard.ConclusionIt is concluded that the IRTIR conceptual model includes the required six components for developing a national integrated registry for Iran. Its main component called, content and core measurements, leads the researchers in developing final data collection tools in developing the national registry of road traffic injuries in Iran.

Motorcycle accidents: characteristics of victims admitted to public hospitals and circumstances.

Motorcycle accidents are a considerable cause of morbidity and mortality in Brazil, with high social and economic costs. Victims are mostly men, young and vulnerable. To characterize motorcycle accident victims and circumstances among patients admitted to a public hospital. We administered a questionnaire to 74 victims of motorcycle accidents in the period from January through July 2018 among patients admitted to a referral hospital for elective orthopedic surgery in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Most victims were male (98.4%), up to 31 years old (49%), black or brown (84%) and had low educational level (54%). Motorcycling was the occupation of 50.8%. Drinking was less frequent among motorcyclists in the capital compared to the interior of the state (16 vs. 26%) and a larger proportion had a driving license (72 vs. 39%). Main victims of motorcycling accident victims were male, with low educational level, and without a driving license. Actions are needed to promote road safety, including educational programs to protect life and reduce the social and economic costs of accidents.

Analyzing Factors that Influence Expressway Traffic Crashes Based on Association Rules: Using the Shaoyang–Xinhuang Section of the Shanghai–Kunming Expressway as an Example

Analyzing the influencing factors in expressway traffic crashes is an important aspect of traffic safety analysis. This study examines detailed data from 217 crashes that took place from 2015 to 2016 on the Shaoyang–Xinhuang section of the Shanghai–Kunming Expressway. The data were recorded by the Expressway Administration of Hunan Province, China, which is the only officially available and reliable source of traffic accident data. Descriptive statistics for crash characteristics, vehicle conditions, and road environmental condition data are provided. This paper studies the characteristics of expressway traffic accidents and their influencing factors via the association rule data mining method. The 21 rules obtained from the association rules were analyzed, the accident characteristics of various types of vehicles were studied, and the causes of injury/fatal accidents in various situations were identified. The results of this study will contribute to the targeted enforcement of traffic regulations and the improvement of road facilities to reduce traffic casualties and promote road safety in other areas.

Developing a national road traffic safety education program in Iran

BackgroundEducation is a pivot included Decade of Action for Road Safety initiative, which has reduced deaths caused by accidents in developed countries. Given the circumstances of each country, a proper education program is necessary. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop the National Road Traffic Safety Education Program (NRTSEP) and reduce Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs).MethodsThis study used a qualitative approach and was conducted in Iran. Data were obtained through sixteen semi-structured in-depth interviews from indifferent road safety and health promotion field experts as well as eleven focus group discussion (FGD) sessions conducted with participants from general population. Inductive qualitative content analysis was used to converge and compare themes through data. The initial pattern of the program was developed and subsequently, the designed program was validated and finalized by two-step Delphi method for the consensus of expert opinion.ResultsThe following six main themes emerged from the analysis: target groups, program content, educational methods, instructors, resources and evaluation. The target group consisted of children, youth, parents, teachers, elderly, motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians, drivers, driver license applicants, instructors and administrators of driving schools, and specific groups such as the disabled, managers at different levels, and policymakers. The content of the program consisted of 27 items, including traffic laws and regulations, first aid, and medical emergencies. Educational practices and authorities were determined based on the target group and educational content. The most important resources of the program were human force and other cases, which can be managed in case of a lead agency. In the evaluation dimension, the cases such as mortality rate, hospitalization, behavioral changes, and other cases can be considered.ConclusionsThe designed program should be implemented for all target groups for road safety promotion. The proper content was provided with proper educational methods and instructors for the target groups. A lead agency is needed to provide the resources and funding to run the program.

Promoting road safety education in young adults with Facebook: a mini-case study in engineering university students in Ecuador

The road safety education is essential to reduce road traffic deaths. This study aims to promote road safety education in young adults with social networks. The research experiments if through Facebook posts, young adults increase their knowledge of road safety. The case of study was implemented in twenty-five university students from Ecuador, between 21 and 27 years old. The method of the research consisted to create a Facebook page where it posted two daily publications (informative and comic). All participants had to interact with their content for approximately four months (between November 2019 and February 2020). Students answered two tests to assess their knowledge of road safety and a survey about the web page. It used qualitative and quantitative approaches to analyze the collected data. As a result, Facebook significantly improved road safety knowledge (22%). The young people agreed with its use in an academic context. This methodology could apply to other fields, given its simplicity and practicality, which can quickly reach a lot of people.

Examining Senior Drivers' Attitudes Toward Advanced Driver Assistance Systems After Naturalistic Exposure.

Background and ObjectivesThe increasing number of senior drivers may introduce new road risks due to age-related declines in physical and cognitive abilities. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) have been proposed as solutions to minimize age-related declines, thereby increasing both senior safety and mobility. This study examined factors that influence seniors’ attitudes toward adopting ADAS after significant exposure to the technology in naturalistic settings.Research Design and MethodsThis study recruited 18 senior drivers aged 70–79 to drive vehicles equipped with ADAS for 6 weeks in their own environments. Afterward, each participant was enrolled in 1 of the 3 focus group sessions to discuss their changes in attitude toward ADAS based on their driving experiences. We applied structural topic modeling (STM) on the focus group transcripts to reveal key topics deemed important to seniors.ResultsSTM revealed 5 topics of importance for seniors. In order of prevalence, these were (i) safety, (ii) confidence concerning ADAS, (iii) ADAS functionality, (iv) user interface/usability, and (v) non-ADAS–related features. Based on topics and associated keywords, seniors perceived safety improvement with ADAS but expressed concerns about its limitations in coping with adverse driving conditions. Experience and training were suggested for improving seniors’ confidence in ADAS. Blind spot alert and adaptive cruise control received the most discussion regarding perceived safety and comfort.Discussion and ImplicationsThis study indicated that promoting road safety for senior drivers through ADAS is feasible. Acceptance and appropriate use of ADAS may be supported through intuitive and senior-friendly user interfaces, in-depth training programs, and owner’s manuals specifically designed and tested for senior drivers.

Transport accident mortality time trend and spatial distribution in Piauí, Brazil, 2000-2017.

To analyze the time trend and spatial distribution of transport accident (TA) mortality in Piauí, from 2000 to 2017. An ecological time series study was conducted using Mortality Information System (SIM) data on TA mortality among people resident in the state of Piauí, according to sex, age group and municipality. Prais-Winsten regression was used. 14,396 deaths were recorded. The mortality rate per 100,000 inhabitants was 13.9 in 2000 and 30.6 in 2017. There was a significant increase in the TA mortality rate (annual percent change [APC] of 6.4% - 95%CI 4.3;8.7), being higher among motorcyclists (APC=14.7% - 95%CI 9.7;20.0) and among vehicle occupants (APC=15.2 - 95%CI 10.5;20.2). There was significant increase in TA mortality in Piauí, especially among motorcyclists and vehicle occupants. Actions are needed to promote road safety and to prevent road traffic deaths.

The interception capabilities of slotted drains as pavement surface drainage systems

The following two slotted drain installation scenarios were reviewed in this paper: a slotted drain operating individually without a median barrier and a slotted drain operating with an adjacent barrier installed along the longitudinal length of the drain. The interception capability of the two installation scenarios was experimentally reviewed and compared while imitating various conditions typically expected on South African pavements. The applied sheet flow, slotted inlet sizes and pavement slopes (longitudinal and cross slopes) were varied throughout the experiment. Interception efficiencies of the slotted inlets were experimentally calculated as a ratio of total intercepted sheet flow to the total sheet flow applied to the pavement layouts. The sheet flow applied during the experiment was analysed to estimate the rainfall intensities and flow depths that can typically occur on the different pavements for which the interception capability of the slotted inlets was reviewed. It was estimated that rainfall intensities of more than 1 000 mm/hr and flow depths higherthan 10 mm were imitated during the experiment. More than 98% of the maximum applied sheet flow of approximately 3.0 £/s/m was intercepted by the 30 mm slotted inlets regardless of the pavement slope values and type of slotted drain layout. The conclusion reached was that both these slotted drain installation scenarios operating in practice for the conditions tested would have the capability to sufficiently remove the surface water to promote road safety during wet pavement conditions.

Implementation of the life in Traffic Program in 31 Brazilian municipalities

IntroductionThe Life in Traffic Program (LTP) was launched in Brazil in 2010, aiming to promote road safety interventions capable of reducing deaths and serious injuries resulting from traffic collisions. The LTP methodology was based on four steps: intersectoral articulation, data qualification and integration, integrated actions of road safety, and monitoring of actions. ObjectiveTo determine the degree of implementation of the program in 31 Brazilian municipalities. MethodFormal and normative evaluations were adopted, in two phases. In the first one, the content of 28 indicators uniquely developed to evaluate the LTP implementation was verified by a panel of experts composed of 29 program coordinators in the Brazilian municipalities. A Likert scale was used, followed by a comparison of the interquartile range (IQR). In the second phase, the degree of implementation was evaluated based on baseline and follow-up interview applied in 2015 and 2017, defined through a system of scores, with weights differentiated for each indicator, according to the level of importance assigned by the experts, thus constituting the matrix of analysis and judgment. ResultsThirty municipalities participated in the 2015 evaluation and 26, in 2017. The indicators of implementation achieved high degree of consensus among the experts, suggesting adequacy of the instrument. Regarding the implementation, the LTP was partially or totally implemented in 84.6% of the 31 Brazilian municipalities. Municipalities in the North region (71.8%) had the highest degree of implementation, followed by South (71.2%), Central West (68.5%), Northeast (62.4%), and Southeast (58.8%). Monitoring of actions implemented was the LTP methodology step with the lowest performance detected among them. ConclusionsDespite advances in the program implementation, this process did not occur in an equitable way among the municipalities, indicating the need to prioritize the monitoring of actions.

Speeding behavior and speed limits for heterogeneous bicycle flow

Objective: Speed limits for motorized vehicles are widely used to reduce noise and promote road safety. Unfortunately, there is little research on speed limits for bicycles, especially for electric bicycles. This article aims to analyze the speeding behavior and propose the suggested speed limit values for electric bicycles.Methods: Field speed data were collected from 11 segments of separated bicycle lanes in Hangzhou, China. The speeding behavior of different types of bicycles was analyzed under different speed limits. Mixed logistic models are proposed to model speeding behavior and its influencing factors. Eighty-fifth percentile speeds under different conditions were calculated as speed limits. Stepwise regression models are proposed to model the relationships between the 85th percentile speeds and their influencing factors, and speed limits for different types of bicycles were determined.Results: It is recommended that the speed limits for pure electric bicycle traffic be set as 25–30 km/h and 30–35 km/h for bicycle lanes with widths less than 3 m and greater than 3 m, respectively. The recommended speed limit for heterogeneous bicycle flows is 25 km/h.Conclusions: The suggested speed limit values for different bicycle traffic flow can help to improve speed limit laws and policies for bicycle traffic.

Change-Point Analysis of Eye Movement Characteristics for Female Drivers in Anxiety.

Driver hazard perception is highly related to involvement in traffic accidents, and vision is the most important sense with which we perceive risk. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the characteristics of drivers’ eye movements to promote road safety. This study focuses on analyzing the changes of drivers’ eye-movement characteristics in anxiety. We used various materials to induce drivers’ anxiety, and then conducted the real driving experiments and driving simulations to collect drivers’ eye-movement data. Then, we compared the differences between calm and anxiety on drivers’ eye-movement characteristics, in order to extract the key eye-movement features. The least squares method of change point analysis was carried out to detect the time and locations of sudden changes in eye movement characteristics. The results show that the least squares method is effective for identifying eye-movement changes of female drivers in anxiety. It was also found that changes in road environments could cause a significant increase in fixation count and fixation duration for female drivers, such as in scenes with traffic accidents or sharp curves. The findings of this study can be used to recognize unexpected events in road environment and improve the geometric design of curved roads. This study can also be used to develop active driving warning systems and intelligent human–machine interactions in vehicles. This study would be of great theoretical significance and application value for improving road traffic safety.

A systematic review of oil tanker truck disasters: Identifying prevention targets

IntroductionOil tanker truck disasters have been reported worldwide; however, the circumstances, causes, and health effects of these disasters have not been described. To address this gap, we performed a systematic review using PRISMA criteria to better understand this public health problem and identify prevention targets. MethodsThe academic and lay literatures were systematically searched for terms related to oil tanker truck disasters. Reports about civilian oil tanker truck disasters that occurred from 1997–2017 were included. Details about the disasters were summarized, including circumstances, identifiable causes, and health effects. ResultsThe search yielded 4713 Nexis Uni articles, 199 Google results, and one PubMed article; 951 records met inclusion criteria, describing 224 oil tanker truck explosions or fires. At least 2909 people died as a result of these disasters, and 3038 additional people were hospitalized. Almost all deaths (94%) occurred in low- and low-middle-income countries (LMIC). This may largely be due to scooping – the practice of collecting spilled oil from disabled tanker trucks for use or resale. Using the Haddon matrix, potential targets for future disaster prevention were identified. ConclusionsThese data highlight the circumstances, causes, and health burden related to oil tanker truck disasters. Most began as collisions or rollovers, but nearly half of the fatalities involved scooping. The findings suggest opportunities to promote road safety, improve scene safety and security protocols used by drivers and first responders, and promote public understanding of the dangers of scooping to prevent mass casualty disasters from disabled tanker trucks, particularly in LMIC.

Fear appeals in road safety advertising: an analysis of a controversial social marketing campaign in Russia

ABSTRACTThis study reports the results of a content analysis that used the Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM) to measure the levels of threat and self-efficacy messages in a series of controversial public service announcements (PSAs) that promoted road safety in Russia in 2008. The analysis showed that threat messages overwhelmingly outnumbered efficacy messages. The results suggest that the Russian social marketing campaign to promote road safety neglected to follow the recommended pattern of fear appeal message construction. The road safety campaign had the potential to induce fear, but the campaign messages may not have been sufficient to make the audience feel able to prevent or avoid harm by complying with the road safety rules. The results suggested that future campaign designers should give more attention to efficacy messages, particularly response efficacy messages that contain a clear call for actions and recommendations on how to prevent injury and death.

Quantitative Assessment on Truck-Related Road Risk for the Safety Control via Truck Flow Estimation of Various Types

Traffic conditions of truck flow is one of the critical factors influencing transportation safety and efficiency, which is directly related to traffic accidents, maintenance scheduling, traffic flow interruption, risk control, and management. The estimation of the truck flow of various types could be better to identify the irregular flow variation introduced by various trucks and quantitatively assessed the corresponding road risks. In this paper, the dynamics of truck flow are estimated first. The stochastic and uncertain trucks flow data are obtained in terms of small, medium, heavy, and the oversize truck type and regulated corresponding flow in the time series within five minutes. In order to dig the spatial-temporal correlations behind those data, the deep learning-based method is improved on the basis of the gated recurrent unit (GRU) to estimate the truck flow for various types. To quantitatively assess the truck-related effect for road risk, a multiple logistic regression method is further proposed to classify into safe, risky, and dangerous road risks levels. Different risk level could guide the traffic control and management and traffic information that broadcast drivers to help them to choose travel route. The proposed prediction of the road risk is tested in the randomly selected road segment and shows superior compared to other methods. This could promote road safety in the development of intelligent transport system (ITS).

Extending classic Haddon’s matrix for road safety promotion: toward better applicability

Background: Various models have been used to portray the causal pattern of Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs). Of which one most frequently used is the Haddon’s matrix proposed in 1970. The aim of this study was to improve applicability of this model through extending for road safety promotion. Methods: Required data gathered from 57 articles on influencing factors in RTIs and analyzed using Content- Analysis method by using the Haddon’s matrix. Six national expert’s opinions were applied in extension of model. Results: Initially 467 factors were extracted. After removing the duplicates and merging the similar factors, finally 76 factors remained. The pre-event phase had the most factors (N=41). Of the columns, the Vehicle and equipment had the most factors (N=26). According to extracted factors and experts opinion columns extended to 7 categories (human, environmental, vehicle and equipment, road, socio-economic, structure and organizational, mixed). Rows extended to two categories included: pre-event (long term and short term) and post-event (crash scene, transfer, care delivery). Conclusion: In this study the results of the studies on influencing factors in RTIs and the experts’ opinions were used to develop an expanded model of Haddon’s Matrix which is specific to traffic accidents. Future studies might investigate the effectiveness of this expanded model.