Road User Behaviour Research Articles

Thinking about the history of road safety research: Past achievements and future challenges

This paper surveys the developments in road safety thinking and road safety research over the last century. It details the general evolution of safety thinking as it applied to road user behaviour, vehicle and road design. More recently, emphasis has shifted towards a system’s approach, both in road safety activities and in road safety research. In terms of the future, more likely scenarios for the near future, a few decades from now, are explored and the implications for future road safety research are discussed. In particular, increasing urban density forces changes in travel modes, with a shift to public transport, more cycling and walking, and, thus, imposes new challenges for road safety research. In terms of vehicle technology, more automation and driver assistance systems are envisaged with an accompanying emphasis on evaluation and research, including the issue of behaviour adaptation. Speeding and population ageing will remain major research areas. Increased interest in techniques for exploring large databases, behaviour indicators and randomised experimentation is expected.

Fatal injuries among motorcyclists in Klang Valley, Malaysia

BackgroundMotorcycle fatalities constitute the majority of road traffic deaths in Malaysia. The aims of this study were to describe the pattern of fatal injuries among Klang Valley fatal motorcyclists and to describe the factors associated with fatal (vs non-fatal) injuries. MethodsA cross-sectional analysis was performed on data from a case series of injured (fatal and non-fatal) motorcyclists recruited from Klang Valley between 14th March 2010 and 13th March 2011. Fatal cases in the cases series were identified from the Police files. Non-fatal cases were recruited from five major hospitals in the study region. Information used in the analyses were obtained from Police crash reports, hospital medical records, and Coroner's records of the participant sample. ResultsOf the 177 fatal cases, 142 (80.2%) were categorised as instantaneous death while 35 (19.8%) cases were categorised as experiencing delayed death. Thirty two percent of the cases had a Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score (MAIS) of 5 with head injury being the most common cause of death. Significant predictors of fatal (vs non-fatal) injury included ethnic groups, monthly income, alcohol and drug use and road type. Alcohol and drug use was shown to be the strongest predictor with adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 14.77 (95% CI 3.32–65.65). ConclusionFactors related to the motorcyclists, road user behaviour and the road environment as well as pre-hospitalisation emergency care must be addressed efficiently in low and middle income countries to reduce the number and severity of motorcycle-related injuries.

Roads in India: safety and knowledge cross-sectional evaluation.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 15% of the global burden of road traffic trauma is in India. We performed an image-based survey of 3 major roadways in New Delhi, India, to evaluate collision-prone vehicle and pedestrian behaviors. We used a cross-sectional survey design with photograph- and video-based data collection. The study was performed at 3 purposively sampled high traffic volume roadways in New Delhi, India. The authors reviewed preliminary photographs and came to a consensus pertaining to the definition and criteria for dangerous and collision-prone behaviors. Analysis was descriptive and was based on frequency data. A total of 11,214 subjects were evaluated. Eighty-six percent were vehicles (n = 9624), whereas the remaining 14% were pedestrians (n = 1572). In 99% of the frames, 1 or more predefined behavioral infraction was identified, with a total of 21% (n = 2392) of subjects committing these infractions. Specifically, 15% of all vehicles (n = 1468) and 59% of all pedestrians (n = 924) displayed a risk-taking infraction. Road users in New Delhi, India, engage in unacceptably high rates of collision-prone behavior. There is a need for interventions that will improve the behaviors of road users.

Introducing naturalistic cycling data: What factors influence bicyclists’ safety in the real world?

Presently, the collection and analysis of naturalistic data is the most credited method for understanding road user behavior and improving traffic safety. Such methodology was developed for motorized vehicles, such as cars and trucks, and is still largely applied to those vehicles. However, a reasonable question is whether bicycle safety can also benefit from the naturalistic methodology, once collection and analyses are properly ported from motorized vehicles to bicycles. This paper answers this question by showing that instrumented bicycles can also collect analogous naturalistic data. In addition, this paper shows how naturalistic cycling data from 16 bicyclists can be used to estimate risk while cycling. The results show that cycling near an intersection increased the risk of experiencing a critical event by four times, and by twelve times when the intersection presented some form of visual occlusion (e.g., buildings and hedges). Poor maintenance of the road increased the risk tenfold. Furthermore, the risk of experiencing a critical event was twice as large when at least one pedestrian or another bicyclist crossed the bicyclist’s trajectory. Finally, this study suggests the two most common scenarios for bicycle accidents, which result from different situations and thus require different countermeasures. The findings presented in this paper show that bicycle safety can benefit from the naturalistic methodology, which provides data able to guide development and evaluation of (intelligent) countermeasures to increase cycling safety.

On the road to prevention: road injury and health promotion.

Road traffic injuries are already the leading cause of injury mortality and morbidity globally and by 2030 are predicted to be the fifth leading cause of mortality in the world. Australia has seen a dramatic reduction in road deaths and serious injuries since the 1970s and holds an international reputation for road traffic injury prevention due, in part, to its success in pioneering the multidisciplinary and intersectoral approach needed to address this significant issue and by applying an evidence-led approach to policy development. The paper will discuss Australia's early success in road traffic injury prevention (road safety), particularly the achievements following the implementation of targeted programs that focussed on road user behaviours for which health promotion played a role. The most successful of these programs was the introduction of comprehensive seat belt laws, random breath testing and more recently, strategic speed enforcement programs. Amid an array of significant challenges faced by the transport system in the future, the rapid development in information and communication technologies applied to transport is likely to provide the next generation of road safety benefits. The potential for a semi-autonomous transport system is likely to provide the next significant decline in road fatalities and serious injuries over the next 2 decades and the role of health promotion in relation to raising community engagement and building coalitions to increase uptake of new technologies will be discussed.

Behavioural Change Techniques used in road safety interventions for young people

IntroductionDeath and injury from road traffic is a public health problem worldwide and accordingly there is substantial interest and investment in developing interventions to change road user behaviour. Alongside this, there is growing awareness of the need to evaluate interventions and to identify the most effective mechanisms by which behaviour can be changed. Progress has been hindered due to lack of a common taxonomy with which to define specific techniques used in attempts to change behaviour. ObjectiveBehavioural Change Techniques (BCTs) have been successfully deployed to change a range of different health behaviours. This paper defines a series of BCTs that can be applied in the road safety setting and asks which ones are found in road safety interventions for young road users? MethodAbraham and Michie (2008) identified twenty-six techniques used in behavioural change interventions. These BCTs, plus one other adapted from forensic psychology, are classified into nine groupings. Six educational road safety interventions commonly used in the UK with pre-drivers and young, novice drivers are characterised in terms of the BCTs they employ. ResultsOnly a small subset of BCTs are employed in most of the interventions. They concentrate primarily on increasing awareness of the risks associated with a particular behaviour, and the severity of the potential adverse consequences. ConclusionRecommendations are given for improving the effectiveness of road safety interventions for young people including young, novice drivers by increasing the range of BCTs deployed.

A comparative analysis of the effects of economic policy instruments in promoting environmentally sustainable transport

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the effects of economic policy instruments in promoting environmentally sustainable transport. Promoting environmentally sustainable transport is defined as follows: (1) Reducing the volume of motorised travel; (2) Transferring travel to modes generating less external effects, and (3) Modifying road user behaviour in a way that will reduce external effects of transport. External effects include accidents, congestion, traffic noise and emissions to air. Four economic policy instruments are compared: (1) Prices of motor fuel; (2) Congestion charges; (3) Toll schemes; (4) Reward systems giving incentives to reduce driving or change driver behaviour. The effects of these policy instruments are stated in terms of elasticities. All four economic policy instruments have negative elasticities, which means that they do promote environmentally sustainable transport. Long-term elasticities tend to be larger than short term elasticities. The long-term elasticities of reward systems are unknown.

Knowing their place on the roads: What would equality mean for walking and cycling?

Trials and dangers faced by pedestrians and cyclists have not only created an impression of undesirable conditions, but have promoted arguments of injustice and inequality. High rates of death and injury coupled with reporting of poor infrastructure and fear of the behaviour of other road users point to a plausible prima facie concern that pedestrians and cyclists suffer inequalities. Yet this appearance masks uncertainty about what factors are relevant in judging inequality and how these should be treated against potentially competing claims. This article develops a framework assessing conditions for walking and cycling according to a theoretical conception of political and social equality, and so providing a basis on which to make arguments for change in transport policy, planning and law. In developing the framework we examine the relevance to equality of a range of factors, including measurement of road casualties, questions of responsibility to increase walking and cycling as means of contributing to pollution and carbon reduction, matters of fault and responsibility for road safety, and the economic impacts of improving conditions for walking and cycling.

Automated Driving, Traffic Flow Efficiency, and Human Factors

Automation may be assumed to have a beneficial impact on traffic flow efficiency. However, the relationship between automation and traffic flow efficiency is complex because behavior of road users influences this efficiency as well. This paper reviews what is known about the influence of automation on traffic flow efficiency and behavior of road users, formulates a theoretical framework, and identifies future research needs. It is concluded that automation can be assumed to have an influence on traffic flow efficiency and on the behavior of road users. The research has shortcomings, and in this context directions are formulated for future scientific research on automation in relation to traffic flow efficiency and human behavior.

Oil County Traffic Safety

The sharp increase in travel volumes, the shift in traffic mix, and the large increases in traffic crashes have transformed the travel environment in the oil region of western North Dakota. Roads once used only for local access and agricultural purposes are now being used at high volumes to serve expanding oil production. Oil companies, oil workers, commercial trucks, and industrial equipment associated with gas and oil development all use these roads to access oil drilling and production sites. This change has led to an increase in traffic volume and a larger number of overweight and oversized vehicles on the road. A survey questionnaire was sent to drivers to understand better the perceptions and behaviors of road users in this region. County-level crash data were gathered for the state of North Dakota to understand changes in driving conditions during the latest oil boom, specifically between 2004 and 2011. This study addresses two key goals related to improving traffic safety in the region: first, to examine public perceptions of traffic safety issues and priorities and, second, to address crash trends and possible intervention strategies with a focus on the interaction between large trucks and passenger vehicles. Survey results indicate that drivers perceive the region to be dangerous and that driving improvements can be made. Crash data reveal that most crash statistics are growing at exponential rates. One safety initiative, ProgressZone: Moving Forward Safely, appears to be beneficial, but further improvements must take place.

Impact of Immersion and Realism in Driving Simulator Studies

Driving simulators emerged as a promising technology for the analysis of driving conditions and road users' behaviour in an attempt to tackle the problem of road accidents. The work presented herein demonstrates the design and development of a driving simulator that aims to contribute towards evaluating black spots in road networks by promoting rapid design of realistic models and facilitating the specification of test scenarios. A reliable driving simulator should be able to reproduce the driver's behaviour in a realistic way. In this study the authors examine different setups of the simulator to define the one that achieves highest levels of reliability. The chosen setup is then used to evaluate the impact of distractors (e.g. billboards) on driving behaviour of local road users for a chosen black spot in Limassol, Cyprus. Data collected from the experiments are analysed, and the main findings are presented and discussed.

Cluster Modeling of Driving Behavior under Fatigue

A road safety campaign, as one of the measures used to influence road user behavior to follow the driving regulations and to safeguard safety on the road network, may contribute to the reduction of the number of people killed on the roads. This study aimed to develop prediction models for the assessment of the impact on driving behavior of a fatigue road safety communication campaign based on the health belief model. This behavioral model took into account the behavior and the objectives of the campaign, as defined in the measurement variables of the evaluation, which were composed of self-reported data collected through a face-to-face questionnaire survey conducted before, during, and after the campaign implementation. Linear regression analyses were used to define the causal relationships between the dependent variables, intention and behavior, and other constructs. Results showed that the models developed for predicting drivers’ intention to stop and rest when they became tired and drivers’ behavior toward stopping and resting when they became tired varied significantly, depending on the characteristics of the sample tested (i.e., nonprofessional drivers versus professional drivers, younger versus older drivers, etc.). Also, it was observed that behavioral beliefs and risk comprehension were weak for the predictability of intentions and behavior; however, the inclusion of past behavior increased the predictability of the models predicting intentions, and the inclusion of past behavior and intentions (as observed also in similar studies) increased the predictability of the models predicting behavior.

Current Road Safety Trends in Greece

Greece is among the worst performing countries in Europe in terms of road safety with one of the highest annual rates of fatalities per million inhabitants in the EU. However, a gradual decrease has been recorded over time. The bad performance of Greece in road safety is partially due to institutional problems such as inefficient organization of public administration, lack of organized structures of the State with responsibility for road safety, non-accountability of stakeholders in relation to the implementation of actions and inadequate funding for road safety. The most critical, road user behavior related, accident factors include speeding, low usage rates of seat belts and helmets, unorganized and unprotected traffic of vulnerable road users, drink-driving, use of mobile phones while driving and generalized aggressive driving. In Greece, a great potential for safety improvement exists, if serious effort for tackling the above major critical factors is made.

Same but different? Understanding road user behaviour at intersections using cognitive work analysis

Collisions at intersections represent a significant road safety issue worldwide but have seen little reduction in casualties and serious injuries over the past decade. This is partly because research and countermeasures have focussed on specific road user types or design components in isolation and has failed to consider the complex interactions between different road users, vehicles and infrastructure and the resulting implications for intersection design. Cognitive work analysis (CWA) is proposed as an appropriate framework to do so; presenting a systemic analysis of the behaviour of drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians, and the interaction with vehicles and infrastructure at intersections. The results indicate that the framework is suited to identifying differences in constraints, functions and behaviour across different road user groups. CWA therefore provides a suitable systems approach to aid the design of a road system that supports a variety of different road users. The implications for road design and future applications are discussed.

Factors that Influence the Choice of Mode of Transport in Penang: A Preliminary Analysis

Abstract Traffic congestion has been a serious problem in many cities in Malaysia ever since the intensified industrialisation and urbanisation process began in the 1980s. Frequent traffic congestion has caused the society to suffer efficiency loss in terms of idle time on the road. The promotion of public transport by the government has yet to produce satisfactory results in terms of inducing a significant switch in mode of transport. Thus, this paper intends to study the factors that are related to the choice of mode of transport, particularly in Penang, the second most densely populated state in Malaysia. The limited inhabitable space of this small island state poses an urgent need to discourage the growing use of private vehicle by its residents. The findings of this study aims to provide a better understanding of the determinants of mode choice behavior of road users in Penang and allow for policy makers to formulate a more effective public transport policy in the future.

Attitudes, norms and driving behaviour: A comparison of young drivers in South Africa and Sweden

Culture is increasingly recognised among traffic psychologists to be a factor influencing driving behaviour. This study examines whether a cultural background characterised by rapid social change and high levels of violence and aggression, as in the South African context, has any discernible influences on driving standards or the behaviour of individual drivers. The experiences and attitudes of young drivers in South Africa are compared with a group of young drivers from Sweden, a country whose society has exhibited high levels of stability and where road user behaviour is renowned for its restraint and compliance with regulations.The two cohorts provide information about their exposure to traffic injuries, their attitudes to other drivers and to a range of traffic offences, and to the types of behaviour they personally engage in. Among the South African respondents the notion of a declining standard of driving emerges very clearly, and specific new norms of driving are identified. Such norms are explained to be a consequence of new social values or challenges inherent within contemporary South African society.

Is road safety management linked to road safety performance?

This research aims to explore the relationship between road safety management and road safety performance at country level. For that purpose, an appropriate theoretical framework is selected, namely the ‘SUNflower’ pyramid, which describes road safety management systems in terms of a five-level hierarchy: (i) structure and culture, (ii) programmes and measures, (iii) ‘intermediate’ outcomes’ – safety performance indicators (SPIs), (iv) final outcomes – fatalities and injuries, and (v) social costs. For each layer of the pyramid, a composite indicator is implemented, on the basis of data for 30 European countries. Especially as regards road safety management indicators, these are estimated on the basis of Categorical Principal Component Analysis upon the responses of a dedicated road safety management questionnaire, jointly created and dispatched by the ETSC/PIN group and the ‘DaCoTA’ research project. Then, quasi-Poisson models and Beta regression models are developed for linking road safety management indicators and other indicators (i.e. background characteristics, SPIs) with road safety performance. In this context, different indicators of road safety performance are explored: mortality and fatality rates, percentage reduction in fatalities over a given period, a composite indicator of road safety final outcomes, and a composite indicator of ‘intermediate’ outcomes (SPIs). The results of the analyses suggest that road safety management can be described on the basis of three composite indicators: “vision and strategy”, “budget, evaluation and reporting”, and “measurement of road user attitudes and behaviours”. Moreover, no direct statistical relationship could be established between road safety management indicators and final outcomes. However, a statistical relationship was found between road safety management and ‘intermediate’ outcomes, which were in turn found to affect ‘final’ outcomes, confirming the SUNflower approach on the consecutive effect of each layer.

A review of game-theoretic models of road user behaviour

This paper reviews game-theoretic models that have been developed to explain road user behaviour in situations where road users interact with each other. The paper includes the following game-theoretic models:1.A general model of the interaction between road users and their possible reaction to measures improving safety (behavioural adaptation).2.Choice of vehicle size as a Prisoners’ dilemma game.3.Speed choice as a co-ordination game.4.Speed compliance as a game between drivers and the police.5.Merging into traffic from an acceleration lane as a mixed-strategy game.6.Choice of level of attention in following situations as an evolutionary game.7.Choice of departure time to avoid congestion as variant of a Prisoners’ dilemma game.8.Interaction between cyclists crossing the road and car drivers.9.Dipping headlights at night well ahead of the point when glare becomes noticeable.10.Choice of evasive action in a situation when cars are on collision course.The models reviewed are different in many respects, but a common feature of the models is that they can explain how informal norms of behaviour can develop among road users and be sustained even if these informal norms violate the formal regulations of the traffic code. Game-theoretic models are not applicable to every conceivable interaction between road users or to situations in which road users choose behaviour without interacting with other road users. Nevertheless, it is likely that game-theoretic models can be applied more widely than they have been until now.

Cyclists and open vehicle doors: Crash characteristics and risk factors

A cyclist crash with an open vehicle door can result in serious injury, sometimes fatal, outcomes. However, little is known about the frequency and range of injury outcomes of this crash type or the contributing factors. In this study, the factors associated with cyclist-open vehicle door collisions in Victoria, Australia were investigated using three complementary data sources: (1) police reported crashes (2000–2011); (2) hospital presentations (2000–2010), and (3) a sample of video footage from a naturalistic study of commuter cyclists in Melbourne (2009–2010). A total of 1247 police reported cyclist crashes and 401 hospital emergency department presentations were analysed. As a proportion of all cyclist crashes, cyclist-open vehicle door crashes accounted for 3.1% (hospital) and 8.4% (police). The majority of cyclists injured were: male (police: 67.1%; hospital: 65.8%); adults aged 18years or older (police: 97.5%; hospital: 96.3%), and crashes occurred in speed zones up to 60 kph (police: 93.1%). From the naturalistic cycling study, there were 13 door-related events with a rate of 0.59 events per trip. No collisions occurred and in all cases, a potential collision was avoided by the cyclists’ evasive action. Most drivers did not look in the direction of the cyclist before opening the door. While the number of reported crashes is relatively low, cyclists’ exposure to events with potential for this crash type is high. Potential countermeasures to reduce the risk of this interaction/crash type are discussed and include road environment design improvements and road user behaviour programs.

Identifying critical incidents in naturalistic driving data: experiences from a promoting real life observation for gaining understanding of road user behaviour in Europe small‐scale field trial

The methodology of naturalistic driving observation aspires to observe the driver and his environment while driving in natural driving settings. It is of great importance in research on road safety as this method of observing road users eliminates the disadvantages of traditional methods like simulator studies or interviews. However, it produces vast such amounts of data and challenges data reduction and data analysis. Therefore automatic methods for filtering critical incidents based on thresholds for numerical data are often applied to select the data to be analysed. This study reports a small-scale field trial in Valencia, Spain, which was conducted within the promoting real life observation for gaining understanding of road user behaviour in Europe project. The analysis of the numerical data using thresholds resulted in a great number of false alarms and did not identify safety-critical sequences. In contrast, video analysis revealed a number of critical events that had not been previously detected using the numerical parameters. The study conveyed the importance of continuous video recording in these kinds of studies and showed that the methodology of data reduction for naturalistic driving studies requires further development in order to be able to capture all the relevant incidents automatically.