Accident; analysis and prevention
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This study compares the safety of bicyclists riding on bicycle boulevards to those riding on parallel arterial routes in Berkeley, California. Literature on the impact of motor vehicle traffic characteristics on cyclist safety shows that high motor vehicle speeds and volumes and the presence of heavy vehicles are all detrimental to cyclist safety. This suggests that cyclists may be safer on side streets than on busy arterials. ⋯ The difference in collision rate is highly statistically significant, unlikely to be caused by any bias in the collision and count data, and cannot be easily explained away by self-selection or safety in numbers. Though the used dataset is limited and the study design is correlational, this study provides some evidence that Berkeley's bicycle boulevards are safer for cyclists than its parallel arterial routes. The results may be suggestive that, more generally, properly implemented bicycle boulevards can provide cyclists with a safer alternative to riding on arterials.
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Cycling is becoming an increasingly important transportation option for commuters. Cycling offers exercise opportunities and reduces the burden of motor vehicle travel on society. Mapping the risk of collision between cyclists and motor vehicles in urban areas is important to understanding safe cyclist route opportunities, making informed transportation planning decisions, and exploring patterns of injury epidemiology. ⋯ Instead, risk is either expressed as a rate per capita, or as a count of events. Using data associated with the City of Hamilton, Canada, we illustrate a method for mapping commuter cyclist collision risk per distance travelled. This measure can be used to more realistically represent the underlying geography of cycling risk, and provide more geographically and empirically meaningful information to those interested in understanding how cycling safety varies over space.
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The aim of this study was to examine different socio-demographic, health and safety-related factors, and psychoactive substance use among fatally injured drivers in road traffic accidents in Finland during 2006-2008. ⋯ Substance abuse and mental health problems, as well as reckless driving behavior were more pronounced among fatally injured drivers with substance findings when compared to sober drivers. Thus, prevention and early intervention concerning substance abuse, mental health problems and DUI are essential. Improved traffic safety cannot be achieved by means of traffic policy only, but integration with other policies, such as health and social policy should be strengthened.
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Deceleration lanes are important because they help drivers transition from high-speed lanes to low-speed ramps. Although they are designed to allow vehicles to depart the freeway safely and efficiently, many studies report high accident rates on exit ramps with the highest percentage of crashes taking place in deceleration lanes. This paper describes the results of a driving simulator study that focused on driving performance while approaching a divergence area and decelerating during the exiting maneuver. ⋯ Moreover, speeds recorded at the end of the deceleration lane exceed those for which the ramp's curves are designed; this creates risky driving conditions that could explain the high crash rates found in studies of exit ramps. Finally, statistical analyses demonstrate significant influences of traffic volume on some aspects of exiting drivers' performance: lower traffic volume results in elevated exiting speed and deceleration, and diverging drivers begin to decelerate earlier along the main lane when traffic volume is low. However, speeds at the end of the deceleration lane and the site of lane changing are not significantly influenced by traffic volume.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Distraction and pedestrian safety: how talking on the phone, texting, and listening to music impact crossing the street.
As use of handheld multimedia devices has exploded globally, safety experts have begun to consider the impact of distraction while talking, text-messaging, or listening to music on traffic safety. This study was designed to test how talking on the phone, texting, and listening to music may influence pedestrian safety. 138 college students crossed an interactive, semi-immersive virtual pedestrian street. They were randomly assigned to one of four groups: crossing while talking on the phone, crossing while texting, crossing while listening to a personal music device, or crossing while undistracted. ⋯ Distraction from multimedia devices has a small but meaningful impact on college students' pedestrian safety. Future research should consider the cognitive demands of pedestrian safety, and how those processes may be impacted by distraction. Policymakers might consider ways to protect distracted pedestrians from harm and to reduce the number of individuals crossing streets while distracted.