Research Brief

Towards a Safer California: Addressing the Road Safety Needs of Older Adults

Lekshmy Hirandas
2023

With an aging state population, it is crucial to understand the factors that contribute to road safety among adults aged 65 and older and identify at-risk neighborhoods for targeted interventions. In this context, this report analyzes fatal and serious injury (FSI) trends and patterns among aging road users, including older pedestrians and bicyclists, with a focus on identifying neighborhoods at risk for crashes based on senior FSI rates. 2178 census tracts (32.7%) were deemed as being potential at-risk neighborhoods, as they all exceeded the state average senior FSI rate of 120 per 100,...

Impact of the Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Training: Program Insights from the 2023 Follow-Up Survey

Lekshmy Hirandas
2023

The Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Training Program (CPBST) is a collaborative effort between the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) at the University of California Berkeley and California Walks (Cal Walks), established in 2009, with funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety. Its main objective is to promote pedestrian and bicycle safety by educating...

The Emergence of Shared E-scooters: Prioritizing Safety

October 29, 2022
Submitted by Lisa Peterson
New research brief highlights need to ensure e-scooter safety to prevent injury

Innovation continues to create efficient and sustainable means of travel. Among these alternative mobility choices are e-scooters.In a new research brief, The Emergence of Shared E-scooters: Prioritizing Safety, UC Berkeley SafeTREC's Graduate Student Researcher Greg Harasym discusses how while e-scooters provide new opportunities to connect people and transit systems, their deployment also requires deliberate and effective efforts to ensure safety to prevent injury....

The Emergence of Shared E-scooters: Prioritizing Safety

Gregory Harasym
2022

Innovation continues to create efficient and sustainable means of travel. Among these alternative mobility choices are e-scooters. To accommodate for this burgeoning new transportation market, cities have been tasked with adopting new policies and regulations to promote safety and multi-modal integration. Some cities have been reluctant to permit shared e-scooter companies without agreed upon stipulations involving publicly shared data, safety education, e-scooter supply limitations, and subsidized rides for low-income residents. A survey conducted by the City of Oakland in 2019 found that...

Perceptions of Bicycle Safety: A Data and User-Experience Approach

August 30, 2022
Submitted by Lisa Peterson
New research brief explores the existing bicycle infrastructure in the City of Oakland as it relates to cyclist safety

Climate change has caused unprecedented problems, which has increased efforts to fund sustainable green alternatives, including funding for alternative means of transportation such as active transportation and micro-mobility infrastructure improvements. In a new research brief, Perceptions of Bicycle Safety: A Data and User-Experience Approach, UC Berkeley SafeTREC's Graduate Student Researcher Greg Harasym explores existing bicycle infrastructure in the...

Perceptions of Bicycle Safety: A Data and User-Experience Approach

Gregory Harasym
2022
Climate change has caused unprecedented problems, which has increased efforts to fund sustainable green alternatives. In California, the transportation sector accounts for approximately 50 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. California’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP) provides $100 million annually to develop and deploy alternative fuel options, including infrastructure for zero and near-zero emission vehicles. In addition to ARFVTP, Senate Bill 743 was passed in 2013 which re-shaped the focus of traffic analysis from congestion and level...

Peer Influence and Perceptions of Safety

May 2, 2022
Submitted by Lisa Peterson
New research brief explores the impacts of pluralistic ignorance on traffic safety perceptions

At the heart of active transportation systems are the people that use them. In a new research brief, Peer Influence and Perceptions of Safety, UC Berkeley SafeTREC's Graduate Student Researcher Aqshems Nichols and Co-Director Jill F. Cooper discuss the importance of considering perceptions in traffic safety analyses and the potential for investigating how a psychological phenomenon known as pluralistic ignorance could be shaping those perceptions.

Pluralistic ignorance is a "...

Peer Influence and Perceptions of Safety

Aqshems Nichols
Jill F. Cooper
2022

At the heart of active transportation systems are the people. This brief discusses the importance of considering perceptions in traffic safety analyses and discusses the potential for investigating how a psychological phenomenon known as pluralistic ignorance could be shaping those perceptions. A couple of case studies from the psychology literature are discussed to facilitate this discussion. It is hoped that this brief can be employed to learn more about how to improve the safety of using active modes both in California and across the nation.

Engagement of Latine Communities in Transportation Safety

October 20, 2021
Submitted by Lisa Peterson
Rethinking Traditional Outreach and Engagement Strategies

Recently, professionals and policymakers have considered an equity approach not only to reach and engage a diverse, representative group of community members, but to develop plans, projects, and policies that are inclusive of the community. In a new policy brief, "Engagement of Latine Communities in Transportation Safety," UC Berkeley SafeTREC's Policy & Program Analyst Ana I. Lopez, Co-Director Jill F. Cooper, and California Walks' Policy & Programs Coordinator Alma Leyva provide an overview of how engaging Latine...

Engagement of Latine Communities in Transportation Safety

Ana Lopez
Alma Leyva
Jill F. Cooper
2021

Introduction

Public participation in government is a foundation of democracy; however, it exists on a spectrum. In the field of transportation, decision-makers may seek information by simply making public announcements to invite input. Alternatively, governments devote resources to conduct thoughtful and extensive outreach to seek meaningful input. Recently, professionals and policymakers have considered an equity approach not only to reach and engage a diverse, representative group of community members, but to develop plans, projects, and policies that are...