Road User Behavior

A Multidimensional Clustering Algorithm for Studying Fatal Road Crashes

Fishbain, Barak
Grembek, Offer
2014

Road fatalities are rare outcomes of events that occur in a small time-space region. Although the exact chain of events for each fatality is unique, there are inherent similarities between road fatalities. The science of road safety is dedicated to identifying such similarities, mainly using statistical analysis tools. Researchers typically analyze patterns that emerge over space, such as hot-spot studies, or patterns that emerge over time, such as before-after studies. Traffic research enumerates 84 parameters that characterize a road fatality. A vast number of papers have tried to...

Reflections on the 2019 Safe Systems Summit: Redefining Transportation Safety

June 7, 2019
SUBMITTED BY LISA PETERSON

According to the latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 37,133 traffic fatalities on U.S. roadways in 2017, a 1.8-percent decrease from the 37,806 people killed in 2016. While there has been a general downward trend downward in traffic fatalities overall, this is still an alarmingly high number of deaths – and there have been troubling increases for vulnerable road users like pedestrians. A new report from the Governors Highway Safety...

Evaluation of Wet Weather Accident Causation Criteria

Oh, Soonmi
Ragland, David R.
Chan, Ching-Yao
2008

This report documents findings from analysis of traffic collision data from sites that display high collision rates only under wet pavement conditions. These sites were selected using Caltrans safety engineers’ field reports, Wet Table C “investigation required” locations, and a new approach called Continuous Risk Profile (CRP). The geometric features at the sites were studied via field visits and review of as-built plans. Rapid spatial changes (i.e., vertical and horizontal curve in short distance), narrower lane width, lack of median, and wider total freeway width were some of the...

2018 National DUI Summer Mobilization August 17 - September 3

August 15, 2018
SUBMITTED BY LISA PETERSON
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over
DUI Doesn't Just Mean Booze Facts

Driving under the influence of alcohol is a serious safety issue. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), one person every 50 minutes was killed in an alcohol-involved crash nationwide in 2016. In California, 1,059 people lost their lives that year due to crashes involving a drunk driver.

Drug-impaired driving is also a...

Course Announcement: Spring 2023 Traffic Safety and Injury Control

November 14, 2022
Submitted by Lisa Peterson

People walking in crosswalk with traffic passing with course title, time and date overlaid

Course Description:

Injuries from traffic crashes are a major cause of death and disability in the United States and around the world. In the United States injury from traffic crashes is the leading cause of death and disability for people ages 1 to 34, and a major cause for all...

Course Announcement: Fall 2022 Public Health Injury Prevention and Control

July 6, 2022
Submitted by Lisa Peterson

Photo collage showing emergency responders at a car crash, a gun with ammunition, and a crashed bicycle and bicycle helmet in a crosswalk

Download Course PDF COURSE OVERVIEW

Injury is the leading cause of death for ages 1-44, and the leading cause of years of potential life lost up to age 65,...

Research Brief: The Influence of Alcohol Outlet Proximity on Pedestrian Injury Incidence: Insights from Literature

September 8, 2023
Submitted by Lisa Peterson
New research brief explores potential association between the presence of alcohol outlets and pedestrian injuries

According to the latest annual Spotlight report from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), there were 7,508 pedestrian fatalities in 2022, the highest number of people killed while walking since 1981. Preventing these pedestrian crashes is a critical concern, and researchers and road safety professionals have conducted...

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

April 9, 2019
SUBMITTED BY LISA PETERSON
California drivers encouraged to "silence" the distraction during Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Graphic from JustDrive campaign

Source: California Office of Traffic Safety

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month and the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) will join...

CSCRS Webinar on 3/22: What Can We Learn from Fatal Automated Vehicle Crashes?

March 9, 2023
Submitted by Lisa Peterson

University of Tennessee, Knoxville's Meredith King, smiling, with event details for the 3/22 CSCRS webinar

Join University of Tennessee, Knoxville Graduate Research Assistant Meredith King for the latest session in the Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety (CSCRS) Research to Practice Bytes Series on Wednesday, March 22 at 11:30am PT for...

National Tribal Symposium to Advance Transportation: Crash Data Collection and Analysis

May 30, 2019
SUBMITTED BY LISA PETERSON

From May 14-16, 2019 tribal, federal, state, and industry leaders from across the United States who are working on the tribal transportation issues and challenges gathered in San Diego, California for the National Tribal Symposium to Advance Transportation. This event, hosted by the Federal Highway...