Road User Behavior

Automated Assessment of Safety-Critical Dynamics in Multi-modal Transportation Systems

Medury, Aditya
Yu, Mengqiao
Bourdais, Cedric
Grembek, Offer
2016

Recent mobility trends reveal that travel is becoming increasing multi-modal in nature. Given the increase in the emphasis on multi-modal mobility there is a need to efficiently account for the multi-modal safety challenges it introduces. In light of this, it is of immense concern that the corresponding improvements made to traffic safety have not been commensurate across all modes. In this regard, one of the major challenges associated with efficiently designing and planning for a safe multi-modal environment is a limited understanding of multi-modal traffic behavior as explained by...

Estimation of Pedestrian Risk Exposure in Urban Areas : Case studies in the US and in France

Do, Minh-Tan
Grembek, Offer
Cerezo, Veronique
2013
The paper deals with the estimation of pedestrian risk exposure in urban areas. The approach proposed is based, on the one hand, on a spatial analysis technique called Space Syntax that characterizes the street integration - how streets are connected to each other - which gives rise to a natural movement of persons, and on the other hand, on land-use which acts as a multiplier or a divider of the original flows. Street integration is weighted by factors related to land use to better captures the heterogeneity of street-blocks. The method is applied to two radically different urban spaces: the...

Do All Roadway Users Want the Same Things?

Sanders, Rebecca L.
Cooper, Jill F.
2013

This paper presents findings from a recent study on roadway design preferences among pedestrians, drivers, bicyclists, and public transit users along a major urban corridor in the East San Francisco Bay Area. Sponsored by the California DOT, the research focused on exploring design preferences that could increase perceived traffic safety, walkability, bikability, and economic vitality along urban arterials. Results from an intercept survey showed that all user groups desire similar roadway design features along the test corridor, which carries 25,000-30,000 motorists bi-directionally...

Teens and Driving in California: Summary of Research and Best Practices

Bui, Huong
Arnold, Lindsay S.
Cooper, Jill F.
Ragland, David R.
2006

The purpose of this guide is to present the major risk factors associated with teen driving in California and to highlight policy and program strategies that may be influential in reducing risk.

Driver Behavior at Rail Crossings: Cost-Effective Improvements to Increase Driver Safety at Public At-Grade Rail-Highway Crossings in California

Cooper, Douglas L.
Ragland, David R.
2007

This report examines conditions affecting vehicle-train collisions at rail crossings in California, and recommends effective countermeasures and implementation strategies. In doing so, the report helps meet California’s goal of efficiently utilizing state and federal funding available through SAFETEA-LU for increasing the safety at public atgrade rail-highway crossings.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Evaluation for the City of Emeryville at Four Intersections

Johnson, Emily S.
Ragland, David R.
Cooper, Jill F.
O'Connor, Terri
2005

The City of Emeryville is small in area (1.2 square miles) and population (7,000), but it is one of the most regionally connected cities in the Bay Area (California). Emeryville is situated at the eastern end of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, contains the intersection of Interstate Highway 80 (I-80) with several regional and other interstate highways, and has extensive transportation access by Amtrak Rail, Alameda County (AC) Transit and heavy cargo facilities at the nearby Port of Oakland. The city has many large employers and several large shopping areas, and the daytime...

The Association Between Health Problems and Driver Status Among Older Adults

MacLeod, Kara E.
Geyer, Judy A.
Satariano, William A.
Ragland, David R.
2004

Many health problems, especially those associated with older age, can have an impact on an individual’s mobility. This paper addresses how specific functional limitations and medical conditions may be associated with driving status, while controlling for age and gender. This paper uses baseline data (N=2025) from a longitudinal survey of adults, ages 55 and older, the Study of Physical Performance and Age-Related Changes in Sonomans (SPPARCS). For the 35 selected medical conditions and functional limitations, this report presents the prevalence, the relative “risk” ratio (i.e., the risk...

Vehicle Occupancy and Crash Risk

Geyer, Judy A.
Ragland, David R.
2004

This study explores the association between vehicle occupancy and a driver’s risk of causing a fatal crash, not wearing a seatbelt, and using alcohol. The survey population is the set of drivers represented in the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) (years 1992 to 2002). The independent variables are driver age, driver gender, passenger age, passenger gender, and vehicle occupancy. The outcome variables are whether the driver was at fault in causing the fatal crash, whether the driver wore a seatbelt, and whether the driver had been using alcohol. For male teenager drivers, driving with...

Pre-hospital Care of Road Traffic Injuries in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Brown, Ted R.
Geyer, Judy A.
Taghavy, Azita
Mitchell, Brian P.
Ragland, David R.
2004

In many developing countries, transportation infrastructure development lags behind the tremendous growth in motorization. Road traffic injuries cause enormous morbidity and mortality worldwide, placing heavy burdens on global and national economies. Underdeveloped transportation infrastructures critical to traffic safety include roadway improvement, occupant protection laws, traffic law enforcement, and emergency medical services (EMS). Highlighting one important aspect of lagging infrastructure, this article focuses on emergency medical services. This research study offers a descriptive...

Evaluation of the California Child Passenger Safety Initiative

Cooper, Jill F.
MacLeod, Kara E.
Ragland, David R.
2004

Motor vehicle injuries are a leading cause of injury and fatality to children. Child restraint systems can reduce injury, and their use has been a long-time focus of policy and programmatic work. During this time, there has been a marked increase in the number of children restrained in vehicles and a steady decline in vehicle-related injuries and fatalities to children. However, data reveal that children of color, compared to white children, are at greater risk of injury in motor vehicle crashes. To address needs of “the children left behind” from safety advances, the California Child...