Road User Behavior

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...

Impact of Pedestrian Presence on Movement of Left-Turning Vehicles: Method, Preliminary Results & Possible Use in Intersection Decision Support

Banerjee, Ipsita
Shladover, Steven E.
Misener, James A.
Chan, Ching-Yao
Ragland, David R.
2004

Warning systems are being developed for left-turning vehicles at intersections where protected left-turns are not warranted or cannot be provided, based on limitations of right of way or intersection capacity. These are meant to provide warnings to left-turning vehicles of vehicles approaching from the opposite direction, when the time to turn may be deemed unsafe. To implement these warning systems, it is necessary to estimate in near real time, the probability of conflict between the two approaching vehicles. A study is being conducted with the help of video and radar at various...

Oakland Chinatown Pedestrian Scramble: An Evaluation

Bechtel, Allyson K.
MacLeod, Kara E.
Ragland, David R.
2003

In 2002, the City of Oakland, California implemented a scramble signal, at the intersection of 8th Street and Webster Street. Scrambles are a type of traffic signal that give pedestrians exclusive access to an intersection by stopping vehicular traffic on all approaches, allowing pedestrians to cross diagonally or conventionally. The primary objective of this evaluation was to determine whether the installation of the pedestrian scramble at this location increased pedestrian safety. An analysis was conducted of pedestrian-vehicle conflicts and pedestrian violations occurring at the...

A Review of ITS-Based Pedestrian Injury Countermeasures

Bechtel, Allyson K.
Geyer, Judy A.
Ragland, David R.
2003

Crashes between motor vehicles and pedestrians caused at least 4,882 deaths and about 78,000 injuries in 2001 in the United States. In recognition of these troubling statistics, many public and private institutions look to Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies. Few resources are available to provide a comprehensive summary of the effectiveness of these options. This report reviews previous scientific evaluation of red light enforcement cameras, illuminated walk signal push buttons, automated pedestrian detection systems for traffic signals, flashing crosswalk lights,...

Collaboration Math: Enhancing the Effectiveness of Multidisciplinary Collaboration

Cohen, Larry
Aboelata, Mana
Gantz, Toni
Van Wert, Jennifer
2003

Reducing the toll of traffic-related injuries requires a concerted effort, calling on the resources, commitment and expertise of diverse agencies, professionals and community members.1,2 Traffic safety is affected by numerous aspects of community life such as how neighborhoods are designed, how fast cars travel and how safe people feel walking or driving to key destinations.

Preventing traffic-related injury is a responsibility shared by many. As evidenced by many federal, state and local efforts, partnerships, coalitions and networks have become common ways to address the incidence...

Rural Road Links: A Review on Current Research Projects & Initiatives Aimed at Reducing Vehicle Crash Fatalities on Rural Roads

Quiros, Lesliam
Shaver, Barrett
2003

Rural America accounts for a smaller and more dispersed portion of the nation’s population, yet it comprises a considerable portion of the transportation system. Rural areas account for approximately 83 percent of the land in the U.S and their roads account for 80 percent of the total U.S. road mileage and 40 percent of the vehicle miles traveled. Fatalities on rural roads surpass those in urban areas, even though urban areas are more densely populated and consequently, have a higher traffic flow. In 2001 alone, fatal crashes on rural areas accounted for 61 percent of all traffic...

Intersection Decision Support Project: Taxonomy of Crossing-Path Crashes at Intersections Using GES 2000 Data

Ragland, David R.
Zabyshny, Aleksandr
2003

The Intersection Decision Support (IDS) Project is designed to reduce crossing-path (CP) crashes at intersections by providing crucial information to drivers that would help them avoid such crashes. Over the past decade, researchers have used the General Estimates System (GES, a representative sample of police-reported crashes in the US) and other data sources to develop a taxonomy of CP crashes and pre-crash scenarios as groundwork for crash-prevention efforts. The current study builds on and extends prior work by constructing a taxonomy of CP crashes using data from the 2000 GES and...

Safety and Other Impacts of Vehicle Impound Enforcement

Cooper, Douglas L.
Chira-Chavala, T.
Gillen, David
2000

This study was conducted by a team of researchers at the Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California at Berkeley, with funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety. Ted Chira-Chavala directed the study, coordinated the write-up of the final report, and wrote many chapters. Douglas Cooper was the key researcher, who performed the literature review, worked with key personnel of Upland Police Department to acquire essential data for the evaluation, analyzed the data, and contributed significantly to all chapters. David Gillen performed all time-series analyses and...