Road User Behavior

Drivers, Pedestrians, and Cyclists in California Want Complete Streets: Comparison of Results from Roadway Design Surveys of Pedestrians, Drivers, Bicyclists, and Transit Users in Northern and Southern California

Sanders, Rebecca L.
Griffin, Ashleigh
MacLeod, Kara E.
Cooper, Jill F.
2014

This paper compares findings from two recent surveys on roadway design preferences among pedestrians, drivers, bicyclists, and public transit users along major urban corridors in the metro areas of San Francisco and Los Angeles. Sponsored by the California Department of Transportation (DOT), the research explored design preferences that could increase perceived traffic safety, walkability, bikability, and economic vitality along urban arterials. Results from intercept surveys showed that roadway users desire similar design features along the test corridors, which carry 25,000-40,000...

Wayfinding-Oriented Design for Passenger Guidance Signs in Large-Scale Transit Center in China

Zhang, Yuanyuan
Chen, Xiaohong
Jiang, Jingwen
2010

Transit centers should offer well-designed guidance signs to help passengers find their way to desired destinations easily and quickly. The current design of guidance signs in large-scale transit centers in China, however, is based almost solely on interior and art design, with virtually no accounting for passengers’ wayfinding requirements. As a tentative effort to fill that need, this study presents a wayfinding-oriented design for guidance signs. The case of a large transit center in China is used to illustrate how wayfinding requirements can be incorporated into specific design. In...

Household Travel Surveys in Context-Based Approach for Adjusting ITE Trip Generation Rates in Urban Contexts

Clifton, Kelly J.
Currans, Kristina M.
Cutter, April C.
Schneider, Robert J.
2012

With household travel surveys (HTSs) to produce a regional-scale policy model, this research develops a methodology for predicting context-based vehicle-trip reductions applied to ITE’s Trip Generation Handbook at a site-level development. This methodology may be used as a supplement to ITE trip generation rates, providing justification to vehicle-trip reductions based on known contextual vehicle mode splits. With the 2006 HTS of the Puget Sound Regional Council, Washington State, non-home-based trip ends were selected, and common built environment measures were extracted. A clustering...

Safe Routes to School Safety and Mobility Analysis

Orenstein, Marla R.
Gutierrez, Nicolas
Rice, Thomas M.
Cooper, Jill F.
Ragland, David R.
2007

This report evaluates the SR2S program for a number of mandated issues: (i) The effectiveness of the program in reducing crashes, injuries and fatalities involving children in the vicinity of the projects; (ii) The impact of the program on levels of walking and bicycling to school; and (iii) The safety benefits of the program in comparison with other highway safety programs.

Observational Survey of Cell Phone Use and Texting by California Drivers, 2011

Cooper, Jill F.
Ragland, David R.
Ewald, Katrin
Wasserman, Lisa
Murphy, Christopher J.
2012

This methodological report describes survey research and data collection methods employed for the first observational survey of cell phone use and texting by California drivers. This study was conducted by Ewald and Wasserman Research Consultants on behalf of the California Office of Traffic Safety and the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center at the University of California, Berkeley. The goal of the survey was to obtain a statewide, statistically representative observational sample. Vehicle drivers were observed at controlled intersections, such as traffic lights and stop...

Reasons Given by Older People for Limitation or Avoidance of Driving

Ragland, David R.
Satariano, William A.
MacLeod, Kara E.
2002

Purpose: To understand the driving behavior of older adults, this study examines self-reported reasons for driving limitation or avoidance.Design and Methods: Baseline interviews were conducted (n = 2,046) as part of a community-based study of aging and physical performance in persons aged 55 years or older in Sonoma, California. Twenty-one medical and nonmedical reasons for limiting or avoiding driving were examined by age and gender. Results: Most older people continue...

Classification of Bicycle Traffic Patterns in Five North American Cities

Miranda-Moreno, Luis
Nosal, Thomas
Schneider, Robert J.
Proulx, Frank R.
2013

This paper analyses bicycle ridership patterns using a unique database of automated bicycle counts from approximately 40 locations in five North American cities and along the Route Verte in Quebec. The cities involved in this study are Montreal, Ottawa, Portland, San Francisco, and Vancouver. Count data show that the bicycle volume patterns at each location can be classified as utilitarian, mixed utilitarian, recreational and mixed recreational. Study locations classified into each of these categories are found to have consistent hourly and weekly traffic patterns, despite important...

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...

Register now for our Toolkit for Safe Speed Limit Setting Webinar on 01/18!

January 9, 2024
Submitted by Kris Leckie
Want to implement lower speed limits in your community? Join SafeTREC, Caltrans, and Rock Miller, PE on Thursday, January 18th at 9:30am PT, SafeTREC to learn how to get started. Register for the webinar today!

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2024 CPBSP Program: Apply for a free pedestrian and bicycle safety training in your community

December 18, 2023
Submitted by Lisa Peterson

UC Berkeley SafeTREC and California Walks are excited to announce applications are now being accepted for our 2024 Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program (CPBSP)!

Group photo of 13 people, smiling from the CPBST at Westmont Highschool


This year, we will partner with...