Accident; analysis and prevention
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Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) is a driver support system which brings the speed limit information into the vehicle. This paper describes the UK ISA field trials taken place between 2004 and 2006 and presents evidence on how drivers' choice of speed is altered. The ISA system was observed to have a distinctive effect in transforming the speed distribution from a conventional bell shape to an asymmetric distribution biased towards the high speed end. ⋯ The use of an overridable ISA system also provided an opportunity to investigate where drivers would choose to have ISA based on observed behaviour instead of opinion. Evidence shows that ISA tends to be overridden on roads where it was perhaps needed most. Behavioural difference among driver groups also suggests that ISA tends to be overridden by those drivers who in safety terms stand to benefit most from using it, as with other safety systems.
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Since 1996, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has introduced the Pay for Safety Scheme (PFSS) to the public works construction contracts to uplift their safety performance. However, the adoption of PFSS has also encountered some difficulties that merit considerable attention. This paper purports to provide a concise review of the prevailing application of PFSS in Hong Kong in general, and to explore the potential difficulties associated with PFSS in particular. ⋯ The three most significant difficulties in implementing PFSS were found to be: (1) "Plenty of paperwork required for certifying payment to contractor"; (2) "Complicated contract documents and lengthy assessment process"; and (3) "Over-tight project schedule requiring rush jobs". The output of this research study is particularly essential in assisting the contracting parties to mitigate the avoidable hindrances when embarking on PFSS. It has also generated valuable insights into developing effective recommendations for alleviating the barriers to PFSS success for future construction projects.
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This research presents a disaggregated modeling approach for investigating the link between winter road collision occurrence, weather, road surface conditions, traffic exposure, temporal trends and site-specific effects. This approach is unique as it allows for quantification of the safety effects of different winter road maintenance activities at an operational level. ⋯ Most importantly, road surface conditions are identified as one of the major contributing factors, representing the first contribution showing the empirical relationship between safety and road surface conditions at such a disaggregate level. The applicability of the modeling framework is demonstrated using several examples, such as quantification of the benefits of alternative maintenance operations and evaluation of the effects of different service standards using safety as a performance measure.
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Design errors contribute significantly to cost and schedule growth in social infrastructure projects and to engineering failures, which can result in accidents and loss of life. Despite considerable research that has addressed their error causation in construction projects they still remain prevalent. ⋯ A systemic model of error causation is propagated and subsequently used to develop a learning framework for design error prevention. The research suggests that a multitude of strategies should be adopted in congruence to prevent design errors from occurring and so ensure that safety and project performance are ameliorated.