Accident; analysis and prevention
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We use panel data on road sections to investigate the effect of traffic policing on non-urban road accidents in Israel. Traffic policing is measured indirectly by the number of police reports issued for driving offences. Our main findings are: (1) only large-scale enforcement has any measurable effect on road accidents while small-scale enforcement has no apparent effect. (2) The enforcement effect is slightly larger in the long run than it is in the short-run. (3) The effect of enforcement tends to dissipate rapidly after the dosage of enforcement is reduced. (4) Enforcement has no effect on fatal road accidents. (5) The evidence that the effect of policing in one road section spills over onto other road sections is weak.
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The study deals with the evaluation of the effects of a new deployment of the National Traffic Police in Israel--a concentrated general enforcement on 700 km of interurban roads, which contain 60% of all rural accidents and about half of the severe accident locations. The enforcement project began in April 1997 and lasted for 1 year, aiming at a 10% reduction of severe accidents on those roads. The evaluation study consisted of three main parts: (a) monitoring of everyday police operations on the project roads; (b) periodic evaluation of the project's influence on drivers' behavior and attitudes; and (c) the evaluation of accident changes within the project area, at the end of the project year. ⋯ However, it was noted that in four of the five project road groups the mean value of the odds ratio was much less than one. Thus, although the enforcement project did not attain its full purpose, it seemed to be a deterrent factor for the increasing accident trend that appeared that year on the interurban roads. The findings pointed out that the National Traffic Police did not exhaust its potential in the project's performance and needs more flexible enforcement and deployment tactics.
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Road traffic accidents in Greece are one of the major problems of the public health sector and the first cause of death in the ages 18-24. However, there are no records available for defining the determinants of road accidents and seatbelt wearing rates. The main objective of this study is to determine and clarify the relationship between young drivers' intentions (motivation to use/non use seatbelt) and their behaviour (self-reported use). ⋯ The factor of 'discomfort' is negatively associated with the seatbelt use. Furthermore, mileage was negatively related with seatbelt use. Finally, some preliminary suggestions on how prevention strategies should be implemented in Greece are discussed.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Traffic accident reduction by monitoring driver behaviour with in-car data recorders.
People who are aware of being observed tend to modify their behaviour. This phenomenon could potentially be used to encourage individuals to behave more safely when driving if there were means of providing feedback to the drivers about their behaviour on the road. So-called 'vehicle data recorders' offer such a means of providing behavioural feedback by confronting drivers with their recorded driving actions. ⋯ Analysis of the effects of the use of data recorders in these fleets resulted in an average estimated accident reduction of some 20%. The analysis shows that the actual savings vary depending on the transport sector involved and on the prior level of the fleet's safety record. Further studies are needed to identify the more promising application of such a use of traffic data recorders as a means of reducing road accidents.
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Pedestrian injury collisions often occur when and where large numbers of pedestrians travel within complex roadway systems with high traffic flow. The pedestrian injury literature suggests a number of individual and environmental correlates of injury risks, however studies in this area have primarily focused upon demographic differences (e.g. related to age) and a few global characteristics of the roadway system (e.g. aspects of pedestrian traffic). Studies in which the geography of communities has been considered are primarily descriptive, identifying pedestrian injury 'hot spots'. ⋯ In addition to a number of demographic factors (gender, age, marital status, education, income and unemployment), it was proposed that several environmental features of the city would be related to injury rates (high traffic flow, complex roadway systems, greater population densities and alcohol availability). Results of the study showed that pedestrian injury rates were related to traffic flow, population density, age composition of the local population, unemployment, gender and education. Availability of alcohol through bars was directly related to pedestrian injury collisions in which the pedestrian had been drinking alcohol.