Alexandra Laiou

Impact of Texting on Young Drivers' Behavior and Safety On Urban and Rural Roads Through A Simulation Experiment

PROBLEM This research aims to investigate the impact of texting on the behavior and safety of young drivers on urban and rural roads. METHOD A driving simulator experiment was carried out in which 34 young participants drove in different driving scenarios; specifically, driving in good weather, in raining conditions, in daylight and in night were examined. Lognormal regression methods were used to investigate the influence of texting as well as various other parameters on the mean speed and mean reaction time. Binary logistic methods were used to investigate the influence of texting use as well as various other parameters in the probability of an accident. RESULTS It appears that texting leads to statistically significant decrease of the mean speed and increase of the mean reaction time in urban and rural road environment. Simultaneously, it leads to an increased accident probability due to driver distraction and delayed reaction at the moment of the incident. It appeared that drivers using mobile phones with a touch screen present different driving behavior with respect to their speed, however, they had an even higher probability of being involved in an accident. DISCUSSION The analysis of the distracted driving performance of drivers who are texting while driving may allow for the identification of measures for the improvement of driving performance (e.g., restrictive measures, training and licensing, information campaigns). PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The identification of some of the parameters that have an impact on the behavior and safety of young drivers concerning texting and the consequent results can be exploited by policy decision makers in future efforts for the improvement of road safety.

Parameters affecting seat belt use in Greece

The objective of this research is the exploration of seat belt use in Greece and particularly the identification of the parameters affecting seat belt use in Greece. A national field survey was conducted for the analytical recording of seat belt use. A binary logistic regression model was developed, and the impact of each parameter on seat belt use in Greece was quantified. Parameters included in the model concern characteristics of car occupants (gender, age and position in the car), the type of the car and the type of the road network. The data collection revealed that in Greece, the non-use of seat belt on the urban road network was higher than on the national and rural road network and young and older men use seat belts the least. The developed model showed that travelling on a national road is negative for not wearing the seat belt. Finally, the variable with the highest impact on not wearing a seat belt is being a passenger on the back seats.

A Statistical Analysis of Motorcycle Helmet Wearing in Greece

This article reports on a study of motorcycle helmet use in Greece. The authors remind readers that wearing a helmet is the single most effective way of reducing head injuries and fatalities resulting from motorcycle crashes. They conducted an on-site observational survey and then developed a binary logistic regression model to analyze the data. The independent variables used were time of the day, motorcycle type, road type and riders’ characteristics (gender, age and position on the motorcycle, i.e., driver or passenger). Pseudo-elasticity values for all variables were calculated in order to quantify the impact of each variable on helmet use. The authors found low rates of helmet use. However, the rates were higher in rural than in urban areas and higher for drivers of large motorcycles. The authors conclude that motorcycle helmet wearing should be rigorously enforced at a population level. Community education campaigns for motorcyclists should also be promoted and public awareness of the crash risk associated with riding without a helmet should be increased.

Safety assessment of control design parameters through vehicle dynamics model

An existing vehicle dynamics model was utilized to define design parameters up to which steady state cornering conditions apply and consequently lift the restrictions of the point mass model. Aiming to assess critical safety concerns in terms of vehicle skidding, the motion of a passenger car was examined over a range of design speed values paired with control design elements from AASHTO 2011 Design Guidelines as well as certain values of poor pavement friction coefficients. Two distinct cases were investigated; the determination of the maximum attainable constant speed (termed as safe speed) at impending skid conditions as well as the case of comfortable curve negotiation where lower constant speed values were utilized. The overall objective was to define the safety margins for each examined case. From the interaction between road geometry, pavement friction and vehicle characteristics, many interesting findings are reported, where some of them are beyond the confined field of road geometry parameters; such as demanded longitudinal and lateral friction values and horse-power utilization rates. From the road geometry point of view, it was found that control alignments on steep upgrades consisting of low design speed values and combined with poor friction pavements are critical in terms of safety. Such cases should be treated very cautiously through certain actions. These actions include the adoption of acceptable arrangements for the above values regarding new alignments, posted speed management for existing but also scheduling friction improvement programmes more accurately for both cases.

856 Comparative analysis of road accidents by gender in Europe

In 2013, 26.090 people were killed in road accidents throughout the EU, approximately 6.200 females and 19.800 males. Females account for 51% of the total EU population, but only 24% of all road fatalities. The objective of this research is the analysis of basic road safety parameters related to road users’ gender in the EU countries, by the use of the EU CARE database with disaggregated data on road accidents and of other data sources such as Eurostat. Time-series data on road accident fatalities by gender from 28 EU countries over a period of 10 years (2004–2013) are correlated with basic safety parameters, such as age, road user type and transport mode. Data from the EU Injury Database are also used to identify injury patterns and improve the assessment of injury severity and additional insight into accident causation for road users by gender is offered through the use of in-depth accident data from the EC SafetyNet project Accident Causation System (SNACS). In all EU countries, road fatalities decreased between 2004 and 2013 for both females and males. Besides the trends of that period, the proportion of male road fatalities did not change significantly. Amongst EU countries a slight tendency for male proportions to be higher in south is noted. Additionally, the ratio between male and female fatalities increases with age, reaches a peak between the ages of 30–44 and then falls, which reflects a specific gender development in the travel behaviour of men and women in Europe. As regards the road user type, the proportion of passengers’ or pedestrians’ fatalities is higher for females than the males, while the opposite is true for drivers. The results of the analysis allow for an overall assessment of the gender-differentiated safety level in the European road network, providing thus useful support to decision makers working for the improvement of safety in the European road network.

857 Characteristics of road accidents with youngsters in Europe

Background Youngsters, defined as those who are between 15 and 17 years old, comprise a road user group that exhibits high risk rates due to different causes from other age groups. This age corresponds to the learning of autonomy and more particularly of access to different means of transport. In 2013, around 630 persons aged 15–17 years old were killed in road accidents in the EU, constituting almost 2,5% of all road accident fatalities for that year. Methods The objective of this research is the analysis of basic road safety parameters related to young people aged 15–17 years old in the EU countries, by the use of the EU CARE database with disaggregated data on road accidents and of other data sources such as Eurostat. Time-series data on road accidents involving youngsters from 28 EU countries over a period of 10 years (2004–2013) are correlated with basic safety parameters, such as gender, road user type, transport mode, road type, seasonality and day of the week. Data from the EU Injury Database are also used to identify injury patterns and improve the assessment of injury severity. Results At this age, youngsters are beginning to gain access to driving motorised vehicles and especially motorised two-wheelers. As a result, motorised two-wheelers’ share is much higher for 15–17 year olds than for the other age groups. Moreover, girls killed in road accidents were more likely to be killed as passengers than the boys and much less likely to be killed as drivers. As regards the type of road, in 2013 most youngster fatal road accidents occurred on rural roads. Finally, the 15–17 year olds are more likely to be killed in road accidents during spring and summer, as well as during weekends, than the whole population. Conclusions The results of the analysis allow for an overall assessment of the youngsters safety level in the European road network in relation to the younger or older road users, providing thus useful support to decision makers working for the improvement of safety in the European road network.