Giannis Adamos

Do Road Safety Communication Campaigns Work? How to Assess the Impact of a National Fatigue Campaign on Driving Behavior

Road safety communication campaigns are considered an efficient strategy for reaching a wide audience. They aim at reducing the number and severity of road crashes by influencing road user behavior. Despite the large number of campaigns that have been designed and implemented in recent years, few have been formally evaluated. This paper presents the evaluation design and the implementation of a national road safety communication campaign on the effects of fatigue on driving behavior. The campaign targeted primarily professional drivers and, secondarily, all other drivers The definition of the objectives of the campaign was addressed through the health belief model. Objectives included increasing awareness of the severity of driving while fatigued and of effective countermeasures. The measurement variables of the evaluation design, also addressed by the health belief model, were knowledge, behavioral beliefs, risk comprehension, behavioral intentions, past behavior, and self-reported behavior. The evaluation was based on a nonexperimental design. The use of control groups was not feasible, since the whole population was exposed to the campaign and data were collected by means of a face-to-face questionnaire survey conducted before, during, and after campaign implementation. Process and outcome evaluations were conducted to assess the impact of the campaign on driving behavior. Results indicated that the audience was reached at a mean rate of 13%, and the distribution of campaign leaflets was the most effective media channel (70%). In addition, a statistically significant increase in the proportion of respondents who were aware of the causes and effects of fatigue while driving was observed. Similar results were indicated in testing behavioral beliefs, risk comprehension, behavioral intentions, and past behavior. The main message of the campaign reached both the primary and the secondary target groups, and its success can be seen by the increase in the percentage of professional drivers and all other drivers who self-reported that they stop and rest for 15 min in the “during” and “after” phases, as compared with the “before” phase.

Building on European scientific excellence to develop an educational program on intermodal connections for Latvia and the region

Economic and social factors, including existing trends in urban population and employment growth combined with urbanization, have led to enhanced consumption and thus, increasing freight flows in the cities. Mitigation of transport impacts has led to plans towards a more sustainable urban environment. However, managerial and regulatory barriers restrict the incorporation of technological instruments and solutions to the sustainable dimension of decision-making and planning. This paper has sought to bridge this gap by organizing an educational and training program, which involves the participation of todays and tomorrow’s researchers, decision-makers and practitioners. Towards this direction, a methodology is developed that identifies existing gaps between the transport industry and the existing research, education and training programs and converts identified requirements and gaps into training courses. The paper addresses the context of intermodal interconnections for the case of Latvia and the region for stimulating and strengthening its scientific and technological capacity by providing knowledge in the field of smart interconnecting sustainable transport networks. The 2-level gap analysis that was developed and implemented with respect to the thematic areas of (1) ‘Governance and policy development’, (2) ‘Smart solutions’, and (3) ‘Decision-making’, and the validation process that followed, has revealed several requirements that exist currently for passenger and freight interchanges and educational programs for Latvia and the region. Based on the identified educational requirements for Latvia and the region, 20 educational areas were created that resulted in 12 courses for passenger and freight transport interchanges that are going to be used for training and education in Latvia.

Does the Theme of a Road Safety Communication Campaign Affect its Success

Road safety communication campaigns are considered as an efficient strategy to approach the wide audience and influence road users towards a safe behavior, with main aim to lead to the reduction of the number and the severity of road accidents. When designing the implementation of a campaign, it is important to plan at the same time its evaluation, so that to enable the assessment of its effectiveness. For the achievement of high reliability and the development of “clear” conclusions, the campaign evaluation should be carefully organized, following a feasible scientific design. Towards this direction, three road safety campaigns, two local campaigns addressing drink driving and seat belt usage, and one national campaign addressing driving fatigue, were implemented and evaluated. Presenting the design components of the three campaigns and the evaluation results, this paper aims at revealing the similarities and differences of the effectiveness of road safety communication campaigns on driving behavior.

Assessing the Contribution of Urban Freight Terminals in Last Mile Operations

Abstract This paper introduces a multi-stakeholder multi-criteria evaluation framework, which can be used for the assessment of the last mile distribution performance of urban freight terminals. To this end, a comparative analysis is conducted addressing two Greek urban intermodal freight terminals located at the port of Thessaloniki (ThPA) and Kuehne+Nagel (K+N)’s premises. The assessment of the terminals’ performance relies on a tailored multi-criteria Key Performance Indicator (KPI)-based evaluation framework, whereas the selection and significance of the incorporated criteria and KPIs is predetermined by the relevant responsible stakeholders, who imposed their viewpoint through an analytic hierarchy process. Results showed that ThPA was ranked first according to its performance pertaining to the role of an intermodal interchange; still, K+N’s performance index was only 8.5% lower than ThPA’s, while in specific KPIs it seems that it performs in a better way.

Predicting the effectiveness of road safety campaigns through alternative research designs.

INTRODUCTION A large number of road safety communication campaigns have been designed and implemented in the recent years; however their explicit impact on driving behavior and road accident rates has been estimated in a rather low proportion. METHOD Based on the findings of the evaluation of three road safety communication campaigns addressing the issues of drinking and driving, seat belt usage, and driving fatigue, this paper applies different types of research designs (i.e., experimental, quasi-experimental, and non-experimental designs), when estimating the effectiveness of road safety campaigns, implements a cross-design assessment, and conducts a cross-campaign evaluation. An integrated evaluation plan was developed, taking into account the structure of evaluation questions, the definition of measurable variables, the separation of the target audience into intervention (exposed to the campaign) and control (not exposed to the campaign) groups, the selection of alternative research designs, and the appropriate data collection methods and techniques. RESULTS Evaluating the implementation of different research designs in estimating the effectiveness of road safety campaigns, results showed that the separate pre-post samples design demonstrated better predictability than other designs, especially in data obtained from the intervention group after the realization of the campaign. CONCLUSIONS The more constructs that were added to the independent variables, the higher the values of the predictability were. The construct that most affects behavior is intention, whereas the rest of the constructs have a lower impact on behavior. This is particularly significant in the Health Belief Model (HBM). On the other hand, behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and descriptive norms, are significant parameters for predicting intention according to the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The theoretical and applied implications of alternative research designs and their applicability in the evaluation of road safety campaigns are provided by this study.

A Decision Tree Approach for Achieving High Customer Satisfaction at Urban Interchanges

Abstract This paper introduces a decision tree approach, which can be used for the assessment of the design, operation and services provided at urban transport interchanges. Realizing a customer satisfaction survey, feedback was received from 239 users of the Riga International Coach Terminal on crucial attributes, including: travel information, wayfinding information, time and movement, access, comfort and convenience, station attractiveness, safety and security, emergency situation handling and overall satisfaction. Findings revealed the most significant parameters that need to be addressed in order to increase users’ satisfaction, which can gradually improve the overall attractiveness of the terminal and the efficient provision of its services.

Green Urban Interchanges: Stakeholder and User Perspectives

Abstract The present paper aims at analysing the concept of “urban interchanges” as a solution towards seamless transportation and sustainable mobility. Based on an extensive review of policies, initiatives and data analysis coming from interviews and meetings with stakeholders, a coherent interchange design typology was formulated that links seamless transport and urban interchanges to spatial and urban planning. Focusing on the impact of user satisfaction as a priority towards user travel choices, a list of indicators was valuated. The comparative analysis of interchange typology performance formulated by the users’ perception regarding network accessibility, surrounding area, offered interchange time facilities and environmentally friendly services and infrastructure revealed fruitful findings on proper interchange design towards sustainability and reformation of the city-hubs into true green urban interchanges.

Assessing the Design and Operation of Riga’s International Coach Terminal

This paper aims at identifying the performance level of Riga’s International Coach Terminal, by assessing its design and operation. Based on an extended state-of-the-art review of best practices, a list of representative indicators, grouped into eight groups, were used and evaluated by terminal’s users. These groups deal with mobility provision, way-finding information, time and movement issues in the terminal, accessibility, comfort, station image and attractiveness, safety and security, and handling of emergency situations. The objectives of the research are to: (a) point out the level of user’s satisfaction from the current terminal operation, infrastructure and services, and (b) correlate the above attributes with the overall terminal assessment. For the data collection, a face-to-face and internet-based questionnaire survey was conducted, with users stating their perceptions and level of satisfaction, related to the terminal infrastructure, operation and services, as classified in the aforementioned eight groups of indicators. A decision-tree approach was applied to indicate the key performance indicators in users’ assessment formulation for the case study. Research findings reveal the most significant parameters that need to be modified in order to increase users’ satisfaction, which will gradually increase the overall image and attractiveness of the terminal and the usage of its services.

Cluster Modeling of Driving Behavior Under Fatigue

A road safety campaign, as one of the measures used to influence road user behavior to follow the driving regulations and to safeguard safety on the road network, may contribute to the reduction of the number of people killed on the roads. This study aimed to develop prediction models for the assessment of the impact on driving behavior of a fatigue road safety communication campaign based on the health belief model. This behavioral model took into account the behavior and the objectives of the campaign, as defined in the measurement variables of the evaluation, which were composed of self-reported data collected through a face-to-face questionnaire survey conducted before, during, and after the campaign implementation. Linear regression analyses were used to define the causal relationships between the dependent variables, intention and behavior, and other constructs. Results showed that the models developed for predicting drivers’ intention to stop and rest when they became tired and drivers’ behavior toward stopping and resting when they became tired varied significantly, depending on the characteristics of the sample tested (i.e., nonprofessional drivers versus professional drivers, younger versus older drivers, etc.). Also, it was observed that behavioral beliefs and risk comprehension were weak for the predictability of intentions and behavior; however, the inclusion of past behavior increased the predictability of the models predicting intentions, and the inclusion of past behavior and intentions (as observed also in similar studies) increased the predictability of the models predicting behavior.

Planning and Financing Schemes Linked to the Decision-Making for the Interconnection of Long-Short Distance Transport

Abstract The development of interfaces between long and short distance transport networks is associated with the general processes planned by central governmental bodies; and the degree of their efficiency depends heavily on the successful cooperation among the involved planning stakeholders at various territorial levels. At the same time, no matter how efficient the planning process may be the lack of the appropriate financial planning and the coordination of the involved stakeholders for finding the required resources, affects the development of successful long and short-distance interfaces. Towards this direction, the aim of the present paper is to investigate the planning and financing schemes developed in longshort interconnection in representative European countries, and assess how these processes are linked to the decision-making processes at a local, regional, national and European level. In addition, obstacles and barriers in the relative processes are indicated and methods for their alleviation are proposed.