Marie-Soleil Cloutier

Red light violations by adult pedestrians and other safety-related behaviors at signalized crosswalks

To study human factors linked to red light violations, and more generally to safety-related behaviors at signalized crosswalks, the present study combines the collection of observational data with questionnaires answered by 422 French adult pedestrians. Thirteen behavioral indicators were extracted (12 before and while crossing, and red light violation), and the roles of several demographical, contextual and mobility-associated variables were examined. The results of the stepwise logistic regression analyses carried out on each of the 12 behavioral indicators observed before and while crossing revealed that gender had no major impact, but age did, with more cautious behaviors as pedestrians were older. The three contextual variables (group size, parked vehicles, and traffic density), as four mobility-associated variables (driving and walking experiences, self-reported crossing difficulties and falls in the street) were also found to be important factors in safety-related crossing behaviors. A wider logistic regression analysis, made specifically on red light violations with all behavioral indicators observed before and while crossings and the several demographical, contextual and mobility-associated variables put together, showed that red light violations were mostly affected by current situational factors (group size, parked vehicles) and particularly associated with some behavioral patterns (looking toward the traffic, the ground, the light, running and crossing diagonally). The overall results encourage the development of safer pedestrian infrastructures and engineering countermeasures.

Regional variation in the modeling of donation frequency: the case of Héma-Québec, Canada.

BACKGROUND: Many studies on factors that can affect the frequency of blood donation have shown the influence of several individual characteristics. However, few studies have analyzed regional variations in blood donation frequency. The objective of this article is to verify to what extent individual and geographic variables influence blood donation in the Province of Québec, Canada.

GIS-based spatial analysis of child pedestrian accidents near primary schools in Montréal, Canada

In Montreal, Canada, accidents affecting child pedestrians (5 to 14 years old) remained almost constant from 1994 to 1999 despite the great amount of prevention measures. Moreover, the elementary public school environment has been barely taken into account by past and present research on factors affecting the risk of accident even though children attend school most weekdays. We argue here, therefore, that the integration of the local environment into the spatial analysis of child pedestrian accidents could help to reduce them. Accordingly, we have integrated socio-economic and environmental data into a geographic information system in order to perform a geographically weighted regression and results demonstrate that the average network distance separating accident and closest school is less than 500 meters, thereby confirming a relationship of proximity between these two locations. Results also demonstrate the relevance of adding a spatial dimension to the regression model by suggesting that prevention initiatives should take into account the particular nature of each neighbourhood so that more relevant risk factors can be targeted.

Motivational Differences between Whole Blood and Apheresis Donors in Quebec, Canada: A Questionnaire-Based Survey in a Voluntary Nonremunerated Context

Background. Finding ways to recruit apheresis donors is crucial. The aim of this study was to provide a quantitative analysis of the motivations of regular plasma/platelets donors (PPDs) in comparison with those of regular whole blood donors (WBDs), in a voluntary and nonremunerated context. Study Design and Methods. Motives to donate blood and demographic characteristics were collected through questionnaires completed by 795 WBDs and 473 PPDs. Chi-square tests were completed to determine which motivations stand out across the two blood donor groups. Results. The motivator selected by the highest percentage was “my blood can save lives.” Comparison of WBDs and PPDs showed that 12 out of 23 items were statistically significantly different from one group to another. Conclusion. The belief that helping others is in their nature is more prevalent among PPDs. In this sense, their profile is unique. Four other motivators distinguish this group from the WBDs: “I think there is a strong need for blood products,” “it gives me a sense of pride,” “I like to have goals,” and “I receive telephone reminders.” These motivators point to the role the ongoing support provided by blood collection agencies (BCAs) plays with PPDs.

Whole blood and apheresis donors in Quebec, Canada: Demographic differences and motivations to donate.

This study sought to compare demographics and donation motivations among plasma/platelet donors (PPDs) and whole blood donors (WBDs), in a voluntary and non-remunerated context. Motives to donate blood and demographic characteristics were collected through questionnaires completed by 795 WBDs and 473 PPDs. Comparison of WBDs and PPDs under chi-square tests showed that 17 out of 23 motivators were statistically different according to various demographic variables. These results demonstrate the existence of specific donor profiles both for WBDs and PPDs. Agencies should develop new recruitment strategies tailored to these donors, especially if they wish to convince WBDs to convert to apheresis donation.

“Outta my way!” Individual and environmental correlates of interactions between pedestrians and vehicles during street crossings

Because pedestrian crash rates remain lower than other collision types, surrogate measures such as traffic interactions are now used in road safety research to complement crash history. Using naturalistic data collection, we sought to assess 1) the likelihood of occurrence of interactions between pedestrians and vehicles based on individual and crossing characteristics; and 2) differences in interaction characteristics between children, adult and senior pedestrians. Observations of pedestrian crossing behaviours (n=4687) were recorded at 278 crossings. For recorded interactions (n=843), information was collected to characterize the behaviours of involved parties. A mixed-effect logit regression model was performed to assess the factors associated with interactions. Chi-square tests evaluated differences between age groups and characteristics of observed interactions. Older adults were those more likely to be involved in an interaction event. Bicycle paths, different crossing surface material and one-way streets were significantly associated with fewer interactions with vehicles, while parked vehicles nearby and crossings on arterial roads were significantly associated with more interactions. Children and the elderly (80 years of age or more) did have distinct patterns of interaction, with more careful drivers/cyclists behaviours being observed towards children and lesser regulation compliance towards the elderly. Given the growing emphasis and adoption of active transportation in many cities, the number of interactions between pedestrians and vehicles during street crossings is likely to increase. Educating drivers and pedestrians to respect each others space requires an understanding of where, between whom, and under what circumstances interactions occur. Such an approach can also help identify which engineering and enforcement programs are needed to ensure safe pedestrian crossings since interactions can be good markers of uncomfortable crossing situations that may deter walking and lead to more collisions.

Carrefours en milieu urbain: quels risques pour les piétons ? Exemple empirique des quartiers centraux de Montréal, Canada

Cet article a pour objectif d’evaluer l’impact de variables environnementales que nous appellerons « proximales » (a un carrefour) et « distales » (zone d’influence autour d’un carrefour) sur le nombre d’accidents pietons a ces memes carrefours. A partir d’une enquete terrain faite a plus de 500 carrefours des quartiers centraux de Montreal, nous proposons ici de calculer deux modeles de regression : un modele negatif binomial qui a pour variable dependante le nombre de pietons blesses dans un rayon de 50 metres du carrefour ; un modele logistique ordinal, qui se base sur une variable dependante avec 3 modalites (0 = 0 accident ; 1 = 1 ou 2 accidents ; 2 = 3 accidents ou plus). Les resultats suggerent que la presence de plus de 5 voies, d’un feu de circulation, d’un feu pieton et d’un passage pour pietons (variables proximales), ainsi que le nombre d’emplois par zone d’influence augmentent la probabilite d’avoir plus d’accidents au carrefour ou d’appartenir a une categorie superieure d’accidents, a l’exception du passage pieton. A la lumiere de ces resultats, il nous apparait evident que le pieton necessite plus de consideration lors des choix d’amenagement des lieux de traversee, en particulier dans les quartiers centraux de grandes villes comme Montreal.

Blood donation clusters in Québec, Canada (2003–2008): spatial variations according to sex and age

The detection of spatial clusters of blood donation rate is an important issue, especially for targeting spatial units with significantly low rates, where it could be possible to increase the numbers of donors. The objective of this study is to detect spatial clusters of high or low blood donation rate in Québec according to sex and age of the donors.

Predicting Stress among Pedestrian Traffic Workers Using Physiological and Situational Measures

Traffic workers are vulnerable to accidents and must make critical decisions to avoid conflicts between road users. This can lead to high stress levels, which may hinder their capacity to mitigate the occurrence of hazards. Measuring stress on the field could represent an efficient solution to help pinpoint risky situations and identify factors that increase risk. The goal of this study was to verify whether stress among traffic workers could be predicted using physiological measures and characteristics of the work situation. Nineteen police officers in Quebec City and Montreal, Canada, performed traffic duties while their physiological activity was assessed by a wearable physiological harness. Every 15 minutes, change in subjective stress was also measured. Results showed that decision-tree models outperformed multifactorial logistic regressions for predicting subjective stress based on both situational factors and physiological measures. This demonstrated the potential of using such measures to monitor stress among traffic workers.

How do people become plasma and platelet donors in a VNR context

The demand for therapeutic plasma‐derived products poses a challenge to blood collection agencies (BCAs). In 2014–2015, the volume of plasma sent for fractionation met 17.7% of Quebecs needs for immunoglobulins. This article aims to offer an exploration of the paths blood donors follow in order to become plasma and platelet donors (PPDs).