Patrick Ward

Overtaking road-accidents: differences in manoeuvre as a function of driver age

Nine-hundred and seventy-three police road-accident files describing overtaking accidents were sampled from the headquarters of Nottinghamshire Constabulary, England, for the years 1989-1993. Salient facts were extracted from each case, including the exact manoeuvre involved, the principle explanatory factors, the driver(s) most at fault, and the drivers ages. Two kinds of reliability measure for case interpretations. indicated high levels of consistency. Two induced exposure measures were used, comparing driver involvement in a given type of overtaking accident with involvement in overtaking accidents in general, and comparing the age profiles of the drivers most at fault with those of the other drivers involved. Ten types of overtaking accident were distinguished, and three are discussed in detail: collision with a right-turning vehicle (the most common injury-accident for overtakers), which tends to occur either because a young driver makes a faulty overtaking decision, or an older driver makes a faulty right turn; head-on collision, which affects all age groups roughly in proportion to exposure; and the return-and-lose-control accident, which is associated particularly with young drivers. The study illustrates the structured judgement method of accident causation research, in which human interpreters are used to ascribe causes and processes to individual cases, but orthodox research techniques are used to standardise procedures, and to assess and ensure reliability.

Killer crashes: Fatal road traffic accidents in the UK

Road traffic accidents are responsible for over 3000 deaths per year in the UK, according to Department for Transport (2004a) figures. Although progress is being made in a number of areas, vehicle occupant fatalities have not been falling in line with casualty reduction targets for the year 2010. A sample of 1185 fatal vehicle occupant cases was considered, from ten UK police forces, from the years 1994-2005 inclusive. The main findings were: (1) over 65% of the accidents examined involved driving at excessive speed, a driver in excess of the legal alcohol limit, or the failure to wear a seat belt by a fatality, or some combination of these. (2) Young drivers have the great majority of their accidents by losing control on bends or curves, typically at night in rural areas and/or while driving for leisure purposes. These accidents show high levels of speeding, alcohol involvement and recklessness. (3) Older drivers had fewer accidents, but those fatalities they were involved in tended to involve misjudgement and perceptual errors in right of way collisions, typically in the daytime on rural rather than urban roads. Blameworthy right of way errors were notably high for drivers aged over 65 years, as a proportion of total fatal accidents in that age group.

Older drivers' road traffic crashes in the UK

A sample of over 2000 crashes involving drivers aged 60 years or over was considered, from three UK midland police forces, from the years 1994-2007 inclusive. Each case was summarized on a database including the main objective features (such as time and place), a summary narrative, a sketch plan and a list of explanatory factors. The main findings were that older drivers have significant problems with intersection collisions and failing to give right of way; these formed the largest single class of crashes in the sample. Possible behavioural explanations for this will be discussed, along with other findings regarding older driver blameworthiness, fatigue and illness, time of day factors, and unintended accelerations.

Car drivers' attitudes towards motorcyclists: A survey

Motorcyclists are over-represented in UK traffic accident statistics. Many car-motorcycle accidents are however due to the inappropriate actions of car drivers. It is predicted that car drivers at risk of collision with motorcycles have divergent attitudes and beliefs about motorcyclists compared to safer drivers, which may lead to a deficient mental model guiding their interactions with motorcyclists. To assess car drivers attitudes towards motorcyclists, a survey was undertaken. Respondents filled in 26 general and motorcycle-related items and the 24 items of the reduced Driver Behaviour Questionnaire. Compared to an experienced dual driver group (who both drive cars and ride motorcycles), all other drivers showed divergent beliefs and attitudes. Four factors were extracted from the motorcycle items: negative attitudes, empathic attitudes, awareness of perceptual problems, and spatial understanding. Car drivers with a moderate amount of experience (between 2 and 10 years driving) held the most negative views and reported the most violations. The results have lead to several suggestions for interventions aimed at decreasing the divergence between drivers perceptions of motorcyclists, and the perceptions of experienced dual drivers.

PROCESSES AND COUNTERMEASURES IN OVERTAKING ROAD ACCIDENTS

Of police road accident files describing overtaking accidents, 973 were sampled from the headquarters of Nottinghamshire Constabulary, UK for 1989–1993. Of particularly detailed cases, 410 were examined in depth and salient facts extracted including the exact manoeuvre involved, the errors made by drivers, the reasons for error, and the principal behavioural countermeasures that would have prevented the accident. Particular hazards were: (1) oncoming vehicles that only came into view during the overtake, from turnings, bends and hill crests, and (2) collisions involving the same direction cohort. The most effective single countermeasure was to avoid overtaking a vehicle travelling at or near the speed limit. The study illustrates the structured judgement method of accident causation research in which human interpreters are used to assign causes and processes to individual cases, but orthodox research techniques are used to standardize procedures, and to assess and ensure reliability.

Work-related road traffic collisions in the UK

Road traffic collisions while at work are the single largest cause of occupational fatality in the United Kingdom. Work-related road collisions do not comprise a homogenous group, but take many forms, encompassing the use of varying types of vehicle used for diverse purposes. A sample of over 2000 collision cases was considered, over 1000 in detail, from UK police forces, involving drivers/workers of all ages, and covering the years 1996-2004 inclusive. There were three key findings. (1) There were six main classes of collision-involved vehicles. These were company cars, vans/pickups, large goods vehicles (LGVs), buses (PCVs or passenger carrying vehicles), taxis/minicabs, and emergency vehicles (police, fire/rescue and ambulance). (2) The drivers of company cars, vans/pickups, and large goods vehicles (LGVs) all appeared to have a high blameworthiness ratio in their collision involvement. Company car drivers showed excess speed as a causal factor, whereas van drivers showed more observational failures, and LGV drivers showed more fatigue and vehicle defects as factors. (3) The drivers of buses (PCVs), taxis/minicabs, and emergency vehicles showed a low blameworthiness ratio in their collision involvement. Their problems seemed to be primarily with the other drivers/parties with whom they share the road. While they made a variety of mistakes or errors, they were more likely to become the victim of another partys mistake or error.

'STISIM-drive' meets 'MotorcycleSim': using driving simulation software to develop a unique motorcycle simulator for rider behavior research

In order to compare groups of road users who have fundamentally different skills, attitudes and behaviours, one of the first in-depth motorcycle simulation studies of its kind was conducted. The project was developed using the innovative ‘MotorcycleSim’ simulator designed and built at the University of Nottingham. The simulator is a research tool to investigate aspects of motorcycle ergonomics and rider human factors and is the first of its kind in the world to incorporate ‘STI-SIM Drive’ software that allows motorcyclists to ride a full size motorcycle and interact with a virtual riding environment (VRE). To build a simulator that was both fit for the purpose of research and provided the desired levels of fidelity associated with real world riding, a user-centred design process was adopted from the outset (based in principles of ISO:13407).