{"title":"Road traffic crash data in Southwestern Nigeria: a qualitative analysis of sources, contents and management methods.","authors":"Jude Ubaka Odinfono, Moses Olaniran Olawole","doi":"10.1080/15389588.2024.2398670","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2024.2398670","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study qualitatively examined road traffic crash (RTC) data collection and management in southwest Nigeria, with the goal of addressing the tenets of the UN Decade of Action Plan on Road Safety's call for an effective data system.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data on RTCs data collection in the study area was obtained through key informant interviews with five hospital accident emergency unit directors, three Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Sector commanders, and three Nigeria Police Force (NPF) commissioners. Datasets were transcribed, categorized, and interpreted using content analysis, descriptive statistics, and WHO recommended minimal crash data element requirements.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study found disparate systems, a lack of synergy, and discrepancy in the various data sources in the country when compared with WHO recommendations on road traffic data collection systems, with 55% of agencies using non-standardized paper forms. The study also reveals that the minimum crash data elements recommended by WHO are not consistently captured in the NPF, FRSC, and hospital traffic crash data sources.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study suggested the use of an upgraded National Road Traffic Crash Data Management System (NRTCDMS) Data Template to unify data gathering and linkage issues, but recommends a digital version of the template.</p>","PeriodicalId":54422,"journal":{"name":"Traffic Injury Prevention","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142481018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tung T Tran, Long T Truong, Athanasios Theofilatos
{"title":"A comparison between bridge-related and non-bridge crashes: severity, vehicle involvement, and motorists' characteristics.","authors":"Tung T Tran, Long T Truong, Athanasios Theofilatos","doi":"10.1080/15389588.2024.2400234","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2024.2400234","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Bridges, though representing a small portion of transport networks by length, are still prone to traffic crashes. Despite extensive research on bridge-related crashes globally, there's a scarcity of studies exploring differences between bridge- and non-bridge-related crashes. Thus, this paper attempts to add to the current knowledge by comparing bridge-related crashes and non-bridge crashes using a case study in Victoria, Australia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>By utilizing crash data in Victoria between January 2006 and April 2023; the Chi-squared test is conducted to examine differences between crash types. Partial proportion odds models are then employed to establish if bridge-related crashes tend to be more severe.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In general, the analysis reveals that bridge-related crashes tend to result in more severe injury outcomes compared to non-bridge crashes. Furthermore, there is evidence that bridge-related crashes are more likely to be single-vehicle, to involve a heavy vehicle as well as young/male motorists, and to occur on high-speed roads, regional areas and at nighttime than non-bridge crashes.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>A targeted program aiming at enhancing traffic safety at bridges is recommended due to the higher severity of bridge-related crashes. Considering the presence of bridges on the road network, and particularly in regional areas where many are in poorer conditions, it is essential to consider retrofitting as well as low-cost solutions in order to complement motorist education and awareness programs. Specific groups with higher risks of being involved in bridge-related crashes, such as young male motorists, should be targeted in these programs.</p>","PeriodicalId":54422,"journal":{"name":"Traffic Injury Prevention","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142481008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"High-risk powered two-wheelers scenarios generation for autonomous vehicle testing using WGAN.","authors":"Xiaolong Luo, Zhiyuan Wei, Guoqing Zhang, Helai Huang, Rui Zhou","doi":"10.1080/15389588.2024.2399305","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2024.2399305","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to revolutionize the future of mobility by significantly improving traffic safety. This study presents a novel method for validating the safety performance of AVs in high-risk scenarios involving powered 2-wheelers (PTWs). By generating high-risk scenarios using in-depth crash data, this study is devoted to addressing the challenge of public road scenarios in testing, which often lack the necessary complexity and risk to effectively evaluate the capabilities of AVs in high-risk situations.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Our approach employs a Wasserstein generative adversarial network (WGAN) to generate high-risk scenes, particularly focusing on PTW scenarios. By extracting 314 car-to-PTW crashes from the China In-depth Mobility Safety Study-Traffic Accident database, we simulate outcomes using PC-Crash software. The data are divided into scenes at 0.1-s intervals, with WGAN generating numerous high-risk scenes. By using a cumulative distribution function (CDF), we sampled and analyzed the vehicle's dynamic information to generate complete scenarios applicable to the test. The validation process involves using the SVL Simulator and the Baidu Apollo joint simulation platform to evaluate the AV's driving behavior and interactions with PTWs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>This study evaluates model generation results by comparing distributions using Wasserstein distance as an indicator. The generator converges after approximately 200 epochs, with the iterator converging quickly. Subsequently, 10,000 new scenes are then generated. The distribution of several key parameters in the generated scenes can be found to approximate that of the original scenes. After sampling, the usability of generated scenarios is 64.76%. Virtual simulations confirm the effectiveness of the scenario generation method, with a generated scenario crash rate of 16.50% closely reflecting the original rate of 15.0%, showcasing the method's capacity to produce realistic and hazardous scenarios.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The experimental results suggest that these scenarios exhibit a level of risk similar to the original crashes and are effective for testing AVs. Consequently, the generated scenarios enhance the diversity of the scenario library and accelerate the overall testing process of AVs.</p>","PeriodicalId":54422,"journal":{"name":"Traffic Injury Prevention","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142481012","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Predicting pedestrian-vehicle interaction severity at unsignalized intersections.","authors":"Kaliprasana Muduli, Indrajit Ghosh","doi":"10.1080/15389588.2024.2404713","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2024.2404713","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aims to develop and validate a novel deep-learning model that predicts the severity of pedestrian-vehicle interactions at unsignalized intersections, distinctively integrating Transformer-based models with Multilayer Perceptrons (MLP). This approach leverages advanced feature analysis capabilities, offering a more direct and interpretable method than traditional models.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>High-resolution optical cameras recorded detailed pedestrian and vehicle movements at study sites, with data processed to extract trajectories and convert them into real-world coordinates <i>via</i> precise georeferencing. Trained observers categorized interactions into safe passage, critical event, and conflict based on movement patterns, speeds, and accelerations. Fleiss Kappa statistic measured inter-rater agreement to ensure evaluator consistency. This study introduces a novel deep-learning model combining Transformer-based time series data capabilities with the classification strengths of a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP). Unlike traditional models, this approach focuses on feature analysis for greater interpretability. The model, trained on dynamic input variables from trajectory data, employs attention mechanisms to evaluate the significance of each input variable, offering deeper insights into factors influencing interaction severity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The model demonstrated high performance across different severity categories: safe interactions achieved a precision of 0.78, recall of 0.91, and F1-score of 0.84. In more severe categories like critical events and conflicts, precision and recall were even higher. Overall accuracy stood at 0.87, with both macro and weighted averages for precision, recall, and F1-score also at 0.87. The variable importance analysis, using attention scores from the proposed transformer model, identified 'Vehicle Speed' as the most significant input variable positively influencing severity. Conversely, 'Approaching Angle' and 'Vehicle Distance from Conflict Point' negatively impacted severity. Other significant factors included 'Type of Vehicle', 'Pedestrian Speed', and 'Pedestrian Yaw Rate', highlighting the complex interplay of behavioral and environmental factors in pedestrian-vehicle interactions.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study introduces a deep-learning model that effectively predicts the severity of pedestrian-vehicle interactions at crosswalks, utilizing a Transformer-MLP hybrid architecture with high precision and recall across severity categories. Key factors influencing severity were identified, paving the way for further enhancements in real-time analysis and broader safety assessments in urban settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":54422,"journal":{"name":"Traffic Injury Prevention","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142481015","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Khabat Amin, Finn Nilson, Carl Bonander, Anna Carlsson
{"title":"Reversing accidents involving pedestrians: an epidemiological investigation and cluster analysis using a novel database derived from Swedish National Register data.","authors":"Khabat Amin, Finn Nilson, Carl Bonander, Anna Carlsson","doi":"10.1080/15389588.2024.2408661","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2024.2408661","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>In contemporary urban environments, the intersection between <i>Vulnerable Road Users</i>, specifically unprotected pedestrians, and motor vehicles poses a persistent challenge to road safety. Reversing accidents, characterized by vehicles moving backward, often result in severe consequences for pedestrians due to limited visibility and inherent blind spots for the driver. This paper aims to provide a thorough examination of reversing accidents involving pedestrians in Sweden between 2000-2021; shedding light on the magnitude of the problem, contributing factors, consequences, and potential mitigation strategies.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Using a national database, reversing accidents were compiled by classifying free text descriptions of traffic accidents reported to the <i>Swedish Traffic Accident Data Acquisition</i>. The database was then used to describe reversing accidents and their consequences for struck pedestrians using descriptive epidemiology and cluster analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The results show that reversing accidents accounted for 12% of all pedestrians injured in a collision with a motor vehicle in Sweden during the studied period. In terms of personal characteristics, the struck pedestrians were more often female and of old or young age, whilst the drivers of the reversing vehicles were more often between 18-54 years and men. Most accidents were non-fatal, with only roughly 2% resulting in fatalities. Through a cluster analysis, four distinct accident types were identified. Two of these were identified as particularly important to prioritize in future preventative work: accidents that are characterized by occur during daylight hours in the urban environment (often low speeds) and often result in fatality or serious injury.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Due to the low speeds, reversing accidents are rarely fatal. However, they account for a large proportion of accidents with pedestrians and can be grouped into clearly distinguishable accident types that can function as templates in road safety development in Sweden.</p>","PeriodicalId":54422,"journal":{"name":"Traffic Injury Prevention","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142481017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zahra Ramezani, Vali Baigi, Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar, Mohammadreza Zafarghandi, Esmaeil Fakharian, Homayoun Sadeghi-Bazargani, Seyed Houssein Saeed-Banadaky, Farideh Sadeghian, Amir Ghadipasha, Seyed Mohammad Piri, Sara Mirzamohamadi, Khatereh Naghdi, Payman Salamati
{"title":"Motorcycle riders and pillion passengers injury patterns and in-hospital outcomes based on the National Trauma Registry of Iran.","authors":"Zahra Ramezani, Vali Baigi, Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar, Mohammadreza Zafarghandi, Esmaeil Fakharian, Homayoun Sadeghi-Bazargani, Seyed Houssein Saeed-Banadaky, Farideh Sadeghian, Amir Ghadipasha, Seyed Mohammad Piri, Sara Mirzamohamadi, Khatereh Naghdi, Payman Salamati","doi":"10.1080/15389588.2024.2407476","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2024.2407476","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Road traffic injury (RTI) is the second leading cause of death and disability, and motorcycle crashes rank as the first cause of traffic fatality in Iran. We aimed to compare various characteristics between traumatized motorcycle riders and pillion passengers registered with the National Trauma Registry of Iran (NTRI).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This is a retrospective study of the NTRI, an ongoing multicenter trauma database built on a registry. This study included injured motorcyclists from six major trauma centers nationwide admitted between February 2017 and November 2023. Motorcyclists should have been hospitalized for RTIs and met the NTRI's inclusion criteria. We assessed patients regarding their demographics, clinical features, the pattern of injuries, and diverse in-hospital outcomes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 54,342 registered patients in the NTRI, 7,594 motorcyclists were included. Of them, 6,636 (87.4%) were riders, and 958 (12.6%) were pillion passengers. Among all, 7165 (94.5%) were male, and 420 (5.5%) female (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Only 656 (9.9%) of riders and 24 (2.5%) of pillion passengers were wearing helmets (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Lone motorcyclist crashes led to injuries in 1,394 (21.2%) riders and 332 (35.5%) pillion passengers (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was 3 to 8 in 204 (3.1%) riders and 16 (1.7%) pillion passengers (<i>p</i> = 0.016). The most frequent pattern of poly-trauma was \"head and thorax,\" with 43 (32.3%) riders and 5 (25.0%) pillion passengers (<i>p</i> = 0.362). Univariable logistic regression analysis showed that Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission (OR = 0.78, CI 95% = 0.62 to 0.97, <i>p</i> = 0.028) and mechanical ventilation (OR = 0.58, CI 95% = 0.39 to 0.84, <i>p</i> = 0.004) were significantly lower in pillion passengers compared to motorcycle riders. After adjustment for age, gender, occupational status, and helmet use, being a rider or a pillion passenger didn't have a significant association with any of the in-hospital outcomes.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Motorcycle riders and pillion passengers sustain the same injuries in terms of pattern, severity, and in-hospital outcomes. Therefore, healthcare providers can approach them similarly. Since there is a high number of underage riders and helmets are not used commonly, there should be more police enforcement in this case.</p>","PeriodicalId":54422,"journal":{"name":"Traffic Injury Prevention","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142481013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mónica Diez, Julio Abajo, Alberto Negro, M Teresa Fernández
{"title":"Pediatric occupant-to-occupant interaction responses in side impact conditions using Q-dummy and child human body models.","authors":"Mónica Diez, Julio Abajo, Alberto Negro, M Teresa Fernández","doi":"10.1080/15389588.2024.2405652","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2024.2405652","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Road safety of children has improved considerably over the past decade; however, there is still much scope to better protect these occupants. Ensuring adequate protection of children seated in the rear seats requires a greater understanding of how children are injured in side crashes. The purpose of this study was to enhance the knowledge of children's potential injuries in side impact collisions by the investigation of two different child sizes seated in different positions in the rear seats. The injury metrics associated with the occupant-to-occupant or occupant-to-child restraint system interaction was also identified.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Finite Elements Method simulations were performed using a validated simplified vehicle model with fully deformable side components. Dynamic virtual tests according to the Euro NCAP Child Occupant Protection Protocol were performed considering three different scenarios in terms of occupants´ distribution in the rear seats. Simulations were conducted with dummy and human body models. The injury metrics associated with near-side and far-side positions and the occupant-to-occupant interaction were analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The 10-year-old child seated in the far-side position presented higher injury values, especially in the head due to the contact with the adjacent child or child restraint occupying the near-side seating position. Similar responses were observed in human body and dummies models in terms of head and neck injury values. However, human body models showed an increase in the chest measurements.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study highlighted that the potential injuries of a child seated on the rear seats in a side impact crash are likely to be increased by the presence of an adjacent seat occupant, especially when larger children were seated in the far-side seating location or a CRS was installed in the near-side seating position. Results offer insight into the occupant-to-occupant interaction and occupants' size as relevant factors to improve children safety under side impact conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":54422,"journal":{"name":"Traffic Injury Prevention","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142481014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Change in the collision avoidance performance of autonomous emergency braking systems.","authors":"Hiroaki Miyoshi","doi":"10.1080/15389588.2024.2394975","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2024.2394975","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study quantifies the change in collision avoidance performance of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems for traffic accidents in Japan since 2015.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>This study used data on Japanese traffic accidents compiled by Japan's National Police Agency. The data included only accidents involving loss of or injury to human life; accidents involving only property damage were excluded. We restricted our analysis to collisions between two 4-wheel vehicles and considered only collisions for which we could determine whether the primary party's car was equipped with an AEB system. Both Poisson and negative binomial mixed-effects regression analyses were conducted using the data for 2021 and 2022 to measure the collision avoidance performance of first registered cars in 2015 to 2020 equipped with AEB systems compared with cars without AEB systems first registered in 2015. Collision avoidance performance was measured for 2 types of intervehicle collisions: rear-end collisions and right-turn collisions. Collision avoidance performance for rear-end collisions was also measured for each of the 3 car types-Standard, small, and light cars.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The collision reduction rate for rear-end collisions increases with the year of first registration and for cars equipped with AEB systems first registered in 2020 compared with non-AEB-equipped cars first registered in 2015 is 69.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 67.0%-71.1%), indicating that the performance of AEB systems has dramatically improved in terms of preventing rear-end collisions. For right-turn collisions, the rate increased to 20.4% (95% CI 5.9%-32.6%) for cars equipped with AEB systems first registered in 2019. However, no clear trend is observed.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study evaluated a time series of the collision reduction performance of AEB systems using an original methodology. Japan's New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP) has included AEB's effectiveness in reducing damage from traffic collisions as an evaluation item since FY2014. The results could demonstrate the effectiveness of JNCAP.</p>","PeriodicalId":54422,"journal":{"name":"Traffic Injury Prevention","volume":" ","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142367358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Investigating the eye-catching effect in the entrance zone of highway tunnels through heart rate variability analysis.","authors":"Lei Han, Zhigang Du, Shoushuo Wang","doi":"10.1080/15389588.2024.2405034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2024.2405034","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to investigate the influence of visual attraction conditions on drivers' cognitive workload and physiological responses, assessed through heart rate variability (HRV) indicators. The study examined four experimental scenarios, including a baseline condition and three visual attractions (landscape-style architecture, tip slogan, and billboard) at tunnel entrances.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>HRV indicators, including RMSSD, SDNN, LF, and LF/HF ratio, were analyzed to assess cognitive workload and physiological states. The study collected data from a sample of drivers under each experimental scenario and compared the HRV measures across conditions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The presence of visual attractions at tunnel entrances significantly impacted drivers' HRV. The introduction of visual attractions resulted in decreased RMSSD and SDNN values, indicating increased cognitive workload and reduced adaptability of the autonomic nervous system. Moreover, visual attractions led to increased LF values and LF/HF ratio, suggesting heightened sympathetic activation and potential cognitive engagement.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Visual attractions have a significant impact on drivers' cognitive workload and physiological responses. Designing tunnel entrances with a balance between visual attractiveness and cognitive demands is essential to optimize drivers' cognitive performance and overall driving experience. These findings provide valuable insights for transportation authorities and designers to create safer and more user-friendly tunnel environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":54422,"journal":{"name":"Traffic Injury Prevention","volume":" ","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142367361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Supporting driver performance in closely spaced tunnel-interchange structure: Traffic control devices and effects on driving behavior.","authors":"Yunjie Ju, Feng Chen, Jia Li, Xiaohua Zhao, Wenhui Dong","doi":"10.1080/15389588.2024.2401495","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2024.2401495","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>With the rapid development of expressways in the mountainous regions of southwestern China, closely spaced tunnel-interchange structures have inevitably emerged due to topographical constraints and environmental limitations. Given the unfavorable road geometry and rapid cross-section transitions, drivers face significant safety concerns. This study aims to investigate drivers' safety performance at closely spaced tunnel-interchange sections and determine how safety risks can be mitigated through improved traffic control devices design.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Thirty-nine participants conducted an experimental study in a fixed-base simulator. The test scenario was modeled on the Xingyan Freeway-S3801 and accurately reproduced in the simulator. For each safety performance metric, the driving simulator experiments yielded a dataset with 780 observations. To address the idiosyncratic variation due to individual driver differences, a series of linear mixed effects models (LMM) were developed to analyze drivers' behavior responses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In closely spaced tunnel-interchange sections, a general impairment of both longitudinal and lateral performance was observed. This study identified potential critical impact variables in traffic control device systems. According to the LMM results: (a) Removing the 0.5 km interchange ramp exit advance guide sign located in the tunnel exit area reduces dangerous behavior in the corresponding impact area. (b) Replacing the 0.5 km interchange ramp exit advance guide sign with arrow pavement markers as an information source supports improved driver performance, promoting driver safety. (c) Adding tunnel exit distance signs within tunnels is recommended to enhance situation awareness for drivers.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study addresses the scientific issues related to traffic control devices setup for closely spaced tunnel-interchange sections, focusing on identifying potential critical impact variables. The findings provide guidance on the design of traffic control devices for such sections and support revisions to national engineering standards.</p>","PeriodicalId":54422,"journal":{"name":"Traffic Injury Prevention","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142367362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}