Pediatric pedestrian trauma study: a pilot project

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the implementation of the WalkSafe Program, a school based educational injury prevention program for children grades Kindergarten through 5. METHODS: A randomized comparative design was used for this study. The study was conducted in two high-risk urban school districts, which were chosen based on the geographic areas with the highest pedestrian injury and fatality rates. Four elementary schools (two in each district) were identified as potential study sites. Two intervention schools, one in each school district, were randomly chosen to receive the WalkSafe program; the other two schools served as controls, and received no intervention. The data was collected within the classroom setting for both the intervention and control schools. All elementary school children were administered the same pedestrian safety questionnaire as a pre-test, post-test and at three months following the intervention. RESULTS: A total of 2300 children participated in the WalkSafe program. The intervention (I) schools showed significant improvement in post-test scores then the control (C) schools (p = 0.012), and the (I) schools were able to maintain their test scores as reflected in a three-month follow-up evaluation (p = 0.47). Grades 3-5 of the (I) schools showed significant improvement in their test scores over grades K-2 (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The WalkSafe program was shown to improve the pedestrian safety knowledge of elementary school children. Future research will include implementing the WalkSafe program at each elementary school within a single high-risk district.     

Should 'Cyrus the Centipede' take a hike? Effects of exposure to a pedestrian safety program on children's safety knowledge and self-reported behaviors

INTRODUCTION: We report the first evaluation of the popular "Cyrus the Centipede" child pedestrian safety program. METHOD: A pre-test/post-test control versus experimental condition design was used to assess Cyrus' impact on third graders' pedestrian safety knowledge, and self-reported pedestrian behaviors. RESULTS: Although some beneficial effects were observed, the program was not reliably effective. In particular, the impact of exposure to Cyrus was strongly influenced by the individual teacher who delivered it, likely due to the highly unstructured nature of the curriculum. SUMMARY: We suggest that: (a) the effectiveness and reliability of such programs be demonstrated before they are widely adopted; and (b) programs that focus on training children in actual or simulated traffic environments may be more effective than those that primarily focus on teaching safety facts and rules.     

A direct observation study of nighttime safety belt use in Indiana

INTRODUCTION: Nearly all direct observation studies of safety belt use are conducted exclusively during daylight hours. Recent work has suggested that safety belt use at night may differ from daytime belt use. METHODS: An observational study of nighttime safety belt use, utilizing specialized night vision equipment, was conducted in Indiana surrounding the Click It or Ticket 2006 safety belt mobilization activities. A pre- and a post-mobilization statewide direct observation survey was conducted at night coinciding with daytime safety belt use data collection conducted by the state of Indiana. Daytime and nighttime belt use rates were compared. RESULTS: The comparisons across the mobilization period revealed a significant increase during the day, but a significant decrease at night. Comparisons between daytime and nighttime belt use revealed no overall difference during the pre wave, but a significant difference during the post wave. Finally, many common daytime trends in belt use were also found at night, with the exception of the typical age and seating position effects. DISCUSSION: The mobilization activities had a positive effect on daytime belt use, but no effect on nighttime belt use, likely resulting in the differences between daytime and nighttime belt use observed during the post wave. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The findings of this study suggest that safety belt mobilizations implemented only during the day do not influence nighttime safety belt use. Changes to how these programs are implemented or additional programs specifically targeting belt use at night should be considered, along with continued monitoring of nighttime belt use.     

行人过街空间违章行为特性及安全影响分析

为探究提前右转车道处不同因素与人车冲突的相关性,以及行人空间违章对过街安全的影响。采集2 062个行人及人车冲突的样本数据,获取行人和机动车的时空信息,对比分析不同类型行人过街轨迹的特征;综合考虑人车冲突时间和速度指标构建人车冲突严重度指标,从行人生理特征、车流条件、道路环境等方面选取8个因素作为自变量,构建人车冲突严重度的多元有序Logistic模型。研究结果表明：空间违章过街的行人平均过街速度和速度离散程度都明显高于其他行人;年龄、车速、人行横道长度、车辆到达率以及过街轨迹类型都是影响人车冲突严重程度的重要因素。各类型空间违章行为使严重冲突占比均提升75%以上。研究结果有助于交管部门采取措施保障行人过街安全。     

信号控制交叉口行人过街等待时间研究

为保护行人过街时的安全及减少行人违章行为,通过分析行人过街的等待规律,构建了信号控制行人过街等待的生存分析方法。对上海市典型交叉口的行人过街等待行为的观测及分析,得到了行人等待的生存曲线,建立了行人违章危险度随行人自身及环境因素影响的COX风险回归模型。结果表明:行人在路边等待过街最大可忍受等待时间为90s,在中间安全岛的最大可忍受等待时间仅为50s;行人等待时间与行人年龄、红灯时间、穿越车道数、冲突方向车流量、是否二次过街相关,与行人性别无关;合理的交叉口设计和信号控制能提高行人的遵章率、降低违章危险度。笔者建议:信号控制交叉口行人红灯时间不超过90s,行人在安全岛最大等待时间不超过50s。     

Geo-spatial and log-linear analysis of pedestrian and bicyclist crashes involving school-aged children

PROBLEM: There is a growing concern with the safety of school-aged children. This study identifies the locations of pedestrian/bicyclist crashes involving school-aged children and examines the conditions when these crashes are more likely to occur. METHOD: The 5-year records of crashes in Orange County, Florida where school-aged children were involved were used. The spatial distribution of these crashes was investigated using the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the likelihoods of crash occurrence under different conditions were estimated using log-linear models. RESULTS: A majority of school-aged children crashes occurred in the areas near schools. Although elementary school children were generally very involved, middle and high school children were more involved in crashes, particularly on high-speed multi-lane roadways. Driver's age, gender, and alcohol use, pedestrian's/bicyclist's age, number of lanes, median type, speed limits, and speed ratio were also found to be correlated with the frequency of crashes. DISCUSSION: The result confirms that school-aged children are exposed to high crash risk near schools. High crash involvement of middle and high school children reflects that middle and high schools tend to be located near multi-lane high-speed roads. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The pedestrian's/bicyclist's demographic factors and geometric characteristics of the roads adjacent to schools associated with school children's crash involvement are of interest to school districts.     

铁路道口安全与框构桥设计软件实现

铁路平交道口是铁路运输中常发生列车和汽车事故的地方 ,在列车经过平交道口时 ,汽车和行人等都必须停在道口两侧 ,严重地影响了交通安全 ,甚至有火车与熄灭在道口的汽车相撞 ,造成火车脱轨的重大事故。因此 ,平交道口改为立体交叉已势在必行。笔者提出了将平交道口改建为框构桥的设计方法 ,并用面向对象的程序设计方法实现了框构桥的自动设计、分析、计算及绘图等过程 ,将极大提高框构桥设计的工作效率 ,加快平改立的速度 ,尽快消除安全隐患     

Reliability analysis of pedestrian safety crossing in urban traffic environment

This paper describes the pedestrian safety crossing behaviour at signalized crosswalks in an urban traffic environment based on human reliability analysis. In our research, pedestrians’ waiting durations are modelled by a non-parametric and two parametric reliability models that recognize the effects of covariates. The covariates include pedestrian personal characteristics and urban traffic conditions in order to reflect the effects of human factors and internal environment comprehensively. The results indicate that most pedestrians show distinct time-dependent reliability but a few pedestrians are too impatient to wait for the lights changes.     

行人违规过街行为的激励理论模型

为减少行人违规过街现象,提高行人过街的安全性,从社会心理学角度研究行人违规过街行为的动因。基于内容型激励理论和过程型激励理论对行人违规过街的行为机理进行研究。首先,将行人过街需求按照不同的层次和类别划分为安全需要、省时省力需要、社会认同需要、尊重需要和自我实现需要。然后,基于期望理论,对行人违规过街行为激励水平、效价、期望值进行建模,得出行人违规过街的行为机理。最后,对模型结果的应用分析发现,通过降低违规过街需要的效价、增加交通规则制裁的期望和增加危险感知的期望能够减少行人的违规过街行为。     

Situational characteristics of fatal pedestrian accidents involving vehicles traveling at low speeds in Japan

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the situational characteristics of fatal pedestrian accidents involving vehicles traveling at low speeds in Japan. We focused on vehicles with 4 or more wheels. Such characteristics included daytime or nighttime conditions, road type, vehicle behaviors preceding the accident, and vehicle impact locations.

Methods: Pedestrian fatality data on vehicle–pedestrian accidents were obtained from the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis of Japan (ITARDA) from 2005 to 2014. Nine vehicle classifications were considered: Trucks with gross vehicle weight (GVW) ≥7.5 tons and <7.5 tons, buses, box vans, minivans, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), sedans, light passenger cars (LPCs), and light cargo vans (LCVs). We compared the situational daytime or nighttime conditions, road type, vehicle behaviors preceding the accident, and vehicle impact locations for accident-involved vehicles traveling at low and higher speeds across all vehicle types.

Results: The results indicate that pedestrian fatalities involving vehicles traveling at low speeds occurred more often under daytime conditions across all vehicle types. At signalized intersections, the relative proportions of pedestrian fatalities were significantly higher when vehicles were traveling at low speed, except when the accidents involved box vans or SUVs. Similarly, when vehicles turned right, the relative proportions of pedestrian fatalities were significantly higher when vehicles traveling at low speed were involved across all vehicle types. In terms of the frontal right vehicle impact location, the relative proportions of pedestrian fatalities were significantly higher when trucks with GVW ≥7.5 tons or <7.5 tons, sedans, or LCVs traveling at low speed were involved.

Conclusions: The situational characteristics of fatal pedestrian accidents involving vehicles traveling at low speeds identified in this study can guide targeted development of new traffic safety regulations or technologies specific to vehicle–pedestrian interactions at low vehicle travel speeds (i.e., driver alert devices or automated emergency braking systems). Ultimately, these developments can improve pedestrian safety by reducing the frequency or severity of vehicle–pedestrian accidents for vehicles turning right at intersections and/or reducing the number of resultant pedestrian fatalities.     

Reducing child pedestrian accidents through public education

The objectives of this study were to develop, produce, and field-test public information and education messages to reduce midblock dart and dash accidents among child pedestrians. An in-class film, poster, and six television spots were produced in which children were told to stop at the curb or outside edge of a parked car and look left-right-left for oncoming vehicles before crossing the street. These materials were distributed to schools, movie theaters, and television stations, city-wide, in Los Angeles, Columbus (Ohio), and Milwaukee. Survey results showed that children saw the materials and improved their safe street crossing knowledge. Behavioral observations showed that children crossed more safely. All three cities showed statistically significant pre versus post reductions in child accidents. Across the three cities, midblock darts and dashes by children 14 and younger dropped 21 %, and midblock darts and dashes involving 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds dropped 31 %.     

Gender differences in children's pedestrian behaviors: Developmental effects

IntroductionAll child pedestrians are vulnerable to road traffic injuries, but there is evidence that boys may be at greater risk than girls, at least among some age groups.MethodTo create effective intervention programs, research on how boys and girls of particular ages behave as pedestrians, and whether there are gender differences that increase risk for particular genders at particular ages, is needed. In this study, 255 boys and 235 girls in grade 1 through 6 from two primary schools in Nantong city, China, were unobtrusively videotaped when walking to school in the morning. Videotapes were reviewed and coded for seven pedestrian safety behaviors, including activities related to crossing streets (walking instead of running/hopping, observing traffic, using the crosswalk instead of walking outside the crosswalk, and keeping close to an accompanying adult) and those related to walking alongside busy streets (walking instead of running/hopping on the sidewalk, not playing on the sidewalk, walking alone instead of walking side-by-side with a partner).ResultsResults revealed that as a whole, boys played on the sidewalk more often than girls (p < 0.01) and crossed with an accompanying adult more than girls (p < 0.05), while girls walked side-by-side with partners more often than boys (p < 0.05). With a few exceptions, boys and girls in the younger grades (1–2) as well as those in the older grades (5–6) behaved fairly similarly as pedestrians, but boys and girls in the middle grades (3–4) presented with several significant gender-based differences. In the middle grades, boys watched traffic more than girls while crossing (p < 0.01); ran, hopped and played on the sidewalk more often than girls (p < 0.05); and walked side-by-side less often with partners than girls (p < 0.05). We also detected different gender-based trends in the development of pedestrian skills. With increasing age, girls performed more safely in pedestrian tasks, but boys did not show a similar developmental trend.ConclusionsWe conclude that boys and girls exhibit different characteristics in their pedestrian behaviors and discuss implications for prevention.     

Factors affecting pedestrian behaviors at signalized crosswalks: An empirical study

Introduction: Safety of pedestrians depends, among other factors, on their behavior while crossing the road. This study aims to assess behaviors of pedestrians at signalized crosswalks. Method: Following a literature review and a pilot study, 25 vital pedestrian crossing factors and behaviors were determined. Then data was randomly collected for 708 pedestrians at 10 lighted crossings in Sharjah (UAE), five at road intersections and five mid-block crossings. Results: Results indicated that 17.4% of pedestrians observed crossed partly or fully on red and that crossing speed was 1.22 m/s, on the average, which is slightly faster than most speeds recorded in the literature. Moreover, female pedestrians were more likely to cross while chatting with others, less likely to cross on red, and more likely to walk slower than male pedestrians. Results also showed that pedestrians who crossed at road intersections walked slower than those who crossed at mid-block crossings. It was also found that longer red pedestrian times and narrower roads tended to encourage pedestrians to cross on red and that the majority of pedestrians did not look around before crossing. Practical implications: Use of the Health Belief Model for pedestrian safety are discussed.     

Using retro-reflective cloth to enhance drivers’ judgment of pedestrian walking direction at night-time

Purpose: Fatal pedestrian collisions are over-represented at night and poor conspicuity is believed to be a leading causative factor. Retro-reflective clothing enhances pedestrian conspicuity, particularly when placed in a biological motion or “biomotion” configuration. In this study, we explored how various retro-reflective clothing configurations affected the ability to judge the direction of a pedestrian walking across the road, which has important implications for collision avoidance. Methods: Participants included 21 young drivers (mean age 21.6 ± 2.0 years) with normal vision. A closed-road circuit was used to assess the accuracy of drivers’ judgement of the direction of walking of a pedestrian at night-time wearing one of five different clothing configurations: four with retro-reflective materials placed in different locations (Biomotion, Legs + Torso, Torso Only, Legs Only), and a control wearing only black clothing (Street). Participants were seated in a stationary vehicle with low beam headlamps, 135 m from a pedestrian, who walked across the road from both sides, in different directions (towards the car, straight across the road, or away from the car). Outcome measures included drivers’ response accuracy and confidence ratings for judging pedestrian walking direction. Results: Accuracy in judging pedestrian walking direction differed significantly across the clothing configurations (p < 0.001). Response accuracy was significantly higher for the Biomotion configuration (80% correct), compared to the other retro-reflective (Legs + Torso 64%; Torso Only 53%; Legs Only 50%) and Street configurations (33%). Similar trends were noted for confidence ratings across the clothing conditions, yet the relationship between confidence ratings and response accuracy within each clothing configurations was poor. Conclusions: The use of retro-reflective clothing in a biomotion configuration facilitated the highest accuracy and confidence in drivers’ judgment of pedestrian walking direction, compared to other configurations. These findings highlight the importance of using biomotion clothing for pedestrians at night, to not only facilitate drivers’ earlier recognition of pedestrians, but also increase their accuracy in determining the walking direction of pedestrians as they cross the road. Practical applications: The use of clothing incorporating retro-reflective material in a biomotion configuration for pedestrians crossing roads at night provides enhanced cues for drivers regarding the presence and walking direction of pedestrians.     

Pedestrian fatalities, Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area and United States, 2000-2004

Motor vehicle crashes killed almost 5,000 pedestrians in 2005 in the United States. Pedestrian risk may be higher in areas characterized by urban sprawl. From 2000 to 2004, pedestrian fatality rates declined in the United States, but the Atlanta metropolitan statistical area did not experience the same decline. Pedestrian fatality rates for males, Hispanics, and the 15–34 and 35–54 year age groups were higher in Atlanta than in the United States overall. Pedestrian safety interventions should be targeted to high-risk populations and localized pedestrian settings.     

Developing safer passengers through a school-based injury prevention program

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death among young people. Fourteen percent of adolescents aged 13–14 report passenger-related injuries within three months. Intervention programs typically focus on young drivers and overlook passengers as potential protective influences. Graduated Driver Licensing restricts passenger numbers, and this study focuses on a complementary school-based intervention to increase passengers’ personal- and peer-protective behavior. The aim of this research was to assess the impact of the curriculum-based injury prevention program, Skills for Preventing Injury in Youth (SPIY), on passenger-related risk-taking and injuries, and intentions to intervene in friends’ risky road behavior. SPIY was implemented in Grade 8 Health classes and evaluated using survey and focus group data from 843 students across 10 Australian secondary schools. Intervention students reported less passenger-related risk-taking six months following the program. Their intention to protect friends from underage driving also increased. The results of this study show that a comprehensive, school-based program targeting individual and social changes can increase adolescent passenger safety.     

Parental supervision and discomfort with children walking to school in low-income communities in Cape Town,South Africa

Objective: The risk of pedestrian injury is compounded for children living in low-income communities due to factors such as poor road and pedestrian infrastructure, reliance on walking as a means of transport, and compromised supervision. Parents play an important role in child pedestrian safety. The primary objective of this study was to examine the effects of child pedestrian variables on parental discomfort with regard to letting their child walk to and from school and on the frequency of adult supervision.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenience sample from 3 schools participating in a pedestrian safety school initiative. The schools are situated in low-income, high-risk communities in the City of Cape Town. A parent survey form was translated into isiXhosa and sent home with learners to those parents who had consented to participate. The response rate was 70.4%, and only parents of children who walk to and from school were included in the final sample (n = 359). Child pedestrian variables include the time taken to walk to school, parental rating of the child's ability to safely cross the road, and the frequency of adult supervision.

Results: More than half of parents reported that their child walked to and from school without adult supervision. About 56% of children took less than 20 min to walk to school. Most parents (61%) were uncomfortable with their child walking to school, although the majority of parents (55.7%) rated their child's ability to cross the road safely as better or significantly better than average (compared to peers). The parents did not perceive any differences in pedestrian risk factors between boys and girls or between younger (6–9 years) and older (10–15 years) children. The time spent by a child walking to school and parents' perceptions of their child's road-crossing ability were found to be significant predictors of parental discomfort (in letting their child walk). Younger children and children who spent less time walking were more likely to be supervised by an adult.

Conclusions: Many South African schoolchildren have to navigate the roads without adult supervision from a young age. Caregivers, especially in low-income settings, often have limited options with regard to getting their child to school safely. Regardless of the child's age and gender, the time that they spend on the roads is an important factor for parents in terms of pedestrian safety.     

Distracted walking: cell phones increase injury risk for college pedestrians

Introduction

Distraction on cell phones jeopardizes motor-vehicle driver safety, but few studies examine distracted walking. At particular risk are college students, who walk frequently in and near traffic, have increased pedestrian injury rates compared to other age groups, and frequently use cell phones. Method: Using an interactive and immersive virtual environment, two experiments studied the effect of cell phone conversation on distraction of college student pedestrians. In the first, we examined whether pedestrians would display riskier behavior when distracted by a naturalistic cell phone conversation than when undistracted. We also considered whether individual difference factors would moderate the effect of the distraction. In a second experiment, we examined the impact of three forms of distraction on pedestrian safety: (a) engaging in a cell phone conversation, (b) engaging in a cognitively challenging spatial task by phone, and (c) engaging in a cognitively challenging mental arithmetic task by phone. Results: Results revealed that cell phone conversations distracted college pedestrians considerably across all pedestrian safety variables measured, with just one exception. Attention to traffic was not affected by the naturalistic phone conversation in Experiment 1, but was altered by the cognitively-demanding content of some types of conversation in Experiment 2. The content of the conversation did not play a major role in distraction across other variables; both mundane and cognitively complex conversations distracted participants. Moreover, no significant associations between individual difference factors and susceptibility to distraction emerged. Impact on Industry: Results may inform researchers, policy makers, and pedestrians themselves. Educational campaigns might discourage telephone conversations in pedestrian environments.     

Effectiveness of the designed safety education programme modules by their implementation in selected industries

Various and diverse industrial safety areas were identified and grouped as under: general areas of safety, Special areas of safety and industry specific areas of safety.

General areas of safety are common to all industries and special areas of safety are relevant only if the selected industry has such nature of work or hazard and whereas the industry specific areas of safety refers to process safety of the industry. Three separate modules were prepared along with contents.

For conduction of the programme, the selected industry must be studied and the designed safety education programme modules have to be adapted by leaving irrelevant areas in special and industry specific areas of the designed safety modules. The implementation of safety education programme was carried out at Bharath Heavy Electricals Ltd, Trichy and Southern Railway workshop, Trichy, by adapting the designed modules to suit these industries as mentioned above.

Effectiveness is measured by the increase in safety awareness of the selected industrial workers (sample), who had already undergone such programmes with short falls conducted within the industry itself. Research Tool was prepared based on the contents of the adapted safety education modules and pre-test and post-test were conducted, data collected and analysed.

The results were statistically significant as confirmed by t-test analyses.     

Taking the Click It or Ticket model nationwide

Click It or Ticket is an occupant protection Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP) combining intensive paid and earned publicity with enforcement during a brief two to four week period. North Carolina demonstrated substantial increases in safety belt use associated with their implementation of the first statewide Click It or Ticket program in 1993. In 2000, Click It or Ticket was implemented in South Carolina. In 2001, Click It or Ticket was implemented across all eight states of the southeast. In 2002, ten states in various parts of the country implemented Click It or Ticket; four states implemented parts of the full Click It or Ticket program; and four states were used as comparisons. Belt use increases were greatest in the full implementation states. Click It or Ticket was implemented nationally in 2003. This paper presents a historical perspective on the implementation and evaluation of Click It or Ticket programs.