Intrinsic road safety: A new approach?

In 1991 the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management concluded that its policy regarding road-safety should be sharpened in order that its goal set for road-safety in the year 2010 would be achieved (i.e. 50% reduction of dead and 40% reduction of wounded persons in comparison with 1986). This new policy is being called “Intrinsic Safety”.The important elements of this course of action are:

• - A greater degree of control of structural developments.

• - Increased action to prevent accidents rather than that which reduces the severity of the consequences of accidents.

• - Greater attention for an integral approach of traffic safety, through influencing all kinds of decision makers outside the realm of traffic safety.

• - Not viewing and treating the human aspects, the roads and the vehicles in isolation, but primarily focusing attention on the interaction between these components.

At the moment the Ministry has inaugurated some actions which will be a more specific elaboration of “Intrinsic Safety”.In this paper we will try to analyze whether this new policy is a totally new concept rather than an intensification of the old course of action. Furthermore we will discuss a few problems which may occur when the “Intrinsic Safety” approach will be elaborated in the near future. For example:

• - How do we make sure that chosen measures (e.g. decisions concerning the infrastructure) will be the most effectual ones in relation with safety?

• - Is the organisation at this moment sufficiently fit to work on an “intrinsically safe traffic system” or is it inappropriate? (e.g., presently there is an increasing tendency of decisions being made by regional departments rather than by central government)

• - Are we in the possession of sufficient knowledge concerning the interactions between the several goals of traffic policy so that actions taken in relation with one goal (e.g. reducing air pollution) will not have a negative effect on traffic safety?

     

Traffic safety impacts of the Home Instruction/ Point Reduction Incentive (HI/PRI) program

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) implemented and evaluated a pilot driver improvement program involving the withholding (“masking”) from public inspection of one conviction from the driving record of qualifying drivers. To qualify for masking, the driver had to complete and return a mailed, self-administered test and remain free of traffic convictions and accidents for a period of 6 months after selection into the program. This Home Instruction/Point Reduction Incentive (HI/PRI) countermeasure was developed in two distinct versions: the Speed HI/PRI was designed for multiple violators of the 55 Maximum Speed Law (MSL), and the Negligent Operator (Neg-Op) HI/PRI was designed for drivers classified as negligent operators based on their traffic conviction record. Both HI/PRI countermeasures covered the safety and energy-saving advantages of 55-MSL compliance; the Neg-Op HI/PRI included general traffic safety material as well. The multiple 55-MSL violators were assigned at random to either the Speed HI/PRI or a no-contact comparison group. The negligent operators were assigned at random to one of four conditions: the Neg-Op HI/PRI, the existing DMV group educational meeting, a modified group meeting incorporating 55-MSL issues, or a no-contact comparison group. The Speed HI/ PRI and Neg-Op HI/PRI were each estimated to be cost-beneficial on the basis of accidents prevented. In addition, the Neg-Op HI/PRI had a larger estimated effect on accidents and lower cost than the group meeting countermeasures, which were also cost-beneficial. The coverage of 55-MSL issues in the group meeting did not appear to influence its effect in reducing either accidents or convictions. All of the countermeasures appeared to reduce subsequent convictions.     

What is most important for safety climate: The company belonging or the local working environment? – A study from the Norwegian offshore industry

Obtaining knowledge about factors affecting health, safety and environment (HSE) is of major interest to the petroleum industry, but there is currently a severe shortage of relevant studies. The aim of this study was to examine the relative influence of offshore installation (local working environment) and company belonging on employees’ opinions concerning occupational health and safety. We analyzed data from a safety climate survey answered by 4479 Norwegian offshore petroleum employees in 2005 on the dimensions “Safety prioritisation”, “Safety management and involvement”, “Safety versus production”, “Individual motivation”, “System comprehension” and “Competence” using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA), effect size and mixed model. The companies differed significantly for “Safety prioritisation”, “Safety versus production”, “Individual motivation”, “System comprehension” and “Competence”. The local offshore installation explained more of the safety climate than the company they were employed in or worked for did.     

Measurement techniques for organizational safety causal models: Characterization and suggestions for enhancements

Through a review of literature from diverse disciplines with actual and potential application to causal modeling of organizational safety risk, this paper explores issues regarding measurement techniques in a quantitative safety analysis context. The interdependencies of modeling perspectives, constructs, and measures are indentified, leading to (a) characterization and classification of measurement techniques, (b) suggestions on the selection of appropriate measurement methods for different types of model constructs including individual-level, global, configural, and shared, and (c) discussion of the modeling implications of interactions between measurement, constructs, and causal paths. A multi-dimensional perspective is offered through combinations of different “measurement methods” and “measurement bases”. A Bayesian approach is also proposed to operationalize the multi-dimensional measurements. Examples are provided to help explain the roles of these measurements in capturing the relation between organizational factors and safety performance. This paper is a product of research which has the primary purpose of extending Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) modeling frameworks to include the effects of organizational factors as the fundamental causes of accidents and incidents.     

A learning-by-doing strategy to improve top management involvement in safety

The growth of legal regulations in occupational safety during the 70's alienated to some extent top management from health and safety issues; safety was regarded as an activity of safety professionals and labour inspection. This lack of commitment to safety management led to reduced activity and awareness. However, both research and practice indicate that the role of top management is of crucial importance for achieving results in safety.Having realized the problem and the lack of appropriate training to meet the demands of top management, a program called “One hour for safety management” has been developed. The training is arranged in an “action” setting, during the formal meeting of the executive board of the company. The program consists of four main parts: (1) Principles of modern safety management, (2) The company's accident insurance system, the interdependency between compensation costs and premiums, (3) The safety situation of the company; accidents, premiums and losses, hazards, safety program, and (4) Setting the safety targets and action plans required. More recently, a short audit process has been developed to reveal the important sources of loss and the state of affairs in the company's loss control systems. A special software package includes essential handouts of the safety management meetings complemented by self-auditing tools.The approach initiated or revived top management interest in and awareness of safety in several companies. The success of the meeting seems to depend on several factors, e.g. consultation skills, safety expertise, style of presentation, corporate culture and co-operation in the preparation of the session. The factors that contribute to an effective training for top management should further be analyzed, and the impact of the management training on accident rates is a task for evaluation studies in future.     

Driver behavior analysis for right-turn drivers at signalized intersections using SHRP 2 naturalistic driving study data

IntroductionUnderstanding driver behavior is important for traffic safety and operation, especially at intersections where different traffic movements conflict. While most driver-behavior studies are based on simulation, this paper documents the analysis of driver-behavior at signalized intersections with the SHRP 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (NDS) data. This study analyzes the different influencing factors on the operation (speed control) and observation of right-turn drivers.MethodA total of 300 NDS trips at six signalized intersections were used, including the NDS time-series sensor data, the forward videos and driver face videos. Different factors of drivers, vehicles, roads and environments were studied for their influence on driver behavior. An influencing index function was developed and the index was calculated for each influencing factor to quantitatively describe its influencing level. The influencing index was applied to prioritize the factors, which facilitates development and selection of safety countermeasures to improve intersection safety. Drivers' speed control was analyzed under different conditions with consideration of the prioritized influencing factors.ResultsVehicle type, traffic signal status, conflicting traffic, conflicting pedestrian and driver age group were identified as the five major influencing factors on driver observation.ConclusionsThis research revealed that drivers have high acceleration and low observation frequency under Right-Turn-On-Red (RTOR), which constituted potential danger for other roadway users, especially for pedestrians.Practical applicationsAs speed has a direct influence on crash rates and severities, the revealed speed patterns of the different situations also benefit selection of safety countermeasures at signalized intersections.     

道路交通环境中驾驶疲劳的生成模型研究

为预防由驾驶疲劳引起的交通事故,有必要研究在道路、交通和环境的综合影响下驾驶疲劳的生成机理。基于生理、心理学中的经典理论,借鉴国内外相关的研究成果,采用理论推理的方法对驾驶疲劳生成过程中驾驶员唤醒水平的变化规律及其影响因素进行分析。在此基础上建立了驾驶疲劳的生成模型,并将模型应用于工程实际。通过驾驶员唤醒水平的变化,指出驾驶疲劳的生成时刻,及其对驾驶时间的规定和道路、景观设计的影响。该模型以唤醒水平为核心,描述驾驶疲劳生成过程中驾驶员唤醒水平的变化规律,强调道路交通环境对驾驶员唤醒水平的影响。     

Risk and system integrity concepts for safety-related control systems

This paper provides an overview of the concepts of “risk” and “safety-integrity” in relation to safety-related electrical/electronic/programmable electronic systems. The paper is an abridged version of Annex A of the emerging International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Standard; “Functional safety of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic systems”. Although based on Annex A, the authors have deviated in a few instances, from the strict wording of Annex A in order to more properly represent their own views. Where this occurs, a note in the text has been added to alert the reader of the deviation. The concepts of risk (including tolerable risk; safety integrity; safety-related system; System and Software Integrity Levels) are discussed.     

The use of technology to address patterns of risk among teenage drivers

INTRODUCTION: The crash risk of teens is high, with fatal crash rates of teen drivers higher than any other age group. New approaches to reduce teen traffic fatalities are clearly needed. METHOD: A possible approach to reduce the incidence of teen driver crashes and fatalities is through the use of vehicle-based intelligent driver support systems. To be most effective, the system should address the behaviors associated with an overwhelming number of teen fatal crashes: speed, low seatbelt use, and alcohol impairment. In-vehicle technology also offers an opportunity to address the issue of inexperience through enforcement of certain Graduated Driver's License provisions. RESULTS: To fully understand the capability of such technologies, there should be a concerted effort to further their development, and human factors testing should take place to understand their effects on the driver. IMPACT: If successfully implemented, a Teen Driver Support System (TDSS), such as the one described here, could significantly decrease the number of teens killed in traffic crashes.     

Crashes and near-crashes on horizontal curves along rural two-lane highways: Analysis of naturalistic driving data

IntroductionPrior research has shown the probability of a crash occurring on horizontal curves to be significantly higher than on similar tangent segments, and a disproportionally higher number of curve-related crashes occurred in rural areas. Challenges arise when analyzing the safety of horizontal curves due to imprecision in integrating information as to the temporal and spatial characteristics of each crash with specific curves.MethodsThe second Strategic Highway Research Program(SHRP 2) conducted a large-scale naturalistic driving study (NDS),which provides a unique opportunity to better understand the contributing factors leading to crash or near-crash events. This study utilizes high-resolution behavioral data from the NDS to identify factors associated with 108 safety critical events (i.e., crashes or near-crashes) on rural two-lane curves. A case-control approach is utilized wherein these events are compared to 216 normal, baseline-driving events. The variables examined in this study include driver demographic characteristics, details of the traffic environment and roadway geometry, as well as driver behaviors such as in-vehicle distractions.ResultsLogistic regression models are estimated to discern those factors affecting the likelihood of a driver being crash-involved. These factors include high-risk behaviors, such as speeding and visual distractions, as well as curve design elements and other roadway characteristics such as pavement surface conditions.ConclusionsThis paper successfully integrated driver behavior, vehicle characteristics, and roadway environments into the same model. Logistic regression model was found to be an effective way to investigate crash risks using naturalistic driving data.Practical ApplicationsThis paper revealed a number of contributing factors to crashes on rural two-lane curves, which has important implications in traffic safety policy and curve geometry design. This paper also discussed limitations and lessons learned from working with the SHRP 2 NDS data. It will benefit future researchers who work with similar type of data.     

Slip and fall accident prevention: A review of research, practice, and regulations

This paper summarizes current research, practices, and regulations regarding walking/working surface slipperiness and coefficient of friction (COF) measurements. The literature and data are reviewed from three aspects:

1. (a) the biomechanics of walking and psychophysiological factors involved in slips and falls studied by the scientific community,

2. (b) various measuring devices and methods developed in an attempt to quantify the “slipperiness” of walking/working surfaces, and

3. (c) an acceptable quantitative standard for the “slipperiness” of surfaces and the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on such a standard.

Unresolved issues related to slip-resistance are identified. A multifaceted approach and synergy from researchers, the building industries, standards organizations, and government are needed to obtain concensus on such issues.     

Occupational health and safety promotion: Problems and solutions

Most occupational safety and health (OSH) professionals would agree that having a good OSH promotion programme is a challenge, and problems can be encountered at almost every stage in the planning and delivery of the programme.The first obstacle which may be encountered is programme justification. How does one convince employers and employees of the need for OSH promotion, and does competition from “Wellness Programmes” reduce available resources? Programme planning, deciding what constitutes a programme, and what to include in the OSH promotion programme, may be a dilemma. The programme implementation, deciding who implements the activities and how a programme is sustained, may be other difficult issues. Finally, programme evaluation can be problematic: How is it done properly? and Who should evaluate the programme?Possible solutions to these problems may include the costing of work accidents and occupational ill health to justify the need and benefits of an OSH programme, and riding on the bandwagon of “wellness promotion” instead of competition for limited resources. In programme planning, knowing what is wanted and employing a professional to plan the programme is essential. The programme coverage should encompass health and safety issues, and preventive strategies should be directed towards both environment and lifestyle factors. There should be a prioritization of topics according to the needs of workers. The choice of OSH professionals versus “wellness promoters” or human resource officers as programme co-ordinators may affect the programme outcome. Training supervisors and line workers to be trainers would involve those directly in contact with work hazards in the programme. Programme evaluation is crucial. There should be provision for both process and outcome evaluations, and pains should be taken to ensure independence and objectivity of evaluations. The idea of linking programme results to the OSH personnel assessments is worth considering.The delivery of OSH promotion programmes in a relevant and effective manner poses a real challenge. While some obstacles and problems appear to be insurmountable, these challenges have to be faced and overcome in order to achieve the goals of protecting and promoting the health of the worker.     

Assessing the impacts of signal coordination on the crash risks of various driving cohorts

Introduction: Signal coordination has been wildly implemented on urban arterials to improve traffic efficiency. The impacts of signal coordination on traffic safety, however, are largely overlooked, particularly on crash propensities of driver–vehicle cohorts, which will vary due to changing traffic flow patterns. Method: The paper aims to compare crash risks of various driving cohorts (measured by relative crash involvement ratio) on arterials with and without signal coordination with quasi-induced exposure technique, which has been well developed in estimating crash risks for driver–vehicle characteristics (i.e., driver age, gender, and vehicle type). Michigan traffic crash data (2000–2014) are retrieved for the case study. Results: The results indicate that: (a) when signal coordination is implemented, young, male drivers, and pickups are associated with more crash responsibilities; (b) crash propensities vary for different disaggregated situations, e.g., young drivers may experience the rapid increase in crash risks during the peak hours; and (c) more hazardous actions (e.g., failing to stop in assured clear distance) are witnessed for the high-risk driving cohorts on the coordinated arterials than non-coordinated ones. Conclusions and practical applications: The findings highlight the importance of safety impact analysis of signal coordination, and serve to guide the potential improvements of safety operation and management of signal coordinated arterials.     

Risky, aggressive, or emotional driving: addressing the need for consistent communication in research

Problem. Researchers agree that a consistent definition for aggressive driving is lacking. Such definitional ambiguity in the literature impedes the accumulation of accurate and precise information, and prevents researchers from communicating clearly about findings and implications for future research directions. This dramatically slows progress in understanding the causes and maintenance factors of aggressive driving. Summary. This article critiques prevailing definitions of driver aggression and generates a definition that, if used consistently, can improve the utility of future research. Pertinent driving behaviors have been variably labeled in the literature as risky, aggressive, or road rage. The authors suggest that the term “road rage” be eliminated from research because it has been used inconsistently and has little probability of being clarified and applied consistently. Instead, driving behaviors that endanger or have the potential to endanger others should be considered as lying on a behavioral spectrum of dangerous driving. Three dimensions of dangerous driving are delineated: (a) intentional acts of aggression toward others, (b) negative emotions experienced while driving, and (c) risk-taking. Impact on Industry. The adoption of a standardized definition for aggressive driving should spark researchers to use more explicit operational definitions that are consistent with theoretical foundations. The use of consistent and unambiguous operational definitions will increase the precision of measurement in research and enhance authors' ability to communicate clearly about findings and conclusions. As this occurs over time, industry will reap benefits from more carefully conducted research. Such benefits may include the development of more valid and reliable means of selecting safe professional drivers, conducting accurate risk assessments, and creating preventative and remedial dangerous driving safety programs.     

Integrating human factors and systems engineering to reduce the risk of operator “error”

Introducing safety devices does not always reduce the frequency of accidents. Operators adjust their response to technological improvements. Protection mechanisms may be used to support “unsafe” working practices so that the net risk of failure remains unchanged or may even rise. Regulatory bodies have reacted against this risk compensation. Rules and procedures have been imposed upon the day-to-day operation of protection equipment. Unfortunately, these constraints often fail to preserve the safety of an application. Inattention, fatigue, poor training and willful neglect can lead to rules and guidelines being ignored. In this paper alternative means of reducing threats posed by risk compensation are explored. In particular, it is argued that designers must exploit an integrated approach to the development of high-risk applications. By this we mean that both human factors and systems engineering must be recruited to support the development of protection equipment.     

Successful health and safety management. The contribution of management audit

Auditing the health and safety performance of organisations is now recognised as an essential ingredient of successful health and safety management systems. The audit protocol — the question sets—is, however, only one of a number of factors which determine the end value of auditing. The competence of auditors, their insights into the organisations subject to scrutiny, their independence and the feedback and decision making processes that help organisations to review and change the way they operate are equally important. Much of the process of auditing needs to be systematic, methodical and scientific. However the art of the informed analysis and inspired interpretation can also add value to the total management process. Auditing alone will not prevent accidents and injuries. Health and safety management systems do that. Auditing seeks to assess the efficiency effectiveness of the systems. Informed management action must then follow, to maintain and improve them. This paper outlines five essential components of health and safety management; policy making, organising, planning, performance measurement and review which provide the environment in which effective auditing systems operate. It is derived from the work of HSE's Accident Prevention Advisory Unit and the advice published in “Successful Health and Safety Management” in 1991.     

Methodological application of system dynamics for evaluating traffic safety policy

System dynamics (SDs) is a methodology that can be used to understand the behavior and dynamics of complex systems over time. SD utilizes a range of tools and techniques such as influence and causal loop diagrams, computer simulation and optimization. SD has been used to facilitate the analysis of complex physical and social systems, e.g. water resources, climate change and industrial accidents. One of the key reasons for its growing popularity is that it allows policy experimentation and facilitates the discussion of ‘what-if’ scenarios. Within the realm of road traffic research, SD has been primarily used to examine micro level issues such as the interactions between the driver, infrastructure and the vehicle. Even though such micro level analysis are important, macro traffic safety policies can create more sustainable systems that pre-empt safety issues and reduce likelihood of traffic accidents. This paper develops two models to demonstrate how the methodology of SD can facilitate and encourage macro and meso level analysis of traffic safety policy. The first model is used to assess policy options so as to encourage the purchase of cars with higher safety ratings. The second model, is used to evaluate the impact of public transport policies on travel time and traffic safety considerations. The strength and weaknesses of the SD methodology in road transport/safety analysis are also examined. It is suggested that SD is most appropriate for formulating macro level policy as it can account for the dynamic complexity associated with the road transport system.     

What humanlike errors do autonomous vehicles need to avoid to maximize safety?

Introduction: The final failure in the causal chain of events in 94% of crashes is driver error. It is assumed most crashes will be prevented by autonomous vehicles (AVs), but AVs will still crash if they make the same mistakes as humans. By identifying the distribution of crashes among various contributing factors, this study provides guidance on the roles AVs must perform and errors they must avoid to realize their safety potential. Method: Using the NMVCCS database, five categories of driver-related contributing factors were assigned to crashes: (1) sensing/perceiving (i.e., not recognizing hazards); (2) predicting (i.e., misjudging behavior of other vehicles); (3) planning/deciding (i.e., poor decision-making behind traffic law adherence and defensive driving); (4) execution/performance (i.e., inappropriate vehicle control); and (5) incapacitation (i.e., alcohol-impaired or otherwise incapacitated driver). Assuming AVs would have superior perception and be incapable of incapacitation, we determined how many crashes would persist beyond those with incapacitation or exclusively sensing/perceiving factors. Results: Thirty-three percent of crashes involved only sensing/perceiving factors (23%) or incapacitation (10%). If they could be prevented by AVs, 67% could remain, many with planning/deciding (41%), execution/performance (23%), and predicting (17%) factors. Crashes with planning/deciding factors often involved speeding (23%) or illegal maneuvers (15%). Conclusions: Errors in choosing evasive maneuvers, predicting actions of other road users, and traveling at speeds suitable for conditions will persist if designers program AVs to make errors similar to those of today’s human drivers. Planning/deciding factors, such as speeding and disobeying traffic laws, reflect driver preferences, and AV design philosophies will need to be consistent with safety rather than occupant preferences when they conflict. Practical applications: This study illustrates the complex roles AVs will have to perform and the risks arising from occupant preferences that AV designers and regulators must address if AVs will realize their potential to eliminate most crashes.     

智能交通与中国的交通安全

在交通运输中 ,安全是最重要的因素。近年来 ,中国交通运输事业的快速发展 ,给人民的生活带来诸多便利 ,但当前的交通安全状况却不容乐观 ,交通事故频繁发生 ,事故死亡人数逐年上升。智能交通系统是一个高科技集成系统 ,它综合运用各种高新技术于整个交通管理系统之中 ,可以系统、全面、高效地提高交通运输的安全性。笔者研究了我国的交通安全问题 ,尤其是公路交通安全问题 ,阐明了如何应用智能交通系统 ,有效地减少交通事故 ,改善交通安全状况 ;指出了我国发展智能交通对于改善交通安全 ,解决交通安全问题的重要意义并展望了我国发展智能交通的前景     

基于认知心理学的驾驶员信息加工模式研究

道路交通系统是一个有人参与的复杂系统,人,特别是驾驶员的行为决定了相当一部分系统的性能。而驾驶行为是一个不断往复进行的信息处理过程,对驾驶员的信息加工模式进行研究是道路交通安全与汽车安全设计的核心基础。随着认知工效研究的深入和人工智能的发展,传统的基于刺激(S)-机体(O)-反应(R)的驾驶员信息加工模式,难以满足技术发展的要求。笔者在对交通系统建模与分析的基础上,应用现代认知心理学理论,对驾驶员的信息获取和处理机制进行了研究,建立了驾驶员对某一确定认知对象的信息处理结构模型,并对模型的作用和特点进行了简单的分析。分析结果为驾驶员认知过程研究和相关系统开发设计提供了依据。