Investigating the self-reported behavior of drivers and their attitudes to traffic violations

Aberrant behaviors of drivers involved in crashes and related injury severity: Are there variations between the major cities in the same country?

INTRODUCTION

Crash data analyses based on accident datasets often do not include human-related variables because they can be hard to reconstruct from crash data. However, records of crash circumstances can help for this purpose since crashes can be classified considering aberrant behavior and misconduct of the drivers involved.

METHOD

In this case, urban crash data from the 10 largest Italian cities were used to develop four logistic regression models having the driver-related crash circumstance (aberrant behaviors: inattentive driving, illegal maneuvering, wrong interaction with pedestrian and speeding) as dependent variables and the other crash-related factors as predictors (information about the users and the vehicles involved and about road geometry and conditions). Two other models were built to study the influence of the same factors on the injury severity of the occupants of vehicles for which crash circumstances related to driver aberrant behaviors were observed and of the involved pedestrians. The variability between the 10 different cities was considered through a multilevel approach, which revealed a significant variability only for the inattention-related crash circumstance. In the other models, the variability between cities was not significant, indicating quite homogeneous results within the same country.

RESULTS

The results show several relationships between crash factors (driver, vehicle or road-related) and human-related crash circumstances and severity. Unsignalized intersections were particularly related to the illegal maneuvering crash circumstance, while the night period was clearly related to the speeding-related crash circumstance and to injuries/casualties of vehicle occupants. Cyclists and motorcyclists were shown to suffer more injuries/casualties than car occupants, while the latter were generally those exhibiting more aberrant behaviors. Pedestrian casualties were associated with arterial roads, heavy vehicles, and older pedestrians.

Investigating medical student's attitudes about road accident risks: A cross-sectional study

Background and Aims

Given that unsafe human actions are the main cause of accidents, it is essential to comprehend the attitudes of medical students toward the risks of road accidents, particularly given their potential influence as future healthcare professionals. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the attitudes of medical students towards road accidents.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 Zahedan University of Medical Sciences students in 2021 as available sampling. The required information was collected using a researcher-made questionnaire with a content validity ratio of 0.9, a content validity index of 0.9-0.8, and a reliability (α) of 0.79, which was presented online in the university systems. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 23 software, data description was done as frequency and percentage, and analytical analysis was done with the χ 2 test.

Results

The average age of the participants was 21.7 (4.2) years; 45.7% of the participants were male and 11.3% were married; 79.7% had less than 300 km of driving experience; 76% had less than 3 years since receiving their license; 14% stated that they drive faster than others; 18.3% reported a history of fines; and 28.3% reported an accident history. The most incorrect attitudes of students regarding low-risk using mobile phones (86%), text sending (84.3%), eating and drinking while driving (74.6%), driving after consuming alcohol or drugs (73%), and driving when tired and sleepy (85.4%) were reported.

Conclusion

Based on the results, it is suggested to plan to correct wrong attitudes, especially among young and educated drivers, through education and culture, so that we can move in the direction of reducing accidents.

Traffic violations analysis: Identifying risky areas and common violations

Road traffic accidents caused by traffic violations are a major public health issue that results in loss of lives and economic costs. Therefore, it is important to prioritize road safety measures that reduce the incidence and severity of accidents. In this study, we suggest an incremental road safety strategy that identifies high-risk areas and common traffic violations in order to prioritize further enforcement. In fact, by analyzing data on traffic violations in different districts and comparing them to the overall average using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test, risky areas are identified and the most common violations are detected. We performed a comparison between several types of clustering optimizations to spot clusters to be enforced in order to reduce violations. Our results indicate that some Districts have a higher risk of traffic violations than others do, and some violations (Speeding, Registration, License, Belt, Influence, Phone, etc.) are more common than others are. We also find that k-means clustering provides the best results for identifying clusters of violations records and optimizing enforcement strategies. Our findings can be adopted by law enforcement agencies to focus on high-risk areas and target the most common violations in order to optimize their resources and improve road safety.

Risk Factors for Hyphema Following Kahook Dual Blade Goniotomy Combined With Phacoemulsification

PRCIS

Hyphema development after Kahook Dual Blade (KDB) excisional goniotomy was significantly associated with postoperative day 1 intraocular pressure (IOP) ≤12 mm Hg, male sex, and narrow iridocorneal angles, but not with continuation of anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy.

PURPOSE

To identify risk factors of hyphema development after KDB goniotomy combined with phacoemulsification.

METHODS

In all, 202 eyes in 145 patients who received a KDB goniotomy combined with phacoemulsification between February 21, 2017 and February 18, 2020 were evaluated for preoperative factors that were predictive of postoperative hyphema. Hyphema was defined as the development of ≥1 mm layered blood in the anterior chamber. The primary outcome was the association between various preoperative factors and the development of postoperative hyphema. Binomial logistic regression was used to analyze risk factors of hyphema development while controlling for other variables.

RESULTS

Hyphema occurred in 8.4% (17/202) of patients on day 1 after KDB goniotomy combined with phacoemulsification. Male sex ( P =0.008), angle closure glaucoma ( P =0.036), and postoperative day 1 IOP ≤12 mm Hg ( P =0.049) were significantly correlated with hyphema development while controlling for other variables. Preoperative anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy had no association with hyphema development ( P =0.538).

CONCLUSIONS

Postoperative hyphema was associated with male sex, narrow iridocorneal angles, and a postoperative day 1 IOP lower than typical episcleral venous pressure when controlling for other variables. Preoperative anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy was not associated with developing postoperative hyphema in this study; however, further investigation is needed before recommendations can be made.

Temporal-spatial evolution analysis of severe traffic violations using three functional forms of models considering the diurnal variation of meteorology

Traffic violations and crashes are inherently associated. Analysis of traffic violation frequency is a prerequisite for improvements in crash prevention and corresponding countermeasures. One of the essential works in the field of traffic violations relates to the exploration of the correlations between a certain violation type (e.g., speeding or safety belt use) and its causal factors (e.g., demographics and road types). Till now, the effects of spatiotemporal and meteorological factors on severe traffic violations, a general term for dangerous driving behaviors, have not been fully considered. Using the dataset consisting of daily severe traffic violations and meteorological conditions during 12 months in Jiangsu Province, China, violation performance functions were developed for three violation types (total violations, driving under the influence, and speeding) based on three models (Poisson regression, zero-inflated Poisson regression, and negative binomial model). The findings indicate that the negative binomial model has a better performance for traffic violation frequency estimation. Additionally, elastic analysis for three violation types relying on the negative binomial model was conducted to present the relationships between the explanatory variables and the expected violation frequency. The effects of spatiotemporal factors have revealed that the violation situations are significantly different in varying cities and the frequency of drunk driving shows a significant time instability. It is also found that rainy days will generate a decrease in the possibility of violation occurrence. With regard to temperature, a significant negative effect is found and the decrease in temperature will bring about an increase in violation frequency. Besides, traffic violation frequency is significantly increased during holidays with comfortable weather conditions. The conclusion of this study can provide insightful suggestions for the department of traffic enforcement to adjust the patrol plans according to the specified periods (weeks, months, or holidays) and weather conditions. Special rectification actions and targeted educational activities are also advised to be put forward simultaneously.

Prediction of Seat Belt Use Behavior among Adolescents Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior

BACKGROUND

Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) are the important causes of unintentional injuries and deaths. In this respect, seat belt wearing is an influential factor in reducing the mortality and severity of road traffic injuries. The rate of seat belt use among is lower adolescents, compared to adults. The present study aimed to investigate the influential factors on seat belt-weraing behavior among adolescent students as car occupants based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).

STUDY DESIGN

  A cross-sectional design.

METHODS

This study was conducted among 952 adolescent students studying in grades 7, 8, and 9 in the schools of Tabriz, Iran, in the 2019-20 academic year. A researcher-made questionnaire was designed based on TPB for data collection, the validity and reliability of which have been confirmed.

RESULTS

The results indicated that the rate of seat belt use in the front seat inside the city was lower than that outside the city. Regarding TPB constructs, perceived behavioral control (β=0.137; 95% CI: 0.006-0.013; P<0.001), subjective norm (β=0.313; 95% CI: 0.021-0.032; P<0.001), and attitude (β=0.322; 95% CI: 0.034-0.053; P<0.001) had a significant and positive relationship with the intention of seat belt-wearing behavior. Moreover, the behavioral intention (β=0.571; 95% CI: 0.62-0.64; P<0.001) had a significantly positive relationship with seat belt-wearing behavior.

CONCLUSION

The Theory of Planned Behavior is appropriate to determine predictor factors of seat belt-weraing behavior among adolescent students as car occupants. In addition, the results of the present study may provide a theoretical basis for policy-making to improve adolescent students' seat belt use.

Organizational and personal factors in occupational traffic injuries at work in Spain

OBJECTIVE

Traffic crashes are one of the major causes of deaths at work. However, most of the literature on traffic crashes did not study the influence of worker and organization conditions. The current paper analyses the influence of the personal and organizational factors associated with the severity of occupational traffic crashes.

METHODS

A total of 724,596 occupational traffic crashes that occurred in Spain from 2009 to 2019 were analyzed. Men suffered 59% of crashes registered, while workers younger than 30 represented 31.3% of crashes studied. Variables included in the Official Occupational Accident Report were analyzed using logistic regression calculating odds ratios.

RESULTS

Results showed that a foreign, professional male driver from a small company who is older than 55 years was more likely to suffer a fatal crash. In contrast, a Spanish, nonprofessional female driver from a medium or big company who is younger than 30 years is more likely to suffer light consequences.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from the current research could help to improve the safety training programmes in companies considering their personal and business variables such as age, gender, or company staff, especially in small companies. Future research should collect and analyze additional variables combining different data sources.

Mobile phone use while driving: Development and validation of knowledge, attitude, and practice survey instruments

INTRODUCTION

Instruments that assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of mobile phone use serve as a primary assessment tool on which mobile phone distracted driving interventions can be designed. The objective of this study is to develop and validate KAP-modeled survey instruments that measure the knowledge of mobile phone hazards while driving (KMPHD), the attitude of drivers towards mobile phone use while driving (AMPUD), and the practice of mobile phone use while driving (PMPUD).

METHOD

This study was a cross-sectional analytical survey conducted in Ibadan, Nigeria. Three instruments were designed to measure KMPHD, AMPUD, and PMPUD. Content validity, item analysis, exploratory factor analysis were conducted, and items were excluded based on the collective results of the analysis. The domains of the constructs and the reliability of the instruments are reported. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the regression weights of each item and the model fit.

RESULTS

From an original list of 13, 12, and 10 items in the KMPHD, AMPUD, and PMPUD instruments, a final list of 7, 5, and 7 items were generated in each survey instrument, respectively. Two domains of the knowledge of hazards and practice of mobile phone use were obtained, and attitude to phone use while driving was a single domain. The reliabilities (Cronbach alpha) of the KMPHD (0.881), AMPUD (0.954), and PMPUD (0.920) were sufficiently high. Also, all items in the three instruments had moderate-to-high regression coefficients, and the model fits of the instruments were good.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides KAP-modeled survey instruments that can be used to assess a population-based knowledge, attitude, and practice of mobile phone use while driving. Practical Applications: This survey instrument can be used in assessing baseline knowledge, attitude, and practice of phone use while driving and determine the focus and effectiveness of mobile phone-induced distracted driving interventions.

The association between demographic characteristics, personality, and mental health of bus drivers in China: A structural equation model

BACKGROUND

The psychological status of drivers is related to adverse driving behaviors. Although there are several studies on the mental health and traffic accidents among bus drivers, related studies on the association between mental health and individual characteristics are scarce.

METHODS

Our report is on a cross-sectional study of bus drivers that took place between October 2014 and May 2016. A total of 596 bus drivers who worked for transportation companies and underwent occupational physical examinations at The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region workers' Hospital during the study period were included. Demographic characteristics were collected by a self-designed demographic questionnaire. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R) were used to evaluate the personality and mental health of bus drivers, and the results of the scales were compared with Chinese norms. The structural equation model was used to analyze the correlation among demographic characteristics, personality characteristics, and mental health.

RESULTS

Except for the lie dimension, the average scores of the driver's personality dimension were higher than the Chinese norm, and the means of somatization and phobia scores of bus drivers were also higher; obsessions-compulsions, interpersonal sensitivity, and depression scores were lower than those for the Chinese norms. The structural equations modeling revealed that the total effects coefficient of demographic characteristics on mental health was 0.68, and that of personality was 0.60. There were direct influences between demographic characteristics and personality characteristics, demographic characteristics and mental health, and personality characteristics and mental health; the standardized path coefficients were 0.60, 0.50, and 0.30, respectively. Smoking, drinking, and neuroticism were the main factors affecting the mental health of bus drivers; and the standardized path coefficients were 0.56, 0.54, and 0.90 respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, bus drivers were significantly more extroverted, psychotic, and neurotic than the general population; and they were more likely to suffer from somatization and phobia. The mental health of bus drivers was associated with some demographic and personality characteristics in the study. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the selection of bus drivers and intervention measures for drivers with high-risk driving tendencies, which is conducive to better guide road traffic safety construction and reduce the occurrence of road traffic injuries.

Investigating influence factors of traffic violations at signalized intersections using data gathered from traffic enforcement camera

To effectively reduce traffic violations that often cause severe crashes at signalized intersections, exploring their contributing factors seems hugely urgent and essential. This study attempted to investigate the influence factors of wrong-way driving (WWD), red-light-running (RLR), violating traffic markings (VTM), and driving in the inaccurate oriented lane (DIOL) at signalized intersections by using data collected from traffic enforcement camera in Hohhot, China. To this end, an ordinary multinomial logit model was developed. By considering the unobserved heterogeneity between observations, a random effects multinomial logit model was proposed as well. After that, the marginal effects of explanatory variables were computed. The outcomes showed that non-local vehicles were more likely to commit WWD and VTM than local vehicles. WWD and RLR frequently occurred in the daytime and evening (6:00–23:59), and on most days within a week. RLR and DIOL mainly happened in June and July. The left-turn lane ratio significantly increased RLR and DIOL. The cloudy, partly cloudy, and rainy days obviously increased WWD and VTM. The temperature from 21 to 30 degrees centigrade was apparently associated with the higher likelihoods of RLR and DIOL. According to the findings of this study, some intervention measures, targeting different vehicle types and considering temporal factors, road, and weather conditions, were recommended to reduce WWD, RLR, VTM, and DIOL at signalized intersections.

Frustration at congested railway level crossings: How long before extended closures result in risky behaviours?

Drivers' non-compliance with rules is a prominent factor in collisions with trains at railway level crossings. Road user impatience and frustration has been identified as an underlying factor in non-compliance and can be characterised as a specific risk factor. However, research on non-compliance related to waiting times and driver inconvenience lacks in the literature. This paper, therefore, seeks to enhance the currently limited understanding of the relationship between waiting times and risky driver behaviour. An Advanced Driving Simulator was used to obtain objective measures of level crossing non-compliance. Subjective measures on driver frustration and decision-making processes were also collected. Sixty participants completed six driving tasks each, with the tasks varying in terms of traffic conditions, number of trains and associated waiting times. This study shows that increased waiting times result in higher levels of frustration and an increased likelihood of risky driving behaviour, particularly for waiting times longer than 3 min. Non-compliance included entering the activated crossing before boom gates are down, entering the crossing after the train passage but before signals are deactivated, stopping/reversing on the crossing. Subjective data revealed that participants did not comply with level crossing rules due to factors including time pressure, impatience/frustration and low perceived risk. The results suggest that, where possible, waiting times should be standardised at values lower than 3 min to reduce the likelihood of risky road user behaviour.

What factors predict drivers' self-reported lane change violation behavior at urban intersections? A study in China

Lane change violations are a major cause of traffic conflicts and accidents at urban intersections and one of many road-safety issues in China. This study aims to explore the socio-psychological factors underlying drivers' motivation for lane change violation behavior at urban intersections and examines how these factors predict this violation behavior. A self-reported questionnaire is designed by applying the construct of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to collect data. Five hundred-six valid responses are received from the questionnaire survey conducted on the Internet in China. The data are then analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results of the analysis show that behavioral intention is the strongest predictor of self-reported lane change violation behavior at urban intersections. Perceived behavioral control has both direct and indirect effects on self-reported lane change violation behavior. Furthermore, attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are found to have significant correlations with drivers' intention of lane change violations at urban intersections. The results of this study could provide a reference for designing more effective interventions to modify drivers' lane change violation behavior at urban intersections.

The risk factors Finnish paramedics recognize when performing emergency response driving

OBJECTIVE

Paramedics face several safety risks in their occupation, and crashes during emergency response driving (ERD) are quite common. However, there is a need for more research to develop educational and implementation suggestions to determine how these risks can be reduced and managed. In this study, we examined what risk factors Finnish paramedics recognize when performing ERD.

METHODS

The study material consisted of 161 pages of material that had been written by experienced paramedics (n = 44) who were master's degree students of South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences in fall 2017. They wrote essays based solely on their own thoughts and experiences regarding the risk factors associated with ERD. The material was analyzed via inductive content analysis.

RESULTS

Two main categories were found: Crew-related risk factors and environmental risk factors. These categories could be further divided into eight sub-categories. The crew-related risk factors consisted of lack of education and training for ERD, insufficient concentration on driving, irresponsibility and indifference, crew member's inability to take collective responsibility for safety as a team, and excessive load experienced by the driver. Environmental risk factors consisted of demanding handling of ambulance, poor visibility, and other road users.

CONCLUSIONS

Finnish paramedics recognized several risk factors in ERD. Some of the factors have been noted in previous literature regarding ambulance crashes and should be addressed as a matter of urgency to improve safety. Overall, better knowledge regarding these risks needs to be developed worldwide. The results led to several further study suggestions.

Analysis of non-compliance with smoke-free legislation in Russia

OBJECTIVES

The study examined the smokers' non-compliance rates in indoor public places in Russia and the sociodemographic factors associated with non-compliance.

METHODS

Univariate analysis and logistic regression models were performed using cross-sectional data from a representative sample of Russian adults (N = 4006).

RESULTS

27.2% of Russian smokers did not comply with smoke-free bans. Non-compliance was attributed to sociodemographic characteristics of smokers, mainly to the number of cigarettes smoked per day, regular alcohol consumption, being aged between 15 and 34 years, being in the highest income group and living in an urban area. Neither the sex, nor the family status of smokers exerted a statistically significant affiliation with non-compliance. Higher rates of non-compliance were observed in restaurants, cafes, bars and nightclubs, common domestic premises of apartment buildings and indoor workplaces. Violations on public transport, in governmental buildings, health and sport facilities, colleges and universities were less common.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a need to revise the methods of enforcement with respect to sociodemographic characteristics of smokers associated with non-compliance in public places where violations are widespread.

Effects of socio-demographic, personality and mental health factors on traffic violations in Chinese bus drivers

The present study aims to determine the association between bus drivers' socio-demographic characteristics, personality traits, mental health and traffic violations. This case-control study included 596 bus drivers who were recruited during October 2014 to May 2016, including 295 drivers with traffic violations and 301 drivers without traffic violations. The bus drivers' personality traits and mental health were assessed by the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R). Drivers aged 26-35 years were 72% less likely to be involved in traffic violations compared to drivers aged ≤25 years (OR:0.284,95%CI:0.137-0.586). Drivers with ≤2 years driving experience were associated with almost a three-fold increased risk of traffic violations compared to ≥21 years driving experience (OR:3.174,95%CI:1.097-9.187). The OR value decreased with the increase of annual income (OR:4.631,95%CI:2.667-8.042;OR:3.569,95%CI:2.038-6.251;OR:3.781,95%CI:1.999-7.151). Occasionally drinking drivers and regularly drinking drivers, compared to nondrinking drivers, exhibited a higher risk of traffic violations (OR:2.487,95%CI:1.521-4.065;OR:3.271,95%CI:1.387-7.716).Extroversion and neuroticism were identified as significant factors associated with traffic violations (OR:1.262,95%CI:1.145-1.393;OR:1.159,95%CI:1.060-1.267).Somatization increased eleven-fold risk of bus drivers' traffic violations (OR:11.185,95%CI:4.563-27.419). The results revealed that bus drivers' traffic violations were mainly affected by specific socio-demographic characteristics, personality traits and mental health, which increase the risk of traffic violations.

Determinants of seat belt use behaviour: a protocol for a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

The use of seat belts could prevent severe collision damage to people in vehicle accidents and keep passengers safe from sustaining serious injuries; for instance, it could prevent passengers from being thrown out of a vehicle after the collision. The current systematic review will identify and analyse the determinants of seat belt use behaviour.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will include qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies reporting the acquired data from passengers aged more than 12 years and drivers, from both commercial and personal vehicles. Online databases including MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and PsycINFO will be investigated in the current study. Published and available articles will be evaluated according to their titles and abstracts. Published papers conforming to the inclusion criteria will be organised for a complete review. Next, the full text of the remaining articles will be studied independently for eligibility by two authors. The quality of the selected studies will be assessed with appropriate tools. Based on the information obtained from the data extraction, the type of determinants of seat belt use will be classified.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethics approval is not required, because this is a protocol for a systematic review and no primary data will be collected. The authors will ensure to maintain the rights of the used and included articles in the present systematic review. The findings of this review will be published in a relevant peer-reviewed journal.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42017067511.

A rear-end collision risk assessment model based on drivers' collision avoidance process under influences of cell phone use and gender-A driving simulator based study

Driver's collision avoidance performance has a direct link to the collision risk and crash severity. Previous studies demonstrated that the distracted driving, such as using a cell phone while driving, disrupted the driver's performance on road. This study aimed to investigate the manner and extent to which cell phone use and driver's gender affected driving performance and collision risk in a rear-end collision avoidance process. Forty-two licensed drivers completed the driving simulation experiment in three phone use conditions: no phone use, hands-free, and hand-held, in which the drivers drove in a car-following situation with potential rear-end collision risks caused by the leading vehicle's sudden deceleration. Based on the experiment data, a rear-end collision risk assessment model was developed to assess the influence of cell phone use and driver's gender. The cell phone use and driver's gender were found to be significant factors that affected the braking performances in the rear-end collision avoidance process, including the brake reaction time, the deceleration adjusting time and the maximum deceleration rate. The minimum headway distance between the leading vehicle and the simulator during the rear-end collision avoidance process was the final output variable, which could be used to measure the rear-end collision risk and judge whether a collision occurred. The results showed that although cell phone use drivers took some compensatory behaviors in the collision avoidance process to reduce the mental workload, the collision risk in cell phone use conditions was still higher than that without the phone use. More importantly, the results proved that the hands-free condition did not eliminate the safety problem associated with distracted driving because it impaired the driving performance in the same way as much as the use of hand-held phones. In addition, the gender effect indicated that although female drivers had longer reaction time than male drivers in critical situation, they were more quickly in braking with larger maximum deceleration rate, and they tended to keep a larger safety margin with the leading vehicle compared to male drivers. The findings shed some light on the further development of advanced collision avoidance technologies and the targeted intervention strategies about cell phone use while driving.

Road traffic accidents and self-reported Portuguese car driver's attitudes, behaviors, and opinions: Are they related?

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to characterize Portuguese car drivers in terms of demographic characteristics, driving experience, and attitudes, opinions, and behaviors concerning road traffic safety. Furthermore, associations between these characteristics and self-reported involvement in a road traffic accident as a driver in the last 3 years were analyzed. A final goal was to develop a final predictive model of the risk of suffering a road traffic accident.

METHODS

A cross-sectional analytic study was developed, based on a convenience sample of 612 car drivers. A questionnaire was applied by trained interviewers, embracing various topics related to road safety such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, phone use while driving, speeding, use of advanced driver assistance systems, and the transport infrastructure and environment (European Project SARTRE 4, Portuguese version). From the 52 initial questions, 19 variables were selected through principal component analysis. Then, and in addition to the usual descriptive measures, logistic binary regression models were used in order to describe associations and to develop a predictive model of being involved in a road traffic accident.

RESULTS

Of the 612 car drivers, 37.3% (228) reported being involved in a road traffic accident with damage or injury in the past 3 years. In this group, the majority were male, older than 65, with no children, not employed, and living in an urban area. In the multivariate model, several factors were identified: being widowed (vs. single; odds ratio [OR] = 3.478, 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.159-10.434); living in a suburban area (vs. a rural area; OR = 5.023, 95% CI, 2.260-11.166); having been checked for alcohol once in the last 3 years (vs. not checked; OR = 3.124, 95% CI, 2.040-4,783); and seldom drinking an energetic beverage such as coffee when tired (vs. always do; OR = 6.822, 95% CI, 2.619-17.769) all suffered a higher risk of being involved in a car accident.

CONCLUSIONS

The results obtained with regard to behavioral factors meet the majority of the risk factors associated with car accidents referred to in the literature. This study highlights the relation of relatively minor accidents (the majority with no injuries) with an urban (or semi-urban) context and involving older drivers. These accidents are not usually the focus of road safety literature (mainly death and serious health loss) but, in addition to the economic costs involved, they can have a huge impact on road safety (e.g., pedestrian). Specifically, the following interventions can be proposed: more detailed clinical examinations to identify real competencies to drive especially in older drivers (active aging can constitute a new challenge in road safety and new paradigms can arise) and education campaigns on how to cope with fatigue. Future studies in large samples and not based on self-reported behaviors should be developed.

Does family background impact driving attitudes and risky behaviours? An investigation on Chinese young drivers

The rapid pace of motorisation in China has been well documented, as has the large road trauma burden the Chinese citizens are facing as a result. China's unique political system represents an important consideration in helping reduce road trauma, yet political factors have not been previously investigated in this context. Recently, emerging issues on the road involving the adult children of politically powerful families have become a serious social problem in China, and have drawn widespread media and public attention. This study took a novel approach to examining factors associated with risky attitudes and risky road use in China by investigating the economic and political background status of a sample of young Chinese drivers. An online survey was conducted in May 2015 with a sample size of 476 Chinese young drivers from across the country, aged between 18 and 28, including 305 males and 171 females. The results suggest that for participants who reported having a familial political background, more risky driving behaviours were reported among those participants who reported more impact on their life from that political background; while for participants without political background, higher personal income was associated with more risky driving behaviours. The findings are discussed in light of China's political management system and potential education opportunities for young drivers.

[Drug use and involvement in risky driving styles in a sample of university students. The uniHcos project]

OBJECTIVE

Drug and alcohol use are known to increase the risk of traffic accidents, especially among youth. However, the association between habitual drug use and the adoption of risky driving behavior is not well known. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify the association between habitual drug use and involvement in risky driving practices overall and by gender among university students.

METHODS

A cross sectional study was conducted. The study population was composed of 559 car drivers younger than 31 years who completed an online questionnaire during the 2011-2012 academic year. Among other factors, the questionnaire assessed the following items: habitual drug consumption (20 or more days) during the last year and involvement in other risky driving practices during the last month.

RESULTS

A total of 27.7% of students reported they had used drugs regularly during the last year. Drug use was associated with a higher frequency of involvement in risky driving practices. In men, the factors most strongly associated with drug consumption were speeding, driving under influence of alcohol, and feeling drowsy while driving. In women, drug consumption was mainly associated with smoking while driving, drunk driving, and driving without rest.

CONCLUSION

The results of our study support the hypothesis that habitual drug use is associated with an increased frequency of risky driving behavior.

Prediction of vehicle crashes by drivers' characteristics and past traffic violations in Korea using a zero-inflated negative binomial model

AIMS

Traffic safety is a significant public health challenge, and vehicle crashes account for the majority of injuries. This study aims to identify whether drivers' characteristics and past traffic violations may predict vehicle crashes in Korea.

METHODS

A total of 500,000 drivers were randomly selected from the 11.6 million driver records of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs in Korea. Records of traffic crashes were obtained from the archives of the Korea Insurance Development Institute. After matching the past violation history for the period 2004-2005 with the number of crashes in year 2006, a total of 488,139 observations were used for the analysis. Zero-inflated negative binomial model was used to determine the incident risk ratio (IRR) of vehicle crashes by past violations of individual drivers. The included covariates were driver's age, gender, district of residence, vehicle choice, and driving experience.

RESULTS

Drivers violating (1) a hit-and-run or drunk driving regulation at least once and (2) a signal, central line, or speed regulation more than once had a higher risk of a vehicle crash with respective IRRs of 1.06 and 1.15. Furthermore, female gender, a younger age, fewer years of driving experience, and middle-sized vehicles were all significantly associated with a higher likelihood of vehicle crashes.

CONCLUSIONS

Drivers' demographic characteristics and past traffic violations could predict vehicle crashes in Korea. Greater resources should be assigned to the provision of traffic safety education programs for the high-risk driver groups.