| 1. |
- Andersérs, Caroline, et al.
(författare)
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The importance of individual characteristics on bicycle performance during alcohol intoxication
- 2024
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Ingår i: Traffic Safety Research. - Lund : Faculty of Engineering, Lund University. - 2004-3082. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bicycling accidents are a well-known problem for traffic safety globally. Alcohol intoxication is one possible factor, although the exact number of accidents due to intoxication is difficult to establish. Not all bicyclists act in the same way, particularly when under the influence of alcohol, i.e., bicycling performance might be related to a bicyclist's personal characteristics. This study aimed to investigate if the bicyclist's characteristics (bicycling experience, physical fitness, or sensation seeking scores) influence bicycling stability, cognitive performance, or self-rated bicycling ability ratings at different levels of alcohol intoxication. The experiment was completed on a wide treadmill, which allowed control of several influencing factors such as speed and physical effort. Intoxicated and sober participants bicycled on the treadmill five times for 10 minutes each time, and breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) levels were measured five times. Participants were given doses of alcohol up to a BrAC level of 0.8%.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Jan, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Bicycling during alcohol intoxication
- 2023
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Ingår i: Traffic Safety Research. - : Lund University Faculty of Engineering. - 2004-3082. ; 4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The number of bicycling fatalities was 19 450 between 2010 and 2018 in Europe. The number of bicyclists killed when intoxicated by alcohol is harder to establish given the lack of reliable data. In Sweden, drunk bicycling is socially acceptable and legal (unless reckless). This experiment aimed to investigate how alcohol intoxication affect bicycling stability performance, executive functions, and self-rated ability. The experiment was completed on a wide treadmill that allowed control of several influencing factors such as speed and physical effort. Intoxicated and sober participants bicycled on the treadmill for five 10 minute sessions. Alcohol as administered incrementally to reach a target breath alcohol concentration level of 0.8‰. Stability decreased with intoxication; especially roll rate measurements were identified as being adequate indicators of bicycling instability. Executive function was negatively affected, and ability ratings decreased due to intoxication. The intoxicated participants were aware of their reduced ability to bicycle in a safe manner on a group level but not on an individual level. However, this insight does not affect their intention to bicycle intoxicated.
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| 3. |
- Björnstig, Ulf, 1943-, et al.
(författare)
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Flying roadside stones - a deadly risk in a crash
- 2021
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Ingår i: Traffic Safety Research. - : Lund University. - 2004-3082. ; 1
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The crash of a coach with 58 occupants at 100 kmph revealed the danger of covering ditch areas with sharp stones 5–20 cm in size. Stones and dirt were sprayed into the coach compartment resulting in serious injuries and death. Road safety works need to address this factor in the future.
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| 4. |
- Carlsson, Anna K, 1966, et al.
(författare)
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Rollator related pedestrian single accidents and collision events in Sweden
- 2022
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Ingår i: Traffic Safety Research (TSR). - : Lund University. - 2004-3082. ; 2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rollators (four-wheel walkers in USA; zimmer frames in UK) are commonly used as mobility aids for the elderly and people with a variety of disabilities. Pedestrian rollator users are a sub-group of Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs), although this group is rarely recognised in traffic safety contexts. The aim of this study is to extract and analyse rollator related pedestrian accident and injury data in Sweden. The results will provide valuable insight into the risks and obstacles rollator users are exposed to in the traffic environment and may in the long term contribute to improving the mobility of this group. The current study is based on data from 2,020 accidents involving 2,305 persons extracted from the Swedish Traffic Accident Data Acquisition (STRADA) database. For consistency reasons, a subset of data (N = 745) was analysed in order to investigate the development of accidents over a period of 10 years. Thereafter, each accident in the whole data set was registered as either single or collision. The results show that the number of rollator accidents in Sweden increased by approximately 80% during 2007–2016. Females dominate the injury statistics of single accidents, collisions, as well as fatal outcome, which may be due to exposure and/or differences in physical characteristics. Single accidents are much more common than collisions (n=1,668 and n=352, respectively) and the injury consequences are at least as serious. Data from the present study have revealed that the frequency of minor injuries (ISS 1–3) is 4.3 times, moderate (ISS 4–8) 6.0 times and serious injuries (ISS 9–15) 8.9 times higher in single accidents than in collisions. Fatal injuries are, however, more common in collision events (33 in comparison to 8). The vast majority of single accidents (99%) was due to falls. Many of the single accidents (29%) were caused by ground level differences (typically a curb) or due to surface conditions (19%). Collisions involved cars, trucks or buses in 91% of cases, occurring predominantly in car parks (31%) and on (zebra) crossings (30%). In 54% of cases the vehicles reversed into the rollator. Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 3+ injuries were dominated by head (36%) and torso (33%) injuries in collision events, and hip fractures (71%) in single accidents. The present study shows that further research into rollator user related accidents, both single accidents and collision events, is required. In order to introduce appropriate measures, future work should follow up on accident and injury developments and further improve the quality of mobility aid related accident data in general. Improved stability and design, proper training programmes, effective maintenance services, development of a supporting infrastructure would contribute to increased safety for rollator users.
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| 5. |
- De Ceunynck, Tim, et al.
(författare)
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Interact or counteract? Behavioural observation of interactions between vulnerable road users and autonomous shuttles in Oslo, Norway
- 2022
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Ingår i: Traffic Safety Research. - : Dept. of Technology & Society, Faculty of Engineering, LTH, Lund University. - 2004-3082. ; 2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The current paper presents the results of behavioural observations in a field experiment with automated shuttles in Oslo, Norway. Video observations were conducted at five fixed locations along a challenging 1.2 km automated shuttle line with varying traffic conditions. Observed interactions between vulnerable road users and automated shuttles were coded using a predefined codebook, which allowed a structured quantitative analysis. The paper identified several potentially risky types of situations in which the automated shuttles did not always behave according to the traffic rules. Generally, the automated shuttles failed to give way to pedestrians at pedestrian crossings in 26%–50% of the interactions. Right-turning shuttles failed to yield to cyclists going straight in 38% of the interactions at observation Site 1 (the only location where the automated shuttle takes a right turn). In majority of same direction interactions between cyclists and automated shuttles, the interactions resulted in the cyclist overtaking the automated shuttle, usually on the left-hand side. Generally, the paper found little evidence of road users trying to bully or otherwise take advantage of the defensive driving style of the automated shuttles and identified only a limited number of interactions in which a vulnerable road user behaved ignorant or aggressive towards the automated shuttles. In addition, the paper found very little indication of temporal effects that suggest changes in the interaction patterns over time.
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| 6. |
- Johnsson, Carl, et al.
(författare)
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Identification of evasive manoeuvres in traffic interactions and conflicts
- 2022
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Ingår i: Traffic Safety Research. - : Dept. of Technology & Society, Faculty of Engineering, LTH, Lund University. - 2004-3082. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The study presents a simple and easy to implement method for detection of the evasive action start in traffic interactions. The method is based on comparison of the studied trajectory with a reference set of ‘unhindered’ trajectories, interpreting the start of evasive action as the moment when no more similarities can be found. The suggested algorithm performs well for primary interactions when road users arrive in an unhindered state. It fails, however, in case of secondary interactions. Explorative application of the method on a large dataset of normal and conflict traffic situations concludes that traffic conflicts occur more frequently in secondary interactions, presumably due to higher cognitive load on the involved road users. Despite the limitations, the method can be used both for the safety studies based on traffic conflicts and for more general quantification and visualisation of the road user behaviour.
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| 7. |
- Kircher, Katja, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Interventions to reduce the speed of cyclists in work zones : cyclists' evaluation in a controlled environment
- 2024
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Ingår i: Traffic Safety Research. - Lund : Faculty of Engineering, Lund University. - 2004-3082. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Current guidelines for work zones do not consider the needs of cyclists and pedestrians enough, which leads to unpredictable situations and a resulting higher crash risk for these road user groups. With respect to motor vehicles, speed management with various interventions is an important and well-studied measure. Their design can be hazardous for cyclists, but a systematic investigation of speed reducing interventions that are applicable to cyclists is lacking. In a controlled setting, four different types of interventions were studied regarding their effect on cyclist speed, attention, and comfort at the first encounter with the intervention and when familiar with the setup. Thirty cyclists with a variety of bicycles first rode a baseline condition to establish their desired speed, then they encountered the interventions eight times in a row. During the first encounter their speed dropped but went back to baseline levels during the following trials, regardless of intervention type. The glance behaviour showed that cyclists’ attention was focused much more on the interventions themselves than beyond, which can be problematic in unpredictable environments like work zones. Comfort ratings varied widely, with interventions causing vibrations being rated as least comfortable. To conclude, speed-reducing interventions for cyclists must be applied with care and their effect weighted against potential risks of causing crashes and distraction.
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| 8. |
- Kullgren, Anders, 1963, et al.
(författare)
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Fatalities in value chains—an attempt to classify road traffic crashes in accordance with the United Nations General Assembly resolution 74/299
- 2023
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Ingår i: Traffic Safety Research. - 2004-3082. ; 5:Special issue
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Large corporations are today expected or obliged to report on accidental deaths and serious injuries to employed or contracted employed as a part of reporting on sustainability and workplace safety. Data about road crashes are part of such events and are therefore, but not separately, collected and presented. In Europe, 40% to 60% of all work-related accidents resulting in death has been reported to be road traffic accidents. In 2020, the Stockholm Declaration urged all corporations to report on their safety footprint including their entire value chain. The aims of the present study were to use a new definition of safety footprint and to quantify those killed as employed and at work, and those killed in a crash where the other part was at work, as so called third parties, to transports for duty with employed drivers. The Swedish Transport Administration (STA) in-depth database of fatal crashes was used, that covers all fatalities classified as road traffic related and consists of information from the police, medical journals, autopsy reports, accident analyses performed by STA, and witness statements. All fatalities excluding suicides or those caused by sickness occurring during year 2019 were investigated (n = 214). 11% (23/214) of the fatalities occurred when the killed person was at work and 16 while commuting. 37% of the fatal accidents occurred when the killed road user or the other part was at work. In total, almost half of the fatalities in the road transport system were related to work in some way when including both the fatally injured and their collision partners. A larger proportion of non-privately owned and procured vehicles was found for the vehicles of the collision partners compared to the vehicles of the fatally injured. In approximately one third of the fatal accidents a procurement of a transport service was involved. The Swedish Work Environment Authority (SWEA) identified 10 of the 23 fatalities at work investigated and none of these accidents was found to be investigated by the police as a crime related to the work environment. In conclusion, almost half of the fatalities in the road transport system in 2019 were related to work in some way, either the fatally injured or their collision partners were at work or while commuting. When including the third-party casualties, the problem becomes much bigger and more complex. In Sweden fatalities related to work are under reported, as the SWEA does not receive basic data. Efforts are needed to improve reporting of work-related road fatalities. It was found that the police did not investigate road traffic fatalities as death at workplace. It is crucial that the police start to follow the intention of regulations linked to workplace safety. If not, the possibility to collect relevant data for organizations to report on their safety footprint is limited. It is complicated to collect, classify and analyse value chain fatal crash information, mainly due to that the police do not investigate fatal road crashes as possibly work-related events. It is recommended that organizations manage their own data collection if they wish to report on their safety footprint data.
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| 9. |
- Rizzi, M. C., et al.
(författare)
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The safety effect of increased pedestrian protection, autonomous emergency braking for pedestrians and bicyclists on passenger cars, and speed management
- 2024
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Ingår i: Traffic Safety Research. - : Lund University. - 2004-3082. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This was the first retrospective study to estimate the effect of increased pedestrian protection, autonomous emergency braking, and speed management to reduce serious injuries among pedestrians and bicyclists. More specifically, the aim was to estimate the injury mitigating effects of the following interventions: AEB with pedestrian and bicyclist detection, Euro NCAP pedestrian test score, active bonnet, traffic calming at pedestrian and bicycle crossings, and additionally, the combined effect of the above-mentioned treatments. The main source of data was the Swedish traffic data acquisition system (Strada), where information of road traffic crashes between passenger cars and pedestrians or bicyclists for the period 1 January 2003–31 December 2022 was obtained. Cars with optional fitment of AEB systems were identified, and the license registration number was used to access individual car equipment lists to identify whether the vehicle was equipped with AEB with pedestrian and/or cyclist detection. Information about traffic calming at pedestrian and bicycle crossings was obtained from the Swedish Transport Administration. The injury metric used was risk of permanent medical impairment (RPMI) of at least one percent and ten percent. RPMI captures the risk of long-term medical impairment based on a diagnosed injury location and Abbreviated Injury Severity (AIS) score. The relative difference between the mean values of RPMI (mRPMI1%+ and mRPMI10%+) was calculated and tested using an independent two sample t-test which was conducted for unequal sample sizes and variance. Although many results were found to be statistically non-significant, the following results were found to be significant at least at 90% level. Pedestrian mRPMI10%+ was reduced by 44% in speed zones ≤ 50 km/h comparing the group struck by cars equipped with AEB with pedestrian detection compared to the group struck by cars without the system. For cyclists, the mRPMI10%+ was reduced by 35% in speed zones ≤ 50 km/h. For crashes within ± 20 meters from a pedestrian or bicycle crossing, the AEB system reduced 60% of pedestrians mRPMI10%+ at crossings with good safety standard compared to crossings of poor safety standard. The comparison of cars with poor performance (1–9 points) in the NCAP pedestrian test and cars with a high score (28–36 points) showed that pedestrian mRPMI10%+ was reduced by 48% across all speed limits, and by 64% including only those aged ≤ 64 years. For bicyclists, a significant reduction of cyclist mRPMI10%+ was found comparing low scoring cars to high scoring cars in ≤ 30 km/h speed limit (-73%) and across all speed limits (-36%). Including only those aged ≤ 64 years, the reduction was 49%. For the active bonnet, a significant reduction of mRPMI1%+ by 24% was observed but given that the rate of helmet wearing was higher in the group struck by cars with active bonnet, this difference cannot be attributed to an effect of an active bonnet. The STA safety rating of pedestrian and bicycle crossings showed that overall pedestrian mRPMI1%+ was reduced by 15%, while cyclists mRPMI10%+ was reduced by 32% comparing crossings of high safety level to crossings of poor safety level. The analysis of combined interventions showed that the total reduction of pedestrians and cyclists mRPMI10%+ together was 69%, from 6.4% to 2%. This paper demonstrates that a road environment with adapted infrastructure and speed, combined with passenger car technologies that improve the safety for vulnerable road users, can create significant reductions of serious (long-term) injuries among pedestrians and bicyclists. © 2024, Lund University Faculty of Engineering. All rights reserved.
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| 10. |
- Rizzi, Maria C., et al.
(författare)
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The safety effect of increased pedestrian protection, autonomous emergency braking for pedestrians and bicyclists on passenger cars, and speed management
- 2024
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Ingår i: Traffic Safety Research. - : Lund University. - 2004-3082. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This was the first retrospective study to estimate the effect of increased pedestrian protection, autonomous emergency braking, and speed management to reduce serious injuries among pedestrians and bicyclists. More specifically, the aim was to estimate the injury mitigating effects of the following interventions: AEB with pedestrian and bicyclist detection, Euro NCAP pedestrian test score, active bonnet, traffic calming at pedestrian and bicycle crossings, and additionally, the combined effect of the above-mentioned treatments. The main source of data was the Swedish traffic data acquisition system (Strada), where information of road traffic crashes between passenger cars and pedestrians or bicyclists for the period 1 January 2003–31 December 2022 was obtained. Cars with optional fitment of AEB systems were identified, and the license registration number was used to access individual car equipment lists to identify whether the vehicle was equipped with AEB with pedestrian and/or cyclist detection. Information about traffic calming at pedestrian and bicycle crossings was obtained from the Swedish Transport Administration. The injury metric used was risk of permanent medical impairment (RPMI) of at least one percent and ten percent. RPMI captures the risk of long-term medical impairment based on a diagnosed injury location and Abbreviated Injury Severity (AIS) score. The relative difference between the mean values of RPMI (mRPMI1%+ and mRPMI10%+) was calculated and tested using an independent two sample t-test which was conducted for unequal sample sizes and variance. Although many results were found to be statistically non-significant, the following results were found to be significant at least at 90% level. Pedestrian mRPMI10%+ was reduced by 44% in speed zones ≤ 50 km/h comparing the group struck by cars equipped with AEB with pedestrian detection compared to the group struck by cars without the system. For cyclists, the mRPMI10%+ was reduced by 35% in speed zones ≤ 50 km/h. For crashes within ± 20 meters from a pedestrian or bicycle crossing, the AEB system reduced 60% of pedestrians mRPMI10%+ at crossings with good safety standard compared to crossings of poor safety standard. The comparison of cars with poor performance (1–9 points) in the NCAP pedestrian test and cars with a high score (28–36 points) showed that pedestrian mRPMI10%+ was reduced by 48% across all speed limits, and by 64% including only those aged ≤ 64 years. For bicyclists, a significant reduction of cyclist mRPMI10%+ was found comparing low scoring cars to high scoring cars in ≤ 30 km/h speed limit (-73%) and across all speed limits (-36%). Including only those aged ≤ 64 years, the reduction was 49%. For the active bonnet, a significant reduction of mRPMI1%+ by 24% was observed but given that the rate of helmet wearing was higher in the group struck by cars with active bonnet, this difference cannot be attributed to an effect of an active bonnet. The STA safety rating of pedestrian and bicycle crossings showed that overall pedestrian mRPMI1%+ was reduced by 15%, while cyclists mRPMI10%+ was reduced by 32% comparing crossings of high safety level to crossings of poor safety level. The analysis of combined interventions showed that the total reduction of pedestrians and cyclists mRPMI10%+ together was 69%, from 6.4% to 2%. This paper demonstrates that a road environment with adapted infrastructure and speed, combined with passenger car technologies that improve the safety for vulnerable road users, can create significant reductions of serious (long-term) injuries among pedestrians and bicyclists.
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