Vulnerability analysis methods for road networks

Science.gov (United States)

Bíl, Michal; Vodák, Rostislav; Kubeček, Jan; Rebok, Tomáš; Svoboda, Tomáš

2014-05-01

Road networks rank among the most important lifelines of modern society. They can be damaged by either random or intentional events. Roads are also often affected by natural hazards, the impacts of which are both direct and indirect. Whereas direct impacts (e.g. roads damaged by a landslide or due to flooding) are localized in close proximity to the natural hazard occurrence, the indirect impacts can entail widespread service disabilities and considerable travel delays. The change in flows in the network may affect the population living far from the places originally impacted by the natural disaster. These effects are primarily possible due to the intrinsic nature of this system. The consequences and extent of the indirect costs also depend on the set of road links which were damaged, because the road links differ in terms of their importance. The more robust (interconnected) the road network is, the less time is usually needed to secure the serviceability of an area hit by a disaster. These kinds of networks also demonstrate a higher degree of resilience. Evaluating road network structures is therefore essential in any type of vulnerability and resilience analysis. There are a range of approaches used for evaluation of the vulnerability of a network and for identification of the weakest road links. Only few of them are, however, capable of simulating the impacts of the simultaneous closure of numerous links, which often occurs during a disaster. The primary problem is that in the case of a disaster, which usually has a large regional extent, the road network may remain disconnected. The majority of the commonly used indices use direct computation of the shortest paths or time between OD (origin - destination) pairs and therefore cannot be applied when the network breaks up into two or more components. Since extensive break-ups often occur in cases of major disasters, it is important to study the network vulnerability in these cases as well, so that appropriate

Psychological aspects of road user behaviour

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rothengatter, J.A.

The behaviour of road users is an important factor in accident causation. Traffic psychology, defined as ''the study of the behaviour of road users and the psychological processes underlying that behaviour'', attempts to identify the determinants of road user behaviour with the aim of developing

Characterization of Black Spot Zones for Vulnerable Road Users in São Paulo (Brazil and Rome (Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cláudia A. Soares Machado

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Non-motorized transportation modes, especially cycling and walking, offer numerous benefits, including improvements in the livability of cities, healthy physical activity, efficient urban transportation systems, less traffic congestion, less noise pollution, clean air, less impact on climate change and decreases in the incidence of diseases related to vehicular emissions. Considering the substantial number of short-distance trips, the time consumed in traffic jams, the higher costs for parking vehicles and restrictions in central business districts, many commuters have found that non-motorized modes of transportation serve as viable and economical transport alternatives. Thus, local governments should encourage and stimulate non-motorized modes of transportation. In return, governments must provide safe conditions for these forms of transportation, and motorized vehicle users must respect and coexist with pedestrians and cyclists, which are the most vulnerable users of the transportation system. Although current trends in sustainable transport aim to encourage and stimulate non-motorized modes of transportation that are socially more efficient than motorized transportation, few to no safety policies have been implemented regarding vulnerable road users (VRU, mainly in large urban centers. Due to the spatial nature of the data used in transport-related studies, geospatial technologies provide a powerful analytical method for studying VRU safety frameworks through the use of spatial analysis. In this article, spatial analysis is used to determine the locations of regions that are characterized by a concentration of traffic accidents (black zones involving VRU (injuries and casualties in São Paulo, Brazil (developing country, and Rome, Italy (developed country. The black zones are investigated to obtain spatial patterns that can cause multiple accidents. A method based on kernel density estimation (KDE is used to compare the two cities and show

Gender Stereotypes among Road Users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kabalevskaya, Alexandra I.

2013-09-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the mechanism of stereotyping as exemplified by gender stereotypes of road users. Gender stereotypes are not only viewed as an a priori image of a percept, but also examined ‘in action’ — at the very moment of their actualization with road users. In the paper we have identified the content of road users’ gender stereotypes; analyzed the behaviour of male and female drivers, pinpointing a number of gender-specific behavioural features; demonstrated that male and female driving differ from each other in terms of speed, intensity and roughness; and identified the conditions and mechanisms underlying the actualization of gender stereotypes. Based on video and audio materials, we have found that drivers’ gender-specific behavioural features are perceivable to road users: such features trigger the actualization of gender stereotypes as attributive schemes, which determine the interaction between road users, while also laying the foundation for gender stereotypes.

National and international forums to discuss the approach and the results of PROMISING : Discussion in the framework of the European research project PROMISING (Promotion of Measures for Vulnerable Road Users), Workpackage 7.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wittink, R. (ed.)

2001-01-01

The European PROMISING research project is aimed at the development and promotion of measures to improve both safety and mobility of vulnerable road users. Consideration was given to differences between European countries in the share of different transport modes. During the research work, an

Vulnerability of roads and associated structures to the effects of climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arisz, H.; Therrien, M.; Burrell, B.C.; LeBlanc, M.M.

2009-01-01

The vulnerability of roads and associated structures in the City of Greater Sudbury to the effects of climate change was evaluated using the Public Infrastructure Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC) Engineering Protocol for Climate Change Infrastructure Assessment. Study objectives were to evaluate the vulnerability of road-related infrastructure in Greater Sudbury to climate change, and to identify potential impediments to the application of the protocol in other municipalities. Based on the experience gained during this study, recommendations were provided with respect to the vulnerabilities of roads and associated structures to the predicted effects of climate change and the performance of vulnerability assessments. (author)

Gender Stereotypes among Road Users

OpenAIRE

Kabalevskaya, Alexandra I.

2013-01-01

This article analyzes the mechanism of stereotyping as exemplified by gender stereotypes of road users. Gender stereotypes are not only viewed as an a priori image of a percept, but also examined ‘in action’ — at the very moment of their actualization with road users. In the paper we have identified the content of road users’ gender stereotypes; analyzed the behaviour of male and female drivers, pinpointing a number of gender-specific behavioural features; demonstrated that male and female dr...

Gender stereotypes among road users

OpenAIRE

Dontsov, Alexander; Kabalevskaya, Alexandra

2013-01-01

This article analyzes the mechanism of stereotyping as exemplified by gender stereotypes of road users. Gender stereotypes are not only viewed as an a priori image of a percept, but also examined ‘in action’ at the very moment of their actualization with road users. In the paper we have identified the content of road users’ gender stereotypes; analyzed the behaviour of male and female drivers, pinpointing a number of gender-specific behavioural features; demonstrated that male and female driv...

Economic development's effect on road transport-related mortality among different types of road users: a cross-sectional international study.

Science.gov (United States)

Paulozzi, Leonard J; Ryan, George W; Espitia-Hardeman, Victoria E; Xi, Yongli

2007-05-01

The relationship between a country's stage of economic development and its motor vehicle crash (MVC) mortality rate is not defined for different road users. This paper presents a cross-sectional regression analysis of recent national mortality in 44 countries using death certificate data provided by the World Health Organization. For five types of road users, MVC mortality is expressed as deaths per 100,000 people and per 1000 motor vehicles. Economic development is measured as gross national income (GNI) per capita in U.S. dollars and as motor vehicles per 1000 people. Results showed overall MVC mortality peaked among low-income countries at about US$ 2000 GNI per capita and at about 100 motor vehicles per 1000 people. Overall mortality declined at higher national incomes up to about US$ 24,000. Most changes in MVC mortality associated with economic development were explained by changes in rates among nonmotorized travelers, especially pedestrians. Overall MVC rates were lowest when pedestrian exposure was low because there were few motor vehicles or few pedestrians, and were highest during a critical transition to motorized travel, when many pedestrians and other vulnerable road users vied for use of the roadways with many motor vehicles.

Exploring the safety in numbers effect for vulnerable road users on a macroscopic scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Tasic, Ivana; Elvik, Rune; Brewer, Simon

2017-12-01

A "Safety in Numbers" effect for a certain group of road users is present if the number of crashes increases at a lower rate than the number of road users. The existence of this effect has been invoked to justify investments in multimodal transportation improvements in order to create more sustainable urban transportation systems by encouraging walking, biking, and transit ridership. The goal of this paper is to explore safety in numbers effect for cyclists and pedestrians in areas with different levels of access to multimodal infrastructure. Data from Chicago served to estimate the expected number of crashes on the census tract level by applying Generalized Additive Models (GAM) to capture spatial dependence in crash data. Measures of trip generation, multimodal infrastructure, network connectivity and completeness, and accessibility were used to model travel exposure in terms of activity, number of trips, trip length, travel opportunities, and conflicts. The results show that a safety in numbers effect exists on a macroscopic level for motor vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The administration of road user taxes in developing countries

OpenAIRE

Bahl, Roy W.

1992-01-01

After studying the problems of administering road user taxes in 19 developing countries, the author reports the following, among other things. There is no single, correct structure for road user taxation since the various charges may play different roles in different national revenue systems. All effective tax administration requires a solid, uncomplicated tax structure. The substantial revenue potential of road user taxation rests on a growing tax base. Despite this, road user taxation remai...

Ecological study of road traffic injuries in the eastern Mediterranean region: country economic level, road user category and gender perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Sengoelge, Mathilde; Laflamme, Lucie; El-Khatib, Ziad

2018-02-13

for vulnerable road users in the resource poor countries of the Region.

V-Alert: Description and Validation of a Vulnerable Road User Alert System in the Framework of a Smart City.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez-Jayo, Unai; De-la-Iglesia, Idoia; Perez, Jagoba

2015-07-29

V-Alert is a cooperative application to be deployed in the frame of Smart Cities with the aim of reducing the probability of accidents involving Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) and vehicles. The architecture of V-Alert combines short- and long-range communication technologies in order to provide more time to the drivers and VRU to take the appropriate maneuver and avoid a possible collision. The information generated by mobile sensors (vehicles and cyclists) is sent over this heterogeneous communication architecture and processed in a central server, the Drivers Cloud, which is in charge of generating the messages that are shown on the drivers' and cyclists' Human Machine Interface (HMI). First of all, V-Alert has been tested in a simulated scenario to check the communications architecture in a complex scenario and, once it was validated, all the elements of V-Alert have been moved to a real scenario to check the application reliability. All the results are shown along the length of this paper.

Safety in traffic for vulnerable military road users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandar J. Bulajić

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The Army of Serbia, as a relatively closed system, regulates the field of traffic safety; however, during peacetime, general rules apply to all participants in traffic circulation. The Republic of Serbia is in the group of countries with a high number of road fatalities. The level of traffic safety in the Serbian Army has been on constant increase since 2000, although the relevant transport authorities in the military are not yet satisfied with the achieved level (even one lost life is too much. The increase can be deceptive, since if we take into account the substantial reduction in vehicle use due to various factors in the last few years (poor financial situation in the country as well as in the military, under-investment in the purchase of new vehicles, purchase of transportation services, fewer drivers drafted and more vehicles driven by trained officers, etc., it is not surprising that there are fewer accidents and fewer road deaths and injuries among military personnel. This paper aims at approaching the problem of pedestrian safety as a segment of road safety and at making an educational impact on all members of the military, because they all participate in traffic daily, if not as drivers or passengers, then certainly in large numbers as pedestrians. The basis of this paper is aimed at shedding light on the causes of pedestrian road fatalities due to their mistakes, i. e. 'negligence' of the participants in car accidents with the participation of pedestrians, as well as at proposing measures to reduce and prevent traffic accidents with pedestrians.

Area Wide Road User Charging in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kildebogaard, Jan

1999-01-01

The paper presents the concept of a distance based road user charging scheme and the research programme FORTRIN at DTU is introduced.......The paper presents the concept of a distance based road user charging scheme and the research programme FORTRIN at DTU is introduced....

Influence of impact speed on head and brain injury outcome in vulnerable road user impacts to the car hood.

Science.gov (United States)

Fredriksson, Rikard; Zhang, Liying; Boström, Ola; Yang, King

2007-10-01

EuroNCAP and regulations in Europe and Japan evaluate the pedestrian protection performance of cars. The test methods are similar and they all have requirements for the passive protection of the hood area at a pedestrian to car impact speed of 40 km/h. In Europe, a proposal for a second phase of the regulation mandates a brake-assist system along with passive requirements. The system assists the driver in optimizing the braking performance during panic braking, resulting in activation only when the driver brakes sufficiently. In a European study this was estimated to occur in about 50% of pedestrian accidents. A future system for brake assistance will likely include automatic braking, in response to a pre-crash sensor, to avoid or mitigate injuries of vulnerable road users. An important question is whether these systems will provide sufficient protection, or if a parallel, passive pedestrian protection system will be necessary. This study investigated the influence of impact speed on head and brain injury risk, in impacts to the carhood. One car model was chosen and a rigid adjustable plate was mounted under the hood. Free-flying headform impacts were carried out at 20 and 30 km/h head impact velocities at different under-hood distances, 20 to 100 mm; and were compared to earlier tests at 40 km/h. The EEVC WG17 adult pedestrian headform was used for non-rotating tests and a Hybrid III adult 50th percentile head was used for rotational tests where linear and rotational acceleration was measured. Data from the rotational tests was used as input to a validated finite element model of the human head, the Wayne State University Head Injury Model (WSUHIM). The model was utilized to assess brain injury risk and potential injury mechanism in a pedestrian-hood impact. Although this study showed that it was not necessarily true that a lower HIC value reduced the risk for brain injury, it appeared, for the tested car model, under-hood distances of 60 mm in 20 km/h and 80 mm

Understanding fatal older road user crash circumstances and risk factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Koppel, Sjaan; Bugeja, Lyndal; Smith, Daisy; Lamb, Ashne; Dwyer, Jeremy; Fitzharris, Michael; Newstead, Stuart; D'Elia, Angelo; Charlton, Judith

2018-02-28

This study used medicolegal data to investigate fatal older road user (ORU) crash circumstances and risk factors relating to four key components of the Safe System approach (e.g., roads and roadsides, vehicles, road users, and speeds) to identify areas of priority for targeted prevention activity. The Coroners Court of Victoria's Surveillance Database was searched to identify coronial records with at least one deceased ORU in the state of Victoria, Australia, for 2013-2014. Information relating to the ORU, crash characteristics and circumstances, and risk factors was extracted and analyzed. The average rate of fatal ORU crashes per 100,000 population was 8.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.0-10.2), which was more than double the average rate of fatal middle-aged road user crashes (3.6, 95% CI 2.5-4.6). There was a significant relationship between age group and deceased road user type (χ 2 (15, N = 226) = 3.56, p road" (87.0%), on roads that were paved (94.2%), dry (74.2%), and had light traffic volume (38.3%). Road user error was identified by the police and/or coroner for the majority of fatal ORU crashes (57.9%), with a significant proportion of deceased ORU deemed to have "misjudged" (40.9%) or "failed to yield" (37.9%). Road user error was the most significant risk factor identified in fatal ORU crashes, which suggests that there is a limited capacity of the Victorian road system to fully accommodate road user errors. Initiatives related to safer roads and roadsides, vehicles, and speed zones, as well as behavioral approaches, are key areas of priority for targeted activity to prevent fatal older road user crashes in the future.

Roads at risk - the impact of debris flows on road network reliability and vulnerability in southern Norway

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Nele Kristin; Schwanghart, Wolfgang; Korup, Oliver

2014-05-01

Norwegian's road network is frequently affected by debris flows. Both damage repair and traffic interruption generate high economic losses and necessitate a rigorous assessment of where losses are expected to be high and where preventive measures should be focused on. In recent studies, we have developed susceptibility and trigger probability maps that serve as input into a hazard calculation at the scale of first-order watersheds. Here we combine these results with graph theory to assess the impact of debris flows on the road network of southern Norway. Susceptibility and trigger probability are aggregated for individual road sections to form a reliability index that relates to the failure probability of a link that connects two network vertices, e.g., road junctions. We define link vulnerability as a function of traffic volume and additional link failure distance. Additional link failure distance is the extra length of the alternative path connecting the two associated link vertices in case the network link fails and is calculated by a shortest-path algorithm. The product of network reliability and vulnerability indices represent the risk index. High risk indices identify critical links for the Norwegian road network and are investigated in more detail. Scenarios demonstrating the impact of single or multiple debris flow events are run for the most important routes between seven large cities in southern Norway. First results show that the reliability of the road network is lowest in the central and north-western part of the study area. Road network vulnerability is highest in the mountainous regions in central southern Norway where the road density is low and in the vicinity of cities where the traffic volume is large. The scenarios indicate that city connections that have their shortest path via routes crossing the central part of the study area have the highest risk of route failure.

A review of game-theoretic models of road user behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Elvik, Rune

2014-01-01

This paper reviews game-theoretic models that have been developed to explain road user behaviour in situations where road users interact with each other. The paper includes the following game-theoretic models: 1.A general model of the interaction between road users and their possible reaction to measures improving safety (behavioural adaptation).2.Choice of vehicle size as a Prisoners’ dilemma game.3.Speed choice as a co-ordination game.4.Speed compliance as a game between drivers and the police.5.Merging into traffic from an acceleration lane as a mixed-strategy game.6.Choice of level of attention in following situations as an evolutionary game.7.Choice of departure time to avoid congestion as variant of a Prisoners’ dilemma game.8.Interaction between cyclists crossing the road and car drivers.9.Dipping headlights at night well ahead of the point when glare becomes noticeable.10.Choice of evasive action in a situation when cars are on collision course. The models reviewed are different in many respects, but a common feature of the models is that they can explain how informal norms of behaviour can develop among road users and be sustained even if these informal norms violate the formal regulations of the traffic code. Game-theoretic models are not applicable to every conceivable interaction between road users or to situations in which road users choose behaviour without interacting with other road users. Nevertheless, it is likely that game-theoretic models can be applied more widely than they have been until now. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring schema-driven differences in situation awareness between road users: an on-road study of driver, cyclist and motorcyclist situation awareness.

Science.gov (United States)

Salmon, Paul M; Lenne, Michael G; Walker, Guy H; Stanton, Neville A; Filtness, Ashleigh

2014-01-01

Collisions between different road users make a substantial contribution to road trauma. Although evidence suggests that different road users interpret the same road situations differently, it is not clear how road users' situation awareness differs, nor is it clear which differences might lead to conflicts. This article presents the findings from an on-road study conducted to examine driver, motorcyclist and cyclist situation awareness in different road environments. The findings suggest that, in addition to minor differences in the structure of different road users' situation awareness (i.e. amount of information and how it is integrated), the actual content of situation awareness in terms of road user schemata, the resulting interaction with the world and the information underpinning situation awareness is markedly different. Further examination indicates that the differences are likely to be compatible along arterial roads, shopping strips and at roundabouts, but that they may create conflicts between different road users at intersections. Interventions designed to support compatible situation awareness and behaviour between different road users are discussed.

The older adult road user : recommendations for driver assistance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wilschut, E.S.; Kroon, E.C.M.; Goede, M. de; Cremers, A.H.M.; Hoedemaeker, D.M.

2014-01-01

The number of older road users is getting increasingly larger in Europe. Therefore policy makers pay more attention to the abilities and limitations of this group of road users. Providing accessible and comfortable assistance and safety functions for mobility is a key challenge in the objective of

Viability of a New Road Infrastructure with Heterogeneous Users in Madrid Access

OpenAIRE

Pedro Cantos-Sanchez; Rafael Moner-Colonques; Jose J. Sempere-Monerris; Oscar Alvarez

2008-01-01

This paper explores the importance of heterogeneity in value of time when assessing the viability of a new road infrastructure to alleviate congestion problems. The Spanish government has developed a congestion pricing demonstration entering Madrid city centre, where road users have to choose between a free but highly congested road and a priced free-flowing road. We consider a continuum of users who differ in their value of time. Users dislike congestion and this is more so the more a user v...

Trends in traffic fatalities in Mexico: examining progress on the decade of action for road safety 2011-2020.

Science.gov (United States)

Cervantes-Trejo, Arturo; Leenen, Iwin; Fabila-Carrasco, John Stewart; Rojas-Vargas, Roy

2016-11-01

We explore demographic, temporal and geographic patterns of 256,588 road traffic fatalities from 1998 to 2013 in Mexico, in context of UN´s decade of action for road safety 2010-2020 (DARS). Combined traffic mortality data and population counts were analyzed using mixed-effects logistic regression, distinguishing sex-age groups, vulnerable and protected road users, and municipal size. Rapid growth from 1998 to 2008 in traffic mortality rates has been reversed since 2009. Most deaths averted are among young male protected road users (reduction of 0.95 fatalities per 100,000 per year in males 12-49). In spite of a steady decrease over the full study period, mortality rates remain high in vulnerable road users over 50, with a high mortality rate of 26 per 100,000 males over 75 years in 2013. Progress on the reduction of deaths advances in Mexico, in line with DARS targets. National road safety efforts require strengthening. Initiatives should target vulnerable road users, specifically adults >50 years in urban areas. Strengthening of drink driving programs aimed at young drivers/occupants is promising.

Potential Safety Benefit of the Blind Spot Detection System for Large Trucks on the Vulnerable Road Users in Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Ming-Hang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Considering motorcyclists, pedestrians and bicyclists as vulnerable road users (VRUs, more than 75 percent of the victims of fatal crashes involving large trucks in Taiwan are VRUs. Most crashes occurred at or were due to the blind spots of large trucks because of the size and traveling locations of the VRUs. This study applies typology and statistical methods to estimate the potential safety benefit of blind spot detection (BSD systems for large trucks on VRUs. The pre-crash scenarios associated with the blind spots of large trucks were derived by counting the maneuvers of large trucks and VRUs, prior to crashes, the truck drivers’ improper behaviors (cause of crashes, and the crash types. The number of crashes and fatalities were counted for the pre-crash scenario relevant to the BSD systems. A value of 0.8 of human machine interface factor (HMIF based on a previous study was applied to estimate the potential safety benefits of the BSD system. The results show that the implementation of BSD systems on all large trucks could help avoid about 24, 10, and 11 percent of large truck-involved crashes with pedestrians, bicycles, and motorcycles, respectively. The BSD systems could also save 5 pedestrians, 3 bicyclists, and 15 motorcyclists per year from crashes involving large trucks.

Requirements of a system to reduce car-to-vulnerable road user crashes in urban intersections.

Science.gov (United States)

Habibovic, Azra; Davidsson, Johan

2011-07-01

Intersection crashes between cars and vulnerable road users (VRUs), such as pedestrians and bicyclists, often result in injuries and fatalities. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs) can prevent, or mitigate, these crashes. To derive functional requirements for such systems, an understanding of the underlying contributing factors and the context in which the crashes occur is essential. The aim of this study is to use microscopic and macroscopic crash data to explore the potential of information and warning providing ADASs, and then to derive functional sensor, collision detection, and human-machine interface (HMI) requirements. The microscopic data were obtained from the European project SafetyNet. Causation charts describing contributing factors for 60 car-to-VRU crashes had been compiled and were then also aggregated using the SafetyNet Accident Causation System (SNACS). The macroscopic data were obtained from the Swedish national crash database, STRADA. A total of 9702 crashes were analyzed. The results show that the most frequent contributing factor to the crashes was the drivers' failure to observe VRUs due to reduced visibility, reduced awareness, and/or insufficient comprehension. An ADAS should therefore help drivers to observe the VRUs in time and to enhance their ability to interpret the development of events in the near future. The system should include a combination of imminent and cautionary collision warnings, with additional support in the form of information about intersection geometry and traffic regulations. The warnings should be deployed via an in-vehicle HMI and according to the likelihood of crash risk. The system should be able to operate under a variety of weather and light conditions. It should have the capacity to support drivers when their view is obstructed by physical objects. To address problems that vehicle-based sensors may face in this regard, the use of cooperative systems is recommended. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All

'Surfing the Silk Road': a study of users' experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Hout, Marie Claire; Bingham, Tim

2013-11-01

The online drug marketplace called 'Silk Road' has operated anonymously on the 'Deep Web' since 2011. It is accessible through computer encrypting software (Tor) and is supported by online transactions using peer to peer anonymous and untraceable crypto-currency (Bit Coins). The study aimed to describe user motives and realities of accessing, navigating and purchasing on the 'Silk Road' marketplace. Systematic online observations, monitoring of discussion threads on the site during four months of fieldwork and analysis of anonymous online interviews (n=20) with a convenience sample of adult 'Silk Road' users was conducted. The majority of participants were male, in professional employment or in tertiary education. Drug trajectories ranged from 18 months to 25 years, with favourite drugs including MDMA, 2C-B, mephedrone, nitrous oxide, ketamine, cannabis and cocaine. Few reported prior experience of online drug sourcing. Reasons for utilizing 'Silk Road' included curiosity, concerns for street drug quality and personal safety, variety of products, anonymous transactioning, and ease of product delivery. Vendor selection appeared to be based on trust, speed of transaction, stealth modes and quality of product. Forums on the site provided user advice, trip reports, product and transaction reviews. Some users reported solitary drug use for psychonautic and introspective purposes. A minority reported customs seizures, and in general a displacement away from traditional drug sourcing (street and closed markets) was described. Several reported intentions to commence vending on the site. The study provides an insight into 'Silk Road' purchasing motives and processes, the interplay between traditional and 'Silk Road' drug markets, the 'Silk Road' online community and its communication networks. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Macro-level vulnerable road users crash analysis: A Bayesian joint modeling approach of frequency and proportion.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Qing; Abdel-Aty, Mohamed; Lee, Jaeyoung

2017-10-01

This study aims at contributing to the literature on pedestrian and bicyclist safety by building on the conventional count regression models to explore exogenous factors affecting pedestrian and bicyclist crashes at the macroscopic level. In the traditional count models, effects of exogenous factors on non-motorist crashes were investigated directly. However, the vulnerable road users' crashes are collisions between vehicles and non-motorists. Thus, the exogenous factors can affect the non-motorist crashes through the non-motorists and vehicle drivers. To accommodate for the potentially different impact of exogenous factors we convert the non-motorist crash counts as the product of total crash counts and proportion of non-motorist crashes and formulate a joint model of the negative binomial (NB) model and the logit model to deal with the two parts, respectively. The formulated joint model is estimated using non-motorist crash data based on the Traffic Analysis Districts (TADs) in Florida. Meanwhile, the traditional NB model is also estimated and compared with the joint model. The result indicates that the joint model provides better data fit and can identify more significant variables. Subsequently, a novel joint screening method is suggested based on the proposed model to identify hot zones for non-motorist crashes. The hot zones of non-motorist crashes are identified and divided into three types: hot zones with more dangerous driving environment only, hot zones with more hazardous walking and cycling conditions only, and hot zones with both. It is expected that the joint model and screening method can help decision makers, transportation officials, and community planners to make more efficient treatments to proactively improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Review of road user costs and methods.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-01

The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) uses road user costs (RUC) to calculate incentive or disincentive compensation for contractors, quantify project-specific liquidated damages, select the ideal sequencing of a project, and forecast...

New innovative educational method to prevent accidents involving young road users (aged 15-24 – European Road Safety Tunes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jankowska-Karpa Dagmara

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article presents a new teaching method designed to improve road safety among young road users. Developed under “European Road Safety Tunes”, this international project was cofunded by EU DG MOVE. Its main aim is to improve road safety and minimize the number of road accidents, injuries and fatalities among road users who are 15-24 years old. The Safety Tunes method contains a series of workshops addressed to young vocational school students: cyclists, moped and motor riders and car drivers. The workshops incorporate peer and emotive education, and delivery of road safety related messages through different types of artistic forms. The topics tackled during class address awareness of possible risks and risk-behaviour, prevention of distraction and reduction in young fatalities and serious injuries on the road. All actions within the project are evaluated, both in terms of the impact of the workshops on students’ attitudes towards road safety problems and in terms of process assessment.

CAD-DRASTIC: chloride application density combined with DRASTIC for assessing groundwater vulnerability to road salt application

Science.gov (United States)

Salek, Mansour; Levison, Jana; Parker, Beth; Gharabaghi, Bahram

2018-06-01

Road salt is pervasively used throughout Canada and in other cold regions during winter. For cities relying exclusively on groundwater, it is important to plan and minimize the application of salt accordingly to mitigate the adverse effects of high chloride concentrations in water supply aquifers. The use of geospatial data (road network, land use, Quaternary and bedrock geology, average annual recharge, water-table depth, soil distribution, topography) in the DRASTIC methodology provides an efficient way of distinguishing salt-vulnerable areas associated with groundwater supply wells, to aid in the implementation of appropriate management practices for road salt application in urban areas. This research presents a GIS-based methodology to accomplish a vulnerability analysis for 12 municipal water supply wells within the City of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The chloride application density (CAD) value at each supply well is calculated and related to the measured groundwater chloride concentrations and further combined with soil media and aquifer vadose- and saturated-zone properties used in DRASTIC. This combined approach, CAD-DRASTIC, is more accurate than existing groundwater vulnerability mapping methods and can be used by municipalities and other water managers to further improve groundwater protection related to road salt application.

Prototype road weather performance management tool : installation instructions & user manual.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-07-20

This document is the Installation Instructions and User Manual for the Road Weather Performance Management (RW-PM) Tool developed for the project on Development and Demonstration of a Prototype Road Weather Performance Management Application that Use...

Use of fatal real-life crashes to analyze a safe road transport system model, including the road user, the vehicle, and the road.

Science.gov (United States)

Stigson, Helena; Krafft, Maria; Tingvall, Claes

2008-10-01

To evaluate if the Swedish Road Administration (SRA) model for a safe road transport system, which includes the interaction between the road user, the vehicle, and the road, could be used to classify fatal car crashes according to some safety indicators. Also, to present a development of the model to better identify system weakness. Real-life crashes with a fatal outcome were classified according to the vehicle's safety rating by Euro NCAP (European Road Assessment Programme) and fitment of ESC (Electronic Stability Control). For each crash, the road was also classified according to EuroRAP (European Road Assessment Programme) criteria, and human behavior in terms of speeding, seat belt use, and driving under the influence of alcohol. Each crash was compared with the model criteria, to identify components that might have contributed to fatal outcome. All fatal crashes where a car occupant was killed that occurred in Sweden during 2004 were included: in all, 215 crashes with 248 fatalities. The data were collected from the in-depth fatal crash data of the Swedish Road Administration (SRA). It was possible to classify 93% of the fatal car crashes according to the SRA model. A number of shortcomings in the criteria were identified since the model did not address rear-end or animal collisions or collisions with stationary/parked vehicles or trailers (18 out of 248 cases). Using the further developed model, it was possible to identify that most of the crashes occurred when two or all three components interacted (in 85 of the total 230 cases). Noncompliance with safety criteria for the road user, the vehicle, and the road led to fatal outcome in 43, 27, and 75 cases, respectively. The SRA model was found to be useful for classifying fatal crashes but needs to be further developed to identify how the components interact and thereby identify weaknesses in the road traffic system. This developed model might be a tool to systematically identify which of the components are

Prototype road weather performance management (RWPM) tool installation instructions & user manual.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-07-20

This document is the Installation Instructions and User Manual for the Road Weather Performance Management (RW-PM) Tool developed for the project on Development and Demonstration of a Prototype Road Weather Performance Management Application that Use...

[Road traffic injuries in Mexico: evidences to strengthen the Mexican road safety strategy].

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Núñez, Ricardo; Híjar, Martha; Celis, Alfredo; Hidalgo-Solórzano, Elisa

2014-05-01

Based on a review of secondary data and the scientific literature and an analysis of the ENSANut-2012 database, the current study provides a comprehensive overview of the current burden of road traffic injuries (RTI) in Mexico and analyzes the country's social response to RTI. The high collision, injury, mortality, and disability rates associated with this public health problem represent a high cost for Mexican society, especially for families. The paper argues that the Mexican response has focused on vehicle occupants while overlooking vulnerable road users and has prioritized strategies with limited effectiveness. Although the country's existing legislation addresses the main risk factors, enforcement has been limited. Finally, the paper makes some recommendations for strengthening the Mexican strategy to prevent RTI, such as safe, equitable, healthy, and sustainable mobility for all types of road users. Despite some strides in RTI prevention, there are still challenges and opportunities to be addressed in the future.

Improving the road network performance with dynamic route guidance by considering the indifference band of road users

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vreeswijk, J.D.; Landman, R.L.; Van Berkum, E.C.; Hegyi, A.; Hoogendoorn, S.P.; Van Arem, B.

2012-01-01

When applying dynamic route guidance to improve the network performance, it is important to balance the interests of the road authorities and the road users. In this paper we will illustrate how bounded rationality and indifference bands can be taken into account in dynamic route guidance to improve

PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE OF ROAD-USER CHARGING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neil THORPE

2002-01-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses upon public attitudes to and public acceptance of road-user charging as an effective means of managing travel demand, with the overall aim of identifying the characteristics of key interest groups, the kinds of attitudes they hold and their preferences for the distribution of the benefits of generated net revenues and released roadspace. It is argued that this knowledge can play a pivotal role in the design of road-user charging systems that satisfy two important criteria – namely, that they are capable of achieving their stated objectives and are generally acceptable to the public. A case-study of three toll-rings used for revenue generation by the Norwegian cities of Bergen, Oslo and Trondheim is selected, where a team of Norwegian interviewers administered a computer-based survey to a total of 756 respondents. Results of the analyses of the attitudinal data collected raise concerns about the approach of introducing initially low levels of road-use charge, designed to have negligible impacts on travel behaviour but to raise revenues to fund necessary improvements to public transport, both to familiarise private car-users with the principles of a pay-as-you-go system of charging and hopefully to reduce levels of public opposition prior to the introduction of the longer term objective of higher charges for traffic restraint. The timescale over which charges are increased may be crucial in terms of balancing a resistance to change in the longer term against the credibility of a system whose objectives are modified in the relatively short-term. The key conclusion from the first Stated Preference exercise is that there is a high degree of consensus among individuals on the importance of investing significant amounts of net revenues in new road infrastructure as well as improved public transport. The second Stated Preference exercise highlights respondents' concerns that the benefits in improved network performance achieved by a

Relationship between accidents and road user behaviour : an integral research programme.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Noordzij, P. & Horst, A.R.A. van der

1993-01-01

The analysis of accident statistics and the study of road user behaviour are the traditional methods of road safety research. Neither of these involve direct observation of accidents. A research programme has been designed in order to: (1) gain insight into the generation process of traffic

Relationship between accidents and road user behaviour : an integral research programme.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Noordzij, P.C. & Horst, A.R.A. van der

1996-01-01

The analysis of accident statistics and the study of road user behaviour are the traditional methods of road safety research. Neither of these involve direct observation of accidents. A research programme has been designed to gain insight in the generation process of traffic accidents as well as to

Road crash fatality rates in France: a comparison of road user types, taking account of travel practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouaoun, Liacine; Haddak, Mohamed Mouloud; Amoros, Emmanuelle

2015-02-01

Travel practices are changing: bicycle and motorized two-wheeler (MTW) use are rising in some of France's large cities. These are cheaper modes of transport and therefore attractive at a time of economic crisis, but they also allow their users to avoid traffic congestion. At the same time, active transport modes such as walking and cycling are encouraged because they are beneficial to health and reduce pollution. It is therefore important to find out more about the road crash risks of the different modes of transport. To do this, we need to take account of the number of individuals who use each, and, even better, their travel levels. We estimated the exposure-based fatality rates for road traffic crashes in France, on the basis of the ratio between the number of fatalities and exposure to road accident risk. Fatality data were obtained from the French national police database of road traffic casualties in the period 2007-2008. Exposure data was estimated from the latest national household travel survey (ENTD) which was conducted from April 2007 to April 2008. Three quantities of travel were computed for each mode of transport: (1) the number of trips, (2) the distance traveled and (3) the time spent traveling. Annual fatality rates were assessed by road user type, age and sex. The overall annual fatality rates were 6.3 per 100 million trips, 5.8 per billion kilometers traveled and 0.20 per million hours spent traveling. The fatality rates differed according to road user type, age and sex. The risk of being killed was 20 to 32 times higher for motorized two-wheeler users than for car occupants. For cyclists, the risk of being killed, both on the basis of time spent traveling and the number of trips was about 1.5 times higher than for car occupants. Risk for pedestrians compared to car occupants was similar according to time spent traveling, lower according to the number of trips and higher according to the distance traveled. People from the 17-20 and 21-29 age

'Silk Road', the virtual drug marketplace: a single case study of user experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Hout, Marie Claire; Bingham, Tim

2013-09-01

The online promotion of 'drug shopping' and user information networks is of increasing public health and law enforcement concern. An online drug marketplace called 'Silk Road' has been operating on the 'Deep Web' since February 2011 and was designed to revolutionise contemporary drug consumerism. A single case study approach explored a 'Silk Road' user's motives for online drug purchasing, experiences of accessing and using the website, drug information sourcing, decision making and purchasing, outcomes and settings for use, and perspectives around security. The participant was recruited following a lengthy relationship building phase on the 'Silk Road' chat forum. The male participant described his motives, experiences of purchasing processes and drugs used from 'Silk Road'. Consumer experiences on 'Silk Road' were described as 'euphoric' due to the wide choice of drugs available, relatively easy once navigating the Tor Browser (encryption software) and using 'Bitcoins' for transactions, and perceived as safer than negotiating illicit drug markets. Online researching of drug outcomes, particularly for new psychoactive substances was reported. Relationships between vendors and consumers were described as based on cyber levels of trust and professionalism, and supported by 'stealth modes', user feedback and resolution modes. The reality of his drug use was described as covert and solitary with psychonautic characteristics, which contrasted with his membership, participation and feelings of safety within the 'Silk Road' community. 'Silk Road' as online drug marketplace presents an interesting displacement away from 'traditional' online and street sources of drug supply. Member support and harm reduction ethos within this virtual community maximises consumer decision-making and positive drug experiences, and minimises potential harms and consumer perceived risks. Future research is necessary to explore experiences and backgrounds of other users. Copyright © 2013

Analyses Of Two End-User Software Vulnerability Exposure Metrics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jason L. Wright; Miles McQueen; Lawrence Wellman

2012-08-01

The risk due to software vulnerabilities will not be completely resolved in the near future. Instead, putting reliable vulnerability measures into the hands of end-users so that informed decisions can be made regarding the relative security exposure incurred by choosing one software package over another is of importance. To that end, we propose two new security metrics, average active vulnerabilities (AAV) and vulnerability free days (VFD). These metrics capture both the speed with which new vulnerabilities are reported to vendors and the rate at which software vendors fix them. We then examine how the metrics are computed using currently available datasets and demonstrate their estimation in a simulation experiment using four different browsers as a case study. Finally, we discuss how the metrics may be used by the various stakeholders of software and to software usage decisions.

Introduction to emerging threats and vulnerabilities to create user awareness

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Veerasamy, N

2009-04-01

Full Text Available around the world [4]. 3.3 Web Application Vulnerabilities SQL injection takes place when there is improper validation of user input. According to IBM, SQL injection vulnerabilities increased a staggering 134% from 2007 [1]. This indicates that even... though this vulnerability is not a new exploit, its application is still wide-spread. With SQL injection, access to sensitive information in databases can be gained and thus the integrity of information on web sites and in transactions could...

Accident risk and factors regarding non-motorised road users

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agerholm, Niels; Andersen, Camilla Sloth

2015-01-01

Almost half of all traffic fatalities worldwide are non-motorised road users (NMRUs). In Denmark, the number has increased with about 30%. NMRUs consist of about 63% of the injured in the Danish traffic. Much has been done to reduce the number of injured NMRUs with counterparts, while little effort...... is put into the reduction of the vast majority of the accidents, NMRU single accidents, which are about 90% of all injured NMRUs. There are no efficient tools available to reduce this number. A significantly better designed, maintained, and illuminated road network would most likely help. However......, that is expensive and not possible for most road authorities. Despite this, the challenges with NMRUs in single accidents need more attention, if road safety is to be improved. The situation in Denmark is more than likely the case in many other countries as well; although the documentation is scarce....

Roads and associated structures: infrastructure impacts, vulnerabilities and design considerations for future climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tighe, S.L.; Lapp, D.

2009-01-01

This paper provides a summary of the findings from the literature scan, directed at identifying engineering literature that relates to road and associated infrastructure vulnerabilities in light of climate change. The scan was carried out over the course of several weeks in late 2007/early 2008. Although many Canadian transportation agencies are thinking about the potential vulnerabilities and associated engineering impacts, very few agencies have completed any formal analysis at this time. A few agencies currently have some on-going activities that are expected to be completed in 2008, but the majority have not started to examine the engineering aspects of how the change will need to be addressed in design, construction and maintenance. Although climate change and it's impact on transportation and specifically roads and associated structures is appearing in various reports and documents across Canada, available detailed information on engineering impacts was limited to nonexistent. This paper includes a brief introduction and background on climate change in general and the related predicted impacts on road infrastructure and associated structures, with primary focus on bridges. These sections are followed by project scope and objectives and methodology of assessment. The summary of findings provides some more specific details and has been prepared using available public agency documents that were located during the aforementioned search. Finally a few closing comments are provided. (author)

A method to assess multi-modal hazmat transport security vulnerabilities: Hazmat transport SVA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reniers, G.L.L.; Dullaert, W.E.H.

2013-01-01

The suggested Hazmat transport Security Vulnerability Assessment (SVA) methodology presents a user-friendly approach to determine relative security risk levels of the different modes of hazardous freight transport (i.e., road, railway, inland waterways and pipeline transportation). First, transport

Do Stochastic Traffic Assignment Models Consider Differences in Road Users Utility Functions?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Otto Anker

1996-01-01

of travel time versus travel length). A simple heuristic modification on SUE is presented which models both. To illustrate the theoretical discussions in the paper, bundles of routes between two zones in Copenhagen are presented according to the different principles and compared with results from a stop...... to overcome this problem. Sheffi & Powell (1981) presented a practically operational solution algorithm in which the travel resistance for each road segment is adjusted according to a Monte Carlo simulation following the Normal-distribution. By this the road users’ ‘perceived travel resistances’ are simulated....... A similar concept is used as a part of the Sto-chastic User Equilibrium model (SUE) suggested by Daganzo and Sheffi (1977) and operationalized by Sheffi & Powell (1982). In the paper it is discussed whether this way of modelling the ‘perceived travel resistance’ is sufficient to describe the road users...

Comparing the impact of socio-demographic factors associated with traffic injury among older road users and the general population in Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nagata Takashi

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The increasing number of older road users represents a public health issue because older individuals are more susceptible to traffic injury and mortality than the general population. This study investigated the association between socio-demographic factors and traffic injury and traffic mortality for the general population and among older road users in Japan. Methods An ecological study was conducted using national data in Japan. Multivariate regression methods were applied to investigate the association of traffic injury and traffic mortality for the general population and among older road users with significant demographic, economic, road traffic, and medical/cultural factors. Results Income per capita, total road length, and alcohol consumption per person were significantly associated with traffic injury and traffic mortality both for the general population and among older road users in Japan. Income per capita and alcohol consumption per person were negatively associated with traffic mortality for both groups. Meanwhile, for both groups, income per capita was positively associated with traffic injury, while total road length and alcohol consumption per person were negatively associated with traffic injury. Conclusions The effects of socio-demographic factors on traffic injury and traffic mortality in Japan were similar for both the general population and older road users. The study results suggest that injury preventive measures designed for the general population will be beneficial also for older road users in Japan.

A multi criteria analog model for assessing the vulnerability of rural catchments to road spills of hazardous substances

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Siqueira, Hygor Evangelista; Pissarra, Teresa Cristina Tarlé [Departamento de Engenharia Rural, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal (Brazil); Farias do Valle Junior, Renato [Laboratório de Geoprocessamento, Instituto Federal do Triângulo Mineiro, Campus Uberaba, Uberaba (Brazil); Fernandes, Luis Filipe Sanches [Centro de Investigação e Tecnologias Agroambientais e Biológicas, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Ap 1013, 5001–801 Vila Real (Portugal); Pacheco, Fernando António Leal, E-mail: fpacheco@utad.pt [Centro de Química de Vila Real, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Ap 1013, 5001–801 Vila Real (Portugal)

2017-05-15

Road spills of hazardous substances are common in developing countries due to increasing industrialization and traffic accidents, and represent a serious threat to soils and water in catchments. There is abundant literature on equations describing the wash-off of pollutants from roads during a storm event and there are a number of watershed models incorporating those equations in storm water quality algorithms that route runoff and pollution yields through a drainage system towards the catchment outlet. However, methods describing catchment vulnerability to contamination by road spills based solely on biophysical parameters are scarce. These methods could be particularly attractive to managers because they can operate with a limited amount of easily collectable data, while still being able to provide important insights on the areas more prone to contamination within the studied watershed. The purpose of this paper was then to contribute with a new vulnerability model. To accomplish the goal, a selection of medium properties appearing in wash-off equations and routing algorithms were assembled and processed in a parametric framework based on multi criteria analysis to define the watershed vulnerability. However, parameters had to be adapted because wash-off equations and water quality models have been developed to operate primarily in the urban environment while the vulnerability model is meant to run in rural watersheds. The selected parameters were hillside slope, ground roughness (depending on land use), soil permeability (depending on soil type), distance to water courses and stream density. The vulnerability model is a spatially distributed algorithm that was prepared to run under the IDRISI Selva software, a GIS platform capable of handling spatial and alphanumeric data and execute the necessary terrain model, hydrographic and thematic analyses. For illustrative purposes, the vulnerability model was applied to the legally protected Environmental Protection

A multi criteria analog model for assessing the vulnerability of rural catchments to road spills of hazardous substances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siqueira, Hygor Evangelista; Pissarra, Teresa Cristina Tarlé; Farias do Valle Junior, Renato; Fernandes, Luis Filipe Sanches; Pacheco, Fernando António Leal

2017-01-01

Road spills of hazardous substances are common in developing countries due to increasing industrialization and traffic accidents, and represent a serious threat to soils and water in catchments. There is abundant literature on equations describing the wash-off of pollutants from roads during a storm event and there are a number of watershed models incorporating those equations in storm water quality algorithms that route runoff and pollution yields through a drainage system towards the catchment outlet. However, methods describing catchment vulnerability to contamination by road spills based solely on biophysical parameters are scarce. These methods could be particularly attractive to managers because they can operate with a limited amount of easily collectable data, while still being able to provide important insights on the areas more prone to contamination within the studied watershed. The purpose of this paper was then to contribute with a new vulnerability model. To accomplish the goal, a selection of medium properties appearing in wash-off equations and routing algorithms were assembled and processed in a parametric framework based on multi criteria analysis to define the watershed vulnerability. However, parameters had to be adapted because wash-off equations and water quality models have been developed to operate primarily in the urban environment while the vulnerability model is meant to run in rural watersheds. The selected parameters were hillside slope, ground roughness (depending on land use), soil permeability (depending on soil type), distance to water courses and stream density. The vulnerability model is a spatially distributed algorithm that was prepared to run under the IDRISI Selva software, a GIS platform capable of handling spatial and alphanumeric data and execute the necessary terrain model, hydrographic and thematic analyses. For illustrative purposes, the vulnerability model was applied to the legally protected Environmental Protection

Sustainable road safety: a new (?) neighbourhood road pattern that saves VRU lives.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Vicky Feng; Lovegrove, Gord

2012-01-01

Both the UN (2007) and World Health Organizations (2004) have declared the enormous social and economic burden imposed on society by injuries due to road collisions as a major global problem. While the road safety problem is not new, this prominent global declaration sends an important signal of frustration regarding progress to date on reducing road collisions. It is clear that governments, communities, businesses and the public must discover ways of reducing this burden, especially as it relates to vulnerable road users (VRUs), typically meaning pedestrian and bicyclist road users. Recent comparisons of global VRU collisions statistics suggest that, in addition to mixed land use density, the layout of neighbourhood roads plays a vital role in the encouragement of walkable, safe and quiet, yet accessible and sustainable communities. The purpose of this paper was to: The Dutch Sustainable Road Safety (SRS) Program has produced a number of innovative land use and transportation initiatives for vehicular road users as well as non-vehicular VRUs. Following from the Dutch initiatives, these new 3-way offset, and fused grid neighbourhood patterns appear to not only have positive effects in encouraging mode split (i.e. increasing walking and bicycling, and transit), slowing traffic, and reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions; but also, to hold potential to improve road safety. To test the road safety hypothesis, UBCO researchers evaluated the level of road safety relative to five neighbourhood patterns - grid, culs-de-sac, and Dutch Sustainable Road Safety (SRS) (or limited access), 3-way offset, and fused grid networks. Analysis using standard transportation planning methodology revealed that they would maintain both mobility and accessibility. Analysis using standard road safety analysis methodology further revealed that these 3-way offset, and fused grid patterns would significantly improve road safety levels by as much as 60% compared to prevalent patterns (i

Using medico-legal data to investigate fatal older road user crash circumstances and risk factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Koppel, Sjaan; Bugeja, Lyndal; Smith, Daisy; Lamb, Ashne; Dwyer, Jeremy; Fitzharris, Michael; Newstead, Stuart; D'Elia, Angelo; Charlton, Judith

2018-02-17

This study used medico-legal data to investigate fatal older road user (ORU, aged 65 years and older) crash circumstances and risk factors relating to 4 key components of the Safe System approach (e.g., roads and roadsides, vehicles, road users, and speeds) to identify areas of priority for targeted prevention activity. The Coroners' Court of Victoria's (CCOV) Surveillance Database was searched to identify and describe the frequency and rate per 100,000 population of fatal ORU crashes in the Australian state of Victoria for 2013-2014. Information relating to the deceased ORU, crash characteristics and circumstances, and risk factors was extracted and analyzed. One hundred and thirty-eight unintentional fatal ORU crashes were identified in the CCOV Surveillance Database. Of these fatal ORU crashes, most involved older drivers (44%), followed by older pedestrians (32%), older passengers (17%), older pedal cyclists (4%), older motorcyclists (1%), and older mobility scooter users (1%). The average annual rate of fatal ORU crashes per 100,000 population was 8.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.0-10.2). In terms of the crash characteristics and circumstances, most fatal ORU crashes involved a counterpart (98%), of which the majority were passenger cars (50%) or fixed/stationary objects (25%), including trees (46%) or embankments (23%). In addition, most fatal ORU crashes occurred close to home (73%), on-road (87%), on roads that were paved (94%), on roads with light traffic volume (37%), and during low-risk conditions: between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. (44%), on weekdays (80%), during daylight (75%), and under dry/clear conditions (81%). Road user (RU) error was identified by the police and/or the coroner for the majority of fatal crashes (55%), with a significant proportion of deceased ORUs deemed to have failed to yield (54%) or misjudged (41%). RU error was the most significant factor identified in fatal ORU crashes, which suggests that there is a limited capacity of the

Risk Factors for Road Traffic Injuries among Different Road Users in the Gambia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edrisa Sanyang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We identified risk factors for road traffic injuries among road users who received treatment at two major trauma hospitals in urban Gambia. The study includes pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and drivers/passengers of cars and trucks. We examined distributions of injury by age, gender, collision vehicle types and vehicle category, and driver and environment factors. Two hundred and fifty-four patients were included in the study. Two-thirds were male and one-third female. Two-thirds (67% of road traffic injuries involved pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists; and these were more common during weekdays (74% than weekends. Nearly half (47% of road traffic injuries involved pedestrians. One-third (34% of injured patients were students (mean age of students was less than 14 years, more than half (51% of whom were injured on the roadway as pedestrians. Head/skull injuries were common. Concussion/brain injuries were 3.5 times higher among pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists than vehicle occupants. Crashes involving pedestrians were more likely to involve young people (<25 years; aOR 6.36, 95% CI: 3.32–12.17 and involve being struck by a motor car (aOR 3.95, 95% CI: 2.09–7.47. Pedestrians contribute the largest proportion of hospitalizations in the Gambia. Young pedestrians are at particularly high risk. Prevention efforts should focus on not only vehicle and driver factors, but also protecting pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists.

Vulnerability- and Diversity-Aware Anonymization of Personally Identifiable Information for Improving User Privacy and Utility of Publishing Data

Science.gov (United States)

Majeed, Abdul; Ullah, Farman; Lee, Sungchang

2017-01-01

Personally identifiable information (PII) affects individual privacy because PII combinations may yield unique identifications in published data. User PII such as age, race, gender, and zip code contain private information that may assist an adversary in determining the user to whom such information relates. Each item of user PII reveals identity differently, and some types of PII are highly identity vulnerable. More vulnerable types of PII enable unique identification more easily, and their presence in published data increases privacy risks. Existing privacy models treat all types of PII equally from an identity revelation point of view, and they mainly focus on hiding user PII in a crowd of other users. Ignoring the identity vulnerability of each type of PII during anonymization is not an effective method of protecting user privacy in a fine-grained manner. This paper proposes a new anonymization scheme that considers the identity vulnerability of PII to effectively protect user privacy. Data generalization is performed adaptively based on the identity vulnerability of PII as well as diversity to anonymize data. This adaptive generalization effectively enables anonymous data, which protects user identity and private information disclosures while maximizing the utility of data for performing analyses and building classification models. Additionally, the proposed scheme has low computational overheads. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the scheme and verify the aforementioned claims. PMID:28481298

Vulnerability- and Diversity-Aware Anonymization of Personally Identifiable Information for Improving User Privacy and Utility of Publishing Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Majeed

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Personally identifiable information (PII affects individual privacy because PII combinations may yield unique identifications in published data. User PII such as age, race, gender, and zip code contain private information that may assist an adversary in determining the user to whom such information relates. Each item of user PII reveals identity differently, and some types of PII are highly identity vulnerable. More vulnerable types of PII enable unique identification more easily, and their presence in published data increases privacy risks. Existing privacy models treat all types of PII equally from an identity revelation point of view, and they mainly focus on hiding user PII in a crowd of other users. Ignoring the identity vulnerability of each type of PII during anonymization is not an effective method of protecting user privacy in a fine-grained manner. This paper proposes a new anonymization scheme that considers the identity vulnerability of PII to effectively protect user privacy. Data generalization is performed adaptively based on the identity vulnerability of PII as well as diversity to anonymize data. This adaptive generalization effectively enables anonymous data, which protects user identity and private information disclosures while maximizing the utility of data for performing analyses and building classification models. Additionally, the proposed scheme has low computational overheads. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the scheme and verify the aforementioned claims.

Perceptions of autonomous vehicles: Relationships with road users, risk, gender and age

OpenAIRE

Hulse, Lynn M.; Xie, Hui; Galea, Edwin R.

2018-01-01

Fully automated self-driving cars, with expected benefits including improved road safety, are closer to becoming a reality. Thus, attention has turned to gauging public perceptions of these autonomous vehicles. To date, surveys have focused on the public as potential passengers of autonomous cars, overlooking other road users who would interact with them. Comparisons with perceptions of other existing vehicles are also lacking. This study surveyed almost 1000 participants on their perceptions...

Characterizing the vulnerability of frequent emergency department users by applying a conceptual framework: a controlled, cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bodenmann, Patrick; Baggio, Stéphanie; Iglesias, Katia; Althaus, Fabrice; Velonaki, Venetia-Sofia; Stucki, Stephanie; Ansermet, Corine; Paroz, Sophie; Trueb, Lionel; Hugli, Olivier; Griffin, Judith L; Daeppen, Jean-Bernard

2015-12-09

Frequent emergency department (ED) users meet several of the criteria of vulnerability, but this needs to be further examined taking into consideration all vulnerability's different dimensions. This study aimed to characterize frequent ED users and to define risk factors of frequent ED use within a universal health care coverage system, applying a conceptual framework of vulnerability. A controlled, cross-sectional study comparing frequent ED users to a control group of non-frequent users was conducted at the Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland. Frequent users were defined as patients with five or more visits to the ED in the previous 12 months. The two groups were compared using validated scales for each one of the five dimensions of an innovative conceptual framework: socio-demographic characteristics; somatic, mental, and risk-behavior indicators; and use of health care services. Independent t-tests, Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, Pearson's Chi-squared test and Fisher's exact test were used for the comparison. To examine the -related to vulnerability- risk factors for being a frequent ED user, univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used. We compared 226 frequent users and 173 controls. Frequent users had more vulnerabilities in all five dimensions of the conceptual framework. They were younger, and more often immigrants from low/middle-income countries or unemployed, had more somatic and psychiatric comorbidities, were more often tobacco users, and had more primary care physician (PCP) visits. The most significant frequent ED use risk factors were a history of more than three hospital admissions in the previous 12 months (adj OR:23.2, 95%CI = 9.1-59.2), the absence of a PCP (adj OR:8.4, 95%CI = 2.1-32.7), living less than 5 km from an ED (adj OR:4.4, 95%CI = 2.1-9.0), and household income lower than USD 2,800/month (adj OR:4.3, 95%CI = 2.0-9.2). Frequent ED users within a universal health coverage system form a highly

Using the event analysis of systemic teamwork (EAST) to explore conflicts between different road user groups when making right hand turns at urban intersections.

Science.gov (United States)

Salmon, Paul M; Lenne, Michael G; Walker, Guy H; Stanton, Neville A; Filtness, Ashleigh

2014-01-01

Collisions between different types of road users at intersections form a substantial component of the road toll. This paper presents an analysis of driver, cyclist, motorcyclist and pedestrian behaviour at intersections that involved the application of an integrated suite of ergonomics methods, the Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork (EAST) framework, to on-road study data. EAST was used to analyse behaviour at three intersections using data derived from an on-road study of driver, cyclist, motorcyclist and pedestrian behaviour. The analysis shows the differences in behaviour and cognition across the different road user groups and pinpoints instances where this may be creating conflicts between different road users. The role of intersection design in creating these differences in behaviour and resulting conflicts is discussed. It is concluded that currently intersections are not designed in a way that supports behaviour across the four forms of road user studied. Interventions designed to improve intersection safety are discussed. Practitioner Summary: Intersection safety currently represents a key road safety issue worldwide. This paper presents a novel application of a framework of ergonomics methods for studying differences in road user behaviour at intersections. The findings support development of interventions that consider all road users as opposed to one group in isolation.

Effect of the Road Environment on Road Safety in Poland

Science.gov (United States)

Budzynski, Marcin; Jamroz, Kazimierz; Antoniuk, Marcin

2017-10-01

Run-off-road accidents tend to be very severe because when a vehicle leaves the road, it will often crash into a solid obstacle (tree, pole, supports, front wall of a culvert, barrier). A statistical analysis of the data shows that Poland’s main roadside hazard is trees and the severity of vehicles striking a tree in a run-off-road crash. The risks are particularly high in north-west Poland with many of the roads lined up with trees. Because of the existing rural road cross-sections, i.e. having trees directly on road edge followed immediately by drainage ditches, vulnerable road users are prevented from using shoulders and made to use the roadway. With no legal definition of the road safety zone in Polish regulations, attempts to remove roadside trees lead to major conflicts with environmental stakeholders. This is why a compromise should be sought between the safety of road users and protection of the natural environment and the aesthetics of the road experience. Rather than just cut the trees, other road safety measures should be used where possible to treat the hazardous spots by securing trees and obstacles and through speed management. Accidents that are directly related to the road environment fall into the following categories: hitting a tree, hitting a barrier, hitting a utility pole or sign, vehicle rollover on the shoulder, vehicle rollover on slopes or in ditch. The main consequence of a roadside hazard is not the likelihood of an accident itself but of its severity. Poland’s roadside accident severity is primarily the result of poor design or operation of road infrastructure. This comes as a consequence of a lack of regulations or poorly defined regulations and failure to comply with road safety standards. The new analytical model was designed as a combination of the different factors and one that will serve as a comprehensive model. It was assumed that it will describe the effect of the roadside on the number of accidents and their consequences

Evaluating medical convenience in ethnic minority areas of Southwest China via road network vulnerability: a case study for Dehong autonomous prefecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Xiaoyan; Liu, Xuejun; Cheng, Liang; Sun, Lele; Pan, Yingying; Zong, Wenwen

2017-11-28

Southwest China is home to more than 30 ethnic minority groups. Since most of these populations reside in mountainous areas, convenient access to medical services is an important metric of how well their livelihoods are being protected. This paper proposes a medical convenience index (MCI) and computation model for mountain residents, taking into account various conditions including topography, geology, and climate. Data on road networks were used for comprehensive evaluation from three perspectives: vulnerability, complexity, and accessibility. The model is innovative for considering road network vulnerability in mountainous areas, and proposing a method of evaluating road network vulnerability by measuring the impacts of debris flows based on only links. The model was used to compute and rank the respective MCIs for settlements of each ethnic population in the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, in 2009 and 2015. Data on the settlements over the two periods were also used to analyze the spatial differentiation of medical convenience levels within the study area. The medical convenience levels of many settlements improved significantly. 80 settlements were greatly improved, while another 103 showed slight improvement.Areas with obvious improvement were distributed in clusters, and mainly located in the southwestern part of Yingjiang County, northern Longchuan County, eastern Lianghe County, and the region where Lianghe and Longchuan counties and Mang City intersect. Development of the road network was found to be a major contributor to improvements in MCI for mountain residents over the six-year period.

Developing a 3D Road Cadastral System: Comparing Legal Requirements and User Needs

Science.gov (United States)

Gristina, S.; Ellul, C.; Scianna, A.

2016-10-01

Road transport has always played an important role in a country's growth and, in order to manage road networks and ensure a high standard of road performance (e.g. durability, efficiency and safety), both public and private road inventories have been implemented using databases and Geographical Information Systems. They enable registering and managing significant amounts of different road information, but to date do not focus on 3D road information, data integration and interoperability. In an increasingly complex 3D urban environment, and in the age of smart cities, however, applications including intelligent transport systems, mobility and traffic management, road maintenance and safety require digital data infrastructures to manage road data: thus new inventories based on integrated 3D road models (queryable, updateable and shareable on line) are required. This paper outlines the first step towards the implementation of 3D GIS-based road inventories. Focusing on the case study of the "Road Cadastre" (the Italian road inventory as established by law), it investigates current limitations and required improvements, and also compares the required data structure imposed by cadastral legislation with real road users' needs. The study aims to: a) determine whether 3D GIS would improve road cadastre (for better management of data through the complete life-cycle infrastructure projects); b) define a conceptual model for a 3D road cadastre for Italy (whose general principles may be extended also to other countries).

Predictability by recognizable road design. [previously called: Recognizable road design.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2007-01-01

One of the Sustainable Safety principles is that a road should have a recognizable design and a predictable alignment. If this is the case, road users know how they are expected to behave and what they can expect from other road users, so that crashes may be prevented. For roads to be recognizable,

[P.A.R.T.Y. An initiative for more risk awareness among young road users].

Science.gov (United States)

Brockamp, T; Koenen, P; Mutschler, M; Probst, C; Bouillon, B; Schmucker, U

2016-05-01

Accident prevention strategies aim to inform young people about risk-taking behavior and the consequences of trauma. The Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y.) program is an accident prevention program that focuses on the prevention of road traffic accidents among young road users. Initial results of the program were evaluated to find out if the implementation of this prevention program is feasible in Germany. During a 1-day interactive course young road users were introduced to the work carried out in an accident trauma unit and were informed about injury mechanisms and about the consequences of trauma. A systematic evaluation was made by all participants. The results were analyzed to find out whether it is possible to implement the program and the impressions gained by the participants of the program in order to be able to make further adjustments. A total of 219 young road users participated in the P.A.R.T.Y. program between 2011 and 2013. All participants reviewed the structure of the program with the help of school grades. Of the participants 59 % (n = 129) rated the program as "very good" and 41 % gave the rating of "good". Overall, 70 % of all participants advocated that all people of the same age should participate in the program. The structure was described as being well-balanced with respect to the theoretical and practical stations. The P.A.R.T.Y. program is a standardized and well-established concept that can also contribute to accident prevention in Germany. It provides the possibility to implement an accident awareness program throughout Germany. Initial results show that the program can be implemented in German hospitals and that the program appeals to the target group of young road users.

Inroads into Equestrian Safety: Rider-Reported Factors Contributing to Horse-Related Accidents and Near Misses on Australian Roads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirrilly Thompson

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Horse riding and horse-related interactions are inherently dangerous. When they occur on public roads, the risk profile of equestrian activities is complicated by interactions with other road users. Research has identified speed, proximity, visibility, conspicuity and mutual misunderstanding as factors contributing to accidents and near misses. However, little is known about their significance or incidence in Australia. To explore road safety issues amongst Australian equestrians, we conducted an online survey. More than half of all riders (52% reported having experienced at least one accident or near miss in the 12 months prior to the survey. Whilst our findings confirm the factors identified overseas, we also identified issues around rider misunderstanding of road rules and driver misunderstanding of rider hand signals. Of particular concern, we also found reports of potentially dangerous rider-directed road rage. We identify several areas for potential safety intervention including (1 identifying equestrians as vulnerable road users and horses as sentient decision-making vehicles (2 harmonising laws regarding passing horses, (3 mandating personal protective equipment, (4 improving road signage, (5 comprehensive data collection, (6 developing mutual understanding amongst road-users, (7 safer road design and alternative riding spaces; and (8 increasing investment in horse-related safety initiatives.

Inroads into Equestrian Safety: Rider-Reported Factors Contributing to Horse-Related Accidents and Near Misses on Australian Roads.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Kirrilly; Matthews, Chelsea

2015-07-22

Horse riding and horse-related interactions are inherently dangerous. When they occur on public roads, the risk profile of equestrian activities is complicated by interactions with other road users. Research has identified speed, proximity, visibility, conspicuity and mutual misunderstanding as factors contributing to accidents and near misses. However, little is known about their significance or incidence in Australia. To explore road safety issues amongst Australian equestrians, we conducted an online survey. More than half of all riders (52%) reported having experienced at least one accident or near miss in the 12 months prior to the survey. Whilst our findings confirm the factors identified overseas, we also identified issues around rider misunderstanding of road rules and driver misunderstanding of rider hand signals. Of particular concern, we also found reports of potentially dangerous rider-directed road rage. We identify several areas for potential safety intervention including (1) identifying equestrians as vulnerable road users and horses as sentient decision-making vehicles (2) harmonising laws regarding passing horses, (3) mandating personal protective equipment, (4) improving road signage, (5) comprehensive data collection, (6) developing mutual understanding amongst road-users, (7) safer road design and alternative riding spaces; and (8) increasing investment in horse-related safety initiatives.

First motorcycle-exclusive lane (Motovia) in Colombia: perceptions of users in Cali, 2012-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Osorio-Cuéllar, Gisel V; Pacichana-Quinayaz, Sara G; Bonilla-Escobar, Francisco J; Fandiño-Losada, Andrés; Jaramillo-Molina, Ciro; Gutiérrez-Martínez, María I

2017-06-01

This study's goal was to evaluate the pilot exclusive lane for motorcycles (Motovía) in Cali, Colombia, from the perception of its users in 2012-2013. A cross-sectional study using roadside surveys plus a qualitative component of individual semi-structured interviews was carried out. Road users' perceptions were investigated before and after implementation of lane dividers (LD) and were compared with other roads in the city. Perceptions were compared using chi-square tests. In the study, 293 motorcyclists, 111 cyclists, and 115 automobile drivers were interviewed. Following the installation of the LD, the majority of motorcyclists and cyclists reported that LD made easier the driving maneuvers and decreased travel time, in contrast to perceptions of automobile drivers (p motorcycles. Further research about vulnerable road users' infrastructure is required.

Traffic signal design and simulation for vulnerable road users safety and bus preemption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lo, Shih-Ching; Huang, Hsieh-Chu

2015-01-01

Mostly, pedestrian car accidents occurred at a signalized interaction is because pedestrians cannot across the intersection safely within the green light. From the viewpoint of pedestrian, there might have two reasons. The first one is pedestrians cannot speed up to across the intersection, such as the elders. The other reason is pedestrians do not sense that the signal phase is going to change and their right-of-way is going to be lost. Developing signal logic to protect pedestrian, who is crossing an intersection is the first purpose of this study. In addition, to improve the reliability and reduce delay of public transportation service is the second purpose. Therefore, bus preemption is also considered in the designed signal logic. In this study, the traffic data of the intersection of Chong-Qing North Road and Min-Zu West Road, Taipei, Taiwan, is employed to calibrate and validate the signal logic by simulation. VISSIM 5.20, which is a microscopic traffic simulation software, is employed to simulate the signal logic. From the simulated results, the signal logic presented in this study can protect pedestrians crossing the intersection successfully. The design of bus preemption can reduce the average delay. However, the pedestrian safety and bus preemption signal will influence the average delay of cars largely. Thus, whether applying the pedestrian safety and bus preemption signal logic to an intersection or not should be evaluated carefully

Traffic signal design and simulation for vulnerable road users safety and bus preemption

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lo, Shih-Ching; Huang, Hsieh-Chu [Department of Transportation Technology and Logistics Management, Chung Hua University, No. 707, Sec. 2, WuFu Rd., Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan (China)

2015-01-22

Mostly, pedestrian car accidents occurred at a signalized interaction is because pedestrians cannot across the intersection safely within the green light. From the viewpoint of pedestrian, there might have two reasons. The first one is pedestrians cannot speed up to across the intersection, such as the elders. The other reason is pedestrians do not sense that the signal phase is going to change and their right-of-way is going to be lost. Developing signal logic to protect pedestrian, who is crossing an intersection is the first purpose of this study. In addition, to improve the reliability and reduce delay of public transportation service is the second purpose. Therefore, bus preemption is also considered in the designed signal logic. In this study, the traffic data of the intersection of Chong-Qing North Road and Min-Zu West Road, Taipei, Taiwan, is employed to calibrate and validate the signal logic by simulation. VISSIM 5.20, which is a microscopic traffic simulation software, is employed to simulate the signal logic. From the simulated results, the signal logic presented in this study can protect pedestrians crossing the intersection successfully. The design of bus preemption can reduce the average delay. However, the pedestrian safety and bus preemption signal will influence the average delay of cars largely. Thus, whether applying the pedestrian safety and bus preemption signal logic to an intersection or not should be evaluated carefully.

GeoVisual Analytics for the Exploration of Complex Movement Patterns on Arterial Roads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kveladze, Irma; Agerholm, Niels

2018-01-01

Visualization of complex spatio-temporal traffic movements on the road network is a challenging task since it requires simultaneous representation of vehicle measurement characteristics and traffic network regulation rules. Previously proposed visual representations addressed issues related....... Arterial roads are important for the mobility and connectivity of modern society, but they also have traffic regulations that are not always followed by the vulnerable road users. In order to understand complex movement behaviors between vehicle drivers and pedestrians on the arterial roads, a Geo......Visual Analytics approach was developed in dialog with traffic experts. The exploratory interactive tools have assisted experts to extract unknown information about movement patterns from large traffic data at different levels of details. The results of the analysis revealed detailed patterns of speed variations...

Disasters and vulnerabilities in the Foreman and Kennedy road informal settlements: Biographical influences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bethuel Sibongiseni Ngcamu

2012-11-01

Full Text Available As the towards the end of the homelands in the post-apartheid South Africa, there was a scramble of poverty stricken African black youth to the most severe vulnerable and disaster prone urban areas in search for formal job opportunities. The main purpose of this empirical study is to investigate the extent in which how the biographical profiles (age, gender, marital status, education levels, occupation (males and females, children and tenure can influence vulnerability and disasters in these informal settlements. A quantitative research design was adopted and a survey method was used, whereby questionnaires were administered by the researcher to a population of 240, whereby, 140 questionnaires were completed generating a response rate of 63.6%. The findings of this study reveals that the majority of the respondents in the Foreman and Kennedy Road informal settlements are black, poverty stricken, unemployed and who are suffered economic difficulties that make them highly vulnerable to disasters. This study will act an advisory role to the decision-makers as the research findings shows that in the foreseeable future in South Africa, informal settlements will be an intergral feature of formal housing, which requires urban planners to include such settlements to housing planning.

Optimal handgrip height of four-wheeled walker on various road conditions to reduce muscular load for elderly users with steady walking.

Science.gov (United States)

Takanokura, Masato

2010-03-22

A four-wheeled walker is a valuable tool for assisting elderly persons with walking. The handgrip height is one of the most important factor determining the usefulness of the walker. However, the optimal handgrip height for elderly users has not been considered from a biomechanical viewpoint. In this study, the handgrip height was optimized by a two-dimensional mechanical model to reduce muscular loads in the lower body as well as in the upper body with various road conditions during steady walking. A critical height of the handgrip existed at 48% of the body height for the user regardless of gender and body dimension. A lower handgrip relieved muscular load for stooping users with a lower standing height. The stooping user pushed the handgrip strongly in the perpendicular direction by leaning the upper body on the walker. However, upright users with a higher standing height should use a four-wheeled walker with a higher handgrip for maintaining his or her upright posture. For downhill movement, the optimal handgrip height depended on the slope angle and the friction coefficient between the road and the wheels of the walker. On a low-friction downhill such as asphalt with a steeper slope angle, the user was required to maintain an erect trunk with a higher handgrip and to press on the handgrip strongly in the perpendicular direction. Movement on a low-friction road was easier for users on a flat road and an uphill road, but it compelled distinct effort from users when moving downhill. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inroads into Equestrian Safety: Rider-Reported Factors Contributing to Horse-Related Accidents and Near Misses on Australian Roads

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Kirrilly; Matthews, Chelsea

2015-01-01

Simple Summary Riding horses on roads can be dangerous, but little is known about accidents and near misses. To explore road safety issues amongst Australian equestrians, we conducted an online survey. More than half of all riders (52%) reported having experienced at least one accident or near miss in the 12 months prior to the survey, mostly attributed to speed. Whilst our findings confirmed factors identified overseas, we also identified issues around road rules, hand signals and road rage. This paper suggests strategies for improving the safety of horses, riders and other road users. Abstract Horse riding and horse-related interactions are inherently dangerous. When they occur on public roads, the risk profile of equestrian activities is complicated by interactions with other road users. Research has identified speed, proximity, visibility, conspicuity and mutual misunderstanding as factors contributing to accidents and near misses. However, little is known about their significance or incidence in Australia. To explore road safety issues amongst Australian equestrians, we conducted an online survey. More than half of all riders (52%) reported having experienced at least one accident or near miss in the 12 months prior to the survey. Whilst our findings confirm the factors identified overseas, we also identified issues around rider misunderstanding of road rules and driver misunderstanding of rider hand signals. Of particular concern, we also found reports of potentially dangerous rider-directed road rage. We identify several areas for potential safety intervention including (1) identifying equestrians as vulnerable road users and horses as sentient decision-making vehicles; (2) harmonising laws regarding passing horses; (3) mandating personal protective equipment; (4) improving road signage; (5) comprehensive data collection; (6) developing mutual understanding amongst road-users; (7) safer road design and alternative riding spaces; and (8) increasing investment

Impact of road traffic accidents on the elderly.

Science.gov (United States)

Etehad, H; Yousefzadeh-Chabok, Sh; Davoudi-Kiakalaye, A; Moghadam Dehnadi, A; Hemati, H; Mohtasham-Amiri, Z

2015-01-01

Older adults are a vulnerable road user group with high mortality and morbidity in road crash. The aim of this study was to show pattern of road traffic injuries in this special aging group. In a cross sectional study, pre-hospital emergency system reports, hospital and police records of all motor vehicle collisions injured above 60 years old who were admitted to Pour-Sina hospital from April 2011 to March 2012 were studied. Demographic data, characteristic of road traffic incidents and in-hospital medical profiles were derived. Data were analyzed with SPSS ver. 18. Differences between demographic and injuries situation were calculated by chi square test. A p-value of road accident injured. Mean age of them was 70.9 ± 6.7 years. Most of them were male (74.7%). 40.5% were pedestrians, 22.1% were car occupants and 19.1% were motorcyclists.76.7% had multiple trauma. Head and neck were the most prevalent regions of injured. Total in-hospital mortality rate was 10.1% that was higher in old elderly pedestrians and motorcyclists in comparison to young elderly (16.1% vs. 7.9%) and other type of victims (ρroad accident injured. Mean age of them was 70.9 ± 6.7 years. Most of them were male (74.7%). 40.5% were pedestrians, 22.1% were car occupants and 19.1% were motorcyclists.76.7% had multiple trauma. Head and neck were the most prevalent regions of injured. Total in-hospital mortality rate was 10.1% that was higher in old elderly pedestrians and motorcyclists in comparison to young elderly (16.1% vs. 7.9%) and other type of victims (ρroad traffic injuries in this group especially in pedestrians should be taken into consideration and strategies aimed at the road-user safety including periodic medical examination and improvement of road structure and facilities. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Using GeoVisual Analytics for understanding the distribution of complex movement patterns on the arterial roads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kveladze, Irma; Agerholm, Niels

streets by igniting traffic rules. This will be studied on the basis of clusters of big unexplainable deviations from driving speed in FCD. The results will allow us to uncover meaningful patterns from complex traffic movements in populated areas, and provide some recommendations that are critical......Arterial roads have a particular operational significance and play a substantial role in the mobility and economic development of the modern society. They make up the majority of the road transport in urban and rural areas, and allow high-speed movement despite speed limitations and traffic...... controlling elements urban areas. In densely populated areas, where the presence of Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) is high, a high-speed movement is problematic from a road safety perspective, since many VRUs do crossroads by ignoring regardless of regulation and design limitations of the road network...

Vulnerability of Oyster Resource Users to Ecological Change: Case Study from Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana

Science.gov (United States)

Humphries, A.; La Peyre, M.; Hall, S.; Dowty Beech, R.

2016-02-01

Knowledge of vulnerability provides the foundation for developing actions that minimize impacts on people while maximizing the sustainability of ecosystem goods and services including fisheries. As a result, it is becoming increasingly important to determine if resource-dependent people are vulnerable to ecological change as anthropogenic and climate-induced stressors affect resources in different ways. In coastal Louisiana, the current era of rapid marsh loss and abrupt environmental variation (e.g., sediment diversions) has the potential to undermine oyster-associated livelihoods for those most vulnerable. To evaluate vulnerability, we examined dimensions of social sensitivity and adaptive capacity using semi-structured interviews with three stakeholder groups in the oyster fishery of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. Results indicate that oyster owners/operators are highly dependent, and thus sensitive, to changes in the ecological conditions of the fishery due to high levels of occupational identity; however they are likely adaptable, reflected in their willingness to learn about new practices and evolve over time. In contrast, oyster fishers that do not own any portion of the business in which they operate are bad at coping with change and frequently hold negative or fatalistic views on financial planning. Overall, oyster resource users most vulnerable to ecological change will be those with high levels of stewardship, open-minded values, and a balanced perception of environment, as well as low to moderate levels of personal and financial buffers and trust. These results suggest that resource users with higher sensitivity to change are not necessarily most vulnerable because sensitivity may be offset by adaptive capacity. In other words, while sensitivity may determine the potential impact of a climate- or human-induced ecological change to the oyster fishery, adaptive capacity can be a major influence on what impacts actually eventuate.

Road user charges for heavy goods vehicles (HGV). Tables with external costs of air pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skou Andersen, M.

2013-02-15

In this report, the European Environment Agency (EEA) presents updated estimates of the external costs of air pollution for different categories of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). The amended Eurovignette Directive (2011/76/EU) relating to the charging of HGVs for use of major European motorways prescribes that from 2013, Member States may include air pollution costs in any charging structure for roads under the Trans-European Network (TEN-T) and for comparable domestic motorways. The tables published here provide the basis for the inclusion of a vehicle-specific air pollution component in road user charges. Air pollution costs have been calculated on the basis of the formula prescribed in the directive, taking into account the fact that road transport emissions are mixed in a low volume of air. Following Article 9 in the Eurovignette Directive, additional revenues from external-cost charges must be used by Member States to benefit the transport sector and promote sustainable mobility. Making use of scientific developments subsequent to the 2007 Handbook of external costs (Maibach et al., 2008), the EEA is able to provide an updated estimate of the external costs of air pollution from road transport. The tables in this report indicate for each country and for the relevant vehicle categories, estimates of the external costs of air pollution in 2010 prices. The high level of detail gives member countries an informed basis to group the vehicle categories for administrative purposes. The tables also include estimates for three non-EU member countries of the EEA, of which one (Switzerland) pioneered the first HGV road user charge in Europe. (LN)

AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT CASES AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN RURAL HARYANA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abhishek Singh

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Background- Accidents occur not only due to ignorance but also due to carelessness, thoughtlessness and over confidence. Human, vehicular and environmental factors play role before, during and after a Road Traffic Accidents (RTA. Road traffic injuries are partially predictable and hence preventable. Objectives- To study the pattern of road traffic accidents, socio demographic profile of road traffic injury victims seeking care at Maharishi Markandeshwar Institute of Medical Sciences And Research, Mullana and to study the antecedent factors influencing the road traffic accidents. Material and Methods-The present cross-sectional study was carried out at Maharishi Markandeshwar Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (MMIMSR, Mullana (Ambala. All the victims who reported to MMIMSR emergency and various OPD clinics of the institute between September 2009 to February 2011 were included in the study. Various parameters like age and sex distribution, time of occurrence, protective gears worn, injuries sustained, receipt of First -Aid, alcohol consumption, category of road user, vehicles involved in RTA, types of RTA, road conditions, environmental conditions etc were studied and valid conclusions were drawn. Results- There was a marked male preponderance (88.77 % with maximum involvement of younger age groups. Most of the accidents had taken place in the evening hours (6 pm -12 midnight. The vulnerable road users like motorized two wheeler, LMV and pedestrians constituted 41.52%, 19.39% and 13.41% respectively. Only 158 of 545 two-wheeler users wore a helmet at the time of injury. 16.24% of drivers did not have a valid driving license. Not using indicator lights and not following speed limits were two most common factors responsible for these RTA.

Characteristics of the auto users and non-users of central Texas toll roads.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-08-01

As toll road usage increases to finance new road infrastructure or add capacity to existing road infrastructure, the : question of who does and does not use toll roads becomes increasingly important to toll road developers, financiers, : Traffic and ...

Spatial patterns monitoring of road traffic injuries in Karachi metropolis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lateef, Muhammad U

2011-06-01

This article aims to assess the pattern of road traffic injuries (RTIs) and fatalities in Karachi metropolis. Assessing the pattern of RTIs in Karachi at this juncture is important for many reasons. The rapid motorisation in the recent years due to the availability of credit has significantly increased the traffic volume of the city. Since then, the roads of Karachi have continuously developed at a rapid pace. This development has come with a high human loss, because the construction of multilevel flyovers, signal-free corridors and the resulting high-speed traffic ultimately increase the severity of injuries. The reasons for this high proportion are inadequate infrastructure, poor enforcement of safety regulations, high crash severity index and greater population of vulnerable road user groups (riders and pedestrians). This research is the first of its kind in the country to have a geocoded database of fatalities and injuries in a geographical information system for the entire city of Karachi. In fact, road crashes are both predictable and preventable. Developing countries should learn from the experience of highly motorised nations to avoid the high burden of RTIs by adopting road safety and prevention measures.

Network Screening for Smarter Road Sites: A Regional Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Attila Grieco

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Road safety has been a main societal and policy issue in many European countries since the early years of last decade. After the 2000-2010 Road Safety Programme launched by the European Commission, in 2011 the Commission adopted the new 2020 programme, even more demanding than the previous. As the societal consequences of road casualties are increasingly perceived as a core dimension of smart mobility, road safety system is now facing new challenges. Current mobility shifts to softer and greener transportation means raise new safety concerns for an increasingly larger share of vulnerable road users. The need to integrate road safety requirements with other residential, mobility, and environmental policies calls for a more detailed understanding of the phenomenon at different spatial levels and with different observation lenses. The pilot study described in this paper is a contribution to this end. It aims at identifying the accident prone sites of the regional road network to help prioritizing safety interventions, by the regional administration having road planning responsibilities. The study develops a screening approach to select hazardous road locations, outside urban premises, from the Piedmont provincial and state roads. The most recent data for the 2010-2012 years were considered, drawn from the ISTAT road accident database, managed by the CMRSS. The procedure consists of the following steps: identification of the elementary road sections to be screened, through a GIS analysis; definition of the screening groups (road sections have been subdivided in 4 length classes; definition of the selection criteria, with two severity thresholds based on the crash density; classification of the elementary road sections by severity thresholds.

Critical infrastructures risk and vulnerability assessment in transportation of dangerous goods transportation by road and rail

CERN Document Server

Vamanu, Bogdan I; Katina, Polinpapilinho F

2016-01-01

This book addresses a key issue in today’s society: the safer transport of dangerous goods, taking into account people, the environment and economics. In particular, it offers a potential approach to identifying the issues, developing the models, providing the methods and recommending the tools to address the risks and vulnerabilities involved. We believe this can only be achieved by assessing those risks in a comprehensive, quantifiable and integrated manner. Examining both rail and road transportation, the book is divided into three sections, covering: the mature and accepted (by both academia and practitioners) methodology of risk assessment; the vulnerability assessment – a novel approach proposed as a vital complement to risk; guidance and support to build the tools that make methods and equations to yield: the Decision Support Systems. Throughout the book, the authors do not endeavor to provide THE solution. Instead, the book offers insightful food for thought for students, researchers, practitioner...

Improving road safety: Experiences from the Netherlands

OpenAIRE

Hagenzieker, M.P.

2012-01-01

Dr. Hagenzieker's research and education activities focus on the road safety effects of the transport system, with particular interest in road user behaviour aspects. Her PhD-research was on the effects of rewards on road user behaviour.

VT Road Centerline

Data.gov (United States)

Vermont Center for Geographic Information — (Link to Metadata)(User Guide)(Symbology layer files: aotclass_only.lyr aotclass_surfacetyp.lyr)The Vermont Road Centerline data layer (TransRoad_RDS) contains all...

Road Accidents and Road Fatalities in Denmark from 1968 to 2004

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Orozova-Bekkevold, Ivanka; Hels, Tove; Bernhoft, Inger Marie

2008-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe the road accidents and road fatalities in Denmark in the period 1968-2004. Only accidents registered by the police were used. Crude and gender & age specific fatality rates (counts per 1,000,000 inhabitants) were estimated for all road users...... and for bicyclists. The accident and fatality rates have decreased by around 70% from 1968 to 2004, while the motorisation rate has increased by approximately 90%. The sharpest decrease in the fatality rate was observed among the youngest (below 18 years old) and the older (above 64) road users. Gender related...... and actions targeted to improve road safety have indeed led to a significant reduction in injury accidents and fatalities. Further research and more detailed data, especially on traffic volume and individual exposure are necessary in order to investigate properly a causal relation between the number...

Aging road user, bicyclist, and pedestrian safety : effective bicycling signs and preventing left-turn crashes. [Technical summary].

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-01

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is dedicated to engineering safer roadways, but safety requires engineers and planners to go beyond their usual scope to understand behavior of road users of all ages. Driving, for example, is a complex...

Road map towards a common harmonised Nordic end-user market. NordREG report 5 - 2013

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-07-01

The purpose of this road map is to describe the overall process to harmonise the Nordic electricity end-user markets. The main target groups for the road map are the Nordic governments, legislators and the electricity industry. The road map will continuously be updated as the project progresses, at least once a year. It describes the recommendations already made by NordREG, as well as indicates up-coming recommendations. One important part of the Nordic harmonisation process is the monitoring of the progress of the project. It will be communicated through national implementation monitoring overviews, which will describe the state of play for each recommendation made by NordREG. The road map highlights the importance of national commitment by different stakeholders, authorities and governments in order to successfully harmonise the Nordic end-user markets. This commitment is absolutely essential. The goal for 2015 is to harmonise some of the legislation, rules and processes that constitute barriers for suppliers to establish their business in other Nordic countries. In order to achieve this goal, NordREG is working towards defining responsibilities in the customer interface of the supplier centric model and the way of billing the customers. Another important task is related to development of an efficient way of communication among a large number of Nordic electricity companies. By 2015 the end-user markets should be harmonised to the extent that the most critical prerequisites have been achieved. But it is important to bear in mind that there are still many more steps to be taken also after 2015. The harmonisation process between the Nordic retail markets is a process that will continue for the foreseeable future. Since there is no supranational organisation or institution (like in the EU), it means that any future development of the Nordic retail market will have to be continuously coordinated between the Nordic countries to ensure that the markets maintain the

The intersection of urban form and mileage fees : findings from the Oregon road user fee pilot program

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-01

This report analyzes data from the 2006-2007 Oregon Road User Fee Pilot Program to assess if and how urban form variables correlate with travel behavior changes that participants made in response to the mileage fee program. The study tested the impac...

A theoretical perspective on road safety communication campaigns.

Science.gov (United States)

Elvik, Rune

2016-12-01

This paper proposes a theoretical perspective on road safety communication campaigns, which may help in identifying the conditions under which such campaigns can be effective. The paper proposes that, from a theoretical point of view, it is reasonable to assume that road user behaviour is, by and large, subjectively rational. This means that road users are assumed to behave the way they think is best. If this assumption is accepted, the best theoretical prediction is that road safety campaigns consisting of persuasive messages only will have no effect on road user behaviour and accordingly no effect on accidents. This theoretical prediction is not supported by meta-analyses of studies that have evaluated the effects of road safety communication campaigns. These analyses conclude that, on the average, such campaigns are associated with an accident reduction. The paper discusses whether this finding can be explained theoretically. The discussion relies on the distinction made by many modern theorists between bounded and perfect rationality. Road user behaviour is characterised by bounded rationality. Hence, if road users can gain insight into the bounds of their rationality, so that they see advantages to themselves of changing behaviour, they are likely to do so. It is, however, largely unknown whether such a mechanism explains why some road safety communication campaigns have been found to be more effective than others. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Directional sound sources using real-time beamforming control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhoff, A.P.; Rots, R. van der

2013-01-01

Quiet vehicles may be noticed relatively late and therefore constitute a potential risk for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists. The ideal acoustic warning signal generator notifies vulnerable road users while minimizing noise pollution. Several sensor systems exist which are

Challenges of raising road maintenance funds in developing countries: An analysis of road tolling in Zimbabwe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. C. Mbara

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The condition of Zimbabwe's roads has been declining due to insufficient maintenance and rehabilitation. Year on year, budget allocations have compared unfavourably with funding considered adequate to maintain highway networks and conduct modest construction work. Road infrastructure shortcomings have manifested themselves in the form of high vehicle operating costs and rampant potholes, leading to a decline in road safety and a deterioration of service levels for those who use roads to deliver goods or connect to international markets. In order to try and stop this vicious cycle of decline, the Government of Zimbabwe, on 8 August 2009, introduced a new policy of road-user charges, which involved the setting-up of 22 toll gates on the trunk road network. The overall objective was to raise revenue in order to close the funding gap, blamed for declining road quality. Although alternative methods of financing road maintenance have been debated for years, a generally accepted understanding is that road users should pay costs for road provisioning. This paper assesses the implementation of a road tolling system in Zimbabwe and describes matters relating to, inter alia, implementation strategy, initial performance outcomes and sustainability.

System versus traditional approach in road traffic injury prevention. A call for action

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davoud Khorasani-Zavareh

2011-07-01

wearing.In contrast, a system approach, tends to be mainly directed toward the crashworthiness of the road transport system. Sweden has been rather successful in this area and one major national policy is a long-term vision for road safety, “Vision Zero”. It was a revolutionary way of thinking about traffic user safety that helped Sweden to significantly reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries due to road traffic crashes. This is a road safety policy that puts the protection of the most vulnerable road-users at its centre. The system designer has the primary responsibility and as a result changes within the environment are given more emphasis than human factors. The road transport system should be able to take human failings into account and absorb errors in the system, in order to avoid serious RTIs and deaths. The amount of energy in the system must be kept below critical limits by ensuring that speed is restricted1. Now the Vision Zero policy has been embraced in the other countries, and the Swedish national policy with its powerful emphasis on safety is saving lives around the world. It is interesting to note that the “Vision Zero” is not just applicable to high-income countries. It could easily be transferred to LMICs. Accordingly, in such countries, if the inherent safety of the system (road and vehicle safety design cannot be changed, then the only way to reduce RTIs is to lower speeds1. The basic principles of Vision Zero can be used in any type of road transport system, at any stage of development.

Safety concepts for the design of transport and traffic facilities for pedestrians, cyclists, children and disabled in urban areas. Contribution to the 5th National Congress on Traffic Safety, Barcelona, Spain, November 24-26, 1982.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Asmussen, E.

1982-01-01

The "vulnerable" road users, pedestrians, cyclists, children and disabled in urban -areas mainly are victims of motorised traffic. The intensity and speed of this motorized traffic are the main agents for the unsafety of the "vulnerable" road users. Safety concepts for urban areas should be directed

Developing a theoretical foundation to change road user behavior and improve traffic safety: Driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC).

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Nicholas J; Schell, William; Kelley-Baker, Tara; Otto, Jay; Finley, Kari

2018-05-19

This study explored a theoretical model to assess the influence of culture on willingness and intention to drive under the influence of cannabis (DUIC). This model is expected to guide the design of strategies to change future DUIC behavior in road users. This study used a survey methodology to obtain a nationally representative sample (n = 941) from the AmeriSpeak Panel. Survey items were designed to measure aspects of a proposed definition of traffic safety culture and a predictive model of its relationship to DUIC. Although the percentage of reported past DUIC behaviors was relatively low (8.5%), this behavior is still a significant public health issue-especially for younger drivers (18-29 years), who reported more DUIC than expected. Findings suggest that specific cultural components (attitudes, norms) reliably predict past DUIC behavior, general DUIC willingness, and future DUIC intention. Most DUIC behavior appears to be deliberate, related significantly to willingness and intention. Intention and willingness both appear to fully moderate the relationship between traffic safety culture and DUIC behavior. This study explored a theoretical model to understand road user behavior involving drug (cannabis)-impaired driving as a significant risk factor for traffic safety. By understanding the cultural factors that increase DUIC behavior, we can create strategies to transform this culture and sustain safer road user behavior.

Commentary: Status of road safety in Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Wismans, Jac; Skogsmo, Ingrid; Nilsson-Ehle, Anna; Lie, Anders; Thynell, Marie; Lindberg, Gunnar

2016-01-01

The objective of this article is to assess the status of road safety in Asia and present accident and injury prevention strategies based on global road safety improvement experiences and discuss the way forward by indicating opportunities and countermeasures that could be implemented to achieve a new level of safety in Asia. This study provides a review and analyses of data in the literature, including from the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank, and a review of lessons learned from best practices in high-income countries. In addition, an estimation of costs due to road transport injuries in Asia and review of future trends in road transport is provided. Data on the global and Asian road safety problem and status of prevention strategies in Asia as well as recommendations for future actions are discussed. The total number of deaths due to road accidents in the 24 Asian countries, encompassing 56% of the total world population, is 750,000 per year (statistics 2010). The total number of injuries is more than 50 million, of which 12% are hospital admissions. The loss to the economy in the 24 Asian countries is estimated to around US$800 billion or 3.6% of the gross domestic product (GDP). This article clearly shows that road safety is causing large problems and high costs in Asia, with an enormous impact on the well-being of people, economy, and productivity. In many Asian low- and middle-income countries, the yearly number of fatalities and injuries is increasing. Vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists combined) are particularly at risk. Road safety in Asia should be given rightful attention, including taking powerful, effective actions. This review stresses the need for reliable accident data, because there is considerable underreporting in the official statistics. Reliable accident data are imperative to determine evidence-based intervention strategies and monitor the success of these interventions and analyses. On the other

Application of oil spill environmental vulnerability analysis to Brazilian road networks for hazardous cargo transportation; Aplicacao do indice de vulnerabilidade rodoviario para transporte de cargas perigosas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mattos, M. Beatriz da Costa; Silva Junior, Carlos Leandro da; Almeida, Ana Flavia Oliveira de [Ambipetro Consultoria em Meio Ambiente e Petroleo Ltda., Natal, RN (Brazil)

2008-07-01

Roads provide the main means of transportation in Brazil. According to data from the Brazilian Department of Infrastructure and Transport, 96.2% of the passenger transportation and 61.8% of the cargo transportation are based on road infrastructure. However, three quarters of the Brazilian roads are in terrible, unsatisfactory or generally inadequate condition. Poor road conditions are responsible for a great number of accidents with severe consequences for the population and the environment. Given the importance of this matter, there is a need to develop an intelligent system for automatic classification of social and environmental sensitivity maps in order to support actions that respond to emergencies and to help in transportation planning, especially considering the heavy movement of hazardous cargoes such as petroleum and its derivates. For this, tools such as Geographic Information System (GIS) allow social-environmental and traffic engineering characterization maps to be analyzed on a unified, geo referenced digital base. This way, administrators can estimate which stretches of the network are more environmentally sensitive and which pose greater risks, and therefore draw inferences on the most socially and environmentally vulnerable. Social and environmental vulnerability data not only help in the classification of the areas which pose the greater risks, but also make it possible to decide on emergency support points, creating a culture of prevention in the area of hazardous cargo transportation. The case study on the state of Rio Grande do Norte provides a measure of the importance of such work. The city of Natal - the state capital - and the Guamare petrochemical facility are interconnected by 180 Km Road, on which more than 100 tanker trucks loaded with diesel and its derivates travel every day. This road is classified as in poor conditions and, according to the Brazilian Roads Police, it is one of the most dangerous. The relevance of this work is to show

[Validation of the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) in vulnerable users of health care services in Santiago, Chile].

Science.gov (United States)

Oyanedel, Juan Carlos; Vargas, Salvador; Mella, Camila; Páez, Darío

2015-09-01

Personal well-being calculates quality of life in terms of the necessary conditions required to live well. To validate the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) in a representative sample of vulnerable users of the public health system in Santiago, Chile. A probabilistic and multistage sample consisting of 400 individuals aged 44 ± 18 years (61% females) belonging to the lower income group of the National Health Fund (FONASA), residents of Gran Santiago was surveyed. Internal consistency and correlation between items and scale were examined. Structure was analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis. The seven-item PWI is a good indicator of subjective well-being in the population under study, considering internal consistency, factor loadings, relation with overall life satisfaction and goodness of fit. The indicators mostly associated with personal well-being are the socioeconomic level followed by relationships with the community, health conditions and achievements. The 7-item version of the PWI is suitable for application in vulnerable health service users.

ERGONOMICS AND ROAD SAFETY

NARCIS (Netherlands)

BROOKHUIS, K; BROWN, [No Value

1992-01-01

Modifications to the design of vehicles and road infrastructures have improved road safety significantly over the past decades, but all such developments depend upon user acceptance and institutional backing for their success. New R&D programmes combining ergonomic and engineering approaches are

Applicability of vulnerability maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersen, L.J.; Gosk, E.

1989-01-01

A number of aspects to vulnerability maps are discussed: the vulnerability concept, mapping purposes, possible users, and applicability of vulnerability maps. Problems associated with general-type vulnerability mapping, including large-scale maps, universal pollutant, and universal pollution scenario are also discussed. An alternative approach to vulnerability assessment - specific vulnerability mapping for limited areas, specific pollutant, and predefined pollution scenario - is suggested. A simplification of the vulnerability concept is proposed in order to make vulnerability mapping more objective and by this means more comparable. An extension of the vulnerability concept to the rest of the hydrogeological cycle (lakes, rivers, and the sea) is proposed. Some recommendations regarding future activities are given

An observational study of road safety around selected primary schools in Ibadan municipality, Oyo State, Southwestern Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Sangowawa, Adesola O; Adebiyi, Akindele O; Faseru, Babalola; Popoola, Olusola J

2012-01-01

Child pedestrians have been identified as vulnerable road users. Although walking as a means of transport has health and other benefits, it exposes children to the risk of road traffic injuries. This study was conducted to assess the availability of road safety features around government-owned primary schools in Ibadan municipality. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 46 of the 74 schools in the study area. Some (11) of the selected schools were sited within the same premises and shared a common entrance; thus a total of 35 school premises were eventually observed. Trained research assistants observed the school environment around the selected schools for road safety features such as location of schools, presence of "school", "child crossing" and "speed limit" road signs, and presence of traffic calming devices (road bumps or zebra crossing). Five (14%) of the schools were located on major roads and eight (23%) had road signs indicating that a school was nearby. Seven (20%) had road bumps close to the school, 15 (43%) had a warden who assisted children to cross, and none had a zebra crossing. Five (14%) schools had pedestrian sidewalks. The study revealed that the environment around a number of the observed schools in the municipality compromised the pupils' road safety. The local government, school authorities, parents, and road safety professionals need to institute definite measures to enhance the road safety environment around schools in the municipality.

Areas of interest of potential users for naturalistic observation studies. PROmoting real Life Observations for Gaining Understanding of road user behaviour in Europe PROLOGUE, Deliverable D1.2.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schagen, I.N.L.G. van Craen, S. de Nes, N. van & Eenink, R.

2010-01-01

Identification of the interests of potential users is crucial for setting up a useful and broadly supported large-scale naturalistic driving (ND) study. This report describes the results of a survey amongst 72 road transport professionals in Europe from different organisation types that aimed at

Recognizablility of rural roads in the Netherlands.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aarts, L.T. & Davidse, R.J.

2008-01-01

In the Netherlands, the Sustainable Safety vision is an important guide in improving road safety. It is considered that the road environment shouldconform to the expectations of road users in order to prevent errors thatcould lead to road crashes. These expectations are based on the characteristics

Speed and motivation : established and newly developed ideas about the content of questionnaires and the designing of campaigns.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Levelt, P.B.M.

1999-01-01

This literature study focuses on the preparation of surveys to be presented to road users (both motorists as well as vulnerable road users) in regard to areas within and beyond their own residential neighbourhoods. The purpose of these surveys is to provide data about motivations road users have in

Drawing Road Networks with Mental Maps.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Shih-Syun; Lin, Chao-Hung; Hu, Yan-Jhang; Lee, Tong-Yee

2014-09-01

Tourist and destination maps are thematic maps designed to represent specific themes in maps. The road network topologies in these maps are generally more important than the geometric accuracy of roads. A road network warping method is proposed to facilitate map generation and improve theme representation in maps. The basic idea is deforming a road network to meet a user-specified mental map while an optimization process is performed to propagate distortions originating from road network warping. To generate a map, the proposed method includes algorithms for estimating road significance and for deforming a road network according to various geometric and aesthetic constraints. The proposed method can produce an iconic mark of a theme from a road network and meet a user-specified mental map. Therefore, the resulting map can serve as a tourist or destination map that not only provides visual aids for route planning and navigation tasks, but also visually emphasizes the presentation of a theme in a map for the purpose of advertising. In the experiments, the demonstrations of map generations show that our method enables map generation systems to generate deformed tourist and destination maps efficiently.

Clinical Epidemiology of Head Injury from Road-Traffic Trauma in a Developing Country in the Current Era

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amos O. Adeleye

2017-12-01

Full Text Available ObjectivesAfrica and other Asian low middle-income countries account for the greatest burden of the global road-traffic injury (RTI-related head injury (HI. This study set out to describe the incidence, causation, and severity of RTI-related HI and associated injuries in a Nigerian academic neurosurgical practice.MethodsThis is a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of RTI-related HI from a prospective HI registry in an academic neurosurgery practice in Nigeria.ResultsAll-terrain RTI accounted for 80.6% (833/1,034 of HI over a 7-year study period. All age groups were involved, mean 33.06 years (SD 18.30, mode 21–30, 231/833 (27.7%. The male:female ratio was 631:202, ≈3:1. The road trauma occurred exclusively from motorcycle-and motor-vehicle crash (MCC/MVC, MCC caused 56.8% (473/833 of these; the victims were vulnerable road users (VRU in 74%, and >90% belong in the low socioeconomic class. Using the Glasgow Coma Scale grading, the HI was moderate/severe in 52%; loss of consciousness occurred in 93%, the Abbreviated Injury Severity-head > 3 in 74%, and computed tomography (CT Rotterdam score > 3 in 52%. Significant extracranial injuries occurred in many organ systems, 421/833 (50.5% having Injury Severity Score (ISS > 25. Surgical lesions included extensive brain contusions in 157 (18.8%; acute extradural hematoma in 34 (4.1%; acute subdural hematoma in 32 (3.8%; and traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage in 27 (3.2%, but only 97 (11.6% received operative care for various logistic reasons. The in-hospital outcome was good in 71.3% and poor in 28.7%; the statistically significant (p < 0.001 determinants of this outcome profile were the severity of the HI, the CT Rotterdam score, and the ISS.ConclusionIn this study from Nigeria, RTI-related HI emanates from significant trauma to vulnerable road users and are caused exclusively by motorcycles and motor vehicles.

Some implications of an event-based definition of exposure to the risk of road accident

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elvik, Rune

2015-01-01

This paper proposes a new definition of exposure to the risk of road accident as any event, limited in space and time, representing a potential for an accident to occur by bringing road users close to each other in time or space of by requiring a road user to take action to avoid leaving the road......This paper proposes a new definition of exposure to the risk of road accident as any event, limited in space and time, representing a potential for an accident to occur by bringing road users close to each other in time or space of by requiring a road user to take action to avoid leaving...

Describing and comparing the characteristics of injured bicyclists and other injured road users: a prospective cohort study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bamini Gopinath

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We aimed to establish the frequency and characteristics (e.g. socioeconomic, pre-injury, and crash-related parameters of injured bicyclists and other injured road users. Methods 748 participants aged ≥17 years who had sustained a minor or non-catastrophic injury in a land-transport crash, were interviewed after presenting to a metro hospital emergency department in New South Wales, Australia. A telephone-administered questionnaire obtained information on socio-economic, pre-injury health, and crash-related characteristics. These factors were then compared between injured bicyclists and other road users (car driver/passengers, motorcyclists/pillion and pedestrians/skateboarders. Cycling injury severity was characterized by three metrics (sustaining multiple injuries; hospital admission for ≥12 h; and sustaining a head/neck and/or facial injury. Results In this cohort of people with injuries, 238 (32 % were bicyclists. Frequency of cycling injuries were significantly different between age-groups among men (p = 0.0002, and were more common in men aged 45–59. Bicyclists were more likely to be aged 45–59, married, have university/tertiary qualifications and have a professional occupation compared to other road users (all p <0.0001. Bicyclists compared to participants involved in other types of land transport crashes were more likely to self-report excellent general health (p = 0.01, and were less likely to report a great/overwhelming perceived danger of death or 15.0 % versus 23–41 %; p <0.0001. Frequency of upper extremity and lower extremity injuries in bicyclists were 81.9 % and 60.5 %, respectively. Explanatory variables significantly associated with injury severity metrics were age, education level, paid work status and perceived danger of death/disability in the crash. Conclusions Minor cycling injuries were a relatively common cause of mild-moderate injury presentations to metro emergency

The epidemiology of road traffic injury hotspots in Kigali, Rwanda from police data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anjni Patel

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Road traffic injuries (RTIs are the eighth-leading cause of death worldwide, with low- and middle-income countries sharing a disproportionate number of fatalities. African countries, like Rwanda, carry a higher burden of these fatalities and with increased economic growth, these numbers are expected to rise. We aim to describe the epidemiology of RTIs in Kigali Province, Rwanda and create a hotspot map of crashes from police data. Methods Road traffic crash (RTC report data from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013 was collected from Kigali Traffic Police. In addition to analysis of descriptive data, locations of RTCs were mapped and analyzed through exploratory spatial data analysis to determine hotspots. Results A total of 2589 of RTCs were reported with 4689 total victims. The majority of victims were male (94.7 % with an average age of 35.9 years. Cars were the most frequent vehicle involved (43.8 %, followed by motorcycles (14.5 %. Motorcycles had an increased risk of involvement in grievous crashes and pedestrians and cyclists were more likely to have grievous injuries. The hotspots identified were primarily located along the major roads crossing Kigali and the two busiest downtown areas. Conclusions Despite significant headway by the government in RTC prevention, there continue to be high rates of RTIs in Rwanda, specifically with young males and a vulnerable road user population, such as pedestrians and motorcycle users. Improvements in police data and reporting by laypersons could prove valuable for further geographic information system analysis and efforts towards crash prevention and targeting education to motorcycle taxis could help reduce RTIs in a severely affected population.

The epidemiology of road traffic injury hotspots in Kigali, Rwanda from police data.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Anjni; Krebs, Elizabeth; Andrade, Luciano; Rulisa, Stephen; Vissoci, João Ricardo N; Staton, Catherine A

2016-08-02

Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are the eighth-leading cause of death worldwide, with low- and middle-income countries sharing a disproportionate number of fatalities. African countries, like Rwanda, carry a higher burden of these fatalities and with increased economic growth, these numbers are expected to rise. We aim to describe the epidemiology of RTIs in Kigali Province, Rwanda and create a hotspot map of crashes from police data. Road traffic crash (RTC) report data from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013 was collected from Kigali Traffic Police. In addition to analysis of descriptive data, locations of RTCs were mapped and analyzed through exploratory spatial data analysis to determine hotspots. A total of 2589 of RTCs were reported with 4689 total victims. The majority of victims were male (94.7 %) with an average age of 35.9 years. Cars were the most frequent vehicle involved (43.8 %), followed by motorcycles (14.5 %). Motorcycles had an increased risk of involvement in grievous crashes and pedestrians and cyclists were more likely to have grievous injuries. The hotspots identified were primarily located along the major roads crossing Kigali and the two busiest downtown areas. Despite significant headway by the government in RTC prevention, there continue to be high rates of RTIs in Rwanda, specifically with young males and a vulnerable road user population, such as pedestrians and motorcycle users. Improvements in police data and reporting by laypersons could prove valuable for further geographic information system analysis and efforts towards crash prevention and targeting education to motorcycle taxis could help reduce RTIs in a severely affected population.

Secure Mix-Zones for Privacy Protection of Road Network Location Based Services Users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rubina S. Zuberi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Privacy has been found to be the major impediment and hence the area to be worked out for the provision of Location Based Services in the wide sense. With the emergence of smart, easily portable, communicating devices, information acquisition is achieving new domains. The work presented here is an extension of the ongoing work towards achieving privacy for the present day emerging communication techniques. This work emphasizes one of the most effective real-time privacy enhancement techniques called Mix-Zones. In this paper, we have presented a model of a secure road network with Mix-Zones getting activated on the basis of spatial as well as temporal factors. The temporal factors are ascertained by the amount of traffic and its flow. The paper also discusses the importance of the number of Mix-Zones a user traverses and their mixing effectiveness. We have also shown here using our simulations which are required for the real-time treatment of the problem that the proposed transient Mix-Zones are part of a viable and robust solution towards the road network privacy protection of the communicating moving objects of the present scenario.

A geographical and multi-criteria vulnerability assessment of transportation networks against extreme earthquakes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kermanshah, A.; Derrible, S.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to provide a geographical and multi-criteria vulnerability assessment method to quantify the impacts of extreme earthquakes on road networks. The method is applied to two US cities, Los Angeles and San Francisco, both of which are susceptible to severe seismic activities. Aided by the recent proliferation of data and the wide adoption of Geography Information Systems (GIS), we use a data-driven approach using USGS ShakeMaps to determine vulnerable locations in road networks. To simulate the extreme earthquake, we remove road sections within “very strong” intensities provided by USGS. Subsequently, we measure vulnerability as a percentage drop in four families of metrics: overall properties (length of remaining system); topological indicators (betweenness centrality); accessibility; and travel demand using Longitudinal Employment Household Dynamics (LEHD) data. The various metrics are then plotted on a Vulnerability Surface (VS), from which the area can be assimilated to an overall vulnerability indicator. This VS approach offers a simple and pertinent method to capture the impacts of extreme earthquake. It can also be useful to planners to assess the robustness of various alternative scenarios in their plans to ensure that cities located in seismic areas are better prepared to face severe earthquakes. - Highlights: • Developed geographical and multi-criteria vulnerability assessment method. • Quantify the impacts of extreme earthquakes on transportation networks. • Data-driven approach using USGS ShakeMaps to determine vulnerable locations. • Measure vulnerability as a percentage drop in four families of metrics: ○Overall properties. ○Topological indicators. ○Accessibility. ○Travel demand using Longitudinal Employment Household Dynamics (LEHD) data. • Developed Vulnerability Surface (VS), a new pragmatic vulnerability indicator.

Virtual testing of speed reduction schemes on urban collector roads.

Science.gov (United States)

Domenichini, Lorenzo; Branzi, Valentina; Meocci, Monica

2018-01-01

Urban collector roads are complex driving environments often encompassing both the mobility and the access road functions. In these conditions motorized traffic and vulnerable road users compete continually. Speed reduction measures may play a relevant role in these contexts, provided that such measures are also designed in compliance with the driver's capabilities and expectations. The paper describes a test procedure using driving simulation experiments, designed to evaluate the reconfiguration project of Via Pistoiese, an urban road collector located in Florence (Italy). The road improvement design consisted of several engineering treatments aimed to reduce and homogenize the driving speed, as well as to manage the co-existence of the different road users and mainly to protect pedestrians. The main focus of the research was to understand if the drivers' behaviour was according to the design hypothesis before the safety treatments are implemented in the real world. Due to the multiple engineering treatments included in the reconfiguration project, the evaluation of the overall safety effectiveness of the project rather than the single treatment safety impact was the main concern of the research study. In addition, the study aimed to assess the usefulness of the considered testing method to understand how to integrate road design with drivers' performances, especially in heterogeneous traffic environments where drivers' behaviour plays a decisive role in the success of the proposed design solutions. Fifty-eight participants drove through two immersive virtual environments, reproducing the existing configuration and the project reconfiguration, while data relating to different driving aspects were collected. Two analyses were performed. The first was focused on the analysis of the mean speed profiles and revealed that the considered engineering treatments are able to control the speeding behaviour without providing a too high discomfort to the drivers. The second

Resource Roads demonstration project : final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2009-07-15

British Columbia's vast network of resource roads are considered to be amongst the most dangerous, high-risk workplaces in the province. Resource roads, also known as industrial roads, forest service roads, or petroleum development roads, present several unique safety challenges as workplaces. They are built for the purpose of access, egress and transport of materials, resources, equipment and people. However, the lack the same diligence of enforcement and a consistent design, construction, maintenance and standard for use as public highways or municipal roads. There are also safety challenges related to public use of resource roads. This report presented a project, called ResourceRoads by WorkSafe BC that focused on the organization and implementation of a management structure that would provide a system of coordination and a process of compliance for the users of the defined road systems. The project was based on information gathered in two forest districts of Prince George and the South Peace Forest Districts. A committee consisting of the actual owner of the road and other users was formed. The report presented a history of British Columbia's resource road system, and discussed resource roads as industrial workplaces and worksites, as well as resource road fatality statistics. The demonstration project was outlined in terms of project leadership; scope; strategic objectives; project purpose; performance objectives; project communication; demonstration areas; and project stages. Project fundamentals and project findings were also presented along with recommendations and responses to the Auditor General report and the Forest Safety Ombudsman report. It was concluded that potential uses of new technologies for resource road vehicles should be reviewed. tabs., figs.

Pathways to HIV risk and vulnerability among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered methamphetamine users: a multi-cohort gender-based analysis

OpenAIRE

Patterson Thomas L; Shoveller Jean A; Wood Evan; Marshall Brandon DL; Montaner Julio SG; Kerr Thomas

2011-01-01

Abstract Background Methamphetamine (MA) use continues to be a major public health concern in many urban settings. We sought to assess potential relationships between MA use and individual, social, and structural HIV vulnerabilities among sexual minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered) drug users. Methods Beginning in 2005 and ending in 2008, 2109 drug users were enroled into one of three cohort studies in Vancouver, Canada. We analysed longitudinal data from all self-identified sex...

Mass-media information campaigns about road safety. [previously known as: Public information about road safety.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2009-01-01

In the Netherlands, public information is often used as an instrument to improve road safety. The purpose of each public information campaign is a voluntary and lasting change in traffic behaviour. This requires road users to have sufficient knowledge about a problem and to adapt their behaviour.

77 FR 38569 - Information Collection; Application for Permit for Use of Roads, Trails, or Areas Restricted by...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-28

... investments in NFS roads; and require commercial users to perform road maintenance commensurate with their use... commercial users to perform maintenance commensurate with their road use. Section 261.10 contains a national... appropriate investment sharing arrangements, require commercial users of NFS roads to perform maintenance...

The SAVI Vulnerability Analysis Software Package

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mc Aniff, R.J.; Paulus, W.K.; Key, B.; Simpkins, B.

1987-01-01

SAVI (Systematic Analysis of Vulnerability to Intrusion) is a new PC-based software package for modeling Physical Protection Systems (PPS). SAVI utilizes a path analysis approach based on the Adversary Sequence Diagram (ASD) methodology. A highly interactive interface allows the user to accurately model complex facilities, maintain a library of these models on disk, and calculate the most vulnerable paths through any facility. Recommendations are provided to help the user choose facility upgrades which should reduce identified path vulnerabilities. Pop-up windows throughout SAVI are used for the input and display of information. A menu at the top of the screen presents all options to the user. These options are further explained on a message line directly below the menu. A diagram on the screen graphically represents the current protection system model. All input is checked for errors, and data are presented in a logical and clear manner. Print utilities provide the user with hard copies of all information and calculated results

Value creation of road infrastructure networks: a structural equation approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hartmann, Andreas; Ling, F.Y.Y.

2016-01-01

Although road agencies need to provide road infrastructure that is beneficial for road users, little is known about how the activities of the agencies influence the value creation of road infrastructure. From a service-dominant logic perspective, the importance of road maintenance and traffic

Prediction of road accidents: A Bayesian hierarchical approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Deublein, Markus; Schubert, Matthias; Adey, Bryan T.

2013-01-01

the expected number of accidents in which an injury has occurred and the expected number of light, severe and fatally injured road users. Additionally, the methodology is used for geo-referenced identification of road sections with increased occurrence probabilities of injury accident events on a road link......In this paper a novel methodology for the prediction of the occurrence of road accidents is presented. The methodology utilizes a combination of three statistical methods: (1) gamma-updating of the occurrence rates of injury accidents and injured road users, (2) hierarchical multivariate Poisson......-lognormal regression analysis taking into account correlations amongst multiple dependent model response variables and effects of discrete accident count data e.g. over-dispersion, and (3) Bayesian inference algorithms, which are applied by means of data mining techniques supported by Bayesian Probabilistic Networks...

Agricultural vehicles and rural road safety: tackling a persistent problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaarsma, Catharinus F; De Vries, Jasper R

2014-01-01

these accident factors. For AV drivers, a driver's training focusing on driving behavior in the presence of vulnerable road users and concluding with an examination is advised. For vehicle safety, actual practice in The Netherlands is inadequate for control of proper maintenance. Some permanent requirements for the AV are insufficiently specific (view) or effective (lighting) and too generous (width). For infrastructure, a wide range of measures is available. A targeted approach to all road system components is urgently needed to avoid a further worsening of existing problems and to reduce the above proportional role of AVs in road danger. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Traffic Injury Prevention to view the supplemental file.

The safe road transport system approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vollpracht Hans-Joachim

2016-07-01

Full Text Available More than 1,24 million people die each year on the worlds roads and between 20 to 50 million suffer from nonfatal injuries. The UN Road Safety Collaboration Meetings under the leadership of WHO developed the Programme for the Decade of Actions for road safety taking nations into the responsibility of improving their accident figures by the five pillars of a national Road Safety Policy, safer Roads, safer Vehicles, safer Road Users and Post Crash Care. It is this Safe System Approach that takes into consideration the land use, infrastructure and transport planning, road user’s abilities and limitations and the close cooperation of all governmental and none governmental stakeholders involved.

Gender effects in young road users on road safety attitudes, behaviours and risk perception

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pierluigi Cordellieri

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In the present study, we investigated gender-related effects on road safety attitudesin 2,681 young drivers (1,458 males, 54.4%; aged 18-22 who filled out several scales assessing attitudes towards road safety issues, driving behaviour in specific hypothetical situations, accident risk perception, and concerns about such a risk. We focused only on young drivers to better understand the role of gender in road safety attitudes in a period of life in which risky behaviours are widespread for males and females. Indeed, there is still no agreement as to the nature of these gender differences. According to some authors, the effects of gender on being involved in a crash due to driving skills are either non-existent or largely explained by differences in alcohol consumption. In our study, we found gender differences in road safety attitudes (i.e., negative attitude toward traffic rules and risky driving; negative attitude towards drugs and alcohol and tolerance toward speeding and in driver behaviour (i.e., errors in inattentive driving and driving violations. This result is consistent in all drivers coming from nine different European countries. Our analyses yielded an important finding concerning risk perception. The results indicate that the level of risk perception during driving is the same for males and females. However, these two groups differ in the level of concern about this risk, with males being less concerned about the risk of a road accident. This suggests that the main difference between these two groups is not strictly related to judgment of the perceived risk probability but rather to the level of concern experienced about the consequences of the risk. This difference between risk perception and worry could explain differences in the frequency of car accidents in the two groups. The present findings may provide new insights for the development of gender-based prevention programs.

Next Generations of Road Pricing: Social Welfare Enhancing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Omid M. Rouhani

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This paper offers a broad overview of road pricing from a social welfare perspective. I first examine two common objectives of road pricing: congestion management and profit making. My goal is to provide a guideline explaining how to promote a social-welfare-enhancing road pricing scheme. To this end, we should: (i consider and improve public transportation systems by providing more environment-friendly transport options; (ii include tolling profits in our welfare analysis (as opposed to what economists suggest since residents are the real owners of roads not users, and since some users are from outside the region and so might not be excluded from analysis; and (iii search for a holistic approach that takes into account system-wide impacts, disutility to users who change their travel behavior (i.e., switch to public transportation, shift their travel, or do not travel at all, and the impacts on land use, employment, and residents.

Is road safety management linked to road safety performance?

Science.gov (United States)

Papadimitriou, Eleonora; Yannis, George

2013-10-01

This research aims to explore the relationship between road safety management and road safety performance at country level. For that purpose, an appropriate theoretical framework is selected, namely the 'SUNflower' pyramid, which describes road safety management systems in terms of a five-level hierarchy: (i) structure and culture, (ii) programmes and measures, (iii) 'intermediate' outcomes'--safety performance indicators (SPIs), (iv) final outcomes--fatalities and injuries, and (v) social costs. For each layer of the pyramid, a composite indicator is implemented, on the basis of data for 30 European countries. Especially as regards road safety management indicators, these are estimated on the basis of Categorical Principal Component Analysis upon the responses of a dedicated road safety management questionnaire, jointly created and dispatched by the ETSC/PIN group and the 'DaCoTA' research project. Then, quasi-Poisson models and Beta regression models are developed for linking road safety management indicators and other indicators (i.e. background characteristics, SPIs) with road safety performance. In this context, different indicators of road safety performance are explored: mortality and fatality rates, percentage reduction in fatalities over a given period, a composite indicator of road safety final outcomes, and a composite indicator of 'intermediate' outcomes (SPIs). The results of the analyses suggest that road safety management can be described on the basis of three composite indicators: "vision and strategy", "budget, evaluation and reporting", and "measurement of road user attitudes and behaviours". Moreover, no direct statistical relationship could be established between road safety management indicators and final outcomes. However, a statistical relationship was found between road safety management and 'intermediate' outcomes, which were in turn found to affect 'final' outcomes, confirming the SUNflower approach on the consecutive effect of each layer

Injury patterns in road traffic victims comparing road user categories: Analysis of 811 consecutive cases in the emergency department of a level I institution in a low-income country

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Chichom-Mefire

Full Text Available Background: More than a million people die every day on world's roads and according to current estimates traffic related injuries will become the 5th highest killer in the world by 2030. Low and middle-income countries carry over 90% of this burden with substantial socio-economic consequences. Policies to reduce this burden are currently centered on preventive measures and the care of the injured is still neglected. This study aims at describing the crash characteristics and pattern of injuries in an urban area of a middle-income country with particular emphasis on the differential analysis of various road user categories. Methods: in this prospective cohort analysis conducted over a period of 5 months in the casualty department of the largest hospital in the city of Douala in Cameroon, all patients admitted after sustaining a traffic related injury were analyzed for crash characteristics, pattern and severity of injury and final outcome after a maximum follow-up period of 1 week. The analysis compared various user categories for different variables. Results: a total of 811 cases could be analyzed. These included 586 (72.2% males for a sex-ratio of 2.6/1. Motorized two-wheelers and pedestrians represented overall over 80% of all victims and the most frequent collision involved a motorcycle and a tourist car. Over 95% of victims did not use a protective device. Most patients sustained external soft tissue lesions frequently involving the limbs and face. A total of 280 patients (34.52% sustained a limb fracture. The most frequently fractured bones were the tibia, fibula and femur. Most injury cases were minor or moderate and collision between a motorcycle and a truck resulted in a significantly more severe injury. Motorized two-wheelers and pedestrian were significantly more exposed to external injuries while car occupants were more exposed to chest and spine injuries. Conclusion: crash characteristics in Douala are greatly influenced by the

Exploring the impacts of safety culture on immigrants' vulnerability in non-motorized crashes: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Cynthia; Lin, Haiyun; Loo, Becky P Y

2012-02-01

Pedestrians and cyclists are a vulnerable group of road users. Immigrants are disproportionally represented in pedestrian and cyclist crashes. We postulate that the mismatch in safety culture between countries of their origin and the U.S.A. contribute to their vulnerability in pedestrian and cyclist crashes. Over time, the differences may disappear and immigrants' traffic behavior gravitates toward those of native-borns. We describe this process as safety assimilation. Using the pedestrian and cyclist crash database in New York City between 2001 and 2003, we examined the effects of foreign-born population, their countries of origin, and time of entry into the USA on census tract-level pedestrian and cyclist crashes. We find that neighborhoods with a higher concentration of immigrants, especially those from Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia, have more crashes. Our results also exhibit a pattern of the hypothesized safety assimilation process. The study suggests a higher level of vulnerability of immigrants to pedestrian and cyclist crashes. We propose that targeted policies and programs need to be developed for immigrants of different countries of origin.

AN AUTOMATED ROAD ROUGHNESS DETECTION FROM MOBILE LASER SCANNING DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Kumar

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Rough roads influence the safety of the road users as accident rate increases with increasing unevenness of the road surface. Road roughness regions are required to be efficiently detected and located in order to ensure their maintenance. Mobile Laser Scanning (MLS systems provide a rapid and cost-effective alternative by providing accurate and dense point cloud data along route corridor. In this paper, an automated algorithm is presented for detecting road roughness from MLS data. The presented algorithm is based on interpolating smooth intensity raster surface from LiDAR point cloud data using point thinning process. The interpolated surface is further processed using morphological and multi-level Otsu thresholding operations to identify candidate road roughness regions. The candidate regions are finally filtered based on spatial density and standard deviation of elevation criteria to detect the roughness along the road surface. The test results of road roughness detection algorithm on two road sections are presented. The developed approach can be used to provide comprehensive information to road authorities in order to schedule maintenance and ensure maximum safety conditions for road users.

An Automated Road Roughness Detection from Mobile Laser Scanning Data

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, P.; Angelats, E.

2017-05-01

Rough roads influence the safety of the road users as accident rate increases with increasing unevenness of the road surface. Road roughness regions are required to be efficiently detected and located in order to ensure their maintenance. Mobile Laser Scanning (MLS) systems provide a rapid and cost-effective alternative by providing accurate and dense point cloud data along route corridor. In this paper, an automated algorithm is presented for detecting road roughness from MLS data. The presented algorithm is based on interpolating smooth intensity raster surface from LiDAR point cloud data using point thinning process. The interpolated surface is further processed using morphological and multi-level Otsu thresholding operations to identify candidate road roughness regions. The candidate regions are finally filtered based on spatial density and standard deviation of elevation criteria to detect the roughness along the road surface. The test results of road roughness detection algorithm on two road sections are presented. The developed approach can be used to provide comprehensive information to road authorities in order to schedule maintenance and ensure maximum safety conditions for road users.

Drawing road networks with focus regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Haunert, Jan-Henrik; Sering, Leon

2011-12-01

Mobile users of maps typically need detailed information about their surroundings plus some context information about remote places. In order to avoid that the map partly gets too dense, cartographers have designed mapping functions that enlarge a user-defined focus region--such functions are sometimes called fish-eye projections. The extra map space occupied by the enlarged focus region is compensated by distorting other parts of the map. We argue that, in a map showing a network of roads relevant to the user, distortion should preferably take place in those areas where the network is sparse. Therefore, we do not apply a predefined mapping function. Instead, we consider the road network as a graph whose edges are the road segments. We compute a new spatial mapping with a graph-based optimization approach, minimizing the square sum of distortions at edges. Our optimization method is based on a convex quadratic program (CQP); CQPs can be solved in polynomial time. Important requirements on the output map are expressed as linear inequalities. In particular, we show how to forbid edge crossings. We have implemented our method in a prototype tool. For instances of different sizes, our method generated output maps that were far less distorted than those generated with a predefined fish-eye projection. Future work is needed to automate the selection of roads relevant to the user. Furthermore, we aim at fast heuristics for application in real-time systems. © 2011 IEEE

A Critical Analysis of Vulnerability Taxonomies

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Bishop, Matt; Bailey, David

1996-01-01

Computer vulnerabilities seem to be omnipresent. In every system fielded programming errors configuration errors and operation errors have allowed unauthorized users to enter systems or authorized users to take unauthorized actions...

Noise Costs from Road Transport

Science.gov (United States)

Margorínová, Martina; Trojanová, Mária; Decký, Martin; Remišová, Eva

2018-06-01

Building and improving road infrastructure in Slovakia is currently influenced by the amount of state funding. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the effectiveness of each proposed solution of road project, which is based on life-cycle costs. Besides capital costs, social costs are also important, which valued the negative impacts due to road construction and operation on road users, the environment, and the population living in the affected area. Some components of social costs have shortcomings in quantifying and valuating, which need to be resolved. The one of important components which affects human health and the value of an area, and have some shortcomings are noise costs. Improvement of this component will lead to more accurate valuation of economic efficiency of roads.

Road salt application planning tool for winter de-icing operations

Science.gov (United States)

Trenouth, William R.; Gharabaghi, Bahram; Perera, Nandana

2015-05-01

Road authorities, who are charged with the task of maintaining safe, driveable road conditions during severe winter storm events are coming under increasing pressure to protect salt vulnerable areas (SVAs). For the purpose of modelling urban winter hydrology, the temperature index method was modified to incorporate ploughing and salting considerations and was calibrated using winter field data from two sites in Southern Ontario and validated using data collected from a section of Highway 401 - Canada's busiest highway. The modified temperature index model (MTIM) accurately predicted salt-induced melt (R2 = 0.98 and 0.99, RMSE = 19.9 and 282.4 m3, CRM = -0.003 and 0.006 for calibration and validation sites respectively), and showed a demonstrable ability to calculate the Bare Pavement Regain Time (BPRT). The BPRT is a key factor on road safety and the basis for many winter maintenance performance standards for different classes of highways. Optimizing salt application rate scenarios can be achieved using the MTIM with only two meteorological forecast inputs for the storm event - readily available on-line through the Road Weather Information System (RWIS) - and can serve as a simple yet effective tool for winter road maintenance practitioners seeking to optimize salt application rates for a given storm event in salt vulnerable areas.

Landslide susceptibility and risk assessment: specificities for road networks

Science.gov (United States)

Pellicani, Roberta; Argentiero, Ilenia; Parisi, Alessandro; Spilotro, Giuseppe

2017-04-01

A regional-scale assessment of landslide susceptibility and risk along the main road corridors crossing the provincial territory of Matera (Basilicata Region, Southern Italy) was carried out. The entire provincial road network extends for about 1,320 km through a territory, of which represents the main connection infrastructure among thirty-one municipalities due to the lack of an efficient integrated transportation system through the whole regional territory. For this reason, the strategic importance of these roads consists in their uniqueness in connecting every urban center with the socio-economic surrounding context. These roads and their vehicular traffic are continuously exposed to instability processes (about the 40% of the total length is disrupted by landslides), characterized both by high intensity and low frequency and by low intensity and high frequency. This last typology, consisting in small shallow landslides, is particularly hazardous for the roads since it is widespread along the road network, its occurrence is connected to rainfalls and determines high vulnerability conditions for the road in terms of interruption of vehicular traffic. A GIS-based heuristic-bivariate statistical predictive model was performed to assess and map the landslide susceptibility in the study area, by using a polynomial function of eight predisposing factors, weighted according to their influence on the landslide phenomena, recognized and collected in an inventory. Susceptibility associated to small shallow phenomena was assessed by using a polynomial function of specific factors, such as slope angle and aspect, lithological outcrops, rainfalls, etc. In absence of detailed input data, the spatial distribution of landslide risk along the road corridors was assessed and mapped using a qualitative hazard-consequence matrix approach, by which risk is obtained by combining hazard categories with consequence classes pairwise in a two-dimensional table or matrix. Landslide

Road Infrastructure Safety Management in Poland

Science.gov (United States)

Budzynski, Marcin; Jamroz, Kazimierz; Kustra, Wojciech; Michalski, Lech; Gaca, Stanislaw

2017-10-01

The objective of road safety infrastructure management is to ensure that when roads are planned, designed, built and used road risks can be identified, assessed and mitigated. Road transport safety is significantly less developed than that of rail, water and air transport. The average individual risk of being a fatality in relation to the distance covered is thirty times higher in road transport that in the other modes. This is mainly because the different modes have a different approach to safety management and to the use of risk management methods and tools. In recent years Poland has had one of the European Union’s highest road death numbers. In 2016 there were 3026 fatalities on Polish roads with 40,766 injuries. Protecting road users from the risk of injury and death should be given top priority. While Poland’s national and regional road safety programmes address this problem and are instrumental in systematically reducing the number of casualties, the effects are far from the expectations. Modern approaches to safety focus on three integrated elements: infrastructure measures, safety management and safety culture. Due to its complexity, the process of road safety management requires modern tools to help with identifying road user risks, assess and evaluate the safety of road infrastructure and select effective measures to improve road safety. One possible tool for tackling this problem is the risk-based method for road infrastructure safety management. European Union Directive 2008/96/EC regulates and proposes a list of tools for managing road infrastructure safety. Road safety tools look at two criteria: the life cycle of a road structure and the process of risk management. Risk can be minimized through the application of the proposed interventions during design process as reasonable. The proposed methods of risk management bring together two stages: risk assessment and risk response occurring within the analyzed road structure (road network, road

Road accident rates: strategies and programmes for improving road traffic safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Goniewicz, K; Goniewicz, M; Pawłowski, W; Fiedor, P

2016-08-01

Nowadays, the problem of road accident rates is one of the most important health and social policy issues concerning the countries in all continents. Each year, nearly 1.3 million people worldwide lose their life on roads, and 20-50 million sustain severe injuries, the majority of which require long-term treatment. The objective of the study was to identify the most frequent, constantly occurring causes of road accidents, as well as outline actions constituting a basis for the strategies and programmes aiming at improving traffic safety on local and global levels. Comparative analysis of literature concerning road safety was performed, confirming that although road accidents had a varied and frequently complex background, their causes have changed only to a small degree over the years. The causes include: lack of control and enforcement concerning implementation of traffic regulation (primarily driving at excessive speed, driving under the influence of alcohol, and not respecting the rights of other road users (mainly pedestrians and cyclists), lack of appropriate infrastructure and unroadworthy vehicles. The number of fatal accidents and severe injuries, resulting from road accidents, may be reduced through applying an integrated approach to safety on roads. The strategies and programmes for improving road traffic should include the following measures: reducing the risk of exposure to an accident, prevention of accidents, reduction in bodily injuries sustained in accidents, and reduction of the effects of injuries by improvement of post-accident medical care.

Street characteristics and traffic factors determining road users' exposure to black carbon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dons, Evi; Temmerman, Philip; Van Poppel, Martine; Bellemans, Tom; Wets, Geert; Int Panis, Luc

2013-01-01

Many studies nowadays make the effort of determining personal exposure rather than estimating exposure at the residential address only. While intra-urban air pollution can be modeled quite easily using interpolation methods, estimating exposure in transport is more challenging. The aim of this study is to investigate which factors determine black carbon (BC) concentrations in transport microenvironments. Therefore personal exposure measurements are carried out using portable aethalometers, trip diaries and GPS devices. More than 1500 trips, both by active modes and by motorized transport, are evaluated in Flanders, Belgium. GPS coordinates are assigned to road segments to allow BC concentrations to be linked with trip and road characteristics (trip duration, degree of urbanization, road type, traffic intensity, travel speed and road speed). Average BC concentrations on highways (10.7 μg/m 3 ) are comparable to concentrations on urban roads (9.6 μg/m 3 ), but levels are significantly higher than concentrations on rural roads (6.1 μg/m 3 ). Highways yield higher BC exposures for motorists compared to exposure on major roads and local roads. Overall BC concentrations are elevated at lower speeds ( 3 for roads with less than 500 veh/h, up to 12 μg/m 3 for roads with over 2500 veh/h). Traffic intensity proved to be the major explanatory variable for in-vehicle BC exposure, together with timing of the trip and urbanization. For cyclists and pedestrians the range in BC exposure is smaller and models are less predictive; for active modes exposure seems to be influenced by timing and degree of urbanization only. - Highlights: ► Aethalometers, an electronic diary and GPS were used to measure exposure in transport ► More than 1500 trips with active modes and in motorized transport are studied ► Exposure is higher on highways, in urban areas and during traffic peak hours. ► Traffic intensity is the major explanatory variable for in-vehicle BC exposure. ► Exposure

Epidemiology of Road Traffic Injury Fatalities among Car Users; A Study Based on Forensic Medicine Data in East Azerbaijan of Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Sadeghi-Bazargani, Homayoun; Samadirad, Bahram; Shahedifar, Nasrin; Golestani, Mina

2018-01-01

Objective: To study the epidemiology of car user road traffic fatalities (CURTFs) during eight years, in East Azerbaijan, Iran. Methods: A total of 3051 CURTFs registered in East Azerbaijan forensic medicine organization database, Iran, during 2006-2014, were analyzed using Stata 13 statistical software package. Descriptive statistics (pinferential statistical methods such as Chi-squared test and multivariate logistic regression with p<0.1 were applied.               Results: Of the 7818 road traffic injury (RTI) deaths, 3051 (39%) were car users of whom 71% were male (mean age of 36.7±18.5 years). The majority of accident mechanisms were vehicle-vehicle crashes (63.95%), followed by rollover (26.24%). Crash causing vehicle fall increased the pre-hospital death likelihood by 2.34 times. The prominent trauma causing death was head trauma (in 62.5%). In assessing the role of type of counterpart vehicle on pre-hospital mortality, considering the other cars to be the reference group for comparison, deceased victims were 1.83 times more likely to die before hospital when the counterpart vehicle was a truck and 1.66 times more for buses. Conclusion: Decreasing the car users’ fatalities using appropriate strategies such as separating the roads for heavy and light vehicles and improving the injury related facilitation may be effective. Male drivers with low education could be prioritized for being trained. PMID:29719846

Cognitive changes in older road users. Deliverable of the European Project SAMERU, WP1 - Action 1.8

OpenAIRE

TOURNIER, Isabelle; CAVALLO, Viola; DOMMES, Aurélie

2012-01-01

Le rapport donne un panorama des divers déclins cognitifs se produisant avec l'avancée en âge et examine leur effet sur la sécurité et mobilité des usagers âgés de la route. Several cognitive changes occur during ageing. This report aims at identifying the impact of these cognitive changes on road user safety and mobility. Cognition refers to all forms of knowing and awareness, such as perceiving, remembering, reasoning, judging, imaging, and problem solving. These processes are analyzed f...

Cycling and sounds : the impact of the use of electronic devices on cycling safety.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stelling-Konczak, A. Hagenzieker, M.P. & Wee, B. van

2015-01-01

The role of auditory perception of traffic sounds has often been stressed, especially for vulnerable road users such as cyclists or (visually impaired) pedestrians. This often in relation to two growing trends feared to negatively affect the use of auditory signals by road users: popularity of

Cycling and sounds : the impact of the use of electronic devices on cycling safety.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stelling-Konczak, A. Hagenzieker, M. & Wee, B. van

2013-01-01

The role of auditory perception of traffic sounds has often been stressed, especially for vulnerable road users such as cyclists or (visually impaired) pedestrians. This often in relation to two growing trends feared to negatively affect the use of auditory signals by road users: popularity of

Cycling and sounds : The impact of the use of electronic devices on cycling safety

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stelling-Konczak, A.; Hagenzieker, M.P.; Van Wee, G.P.

2013-01-01

The role of auditory perception of traffic sounds has often been stressed, especially for vulnerable road users such as cyclists or (visually impaired) pedestrians. This often in relation to two growing trends feared to negatively affect the use of auditory signals by road users: popularity of

Cycling and sounds : the impact of the use of electronic devices on cycling safety. Paper presented at the 3rd International Conference on Driver Distraction and Inattention, Gothenburg, Sweden, September 4-6, 2013.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stelling-Konczak, A. Hagenzieker, M. & Wee, B. van

2013-01-01

The role of auditory perception of traffic sounds has often been stressed, especially for vulnerable road users such as cyclists or (visually impaired) pedestrians. This often in relation to two growing trends feared to negatively affect the use of auditory signals by road users: popularity of

Multilayered complex network datasets for three supply chain network archetypes on an urban road grid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadia M. Viljoen

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This article presents the multilayered complex network formulation for three different supply chain network archetypes on an urban road grid and describes how 500 instances were randomly generated for each archetype. Both the supply chain network layer and the urban road network layer are directed unweighted networks. The shortest path set is calculated for each of the 1 500 experimental instances. The datasets are used to empirically explore the impact that the supply chain's dependence on the transport network has on its vulnerability in Viljoen and Joubert (2017 [1]. The datasets are publicly available on Mendeley (Joubert and Viljoen, 2017 [2]. Keywords: Multilayered complex networks, Supply chain vulnerability, Urban road networks

Global analysis of urban surface water supply vulnerability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Padowski, Julie C; Gorelick, Steven M

2014-01-01

This study presents a global analysis of urban water supply vulnerability in 71 surface-water supplied cities, with populations exceeding 750 000 and lacking source water diversity. Vulnerability represents the failure of an urban supply-basin to simultaneously meet demands from human, environmental and agricultural users. We assess a baseline (2010) condition and a future scenario (2040) that considers increased demand from urban population growth and projected agricultural demand. We do not account for climate change, which can potentially exacerbate or reduce urban supply vulnerability. In 2010, 35% of large cities are vulnerable as they compete with agricultural users. By 2040, without additional measures 45% of cities are vulnerable due to increased agricultural and urban demands. Of the vulnerable cities in 2040, the majority are river-supplied with mean flows so low (1200 liters per person per day, l/p/d) that the cities experience ‘chronic water scarcity’ (1370 l/p/d). Reservoirs supply the majority of cities facing individual future threats, revealing that constructed storage potentially provides tenuous water security. In 2040, of the 32 vulnerable cities, 14 would reduce their vulnerability via reallocating water by reducing environmental flows, and 16 would similarly benefit by transferring water from irrigated agriculture. Approximately half remain vulnerable under either potential remedy. (letter)

Assessment of Road Infrastructures Pertaining to Malaysian Experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samsuddin Norshakina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Road Infrastructures contribute towards many severe accidents and it needs supervision as to improve road safety levels. The numbers of fatalities have increased annually and road authority should seriously consider conducting programs or activities to periodically monitor, restore of improve road infrastructure. Implementation of road safety audits may reduce fatalities among road users and maintain road safety at acceptable standards. This paper is aimed to discuss the aspects of road infrastructure in Malaysia. The research signifies the impact of road hazards during the observations and the impact of road infrastructure types on road accidents. The F050 (Jalan Kluang-Batu Pahat road case study showed that infrastructure risk is closely related with number of accident. As the infrastructure risk increase, the number of road accidents also increase. It was also found that different road zones along Jalan Kluang-Batu Pahat showed different level of intersection volume due to number of road intersection. Thus, it is hoped that by implementing continuous assessment on road infrastructures, it might be able to reduce road accidents and fatalities among drives and the community.

ROAD ACCIDENT AND SAFETY STUDY IN SYLHET REGION OF BANGLADESH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. K. BANIK

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Roads, highways and streets are fundamental infrastructure facilities to provide the transportation for passenger travel and goods movement from one place to another in Sylhet, north–eastern division of Bangladesh with rapid growth of road vehicle, being comparatively developed economic tourist prone area faces severe road traffic accident. Such severe road accidents cause harsh safety hazards on the roads of Sylhet area. This research work presents an overview of the road traffic accident and degraded road safety situation in Sylhet zone which in particular, discusses the key road accident problem characteristics identifying the hazardous roads and spots, most responsible vehicles and related components, conditions of drivers and pedestrians, most victims of accident, effects of accident on society, safety priorities and options available in Sylhet. In this regard, a comprehensive questionnaire survey was conducted on the concerned groups of transportation and detailed accident data was collected from a popular local newspaper. Analysis of the study reveals that Dhaka- Sylhet highway is the most hazardous in road basis and Sylhet Sador thana is the most vulnerable in thana basis in Sylhet region.

A study of the landslide potential along the mountain road using environmental indices

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, C. Y.

2014-12-01

Utilization of slope land in recent years is rapid as a result of the dense population and limit of land resources in Taiwan. Therefore, mountain road plays an essential role for the necessity of human life. However, landslide disaster resulting in road failure occurred frequently in Taiwan on the slope land due to earthquake and typhoon. Previous studies found that the extreme rainfall coupled with the property of fragile geology could cause landslide. Nevertheless, the landslide occurrence might be affected by the drainage of the road side ditches. Taiwan Highway No.21 in Chi-Shan watershed and the forest roads located in Xiao-Lin Village, which failure during the hit of Typhoon Morakot in 2009, were selected for exploring the potential of vulnerable to landslides. Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) and Road Curvature (RC) were extracted along the road to indicate the potential sites which are vulnerable to slope failure. The surface runoff diverted by the road side ditches could spoil the sites with high RC due to the straight movement characteristics of the diverted runoff and cause the downslope collapse. The sites with higher mean value and lower standard deviation of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from the SPOT imagery taken in dry and/or rainy seasons could be implied as the vegetation stands showing highly buffer effects in environmental stress due to having deeper soil layer, and are hardly interfered by the drought. The stands located in such sites once collapsed are often resulting in huge volumes of debris. Drainage Density (DD) index could be applied as the degrees of geologic fragile in the slope land. A road across the sites with higher mean value and lower standard deviation of NDVI and/or higher DD should be paid more attention because of having highly vulnerable to deep seated landslide. This study is focusing on extracting and analyzing the environmental indices such as TWI, RC, NDVI and DD for exploring the slope stability

Road Infrastructure and Road User’s Satisfactions: A Case Study of Motorway Route 7, Thailand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suanmali Suthathip

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The development of tourism in Thailand relies on the development of appropriate infrastructure. Road access is the key infrastructure issue for tourist destinations throughout Thailand. Each year Thailand has welcomed over 15 million travelers, accounted approximately 7% of GDP. To support tourist activities, variety types of transportation modes have designed. However, road transportation is one of the most effective modes that connect most places together. Beside high-standard vehicles, road is another mechanism that derive comfort and safety of travelling. For this reason, Motorway networks were initiated and constructed to support high speed traffic with high safety and standard. Motorway route 7 is one of major motorway networks that lies between major cities and tourist landmarks. To raise the road standard could be the key to support tourist industry and economic growth. The road developments may not be precise and accurate without knowing the needs from road users’. Therefore, a questionnaire is developed and distributed to 890 randomly selected road users along Motorway route 7. Factor analysis and t-test are employed to analyze the factors affecting road users’ satisfaction and to compare the satisfaction level between both inbound and outbound travelers.

Analysis of Zero-Day Vulnerabilities in Java

OpenAIRE

Marius Popa

2013-01-01

The zero-day vulnerability is a security lack of the computer system that is unknown to software vendor. This kind of vulnerability permits building attack strategies for gaining the access to the resources and data of a computer system. The main issue of the topic is how a computer system can be protected by zero-day vulnerabilities using the actual security procedures and tools for identifying the potential attacks that exploit the vulnerabilities unknown to computer users and software prov...

Road safety: serious injuries remain a major unsolved problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Ben; Cameron, Peter A; Fitzgerald, Mark C; Judson, Rodney T; Teague, Warwick; Lyons, Ronan A; Gabbe, Belinda J

2017-09-18

To investigate temporal trends in the incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and costs of health loss caused by serious road traffic injury. A retrospective review of data from the population-based Victorian State Trauma Registry and the National Coronial Information System on road traffic-related deaths (pre- and in-hospital) and major trauma (Injury Severity Score > 12) during 2007-2015.Main outcomes and measures: Temporal trends in the incidence of road traffic-related major trauma, mortality, DALYs, and costs of health loss, by road user type. There were 8066 hospitalised road traffic major trauma cases and 2588 road traffic fatalities in Victoria over the 9-year study period. There was no change in the incidence of hospitalised major trauma for motor vehicle occupants (incidence rate ratio [IRR] per year, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.99-1.01; P = 0.70), motorcyclists (IRR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.97-1.01; P = 0.45) or pedestrians (IRR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.97-1.02; P = 0.73), but the incidence for pedal cyclists increased 8% per year (IRR, 1.08; 95% CI; 1.05-1.10; P road traffic injuries exceeded $14 billion during 2007-2015, although the cost per patient declined for all road user groups. As serious injury rates have not declined, current road safety targets will be difficult to meet. Greater attention to preventing serious injury is needed, as is further investment in road safety, particularly for pedal cyclists.

Road traffic injury on rural roads in Tanzania: measuring the effectiveness of a road safety program.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Karen; Jinadasa, Deepani; Maegga, Bertha; Guerrero, Alejandro

2015-01-01

Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a major public health burden, especially in low- and middle-income countries. There is limited data on RTIs in low-volume, rural African settings. This study attempted to survey all individuals living in households within 200 m of two low-volume rural roads in Tanzania and to collect data on RTIs. Local communities and users of the Bago to Talawanda road (intervention site) and Kikaro to Mihuga road (control site) were targeted and received an intensive program of road safety measures tailored using the crash characteristics of the baseline sample. Demographic data on all household members were collected, and those individuals who suffered an RTI in the previous 3 months had comprehensive information collected about the crash characteristics and the socioeconomic impact. The follow-up data collection occurred nine months after the baseline data were collected. The majority of crashes that caused an RTI involved a motorcycle (71%) and the majority of victims were male (82%) with an average age of 27. Injuries to the legs (55%) were most common and the average length of time away from normal activity was 27 (±33) days. RTI incidence at the intervention site increased during the course of the study (incidence before vs. incidence after) and was unchanged in the community control (incidence before vs. incidence after). The incidence of RTIs in the low-volume rural setting is unacceptably high and most commonly associated with motorcycles. The change in incidence is unreliable due to logistic restraints of the project and more research is needed to quantify the impact of various RTI prevention strategies in this setting. This study provides insight into road traffic injuries on low-volume rural roads, areas where very little research has been captured. Additionally, it provides a replicable study design for those interested in collecting similar data on low-volume rural roads.

Road Transportation and Traffic Law Enforcement in Nigeria: A case ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Road Transportation and Traffic Law Enforcement in Nigeria was established in order to reduce the increasing road crashes and fatalities as well as making road users comply with traffic Laws and regulations as a counter measure, which remain as a great challenge in Nigeria. This paper discussed the roles of the Federal ...

« I respect other road users. Do you? »

CERN Multimedia

2002-01-01

This is the first slogan in a road safety campaign aimed at making CERN's roads safer and more pleasant to drive on.   Getting nudged off your bike while riding along minding your own business, having to walk around a car parked on the pavement, or having an endless wait at a pedestrian crossing because drivers can't be bothered to stop... all this is highly unpleasant, and can even be dangerous. The fact that it happens all too often at your own workplace, CERN, only makes matters worse. Discourteous driving is on the rise at CERN. It tarnishes the friendly atmosphere of our Laboratory and compromises the safety of us all. It's even more regrettable when you think that we're all colleagues together. With so many pedestrians and cyclists using the roads across the CERN site, anyone who drives at 80 km/h in a 50 km/h limit is placing his own colleagues in danger. Every day, more than 15 000 vehicle journeys are made on the Meyrin site alone. Each and every one of these drivers, or in other words, e...

Qing-Qi Rickshaw : A Boon Or Bane For Public Transportation? A Study Of Road Traffic Injury Patterns Involving Qing-Qi Rickshaws In Karachi Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Muzzammil, Muhammad; Minhas, Muhammad Saeed; Effendi, Jahanzeb; Jahanzeb, Syed; Mughal, Ayesha; Qadir, Abdul

2017-01-01

The three-wheeler Qing-qi and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) auto-rickshaws were introduced in Karachi to meet the transportation demand of the growing population. These vehicles have directly or indirectly been implicated in a number of road traffic violations as well as road accidents. This study aims to describe the crash characteristics and injury patterns for Qing-qi rickshaw occupants and other road users hit by Qing-qi rickshaw in Karachi, Pakistan. An Observational/ Descriptive study was conducted at Accident & Emergency and Orthopaedic Surgery Department, Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre, Karachi Pakistan from July 2014 to June 2015.All patients who came with Qing-qi rickshaw accident in Accident & Emergency (A&E) of JPMC were included. Crash characteristics, details of injuries, injury severity parameters and outcome were documented in detailed interviews. Four hundred and eighty-six rickshaw related injuries were noted in road traffic accidents by Qing-gi rickshaw. Age range was 2-85 (43.5±58.68). 350 injured victims were males and 136 were females. By occupation most victims were laborers and daily wage workers (45%) and students (21%). Overloading of vehicle with more than two passengers was found in (28.5%). The most common cause of injury was collision with a moving vehicle (56%), followed by fall from rickshaw. The most common contributing factor was the overloading of rickshaw and roll over on turning (61%). Injury severity on arrival were mild (49%), moderate were (32%), and severe were (19%). Injuries related to head and neck (26%), face (14%), thorax and abdomen (5%), lower extremity and pelvic girdle (31%) and upper extremity (23%) were observed. Qing-qi rickshaw injuries are common and these vehicles are vulnerable to road traffic accidents. Occupants and road users are both at risk of injuries.

Botsingen van het type `fietser - autofront' : factoren die het ontstaan en de letselernst beïnvloeden.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schoon, C.C.

2004-01-01

There are nearly 200 cyclist road deaths a year in the Netherlands. They are, therefore, the largest group of so-called vulnerable road users. The Netherlands has with 18%, therefore, also the highest European Union percentage cyclist road deaths of all road deaths. Where motor vehicles are the

Efficient Multiclass Object Detection: Detecting Pedestrians and Bicyclists in a Truck’s Blind Spot Camera

OpenAIRE

Van Beeck, Kristof; Goedemé, Toon

2015-01-01

In this paper we propose an efficient detection and tracking framework targeting vulnerable road users in the blind spot camera images of a truck. Existing non-vision based safety solutions are not able to handle this problem completely. Therefore we aim to develop an active safety system, based solely on the vision input of the blind spot camera. This is far from trivial: vulnerable road users are a diverse class and consist of a wide variety of poses and appearances. Evidently we need to ac...

Safeguard Vulnerability Analysis Program (SVAP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilman, F.M.; Dittmore, M.H.; Orvis, W.J.; Wahler, P.S.

1980-01-01

This report gives an overview of the Safeguard Vulnerability Analysis Program (SVAP) developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. SVAP was designed as an automated method of analyzing the safeguard systems at nuclear facilities for vulnerabilities relating to the theft or diversion of nuclear materials. SVAP addresses one class of safeguard threat: theft or diversion of nuclear materials by nonviolent insiders, acting individually or in collusion. SVAP is a user-oriented tool which uses an interactive input medium for preprocessing the large amounts of safeguards data. Its output includes concise summary data as well as detailed vulnerability information

Safety; interactions of the various factors of the vehicles, infrastructure, driver, environment system. Contribution to XVII World Road Congress, Sydney, Australia, 8-15 October 1983, question III: Inter-urban roads and motorways, p. 352-354, Permanent International Association of Road Congresses, Paris, 1983.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wegman, F.C.M.

1983-01-01

In the Netherlands there are plans to set up a data bank which will contain data for pursuing a national road safety policy. This will enable the nation- wide developments in the sphere of road safety and dangers to road users to be monitored (monitoring function) and to pinpoint specific subjects

Road user charges for heavy goods vehicles (HGV)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Mikael Skou

In this report, the European Environment Agency (EEA) presents updated estimates of the external costs of air pollution for different categories of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). This report on road transport is a continuation of previous reporting from EEA on estimates for the external costs of air...

Impact of an adequate road environment on the safety of non-motorised road users

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ribbens, H

2008-01-01

Full Text Available on a daily basis. The chapter also lists the human requirements that would ensure that people used safe facilities. Issues within the road environment that contribute to casualties among NMRUs are highlighted. These include the lack of a holistic...

The Quest to Extend Health Services to Vulnerable Substance Users in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the Context of an Unfolding Economic Crisis.

Science.gov (United States)

Krawczyk, Noa; Kerrigan, Deanna; Bastos, Francisco Inácio

2017-07-01

Calls to address crack-cocaine use in Brazil among homeless and street-frequenting populations who are in urgent need of health services have questioned the capacity of the Brazilian Unified Health System to attend to the nation's most marginalized citizens. In recent years, Brazil has launched several actions to escalate care for substance users, yet many obstacles hindering accessibility and effectiveness of services remain. Paradoxically, these actions have been implemented in the context of a growing economic crisis, and expanding services for a population of poor and stigmatized substance users while cutting other government programs tends to elicit harsh criticism from citizens. In consequence of such prospects, this commentary aims to discuss barriers marginalized substance users face in accessing health services that are at risk of worsening with government cutbacks. Using Rio de Janeiro as an example, we explore two primary issues: the resource-strained, under-staffed and decentralized nature of the Brazilian Unified Health System and the pervading stigma that bars vulnerable citizens from official structures and services. Abandoning initiated government efforts to increase access to health services would risk maintaining vulnerable citizens at the margins of public structures, inhibiting the opportunity to offer this population humane and urgently needed treatment and care.

A socio-economic assessment of proposed road user charging schemes in Copenhagen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rich, Jeppe; Nielsen, Otto Anker

2007-01-01

-economic analysis of four different proposed road pricing schemes for the Copenhagen area. The purpose was to assess all benefits and costs involved, including impacts on traffic and environment, maintenance and financing costs as well as tax distortion effects. It was concluded that the socio-economic surplus......Road pricing. congestion charging, toll-systems and other road charging instruments are intensively discussed in many countries. Although many partial analyses of the consequences have been published, few overall socio-economic analyses have been carried out. The article presents such a socio...... of the projects depends crucially on the congestion level. With the Current traffic level, road pricing will not yet be socially expedient in Copenhagen. However, if the opening year is postponed to 2015, the two most favourable schemes will turn positive. The analyses also showed that the magnitude of demand...

Road safety in Poland: magnitude, causes and injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Goniewicz, Krzysztof; Goniewicz, Mariusz; Pawłowski, Witold; Fiedor, Piotr; Lasota, Dorota

2017-01-01

Road accidents are a serious problem of the modern world. They are one of the main causes of injuries and are the third most frequent cause of death. Every year, about one million people, adults and children, die on the roads and several millions get injured. Mortality rate due to injuries from road accidents amounts to 2.2% of all deaths in the world. The research presents epidemiology of road accidents in the period 2004-2015 with particular emphasis on the key issues of road safety in Poland, related to the dangerous behaviour of road users (disregard toward traffic rules). Between years 2004 and 2015 on Polish roads took place more than 508000 accidents with 53155 fatalities and more then 572000 casualties. Despite the various measures which are taken to improve safety on Polish roads, the number of dead and wounded in the vehicle mishap is still large, and losses borne by society are high. To improve safety on Polish roads, it is necessary to continue multi- action plan to systematically progress in the level of road safety.

Understanding road users’ expectations : an essential step for ADAS development.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Houtenbos, M. Jagtman, H.M. Hagenzieker, M.P. Wieringa, P.A. & Hale, A.R.

2006-01-01

This article indicates the need for understanding road users’ expectations when developing Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Nowadays, technology allows more and more opportunities to provide road users with all sorts of information or even actively support aspects of the driving task.

Spatial-temporal patterns in Mediterranean carnivore road casualties: Consequences for mitigation

Science.gov (United States)

Grilo, C.; Bissonette, J.A.; Santos-Reis, M.

2009-01-01

Many carnivores have been seriously impacted by the expansion of transportation systems and networks; however we know little about carnivore response to the extent and magnitude of road mortality, or which age classes may be disproportionately impacted. Recent research has demonstrated that wildlife-vehicle-collisions (WVC) involving carnivores are modulated by temporal and spatial factors. Thus, we investigated road mortality on a guild of small and medium-sized carnivores in southern Portugal using road-kill data obtained from a systematic 36 months monitoring period along highways (260 km) and national roads (314 km) by addressing the following questions: (a) which species and age class are most vulnerable to WVC? (b) are there temporal and/or spatial patterns in road-kill? and (c) which life-history and/or spatial factors influence the likelihood of collisions? We recorded a total of 806 carnivore casualties, which represented an average of 47 ind./100 km/year. Red fox and stone marten had the highest mortality rates. Our findings highlight three key messages: (1) the majority of road-killed individuals were adults of common species; (2) all carnivores, except genets, were more vulnerable during specific life-history phenological periods: higher casualties were observed when red fox and stone marten were provisioning young, Eurasian badger casualties occurred more frequently during dispersal, and higher Egyptian mongoose mortality occurred during the breeding period; and (3) modeling demonstrated that favorable habitat, curves in the road, and low human disturbance were major contributors to the deadliest road segments. Red fox carcasses were more likely to be found on road sections with passages distant from urban areas. Conversely, stone marten mortalities were found more often on national roads with high of cork oak woodland cover; Egyptian mongoose and genet road-kills were found more often on road segments close to curves. Based on our results, two key

The burden of road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Jacqueline Y; Akanbi, Moses A; Azuh, Dominic; Samuel, Victoria; Omoregbe, Nicholas; Ayo, Charles K

2016-01-01

Abstract Objective To estimate the burden of road traffic injuries and deaths for all road users and among different road user groups in Africa. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health, Google Scholar, websites of African road safety agencies and organizations for registry- and population-based studies and reports on road traffic injury and death estimates in Africa, published between 1980 and 2015. Available data for all road users and by road user group were extracted and analysed. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis and estimated pooled rates of road traffic injuries and deaths. Findings We identified 39 studies from 15 African countries. The estimated pooled rate for road traffic injury was 65.2 per 100 000 population (95% confidence interval, CI: 60.8–69.5) and the death rate was 16.6 per 100 000 population (95% CI: 15.2–18.0). Road traffic injury rates increased from 40.7 per 100 000 population in the 1990s to 92.9 per 100 000 population between 2010 and 2015, while death rates decreased from 19.9 per 100 000 population in the 1990s to 9.3 per 100 000 population between 2010 and 2015. The highest road traffic death rate was among motorized four-wheeler occupants at 5.9 per 100 000 population (95% CI: 4.4–7.4), closely followed by pedestrians at 3.4 per 100 000 population (95% CI: 2.5–4.2). Conclusion The burden of road traffic injury and death is high in Africa. Since registry-based reports underestimate the burden, a systematic collation of road traffic injury and death data is needed to determine the true burden. PMID:27429490

Intertwining road user behaviour and traffic psychology with ITS in South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Venter, Karien

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Road safety is a core problem that the South African government battle with year-on year. One of the areas where South Africa has sadly been lacking behind is within the field of road and traffic psychology. This is despite the fact that presumably...

Cross-sectional study of road accidents and related law enforcement efficiency for 10 countries: A gap coherence analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Urie, Yohan; Velaga, Nagendra R; Maji, Avijit

2016-10-02

Road crashes are considered as the eighth leading causes of death. There is a wide disparity in crash severity and law enforcement efficiency among low-, medium-, and high-income countries. It would be helpful to review the crash severity trends in these countries, identify the vulnerable road users, and understand the law enforcement effectiveness in devising efficient road safety improvement strategies. The crash severity, fatality rate among various age groups, and law enforcement strategies of 10 countries representing low-income (i.e., India and Morocco), medium-income (i.e. Argentina, South Korea, and Greece), and high-income (i.e., Australia, Canada, France, the UK, and the United States) are studied and compared for a period of 5 years (i.e., 2008 to 2012). The critical parameters affecting road safety are identified and correlated with education, culture, and basic compliance with traffic safety laws. In the process, possible road safety improvement strategies are identified for low-income countries. The number of registered vehicles shows an increasing trend for low-income countries as do the crash rate and crash severity. Compliance related to seat belt and helmet laws is high in high-income countries. In addition, recent seat belt- and helmet-related safety programs in middle-income countries helped to curb fatalities. Noncompliance with safety laws in low-income countries is attributed to education, culture, and inefficient law enforcement. Efficient law enforcement and effective safety education taking into account cultural diversity are the key aspects to reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities in low-income countries like India.

Risk Factors Associated with Crash Severity on Low-Volume Rural Roads in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Prato, Carlo Giacomo; Rasmussen, Thomas Kjær; Kaplan, Sigal

2014-01-01

Safety on low-volume rural roads is drawing attention due to the high fatality and severe injury rates in comparison with high-volume roads and the increasing awareness of sustainable rural development among policy makers. This study analyzes the risk factors associated with crash severity on low......-volume rural roads, including crash characteristics, driver attributes and behavior, vehicle type, road features, environmental conditions, distance from the nearest hospital, and zone rurality degree. The data consist of a set of crashes occurred on low-volume rural roads in Denmark between 2007 and 2011...... advantage in accommodating the ordered-response nature of severity while relaxing the proportional odds assumption. Model estimates and pseudoelasticities show that aggravated crash injury severity is significantly associated with (1) alcohol and failure to wear seatbelts, (2) involvement of vulnerable road...

Functional requirements of road lighting.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schreuder, D.A.

1975-01-01

The functional, technical and visual requirements for public lighting are discussed. The improvement of the presentation of information to the road user is the main functional requirement. The visual requirements can be deduced from the functional requirement of enabling drivers to follow the

Impacts of Flooding on Road Transport Infrastructure In Enugu Metropolitan City, Nigeria.

OpenAIRE

Iloeje, A. F; Aniagolu, C. O

2015-01-01

An assessment of the impact of flooding on the road transport infrastructure in Enugu Metropolis was carried out using survey research method. Thirty impact indicators were rated by the respondents against six impact dimensions of population, vulnerability of activities, frequency, intensity, extent and risk. Three null hypotheses were postulated and tested. One sample t-test was used for testing hypothesis one which stated that damages to the road transport infrastructure resulti...

Some implications of an event-based definition of exposure to the risk of road accident.

Science.gov (United States)

Elvik, Rune

2015-03-01

This paper proposes a new definition of exposure to the risk of road accident as any event, limited in space and time, representing a potential for an accident to occur by bringing road users close to each other in time or space of by requiring a road user to take action to avoid leaving the roadway. A typology of events representing a potential for an accident is proposed. Each event can be interpreted as a trial as defined in probability theory. Risk is the proportion of events that result in an accident. Defining exposure as events demanding the attention of road users implies that road users will learn from repeated exposure to these events, which in turn implies that there will normally be a negative relationship between exposure and risk. Four hypotheses regarding the relationship between exposure and risk are proposed. Preliminary tests support these hypotheses. Advantages and disadvantages of defining exposure as specific events are discussed. It is argued that developments in vehicle technology are likely to make events both observable and countable, thus ensuring that exposure is an operational concept. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The financial burden of national road infrastructure and the equity thereof: A South African perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anton Brits

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Economic activities in South Africa during the past decade have caused, inter alia, road traffic congestion to accelerate annually and road infrastructure to deteriorate rapidly. Motor vehicle sales, correlated with economic trends and the economic empowerment of citizens, have and still are increasing at a faster rate than the supply of necessary infrastructure. As such, congestion, especially in the Gauteng area, has reached unacceptable levels during peak hours, necessitating the upgrading and continual maintenance of these roads and other national roads. The financial burden of upgrading and maintaining road infrastructure is enormous and, although the South African government makes contributions, an income from the road infrastructure is necessary to sustain quality infrastructure. However, a road-user paying approach, especially the structure thereof, should be acceptable to society in terms of economic efficiency and various means of equity. This article reviews the relevance of a road-user paying approach as applied in South Africa.

Identifying the Critical Links in Road Transportation Networks: Centrality-based approach utilizing structural properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chinthavali, Supriya [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2016-04-01

Surface transportation road networks share structural properties similar to other complex networks (e.g., social networks, information networks, biological networks, and so on). This research investigates the structural properties of road networks for any possible correlation with the traffic characteristics such as link flows those determined independently. Additionally, we define a criticality index for the links of the road network that identifies the relative importance in the network. We tested our hypotheses with two sample road networks. Results show that, correlation exists between the link flows and centrality measures of a link of the road (dual graph approach is followed) and the criticality index is found to be effective for one test network to identify the vulnerable nodes.

Willingness to use mobile application for smartphone for improving road safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardamone, Angelo Stephen; Eboli, Laura; Forciniti, Carmen; Mazzulla, Gabriella

2016-01-01

In the last few years mobile devices have reached a large amount of consumers in both developed and high-growth world economies. In 2013, 97% of the Italian population owns a mobile phone, and 62% owns a smartphone. Application software for mobile devices is largely proposed to consumers, and several mobile applications were oriented toward the improvement of road safety and road accident risk reduction. In this paper, we describe the results of a survey oriented to preventively investigate on the willingness to receive and/or to give information about road condition by means of mobile devices. Road users were informed about the characteristics of a mobile application, and then they were invited to complete a questionnaire. Experimental data were used for capturing road user attitudes toward the use of the smartphone to improve road safety, and to establish the preferences for the different features of the proposed mobile application. To this end, we choose to use the ordered probit model methodology. We demonstrate that the adopted methodology accounts for the differential impacts of the willingness to receive and/or to give information about road conditions on the overall willingness to receive and/or to give information through an application software for mobile devices.

An evaluation of speed management measures in Bangladesh based upon alternative accident recording, speed measurements, and DOCTOR traffic conflict observations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horst, A.R.A. van der; Thierry, M.C.; Vet, J.M.; Rahman, A.F

2016-01-01

With 21,000 people annually killed in road traffic (estimated figure by World Health Organization), Bangladesh has one of the highest fatality rates in the world. Vulnerable road users (VRUs) account for over 50% of road traffic casualties, and 70% of casualties occur in rural areas. As in many Low

An evaluation of speed management measures in Bangladesh based upon alternative accident recording, speed measurements, and DOCTOR traffic conflict observations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horst, A.R.A. van der; Thierry, M.C.; Vet, J.M.; Fazlur Rahman, A.K.M.

2017-01-01

With 21,000 people annually killed in road traffic (estimated figure by World Health Organization), Bangladesh has one of the highest fatality rates in the world. Vulnerable road users (VRUs) account for over 50% of road traffic casualties, and 70% of casualties occur in rural areas. As in many Low

I respect other road users. Do you?/Je roule courtois, et vous ?

CERN Multimedia

2002-01-01

This is the first slogan in a road safety campaign aimed at making CERN´s roads safer and more pleasant to drive on. / Ce slogan est le premier d'une campagne de sécurité routière au CERN pour nous aider à rendre nos routes plus sures et agréables.

Vulnerabilities to misinformation in online pharmaceutical marketing.

Science.gov (United States)

De Freitas, Julian; Falls, Brian A; Haque, Omar S; Bursztajn, Harold J

2013-05-01

Given the large percentage of Internet users who search for health information online, pharmaceutical companies have invested significantly in online marketing of their products. Although online pharmaceutical marketing can potentially benefit both physicians and patients, it can also harm these groups by misleading them. Indeed, some pharmaceutical companies have been guilty of undue influence, which has threatened public health and trust. We conducted a review of the available literature on online pharmaceutical marketing, undue influence and the psychology of decision-making, in order to identify factors that contribute to Internet users' vulnerability to online pharmaceutical misinformation. We find five converging factors: Internet dependence, excessive trust in the veracity of online information, unawareness of pharmaceutical company influence, social isolation and detail fixation. As the Internet continues to change, it is important that regulators keep in mind not only misinformation that surrounds new web technologies and their contents, but also the factors that make Internet users vulnerable to misinformation in the first place. Psychological components are a critical, although often neglected, risk factor for Internet users becoming misinformed upon exposure to online pharmaceutical marketing. Awareness of these psychological factors may help Internet users attentively and safely navigate an evolving web terrain.

Road safety issues for bus transport management.

Science.gov (United States)

Cafiso, Salvatore; Di Graziano, Alessandro; Pappalardo, Giuseppina

2013-11-01

Because of the low percentage of crashes involving buses and the assumption that public transport improves road safety by reducing vehicular traffic, public interest in bus safety is not as great as that in the safety of other types of vehicles. It is possible that less attention is paid to the significance of crashes involving buses because the safety level of bus systems is considered to be adequate. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and perceptions of bus managers with respect to safety issues and the potential effectiveness of various technologies in achieving higher safety standards. Bus managers were asked to give their opinions on safety issues related to drivers (training, skills, performance evaluation and behaviour), vehicles (maintenance and advanced devices) and roads (road and traffic safety issues) in response to a research survey. Kendall's algorithm was used to evaluate the level of concordance. The results showed that the majority of the proposed items were considered to have great potential for improving bus safety. The data indicated that in the experience of the participants, passenger unloading and pedestrians crossing near bus stops are the most dangerous actions with respect to vulnerable users. The final results of the investigation showed that start inhibition, automatic door opening, and the materials and internal architecture of buses were considered the items most strongly related to bus passenger safety. Brake assistance and vehicle monitoring systems were also considered to be very effective. With the exception of driver assistance systems for passenger and pedestrian safety, the perceptions of the importance of other driver assistance systems for vehicle monitoring and bus safety were not unanimous among the bus company managers who participated in this survey. The study results showed that the introduction of new technologies is perceived as an important factor in improving bus safety, but a better understanding

Modelling of road traffic fatalities in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Goel, Rahul

2018-03-01

Passenger modes in India include walking, cycling, buses, trains, intermediate public transport modes (IPT) such as three-wheeled auto rickshaws or tuk-tuks, motorised two-wheelers (2W) as well as cars. However, epidemiological studies of traffic crashes in India have been limited in their approach to account for the exposure of these road users. In 2011, for the first time, census in India reported travel distance and mode of travel for workers. A Poisson-lognormal mixture regression model is developed at the state level to explore the relationship of road deaths of all the road users with commute travel distance by different on-road modes. The model controlled for diesel consumption (proxy for freight traffic), length of national highways, proportion of population in urban areas, and built-up population density. The results show that walking, cycling and, interestingly, IPT are associated with lower risk of road deaths, while 2W, car and bus are associated with higher risk. Promotion of IPT has twofold benefits of increasing safety as well as providing a sustainable mode of transport. The mode shift scenarios show that, for similar mode shift across the states, the resulting trends in road deaths are highly dependent on the baseline mode shares. The most worrying trend is the steep growth of death burden resulting from mode shift of walking and cycling to 2W. While the paper illustrates a limited set of mode shift scenarios involving two modes at a time, the model can be applied to assess safety impacts resulting from a more complex set of scenarios. Copyright © 2018 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Functionality of road safety devices – identification and analysis of factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeliński Łukasz

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Road safety devices are designed to protect road users from the risk of injury or death. The principal type of restraint is the safety barrier. Deployed on sites with the highest risk of run-off-road accidents, safety barriers are mostly found on bridges, flyovers, central reservations, and on road edges which have fixed obstacles next to them. If properly designed and installed, safety barriers just as other road safety devices, should meet a number of functional features. This report analyses factors which may deteriorate functionality, ways to prevent this from happening and the thresholds for loss of road safety device functionality.

Determinants of injuries and Road Traffic Accidents amongst service personnel in a large Defence station.

Science.gov (United States)

Neelakantan, Anand; Kotwal, Brig Atul; Ilankumaran, Mookkiah

2017-07-01

Injuries are assuming epidemic proportions globally; and in India. Also, previous decade witnessed carnage on Indian roads, with nearly 12 lakh people killed and 55 lakhs disabled in road crashes. The trend in Armed Forces is reflective of the aforesaid patterns. Behaviour and socio-demographic background of the victims are significant determinants of injuries and road accidents. Community-based epidemiological information on these aspects is envisaged to contribute in their preventive strategy. Towards this direction, the present study was conducted with aim to generate socio-behavioural profile of injuries and Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) amongst service personnel in a large defence station; and to evaluate their determinants. A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out among 796 Naval personnel onboard warships in large Naval station. Data on socio-behavioural aspects and determinants of injuries and road accidents was collected using a pre-validated questionnaire; and by scrutiny of relevant records. Data was analysed using MSExcel, Epi-info and SPSS 17. Young and middle-aged persons were predominantly involved in injuries and road accidents. Two-wheeler users sustained maximum road accidents. Human factor was a significant determinant in RTAs and injuries. A majority of victims admitted that human factors were the predominant cause of road accidents; and opined that the events were preventable. Age-specific Behavioural Change Communication strategies aimed at refining user outlook are imperative; tailored to sociodemographic milieu of user/victim. Incorporation of a dynamic feedback/reporting mechanism, creation of 'armed forces-specific road safety and injury prevention policy' and safety audits on injuries and road crashes are measures in this direction.

Road traffic noise and children's inattention.

Science.gov (United States)

Weyde, Kjell Vegard; Krog, Norun Hjertager; Oftedal, Bente; Magnus, Per; Øverland, Simon; Stansfeld, Stephen; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J; Vrijheid, Martine; de Castro Pascual, Montserrat; Aasvang, Gunn Marit

2017-11-21

An increasing number of children are exposed to road traffic noise levels that may lead to adverse effects on health and daily functioning. Childhood is a period of intense growth and brain maturation, and children may therefore be especially vulnerable to road traffic noise. The objective of the present study was to examine whether road traffic noise was associated with reported inattention symptoms in children, and whether this association was mediated by sleep duration. This study was based on the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Parental reports of children's inattention at age 8 were linked to modelled levels of residential road traffic noise. We investigated the association between inattention and noise exposure during pregnancy (n = 1934), noise exposure averaged over 5 years (age 3 to 8 years; n = 1384) and noise exposure at age 8 years (n = 1384), using fractional logit response models. The participants were children from Oslo, Norway. An association with inattention at age 8 years was found for road traffic noise exposure at age 8 years (coef = .0083, CI = [.0012, .0154]; 1.2% point increase in inattention score per 10 dB increase in noise level), road traffic noise exposure average for the last 5 years (coef = .0090, CI = [.0016, .0164]; 1.3% point increase/10 dB), and for pregnancy road traffic noise exposure for boys (coef = .0091, CI = [.0010, .0171]), but not girls (coef = -.0021, CI = [-.0094, .0053]). Criteria for doing mediation analyses were not fulfilled. Results indicate that road traffic noise has a negative impact on children's inattention. We found no mediation by sleep duration.

Understanding road safety in Kenya: views of matatu drivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Raynor, Nicolas J; Mirzoev, Tolib

2014-09-01

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are estimated to cause 1.3 million deaths and 20-50 million injuries worldwide. Road safety is a challenge in Kenya with causes being multi-factorial. Matatus (minibuses) are involved in a large proportion of accidents. A literature review was completed to identify key issues and refine the scope of the study. The fieldwork included 20 semi-structured interviews with matatu drivers. All participants were male, with driving experience of 1-20 years. Thematic framework was used for analysis. Some unstructured observations on different road users and their behaviours were also recorded. Literature showed that the causes of RTAs in Kenya are multi-factorial, but that human factors play a large part. There is also an evidence gap concerning matatu drivers, who are key stakeholders in road safety. Fieldwork showed that the matatu industry creates financial pressures on drivers and an excessive level of competition, leading to dangerous driving. Corruption of traffic police appears to be a major barrier to improving road safety, as road safety legislation is not enforced, and bribery has become the cultural norm. The general public, including passengers and private vehicles owners, also cause problems by failing to understand their role in road safety and placing the blame on others. The key policy implication for improving road safety in Kenya is seeking measures to ensure responsibility by all road users through awareness raising in the short-term and reforming the matatu industry and addressing the root causes of corruption in the longer term. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Flood vulnerability of critical infrastructure in Cork, Ireland

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de Bruijn Karin M.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Recent flood events in Ireland and particularly in County Cork have caused significant disruption to health service provisions, interruption of water and power supplies, and damage to roads and other transportation infrastructure, affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people over a prolonged period of weeks. These events clearly reveal- the vulnerability of the critical infrastructure to flooding and the dependence of society on critical infrastructure. In order to reduce the flood vulnerability and increase the resilience of the critical infrastructure networks in the future, detailed evidence-based analysis and assessment is essential. To this end a case study has been carried out on Cork City which analyses this vulnerability as it was in 2009, and as it is currently, and identifies adaptation options to reduce the future vulnerability of critical infrastructure to flooding and to build a more resilient society. This paper describes the storyline approach and CIrcle tool and their application to Cork City which focused on the analysis of the flood vulnerability of critical infrastructure and the impacts of failure of the infrastructure for other critical functions and on society.

Injury outcome among helmeted and non-helmeted motorcycle ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

users are vulnerable on the road and are at high risk of death resulting from head ..... time of injury sustained head injury reflecting its importance in prevention of head .... WHO (2006) Helmets: A Road Safety Manual for Decision-makers and ...

Mathematical principles of road congestion pricing

African Journals Online (AJOL)

route during the morning peak hour: cost and demand functions. the same at all traffic levels. Although car running costs rise with increases in travel time in congested urban travel conditions, they are usually regarded by road users as being.

Assessing Road Traffic Expression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fábio Silva

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Road traffic is a problem which is increasing in cities with large population. Unrelated to this fact the number of portable and wearable devices has also been increasing throughout the population of most countries. With this advent, the capacity to monitor and register data about people habits and locations as well as more complex data such as intensity and strength of movements has created an opportunity to contribute to the general wealth and comfort within these environments. Ambient Intelligence and Intelligent Decision Making processes can benefit from the knowledge gathered by these devices to improve decisions on everyday tasks such as deciding navigation routes by car, bicycle or other means of transportation and avoiding route perils. The concept of computational sustainability may also be applied to this problem. Current applications in this area demonstrate the usefulness of real time system that inform the user of certain conditions in the surrounding area. On the other hand, the approach presented in this work aims to describe models and approaches to automatically identify current states of traffic inside cities and use methods from computer science to improve overall comfort and the sustainability of road traffic both with the user and the environment in mind. Such objective is delivered by analyzing real time contributions from those mobile ubiquitous devices to identifying problematic situations and areas under a defined criteria that have significant influence towards a sustainable use of the road transport infrastructure.

Prediction of road accidents: A Bayesian hierarchical approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Deublein, Markus; Schubert, Matthias; Adey, Bryan T; Köhler, Jochen; Faber, Michael H

2013-03-01

In this paper a novel methodology for the prediction of the occurrence of road accidents is presented. The methodology utilizes a combination of three statistical methods: (1) gamma-updating of the occurrence rates of injury accidents and injured road users, (2) hierarchical multivariate Poisson-lognormal regression analysis taking into account correlations amongst multiple dependent model response variables and effects of discrete accident count data e.g. over-dispersion, and (3) Bayesian inference algorithms, which are applied by means of data mining techniques supported by Bayesian Probabilistic Networks in order to represent non-linearity between risk indicating and model response variables, as well as different types of uncertainties which might be present in the development of the specific models. Prior Bayesian Probabilistic Networks are first established by means of multivariate regression analysis of the observed frequencies of the model response variables, e.g. the occurrence of an accident, and observed values of the risk indicating variables, e.g. degree of road curvature. Subsequently, parameter learning is done using updating algorithms, to determine the posterior predictive probability distributions of the model response variables, conditional on the values of the risk indicating variables. The methodology is illustrated through a case study using data of the Austrian rural motorway network. In the case study, on randomly selected road segments the methodology is used to produce a model to predict the expected number of accidents in which an injury has occurred and the expected number of light, severe and fatally injured road users. Additionally, the methodology is used for geo-referenced identification of road sections with increased occurrence probabilities of injury accident events on a road link between two Austrian cities. It is shown that the proposed methodology can be used to develop models to estimate the occurrence of road accidents for any

Traffic disruption in PAM DIRAC road (Prévessin Site)

CERN Document Server

2003-01-01

From 8th September to 19th September, ST Division will be doing some road works to install HDPE ducts for optical fibre cables under the PAM DIRAC road. For this reason, the road will be closed during 2 days and alternative arrangements will be put in place to reroute the traffic. We kindly ask all users to respect these temporary arrangements. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. ST-EL Group Tel. 77779 - 160484 / 75498 - 163198

Vulnerable Hunter

OpenAIRE

Md.Asha Begum; Y.VishnuPriya; V.ManoranjanBabu; ,O.Srinivasu

2016-01-01

This project "VULNERABLE HUNTER" application main aim is to detect risk in our mobile applications. This application contains modules like Fetch Application, Generate Score, Uninstall and Display Graph. Through this application it detects risk so that this application is very useful to smart phone users Now-a-days so many people are using smart phones and people are crazy about new apps. But by installing all the applications into our mobile may reduce its performance. Some apps c...

Chemical and radiological vulnerability assessment in urban areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stojanović Božidar

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Cities and towns are faced with various types of threat from the extraordinary events involving chemical and radiological materials as exemplified by major chemical accidents, radiological incidents, fires, explosions, traffic accidents, terrorist attacks, etc. On the other hand, many sensitive or vulnerable assets exist within cities, such as: settlements, infrastructures, hospitals, schools, churches, businesses, government, and others. Besides emergency planning, the land use planning also represents an important tool for prevention or reduction of damages on people and other assets due to unwanted events. This paper considers development of method for inclusion vulnerability assessment in land use planning with objective to assess and limit the consequences in cities of likely accidents involving hazardous materials. We made preliminary assessment of criticality and vulnerability of the assets within Belgrade city area in respect to chemical sites and transportation roads that can be exposed to chemical accidents, or terrorist attacks.

Avoiding the road to ethical disaster: overcoming vulnerabilities and developing resilience.

Science.gov (United States)

Tjeltveit, Alan C; Gottlieb, Michael C

2010-03-01

Psychotherapists may, despite their best intentions, find themselves engaging in ethically problematic behaviors that could have been prevented. Drawing on recent research in moral psychology and longstanding community mental health approaches to prevention, we suggest that psychotherapists can reduce the likelihood of committing ethical infractions (and move in the direction of ethical excellence) by attending carefully to 4 general dimensions: the desire to facilitate positive (good) outcomes, the powerful opportunities given to professionals to effect change, personal values, and education. Each dimension can foster enhanced ethical behavior and personal resilience, but each can also contribute to ethical vulnerability. By recognizing and effectively addressing these dimensions, psychotherapists can reduce their vulnerabilities, enhance their resilience, reduce the risk of ethical infractions, and improve the quality of their work. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved

Road signage comprehension and overload: The role of driving style and need for closure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bortei-Doku, Shaun; Kaplan, Sigal; Prato, Carlo Giacomo

2017-01-01

This study looks at the provision of information via traffic signs and its relation with driving styles, need for closure and socio-economic characteristics of road users. A web-based questionnaire allowed collecting information about traffic signs and road surface markings in 12 traffic locations...... with the traffic signs. Moreover, respondents reported their socio-economic characteristics and filled two questionnaires about need for closure and driving styles. Completed questionnaires from 753 participants from Hungary with expertise in transport and traffic were analysed via statistical and factor analysis...... to the road uses' socio-economic characteristics and their driving style and need for closure; (iii) different amounts of information are sufficient for different road users not to feel uncertain regarding manoeuvres being legal at a certain traffic location....

Driving down the road toll : videos of lectures given as Adelaide Thinker in Residence 2011-2012.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wegman, F.C.M.

2013-01-01

Professor Fred Wegman is one of the world’s most respected road safety experts. Fred’s residency has focused on making our roads safer, looking at our roads, the vehicles, road users and travel speeds. This record contains his final lecture, completing his third and final visit to South Australia

Road Traffic Injury Trends in the City of Valledupar, Colombia. A Time Series Study from 2008 to 2012.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Martín Rodríguez

Full Text Available To analyze the behavior temporal of road-traffic injuries (RTI in Valledupar, Colombia from January 2008 to December 2012.An observational study was conducted based on records from the Colombian National Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences Institute regional office in Valledupar. Different variables were analyzed, such as the injured person's sex, age, education level, and type of road user; the timeframe, place and circumstances of crashes and the vehicles associated with the occurrence. Furthermore, a time series analysis was conducted using an auto-regressive integrated moving average.There were 105 events per month on an average, 64.9% of RTI involved men; 82.3% of the persons injured were from 18 to 59 years of age; the average age was 35.4 years of age; the road users most involved in RTI were motorcyclists (69%, followed by pedestrians (12%. 70% had up to upper-secondary education. Sunday was the day with the most RTI occurrences; 93% of the RTI occurred in the urban area. The time series showed a seasonal pattern and a significant trend effect. The modeling process verified the existence of both memory and extrinsic variables related.An RTI occurrence pattern was identified, which showed an upward trend during the period analyzed. Motorcyclists were the main road users involved in RTI, which suggests the need to design and implement specific measures for that type of road user, from regulations for graduated licensing for young drivers to monitoring road user behavior for the promotion of road safety.

Estimation of fatality and injury risk by means of in-depth fatal accident investigation data.

Science.gov (United States)

Yannis, George; Papadimitriou, Eleonora; Dupont, Emmanuelle; Martensen, Heike

2010-10-01

In this article the factors affecting fatality and injury risk of road users involved in fatal accidents are analyzed by means of in-depth accident investigation data, with emphasis on parameters not extensively explored in previous research. A fatal accident investigation (FAI) database is used, which includes intermediate-level in-depth data for a harmonized representative sample of 1300 fatal accidents in 7 European countries. The FAI database offers improved potential for analysis, because it includes information on a number of variables that are seldom available, complete, or accurately recorded in road accident databases. However, the fact that only fatal accidents are examined requires for methodological adjustments, namely, the correction for two types of effects on a road user's baseline risk: "accident size" effects, and "relative vulnerability" effects. Fatality and injury risk can be then modeled through multilevel logistic regression models, which account for the hierarchical dependences of the road accident process. The results show that the baseline fatality risk of road users involved in fatal accidents decreases with accident size and increases with the vulnerability of the road user. On the contrary, accident size increases nonfatal injury risk of road users involved in fatal accidents. Other significant effects on fatality and injury risk in fatal accidents include road user age, vehicle type, speed limit, the chain of accident events, vehicle maneuver, and safety equipment. In particular, the presence and use of safety equipment such as seat belt, antilock braking system (ABS), and electronic stability program (ESP) are protection factors for car occupants, especially for those seated at the front seats. Although ABS and ESP systems are typically associated with positive effects on accident occurrence, the results of this research revealed significant related effects on accident severity as well. Moreover, accident consequences are more severe

Climate Projection Data base for Roads - CliPDaR: Design a guideline for a transnational database of downscaled climate projection data for road impact models - within the Conference's of European Directors of Roads (CEDR) TRANSNATIONAL ROAD RESEARCH PROG

Science.gov (United States)

Matulla, Christoph; Namyslo, Joachim; Fuchs, Tobias; Türk, Konrad

2013-04-01

The European road sector is vulnerable to extreme weather phenomena, which can cause large socio-economic losses. Almost every year there occur several weather triggered events (like heavy precipitation, floods, landslides, high winds, snow and ice, heat or cold waves, etc.), that disrupt transportation, knock out power lines, cut off populated regions from the outside and so on. So, in order to avoid imbalances in the supply of vital goods to people as well as to prevent negative impacts on health and life of people travelling by car it is essential to know present and future threats to roads. Climate change might increase future threats to roads. CliPDaR focuses on parts of the European road network and contributes, based on the current body of knowledge, to the establishment of guidelines helping to decide which methods and scenarios to apply for the estimation of future climate change based challenges in the field of road maintenance. Based on regional scale climate change projections specific road-impact models are applied in order to support protection measures. In recent years, it has been recognised that it is essential to assess the uncertainty and reliability of given climate projections by using ensemble approaches and downscaling methods. A huge amount of scientific work has been done to evaluate these approaches with regard to reliability and usefulness for investigations on possible impacts of climate changes. CliPDaR is going to collect the existing approaches and methodologies in European countries, discuss their differences and - in close cooperation with the road owners - develops a common line on future applications of climate projection data to road impact models. As such, the project will focus on reviewing and assessing existing regional climate change projections regarding transnational highway transport needs. The final project report will include recommendations how the findings of CliPDaR may support the decision processes of European

Density and diversity of OpenStreetMap road networks in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yingjia Zhang

2015-12-01

Full Text Available OpenStreetMap is a geographic information platform designed to provide real-time updates and user-generated content related to its freely available global map, and it is one of the most widely used examples of volunteered geographic information, a technique associated with so-called neogeography. This paper, based on the data from China’s OpenStreetMap road network in May 2014, taking 340 prefecture-level cities in China as its study area, presents the geometric-related (road density and attribute-related (type diversity spatial patterns of the OpenStreetMap road network, and explores their relationship. The results are as follows. (1 The distribution of OpenStreetMap road density in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macao predominantly obeys a “positive skewness distribution”. OpenStreetMap data for eastern China shows a higher overall and circular structure. In central China, there are noticeable discrepancies in the road density, whereas in western China, the road density is low. (2 The OpenStreetMap road diversity shows a normal distribution. The spatial pattern for the so-called “Hu Huanyong line” was broken by the effect of diplomatic and strategic factors, showing a high diversity along the peripheral border, coastal cities, and core inland cites. (3 China’s OpenStreetMap is partitioned into four parts according to road density and diversity: high density and high diversity; low density and low diversity; high density and low diversity; and low density high diversity. (4 The OpenStreetMap geographical information-collection process and mechanism were analyzed, demonstrating that the road density reflects the preponderance of traffic in the real world. OpenStreetMap road diversity reflects the road-related geographic information demand and value, and it also reflects the interests of users toward to OpenStreetMap geographical information.

Who is in control of road safety? A STAMP control structure analysis of the road transport system in Queensland, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Salmon, Paul M; Read, Gemma J M; Stevens, Nicholas J

2016-11-01

Despite significant progress, road trauma continues to represent a global safety issue. In Queensland (Qld), Australia, there is currently a focus on preventing the 'fatal five' behaviours underpinning road trauma (drug and drink driving, distraction, seat belt wearing, speeding, and fatigue), along with an emphasis on a shared responsibility for road safety that spans road users, vehicle manufacturers, designers, policy makers etc. The aim of this article is to clarify who shares the responsibility for road safety in Qld and to determine what control measures are enacted to prevent the fatal five behaviours. This is achieved through the presentation of a control structure model that depicts the actors and organisations within the Qld road transport system along with the control and feedback relationships that exist between them. Validated through a Delphi study, the model shows a diverse set of actors and organisations who share the responsibility for road safety that goes beyond those discussed in road safety policies and strategies. The analysis also shows that, compared to other safety critical domains, there are less formal control structures in road transport and that opportunities exist to add new controls and strengthen existing ones. Relationships that influence rather than control are also prominent. Finally, when compared to other safety critical domains, the strength of road safety controls is brought into question. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pathways to HIV risk and vulnerability among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered methamphetamine users: a multi-cohort gender-based analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Brandon D L; Wood, Evan; Shoveller, Jean A; Patterson, Thomas L; Montaner, Julio S G; Kerr, Thomas

2011-01-07

Methamphetamine (MA) use continues to be a major public health concern in many urban settings. We sought to assess potential relationships between MA use and individual, social, and structural HIV vulnerabilities among sexual minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered) drug users. Beginning in 2005 and ending in 2008, 2109 drug users were enrolled into one of three cohort studies in Vancouver, Canada. We analysed longitudinal data from all self-identified sexual minority participants (n = 248). Logistic regression using generalized estimating equations (GEE) was used to examine the independent correlates of MA use over time. All analyses were stratified by biological sex at birth. At baseline, 104 (7.5%) males and 144 (20.4%) females reported sexual minority status, among whom 64 (62.1%) and 58 (40.3%) reported MA use in the past six months, respectively. Compared to heterosexual participants, sexual minority males (odds ratio [OR] = 3.74, p order or area restriction (i.e., "no-go zone") impact access to services or influence where drugs are used or purchased (AOR = 4.18, p = 0.008), unprotected intercourse (AOR = 1.62, p = 0.048), and increased depressive symptoms (AOR = 1.67, p = 0.044). Among females, MA use was associated with injection drug use (AOR = 2.49, p = 0.002), Downtown South residency (i.e., an area known for drug use) (AOR = 1.60, p = 0.047), and unprotected intercourse with sex trade clients (AOR = 2.62, p = 0.027). Methamphetamine use was more prevalent among sexual minority males and females and was associated with different sets of HIV risks and vulnerabilities. Our findings suggest that interventions addressing MA-related harms may need to be informed by more nuanced understandings of the intersection between drug use patterns, social and structural HIV vulnerabilities, and gender/sexual identities. In particular, MA-focused prevention and treatment programs tailored to disenfranchised male and female sexual minority youth are recommended.

In-depth analysis of urban accidents involving motorcycle and moped riders in France, construction of prototypical accident scenarios and prospects for their prevention

OpenAIRE

CLABAUX, N

2007-01-01

owered two-wheeler users constitute, with cyclists and pedestrians, a category of road users who are particularly vulnerable in case of accident, since the slightest impact exposes them to injury. The recent and actual growth in the use of powered two-wheelers in France, notably in urban areas, and the over-representation of this category of road users in injury accidents show the need for a better understanding of motorcycle and moped accident phenomena in order to define new countermeasures...

morbidity and mortality among road users in benin-city,nigeria

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Emmanuel Ameh

A. F. Banjo, 3W. ... Background/objective: Murray and Krug had reported that road traffic injuries are a ... of all accident cases, and 67 patients (23.7%) sustained varying injuries, while 20 ... cervical vertebrae may also occur due to whiplash.

The use of the DInSAR method in the monitoring of road damage caused by mining activities

Science.gov (United States)

Murdzek, Radosław; Malik, Hubert; Leśniak, Andrzej

2018-04-01

This paper reviews existing remote sensing methods of road damage detection and demonstrates the possibility of using DInSAR (Differential Interferometry SAR) method to identify endangered road sections. In this study two radar images collected by Sentinel-1 satellite have been used. Images were acquired with 24 days interval in 2015. The analysis allowed to estimate the scale of the post-mining deformation that occurred in Upper Silesia and to indicate areas where road infrastructure is particularly vulnerable to damage.

Considering built environment and spatial correlation in modelling pedestrian injury severity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Prato, Carlo G.; Kaplan, Sigal; Patrier, Alexandre

traffic calming measures, illumination solutions, road maintenance programs and speed limit reductions. Moreover, this study emphasises the role of the built environment, as shopping areas, residential areas, and walking traffic density are positively related to a reduction in pedestrian injury severity......This study looks at mitigating and aggravating factors that are associated with the injury severity of pedestrians when they have crashes with another road user and overcomes existing limitations in the literature by posing attention on the built environment and considering spatial correlation...... of pedestrians to sustain a severe or fatal injury conditional on the occurrence of a crash with another road user. This study confirms previous findings about older pedestrians and intoxicated pedestrians being the most vulnerable road users, and crashes with heavy vehicles and in roads with higher speed limits...

Considering built environment and spatial correlation in modelling pedestrian injury severity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Prato, Carlo G.; Kaplan, Sigal; Patrier, Alexandre

2018-01-01

traffic calming measures, illumination solutions, road maintenance programs and speed limit reductions. Moreover, this study emphasises the role of the built environment, as shopping areas, residential areas, and walking traffic density are positively related to a reduction in pedestrian injury severity......This study looks at mitigating and aggravating factors that are associated with the injury severity of pedestrians when they have crashes with another road user and overcomes existing limitations in the literature by posing attention on the built environment and considering spatial correlation...... of pedestrians to sustain a severe or fatal injury conditional on the occurrence of a crash with another road user. This study confirms previous findings about older pedestrians and intoxicated pedestrians being the most vulnerable road users, and crashes with heavy vehicles and in roads with higher speed limits...

Assessing infrastructure vulnerability to major floods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jenssen, Lars

1998-12-31

This thesis proposes a method for assessing the direct effects of serious floods on a physical infrastructure or utility. This method should be useful in contingency planning and in the design of structures likely to be damaged by flooding. A review is given of (1) methods of floodplain management and strategies for mitigating floods, (2) methods of risk analysis that will become increasingly important in flood management, (3) methods for hydraulic computations, (4) a variety of scour assessment methods and (5) applications of geographic information systems (GIS) to the analysis of flood vulnerability. Three computer codes were developed: CULVCAP computes the headwater level for circular and box culverts, SCOUR for assessing riprap stability and scour depths, and FASTFLOOD prepares input rainfall series and input files for the rainfall-runoff model used in the case study. A road system in central Norway was chosen to study how to analyse the flood vulnerability of an infrastructure. Finally, the thesis proposes a method for analysing the flood vulnerability of physical infrastructure. The method involves a general stage that will provide data on which parts of the infrastructure are potentially vulnerable to flooding and how to analyse them, and a specific stage which is concerned with analysing one particular kind of physical infrastructure in a study area. 123 refs., 59 figs., 17 tabs= .

Individual spatial responses towards roads: implications for mortality risk.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clara Grilo

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Understanding the ecological consequences of roads and developing ways to mitigate their negative effects has become an important goal for many conservation biologists. Most mitigation measures are based on road mortality and barrier effects data. However, studying fine-scale individual spatial responses in roaded landscapes may help develop more cohesive road planning strategies for wildlife conservation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated how individuals respond in their spatial behavior toward a highway and its traffic intensity by radio-tracking two common species particularly vulnerable to road mortality (barn owl Tyto alba and stone marten Martes foina. We addressed the following questions: 1 how highways affected home-range location and size in the immediate vicinity of these structures, 2 which road-related features influenced habitat selection, 3 what was the role of different road-related features on movement properties, and 4 which characteristics were associated with crossing events and road-kills. The main findings were: 1 if there was available habitat, barn owls and stone martens may not avoid highways and may even include highways within their home-ranges; 2 both species avoided using areas near the highway when traffic was high, but tended to move toward the highway when streams were in close proximity and where verges offered suitable habitat; and 3 barn owls tended to cross above-grade highway sections while stone martens tended to avoid crossing at leveled highway sections. CONCLUSIONS: Mortality may be the main road-mediated mechanism that affects barn owl and stone marten populations. Fine-scale movements strongly indicated that a decrease in road mortality risk can be realized by reducing sources of attraction, and by increasing road permeability through measures that promote safe crossings.

Verbal learning and memory in adolescent cannabis users, alcohol users and non-users.

Science.gov (United States)

Solowij, Nadia; Jones, Katy A; Rozman, Megan E; Davis, Sasha M; Ciarrochi, Joseph; Heaven, Patrick C L; Lubman, Dan I; Yücel, Murat

2011-07-01

Long-term heavy cannabis use can result in memory impairment. Adolescent users may be especially vulnerable to the adverse neurocognitive effects of cannabis. In a cross-sectional and prospective neuropsychological study of 181 adolescents aged 16-20 (mean 18.3 years), we compared performance indices from one of the most widely used measures of learning and memory--the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test--between cannabis users (n=52; mean 2.4 years of use, 14 days/month, median abstinence 20.3 h), alcohol users (n=67) and non-user controls (n=62) matched for age, education and premorbid intellectual ability (assessed prospectively), and alcohol consumption for cannabis and alcohol users. Cannabis users performed significantly worse than alcohol users and non-users on all performance indices. They recalled significantly fewer words overall (pmemory performance after controlling for extent of exposure to cannabis. Despite relatively brief exposure, adolescent cannabis users relative to their age-matched counterparts demonstrated similar memory deficits to those reported in adult long-term heavy users. The results indicate that cannabis adversely affects the developing brain and reinforce concerns regarding the impact of early exposure.

[Exploratory study of road safety in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire in Republic of the Congo].

Science.gov (United States)

Batala Mpondo, Georges; Bouanga, Marianne; Saya, Yvette Marie Clarisse; Maurice, Pierre; Burigusa, Guillaume

2014-01-01

Although road accidents in the Congo are reaching alarming levels (2,720 accidents in 2010 and 3,126 accidents in 2011), especially with the massive arrival of "Jakarta" mopeds, no evaluation has been conducted to identify and understand the factors responsible for this problem. This article reports the results of an exploratory study conducted in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire based on information collected from existing documents and by semidirective questionnaire of people from various sectors able to elucidate the problem of road safety. Using William Haddon's matrix, the parameters investigated were : road user behaviour ; environmental and technological factors ; characteristics of road accident victims ; quality of care ; intervention times and organization of prevention. This study demonstrated the absence of a road safety policy in Congo. It also showed that the main factors responsible for road accidents are behavioural (failure to wear safety belts, failure to comply with road signs, fatigue, use of a telephone while driving, etc.), followed by environmental and technological factors (insufficient traffic lights, absence of sidewalks, disorganized occupation of roads, general state of vehicles). This study shows that, in order to improve road safety in the Congo, it is essential to promote the development of national road safety policies and an action plan, intervention on the determinants of road accidents, and a change of road user behaviours (compulsory use of safety belts, ban on the use of a telephone and smoking while driving, etc.). Effective organization of the management of road accident victims and allocation of a budget to implement a road safety policy are also necessary.

An Empirical Bayes before-after evaluation of road safety effects of a new motorway in Norway.

Science.gov (United States)

Elvik, Rune; Ulstein, Heidi; Wifstad, Kristina; Syrstad, Ragnhild S; Seeberg, Aase R; Gulbrandsen, Magnus U; Welde, Morten

2017-11-01

This paper presents an Empirical Bayes before-after evaluation of the road safety effects of a new motorway (freeway) in Østfold county, Norway. The before-period was 1996-2002. The after-period was 2009-2015. The road was rebuilt from an undivided two-lane road into a divided four-lane road. The number of killed or seriously injured road users was reduced by 75 percent, controlling for (downward) long-term trends and regression-to-the-mean (statistically significant at the 5 percent level; recorded numbers 71 before, 11 after). There were small changes in the number of injury accidents (185 before, 123 after; net effect -3%) and the number of slightly injured road users (403 before 279 after; net effect +5%). Motorways appear to mainly reduce injury severity, not the number of accidents. The paper discusses challenges in implementing the Empirical Bayes design when less than ideal data are available. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An experimental evaluation of potential scavenger effects on snake road mortality detections

Science.gov (United States)

Hubbard, Kaylan A.; Chalfoun, Anna D.

2012-01-01

As road networks expand and collisions between vehicles and wildlife become more common, accurately quantifying mortality rates for the taxa that are most impacted will be critical. Snakes are especially vulnerable to collisions with vehicles because of their physiology and behavior. Reptile road mortality is typically quantified using driving or walking surveys; however, scavengers can rapidly remove carcasses from the road and cause underestimation of mortality. Our objective was to determine the effect that scavengers might have had on our ability to accurately detect reptile road mortality during over 150 h and 4,000 km of driving surveys through arid shrublands in southwest Wyoming, which resulted in only two observations of mortality. We developed unique simulated snake carcasses out of Burbot (Lota lota), a locally invasive fish species, and examined removal rates across three different road types at three study sites. Carcass size was not a significant predictor of time of removal, and carcass removal was comparable during the daytime and nighttime hours. However, removal of simulated carcasses was higher on paved roads than unpaved or two-track roads at all study sites, with an average of 75% of the carcasses missing within 60 h compared to 34% and 31%, respectively. Scavengers may therefore negatively impact the ability of researchers to accurately detect herpetofaunal road mortality, especially for paved roads where road mortality is likely the most prevalent.

Prevalence of alcohol among nonfatally injured road accident casualties in two level III trauma centers in northern Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Damsere-Derry, James; Palk, Gavan; King, Mark

2018-02-17

Alcohol use is pervasive among motorists on the road in Ghana; however, we do not know the extent to which this behavior is implicated in road accidents in this country. The main objective of this research was to establish the prevalence of alcohol in the blood of nonfatally injured casualties in the emergency departments (EDs) in northern Ghana. Participants were injured road traffic crash victims, namely, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and drivers seeking treatment at an ED. The study sites were 2 level III trauma centers located in Wa and Bolgatanga. Participants were screened for alcohol followed by breath tests for positive participants using breathalyzers. Two hundred and sixty-two accident victims visited EDs, 58% of whom were in Wa. Among the victims, 41% were hospitalized and 57% experienced slight injuries. The vast majority (76%) of the casualties were motorcyclists, 13% were pedestrians, 8% were cyclists, and 2% were drivers. Casualties who had detectable alcohol in their blood were predominantly vulnerable road users. In all, 34% of participants had detectable blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) and the mean BAC for all casualties who tested positive and could give definitive BACs was 0.2265 (226 mg/dl). The prevalence of alcohol use was 53% among cyclists, 34% among motorcyclists, 21% among pedestrians, and 17% among drivers. Male casualties were more likely to test positive for alcohol than females. In addition, the prevalence of alcohol was significantly higher among injured casualties in Bolgatanga compared to Wa. There was a high prevalence of alcohol use among nonfatally injured casualties in northern Ghana and injury severity increased with BAC. AUDIT screening in the hospital, alcohol consumption guideline, road safety education with an emphasis on minimizing or eliminating alcohol consumption, and enhanced enforcement of the BAC limit among motorists are recommended.

Road safety: take it seriously

CERN Multimedia

Antonella Del Rosso

2015-01-01

Around 50 road accidents happen every year at CERN. Cyclists, drivers and pedestrians must pay attention to their behaviour at all times to ensure that this doesn’t become an even more serious problem. Even if the Laboratory’s sites are not exactly downtown Shanghai, all road users need to make a little effort. So let’s do it!   Life at CERN: let’s stick to accumulating scientific data rather than road accidents! (Cartoon by Cian O'Luanaigh) Despite a dedicated Safety Code in force since 1990, “traffic-calming” measures put in place last year, several reminders in the Bulletin and frequent safety campaigns, the number of accidents, particularly those involving cyclists, has remained high since 2008. Luckily, no-one has been seriously injured but it is more and more frequent to experience near misses or actual accidents, whether in a car or on a bike. Incivilities, excessive speeding (also for bikes!) and answering ...

Wrong-way driving crashes on French divided roads.

Science.gov (United States)

Kemel, Emmanuel

2015-02-01

The objective of divided roads is to increase users' safety by posting unidirectional traffic flows. It happens however that drivers proceed in the wrong direction, endangering themselves as well as other users. The crashes caused by wrong-way drivers are generally spotlighted by the media and call for public intervention. This paper proposes a characterization of wrong-way driving crashes occurring on French divided road on the 2008-2012 period. The objective is to identify the factors that delineate between wrong-way driving crashes and other crashes. Building on the national injury road crash database, 266 crashes involving a wrong-way driver were identified. Their characteristics (related to timing, location, vehicle and driver) are compared to those of the 22,120 other crashes that occurred on the same roads over the same period. The comparison relies on descriptive statistics, completed by a logistic regression. Wrong-way driving crashes are rare but severe. They are more likely to occur during night hours and on non-freeway roads than other crashes. Wrong-way drivers are older, more likely to be intoxicated, to be locals, to drive older vehicles, mainly passenger cars without passengers, than other drivers. The differences observed across networks can help prioritizing public intervention. Most of the identified WW-driving factors deal with cognitive impairment. Therefore, the specific countermeasures such as alternative road signs should be designed for and tested on cognitively impaired drivers. Nevertheless, WW-driving factors are also risk factors for other types of crashes (e.g. elderly driving, drunk driving and age of the vehicle). This suggests that, instead of (or in addition to) developing WW-driving specific countermeasures, managing these risk factors would help reducing a larger number of crashes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visibility aspects of road lighting. Contribution to TRB/CIE Symposium on Providing Visibility and Guidance to the Road User, Washington, D.C., July 30 - August 1, 1984.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schreuder, D.A.

1984-01-01

The function of road lighting is to enable traffic to function more or less as during the day. The effectiveness of road lighting is expressed in the reduction of nighttime accidents. For important urban roads, the installation of good road lighting will result in a reduction by 30% of nighttime

Towards Reducing the Dangers Associated with Road Traffic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper presents empirical results from a cross-sectional survey of car users in ... road side observations simultaneously with short self-reported attitudinal surveys. ... In addition, the vehicle usage type, driving location and driving times were ...

Road users’ opinion about pedestrian safety in the emirate of Sharjah, UAE- survey results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alhmoudi Mariam

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is to investigate the pedestrian safety in Sharjah (UAE, and suggest recommendations to improve safety in the emirate. A survey data was collected from 570 participants in December, 2016, and included the following informations: measure the awareness of drivers and pedestrians, determine the behavior of road users, take general views from the road users, and measure the level of users` satisfaction. The results showed that characteristics of road users including (gender, age group, nationality, social status, education level and the income can affect their behavior at different levels and that may lead to pedestrian accidents. Also, most participants noticed that there are differences in the behavior of drivers and pedestrians based on their nationalities, and they indicated that pedestrian mistakes are main cause of this type of accidents. Moreover, the data showed that most drivers confirmed that they give more attention to pedestrians in mixed land used than other areas and they mentioned that “traffic signal + marked lines” is the clearest place for them to be attentive to pedestrians crossing the road. Overall, based on the results of this paper, there is an urgent need to re-evaluate the pedestrian facilities in the Emirate such as (Design, locations, and their availability as well as focusing more on the education and the law enforcement.

RiskSOAP: Introducing and applying a methodology of risk self-awareness in road tunnel safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Chatzimichailidou, Maria Mikela; Dokas, Ioannis M

2016-05-01

Complex socio-technical systems, such as road tunnels, can be designed and developed with more or less elements that can either positively or negatively affect the capability of their agents to recognise imminent threats or vulnerabilities that possibly lead to accidents. This capability is called risk Situation Awareness (SA) provision. Having as a motive the introduction of better tools for designing and developing systems that are self-aware of their vulnerabilities and react to prevent accidents and losses, this paper introduces the Risk Situation Awareness Provision (RiskSOAP) methodology to the field of road tunnel safety, as a means to measure this capability in this kind of systems. The main objective is to test the soundness and the applicability of RiskSOAP to infrastructure, which is advanced in terms of technology, human integration, and minimum number of safety requirements imposed by international bodies. RiskSOAP is applied to a specific road tunnel in Greece and the accompanying indicator is calculated twice, once for the tunnel design as defined by updated European safety standards and once for the 'as-is' tunnel composition, which complies with the necessary safety requirements, but calls for enhancing safety according to what EU and PIARC further suggest. The derived values indicate the extent to which each tunnel version is capable of comprehending its threats and vulnerabilities based on its elements. The former tunnel version seems to be more enhanced both in terms of it risk awareness capability and safety as well. Another interesting finding is that despite the advanced tunnel safety specifications, there is still room for enriching the safe design and maintenance of the road tunnel. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A First Step toward the Understanding of Implicit Learning of Hazard Anticipation in Inexperienced Road Users Through a Moped-Riding Simulator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariaelena Tagliabue

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Hazard perception is considered one of the most important abilities in road safety. Several efforts have been devoted to investigating how it improves with experience and can be trained. Recently, research has focused on the implicit aspects of hazard detection, reaction, and anticipation. In the present study, we attempted to understand how the ability to anticipate hazards develops during training with a moped-riding simulator: the Honda Riding Trainer (HRT. Several studies have already validated the HRT as a tool to enhance adolescents’ hazard perception and riding abilities. In the present study, as an index of hazard anticipation, we used skin conductance response (SCR, which has been demonstrated to be linked to affective/implicit appraisal of risk. We administered to a group of inexperienced road users five road courses two times a week apart. In each course, participants had to deal with eight hazard scenes (except one course that included only seven hazard scenes. Participants had to ride along the HRT courses, facing the potentially hazardous situations, following traffic rules, and trying to avoid accidents. During the task, we measured SCR and monitored driving performance. The main results show that learning to ride the simulator leads to both a reduction in the number of accidents and anticipation of the somatic response related to hazard detection, as proven by the reduction of SCR onset recorded in the second session. The finding that the SCR signaling the impending hazard appears earlier when the already encountered hazard situations are faced anew suggests that training with the simulator acts on the somatic activation associated with the experience of risky situations, improving its effectiveness in detecting hazards in advance so as to avoid accidents. This represents the starting point for future investigations into the process of generalization of learning acquired in new virtual situations and in real-road situations.

Vulnerabilities to misinformation in online pharmaceutical marketing

Science.gov (United States)

De Freitas, Julian; Falls, Brian A; Haque, Omar S; Bursztajn, Harold J

2013-01-01

Given the large percentage of Internet users who search for health information online, pharmaceutical companies have invested significantly in online marketing of their products. Although online pharmaceutical marketing can potentially benefit both physicians and patients, it can also harm these groups by misleading them. Indeed, some pharmaceutical companies have been guilty of undue influence, which has threatened public health and trust. We conducted a review of the available literature on online pharmaceutical marketing, undue influence and the psychology of decision-making, in order to identify factors that contribute to Internet users’ vulnerability to online pharmaceutical misinformation. We find five converging factors: Internet dependence, excessive trust in the veracity of online information, unawareness of pharmaceutical company influence, social isolation and detail fixation. As the Internet continues to change, it is important that regulators keep in mind not only misinformation that surrounds new web technologies and their contents, but also the factors that make Internet users vulnerable to misinformation in the first place. Psychological components are a critical, although often neglected, risk factor for Internet users becoming misinformed upon exposure to online pharmaceutical marketing. Awareness of these psychological factors may help Internet users attentively and safely navigate an evolving web terrain. PMID:23761527

25 CFR 163.30 - Revocable road use and construction permits for removal of commercial forest products.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Revocable road use and construction permits for removal... Revocable road use and construction permits for removal of commercial forest products. (a) In accordance... revocable road use and construction permits to users for the purpose of removing forest products. (b) When a...

Assessment of rockfall risk along roads

Science.gov (United States)

Budetta, P.

2004-03-01

This paper contains a method for the analysis of rockfall risk along roads and motorways. The method is derived from the Rockfall Hazard Rating System (RHRS) developed by Pierson et al. (1990) at the Oregon State Highway Division. The RHRS provides a rational way to make informed decisions on where and how to spend construction funds. Exponential scoring functions are used to represent the increases, respectively, in hazard and in vulnerability that are reflected in the nine categories forming the classification. The resulting total score contains the essential elements regarding the evaluation of the degree of the exposition to the risk along roads. In the modified method, the ratings for the categories "ditch effectiveness", "geologic characteristic", "volume of rockfall/block size", "climate and water circulation" and "rockfall history" have been rendered more easy and objective. The main modifications regard the introduction of Slope Mass Rating by Romana (1985, 1988, 1991) improving the estimate of the geologic characteristics, of the volume of the potentially unstable blocks and the underground water circulation. Other modifications regard the scoring for the categories "decision sight distance" and "road geometry". For these categories, the Italian National Council's standards (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - CNR) have been used (CNR, 1980). The method must be applied in both the traffic directions because the percentage of reduction in the decision sight distance greatly affects the results. An application of the modified method to a 2km long section of the Sorrentine road (no 145) in Southern Italy was developed. A high traffic intensity affects the entire section of the road and rockfalls periodically cause casualties, as well as a large amount of damage and traffic interruptions. The method was applied to seven cross sections of slopes adjacent to the Sorrentine road. For these slopes, the analysis shows that the risk is unacceptable and it should

Epic landslide erosion from mountain roads in Yunnan, China – challenges for sustainable development

Science.gov (United States)

Expanding systems of mountain roads in developing countries significantly increase the risk of landslides and sedimentation in streams and rivers, as well as create vulnerabilities for residents and aquatic resources. However, neither government agencies nor external assistance o...

An holistic view on aquifer vulnerability based on a distinction of different types of vulnerability

Science.gov (United States)

De Luca, Domenico Antonio; Lasagna, Manuela; Franchino, Elisa

2016-04-01

and lateral (or horizontal) vulnerability could be very useful; generally parametric vulnerability methods only take into account the protection degree offered by the overlying lithology, considering a vertical travel pathway for the contaminant. These methods normally neglect horizontal pathway (pollution transport in groundwater according to the hydraulic gradient), so we can have an underestimation of the possible vulnerability. The distinction, the analysis and the definition of different types of vulnerability might be positive to stimulate discussion and have a number of advantages, such as: - to improve the clarity of the conditions of employment of a method, benefiting above all end-users and stakeholders; - to improve the ability to compare methods for the assessment of the degree of vulnerability; - to improve the ability to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Nonlinear road pricing for congestion and the environment.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-30

Under nonlinear road pricing (or tolling), the price charged is not strictly proportional to the distance travelled inside a tolling area, the generalized travel cost is not link-wise additive, and finding a user equilibrium distribution is typically...

New optimization strategies of pavement maintenance: A case study for national road network in Indonesia using integrated road management system

Science.gov (United States)

Hamdi, Hadiwardoyo, Sigit P.; Correia, A. Gomes; Pereira, Paulo

2017-06-01

A road network requires timely maintenance to keep the road surface in good condition onward better services to improve accessibility and mobility. Strategies and maintenance techniques must be chosen in order to maximize road service level through cost-effective interventions. This approach requires an updated database, which the road network in Indonesia is supported by a manual and visual survey, also using NAASRA profiler. Furthermore, in this paper, the deterministic model of deterioration was used. This optimization model uses life cycle cost analysis (LCCA), applied in an integrated manner, using IRI indicator, and allows determining the priority of treatment, type of treatment and its relation to the cost. The purpose of this paper was focussed on the aspects of road maintenance management, i.e., maintenance optimization models for different levels of traffic and various initial of road distress conditions on the national road network in Indonesia. The implementation of Integrated Road Management System (IRMS) can provide a solution to the problem of cost constraints in the maintenance of the national road network. The results from this study found that as the lowest as agency cost, it will affect the increasing of user cost. With the achievement of the target plan scenario Pl000 with initial value IRI 2, it was found that the routine management throughout the year and in early reconstruction and periodic maintenance with a 30 mm thick overlay, will simultaneously provide a higher net benefit value and has the lowest total cost of transportation.

Towards an agent based traffic regulation and recommendation system for the on-road air quality control

OpenAIRE

Sadiq, Abderrahmane; El Fazziki, Abdelaziz; Ouarzazi, Jamal; Sadgal, Mohamed

2016-01-01

This paper presents an integrated and adaptive problem-solving approach to control the on-road air quality by modeling the road infrastructure, managing traffic based on pollution level and generating recommendations for road users. The aim is to reduce vehicle emissions in the most polluted road segments and optimizing the pollution levels. For this we propose the use of historical and real time pollution records and contextual data to calculate the air quality index on road networks and gen...

Addressing the vulnerabilities of pass-thoughts

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Gabriel C.; Danko, Amanda S.

2016-05-01

As biometrics become increasingly pervasive, consumer electronics are reaping the benefits of improved authentication methods. Leveraging the physical characteristics of a user reduces the burden of setting and remembering complex passwords, while enabling stronger security. Multi-factor systems lend further credence to this model, increasing security via multiple passive data points. In recent years, brainwaves have been shown to be another feasible source for biometric authentication. Physically unique to an individual in certain circumstances, the signals can also be changed by the user at will, making them more robust than static physical characteristics. No paradigm is impervious however, and even well-established medical technologies have deficiencies. In this work, a system for biometric authentication via brainwaves is constructed with electroencephalography (EEG). The efficacy of EEG biometrics via existing consumer electronics is evaluated, and vulnerabilities of such a system are enumerated. Impersonation attacks are performed to expose the extent to which the system is vulnerable. Finally, a multimodal system combining EEG with additional factors is recommended and outlined.

Evaluation of the Road Transport Management System, a self-regulation initiative in heavy vehicle transport in South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Nordengen, Paul A

2014-04-01

Full Text Available that companies responsibly manage their activities to ensure minimal risk to other road users, the road infrastructure and their own drivers, whilst promoting road safety and driver wellness. The successes achieved by RTMS implementation is to a large extent due...

Powered off-road wheelchair for the transportation of tetraplegics along mountain trails.

Science.gov (United States)

Antonelli, Michele Gabrio; Alleva, Stefano; Beomonte Zobel, Pierluigi; Durante, Francesco; Raparelli, Terenziano

2017-12-08

For off-road mobility, some manual or power assisted devices were conceived to be self-driven by paraplegics while for tetraplegics non power-assisted devices were conceived. These devices require one or more conductors who are subjected to a high physical demand thus potentially creating: precarious safety condition for the user an elevated physical demand of conductors could reduce the care and the attention to give to the user; the time of the outdoor adventure experience of the user could be limited. To address these issues, an innovative user-centered power assisted off-road wheelchair for the transportation of tetraplegics along mountain trails was developed. The device, structured like a trike, is driven by two healthy conductors; the user is placed in the middle of the frame. A movable seat provides for the transfer from the standard to the off-road wheelchair. An electrical motor, powered by a battery pack, provides for the actuation. All the design and prototype aspects, the control system and experimental tests are detailed. The prototype satisfies mechanical, safety and duration requirements. No physical demand while using the device and for the transfer of the user to the device was identified. Fun and engaging tests were carried out and all the participants were involved. Implications for Rehabilitation The device has the potential to enhance the quality of life of tetraplegics in terms of new life experiences. The device revealed the real possibility of a full recreational experience, an enhanced participation and a better social integration of tetraplegics.

Incivility on the road: this may also affect you!

CERN Multimedia

2013-01-01

We all have to act in a more respectful and careful manner towards each other, and this also applies on the road. We therefore have to pay particular attention to the most vulnerable people (cyclists, pedestrians, etc.).   A couple of articles were published on the issue to raise awareness among drivers on the importance of road safety rules (see the CERN Bulletin on 10 September and 22 October 2012). Incivilities such as vehicles parked in a hazardous way, right of way violations, etc. can cause serious accidents with physical and/or material consequences. In compliance with the 2013 road safety goal, presented earlier this year by CERN’s Director-General, incivilities reported in the A2 Form will, from now on, be systemically followed up, as stated in the procedure set up by the HSE Unit in collaboration with the GS Department. The follow-up process puts special emphasis on prevention, as it is mainly a reminder of CERN traffic regulations...

[Evidence-based effectiveness of road safety interventions: a literature review].

Science.gov (United States)

Novoa, Ana M; Pérez, Katherine; Borrell, Carme

2009-01-01

Only road safety interventions with scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness should be implemented. The objective of this study was to identify and summarize the available evidence on the effectiveness of road safety interventions in reducing road traffic collisions, injuries and deaths. All literature reviews published in scientific journals that assessed the effectiveness of one or more road safety interventions and whose outcome measure was road traffic crashes, injuries or fatalities were included. An exhaustive search was performed in scientific literature databases. The interventions were classified according to the evidence of their effectiveness in reducing road traffic injuries (effective interventions, insufficient evidence of effectiveness, ineffective interventions) following the structure of the Haddon matrix. Fifty-four reviews were included. Effective interventions were found before, during and after the collision, and across all factors: a) the individual: the graduated licensing system (31% road traffic injury reduction); b) the vehicle: electronic stability control system (2 to 41% reduction); c) the infrastructure: area-wide traffic calming (0 to 20%), and d) the social environment: speed cameras (7 to 30%). Certain road safety interventions are ineffective, mostly road safety education, and others require further investigation. The most successful interventions are those that reduce or eliminate the hazard and do not depend on changes in road users' behavior or on their knowledge of road safety issues. Interventions based exclusively on education are ineffective in reducing road traffic injuries.

Forest road and fuel break siting with respect to reference fire intensities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eastaugh, C. S.; Molina, D. M.

2012-11-01

Forest roads and permanent fuel breaks are an important part of fire suppression infrastructure, but due to maintenance and environmental costs many forest agencies seek to reduce the extent of these networks. The question of which roads should be retained or where fuel breaks should be established is contentious, and few quantified methods exist to aid management decisions. This study uses GIS procedures and develops a metric for road network vulnerability, which may be used to determine the relative effectiveness of a road network or a particular fuel break as a fire control line. The method constructs reference fire intensities, and compares the fire intensity at roadsides or fuel breaks with the overall forest average. In the case study area in Victoria's Central Highlands (southeast Australia), average fire intensities on the forest road network are found to closely match the forest average, indicating that roads in their current locations are not skewed towards more dangerous parts of the forest. The fuel break network however is likely to face fire intensities substantially greater than those in the average forest area. (Author) 33 refs.

Pathways to HIV risk and vulnerability among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered methamphetamine users: a multi-cohort gender-based analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patterson Thomas L

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Methamphetamine (MA use continues to be a major public health concern in many urban settings. We sought to assess potential relationships between MA use and individual, social, and structural HIV vulnerabilities among sexual minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered drug users. Methods Beginning in 2005 and ending in 2008, 2109 drug users were enroled into one of three cohort studies in Vancouver, Canada. We analysed longitudinal data from all self-identified sexual minority participants (n = 248. Logistic regression using generalized estimating equations (GEE was used to examine the independent correlates of MA use over time. All analyses were stratified by biological sex at birth. Results At baseline, 104 (7.5% males and 144 (20.4% females reported sexual minority status, among whom 64 (62.1% and 58 (40.3% reported MA use in the past six months, respectively. Compared to heterosexual participants, sexual minority males (odds ratio [OR] = 3.74, p p = 0.003 were more likely to report recent MA use. In multivariate analysis, MA use among sexual minority males was associated with younger age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.93 per year older, p = 0.011, Aboriginal ancestry (AOR = 2.59, p = 0.019, injection drug use (AOR = 3.98, p p = 0.008, unprotected intercourse (AOR = 1.62, p = 0.048, and increased depressive symptoms (AOR = 1.67, p = 0.044. Among females, MA use was associated with injection drug use (AOR = 2.49, p = 0.002, Downtown South residency (i.e., an area known for drug use (AOR = 1.60, p = 0.047, and unprotected intercourse with sex trade clients (AOR = 2.62, p = 0.027. Conclusions Methamphetamine use was more prevalent among sexual minority males and females and was associated with different sets of HIV risks and vulnerabilities. Our findings suggest that interventions addressing MA-related harms may need to be informed by more nuanced understandings of the intersection between drug use patterns, social and

Factors Affecting Road Traffic Accident in Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Che-Him, Norziha; Roslan, Rozaini; Saifullah Rusiman, Mohd; Khalid, Kamil; Ghazali Kamardan, M.; Azbi Arobi, Farquis; Mohamad, Nazeera

2018-04-01

A road traffic accident resulted from the combination of factors related to the few components of the system involving environment, roads, road users, vehicles and the interaction between those systems. Road traffic accident (RTA) in Malaysia recorded as the highest fatality rate (per 100,000 population) among the ASEAN countries. In 2016, more than half of million cases accident recorded with more than 7,000 people were killed. Therefore, the RTA is one of the most critical issue in Malaysia even become the worldwide burden to authority. Generally, driving is a complex process which involves movement of a vehicle by either a computer or human controller. However, failure to control and coordinate will contribute to an accident. The objective of this study is to identify the pattern of accident in Johor Malaysia and to examine the relationship between the number of accident and the types of vehicles and roads. The results could help the government to recognise the different patterns, types of vehicles and roads that show major factors in the increasing of road traffic accident in Malaysia.

User costs as one of main advantages of precast concrete application in highway construction

Science.gov (United States)

Tomek, Radan

2017-09-01

Road user cost primarily refer to the monetized components of road (re)construction impacts, such as the user delay costs, vehicle operating costs, crash costs and emission costs. Objective of this paper is to analyze and appraise the advantages and benefits of the innovative prefabrication approach in contrast to traditional cast-in-place construction method. The goal is to reduce these additional costs borne by motorists and the community at-large as a result of road construction activity to their minimum through application of the prefabrication. Assessing two basic possible approaches to highway infrastructure construction - casting the road pavements and structures either in place or precast off the site - it can be concluded that the initial capital investment costs do not vary much. Substantial differences can be recognized when comparing their life-cycle costs and an extent to which their construction process affects the public, environment and the local economy. Prefabrication of any structure component off-site offers major construction time and user cost savings in comparison with the traditional cast-in-place methods of construction. Precast prestressed road pavements’ technology and precasting bridges’ parts and elements offers dramatic increase in durability, while it also substantially decreases construction time and resulting user costs.

Ghera: A Repository of Android App Vulnerability Benchmarks

OpenAIRE

Mitra, Joydeep; Ranganath, Venkatesh-Prasad

2017-01-01

Security of mobile apps affects the security of their users. This has fueled the development of techniques to automatically detect vulnerabilities in mobile apps and help developers secure their apps; specifically, in the context of Android platform due to openness and ubiquitousness of the platform. Despite a slew of research efforts in this space, there is no comprehensive repository of up-to-date and lean benchmarks that contain most of the known Android app vulnerabilities and, consequent...

GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS OF ROAD DISTRESSES AND THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SLOPE FACTOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NOR A. M. NASIR

2016-05-01

Full Text Available A road is a medium that a person uses to move from one destination to another. A good road can provide comfort and safety to users, however, poor maintenance of a road might cause danger to them. Therefore, a road maintenance management system needs to be carried out to ensure the effectiveness as well as the efficiency of road maintenance itself. In this era, there are so many systems created in order to help data storage and analysis. One of the systems is the Geographic Information System (GIS. Other than getting the location of distresses, GIS also can help to classify the severity level of distresses and to correlate the distresses occurring in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM with the slope gradient. Road distress data was collected using GPS applications supported by Supersurv 3 software. The study shows that the GIS method helps to produce a good spatial database. The road gradient factor is related to the level of road damage.

Tsunami vulnerability assessment in the western coastal belt in Sri Lanka

Science.gov (United States)

Ranagalage, M. M.

2017-12-01

26th December 2004 tsunami disaster has caused massive loss of life, damage to coastal infrastructures and disruption to economic activities in the coastal belt of Sri Lanka. Tsunami vulnerability assessment is a requirement for disaster risk and vulnerability reduction. It plays a major role in identifying the extent and level of vulnerabilities to disasters within the communities. There is a need for a clearer understanding of the disaster risk patterns and factors contributing to it in different parts of the coastal belt. The main objective of this study is to investigate tsunami vulnerability assessment of Moratuwa Municipal council area in Sri Lanka. We have selected Moratuwa area due to considering urbanization pattern and Tsunami hazards of the country. Different data sets such as one-meter resolution LiDAR data, orthophoto, population, housing data and road layer were employed in this study. We employed tsunami vulnerability model for 1796 housing units located there, for a tsunami scenario with a maximum run-up 8 meters. 86% of the total land area affected by the tsunami in 8 meters scenarios. Additionally, building population has been used to estimate population in different vulnerability levels. The result shows that 32% of the buildings have extremely critical vulnerability level, 46% have critical vulnerability level, 22% have high vulnerability level, and 1% have a moderate vulnerability. According to the population estimation model results, 18% reside building with extremely critical vulnerability, 43% with critical vulnerability, 36% with high vulnerability and 3% belong to moderate vulnerability level. The results of the study provide a clear picture of tsunami vulnerability. Outcomes of this analysis can use as a valuable tool for urban planners to assess the risk and extent of disaster risk reduction which could be achieved via suitable mitigation measures to manage the coastal belt in Sri Lanka.

Morbidity And Mortality Among Road Users In Benin-City, Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The aim of this study was to evaluate patterns of morbidity and mortality among drivers and passengers of cars involved in road traffic accidents in Benin-City Nigeria from August 2002-July 2003 as a base line data. Methods: Eighty-seven car drivers and passengers who were studied were part of a larger study, involved in ...

A spatial DB model to simulate the road network efficiency in hydrogeological emergency

Science.gov (United States)

Michele, Mangiameli; Giuseppe, Mussumeci

2015-12-01

We deal with the theme of the simulation of risk analysis using a technological approach based on the integration of exclusively free and open source tools: PostgreSQL as Database Management System (DBMS) and Quantum GIS-GRASS as Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. The case study is represented by a seismic land in Sicily characterized by steep slopes and frequent instability phenomena. This area includes a city of about 30.000 inhabitants (Enna) that lies on the top of a mountain at about 990 m a.s.l.. The access to the city is assured by few and very winding roads that are also highly vulnerable to seismic and hydrogeological hazards. When exceptional rainfall events occur, the loss of efficiency of these roads should compromise timeliness and effectiveness of rescue operations. The data of the sample area have been structured into the adopted DBMS, and the connection to the GIS functionalities allows simulating the exceptional events. We analyzed the hazard, vulnerability and exposure related to these events and calculated the final risk defining three classes for each scenario: low (L), medium (M) and high (H). This study can be a valuable tool to prioritize risk levels and set priorities for intervention to the main road networks..

A spatial DB model to simulate the road network efficiency in hydrogeological emergency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michele, Mangiameli; Giuseppe, Mussumeci

2015-01-01

We deal with the theme of the simulation of risk analysis using a technological approach based on the integration of exclusively free and open source tools: PostgreSQL as Database Management System (DBMS) and Quantum GIS-GRASS as Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. The case study is represented by a seismic land in Sicily characterized by steep slopes and frequent instability phenomena. This area includes a city of about 30.000 inhabitants (Enna) that lies on the top of a mountain at about 990 m a.s.l.. The access to the city is assured by few and very winding roads that are also highly vulnerable to seismic and hydrogeological hazards. When exceptional rainfall events occur, the loss of efficiency of these roads should compromise timeliness and effectiveness of rescue operations. The data of the sample area have been structured into the adopted DBMS, and the connection to the GIS functionalities allows simulating the exceptional events. We analyzed the hazard, vulnerability and exposure related to these events and calculated the final risk defining three classes for each scenario: low (L), medium (M) and high (H). This study can be a valuable tool to prioritize risk levels and set priorities for intervention to the main road networks.

A spatial DB model to simulate the road network efficiency in hydrogeological emergency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michele, Mangiameli, E-mail: michele.mangiameli@dica.unict.it; Giuseppe, Mussumeci [Dept. of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Catania (Italy)

2015-12-31

We deal with the theme of the simulation of risk analysis using a technological approach based on the integration of exclusively free and open source tools: PostgreSQL as Database Management System (DBMS) and Quantum GIS-GRASS as Geographic Information System (GIS) platform. The case study is represented by a seismic land in Sicily characterized by steep slopes and frequent instability phenomena. This area includes a city of about 30.000 inhabitants (Enna) that lies on the top of a mountain at about 990 m a.s.l.. The access to the city is assured by few and very winding roads that are also highly vulnerable to seismic and hydrogeological hazards. When exceptional rainfall events occur, the loss of efficiency of these roads should compromise timeliness and effectiveness of rescue operations. The data of the sample area have been structured into the adopted DBMS, and the connection to the GIS functionalities allows simulating the exceptional events. We analyzed the hazard, vulnerability and exposure related to these events and calculated the final risk defining three classes for each scenario: low (L), medium (M) and high (H). This study can be a valuable tool to prioritize risk levels and set priorities for intervention to the main road networks.

The Physics of Traffic Congestion and Road Pricing in Transportation Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Levinson, David

2010-03-01

This presentation develops congestion theory and congestion pricing theory from its micro- foundations, the interaction of two or more vehicles. Using game theory, with a two- player game it is shown that the emergence of congestion depends on the players' relative valuations of early arrival, late arrival, and journey delay. Congestion pricing can be used as a cooperation mechanism to minimize total costs (if returned to the players). The analysis is then extended to the case of the three- player game, which illustrates congestion as a negative externality imposed on players who do not themselves contribute to it. A multi-agent model of travelers competing to utilize a roadway in time and space is presented. To realize the spillover effect among travelers, N-player games are constructed in which the strategy set includes N+1 strategies. We solve the N-player game (for N = 7) and find Nash equilibria if they exist. This model is compared to the bottleneck model. The results of numerical simulation show that the two models yield identical results in terms of lowest total costs and marginal costs when a social optimum exists. Moving from temporal dynamics to spatial complexity, using consistent agent- based techniques, we model the decision-making processes of users and infrastructure owner/operators to explore the welfare consequence of price competition, capacity choice, and product differentiation on congested transportation networks. Component models include: (1) An agent-based travel demand model wherein each traveler has learning capabilities and unique characteristics (e.g. value of time); (2) Econometric facility provision cost models; and (3) Representations of road authorities making pricing and capacity decisions. Different from small-network equilibrium models in prior literature, this agent- based model is applicable to pricing and investment analyses on large complex networks. The subsequent economic analysis focuses on the source, evolution

A combined road weather forecast system to prevent road ice formation in the Adige Valley (Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Di Napoli, Claudia; Piazza, Andrea; Antonacci, Gianluca; Todeschini, Ilaria; Apolloni, Roberto; Pretto, Ilaria

2016-04-01

Road ice is a dangerous meteorological hazard to a nation's transportation system and economy. By reducing the pavement friction with vehicle tyres, ice formation on pavements increases accident risk and delays travelling times thus posing a serious threat to road users' safety and the running of economic activities. Keeping roads clear and open is therefore essential, especially in mountainous areas where ice is likely to form during the winter period. Winter road maintenance helps to restore road efficiency and security, and its benefits are up to 8 times the costs sustained for anti-icing strategies [1]. However, the optimization of maintenance costs and the reduction of the environmental damage from over-salting demand further improvements. These can be achieved by reliable road weather forecasts, and in particular by the prediction of road surface temperatures (RSTs). RST is one of the most important parameters in determining road surface conditions. It is well known from literature that ice forms on pavements in high-humidity conditions when RSTs are below 0°C. We have therefore implemented an automatic forecast system to predict critical RSTs on a test route along the Adige Valley complex terrain, in the Italian Alps. The system considers two physical models, each computing heat and energy fluxes between the road and the atmosphere. One is Reuter's radiative cooling model, which predicts RSTs at sunrise as a function of surface temperatures at sunset and the time passed since then [2]. One is METRo (Model of the Environment and Temperature of Roads), a road weather forecast software which also considers heat conduction through road material [3]. We have applied the forecast system to a network of road weather stations (road weather information system, RWIS) installed on the test route [4]. Road and atmospheric observations from RWIS have been used as initial conditions for both METRo and Reuter's model. In METRo observations have also been coupled to

sPECTRA: a Precise framEwork for analyzing CrypTographic vulneRabilities in Android apps

OpenAIRE

Gajrani, J.; Tripathi, M.; Laxmi, V.; Gaur, M. S.; Conti, M.; Rajarajan, M.

2017-01-01

The majority of Android applications (apps) deals with user's personal data. Users trust these apps and allow them to access all sensitive data. Cryptography, when employed in an appropriate way, can be used to prevent misuse of data. Unfortunately, cryptographic libraries also include vulnerable cryptographic services. Since Android app developers may not be cryptographic experts, this makes apps become the target of various attacks due to cryptographic vulnerabilities. In this work, we pres...

Improving and optimising road pricing in Copenhagen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Otto Anker; Larsen, Marie Karen

2008-01-01

though quite a number of proposed charging systems have been examined only a few pricing strategies have been investigated. This paper deals with the optimisation of different designs for a road pricing system in the Greater Copenhagen area with respect to temporal and spatial differentiation......The question whether to introduce toll rings or road pricing in Copenhagen has been discussed intensively during the last 10 years. The main results of previous analyses are that none of the systems would make a positive contribution at present, when considered from a socio-economic view. Even...... of the pricing levels. A detailed transport model was used to describe the demand effects. The model was based on data from a real test of road pricing on 500 car drivers. The paper compares the price systems with regard to traffic effects and generalised costs for users and society. It is shown how important...

Road safety campaign is a great success

CERN Multimedia

2008-01-01

Rolf Heuer, the next Director-General of CERN, and Sigurd Lettow, the Director of Finance and Human Resources (photo below), completed all the tests of the CERN road safety campaign under the supervision of TCS instructors. The road safety campaign, which took place in the Main Building during the week of 10 November, attracted large numbers of participants. More than 300 CERN personnel and users took part in, and in some cases were literally bowled over by, the activities set up by instructors from the TCS (Touring Club Suisse). The campaign’s aim was to raise driver awareness of several aspects of road safety, including speed, use of mobile phones at the wheel, pedestrian priority, unlawful parking and driving with a valid licence. The campaign was an unqualified success! Even CERN’s directors joined in, testing their own reactions as drivers on the various pieces of apparatus in place.

Assessment of rockfall risk along roads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Budetta

2004-01-01

Full Text Available This paper contains a method for the analysis of rockfall risk along roads and motorways. The method is derived from the Rockfall Hazard Rating System (RHRS developed by Pierson et al. (1990 at the Oregon State Highway Division. The RHRS provides a rational way to make informed decisions on where and how to spend construction funds. Exponential scoring functions are used to represent the increases, respectively, in hazard and in vulnerability that are reflected in the nine categories forming the classification. The resulting total score contains the essential elements regarding the evaluation of the degree of the exposition to the risk along roads. In the modified method, the ratings for the categories 'ditch effectiveness', 'geologic characteristic', 'volume of rockfall/block size', 'climate and water circulation' and 'rockfall history' have been rendered more easy and objective. The main modifications regard the introduction of Slope Mass Rating by Romana (1985, 1988, 1991 improving the estimate of the geologic characteristics, of the volume of the potentially unstable blocks and the underground water circulation. Other modifications regard the scoring for the categories 'decision sight distance' and 'road geometry'. For these categories, the Italian National Council's standards (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - CNR have been used (CNR, 1980. The method must be applied in both the traffic directions because the percentage of reduction in the decision sight distance greatly affects the results. An application of the modified method to a 2km long section of the Sorrentine road (no 145 in Southern Italy was developed. A high traffic intensity affects the entire section of the road and rockfalls periodically cause casualties, as well as a large amount of damage and traffic interruptions. The method was applied to seven cross sections of slopes adjacent to the Sorrentine road. For these slopes, the analysis shows that the risk is

Repeatability of road pavement condition assessment based on three-dimensional analysis of linear accelerations of vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Staniek, Marcin

2018-05-01

The article provides a discussion concerning a tool used for road pavement condition assessment based on signals of linear accelerations recorded with high sampling frequency for typical vehicles traversing the road network under real-life road traffic conditions. Specific relationships have been established for the sake of road pavement condition assessment, including identification of road sections of poor technical condition. The data thus acquired have been verified with regard to repeatability of estimated road pavement assessment indices. The data make it possible to describe the road network status against an area in which users of the system being developed move. What proves to be crucial in the assessment process is the scope of the data set based on multiple transfers within the road network.

[Factors associated with road accidents in the city of Lubumbashi].

Science.gov (United States)

Kandolo, Simon Ilunga; Matungulu, Charles Matungulu; Mukanya, Pascal Kimba; Umba, Irène Kabange; Kabamba, Julie Ndayi; Numbi, Oscar Luboya; Ilunga, Benjamin Kabyla; Kaj, Françoise Malonga; Lubaba, Célestin Banza; Ngongo, Ghislain Mashini

2014-01-01

We conducted a retrospective non-comparative cross-sectional study in Lubumbashi on factors associated with road accidents. To contribute to the reduction of morbidity and mortality related to road accidents based on a better understanding of this phenomenon in the city of Lubumbashi, to assess the frequency and the growth of road accidents in the city of Lubumbashi and to determine the factors predisposing to these accidents. This non-controlled retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study covered the period from 1st January to 31st December 2008, and included all cases of vehicles registered by the police department after an accident. A total of 1,915 road traffic were reported, mostly caused by public transport vehicles (59%) driven by young adult males (89% of cases) with a mean age of 28 years. The main cause was speeding combined with other factors (34% of cases). The majority of these accidents occurred in the city of Lubumbashi (52.9% of cases) between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (74% of cases). Transit vehicles were exposed to a greater risk of road accidents (59%). There is an urgent need for accurate information on the rules of the road for drivers and road users to reduce the mortality and morbidity due to road accidents.

Elderly road collision injury outcomes associated with seat positions and seatbelt use in a rapidly aging society-A case study in South Korea.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuna Noh

Full Text Available Aging has long been regarded as one of the most critical factors affecting crash injury outcomes. In South Korea, where the elderly population is projected to reach 35.9% by 2050, the implications of an increasing number of elderly vehicle users on road safety are evident. In this research, the confounding effect of occupant age in a vehicle in terms of seat position and seatbelt use was investigated. In addition, elderly occupants were divided into a younger-old group aged between 65 and 74 years and an older-old group aged 75 years and older in an effort to assess whether the conventional elderly age standard of 65 years should be reconsidered.A multinomial logit framework was adopted to predict two-level injury severity using collision data between 2008 and 2015. Predictor variables included gender, age group, seat position, seatbelt, road type, road slope, road surface, road line, and type of vehicle. Five models, a base model with no interactions and four interaction models which were combinations of age group, seatbelt use and seat position, were devised and evaluated.With no interacting term, age was the most prominent predictor. Elderly occupants were most likely to suffer from severe injury without a seatbelt in all seat positions, and the use of a seatbelt reduced this likelihood the most in the elderly group as well. Front passenger seats had the highest risk to elderly occupants, while the driver seat was statistically insignificant. When the elderly group was divided into the younger-old group and the older-old group, the older-olds were found to be much more vulnerable compared to the younger-olds. In particular, older drivers were five times more likely to suffer a severe injury without a seatbelt.The degree of injury severity of elderly occupants was reduced the most with the use of a seatbelt, demonstrating the importance of using seat restraints. The sharp increase in the risk of injury of the older-old group suggests that the

Elderly road collision injury outcomes associated with seat positions and seatbelt use in a rapidly aging society-A case study in South Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Noh, Yuna; Yoon, Yoonjin

2017-01-01

Aging has long been regarded as one of the most critical factors affecting crash injury outcomes. In South Korea, where the elderly population is projected to reach 35.9% by 2050, the implications of an increasing number of elderly vehicle users on road safety are evident. In this research, the confounding effect of occupant age in a vehicle in terms of seat position and seatbelt use was investigated. In addition, elderly occupants were divided into a younger-old group aged between 65 and 74 years and an older-old group aged 75 years and older in an effort to assess whether the conventional elderly age standard of 65 years should be reconsidered. A multinomial logit framework was adopted to predict two-level injury severity using collision data between 2008 and 2015. Predictor variables included gender, age group, seat position, seatbelt, road type, road slope, road surface, road line, and type of vehicle. Five models, a base model with no interactions and four interaction models which were combinations of age group, seatbelt use and seat position, were devised and evaluated. With no interacting term, age was the most prominent predictor. Elderly occupants were most likely to suffer from severe injury without a seatbelt in all seat positions, and the use of a seatbelt reduced this likelihood the most in the elderly group as well. Front passenger seats had the highest risk to elderly occupants, while the driver seat was statistically insignificant. When the elderly group was divided into the younger-old group and the older-old group, the older-olds were found to be much more vulnerable compared to the younger-olds. In particular, older drivers were five times more likely to suffer a severe injury without a seatbelt. The degree of injury severity of elderly occupants was reduced the most with the use of a seatbelt, demonstrating the importance of using seat restraints. The sharp increase in the risk of injury of the older-old group suggests that the age standard of

Rapid Assessment of Seismic Vulnerability in Palestinian Refugee Camps

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Dabbeek, Jalal N.; El-Kelani, Radwan J.

Studies of historical and recorded earthquakes in Palestine demonstrate that damaging earthquakes are occurring frequently along the Dead Sea Transform: Earthquake of 11 July 1927 (ML 6.2), Earthquake of 11 February 2004 (ML 5.2). In order to reduce seismic vulnerability of buildings, losses in lives, properties and infrastructures, an attempt was made to estimate the percentage of damage degrees and losses at selected refugee camps: Al Ama`ri, Balata and Dhaishe. Assessing the vulnerability classes of building structures was carried out according to the European Macro-Seismic Scale 1998 (EMS-98) and the Fedral Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The rapid assessment results showed that very heavy structural and non structural damages will occur in the common buildings of the investigated Refugee Camps (many buildings will suffer from damages grades 4 and 5). Bad quality of buildings in terms of design and construction, lack of uniformity, absence of spaces between the building and the limited width of roads will definitely increase the seismic vulnerability under the influence of moderate-strong (M 6-7) earthquakes in the future.

Economic and hydrogeologic disparities govern the vulnerability of shared groundwater to strategic overdraft

Science.gov (United States)

Mullen, C.; Muller, M. F.

2017-12-01

Groundwater resources are depleting globally at an alarming rate. When the resource is shared, exploitation by individual users affects groundwater levels and increases pumping costs to all users. This incentivizes individual users to strategically over-pump, an effect that is challenging to keep in check because the underground nature of the resource often precludes regulations from being effectively implemented. As a result, shared groundwater resources are prone to tragedies of the commons that exacerbate their rapid depletion. However, we showed in a recent study that the vulnerability of aquifer systems to strategic overuse is strongly affected by local economic and physical characteristics, which suggests that not all shared aquifers are subject to tragedies of the commons. Building on these findings, we develop a vulnerability index based on coupled game theoretical and groundwater flow models. We show that vulnerability to strategic overdraft is driven by four intuitively interpretable adimensional parameters that describe economic and hydrogeologic disparities between the agents exploiting the aquifer. This suggests a scale-independent relation between the vulnerability of groundwater systems to common-pool overdraft and their economic and physical characteristics. We investigate this relation for a sample of existing aquifer systems and explore implications for enforceable groundwater agreements that would effectively mitigate strategic overdraft.

Relationship between religion and school students' road behavior in southern Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reza Tabrizi

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Unsafe behaviors are an important cause of accidents in adolescent age groups. This study was designed to examine the behaviors of adolescent pedestrians in southern Iran. Methods: This is a descriptive analytical cross-sectional study. The study population consisted of high school students in Shiraz, capital city of Fars Province, Iran. Five hundred and sixteen students were selected by multi-stage sampling. Data were collected by the use of three questionnaires, which included Persian copies of adolescent road user behavior questionnaire (ARBQ, Duke University Religious Index (DUREL, as well as the context and independent variables questionnaire. Results: The results showed that a decrease in dangerous behaviors on the road resulted in an increase in respondents' intrinsic religiosity. Also, engagement in unsafe crossing behavior in the road decreased with increasing respondents' intrinsic religiosity. Another finding showed that female students were less involved in dangerous play and planned protective behaviors on the road. Conclusion: Findings clearly indicate that intrinsic religiosity has a significant role in reducing the risky road behaviors of students. Hence, religion may improve road safety in school students' road behavior in Iran. Keywords: Religion, Traffic accidents, Road behaviors, Students

Medicinal Δ(9) -tetrahydrocannabinol (dronabinol) impairs on-the-road driving performance of occasional and heavy cannabis users but is not detected in Standard Field Sobriety Tests.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosker, Wendy M; Kuypers, Kim P C; Theunissen, Eef L; Surinx, Anke; Blankespoor, Roos J; Skopp, Gisela; Jeffery, Wayne K; Walls, H Chip; van Leeuwen, Cees J; Ramaekers, Johannes G

2012-10-01

The acute and chronic effects of dronabinol [medicinal Δ(9) -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)] on actual driving performance and the Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST) were assessed. It was hypothesized that occasional users would be impaired on these tests and that heavy users would show less impairment due to tolerance. Double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, three-way cross-over study. Twelve occasional and 12 heavy cannabis users (14 males/10 females) received single doses of placebo, 10 and 20 mg dronabinol. Standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP; i.e. weaving) is the primary measure of road-tracking control. Time to speed adaptation (TSA) is the primary reaction-time measure in the car-following test. Percentage of impaired individuals on the SFST and subjective high on a visual analogue scale were secondary measures. Superiority tests showed that SDLP (P = 0.008) and TSA (P = 0.011) increased after dronabinol in occasional users. Equivalence tests demonstrated that dronabinol-induced increments in SDLP were bigger than impairment associated with BAC of 0.5 mg/ml in occasional and heavy users, although the magnitude of driving impairment was generally less in heavy users. The SFST did not discriminate between conditions. Levels of subjective high were comparable in occasional and heavy users. Dronabinol (medicinal tetrahydrocannabinol) impairs driving performance in occasional and heavy users in a dose-dependent way, but to a lesser degree in heavy users due possibly to tolerance. The Standard Field Sobriety Test is not sensitive to clinically relevant driving impairment caused by oral tetrahydrocannabinol. © 2012 The Authors. Addiction © 2012 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Vulnerability Management for an Enterprise Resource Planning System

Science.gov (United States)

Goel, Shivani; Kiran, Ravi; Garg, Deepak

2012-09-01

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are commonly used in technical educational institutions(TEIs). ERP systems should continue providing services to its users irrespective of the level of failure. There could be many types of failures in the ERP systems. There are different types of measures or characteristics that can be defined for ERP systems to handle the levels of failure. Here in this paper, various types of failure levels are identified along with various characteristics which are concerned with those failures. The relation between all these is summarized. The disruptions causing vulnerabilities in TEIs are identified .A vulnerability management cycle has been suggested along with many commercial and open source vulnerability management tools. The paper also highlights the importance of resiliency in ERP systems in TEIs.

Road traffic fatalities in selected governorates of Iraq from 2010 to 2013: prospective surveillance.

Science.gov (United States)

Leidman, Eva; Maliniak, Maret; Sultan, Abdul-Salam Saleh; Hassan, Ahmed; Hussain, Syed Jaffar; Bilukha, Oleg O

2016-01-01

The insurgency tactics that characterize modern warfare, such as suicide car bombs and roadside bombs, have the potential to significantly impact road traffic injuries in conflict affected-countries. As road traffic incidents are one of the top ten causes of death in Iraq, changes in incidence have important implications for the health system. We aimed to describe patterns of road traffic fatalities for all demographic groups and types of road users in Iraq during a period characterized by a resurgence in insurgency activity. Iraqi Ministry of Health routine prospective injury surveillance collects information on all fatal injuries in eight governorates of Iraq: Baghdad, Al-Anbar, Basrah, Erbil, Kerbala, Maysan, Ninevah, and Al-Sulaimaniya. From all injury fatalities documented at the coroner office, we analyzed only those attributed to road traffic that occurred between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2013. Coroners ascertain information from physical examinations, police reports and family members. Analysis included 7,976 road traffic fatalities. Overall, 6,238 (78.2 %) fatalities were male and 2,272 (28.5 %) were children under 18 years of age. The highest numbers of road traffic fatalities were among males 15 to 34 years of age and children of both sexes under 5 years of age. 49.2 % of fatalities occurred among pedestrians. Among children and females, the majority of road traffic fatalities were pedestrians, 69.0 % and 56.6 %, respectively. Fatalities among motorcyclists (3.7 %) and bicyclists (0.4 %) were least common. Rates of road traffic fatalities ranged from 8.6 to 10.7 per 100,000 population. The injury surveillance system provides the first data from a conflict-affected country on road traffic fatalities disaggregated by type of road user. The highest numbers of fatalities were among children and young men. Nearly half of fatalities were pedestrians, a proportion nearly double that of any neighboring country. As insurgency activity increased in

The road safety audit and road safety inspection.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2007-01-01

A road safety audit (RSA) and a road safety inspection (RSI) are used to test the safety level of the road infrastructure. The RSA tests the design of new roads or the reconstruction of existing roads, whereas the RSI is used for testing existing roads. An RSA, therefore, aims to 'improve' the road

The hack attack - Increasing computer system awareness of vulnerability threats

Science.gov (United States)

Quann, John; Belford, Peter

1987-01-01

The paper discusses the issue of electronic vulnerability of computer based systems supporting NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) by unauthorized users. To test the security of the system and increase security awareness, NYMA, Inc. employed computer 'hackers' to attempt to infiltrate the system(s) under controlled conditions. Penetration procedures, methods, and descriptions are detailed in the paper. The procedure increased the security consciousness of GSFC management to the electronic vulnerability of the system(s).

Survey on Road-Tyre Contact Patch Pattern and Wear Related Aspects

OpenAIRE

Azodo Adinife Patrick

2017-01-01

Motor vehicle end-users approaches to tyre safety issues in automobiles translate to a number of tyre failure risk factors. This study basically assessed tread wear pattern of tyres in passenger cars used on Nigeria roads. The result obtained showed that 75.4% of the assessed tyres showed uneven wear pattern resulting from incorrect tyre-road contact effects. This observed high proportion of uneven tyre tread wear pattern implies high rate of inconsequential regard for tyre safety.

中国道路交通伤的流行病学特征%Epidemiology characteristics of road traffic injury in China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

潘曙明; 陈尔真; Shankuan Zhu; PeterLayde; Ronald Pirralo; Stephen Hargarten

2005-01-01

Objective To provide a broad epidemiological view of road traffic injury and death in China to help in policy and infrastructure development.Methods We searched MEDLINE and the China Academic Journal Full-Text Database (CAJ), and reviewed the annual reports of road traffic injuries, road traffic violations, and motor vehicle drivers in China from the website of Municipal Public Security (MPS) of the People's Republic of China.Results Road crash fatalities had been increasing rapidly in China, risky driving behavior and slow increase in road construction compared with the rapid increase in the number of cars might be the main factors in increasing morbidity and mortality in motor vehicle crashes.Conclusion Road traffic safety is a complicated and serious problem in China. Particular attention must be paid to road traffic events and conditions in rural areas, the most vulnerable road users.Government would establish a sound surveillance system using consistent definitions and improve EMS systems throughout China.%目的通过分析中国道路交通损伤的流行病学现状,为相关交通政策的制定和改进提供依据.方法分析近年来中国公安部发布的道路交通损伤年报以及检索MEDLINE和CAJ上有关中国道路交通损伤研究的论文和论著.结果中国交通事故伤亡人数目前增长十分迅速,其中风险驾驶行为和道路交通建设的相对滞后是影响道路交通损伤的重要因素.结论道路交通损伤在中国是一个十分复杂而严重的问题,政府应该更多关注农村地区、行人的安全问题,建立全国统一的监控体系,加强EMS体系建设.

Traffic calming for the prevention of road traffic injuries: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bunn, F; Collier, T; Frost, C; Ker, K; Roberts, I; Wentz, R

2003-09-01

To assess whether area-wide traffic calming schemes can reduce road crash related deaths and injuries. Systematic review and meta-analysis. Cochrane Injuries Group Specialised Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, EMBASE, Sociological Abstracts Science (and social science) citation index, National Technical Information service, Psychlit, Transport Research Information Service, International Road Research Documentation, and Transdoc, and web sites of road safety organisation were searched; experts were contacted, conference proceedings were handsearched, and relevant reference lists were checked. Randomised controlled trials, and controlled before/after studies of area-wide traffic calming schemes designed to discourage and slow down through traffic on residential roads. Data were collected on road user deaths, injuries, and traffic crashes. For each study rate ratios were calculated, the ratio of event rates before and after intervention in the traffic calmed area divided by the corresponding ratio of event rates in the control area, which were pooled to give an overall estimate using a random effects model. Sixteen controlled before/after studies met our inclusion criteria. Eight studies reported the number of road user deaths: pooled rate ratio 0.63 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.14 to 2.59). Sixteen studies reported the number of injuries (fatal and non-fatal): pooled rate ratio 0.89 (95% CI 0.80 to 1.00). All studies were in high income countries. Area-wide traffic calming in towns and cities has the potential to reduce road traffic injuries. However, further rigorous evaluations of this intervention are needed, especially in low and middle income countries.

The impact of roads on the demography of grizzly bears in Alberta.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Boulanger

Full Text Available One of the principal factors that have reduced grizzly bear populations has been the creation of human access into grizzly bear habitat by roads built for resource extraction. Past studies have documented mortality and distributional changes of bears relative to roads but none have attempted to estimate the direct demographic impact of roads in terms of both survival rates, reproductive rates, and the interaction of reproductive state of female bears with survival rate. We applied a combination of survival and reproductive models to estimate demographic parameters for threatened grizzly bear populations in Alberta. Instead of attempting to estimate mean trend we explored factors which caused biological and spatial variation in population trend. We found that sex and age class survival was related to road density with subadult bears being most vulnerable to road-based mortality. A multi-state reproduction model found that females accompanied by cubs of the year and/or yearling cubs had lower survival rates compared to females with two year olds or no cubs. A demographic model found strong spatial gradients in population trend based upon road density. Threshold road densities needed to ensure population stability were estimated to further refine targets for population recovery of grizzly bears in Alberta. Models that considered lowered survival of females with dependant offspring resulted in lower road density thresholds to ensure stable bear populations. Our results demonstrate likely spatial variation in population trend and provide an example how demographic analysis can be used to refine and direct conservation measures for threatened species.

The impact of roads on the demography of grizzly bears in Alberta.

Science.gov (United States)

Boulanger, John; Stenhouse, Gordon B

2014-01-01

One of the principal factors that have reduced grizzly bear populations has been the creation of human access into grizzly bear habitat by roads built for resource extraction. Past studies have documented mortality and distributional changes of bears relative to roads but none have attempted to estimate the direct demographic impact of roads in terms of both survival rates, reproductive rates, and the interaction of reproductive state of female bears with survival rate. We applied a combination of survival and reproductive models to estimate demographic parameters for threatened grizzly bear populations in Alberta. Instead of attempting to estimate mean trend we explored factors which caused biological and spatial variation in population trend. We found that sex and age class survival was related to road density with subadult bears being most vulnerable to road-based mortality. A multi-state reproduction model found that females accompanied by cubs of the year and/or yearling cubs had lower survival rates compared to females with two year olds or no cubs. A demographic model found strong spatial gradients in population trend based upon road density. Threshold road densities needed to ensure population stability were estimated to further refine targets for population recovery of grizzly bears in Alberta. Models that considered lowered survival of females with dependant offspring resulted in lower road density thresholds to ensure stable bear populations. Our results demonstrate likely spatial variation in population trend and provide an example how demographic analysis can be used to refine and direct conservation measures for threatened species.

User's guide : pavement marking management system database.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-01

Pavement markings play a critical role in maintaining a safe and efficient driving environment for road users, especially during nighttime conditions. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) spends millions of dollars each year for installatio...

Survey on Road-Tyre Contact Patch Pattern and Wear Related Aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azodo Adinife Patrick

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Motor vehicle end-users approaches to tyre safety issues in automobiles translate to a number of tyre failure risk factors. This study basically assessed tread wear pattern of tyres in passenger cars used on Nigeria roads. The result obtained showed that 75.4% of the assessed tyres showed uneven wear pattern resulting from incorrect tyre-road contact effects. This observed high proportion of uneven tyre tread wear pattern implies high rate of inconsequential regard for tyre safety.

User Vulnerability and its Reduction on a Social Networking Site

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Watts and Strogatz 1998]. Thus, it is essential to consider the social utility of vulnerable friends before unfriending them in order to reduce...and Kleinberg 2010] of the social network and the user’s clustering coefficient [Watts and Strogatz 1998]. Thus, it is essential to consider the...Oxford University Press, USA. WATTS, D. AND STROGATZ , S. 1998. Collective Dynamics of Small-world Networks. Nature 393, 6684, 440–442. WONDRACEK, G

Development of decision support tools to assess pedestrian and bicycle safety : focus on population, demographic and socio-economic spectra.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-30

Despite the increase of these non-motorized trips, bicyclists and pedestrians remain vulnerable road users that are often over represented in traffic crashes. While the currently used methods that identify hazardous locations serve their purpose well...

Environmental vulnerability assessment using Grey Analytic Hierarchy Process based model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahoo, Satiprasad; Dhar, Anirban; Kar, Amlanjyoti

2016-01-01

Environmental management of an area describes a policy for its systematic and sustainable environmental protection. In the present study, regional environmental vulnerability assessment in Hirakud command area of Odisha, India is envisaged based on Grey Analytic Hierarchy Process method (Grey–AHP) using integrated remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) techniques. Grey–AHP combines the advantages of classical analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and grey clustering method for accurate estimation of weight coefficients. It is a new method for environmental vulnerability assessment. Environmental vulnerability index (EVI) uses natural, environmental and human impact related factors, e.g., soil, geology, elevation, slope, rainfall, temperature, wind speed, normalized difference vegetation index, drainage density, crop intensity, agricultural DRASTIC value, population density and road density. EVI map has been classified into four environmental vulnerability zones (EVZs) namely: ‘low’, ‘moderate’ ‘high’, and ‘extreme’ encompassing 17.87%, 44.44%, 27.81% and 9.88% of the study area, respectively. EVI map indicates that the northern part of the study area is more vulnerable from an environmental point of view. EVI map shows close correlation with elevation. Effectiveness of the zone classification is evaluated by using grey clustering method. General effectiveness is in between “better” and “common classes”. This analysis demonstrates the potential applicability of the methodology. - Highlights: • Environmental vulnerability zone identification based on Grey Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) • The effectiveness evaluation by means of a grey clustering method with support from AHP • Use of grey approach eliminates the excessive dependency on the experience of experts.

Environmental vulnerability assessment using Grey Analytic Hierarchy Process based model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sahoo, Satiprasad [School of Water Resources, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (India); Dhar, Anirban, E-mail: anirban.dhar@gmail.com [Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (India); Kar, Amlanjyoti [Central Ground Water Board, Bhujal Bhawan, Faridabad, Haryana (India)

2016-01-15

Environmental management of an area describes a policy for its systematic and sustainable environmental protection. In the present study, regional environmental vulnerability assessment in Hirakud command area of Odisha, India is envisaged based on Grey Analytic Hierarchy Process method (Grey–AHP) using integrated remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) techniques. Grey–AHP combines the advantages of classical analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and grey clustering method for accurate estimation of weight coefficients. It is a new method for environmental vulnerability assessment. Environmental vulnerability index (EVI) uses natural, environmental and human impact related factors, e.g., soil, geology, elevation, slope, rainfall, temperature, wind speed, normalized difference vegetation index, drainage density, crop intensity, agricultural DRASTIC value, population density and road density. EVI map has been classified into four environmental vulnerability zones (EVZs) namely: ‘low’, ‘moderate’ ‘high’, and ‘extreme’ encompassing 17.87%, 44.44%, 27.81% and 9.88% of the study area, respectively. EVI map indicates that the northern part of the study area is more vulnerable from an environmental point of view. EVI map shows close correlation with elevation. Effectiveness of the zone classification is evaluated by using grey clustering method. General effectiveness is in between “better” and “common classes”. This analysis demonstrates the potential applicability of the methodology. - Highlights: • Environmental vulnerability zone identification based on Grey Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) • The effectiveness evaluation by means of a grey clustering method with support from AHP • Use of grey approach eliminates the excessive dependency on the experience of experts.

Remote Sensing-based Models of Soil Vulnerability to Compaction and Erosion from Off-highway Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Villarreal, M. L.; Webb, R. H.; Norman, L.; Psillas, J.; Rosenberg, A.; Carmichael, S.; Petrakis, R.; Sparks, P.

2014-12-01

Intensive off-road vehicle use for immigration, smuggling, and security of the United States-Mexico border has prompted concerns about long-term human impacts on sensitive desert ecosystems. To help managers identify areas susceptible to soil erosion from vehicle disturbances, we developed a series of erosion potential models based on factors from the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), with particular focus on the management factor (P-factor) and vegetation cover (C-factor). To better express the vulnerability of soils to human disturbances, a soil compaction index (applied as the P-factor) was calculated as the difference in saturated hydrologic conductivity (Ks) between disturbed and undisturbed soils, which was then scaled up to remote sensing-based maps of vehicle tracks and digital soils maps. The C-factor was improved using a satellite-based vegetation index, which was better correlated with estimated ground cover (r2 = 0.77) than data derived from regional land cover maps (r2 = 0.06). RUSLE factors were normalized to give equal weight to all contributing factors, which provided more management-specific information on vulnerable areas where vehicle compaction of sensitive soils intersects with steep slopes and low vegetation cover. Resulting spatial data on vulnerability and erosion potential provide land managers with information to identify critically disturbed areas and potential restoration sites where off-road driving should be restricted to reduce further degradation.

Vulnerable Genders, Vulnerable Loves

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schleicher, Marianne

2015-01-01

This chapter analyses religious reflections on vulnerable genders and vulnerable loves from the Hebrew Bible to early Rabbinic literature. It is based on theories by inter alia Donna Haraway on complex identities, Turner and Maryanski on love as a prerequisite for survival, Michel Foucault...... on gathering knowledge and its often unpremeditated effect of recognition and inclusion, and Judith Butler on cultural intelligibility and subversion from within. With these theories as a departing point for the analysis, the chapter links the vulnerability of complex identities with the vulnerability...... of cultures which leads to the overall understanding that culture can accommodate complex identities associated with individual and cultural vulnerability as long as the overall survival of the culture is not threatened. This understanding questions the feasibility of the ethical position of thinkers...

Trajectory of a road vehicle during road maintenance

OpenAIRE

Stachová Darina

2017-01-01

Consider a vehicle moving on a road whose usage over time creates an uneven surface on the road. Road unevenness that we encounter on surface communications often arises as a consequence of dynamical effects of moving vehicles, of weather changes, and due to road construction works. This article concerns with mathematical modeling of the trajectory of a road vehicle moving on such a surface during the course of road maintenance.

Multilayered complex network datasets for three supply chain network archetypes on an urban road grid.

Science.gov (United States)

Viljoen, Nadia M; Joubert, Johan W

2018-02-01

This article presents the multilayered complex network formulation for three different supply chain network archetypes on an urban road grid and describes how 500 instances were randomly generated for each archetype. Both the supply chain network layer and the urban road network layer are directed unweighted networks. The shortest path set is calculated for each of the 1 500 experimental instances. The datasets are used to empirically explore the impact that the supply chain's dependence on the transport network has on its vulnerability in Viljoen and Joubert (2017) [1]. The datasets are publicly available on Mendeley (Joubert and Viljoen, 2017) [2].

Increasing Android Security using a Lightweight OVAL-based Vulnerability Assessment Framework

OpenAIRE

Barrère , Martín; Hurel , Gaëtan; Badonnel , Rémi; Festor , Olivier

2012-01-01

International audience; Mobile computing devices and the services offered by them are utilized by millions of users on a daily basis. However, they operate in hostile environments getting exposed to a wide variety of threats. Accordingly, vulnerability management mechanisms are highly required. We present in this paper a novel approach for increasing the security of mobile devices by efficiently detecting vulnerable configurations. In that context, we propose a modeling for performing vulnera...

Relationship between religion and school students' road behavior in southern Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabrizi, Reza; Akbari, Maryam; Lankarani, Kamran B; Heydari, Seyed Taghi; Masoudi, Alireza; Shams, Amir Hossein; Akbarzadeh, Armin; Moalemi, Saba; Mehr, Maryam Mahmoodi; Sadati, Ahmad Kalateh; Peymani, Payam

2017-10-01

Unsafe behaviors are an important cause of accidents in adolescent age groups. This study was designed to examine the behaviors of adolescent pedestrians in southern Iran. This is a descriptive analytical cross-sectional study. The study population consisted of high school students in Shiraz, capital city of Fars Province, Iran. Five hundred and sixteen students were selected by multi-stage sampling. Data were collected by the use of three questionnaires, which included Persian copies of adolescent road user behavior questionnaire (ARBQ), Duke University Religious Index (DUREL), as well as the context and independent variables questionnaire. The results showed that a decrease in dangerous behaviors on the road resulted in an increase in respondents' intrinsic religiosity. Also, engagement in unsafe crossing behavior in the road decreased with increasing respondents' intrinsic religiosity. Another finding showed that female students were less involved in dangerous play and planned protective behaviors on the road. Findings clearly indicate that intrinsic religiosity has a significant role in reducing the risky road behaviors of students. Hence, religion may improve road safety in school students' road behavior in Iran. Copyright © 2017 Daping Hospital and the Research Institute of Surgery of the Third Military Medical University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Safer Roads: Comparisons Between Road Assessment Program and Composite Road Safety Index Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohd Razelan Intan Suhana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In most countries, crash statistics have becoming very crucial in evaluating road’s safety level. In Malaysia, these data are very important in deciding crash-prone areas known as black spot where specific road improvements plan will be proposed. However due to the unavailability of reliable crash data in many developing countries, appropriate road maintenance measures are facing great troubles. In light of that, several proactive methods in defining road’s safety level such as Road Assessment Program (RAP have emerged. This research aim to compare two proactive methods that have been tested in Malaysian roads ; road assessment program and road environment risk index which was developed based on composite index theory in defining road’s safety level. Composite road environment risk index was combining several crucial environment indicators, assigning weight and aggregating the individual index together to form a single value representing the road’s safety level. Based on the results, it can be concluded that both road assessment program and composite road environment risk index are contradicted in six different ways such as type of speed used, type of analysis used and their final outcomes. However, with an aim to promote safer roads, these two methods can be used concurrently as the outcomes in both methods seems to fulfil each other’s gap very well.

ROAD TRAFFIC ESTIMATION USING BLUETOOTH SENSORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monika N. BUGDOL

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The Bluetooth standard is a low-cost, very popular communication protocol offering a wide range of applications in many fields. In this paper, a novel system for road traffic estimation using Bluetooth sensors has been presented. The system consists of three main modules: filtration, statistical analysis of historical, and traffic estimation and prediction. The filtration module is responsible for the classification of road users and detecting measurements that should be removed. Traffic estimation has been performed on the basis of the data collected by Bluetooth measuring devices and information on external conditions (e.g., temperature, all of which have been gathered in the city of Bielsko-Biala (Poland. The obtained results are very promising. The smallest average relative error between the number of cars estimated by the model and the actual traffic was less than 10%.

Quality of life following road traffic injury: A systematic literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Rissanen, Ritva; Berg, Hans-Yngve; Hasselberg, Marie

2017-11-01

To assess and provide a systematic overview of current knowledge about the relationship between quality of life (QoL) and road traffic injury, and to appraise how QoL is affected by road traffic injury. A systematic review of the literature published since 1990 on QoL after a road traffic injury, including adult and paediatric populations, from three databases (Pubmed, PsychInfo and SafetyLit) was undertaken. The methodological quality was assessed according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. Thirty articles were included and assessed for quality. The QoL scores of those injured were similar to population norms at the first assessment, followed by a drop at the second assessment. An increase of QoL from the second to third assessment was reported, but participants never reached the population norms at the last follow-up (range six weeks to two years), with an exception of those claiming compensation and those with lower extremity fractures. Age, gender, socioeconomic status, injury severity, injury type and post-traumatic stress disorder were associated with reduced QoL. Available literature regarding QoL among injured in road traffic crashes is heterogeneous with regard to aims and tools used for assessment. Our review confirmed that independent of measure, the overall QoL was significantly reduced after a road traffic injury compared to the general population norms. Persons who are older, of female gender, lower socioeconomic status, diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, with more severe injuries or injuries to the lower limbs are more vulnerable to loss of QoL following road traffic injury compared to other patient groups injured in road traffic crashes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Can draconian law enforcement solve the South African Road Safety crisis?

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mohammed, SO

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Traffic law enforcement has been defined as the area of activity aimed at controlling road user behaviour by preventive, persuasive and punitive measures in order to effect the safe and efficient movement of traffic. The Department of Transport...

User friendly tools to target vulnerable areas at watershed scale: evaluation of the soil vulnerability and conductivity claypan indices

Science.gov (United States)

One finding of the Conservation Effects Assessment Program (CEAP) watershed studies was that Best Management practices (BMPs) were not always installed where most needed: in many watersheds, only a fraction of BMPs were implemented in the most vulnerable areas. While complex computer simulation mode...

Strategies for prevention of road traffic injuries (RTIs) in Pakistan: situational analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Adeel Ahmed; Fatmi, Zafar

2014-05-01

Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are one of the leading causes of death among productive age group. Using systems approach framework (SAF), current preventive strategies for RTI control were reviewed in Pakistan. A review of the literature was done using four international search engines. Only ten studies on preventive strategies for RTI stemming from Pakistan were found. The first Road Traffic Injuries Research Network (RTIRN) surveillance system for road traffic injuries was established in urban city (Karachi) in Pakistan has shown promise for injury control and should be scaled up to other cities. Enforcement of traffic laws on seat-belt and helmet wearing is poor. National Highway and Motorway Police Ordinance (2000) was one of the few legislative measure so far taken in Pakistan. Using SAF, efforts are required to implement interventions targeting human, vehicle design and also making environment safer for road users.

Single lane traffic in Adams road (Prévessin Site)

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

From 20th August, ST Division will be opening trenches in order to allow a number of power, control and optical fibre cables to be laid across Adams road (see plan). For the duration of the work, the road will be barred to all heavy loads/lorries and alternative arrangements will be put in place for normal traffic. Temporary lights will be installed. We kindly ask all users to respect these temporary arrangements. The work will take two weeks given favorable conditions. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. ST-EL Group Tel. 72978 - 164082

Single lane traffic in Adams road (Prévessin Site)

CERN Document Server

2003-01-01

From 20th August, ST Division will be opening trenches in order to allow a number of power, control and optical fibre cables to be laid across Adams road (see plan). For the duration of the work, the road will be barred to all heavy loads/lorries and alternative arrangements will be put in place for normal traffic. Temporary lights will be installed. We kindly ask all users to respect these temporary arrangements. The work will take two weeks given favorable conditions. Thank you for your understanding in this matter. ST-EL Group Tél. 72978 - 164082

Kinetic energy management in road traffic injury prevention: a call for action

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davoud Khorasani-Zavareh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract: By virtue of their variability, mass and speed have important roles in transferring energies during a crash incidence (kinetic energy. The sum of kinetic energy is important in determining an injury severity and that is equal to one half of the vehicle mass multiplied by the square of the vehicle speed. To meet the Vision Zero policy (a traffic safety policy prevention activities should be focused on vehicle speed management. Understanding the role of kinetic energy will help to develop measures to reduce the generation, distribution, and effects of this energy during a road traffic crash. Road traffic injury preventive activities necessitate Kinetic energy management to improve road user safety.

Automatic Road Centerline Extraction from Imagery Using Road GPS Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuqing Cao

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Road centerline extraction from imagery constitutes a key element in numerous geospatial applications, which has been addressed through a variety of approaches. However, most of the existing methods are not capable of dealing with challenges such as different road shapes, complex scenes, and variable resolutions. This paper presents a novel method for road centerline extraction from imagery in a fully automatic approach that addresses the aforementioned challenges by exploiting road GPS data. The proposed method combines road color feature with road GPS data to detect road centerline seed points. After global alignment of road GPS data, a novel road centerline extraction algorithm is developed to extract each individual road centerline in local regions. Through road connection, road centerline network is generated as the final output. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our proposed method can rapidly and accurately extract road centerline from remotely sensed imagery.

Quantifying human vulnerability in rural areas: case study of Tutova Hills (Eastern Romania)

Science.gov (United States)

Stângă, I. C.; Grozavu, A.

2012-06-01

This paper aims to assess the vulnerability at regional level, the model and the proposed indicators being explicitly intended for an essentially rural region, in this case-Tutova Hills (Eastern Romania). Five categories of variables were taken into account to define the vulnerability components: rural habitat, demographic features, agriculture, environmental quality and emergency situations. For each one, five variables were analyzed and ranked based on the level of determination or subordination. In order to ensure the flexibility of the model and to avoid the criteria duplication in assessing vulnerability, only a single indicator of each category was retained and included in analysis: total number of inhabitants, dependency ratio, weight of arable land on slope categories, weight of land under forestry and road accessibility of villages. The selected indicators were mathematically processed in order to maximize their relevance and to unitary express the results in the spread 0-1. Also, values of each indicator were grouped into four classes, corresponding to the level of vulnerability: low, medium, high and very high. A general index was obtained through the integration of vulnerability factors in an equation based on the geometric mean. Spatial analysis was based on features of the MicroImages TNTmips 7.3. software, which allow the vulnerability mapping. This approach argues and states that vulnerability assessment through indicator-based methods can be made only according to the level and scale of analysis and related to natural or human conditions of a region.

[Vertebrate mortality in the Guanare-Guanarito road, Portuguesa state, Venezuela].

Science.gov (United States)

Seijas, Andrés Eloy; Araujo-Quintero, Alexis; Velásquez, Nadines

2013-12-01

Roads directly or indirectly affect the structure, dynamics and function of ecosystems that they traverse. Most studies on the effect of roads on wildlife focus on the evaluation of mortality of vertebrates by vehicle collisions. Despite the extensive road network that exists in Venezuela, studies of wildlife mortality in them are scarce. In this paper, we analyzed the temporal and spatial pattern of vertebrate's collisions along the road Guanare-Guanarito, in Portuguesa state. We travelled 26 times between these towns (74 km) to localize dead vertebrates, at a speed of 50-60km/h. of those trips were conducted from March 13 to October 26, 2010, and 10 additional trips from December 7, 2009 to December 14, 2010; these ones, with the aim to include months and seasons that were insufficiently sampled during the first period. The elapsed time between trips varied from 14 to 37 days. The total distance traveled was 1 924 km. Dead animals found amounted 464 individuals, 66 of them were birds (25 identified species), 130 mammals (15 species) and 268 reptiles (18 species). The species with the highest number of individuals were the snake Leptodeira annulata (n=119), the oppossum Didelphis marsupialis (n=39) and the spectacled caiman Caiman crocodilus (n=33). Excluding domestic animals, the rate of road-killed vertebrates was 0.2282 indiv./km, a figure 28.3% higher than previous studies in the same road. Changes in the relative number of collisions for some species, respect to the numbers reported 20 years ago, were linked to the increase in traffic flow and changes in land use. Road segments with collision rates higher than expected by chance were identified. Collition by cars may be the principal cause of mortality for species like the tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) and the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), the last considered a vulnerable species. Some basic measures are proposed to reduce wildlife mortality on the road.

Performance Comparison of Geobroadcast Strategies for Winding Roads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edgar Talavera

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Vehicle-to-X (V2X communications allow real-time information sharing between vehicles and Roadside Units (RSUs. These kinds of technologies allow for the improvement of road safety and can be used in combination with other systems. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS are an example and can be used along with V2X communications to improve performance and enable Cooperative Systems. A key element of vehicular communications is that the information transmitted through the network is always linked to a GPS position related to origin and destination (GeoNetworking protocol in order to adjust the data broadcast to the dynamic road environment needs. In this paper, we present the implementation and development of Institute for Automobile Research (INSIA V2X communication modules that follow the European vehicular networking standards in a close curve in a winding road where poor visibility causes a risk to the safety of road users. The technology chosen to support these communications is ETSI ITS-G5, which has the capability to enable specific services that support GeoNetworking protocols, specifically the Geobroadcast (GBC algorithm. These functionalities have been implemented and validated in a real environment in order to demonstrate the performance of the communication devices in real V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle and V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure situations. GBC messages are also compared with two different configurations of emission area. A comparison with/without RSU modules in critical areas of the road with previous knowledge of the road cartography has also been made.

Planning of road construction projects with a view to stimulating economic growth and development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wessel Pienaar

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This paper provides an outline of how the economic evaluation and selection of road construction projects can be complemented by social evaluation with a view to achieving a more equitable welfare distribution within a developing country. The article commences by elaborating on the general economic benefits that can arise from investment in economically justified road infrastructure. The different classes of non-road-user beneficiaries are idenified and discussed. The operational characteristics of road transport that are conducive to the stimulation of economic activity are identified and described. The present inequality of income distribution in South Africa is dealt with briefly, followed by a discussion and analysis on the use of equity weights in project evaluation to help bring about a more equitable welfare distribution.

Security of Energy Supply - Indicators for Measuring Vulnerability and Risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinrich, C.

2010-01-01

In an era of increasing globalization, secure and affordable energy supplies are an essential requirement for economies to work, much less develop and grow in the long term. The present study, Energy security of supply - indicators for measuring vulnerability and risk, develops a broad methodical assessment concept to raise awareness among policy makers and the public regarding the vulnerability of energy supplies to potential energy crises. It explores the different aspects of vulnerability, from the primary energy level to energy infrastructure (storage, networks, power plant parks) to the efficiency and cost of energy consumption for end users. The individual characteristics of the formal concept were quantitatively evaluated for several OECD regions (Germany, UK, Sweden, Poland, Italy, France and the US) using a comprehensive empirical database and reduced to a single indicator for assessing energy supply vulnerability. Part of the database comprises historical observations for the period between 1978 and 2007.(author).

The requirements and challenges in preventing of road traffic injury in Iran. A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Khorasani-Zavareh, Davoud; Mohammadi, Reza; Khankeh, Hamid Reza; Laflamme, Lucie; Bikmoradi, Ali; Haglund, Bo J A

2009-12-23

Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a major public health problem, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Among middle-income countries, Iran has one of the highest mortality rates from RTIs. Action is critical to combat this major public health problem. Stakeholders involved in RTI control are of key importance and their perceptions of barriers and facilitators are a vital source of knowledge. The aim of this study was to explore barriers to the prevention of RTIs and provide appropriate suggestions for prevention, based on the perceptions of stakeholders, victims and road-users as regards RTIs. Thirty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with informants in the field of RTI prevention including: police officers; public health professionals; experts from the road administrators; representatives from the General Governor, the car industry, firefighters; experts from Emergency Medical Service and the Red Crescent; and some motorcyclists and car drivers as well as victims of RTIs. A qualitative approach using grounded theory method was employed to analyze the material gathered. The core variable was identified as "The lack of a system approach to road-user safety". The following barriers in relation to RTI prevention were identified as: human factors; transportation system; and organizational coordination. Suggestions for improvement included education (for the general public and targeted group training), more effective legislation, more rigorous law enforcement, improved engineering in road infrastructure, and an integrated organization to supervise and coordinate preventive activities. The major barriers identified in this study were human factors and efforts to change human behaviour were suggested by means of public education campaigns and stricter law enforcement. However, the lack of a system approach to RTI prevention was also an important concern. There is an urgent need for both an integrated system to coordinate RTI activities and prevention

The requirements and challenges in preventing of road traffic injury in Iran. A qualitative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laflamme Lucie

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Road traffic injuries (RTIs are a major public health problem, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Among middle-income countries, Iran has one of the highest mortality rates from RTIs. Action is critical to combat this major public health problem. Stakeholders involved in RTI control are of key importance and their perceptions of barriers and facilitators are a vital source of knowledge. The aim of this study was to explore barriers to the prevention of RTIs and provide appropriate suggestions for prevention, based on the perceptions of stakeholders, victims and road-users as regards RTIs. Methods Thirty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with informants in the field of RTI prevention including: police officers; public health professionals; experts from the road administrators; representatives from the General Governor, the car industry, firefighters; experts from Emergency Medical Service and the Red Crescent; and some motorcyclists and car drivers as well as victims of RTIs. A qualitative approach using grounded theory method was employed to analyze the material gathered. Results The core variable was identified as "The lack of a system approach to road-user safety". The following barriers in relation to RTI prevention were identified as: human factors; transportation system; and organizational coordination. Suggestions for improvement included education (for the general public and targeted group training, more effective legislation, more rigorous law enforcement, improved engineering in road infrastructure, and an integrated organization to supervise and coordinate preventive activities. Conclusion The major barriers identified in this study were human factors and efforts to change human behaviour were suggested by means of public education campaigns and stricter law enforcement. However, the lack of a system approach to RTI prevention was also an important concern. There is an urgent need for both

Environmental Management Model for Road Maintenance Operation Involving Community Participation

Science.gov (United States)

Triyono, A. R. H.; Setyawan, A.; Sobriyah; Setiono, P.

2017-07-01

Public expectations of Central Java, which is very high on demand fulfillment, especially road infrastructure as outlined in the number of complaints and community expectations tweeter, Short Mail Massage (SMS), e-mail and public reports from various media, Highways Department of Central Java province requires development model of environmental management in the implementation of a routine way by involving the community in order to fulfill the conditions of a representative, may serve road users safely and comfortably. This study used survey method with SEM analysis and SWOT with Latent Independent Variable (X), namely; Public Participation in the regulation, development, construction and supervision of road (PSM); Public behavior in the utilization of the road (PMJ) Provincial Road Service (PJP); Safety in the Provincial Road (KJP); Integrated Management System (SMT) and latent dependent variable (Y) routine maintenance of the provincial road that is integrated with the environmental management system and involve the participation of the community (MML). The result showed the implementation of routine maintenance of road conditions in Central Java province has yet to implement an environmental management by involving the community; Therefore developed environmental management model with the results of H1: Community Participation (PSM) has positive influence on the Model of Environmental Management (MML); H2: Behavior Society in Jalan Utilization (PMJ) positive effect on Model Environmental Management (MML); H3: Provincial Road Service (PJP) positive effect on Model Environmental Management (MML); H4: Safety in the Provincial Road (KJP) positive effect on Model Environmental Management (MML); H5: Integrated Management System (SMT) has positive influence on the Model of Environmental Management (MML). From the analysis obtained formulation model describing the relationship / influence of the independent variables PSM, PMJ, PJP, KJP, and SMT on the dependent variable

Participatory flood vulnerability assessment: a multi-criteria approach

Science.gov (United States)

Madruga de Brito, Mariana; Evers, Mariele; Delos Santos Almoradie, Adrian

2018-01-01

This paper presents a participatory multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach for flood vulnerability assessment while considering the relationships between vulnerability criteria. The applicability of the proposed framework is demonstrated in the municipalities of Lajeado and Estrela, Brazil. The model was co-constructed by 101 experts from governmental organizations, universities, research institutes, NGOs, and private companies. Participatory methods such as the Delphi survey, focus groups, and workshops were applied. A participatory problem structuration, in which the modellers work closely with end users, was used to establish the structure of the vulnerability index. The preferences of each participant regarding the criteria importance were spatially modelled through the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and analytical network process (ANP) multi-criteria methods. Experts were also involved at the end of the modelling exercise for validation. The final product is a set of individual and group flood vulnerability maps. Both AHP and ANP proved to be effective for flood vulnerability assessment; however, ANP is preferred as it considers the dependences among criteria. The participatory approach enabled experts to learn from each other and acknowledge different perspectives towards social learning. The findings highlight that to enhance the credibility and deployment of model results, multiple viewpoints should be integrated without forcing consensus.

Use of car crashes resulting in fatal and serious injuries to analyze a safe road transport system model and to identify system weaknesses.

Science.gov (United States)

Stigson, Helena; Hill, Julian

2009-10-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate a model for a safe road transport system, based on some safety performance indicators regarding the road user, the vehicle, and the road, by using crashes with fatally and seriously injured car occupants. The study also aimed to evaluate whether the model could be used to identify system weaknesses and components (road user, vehicles, and road) where improvements would yield the highest potential for further reductions in serious injuries. Real-life car crashes with serious injury outcomes (Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale 2+) were classified according to the vehicle's safety rating by Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) and whether the vehicle was fitted with ESC (Electronic Stability Control). For each crash, the road was also classified according to EuroRAP (European Road Assessment Programme) criteria, and human behavior in terms of speeding, seat belt use, and driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs. Each crash was compared and classified according to the model criteria. Crashes where the safety criteria were not met in more than one of the 3 components were reclassified to identify whether all the components were correlated to the injury outcome. In-depth crash injury data collected by the UK On The Spot (OTS) accident investigation project was used in this study. All crashes in the OTS database occurring between 2000 and 2005 with a car occupant with injury rated MAIS2+ were included, for a total of 101 crashes with 120 occupants. It was possible to classify 90 percent of the crashes according to the model. Eighty-six percent of the occupants were injured when more than one of the 3 components were noncompliant with the safety criteria. These cases were reclassified to identify whether all of the components were correlated to the injury outcome. In 39 of the total 108 cases, at least two components were still seen to interact. The remaining cases were only related to one of the safety criteria

Friars Lodge Nursing Home, Convent Road, Ballinrobe, Mayo.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

McGrath, Bridget

2012-01-01

This study explored registered psychiatric nurses\\' (RPNs\\') interactions and level of empathy towards service users with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD). A qualitative approach was used, and 17 RPNs were interviewed using a semistructured interview schedule incorporating the "staff-patient interaction response scale" (SPIRS). Four themes emerged following data analysis: "challenging and difficult," "manipulative, destructive and threatening behaviour," "preying on the vulnerable resulting in splitting staff and other service users," and "boundaries and structure." Additionally, low levels of empathy were evident in the majority of participants\\' responses to the SPIRS. The findings provide further insight on nurses\\' empathy responses and views on caring for service users with BPD and further evidence for the need for training and education for nurses in the care of service users diagnosed with BPD.

The ethics of conducting a co-operative inquiry with vulnerable people.

Science.gov (United States)

Tee, Stephen R; Lathlean, Judith A

2004-09-01

Mental health services users have been calling for greater participation in clinical research. Participation in this context means research 'with' rather than 'on' groups of people. Conducting a co-operative inquiry involving the participation of vulnerable individuals as co-researchers, in particular those with a history of mental health problems, places an obligation on researchers to articulate and justify sound ethical procedures. The aim of this paper is to consider how the ethical issues encountered when conducting participative research with vulnerable people can be addressed in the implementation of a co-operative inquiry with users of mental health services. The study was based on personal reflection and a critical review of associated literature obtained from a database search using Boolean logic. The findings, presented under the headings of the four prima facie moral principles, suggest the need for researchers using participative approaches to demonstrate the humanistic attributes required for engaging and working with people over a period of time. These include building and maintaining trusting relationships, assessing competence to participate, managing interpersonal and group dynamics and making complex collaborative decisions about participants' continued participation in a study. When using a co-operative inquiry approach involving vulnerable individuals, researchers need to demonstrate clearly how a balance between autonomy and paternalism will be achieved, how risks will be anticipated and managed and how fairness will be maintained throughout all procedures. Researchers using participative approaches need to have developed a level of personal insight and self-awareness through access to supervision which focuses on sources of unintended manipulation and interpersonal dynamics that may arise at the inception of a study and throughout its course. Researchers and ethics committees have a shared responsibility to ensure that vulnerable people are

Road Safety Data, Collection, Transfer and Analysis DaCoTa. Workpackage 4, Decision Support: Deliverable 4.4: Forecasting road traffic fatalities in European countries.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Antoniou, C. Papadimitriou, E. Yannis, G. Bijleveld, F.D. Commandeur, J.J.F. Broughton, J Knowles, J. Dupont, E. Martensen, H. Giustianni, G. Shingo, D. Hermans, E. Lassarre, S. Perez, C. & Santamariña, E.

2015-01-01

Traffic crashes have a major impact to European society, in 2008 over 38,000 road users died and over 1.2 million were injured. The economic cost is immense and has been estimated at over 160 billion for the EU 15 alone. The European Commission and National Governments place a high priority on

Verification of road databases using multiple road models

Science.gov (United States)

Ziems, Marcel; Rottensteiner, Franz; Heipke, Christian

2017-08-01

In this paper a new approach for automatic road database verification based on remote sensing images is presented. In contrast to existing methods, the applicability of the new approach is not restricted to specific road types, context areas or geographic regions. This is achieved by combining several state-of-the-art road detection and road verification approaches that work well under different circumstances. Each one serves as an independent module representing a unique road model and a specific processing strategy. All modules provide independent solutions for the verification problem of each road object stored in the database in form of two probability distributions, the first one for the state of a database object (correct or incorrect), and a second one for the state of the underlying road model (applicable or not applicable). In accordance with the Dempster-Shafer Theory, both distributions are mapped to a new state space comprising the classes correct, incorrect and unknown. Statistical reasoning is applied to obtain the optimal state of a road object. A comparison with state-of-the-art road detection approaches using benchmark datasets shows that in general the proposed approach provides results with larger completeness. Additional experiments reveal that based on the proposed method a highly reliable semi-automatic approach for road data base verification can be designed.

Game Theoretic Analysis of Road User Safety Scenarios Involving Autonomous Vehicles

OpenAIRE

Michieli, Umberto; Badia, Leonardo

2018-01-01

Interactions between pedestrians, bikers, and human-driven vehicles have been a major concern in traffic safety over the years. The upcoming age of autonomous vehicles will further raise major problems on whether self-driving cars can accurately avoid accidents; on the other hand, usability issues arise on whether human-driven cars and pedestrian can dominate the road at the expense of the autonomous vehicles which will be programmed to avoid accidents. This paper proposes some game theoretic...

Strabo's roads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bekker-Nielsen, Tønnes

2017-01-01

in the Geography, and the world-view, of Strabo. Strabo did not take much interest in roads as artefacts or monuments, in the technology of road construction, or in the mythological and historical background of individual roads. He is primarily interested in roads from a functional point of view. For the general......To ancient geographers, roads were important not only as arteries of communication, but also as sources of information, since mileages measured along the Roman highways were among the very few precise distances available to the ancient geographer. This chapter explores the place of roads...... or the statesman, roads provide routes of communication; for the systematic geographer, they provide measured distances and directions. Through case studies of Spain, Gaul, Italy, Greece and Anatolia, this chapter attempts to reach a better understanding of the place of roads in Strabo’s universe, especially two...

Road following for blindBike: an assistive bike navigation system for low vision persons

Science.gov (United States)

Grewe, Lynne; Overell, William

2017-05-01

Road Following is a critical component of blindBike, our assistive biking application for the visually impaired. This paper talks about the overall blindBike system and goals prominently featuring Road Following, which is the task of directing the user to follow the right side of the road. This work unlike what is commonly found for self-driving cars does not depend on lane line markings. 2D computer vision techniques are explored to solve the problem of Road Following. Statistical techniques including the use of Gaussian Mixture Models are employed. blindBike is developed as an Android Application and is running on a smartphone device. Other sensors including Gyroscope and GPS are utilized. Both Urban and suburban scenarios are tested and results are given. The success and challenges faced by blindBike's Road Following module are presented along with future avenues of work.

Road profile estimation of city roads using DTPS

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qi; McDaniel, J. Gregory; Sun, Nian X.; Wang, Ming L.

2013-04-01

This work presents a non-destructive and non-contact acoustic sensing approach for measuring road profile of road and bridge deck with vehicles running at normal speed without stopping traffic. This approach uses an instantaneous and real-time dynamic tire pressure sensor (DTPS) that can measure dynamic response of the tire-road interaction and increases the efficiency of currently used road profile measuring systems with vehicle body-mounted profilers and axle-mounted accelerometers. In this work, a prototype of real-time DTPS system has been developed and demonstrated on a testing van at speeds from 5 to 80 miles per hour (mph). A data analysis algorithm has been developed to remove axle dynamic motions from the measured DTPS data and to find the transfer function between dynamic tire pressure change and the road profile. Field test has been performed to estimate road profiles. The road profile resolution is approximately 5 to 10 cm in width and sensitivity is 0. 3 cm for the height road surface features at driving speeds of 5 to 80 mph.

Telematica : kwetsbare verkeersdeelnemers : inventarisatie van projecten.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Levelt, P.B.M.

1995-01-01

The Dutch Ministry of Transport and Water Management is interested in ways of utilizing telematics for the benefit of vulnerable road users. They include: children, handicapped persons, elderly persons, pedestrians, and bicyclists. This survey reviews the systems. A number of systems were collected

The accuracy and timing of pedestrian warnings at intersections: the acceptance from drivers and their preferences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Boer, Josine; Chaziris, Antonios; Vreeswijk, Jacob Dirk; Bie, Jing; van Arem, Bart; Abadi, A.; Bauer e.a., D.

2010-01-01

The safety of vulnerable road users at traffic intersections is critical. Driver assistance systems can improve safety but have to rely on accurate detection of hazardous situations. Given the complexity of pedestrian movement, detection of pedestrian presence and prediction of their behaviour are

Directional loudspeaker arrays for acoustic warning systems with minimised noise pollution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Rots, R.; Berkhoff, Arthur P.

2015-01-01

This paper describes numerical and experimental results of beamforming algorithms for generation of directional sound. The intended application is a sound source for cars with the objective to warn vulnerable road users while minimising noise pollution. Nowadays, sensors exist which are able to

Quantifying the effectiveness of ITS in improving safety of VRUs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Silla, A.; Rämä, P.; Leden, L.; Noort, M. van; Kruijff, J. de; Bell, D.; Morris, A.; Hancox, G.; Scholliers, J.

2017-01-01

This paper presents the results of a safety impact assessment, providing quantitative estimates of the safety impacts of ten intelligent transport systems (ITS) which were designed to improve safety, mobility and comfort of vulnerable road users (VRUs). The evaluation method originally developed to

Deterioration trends of asphalt pavement friction and roughness from medium-term surveys on major Italian roads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberti Susanna

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Deterioration models are the key factor for effective Pavement Management Systems, helping out road agencies to assess the actual pavement condition and forecast future performance of the asset. Among pavement condition characteristics, friction should be taken into account due to its important effect on user safety, while roughness could be used to express user comfort. The purpose of this study was to provide a reasonable case study for future improvements of Italian road management, even if the length of the analyzed highways was not intended to be representative of the overall Italian network.This research studied the friction trend (Side Force Coefficient depending on traffic levels (ESALs and pavement aging for Italian highways, combining the data with roughness and macrotexture. Surface characteristics were monitored during a seven-year time span. A selection of different road sections with homogeneous traffic levels, similar environmental conditions and surface material was performed and high-speed/high-quality road surveys were used for distress data collection. Pavement deterioration models for Italian road sectors were developed at project level, as starting point to advance pavement management practices in Italy. Degradation curves showed the same trends for similar pavement structures, materials and traffic levels; on the other hand, differences in pavement characteristics, increased ESALs and various maintenance treatments significantly altered those trends. Keywords: Pavement Management System, Deterioration models, Friction, Roughness, MPD, High-speed monitoring

A Bayesian method to mine spatial data sets to evaluate the vulnerability of human beings to catastrophic risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Lianfa; Wang, Jinfeng; Leung, Hareton; Zhao, Sisi

2012-06-01

Vulnerability of human beings exposed to a catastrophic disaster is affected by multiple factors that include hazard intensity, environment, and individual characteristics. The traditional approach to vulnerability assessment, based on the aggregate-area method and unsupervised learning, cannot incorporate spatial information; thus, vulnerability can be only roughly assessed. In this article, we propose Bayesian network (BN) and spatial analysis techniques to mine spatial data sets to evaluate the vulnerability of human beings. In our approach, spatial analysis is leveraged to preprocess the data; for example, kernel density analysis (KDA) and accumulative road cost surface modeling (ARCSM) are employed to quantify the influence of geofeatures on vulnerability and relate such influence to spatial distance. The knowledge- and data-based BN provides a consistent platform to integrate a variety of factors, including those extracted by KDA and ARCSM to model vulnerability uncertainty. We also consider the model's uncertainty and use the Bayesian model average and Occam's Window to average the multiple models obtained by our approach to robust prediction of the risk and vulnerability. We compare our approach with other probabilistic models in the case study of seismic risk and conclude that our approach is a good means to mining spatial data sets for evaluating vulnerability. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

VuWiki: An Ontology-Based Semantic Wiki for Vulnerability Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Khazai, Bijan; Kunz-Plapp, Tina; Büscher, Christian; Wegner, Antje

2014-05-01

vulnerability assessments with the possibility for any user to retrieve assessments using specific research criteria. Furthermore, Vuwiki can serve as a collaborative knowledge platform that allows for the active participation of those generating and using the knowledge represented in the wiki.

Rainfall-induced landslide vulnerability Assessment in urban area reflecting Urban structure and building characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Park, C.; Cho, M.; Lee, D.

2017-12-01

Landslide vulnerability assessment methodology of urban area is proposed with urban structure and building charateristics which can consider total damage cost of climate impacts. We used probabilistic analysis method for modeling rainfall-induced shallow landslide susceptibility by slope stability analysis and Monte Carlo simulations. And We combined debris flows with considering spatial movements under topographical condition and built environmental condition. Urban vulnerability of landslide is assessed by two categories: physical demages and urban structure aspect. Physical vulnerability is related to buildings, road, other ubran infra. Urban structure vulnerability is considered a function of the socio-economic factors, trigger factor of secondary damage, and preparedness level of the local government. An index-based model is developed to evaluate the life and indirect damage under landslide as well as the resilience ability against disasters. The analysis was performed in a geographic information system (GIS) environment because GIS can deal efficiently with a large volume of spatial data. The results of the landslide susceptibility assessment were compared with the landslide inventory, and the proposed approach demonstrated good predictive performance. The general trend found in this study indicates that the higher population density areas under a weaker fiscal condition that are located at the downstream of mountainous areas are more vulnerable than the areas in opposite conditions.

Mapping social-ecological vulnerability to inform local decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Thiault, Lauric; Marshall, Paul; Gelcich, Stefan; Collin, Antoine; Chlous, Frédérique; Claudet, Joachim

2018-04-01

An overarching challenge of natural resource management and biodiversity conservation is that relationships between people and nature are difficult to integrate into tools that can effectively guide decision making. Social-ecological vulnerability offers a valuable framework for identifying and understanding important social-ecological linkages, and the implications of dependencies and other feedback loops in the system. Unfortunately, its implementation at local scales has hitherto been limited due at least in part to the lack of operational tools for spatial representation of social-ecological vulnerability. We developed a method to map social-ecological vulnerability based on information on human-nature dependencies and ecosystem services at local scales. We applied our method to the small-scale fishery of Moorea, French Polynesia, by combining spatially explicit indicators of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of both the resource (i.e., vulnerability of reef fish assemblages to fishing) and resource users (i.e., vulnerability of fishing households to the loss of fishing opportunity). Our results revealed that both social and ecological vulnerabilities varied considerably through space and highlighted areas where sources of vulnerability were high for both social and ecological subsystems (i.e., social-ecological vulnerability hotspots) and thus of high priority for management intervention. Our approach can be used to inform decisions about where biodiversity conservation strategies are likely to be more effective and how social impacts from policy decisions can be minimized. It provides a new perspective on human-nature linkages that can help guide sustainability management at local scales; delivers insights distinct from those provided by emphasis on a single vulnerability component (e.g., exposure); and demonstrates the feasibility and value of operationalizing the social-ecological vulnerability framework for policy, planning, and participatory

Enabling Routes of Road Network Constrained Movements as Mobile Service Context

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Christian Søndergaard

2007-01-01

With the continuing advances in wireless communications, geo-positioning, and portable electronics, an infrastructure is emerging that enables the delivery of on-line, location-enabled services to very large numbers of mobile users. A typical usage situation for mobile services is one characteriz...... vehicles traveling within a real road network are reported...... by a small screen and no keyboard, and by the service being only a secondary focus of the user. Under such circumstances, it is particularly important to deliver the "right" information and service at the right time, with as little user interaction as possible. This may be achieved by making services context...

Free and Open Source Software for land degradation vulnerability assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Imbrenda, Vito; Calamita, Giuseppe; Coluzzi, Rosa; D'Emilio, Mariagrazia; Lanfredi, Maria Teresa; Perrone, Angela; Ragosta, Maria; Simoniello, Tiziana

2013-04-01

Nowadays the role of FOSS software in scientific research is becoming increasingly important. Besides the important issues of reduced costs for licences, legality and security there are many other reasons that make FOSS software attractive. Firstly, making the code opened is a warranty of quality permitting to thousands of developers around the world to check the code and fix bugs rather than rely on vendors claims. FOSS communities are usually enthusiastic about helping other users for solving problems and expand or customize software (flexibility). Most important for this study, the interoperability allows to combine the user-friendly QGIS with the powerful GRASS-GIS and the richness of statistical methods of R in order to process remote sensing data and to perform geo-statistical analysis in one only environment. This study is focused on the land degradation (i.e. the reduction in the capacity of the land to provide ecosystem goods and services and assure its functions) and in particular on the estimation of the vulnerability levels in order to suggest appropriate policy actions to reduce/halt land degradation impacts, using the above mentioned software. The area investigated is the Basilicata Region (Southern Italy) where large natural areas are mixed with anthropized areas. To identify different levels of vulnerability we adopted the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) model, based on the combination of indicators related to soil, climate, vegetation and anthropic stress. Such indicators were estimated by using the following data-sources: - Basilicata Region Geoportal to assess soil vulnerability; - DESERTNET2 project to evaluate potential vegetation vulnerability and climate vulnerability; - NDVI-MODIS satellite time series (2000-2010) with 250m resolution, available as 16-day composite from the NASA LP DAAC to characterize the dynamic component of vegetation; - Agricultural Census data 2010, Corine Land Cover 2006 and morphological information to assess

The ecological impact assessment of a proposed road development (the Slovak approach)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Igondova, Erika; Pavlickova, Katarina; Majzlan, Oto

2016-01-01

The construction of roads is one of the most widespread forms of natural landscape modification. Over the last 20 years, dozens of road constructions have been assessed in Slovakia, which makes it possible to talk about methodological positives and negatives. A special feature of Slovakia is that many planned or renovated roads are located in protected areas or are in contact with them (including Natura 2000 sites). Therefore, it is important to understand the scope of the roads' ecological impacts and find ways for their appropriate evaluation and incorporation into the Environmental Impact Assessment process. For this reason, the Ecological Impact Assessment methodology can be used as a basis for our research, which consists of three stages. In the first stage (scoping), a buffer circumventing the proposed road is created to determine the area for impact prediction and evaluation. Subsequently, the landscape structure and baseline landscape conditions are discussed, a map of current landscape structure is created and the current ecological status of the affected area is calculated. In the second stage (the evaluation of ecological resources), important ecological parts of the landscape are delineated. This step is based on the importance of previous information and its vulnerability, and leads to the mapping of the road ecological impact zone. In the third stage (impact assessment), important ecological parts are spatially correlated with the proposed road construction. Finally, the significance of ecological impacts of the activity is evaluated by applying specific criteria (duration, reversibility, magnitude, size and road ecological impact zone significance). A scale is proposed for each criterion to evaluate the total significance of impacts. In this way, detailed significant ecological impacts can be found which will help lead to proposed correct mitigation measures and a post-project analysis. - Highlights: • This paper proposes a methodology for the Ec

The ecological impact assessment of a proposed road development (the Slovak approach)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Igondova, Erika, E-mail: erika.igondova@gmail.com; Pavlickova, Katarina, E-mail: pavlickova60@gmail.com; Majzlan, Oto, E-mail: majzlan@fns.uniba.sk

2016-07-15

The construction of roads is one of the most widespread forms of natural landscape modification. Over the last 20 years, dozens of road constructions have been assessed in Slovakia, which makes it possible to talk about methodological positives and negatives. A special feature of Slovakia is that many planned or renovated roads are located in protected areas or are in contact with them (including Natura 2000 sites). Therefore, it is important to understand the scope of the roads' ecological impacts and find ways for their appropriate evaluation and incorporation into the Environmental Impact Assessment process. For this reason, the Ecological Impact Assessment methodology can be used as a basis for our research, which consists of three stages. In the first stage (scoping), a buffer circumventing the proposed road is created to determine the area for impact prediction and evaluation. Subsequently, the landscape structure and baseline landscape conditions are discussed, a map of current landscape structure is created and the current ecological status of the affected area is calculated. In the second stage (the evaluation of ecological resources), important ecological parts of the landscape are delineated. This step is based on the importance of previous information and its vulnerability, and leads to the mapping of the road ecological impact zone. In the third stage (impact assessment), important ecological parts are spatially correlated with the proposed road construction. Finally, the significance of ecological impacts of the activity is evaluated by applying specific criteria (duration, reversibility, magnitude, size and road ecological impact zone significance). A scale is proposed for each criterion to evaluate the total significance of impacts. In this way, detailed significant ecological impacts can be found which will help lead to proposed correct mitigation measures and a post-project analysis. - Highlights: • This paper proposes a methodology for the

A sonification algorithm for developing the off-roads models for driving simulators

Science.gov (United States)

Chiroiu, Veturia; Brişan, Cornel; Dumitriu, Dan; Munteanu, Ligia

2018-01-01

In this paper, a sonification algorithm for developing the off-road models for driving simulators, is proposed. The aim of this algorithm is to overcome difficulties of heuristics identification which are best suited to a particular off-road profile built by measurements. The sonification algorithm is based on the stochastic polynomial chaos analysis suitable in solving equations with random input data. The fluctuations are generated by incomplete measurements leading to inhomogeneities of the cross-sectional curves of off-roads before and after deformation, the unstable contact between the tire and the road and the unreal distribution of contact and friction forces in the unknown contact domains. The approach is exercised on two particular problems and results compare favorably to existing analytical and numerical solutions. The sonification technique represents a useful multiscale analysis able to build a low-cost virtual reality environment with increased degrees of realism for driving simulators and higher user flexibility.

Evaluating drug trafficking on the Tor Network: Silk Road 2, the sequel.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolliver, Diana S

2015-11-01

Housing an illicit, online drug retail market generating sales in the millions of USD, the Silk Road was a profitable marketplace with a growing and loyal consumer base. Following its FBI-forced shut down in October 2013, the Silk Road enjoyed newfound fame that contributed to an increase in new users downloading and accessing the Tor Network; however, with this particular marketplace out of order, Silk Road 2 was launched to fill the void. The goals of this study were to (1) compare the metrics of Silk Road 2 to the original site, and to (2) determine if there were any indications of the presence of more sophisticated drug trafficking operations. Data were collected from Silk Road 2 during the months of August and September 2014 using webcrawling software. Silk Road 2 was a much smaller marketplace than the original Silk Road. Of the 1834 unique items for sale, 348 were drug items sold by 145 distinct vendors shipping from 19 countries. Of the drug items advertised, most were stimulants and hallucinogens. The United States is both the number one country of origin for drug sales on Silk Road 2 and the number one destination country. Interestingly, 73% of all vendor accounts on Silk Road 2 advertised drug items, even though drugs only constituted 19% of all items advertised. This study was the first to research Silk Road 2, the replacement illicit marketplace to the original virtual Silk Road. This study was also the first to examine indications of the presence of more coordinated drug trafficking efforts in an online setting. The findings indicated that while Silk Road 2 was not primarily a drug market, there were indications that some vendor accounts may have connections reaching beyond a base retail market. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Driving behaviors and on-duty road accidents: a French case-control study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fort, Emmanuel; Chiron, Mireille; Davezies, Philippe; Bergeret, Alain; Charbotel, Barbara

2013-01-01

A case-control study was carried out to identify driving behaviors associated with the risk of on-duty road accident and to compare driving behaviors according to the type of journey (on duty, commuting, and private) for on-duty road accident victims. Cases were recruited from the Rhône Road Trauma Registry between January 2004 and October 2005 and were on duty at the time of the accident. Control subjects were recruited from the electoral rolls of the case subjects' constituencies of residence. Cases' and controls' driving behavior data were collected by self-administered questionnaire. A logistic regression was performed to identify behavioral risk factors for on-duty road accidents, taking into account age, sex, place of residence, road accident risk exposure, socio-occupational category, and type of road user. A second analysis focused specifically on the case subjects, comparing their self-assessed usual behaviors according to the type of journey. Significant factors for multivariate analysis of on-duty road accidents were female gender, history of on-duty road accidents during the previous 10 years, severe time pressure at work, and driving a vehicle not belonging to the driver. On-duty road accident victims reported behavioral risk factors more frequently in relation to driving for work than driving for private reasons or commuting: nonsystematic seat belt use, cell phone use at least once daily while driving, and history of accidents with injury during the previous 10 years. This study provides knowledge on behavioral risk factors for on-duty road accidents and differences in behavior according to the type of journey for subjects who have been on-duty road accident victims. These results will be useful for the design of on-duty road risk prevention.

Development of information security and vulnerability risk management system for J-PARC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishikawa, Hiroyuki; Tate, Akihiro; Murakami, Tadashi

2012-02-01

In J-PARC (Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex) we have set up intra-network (internal network, we will abbreviate it as JLAN, below) to support research activity and communication among users. In JLAN, we set up various kinds of security devices to keep JLAN secure. However, the servers which provide information or service to public are still in danger of being accessed illegally. If there is an illegal access, that may cause defacement of data or information leak. Furthermore, the victim servers are manipulated by the malicious attackers, and they themselves attack the external information equipments. Vulnerability of servers enables unauthorized access. So, vulnerability test with use of a vulnerability tool is one of the most effective ways to take measures for vulnerability of the equipments. However, it is not enough to just conduct a vulnerability test. It is also essential for information security to take measures to cover constantly for the vulnerability of servers. We focused on the points above, and developed the vulnerability testing system for security. It is not only a testing tool for the vulnerability of servers, but also management system which enables the server administrators in charge of taking measures for vulnerabilities to manage risks and handles PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Action) cycles as countermeasure for vulnerability. In this paper, we report the technologies and ingenuities for the development of the above system. (author)

Vulnerability

Science.gov (United States)

Taback, I.

1979-01-01

The discussion of vulnerability begins with a description of some of the electrical characteristics of fibers before definiting how vulnerability calculations are done. The vulnerability results secured to date are presented. The discussion touches on post exposure vulnerability. After a description of some shock hazard work now underway, the discussion leads into a description of the planned effort and some preliminary conclusions are presented.

Vulnerability analysis and passenger source prediction in urban rail transit networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junjie Wang

Full Text Available Based on large-scale human mobility data collected in San Francisco and Boston, the morning peak urban rail transit (URT ODs (origin-destination matrix were estimated and the most vulnerable URT segments, those capable of causing the largest service interruptions, were identified. In both URT networks, a few highly vulnerable segments were observed. For this small group of vital segments, the impact of failure must be carefully evaluated. A bipartite URT usage network was developed and used to determine the inherent connections between urban rail transits and their passengers' travel demands. Although passengers' origins and destinations were easy to locate for a large number of URT segments, a few show very complicated spatial distributions. Based on the bipartite URT usage network, a new layer of the understanding of a URT segment's vulnerability can be achieved by taking the difficulty of addressing the failure of a given segment into account. Two proof-of-concept cases are described here: Possible transfer of passenger flow to the road network is here predicted in the cases of failures of two representative URT segments in San Francisco.

Appropriateness of different pedagogical approaches to road safety education for children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD).

Science.gov (United States)

Purcell, C; Romijn, A R

2017-11-01

In 2016, 29% of pedestrians killed or seriously injured on the roads in Great Britain were under 15 years of age. Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), a chronic disorder affecting the acquisition and execution of motor skills, may be more vulnerable at the roadside than typically developing (TD) children. Current methods used to teach road safety are typically knowledge-based and do not necessarily improve behaviour in real traffic situations. Virtual reality road crossing tasks may be a viable alternative. The present study aimed to test the road crossing accuracy of children with and without DCD in virtual reality tasks that varied the viewpoint to simulate the teaching methods currently used in road safety educational programmes. Twenty-one children with DCD and twenty-one age and gender matched TD peers were required to locate the safest road crossing sites in two conditions: allocentric (aerial viewpoint) and egocentric (first-person viewpoint). All children completed both conditions and were required to navigate either themselves or an avatar across the road using the safest crossing route. The primary outcome was accuracy defined as the number of trials, out of 10, on which the child successfully identified and used the safest crossing route. Children with DCD performed equally poorly in both conditions, while TD children were significantly more accurate in the egocentric condition. This difference cannot be explained by self-reported prior road crossing education, practice or confidence. While TD children may benefit from the development of an egocentric virtual reality road crossing task, multimodal methods may be needed to effectively teach road safety to children with DCD. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

SU-G-BRB-16: Vulnerabilities in the Gamma Metric

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neal, B; Siebers, J

2016-01-01

Purpose: To explore vulnerabilities in the gamma index metric that undermine its wide use as a radiation therapy quality assurance tool. Methods: 2D test field pairs (images) are created specifically to achieve high gamma passing rates, but to also include gross errors by exploiting the distance-to-agreement and percent-passing components of the metric. The first set has no requirement of clinical practicality, but is intended to expose vulnerabilities. The second set exposes clinically realistic vulnerabilities. To circumvent limitations inherent to user-specific tuning of prediction algorithms to match measurements, digital test cases are manually constructed, thereby mimicking high-quality image prediction. Results: With a 3 mm distance-to-agreement metric, changing field size by ±6 mm results in a gamma passing rate over 99%. For a uniform field, a lattice of passing points spaced 5 mm apart results in a passing rate of 100%. Exploiting the percent-passing component, a 10×10 cm"2 field can have a 95% passing rate when an 8 cm"2=2.8×2.8 cm"2 highly out-of-tolerance (e.g. zero dose) square is missing from the comparison image. For clinically realistic vulnerabilities, an arc plan for which a 2D image is created can have a >95% passing rate solely due to agreement in the lateral spillage, with the failing 5% in the critical target region. A field with an integrated boost (e.g whole brain plus small metastases) could neglect the metastases entirely, yet still pass with a 95% threshold. All the failure modes described would be visually apparent on a gamma-map image. Conclusion: The %gamma<1 metric has significant vulnerabilities. High passing rates can obscure critical faults in hypothetical and delivered radiation doses. Great caution should be used with gamma as a QA metric; users should inspect the gamma-map. Visual analysis of gamma-maps may be impractical for cine acquisition.

SU-G-BRB-16: Vulnerabilities in the Gamma Metric

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neal, B; Siebers, J [University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To explore vulnerabilities in the gamma index metric that undermine its wide use as a radiation therapy quality assurance tool. Methods: 2D test field pairs (images) are created specifically to achieve high gamma passing rates, but to also include gross errors by exploiting the distance-to-agreement and percent-passing components of the metric. The first set has no requirement of clinical practicality, but is intended to expose vulnerabilities. The second set exposes clinically realistic vulnerabilities. To circumvent limitations inherent to user-specific tuning of prediction algorithms to match measurements, digital test cases are manually constructed, thereby mimicking high-quality image prediction. Results: With a 3 mm distance-to-agreement metric, changing field size by ±6 mm results in a gamma passing rate over 99%. For a uniform field, a lattice of passing points spaced 5 mm apart results in a passing rate of 100%. Exploiting the percent-passing component, a 10×10 cm{sup 2} field can have a 95% passing rate when an 8 cm{sup 2}=2.8×2.8 cm{sup 2} highly out-of-tolerance (e.g. zero dose) square is missing from the comparison image. For clinically realistic vulnerabilities, an arc plan for which a 2D image is created can have a >95% passing rate solely due to agreement in the lateral spillage, with the failing 5% in the critical target region. A field with an integrated boost (e.g whole brain plus small metastases) could neglect the metastases entirely, yet still pass with a 95% threshold. All the failure modes described would be visually apparent on a gamma-map image. Conclusion: The %gamma<1 metric has significant vulnerabilities. High passing rates can obscure critical faults in hypothetical and delivered radiation doses. Great caution should be used with gamma as a QA metric; users should inspect the gamma-map. Visual analysis of gamma-maps may be impractical for cine acquisition.

Distributed road assessment system

Science.gov (United States)

Beer, N. Reginald; Paglieroni, David W

2014-03-25

A system that detects damage on or below the surface of a paved structure or pavement is provided. A distributed road assessment system includes road assessment pods and a road assessment server. Each road assessment pod includes a ground-penetrating radar antenna array and a detection system that detects road damage from the return signals as the vehicle on which the pod is mounted travels down a road. Each road assessment pod transmits to the road assessment server occurrence information describing each occurrence of road damage that is newly detected on a current scan of a road. The road assessment server maintains a road damage database of occurrence information describing the previously detected occurrences of road damage. After the road assessment server receives occurrence information for newly detected occurrences of road damage for a portion of a road, the road assessment server determines which newly detected occurrences correspond to which previously detected occurrences of road damage.

Participatory flood vulnerability assessment: a multi-criteria approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. M. de Brito

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a participatory multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM approach for flood vulnerability assessment while considering the relationships between vulnerability criteria. The applicability of the proposed framework is demonstrated in the municipalities of Lajeado and Estrela, Brazil. The model was co-constructed by 101 experts from governmental organizations, universities, research institutes, NGOs, and private companies. Participatory methods such as the Delphi survey, focus groups, and workshops were applied. A participatory problem structuration, in which the modellers work closely with end users, was used to establish the structure of the vulnerability index. The preferences of each participant regarding the criteria importance were spatially modelled through the analytical hierarchy process (AHP and analytical network process (ANP multi-criteria methods. Experts were also involved at the end of the modelling exercise for validation. The final product is a set of individual and group flood vulnerability maps. Both AHP and ANP proved to be effective for flood vulnerability assessment; however, ANP is preferred as it considers the dependences among criteria. The participatory approach enabled experts to learn from each other and acknowledge different perspectives towards social learning. The findings highlight that to enhance the credibility and deployment of model results, multiple viewpoints should be integrated without forcing consensus.

A support system for assessing local vulnerability to weather and climate

Science.gov (United States)

Coletti, Alex; Howe, Peter D.; Yarnal, Brent; Wood, Nathan J.

2013-01-01

The changing number and nature of weather- and climate-related natural hazards is causing more communities to need to assess their vulnerabilities. Vulnerability assessments, however, often require considerable expertise and resources that are not available or too expensive for many communities. To meet the need for an easy-to-use, cost-effective vulnerability assessment tool for communities, a prototype online vulnerability assessment support system was built and tested. This prototype tool guides users through a stakeholder-based vulnerability assessment that breaks the process into four easy-to-implement steps. Data sources are integrated in the online environment so that perceived risks—defined and prioritized qualitatively by users—can be compared and discussed against the impacts that past events have had on the community. The support system is limited in scope, and the locations of the case studies do not provide a sufficiently broad range of sample cases. The addition of more publically available hazard databases combined with future improvements in the support system architecture and software will expand opportunities for testing and fully implementing the support system.

The impact of traffic sign deficit on road traffic accidents in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Ezeibe, Christian; Ilo, Chukwudi; Oguonu, Chika; Ali, Alphonsus; Abada, Ifeanyi; Ezeibe, Ezinwanne; Oguonu, Chukwunonso; Abada, Felicia; Izueke, Edwin; Agbo, Humphrey

2018-04-04

This study assesses the impact of traffic sign deficit on road traffic accidents in Nigeria. The participants were 720 commercial vehicle drivers. While simple random sampling was used to select 6 out of 137 federal highways, stratified random sampling was used to select six categories of commercial vehicle drivers. The study used qual-dominant mixed methods approach comprising key informant interviews; group interviews; field observation; policy appraisal and secondary literature on traffic signs. Result shows that the failure of government to provide and maintain traffic signs in order to guide road users through the numerous accident black spots on the highways is the major cause of road accidents in Nigeria. The study argues that provision and maintenance of traffic signs present opportunity to promoting safety on the highways and achieving the sustainable development goals.

A User Friendly Software for Rigid Pavement Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aydın Kıcı

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Concrete pavements as concrete road slab, appear as a strong alternative for flexible superstructures especially because of their low cost for maintenance and repair and the high performance they show under heavy axle loads. The design of these concrete road slabs is quite different from the traditional concrete and reinforced concrete structures’ design. In the design for this kind of pavements, traffic conditions should be defined properly and considered an addition to the concrete and platform properties. There have been designing methods developed based on both experimental and mechanic foundations for concrete pavements. The most important ones of these methods are AASHTO (1993 and PCA (1984. In both design methods, it’s significant to know the maximum deflections and maximum strains the vehicles’ loads cause on the pavement. The calculation of this maximum deflections and maximum strains can be done via the finite element method or the closed formulas which have been developed by Westergaard. In this study, a user-friendly software has been developed based on AASHTO 1993, PCA 1984 design methods and Westergaard formulas. Thanks to this software, the user who wants to design the concrete pavement as concrete road slab can obtain the essential parameters automatically by entering the required data for the design.

Road user behaviour analyses based on video detections

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agerholm, Niels; Tønning, Charlotte; Madsen, Tanja Kidholm Osmann

2017-01-01

To a large extent, traffic safety improvements rely on reliable and full-covering accident registration. This is difficult to obtain in practice. Hence, surrogate measures as traffic conflict studies can contribute with more information. To make these studies more efficient, a software called RUBA...... and user-friendliness, it is the conclusion that, at present, the RUBA software assists a number of traffic behaviour studies more efficiently and reliably than what is obtainable by human observers....

The perspectives of structurally vulnerable people who use drugs on volunteer stipends and work experiences provided through a drug user organization: Opportunities and limitations.

Science.gov (United States)

Bardwell, Geoff; Anderson, Solanna; Richardson, Lindsey; Bird, Lorna; Lampkin, Hugh; Small, Will; McNeil, Ryan

2018-03-01

While drug user organizations (DUO) have received public health attention as a means to potentially reduce the harms associated with drug use, there is a lack of research on the compensation and structural forces that promote or inhibit participation in DUO. Against the backdrop of structural vulnerability experienced by people who use drugs (PWUD), we examined the impact of monetary 'volunteer stipends' provided through a DUO and explore their role in providing low-threshold employment opportunities and shaping participation in DUO. Participants were purposively sampled to reflect a range of perspectives and experiences volunteering at Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) and receiving stipends. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 23 members of VANDU. Interview transcripts were coded in Atlas.ti 7 for key a priori themes and emergent categories from the data and analyzed thematically. Stipends provided participants with symbolic and material recognition of the time, effort, and expertise they contribute to the organization, and functioned to facilitate ongoing participation. Payments that rewarded, skills, labour and drug-related knowledge reduced participant's perception of stigma against PWUD. Paid work in VANDU further provided participants with non-material benefits commonly attributed to regular employment, including social connections and a sense of purpose. Participants also identified the low level of pay as a limitation of VANDU's paid participation program. The daily demands of survival (accessing shelter, food, and drugs) posed more complex structural vulnerabilities to participate in VANDU, as small stipends were not sufficient to address these needs. Low threshold employment opportunities within DUO may provide significant individual and public health benefits. However, these benefits are constrained by the small size of stipends. Therefore, to ensure better inclusion of PWUD, our findings recommend the development and

What if quality of damage data is poor: an Entity-Vulnerability approach for flood vulnerability assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Naso, Susanna; Chen, Albert S.; Djordjević, Slobodan; Aronica, Giuseppe T.

2015-04-01

The classical approach to flood defence, aimed at reducing the probability of flooding through hard defences, has been substituted by flood risk management approach which accepts the idea of coping with floods and aims at reducing not only the probability of flooding, but also the consequences. In this view, the concept of vulnerability becomes central, such as the (non-structural) measures for its increment. On 22 November 2011, an exceptional rainstorm hit the Longano catchment (North-East part of Sicily, Italy) producing local heavy rainfall, mud-debris flow and flash flooding. The flash flood involved property, buildings, roads and more than 100 commercial estates have suffered severe damages. Some days after the event, the municipality provided people forms to describe the damages that occurred on their properties. Unfortunately, the lack of common guidelines in compiling them, their coarseness and the impossibility to have monetary information on them (such us damage data from previous events), did not allow the implementation of a detailed damage analysis. What we're developing in this work is a method for a qualitative evaluation of the consequences of floods, based on vulnerability curves for structures and classes of entities at risk. The difficulty in deriving the vulnerability curves for different building typologies, as function of the water depth, was due to the lack of quantitative information both on damages caused by previous events and on buildings' value. To solve the problem we submitted a questionnaire to a team of experts asking for an estimation of building damages to different hypothetical inundation depths. What we wanted to obtain was deriving the vulnerability data from technicians' experience, believing in the fundamental importance of the collaboration among research and professional engineers. Through the elaboration and the synthesis of the experts' estimations we derived the vulnerability curves for different building typologies and

Grassroots projects aimed at the built environment: Association with neighbourhood deprivation, land-use mix and injury risk to road users.

Science.gov (United States)

Dubé, Anne Sophie; Beausoleil, Maude; Gosselin, Céline; Beaulme, Ginette; Paquin, Sophie; Pelletier, Anne; Goudreau, Sophie; Poirier, Marie-Hélène; Drouin, Louis; Gauvin, Lise

2014-07-09

1) To describe grassroots projects aimed at the built environment and associated with active transportation on the Island of Montreal; and 2) to examine associations between the number of projects and indicators of neighbourhood material and social deprivation and the built environment. We identified funding agencies and community groups conducting projects on built environments throughout the Island of Montreal. Through website consultation and a snowballing procedure, we inventoried projects that aimed at transforming built environments and that were carried out by community organizations between January 1, 2006, and November 1, 2010. We coded and validated information about project activities and created an interactive map using Geoclip software. Correlational analyses quantified associations between number of projects, neighbourhood characteristics and deprivation. A total of 134 community organizations were identified, and 183 grassroots projects were inventoried. A large number of projects were aimed at increasing awareness of/improving active or public transportation (n=95), improving road safety (n=84) and enhancing neighbourhood beautification and greening (n=69). The correlation between the presence of projects and the extent of neighbourhood material deprivation was small (Kendall's t=0.26, p<0.001), but in areas with greater social deprivation there were more projects (Kendall's t=0.38, p<0.001). Larger numbers of projects were also associated with the presence of more extensive land-use mix (Kendall's t=0.23, p<0.001) and a greater proportion of road intersections with injured pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicle users (Kendall's t=0.43, p<0.001). There is significant community mobilization around built environments and active transportation. Investigations of the implementation processes and impacts are warranted.

User Oriented Climatic Information for Planning a Snow Removal Budget.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Stewart J.

1981-12-01

Many activities associated with the transportation sector are weather sensitive. This study is concerned with highway maintenance activities, specifically snow removal, and the budgeting of same by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). During the 1978-79 winter, IDOT's snow removal budget was exhausted by the end of January, thereby necessitating the procurement of emergency funds. The following year, the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) was asked to provide specialized climatic design information that could be used to assist IDOT in its budget planning for snow removal.Snow removal is often accomplished by spreading road salt over snow- and ice-covered roads, thus improving traction and reducing the risk of vehicles skidding along slippery surfaces. This study demonstrates the computation of `salt days,' a user-oriented climatic variable that indicates the number of days when road salt is required. This variable is defined using certain temperature and snowfall criteria. Results of a pilot study indicate that it is possible to provide statistical outlooks for salt days two months in advance, using correlation analysis. The analysis for several Illinois stations indicates that at various intervals in the data records, November and December temperatures are significantly correlated with February salt days if short periods of record (5-20 years) are used.IDOT originally requested a `2- to 3-month projection.' However, it became clear that only projections of 12 months or longer could benefit annual budget preparation. Confusion existed between the user and the supplier of climatic information regarding the user's needs, and the applicability of the supplier's `climate products' to the user's budget planning procedure. This demonstrates the need for a prolonged effort by the supplier to fully acquaint the user with the various forms of climatic information available. This gap in communication must be overcome so that applied climatology can be integrated

Bridge Management Strategy Based on Extreme User Costs for Bridge Network Condition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ladislaus Lwambuka

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a practical approach for prioritization of bridge maintenance within a given bridge network. The maintenance prioritization is formulated as a multiobjective optimization problem where the simultaneous satisfaction of several conflicting objectives includes minimization of maintenance costs, maximization of bridge deck condition, and minimization of traffic disruption and associated user costs. The prevalence of user cost during maintenance period is twofold; the first case refers to the period of dry season where normally the traffic flow is diverted to alternative routes usually resurfaced to regain traffic access. The second prevalence refers to the absence of alternative routes which is often the case in the least developed countries; in this case the user cost referred to results from the waiting time while the traffic flow is put on hold awaiting accomplishment of the maintenance activity. This paper deals with the second scenario of traffic closure in the absence of alternative diversion routes which in essence results in extreme user cost. The paper shows that the multiobjective optimization approach remains valid for extreme cases of user costs in the absence of detour roads as often is the scenario in countries with extreme poor road infrastructure.

Toxicity of road deicing salt (NaCl) and copper (Cu) to fertilization and early developmental stages of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

Science.gov (United States)

Mahrosh, Urma; Kleiven, Merethe; Meland, Sondre; Rosseland, Bjørn Olav; Salbu, Brit; Teien, Hans-Christian

2014-09-15

In many countries, salting of ice or snow covered roads may affect aquatic organisms in the catchment directly or indirectly by mobilization of toxic metals. We studied the toxicity of road deicing salt and copper (Cu) on the vulnerable early life stages of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), from fertilization till hatching. Controlled episodic exposure to road salt (≥ 5,000 mg/L) during fertilization resulted in reduced swelling and less percent egg survival. Exposure to Cu both during and post fertilization caused delayed hatching. Larval deformities were, however found as an additional effect, when eggs were exposed to high salt concentration (≥ 5,000 mg/L) mixed with Cu (10 μg Cu/L) during fertilization. Thus, it appears that the sensitivity of early developmental stages of Atlantic salmon increased when exposed to these stressors, and road salt application during spawning can pose threat to Atlantic salmon in water bodies receiving road runoff. The study gives insight on assessment and management of risks on Atlantic salmon population posed by road related hazardous chemicals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Epidemiology of road traffic injury patients presenting to a tertiary hospital in Hyderabad, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Howley, Isaac W; Gupta, Shivam; Tetali, Shailaja; Josyula, Lakshmi K; Wadhwaniya, Shirin; Gururaj, Gopalkrishna; Rao, Mohan; Hyder, Adnan A

2017-12-01

Road traffic injuries kill more people in India than in any other country in the world, and these numbers are rising with increasing population density and motorization. Official statistics regarding road traffic injuries are likely subject to underreporting. This study presents results of a surveillance program based at a public tertiary hospital in Hyderabad, India. All consenting patients who presented to the casualty ward after a road traffic injury over a 9-month period were enrolled. Interviews were performed and data abstracted from clinical records by trained research assistants. Data included demographics, injury characteristics, risk factors, safety behaviors, and outcomes. A total of 5,298 patients were enrolled; their mean age was 32.4 years (standard deviation 13.8) and 87.3% were men; 58.2% of patients were injured while riding a motorcycle or scooter, 22.5% were pedestrians, and 9.2% used motorized rickshaws. The most frequent collision type was skid or rollover (40.9%). Male victims were younger than female victims and were overrepresented among motorized 2-wheeler users. Patients were most frequently injured from 1600 to 2400. A total of 27.3% of patients were admitted. Hospital mortality was 5.3%, and 48.2% of deaths were among motorized 2-wheeler users. This is one of the few prospective, hospital-based studies of road traffic injury epidemiology in India. The patient population in this study was similar to prior hospital-based studies. When compared to government surveillance systems, this study showed motorized 2-wheeler users to be more frequently represented among the overall population and among fatalities. Further research should be done to develop interventions to decrease mortality associated with 2-wheeled vehicles in India. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Road Safety Risk Assessment: An Analysis of Transport Policy and Management for Low-, Middle-, and High-Income Asian Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syyed Adnan Raheel Shah

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Road safety assessment has played a crucial role in the theory and practice of transport management systems. This paper focuses on risk evaluation in the Asian region by exploring the interaction between road safety risk and influencing factors. In the first stage, a data envelopment analysis (DEA method is applied to calculate and rank the road safety risk levels of Asian countries. In the second stage, a structural equation model (SEM with latent variables is applied to analyze the interaction between the road safety risk level and the latent variables, measured by six observed performance indicators, i.e., financial impact, institutional framework, infrastructure and mobility, legislation and policy, vehicular road users, and trauma management. Finally, this paper illustrates the applicability of this DEA-SEM approach for road safety performance analysis.

AN INVESTIGATION ON THE FOREST ROAD PLANNING AND ROAD GROUND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hafız Hulusi ACAR

2001-01-01

Full Text Available It is required that the capital used for construction of road must be technical, economical and used in its location. For this reason, the projects must be prepared for forest roads and all operations belong to roads must be guided according to these projects. In this investigation, available forest road network plan and constructed forest roads were investigated at the point of view technical and forest transportation. After this, it were studied to reach the highest exploitation rate as can as possible. Available forest road density were found as 11.9 m/ha in forest areas for Yesiltepe District. In this condition, exploitation rate was 78 %. After that, optimum forest road network were planned and road density were reached to 22 m/ha and exploitation rate to 86 %. Directed sample method were used from taking soil sample methods and samples were took in mixed system. According to results of the experiments, available forest roads were found in a good degree at the point of view endurance, pressing and transportation capacity. With these results, it is aimed to reach higher exploitation rate with given attention to landslide areas during planning of forest roads on the mountain areas such as Black Sea Region. For this reason, required importance must be given to planning of truck and logging roads. Ground analysis must be done and took care before during planning process of forest road network.

Building vulnerability to hydro-geomorphic hazards: Estimating damage probability from qualitative vulnerability assessment using logistic regression

Science.gov (United States)

Ettinger, Susanne; Mounaud, Loïc; Magill, Christina; Yao-Lafourcade, Anne-Françoise; Thouret, Jean-Claude; Manville, Vern; Negulescu, Caterina; Zuccaro, Giulio; De Gregorio, Daniela; Nardone, Stefano; Uchuchoque, Juan Alexis Luque; Arguedas, Anita; Macedo, Luisa; Manrique Llerena, Nélida

2016-10-01

The focus of this study is an analysis of building vulnerability through investigating impacts from the 8 February 2013 flash flood event along the Avenida Venezuela channel in the city of Arequipa, Peru. On this day, 124.5 mm of rain fell within 3 h (monthly mean: 29.3 mm) triggering a flash flood that inundated at least 0.4 km2 of urban settlements along the channel, affecting more than 280 buildings, 23 of a total of 53 bridges (pedestrian, vehicle and railway), and leading to the partial collapse of sections of the main road, paralyzing central parts of the city for more than one week. This study assesses the aspects of building design and site specific environmental characteristics that render a building vulnerable by considering the example of a flash flood event in February 2013. A statistical methodology is developed that enables estimation of damage probability for buildings. The applied method uses observed inundation height as a hazard proxy in areas where more detailed hydrodynamic modeling data is not available. Building design and site-specific environmental conditions determine the physical vulnerability. The mathematical approach considers both physical vulnerability and hazard related parameters and helps to reduce uncertainty in the determination of descriptive parameters, parameter interdependency and respective contributions to damage. This study aims to (1) enable the estimation of damage probability for a certain hazard intensity, and (2) obtain data to visualize variations in damage susceptibility for buildings in flood prone areas. Data collection is based on a post-flood event field survey and the analysis of high (sub-metric) spatial resolution images (Pléiades 2012, 2013). An inventory of 30 city blocks was collated in a GIS database in order to estimate the physical vulnerability of buildings. As many as 1103 buildings were surveyed along the affected drainage and 898 buildings were included in the statistical analysis. Univariate and

Miscellaneous Roads

Data.gov (United States)

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — This data set contains roadway centerlines for miscellanous roads, a catch-all category for all road types not present in the other DNR derived products. These road...

Enhancement of global flood damage assessments using building material based vulnerability curves

Science.gov (United States)

Englhardt, Johanna; de Ruiter, Marleen; de Moel, Hans; Aerts, Jeroen

2017-04-01

This study discusses the development of an enhanced approach for flood damage and risk assessments using vulnerability curves that are based on building material information. The approach draws upon common practices in earthquake vulnerability assessments, and is an alternative for land-use or building occupancy approach in flood risk assessment models. The approach is of particular importance for studies where there is a large variation in building material, such as large scale studies or studies in developing countries. A case study of Ethiopia is used to demonstrate the impact of the different methodological approaches on direct damage assessments due to flooding. Generally, flood damage assessments use damage curves for different land-use or occupancy types (i.e. urban or residential and commercial classes). However, these categories do not necessarily relate directly to vulnerability of damage by flood waters. For this, the construction type and building material may be more important, as is used in earthquake risk assessments. For this study, we use building material classification data of the PAGER1 project to define new building material based vulnerability classes for flood damage. This approach will be compared to the widely applied land-use based vulnerability curves such as used by De Moel et al. (2011). The case of Ethiopia demonstrates and compares the feasibility of this novel flood vulnerability method on a country level which holds the potential to be scaled up to a global level. The study shows that flood vulnerability based on building material also allows for better differentiation between flood damage in urban and rural settings, opening doors to better link to poverty studies when such exposure data is available. Furthermore, this new approach paves the road to the enhancement of multi-risk assessments as the method enables the comparison of vulnerability across different natural hazard types that also use material-based vulnerability curves

Vulnerability assessment to Drought in Various Provinces, approach towards risk management in the country

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Nasrnia

2016-05-01

deal with drought in the community and reflect the effects of drought on people's ability to cope with the event. The physical vulnerability is related to the characteristics and the structure of society, infrastructure and services that are the result of the damage caused by drought. In the present study, the economic dimension of vulnerability, including GDP per capita, value added in agriculture, value added in industry and the impact of drought on the GDP. Under the criteria of social vulnerability, population density, population growth, the rate of literacy, vulnerable populations, the costs of health and safety and the impact of drought on employment were considered. The physical dimensions of vulnerability include the rate of irrigated land and road density since the objective of this study was to assess vulnerability to drought in various provinces of the country, the required data for all provinces except for Alborz province was collected in 1391 from intelligence sources. To determine the importance of different dimensions of vulnerability as well as the sub-phase in each dimension, the questionnaire was used for paired comparisons. As for the tens of experts, specialists and professionals who have expertise using the Delphi method is incorporated. In general, the importance of physical vulnerability is more than economic and social vulnerability. On the other hand, according to the results the economic and social vulnerability is important, too. The results of this study showed that the importance of the physical vulnerability was more than the economic and social vulnerability and economic vulnerability and social importance were the same. In the economic vulnerability sub-criteria of per capita GDP, in the social vulnerability sub-criteria of population density and in the physical vulnerability sub-criteria of road density have the most importance. These findings may reflect the fact that when drought occurs, access to infrastructure, services and markets

Traffic sounds and cycling safety : the use of electronic devices by cyclists and the quietness of hybrid and electric cars.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stelling-Konczak, A. Hagenzieker, M.P. & Wee, B. van

2015-01-01

The growing popularity of electric devices and the increasing number of hybrid and electric cars have recently raised concerns about the use of auditory signals by vulnerable road users. This paper consolidates current knowledge about the two trends in relation to cycling safety. Both a literature

Collision warning system based on probability density functions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Broek, T.H.A. van den; Ploeg, J.

2010-01-01

In this paper, a collision warning method between the host vehicle and target object(s) is studied. A probabilistic collision warning method is proposed, which is, in particular, useful for objects, e.g. vulnerable road users, which trajectories can rapidly change heading and/or velocity with

Invasive Brown Treesnake movements at road edges indicate road-crossing avoidance

Science.gov (United States)

Siers, Shane R.; Savidge, Julie S; Reed, Robert N.

2014-01-01

Roads have significant impacts on the dispersal of wildlife. Although this poses a threat to the abundance and diversity of desirable flora and fauna, it also affords some opportunity for enhancing control of invasive species. Roads are the most common terrain features that may affect the rate of landscape-scale movements of invasive Brown Treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) throughout Guam. We radio tracked 45 free-ranging Brown Treesnakes in close proximity to two roads in Guam and recorded instances where daily relocations of snakes spanned roads. Then we reconstructed observed movement histories with randomized turning angles, which served as a useful null hypothesis for assessing the effect of roads or road edge habitat on Brown Treesnake movement patterns. Random walk simulations demonstrated that Brown Treesnakes crossed these roads at a rate far lower than would be expected if snake movement was random with respect to roads and road edge habitat. We discuss two alternative hypotheses for these results: 1) habitat gaps posed by roads physically or behaviorally restrict snake movement; or 2) road edges provide preferred foraging habitat from which snakes are reluctant to depart. Because roads often form the boundaries of jurisdictional and management units, the effects of roads on the movement of invasive Brown Treesnakes will influence the prospects for success of future landscape-level suppression efforts.

Automated Detection of Client-State Manipulation Vulnerabilities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Anders; Schwarz, Mathias

2012-01-01

automated tools that can assist the programmers in the application development process by detecting weaknesses. Many vulnerabilities are related to web application code that stores references to application state in the generated HTML documents to work around the statelessness of the HTTP protocol....... In this paper, we show that such client-state manipulation vulnerabilities are amenable to tool supported detection. We present a static analysis for the widely used frameworks Java Servlets, JSP, and Struts. Given a web application archive as input, the analysis identifies occurrences of client state...... and infers the information flow between the client state and the shared application state on the server. This makes it possible to check how client-state manipulation performed by malicious users may affect the shared application state and cause leakage or modifications of sensitive information. The warnings...

Analyzing Android Browser Apps for file:// Vulnerabilities

OpenAIRE

Wu, Daoyuan; Chang, Rocky K. C.

2014-01-01

Securing browsers in mobile devices is very challenging, because these browser apps usually provide browsing services to other apps in the same device. A malicious app installed in a device can potentially obtain sensitive information through a browser app. In this paper, we identify four types of attacks in Android, collectively known as FileCross, that exploits the vulnerable file:// to obtain users' private files, such as cookies, bookmarks, and browsing histories. We design an automated s...

Spatial Assessment of Road Traffic Injuries in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA: Spatial Analysis Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sina Tehranchi

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This research presents a Geographic Information Systems (GIS and spatial analysis approach based on the global spatial autocorrelation of road traffic injuries for identifying spatial patterns. A locational spatial autocorrelation was also used for identifying traffic injury at spatial level. Data for this research study were acquired from Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI based on 2004 and 2011. Moran’s I statistics were used to examine spatial patterns of road traffic injuries in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA. An assessment of Getis-Ord Gi* statistic was followed as to identify hot spots and cold spots within the study area. The results revealed that Peel and Durham have the highest collision rate for other motor vehicle with motor vehicle. Geographic weighted regression (GWR technique was conducted to test the relationships between the dependent variable, number of road traffic injury incidents and independent variables such as number of seniors, low education, unemployed, vulnerable groups, people smoking and drinking, urban density and average median income. The result of this model suggested that number of seniors and low education have a very strong correlation with the number of road traffic injury incidents.

Quantifying the Road-Effect Zone: Threshold Effects of a Motorway on Anuran Populations in Ontario, Canada

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felix Eigenbrod

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The negative effect of roads on wildlife is recognized as a major contributor to the global biodiversity crisis, with anurans being among the most vulnerable groups overall. The "road-effect zone," i.e., the extent of significant ecological effects from the edge of a road (Forman and Alexander 1998, has important management implications, but has never been quantified for anurans. In the first study of its kind, we measured the extent and type of relationship underlying the road-effect zones of a motorway with a high proportion of heavy-truck traffic, particularly at night (Highway 401 for anuran species richness and relative abundance. We surveyed 34 ponds located 68-3262 m from the edge of the motorway, and used piecewise and linear regressions to determine if road-effect zones were clearly delineated by ecological thresholds. We found road-effect zones of 250-1000 m delineated by ecological thresholds for four of seven species and species richness, and road-effect zones of well beyond 1000 m best described by linear regressions for two species. The negative effect of Highway 401 was unexpectedly strong for four of seven species suggest that, in addition to road mortality, very high nighttime truck traffic can actually lead to reduced use of breeding habitat near the motorway either by acting as a barrier to forest habitat on the other side of the highway and/or because of traffic noise. Our results show that most anurans are likely to have reduced abundances near motorways, but that both the extent of the effect of this type of road and the underlying relationship vary considerably between species. Furthermore, the noise and/or barrier effect of very high nighttime traffic volumes can lead to negative effects of motorways even on species that are relatively unaffected by direct road mortality.

Climate change vulnerability for species-Assessing the assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Wheatley, Christopher J; Beale, Colin M; Bradbury, Richard B; Pearce-Higgins, James W; Critchlow, Rob; Thomas, Chris D

2017-09-01

Climate change vulnerability assessments are commonly used to identify species at risk from global climate change, but the wide range of methodologies available makes it difficult for end users, such as conservation practitioners or policymakers, to decide which method to use as a basis for decision-making. In this study, we evaluate whether different assessments consistently assign species to the same risk categories and whether any of the existing methodologies perform well at identifying climate-threatened species. We compare the outputs of 12 climate change vulnerability assessment methodologies, using both real and simulated species, and validate the methods using historic data for British birds and butterflies (i.e. using historical data to assign risks and more recent data for validation). Our results show that the different vulnerability assessment methods are not consistent with one another; different risk categories are assigned for both the real and simulated sets of species. Validation of the different vulnerability assessments suggests that methods incorporating historic trend data into the assessment perform best at predicting distribution trends in subsequent time periods. This study demonstrates that climate change vulnerability assessments should not be used interchangeably due to the poor overall agreement between methods when considering the same species. The results of our validation provide more support for the use of trend-based rather than purely trait-based approaches, although further validation will be required as data become available. © 2017 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Methamphetamine use and dependence in vulnerable female populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kittirattanapaiboon, Phunnapa; Srikosai, Soontaree; Wittayanookulluk, Apisak

2017-07-01

The study reviews recent publications on methamphetamine use and dependence women in term of their epidemic, physical health impact, psychosocial impacts, and also in the identified vulnerable issues. Studies of vulnerable populations of women are wide ranging and include sex workers, sexual minorities, homeless, psychiatric patients, suburban women, and pregnant women, in which amphetamine type stimulants (ATSs) are the most commonly reported illicit drug used among them. The prenatal exposure of ATS demonstrated the small for gestational age and low birth weight; however, more research is needed on long-term studies of methamphetamine-exposed children. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is commonly reported by female methamphetamine users as perpetrators and victims. However, statistics and gendered power dynamics suggest that methamphetamine-related IPV indicates a higher chance of femicide. Methamphetamine-abusing women often have unresolved childhood trauma and are introduced to ATS through families or partners. Vulnerable populations of women at risk of methamphetamine abuse and dependence. Impacts on their physical and mental health, IPV, and pregnancy have been reported continuing, which guide that empowering and holistic substance abuse are necessary for specific group.

A Photogrammetric Approach for Assessing Positional Accuracy of OpenStreetMap© Roads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Doucette

2013-04-01

Full Text Available As open source volunteered geographic information continues to gain popularity, the user community and data contributions are expected to grow, e.g., CloudMade, Apple, and Ushahidi now provide OpenStreetMap© (OSM as a base layer for some of their mapping applications. This, coupled with the lack of cartographic standards and the expectation to one day be able to use this vector data for more geopositionally sensitive applications, like GPS navigation, leaves potential users and researchers to question the accuracy of the database. This research takes a photogrammetric approach to determining the positional accuracy of OSM road features using stereo imagery and a vector adjustment model. The method applies rigorous analytical measurement principles to compute accurate real world geolocations of OSM road vectors. The proposed approach was tested on several urban gridded city streets from the OSM database with the results showing that the post adjusted shape points improved positionally by 86%. Furthermore, the vector adjustment was able to recover 95% of the actual positional displacement present in the database. To demonstrate a practical application, a head-to-head positional accuracy assessment between OSM, the USGS National Map (TNM, and United States Census Bureau’s Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding Referencing (TIGER 2007 roads was conducted.

Establecimiento de parámetros de riesgo para la seguridad de los ciclistas durante las maniobras de adelantamiento en carreteras convencionales

OpenAIRE

Ferrer Pérez, Vicente Melchor

2017-01-01

Concerning road safety, overtaking to cyclists is one of the most dangerous maneuvers that appear in two-lane rural roads, for both motor vehicles and cyclists. The underlying cause is that vehicles must partially invade the opposite lane, while driving parallel to them. Cyclists are very vulnerable users, thus being under a situation of clear inferiority with the rest of vehicles. In addition, the maneuver entirely depends on drivers, involving many variables in a complex decision process to...

Data structure for estimating emissions from non-road sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sorenson, S C; Kalivoda, M; Vacarro, R; Trozzi, C; Samaras, Z; Lewis, C A

1997-03-01

The work described in the following is a portion of the MEET project (Methodologies for Estimation Air Pollutant Emissions from Transport). The overall goal of the MEET project is to consolidate and present methodologies which can be used to estimate air pollutant emissions from various types of traffic sources. One of the goals of MEET is to provide methodologies to be used in the COMMUTE project also funded by DG VII. COMMUTE is developing computer software which can be used to provide emissions inventories on the European scale. Although COMMUTE is viewed as a prime user of the information generated in MEET, the MEET results are intended to be used in a broader area, and on both smaller and larger spatial scales. The methodologies and data presented will be useful for planners on a more local scale than a national or continental basis. While most attention in previous years has been concentrated on emissions from road transport, it has become increasingly apparent in later years that the so-called off road transportation contributes significantly to the emission of air pollutants. The three most common off-road traffic modes are Air Traffic, Rail Traffic, and Ship or Marine traffic. In the following, the basic structure of the methods for estimating the emissions from these sectors will be given and of the input and output data associated with these calculations. The structures will of necessity be different for the different types of traffic. The data structures in the following reflect these variations and uncertainties. In some instances alternative approaches to emissions estimation will be suggested. The user must evaluate the amount and reliability of available data for the application at hand, and select the method which would be expected to give the highest accuracy. In any event, a large amount of uncertainty is inherent in the estimation of emissions from the non-road traffic sources, particularly those involving rail and maritime transport. (EG)

Role of alcohol in hospitalized road trauma in Viet nam.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Nam Phuong; Passmore, Jonathon; Tran, Lan Thi Ngoc; Luong, Anh Mai

2013-01-01

To assess the blood alcohol concentration (BAC; dependent variable) of patients with road traffic injuries (RTIs) presenting at 3 provincial and central hospitals in the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam by age, sex, and road user type (independent variables). This survey formed part of the Viet Nam Road Traffic Injury Prevention Project, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. RTIs are a leading cause of death and disability in Viet Nam, with 14,690 deaths and 143,940 injuries reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in 2010. Research estimates suggest that motorcycle riders and passengers account for 60 percent of fatalities. Alcohol has long been suspected of being a leading cause of road traffic collisions and injuries. However, until now data on this relationship have been limited. A descriptive cross-sectional study measuring BAC in all consenting patients with RTIs presenting at 3 provincial or central hospitals between July 2009 and September 2010. All results were anonymous and summary information on key variables was sent to MOH and the World Health Organization (WHO) on a monthly basis. Of the 36,418 patients with RTIs presenting to these 3 hospitals between July 2009 and September 2010, BAC analysis was completed on 14,990 patients (41.2%), representing all patients with RTIs 15 years of age and above who consented to anonymous testing. BAC results ranged from 0 to 0.589 g/dL blood, with a mean of 0.0441 g/dL being the average concentration among all tested patients. Of all patients tested, 56.8 percent had no detectable alcohol in their system. Motorcycle riders were most commonly represented in the tested sample (70.7%), with 27.8 percent having a BAC above the legal limit (0.05 g/dL). Car or other vehicle drivers represented 2.7 percent of the sample, with 63.4 percent tested having a BAC above 0 g/dL, the legal limit for these road users. The results of this preliminary study indicate that 29.1 percent of all car drivers and motorcycle riders presenting at

Driving behaviours, traffic risk and road safety: comparative study between Malaysia and Singapore.

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Saif ur Rehman; Khalifah, Zainab Binti; Munir, Yasin; Islam, Talat; Nazir, Tahira; Khan, Hashim

2015-01-01

The present study aims to investigate differences in road safety attitude, driver behaviour and traffic risk perception between Malaysia and Singapore. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among a sample of Singaporean (n = 187) and Malaysian (n = 313) road users. The data was analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling applied to measure comparative fit indices of Malaysian and Singaporean respondents. The results show that the perceived traffic risk of Malaysian respondents is higher than Singaporean counterparts. Moreover, the structural equation modelling has confirmed perceived traffic risk performing the role of full mediation between perceived driving skills and perceived road safety for both the countries, while perceived traffic skills was found to perform the role of partial mediation between aggression and anxiety, on one hand, and road safety, on the other hand, in Malaysia and Singapore. In addition, in both countries, a weak correlation between perceived driving skills, aggression and anxiety with perceived road safety was found, while a strong correlation exists with traffic risk perception. The findings of this study have been discussed in terms of theoretical, practical and conceptual implications for both scholars and policy-makers to better understand the young drivers' attitude and behaviour relationship towards road safety measures with a view to future research.

Road Service Performance Based On Integrated Road Design Consistency (IC) Along Federal Road F0023

OpenAIRE

Zainal Zaffan Farhana; Prasetijo Joewono; Musa Wan Zahidah

2017-01-01

Road accidents are one of the world’s largest public health and injury prevention problems. In Malaysia, the west coast area of Malaysia been stated as the highest motorcycle fatalities and road accidents are one of the factors that cause of death and injuries in this country. The most common fatal accident is between a motorcycle and passenger car. The most of the fatal accidents happened on Federal roads with 44 fatal accidents reported, which is equal to 29%. Lacks of road geometric design...

Road analysis: a tool for cost-effective rehabilitation measures for Finnish roads

Science.gov (United States)

Roimela, Petri; Salmenkaita, Seppo; Maijala, Pekka; Saarenketo, Timo

2000-04-01

Public funding for road network maintenance has decreased 30% during the last few years in Finland. Reduced resources, together with the current rehabilitation strategies, will in the long term result in increasing deterioration of the Finnish road network. For this reason road rehabilitation funding should be focused more specifically on those roads and road sections requiring measures and these measures should be optimized to ensure that only the specific problem structure will be repaired. Roadscanners Oy, in cooperation with the Finnish National Road Administration (Finnra), has developed a new and effective Road Analysis technique to survey the condition of roads and road networks. Road Analysis is based on the integrated analysis of the measured data collected from the road under survey. The basic survey methods used in Road Analysis include Ground Penetrating Data (GPR), falling weight deflectometer (FWD), roughness and rutting measurements, pavement distress mapping and GPS-positioning, as well as reference drilling based on preliminary GPR data analysis. The collected road survey data is processed, interpreted, analyzed and classified using Road Doctor software, specifically developed for this purpose. GPR measurements in road analysis are carried out using a 400 MHz ground-coupled antenna and a 1.0 GHz horn antenna. Horn antenna data is used to measure the thickness of the pavement and base course layers, as well as to evaluate their quality based on their dielectric properties. The 400 MHz ground-coupled data is used to estimate the thickness of the pavement structure and embankment. Ground-coupled antenna data is used for subgrade quality estimations and in evaluating the causes of subgrade- related frost defects. GPR data also provides important location information about special structures, such as steel reinforcements, cables and pipelines. Road Analysis includes a classification of the critical elements affecting the lifetime of the road: (1

Do in-car devices affect experienced users' driving performance?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knapper, A.S.; Hagenzieker, M.P.; Brookhuis, K.A.

2014-01-01

Distracted driving is considered to be an important factor in road safety. To investigate how experienced user's driving behaviour is affected by in-vehicle technology, a fixed-base driving simulator was used. 20 participants drove twice in a rich simulated traffic environment while performing

Do in-car devices affect experienced users' driving performance?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knapper, A.S. Hagenzieker, M.P. & Brookhuis, K.A.

2015-01-01

Distracted driving is considered to be an important factor in road safety. To investigate how experienced user's driving behaviour is affected by in-vehicle technology, a fixed-base driving simulator was used. 20 participants drove twice in a rich simulated traffic environment while performing

Road pricing and road safety : possible effects on road safety of 23 variants of road pricing.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eenink, R.G. Dijkstra, A. Wijnen, W. & Janssen, S.T.M.C.

2007-01-01

The Nouwen Committee (National Platform Paying Differently for Mobility) advised the Cabinet in 2005 about the introduction of a system of road pricing. Part of this advice consisted of a calculation of the expected road safety effects of such a system. In a letter to the Minister of Transport, SWOV

Road Service Performance Based On Integrated Road Design Consistency (IC Along Federal Road F0023

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zainal Zaffan Farhana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Road accidents are one of the world’s largest public health and injury prevention problems. In Malaysia, the west coast area of Malaysia been stated as the highest motorcycle fatalities and road accidents are one of the factors that cause of death and injuries in this country. The most common fatal accident is between a motorcycle and passenger car. The most of the fatal accidents happened on Federal roads with 44 fatal accidents reported, which is equal to 29%. Lacks of road geometric designs consistency where the drivers make mistakes errors due to the road geometric features causes the accident kept rising in Malaysia. Hence, models are based on operating speed to calculate design consistency of road. The profiles were obtained by continuous speed profile using GPS data. The continuous operating speed profile models were plotted based on operating speed model (85th percentile. The study was conduct at F0023 from km 16 until km 20. The purpose of design consistency is to know the relationship between the operating speed and elements of geometric design on the road. As a result, the integrated design consistency motorcycle and cars along a segment at F0023, the threshold shows poor design quality for motorcycles and cars.

Evaluating accessibility to Bangkok Metro Systems using multi-dimensional criteria across user groups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duangporn Prasertsubpakij

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Metro systems act as fast and efficient transport systems for many modern metropolises; however, enhancing higher usage of such systems often conflicts with providing suitable accessibility options. The traditional approach of metro accessibility studies seems to be an ineffective measure to gage sustainable access in which the equal rights of all users are taken into account. Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR transportation has increasingly relied on the role of two mass rapid transport systems publicly called “BTS Skytrain” and “MRT Subway”, due to limited availability of land and massive road congestion; however, access to such transit arguably treats some vulnerable groups, especially women, the elderly and disabled people unfairly. This study constructs a multi-dimensional assessment of accessibility considerations to scrutinize how user groups access metro services based on BMR empirical case. 600 individual passengers at various stations were asked to rate the questionnaire that simultaneously considers accessibility aspects of spatial, feeder connectivity, temporal, comfort/safety, psychosocial and other dimensions. It was interestingly found by user disaggregated accessibility model that the lower the accessibility perceptions—related uncomfortable and unsafe environment conditions, the greater the equitable access to services, as illustrated by MRT — Hua Lumphong and MRT — Petchaburi stations. The study suggests that, to balance the access priorities of groups on services, policy actions should emphasize acceptably safe access for individuals, cost efficient feeder services connecting the metro lines, socioeconomic influences and time allocation. Insightful discussions on integrated approach balancing different dimensions of accessibility and recommendations would contribute to accessibility-based knowledge and potential propensity to use the public transits towards transport sustainability.

Fatalism and its implications for risky road use and receptiveness to safety messages: a qualitative investigation in Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Kayani, A; King, M J; Fleiter, J J

2012-12-01

Given the increasing vehicle numbers and expanding road construction in developing countries, the importance of safe road user behaviour is critical. Road traffic crashes (RTCs) are a significant problem in Pakistan; however, the factors that contribute to RTCs in Pakistan are not well researched. Fatalistic beliefs are a potential barrier to the enhancement of road safety, especially participation in health-promoting and injury prevention behaviours, and also contribute to risk taking. Fatalistic beliefs relating to road safety have been found in some developing countries, although research is scarce and indicates that the nature and extent of fatalism differs in each country. Qualitative research was undertaken with a range of drivers, religious orators, police and policy makers to explore associations between fatalism, risky road use and associated issues. Findings indicate that fatalistic beliefs are pervasive in Pakistan, are strongly linked with religion, present a likely barrier to road safety messages and contribute to risky road use. Fatalism appears to be a default attribution of RTC and the intensity of belief in fate surpasses the kinds of fatalism noted in the limited existing literature. These findings have importance to developing road safety countermeasures in countries where fatalistic beliefs are strong.

Estimating under-reporting of road crash injuries to police using multiple linked data collections.

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Angela; Watson, Barry; Vallmuur, Kirsten

2015-10-01

The reliance on police data for the counting of road crash injuries can be problematic, as it is well known that not all road crash injuries are reported to police which under-estimates the overall burden of road crash injuries. The aim of this study was to use multiple linked data sources to estimate the extent of under-reporting of road crash injuries to police in the Australian state of Queensland. Data from the Queensland Road Crash Database (QRCD), the Queensland Hospital Admitted Patients Data Collection (QHAPDC), Emergency Department Information System (EDIS), and the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit (QISU) for the year 2009 were linked. The completeness of road crash cases reported to police was examined via discordance rates between the police data (QRCD) and the hospital data collections. In addition, the potential bias of this discordance (under-reporting) was assessed based on gender, age, road user group, and regional location. Results showed that the level of under-reporting varied depending on the data set with which the police data was compared. When all hospital data collections are examined together the estimated population of road crash injuries was approximately 28,000, with around two-thirds not linking to any record in the police data. The results also showed that the under-reporting was more likely for motorcyclists, cyclists, males, young people, and injuries occurring in Remote and Inner Regional areas. These results have important implications for road safety research and policy in terms of: prioritising funding and resources; targeting road safety interventions into areas of higher risk; and estimating the burden of road crash injuries. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Techniques for Finding Vulnerabilities in Web Applications

OpenAIRE

Mihai Sandulescu

2014-01-01

The current trend is to move everything on the Internet. Because a lot of companies store sensitive user information, security has become mandatory. Usually, software developers don’t follow some basic practices in order to secure their applications. This paper will present in the second chapter, the white-box, black-box and gray-box methods which can be used in order to test applications for possible vulnerabilities. It focuses on fuzz testing, which is a black-box testing method, presented ...

[Agro-household livelihood vulnerability and influence factors of ethnic villages under different geomorphology backgrounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Wen Wen; Liu, Xiao Peng; Pei, Yin Bao; An, Qiong; Li, Yong Hong

2016-04-22

The vulnerability and influence factors of agro-household livelihood in Haiyuan County, Ningxia were empirically analyzed utilizing set pair analysis and obstacle degree model, based on field survey data of impoverished agro-households in 2014. Results showed that vulnerability of agro-household livelihood in Haiyuan County was high in general while it exhibited geomorphological and ethnical differences. Vulnerability of agro-households livelihood in plain areas, valleys and intermountain depression areas were lower than that in earth-rock areas, loess ridge areas and moderately high mountain landform areas. Moreover, vulnerability of agro-household livelihood was higher in mixed Hui and Han ethnic villages than in mono Hui or Han ethnic villages. The villagers' lacking of necessities and the stress of sensitive external geographical environment were considered to be the fundamental reasons of vulnerability of agro-household livelihood. The unreasonable livelihood structure and the unvariant livelihood strategy caused the long-term accumulation of livelihood vulnerabi-lity. The nature of the local environment, which was not easy to change, decreased the accessibility of poverty alleviation resources. Building a clear village water rights allocation system, the implementation of counterpart-assistance to educate impoverished families, increasing investment in improving the diversities of means of living, developing the chains of comprehensive commodity market among villages, were necessary to improve the response capability of agro-household livelihood. The management of vulnerability of agro-household livelihood should put the 'Extending Roads to Every Village Project' on a more prominent position in the 'Extending Radio and TV Broadcasting Coverage to Every Village Project'. Furthermore, the combination of meteorological disaster prevention and insurance enterprise disaster reduction should be sought, and the agricultural production insurance system should be

Road safety performance indicators for the interurban road network.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yannis, G. Weijermars, W.A.M. Gitelman, V. Vis, M. Chazirisa, A. Papadimitriou, E. & Lima Azevedo, C.

2013-01-01

Various road safety performance indicators (SPIs) have been proposed for different road safety research areas, mainly as regards driver behaviour (e.g. seat belt use, alcohol, drugs, etc.) and vehicles (e.g. passive safety); however, no SPIs for the road network and design have been developed. The

Could We Distinguish Child Users from Adults Using Keystroke Dynamics?

OpenAIRE

Uzun, Yasin; Bicakci, Kemal; Uzunay, Yusuf

2015-01-01

Significant portion of contemporary computer users are children, who are vulnerable to threats coming from the Internet. To protect children from such threats, in this study, we investigate how successfully typing data can be used to distinguish children from adults. For this purpose, we collect a dataset comprising keystroke data of 100 users and show that distinguishing child Internet users from adults is possible using Keystroke Dynamics with equal error rates less than 10 percent. However...

Application of the AHP method to analyze the significance of the factors affecting road traffic safety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justyna SORDYL

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Over the past twenty years, the number of vehicles registered in Poland has grown rapidly. At the same time, a relatively small increase in the length of the road network has been observed. As a result of the limited capacity of available infrastructure, it leads to significant congestion and to increase of the probability of road accidents. The overall level of road safety depends on many factors - the behavior of road users, infrastructure solutions and the development of automotive technology. Thus the detailed assessment of the importance of individual elements determining road safety is difficult. The starting point is to organize the factors by grouping them into categories which are components of the DVE system (driver - vehicle - environment. In this work, to analyze the importance of individual factors affecting road safety, the use of analytic hierarchy process method (AHP was proposed. It is one of the multi-criteria methods which allows us to perform hierarchical analysis of the decision process, by means of experts’ opinions. Usage of AHP method enabled us to evaluate and rank the factors affecting road safety. This work attempts to link the statistical data and surveys in significance analysis of the elements determining road safety.

How effective is road mitigation at reducing road-kill? A meta-analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rytwinski, Trina; Soanes, Kylie; Jaeger, Jochen A.G.; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C.S.; Houlahan, Jeff; Ree, van der Rodney; Grift, van der Edgar A.

2016-01-01

Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill). For road planners,

Cost effective maintenance to supply end user value: Visionary or utopian

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wessels, J.; Alten, K.; Turk, M.R.; Palić, S.Š.

2013-01-01

Infrastructure stakeholders expect maintenance managers to deliver acceptable End User Service Levels (EUSL), such as availability, comfort, and safety. Means of controlling these requirements involve technical maintenance and operative measures. Within the ERANET Road Program 'Effective asset

Efficient Web Vulnerability Detection Tool for Sleeping Giant-Cross Site Request Forgery

Science.gov (United States)

Parimala, G.; Sangeetha, M.; AndalPriyadharsini, R.

2018-04-01

Now day’s web applications are very high in the rate of usage due to their user friendly environment and getting any information via internet but these web applications are affected by lot of threats. CSRF attack is one of the serious threats to web applications which is based on the vulnerabilities present in the normal web request and response of HTTP protocol. It is hard to detect but hence still it is present in most of the existing web applications. In CSRF attack, without user knowledge the unwanted actions on a reliable websites are forced to happen. So it is placed in OWASP’s top 10 Web Application attacks list. My proposed work is to do a real time scan of CSRF vulnerability attack in given URL of the web applications as well as local host address for any organization using python language. Client side detection of CSRF is depended on Form count which is presented in that given web site.

Early Maladaptive Schemas in Opiate and Stimulant Users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahra Karami

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Early maladaptive schemas are valid representations of unpleasant childhood experiences that shape a person’s viewpoints of the world, and lead to clinical symptoms such as depression, personality disorders, and substance abuse. Given the importance of this matter, we conducted a research on early maladaptive schemas in substance-abusers, to allow more appropriate preventive measures to be taken with a better understanding of the issue. Methods: For this descriptive-comparative study, 115 patients (91 opiate users and 24 stimulant users visiting drug addiction treatment centers were selected through convenience sampling from persons who were admitted to substance abuse treatment centers (Methadone Maintenance therapy centers, addiction treatment camps and self-help groups and Narcotics Anonymous (NA of Yasuj. Data were collected using a Demographic Information Questionnaire and Young’s Schema Questionnaire-Short Form (SQ-SF. Data analysis was done with ANOVA and t-tests. Results: The results showed a significant difference (P<0.05 between users of opiates and stimulants in terms of vulnerability to harm or illness, enmeshment, subjugation, emotional inhibition, entitlement, insufficient self-control/self-discipline, emotional  deprivation, social isolation, defectiveness, failure/shame, and dependence. The average score of the stimulant-users was higher than that of opiate-users in all the schemas except for the dimensions of abandonment, mistrust, and unrelenting standards. Discussion: Stimulant users have more early maladaptive schemas and are at a greater risk of psychological vulnerability. Early maladaptive schemas can be used by clinicians and researchers as a psychopathology and treatment method for substance dependence disorder.

Vulnerability to drug-related infections and co-infections among injecting drug users in Budapest, Hungary

Science.gov (United States)

Neaigus, Alan; Ujhelyi, Eszter

2009-01-01

Background: Drug-related infectious diseases are among the major health consequences of drug use, and any existing drug-related infection may predispose injecting drug users (IDUs) to other infections. Methods: We assessed among IDUs in Budapest, Hungary the prevalence of and vulnerability to selected drug-related infections and co-infections. The sample consisted of 186 participants recruited between October 2005 and December 2006. Results: We found 0% HIV, 37% HCV, 24% HAV, and 14% past HBV infection. Infections with Herpes 1 or 2, tuberculosis, Chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhoea were 79%, 12%, 7%, 4%, and 0%, respectively. Co-infection with HAV/HCV was 12%, HBV/HCV 9%, HAV/HBV 7%, and HAV/HBV/HCV 4%. Those over age 30, the ethnic Roma, and the homeless were more likely to have any hepatitis and a higher number of drug-related infections. Amphetamine injectors were more likely to have a higher number of drug-related infections and those who travelled within Hungary were more likely to have any STI. However, those who worked at least part time and those who were in treatment were less likely to have drug-related infections. Conclusions: These results highlight the need of interventions in Hungary to reach and focus on marginalized (Roma or homeless) IDUs and address not only injecting and sex risk, but also hygienic living and injecting conditions. Furthermore, structural interventions to increase social integration (working or being in treatment) may improve welfare and decrease drug use and infection risk tied to drug use/injection among disadvantaged, marginalized, mostly minority populations. PMID:19224936

Recommendations for actions concerning supporting ITS developments for VRUs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mans, D.; Giannelos, I.; Breemen, R. van; Rood, M.; Silla, A.; Rämä, P.; Scholliers, J.; Perez, O.M.; Malone, K.

2017-01-01

Introduction: This paper presents some of the work conducted in FP7 VRUITS project to draw a set of general recommendations for actions at the EU level aiming to enhance the deployment of ITS systems directed to improve the safety, mobility and comfort of vulnerable road users. Method: The work

Quality and representativity of the traffic accident data in urban areas: State of the Art

OpenAIRE

Chisvert Perales, Mauricio Javier; López-de-Cózar, Elena; Ballestar Tarín, María Luisa

2007-01-01

The reduction of the number of road accident fatalities by 50 %, by the year 2010, suggested by the EU, involves the active contribution of all the agents in charge of the road safety in Europe. Even though the accidents that happened in urban areas have a relative smaller severity, it is the place where, for the moment, in absolute terms, the major number of accidents take place in the EU countries, as well as generating serious consequences on the more vulnerable users (pe...

Awareness of Tobacco-Related Health Harms among Vulnerable Populations in Bangladesh: Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC Bangladesh Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pete Driezen

2016-08-01

Full Text Available This study assessed the knowledge of the harmful effects of tobacco use among vulnerable populations in Bangladesh and whether vulnerability was associated with the presence of complete home smoking bans. Data came from Wave 3 (2011–2012 of the International Tobacco Control (ITC Bangladesh Survey, a nationally-representative survey of 3131 tobacco users and 2147 non-users. Socio-demographic measures of disadvantage were used as proxy measures of vulnerability, including sex, residential location, education and income. Outcome measures were awareness of the harmful effects of (a cigarette smoking and (b smokeless tobacco use and (c whether respondents had complete smoking bans in their homes. Logistic regression was used to examine whether the adjusted prevalence of each outcome differed by socio-demographic proxies of vulnerability. Smaller percentages of women, the illiterate, urban slum residents and low-income Bangladeshis were aware of the health harms of tobacco. These vulnerable groups generally had lower odds of awareness compared to the least disadvantaged groups. Incomplete knowledge of tobacco’s harms may prevent vulnerable groups from taking steps to protect their health. Development goals, such as increasing literacy rates and empowering women, can complement the goals of WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Awareness of Tobacco-Related Health Harms among Vulnerable Populations in Bangladesh: Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Bangladesh Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Driezen, Pete; Abdullah, Abu S.; Nargis, Nigar; Hussain, A. K. M. Ghulam; Fong, Geoffrey T.; Thompson, Mary E.; Quah, Anne C. K.; Xu, Steve

2016-01-01

This study assessed the knowledge of the harmful effects of tobacco use among vulnerable populations in Bangladesh and whether vulnerability was associated with the presence of complete home smoking bans. Data came from Wave 3 (2011–2012) of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Bangladesh Survey, a nationally-representative survey of 3131 tobacco users and 2147 non-users. Socio-demographic measures of disadvantage were used as proxy measures of vulnerability, including sex, residential location, education and income. Outcome measures were awareness of the harmful effects of (a) cigarette smoking and (b) smokeless tobacco use and (c) whether respondents had complete smoking bans in their homes. Logistic regression was used to examine whether the adjusted prevalence of each outcome differed by socio-demographic proxies of vulnerability. Smaller percentages of women, the illiterate, urban slum residents and low-income Bangladeshis were aware of the health harms of tobacco. These vulnerable groups generally had lower odds of awareness compared to the least disadvantaged groups. Incomplete knowledge of tobacco’s harms may prevent vulnerable groups from taking steps to protect their health. Development goals, such as increasing literacy rates and empowering women, can complement the goals of WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. PMID:27571090

Joint road safety operations in tunnels and open roads

Science.gov (United States)

Adesiyun, Adewole; Avenoso, Antonio; Dionelis, Kallistratos; Cela, Liljana; Nicodème, Christophe; Goger, Thierry; Polidori, Carlo

2017-09-01

The objective of the ECOROADS project is to overcome the barrier established by the formal interpretation of the two Directives 2008/96/EC and 2004/54/EC, which in practice do not allow the same Road Safety Audits/Inspections to be performed inside tunnels. The projects aims at the establishment of a common enhanced approach to road infrastructure and tunnel safety management by using the concepts and criteria of the Directive 2008/96/CE on road infrastructure safety management and the results of related European Commission (EC) funded projects. ECOROADS has already implemented an analysis of national practices regarding Road Safety Inspections (RSI), two Workshops with the stakeholders, and an exchange of best practices between European tunnel experts and road safety professionals, which led to the definition of common agreed safety procedures. In the second phase of the project, different groups of experts and observers applied the above common procedures by inspecting five European road sections featuring both open roads and tunnels in Belgium, Albania, Germany, Serbia and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. This paper shows the feedback of the 5 joint safety operations and how they are being used for a set of - recommendations and guidelines for the application of the RSA and RSI concepts within the tunnel safety operations.

Authentication of Smartphone Users Based on Activity Recognition and Mobile Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Ehatisham-ul-Haq, Muhammad; Azam, Muhammad Awais; Loo, Jonathan; Shuang, Kai; Islam, Syed; Naeem, Usman; Amin, Yasar

2017-01-01

Smartphones are context-aware devices that provide a compelling platform for ubiquitous computing and assist users in accomplishing many of their routine tasks anytime and anywhere, such as sending and receiving emails. The nature of tasks conducted with these devices has evolved with the exponential increase in the sensing and computing capabilities of a smartphone. Due to the ease of use and convenience, many users tend to store their private data, such as personal identifiers and bank account details, on their smartphone. However, this sensitive data can be vulnerable if the device gets stolen or lost. A traditional approach for protecting this type of data on mobile devices is to authenticate users with mechanisms such as PINs, passwords, and fingerprint recognition. However, these techniques are vulnerable to user compliance and a plethora of attacks, such as smudge attacks. The work in this paper addresses these challenges by proposing a novel authentication framework, which is based on recognizing the behavioral traits of smartphone users using the embedded sensors of smartphone, such as Accelerometer, Gyroscope and Magnetometer. The proposed framework also provides a platform for carrying out multi-class smart user authentication, which provides different levels of access to a wide range of smartphone users. This work has been validated with a series of experiments, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework. PMID:28878177

Authentication of Smartphone Users Based on Activity Recognition and Mobile Sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Ehatisham-Ul-Haq, Muhammad; Azam, Muhammad Awais; Loo, Jonathan; Shuang, Kai; Islam, Syed; Naeem, Usman; Amin, Yasar

2017-09-06

Smartphones are context-aware devices that provide a compelling platform for ubiquitous computing and assist users in accomplishing many of their routine tasks anytime and anywhere, such as sending and receiving emails. The nature of tasks conducted with these devices has evolved with the exponential increase in the sensing and computing capabilities of a smartphone. Due to the ease of use and convenience, many users tend to store their private data, such as personal identifiers and bank account details, on their smartphone. However, this sensitive data can be vulnerable if the device gets stolen or lost. A traditional approach for protecting this type of data on mobile devices is to authenticate users with mechanisms such as PINs, passwords, and fingerprint recognition. However, these techniques are vulnerable to user compliance and a plethora of attacks, such as smudge attacks. The work in this paper addresses these challenges by proposing a novel authentication framework, which is based on recognizing the behavioral traits of smartphone users using the embedded sensors of smartphone, such as Accelerometer, Gyroscope and Magnetometer. The proposed framework also provides a platform for carrying out multi-class smart user authentication, which provides different levels of access to a wide range of smartphone users. This work has been validated with a series of experiments, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.

Tsunami vulnerability assessment mapping for the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia using a geographical information system (GIS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Najihah, R; Effendi, D M; Hairunnisa, M A; Masiri, K

2014-01-01

The catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004 raised a number of questions for scientist and politicians on how to deal with the tsunami risk and assessment in coastal regions. This paper discusses the challenges in tsunami vulnerability assessment and presents the result of tsunami disaster mapping and vulnerability assessment study for West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The spatial analysis was carried out using Geographical Information System (GIS) technology to demarcate spatially the tsunami affected village's boundary and suitable disaster management program can be quickly and easily developed. In combination with other thematic maps such as road maps, rail maps, school maps, and topographic map sheets it was possible to plan the accessibility and shelter to the affected people. The tsunami vulnerability map was used to identify the vulnerability of villages/village population to tsunami. In the tsunami vulnerability map, the intensity of the tsunami was classified as hazard zones based on the inundation level in meter (contour). The approach produced a tsunami vulnerability assessment map consists of considering scenarios of plausible extreme, tsunami-generating events, computing the tsunami inundation levels caused by different events and scenarios and estimating the possible range of casualties for computing inundation levels. The study provides an interactive means to identify the tsunami affected areas after the disaster and mapping the tsunami vulnerable village before for planning purpose were the essential exercises for managing future disasters

Tsunami vulnerability assessment mapping for the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia using a geographical information system (GIS)

Science.gov (United States)

Najihah, R.; Effendi, D. M.; Hairunnisa, M. A.; Masiri, K.

2014-02-01

The catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004 raised a number of questions for scientist and politicians on how to deal with the tsunami risk and assessment in coastal regions. This paper discusses the challenges in tsunami vulnerability assessment and presents the result of tsunami disaster mapping and vulnerability assessment study for West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The spatial analysis was carried out using Geographical Information System (GIS) technology to demarcate spatially the tsunami affected village's boundary and suitable disaster management program can be quickly and easily developed. In combination with other thematic maps such as road maps, rail maps, school maps, and topographic map sheets it was possible to plan the accessibility and shelter to the affected people. The tsunami vulnerability map was used to identify the vulnerability of villages/village population to tsunami. In the tsunami vulnerability map, the intensity of the tsunami was classified as hazard zones based on the inundation level in meter (contour). The approach produced a tsunami vulnerability assessment map consists of considering scenarios of plausible extreme, tsunami-generating events, computing the tsunami inundation levels caused by different events and scenarios and estimating the possible range of casualties for computing inundation levels. The study provides an interactive means to identify the tsunami affected areas after the disaster and mapping the tsunami vulnerable village before for planning purpose were the essential exercises for managing future disasters.

How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis

OpenAIRE

Rytwinski, Trina; Soanes, Kylie; Jaeger, Jochen A. G.; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C. Scott; Houlahan, Jeff; van der Ree, Rodney; van der Grift, Edgar A

2016-01-01

Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill). For road planners, deciding on what mitigation method to use has been problematic because there is little good information about the relative effectiveness of these measures in reducing road-kill, and the costs of these...