Summer 2010 - Directions
Feature Articles
PBIC Launches
Designing for Pedestrian Safety Webinar Series
This summer the Pedestrian
and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC), a clearinghouse of the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA) housed within the UNC Highway Safety Research Center
(HSRC), launched a new Webinar series entitled “Designing for Pedestrian
Safety”. The Designing for Pedestrian Safety Webinar series is intended
to help communities address pedestrian safety issues through design and
engineering solutions. Modeled after the
PBIC and FHWA in-person training courses, the new Webinar Series explores a
variety of topics including road diets, intersection geometry and signalized
intersections. Webinar presenters have included Charlie Zegeer, director of the
PBIC and John LaPlante, director of engineering with T.Y. Lin International. The
series consisted of eight parts, with each Webinar focusing in on a specific
subject matter surrounding pedestrian safety.
With attendance numbers
reaching up to 1,000 viewers per Webinars, the series has been a success for
PBIC. Attendees praised PBIC for the in-depth discussions and explanation of
specific engineering treatments. “These webinars are a great aid for those who
work in traffic/transportation,” said one attendee. “It also helps focus attention on training
for road design for pedestrians and bicyclists.” Each Webinar included a
question and answer session for attendees to submit questions for response from
the panelists.
This series is one of several
Webinar series that PBIC offers. In addition to Webinars, PBIC also provides other
resources for a variety of audiences. From in-person trainings to featuring
success stories from around the United States, PBIC serves anyone interested in
pedestrian and bicycle issues, including planners, engineers, private citizens,
advocates, educators, police enforcement and the health community.
For more information on the
Designing for Pedestrian Safety Webinar Series or to access archived Webinars,
visit www.walkinginfo.org/training/pbic/dps_webinars.cfm.
Three New Summary
Reports from HSIS
In recent months, the FHWA released
three new Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) summary reports:
Evaluation of Lane Reduction "Road Diet" Measures on
Crashes summarizes the findings of a before-after evaluation to determine
the effectiveness of road diets (reducing the number of lanes along a roadway)
on safety. Data for the analysis were acquired from California, Washington, and
Iowa. The results showed road diets to reduce total crashes, on average across
all sites, by 29 percent. More details are provided on the report on the levels
of reduction associated with factors such as population and traffic
volume.
In Factors Contributing to Pedestrian and Bicycle Crashes on Rural
Highways, the authors examined the differences between
pedestrian and bicycle crashes in urban and rural environments in North
Carolina. Researchers combined HSIS roadway data and pedestrian and bicyclist
crash data for which crash types had been assigned using the Pedestrian and
Bicycle Crash Analysis Tool. The report identifies 11 specific problem areas
for pedestrians in rural areas, such as walking along a two-lane rural road,
and 5 specific problems areas for bicyclists, such as motorists overtaking
bicyclists or rural two-lane roads.
Development of a Speeding-Related Crash Typology was
designed to explore the characteristics of crashes that were deemed
speed-related in order to provide guidance on the application of existing
interventions and the development of new interventions. Researchers used crash data
from the General Estimates System (GES), the Fatality Analysis Reporting System
(FARS), and two of the HSIS states. The report describes the relationship
between speed-related crashes and a variety of environmental factors including
speed limits, roadway alignment, and weather conditions.
The FHWA HSIS is a multistate database that
contains crash, roadway inventory, and traffic volume data for a select group
of States. For more information on these summary reports, contact David Harkey,
director, HSRC at harkey@hsrc.unc.edu.
Booster Seat Law
Enforcement
http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811247.pdf
This past spring, the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report on a study that
investigated the implementation of booster seat laws (enhanced child restraint
laws) and examined the most effective strategies that law enforcement agencies
can use to enforce booster seat laws. The study included a literature review,
updating an inventory of the Nation’s booster seat laws, evaluating enforcement
strategies and activities among law enforcement agencies and recommendations
for booster seat law enforcement techniques. Bill Hall, manager of the UNC
Highway Safety Research Center’s occupant protection program contributed to the
study by conducting the inventory of the States’ Booster seat laws.
Eight law enforcement
agencies throughout Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania participated in the
evaluation. The 72-page NHTSA document details the study’s findings including
analyzing the most effective methods to enforce booster safety laws. Officers
from the eight law enforcement agencies were debriefed after the study and
shared their observations from the six-month enforcement period which ran from
March to September 2008. To read more about the Booster Seat Law Enforcement
study and the examples outlined, visit http://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811247.pdf.
News Briefs
HSRC Awards Annual
Scholarships
The Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) takes pride in recognizing students with innovative ideas in the field of highway safety. This fall, the Center awarded the 2010 UNC Highway Safety Research Center Scholarship to Catherine J. Vladutiu and Michael Ousdahl. Vladutiu is a doctoral candidate at UNC-Chapel Hill in the department of epidemiology. Ousdahl is a master’s candidate at UNC-Chapel Hill in the departments of city and regional planning and public administration. “I am honored to receive the 2010 UNC Highway Safety Research Center Scholarship in recognition of my dissertation research,” said Vladutiu. Vladuitu’s research utilizes probabilistic record linkage methodology to examine the risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes from motor vehicle crashes during pregnancy in North Carolina. Vladutiu and Ousdahl will present their research and interests in highway safety to the staff of HSRC. The purpose of the Highway Safety Research Center Scholarship is to foster the education and professional development of graduate students with an interest in transportation safety-related areas, including but not limited to, engineering, driver behavior, planning, public health and environment. The $1,000 scholarship is available to a full-time graduate student with an interest in transportation safety who will be enrolled during the following semester at any of the University of North Carolina campuses. Applicants are asked in a 500 - 1000 word essay to explain how their field of study could be used to prevent motor-vehicle-related deaths and injuries on North Carolina roads. Candidates are also evaluated based on academic performance, extracurricular and professional activities, and work experience.
Distracted Driving
Documentary Features HSRC Researcher
http://www.wral.com/news/local/documentaries/video/8175675/#/vid8175675
“I think the research is clear on cell phones and
driving; cell phones increase the risk of a crash,” said Arthur Goodwin, senior
research associate at HSRC in a documentary entitled “Fatal Distraction.” The
documentary aired on August 26 on WRAL news in Raleigh, NC. The segment brought
light to the issue of distracted driving and the risks involved with cell phone
use while driving. “Research shows if you use a cell phone while driving, you
are at a four times higher risk of being involved in a crash,” stated Goodwin
during the documentary. Hosts of the
documentary also talked to North Carolina law enforcement, as well as the
families of two crash victims whose lives were lost due to distracted driving.
North Carolina passed a ban on texting while driving in the state last year.
HSRC in the News
UNC
researchers: Ban cell phones while driving
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/7575728/
May
10, 2010 — WRAL
Congress targets teen driving, mulls federal driver's license
standards
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Media/congress-mulls-standard-graduated-driver-licensing-law-teens/story?id=10799626&page=1
Jun
02, 2010 — ABC News
Fewer 16-year-olds with licenses = more 16-year-olds alive
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-0623-teen-drivers-delay-20100622,0,822016.story
Jun
22, 2010 — Chicago Tribune
Senate pushes for phone-free driving
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/06/22/545192/senate-pushes-for-phone-free-driving.html#storylink=misearch
Jun
22, 2010 — The News & Observer
Children and sunbathers most likely to be hit on Volusia
beaches
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-beach-driving-crashes-20100701,0,5653483.story
Jul
01, 2010 — Orlando Sentinel
State closer to cell phone driving ban
http://www.enctoday.com/news/driver-7310-havelock-phone-cell.html
Jul
12, 2010 — Freedom ENC
http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/driven-distraction-22409
Aug
06, 2010 — Rocky Mount Telegram
Congestion concerns: Charlotte-area traffic raises worries
about luring businesses
http://mecktimes.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/congestion-concerns-charlotte-area-traffic-raises-worries-about-luring-businesses/
Aug
10, 2010 — The Mecklenburg Times
Back to School Program Protects Kids, Neighbors
http://www.rentedspaces.com/2010/08/31/back-to-school-program-keeps-neighbors-safe/
Aug
31, 2010 — AOL Rented Spaces
Man driving scooter held on DWI charge
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/09/02/659979/man-driving-scooter-held-on-dwi.html
Sep
02, 2010 — The News & Observer
Restricted licenses help curb teen traffic fatalities
http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2010/09/05/1020708?sac=Home
Sep
05, 2010 — The Fayetteville Observer
Teen driver safety: The GDL Kickback
http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2010/09/05/1020708?sac=Home
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100916/CARNEWS/100919917
Sep
13, 2010 — Auto Week
Motorcycle deaths up as traffic deaths drop
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/09/28/706604/motorcycle-deaths-up-as-traffic.html
Sep
28, 2010 — News & Observer