Transport cyclists and road rules: what influences the decisions they make?

OBJECTIVE: To determine the level of adherence by transport cyclists to road rules in traffic situations and their reasons for non-adherence. DESIGN: The Safer Cycling Study was a prospective cohort study of transport and recreational cyclists. Over 2000 cyclists were recruited between March and November 2011. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: 770 Transport cyclists aged 18 years and older, who lived in New South Wales, Australia. Participants completed a baseline questionnaire plus provided data during a further six survey weeks over 12 months. In one of their survey weeks, cyclists were asked how often they infringed road rules and what contributory factors led to their road rule infringement. Data were collected via web-based online questionnaires. METHODS: Quantitative data were analysed descriptively. Qualitative data were analysed to identify themes derived from the text. RESULTS: Riding on the footpath and red light infringement were the most commonly reported road rule breaches. Poor infrastructure design was the most frequently identified contributing factor to road rule breaches, followed by the speed of motorised traffic and the behaviour of other road users. CONCLUSIONS: A transport network needs to facilitate cyclists of all capabilities to reach their required destination in a safe and timely manner, and encourage compliance with the road rules.

A qualitative approach using the integrative model of behaviour change to identify intervention strategies to increase optimal child restraint practices among culturally and linguistically diverse families in New South Wales.

OBJECTIVES: To qualitatively explore barriers to optimal child restraint use using the integrative behaviour change model in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. METHODS: A semi-structured discussion was used to conduct 11 language specific focus groups in Arabic, Assyrian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese and Turkish. Translated transcriptions were analysed using the major concepts of the integrative behaviour change model. RESULTS: Restraint use intent among CALD community carers is related to perceived safety of their children and complying with the law. While most participants appreciated the safety benefits of correct and appropriate use, a minority did not. Child restraint legislation may positively influence social norms, and enforcement appears to increase parental self-efficacy. However, concerns over child comfort may negatively influence both norms and self-efficacy. There are clear deficits in knowledge that may act as barriers as well as confusion over best practice in safely transporting children. Large family size, vehicle size and cost appear to be real environmental constraints in CALD communities. CONCLUSION: Determinants of intent and deficits in knowledge in this diverse range of CALD communities in NSW Australia are similar to those reported in other qualitative studies regardless of the population studied. This indicates that key messages should be the same regardless of the target population. However, for CALD communities there is a specific need to ensure access to detailed information through appropriate delivery strategies and languages. Furthermore, practical constraints such as cost of restraints and family size may be particularly important in CALD communities.

The effect of punishment and feedback on correcting erroneous behavior.

INTRODUCTION: Understanding the consequences of non-punitive sanctions and feedback for nonintentional deviations (i.e., errors) is important to effective safety policy. This study aims to address a lack of research on the effects of punishment and feedback on correcting erroneous behavior in the context of multitasking. METHOD: A Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB-II) was employed to simulate the demands of aviating, an important area of applied safety. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups (no intervention, punishment, feedback, punishment + feedback) and asked to perform the MATB-II. Punishment, feedback, and punishment + feedback decreased error and increased performance, with punishment alone having the greatest effect. RESULTS: The results highlight the need for behavioral consequences or feedback to reduce erroneous behavior. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: From an applied perspective, these results have implications for policy and training.

Exposure-based cycling crash, near miss and injury rates: the Safer Cycling Prospective Cohort Study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: There are clear personal, social and environmental benefits of cycling. However, safety concerns are among the frequently cited barriers to cycling. In Australia, there are no exposure-based measures of the rates of crash or 'near miss' experienced by cyclists. DESIGN AND SETTING: A prospective cohort study over 12 months, with all data collected via web-based online data entry. PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand adults aged 18 years and older, living in New South Wales (Australia), who usually bicycle at least once a month, will be recruited from March to November 2011. METHODS: In the 12 months following enrolment, cyclists will be surveyed on six occasions (weeks 8, 16, 24, 32, 40 and 48 from the week of the enrolment survey). In these survey weeks, cyclists will be asked to provide daily reports of distance travelled; time, location and duration of trips; infrastructure used; crashes, near misses and crash-related injuries. Information on crashes and injuries will also be sought for the intervening period between the last and current survey. A subsample of participants will receive bicycle trip computers to provide objective measurement of distance travelled. DISCUSSION: This study protocol describes the prospective cohort study developed to assess near misses, crashes and injuries among cyclists by time and distance travelled and by type of infrastructure used, with recruited participants entering data remotely using the internet. We expect to be able to calculate event rates according to exposure overall and for different infrastructure types and to report in-depth information about event causation.

Associations between walkability and pedestrian related injuries is modified by sociodemographic characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Walkability scores have been developed to measure how well the characteristics of the physical environment support walking. However, because pedestrian safety is not taken into account, areas that have higher Walk Scores could be associated with more walking and also more pedestrian-related injury. We aimed to explore the association between Walk Score and pedestrian-related injury in Sydney. METHOD: Pedestrian-related injuries from 2010 to 2018 in Sydney were identified in the New South Wales Combined Admitted Patient Epidemiology Data. Walk Score was used to measure area-level walkability in Sydney statistical division. Regression models were used to examine the association between Walk Score, pedestrian-related injury, length of hospital stay (LOS) and injury severity. RESULT: Among people aged ≤64 years, there was no significant association between walkability score and pedestrian-related injury. Among people aged ≥ 65 years, walkability score was significantly positively associated with pedestrian-related injury, which peaked at Somewhat Walkable. For most disadvantaged areas, the risk of pedestrian-related injury was highest for areas that were classified as Somewhat Walkable. For moderately disadvantaged areas, the risk of pedestrian-related injury was highest at Very Walkable to Walker's Paradise areas. For the least disadvantaged areas, there was no significant association between walkability score and pedestrian-related injury. For LOS among people aged ≥ 65 years or in the most disadvantaged areas, it peaked at Somewhat Walkable areas. For injury severity, the risk of serious pedestrian-related injury was highest at Very Walkable to Walker's Paradise areas among people aged 16-64 years. CONCLUSION: For the majority of the population, built environment characteristics that are considered to make walking attractive also make it safer, offsetting any exposure-related increase injury risk. However, this is not the case for people aged ≥ 19 years, and those living in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. Incorporating measures of pedestrian safety in walkability scores may create an impetus to ensure that the built environment is designed to support the safety of pedestrians from these groups.

The effect of broadband noise on learning and dynamic decision-making and how cognitive workload and sex moderate its effect.

The aim of this research was to examine how broadband noise which is present in many workplaces affects dynamic decision-making. The effect of potential moderating factors, cognitive workload and sex, were also examined. Forty-eight participants (24 females) with an average age of 27.38 years (SD = 12.34) were asked to complete a dynamic decision-making task over three consecutive-days. Independent variables were Noise (Broadband - 0dBA vs. 75dBA above background) and Cognitive Workload (Low vs. High, manipulated via presence of a secondary task). Among females, broadband noise significantly impaired performance in low workload, but significantly improved performance in high workload. In contrast, among males broadband noise had no significant effect on overall performance. From an applied perspective, understanding the interaction between noise, cognitive workload and sex allows for the design of a training environment to ensure maximum performance by all staff.

At what stages of licensing do graduated driver licensing systems reduce crashes? Example from Queensland, Australia.

Evaluations of new graduated licensing systems (GLS) commonly examine pre-post young driver crash rates relative to another driver group. This comparison approach is important to account for other influences on crashes over time, but has limited ability to determine which GLS components are most effective and at what stage during the licensing process. We previously identified declines in young driver crashes in Queensland, Australia, following introduction of a new GLS in 2007. The objective of the current research was to conduct complementary modelling to identify at what points through the licensing process had particular GLS policies contributed to reductions. Crash trends were explored for learner and provisional drivers under the new GLS versus previous system for three time periods relative to the month of acquiring a provisional licence: the preceding learner period, the first month of provisional licensure (when crashes typically peak), and the overall provisional period. Interrupted time series analyses were conducted for the log ratio of crashes per 10,000 licensed (learner and provisional) drivers with the total number of licensed drivers as an offset. The greatest declines were found in the first month of licensure, with indications that a longer learner period, higher supervised driving hours, and a new provisional night-passenger restriction were key contributors to provisional crash reductions. There was also some indication that a restriction on all phone use reduced crashes during the learner period. We conclude that time series analysis focusing on licensing stage, rather than calendar time only, offers a complementary approach to analysing GLS effectiveness by better identifying where and how changes impact crashes.

Comparison of methods to correct the miscounting of multiple episodes of care when estimating the incidence of hospitalised injury in child motor vehicle passengers.

This study evaluates the performance of different case selection criteria to account for multiple episodes of care when estimating the hospitalisation rate due to road trauma amongst children. The internally linked NSW Inpatient Statistics Collection (ISC) dataset for the period between 1st July, 2000 and 30th June, 2003 was used to identify the "single" episode of care for each hospitalised child motor vehicle passenger residing in NSW. We used two hospitalised injury definitions of a case based on (1) all-diagnoses and (2) principal diagnosis only. We then developed case selection criteria, based on (a) linkage methods only available from linked ISC datasets; (b) selected variables available in both the linked and unlinked ISC datasets, to exclude repeat episodes of care for an injury. Changes in the estimated hospitalisation rate, and sensitivity and specificity, were calculated for each selection criteria compared to the findings from linkage methods as the "gold standard". None of the correction methods for multiple episodes of care was clearly superior in terms of incidence estimation, sensitivity, and specificity concurrently. However, the correction criterion which is optimal may vary depending on different study objectives and different types of hospitalised injuries.

An implicit non-self-report measure of attitudes to speeding: development and validation.

Speeding is a major contributor to road trauma and attitudes toward speeding are hypothesised to be a key determinant of the behaviour. Attitudinal research is limited by reliance on self-report measures and the attendant possibility of reporting biases. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) aims to measure attitudes without reliance on self-report, by assessing the association between a target-concept and an evaluation, in terms of reaction time for compatible versus non-compatible pairings. The present research aimed to develop and evaluate an IAT to measure attitudes to speeding. Forty-five licensed drivers completed the speed-related IAT, and drove a driving simulator. Participants also completed a questionnaire that assessed self-reported attitudes to speeding, and several variables theoretically related to attitudes, including speeding behaviour. Observed IAT results suggested that attitudes toward speeding are negative, and were generally consistent with results derived from the simulated driving and self-reported behaviours, beliefs, and attitudes. Thus, the speed-related IAT appears to be a valid measure of attitudes toward speeding, which might be used to measure attitudes in road safety research without reliance on self-report.

The impact of environmental factors on cycling speed on shared paths.

BACKGROUND: Despite the importance of cycling speed on shared paths to the amenity and safety of users, few studies have systematically measured it, nor examined circumstances surrounding it. METHODS: Speed was measured for 5421 riders who were observed cycling on shared paths across 12 metropolitan and regional locations in Sydney, Australia. Multivariate regression analysis was carried out to examine rider and environmental factors that contribute to riders cycling above the median speed. RESULTS: The study found that observed riders travelled at a median speed of 16km/h (mean 18.4km/h). Nearly 80% of riders travelled at 20km/h or less and 7.8% at speeds of more than 30km/h. Riders were significantly less likely to cycle above the median speed on shared paths that had an average volume of over 20 pedestrians/hour. Riders were significantly more likely to travel above the median speed on paths that had a centreline (OR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.41-2.07), on wider paths (over 3.5m) (OR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.12-1.59) and on paths with visual segregation between cyclists and pedestrians. Visual segregation, where cycling and walking areas are differentiated by the type of material or by paint colour used, was the strongest predictor of travelling above median speed on shared paths (OR: 3.9, 95% CI: 3.1-4.8). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that riders adjust their speeds to accommodate pedestrians and path conditions. Path characteristics that support separation from pedestrians may allow relatively higher speeds, and associated amenity, without substantial loss of safety.

Associations between graduated driver licensing and road trauma reductions in a later licensing age jurisdiction: Queensland, Australia.

The success of driver graduated licensing systems (GLS) is demonstrated primarily in jurisdictions that licence at young ages with requirements expiring at age 18. In Australia, GLS requirements typically apply for all applicants aged under 25. In 2007, the Queensland licensing system was strengthened, extending the learner and introducing a 100-hour supervised driving requirement, introducing restrictions on passenger carriage at night and high-powered vehicles for provisional drivers, and on phone use for all novice drivers (learner and provisional). The objective of the current research was to evaluate whether these changes were associated with reductions in crashes (all) and killed-and-serious-injury (KSI) crashes involving novice drivers, and respective casualties. Government licensing and police crash records were linked and interrupted time series analysis was used to examine potential shifts in crash trends by rates of licensed drivers per month. Substantial declines were found in novice driver crashes (13.1% per year; 95%CI -0.0130, -0.0096), crash casualties (13.9% per year; 95%CI -0.0137, -0.0101), KSI crashes (5.4% per year; 95%CI -0.0080, -0.0046) and associated casualties (5.2% per year; 95%CI -0.0075, -0.0039). Compared to the total licensed driver population, declines in crashes (3.0% per year; 95%CI -0.0027, -0.0007) and crash casualties (2.9% per year; 95%CI -0.0029, -0.0006) but not KSI outcomes were observed. More narrowly, declines were found for provisional-licensed driver crashes (9.3% per year; 95%CI -0.0096, -0.0063) and KSI crashes (3.6% per year; 95%CI -0.0004, -0.0128) that were approximately 2.6% and 1.2% greater than respective declines for 25-29-year-old open-licensed drivers. Substantial declines also were observed in novice driver single-vehicle, night, passenger and alcohol crashes. Overall, these results demonstrate that GLS can be effective in a later age licensing jurisdiction. However, KSI outcomes were limited. Modelling research is recommended on ways to further strengthen Queensland's GLS to achieve greater trauma reductions.

The effects of training impulse control on simulated driving.

There is growing interest in young driver training that addresses age-related factors, including incompletely developed impulse control. Two studies investigated whether training of response inhibition can reduce risky simulated driving in young drivers (aged 16-24 years). Each study manipulated aspects of response inhibition training then assessed transfer of training using simulated driving measures including speeding, risky passing, and compliance with traffic controls. Study 1 (n = 65) used a Go/No-go task, Stop Signal Task and a Collision Detection Task. Designed to promote engagement, learning, and transfer, training tasks were driving-relevant and adaptive (i.e. difficulty increased as performance improved), included performance feedback, and were distributed over five days. Control participants completed matching "filler" tasks. Performance on trained tasks improved with training, but there was no significant improvement in simulated driving. Study 2 enhanced response inhibition training using Go/No-go and SST tasks, with clearer performance feedback, and 10 days of training. Control participants completed testing only, in order to avoid any possibility of training response inhibition in the filler tasks. Again performance on trained tasks improved, but there was no evidence of transfer of training to simulated driving. These findings suggest that although training of sufficient interest and duration can improve response inhibition task performance, a training schedule that is likely to be acceptable to the public does not result in improvements in simulated driving. Further research is needed to investigate whether response inhibition training can improve risky driving in the context of real-world motivations for risky driving.

Differences in injury rates in child motor vehicle passengers in rural and urban areas in New South Wales, July 2000 to June 2004.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the pattern of hospitalised injuries in injured child motor vehicle passengers involved in traffic crashes differs in rural and urban residents of New South Wales (NSW). METHODS: This study compared injuries of hospitalised child motor vehicle passengers resident in rural areas with those from urban areas. The NSW Inpatient Statistics Collection (ISC), a population-based dataset, was used to select cases for the period of July 2000 to June 2004. The hospitalised injury rate was calculated according to urban/rural status using Poisson regression. Injury rate ratios (IRR) comparing rural and urban children were computed overall and for specific injury types. RESULTS: Overall, 1,286 children (aged 0-15 years) residing in NSW were identified from the NSW ISC internally linked datasets as being separated from hospital for injuries resulting from a motor vehicle crash. The overall hospitalised injury incidence rates for child motor vehicle passengers resident in rural and urban NSW areas were 46.75 (95% CI 36.63-59.66) and 20.13 (95% CI 17.94-22.58) per 100,000 children respectively. The rural/urban IRR for comparing the incidence of hospitalisation was significantly elevated (IRR=2.10, 95% CI 1.78-2.48). The IRR was also significantly elevated across most injury types. The largest risk disparity between rural and urban children was in 9-12 year-olds (IRR=2.33, 95% CI 1.73-3.13). CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: There is an elevated injury incidence rate in rural resident children, compared with their urban counterparts. This differential should be addressed in future road safety initiatives.

The effects of mobile phone use on pedestrian crossing behaviour at signalized and unsignalized intersections.

Research amongst drivers suggests that pedestrians using mobile telephones may behave riskily while crossing the road, and casual observation suggests concerning levels of pedestrian mobile-use. An observational field survey of 270 females and 276 males was conducted to compare the safety of crossing behaviours for pedestrians using, versus not using, a mobile phone. Amongst females, pedestrians who crossed while talking on a mobile phone crossed more slowly, and were less likely to look at traffic before starting to cross, to wait for traffic to stop, or to look at traffic while crossing, compared to matched controls. For males, pedestrians who crossed while talking on a mobile phone crossed more slowly at unsignalized crossings. These effects suggest that talking on a mobile phone is associated with cognitive distraction that may undermine pedestrian safety. Messages explicitly suggesting techniques for avoiding mobile-use while road crossing may benefit pedestrian safety.

Misunderstanding of right-of-way rules at various pedestrian crossing types: observational study and survey.

Misunderstanding of right-of-way rules may contribute to pedestrian trauma, especially at crossings where pedestrian and traffic signals appear to give contradictory messages. Two thousand eight hundred and fifty-four pedestrians were observed crossing at signal-controlled intersections to compare attention to traffic for different combinations of pedestrian and traffic signals. In addition, a survey was conducted at signal-controlled intersections and nearby car parks in metropolitan and rural areas. Five hundred and seventy-four participants took the role of pedestrian or driver when responding to questions regarding beliefs about pedestrian right-of-way for a range of situations at signal-controlled crossings, zebra crossings, and unmarked sections of road (specifically: alone, with pedestrian refuge, or paved). Results suggest that at signal-controlled crossings pedestrian right-of-way is erroneously thought to be influenced by the pedestrian signal. Many respondents thought that a pedestrian refuge or paving gave a pedestrian right-of-way at an otherwise unmarked section of road. In many situations more than 20% of both drivers and pedestrians reported that they would take right-of-way. Pedestrian crossing types should be rationalised, and education should be provided regarding rules and responsibilities at available crossings.

A challenge to the assumed generalizability of prediction and countermeasure for risky driving: different factors predict different risky driving behaviors.

In road safety, it may be debated whether all risky behaviors are sufficiently similar to be explained by similar factors. The often assumed generalizability of the factors that influence risky driving behaviors has been inadequately tested. Study 1 (N=116) examined the role of demographic, personality and attitudinal factors in the prediction of a range of risky driving behaviors, for young drivers. Results illustrated that different driving behaviors were predicted by different factors (e.g., speeding was predicted by authority--rebellion, while drink driving was predicted by sensation seeking and optimism bias). Study 2 (N=127) examined the generalizability of these results to the general driving population. Study 1 results did not generalize. Predictive factors remained behavior-specific, but different predictor-behavior relationships were observed in the community sample. Overall, results suggest that future research and practice should focus on a multi-factor framework for specific risky driving behaviors, rather than assuming generalizability across behaviors and driving populations.

An examination of the relationship between measures of impulsivity and risky simulated driving amongst young drivers.

The risky driving of young drivers may owe in part to youthful motivations (such as experience-seeking, authority rebellion, desire for peer approval) combined with incompletely developed impulse control. Although self-reported impulsiveness has been positively associated with self-reports of risky driving, results based on objective measures of response inhibition (e.g., Go/No-go tasks) have been inconclusive. The present study examined interrelationships between measures of response inhibition, self-report impulsiveness scales, and responses to events during a simulated drive that were designed to detect impulsive, unsafe behaviours (e.g., turning across on-coming traffic). Participants were 72 first-year Psychology students. More speeding and "Unsafe" responding to critical events during simulated driving were associated with poorer impulse control as assessed by commission errors during a Go/No-Go task. These results consolidate evidence for a relationship between impulse control and risky driving amongst young drivers.

Effective Communication of Health Messages regarding Noise-Induced Health Effects.

Noise exposure in both residential and occupational settings produces a range of auditory and nonauditory health problems. Efforts of the relevant authorities to reduce these effects may be supplemented by the adoption of various self-protective behaviours by individuals. Unfortunately campaigns designed to encourage such self-protective behaviours are likely to meet with limited success. The present paper considers the shortcomings of such campaigns and offers prescriptions for improving them. Campaigns based on these prescriptions and on thorough research of the factors involved in health promotion generally, as well as those particular to each case, should significantly advance efforts toward individuals protecting themselves against the ill effects of noise exposure.

Thrill and adventure seeking as a modifier of the relationship of perceived risk with risky driving among young drivers.

Risky driving contributes to road trauma, a leading cause of mortality among young people. Health-relevant behaviour models suggest a negative relationship between risky driving and perceived risk of its outcomes. However, high sensation seekers may value the "thrill" of the risk, and positive associations between sensation seeking and risky driving have been observed. This is the first study to examine whether aspects of sensation seeking modify the relationship between perceived risk and risky driving. Young drivers in metropolitan Sydney and rural New South Wales [NSW] (n=797) completed a survey relating to one of the four risky driving behaviours (speeding, drink-driving, driving while fatigued, and failing to wear a seatbelt). Results suggest that the Thrill and Adventure Seeking subscale of Zuckerman's (1994) Sensation Seeking Scale moderate the relationship of perceived risk with risky driving - indicating a negative relationship for low-scores, but not high-scorers, on the TAS subscale. Thus, road safety campaigns that emphasize the riskiness of a particular behaviour may be of limited benefit to thrill and adventure seekers.