Analysis of factors affecting injury severity for riders or occupants of all-terrain vehicles and golf carts involved in police-reported crashes.

In recent years, the popularity of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) in the United States (US) has increased, and the number of ATV driver and passenger deaths have also increased substantially in the last few decades. Riders or occupants of ATVs as well as golf carts are particularly vulnerable to injury, not only due to the lack of protection and safety equipment offered by their vehicles, but also the propensity for ejection in the event of a crash. Given the vulnerability of these road users, it's critical to understand factors which may affect injury severity to plan effective countermeasures aimed at reducing these injuries and fatalities.

A comparison of freeway median crash frequency, severity, and barrier strike outcomes by median barrier type.

Median-crossover crashes are among the most hazardous events that can occur on freeways, often resulting in severe or fatal injuries. The primary countermeasure to reduce the occurrence of such crashes is the installation of a median barrier. When installation of a median barrier is warranted, transportation agencies are faced with the decision among various alternatives including concrete barriers, beam guardrail, or high-tension cable barriers.

Driver speed selection on high-speed two-lane highways: Comparing speed profiles between uniform and differential speed limits.

Objective: Although a considerable amount of prior research has investigated the impacts of speed limits on traffic safety and operations, much of this research, and nearly all of the research related to differential speed limits, has been specific to limited access freeways. The unique safety and operational issues on highways without access control create difficulty relating the conclusions from prior freeway-related speed limit research to 2-lane highways, particularly research on differential limits due to passing limitations and subsequent queuing. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess differences in driver speed selection with respect to the posted speed limit on rural 2-lane highways, with a particular emphasis on the differences between uniform and differential speed limits.

Examination of factors associated with use rates after transition from a universal to partial motorcycle helmet use law.

Objectives: Motorcycle riders account for a disproportionately high number of traffic injuries and fatalities compared to occupants of other vehicle types. Though research has demonstrated the benefits of helmet use in preventing serious and fatal injuries in the event of a crash, helmet use has remained relatively stable in the United States, where the most recent national estimates show a 64% use rate. Use rates have been markedly lower among those states that do not have a universal helmet law for all riders.

Assessing characteristics related to the use of seatbelts and cell phones by drivers: application of a bivariate probit model.

Introduction: The effects of cell phone use and safety belt use have been an important focus of research related to driver safety. Cell phone use has been shown to be a significant source of driver distraction contributing to substantial degradations in driver performance, while safety belts have been demonstrated to play a vital role in mitigating injuries to crash-involved occupants.

Method: This study examines the prevalence of cell phone use and safety belt non-use among the driving population through direct observation surveys.