Road corridors contain countless sources of distraction, each carrying the potential to draw drivers' eyes and minds off roads, thus increasing the risk of a crash. While the impact of billboards on driver distraction has received considerable attention, empirical data for other types of roadside advertising signs is very limited. Furthermore, the existing research examining other potential external sources of distraction is fragmentary, which makes it difficult to develop evidence-based road safety policies to mitigate risk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: There is a need for improved drug driving enforcement to promote greater driver compliance with drug driving laws. In Australia, Roadside Drug Testing (RDT) suffers from operational challenges that undermine its effectiveness in reducing drug driving.
Objective: To identify potential improvements to RDT, this study investigated the extent to which drivers perceive RDT to be procedurally just and that the policing of drug driving and the associated laws are legitimate.
Objectives: Head injuries resulting from e-scooter use have led to calls for helmet use to be promoted or mandatory. Helmet use is mandatory for e-scooters in Australia but observational studies have reported significant levels of nonuse, particularly by riders of shared e-scooters. The aim of this study is to understand whether nonuse in the mandatory context is a consistent behavior for an individual or is situationally-influenced, and what are the factors associated with nonuse.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Up to 38% of crashes between motor vehicles and cyclists involve overtaking and close passes, contributing to a fear of cycling for both current and potential riders. Consequently, most research has focused on the cyclist's perceptions of risk in passing events; but the driver's perceptions may be more influential determinants of passing distances and thus, objective crash risk.
Method: In an online cross-sectional survey, participants viewed 24 video clips of naturalistic passing events (external view akin to being a following driver) on urban roads in Queensland, Australia and judged distance and safety for both the portrayed cyclist and the passing driver.
Close passes by motor vehicles endanger both the safety and comfort of bicycle riders. Governments in many countries have introduced laws requiring drivers to maintain at least a minimum distance between their vehicle and the cyclist they are passing, despite relatively poor understanding of the causes of bicycle overtaking crashes at the time. Queensland was the first state in Australia to introduce such a law, with a two-year trial commencing in April 2014.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectric scooters (e-scooters) have become a popular phenomenon internationally; however, their use has raised concerns about pedestrian safety. This study describes the possible effects of the emergence of e-scooters on pedestrians. We focus on the interaction, conflicts, crashes, and attitudes between pedestrians and e-scooter riders and pedestrians' perceived safety in the presence of e-scooters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Many young drivers are involved in crashes due to speeding. Some studies have used the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) to explain the risky driving behavior of young people. However, many have measured PWM constructs in a manner inconsistent with its formulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite a strong reliance on enforcement approaches to prevent drug driving in Australia, this behaviour is still prevalent. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of problematic drug use (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To explore Australian chiropractors' and final year students' readiness to identify and support patient's experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV).
Methods: This cross-sectional study used the Chiro-PREMIS, an adaptation of the Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PREMIS) to explore chiropractors' and final year students' readiness. Survey responses were analyzed through a lens of Miller's framework for developing clinical competence and chiropractic graduate competencies.
The growth in the gig economy and a preference for home delivery of meals due to COVID-19 have led to huge growth in the food delivery business internationally and consequent road safety concerns. There is increasing evidence that delivery riding is an occupation with significant road safety risks because work pressures encourage risky behaviours. However, there is little or no research that directly compares delivery and private riders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDrug driving is a serious problem worldwide that can increase the risk of road crashes. This systematic review seeks to identify factors associated with drug driving (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: This is the second phase of a project. The aim was to explore Australian chiropractic and osteopathic new graduates' readiness for transition to practice concerning their clinical skills, professional behaviors, and interprofessional abilities. Phase 1 explored final year students' self-perceptions, and this part uncovered their opinions after 6 months or more in practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCyclists are vulnerable road users and face disproportionately high rates of road trauma, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Behaviour of road users is a system outcome, and thus studying cyclist behaviours can identify problems in the whole road transport system and assist in generating long-lasting, cost-effective solutions to promote cyclist safety. This study aims to investigate the similarities and disparities of cycling behaviour among countries with different income levels and cycling prevalence, and the relationships among cyclist demographic characteristics, behaviours and crash involvement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFShared electric scooter (e-scooter) schemes debuted in US cities in 2017 and have spread to many cities worldwide. Rider inexperience and the inexperience of other road users in interacting with e-scooters may be contributing to injuries. Shared e-scooters came to Brisbane, Australia, in November 2018 and our observational study in February 2019 found a high level of non-compliance with regulations by riders of shared, but not private, e-scooters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: In low-cycling countries, motor-vehicle traffic and driver behavior are well known barriers to the uptake of bicycles, particularly for utility cycling. Lack of separation between cyclists and faster-moving traffic is one key issue, while attitudes of drivers toward and/or harassment of cyclists is another. Cyclist-related driver education has been recommended as a means to improve driver-cyclist interactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF(1) Background: Passenger vehicles equipped with advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) functionalities are becoming more prevalent within vehicle fleets. However, the full effects of offering such systems, which may allow for drivers to become less than 100% engaged with the task of driving, may have detrimental impacts on other road-users, particularly vulnerable road-users, for a variety of reasons. (2) Crash data were analysed in two countries (Great Britain and Australia) to examine some challenging traffic scenarios that are prevalent in both countries and represent scenarios in which future connected and autonomous vehicles may be challenged in terms of safe manoeuvring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Speeding in work zones is common and poses significant safety hazards to motorists and workers. Previous studies have demonstrated that speeding is reduced when workers are visible to the drivers, suggesting that concern for the safety of workers influences drivers' speed choice. Conversely, the extent of speeding when workers are not visible suggests that drivers underestimate the increased risk of crashes or other damage to their vehicles associated with the poorer road conditions common at roadworks (loose surfaces and debris, narrower lane width and drop-offs etc.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectric scooter (e-scooter) use has increased internationally, with concerns about injuries to riders and pedestrians, and reports of non-use of helmets, excessive speed, drink-riding and underage riding. E-scooter regulations vary widely among jurisdictions, with likely effects on the extent and nature of safety issues. This study was conducted in downtown Brisbane, Australia, where e-scooters must be ridden on the footpath, bicycles are allowed on the road and the footpath, and helmet use is mandatory for bicycle and e-scooter riders of all ages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWomen are less likely to ride than men in low cycling countries such as Australia. In Australia, self-reported cycling participation appears to be declining, particularly for women. This paper examines the rider and road environment correlates of women's cycling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTraffic Inj Prev
April 2021
Objectives: Violations of road rules are common in bicycle-motor vehicle crashes, but little is known about how much this results from lack of knowledge of the rules. This article addresses the research questions of how well do drivers know the road rules related to interacting with cyclists, and what factors influence their level of knowledge.
Methods: An online survey compared drivers who reported riding bicycles on Queensland roads in the previous 12 months ("cyclists": = 2,839) and those who did not ("drivers": = 4,070).
Objective: The objective was to determine final-year students' self-perceptions of readiness for transition to practice, professional identity, and experiences of interprofessional clinical practice. Findings will inform the clinical education curriculum.
Methods: We used repeated measures individual case studies with a self-selecting sample from the total final-year student population at 2 chiropractic and 2 osteopathic programs offered by Australian universities.
Vehicle crashes in work zones are significantly underreported in official crash datasets of many countries, including Australia. This leads to underestimations of work zone crash frequencies and limited understanding of crash causation factors. To address this important gap in the literature, this paper examines historical data from two different sources - police-reported crash data and organizational Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) records - to understand work zone crashes and their characteristics in Queensland, Australia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To explore final-year students and new graduates from 2 North American chiropractic colleges regarding perceptions of the clinical educational experience in a hospital vs the institutional clinical setting.
Methods: A qualitative exploratory descriptive design was used for this research. Students and new graduates were invited to participate from a United States and Canadian chiropractic college.