The role of values in road safety culture: Examining the relationship between valuation of freedom to take risk and accident risk among motorcycle riders and car drivers

Nævestad, T.-O., Laiou, A., & Yannis, G. (2022). The role of values in road safety culture: Examining the relationship between valuation of freedom to take risk and accident risk among motorcycle riders and car drivers. Traffic Safety Research, 3, 000010. https://doi.org/10.55329/ggnj7534Focus on paternalistic values versus individual freedom is a fundamental theme, which defines the status of road safety in different settings. The present study examines the role of values related to freedom to take risk in traffic in road safety culture based on survey data from car drivers (n = 882) and motorcycle riders (n = 330) from two countries with distinctly different road safety records: Norway, which had the lowest road mortality rate in Europe with 20 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2017, and Greece, which had 69 road deaths per million inhabitants, which was well above the EU average of 50. Contrary to our first hypothesis, we do not find a statistically significant higher valuation of freedom to take risk in traffic among Greek drivers and riders than among drivers and riders from Norway. In line with our second hypothesis, we find that motorcycle riders in both countries value freedom to take risk in traffic significantly higher than car drivers in their country. Regression analyses indicate a relationship between higher valuation of freedom to take risk in traffic and risky rider behaviours, which are related to accident involvement. Our results indicate that values focusing on freedom to take risk have an important role in road safety culture, presumably legitimizing and motivating risky driving/riding. This is in line with previous research, where riders cite freedom as the main enjoyment factor for riding. Previous studies find six times higher accident risk among riders than drivers, which is explained partly by pointing to risky rider behaviours.publishedVersio

The role of values in road safety culture: Examining the valuation of freedom to take risk, risk taking and accident involvement in three countries

Tor-Olav Nævestad, Alexandra Laiou, Tova Rosenbloom, Rune Elvik, George Yannis, The role of values in road safety culture: Examining the valuation of freedom to take risk, risk taking and accident involvement in three countries, Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Volume 84, 2022, Pages 375-392, ISSN 1369-8478, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2021.12.012 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847821002904)National focus on individual freedom versus paternalistic values is a fundamental theme, which defines the status of traffic safety in different countries. The present study examines the role of such values in road safety culture based on survey data from car and bus drivers from three countries with distinctly different road safety records: Norway (N = 596), Israel (N = 129) and Greece (N = 386). While Norway has the highest road safety level in Europe, and Israel also performs better than the EU average, the road safety level in Greece was far below the EU average. As these positions reflect differences in policies and national regulations in drivers’ freedom to take risk, we hypothesize a higher focus on individual freedom to take risk and lower focus on paternalism among the Greek drivers. Results indicate, in accordance with our hypothesis, that the Greek drivers value freedom to take risk in traffic higher than drivers from Norway and Israel. Greek drivers also expect higher levels of risk taking from other drivers in their country, they report higher levels of risky driving themselves, and are more often involved in accidents. Thus, it seems that values have an important role in Road Safety Culture (RSC), legitimizing and motivating risky driving, which are related to accidents. We found, however, contrary to our hypotheses, that the Greek drivers also had the most paternalistic attitudes among the drivers in the three countries. In the present paper, we try to solve this Greek paradox.publishedVersio

Management of Road Infrastructure Safety

Road Infrastructure Safety Management (RISM) refers to a set of procedures that support a road authority in decision making related to the improvement of safety on a road network. Some of these procedures can be applied to existing infrastructure, thus enabling a reactive approach; and other procedures are used in early stages of a project's life-cycle allowing a proactive approach. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the most well-known procedures and present a series of recommendations for successful road infrastructure safety management. The work described in the paper was completed by the IRTAD sub-working group on Road Infrastructure Safety Management and presented in detail in the respective Report. The methodology followed on this purpose included the description of the most consolidated RISM procedures, the analysis of the use of RISM procedures worldwide and the identification of possible weaknesses and barriers to their implementation, the provision of good practice examples and the contribution to the scientific assessment of procedures. Specifically, the following RISM procedures were considered: Road Safety Impact Assessment (RIA), Efficiency Assessment Tools (EAT), Road Safety Audit (RSA), Network Operation (NO), Road Infrastructure Safety Performance Indicators (SPI), Network Safety Ranking (NSR), Road Assessment Programs (RAP), Road Safety Inspection (RSI), High Risk Sites (HRS) and In-depth Investigation. Each procedure was described along with tools and data needed for its implementation as well as relevant common practices worldwide. A synthesis summarizing the key information for each procedure was also drafted. Based on a survey on 23 IRTAD member countries from worldwide, the lack of resources or tools is the most commonly stated reason for not applying a RISM procedure. This has been frequently found mainly in European countries. Another common reason is the absence of recommendations/guidelines, especially for SPI, RAP, RSI and RSA. This highlights the importance of the presence of some legislation regulating the application of the procedures. Lack of data was found important mainly for SPI, HRS and EAT. Good practices of road infrastructure safety management have been explored in order to find solutions to the issues highlighted by the survey and provide examples about how these issues have been overcome in some countries. Specifically, issues related to data, legal framework, funding, knowledge, tools and dealing with more RISM procedures were addressed. Finally, nine key messages and six recommendations for better Road Infrastructure Safety Management were developed based on the conclusions made

Road safety training through a master course in Belarus

Road safety is a multidisciplinary and multivariate scientific field, where every proposed action and measure should be developed and supported through strategies in the areas of engineering, enforcement, education and emergency medical services, taking into consideration social and economic aspects as well. However tools do not create the road safety future, trained professionals do. A robust educational curriculum is the only mean to communicate the necessary insights and knowledge within the constantly evolving environment of road safety. The objective of this paper is the comprehensive proposal for the development and testing, in Belarus, of a Masters Course in road safety according to the Bologna process requirements. In the framework of this proposal, , the requirements set, the masters’ curricula modules as well as the relevant expected learning outcomes are described

Development of a transnational accident prediction model.

AbstractThe PRACT Project (Predicting Road ACcidents – a Transferable methodology across Europe) is an ongoing project aimed at developing a European accident prediction model structure that could, with proper calibration, be applied to different European road networks.The core principles behind the PRACT project structure are that:•it is unrealistic to think that one unique Accident Prediction Model (APM) model with a unique set of Crash Modification Factors (CMFs) can actually be developed, valid for all Europe and for all the different type of networks;•the development of a specific APM model and a set of CMFs based on local data is extremely time consuming and expensive and requires data and experience that most road administrations do not have;•the development of “local” CMFs only based on historical local data prevents the possibility of evaluating the effectiveness of new technologies.The PRACT project addresses these issues by developing a practical guideline and a user friendly tool that will allow for an easier implementation of APMs and CMFs in different countries and on different road networks

856 comparative analysis of road accidents by gender in Europe

856 comparative analysis of road accidents by gender in Europ

An overview of car occupant fatalities in the European countries

Car occupants have a high level of mortality in road accidents, since passenger cars are the prevalent mode of transport. In 2013, car occupant fatalities accounted for 45% of all road accident fatalities in the EU. The objective of this research is the analysis of basic road safety parameters related to car occupants in the European countries over a period of 10 years (2004-2013), through the exploitation of the EU CARE database with disaggregate data on road accidents. Data from the EU Injury Database for the period 2005 - 2008 are used to identify injury patterns, and additional insight into accident causation for car occupants is offered through the use of in-depth accident data from the EC SafetyNet project Accident Causation System (SNACS). The results of the analysis allow for a better understanding of the car occupants’ safety situation in Europe, thus providing useful support to decision makers working for the improvement of road safety level in Europe

Identification of road safety risk factors in Africa

The paper presents the results of the analysis of road safety data, collected within the research project "SaferAfrica - Innovating dialogue and problems appraisal for a safer Africa", aiming to support policy makers and stakeholders with evidence on critical risk factors, related actions and good practices drawn from high quality data and knowledge. The project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The overall objective is to identify key risk factors affecting road safety in African countries. More specifically, a data organisation and analysis system was developed for the data gathered in order to produce indicators and define critical areas and challenges per topic and region of Africa. The analysis of the data for identifying key risk factors was performed on 5 different topics and priority areas for road safety actions and interventions were highlighted