State of the Practice of Alcohol Ignition Interlock Programs [Traffic Tech]

A breath alcohol ignition interlock device (BAIID) is a test device mounted near the dashboard that prevents the vehicle from being driven unless the driver provides a breath sample indicating a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) lower than a pre-set level, usually .02 g/dL. BAIIDs are an important type of sanction for driving while impaired (DWI) offenses. Initially used primarily for repeat DWI offenders, BAIIDs are now sanctions used for many types of DWI offenses, including first-time offenses. An offender assigned an interlock must first enroll in the State BAIID program, which incurs enrollment fees and other requirements

Evaluation of Rear-Seat Belt Laws [Traffic Tech]

This Traffic Tech briefly summarizes the report, \u201cEvaluation of Rear-Seat Belt Laws.\u201d Recent upgrades to these rear-seat belt law in two States were documented, based on information gathered from legislative websites, news articles, and other Internet sources, as well as interviews with key observers. Successful strategies and challenges were identified. An additional goal evaluated the effect of adult rear-seat belt laws on rear-seat belt use using an observational survey

Characteristics of State Law Enforcement Liaison Programs: Case Studies [Traffic Tech]

This edition of Traffic Tech briefly summarizes an upcoming NHTSA report, Characteristics of State Law Enforcement Liaison Programs: Case Studies, which described in detail the results of interviews with state law enforcement liaisons (LELs) regarding the attributes they believed most important to reach their work goals in promoting traffic safety activities among law enforcement agencies

A Guide for Traffic Safety Practitioners: Best Practices for Increasing Seat Belt Use in Rural Communities [Traffic Tech]

This edition of Traffic Tech brief describes the four major components of NHTSA\u2019s forthcoming report, A Guide for Traffic Safety Practitioners: Best Practices for Increasing Seat Belt Use in Rural Communities. This resource will give rural traffic safety practitioners information to implement best practices, including examples of evidence-based and promising programs, to increase seat belt use in rural areas

Development of Discrete Size Measurement Methodologies for Motorcycle Helmets

FMVSS No. 218 defines the discrete size of a motorcycle helmet and requires it on the label; however, it does not specify how to measure the size. In addition, there is no standard procedure for determining the helmet positioning index (HPI) used to align the helmet on the headform for measurements and testing. This research developed procedures to determine HPI and to measure discrete size of motorcycle helmets. Four methods for measuring discrete size and one method for determining the HPI were developed and evaluated

Driving without wings: the effect of different digital mirror locations on the visual behaviour, performance and opinions of drivers

Drivers' awareness of the rearward road scene is critical when contemplating or executing lane-change manoeuvres, such as overtaking. Preliminary investigations have speculated on the use of rear-facing cameras to relay images to displays mounted inside the car to create ‘digital mirrors'. These may overcome many of the limitations associated with traditional ‘wing’ and rear-view mirrors, yet will inevitably effect drivers' normal visual scanning behaviour, and may force them to consider the rearward road scene from an unfamiliar perspective that is incongruent with their mental model of the outside world. We describe a study conducted within a medium-fidelity simulator aiming to explore the visual behaviour, driving performance and opinions of drivers while using internally located digital mirrors during different overtaking manoeuvres. Using a generic UK motorway scenario, thirty-eight experienced drivers conducted overtaking manoeuvres using each of five different layouts of digital mirrors with varying degrees of ‘real-world’ mapping. The results showed reductions in decision time for lane changes and eyes-off road time while using the digital mirrors, when compared with baseline traditional reflective mirrors, suggesting that digital displays may enable drivers to more rapidly pick up the salient information from the rearward road scene. Subjectively, drivers preferred configurations that most closely matched existing mirror locations, where aspects of real-world mapping were largely preserved. The research highlights important human factors issues that require further investigation prior to further development/implementation of digital mirrors within vehicles. Future work should also aim to validate findings within real-world on-road environments whilst considering the effects of digital mirrors on other important visual behaviour characteristics, such as depth perception

Comparison of Teen Driver Fatality Rates by Vehicle Type in the United States

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74622/1/j.aem.2007.06.038.pd