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Community Design and the Incidence of Crashes Involving Pedestrians and Motorists Aged 75 and Older

June 12, 2012 Comments off

Community Design and the Incidence of Crashes Involving Pedestrians and Motorists Aged 75 and Older (PDF)
Source: Texas Transportation Institute

Contemporary community design practice has focused on strategies intended to make communities safe for families with children. Comparatively little attention has been given to its effects on older adults. This study employs a series of negative binomial regression models to understand how urban form may affect the incidence of total and killed-or-severely-injured (KSI) crashes involving older drivers and pedestrians. Intersections, strip commercial uses, big-box stores, and arterial thoroughfares pose crash hazards for older motorists, while big-box stores and arterials are problematic for older pedestrians. A network of lower-speed streets was found to be associated with reductions in crashes involving older motorists and pedestrians.

See: Strip Malls and Big Box Stores Linked to Increased Traffic Deaths Among Seniors (Atlantic Cities)

Categories: age and aging, housing and real estate, infrastructure, safety, Texas Transportation Institute, transportation and travel

New Study Says Texting Doubles a Driver’s Reaction Time

October 24, 2011 Comments off

New Study Says Texting Doubles a Driver’s Reaction Time
Source: Texas Transportation Institute

Researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute have determined that a driver’s reaction time is doubled when distracted by reading or sending a text message. The study reveals how the texting impairment is even greater than many experts believed, and demonstrates how texting drivers are less able to react to sudden roadway hazards.

The study – the first published work in the U.S. to examine texting while driving in an actual driving environment – consisted of three major steps. First, participants typed a story of their choice (usually a simple fairy tale) and also read and answered questions related to another story, both on their smart phone in a laboratory setting. Each participant then navigated a test-track course involving both an open section and a section lined by construction barrels. Drivers first drove the course without texting, then repeated both lab tasks separately while driving through the course again. Throughout the test-track exercise, each participant’s reaction time to a periodic flashing light was recorded.

Reaction times with no texting activity were typically between one and two seconds. Reaction times while texting, however, were at least three to four seconds. Worse yet, drivers were more than 11 times more likely to miss the flashing light altogether when they were texting. The researchers say that the study findings extend to other driving distractions that involve reading or writing, such as checking e-mail or Facebook.

+ Full Report (PDF)

Categories: motor vehicles, safety, social media, technology and internet, telecommunications, Texas Transportation Institute
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