The properties of Safety Performance Indicators in target setting, projections and safety design of the road transport system

Road traffic Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) are becoming increasingly used as an instrument for the planning and monitoring of safety progress. SPIs form an intermediate step between actions and final outcome in terms of casualties in road crashes. It is understood that SPIs are closely related to outcome; and that it is also possible to use them in calculations and predictions of both actions and final outcome. In the present study, it was found that some of the properties assigned to SPIs could be questioned. An assumption of linearity between SPIs and final outcome was partly rejected. It was also found that 100% fulfillment of a set of SPIs could lead to very low mortality, demonstrating the importance of handling SPIs simultaneously.     

Associations between driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs,speeding and seatbelt use among fatally injured car drivers in Norway

Since 2005, all fatal road traffic crashes in Norway have been analyzed in-depth by multidisciplinary investigation teams organized by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA). During the period 2005–2010, 608 drivers of cars or vans were killed in road traffic crashes. Blood samples were collected from 372 (61%) of the drivers and analyzed for alcohol and a large number of psychoactive drugs at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH). After coupling the analytical results with the NPRA crash database, 369 drivers with a fatal outcome were identified and included. Alcohol or drug concentrations in blood above the legal limits were found in 39.8% of the drivers who were investigated for alcohol or drug impairment; 33.9% had blood alcohol concentrations above 0.5 g/L or concentrations of drugs above the equivalent Norwegian legal impairment limits or concentrations of amphetamines above 200 μg/L. Among drivers with a fatal outcome who had been impaired by alcohol or drugs, 64.6% were unbelted and 71.7% were speeding when the crash occurred; whereas 24.2% and 33.2% of the sober drivers were unbelted or speeding, respectively. Statistically significant associations were found between impairment by alcohol or amphetamines and driving unbelted or speeding. Excessive speeding is one of the main reasons for road traffic crashes and together with being unbelted the main reasons for a fatal outcome. This behavior might in many cases be due to increased risk-taking or negligence of safety measures as a result of alcohol or drug use.     

Alcohol consumption,helmet use and head trauma in cycling collisions in Germany

Cycling, being easy, inexpensive and healthy, is becoming one of the most popular means of transport. Cyclists, however, are among the most vulnerable road users in traffic collisions.     

Risk factors for fatal road traffic accidents in Udine, Italy.

In the Province of Udine, Northeast Italy, mortality from road accidents is 37% higher than in the country as a whole. To identify the major risk factors for fatal crashes in this area, we analyzed the Police reports of 10,320 road traffic accidents that occurred from 1991 to 1996. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of characteristics of drivers and accidents with accident severity. The risk of involvement in fatal rather than non-fatal accidents was lower among females than among males (odds ratio (OR) = 0.65; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.53-0.80). Compared with subjects < 30 years of age, subjects aged > or = 65 had a significantly increased risk of fatal injury as pedestrians (OR = 10.87; 95% CI, 4.45-26.54), car drivers (OR = 1.85; 95% CI, 1.08-3.18), moped riders (OR = 3.53; 95% CI, 1.42-8.78), and bicycle riders (OR = 7.72; 95% CI, 2.56-23.29). In accidents that occurred from 1:00 to 5:00 h the risk of death was higher than from 6:00 to 11:00 h among pedestrians (OR = 8.88; 95% CI, 2.58-30.52), car drivers (OR = 4.95; 95% CI, 3.09-7.95), motorcycle riders (OR = 13.44; 95%CI, 2.54-71.05) and moped riders (OR = 8.76; 95% CI, 2.42-31.69). Risk of death among pedestrians, car drivers, moped, and bicycle riders was also significantly increased on roads outside the urban center. Driver's injury was strongly associated with lack of use of seat belts (OR = 13.27; 95% CI, 9.39-18.74, for fatal injury; OR = 2.49; 95% CI, 2.17-2.86, for non-fatal injury). Simple interventions focused on protecting the weakest road users and based on law enforcement, behavioral change and environmental modification might result in reducing the significant excess of road traffic accident mortality found in the study area.     

International comparison of costs of a fatal casualty of road accidents in 1990 and 1999

The purpose of this study is to assemble information of costs per fatal casualty in traffic accidents, adopted by authorities in different countries. analyse and compare these figures as well as the methods used for estimating these values. A questionnaire was sent to 19 countries from which 11 gave information on cost per fatality and methods of valuation. The costs per fatality, usually defined as direct and indirect costs plus a value of safety per se, are compared both between countries and over time, 1990 and 1999, for each country. The average cost per fatality has increased between 1990 and 1999 (fixed prices) due to both changes in the methodology and changes of valuations. Great Britain, New Zealand, Sweden and the US conduct own willingness-to-pay (WTP) surveys, while the Netherlands and Norway make reviews of these studies. In Finland, the cost per fatality is a combination of the value of lost productivity and the cost of care for an institutionalised disabled person. In Australia, Austria, Germany and Switzerland, the cost per fatality is estimated as a value of lost productivity and an addition of a human cost based on compensation payments or insurance payments. Estimates from recently conducted WTP surveys or meta-analyses are considered in Austria, Finland and Sweden, however, not yet adopted as official values for use in road traffic planning.     

The impact of climate change on winter road maintenance and traffic accidents in West Midlands, UK

Winter weather can be a significant cause of road traffic accidents. This paper uses UKCIP climate change scenarios and a temporal analogue to investigate the relationship between temperature and severe road accidents in the West Midlands, UK. This approach also allows quantification of the changes in the severity of the winter season over the next century in the region. It is demonstrated that the predicted reduction in the number of frost days should in turn reduce the number of road accidents caused due to slipperiness by approximately 50%. However, the paper concludes by warning against complacency in winter maintenance regimes. A warmer climate may result in budget cuts for highway maintenance which in turn may well reverse declining accident trends.     

Safety effects of roundabouts in Flanders: signal type, speed limits and vulnerable road users

This paper examines the road safety effects of roundabouts built in Flanders between 1994 and 2000. While the overall effect is positive (39% reduction of injury accidents), the results vary considerably with the speed limit on the main and adjacent road (the higher, the more effective) and the pre-roundabout signalization of the intersection (32% reduction with traffic lights versus 44% without). However, microscopic analysis reveals that roundabouts are not always effective. Serious injury accidents are estimated to increase by 117% on 70 km/h x 50 km/h intersections equipped with signalization before the roundabout. The number of injury accidents involving vulnerable road users is also found to increase (28%) on 50 km/h x 50 km/h junctions that were originally signalized. Moreover, the vulnerable road user is more likely to get fatally or seriously injured. Therefore, it is concluded that traffic lights protect vulnerable road users more effectively than roundabouts, which, in turn, are superior to intersections without signalization.     

如何提高质检机构检验数据的准确性和有效性

本文结合质监系统技术机构开展检验质量整治工作,联系实际,从检验仪器设备、检验过程规范性、人员和其它工作（如政治思想教育活动等）四方面,探讨如何提高质检机构检验数据准确性和有效性。     

Modelling quality dynamics,business value and firm performance in a big data analytics environment

Big data analytics have become an increasingly important component for firms across advanced economies. This paper examines the quality dynamics in big data environment that are linked with enhancing business value and firm performance (FPER). The study identifies that system quality (i.e. system reliability, accessibility, adaptability, integration, response time and privacy) and information quality (i.e. completeness, accuracy, format and currency) are key to enhance business value and FPER in a big data environment. The study also proposes that the relationship between quality and FPER is mediated by business value of big data. Drawing on the resource-based theory and the information systems success literature, this study extends knowledge in this domain by linking system quality, information quality, business value and FPER.