THE RELATION OF ACCELERATION FORCE TO TRAFFIC ACCIDENT FREQUENCY: A PILOT STUDY

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2000

Subject Area

operations - traffic, operations - frequency, planning - safety/accidents, planning - safety/accidents, ridership - behaviour, place - urban, mode - bus, mode - mass transit

Keywords

Urban transit, Transit, Traffic safety, Traffic incidents, Traffic data, Traffic accidents, Speed, Public transit, Mass transit, Local transit, Human behavior, Highway accidents, Field studies, Bus driving, Bus accidents, Behaviour, Behavior, Acceleration (Mechanics)

Abstract

This paper introduces a measure of driving behavior, g-force (acceleration-force), which is predicted to be positively correlated with traffic accident frequency. This hypothesis is tested with accident data for drivers of buses in public transport as the dependent variable, and 2 main topics are therefore discussed throughout the article; the concept and measurement of g-force, and handling of traffic accident data in scientific research. G-force and mean speed are measured onboard city buses in regular traffic. The means of Right/Left, Gas/Brake, the composite g-force, and speed are correlated with drivers' frequency of (bus) accidents for different time periods. No stable relationship is found; only a weak tendency for the dimensions of mean speed and Right/Left to predict bus accidents when time periods of 1 to 5 years are used. The many problems inherent in this kind of field research are discussed and some remedies are proposed.

Comments

Transportation Research Part F Home Page: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13698478

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS