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Special Issue "Non-Motorized Road Users Safety"

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A special issue of Safety (ISSN 2313-576X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 50411

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Francisco Alonso

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Guest Editor

Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety, University of Valencia, C/ Serpis 29, 3rd Floor, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: traffic; transport; mobility; road safety; human factors; road users; public health; risk assessment; decision making
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Sergio A. Useche

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety, University of Valencia, C/ Serpis 29, 3rd Floor, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: road safety; cycling; human factors; risky and protective road behaviors; epidemiology; behavioral health; advanced research methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

During recent years, non-motorized transportation has become increasingly “fashionable” and utilized, and there is great promotion of this mode of transport by governments and other organizations, among others, due to the benefits for public health and environmental sustainability. We can note how, especially in urban territories, alternative transport means allowing road users to combine both traveling and non-intensive physical activity with everyday tasks, such as commuting. Therefore, offering active means of transportation, such as cycling and walking, has systematically acquired higher relevance for public policy, considering that it is, overall, accessible for the population and entails a series of key benefits for both the transport and health of road users. However, non-motorized transport may imply a wide series of risks and hazardous scenarios for its users, leading to an increase in traffic accidents involving these modes of transport, as has been shown by various epidemiological studies in various worldwide locations. Consequently, this topic should be studied further and documented, in order to develop measures and strategies for guaranteeing the safety and welfare of non-motorized road users, which must be included to a greater extent in the mobility and road safety plans developed by authorities.

For this Special Issue, we are inviting authors from all over the world and in all disciplines to submit their papers (original research manuscripts, literature reviews, empirical studies, epidemiology studies, reports on the monitoring and evaluation of plans and interventions, protocols, and case studies) on issues related to improving the road safety for non-motorized modes of transport. Please note that submissions must adhere to the journal guidelines, which may be found at https://www.mdpi.com/journal/safety/instructions. For more information, please review the keywords and/or contact Prof. Dr. Francisco Alonso (Guest Editor; [email protected]).

Prof. Dr. Francisco Alonso
Dr. Sergio A. Useche
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Safety is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

non-motorized road users
alternative transportation
pedestrians
bicyclists
transportation trends and problems
sustainability
safe transportation

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 6097 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Dangerous Overtaking of Cyclists in Montréal

Andres Henao

and

Philippe Apparicio

Safety 2022, 8(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/safety8010016 - 27 Feb 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5128

Abstract

It is largely consented that the bicycle is a sustainable mobility alternative in the city. Despite its many benefits, cycling comprises risks of injury or death. Among others, these risks are a result of unsafe overtaking manoeuvres performed by motorized vehicles against cyclists. This study aims to identify the characteristics of the road network and traffic influencing the lateral distance and duration of overtaking. Using bicycles equipped with distance sensors, GPS, and cameras, four cyclists covered 1689 km in Montréal. Hence, 3591 overtakings were identified with an average distance of 176 cm; 111 overtaking manoeuvres took place at distances less than 1 m, resulting in an unsafe event for every 32 overtakings. On average, the duration of an overtaking was 1.082 s and dangerous overtakings (less than one metre) lasted 0.57 s more than safe overtakings (one metre and over). A generalized additive logit model (GAM) is built to predict the likelihood of a dangerous lateral passing (less than 1 m). The results show that in taking a major route, the presence of parked vehicles and the time required for overtaking significantly increase the probability of experiencing a dangerous overtaking. However, the participant, type of vehicle, or presence of a bike lane have no significant effect. Therefore, the results demonstrate the importance of keeping cyclists isolated from traffic. Furthermore, providing a bike path along parking spaces seems to be a solution that does not enhance cyclist safety. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Motorized Road Users Safety)

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17 pages, 630 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Are Traffic Announcements Really Effective? A Systematic Review of Evaluations of Crash-Prevention Communication Campaigns

and

Safety 2021, 7(4), 66; https://doi.org/10.3390/safety7040066 - 24 Sep 2021

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 7190

Abstract

Communication campaigns are commonly used in the traffic and road safety sector to raise public awareness of the importance of avoiding risky road user attitudes and behaviors. Surprisingly few of these communication campaigns evaluate their effectiveness in a formal and comprehensive manner. The core aim of the present systematic review is to identify the type of studies that evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns in this sector, in order to identify and contrast their main findings. This systematic review followed the PRISMA methodology, by means of which the relevant articles based on the search term were identified. A total of 613 indexed articles were filtered, and a final set of 27 articles directly addressing the issue was analyzed. Search strategies were developed and conducted in WOS, Scopus, NCBI, Google Scholar and APA databases. The selected articles point out that, although advertisements alone have a certain positive effect, their effectiveness is substantially increased if they are accompanied by other preventive measures such as legislation or road safety education. In any case, more evaluations of traffic campaigns are needed to identify which techniques are effective and which are not, and which should therefore be replaced by new methods of behavior modification in future communication campaigns. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Motorized Road Users Safety)

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18 pages, 37744 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Ride in Peace: How Cycling Infrastructure Types Affect Traffic Conflict Occurrence in Montréal, Canada

Vincent Jarry

and

Philippe Apparicio

Safety 2021, 7(3), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/safety7030063 - 09 Sep 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6876

Abstract

Urban cycling is increasingly common in many North American cities and has the potential to address key challenges of urban mobility, congestion, air pollution and health. However, lack of safety is often cited by potential bike users as the most important deterrent to cycling. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of cycling facility type on traffic conflict likelihood. Four participants recorded a total of 87 h (1199 km) of video, which was reviewed by trained observers to identify and characterize traffic conflicts, yielding 465 conflicts with vehicles and 209 conflicts with pedestrians. Bootstrapped generalized additive logit regressions (GAM) were built to predict traffic conflict likelihood. Results show that while cycling on an off-street bike path effectively reduces the likelihood of conflict with a vehicle, it increases the probability of conflict with a pedestrian. Bike lanes were associated with an increase in the likelihood of a conflict with a vehicle. Decision makers should favor physically segregated and clearly marked cyclist-only facilities to ensure safe and efficient conditions for commuter cyclists. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Motorized Road Users Safety)

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18 pages, 1457 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Research on the Use of Mobile Devices and Headphones on Pedestrian Crossings—Pilot Case Study from Slovakia

Miroslava Mikusova

Joanna Wachnicka

and

Joanna Zukowska

Safety 2021, 7(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/safety7010017 - 02 Mar 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6328

Abstract

The topic of the use of mobile devices and headphones on pedestrian crossings is much less explored in comparison to the use of the mobile phone while driving. Recent years have seen many discussions on this issue, especially in foreign countries. The Slovak Republic, however, has not been giving it enough attention (and it is not mentioned in the National Road Safety Plan for the Slovak Republic from 2011 to 2020). This paper aims to draw attention to this issue. It presents basic outputs of a pilot study on pedestrian safety, with a focus on the use of mobile devices and headphones at selected non-signalized pedestrian crossings in three Slovak cities. Overall, 9% of pedestrians used headphones or mobile devices at observed pedestrian crossings (4% of them used headphones, 1% used headphones and at same time used their mobile phone, 2% made phone calls and 2% used their mobile phones). While these numbers can be considered relatively low, the study proved that during weekdays every 2 min someone was using the crossing without fully focusing on crossing the road safely. Another main finding was that although the safety risk at pedestrian crossings is increased by factors such as rush hour traffic or reduced visibility, pedestrian behavior related to the use of mobile phones and headphones does not change. A safety assessment was also carried out at the crossings. The results show that pedestrian behavior is not affected by the level of safety of the crossing (e.g., visibility of the crossing for drivers). The results of the presented analysis suggest that action is needed to change that. Due to the lack of information about accidents involving pedestrians using mobile phones and headsets when crossing the road, no relevant statistical data could be analyzed. The dataset collected can be used as a basis for further investigation or comparisons with other countries of the relevant indicators. In future work, we would like to include a pedestrian–driver interaction factor focusing on driver speed behavior in relation to pedestrians (who are on or are about to step onto a pedestrian crossing) and identify critical situations caused by improper behavior of drivers and/or pedestrians. This will help to understand speed adjustment problems related to pedestrian crossings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Motorized Road Users Safety)

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20 pages, 5239 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

An Examination of the Strava Usage Rate—A Parameter to Estimate Average Annual Daily Bicycle Volumes on Rural Roadways

Francisco Javier Camacho-Torregrosa

David Llopis-Castelló

Griselda López-Maldonado

and

Alfredo García

Safety 2021, 7(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/safety7010008 - 27 Jan 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5786

Abstract

In Spain, a new challenge is emerging due to the increase of many recreational bicyclists on two-lane rural roads. These facilities have been mainly designed for motorized vehicles, so the coexistence of cyclists and drivers produces an impact, in terms of road safety and operation. In order to analyze the occurrence of crashes and enhance safety for bicycling, it is crucial to know the cycling volume. Standard procedures recommend using data from permanent stations and temporary short counts, but bicycle volumes are rarely monitored in rural roads. However, bicyclists tend to track their leisure and exercise activities with fitness apps that use GPS. In this context, this research aims at analyzing the daily and seasonal variability of the Strava Usage Rate (SUR), defined as the proportion of bicyclists using the Strava app along a certain segment on rural highways, to estimate the Annual Average Daily Bicycle (AADB) volume on rural roads. The findings of this study offer possible solutions to policy makers in terms of planning and design of the cycling network. Moreover, the use of crowdsourced data from the Strava app will potentially save costs to public agencies, since public data could replace costly counting campaigns. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Motorized Road Users Safety)

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13 pages, 701 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects Influencing Pedestrian–Vehicle Crash Frequency by Severity Level: A Case Study of Seoul Metropolitan City, South Korea

Seung-Hoon Park

and

Min-Kyung Bae

Safety 2020, 6(2), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/safety6020025 - 13 May 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5968

Abstract

This study aimed to determine how built environments affect pedestrian–vehicle collisions. The study examined pedestrian–vehicular crashes that occurred between 2013 and 2015 in Seoul, Korea, by comparing and analyzing different effects of the built environment on pedestrian–vehicle crashes. Specifically, the study analyzed built environment attributes, land use environment, housing types, road environment, and traffic characteristics to determine how these factors affect the severity of pedestrian injury. The results of the statistical analysis appear to infer that the built environment attributes had dissimilar impacts on pedestrian collisions, depending on the injury severity. In general, both incapacitating and non-incapacitating injuries appear to be more likely to be caused by the built environment than fatal and possible injuries. These results highlight the need to consider injury severity when implementing more effective interventions and strategies for ensuring pedestrian safety. However, because of the small sample size, an expanded research project regarding this issue should be considered, as it would contribute to the development and implementation of effective policies and interventions for pedestrian safety in Korea. This study therefore offers practical information regarding the development of such an expanded study to inform future traffic safety policies in Seoul to establish a “safe walking city.” Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Motorized Road Users Safety)

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12 pages, 636 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Characteristics of Commuters’ Single-Bicycle Crashes in Insurance Data

Roni Utriainen

Safety 2020, 6(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/safety6010013 - 16 Feb 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 8091

Abstract

In order to maximize the public health benefits of cycling, the negative impacts of cycling, such as the number and types of crashes, should be identified. Single-bicycle crashes, in which other road users are not collided with, are one of the main safety concerns in cycling, but comprehensive knowledge on these crashes is not available due to poor data sources. This study aimed to identify characteristics of commuters’ single-bicycle crashes in Finland. Firstly, insurance data covering 9268 commuter bicycle crashes in 2016 and 2017 were analyzed to find single-bicycle crashes. The insurance data are based on self-reported crashes. In total, 3448 single-bicycle crashes were found with crash descriptions that were informative enough for investigation of their characteristics. According to the results, 62.9% (95% confidence interval +/− 1.6%) of the crashes were related to the infrastructure. In the majority of infrastructure-related crashes, the road surface was slippery. The slippery road surface was typically due to icy or snowy conditions. The lack of proper data complicates the recognition of single-bicycle crashes, and hence policy actions and research projects are needed to develop better data sources for proper investigation of cycling safety. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Motorized Road Users Safety)

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