Search Results (4)

Freight transportation, dominated by trucks, is an integral part of trade and production in the USA. Given the prevalence of large truck crashes, a comprehensive investigation is imperative to ascertain the underlying causes. This study analyzed 2017–2021 Texas crash data to identify factors impacting large truck crash rates and injury severity and to locate high-risk zones for severe incidents. Logistic regression models and bivariate analysis were utilized to assess the impacts of various crash-related variables individually and collectively. Heat maps and hotspot analysis were employed to pinpoint areas with a high frequency of both minor and severe large truck crashes. The findings of the investigation highlighted night-time no-passing zones and marked lanes as primary road traffic control, highway or FM roads, a higher posted road speed limit, dark lighting conditions, male and older drivers, and curved road alignment as prominent contributing factors to large truck crashes. Furthermore, in cases where the large truck driver was determined not to be at fault, the likelihood of severe collisions significantly increased. The study’s findings urge policymakers to prioritize infrastructure improvements like dual left-turn lanes and extended exit ramps while advocating for wider adoption of safety technologies like lane departure warnings and autonomous emergency braking. Additionally, public awareness campaigns aimed at reducing distracted driving and drunk driving, particularly among truck drivers, could significantly reduce crashes. By implementing these targeted solutions, we can create safer roads for everyone in Texas. Full article

Pavement markings constitute an effective way of conveying regulations and guidance to drivers. They constitute the most fundamental way to communicate with road users, thus, greatly contributing to ensuring safety and order on roads. However, due to the increasingly extensive traffic demand, pavement markings are subject to a series of deterioration issues (e.g., wear and tear). Markings in poor condition typically manifest as being blurred or even missing in certain places. The need for proper maintenance strategies on roadway markings, such as repainting, can only be determined based on a comprehensive understanding of their as-is worn condition. Given the fact that an efficient, automated and accurate approach to collect such condition information is lacking in practice, this study proposes a vision-based framework for pavement marking detection and condition assessment. A hybrid feature detector and a threshold-based method were used for line marking identification and classification. For each identified line marking, its worn/blurred severity level was then quantified in terms of worn percentage at a pixel level. The damage estimation results were compared to manual measurements for evaluation, indicating that the proposed method is capable of providing indicative knowledge about the as-is condition of pavement markings. This paper demonstrates the promising potential of computer vision in the infrastructure sector, in terms of implementing a wider range of managerial operations for roadway management. Full article

Longitudinal road markings are a valuable aid in driving guidance. An increase in their width may influence driving and, therefore, road safety. Wider road markings generate a perception of a narrowing lane, which may induct drivers to reduce speed. The present study tries to verify if an increased width of longitudinal road markings actually helps one to drive more slowly, and consequently leads to enhanced road safety. For this purpose, three curves with reduced visibility were selected and driving speed was measured with normal and modified (wider) longitudinal road markings. The results showed a speed reduction effect of around 3.1% with wide road markings. The speed-reducing effect of wide marks was greater during weekends and with more intense traffic volume, while it was slightly attenuated by night. Finally, the calculation of some standard cases on a working day, and considering average traffic volume, gave the following speed reductions during the day and at night, respectively: for light vehicles, 2.24% and 1.96%; for heavy vehicles, 2.46% and 2.15%. In view of the results obtained, it may be said that using wide road markings can help reduce vehicle speed, thereby contributing to reduced traffic accidents and making road transport more sustainable. Full article

Globally, road traffic accidents are an important public health concern which needs to be tackled. A multidisciplinary approach is required to understand what causes them and to provide the evidence for policy support. In Spain, one of the roads with the highest fatality rate is the crosstown road, a particular type of rural road in which urban and interurban traffic meet, producing conflicts and interference with the population. This paper contributes to the previous existing research on the Spanish crosstown roads, providing a new vision that had not been analyzed so far: the driver’s perspective. The main purpose of the investigation is to identify the contributing factors that increment the likelihood of a fatal outcome based on single-vehicle crashes, which occurred on Spanish crosstown roads in the period 2006-2016. In order to achieve this aim, 1064 accidents have been analyzed, applying a latent cluster analysis as an initial tool for the fragmentation of crashes. Next, a multinomial logit (MNL) model was applied to find the most important factors involved in driver injury severity. The statistical analysis reveals that factors such as lateral crosstown roads, low traffic volumes, higher percentages of heavy vehicles, wider lanes, the non-existence of road markings, and finally, infractions, increase the severity of the drivers’ injuries. Full article