RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems are effective at reducing young driver crashes but rely on active parental involvement. However, some parents may accept sanctions (e.g., demerit points, monetary fines) for traffic offenses committed by their children, leading to experiences of punishment avoidance by young drivers. This aim of this exploratory study was to investigate several demographic and psychosocial influences that could possibly be associated with parent acceptance of sanctions. METHOD: An online survey was completed by parents of young drivers (N = 149, M = 48.88 years, SD = 4.76 years; female = 86%) from 3 Australian states. The survey included measures of sociodemographic characteristics and driving history (e.g., crash involvement), socioeconomic status, parenting style, knowledge of their child's driving behavior, perceptions of their ability to manage their child's driving, attitudes toward GDL, and previous or potential acceptance of demerit points or payment of fines for road offenses committed by their child. RESULTS: Twenty-nine percent of parents had accepted or would accept a sanction on behalf of their child. Number of children overall, number of children licensed, and household income were associated with parent acceptance of a sanction. Parenting style, attitude toward GDL restrictions, parent confidence in their knowledge of GDL restrictions and ability to manage their child's driving, and belief that their child would follow rules were not associated with (non)acceptance of a sanction. CONCLUSIONS: These exploratory findings suggest that family size and income may be important influences on parent acceptance of sanctions on behalf of their offending children. The findings related to the psychosocial variables are discussed considering other research and the limitations of the study.
Asunto(s)
Conducción de Automóvil , Niño , Humanos , Femenino , Accidentes de Tránsito , Concesión de Licencias , Australia , PadresRESUMEN
Objectives: Each year, pedestrian injuries constitute over 40% of all road casualty deaths and up to 60% of all urban road casualty deaths in Ghana. This is as a result of the overwhelming dependence on walking as a mode of transport in an environment where there are high vehicular speeds and inadequate pedestrian facilities. The objectives of this research were to establish the (1) impact of traffic calming measures on vehicle speeds and (2) association between traffic calming measures and pedestrian injury severity in built-up areas in Ghana. Method: Vehicle speeds were unobtrusively measured in 38 selected settlements, including 19 with traffic calming schemes and 19 without. The study design used in this research was a matched case-control. A regression analysis compared case and control casualties using a conditional logistic regression. Results: Generally, the mean vehicle speeds and the proportion of vehicles exceeding the 50 km/h speed limit were significantly lower in settlements that have traffic calming measures compared to towns without any traffic calming measures. Additionally, the proportion of motorists who exceeded the speed limit was 30% or less in settlements that have traffic calming devices and the proportion who exceeded the speed limit was 60% or more in towns without any traffic calming measures. The odds of pedestrian fatality was significantly higher in settlements that have no traffic calming devices compared to those that have (odds ratio [OR] = 1.98; 95% confidence interval, 1.09-4.43). The protective effects of a traffic calming scheme that has a speed table was notably higher than those where there were no speed tables. Conclusion: It was clearly evident that traffic calming devices reduce vehicular speeds and, thus, the incidence and severity of pedestrian injuries in built-up areas in Ghana. However, the fact that they are deployed on arterial roads is increasingly becoming a road safety concern. Given the emerging safety challenges associated with speed calming measures, we recommend that their use be restricted to residential streets but not on arterial roads. Long-term solutions for improving pedestrian safety proposed herein include bypassing settlements along the highways to reduce pedestrians' exposure to traffic collisions and adopting a modern way of enforcement such as evidence-based laser monitoring in conjunction with a punishment regime that utilizes the demerit points system.
Asunto(s)
Accidentes de Tránsito/prevención & control , Accidentes de Tránsito/estadística & datos numéricos , Peatones , Heridas y Lesiones/epidemiología , Aceleración , Adolescente , Adulto , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Niño , Preescolar , Femenino , Ghana/epidemiología , Humanos , Lactante , Recién Nacido , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Índices de Gravedad del Trauma , Heridas y Lesiones/mortalidad , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
Current traffic law enforcement places an emphasis on reducing accident risk from human factors such as drunk driving and speeding. Among the various strategies implemented, demerit points and license sanction systems have been widely used as punitive and educational measures. Limitations, however, exist in previous studies in terms of estimating the interaction effects of demerit points and license sanctions. To overcome such limitations, this work focused on identifying the interaction effects of demerit points and license sanctions on driver traffic violation behavior. The interaction deterrent effects were assessed by using a Cox's proportional hazard model to provide a more accurate and unbiased estimation. For this purpose, five years of driver conviction data was obtained from the Korea National Police Agency (KNPA). This data included personal characteristics, demerit point accumulation and license sanction status. The analysis showed that accumulated demerit points had specific deterrent effects. Additionally, license revocation showed consistent and significant deterrent effects, greater than those for suspension. Male drivers under their 30s holding a motorcycle license were identified as the most violation-prone driver group, suggesting that stricter testing for the acquisition of a motorcycle driver's license is needed.
Asunto(s)
Accidentes de Tránsito/prevención & control , Conducción de Automóvil/legislación & jurisprudencia , Concesión de Licencias/legislación & jurisprudencia , Femenino , Humanos , Aplicación de la Ley/métodos , Masculino , Modelos de Riesgos Proporcionales , República de Corea , Control Social Formal/métodosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a serious epidemic that claims more than a million lives across the globe each year. The burden of RTIs is particularly pronounced in Africa and other low- and middle-income countries. The unfavorable disparity of the burden of road trauma in the world is largely attributable to unsafe vehicles, lack of appropriate road infrastructure, and the predominance of vulnerable road users (VRUs) in developing countries. However, little research exists in northern Ghana to highlight the scale and risk of death among road users. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research was to establish the relative risk of death among road users in northern Ghana. METHODS: Crash data from police reports between 2007 and 2011 were analyzed for the Upper Regions of Ghana. Conditional probabilities and multivariable logistic regression techniques were used to report proportions and adjusted odds ratios (AORs), respectively. RESULTS: Generally, crashes in northern Ghana were extremely severe; that is, 35% of all injury related collisions were fatal. The proportion of fatal casualties ranged between 21% among victims of sideswipe collisions and 41% among pedestrians and victims of rear-end collisions. Though males were 6 times more likely to die than females overall, females were more likely to die as pedestrians (90% of all female casualty deaths) and males were more likely to die as riders/drivers (78% of all male casualty deaths). Pedestrians were 3 times more likely to die (odds ratio [OR] = 3.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.4 to 4.1) compared with drivers/riders. Compared with drivers, the odds of death among cyclists was about 4 times higher (AOR = 3.6; 95% CI, 2.3 to 5.6) and about 2 times higher among motorcyclists (AOR = 1.6; 95% CI, 1.2 to 2.2). Compared with casualties aged between 30 and 59 years, children under 10 years and those aged 60 years and above were independently 2 times more likely to die in traffic collisions. CONCLUSION: Provision of requisite road infrastructure is vital for the safety of VRUs in northern Ghana. Cycle paths and lanes (for cyclists) as well as sidewalks (for pedestrians) in particular will separate VRUs from motorists and improve their safety. Enforcement of traffic laws particularly regarding helmet use, speeding, and alcohol use will be beneficial. Introduction of the demerit points system in the enforcement of traffic regulations may have significant deterrent effects on road users who have the penchant for violating traffic regulations. Road safety education is also required to create responsible road users.