1,720,960 research outputs found
Route familiarity in road safety: A literature review and an identification proposal
No full textRoute familiarity can be an important safety-related variable, which is often neglected. A review of previous works highlighting the relationships between route familiarity and road safety in behavioural studies and engineering standards/frameworks has been conducted. Theoretical frameworks supported by experimental results have revealed that driving behaviour can be affected by route familiarity. The latter may lead to distraction and self-confidence; and in turn to more dangerous behaviours after repeated journeys. From an economic perspective, the possible worsening of driving safety performance may be explained by trade-offs with mobility benefits. Route familiarity is also considered in engineering practice. Road design guidelines assuming a “design driver” were suggested as implicitly preserving the safety of familiar/unfamiliar drivers. The mix of familiar and unfamiliar drivers in traffic flow is explicitly considered when computing the design traffic. The safety implications of these matters find only partial confirmation in previous studies focused on involvement in crashes. However, comparing those findings was difficult due to the high variability in measuring the route familiarity itself. An attempt to harmonize the possible identifications of familiarity for future studies, based on previous findings, is proposed. The proposal considers two different scales used for measuring route familiarity: one based on travelling frequency, the other on distance from residence
Exploring the relationships between drivers’ familiarity and two-lane rural road accidents. A multi-level study
No full textPrevious research has suggested that drivers’ route familiarity/unfamiliarity (using different definitions of familiarity), and the interactions between familiar and unfamiliar drivers, may affect both the driving performances and the likelihood of road crashes. The purpose of this study is to provide a contribution in the search for relationships between familiarity and crashes by: 1) introducing a measure of familiarity based on the distance from residence; 2) analyzing a traffic and accident dataset referred to rural two-lane sections of the Norwegian highways E6 and E39; 3) using a multi-level approach, based on different perspectives, from a macro analysis to more detailed levels. In the macro analyses, the accident rates computed for different seasons and for different summer traffic variation rates (used as indicators of the share of familiar drivers in the flow) were performed. At the second level, a logistic regression model was used to explain the familiarity/unfamiliarity of drivers (based on their distance from residence), through variables retrieved from the database. In the last step, an in-depth analysis considering also accident types and dynamics was conducted. In the macro analysis, no differences were found between accident rates in the different conditions. Whereas, as emerged from the detailed analyses, the factors: high traffic volume, low summer traffic variation, autumn/winter, minor intersections/driveways, speed limits <80 km/h, travel purposes (commuting/not working) are associated to higher odds of having familiar drivers involved in crashes; while the factors: high traffic volume, high summer traffic variation, summer, head on/rear end-angle crashes, heavy vehicles involved, travel purposes (not commuting), young drivers involved are associated to higher odds of finding unfamiliar drivers involved. To a minor extent, some indications arise from the in-depth analyses about crash types and dynamics, especially for familiar drivers. With regard to the definitions used in this article, the familiarity was confirmed as an influential factor on the accident risk, possibly due to distraction and dangerous behaviors, while the influence of being unfamiliar on the accident proneness has some unclarified aspects. However, crashes to unfamiliar drivers may cluster at sites showing high summer traffic variation and in summer months
The relationships between familiarity and road accidents: Some case studies
No full textFamiliarity with the route can lead to distraction, inattention and more dangerous
behaviors. Conversely, unfamiliar drivers could be unaware of possible dangers hidden in the road
environment. In order to inquire in detail the relationships between accidents and familiarity, a database
composed of 633 fatal and injury accidents (over the period: 2005–2014) related to 84 sections of two
important two-way two-lane rural Norwegian highways (E6, E39) was investigated. Familiarity of drivers
with the place of the accident was defined by considering a distance measure from the residence. Two sites
characterized by high percentages of namely familiar and unfamiliar accidents (selected basing on distance
of involved drivers from residence) were analyzed to a micro-scale level in order to find possible recurring
patterns and related factors. Familiar drivers were found to be over-involved in hitting vehicles in rear-end
accidents, while only some indications without clear patterns were found for the unfamiliar accidents
Exploring the relationships between drivers’ familiarity and two-lane rural road accidents. A multi-level study
Full text linkPrevious research has suggested that drivers’ route familiarity/unfamiliarity (using different definitions of familiarity),
and the interactions between familiar and unfamiliar drivers, may affect both the driving performances
and the likelihood of road crashes. The purpose of this study is to provide a contribution in the search for relationships
between familiarity and crashes by: 1) introducing a measure of familiarity based on the distance
from residence; 2) analyzing a traffic and accident dataset referred to rural two-lane sections of the Norwegian
highways E6 and E39; 3) using a multi-level approach, based on different perspectives, from a macro analysis to
more detailed levels.
In the macro analyses, the accident rates computed for different seasons and for different summer traffic variation
rates (used as indicators of the share of familiar drivers in the flow) were performed. At the second level,
a logistic regression model was used to explain the familiarity/unfamiliarity of drivers (based on their distance
from residence), through variables retrieved from the database. In the last step, an in-depth analysis considering
also accident types and dynamics was conducted.
In the macro analysis, no differences were found between accident rates in the different conditions. Whereas,
as emerged from the detailed analyses, the factors: high traffic volume, low summer traffic variation, autumn/
winter, minor intersections/driveways, speed limits <80 km/h, travel purposes (commuting/not working) are
associated to higher odds of having familiar drivers involved in crashes; while the factors: high traffic volume,
high summer traffic variation, summer, head on/rear end-angle crashes, heavy vehicles involved, travel purposes
(not commuting), young drivers involved are associated to higher odds of finding unfamiliar drivers involved.
To a minor extent, some indications arise from the crash in-depth analyses about types and dynamics, especially
for familiar drivers.
With regard to the definitions used in this article, the familiarity was confirmed as a clear influential factor
on the accident risk, possibly due to distraction and dangerous behaviors, while the influence of being unfamiliar
on the accident proneness has some unclarified aspects. However, crashes to unfamiliar drivers may cluster at
sites showing high summer traffic variation and in summer month
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Self-Reported Route Familiarity and Road Safety Negative Outcomes: First Results from a Transnational Survey-Based Study
Full text linkPrevious research has shown the influence of drivers' route familiarity on road safety. The drivers' familiarity was possibly related to some negative safety outcomes such as speeding, violations, inattention. On the other hand, drivers unfamiliar with the route (especially if foreigners) were related to over-involvement in specific types or at-fault crashes. Drivers' route familiarity is mainly identifiable from frequency-based self-reported scales and distance from residence scales. In this study, another perspective was used, by relying on surveys. The familiarity with given routes and the behavioral differences with respect to generic routes was self-reported by drivers, who have answered to a specifically designed survey. Other questions were related to other safety issues and negative outcomes, such as accidents and sanctions/violations. The survey was submitted to both Italian and Norwegian young drivers, to explore also possible cultural/geographic differences of the phenomenon. The first results from the study are presented here, by focusing on the relevant aspects emerged from both the Italian and Norwegian surveys. In particular, the representation of the habitual routes is different between Italy and Norway. Some stated behavioral differences emerge from the comparison between answers related to the generic routes travelled and those specifically related to the habitual routes. Most accidents occur on routes frequently traveled, while there is a relevant part of fines which occur on roads rarely/never travelled. Those tendencies should be confirmed and other possible relationships should be explored after having enlarged the sample of respondents
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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