Pedestrians and alcohol, how to manage all the problems; an engineers view ICTCT, Stellenbosch, April 4 2013 Christer Hydén, Lund University (christer.hyden@tft.lth.se)
Alcohol in traffic is a huge problem! • Low exposure � High risks • The proportion of impaired drivers in traffic is quite small, but the number of impaired drivers killed is much higher. • In Sweden: 0,2% impaired drivers but more than 25% involved in fatal crashes • Also pedestrians are hit by impaired drivers • But pedestrians can also be impaired; . In a study in Australia, of those pedestrians fatally injured approximately 45% were intoxicated or ‘drink walking’, In London the same proportion was 23%.
Pedestrians is another! • Extremely vulnerable – especially elderly (average age among killed pedestrians in Sweden is around 65 years) • Are not ”compatible” with car drivers (kinetic energy difference when a car meets a pedestrian: 1900 ti mes ) • No ”walking license” • Are not road users in a ”normal sense”, at the same time as they have to act as any other road user • They are everything from flaneurs to commuters
Proportion of Pedestrians killed varies a lot Total no. killed pedestrians annually: 412,000 X Africa Sub-Region: 55% X Sub-region of the Americas:<15% X EurA: <15% •Low-income countries: 45% •Middle-income countries: 29% •High-income countries: 18% Exposure is one important factor; In e.g. the US walking as a mode of transport very uncommon
Pedestrians and alcohol in combination is a disaster • Drivers are overrepresented in alcohol related severe accidents – is also valid for accidents where pedestrians are the victim • Pedestrians are overrepresented in severe accidents where the pedestrian is impaired • To be an impaired road user – pedestrian or driver – is degrading your performance in many ways; poor judgement, increased reaction time, lower vigilance and decreased visual acuity
Impaired pedestrians are: Andel berusade fotgängare per ålder 35 alla Skadegrad berusade fotgängare 30 berusade 50 25 MAIS 1 45 MAIS 2 20 40 % MAIS 3+ 35 15 30 10 % 25 20 5 15 0 10 -14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75-84 94- 5 0 Younger than average Alla Berusade More seriously injured Uppskattad påkörningshastighet i olyckor med berusad fotgängare jmf alla olyckor 40 alla 35 berusade 30 25 20 % 15 10 5 0 5 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 km/tim From: Fotgängarolyckor, 2010-01-21, Hit at higher speeds IF Försäkring
Even though the message is striking!
!.there is only one universal solution There is only one safe way of controlling for all these ”deficiencies” at the same time; low speeds
Drinking and driving is considered much more serious among the public than speeding, but in terms of ”fatality production” it is the opposite
Comparing Relative risks of Involvement in a Casualty Crash for Speed and Alcohol From: TRAVELLING SPEED AND THE RISK OF CRASH INVOLVMENT, Volume 1: Findings. Kloeden CN, McLean AJ, Moore VM, Ponte G, NHMRC Road Accident Research Unit, The University of Adelaide Alcohol Alcohol Speed Speed Rel. Risk (g/100ml) Rel. Risk (km/h) 1.0 Zero 1.0 60 (speed limit) 1.8 0.05 2.0 + 5 3.2 0.08 4.2 + 10 7.1 0.12 10.6 +15 30.4 0.21 1/ 31.8 +20 2/ 1/ Sanctions in Sweden: Above 0,10 g/100ml: Drunken driving renders maximum 2 years imprisonment. withdrawal of the license: up to two years http://www.mhf.se/sv-SE/rattfylleri/info-om- rattfylleri/lag-och-straff/ 2/ Sanctions in Sweden: More than 20 kph above: Fine; Maximum 2800SEK (corresponding to 2 days salary). More than +40 kph: Sent to prosecutor.
As just said: Drinking and driving is considered more serious than speeding – so is even belt use! Swedish survey 2011: What are the three most important behaviours from a safety point of view? (%) t h g Keep the speed limitl i Using safety belt l Mobile phone d e Fatigue Bicycle helmet Keep distance r Not drink and t s n i a g a g n i v From: Swedish Traffic safety survey, 2011 i r d drive t o N
Who has taught us this lesson???
OK, but the car is becoming safer every year!.?? • Yes, but that is only for occupants of the car • ESC – Electronic Stability Control is intervening with the driving task by forced braking on individual tires when the speed is excessive (i.e. the tire(s) are loosing its grip), but no similar system that intervenes with the driving task when speed is excessive in relation to the speed limit • ESC is reducing accidents significantly – but not for pedestrians
Industry talks about active safety. Yes but how? • Almost all new IT-systems deal with the operational phase of driving, i.e. ”the last two seconds” before a crash • There are no systems that intervenes with the tactical part of driving • Especially true regarding speed adaptation • Big investments in vehicle measures, unfortunately not based on ”societal demands” • However, EuroNcap does strong efforts to give points to ISA, but very slow progress • ”All sorts of planners” of the City need to get involved
”Soft measures is not enough” Example 1, soft2: When speed limit in Sweden was lowered from 10 kph, from 40 to 30 kph, the actual speed was lowered by a bit more than 2 kph. Example 2, soft to hard: Introduction of a zebra crossing ==> + 44% (-6; +121) (injuries) Raised zebra crossing ==> - 42% (-70; +11) (injuries)
But how can we convince the decision makers? They don’t dare to ”overrule” the public Relationship between support for stronger policy interventions and fatality risk attributable to selected road safety problems in Norway 0.25 Speeding Population attributable risk for fatalities 0.2 0.15 Drinking and driving 0.1 0.05 Pedestrian accidents in dark Cyclist accidents 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Percent who support stronger policy interventions From: A METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE EVALUATION OF ROAD SAFETY POLICIES, European Transport Safety Council, Brussels 2006
Traffic Calming is a necessary first step */ o Works immediately o Works in small scale The effect of a hump on injury accidents. Meta analysis by Rune Elvik et al): -40%. Larger reductions the more injuries are o Works in large scale In Gothenburg killed and severly injured pedestrians havdropped by 50% for pedestrians and by 70% for cyclists. Mainly thanks to traffic calming o Power of endurance o Could solve a lot of existing problems o Design is, however, crucial */ [’Traffic calming refers to a combination of network planning and engineering measures to enhance road safety as well as other aspects of liveability for the citizens.’ Van Schagen (ed.; 2003) ]
Much has been done in highly motorised countries – but much is still to be done.. Humps and small roundabouts are the key elements Bergen – more than 2000 humps Almost every street No markings
What about less motorised countries? • Lots of humps • Not very systematic so far • Hesitance • Often made by residents.. • Often counterargued – exactly the same arguments as in Sweden 30 years ago • .
Lots of – old and well-known counterarguments in the media • The observer, Uganda : The biggest disappointment is the numerous road humps which have been constructed in the many trading centres. These road humps spoil the otherwise good job done on the road. --- One would argue that these road humps are necessary for the safety of the residents in the trading centres. I think this is a wrong view.--- A good road is meant to get motorists from point A to point B safely and timely. • TANZANIA Bureau of Standards (TBS) has completed new standards for road humps that will be adopted by contractors undertaking road construction countrywide. The new procedures follow a call by the former Minister for Industries and Trade, Dr Cyril Chami, who advised the Bureau to work on the matter as studies had showed that the humps were major causes of road accidents. • Times of India : Road humps are a pain in the back: Sunitha Rao R, TNN Sep 27, 2010, 12.11am IST BANGALORE: Road humps are not more just bulges of tar that create undulations on the surface of the road. They can injure your spine, sometimes beyond repair. • BBC News : The Metropolitan Police has warned its response to emergency calls is being hampered by road humps. It has been estimated that there are between 20,000 and 30,000 speed bumps in London, • Road humps in Chennai to be cut to size: CHENNAI: Corporation of Chennai will soon modify or remove more than 400 speed-breakers across the city. The decision follows a series of fatal accidents due to speed breakers built in violation of the rules. The corporation's move acquired urgency after state minister Sellur K Raju's son R Tamizhmani died of injuries after he was thrown off his bike when it hit a speed bump on NSC Bose Road on Sunday night
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