The road to Copenhagen: Intellectual property and climate change

In the lead-up to the discussions over IP and climate change in Copenhagen in 2009, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution that it should be the policy of US government officials in discussions over the long-term action under the United Nations Framework on Climate Change to ‘prevent any weakening of, and ensure robust compliance with and enforcement of, existing international legal requirements as of the date of the enactment of this Act for the protection of IP rights related to energy or environmental technology’.

Translating road safety research on night-time visibility to the context of mining

In recent years a significant amount of research has been undertaken in collision avoidance and personnel location technology in order to reduce the number of incidents involving pedestrians and mobile plant equipment which are a high risk in underground coal mines. Improving the visibility of pedestrians to drivers would potentially reduce the likelihood of these incidents. In the road safety context, a variety of approaches have been used to make pedestrians more conspicuous to drivers at night (including vehicle and roadway lighting technologies and night vision enhancement systems). However, emerging research from our group and others has demonstrated that clothing incorporating retroreflective markers on the movable joints as well as the torso can provide highly significant improvements in pedestrian visibility in reduced illumination. Importantly, retroreflective markers are most effective when positioned on the moveable joints creating a sensation of “biological motion”. Based only on the motion of points on the moveable joints of an otherwise invisible body, observers can quickly recognize a walking human form, and even correctly judge characteristics such as gender and weight. An important and as yet unexplored question is whether the benefits of these retroreflective clothing configurations translate to the context of mining where workers are operating under low light conditions. Given that the benefits of biomotion clothing are effective for both young and older drivers, as well as those with various eye conditions common in those >50 years reinforces their potential application in the mining industry which employs many workers in this age bracket. This paper will summarise the visibility benefits of retroreflective markers in a biomotion configuration for the mining industry, highlighting that this form of clothing has the potential to be an affordable and convenient way to provide a sizeable safety benefit. It does not involve modifications to vehicles, drivers, or infrastructure. Instead, adding biomotion markings to standard retroreflective vests can enhance the night-time conspicuity of mining workers by capitalising on perceptual capabilities that have already been well documented.

Somewhere between haste and delay... Investigating the interactions of road users and pedestrians in a dynamic rail level crossing environment

There are currently 23,500 level crossings in Australia, broadly divided into one of two categories: active level crossings which are fully automatic and have boom barriers, alarm bells, flashing lights, and pedestrian gates; and passive level crossings, which are not automatic and aim to control road and pedestrianised walkways solely with stop and give way signs. Active level crossings are considered to be the gold standard for transport ergonomics when grade separation (i.e. constructing an over- or underpass) is not viable. In Australia, the current strategy is to annually upgrade passive level crossings with active controls but active crossings are also associated with traffic congestion, largely as a result of extended closure times. The percentage of time level crossings are closed to road vehicles during peak periods increases with the rise in the frequency of train services. The popular perception appears to be that once a level crossing is upgraded, one is free to wipe their hands and consider the job done. However, there may also be environments where active protection is not enough, but where the setting may not justify the capital costs of grade separation. Indeed, the associated congestion and traffic delay could compromise safety by contributing to the risk taking behaviour by motorists and pedestrians. In these environments it is important to understand what human factor issues are present and ask the question of whether a one size fits all solution is indeed the most ergonomically sound solution for today’s transport needs.

Zombies on the road: A holistic design approach to balancing gamification and safe driving [poster]

This paper explores novel driving experiences that make use of gamification and augmented reality in the car. We discuss our design considerations, which are grounded in road safety psychology and video game design theory. We aim to address the tension between safe driving practices and player engagement. Specifically, we propose a holistic, iterative thinking process inspired by game design cognition and share our insights generated through the application of this process. We present preliminary game concepts that blend digital components with physical elements from the driving environment. We further highlight how this design process helped us to iteratively evolve these concepts towards being safer while maintaining fun. These insights and game design cognition itself will be useful to the AutomotiveUI community investigating similar novel driving experiences.

Fifield faces a hard road to bring Australia’s media regulations into the 21st century

With his feet barely under the desk, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has flagged a renewed attempt to change Australia’s media laws. Given his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull’s long-standing interest in the field – dating all the way back to his work with Kerry Packer in the 1980s – Fifield can expect the new prime minister’s backing. Fifield is set to meet with media bosses as early as next week.

Ad hoc communities on the road: Serendipitous social encounters to enhance tourist experiences

Driving can be a lonely activity. While there has been a lot of research and technical inventions concerning car-to-car communication and passenger entertainment, there is still little work concerning connecting drivers. Whereas tourism is very much a social activity, drive tourists and road trippers have few options to communicate with fellow travelers. Our study is placed at the intersection of tourism and driving. It aims to enhance the trip experience during driving through social interaction. This paper explores how a mobile application that allows instant messaging between travelers sharing similar context can establish a temporary, ad hoc community and enhance the road trip experience. A prototype was developed and evaluated in various user and field studies. The study’s outcomes are relevant for the design of future mobile tourist guides that benefit from community design, social encounters and recommendations.

Socio-cultural influences on vehicle defects in the Omani heavy vehicle industry

With recent economic growth in Oman there is increased use of heavy vehicles, presenting an increase in heavy vehicle crashes, associated fatalities and injuries. Vehicle defects cause a significant number of heavy vehicle crashes in Oman and increase the likelihood of fatalities. The aim of this study is to explore factors contributing to driving with vehicle defects in the Omani heavy vehicle industry. A series of qualitative participants observations were conducted in Oman with 49 drivers. These observations also involved discussion and interviews with drivers. The observations occurred at two road-side locations where heavy vehicle drivers gather for eating, resting, vehicle check-up, etc. Data collection was conducted over a three week period. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. A broad number of factors were identified as contributing to the driving of vehicles with defects. Participants indicated that tyres and vehicle mechanical faults were a common issue in the heavy vehicle industry. Participants regularly reported that their companies use cheap, poor quality standards parts and conducted minimal maintenance. Drivers also indicated that they felt powerless to resist company pressure to drive vehicles with known faults. In addition, drivers reported that traffic police were generally in effective and lacked skill to appropriately conduct roadside inspection on trucks. Further, participants stated that it was possible for companies to avoid being fined during annual or roadside vehicle inspections if members of the company knew the traffic police officer conducting the inspection. Moreover, fines issued by police are generally directed to the individual driver rather than being applied to the company, thus providing no incentive for companies to address vehicle faults. The implications of the findings are discussed.

A comparison of road traffic crashes along mountainous and non-mountainous roads in Sabah, Malaysia

Constrained topography and complex road geometry along rural mountainous roads often represent a demanding driving situation. As a result, traffic crashes along mountainous roads are likely to have different characteristics to crashes on roads in flatter areas; however, there is little research on this topic. The objective of this study is to examine the characteristics of road traffic crashes on rural mountainous roads and to compare these with the characteristics of crashes on non-mountainous roads. This paper explores and compares general crash characteristics including crash type, crash severity, roadway geometric features and environmental factors, and road user/vehicle characteristics. Five years of road traffic crash data (2008-2012) for Sabah were obtained from the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research. During this period, a total of 25,439 crashes occurred along federal roads in Sabah, of which 4,875 crashes occurred in mountainous areas. Categorical data analysis techniques were used to examine the differences between mountainous and non-mountainous crashes. Results show that the odds ratio of ‘out-of-control’ crashes and the crash involvement due to speeding are respectively about 4.2 times and 2.8 times higher on mountainous than non-mountainous roads. Other factors and crash characteristics that increase the odds of crashes along mountainous roads compared with non-mountainous roads include horizontal curved sections compared with straight sections, single-vehicle crashes compared with multi-vehicle crashes and weekend crashes compared with weekday crashes. This paper identifies some of the basic characteristics of crashes along rural mountainous roads to aid future research on traffic safety along mountainous roads.

Characteristics of on-road driving by persons with central vision loss: Learning to drive with a bioptic telescope

There is limited research on the driving performance and safety of bioptic drivers and even less regarding the driving skills that are most challenging for those learning to drive with bioptic telescopes. This research consisted of case studies of five trainee bioptic drivers whose driving skills were compared with those of a group of licensed bioptic drivers (n = 23) while they drove along city, suburban, and controlled-access highways in an instrumented dual-brake vehicle. A certified driver rehabilitation specialist was positioned in the front passenger seat to monitor safety and two backseat evaluators independently rated driving using a standardized scoring system. Other aspects of performance were assessed through vehicle instrumentation and video recordings. Results demonstrate that while sign recognition, lane keeping, steering steadiness, gap judgments and speed choices were significantly worse in trainees, some driving behaviors and skills, including pedestrian detection and traffic light recognition were not significantly different to those of the licensed drivers. These data provide useful insights into the skill challenges encountered by a small sample of trainee bioptic drivers which, while not generalizable because of the small sample size, provide valuable insights beyond that of previous studies and can be used as a basis to guide training strategies.

Policing of road safety in Oman: Perceptions and beliefs of traffic police officers

With increasing motorisation, road safety has become a major concern within Oman. Internationally, traffic policing plays a major role in improving road safety. Within Oman, the Royal Oman Police's (ROP) Directorate General of Traffic is responsible for policing traffic laws. Many common enforcement approaches originate from culturally different jurisdictions. The ROP is a relatively young policing force and may have different operational practices. Prior to applying practices from other jurisdictions it is important to understand the beliefs and expectations within the Directorate General of Traffic. Further, there is a need for individuals to understand their role and what is expected of them. Therefore, it is important to explore the agreement between levels of the ROP to determine how strategies and expectations transfer within the organisation. Interviews were conducted with 19 police officers from various levels of the ROP. A number of themes and findings emerged. Individuals at the upper level of the traffic police had a clear knowledge of the role of the ROP, believed that traffic police know what is expected of them, are well trained in their role and can have a very positive influence on road safety. These beliefs were less certain lower within the organisations with traffic officers having little knowledge of the role of the ROP or what was expected of them, felt undertrained, and believed their peers have little positive impact on road safety. There is a need to address barriers within the ROP in order to positively impact road safety.

A comparison of road traffic crashes along mountainous and non-mountainous roads in Sabah, Malaysia

Constrained topography and complex road geometry along rural mountainous roads often represent a demanding driving situation. As a result, traffic crashes along mountainous roads are likely to have different characteristics to crashes on roads in flatter areas; however, there is little research on this topic. The objective of this study is to examine the characteristics of road traffic crashes on rural mountainous roads and to compare these with the characteristics of crashes on non-mountainous roads. This paper explores and compares general crash characteristics including crash type, crash severity, roadway geometric features and environmental factors, and road user/vehicle characteristics. Five years of road traffic crash data (2008-2012) for Sabah were obtained from the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research. During this period, a total of 25,439 crashes occurred along federal roads in Sabah, of which 4,875 crashes occurred in mountainous areas. Categorical data analysis techniques were used to examine the differences between mountainous and non-mountainous crashes. Results show that the odds ratio of ‘out-of-control’ crashes and the crash involvement due to speeding are respectively about 4.2 times and 2.8 times higher on mountainous than non-mountainous roads. Other factors and crash characteristics that increase the odds of crashes along mountainous roads compared with non-mountainous roads include horizontal curved sections compared with straight sections, single-vehicle crashes compared with multi-vehicle crashes and weekend crashes compared with weekday crashes. This paper identifies some of the basic characteristics of crashes along rural mountainous roads to aid future research on traffic safety along mountainous roads.

Prevalence and characteristics of road traffic injuries among young drivers in Oman, 2009-2011

Objectives Studies from different parts of the world have indicated that the impact of road traffic incidents disproportionally affects young adults. Few known studies have been forthcoming from Arabian Gulf countries. Within Oman, a high proportion of the population is under the age of 20. Coupled with the drastic increase of motorization in recent years there is a need to understand the state of road safety among young people in Oman. The current research aimed to explore the prevalence and characteristics of road traffic injuries among young drivers aged 17-25 years. Methods Crash data from 2009-2011 was extracted from the Directorate General of Traffic, Royal Oman Police (ROP) database in Oman. The data was analyzed to explore the impact of road crashes on young people (17-25 years), the characteristics of young driver crashes and how these differ from older drivers and to identify key predictors of fatalities in young driver crashes. Results Overall, young people were over-represented in injuries and fatalities within the sample time period. While it is true that many young people in crashes were driving at the time, it was also evident that young people were often a victim in a crash caused by someone else. Thus, to reduce the impact of road crashes on young people, there is a need to generally address road safety within Oman. When young drivers were involved in crashes they were predominantly male. The types of crashes these drivers have can be broadly attributed to risk taking and inexperience. Speeding and night time driving were the key risk factors for fatalities. Conclusion The results highlight the need to address young driver safety in Oman. From these findings, the introduction of a graduated driver licensing system with night time driving restrictions could significantly improve young driver safety.

Characteristics of road factors in multi and single vehicle motorcycle crashes in Queensland

Motorcyclists were involved in 6.4% of all police-reported crashes and 12.5% of all fatal crashes in Queensland during 2004-2011. Of these crashes, 43% were single-vehicle (SV) and 57% were multi-vehicle (MV). The overall reduction in motorcycle crashes in this period masked different trends: single-vehicle crashes increased while MV motorcycle crashes decreased. However, little research has been undertaken to understand the similarities and differences between SV and MV motorcycle crashes in Queensland and the factors underlying these diverging trends. The descriptive analyses and regression model developed here confirm international research findings regarding the greater role of road infrastructure factors in SV crashes. In particular, road geometric factors such as horizontal and vertical alignment and road surface factors such as sealed/unsealed and wet/dry were more important in SV than MV crashes.

Perceptions of the prevalence of self-organising amongst Australian road safety stakeholders: A comparative perspective

The Australian road traffic fatality rate is slowing down at a much lower rate than that of comparable high income countries. This slow rate of reduction may be attributable to a wide range of causes such as deficits in coordination and low community engagement. However, it may also be due to the absence of understanding of systems thinking in road safety in Australia. This exploratory study aimed to investigate the perceptions of Australian stakeholders about the prevalence of a principle of the Dynamic Systems Theory, namely: self-organising. The results pointed to a need to decentralize the road traffic injury prevention efforts in Australia through a range of self-organising principles and the adoption of emergent rather than deliberate strategies.