Comparison between common traffic lights and three types of traffic lights with visual cycle a safety and capacity analysis

The objective of this paper is compare the common traffic lights (CTL) to three different types of traffic lights with countdown displays (SCD) and assess their effects on road safety and capacity. This comparison is required because the results found in the literature are divergent among countries and cities, and one of the SCD analyzed in our study is different from the SCD used worldwide. An observational before-after study was conducted to evaluate the safety and capacity in a period of one year before and one year after the implementation of the SCD in three Brazilian cities. The results indicate that the SCD models 1 and 3 had around 35%±14% reduction in the total number of accidents; the model 2, does not have significant reduction. In order to perform the capacity analysis a framework for data collection and an adaptation for estimation of initial lost time in each phase were developed. Considering the capacity analysis there was a reduction around 11% in the lost time in SCD model 1, 7% in SCD model 2 and 3% in SCD model 3. However the implications of this on capacity are trifle due to a small increase in the average headways for all SCD models compare to CTL.

Road safety: implications for sustainable development in Latin America

Road accidents cause more deaths than homicides in Latin America, nevertheless it is not highlighted as a major concern by media and society. World Health Organization put this issue in high priority by releasing the Decade of Action in Road Safety that establishes five pillars to guide national road safety plans and activities. This paper addresses the drawbacks in the implementation of these actions in Latin American countries and its implications to achieve a sustainable development. The main concerns are: lack of empowerment of the road safety management organisations; lower vehicular standards; corruption related to the enforcement of traffic safety laws to and to the construction of safer roads; absence of safety vehicular inspections; vehicle fleet increase, decrease of public transportation demand; and the absence of a safety culture. Without facing these problems, sustainable development in Latin America will be impaired, once road safety is a fundamental link to achieve sustainability.

O processo de ensino aprendizagem da educação no trânsito por meio da construção de um personagem heróico

This research project aims to study the relationship between the myths and the automobile, the contributions to the literature of fairy tales and the possible contributions of the heroes of fairy tales can bring to the process of teaching and learning defensive behavior in traffic. Traffic is a phenomenon so common to modern societies that often do not pay attention to their relevance as synonymous with social space and contains diversity of people and behaviors. To counter the image of fatalistic accidents and transgressions, will support us in the virtues of the hero figure to culminate in a collective tale in which children want to rethink their behavior, becoming citizens, with a more preventative and better quality of life. The research will be held in four rooms of elementary school in a city public school that serves children from families of the urban popular classes. The research will seek to analyze how the design of transit for the children and what the increase attributed to the theme, after the establishment of a collective story

Controle visual de automóveis em curvas em situação simulada: efeitos da experiência em contexto real

Dirigir é uma tarefa altamente complexa que requer sincronia entre informações adquiridas e comandos motores, sendo a visão fonte primordial de recursos para o controle do volante por parte do motorista, para que este possa fazer a manobra na quantidade correta e no momento apropriado. Simulações nem sempre preservam os aspectos relevantes do ambiente. O ponto tangente (PT), local mais interno da curva, é onde os motoristas olham em situações de curva ao conduzir um veículo durante contexto natural, e, de acordo com a literatura, este fenômeno também ocorre em situações experimentais com o uso de simuladores específicos de trânsito. Este estudo visa verificar se este comportamento se reproduz em situação simulada de videogame e como a experiência de dirigir naturalmente afeta o desempenho na simulação. Foram recrutados vinte participantes, divididos em dois grupos de dez pessoas cada, com e sem Carteira Nacional de Habilitação e todos com experiência em videogame. A tarefa foi conduzir um veículo em circuito gerado por um jogo de videogame, enquanto seus olhos, e seus respectivos movimentos, foram monitorados e gravados por sistema eye-tracker. Para análise dos dados, foi utilizado o vídeo da imagem gerada pelo videogame com a adição do cursor referente ao olhar do participante. Foram analisadas apenas as situações nas quais os participantes executavam a manobra de cada uma das onze curvas do percurso, utilizando o software ASL Results Plus (versão 1.8.2.18) para estabelecer Áreas de Interesse (AI) de 3º e 10º ao redor do ponto tangente da curva. As variáveis dependentes foram Número Total de Fixações (NF) e Duração Total das Fixações (DF). Os dados foram submetidos à análise de variância de medidas repetidas, tendo fatores grupo (HA ou NH), AI (outros 3º ou 10º) e curvas (onze curvas). Não houve efeito significativo de grupo para ambas as variáveis dependentes. Houve efeito principal de...