Road wanderers in Brazil: a study on modern psychosocial human mobility

Human mobility patterns are quite diverse nowadays and a very singular, extreme pattern is seen in the Brazilian scene: road wandering. Road wanderers are individuals who leave their home, family, work and other territories of a settled life and throw themselves into a life of solitary wandering along Brazilian highways. This study aimed to describe the lifestyle of road wanderers, investigate the reasons that led them choose this way of living and understand it against a background of modern human mobility patterns. A total of 63 interviews were conducted with individuals wandering on road shoulders. We found road wandering is associated with the following determinants: poverty; unemployment; marital conflicts; emotional suffering following the loss of loved ones; desires for adventure and freedom; and cultural symbols related to journey, migration, exodus and other modes of displacement. Despite its particularities, road wandering can be understood as a way of human mobility in the modern world.

Operational and safety effects of driving on paved shoulders in Texas. Final report.

Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, Transportation Planning Division, Austin

Structural design of roadway shoulders. Final report.

Federal Highway Administration, Office of Engineering and Highway Operations Research and Development, McLean, Va.

The effects of bicycle accommodations on bicycle/motor vehicle safety traffic operations. Final report.

Federal Highway Administration, Washington, D.C.

HVOSM studies of cross-slope breaks on highway curves. Final report.

Federal Highway Administration, Office of Research and Development, Washington, D.C.

Vehicle shoulder encroachment and lateral placement study. Final report.

Mode of access: Internet.

A comparative analysis of bicycle lanes versus wide curb lanes: final report.

Federal Highway Administration, Office of Safety and Traffic Operations, Washington, D.C.

Bicycle lanes versus wide curb lanes: operational and safety findings and countermeasure recommendations.

Federal Highway Administration, Office of Safety and Traffic Operations, Washington, D.C.

Case studies and annotated bibliography of truck accident countermeasures on urban freeways. Final report.

Federal Highway Administration, Office of Safety and Traffic Operations Research and Development, McLean, Va.

Tri-level accident research study. Second annual report. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Safe geometric design for minicars. Final report.

Federal Highway Administration, Office of Research and Development, Washington, D.C.

Safety effects of cross-section design for two-lane roads. Volume I - final report.

Federal Highway Administration, Safety Design Division, McLean, Va.

Safety effects of cross-section design for two-lane roads. Volume II - appendixes.

Federal Highway Administration, Safety Design Division, McLean, Va.

Truck accident countermeasures on urban freeways. Final report.

Federal Highway Administration, Office of Safety and Traffic Operations Research and Development, McLean, Va.

Effect of clear zone widths on run-off-road crash outcomes

Current guidelines on clear zone selection and roadside hazard management adopt the US approach based on the likelihood of roadside encroachment by drivers. This approach is based on the available research conducted in the 1960s and 70s. Over time, questions have been raised regarding the robustness and applicability of this research in Australasia in 2010 and in the Safe System context. This paper presents a review of the fundamental research relating to selection of clear zones. Results of extensive rural highway statistical data modelling suggest that a significant proportion of run-off-road to the left casualty crashes occurs in clear zones exceeding 13 m. They also show that the risk of run-off-road to the left casualty crashes was 21% lower where clear zones exceeded 8 m when compared with clear zones in the 4 – 8 m range. The paper discusses a possible approach to selection of clear zones based on managing crash outcomes, rather than on the likelihood of roadside encroachment which is the basis for the current practice. It is expected that this approach would encourage selection of clear zones wider than 8 m when the combination of other road features suggests higher than average casualty crash risk.