NHTSA: People: Injury Prevention: Other Traffic Research

Albuquerque, New Mexico's "Safe Streets" program - .PDF Version (posted 8/20/01)
This report documents Albuquerque, New Mexico's "Safe Streets" program. This special traffic enforcement program revolved on four major elements: saturdation patrols, follow-up patrols, freeway speed enforcement, and sobriety checkpoints.

Alcohol and Highway Safety 2001: A Review of the State of Knowledge (posted 02/28/2002)
Starting in 1968, the Department of Transportation has periodically conducted comprehensive reviews of the state of knowledge on alcohol and traffic safety. This review covers the scientific literature published since 1990. Over 700 documents were reviewed. The report covers the spectrum of research on drinking and driving. The following topics are included: the alcohol crash problem, alcohol’s effects on the body and resulting driving impairment, drinking and driving patterns, and the effectiveness of countermeasures for impaired driving.

Alcohol Involvement in Fatal Crashes: Comparisons among Countries (posted 11/27/01)

An Evaluation of Medical And Financial Outcomes Of Motor Vehicle Crash/Injuries In Connecticut Also available in .pdf This report examines motor vehicle crashes occurring in Connecticut during 1995, using several linked data sets. The findings reported herein illustrate the usefulness of using linked data sets to perform these types of analyses. Alone, each data set could not provide the type and depth of information provided by the group of linked data sets.
An Evaluation of Severity And Outcome Of Injury By Type Of Object Struck for Motor Vehicle Crashes in Connecticut Also available in .pdf This study was funded in part by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as part of the CODES demonstration project, and performed in collaboration by the Connecticut Healthcare Research and Education Foundation (CHREF, a non-profit affiliate of the Connecticut Hospital Association), the State of Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT), and Hartford Hospital. Automotive Collision Avoidance Systems (ACAS) Program Also available in .pdf (posted 01-01) Automotive Collision Avoidance Systems (ACAS) Program Also available in .pdf (posted 01-01)
Compendium of Traffic Safety Research Projects (11-97) NHTSA conducts research projects that investigate human attitudes, behaviors, and failures as they relate to motor vehicle crashes. The focus is on drivers, passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists, and their roles in traffic safety. Evaluations test how well specific countermeasures work in the real world of traffic safety, crashes, and impaired driving, and the laws intended to reduce the carnage. (FAX requests for printed copies of this document, DOT HS 808 599, to Office of Research & Traffic Records, 202-366-7096)

Development and Evaluation of a Comprehensive Program to Reduce Drinking and Impaired Driving Among College Students (posted 02/28/2002) This report describes the development and evaluation of a comprehensive program to reduce impaired driving on a college campus.

Evaluation of the Aggression Suppression Program, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (posted 02/28/2002) This report describes a study that was designed to develop, implement, and evaluate an innovative enforcement and public information campaign to reduce aggressive driving in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Evaluation of Enhanced Sanctions for Higher BACS: Summary of States� Laws posted 08/08/01
Many states have a statute, regulation, or rule that provides for additional or more severe sanctions for DUI Offenders with a "high" BAC (typically .15 or above). This interim report summarizes the laws in each state.

Examining the Effectiveness of Utah's Law Allowing for Telephonic Testimony at ALR Hearings (posted 10-14-03)
Traffic Tech -- "Positive Results with Telephone Testimony At Administration License Revocation Hearings In Utah"
Although the benefits of an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) law are numerous, in some jurisdictions there are also issues that make the process cumbersome and ineffective. In 2000, Utah enacted a law to address a problem they were having their ALR law. This study examines Utah's use of telephonic testimony at ALR hearings.

Further Analysis of Drivers Licensed with Medical Conditions in Utah (posted 03-27-01)
This is a follow-up to an earlier study on Utah's Medical Conditions licensing program. In this study, different levels of restrictions within the conditions were examined as they relate to citations, crashes, and at fault crashes. Multiple medical conditions were also evaluated.

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Highway Safety in Black/African American Communities (posted 12/29/03)
This report identifies traffic safety issues in Black communities and communication strategies that could be used to direct traffic safety messages to Black populations. The report is based on information collected from focus groups held in six States, as well as one-on-one discussions with community leaders.

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Misuse of Child Restraints (posted 2/04/04) This report presents the results of a study that measured the current level of misuse of child restraint systems among the general public. The project focused specifically on forms of misuse that can be expected to raise the risk of injury to a child in the event of a crash. The study collected data on 5,527 children under 80 lbs in six States.

Matching Traffic Safety Strategies to Youth Characteristics: A Literature Review of Cognitive Development Also available in .pdf
Despite the fact that motor vehicle death rates have declined significantly since 1975, motor vehicle crashes continue to be the major cause of death and serious disability for adolescents and young adults. On a per population basis, drivers under age 25 in the United States (U.S.) had the highest rate of involvement in fatal crashes of any age group in 1996 and their fatality rate based on vehicle miles traveled was four times greater than the comparable rate for drivers age 25 to 65 (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, 1997a).

Observational Study of the Extent of Driving While Suspended for Alcohol-Impaired Driving (posted 12/18/02)
This is an observational study to determine the extent of driving on a license suspended for DWI. Offenders with suspended licenses were observed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Bergen County, New Jersey. Of subjects observed traveling in some way while suspended, 88% of Milwaukee subjects drove, compared to 36% of Bergen County subjects. Focus groups were conducted at each site to provide additional data.

Residence Location of Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes Residence Location of Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes. This is a pre-publication version of a report on research conducted by NHTSA staff. The final version of this report will appear in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention. (The content of this version may vary from the published version.)
Trend Analysis of Traffic Law Enforcement in the United States also available in .PDF (posted 8/17/01) "This project assessed traffic law enforcement trends in eleven jurisdictions for the past 10 years. Data were collected, as available, including citation, violation, labor and budgetary information. The data were analyzed and comparisons were made where appropriate."
Understanding Youthful Risk Taking and Driving (risk.pdf, 435K, posted 10-95) The purpose of this literature review was to assess the state of knowledge available on risk taking behavior that would contribute to gaining a better understanding of youthful risk taking within this broader context. To accomplish this goal, a review of theoretical as well as research articles was conducted.
Understanding Youthful Risk Taking and Driving: Database Report (data.pdf, 574K, posted 03-96) This report identifies data sources that can serve as tools for understanding and addressing youthful risk taking. Half of the report describes national databases. These include databases that focus on traffic safety, substance use, schooling,and sexual behavior. For each database, the report gives information on the contents of the database, the methods used to collect the data, and whom to contact to obtain access. Besides the national databases, the report describes databases collected by 21 states.
Wireless Communications Report (posted 11-97) An Investigation of the Safety Implications of Wireless Communications in Vehicles Highway Safety Needs of US Hispanic Communities: Issues and Strategies (hispanic.pdf, 276K, posted 04-96) This report presents results from a study to identify effective strategies for promoting highway safety among Hispanics. The project involved discussions with representatives of agencies and organizations actively engaged with Hispanic communities in California, Colorado, Texas, Florida, the District of Columbia, and the New York City/New Jersey area. Nearly 50 focus groups with community members were also conducted across the those six sites.
Impact of Right Turn on Red (rtor.pdf, 155K, posted 12-94) This report presents a summary of the status of State implementation of laws permitting right turns at red lights, a review of previous research, and presents the results of analyses of available data assessing the safety impact of permitting right turns on red.