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30 BReAKOuT SeSSION Driver Behavior and Crashes lidia P. Kostyniuk, University of Michigan, Presiding Kerrie livingstone, Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety Ned levine, Ned Levine and Associates eduardo Romano, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation Amanda Dwelley, University of North Carolina The session on driver behavior and crashes exam-ined crash factors including fatigue, location, spa-tial variation, mediating and moderating factors in fatal crashes, and the relationship between the built environment and crash experience. invesTigaTion of differenCes in Crash CharaCTerisTiCs beTween males and females involved in a faTigue-relaTed Crash or Close-Call evenT Kerry Armstrong, Patricia Obst, Kerrie Livingstone, and Narelle Haworth Driver fatigue is a serious road safety issue. It is well known that excessive fatigue is linked with an increased risk of a motor vehicle crash. The purpose of this investi- gation was to examine self-report data to identify differ- ences in the prevalence, crash characteristics, and travel patterns of men and women involved in fatigue-related crashes or close-call events. Such research is important to understanding how fatigue-related incidents occur within the typical driving patterns of men and women, and it provides a starting point for exploring experiences from a gender perspective and for understanding the risk of driv- ing when tired. A representative sample of residents living in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales were surveyed regarding fatigue experience and involve- ment in fatigue-related crashes and close-call incidents. Some concern exists that sleepy or fatigued drivers do not understand the seriousness of driving when tired. It has been noted that drivers who continue to drive when sleepy or fatigued do so for various reasons, including work demands, pressure to reach a destination, and short journey length. This, together with a poor under- standing of fatigue-related crash risk, can lead drivers to underestimate the shift from sleepiness to sleep. Interest- ingly, research suggests many drivers are aware they are sleepy when driving but do not act accordingly to lessen the risks associated with fatigued driving. A similar proportion of males (68.9%) and females (64.9%) reported having felt sleepy while driving in the past 5 years. A significantly greater proportion of males (20.8%) than females (12.7%), however, reported hav- ing had a close call when driving tired. The majority of both females and males who had experienced a close call had experienced fewer than two such incidents, and about 20% of both genders had experienced three or more close calls. Females were slightly more likely to have experienced only one close call, whereas males were slightly more likely to have experienced five or more close calls. Results from this research indicated no gender differ- ences in the symptoms of tiredness experienced or in the types of countermeasures used to combat tiredness; how- ever, key gender differences were observed in the purpose of the trip, time of driving, and trip distance away from home when the incident occurred. Currently, interven- tions targeting driving when tired focus on longer trips and monotonous stretches of road, whereas the results from this research suggest that females may be more likely to experience fatigue-related incidents closer to home. Given that the safest countermeasure is for a person to
31DRIveR BeHAvIOR AND CRASHeS stop driving, that half the sample continued driving indi- cates more education in this area is necessary. spaTial variaTion in moTor vehiCle Crashes by gender in The housTon, Texas, meTropoliTan area Ned Levine This study examined spatial variations in motor vehi- cle crashes by gender within the Houston metropolitan area using data on 252,240 crashes that occurred in the Houston metropolitan area between 1999 and 2001. Crash risk varied throughout the metropolitan area and was much higher in the central city than in the suburbs. Because male drivers were more likely to be involved in crashes in the central city than female drivers, part of the gender differential in crashes appears to be the result of men driving in riskier locations. The general pattern of women making more frequent but shorter trips is asso- ciated with driving to less risky destinations, but lack of information on driver residences prevented a more detailed analysis of crash risk. In the Houston region, men have more frequent and more severe crashes than women. They experience higher crash fatality rates for every age group and for every type of crash. licensure is equal for both men and women, and the differential in vehicle miles traveled is decreas- ing, even though men continue to travel more miles than women. Crash risk in the central city is double that of the out- lying suburbs because traffic converges from all direc- tions; volume is higher; the road network is older, with limited capacity; and there are more conflict points. female involvemenT in u.s. faTal Crashes under a Three-level hierarChiCal Crash model: mediaTing and moderaTing faCTors Eduardo Romano, Tara Kelley-Baker, and Pedro Torres Men have long held the lead in motor vehicle crashes; however, research indicates women are closing the gap. Female involvement in fatal crashes has increased in the united States, but this phenomenon is mostly attribut- able to young drivers, and the reason for the increase is unclear. The purpose of the study was to investigate the problem further. The study used a simplified version of the hierar- chical levels of driving behavior (HlDB) model to study female involvement in fatal crashes in the united States. The HlDB model recognizes that decisions at higher levels affect decisions at lower levels. At the top level, the model assumes the driverâs condition (e.g., inattention, fatigue, impairment) has an effect on the next level (e.g., speeding or failure to obey traffic laws), which subsequently affects basic maneuvering skills (the lowest level). Data for this study were drawn from the 1982 to 2007 Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Single-vehicle crashes were used to indicate crash responsibility. Basic descriptive and multilevel analyses were applied to inves- tigate female involvement at each level of the HlDB model. Compared with males, female drivers were less likely to be involved in crashes associated with the highest HlDB level, but more likely to be involved in the low- est level. The relatively high prevalence of females in skill-related crashes occurred only when associated with speeding, however. variations to this finding resulting from age and gender were also found. Findings from this study should help develop more efficient (better-targeted) traffic safety prevention policies. undersTanding The role of gender and The builT environmenT in Teen moTor vehiCle Crashes: analysis of 16- To 19-year-olds in norTh Carolina Noreen McDonald and Amanda Dwelley This study addresses a gap in the research by using data on licensure and motor vehicle crashes from 2001 to 2005 for 16- to 19-year-olds in North Carolina to assess the association between crash and injury rates and the demographic and built environment characteristics of the county of residence. The study examines differences in the patterns of association between driver motor vehi- cle crashes and county characteristics by sex. A total of 213,093 crashes on North Carolina roads by North Carolina drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 were recorded from 2001 to 2005. A fatal or dis- abling injury to the driver was involved in 1,934 of these crashes. The number of licensed 16- to 19-year-olds increased from 270,025 in 2001 to 279,531 in 2005. The annual average rate of crashes per 1,000 licensed drivers was 154.3, the rate of injuries per 1,000 crashes was 240.8, and the rate of fatal or disabling injuries per 1,000 injury crashes was 39.1. Correlation of the three crash rates with weighted population density suggests crashes per driver are posi- tively associated with population density and injuries per crash are negatively correlated with density. The relation- ship between density and severe and fatal injury is weak. This suggests the exact location and design of exurban developments is important. If a new sprawl development requires residents to drive on unimproved rural roads, it
32 WOMeNâS ISSueS IN TRANSPORTATION, vOluMe 1 may increase their risk of motor vehicle injury; however, if new sprawl developments lead to road improvements (e.g., widening, curve straightening), the risk for resi- dents may decrease. Not enough is known about the interplay of risks to fully evaluate these factors. To gain clarity on the relationship between patterns of development, travel behavior, and crash risk, it will ultimately be necessary to analyze data at smaller geographic scales and look at changes over time. Males are more likely to crash and females more likely to be injured, but these relationships do not vary systematically with county-level factors. TopiCs for furTher researCh 1. This session identified the need to learn more about how the learning process is different for men and women and to develop gender-sensitive transportation safety educational literature and programs. 2. States need to provide data on driver residence locations to allow a more accurate analysis of crash risk and the development of better preventative programs.
