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An experiment was conducted to compare the effectiveness of head restraints modified to increase the likelihood of eliciting uninstructed adjustments from a non-use to a deployed position among naïve users.  Fifty-nine participants aged 18-46 years experienced one of three head restraint conditions.  The first condition consisted of an unmodified, original equipment (OE) second- row head restraint from a 2009 Ford Flex, which was compliant to specifications in the United Nations’ Global Technical Regulation (GTR) No. 7 intended to provide distinct physical cues to alert occupants to the need to adjust the head restraint.   The second condition consisted of an OE head restraint modified to be longer vertically, which also met the GTR specifications.  Lastly, a thicker head restraint producing a torso angle change of 10 degrees from the seat back (10 degrees), one of multiple compliance options allowed in FMVSS No. 202, was examined.
 

http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crashworthiness/head%20restraints/811514.pdf

This report discusses a study to review fatal crash data in all States that have lowered the legal limit of blood alcohol concentration from .10 to .08.  At study initiation, only 11 States had sufficient experience with 0.08 BAC laws to conduct a statistical analysis.  All 11 States experienced reductions in alcohol-involved fatal crashes; 5 had significantly lower rates.  Black and white, 8.5" x 11", 61 pages.

light-truck operators. Despite the relevance of alcohol to motorcycle safety, only limited information on the impairing effects of alcohol on motorcycle operator performance is available.  To address this issue, NHTSA sponsored a research study to assess the impairing effects of alcohol (up to the current per se limit of .08 g/dL), on rider performance involving a broad set of basic motorcycle riding skills.
These riding skills were assessed on a test track with task scenarios based on the Motorcycle Safety Foundations (MSF) training program. This study used a balanced incomplete block design to remove confounding artifacts (learning effects) by randomizing four BAC levels across three test days. Performance was characterized in terms of riding strategy used to cope with the effects of alcohol as a neurological stressor and the amount of resulting impairment with reference to specified performance standards. The analysis controlled for rider gender and age, riding skill, and drinking history.

Motorcycle fatalities have increased for the ninth consecutive year and now represent 11.3  percent of all traffic fatalities in the U.S.  One factor that continues to be associated with motorcycle fatalities is alcohol.  In 2005, twenty-seven percent of motorcycle operators had blood alcohol concentrations of .08 g/dL or higher versus 22 percent for passenger car operators, and 21 percent for

This report documents a study of how vehicle features contribute to CRS installation errors. Thirty-two subjects were recruited based on their education level (low or high) and experience with installing CRS (none or experienced). Each subject was asked to perform four child restraint installations in three vehicles. Each subject first performed a CRS installation with a seatbelt in one vehicle, followed by three CRS installations using LATCH, one in each of three vehicles.

One child restraint with a hook-on LATCH connector and one with a push-on LATCH connector were used. All installations were forward-facing, using an 18-month-old CRABI anthropomorphic test device (ATD). Six vehicles were used in testing, with half of subjects testing with each vehicle. Conditions were selected to provide a range of LATCH locations (visible, above seating surface, buried in bight), buckle stalk types (webbing vs. rigid), and tether locations (package shelf vs. seatback). After each installation, the experimenter evaluated 28 factors for each installation (such as tightness of installation, tether tightness, and LATCH belt attached correctly).

This research study examined Minnesota's enhanced sanctions for drivers convicted with blood alcohol concentrations of .20 or higher.  8.5" x 11", two color, 56 pages.

This study evaluated two types of electrochemical sensing technologies that quantitatively detect ethyl alcohol vapor through the skin (transdermal).  Transdermal alcohol concentration measuring devices use a new technology that has the potential for monitoring whether persons who are prohibited from drinking have consumed alcohol.  The study evaluated the accuracy and precision of two devices, based on transdermal alcohol sensor technology, the Giner, Inc., Wrist Transdermal Alcohol Sensor, and the Alcohol Monitoring Systems Secure Remote Alcohol Monitor.  The two devices, in different stages of development and were designed to be used with different populations, offer different strengths and weaknesses.

I  While the technology requires improvement, transdermal alcohol concentration measuring devices do have potential for monitoring whether persons who are prohibited from drinking have consumed alcohol.  Thus, these types of devices may provide another tool for courts, probation services, and treatment providers to aid in monitoring such persons to reduce alcohol-related traffic crashes.

This report describes and evaluates the effectiveness of a Day Reporting Center (DRC) in reducing impaired driving recidivism among repeat DWI offenders.  It also examines the effect of the DRC program in reducing the cost of post-conviction sanctioning operations, and in relieving pressures on jail facilities in carrying out court-imposed sanctions.  Black and white, 8.5" x 11", 40 pages.

This report presents two evaluations of alternative programs for repeat DWI offenders; an electronic monitoring program and an intensive supervision probation program.  Both programs demonstrate positive results. 8.5" x 11", black and white, 87 pages.

In 1997 Maryland, Oklahoma, and the District of Columbia upgraded their seat belt laws from secondary to primary enforcement.  The objective of this study was to evaluate the change from secondary to primary enforcement in Maryland, Oklahoma, and DC with respect to observed belt use rates, driver reactions, law enforcement practices, citations issued and race. The belt use rate went up in study locations with the implementation of a primary enforcement seat belt law.  Four color, 8.5" x 11", 35 pages.

This report examines the change in motorcycle helmet use resulting from the 1997 repeal of mandatory helmet laws for motorcycle riders in Arkansas and Texas. Prior to repeal of the law, statewide surveys indicated that helmet use was 97 percent; after repeal, use dropped to between 52 and 66 percent. Corresponding increases in head injuries and fatalities were also observed after repeal of mandatory helmet legislation in these States. Three color, 8.5" x 11", 58 pages.

This final report presents findings from the evaluation of the Click It or Ticket occupant protection selective traffic enforcement program, conducted May 2001, across the eight southeastern most States.  The program was the first time ever that a Click It or Ticket or occupant protection selective traffic enforcement program has been implemented across such a wide region of the country.  8.5" x 11", three color, 34 pages.

Between 2000 and 2003, NHTSA funded seven alcohol demonstration programs designed to reduce impaired driving through well-publicized and highly visible enforcement. These demonstration programs were not specifically designed to be research evaluation studies; instead, they were designed to reduce drinking-and-driving behavior and ultimately alcohol related crashes. The states varied widely in their enforcement methods, media methods, and their paid and earned media budgets and messages.

Four of the programs were conducted statewide or nearly statewide. Paid advertising was used in Georgia, Indiana and Michigan.  In GA, TN, IN, and PA sobriety checkpoints were conducted throughout the data collection period. In LA checkpoints were permitted part way through data collection and in Texas and Michigan, checkpoints were not permitted.  The number and types of enforcement activities varied considerably from State to State.  Georgia reported using 2,837 checkpoints. Pennsylvania used checkpoints, mobile awareness patrols, and roving patrols yielding more than 1,100 roadside enforcement actions, while Tennessee used a combination of checkpoints (535), enforcement roadblocks (approximately 270), and saturation patrols (270).  Michigan used 1,122 saturation and routine patrols and in Indiana more than 3,800 patrol hours were reported.  The number of DUI or DWI arrests varied considerably, typically varying from a few hundred to a few thousand. 

This report summarizes a study of a program implemented by the Austin, Texas, Police Department (APD) that was designed to solve problems encountered in performing enforcement and adjudication functions of the DWI enforcement system.  This project assessed the impact of the program on the effectiveness of the system as a whole.  Program analysis showed increases in the number of DWI arrests and in the DWI conviction rate.  8.5" x 11", three color, 18 pages.

In 2006 and 2007, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska participated in a program called Buckle Up in Your Truck, which consisted of a two-week, high-visibility, seat belt enforcement effort that preceded the National May (CIOT)mobilization each year. Paid media and intensified enforcement were the two key components and focused on young male occupants of pickup trucks while enforcement focused on all unbuckled vehicle occupants. Both components were followed by CIOT. An average of 5 cents per capita was spent on paid media during each phase of BUIYT and CIOT, achieving about 350 gross rating points in each of 18 media markets for each week of the program. The citation rate, averaged across the states, was 15 to 17 citations per 10,000 population. The public awareness of general messages to buckle up (80%) was greater than the public awareness of ongoing enforcement efforts (68%).  Awareness of messages to BUIYT reached levels of just under 40 percent. Observed seat belt usage increased in all four states and in all vehicle types. Two-year increases in pickup trucks ranged from 3 to 14 percentage points (an average of 8 points). These results were similar to those of previous BUIYT efforts, combined with CIOT, in NHTSA Regions 4 and 6.

The purpose of this study was to identify and implement a comprehensive countermeasure program that could reduce deaths and injuries among pedestrians in a large urban environment. Miami-Dade County, Florida was selected as the focus of this study. Using pedestrian crash data from 1996-2001, four zones were identified within the County as having abnormally high pedestrian crash experiences. Based on location crash characteristics, as well as pedestrian (age, ethnicity) factors, a total of 16 different types of education, enforcement, and engineering treatments were selected and targeted to reduce pedestrian crashes specifically in the four zones, and also countywide.

A before-after study was used with three separate control groups to evaluate the effects of the combined pedestrian safety program on pedestrian crashes. A three-year after period was used (2002-2004). Multivariate intervention auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) time series analysis was used, along with non-parametric (i.e., Mann-Whitney U-tests) to test for statistically significant differences in pedestrian crash experiences. Results showed that, at the peak of the program effects in 2003 and 2004, the pedestrian safety program reduced Countywide pedestrian crash rates by between 8.5 percent and 13.3 percent, depending on which control group was used. Using the most conservative assumption--8.5%-this effect translates to approximately 180 fewer crashes annually in Miami-Dade County, or 360 pedestrian crashes reduced in 2003 and 2004 combined. Countywide, the greatest crash reductions were found among children and adult pedestrians as a result of the program. Educational and other measures to reduce crashes involving older pedestrians showed no effect. A number of lessons learned were identified for future implementation of such a program.
 

This study assessed the impact of an alternate ride home for persons who wanted to plan ahead for instances when they may be too impaired to drive, specifically targeting persons between the ages of 29 and 49.  Based on focus group findings, the researchers chose a work place program to evaluate because of the connection that exists between drinking and driving and potential negative consequences for worker's careers. The program implemented in the current project shows that alternative transportation programs are attractive to particular populations of at-risk drivers and are worthy of further exploration and implementation.  Black and white, 8.5" x 11", 150 pages.