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Objective: The present study investigated the relationships between safety climate and driving behavior and crash involvement.Methods: A total of 339 company-employed truck drivers completed a questionnaire that measured their perceptions of safety climate, crash record, speed choice, and aberrant driving behaviors (errors, lapses, and violations).Results: Although there was no direct relationship between the drivers' perceptions of safety climate and crash involvement, safety climate was a significant predictor of engagement in risky driving behaviors, which were in turn predictive of crash involvement.Conclusions: This research shows that safety climate may offer an important starting point for interventions aimed at reducing risky driving behavior and thus fewer vehicle collisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The number of road traffic injuries and fatalities in Iran is high. The aim of the present study was to investigate the rate of drivers' seat belt use and a number of related factors in Kashmar, Bardaskan, and Khalilabad (Iranian Safe Communities).Methods: In 2014, driver observations were made at 48 road sites on intercity roads, main streets, side streets, and rural roads in these 3 cities.Results: A total of 10,255 vehicles were observed, with the overall rate of seat belt use being 51.8%. The rates in Kashmar, Bardaskan, and Khalilabad were 51.4, 56.3, and 47.7%, respectively. In Kashmar, the odds of seat belt use were higher among drivers who were female, older, and taxi drivers. Higher use was also found during the afternoon, and lower use was observed on rural roads. In Khalilabad the odds of seat belt use were higher among females, older drivers, taxis, and private car drivers. Seat belt use was also higher on weekends and during the morning but was significantly lower on rural roads. Similarly, in Bardaskan the odds of using a seat belt were higher among females, older drivers, taxis, and private car drivers. Seat belt use was also higher during the afternoon but was significantly lower on rural roads, in comparison to main streets and intercity roads.Conclusions: The rate of seat belt use in these 3 cities was found to be low, despite these cities being designated as International Safe Communities. Therefore, seat belt promotion programs, tougher regulations, stronger enforcement, public awareness campaigns, and more research are needed to promote seat belt use in these Iranian cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective:This study investigated the prevalence of observable distractions while driving and the effect of drivers’ characteristics and time-related variables on their prevalence. Methods:Using roadside observation, 2 independent observers collected data at 4 randomly selected locations in St. Albans, UK. Results:Of the 10,984 drivers observed, 16.8% were engaged in a secondary task, with talking to passengers being the most common distraction (8.8%), followed by smoking (1.9%) and talking on a hands-free mobile phone (1.7%). An additional 1.0% were observed talking on a handheld phone, and the rest of the distractions (e.g., texting, drinking) were recorded in less than 1% of the drivers observed. Gender-related differences were found for a number of different distractions (i.e., talking to passengers, drinking, and handheld mobile phone conversations), but age emerged as a significant predictor for most secondary tasks, including talking to passengers, smoking, hands-free mobile phone use, handheld mobile phone use, texting/keying numbers, drinking, and engagement in any type of distraction (all distractions combined). The overall pattern for age was that middle-aged and older drivers were less likely to be distracted than younger drivers. Conclusions:This work provides further evidence of the relatively high rate of distracted driving in the UK. The findings clearly indicate that younger drivers are more likely to drive distracted, which probably contributes to their higher crash rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]