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• A brief history of international traffic and transport psychology's three organizational pillars is presented. • The narrative focuses on the development of the International Conference on Traffic and Transport Psychology, Division 13 of the International Association of Applied Psychology, and Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. • Scholars critical to the founding of these organizations are highlighted. At the 7th International Conference on Traffic and Transport Psychology (ICTTP), I made a comment that our special issue to come from 10 selected papers could be augmented by one more: a brief history of ICTTP, its home division (Division 13 of the International Association of Applied Psychology, or IAAP), and flagship journal (Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour , or TRF). This paper is the result of that suggestion. What follows is not an empirical article that readers are accustomed to finding in TRF. It is a narrative that introduces readers to a few key individuals and moments in time that were critical in the creation of these three components of the traffic psychology discipline. The history in this paper could not be comprehensive, for as I explored the public record and spoke with or received email communications and documents from 12 individuals who were among the founders or knew critical details about their actions, I discovered there is so much more material worthy of exploration than could be addressed in this one manuscript. Alas, I am limited to introducing our historical organization only as a launching point for readers and me to have a foundation to research more. Readers will learn (and for some be reminded) of the discipline's international organizational roots. We as a community have benefited in significant ways from these founding members. It is time to give them their due. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rectangular Rapid-Flash Beacons (RRFBs) are safety measures that have become popular in recent years in the USA. Such equipment has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing vehicle speed and conflicts among road users, and increasing drivers’ yielding to pedestrians. However, RRFB effects on pedestrian behaviors are less well documented, and perhaps could produce contraindicated effects in crossing behavior. Specifically, RRFBs may give pedestrians a feeling of protection and induce them to more risk-taking when crossing the road. The current study was designed to investigate drivers and pedestrians’ reactions to a RRFB system installed at a university campus located in Virginia, USA. We deployed (a) field observation, using a multiple pretest/posttest non-equivalent control group quasi-experiment design and (b) interviews of students throughout the project’s multiple time periods. In total, 2454 pedestrians and 1312 drivers were observed and 265 students were interviewed. RRFB installations did not distinguish driver yielding likelihood between sites with or without RRFBs. However, driver yielding overall increased linearly over the five rounds of the study. Whether this was the result of the general presence of RRFBs on campus from the third round to the end of the fifth round is unknown. There is evidence from person interviews that students perceived increased safety for pedestrians over time. Being a RRFB chosen site or actual activation of the RRFBs did not have a significant relationship with pedestrian looking behavior either. The potential consequences of these results as well as the context of RRFB use on a university campus and generally low-speed roads are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sleep apnea increases risk of driving crashes when left untreated. This study examined the driving performance decrements of untreated, undiagnosed sleep apnea drivers compared with healthy controls in a monotonous highway driving simulator task. It was hypothesized that the sleep apnea group would perform worse during a driving simulator test compared with the control group. A significant group by time interaction occurred indicating that sleep apnea participants’ performance degraded more quickly over the course of the drive. In contrast with previous studies, this sleep apnea group did not include sleep disorder center patients, but rather community volunteers whose screening indicated a significant apnea/hypopnea index of 15 or greater. There may be inherent differences between patients and nonpatients with sleep apnea, as patients may have a more significant impact on their quality of life, causing them to seek treatment. Still, the results are clear that although the sleep apnea group drove similarly to the control group at the start of the drive, they are sensitive to time on task effects. These results support the need to diagnose and treat sleep apnea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In 2005 the Virginia legislature allowed the law permitting automated enforcement for red light running violations to expire. An opportunity presented itself to evaluate what would happen to red light running behavior at formerly enforced locations. Using intersections previously studied to document one city''s deployment and use of photo enforcement (see Martinez and Porter, 2006), we mobilized multiple pre-expiration, immediate post-expiration, and one year post-expiration observations at camera-enforced intersections as well as two control groups consisting of same-city and a different city''s non-camera locations. More than 2700 direct observations were made in these time periods, documenting the near-immediate increase in red light running at previously camera-enforced intersections. These intersections had a rate that nearly tripled immediately after the law expired, and more than quadrupled one year later. Further, within a year of the law''s expiration, the low red light running rates at the previous-camera locations had recidivated to red light running rates of the control locations. Driver characteristics were not significant predictors of these rates once intersection group and traffic volume (and their interaction) were controlled, meaning red light running in this study was not linked to a particular driver type. Our results are important for scholars of intersection safety, as this is the first known peer-reviewed study documenting estimates of what could happen when automated enforcement is removed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Red light running causes about 260,000 crashes and 750 fatalities each year in the US (Retting, Ulmer, & Williams, 1999, Accident Analysis & Prevention). This study investigated the effects of photo enforcement cameras on reducing red light running and characterized the typical red light runner throughout photo enforcement program implementation. In Southeast Virginia, eight intersections were observed over an 8-month period during which photo enforcement cameras were installed at three sites. To assess spillover effects, three other sites served in a same city comparison group. Two additional sites from a nearby city served in a control group for city. Over 1750 light cycles were observed with red light running occurring at least once during 13% of these cycles. Predictors of red light runners included being at a site without a camera or at an intersection before deployment of cameras, being under the age of 26, being in the non-camera city, not using a safety belt, and driving in more traffic. While overall red light running decreased at camera sites, characteristics of the typical red light runner remained the same at camera and non-camera locations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Pedestrian–vehicle crashes represent a small percentage of all Virginia crashes (less than 2% over the past 10 years). However, approximately 10% of crash fatalities are pedestrians. We analyzed pedestrian crash trends from 1990–1999 and investigated variables believed to predict these crashes, such as location (urban versus rural setting), sex, age, pedestrian drinking, driver drinking, driver violation, and time of day. A logistic regression analysis, controlling for year, found all of these variables significantly predicted the odds of dying versus being injured in a pedestrian crash. The typical fatality victim was an older male who had been drinking and was walking in a rural area between 12:00 and 5:59 a.m. A driver who had been drinking but would not be cited for a violation more likely struck this pedestrian. Crash data do not tell us about the knowledge drivers and pedestrians have regarding pedestrian laws, and how such knowledge suggested typical self-reported behaviors. Thus, we conducted a telephone survey of licensed Virginia drivers to assess such self-reported knowledge and behaviors. Most respondents reported knowing and following state laws regarding driver yielding and walking across streets. However, we found one area of particular concern. Respondents tended to believe pedestrians had the right-of-way at all times even when not crossing at crosswalks or intersections when Virginia law does not yield right-of-way to pedestrians in all cases. Virginia does not assign right-of-way in all cases to any group; rather the context determines who may proceed while others yield. Additional analyses from the crash trends and survey are reported in the text. The authors also draw parallels between their US research and that of the international community. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background Distracted pedestrian behavior is a significant public health concern, as research suggests distracted pedestrians have significantly higher risk of injury compared to fully attentive pedestrians. Despite this, efforts to reduce distracted pedestrian behavior are scant. Objective Using a repeated measures experimental research design, we implemented a behavioral intervention to reduce distracted pedestrian behavior in the high-risk environment of an urban college campus and simultaneously monitored behavior on a control urban college campus not exposed to the intervention. We had two primary aims: reduce perceived vulnerability to injury among individual pedestrians and reduce distracted pedestrian behavior in the environment through a change in community-based norms. Methods The hallmark of the behavioral intervention was a week-long opportunity for community members to experience personally the risks of distracted pedestrian behavior by attempting to cross a virtual pedestrian environment street while text-messaging. This was supplemented by traditional and social marketing and publicity through various campus partners. A sample of 219 individuals completed self-report surveys about perceived vulnerability to distracted pedestrian injury before experiencing the distracted virtual street-crossing and again after 2 weeks and 5 months. Observational assessment of distracted pedestrian behavior was conducted at a busy intersection on the campus as well as at a control campus not exposed to the intervention at baseline, post-intervention, 10 weeks, and 6 months. Results The intervention achieved mixed results. Individuals exposed to texting within a simulated pedestrian environment reported changes in their intentions to cross streets while distracted and in perceived vulnerability to risk while crossing streets, but we did not witness evidence of changed community norms based on observed rates of distracted pedestrian behavior before and after the intervention compared to a control campus not exposed to the intervention. Discussion The intervention created some change in self-reported intentions and thoughts but did not create significant behavior change on the campus exposed to it. Further efforts to develop interventions that will yield a reduction in distracted pedestrian behavior are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Primary enforcement laws have been shown to be effective methods for increasing seat belt use at the state level. Method This study investigates state differences in the effectiveness of primary enforcement laws by assessing whether a state's academic achievement, health ranking, economic prosperity, violent crime rates, government effectiveness, gender distribution, or proportion of rural roads moderate the relationship between those laws and seat belt compliance rates. Results Aggregate state-level academic achievement, health ranking, government effectiveness, and proportion of rural roads uniquely moderated the seat belt use differences between primary and secondary enforcement states. Conclusions This evidence suggests that cultural, social, and demographic differences among regions may be important factors in explaining state-level differences in the effectiveness of primary enforcement of seat belt laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: Recent research supports the use of high-threat messages when they are targeted appropriately and designed to promote high efficacy as well as fear. This research examined the effectiveness of using a novel threat-appeal approach to encourage parents to place their children in booster seats and rear seats of vehicles. Method: A 6-min video-intervention was created and evaluated at after-school/daycare centers via an interrupted time series design with similar control sites for comparison. Caregivers (N =226) completed knowledge and practice surveys and fear and efficacy estimations related to childhood motor vehicle hazards. Researchers observed booster-seat and rear-seat use in study site parking lots. Results: Compared to baseline and control assessments, the treatment groups’ child passenger safety knowledge, risk-reduction attitudes, behavioral intentions, sense of fear related to the hazard, and sense of efficacy related to the recommended behaviors increased significantly. Further, observed overall restraint use and booster-seat use increased significantly following the intervention. Conclusions: Applying high-threat messages to child passenger safety interventions is promising and has the potential to be adapted to other health risk areas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]