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• This paper examines seniors' perceptions and attitudes to a wide range of AV options from the perspective of pedestrians and users. • AV options included fully-automated, semi-automated, and shared autonomous vehicles. • The data were collected from 1000 older Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. • Three clusters of seniors were identified with different perceptions and attitudes toward different AVs options as well as demographic characteristics. Introduction: Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are considered a promising solution to improve seniors' safety and mobility. However, to transition to fully automated transportation, especially among seniors, it is vital to assess their perception and attitude toward AVs. This paper investigates seniors' perceptions and attitudes to a wide range of AV options from the perspective of pedestrians and users in general, as well as during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Underlying this objective is to examine older pedestrians' safety perceptions and behaviors at crosswalks in the presence of AVs. Method: A national survey collected data from a sample of 1,000 senior Americans. Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis, three clusters of seniors were identified with different demographic characteristics, perceptions, and attitudes toward AVs. Results: PCA findings revealed that "risky pedestrian crossing behavior," "cautious pedestrian crossing behavior in the presence of AVs," "positive perception and attitude toward shared AVs," and "demographic characteristics" were the main components explaining most of the variation within the data, respectively. The PCA factor scores were used in the cluster analysis, which resulted in the identification of three distinctive groups of seniors. Cluster one included individuals with lower demographic scores and a negative perception and attitude toward AVs from the perspective of users and pedestrians. Clusters two and three included individuals with higher demographic scores. Cluster two included individuals with a positive perception toward shared AVs from the user perspective, but a negative attitude toward pedestrian-AV interaction. Cluster three included those with a negative perception toward shared AVs but a somewhat positive attitude toward pedestrian-AV interaction. The findings of this study provide valuable insights to transportation authorities, AV manufacturers, and researchers regarding older American's perception and attitude toward AVs as well as their willingness to pay and use Advanced Vehicle Technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speeding is a key contributing factor in roadway crashes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and elsewhere. Understanding how drivers behave towards speed management devices (i.e., speed cameras, radars, speed limits and speed warning signs) as well as factors affecting drivers’ involvement in speed-related crashes might help in improving traffic safety. This study aims to identify and quantify the factors that affect drivers’ compliance with speed enforcement and management devices as well as drivers’ involvement in at-fault speed-related crashes in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (AD), UAE. Two different datasets were collected from the same drivers’ population in AD to provide different valuable information regarding the speeding problem. The first dataset was obtained from crashes’ reports while, the second dataset was obtained from a self-reported questionnaire survey that was carried out among a total of 442 drivers in AD. Three logistic regression models were developed to identify the significant variables that affect (1) the occurrence of speed related crash (using crashes reports data), (2) drivers’ compliance with speed limits (using questionnaire data), and (3) involvement in at-fault speed related crashes (using questionnaire data). The findings revealed that drivers’ factors (gender, age, and nationality), vehicle factor (vehicle type), roads and environment factors (weather, road type and speed limit) were the significant factors that affect the occurrence of speed-related crashes in AD. The questionnaire findings revealed that running late, low values of posted speed limits and no sufficient police enforcement were the three main reasons that make motorists drive over the speed limits. In addition, the results indicated that drivers’ characteristics (i.e., gender, education and income), drivers’ responses to speed enforcement and management devices, and drivers’ awareness about the importance of such devices in improving traffic safety were the main factors that affecting both drivers’ compliance with speed enforcement devices and drivers’ involvement in at-fault speed-related crashes. A comparison between the analysis results of traffic crashes and questionnaire datasets as well as a comparison between the findings of this study and existing literature are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qatari government introduced a major public transport project titled the Doha Metro system to address the fast growing transportation demands in Qatar's urban areas and to be ready for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. To benefit from this new metro system in reducing traffic congestion problems in Doha, it must be attractive with a reasonable level of service to attract large numbers of car users to switch to the new metro. This goal can be achieved by a better understanding of the user's needs and expectations in Qatar. This paper aims to identify and quantify the significant factors affecting commuters' perspectives, preferences and tendencies to use this new metro network for their daily trips in the future. The data used for the analysis was obtained from a self-reported questionnaire survey carried out among a sample of commuters living in Doha. Different data mining techniques were employed including conditional distributions and two-way analysis. In addition, logistic regression and structural equation modeling approaches were developed. The results revealed that the location of metro stations, the metro station's features, the metro's features, gender, the number of daily trips, the purpose of trips, and the average duration of trips in Doha were the significant factors that affected commuters' willingness and tendency to use the new metro system. The results of this study provide authorities and decision makers in Doha with valuable insights that should be taken into consideration prior to implementing the new metro service to ensure its success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present study aims at identifying and quantifying significant factors (i.e., demographic, aberrant driving behavior) associated with young drivers’ involvement in at-fault crashes or traffic citations at the ages of 16–17 (while having the Operational License) and 18–24 years old (while having the Full License). A second objective was to investigate the main reason(s) for involvement in risky driving behavior by young drivers. The data used for the analyses were obtained from a self-reported questionnaire survey carried out among 680 young drivers in Central Florida. To achieve these goals, the structural equation modeling approach was adopted. The results revealed that aggressive violations, in-vehicle distractions and demographic characteristics were the significant factors affecting young drivers’ involvement in at-fault crashes or traffic violations at the age of 16–17. However, in-vehicle distractions, attitudes toward speeding and demographic characteristics were the significant factors affecting young drivers’ crash risk at 18–24. Additionally, the majority of participants reported that “running late” is the main reason for taking risk while driving (i.e., speeding, accept short gaps, or drive so close to the car in front) followed by “racing other cars”. Additionally, “exceed speed limits” was the main reason for receiving traffic citations at 16–17 and 18–24 age groups. Practical suggestions on how to reduce crash risk and promote safe driving among young drivers are also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: One way to improve safety under reduced visibility conditions (i.e., reduce the chances of visibility related crashes) is to improve drivers’ behavior under such adverse weather conditions. The aim of this paper is to thoroughly examine drivers’ responses under low visibility conditions and quantify the impacts and values of various factors found to be related to drivers’ compliance and drivers’ satisfaction with variable speed limit (VSL) and changeable message signs (CMS) instructions in different visibility, traffic conditions, and on two types of roadways; freeways and two-lane roads. The data used for the analyses were obtained from a self-reported questionnaire survey carried out among 566 drivers in Central Florida, USA. To achieve these goals, Explanatory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approaches were adopted. The results revealed that drivers’ satisfaction with VSL/CMS was the most significant factor that positively affected drivers’ compliance with advice or warning messages displayed on VSL/CMS under different fog conditions followed by human factors. Moreover, it was found that roadway type affected drivers’ compliance to VSL instructions under medium and heavy fog conditions. Furthermore, drivers’ familiarity with VSL and human factors were the significant factors affecting drivers’ satisfaction with VSL/CMS advice under reduced visibility conditions. Based on the findings of the present study, several recommendations are suggested as guidelines to improve drivers’ behavior in such reduced visibility conditions by enhancing drivers’ compliance with VSL/CMS instructions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]