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Distracted driving is a leading cause of motor vehicle crashes, and cell phone use is a major source of in-vehicle distraction. Many states in the United States have enacted cell phone use laws to regulate drivers' cell phone use behavior to enhance traffic safety. Numerous studies have examined the effects of such laws on drivers' cell phone use behavior based on self-reported and roadside observational data. However, little was known about who actually violated the laws at the enforcement level. This study sought to uncover the demographic characteristics of drivers cited for cell phone use while driving and whether these characteristics changed over time since the enactment of cell phone laws. We acquired useable traffic citation data for 7 states in the United States from 2010 to 2020 and performed descriptive and regression analyses. Male drivers were cited more for cell phone use while driving. Handheld and texting bans were associated with a greater proportion of cited drivers aged 40 and above, compared to texting-only bans. Trends in the citations issued based on drivers' age group following the enactment of different cell phone laws were also uncovered. The proportion of citations issued to drivers aged 60 and above increased over time but the temporal trend remained insignificant when population effect was considered. This study examined the demographic characteristics of drivers cited for cell phone use while driving in selected states with texting-only bans or handheld and texting bans. The results reveal policy-based differences in trends in the proportion of citations issued to drivers in different age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Traffic, vehicle type, platoon, and pavement condition influenced passing distance. • Vehicles with opposing traffic passed the bicyclist significantly closer. • The Log-normal distribution was found to best fit lateral passing distance. • Bicyclist risk estimates contribute to assess the implementation of countermeasures. • Minimum passing distance should be mandated according to urban and rural areas. In the United States, 91.4 cm (3.0 ft) has been considered a safe lateral distance when passing bicyclists; however, this threshold may be more suitable to urban environments where most bicycle safety research has originated—limited research is available on rural roadways. In this study, a road bicycle was instrumented to collect naturalistic data and analyze vehicle-bicycle lateral passing distances (LPD) on high-speed rural two-lane roadways with paved shoulders. The bicycle was ridden in the center of the shoulder. Overall, 2,119 observations of vehicles passing the instrumented bicycle were obtained from a study segment. The impacts of different variables on distributions of vehicle-bicycle LPD measurements were analyzed. Passing vehicles with opposing traffic passed the bicyclist significantly closer than passing vehicles without opposing traffic. More predominant with opposing traffic, heavy vehicles passed the bicyclist closer than passenger vehicles. Similarly, following vehicles passed the bicyclist closer than leading vehicles. The study segment was repaved during the data collection period, so data before and after the roadway improvement was available. Vehicles with old pavement/marking passed the bicyclist closer than vehicles with new pavement/marking conditions. Distribution of LPD measurements was skewed to the left towards smaller values and had a long tail to the right towards larger values. Through maximum likelihood estimation, the Log-normal distribution was found to best fit the data distribution. Using empirical and theoretical density distributions, LPD was formally specified as a function of opposing traffic with a theoretical mixture distribution and generalized to estimate the probability of vehicles passing bicyclists below a certain threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic stops are a staple of law enforcement patrol and provide regular interaction with the community. Previous research has examined many aspects of traffic stop incidents, particularly when officers mortally wound civilians. However, accounts of peace officers feloniously killed during traffic stop incidents have received much less empirical review. The goal of this study was to establish a profile of fatal peace officer traffic stops and felony traffic stop encounters utilizing content analysis of federal, state, and local opensource data. Demographic and incident level characteristics of law enforcement officers feloniously killed during the course of traffic stops revealed an average tenure of 9.59 years, were alone in their patrol vehicle at the time of the fatal incident, and were killed during the ante phase of the stop. Firearms were overwhelmingly used in the incidents, most suspects worked alone, and the majority of incidents involved a non-felony traffic stop. Our study contributes to an already growing body of literature on traffic stop fatalities by being one of the first to establish a profile of United States peace officers feloniously killed during traffic stops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumer lore in the United States celebrates the automobile as a "freedom machine," consecrating the mobility of a free people. Yet, paradoxically, the car also functions at the crossroads of two great systems of unfreedom and immobility—the debt economy and the carceral state. Drawing on interviews with formerly incarcerated people, this article investigates this paradox in detail, tracing how the long arms of carcerality and debt operate in tandem in the daily life of car use and ownership. It describes the ways in which credit dovetails with capture—pretextual traffic stops, revenue policing from fines and fees, the overreach of automobile-related surveillance, the predatory auto loan and repossession businesses, and criminal justice debt—all shot through with profound racial bias. In the autocentric United States, transportation is a basic need, yet it has never been recognized or funded as a public good. As the "age of mobility" beckons, with autonomous driving as its technological centerpiece, the authors call for the social liberation of the automobile. From the outset, the automobile has traded on the romance of the open road, but it has too long served as a vehicle of inequality and injustice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decades of significant crime declines and recent reductions in the number of people confined in prisons and jails in the United States have been accompanied by the emergence of new, and the resurgence of old, forms of punishment. One of these resurgent forms is the assessment of fines, fees, and costs to those who encounter the criminal legal system. Legal financial obligations (LFOs) have become widespread across the United States and are levied for offenses from alleged traffic violations in some states to felony convictions in others. Their emergence has been heralded by some as a less punitive alternative to spending time in prison or jail but recognized by others as uniquely consequential for people without the means to pay. Drawing on data from 254 counties in Texas, this article explores the emergence and enforcement of LFOs in Texas, where LFOs play a particularly prominent role in sanctions for alleged misdemeanor offenses and serve as an important source of revenue. Enforcement of LFOs varies geographically and is related to conservative politics and racial threat. We argue that LFOs are a defining feature of a contemporary punishment regime where racial injustice is fueled by economic inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three times a day in the United States, a police officer kills someone. On any given day, this person might be an active shooter, a hostage-taker, or a bomber. But on that same day police might also kill a motorist reaching for his license (Philando Castile), someone selling loose cigarettes (Eric Garner), someone who used a counterfeit bill at a grocery store (George Floyd), or someone fleeing a traffic ticket for a malfunctioning brake light (Walter Scott). Intuitively, these scenarios present radically different uses of deadly force, but the nomenclature we use for deadly force does not account for this--all police killings are simply "deadly force." This Article suggests that this is a mistake that stunts both scholarship and discourse. Instead, this Article contends, police killings demand a new taxonomy, one that easily and intuitively distinguishes between different types of deadly force. This Article proposes a framework that distinguishes between police killings we intuitively understand to be problematic and those we are more willing to accept. It does so by proposing that deadly force be divided into three categories--preemptive, anticipatory, and reactive--according to the degree of speculation an officer relies on when they decide to use deadly force. Importantly, because this Article advances a descriptive as opposed to doctrinal theory, its proposal need not be adopted by courts to ctfford substantial benefits to scholars, officers, or litigants. Rather, this Article airrts to aid scholars', litigants', and courts' attempts to classify and explain the differences between police killings. Unlike the catch-all term "deadly force," this Article's framework recognizes and accounts for the dissimilarity of many police killings, which have nothing in common besides the end result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bilateral Mexico-United States relationship, it is a relationship with historical determinations of all kinds, which are still projected in our days, that in no relationship in other regions of the world can occur: border relations, commercial and financial relations T-MEC), relations due to the high migration of Mexicans to the United States, shared problems of drug trafficking and organized crime, so that the foreign policy of the United States, especially of a new government, such as that of Joe Biden, represents challenges and opportunities for Mexico, and locally within Mexico, the states of the republic may be impacted, for example the state of Colima, the object of analysis in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observing the spatial heterogeneities of NO2 air pollution is an important first step in quantifying NOX emissions and exposures. This study investigates the capabilities of the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) in observing the spatial and temporal patterns of NO2 pollution in the continental United States. The unprecedented sensitivity of the sensor can differentiate the fine‐scale spatial heterogeneities in urban areas, such as emissions related to airport/shipping operations and high traffic, and the relatively small emission sources in rural areas, such as power plants and mining operations. We then examine NO2 columns by day‐of‐the‐week and find that Saturday and Sunday concentrations are 16% and 24% lower respectively, than during weekdays. We also analyze the correlation of daily maximum 2‐m temperatures and NO2 column amounts and find that NO2 is larger on the hottest days (>32°C) as compared to warm days (26°C–32°C), which is in contrast to a general decrease in NO2 with increasing temperature at moderate temperatures. Finally, we demonstrate that a linear regression fit of 2019 annual TROPOMI NO2 data to annual surface‐level concentrations yields relatively strong correlation (R2 = 0.66). These new developments make TROPOMI NO2 satellite data advantageous for policymakers and public health officials, who request information at high spatial resolution and short timescales, in order to assess, devise, and evaluate regulations. Plain Language Summary: Nitrogen oxides are a group of air pollutants released after fossil fuel combustion. A constituent of nitrogen oxides, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), can be observed by satellite instruments due to its chemical properties. In this project, we average together images of NO2 pollution gathered by the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument satellite instrument over the United States in order to better determine the spatial distribution of NO2 air pollution. We find that this newest satellite instrument can observe air pollution with unprecedented clarity, similar to how HDTV is an advancement over regular TV. For example, we quantify pollution near individual airports, shipping areas, and major interstates; previous satellite instruments were unable to quantify air pollution with this type of precision. We also average the satellite data over different intervals to better determine cycles of air pollution. We find that NO2 air pollution is 16% lower on Saturdays and 24% lower on Sundays. Additionally, we find that NO2 pollution is larger on the hottest summer days as compared to typical summer days. These developments demonstrate how this new satellite instrument can advantageous for policymakers and health officials, who request information at high spatial resolution and short timescales, in order to assess, devise, and evaluate regulations Key Points: The high instrument sensitivity of Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) can measure NO2 pollution with unprecedented clarity compared to predecessor instrumentsWe can now quantify pollution hotspots within cities such as those related to airport/shipping operations and high traffic areasAnnual column NO2 observed by TROPOMI has good correlation (R2 = 0.66) with EPA surface observations without any surface‐to‐column conversion [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Article empirically illustrates that legal doctrines permitting police officers to engage in pretextual traffic stops may contribute to an increase in racial profiling. In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Whren v. United States that pretextual traffic stops do not violate the Fourth Amendment. As long as police officers identify an objective violation of a traffic law, they may lawfully stop a motorist--even if their actual intention is to use the stop to investigate a hunch that by itself does not amount to probable cause or reasonable suspicion. Scholars and civil rights activists have sharply criticized Whren, arguing that it gives police officers permission to engage in racial profiling. But social scientists have struggled to empirically evaluate how Whren has influenced police behavior. A series of court decisions in the State of Washington presents an opportunity to test the effects of pretextual-stop doctrines on police behavior. In the years since the Whren decision, Washington has experimented with multiple rules that provide differing levels of protection against pretextual stops. In 1999, the Washington Supreme Court held in State v. Ladson that the state constitution barred police from conducting pretextual traffic stops. However, in 2012, the court eased this restriction on pretextual stops in State v. Arreola. Exploiting a dataset of 8,257,527 traffic stops conducted by the Washington State Patrol from 2008 through 2015, we carry out difference-in-differences and triple-difference analyses to assess whether the Arreola decision increased traffic stops among drivers of color relative to white drivers. We find that the Arreola decision is associated with a statistically significant increase in traffic stops of drivers of color relative to white drivers. Further, we find this increase in traffic stops of drivers of color is concentrated during daytime hours, when officers can more easily ascertain a driver's race through visual observation. These insights suggest that judicial decisions like Whren and Arreola increase the probability of racial profiling by police officers. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for the literature on police accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores speed choice behavior of travelers under realistic and fabricated Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) content. Using web-based survey information of 4,302 participants collected by Amazon Mechanical Turk in the United States, we develop a set of multivariate latent-based ordered probit models participants. Results show female, African-Americans, drivers with a disability, elderly, and drivers who trust DMS are likely to comply with the fabricated messages. Drivers who comply with traffic regulations, have a good driving record, and live in rural areas, as well as female drivers are likely to slow down under fabricated messages. We highlight that calling or texting, taking picture, and tuning the radio are distracting activities leading drivers to slow down or stop under fictitious scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the decision of the Minnesota Courts in the cases related to criminal law. Topics discussed include State v. Gibson on traffic violation of failure to make a complete stop before entering intersection; Roberts v. State on fifth-degree controlled substance juvenile delinquency adjudication does not qualify as a crime of violence and State v. Wilde on warrant misidentifying person to be searched.

Avoiding competition is thought to explain insect successional patterns on carrion, but few studies have looked at competition directly. We use replacement series experiments with three species of blow flies: Phormia regina (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), Lucilia sericata (Meigen) (Diptera:Calliphoridae), and Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart) (Diptera:Calliphoridae) to characterize competitive relationships. From experimental results, P. regina showed a significant competitive advantage over L. sericata. Infestation of carrion differs between L. sericata and P. regina ; specifically, L. sericata oviposits on carrion without any delay, while P. regina typically delays oviposition. Our findings are consistent with the notion that differences in oviposition times represent a mechanism for L. sericata to avoid potential competition. Competition by C. rufifacies differs since C. rufifacies , in the event of a limited food supply, will prey on other maggot species. In replacement series experiments, C. rufifacies killed all P. regina in mixed treatments, representing an ultimate competitive advantage. In the United States, these two species do not often overlap because of differences in seasonal distribution. However, with climate change, phenological separation may grow less distinct. Surprisingly, in replacement series experiments with C. rufifacies and L. sericata, no competitive interactions were observed. In other studies, L. sericata has been shown to form clusters away from predaceous maggots, allowing improved survival, which may account for the absence of predation by C. rufifacies. Finally, this study shows that replacement series models are useful in measuring competition, supporting the notion that interspecific competition between necrophagous insect species may have driven life history traits of those species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2014, a number of protests in the United States have deliberately blocked limited-access highways to increase protest visibility and to connect to long-standing political meanings of transportation infrastructure. In response, in 2017 seventeen states introduced twenty-one pieces of legislation aimed at stopping such protests, whether through increasing criminal penalties, creating new violations, or indemnifying drivers who accidentally hit protestors. Although only two of these bills passed into law, they are still of interest for what they demonstrate about state-level legislative responses to protest. This research answers the question via logistic regression of why some state legislators supported these bills by sponsoring or cosponsoring them and others did not. In the end, the political party of the legislator was the most important factor, but other geographic and political variables mattered as well, including the conservatism of voters and the whiteness of the district population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During pandemics, like COVID-19, law enforcement agencies are responsible for working with government and public health officials to contain spread, serve the local community, and maintain public order. Given the person-to-person spread of COVID-19 through respiratory droplets, law enforcement officers are also at a heightened risk of exposure due to their close contact with members of the public. To protect officers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agencies have made numerous recommendations for law enforcement agencies to protect officers and the public. Departments around the country have responded to the pandemic in various ways, such as reassigning personnel to high-traffic areas, suspending training, roll calls, and community outreach initiatives, only issuing citations for low-level crimes, implementing safety precautions for officers, and limiting access to department facilities. The COVID-19 pandemic also has exposed some key obstacles for law enforcement, related to communication, resource management, the enforcement of public health restrictions, and changes to crime and service patterns. Based on these early/initial responses and obstacles during the COVID-19 outbreak, the current paper highlights directions for future responses to pandemics to ensure the safety and security of police officers and the communities they serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport has been associated with antisocial behavior and increases in crime on game days in and around sports venues. College sport in the United States is especially linked with an increase in alcohol-related behavior. As part of the civilizing process, Elias and Dunning posit that sport has become a space in which individuals engage in the Quest for Excitement, where behavior normally considered antisocial is accepted. The purpose of this study was to consider whether university sport events, which are often associated with ritualistic behavior and alcohol consumption, impact law enforcement activity on game day near university-owned stadiums. The results indicate that citations for alcohol were strongly impacted by in-state rivalry and conference games, and also influenced by increased temperature and game start time. Traffic offenses were associated with conference and in-state rivalry games. There were no significant predictors of battery citations. Analyses support the suggestion that the college sporting events analyzed impact alcohol-related misconduct and traffic crime. Conclusions suggest extension of the Quest for Excitement to include alcohol consumption behavior by fans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite new mandates to identify and respond to labor trafficking crimes, US law enforcement struggles to integrate labor trafficking enforcement with traditional policing routines and roles. As a result, human trafficking enforcement has primarily focused on sex trafficking and few labor trafficking cases have been identified and prosecuted. This study utilizes data from 86 qualitative interviews with municipal, state, county and federal law enforcement, victim service providers and labor trafficking victims in four US communities to inform our understanding of police responses to labor trafficking in local communities. Through the coding of these interviews across a series of themes, we identify three major challenges that impact police identification and response to labor trafficking crimes. These include lack of clarity about the definition of labor trafficking, lack of institutional readiness to address labor trafficking, and routines of police work that undermine police responsiveness to labor trafficking in local communities. Considering these challenges, we explore strategies law enforcement can take to improve identification, including developing non-traditional partnerships with labor inspection and local regulatory agencies. Additionally, interview data suggest a role for the police in ensuring labor trafficking victims are safe and their needs are met, regardless of the outcomes of the criminal justice process. This is the first study to examine police responses to labor trafficking from the perspective of police, service providers and victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Bayesian networks are used to learn the relationships on carrier safety rating. • Data from a motor carrier database (MCMIS) is used to examine safety ratings for interstate motor carriers. • The relationships are observed to be complex and non-linear. • Traffic violations had the strongest impact on safety ratings. In the U.S., a safety rating is assigned to each motor carrier based on data obtained from the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) and an on-site investigation. While researchers have identified variables associated with the safety ratings, the specific direction of the relationships are not necessarily clear. The objective of this study is to identify those relationships involved in the safety ratings of interstate motor carriers, the largest users of the U.S. transportation network. Bayesian networks are used to learn these relationships from data obtained from MCMIS for a 6-year period (2007–2012). Our study shows that safety rating assignment is a complex process with only a subset of the variables having statistically significant relationship with safety rating. They include driver out-of-service violations, weight violations, traffic violations, fleet size, total employed drivers, and passenger & general carrier indicators. The findings have both immediate implications and long term benefits. The immediate implications relate to better identification of unsafe motor carriers, and the long term benefits pertain to policies and crash countermeasures that can enhance carrier safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing literature documents racial disparities throughout the American criminal justice system. Yet, even as this evidence accumulates and garners increasing media attention, we know relatively little about the consequences of this type of information for public opinion. We incorporate insights from attribution theory to suggest that people differ in the cause they attribute to racial disparities in the justice system, and these different causal attributions profoundly affect attitudes and responses to information. Using two survey experiments, we find that attributions for the cause of racial disparities in pulled-over rates have a substantial impact on trust in police, and perhaps more importantly, alter susceptibility to persuasion and attitude change. Learning about racial disparities in pulled-over rates reduces trust in police, but only for predictable subsets of the citizenry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Civil asset forfeiture is a legal method for law enforcement to deprive United States citizens of their personal property with little hope for its return. With varying degrees of legal protection at the state level, Ohio legislators must encourage national policy reform by outlawing civil asset forfeiture in Ohio. Ohio Revised Code Section 2981.05 should be amended to outlaw civil asset forfeiture by requiring a criminal conviction prior to allowing the seizure of an individual's property. This Note proposes two plans of action that will restore Ohio resident's property rights back to those originally afforded in the United States Constitution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic stops continue to be the primary contact between law enforcement and the public, yet little priority is given to traffic stop education and training. A systematic review of felonious traffic stop-related law enforcement officer (LEO) deaths from 1990 to June 2021 revealed the average LEO killed during and after traffic stops was male, in their late 30s, at the rank of officer, with an average tenure of 9.6 years, and killed by a firearm. A synthesis of state and local law enforcement regulations in states with the most officers killed showed the average hours spent in the academy on traffic stop-related training was 20.3 h (3.6%). The overall annual training requirement averaged just 13 h, and only one state required traffic stop-related training, which was once every four years. The lack of education, training, and retraining may precipitate deadly circumstances for a routine law enforcement function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study aimed to identify the visuo-cognitive tests and self-reported driving history that correlate with the Cumulative Simulator Score among 31 active drivers with valid commercial driver's licenses (CDL). • Ninety percent of participants were male, average age 53 years, CDL driving experience 21 years, 14 years of education, low medication usage, and strong performance on the visuo-cognitive tests. • The number of tickets as a CDL driver and the number of years of education had the most correlations with the Cumulative Simulator Score. • A higher number of pedestrians hit on the simulator correlated with more experience as a commercial driver, higher MOCA scores, and Trail Making Test-A time. • This data may help guide the future development of advanced screening tools to better evaluate commercial driver safety. Future steps include a more targeted study, narrowed to the significant variables, with a larger sample size. Driving commercial vehicles requires intact visuo-cognitive skills. Approximately 13% of all fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States involve commercial drivers. The ability to accurately predict risk factors for unsafe commercial driving is essential for public safety. Accurate prediction tools will advance the field of commercial driver science, provide policy guidance for driver testing and assist healthcare providers during testing. Prior studies have correlated clinical tools to roadway safety; translating these results to commercial drivers has not yet been done. This study aimed to identify specific demographic, driving history and visuo-cognitive test results that correlate with driving simulator performance. Using the Cumulative Simulator Score (CSS) as a surrogate for driving ability, the objective was to correlate both sets of data (self-reported and visuo-cognitive testing) with the CSS to identify screening tools for unsafe driving in commercial drivers. Principal Results. Baseline assessments of 120 variables were collected from October 2020 to January 2022. Of the 31 participants, 3 were female and 28 were male with a mean age of 53 years. Average BMI was 32, blood pressure 136/84, 32 years of CDL driving experience, 36,500 annual CDL mileage, 11,000 annual personal mileage, 14 years of education, average number of medications: 2, average number of medical conditions: 2, six participants with personal and/or commercial crashes or tickets in past five years, MOCA 27/30, Trails B time 66 s, UFOV Speed of Processing 15 ms, Stroke Disease Severity Assessment pass rate 94 %. The Cumulative Simulator Score (CSS), correlated significantly with education (r = 0.42; p = 0.02), commercial driving experience (r = 0.42; 0 = 0.02), and number of tickets as a commercial driver (Spearman rho = 0.40; p = 0.02). In a stepwise multivariable linear regression analysis, the number of tickets as a CDL driver in the past five years and years of education were retained as significant variables in the multivariable linear regression model, explaining 38 % of the variance of total scores on the CSS. Major Conclusions. Descriptive and self-reported driving characteristics correlate better with the Cumulative Simulator Score in CDL drivers than visuo-cognitive tests. Since simulator performance has been shown to be a reliable surrogate for driving performance, the number of tickets as a CDL driver in the past five years and years of education can be considered as additions to annual physicals for policy makers and health care providers to help assess their on-the-road safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Intersection crashes resulted in over 5,000 fatalities in the United States in 2014. Intersection Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (I-ADAS) are active safety systems that seek to help drivers safely traverse intersections. I-ADAS uses onboard sensors to detect oncoming vehicles and, in the event of an imminent crash, can either alert the driver or take autonomous evasive action. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a predictive model for detecting whether a stop sign violation was imminent.Methods: Passenger vehicle intersection approaches were extracted from a data set of typical driver behavior (100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study) and violations (event data recorders downloaded from real-world crashes) and were assigned weighting factors based on real-world frequency. A k-fold cross-validation procedure was then used to develop and evaluate 3 hypothetical stop sign warning algorithms (i.e., early, intermediate, and delayed) for detecting an impending violation during the intersection approach. Violation detection models were developed using logistic regression models that evaluate likelihood of a violation at various locations along the intersection approach. Two potential indicators of driver intent to stop-that is, required deceleration parameter (RDP) and brake application-were used to develop the predictive models. The earliest violation detection opportunity was then evaluated for each detection algorithm in order to (1) evaluate the violation detection accuracy and (2) compare braking demand versus maximum braking capabilities.Results: A total of 38 violating and 658 nonviolating approaches were used in the analysis. All 3 algorithms were able to detect a violation at some point during the intersection approach. The early detection algorithm, as designed, was able to detect violations earlier than all other algorithms during the intersection approach but gave false alarms for 22.3% of approaches. In contrast, the delayed detection algorithm sacrificed some time for detecting violations but was able to substantially reduce false alarms to only 3.3% of all nonviolating approaches. Given good surface conditions (maximum braking capabilities = 0.8 g) and maximum effort, most drivers (55.3-71.1%) would be able to stop the vehicle regardless of the detection algorithm. However, given poor surface conditions (maximum braking capabilities = 0.4 g), few drivers (10.5-26.3%) would be able to stop the vehicle. Automatic emergency braking (AEB) would allow for early braking prior to driver reaction. If equipped with an AEB system, the results suggest that, even for the poor surface conditions scenario, over one half (55.3-65.8%) of the vehicles could have been stopped.Conclusions: This study demonstrates the potential of I-ADAS to incorporate a stop sign violation detection algorithm. Repeating the analysis on a larger, more extensive data set will allow for the development of a more comprehensive algorithm to further validate the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the article "Perspectives on the Fourth Amendment" by law professor Anthony G. Amsterdam which appears in a 1974 issue of the journal, and it mentions Amsterdam's contributions to the development of American constitutional criminal law, as well as various aspects of the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court case Rodriguez v. United States which deals with the legality of traffic stops by the police. The legal lessons that can be learned by reading Amsterdam's article are assessed.

Red-Light-Running (RLR) is the major cause of severe injury crashes at signalized intersections for both China and the US. As several studies have been conducted to identify the influencing factors of RLR behavior in the US, no similar studies exist in China. To fill this gap, this study was conducted to identify the key factors that affect RLR and compare the contributing factors between US and China. Data were collected through field observations and video recordings; four intersections in Shanghai were selected as the study sites. Both RLR drivers and comparison drivers, who had the opportunity to run the light but did not, were identified. Based on the collected data, preliminary analyses were firstly conducted to identify the features of the RLR and comparison groups. It was determined that: around 57% of RLR crossed the stop line during the 0–0.4 second time interval after red-light onset, and the numbers of red light violators decreased as the time increased; among the RLR vehicles, 38% turned left and 62% went straight; and at the onset of red, about 88% of RLR vehicles were in the middle of a vehicle platoon. Furthermore, in order to compare the RLR group and non-RLR group, two types of logistic regression models were developed. The ordinary logistic regression model was developed to identify the significant variables from the aspects of driver characteristics, driving conditions, and vehicle types. It was concluded that RLR drivers are more likely to be male, have local license plates, and are driving passenger vehicles but without passengers. Large traffic volume also increased the likelihood of RLR. However, the ordinary logistic regression model only considers influencing factors at the vehicle level: different intersection design and signal settings may also have impact on RLR behaviors. Therefore, in order to account for unobserved heterogeneity among different types of intersections, a random effects logistic regression model was adopted. Through the model comparisons, it has been identified that the model goodness-of-fit was substantially improved through considering the heterogeneity effects at intersections. Finally, benefits of this study and the analysis results were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the roles of justice court judges in Utah. Topics discussed include the resolution of traffic violation cases, the jurisdiction of justice court judges over small claims up to 11,000 dollars in damages, and the use of pro tem judges or attorneys appointed by the state Supreme Court in small claims cases.

The article examines the importance of mental health screening in prisons in the U.S., highlighting the case of Sandra Bland who committed suicide in the prison several days after she was arrested for traffic violation. Bland's death is reportedly controversial as investigations revealed that the prison staff failed to complete a high-fidelity mental health screening process and follow suicide prevention standards. Also discussed are the developments in American mental health services.

Objective:To examine the available scientific evidence based on peer-reviewed publications concerning the effectiveness of red light cameras (RLCs) within the U.S. traffic system. Methods:Relevant literature published prior to December 2012 was retrieved from the PubMed, Medline, and Engineering Index databases using free-text term queries. Jurisdictions with either a fixed number of RLCs studied or area wide programs within the United States were included. RLC studies with additional interventions were excluded. Nine RLC studies were extracted and grouped into 3 categories based on outcome measures: violations, crashes, and injuries/fatalities. Results:All 9 studies reviewed showed significant reductions in the frequency/rate of violations, crashes, and injuries at intersections after RLC implementation. RLC interventions appear to decrease violations, crashes, and injuries at intersections. Conclusions:Despite limited peer-reviewed publications available in the literature, it appears that RLCs decrease violations, crashes, and injuries at intersections. Some studies, however, contained methodological shortcomings. Therefore, the apparent effectiveness should be confirmed with stronger methodological approaches. Although spillover effects appeared to be evident, many of the jurisdictions examined were small in area. Thus, it is unknown whether spillover resulting from RLCs would have similar effects in large metropolitan areas. To determine the full public health impact of RLC programs, crashes, injuries, and fatalities should be considered as primary outcomes of interest. To accomplish this requires a clear definition of which types of crashes will be included for RLC studies. Lastly, it is unknown whether RLCs would be effective in reducing crashes resulting from distracted or alcohol-impaired drivers. Future studies should examine the effects of RLCs by exclusively analyzing these crash types. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Overtly racist statements are socially and politically unacceptable in the USA. Yet black people in the USA continue to experience discrimination and prejudice at both the individual and institutional levels. This paper examines white people's talk about race in focus groups from the North Carolina Traffic Violation Study. The participants discussed race obliquely, by talking about hypothetical behaviour related to crime and police profiling while largely avoiding direct mention of race. At the same time focus group members voice different expectations for white people and black people. By differentiating between behaviours expected from individuals perceived to belong to different racial groups, they reproduced racial difference. Focus group members legitimized racial profiling and did so using language that was largely ‘colour-blind’ and socially acceptable by attributing the disproportionately high rate of stops for black drivers to ostensibly non-racial factors. The groups used mostly colour-blind language, but the result was racializing discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Racial/ethnic groups in the United States may be overrepresented in motor-vehicle incidents (crashes and violations), particularly among low-acculturated immigrants coming from countries in which traffic laws are not well enforced. Some evidence suggests just the opposite. We collected and analyzed information on the residency status of licensed drivers in Florida and Tennessee to examine the hypothesis that the prevalence of seat-belt nonuse, DWI, speeding, and failures to obey a traffic signal was higher among recent immigrants than among US citizens. We rejected this hypothesis. Both in Florida and Tennessee, US citizens were more likely to be cited for DWI, seat-belt, or speeding violations than the noncitizens. However, immigrants were more often cited for failure-to-obey than US citizens. We concluded that residency status does, appear to play a role in the likelihood of traffic violations, but this role is far from uniform; varying depending upon the type of traffic violation, the racial/ethnic group, and the state in which the violation occurred. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Heavy vehicles and passenger cars differ in their maneuverability and acceleration capabilities. Heavy vehicles thus influence other traffic in a different manner than passenger vehicles, causing different levels of traffic instability. Increasing number and proportion of heavy vehicles in the traffic stream may result in quite different traffic flow characteristics. Over the last five decades many studies have investigated passenger car drivers' car-following behavior. However, the existence of heavy vehicles in the traffic stream has not received the same attention. This paper investigates the different car-following behavior of drivers in congested heterogeneous traffic conditions. It specifically focuses on the existence of heavy vehicles in general traffic and their interaction with other vehicles. Four different combinations of passenger car and heavy vehicle were considered. These combinations include passenger car-following a passenger car, passenger car-following a heavy vehicle, heavy vehicle following a passenger car, and heavy vehicle following another heavy vehicle. A data set from a freeway in the United States was used to show the different car-following behavior of drivers for each combination. This study analyzes space and time headways, drivers' reaction times, and vehicle accelerations. It also introduces different car-following thresholds for each car-following combination. It was found that the presence of heavy vehicles causes larger space and time headways, longer reaction time, and more robust car-following behavior. It also shows that the car-following thresholds are of the four combinations studies. The findings of this paper indicate that further research is required to develop a generalized car-following model that can be used when different vehicle types are in the traffic stream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following previous research on traffic stops involving police officers with African American and White drivers, a content analysis of 69 recorded stops was conducted in a very different locale of Latino and non-Latino drivers with non-Latino officers. The study was guided by communication accommodation theory, and predicted differences in interactants' communication strategies and stop outcomes based on ethnicity, driver accent, and the level of accommodative and nonaccommodative strategies. The results largely supported the hypotheses and suggested that there is a disparity in the treatment of certain stigmatized ethnic groups as evidenced in the dynamics of officer and driver communication behaviors. The findings are discussed in terms of their empirical, theoretical, and practical implications for negative experiences the Latino community may have with police. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]