Browsing by Author "Williams, Saajidah Bibi"

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    Exploring Driver behaviour under conditions of darkness: shedding light on the night time traffic death toll
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Williams, Saajidah Bibi; Sinclair, Marion; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Civil Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Road traffic crashes are a global public health concern and the leading cause of deaths and injuries. While it is possible to be involved in a road crash at any given time within the traffic environment, previous research studies have shown that the burden of road-traffic injuries is disproportionately borne by hours of the day during which the lowest proportion of traffic is typically present, i.e. night time. In South Africa, 58% of traffic deaths occur during the hours of darkness in South Africa, and the risk of being in a fatal crash is 4-5 times higher at night time than daytime. The purpose of this study was to explore driver performance and behaviour under night time conditions in order gain insight into traffic crash patterns and driving behaviour at night time. This was accomplished by analysing crash and fatality data over a period of 10 years to examine the characteristics of night time crashes, analysing driver videos to assess driver performance at night time (in terms of speed choice, intersection behaviour and compliance with traffic rules) and examining the beliefs and perceptions of drivers that underpin and govern their behaviour at night by means of a survey. The results from the crash and fatality datasets indicate that traffic fatalities are higher at night time, head/rear end crashes and crashes with fixed/other objects are predominant at night, pedestrians constitute the largest proportion of fatalities and traffic fatalities are higher at night for young male drivers. The results from the driving videos show that at night, drivers exceed the speed limit or adopt a speed that closely approximates the speed limit, use enhancements in street lighting to increase speed and adopt similar scanning patterns at night time as during the daytime. The results from the surveys indicate that drivers generally rate their driving ability at night more positively, are more likely to adopt higher speeds and contravene traffic rules at night, are likely to experience highway hypnosis and struggle with detecting pedestrians and estimating the speed of moving vehicles. The findings from this study can aid in accounting for the high number of traffic fatalities at night, assist in constructing relevant and meaningful interventions to reduce the number of traffic deaths at night and help engineers and designers to develop roadway facilities that accommodate drivers’ needs and limitations at night.