The relationship between driver and passenger's seatbelt use: a bivariate probit analysis.

Vehicle seatbelt has been shown to have a beneficial impact on occupants. However, some occupants do not use the seatbelt when inside a moving vehicle. Despite the numerous investigation on the risk factors associated with seatbelt use by occupants, little is known about the relationship between driver and passenger seatbelt use. This gap is analyzed with road side observational survey data on driver and front-right seat passenger's seatbelt use behaviour using bivariate probit model. The use of the bivariate probit model is based on the premise that the front-right passenger's seatbelt use is endogenously related to that of the driver. Out of the 5,433 vehicles observed, the prevalence rate of driver and front-right passengers' seatbelt use were 81% and 33%, respectively. In addition, there is a positive relationship between driver and passenger's seatbelt use with correlation coefficient of 0.53. Thus, the unobserved factors that influence the probability of a driver seatbelt use also influence their front-right passenger's seatbelt use propensity.

The effect of natural and built environmental characteristics on pedestrian-vehicle crash severity in Ghana.

Despite the benefits of walking as a means of travelling, walking can be quite hazardous. Pedestrian-vehicle crashes remain a major concern in Ghana as they account for the highest percentage of fatalities. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of both natural and built environmental features on pedestrian-vehicle crash severity in Ghana. The study is based on an extensive pedestrian-vehicle crash dataset extracted from the National Road Traffic Accident Database at the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ghana. Using a multinomial logit modelling framework, possible determinants of pedestrian-vehicle crash severity were identified. The study found that fatal crashes are likely to occur during unclear weather conditions, on weekends, at night time where there are no lights, on curved and inclined roads, on untarred roads, at mid-blocks and on wider roads. The developed model and its interpretations will make important contributions to road crash analysis and prevention in Ghana with the possibility of extension to other developing countries. These contributing factors could inform policy makers on road design and operational improvements.

Macroscopic modeling of pedestrian and bicycle crashes: A cross-comparison of estimation methods.

The paper presents a cross-comparison of different estimation methods to model pedestrian and bicycle crashes. The study contributes to macro level safety studies by providing further methodological and empirical evidence on the various factors that influence the frequency of pedestrian and bicycle crashes at the planning level. Random parameter negative binomial (RPNB) models are estimated to explore the effects of various planning factors associated with total, serious injury and minor injury crashes while accounting for unobserved heterogeneity. Results of the RPNB models were compared with the results of a non-spatial negative binomial (NB) model and a Poisson-Gamma-CAR model. Key findings are, (1) the RPNB model performed best with the lowest mean absolute deviation, mean squared predicted error and Akaiki information criterion measures and (2) signs of estimated parameters are consistent if these variables are significant in models with the same response variables. We found that vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT), population, percentage of commuters cycling or walking to work, and percentage of households without motor vehicles have a significant and positive correlation with the number of pedestrian and bicycle crashes. Mixed land use is also found to have a positive association with the number of pedestrian and bicycle crashes. Results have planning and policy implications aimed at encouraging the use of sustainable modes of transportation while ensuring the safety of pedestrians and cyclist.

A cross-sectional observational study of helmet use among motorcyclists in Wa, Ghana.

Motorcyclists' injuries and fatalities are a major public health concern in many developing countries including Ghana. This study therefore aimed to investigate the prevalence of helmet use among motorcyclists in Wa, Ghana. The method used involved a cross-sectional roadside observation at 12 randomly selected sites within and outside the CBD of Wa. A total of 14,467 motorcyclists made up of 11,360 riders and 3107 pillion riders were observed during the study period. Most observed riders (86.5%) and pillion riders (61.7%) were males. The overall prevalence of helmet use among the observed motorcyclists was 36.9% (95% CI: 36.1-37.7). Helmet use for riders was 45.8% (95% CI: 44.8-46.7) whilst that for pillion riders was 3.7% (95 CI: 3.0-4.4). Based on logistic regression analysis, higher helmet wearing rates were found to be significantly associated with female gender, weekdays, morning periods and at locations within the CBD. Riders at locations outside the CBD were about 7 times less likely to wear a helmet than riders within the CBD (48.9% compared to 42.3%; χ(2)(1)=49.526; p<0.001). The study concluded that despite the existence of a national helmet legislation that mandates the use of helmets by both riders and pillion riders on all roads in Ghana, helmet use is generally low in Wa. This suggests that all stakeholders in road safety should jointly intensify education on helmet use and pursue rigorous enforcement on all road types especially at locations outside the CBD to improve helmet use in Wa.

The effect of road and environmental characteristics on pedestrian hit-and-run accidents in Ghana.

The number of pedestrians who have died as a result of being hit by vehicles has increased in recent years, in addition to vehicle passenger deaths. Many pedestrians who were involved in road traffic accident died as a result of the driver leaving the pedestrian who was struck unattended at the scene of the accident. This paper seeks to determine the effect of road and environmental characteristics on pedestrian hit-and-run accidents in Ghana. Using pedestrian accident data extracted from the National Road Traffic Accident Database at the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ghana, a binary logit model was employed in the analysis. The results from the estimated model indicate that fatal accidents, unclear weather, nighttime conditions, and straight and flat road sections without medians and junctions significantly increase the likelihood that the vehicle driver will leave the scene after hitting a pedestrian. Thus, integrating median separation and speed humps into road design and construction and installing street lights will help to curb the problem of pedestrian hit-and-run accidents in Ghana.