http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/13914 http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/retrieve/94910 http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/13914 Search the Channel search http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/simple-search http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/60410 Title: Evaluation of 2006 Maine crash data reported to MCMIS crash file <br/> <br/>Author(s): Matteson, A. <br/> <br/>Abstract: This report is part of a series evaluating the data reported to the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) Crash File undertaken by the Center for National Truck and Bus Statistics at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. The earlier studies showed that reporting to the MCMIS Crash File was incomplete. This report examines the factors that are associated with reporting rates for the state of Maine. MCMIS Crash File records were matched to the Maine Crash file to determine the nature and extent of underreporting. Overall, it appears that Maine is reporting 72.0 percent of crash involvements that should be reported to the MCMIS Crash file. However, since Maine does not capture whether injuries are transported for treatment or whether vehicles were towed due to damage, proxies for these criteria were developed and the true reporting rate may be somewhat higher or lower. The rate is unlikely to be higher than the rate for fatal involvements, 83.3 percent. Reporting rates were related to crash severity, vehicle type and size, and reporting agency. Tractor-semitrailers were more likely to be reported than smaller trucks, and only 12.9 percent of buses were reported. Missing data rates are low for almost all variables. The data reported to MCMIS was quite consistent with that in the Maine Crash file, although there were some discrepancies with respect to truck configuration, likely because the method of categorization differs between the two files. <br/> <br/>Description: Special report Thu, 29 May 2008 22:58:59 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/60142 Title: The measurement of dark adaptation level in the presence of glare. <br/> <br/>Author(s): Olson, P. L. <br/> <br/>Abstract: An investigation was carried out to measure the effect of glare on driver dark adaptation. The procedure used was to measure the time after the glare was extinguished until the subject could detect a target light source. The procedure was calibrated in a laboratory by adapting the subject to a large surface of known luminance, reducing its luminance to that associated with low beans on a dark road, and measuring the time until the target source could be detected. The test was run facing standard, US-type low and high beams at a distance of about 150 feet. The level of dark adaptation was found to be 5 ft-L with low beams and about 20 ft-L with high beams. <br/> <br/>Description: 14 p. : 3 ref. graphs. tables. Sun, 29 Oct 1989 22:58:59 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/58739 Title: Trends in fatal U.S. crashes in darkness: 1990 to 2006 <br/> <br/>Author(s): Sullivan, J.M. <br/> <br/>Abstract: Fatal crash trends in the United States between 1990 and 2006 were examined for changes in the ratio of crashes in darkness to crashes in daylight to determine whether recent improvements in vehicle forward headlighting might have influenced the dark/light ratio. A general decline in the ratio was observed among all fatal crashes, although partitioning of the data suggests this trend is only present among crashes involving drinking drivers. In an analysis of pedestrian crashes, an increasing trend in the dark/light ratio was observed. When the data were further partitioned based on the age of the victim, a decline was observed among adult victims and increases were observed among children and older victims. These differences in the ratio trend suggest that the dark/light ratio may be influenced by many factors and it may be difficult to associate it with any one factor, such as improved vehicle lighting. Further analyses examined dark/light ratio trends in fatal rural and urban pedestrian crashes. Sharp declines were observed in rural crashes; no change was observed in urban crashes. A comparison of interstate and noninterstate roadways found an overall declining trend, but no difference between road types. A comparison between luxury and nonluxury makes of vehicles found no difference between vehicle types, although a trend toward sharper decline was observed among luxury vehicles. Although some of the results could be considered consistent with the hypothesis that improvements in forward vehicle lighting have contributed to improved safety in darkness, inconsistencies in these trends suggest that other factors also affect the dark/light ratio and that caution should be used in interpreting the ratio. Moreover, the proportion of U.S. vehicles equipped with improved headlamps may be too small to influence fleet-based crash data. Additional analyses are suggested to develop more direct evidence for associating safety improvements with forward lighting. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:58:59 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/58738 Title: Mirror size and lane-change crashes <br/> <br/>Author(s): Sivak, M. <br/> <br/>Abstract: This study examined the relationship between the size of the driver-side outside mirror and the frequency of lane-change crashes. To control for other vehicle and driver differences that might be associated with mirror size, the frequency of going-straight-ahead crashes was used for comparison. The analysis used 1991-2005 North Carolina crash data. The sample consisted of 77 vehicles, including 37 passenger cars, 14 minivans, 14 SUVs, and 12 pickup trucks. The physical dimensions of the vehicles’ mirrors were measured with respect to a three-dimensional coordinate system that was relative to fixed points on the ground, when the driver was sitting in his/her normal driving position and looking at the mirror. Eye locations measured while drivers looked in the mirror were used to calculate the nominal field of view provided by the mirror. The effective field of view, limited by the body structure of the vehicle, was obtained using a manual pole-sighting technique. The main finding is that the relative likelihood of lane-change crashes was not related to the width, the height, or the area of the driver-side mirror. The most likely reason for this finding is that the effective field of view was not related to mirror size (although the nominal field of view was). That, in turn, is partly a consequence of two trends: larger mirrors being associated with larger eye-to-mirror distances, and drivers aiming their mirrors in ways that do not take full advantage of larger mirror sizes. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:58:59 GMT