Compendium of Traffic Safety Research Projects 1985–2013

Agimi, Yll; Warren-Kigenyi, Nathan; Berning, Amy; Wochinger, Kathryn · 2014 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Office of Behavioral Safety Research

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Summary

This document is a compendium published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Behavioral Safety Research, summarizing over 500 research projects conducted between 1985 and 2013. The primary objective of the publication is to catalog and disseminate findings from studies aimed at improving the safety of drivers, occupants, pedestrians, and other road users. The compendium serves as an updated annotated bibliography, expanding upon previous versions by including data from 1985 and 1986 and providing hyperlinks to electronic reports. The research covered spans laboratory studies, field evaluations, national surveys, and analyses of observational and archival data, with the overarching goal of enhancing law enforcement strategies, strengthening community programs, and informing policy decisions to reduce motor vehicle crash fatalities. The compendium organizes research into ten major thematic areas: alcohol-impaired driving, drug-impaired driving, occupant protection, speeding and aggressive driving, motorcycle safety, pedestrian and bicyclist safety, older driver safety, novice and young driver safety, fatigue and distraction, and emergency medical services. Within the alcohol-impaired driving section, the text details specific studies regarding impairment thresholds, legislative effectiveness, and enforcement strategies. For instance, literature reviews concluded that there is no "safe" blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for driving other than zero, with significant impairment observed at BACs as low as 0.02–0.03 g/dL and in more than 94% of studies at 0.08 g/dL. The document also summarizes evaluations of legal interventions, such as the implementation of 0.08 g/dL per se laws and administrative license revocation, which were associated with measurable reductions in alcohol-related crashes and fatalities in states like California, Illinois, and Nevada. Key findings presented in the summaries highlight the efficacy of specific countermeasures and the prevalence of impaired driving. National Roadside Surveys conducted in 1973, 1986, 1996, and 2007 demonstrated a downward trend in the proportion of drivers with alcohol-positive BACs on weekend nights. The 2007 survey, which expanded methodology to include oral fluid and blood samples, found that 16.3% of nighttime drivers were drug-positive. Risk analysis studies indicated that drivers with a BAC of 0.10% or higher are 64 times more likely to be killed in a crash than those with a BAC under 0.05%, while non-use of seat belts increases fatal crash risk by a factor of 13. Additionally, evaluations of zero-tolerance laws for youth and enhanced sanctions for high-BAC offenders showed positive impacts on reducing crash involvement among targeted demographics. The significance of this compendium lies in its role as a comprehensive resource for policymakers, researchers, and safety practitioners. By aggregating decades of empirical evidence, it provides a historical record of how behavioral safety research has evolved and influenced traffic safety outcomes. The document underscores the critical role of integrated approaches—combining legislation, enforcement, education, and engineering—in mitigating traffic injuries. It confirms that scientific evidence regarding impairment levels and the effectiveness of specific laws, such as lower BAC limits for youth and administrative license suspensions, has directly contributed to the reduction of lives lost to motor vehicle crashes. The inclusion of hyperlinks and detailed bibliographic information ensures that stakeholders can access primary data to support current and future safety initiatives.

Key finding

This document is a compilation of research summaries rather than a single study reporting a specific empirical result.

Methodology

dataset

Provenance

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Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• seat belt use
• regulatory evaluation
• driver education effectiveness
• dui enforcement
• incidence prevalence
• public messaging

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence, crash risk outcomes