tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/drivers-51614/articlesDrivers – The Conversation2023-12-26T20:30:44Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2170782023-12-26T20:30:44Z2023-12-26T20:30:44ZSeeing a lot of mobile speed cameras on your summer road trips? Here’s how they work<p>As you’re driving around this summer holidays, there’s every chance you’ll see a strange-looking white or yellow box on the side of the road. </p>
<p>It might have cameras protruding overhead, or be emblazoned with road safety slogans.</p>
<p>It’s a mobile road safety camera. It’ll catch you out doing everything from speeding, to using your phone while driving, to failing to wear a seat belt.</p>
<p>So how did these cameras come about, and how do they work?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-never-get-a-speeding-fine-again-and-maybe-save-a-childs-life-216347">How to never get a speeding fine again — and maybe save a child's life</a>
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<h2>Road toll refusing to budge</h2>
<p>In Australia, around <a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiODE5NjMzMTItYTA1NS00ZDc3LTgyNjktZDZkZjc4N2Y1NDVkIiwidCI6ImFhMjFiNjQwLWJhYzItNDU2ZC04NTA1LWYyY2MwN2Y1MTc4NCJ9&pageName=ReportSection0c482aa770040dbbdc8e">1,200</a> people die in car crashes every year. </p>
<p>The number of people seriously injured has risen from <a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiMGVlZDM0YzQtNWI3Mi00YzAyLWI5YjUtZGQyYzc3YjJmMmY3IiwidCI6ImFhMjFiNjQwLWJhYzItNDU2ZC04NTA1LWYyY2MwN2Y1MTc4NCJ9">34,000 in 2011 to around 39,000</a> in 2019 (although this may partly be explained by changes in the way admissions to hospital are reported). </p>
<p>Alarmingly, these numbers are showing no sign of decline.</p>
<p>It is widely recognised that behaviours such as speeding, drink or drug driving, fatigue, distraction and dangerous driving increase the risk of a crash. </p>
<p>Failing to wear a seat belt can lead to <a href="https://casr.adelaide.edu.au/publications/list/?id=1214">more severe injuries</a> when a crash occurs. </p>
<p>To reduce the trauma on our roads caused by these behaviours, we need to increase compliance with the road rules and encourage safer driving. The use of safety cameras for enforcement has become a crucial part of the <a href="https://www.roadsafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/National%20Road%20Safety%20Action%20Plan%202023-25_0.pdf">road safety response</a>.</p>
<h2>A short history of safety cameras</h2>
<p>Safety cameras were first used in Australia in 1985 with the introduction of speed cameras in <a href="https://www.monash.edu/muarc/archive/our-publications/reports/muarc242">Victoria</a>. </p>
<p>Since then, the use of safety cameras has grown to include fixed red light and speed cameras, mobile speed cameras (that can be moved to different locations), and point-to-point cameras (also known as average speed cameras). </p>
<p>In the past three years, mobile phone detection cameras have been introduced in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the ACT and Tasmania, and will soon be operating in South Australia. They have also been trialled in Western Australia. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-people-tailgate-a-psychology-expert-explains-whats-behind-this-common-and-annoying-driving-habit-193462">Why do people tailgate? A psychology expert explains what's behind this common (and annoying) driving habit</a>
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<p>Currently, Queensland and Tasmania are the only states to also use these cameras for seat belt enforcement, although NSW intends to do so in <a href="https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/topics-tips/mobile-phones">2024</a>.</p>
<p>Safety cameras, whether looking at speed or other dangerous driving behaviours, can be either fixed or mobile. </p>
<p>Fixed cameras are permanently located at one spot and operate around the clock. They have primarily been used to target speeding and red light running. </p>
<p>Mobile cameras, those roadside trailers you might see, can be moved from one location to another and can be deployed virtually anywhere at any time. They are mainly used to target speeding and can also be mounted on a vehicle or tripod. </p>
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<p>Trailer-based safety cameras can be left unattended in place for longer periods and are usually equipped with security devices such as alarms and security cameras. They also have a secure housing (that’s sometimes bulletproof) to protect against tampering and vandalism.</p>
<p>Typically, they’re placed in areas with a history of crashes or where speeding, distraction, restraint use, or safety are of concern.</p>
<h2>So how do they actually work?</h2>
<p>Safety cameras use radar or laser to detect and measure vehicle speeds. Sensors embedded in the road are used to detect red light running. </p>
<p>Depending on how they are set up, safety cameras can monitor multiple vehicles across multiple lanes and approaching from opposite directions. </p>
<p>They use high-definition cameras that are effective in different lighting and weather conditions, including night, fog and heavy rain. Some are able to identify and enforce speed limits for different types of vehicles (like heavy vehicles). </p>
<p>They may also use automated number plate recognition capabilities that allow them to detect or identify so-called “hot list” vehicles that are of interest to police (stolen, unregistered, unlicensed owners, for example).</p>
<p>Fixed and mobile cameras enforce speeds in their immediate vicinity, while point-to-point cameras measure the average speed of vehicles between two points and as vehicles pass the camera locations at the beginning and end of the zone. Currently point-to-point enforcement is fixed, but it is likely that portable cameras will also be used in the <a href="https://casr.adelaide.edu.au/publications/list/?id=1942">future</a>.</p>
<p>Mobile phone detection cameras make use of high-definition cameras and infrared lighting that allow them to see through the windscreen and determine when someone is illegally using a mobile phone. They can also determine whether they are wearing their seat belt correctly. </p>
<p>These cameras can also measure vehicle speed and use number plate recognition to monitor vehicles. It means they can help enforce pretty much everything. They can be either fixed or mobile.</p>
<h2>Do they work to improve driver behaviour?</h2>
<p>Research indicates safety cameras do just what the label implies: improve safety. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://library.college.police.uk/docs/what-works/SR8-Speed-Cameras-2017.pdf">systematic review</a> of the effects of different types of speed cameras suggests they are effective at reducing average speeds and the number of vehicles speeding, and, more importantly, reduce serious injury and fatal crashes by around 20% each.</p>
<p>Studies examining the effectiveness of mobile phone cameras are yet to be undertaken. However, NSW experienced a substantial decline in mobile phone use in the three years following their <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/speed-camera-fines-mobile-phones-sydney-new-south-wales-roads/89ebaea3-18d4-4b03-9772-ace7bdc1bc5b">introduction</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/speeding-is-more-common-among-people-regularly-exposed-to-content-encouraging-speeding-175066">Speeding is more common among people regularly exposed to content encouraging speeding</a>
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<p>Enforcement data also shows that the cameras are an efficient and effective method of<a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiZTAxY2EyOTAtYTdhMS00NTRiLWI0NDktM2U1ZDI0NzY0ZTU5IiwidCI6ImFhMjFiNjQwLWJhYzItNDU2ZC04NTA1LWYyY2MwN2Y1MTc4NCJ9">detecting infringements.</a></p>
<p>Merely relying on common sense, courtesy or self-interest will not be enough to reduce the trauma caused by bad driver behaviour. </p>
<p>Safety cameras work. They will continue to play an important part in reducing these behaviours and making our roads safer for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217078/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Centre for Automotive Safety Research receives funding from the government of South Australia. </span></em></p>As you travel around the country this holidays, you might see some roadside trailers or tripods. They’re mobile road safety cameras and they can catch out a range of bad driver behaviour.Simon Raftery, Research Fellow at the Centre for Automotive Safety Research, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2146832023-12-12T13:23:28Z2023-12-12T13:23:28ZCould UPS and FedEx get holiday packages to their destinations faster? This research suggests yes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557352/original/file-20231102-25-ip1egj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=68%2C24%2C4083%2C2726&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The real heroes of the holidays.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/fedex-delivery-driver-unloads-packages-from-his-truck-in-news-photo/691611386?adppopup=true">Drew Angerer/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every year, parcel delivery companies – think UPS and FedEx – <a href="https://www.zippia.com/truck-driver-helper-jobs/demographics/">hire tens of thousands</a> of seasonal <a href="https://www.jobs-ups.com/driver-helper">driver helpers</a> to handle the deluge of presents that arrive with the holidays. At peak times, shipping firms depend on their helpers just as much as Santa depends on his elves. And those companies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/deci.12559">could save millions of dollars</a> each year – and shave time off their deliveries – simply by tweaking the roles they gave those workers to be more efficient, my colleagues and I recently found. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://ilitchbusiness.wayne.edu/profile/hp9434">a professor of supply chain management</a>, I’m interested in how shipping companies can reach complex logistical goals. And there are few goals more challenging than getting <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/logistics/new-this-holiday-season-discounts-on-shipping-packages-7297097c">90 million parcels</a> to their destinations every day, which was the industrywide average during the 2022 U.S. holiday season. </p>
<p>So, when a major shipping company asked for some fellow researchers and me to find ways to improve the system, we jumped at the chance. Using mathematical models and a field experiment in a small Midwestern city, we found that reassigning these workers could unlock major efficiency gains. </p>
<h2>Have yourself some merry little logistics</h2>
<p>If you want your presents to land at Grandma’s house on time and you don’t live nearby, you’ll probably need a shipping company to help. But such firms have been under strain for years, thanks to the rapid growth of online shopping, lingering supply chain problems, <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/08/08/ups-drivers-170000-union-agreement-teamsters-middle-class-bidenomics">labor issues</a> and more. Unsurprisingly, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jbl.12242">shipping delays are becoming more common</a>. So improving efficiency would be a big deal.</p>
<p>The way things work now is that seasonal helpers are divided into two groups. Some are assigned to a driver and ride with them along their entire route. Others work alone at locations with many customers, such as shopping malls or big apartment complexes. Drivers stop by those sites and drop off many packages; these independent helpers then use equipment such as hand trucks to deliver the items to their final destinations.</p>
<p>The current system was a big innovation when it was introduced. Helpers can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jbl.12242">halve the time</a> that drivers spend delivering packages at some stops, allowing a single vehicle to deliver more packages each day. </p>
<p>But it doesn’t work perfectly. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jbl.12242">Helpers are often underused</a>, and sometimes they don’t have enough hours per day for the work to be economically viable for them. Independent helpers may be assigned deliveries on days that don’t take up their entire paid work time. Meanwhile, drivers aren’t always thrilled when helpers accompany them – especially if they aren’t really needed on the entire delivery route. </p>
<h2>A smarter approach for the holidays</h2>
<p>To improve both types of helpers’ efficiency while boosting their morale, my co-authors and I proposed the concept of a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/deci.12559">hybrid helper</a>.” A hybrid helper would deliver parcels together with a driver on part of the route, but could also be dropped off at select locations to work alone to deliver packages, with the driver returning later to pick up the helper. </p>
<p>Using a hybrid approach could save UPS up to US$4 million annually and cut last-mile delivery times by nearly 8%, our analysis found. </p>
<p>Studies like ours are a first step toward showing how adjusting delivery models could benefit companies while boosting worker satisfaction. But key questions remain. Another research team recently proposed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.0211">a promising approach</a> that cut last-mile delivery times by up to 43% by using an algorithm to find near-optimal routes for hybrid helpers. However, it’s not yet clear what that might cost.</p>
<p>To be sure, change isn’t easy. Adopting the hybrid helper approach would require the major package delivery companies to update the routing models they use. Such routing models are often proprietary and have been developed over decades, with a lot of time and money committed to their development. But revamping the system could save a lot of money and time – and that would give everyone a little more holiday cheer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214683/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Toyin Clottey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rethinking seasonal workers’ roles would help parcel delivery companies save time and money − and boost morale, too.Toyin Clottey, Professor of Supply Chain Management, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2164022023-11-09T21:40:27Z2023-11-09T21:40:27ZThe experiences of older drivers can help design cleaner and safer cars<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557839/original/file-20231106-267473-frkprb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Automobile technologies can be applied to allow older drivers continued mobility and independence.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-experiences-of-older-drivers-can-help-design-cleaner-and-safer-cars" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The current pace of technological change in automobile technology rivals the period about a century ago when cars were moving from the exotic fringes of transportation into the lives of <a href="https://americanhistory.si.edu/america-on-the-move/americans-adopt-auto">ordinary people</a>. </p>
<p>The automobile has <a href="https://www.ushistory.org/us/46a.asp#:%7E:text=The%20social%20effects%20of%20the,shop%20in%20towns%20and%20cities">reshaped the world</a>, giving rise to new freedoms and greater access to distant places, creating jobs and wealth and changing the physical landscape with roads, service stations, dealerships and suburbs. </p>
<p>Cars have brought incredible convenience, but their proliferation has also resulted in traffic jams, oppressive freeways, pollution and high-speed <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/highway-disasters">crashes</a>. And, cars have played a <a href="https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/climate.shtml#:%7E:text=Highway%20vehicles%20release%20about%201.5,year%20for%20a%20typical%20vehicle">big part</a> in accelerating <a href="https://www.pwc.com/th/en/automotive/assets/co2.pdf">climate change</a>.</p>
<h2>Car transformations</h2>
<p>Automobile design is undergoing massive shifts. Cars are moving away from gasoline-powered internal combustion engines and toward electric vehicles that generate far less pollution and noise. Cars are getting safer, too, with sensors and cameras that can help drivers avoid collisions. </p>
<p>Self-driving cars don’t seem too far off either, but until then, automobile design should consider the changing needs of drivers.</p>
<p>For all drivers, but especially those who are older and more experienced, cars that can do more without involving the driver present both an opportunity and a threat. This presents an opportunity to support safe, independent driving for longer, in keeping with <a href="https://yourhealthsystem.cihi.ca/hsp/inbrief#!/indicators/011/life-expectancy-at-birth/;mapC1;mapLevel2;/">extended lifespans</a>, and address the social and practical needs of seniors to move around.</p>
<p>The threat is that a more autonomous car may lull drivers into feeling safer and make it harder to understand when drivers with health-related changes should no longer remain on the road. In fact, with added technology, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720819900402">driving can require more advanced skills</a>.</p>
<h2>Safer for older drivers</h2>
<p>In my research, I work closely with older drivers, branches of government and automakers to ensure cars are as safe as can be.</p>
<p>I discussed these issues when I was invited to address <a href="https://sencanada.ca/en/Content/Sen/Committee/421/TRCM/53492-e">Canada’s Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications</a> in 2017. My colleagues and I continue to do research in partnership with older drivers and others, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2020.105741">Transport Canada</a> and the <a href="https://www.flipsnack.com/caasco/caa-magazine-sco-winter-2020/full-view.html?p=20">Canadian Automobile Association</a>. </p>
<p>An important goal of my research and teaching is to help everyone — including seniors — understand that aging drivers are a growing yet varied group with a wide range of physical and cognitive abilities — and that, statistically speaking, <a href="https://www.iihs.org/topics/older-drivers">seniors are involved in fewer crashes than their middle-aged counterparts</a>. In other words, age alone does not determine who is safe or unsafe to be behind the wheel.</p>
<h2>Declining health</h2>
<p>We need to plan as humanely and responsibly as we can for the fact that, especially in the upper range of this demographic group, health-related declines and medical changes can happen <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection-R/LoPBdP/BP/bp351-e.htm">quickly</a> and are not always readily <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health">apparent</a>. </p>
<p>For example, working with an advisory group of people with lived experience with dementia, my colleagues and I developed the <a href="https://drivinganddementia.ca/Acknowledgements">driving and dementia roadmap</a>. This is a free online resource to help health professionals, caregivers and individuals living with this disease be safer on the road.</p>
<p>As cars change, it is critical that manufacturers, engineers and regulators consider how drivers, particularly those in their later years, will respond to and engage with emerging technologies. It is also important to ensure new technology is created with older drivers in mind as much as anyone else, in keeping with the principles of <a href="https://universaldesign.ie/what-is-universal-design/">universal design</a>. </p>
<p>That includes making sure that getting in and out of a car, orienting oneself on the road and controlling all the systems of a vehicle are friendly to all drivers.</p>
<h2>Informed and transformed design</h2>
<p>My research team is embarking on a project in conjunction with our engineering colleagues and students at the <a href="https://electrification.mcmaster.ca">McMaster Automotive Resource Centre</a>, where we are inviting older drivers to volunteer and share their driving-related experiences. The aim is to inform the design of a 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ, an electric SUV, as part of the North American <a href="https://avtcseries.org/about-the-ecocar-ev-challenge/">EcoCar EV Challenge</a>. </p>
<p>The mandate of this contest is not just to make vehicles that are as efficient and as easy on the environment as possible, but also to optimize their safety and accessibility for drivers of different ages and abilities. </p>
<p>A modern car with fully loaded safety features and powered without gas will only be a great success if it’s designed for those who will use it. By involving older drivers — the most experienced on today’s roadways — in their research and development, the cars of tomorrow can be made clean, safe and accessible for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216402/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brenda Vrkljan has received research funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Government of Canada, and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO). </span></em></p>Automobile technology provides opportunities for older drivers to maintain their independence and autonomy, but cars need to be designed with their needs in mind.Brenda Vrkljan, Professor of Occupational Therapy, School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2140512023-10-01T15:12:15Z2023-10-01T15:12:15ZSafety on the line: Drivers who juggle multiple jobs are more likely to take risks on the road<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550774/original/file-20230927-15-dqt564.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C250%2C4581%2C2840&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Drivers that juggle driving with another job were more likely to run red lights and carry weapons, such as knives, for safety reasons. These behaviours pose risks not only to drivers, but also to the public.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Paul Hanaoka/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/safety-on-the-line-drivers-who-juggle-multiple-jobs-are-more-likely-to-take-risks-on-the-road" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/business/uber-lyft-driver-deaths.html">driving profession is unsafe</a>. Taxi drivers and ride-hail drivers, who drive for apps like Uber and Lyft, face many safety risks on the road, from <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/weso/2021/WCMS_771749/lang--en/index.htm">accidents and injuries</a> to <a href="https://www.benefitnews.com/news/why-two-thirds-of-uber-lyft-drivers-didnt-feel-safe-at-work-last-year">harassment</a> and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9048681/fatal-shooting-surrey-tuesday/">violence</a>. </p>
<p>In fact, <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/weso/2021/WCMS_771749/lang--en/index.htm">83 per cent of ride-hail drivers from around the world</a> feel their work is unsafe. As a result, <a href="https://therideshareguy.com/uber-driver-survey/#uber-surveys-drivers">22 per cent of American drivers carry weapons</a> in their vehicles to protect themselves.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170231185212">Our recent research study aimed to examine</a> whether low income, lack of rest and few breaks lead to unsafe behaviour in drivers. We compared the driving behaviours of multi-job professional drivers — those who drive for taxi companies or ride-hail apps and also have another job — with those whose only job is driving. </p>
<p>We found that multi-job professional drivers took the most risks. These drivers were more likely to run red lights and carry weapons, such as knives, for safety reasons. These behaviours pose risks not only to drivers, but also to the public.</p>
<h2>Multiple job holders</h2>
<p>More than <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/14-28-0001/2020001/article/00011-eng.htm">five per cent of Canadians had several jobs at the same time in 2021</a> — nearly two and a half times higher than in 1976. Most Canadians hold multiple jobs because they <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-222-x/71-222-x2019003-eng.htm">don’t make enough money to cover their expenses</a> with one job alone.</p>
<p>To <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/12/nyregion/cab-uber-lyft-drivers.html">increase their income</a>, many drivers <a href="https://www.ridester.com/drive-for-uber-and-lyft-at-the-same-time/">work on several driving platforms at once</a> or drive for both taxi and ride-hail companies. Some drivers even work for taxi and ride-hail companies while holding another job. Our research suggests these multi-job professional drivers may face the greatest safety risks. </p>
<p>Multi-job holders deal with <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/markcperna/2023/01/17/working-multiple-jobs-here-are-some-reminders-to-save-your-sanity/?sh=17a6249e7cbc">sleep deprivation, stress and reduced performance</a>. Multi-job professional drivers may also be at greater risk of <a href="https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.7072">drowsy driving accidents</a> and may be more likely to deal with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3359319">intoxicated passengers while driving late at night</a>. </p>
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<img alt="A man rubs his eyes while sitting behind the steering wheel of a vehicle" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550771/original/file-20230927-29-fkubx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550771/original/file-20230927-29-fkubx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550771/original/file-20230927-29-fkubx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550771/original/file-20230927-29-fkubx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550771/original/file-20230927-29-fkubx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550771/original/file-20230927-29-fkubx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550771/original/file-20230927-29-fkubx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Multi-job professional drivers are at greater risk of drowsy driving accidents because they often end up driving at night or after working long hours at another job.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why do these drivers take more risks?</h2>
<p>Multi-job professional drivers face a number of challenges that can lead them to take more risks while on the road. First, <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4071315">they often have unsteady income due to working multiple low-paying jobs</a> without the safety nets provided by traditional employment. As a result, these drivers are more likely to take risks to complete fares quickly and earn more money.</p>
<p>Drivers <a href="https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/wages-occupation/10557/ca">often make at</a> or <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-uber-drivers-pay-toronto/">below minimum wage</a> and are paid per fare completed, rather than per hour. This means drivers feel pressured to get to destinations quickly, so they are more likely to make <a href="https://www.cantaxi.ca/wp-content/uploads/Toronto-Taxi-Review-Final-Report.pdf">illegal U-turns</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2019.02.007">speed</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.1557">run yellow lights</a>.</p>
<p>Second, multi-job professional drivers are more likely to <a href="https://doi.org/10.2105%2FAJPH.2013.301431">work evening shifts and at odd hours</a> due to their complicated schedules. Drivers believe this increases their chances of <a href="https://www.uberpeople.net/threads/driving-night.152420/#post-2274634">picking up unpredictable, intoxicated or dangerous passengers</a>. As a result, multi-job professional drivers are more likely to carry weapons to protect themselves.</p>
<p>Lastly, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3109%2F07420528.2016.1167717">multi-job holders sleep less than single job holders</a> because they work longer hours and at times when they would otherwise be resting. Their lack of sleep often results in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1055%2Fs-0029-1237117">decreased attention and awareness</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.7072">makes them more prone to accidents</a>, and as our findings suggest, leads to road safety violations.</p>
<h2>Reducing risk to drivers and the public</h2>
<p>Addressing the challenges faced by drivers and mitigating safety risks for both drivers and the public involves several key considerations. </p>
<p><strong>1. Better wages.</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/uber-drivers-report-80-plus-hour-workweeks-and-a-lot-of-waiting-115782">Drivers have reported</a> that they waste half of their shifts waiting for fares; this is time spent not making any money. Government enforcement of <a href="https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-42/session-2/bill-88#Sched13">hourly minimum wages</a> may be an effective solution to increase driver pay, as long as wages <a href="https://www.epi.org/press/uber-drivers-should-be-paid-for-time-spent-waiting-for-fares-facts-of-being-an-uber-driver-reveal-no-need-to-create-a-third-category-of-worker/">take waiting times into account</a>. </p>
<p>Better wages may discourage drivers from running red lights or taking other risks to get to destinations quickly. It may also give drivers the ability to refuse ride requests that they feel are unsafe.</p>
<p><strong>2. Mandatory paid breaks.</strong> Some drivers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dax082">don’t take breaks during or between shifts</a> because they fear missing out on any potential fares or being <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/permits-licences-bylaws/vehicle-for-hire-set-fines/">fined by bylaw officers for leaving their vehicles unattended</a>. In addition to better wages, policymakers should consider the negative impact of these bylaws on the well-being of drivers. Mandatory paid breaks, which signal the importance of rest, may be a start.</p>
<p><strong>3. Greater safety protections.</strong> Many multiple job holders choose to work as ride-hail drivers because these jobs are the ones that are available to them, and they are drawn to the supposed <a href="https://fortune.com/2022/08/17/full-time-lyft-driver-flexibility-choice-act-underpaid-gig-work-pay-workers-rideshare-mike-robinson/">flexibility and choice</a> this work offers. The reality is that drivers are managed by algorithms <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/pringle-uber-doordash-gig-economy-1.5238726">instead of human managers</a> who would normally control things like driver pay and performance, and address safety concerns.</p>
<p>Drivers have reported that they get <a href="https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/2635">automated email responses</a> when reporting safety incidents. In cases when passengers have assaulted drivers, drivers are often only told <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520324800/uberland">they will not be matched up with that passenger again</a>. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.uber.com/ca/en/drive/driver-app/phone-support/">Uber</a> and <a href="https://www.lyft.com/safety/driver#help-from-real-humans">Lyft</a> now offer drivers access to phone support, drivers have reported that <a href="https://www.uberpeople.net/threads/customer-support-vs-bots.470266/#post-7526680">support representatives rely on the same automated responses</a>. Drivers should have access to more individualized support <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/08/what-people-hate-about-being-managed-by-algorithms-according-to-a-study-of-uber-drivers">so they feel less like they are talking to machines</a>.</p>
<h2>More support needed</h2>
<p>While ride-hail apps have put some safety measures into effect to support drivers, more help is needed. <a href="https://help.lyft.com/hc/en-ca/all/articles/115012926787-Taking-breaks-and-time-limits-in-driver-mode">Lyft has implemented a mandatory break rule</a>, whereby after using the app for 12 hours, drivers are not able to go online for six hours. This is a start to ensure drivers take breaks. However, drivers may just log into another ride-hail app and keep driving.</p>
<p>The Uber app also <a href="https://www.uber.com/ca/en/drive/safety/?uclick_id=2885d49f-8ef1-4ab6-a5b0-901b52af1d71">reminds drivers to stay within the posted speed limit and to take breaks</a>. However, a recent survey from the non-profit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that ride-hail drivers are <a href="https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/smartphone-apps-drive-gig-workers-parents-to-distraction">four times more likely to drive distractedly</a> compared to other drivers, increasing the risk of an accident. Receiving alerts from Uber while driving likely distracts drivers even more.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/uber-drivers-working-conditions-1.6824946">Driver safety must become a greater priority</a> for ride-hail companies. Companies like Uber and Lyft have a long way to go in improving worker safety to ensure both drivers and passengers feel safe on the road.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214051/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine E. Connelly receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Canada Research Chair program. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra D. Lefcoe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Companies like Uber and Lyft have a long way to go in improving worker safety to ensure both drivers and passengers feel safe on the road.Alexandra D. Lefcoe, PhD Candidate, Management of Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources, McMaster UniversityCatherine E. Connelly, Canada Research Chair and Professor of Organizational Behaviour, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2109892023-09-15T06:58:10Z2023-09-15T06:58:10ZWales’ residential speed limit is dropping to 20mph – here’s how it should affect accidents and journey times<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547541/original/file-20230911-21774-vlazi6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4608%2C3456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The drop to 20mph in Wales will come into force at midnight on September 17. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/20-mph-speed-limit-sign-on-1166519551">steved_np3/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The default speed limit in residential areas in Wales will be <a href="https://www.gov.wales/introducing-default-20mph-speed-limits">reduced</a> from 30mph to 20mph from midnight on September 17. It will make Wales the first UK nation to adopt a 20mph default urban speed limit. </p>
<p>The new limit will apply to all “restricted” roads, which are roads in built-up areas with high levels of pedestrians. There are some exemptions and local authorities have been able to apply for certain roads to be kept at 30mph.</p>
<p>This change in the law has huge potential public health benefits, including decreasing the number of injuries and deaths from collisions, and may encourage more people to walk and cycle.</p>
<p>However, there is some opposition to the change, with concerns over journey times, additional costs to businesses in deliveries, uncertainties around its effect on vehicle emissions and the potential for increased frustration and road rage.</p>
<p>In bringing forward this change, the Welsh government has used the <a href="https://www.gov.wales/20mph-campaign-promotional-leaflet">strapline</a> “20mph. A bit slower but a whole lot better”, and has led the campaign with the promise of reducing collisions and saving lives. It says that in the time a car travelling at 20mph can stop, a car at 30mph would still be doing 24mph. It goes on to suggest that streets and communities will be safer, meaning people will walk more, improving health and wellbeing.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.gov.wales/state-evidence-20mph-speed-limits-regards-road-safety-active-travel-and-air-pollution-impacts">Evidence</a> suggests the Welsh government is broadly correct. Reducing the default speed limit to 20mph will reduce casualties, providing drivers with more time to react if things go wrong. </p>
<p>Following the implementation of 20mph limits in <a href="https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/phr/XAZI9445/#/abstract">Edinburgh</a>, for example, the number of collisions in one year fell by 40%. There were 23% fewer deaths and serious injuries were reduced by 33%. </p>
<p>Walking and cycling may increase too. We know that higher vehicle speeds are a <a href="https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/15/6/369.short">barrier</a> to walking and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15568318.2021.1999539">cycling</a>, especially among <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/978-1-83982-744-020211002/full/html">older adults</a>.</p>
<h2>Opposition</h2>
<p>Not everyone in Wales is happy about the drop to 20mph. Several <a href="https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/245406">petitions</a> have attempted to stop the change, while the Welsh Conservatives <a href="https://nation.cymru/news/welsh-conservatives-planning-to-force-a-final-vote-on-20mph-speed-limit/">oppose</a> blanket reductions. Reports have also emerged of 20mph signs being <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/people-been-defacing-20mph-signs-27660830">defaced</a>. </p>
<p>A common complaint is that journey times will be slower. But a UK government <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/757307/20mph-headline-report.pdf">report</a> in 2018 looked at 12 case studies in England where 20mph limits were implemented, concluding that journey times increased by only 3% in residential areas and 5% in city centres, adding less than a minute to a five-mile trip.</p>
<p>Also, as traffic flows are often more interrupted in urban areas - with frequent junctions and traffic lights, for example - a slight reduction in maximum permitted speeds may smooth out the traffic flow, reducing perceived delays.</p>
<p>Driver behaviour is, of course, a complex subject. Some drivers simply do not want to slow down and feel they have a right to drive fast. Meanwhile, other drivers feel the pressure to conform with other people’s behaviour, fitting in with the prevailing norms on the road. </p>
<h2>Drivers’ opinions</h2>
<p>Charles was involved in a qualitative <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214140514000383?via%3Dihub">study</a>, published in 2014, that attempted to categorise drivers’ opinions to work out how we might change attitudes and behaviour using the “diffusion of innovation” model, which is a theory that seeks to explain how, why and at what rate new ideas and technology spread. </p>
<p>In the study, drivers were sorted into categories of support for 20mph speed limits based on their answers to a series of questions. One group of “champions” was wholly supportive of 20mph regardless of others around them, even if tailgated or flashed by other vehicles. </p>
<p>In contrast, another group defined as “pragmatists” were more aware of others’ behaviour and were influenced by it, feeling the pressure to speed up. Many in this group had little awareness of speed limits in general, driving much more to the conditions or as others were around them. </p>
<p>And the final group of “opponents” tended to be strongly against speed limits. This tended to be reflected by how they set their own speed limits according to conditions. </p>
<p>The study suggested that champions respond well to information about the benefits of 20mph limits. But pragmatists need to accept that 20mph limits are normal and supported by most other drivers.</p>
<p>We know from the study that there is support for 20mph but also some ambivalence, which can be overcome after a bedding in period. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An aerial view of a residential street with 20 painted on the road in bold numbers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547756/original/file-20230912-21-fvdp8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547756/original/file-20230912-21-fvdp8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547756/original/file-20230912-21-fvdp8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547756/original/file-20230912-21-fvdp8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547756/original/file-20230912-21-fvdp8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547756/original/file-20230912-21-fvdp8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547756/original/file-20230912-21-fvdp8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The speed limit in this residential area in Pontypridd is already set at 20mph.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pontypridd-wales-july-2022-aerial-view-2179041355">Ceri Breeze/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The truth is that most people are not opposed to 20mph speed limits, but a sizeable minority are. Welsh government commissioned <a href="https://www.gov.wales/20mph-public-attitudes-research">research</a> suggests 80% were either slightly or strongly in favour of 20mph limits in 2021, but that this fell to <a href="https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2022-11/20mph-public-attitudes-survey-further-research.pdf">63% in 2022</a>. </p>
<p>This is not uncommon, however, as people’s support for change tends to <a href="https://www.gartner.co.uk/en/methodologies/gartner-hype-cycle">grow initially</a> but then falls off the closer it gets to implementation. Eventually, people may come around to the idea. </p>
<p>But it needs a government willing to stand its ground when negative public opinion emerges just before implementation, as we are seeing now.</p>
<p>It is time we stopped accepting death and injury in the name of freedom of mobility. Default 20mph speed limits are a good start but they must be accompanied by driver education programmes and police enforcement to be effective. And, of course, non-motoring road users still need more pavements, cycle lanes, safe crossing points and efficient and affordable public transport options.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Musselwhite receives funding from Health and Care Research Wales.
Charles Musselwhite is Board Member of the Transport and Health Science Group (THSG)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Merriman has received funding for past research from the ESRC, AHRC, British Academy, and European Regional Development Fund. </span></em></p>The Welsh government wants to make residential roads safer and quieter but not everybody agrees with dropping the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph.Charles Musselwhite, Professor of Psychology, Aberystwyth UniversityPeter Merriman, Professor of Human Geography, Aberystwyth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2074132023-06-14T01:44:33Z2023-06-14T01:44:33ZSafety vests and helmets make cyclists look ‘less human’ to other road users<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531511/original/file-20230613-24-cnyp5h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4449%2C2961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Getting more people to <a href="https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/newsroom/2023/05/24/climate-council-urges-australians-to-triple-bike-riding-and-walking/">ride bikes</a> has been flagged as a simple and effective way to improve public health while tackling <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/CC_MVSA0354-CC-Report-Road-to-Personal-Transport_V5-FA-Screen-Single.pdf">climate change</a>. However, research has repeatedly found safety concerns <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140522002109">deter people from cycling</a>.</p>
<p>Australia’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/cycling-and-walking-are-short-changed-when-it-comes-to-transport-funding-in-australia-92574">limited cycling infrastructure</a> often forces cyclists to share the road with motor vehicles. This puts them in a vulnerable position as, unlike motorists, they have little to protect their flesh and bones from the road or the vehicles on it.</p>
<p>To reduce their vulnerability, cyclists wear safety gear such as helmets to protect their heads and high-vis safety vests to make them more visible to other road users. However, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847823001018">our study</a> found cyclists wearing helmets or safety vests are more likely to be perceived as “less human” than those not wearing safety gear. Around 30% of respondents also perceived cyclists to be less than fully human.</p>
<p>This finding is consistent with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847818308593?casa_token=weI6xibv-roAAAAA:2vb1bpuJsrYWxLG5oyhC1Xr3wA00ZV895BF-jN0wmSmhwXMhGCWypst3ObzEegObXEv_vz1jUjtd">previous research</a> showing that perceiving cyclists as “less human” (known as dehumanisation) was associated with more <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001457518309588?casa_token=JWfMHzYpB2YAAAAA:RDDs6Q5K2jyUVasAl_OT6odcCDx2y2xg_kM_fP3ZNcTHw_mvaYTynnQ4W2Jb55yLRjuGm3PJY8vM">aggression towards cyclists</a>. Dehumanisation is the denial of attributes, such as complex emotions, intelligence, rationality and individuality, that differentiate humans from other animals and inanimate objects. To dehumanise is to perceive a person or group as having lesser value and worth, which can lead to their mistreatment.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cycling-and-walking-are-short-changed-when-it-comes-to-transport-funding-in-australia-92574">Cycling and walking are short-changed when it comes to transport funding in Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What did our study find?</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847823001018">our study</a>, 563 participants were shown a series of photographs of models holding a bicycle. The models wore different attire in each photo, including: no headwear, a cap, a helmet, and a bright orange safety vest. Participants were asked to select the person in each pair who looked “less human”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531257/original/file-20230611-197517-o2hiep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man in casual clothes holding a bicycle, same man in casual clothes holding a bicycle and wearing a helmet" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531257/original/file-20230611-197517-o2hiep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531257/original/file-20230611-197517-o2hiep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531257/original/file-20230611-197517-o2hiep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531257/original/file-20230611-197517-o2hiep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531257/original/file-20230611-197517-o2hiep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531257/original/file-20230611-197517-o2hiep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531257/original/file-20230611-197517-o2hiep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An example of one of the photo comparisons: the model without a helmet versus the same model with a helmet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847823001018">Limb & Collyer 2023</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The results showed a clear difference between attire types. People were more likely to select images where the model wore “overt” safety gear as “less human”. </p>
<p>The photos of bicycle riders with helmets were 2.5 times more likely to be selected as “less human” than those with no helmets. Those wearing safety vests were 3.7 times more likely to be selected.</p>
<p>The study participants also provided anecdotes about their experiences cycling on Australian roads. Some reported other road users treated them differently depending on what they wore. Full lycra cycling gear attracted more abuse than casual wear.</p>
<p>Female bicycle riders reported receiving less abuse from motorists than their male counterparts. This observation led some to accentuate their femininity to increase their perceived safety when riding on roads. One said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As a female I don’t get treated as badly as my male friends (who have had things thrown at them). I actually purposely have my long hair showing to help.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Our finding that riders in safety vests are seen as “less human” than those without adds to the debate on the actual versus perceived benefit of <a href="https://safetyatworkblog.com/2011/09/04/where-is-the-evidence-for-the-safety-benefits-of-high-visibility-clothing/">safety vests</a>. Safety vests do not necessarily make a rider <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457513004636?casa_token=4z4T1bnmBW8AAAAA:t1drqFJvdaV1DNc0fisG3zYT73jP3J88FS24Um2d82hymMWVncurTVjbJRm2e7yBWmxmCH3BAIUA">safer</a> or more <a href="https://search.informit.org/doi/pdf/10.3316/informit.344785481775753?casa_token=o0rY-lqpMFQAAAAA%3AGsqOGL_EjaWR6P7fS6Xok5i6Rz0xsfSlu8ND7TKVReTDTZW1kyzmUwAvJ_omwTX5ICVAmdef0I4THaZy">visible</a>. Instead, they reinforce the idea that bicycle riding is a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2013/jan/10/cycling-high-visibility-safe-fluorescent">dangerous activity</a> – further deterring its uptake.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/minimum-space-for-passing-cyclists-is-now-law-australia-wide-it-increases-safety-but-possibly-road-rage-too-159926">Minimum space for passing cyclists is now law Australia-wide. It increases safety – but possibly road rage too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>So how can we keep riders safe?</h2>
<p>With cyclists dehumanised and unwelcome on Australian roads, and also not welcome on <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/sydney-police-crack-down-on-delivery-drivers-who-ride-bikes-on-footpaths/news-story/5c05fc45d6bdca54c607b31e48fae537">footpaths</a>, it seems the best solution is to “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jOk8dk-qaU">keep them separated</a>” as US rock band The Offspring sang back in ’94. Australia needs separate infrastructure for bicycle riding, especially if we want more people to take up this active, carbon-neutral form of transport.</p>
<p>It’s time for Australia to follow the lead of countries like <a href="https://www.government.nl/latest/news/2022/08/26/government-shifts-cycling-to-a-higher-gear">the Netherlands</a> and provide <a href="https://theconversation.com/ride-to-work-youll-need-a-bike-barrier-for-that-19111">safe facilities</a> for people to ride on. When the Dutch <a href="https://dutchcycling.nl/">promote cycling culture</a>, they show people dressed for the destination, not the ride. They highlight everyday folks, in everyday clothing, unhindered by special equipment, enjoying a safe and social experience.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3-in-4-people-want-to-ride-a-bike-but-are-put-off-by-lack-of-safe-lanes-172868">3 in 4 people want to ride a bike but are put off by lack of safe lanes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531258/original/file-20230611-172706-lna8lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Casually dressed couple on a bicycle in Amsterdam" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531258/original/file-20230611-172706-lna8lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531258/original/file-20230611-172706-lna8lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531258/original/file-20230611-172706-lna8lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531258/original/file-20230611-172706-lna8lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531258/original/file-20230611-172706-lna8lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531258/original/file-20230611-172706-lna8lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/531258/original/file-20230611-172706-lna8lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dutch cycling promotional material.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://issuu.com/dezoelehaven/docs/amsterdam_20cycling_20matters_20onl">Cycling Matters magazine, City of Amsterdam</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A city that has active transport is safer, healthier, quieter and more environmentally friendly. The lesson is clear: we need to <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2016/10/543292">prioritise people</a> over cars.</p>
<p><a href="https://road.cc/content/news/77369-coroner-cyclists-have-duty-other-road-users-wear-high-viz">Blaming cyclists</a> for not being “visible enough” is an ill-considered response. Most cyclists would prefer not to travel on the same roads as motor vehicles. But, until we can achieve complete separation, efforts to counteract the dehumanisation of those who ride bicycles are needed.</p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.cityservices.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/2168768/Report-Putting-a-human-face-on-cyclists-in-the-ACT-24-Jan-2023-accessible.pdf">investigations</a> are informing campaigns to “humanise” bicycle riders, change can begin at an individual level. We can ask ourselves: what goes through our minds when we see a cyclist when we are driving? Do we think of them as someone like us who is just trying to get to work or home, or do we see them differently? Are we dehumanising them?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ride-to-work-youll-need-a-bike-barrier-for-that-19111">Ride to work? You'll need a bike barrier for that</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207413/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Bike riders wear helmets and high-vis vests to reduce their vulnerability on the road. Problem is a new study finds this dehumanises cyclists, putting them more at risk of aggression from drivers.Sarah Collyer, Research Associate, Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders UniversityMark Limb, Lecturer in Urban and Regional Planning, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2055752023-06-02T00:37:52Z2023-06-02T00:37:52ZDrivers and pedestrians are unsure who gives way at stop signs. A simple rule change can end this dangerous confusion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527143/original/file-20230519-27-vbg0i1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4457%2C2967&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When a driver and a pedestrian approach a T-intersection, who has to give way? </p>
<p>In <a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/SAJZCYWLOxh3N7NG7I9caLE?domain=authors.elsevier.com">newly published research</a> we tested over 1,000 road users’ knowledge of the Australian road rules. We presented them with the two scenarios shown below.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=164&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=164&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=164&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=206&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=206&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526027/original/file-20230514-80599-o4s9gt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=206&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When asked who should give way in these scenarios, many road users answered incorrectly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847823000980">Browne & Flower 2023</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When asked who should give way, the green car or the pedestrian, in the first and second scenarios, 37% and 39% of road users respectively answered incorrectly. </p>
<p>So what do the <a href="https://www.ntc.gov.au/laws-and-regulations/australian-road-rules">Australian Road Rules</a> say? The answer may surprise you. The rules (specifically <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_reg/rsrr2017208/s353.html">rule 353</a>) state: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>(1) If a driver is turning from a road at an intersection –</p>
<p>(a) the driver is required to give way to a pedestrian who is crossing the road that the driver is entering […] and </p>
<p>(b) the driver is not required to give way to a pedestrian who is crossing the road the driver is leaving.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>An obvious source of people’s confusion is the inconsistency between parts (a) and (b) of rule 353. In effect, it gives pedestrians “right of way across only half an intersection”. </p>
<p>Part (b) is also quite counter-intuitive. After all, most people would expect that a stop or give way sign would mean drivers have to stop for pedestrians as well as cars.</p>
<p>Changing the rules to require drivers to give way to pedestrians who are crossing the road the driver is leaving would create a “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136984781830809X">generalised and unambiguous duty to give way on turning”</a>“. This change has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australian-road-rules-should-be-rewritten-to-put-walking-first-127789">proposed before</a>. But more recent developments have added to the case for such a rule change. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Approach to a stop sign in a suburban street" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/527144/original/file-20230519-29-24y32n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A driver approaching this stop sign isn’t required to give way to pedestrians, but a driver turning into the same street must give way.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australian-road-rules-should-be-rewritten-to-put-walking-first-127789">Why Australian road rules should be rewritten to put walking first</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The UK’s new rule H2</h2>
<p>The UK recently made the same change to its road rules. In late 2021, the UK Highway Code introduced <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/introduction">rule H2</a> which, at a junction, requires drivers to give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross a road into which <em>or from which</em> the driver is turning. </p>
<p>The change eliminated inconsistencies and the counter-intuitiveness about who has to give way. </p>
<p>Giving pedestrians an unambiguous right of way also encourages walking. Examples of apparently minor "urban acupuncture” like this can have long-term benefits for liveability and for public health and wellbeing.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cars-have-taken-over-our-neighbourhoods-kid-friendly-superblocks-are-a-way-for-residents-to-reclaim-their-streets-187276">Cars have taken over our neighbourhoods. Kid-friendly superblocks are a way for residents to reclaim their streets</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Zebra crossings have unintended consequences</h2>
<p>The second recent development is that local councils around Melbourne have been installing zebra crossings at prioritised locations – but not all locations – within activity centres and on routes designated as part of the so-called <a href="https://www.victoriawalks.org.au/network_planning/">Principal Pedestrian Network</a>. The purpose has been to encourage and enable walking for transport, particularly since 2020 when COVID-19 lockdowns meant people were seeking more opportunities to exercise in their local area. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Zebra crossing at a T-intersection in a residential neighbourhood" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526023/original/file-20230514-98978-skp3ru.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A zebra crossing improves safety where it has been installed, but can lead to confusion at intersections without such crossings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Geoffrey Browne</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Zebra crossings at T-intersections like the one pictured above are certainly well intentioned, and they over-ride rule 353(1)(b) to create pedestrian priority where it wouldn’t otherwise exist. The <a href="https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10592536">evidence</a> suggests such zebras crossings do improve safety <em>at the intersections where they are installed</em>. </p>
<p>At the same time, however, there is a very real risk that, without a rule change, the crossings unintentionally undermine walkability more widely. This is because when they are installed at some but not all intersections, they can lead people to believe that at sites where they are <em>not</em> installed, drivers do not have to give way to a pedestrian who is crossing the street into which the driver is turning. </p>
<p><a href="https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/SAJZCYWLOxh3N7NG7I9caLE?domain=authors.elsevier.com">Our research</a>, which was the first to examine this issue, found the risk of this unintended consequence is very real. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-all-have-to-walk-across-roads-why-arent-pedestrians-a-focus-of-road-safety-161183">We all have to walk across roads — why aren't pedestrians a focus of road safety?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A rule change is the best answer</h2>
<p>We also interviewed traffic engineers, local government planners and walking experts. A clear majority agreed a rule change that requires drivers to give way to pedestrians at a stop or give way sign would improve road safety and promote walking. </p>
<p>It would taking some getting used to, but road rules have been changed before. </p>
<p>In 1993 the road rules in Victoria were changed for vehicles turning left at intersections to have the right of way before vehicles turning right. Previously, and somewhat counter-intuitively, it was the other way around. </p>
<p>From April 2021, motorists across Australia were required to give cyclists clearance of at least one metre when overtaking. </p>
<p>Both of these rule changes were accompanied by public awareness campaigns to ensure the community knew about them. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1385381499944329216"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/minimum-space-for-passing-cyclists-is-now-law-australia-wide-it-increases-safety-but-possibly-road-rage-too-159926">Minimum space for passing cyclists is now law Australia-wide. It increases safety – but possibly road rage too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Encouraging walking has broader public benefits</h2>
<p>Requiring drivers approaching and turning at a T-intersection from any direction to give way to pedestrians would be an important simplification of the road rules. And the more the rules are biased toward the convenience of walkers, the more walkers there will be. </p>
<p>Importantly, changes like this can send subtle but powerful social signals that society values walking for transport because it reduces pollution and encourages incidental exercise. Such changes can play a small part in shifting communities from being car-dominated to enabling everyone, but particularly children, older people and people with disabilities, to feel safe to walk more.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205575/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoffrey Browne receives funding from the Australian Research Council (DP200101378) and is affiliated with the Public Health Association of Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Flower receives research funding from the Department for Transport (UK), the National Institute for Health and Care Research (UK) and Innovate UK. He has previously received funding from the Road Safety Trust and Sustrans. He is affiliated with the Transport Planning Society as a Board Member.</span></em></p>Some councils have installed zebra crossings at selected T-intersections, where they do improve safety. The problem is they also add to the existing confusion at other intersections.Geoffrey Browne, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Design, The University of MelbourneJonathan Flower, Research Fellow, Centre for Transport and Society, University of the West of EnglandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1934622023-01-02T19:44:23Z2023-01-02T19:44:23ZWhy do people tailgate? A psychology expert explains what’s behind this common (and annoying) driving habit<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494375/original/file-20221109-11-48ns1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C998%2C664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/angry-man-driving-vehicle-without-seat-164132411">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s hot, you’ve had a battle to get the kids in the car, and now you’re going to be late for the family lunch. </p>
<p>You turn onto the freeway only to get stuck behind a slow driver in the fast lane. You want them to move over or speed up, so you drive a little closer. Then closer. Then so close it would be difficult to avoid hitting them if they stopped suddenly. </p>
<p>When that doesn’t work you honk the horn. Nothing. Finally, frustrated, you dart into the left lane and speed past them.</p>
<p>Today was one of those days where many small annoyances have led to you being aggressive on the road. This isn’t how you usually drive. So why was today different?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tailgating-is-stressful-and-dangerous-our-research-examines-ways-it-might-be-stopped-173915">Tailgating is stressful and dangerous. Our research examines ways it might be stopped</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Aren’t holidays supposed to be relaxing?</h2>
<p>Holiday driving may look a lot different to your usual commute. It may involve driving longer distances, or involve more frequent driving with more passengers than usual in the car. </p>
<p>Holiday driving comes with <a href="https://www.bitre.gov.au/publications/ongoing/road_deaths_australia_monthly_bulletins">increased risk</a> (road deaths tend to spike during the holidays). That’s why news bulletins often carry the latest “road toll” figures around public holidays. </p>
<p>But whether you drive differently to normal comes down to the value you place on your <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-4575(03)00037-X">time</a>, rather than when you drive. </p>
<p>If you are in a rush, your time becomes more precious because you have less of it. If something, or someone, infringes on that time, you may become frustrated and aggressive.</p>
<p>This is basic human psychology. You can get angry when someone gets in the way of what you are trying to achieve. You get angrier when you think they are acting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.106.1.59">unfairly or inappropriately</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/road-rage-why-normal-people-become-harmful-on-the-roads-60845">Road rage: why normal people become harmful on the roads</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Usually before you respond, you evaluate what has happened, asking who is at fault and if they could have done things differently. </p>
<p>But when you are driving, you have less time and resources to make detailed evaluations. Instead, you make quick judgements of the situation and how best to deal with it. </p>
<p>These judgements can be based on how you are <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.81.1.146">feeling</a> at the time. If you are frustrated before getting in the car, you are likely to be easily frustrated while driving, blame other drivers more for your circumstances, and express this through aggressive driving.</p>
<p>Tailgating and speeding <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(01)00063-8">are examples</a> of this aggression.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1573200836691660802"}"></div></p>
<p>A driver frustrated by the perception that someone is driving too slowly, or in the wrong lane, might speed past the offending driver, and maintain this speed for some time <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2010.551184">after the event</a>. </p>
<p>Aggressive tailgating may be seen as reprimanding the driver for their perceived slow speeds, or to encourage them to move out of the way. </p>
<p>The problem is, when you are angry, you underestimate the risk of these behaviours, while <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.81.1.146">over-estimating</a> how much control you have of the situation. It’s not worth the risk. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1513271113">study of real-world driving</a> shows both tailgating and speeding increase the odds of being in a crash more than if driving while holding or dialling a mobile phone. Drivers who are tailgating or speeding have a 13 to 14-fold increase in odds of being in a crash, compared to when they are driving more safely.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-people-drive-differently-in-the-rain-heres-what-the-research-says-181777">Do people drive differently in the rain? Here's what the research says</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Here’s what you can do</h2>
<p>One way to stay safe on the roads these holidays is to recognise the situations that may lead to your own dangerous behaviours. </p>
<p>The Monash University Accident Research Centre has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2022.07.011">developed a program</a> to help drivers reduce their aggressive driving. This helps drivers develop their own strategies to stay calm while driving, recognising that one strategy is unlikely to suit every driver. </p>
<p>Almost 100 self-identified aggressive drivers <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022437522000998?via%3Dihub">developed</a> four types of tips to remain calm while driving:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>before driving:</strong> tips include better journey planning, allowing enough time for the trip and recognising how you are feeling before you get in the car </p></li>
<li><p><strong>while driving:</strong> this includes travelling in the left lane to avoid slow drivers in the right lane, or pulling over when feeling angry</p></li>
<li><p><strong>in your vehicle:</strong> such as deep breathing or listening to music</p></li>
<li><p><strong>‘rethinking’ the situation:</strong> acknowledge that in some situations, the only thing you can change is how you think about it. For example, ask yourself is it worth the risk? Or personalise the other driver. What if that was your loved one in the car in front?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Four months after completing the program, drivers reported less anger and aggression while driving than before the program. The strategies that worked best for these drivers were listening to music, focusing on staying calm and rethinking the problem.</p>
<p>A favourite rethink was a 5x5x5 strategy. This involved asking yourself whether the cause of your anger will matter in five minutes, five hours or five days. If it is unlikely to matter after this time, it is best to let go. </p>
<p>The holidays are meant to be relaxing and joyous. Let’s not jeopardise that through reactions to other drivers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193462/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Stephens works for Monash University Accident Research Centre.
The program to reduce aggressive driving referred to in this article was made possible with the support of the ACT Road Safety Fund</span></em></p>It’s the holidays and for many of us, that means driving. Here’s how to keep your cool on the road this summer.Amanda Stephens, Senior Research Fellow Monash University Accident Research Centre, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1910202022-10-04T15:46:12Z2022-10-04T15:46:12ZBlaming poor labour conditions in Ghana’s transport sector on ride-hailing companies misses the deeper issues<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486496/original/file-20220926-24-205g44.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ride hailing companies have found success in the transport sector in Ghana.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">G.KBediako/Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft have become ubiquitous in many parts of the world over the past decade. <a href="https://www.lltjournal.ca/index.php/llt/article/view/6075/7028">Criticism of their business model</a> has also become commonplace: ride-hailing companies are frequently accused of destroying traditional taxi businesses, undermining wages, and creating the digital <a href="https://isiarticles.com/bundles/Article/pre/pdf/100073.pdf">equivalent of sweatshops</a>.</p>
<p>Though many of the complaints have emanated from <a href="https://www.lltjournal.ca/index.php/llt/article/view/6075/7028">wealthier countries</a> in the West, there are growing concerns that such companies’ African operations are not above reproach. From Abuja to Cape Town, Cairo to Nairobi, <a href="https://africasacountry.com/2018/04/what-is-uber-up-to-in-africa">researchers are documenting</a> the precarious conditions in which drivers operate.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-022-01258-6">recent paper</a>, we examined the situation in Ghana. We interviewed drivers, riders, car owners and other scholars who are researching Ghana’s ride-hailing industry. </p>
<p>We found that the popular narrative of blaming the industry’s precarious labour conditions on ride-hailing companies is problematic. It deflects attention from the structural enablers of the conditions (which predate the companies), while fomenting life-threatening hatred for the drivers who work with them. </p>
<p>Our analysis draws attention to the need to address the broader societal influences of labour exploitation in Ghana’s urban transport sector. These include the inadequate prioritisation of the creation of adequate, secure jobs and strong labour protections.</p>
<h2>It’s no joyride</h2>
<p>Some ride-hailing drivers own their cars. But the majority operate under either <em>‘sales’</em> or <em>‘work and pay’</em> contracts. Drivers employed under sales contracts operate their cars as a sort of franchise and pay a daily or weekly fee to the owners. </p>
<p>They also have to foot daily operational expenses including companies’ commissions; the cost of fuel, internet and sometimes maintenance. The drivers’ take home is what remains after deducting the sales and operational costs. </p>
<p>Under the work and pay contract system, however, the driver operates the car and pays the owner a weekly or monthly sum up to a pre-agreed vehicle value, after which ownership of the vehicle transfers to the driver. </p>
<p>Car owners, under both sales and work and pay contract systems, normally demand weekly returns of GH¢ 400–500 from drivers. These arrangements did not arrive with the emerging of the ride-hailing industry; they have long existed in the traditional taxi business and are merely being copied by the industry’s players.</p>
<p>Unlike tro-tro (minibus) and taxi drivers, ride-hailing drivers serve two masters: the company and the car owners. This doubles their financial obligations and contributes to tremendous financial precarity, which seeps into the rest of their lives. They work long hours and sometimes sleep in their cars. One driver in Accra told us that some of his colleagues:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…don’t even go home; they have their toothbrushes, sponge, and towel in their cars. They drive from morning to evening, park at filling stations, take a nap, take a bath and continue driving.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These experiences may suggest that ride-hailing activities are creating shaky labour conditions. However, as we have <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-fines-and-jail-time-wont-change-the-behaviour-of-ghanas-minibus-drivers-155379">extensively documented elsewhere</a>, the tro-tro and shared taxi drivers who dominate Ghana’s urban public transport sector operate under similar conditions.</p>
<p>The fact that both traditional and ride-hailing company drivers face similar precarious conditions suggests that the roots of the labour issues in Ghana’s urban transport sector go deeper. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-fines-and-jail-time-wont-change-the-behaviour-of-ghanas-minibus-drivers-155379">Why fines and jail time won't change the behaviour of Ghana's minibus drivers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Tracing the roots of the problem</h2>
<p>Most people walk a great deal to access work and services in <a href="http://airqualityandmobility.org/STR/NMTStrategy_Ghana_200402.pdf">Ghana’s cities</a>. For longer distances, however, they rely on the ubiquitous tro-tros, shared taxis and, in recent times, <em>Okada</em> (motorcycles).</p>
<p>While being <em>‘popular’</em> in the sense that they are widely used, these privately-run transport modes remain marginal in terms of public support and investment. The operators are highly fragmented, and financial capital is thus dispersed. </p>
<p>Their business perspective largely focuses on individual short-term profits, which are also generally low. These conditions undermine a deeper focus on investing in vehicle maintenance/replacement or digital innovations to improve service delivery. </p>
<p>Their regular use means that large numbers of passengers and workers are exposed to high levels of discomfort, safety and other problems which undermine the quality of passengers’ experience.</p>
<p>It is against this backdrop that ride-hailing arrived in Ghana; Uber was the first to launch operations there in July 2016. It alone is estimated to have <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-022-01258-6#Sec5">180,000 active riders</a> and some <a href="https://qz.com/africa/1090738/uber-is-marking-four-years-in-africa/">3,000 driver-partners</a>.</p>
<p>Our interviewees told us that ride-hailing companies are driving up the standards of commercial passenger transport. Ride-hailing trips are generally seen as affordable compared to hiring traditional taxicabs. The trips are also traceable, which reassures users that they can recover lost items or track down criminal drivers and passengers.</p>
<p>The problem, however, is that ride-hailing companies do not offer their drivers guaranteed incomes or wages. Neither do they pay them any benefits like social security. In fact, they <em>strenuously</em> avoid such employment obligations, insisting that their drivers are not their <a href="https://arizonastatelawjournal.org/2020/11/10/employees-or-independent-contractors-uber-and-lyft-avoid-reclassifying-their-drivers/">“employees”</a>.</p>
<p>The companies have been able to implement this business model easily in Ghana because the youth are desperate for jobs. To put the issue of youth unemployment into perspective, in 2018, the Ghana Immigration Service received <a href="https://www.pulse.com.gh/ece-frontpage/immigration-recruitment-only-500-out-of-84-000-applicants-will-be-employed-by/7dzdb3m">84,000 applications for just 500 entry level vacancies</a>.</p>
<p>Ghana’s youth unemployment, as with the problems with the popular transport systems, is linked to policy marginalisation. Successive governments have failed to create or stimulate the creation of enough secure jobs. Meanwhile, the state barely concerns itself with employment practices and labour relations and conditions in the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-0502-8">passenger transport sector</a>. </p>
<p>These conditions are what have created room for international (and a few indigenous) ride-hailing companies and other powerful private interests (including vehicle owners) to profit from the labour of drivers they do not <em>‘employ’</em>. These issues will persist even if ride-hailing companies shut down tomorrow. </p>
<h2>Towards better protection</h2>
<p>All of these issues have led to dangerous tension between ride-hailing drivers and traditional drivers. Some have <a href="https://africasacountry.com/2018/04/what-is-uber-up-to-in-africa">been killed; cars are frequently burned</a>. Luckily Ghana hasn’t yet experienced any violent skirmishes – but <a href="https://trid.trb.org/view/1675221">the animosity</a> between different kinds of drivers is growing. </p>
<p>Ghana can learn from the emerging developments in <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/11/california-passes-assembly-bill-5-for-gig-workers.html">the US</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/business/uber-drivers-britain.html">the UK</a>, where lawmakers and the courts are strengthening labour protections for gig workers, including ride-hailing company drivers. </p>
<p>In some Australian cities, like Sydney, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/22/nsw-levy-on-ride-hailing-and-taxi-passengers-extended-until-2029">lawmakers introduced rules that created an equal playing field for taxis and ride-hailing companies</a>. </p>
<p>If left unregulated, drivers of all stripes will continue to be disadvantaged. That’s bad for them, and it’s bad for their passengers. Now is the time for authorities to act.</p>
<p>Dr <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uwa35PwAAAAJ&hl=en">Kingsley Tetteh Baako</a> of RMIT University, Australia contributed to the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-022-01258-6#Sec5">original article</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191020/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Lawmakers and courts in Ghana must strengthen protections for drivers of ride hailing companiesFestival Godwin Boateng, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Sustainable Urban Development, The Earth Institute, Columbia UniversitySamuelson Appau, Assistant Professor, Melbourne Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1872082022-08-02T14:09:22Z2022-08-02T14:09:22ZOn Ghana’s roads in 2022: safety has improved but private vehicles are still a menace<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474884/original/file-20220719-16-jfcn7n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Private car accidents dominate crash numbers in Ghana</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lewis Clark/Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Africa is the globe’s least motorised region, accounting for <a href="https://www.news24.com/wheels/news/guides_and_lists/africa-has-2-of-worlds-cars-but-20-of-road-deaths-first-safety-observatory-to-curb-horrendous-death-toll-20180524">just 2% of the world’s vehicles</a>. Yet it records the highest rate of road deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) pegs the rate in Africa at <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241565684">26.6 deaths per 100,000 people</a>. South East Asia’s, the second highest rate in the world, hovers around <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241565684">20.7 deaths per 100,000 people</a>.</p>
<p>Ghana is among the African countries grappling with road traffic crashes. Fatal road injury is one of the top 10 causes of death in Ghana, according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/countries/ghana/pdf/Ghana_Factsheet.pdf">US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>. Researchers at Ghana’s Building and Road Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research estimate that the west African nation recorded 302,712 crashes involving 477,609 vehicles between 1991 and 2020. In 2016, the World Bank reported that Ghana lost <a href="https://www.roadsafetyfacility.org/country/ghana">8.2% of its GDP</a> to road traffic crashes.</p>
<p>Thus, road traffic crashes remain a major public health and development challenge in Ghana. But some developments in the first five months of 2022 offer a glimmer of hope. We are a team of road safety advocates, working in the Ghanaian and broader African spaces as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03906701.2022.2089612?journalCode=cirs20">researchers</a> and <a href="https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/kwame-koduah-atuahene-eulogized-by-nrsa.html">policymakers</a>. Our analysis of data from the <a href="http://nrsa.gov.gh/index.php/about-us">National Road Safety Authority</a>, suggests that there were fewer crashes, injuries and deaths in the first five months of 2022 compared to the same period last year.</p>
<p>In the past few months, Ghana’s road safety space has seen sustained collaborations between public institutions and a critical mass of private citizens and institutions aimed at making the roads safer. There also has been increased police surveillance, especially during festive periods which are a <a href="https://citinewsroom.com/2021/12/tips-to-beat-evil-spirits-that-cause-bloodshed-on-ghanas-roads-every-christmas-article/">particularly dangerous time</a> on the roads.</p>
<p>It’s not clear yet how much these initiatives contributed to safer roads. Whatever the case, the Ghanaian road safety community must not rest on its laurels. At least in the last four years, concurrent declines in crashes, injuries and deaths tend to be followed by a spike in the year that follows. </p>
<h2>Unpacking the data</h2>
<p>The following tables highlight some of the key figures from the first five months of 2022. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476689/original/file-20220729-22-cd6wg0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476689/original/file-20220729-22-cd6wg0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=194&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476689/original/file-20220729-22-cd6wg0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=194&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476689/original/file-20220729-22-cd6wg0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=194&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476689/original/file-20220729-22-cd6wg0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476689/original/file-20220729-22-cd6wg0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476689/original/file-20220729-22-cd6wg0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Compared to 2021, there was a 4.67% reduction in crash incidents during the first five months of 2022 (January to May). Other important safety indicators improved too. Injuries were down by 4.98%; 347 fewer people got hurt on the roads between January and May 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. </p>
<p>Deaths declined by 9%, from 1,250 people in January to May 2021 to 1,140 during the same period in 2022.</p>
<p>All the important safety indicators improved. This echoes figures from 2020, when crashes went down by 5.31%, injuries by 2.91% and deaths 14.58%.</p>
<h2>Cycles and private vehicles</h2>
<p>Table 2 shows that almost 12% fewer commercial vehicles were involved in crashes in the first five months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476690/original/file-20220729-12-poy2ea.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476690/original/file-20220729-12-poy2ea.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=247&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476690/original/file-20220729-12-poy2ea.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=247&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476690/original/file-20220729-12-poy2ea.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=247&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476690/original/file-20220729-12-poy2ea.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476690/original/file-20220729-12-poy2ea.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/476690/original/file-20220729-12-poy2ea.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The percentage of reduction is even higher for bicycles and motorcycles (down by 13.1%). This is particularly good news because, as the table shows, the number of cycles involved in crashes has risen consistently since 2018. Motorbikes are especially dangerous: the National Road Safety Authority estimates that a person is <a href="https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/legalising-okada-will-lead-to-more-deaths-consultant.html">ten times more likely</a> to die in a motorcycle crash than in a car crash.</p>
<p>Private vehicles remain a concern. More private vehicles were involved in crashes in the first five months of 2022 (4,873) than the same period in 2021 (4,864). </p>
<p>Researchers have begun documenting how the poor state of public transport in Ghana is driving a <a href="https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/28077/1/Samuel%20Adjei%20Appiah%20Thesis.pdf">shift towards personal vehicles</a>, with car ownership increasing in recent years. </p>
<p>The rise of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11116-019-10029-3">ride-hailing companies</a> in the country has also contributed to the number of private vehicles being used for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-022-01258-6">commercial passenger services</a>. Crash data reporting in Ghana is not segregated to show how many private vehicles are really private taxis, so it’s difficult to assess the role ride-hailing services may play in contributing to high crash numbers.</p>
<h2>Sustaining the gains</h2>
<p>The safety improvements experienced on Ghana’s roads within the first five months of 2022 are a welcome development. But authorities must heed the 2020 figures (contained in table 1): these show that, at least in the past four years, such improvements tend to be followed by a spike in the year that follows. It’s not yet known why this pattern occurs.</p>
<p>Ghana’s National Road Safety Authority seems committed to sustaining the gains made in early 2022. Officials say they have intensified the <a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/National-Road-Safety-Authority-launches-Stay-Alive-campaign-1399396">“Stay Alive”</a> behavioural change campaign launched in 2021. The campaign targets the general public as advocates for good road user behaviour by calling out unsafe practices.</p>
<p>The agency is also using research, monitoring and evaluation to update Ghana’s national road safety strategy and related action plans. Its hope is that data-led interventions can make the country’s roads safer. The Authority has also increased the presence of road safety inspectors at major transport terminals. The inspectors ensure that commercial vehicles meet certain safety standards before setting off. The Authority has started work on a new policy for the removal of broken down and wrongly parked vehicles from the roads.</p>
<p>All of these interventions are important. Careful monitoring and evaluation is needed, though, to translate them into widespread and sustainable safety benefits for those using Ghana’s roads. More targeted interventions will be required, including prioritising investments in public transport systems to deal with the issues with private vehicles.</p>
<p><em>Kwame Koduah Atuahene, the Director, Regulatory, Inspectorate & Compliance at the National Road Safety Authority, contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187208/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Festival Godwin Boateng does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fatal road injuries are among the top 10 causes of death in Ghana.Festival Godwin Boateng, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Sustainable Urban Development, The Earth Institute, Columbia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1861472022-08-01T13:54:01Z2022-08-01T13:54:01ZRide-hailing in Lagos: algorithmic impacts and driver resistance<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474861/original/file-20220719-14-y0eref.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C25%2C4249%2C2796&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A driver checking the Uber App.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/by-cyril-belaud-a-non-licensed-private-cab-driver-working-news-photo/508330288?adppopup=true">Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In July 2014, the ride-hailing app Uber emerged in Lagos, offering the public improved mobility through technology. Uber, at the time, was valued at <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/techflash/2014/08/uber-doubles-reach-200-cities.html">US$18 billion</a> and had launched in 205 cities. Its competitor, Bolt, arrived in Nigeria in 2016. </p>
<p>These apps enable passengers to request a taxi service immediately. They can see information like the fare range, driver ratings, trip distance and driver’s arrival time. The driver sees the passenger’s location, fare range and passenger rating. The driver gets a short time in which to accept or reject a trip request.</p>
<p>Lagos was an obvious market for a transport solution. The city is Nigeria’s financial, economic and digital hub, with over <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1218259/largest-cities-in-africa/">15.4 million</a> people and a public transport system under strain. From the rider’s point of view, Uber and Bolt offered the benefit of improved vehicles, cheaper fares, efficiency, traceability and safety.</p>
<p>The benefit for potential drivers was employment.</p>
<p>When Uber came to Nigeria, the unemployment rate was around <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">4.6%</a>. By the time Bolt arrived in 2016, it had increased to 9.1%. Youth unemployment <a href="https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators">increased</a> from 8.1% to 12.4% in the same period, and there was a recession. It was easy for these platforms to tempt potential drivers and employees with popular phrases like “be your own boss”. These platforms advertised that drivers made between about US$286 and US$477 a week. The minimum wage was 18,000 Naira (US$43.34) a month at the time and even white-collar workers were <a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/10/nigerian-teacher-a-poorly-paid-professional-expected-to-deliver-gold/">poorly paid</a> and sometimes had to <a href="https://qz.com/africa/663626/nigeria-has-a-culture-of-not-paying-workers-and-its-not-about-to-change-anytime-soon/">wait</a> a long time to be paid. </p>
<p>In 2017, Uber claimed to have 276,000 riders and <a href="https://qz.com/africa/1090738/uber-is-marking-four-years-in-africa/">7,000</a> drivers in Nigeria. </p>
<p>Uber and Bolt seemed to perfect the platform idea. The systems created digital identities for drivers and managed them through algorithms. This was supposed to create transparency, accountability, autonomy, flexibility, safety and security. But it also created challenges for drivers.</p>
<p>I <a href="https://www.sciencegate.app/document/10.1215/00382876-9443378">researched</a> this for my PhD thesis, exploring the impact of algorithmic management on platform drivers in Lagos and how they resisted these hidden forms of control. </p>
<p>For the advantages of ride-hailing platforms to outweigh the challenges, algorithms must reflect the realities of drivers and nuances of the city where they are used. Traceability and safety on platforms must be improved, too, especially as the business model is adopted by more startups across the transport, delivery and domestic work industries. </p>
<h2>Impacts of algorithmic management in Lagos</h2>
<p>The design of the Uber and Bolt platforms demands top-notch service from drivers. This is done through performance evaluations (such as ratings, and acceptance and cancellation rates); transparency of payment (dashboard display of earnings); incentives (promotional trips); and sanctions (disciplining bad or unsafe behaviours by blocking or deactivating drivers). </p>
<p>To understand how this worked in practice in Lagos, I interviewed 25 drivers over six months, took 40 platform trips and carried out three focused group discussions with both platform drivers and traditional taxi drivers. I also used online worker groups on Facebook and interviewed passengers, policy representatives and venture capitalists. In total, about 70 people were directly involved in this study. </p>
<p>In this article, I summarise some of the challenges and strategies of resistance that my research revealed. </p>
<p>The first challenge the platforms present is that drivers can be <a href="https://dailypost.ng/2021/09/09/police-arrest-suspects-for-murder-of-uber-driver-in-lagos/">exposed to danger</a>. A ride-hailing driver has to register with a platform by providing personal information such as a valid driver’s licence, certifications such as proof of the vehicle passing inspection, address and guarantors to validate worker details. Passengers provide less personal information: contact numbers, bank card details (optional), email addresses and addresses which are not verified. Drivers are <a href="https://www.icirnigeria.org/uber-bolt-drivers-protest-killings-by-passengers/">vulnerable</a> to passengers. One driver said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>A good number of drivers have been killed by riders because platforms do not profile them well. They do not often input their correct information in the app; they are collecting cars and killing people. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Even if passengers are blocked from the app following drivers’ complaints, they can re-enter the platform ecosystem with different accounts. In contrast, drivers can be temporarily or permanently deactivated if a passenger complains – even falsely. Drivers are calling for better scrutiny of passengers because they do not feel safe on platforms.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Cars in a traffic jam." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=774&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/474194/original/file-20220714-32290-oveflf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=973&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Drivers complain they are sometimes misled into traffic jams.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Arubayi</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The second challenge is the inaccuracy of embedded digital maps. In a city like Lagos, a poorly built environment without a proper address system, the app can mislead drivers to traffic jams, bad roads or areas undergoing infrastructural construction. This can delay pick-up or arrival times, lead to conflict with passengers, affect the fare, increase cancellation rates, and reduce ratings. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lagoss-chequered-history-how-it-came-to-be-the-megacity-it-is-today-124306">Lagos's chequered history: how it came to be the megacity it is today</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Passengers complicate this issue by switching pickup locations or providing false locations. This affects drivers’ arrival times and hence their performance record. The algorithms don’t properly account for these realities of driving in Lagos. </p>
<h2>Escaping the app</h2>
<p>Drivers have found ways to resist the algorithms to make more income. For instance, drivers ask riders to cancel a trip so they (drivers) aren’t penalised by cancelling it themselves. They earn a cancellation fee and then take the passengers on the trip anyway – offline. </p>
<p>Drivers persuade passengers to do this by raising the possibility of traffic jams, dangerous or very distant locations and bad roads. They then suggest that the rider cancel the trip and go offline on a better route at a lower fare. </p>
<p>Sometimes, passengers initiate offline trips, especially if they go to multiple destinations or travel out of the city. It suits the drivers because they are not entirely subject to the algorithm in terms of payment, ratings and directions from embedded maps. </p>
<p>Social media and communication networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram are central to drivers’ resistance strategies. These online environments serve as daily commentary on the job and a source of tricks for how to resist algorithms. Drivers can comment on whether a proposed offline fare is reasonable, for example, or share details of a passenger for safety. </p>
<p>One informant told me a story about a female passenger who refused to pay a driver:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When this was posted in the WhatsApp group, about 27 drivers visited the lady, seized her iPhone, and collected the fare, including money for damages.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Build in local realities</h2>
<p>Platforms such as Uber and Bolt possess the power to fully digitise the <a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-okada-motorcycles-have-a-bad-image-but-banning-them-solves-nothing-154765">transport industry</a> in Lagos with their technology. </p>
<p>But platform algorithms in isolation cannot solve the challenges drivers experience, mainly when contexts are so different from the global north where the platforms were designed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186147/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Arubayi currently works for Fairwork, based at Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford which researches similar issues. </span></em></p>Drivers claim that algorithms are skewed against them on ride-hailing platforms.Daniel Arubayi, Researcher, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1817772022-06-08T03:19:36Z2022-06-08T03:19:36ZDo people drive differently in the rain? Here’s what the research says<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/463911/original/file-20220518-19-kcxdit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C111%2C4153%2C2760&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Driving in the rain can be demanding. It gets harder to see, sudden stopping is difficult, and rain can cause a car to lose grip when braking. Rain after a dry spell can cause grease and oil build-up on roads to become slippery. </p>
<p>Add in everyday distractions such as screaming kids in the back seat and it’s no wonder crash risk <a href="https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/q1_roadimpact.htm">increases</a> in the rain.</p>
<p>During rainy conditions, most drivers tend to <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jat/2022/6000715/">decrease their speed</a>, drive cautiously and reduce overtaking. </p>
<p>However, some driver cohorts – including <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jat/2022/6000715/">male</a> drivers – may be at higher risk of a crash during rainy weather. </p>
<p>Here’s what the research evidence tells us.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464713/original/file-20220523-31005-cp04mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464713/original/file-20220523-31005-cp04mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464713/original/file-20220523-31005-cp04mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464713/original/file-20220523-31005-cp04mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464713/original/file-20220523-31005-cp04mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464713/original/file-20220523-31005-cp04mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464713/original/file-20220523-31005-cp04mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464713/original/file-20220523-31005-cp04mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rainfall often reduces visibility, increases stopping distance, and can cause a road vehicle to lose grip when braking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/speeding-is-more-common-among-people-regularly-exposed-to-content-encouraging-speeding-175066">Speeding is more common among people regularly exposed to content encouraging speeding</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Underestimating risk puts you in danger</h2>
<p>In general, the <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jat/2022/6000715/">research</a> suggests most people drive more safely when it rains.</p>
<p>However, some underestimate the danger, which can increase risk.</p>
<p>Most studies on driving behaviour involve surveys, driving <a href="https://drivesafety.com/research-driving-simulators/ds-600-2/">simulations</a> or researchers monitoring drivers on roads for a certain period of time.</p>
<p>There is very limited research on the question of driver behaviour in the rain so sometimes a mixed picture emerges – depending on which study you are looking at or how it was conducted. </p>
<p>One <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jat/2022/6000715/">study</a> of drivers in Iran found middle-aged drivers had a higher probability of being less cautious in rainy weather than young drivers. It’s possible having more driving experience may lead middle-aged drivers to perceive rainy weather as low risk compared to young drivers. </p>
<p>The same paper (on which I am a coauthor) found female drivers tend to be substantially more cautious than male drivers; they are less likely to speed and less likely to commit traffic offences when it rains.</p>
<p>The research also noted that, when it comes to driving in the rain, married people are less likely than single people to drive fast or commit traffic offences. Women are <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jat/2022/6000715/">less likely</a> to express aggressive behaviours such as horn honking when driving in rainy weather. </p>
<p>But depending on which study you look at, you might get a different finding about younger drivers in the rain.</p>
<p>Another <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2018.04.012">study</a>, this time in the US, found middle aged or older drivers (as compared to young drivers) were actually <em>more</em> likely to drive slower than the speed limit when it rained.</p>
<p>This study’s findings suggests young people are more likely to speed, which increases the likelihood and the severity of a crash. </p>
<p>Rain makes it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2009.09.022">hard to see</a>, and that increases crash risk. Some researchers <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jat/2022/6000715">report</a> errors associated with the improper use of windshield wipers or demister during rain.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464714/original/file-20220523-19-1ok1mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464714/original/file-20220523-19-1ok1mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464714/original/file-20220523-19-1ok1mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464714/original/file-20220523-19-1ok1mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464714/original/file-20220523-19-1ok1mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464714/original/file-20220523-19-1ok1mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464714/original/file-20220523-19-1ok1mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464714/original/file-20220523-19-1ok1mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some people underestimate danger when driving in the rain and this can lead to more risky behaviour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Designing measures to reduce risk</h2>
<p>Understanding driver behaviour in rainy conditions is important, so authorities can develop appropriate measures to reduce risk.</p>
<p>These could include a lower speed limit during rain or signage warning people to think about how rain may change their driving behaviour.</p>
<p>We also need education for all drivers – but particularly driver cohorts that may be at higher relative risk, such as young male drivers – so people understand the risks around driving in bad weather.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464715/original/file-20220523-11-b92qws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464715/original/file-20220523-11-b92qws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464715/original/file-20220523-11-b92qws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464715/original/file-20220523-11-b92qws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464715/original/file-20220523-11-b92qws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464715/original/file-20220523-11-b92qws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464715/original/file-20220523-11-b92qws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464715/original/file-20220523-11-b92qws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Understanding driver behaviour in rainy conditions is important, so authorities can develop appropriate measures to reduce risk.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Technology can help, too. Car manufacturers could promote driver support technology like <a href="https://www.carsguide.com.au/car-advice/adaptive-cruise-control-explained-45905">adaptive cruise control</a>, which regulates the speed of a car to keep it a safe distance from the car in front.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, all drivers should stick to the basics when driving in rain.</p>
<p>Reduce your speed, turn on your headlights and maintain a three to five second gap between you and the car ahead. </p>
<p>Make sure you accelerate and brake gradually (instead of suddenly) and focus your full attention on driving.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/minimum-space-for-passing-cyclists-is-now-law-australia-wide-it-increases-safety-but-possibly-road-rage-too-159926">Minimum space for passing cyclists is now law Australia-wide. It increases safety – but possibly road rage too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181777/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>I would like to acknowledge the research collaboration, especially with Dr Kayvan Aghabayk, University of Tehran for this research. </span></em></p>In general, most people drive more safely when it rains. However, some underestimate the danger, which can increase risk.Nirajan Shiwakoti, Associate Professor, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1750662022-03-27T22:45:57Z2022-03-27T22:45:57ZSpeeding is more common among people regularly exposed to content encouraging speeding<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447426/original/file-20220220-22-1vv5nrp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C22%2C4970%2C3308&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Speeding is more common among people regularly exposed to material encouraging speeding, our new study suggests.</p>
<p>Our research, published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15389588.2022.2049259?src=">Traffic Injury Prevention</a>, found self-reported exposure to content promoting or encouraging speeding on social media and mass media (e.g., movies, television or gaming) was higher in speeders compared to non-speeders.</p>
<p>Speeders also believed their friends more frequently engaged in speeding.</p>
<p>Speeding is a major road safety problem that contributes to many injuries and fatalities in <a href="https://theconversation.com/speeding-drivers-keep-breaking-the-law-even-after-fines-and-crashes-new-research-161672">Australia</a>. </p>
<p>So it’s important to examine factors that may encourage speeding and contribute to making it socially acceptable. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/speeding-drivers-keep-breaking-the-law-even-after-fines-and-crashes-new-research-161672">Speeding drivers keep breaking the law even after fines and crashes: new research</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441202/original/file-20220118-15-5zjhyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441202/original/file-20220118-15-5zjhyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441202/original/file-20220118-15-5zjhyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441202/original/file-20220118-15-5zjhyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441202/original/file-20220118-15-5zjhyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441202/original/file-20220118-15-5zjhyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441202/original/file-20220118-15-5zjhyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441202/original/file-20220118-15-5zjhyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our survey revealed a trend between increasing exposure to speeding and self-reported speeding in the real world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Self-reported exposure levels significantly higher in speeders</h2>
<p>For our study, a total of 628 Queensland motorists (263 men and 365 women aged between 17 and 88 years) completed an online anonymous survey. </p>
<p>The survey included questions about:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>their own speeding behaviour (specifically, how often they exceed the speed limit by more than 10km/h)</p></li>
<li><p>how often they believe they saw content on social media and mass media (such as TV, movies or gaming) encouraging or promoting speeding</p></li>
<li><p>how often they thought their friends exceeded the speed limit.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Overall, the study found:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>half of the sample admitted they exceeded the speed limit more than 10% of the time they drive</p></li>
<li><p>on average, participants believed they came across social media content encouraging speeding behaviour 29% of the time while using social media</p></li>
<li><p>on average, they believed they came across mass media content encouraging speeding behaviour 40% of the time</p></li>
<li><p>on average, they believed their friends exceeded the speed limit 39% of the time</p></li>
<li><p>self-reported exposure levels across all these sources (mass media, social media and friends) were significantly higher in speeders than non-speeders.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452661/original/file-20220317-8693-855oyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452661/original/file-20220317-8693-855oyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452661/original/file-20220317-8693-855oyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452661/original/file-20220317-8693-855oyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452661/original/file-20220317-8693-855oyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452661/original/file-20220317-8693-855oyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452661/original/file-20220317-8693-855oyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452661/original/file-20220317-8693-855oyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We split the sample into quartiles, based on how often they reported exceeding the speed limit. This demonstrated increasing exposure corresponded with increasing frequency of speeding behaviour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/caught-red-handed-automatic-cameras-will-spot-mobile-using-motorists-but-at-what-cost-125638">Caught red-handed: automatic cameras will spot mobile-using motorists, but at what cost?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Unpacking the link between what we see and how we act</h2>
<p>Our findings suggest many people believe they are regularly exposed to pro-speeding content online or via friends, and this might increase their risk of speeding in the real world. </p>
<p>The findings are consistent with studies showing social media, mass media and one’s peers can all <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.05.023">influence</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2010.07.011">subsequent</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294117697090">risk-taking</a> <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/5450/">behaviour</a>.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, further research is needed. We are yet to clarify whether increasing exposure to this kind of content directly increases the propensity to speed. Conversely, it could be that people who engage in speeding seek out pro-speeding material because they like it, or notice it more than others because they’re more attuned to it.</p>
<p>We also need to determine if people’s estimations of how often they’re exposed to such images are accurate. </p>
<p>For example, the respondents’ estimation of pro-speeding messages was extremely high, which raises questions about whether some individuals are more sensitive to online content that reinforces pre-existing attitudes or behaviour.</p>
<p>In other words, they might be more likely to notice, process and remember speeding messages, simply because they have favourable attitudes towards speeding or regularly engage in it.</p>
<p>There is clearly a need for future research to examine the impact of online messaging on our attitudes and behaviour. This could help determine how what we see on TV, hear from friends and consume on social media relates to real world driving behaviour.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441203/original/file-20220118-15-9dcndq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441203/original/file-20220118-15-9dcndq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441203/original/file-20220118-15-9dcndq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441203/original/file-20220118-15-9dcndq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441203/original/file-20220118-15-9dcndq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441203/original/file-20220118-15-9dcndq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441203/original/file-20220118-15-9dcndq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441203/original/file-20220118-15-9dcndq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">On average, participants believed they came across mass media content (such as via television or gaming) encouraging speeding behaviour 40% of the time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175066/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was funded by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Freeman works at the University of the Sunshine Coast Road Safety Research Collaboration (USCRSRC) that receives funding from the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Verity Truelove receives funding from the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC). </span></em></p>Our findings suggest many people believe they are regularly exposed to pro-speeding content online or via friends, and this might increase their risk of speeding in the real world.Kayla Stefanidis, Research Fellow, University of the Sunshine CoastJames Freeman, Research Professor, University of the Sunshine CoastMichelle Nicolls, PhD Candidate, University of the Sunshine CoastVerity Truelove, Senior Research Fellow in Road Safety Research, University of the Sunshine CoastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1748692022-01-26T19:03:08Z2022-01-26T19:03:08ZPolice location sites on Facebook are helping drivers avoid detection for drug driving<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441433/original/file-20220119-21-91pke9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C59%2C5000%2C3270&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The internet allows us to check the surf, the news, traffic on the road, what our friends have been up to – all before getting out of bed. While this has made several aspects of life easier, it can also come at a cost. </p>
<p>The last decade has seen a growing number of Facebook groups and pages dedicated to revealing the locations of police traffic operations. </p>
<p>These Facebook communities rely on users to alert the group or page when they drive past a random breath testing or roadside drug testing operation, as well as speed and mobile phone cameras. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925753521004410?dgcid=author">study</a>, published recently in the journal Safety Science, aimed to find out more about how these sites were being used by a sample of 890 people who take drugs.</p>
<p>We found 25% of them reported using police location groups or pages on Facebook; of these people, 43% reported using the sites to avoid roadside drug testing operations (while others used the pages for other purposes, like traffic updates and avoiding speed cameras).</p>
<p>Our results suggest police location groups and pages on Facebook are helping drivers avoid detection for drug driving – a traffic offence recognised as contributing to <a href="https://www.bitre.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/road_trauma_australia_2020_statistical_summary.pdf">106 fatal injuries</a> in 2019 in Australia.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/speeding-drivers-keep-breaking-the-law-even-after-fines-and-crashes-new-research-161672">Speeding drivers keep breaking the law even after fines and crashes: new research</a>
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<h2>What we did</h2>
<p>With <a href="https://www.bitre.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/road_trauma_australia_2020_statistical_summary.pdf">increases in drug-related traffic fatalities</a> across Australia in the last decade, we chose to focus our study on drug driving behaviours, and investigate how people use Facebook police location groups and pages to avoid roadside drug testing operations. </p>
<p>Our study involved 890 Queensland motorists who reported consuming either marijuana, MDMA and/or methamphetamines in the past 12 months. These are the three drugs tested for on roadside drug tests across all Australian states. </p>
<p>Participants were recruited through Facebook and completed an online survey.</p>
<p>We found:</p>
<ul>
<li>59% of the sample (521 participants) reported at least one instance of drug driving in the previous 12 months</li>
<li>25% of the sample (219 participants) reported using Facebook police location communities</li>
<li>of these 219 participants, almost two-thirds (142 participants) were drug drivers, however only 43% (94 participants) reported using the police location information to avoid roadside drug testing</li>
<li>other reasons for using these sites included for traffic updates, viewing locations of speed and mobile phone cameras and to avoid random breath testing sites.</li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440577/original/file-20220113-21-ga9qbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3308%2C2194&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a car looks at his phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440577/original/file-20220113-21-ga9qbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3308%2C2194&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440577/original/file-20220113-21-ga9qbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440577/original/file-20220113-21-ga9qbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440577/original/file-20220113-21-ga9qbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440577/original/file-20220113-21-ga9qbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440577/original/file-20220113-21-ga9qbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440577/original/file-20220113-21-ga9qbo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While not all offenders use these sites, there is a small proportion of drug drivers who do use the sites to actively avoid being detected.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How drivers use police location sites is important</h2>
<p>How drivers use police location sites is more important than whether they use them or not. Some drivers use them to actively avoid roadside drug testing, while others use them for different reasons (such as for traffic updates or information on speed cameras).</p>
<p>We found those who use these police location Facebook sites aren’t engaging in drug driving any more than people who don’t use these sites at all. And both groups considered it unlikely they would be caught if they were to drug drive. </p>
<p>A difference was found, however, when we compared those who reported using police location communities to avoid roadside drug testing and those who used the sites for a different reason (such as traffic updates or speed camera location information).</p>
<p>Those who used the police location Facebook sites to avoid roadside drug testing: </p>
<ul>
<li>offended more in the past (75 drug driving events on average, compared to 31 drug driving events)</li>
<li>reported being more likely to offend again in the future </li>
<li>viewed the Facebook police location posts more frequently (“few times a week” vs “few times per month”) and</li>
<li>were more likely to believe the posts were accurate and reliable (a score of 6.57 out of 10 vs 5.20 out of 10). </li>
</ul>
<h2>What does this mean for road safety?</h2>
<p>This study provides the first steps in exploring the use of police location sites on Facebook in relation to drug driving. </p>
<p>While not all offenders use these sites, there is a small proportion of drug drivers who do use the sites to actively avoid being detected. </p>
<p>This suggests the use of police location sites is a problematic area that needs more research to see how to further prevent drug driving. </p>
<p>Overall, participants considered it “unlikely” they would be caught for drug driving, regardless of whether they used Facebook police location groups and pages or not. </p>
<p>This is a significant problem as a core component of deterrence theory requires that for the legal punishment to effectively deter people, they need to believe the chance of being caught to be high.</p>
<p>Regardless of police location pages, there remains a fundamental need to increase motorists’ perceptions of being caught for drug driving. </p>
<p>This may be achieved through increasing awareness of drug testing operations when they are occurring on the roadside.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022437521001687">A recent study</a> by the same research team found even just driving past a roadside drug testing operation two or more times within a year increased perceptions of being caught for drug driving. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1410748396298596354"}"></div></p>
<p>Many motorists, however, are not aware that roadside drug testing often occurs alongside random breath testing.</p>
<p>Increasing roadside drug testing related signage during active operations may prove to be an important ingredient for enhancing the impact of roadside operations. </p>
<p>Taken together, while police location pages may prove to be a cause for concern, motorists’ already low estimations of being caught should not be overlooked. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-approach-to-cut-death-toll-of-young-people-in-road-accidents-25372">A new approach to cut death toll of young people in road accidents </a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174869/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Mills receives funding from the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Freeman receives funding from the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC).
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Verity Truelove receives funding from the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC). </span></em></p>Our results suggest police location groups and pages on Facebook are helping drivers avoid detection for drug driving - with potentially fatal consequences.Laura Mills, PhD Candidate, University of the Sunshine CoastJames Freeman, Research Professor, University of the Sunshine CoastVerity Truelove, Senior Research Fellow in Road Safety Research, University of the Sunshine CoastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1681272021-10-07T14:50:20Z2021-10-07T14:50:20ZStandard responses to road accidents haven’t worked in Ghana: here are some alternatives<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423830/original/file-20210929-32-144zupy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are calls to declare road accidents a public health scare in Ghana</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Car_crash.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Road traffic accidents remain a major public health and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-0502-8">development challenge in Ghana</a>. They are among the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/countries/Ghana/">top 10 causes of deaths</a>, draining <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-00695-5">2.54% of its gross domestic product</a> annually. Some recent reports suggest that between January and July 2021, about 8 deaths and 43 injuries were recorded <a href="https://twitter.com/Elvis_Ekg/status/1430099309366816770/photo/1">daily on Ghana’s roads</a>. </p>
<p>The recent surge in road deaths and injuries has ignited demands for a sharper policy focus on road carnage. The conversation, however, appears to be heavily oriented towards doing more of the existing control measures. These are the so-called 3Es: education; enforcement and engineering.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001457514002383">contemporary science or best practice</a> in road safety management is shifting towards an understanding of the wider societal factors that might impact road safety. It is also about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/rethinking-the-causes-of-road-trauma-societys-problems-must-share-the-blame-82383">exploitation of these factors</a> in interventions. This major shift, however, remains inadequately considered in the current search for solutions to make Ghana’s roads safer.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-fines-and-jail-time-wont-change-the-behaviour-of-ghanas-minibus-drivers-155379">Why fines and jail time won't change the behaviour of Ghana's minibus drivers</a>
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<h2>Fixing ‘bad’ drivers is not enough</h2>
<p>I <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-00695-5#Sec5">set out to explore</a> why Ghana cannot arrest or educate its way out of its road traffic malaise. I argue that the present public policy of hunting for rogue drivers to make roads safer is akin to killing mosquitoes one by one to control malaria. The problem with it, as noted <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/320/7237/768?ath_user=efschouston002&ath_ttok=%253CTPEEDaMygDfSrj8WwQ%253E">elsewhere</a>, is that the mosquitoes could still keep coming. The best remedy is to drain the swamp that breeds them.</p>
<p>Consider, the troubling issue of drunk driving, for instance, which many a Ghanaian insists could be simply resolved through more arrests, prosecutions and longer prison sentences. A recent <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15389588.2018.1556792?journalCode=gcpi20">study</a> on behavioural influences on driver crash risks in Ghana reported that commercial drivers, forced by poor working conditions to drive for long hours often resort to alcohol and other similar substances to ‘stay alert’. </p>
<p>Undoubtedly, increased policing and imprisonment could help identify and remove some of these drivers from the roads. But that alone will not resolve the precarious working conditions and job insecurities that incentivise inappropriate use of alcohol and other substances as coping mechanisms. </p>
<p>The result of this, <a href="https://theconversation.com/rethinking-the-causes-of-road-trauma-societys-problems-must-share-the-blame-82383">as shown elsewhere</a>, is that while some drug and alcohol-affected drivers will be arrested and punished, impact will be minimal. This is because little is done to tackle wider societal influences of their misuse and addiction.</p>
<p>Clearly, fixing the worrying impact of alcohol and other substance abuses on road safety outcomes in Ghana will require thinking beyond the present traditional domains of safety education, and the highly preferred law enforcement-heavy measure of declaring ‘<a href="https://www.modernghana.com/news/947634/citi-tvs-war-against-indiscipline-matters-arisin.html">wars</a>’ on drivers.</p>
<p>Second, the 3Es often narrow policy options to fixing the behaviour of the usual suspects – drivers and the road environment. The problem with this is that other key actors, processes and practices that also heavily influence safety outcomes are seldom considered. </p>
<p>For instance, from a prevention point of view, does it also matter who fixes or repairs the cars drivers operate? Does it matter who trains them and the nature of the training that gives them power to make quality assurance judgements on vehicles that carry people? </p>
<p>There is also the well-documented exploitation in the commercial passenger transport sector. This solicits and compels unhealthy driving practices from drivers to make as many trips as possible to raise revenue to settle high sales targets set by car owners, cover operational and other costs including police bribes. </p>
<p>The 3Es afford little opportunity to learn from these and other sets of socially organised circumstances that produce harmful driving practices and adverse road safety outcomes in the country.</p>
<p>Moreover, however troubling road trauma is, resource constraints will mean that not all potential solutions can be funded or be meaningfully implemented. Other problems in the country also demand policy resources. This raises the need for careful investment in interventions with the potential to help solve, at the same time, a multiple number of the longstanding problems that continue to resist current interventions. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-00695-5">I show that</a> wider societal level interventions that go beyond the traditional 3Es could yield such outcomes in Ghana. Consider prioritising investment in efficient public transport such as rail and big buses, for instance.</p>
<p>The evidence in countries like Japan suggest that, these transportation options, together with the promotion of non-motorised forms of non-commercial transport such as bicycles, have the potential to reduce meaningfully heavy reliance on private cars – <a href="https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/private-cars-dominate-road-accident-statistics.html">which dominate road traffic crashes in Ghana</a>.</p>
<p>Presently, it is estimated that, together with taxis, private cars occupy more than half of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-020-00695-5#ref-CR16">Ghana’s road space</a>. Cutting down the use of private cars through improved public transport systems could yield widespread sustainable safety outcomes. Reducing the number of private cars on the roads means reducing the number of private car-related crashes, injuries and deaths. Also, since private cars occupy a chunk of the road space, reducing their use will significantly bring down the traffic congestion in the cities.</p>
<p>This could result in reducing fatigue born out of long driving resulting from ‘go slows’ (gridlocks). <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15389588.2018.1556792?journalCode=gcpi20">Some evidence</a> has emerged that part of the reason Ghana suffers several highway crash injuries and deaths is that drivers in the country often resort to aggressive driving practices such as over speeding and reckless overtaking to make up for lost time in traffic when they get to the highways. </p>
<p>Reducing private car use, and to that end, traffic congestion through improved public transport could yield positive outcomes on the highways in terms of reduced incidents of reckless overtaking and speeding. </p>
<p>Importantly, reducing heavy dependence on private cars comes with great environmental and climate gains such as reduced air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ghanas-road-traffic-problems-have-deep-and-spreading-roots-160303">Ghana's road traffic problems have deep and spreading roots</a>
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<hr>
<h2>Time to reorganise cities and society</h2>
<p>A more fundamental issue is the present land-use patterns and ways of organising the Ghanaian society that solicit and compel unnecessary travelling in the country. The result is that many people are put in harm’s way to travel from their places of residence to submit <em>‘documents’</em>, attend <em>‘meetings’</em> or conduct petty businesses in Accra and the other cities in which public and other businesses have been centralised. </p>
<p>Mixed-town planning land-use patterns must be encouraged and investments made in technology to cut down unnecessary travel and reduce exposure to crashes.</p>
<p>Clearly, great opportunities exist for reducing road traffic miseries in Ghana that the intent focus on just the 3Es obscures. Road safety education; road traffic regulation enforcement and road engineering are truly important; their impacts are tangible. It, however, may be time to think beyond them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168127/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Festival Godwin Boateng does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Current methods of road carnage prevention in Ghana have proved unsuccessful .Festival Godwin Boateng, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Sustainable Urban Development, The Earth Institute, Columbia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1577642021-06-02T19:39:00Z2021-06-02T19:39:00ZDriver’s license suspensions for failure to pay fines inflict particular harm on Black drivers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402891/original/file-20210526-13-ufqnfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=167%2C133%2C6908%2C4690&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Black drivers are more likely to encounter police regardless of how they drive, research shows. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/nightime-police-traffic-stop-royalty-free-image/1291419534?adppopup=true">Rich Legg/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine being unable to pay a US$50 traffic ticket and, as a result, facing <a href="https://www.npr.org/2015/01/05/372691918/how-drivers-license-suspensions-unfairly-target-the-poor">mounting fees</a> so high that even after paying hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars toward your debt you still owe money.</p>
<p><a href="https://slate.com/business/2017/09/state-lawmakers-have-trapped-millions-of-americans-in-debt-by-taking-their-licenses.html">Imagine being fired from your job</a> because you’ve been forced to use unreliable public transportation instead of your car. </p>
<p>And imagine <a href="https://www.ij.org/report/fines-and-fees-home/">going to jail</a> several times because, even though your license is suspended, you had to drive to work. </p>
<p>These are some of the situations facing <a href="https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2021/01/04/new-york-passes-traffic-ticket-installments-drivers-license-suspension-reform-act/4117229001/">millions of Americans</a> who were unable to pay fines – and whose lives were turned into a nightmare by overly punitive policies in response.</p>
<p>And these policies have an outsize, and damaging, impact on Black Americans, according to our research.</p>
<h2>Cycles of debt</h2>
<p>Most cities and states have policies that allow them to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nc-state-wire-lawsuits-us-news-ap-top-news-courts-3f83b360a1f141f4a794f4203c7eab2f">suspend a driver’s license for nonpayment of fines and fees</a>, most commonly traffic fines.</p>
<p>These policies are so popular that <a href="https://dc.uwm.edu/eti_pubs/4/">judges have described them</a> as “the most valuable tool available to the municipal courts for inducing payment on past due accounts.”</p>
<p>Studying the effects of these policies can be difficult because there is no uniform national reporting of crime statistics. </p>
<p>Anecdotal evidence suggests that failure to pay fines – not dangerous driving – is the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/more-than-7-million-people-may-have-lost-drivers-licenses-because-of-traffic-debt/2018/05/19/97678c08-5785-11e8-b656-a5f8c2a9295d_story.html">most common reason</a> for driver’s license suspensions in the United States. </p>
<p>And research indicates that these burdens are primarily borne by <a href="https://www.npr.org/2015/01/05/372691918/how-drivers-license-suspensions-unfairly-target-the-poor">low-income people</a> and <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-findings-two-civil-rights-investigations-ferguson-missouri">people of color</a>. </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://spa.asu.edu/content/sian-mughan">public affairs scholar</a> who has written extensively about labor markets and criminal justice systems, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12486">I’ve conducted research</a> with Joanna Carroll supports these conclusions. </p>
<p>But it also illuminates a previously unknown racial inequality of the policy. </p>
<p>Our research suggests that, by appearing on the driver’s record, license suspensions increase the probability that Black – but not white – drivers incur more traffic tickets. Even after the debt is paid and the license regained, these suspensions continue to harm drivers, and these harms exclusively affect Black drivers.</p>
<p>This shows that suspensions don’t just trap people in a cycle of mounting debt but also a cycle of negative interactions with the criminal justice system.</p>
<h2>Long-term impact of suspensions</h2>
<p>We studied a sample of over 2,000 drivers who received traffic tickets in Marion County, Indiana, home to Indianapolis, between 2011 and 2016. </p>
<p>In that county, if a driver fails to pay or contest a ticket within 72 days, their license is automatically suspended. This means that judges and other members of the justice system cannot choose who receives a suspension. </p>
<p>Every driver in our sample paid their ticket in the days surrounding the payment deadline.</p>
<p>This is an ideal environment to study the long-term impacts of suspensions because it creates two groups of people that are easily comparable: those who paid the ticket right before the deadline, thus avoiding a suspension, and those who paid after the deadline and received a suspension.</p>
<p>We found that Black drivers who received a failure-to-pay suspension increased their likelihood of getting another ticket by up to nine percentage points. White drivers, meanwhile, saw a roughly three percentage point decrease in their likelihood of getting another ticket.</p>
<p>We attempted to identify differences between white and Black drivers that might explain this result but were unable to do so. For example, Black drivers are not committing more offenses than white drivers, nor are the offenses they commit more serious. Black drivers are just as likely as white drivers to pay their tickets. And Black drivers are more likely than white drivers to reinstate their license after the suspension.</p>
<p>Moreover, regardless of race, following the suspension, drivers with larger fines are less likely to receive another ticket, suggesting that all drivers drive more cautiously after getting a suspension, likely to reduce the probability of receiving another ticket. This is consistent with previous <a href="https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/10707/speeding-punishment-and-recidivism-evidence-from-a-regression-discontinuity-design">studies on the effects of traffic policies</a>, which show traffic enforcement <a href="https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1939586">leads to safer driving</a>.</p>
<h2>Ineffective strategies for Black drivers</h2>
<p>We believe the most convincing explanation for our findings is that driving “better” to avoid being pulled over is an ineffective strategy for Black drivers, who are more likely to have an encounter with police regardless of how they drive. </p>
<p>This interpretation is consistent with studies showing Black people are more likely to be <a href="https://appam.confex.com/appam/2014/webprogram/Paper10418.html">pulled over without cause</a>. After pulling over a Black driver, the police officer discovers the prior failure-to-pay suspension and becomes more likely to issue a ticket. </p>
<p>This sequence of events does not occur when the driver is white because white drivers are able to minimize the chance of being pulled over by changing their driving behavior.</p>
<p>Our research is the first to study failure-to-pay suspensions in the United States, and it’s the first to demonstrate that they exert disproportionate harm on Black drivers. </p>
<p>This evidence could prove relevant to policymakers in states across the county who are currently debating <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/illinois-license-suspensions">discontinuing license suspension</a> for nonpayment of legal debts.</p>
<p><em>Dr. Joanna Carroll co-authored this research while she was at Indiana University. She currently works at the Government Accountability Office.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157764/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sian Mughan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Driver’s license suspensions increase the probability that Black – but not white – drivers incur more traffic tickets, even after the debt is paid, research shows.Sian Mughan, Assistant Professor of Public Affairs, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1599262021-05-18T20:10:31Z2021-05-18T20:10:31ZMinimum space for passing cyclists is now law Australia-wide. It increases safety – but possibly road rage too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400916/original/file-20210517-21-l9e66m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=655%2C533%2C4234%2C2848&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>To protect cyclists on the roads, state governments in Australia have introduced laws that set a minimum space drivers must give cyclists when overtaking them. These laws are now <a href="https://www.amygillett.org.au/a-metre-matters">in place nationwide</a>, with <a href="https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/newsmedia/2021/minimum-passing-distance">Victoria the final state</a> to join the ranks last month. But do these passing distance laws actually change drivers’ behaviour towards cyclists?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457521001391?casa_token=FKEeNMS1lwsAAAAA:X76VgFJdIyLYZN_Qjq-ifGAzd6Qpk13mTjMBnR3eSaWzzhwmxKAEMzGcTnnuLW2uEZyt44VUmDA">Our research</a> set out to answer this question by evaluating Western Australia’s passing distance law <a href="https://www.rsc.wa.gov.au/Rules-Penalties/Browse/Cyclists">introduced in 2017</a>. We found that since the law took effect drivers do indeed report giving cyclists more space when overtaking. However, there were possible unintended consequences. Drivers also self-reported more aggressive behaviour directed at cyclists, such as beeping horns or swearing.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/delivery-rider-deaths-highlight-need-to-make-streets-safer-for-everyone-150752">Delivery rider deaths highlight need to make streets safer for everyone</a>
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<h2>What is in a passing distance law?</h2>
<p>Passing distance laws are based on the understanding that close overtaking by cars <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001457518309990">greatly increases the risk</a> of accidents involving cyclists and motor vehicles. Previously, drivers had to use their own judgement in providing “sufficient” space when overtaking cyclists. Now the laws instead specify a minimum distance.</p>
<p>In Australia, the distance is usually 1 metre on roads with speed limits less than 60km/h and 1.5 metres on roads with higher speed limits. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400914/original/file-20210517-21-1a1w222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing when minimum passing distance laws took effect in Australian states and territories." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400914/original/file-20210517-21-1a1w222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400914/original/file-20210517-21-1a1w222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400914/original/file-20210517-21-1a1w222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400914/original/file-20210517-21-1a1w222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400914/original/file-20210517-21-1a1w222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400914/original/file-20210517-21-1a1w222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400914/original/file-20210517-21-1a1w222.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Laws requiring that motorists observe a minimum passing distance when overtaking cyclists now apply across Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.amygillett.org.au/ametrematters-everywhere">Amy Gillett Foundation</a></span>
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<p>Some <a href="https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/Walking-Cycling-and-Public-Transport/docs/Minimum-Overtaking-Gap-Feasibility-Study-FINAL.pdf">European countries</a> and several states in the <a href="http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/safely%E2%80%90passing%E2%80%90bicyclists.aspx.">US</a> have adopted similar laws.</p>
<p>Lawmakers understand that legislation can also send important <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-42462-010">social signals</a>: cyclists are legitimate road users, and the road is a safe place to cycle.</p>
<h2>Why do we need these laws to protect cyclists?</h2>
<p>Cycling is a <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j1456">healthy</a> and <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/ehp.0901747?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed">environmentally friendly</a> mode of transport. It can play a key role in reducing pollution and congestion in ever more densely populated cities. Yet cycling <a href="https://austroads.com.au/network-operations/active-travel/cycling-participation">rates in Australia are low</a>. </p>
<p>Clearly, it would be desirable for more people to take up cycling. Why is this not happening?</p>
<p>Partly, low cycling rates might be due to the risks involved in cycling. Cyclist <a href="https://www.aaa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AAA_QBR_March_2020.pdf">fatalities</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28899316/">injuries</a> have been on the rise in Australia in recent years. We know this is not related to the roads becoming more dangerous for everybody, because car driver deaths have been <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/2a558178-0d13-4a36-ad28-9f80de1993e4/AIHW-INJ188.pdf.aspx?inline=true">decreasing</a> over the same time.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rising-cyclist-death-toll-is-mainly-due-to-drivers-so-change-the-road-laws-and-culture-102567">Rising cyclist death toll is mainly due to drivers, so change the road laws and culture</a>
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<p>As well as objective safety, cycling participation is also related to whether people perceive cycling to be safe. Part of this perception comes from how other road users treat cyclists. Unfortunately, cyclists report motorists direct a fair amount of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847818307873">aggressive behaviour</a> at them.</p>
<h2>So what difference do these laws make?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457521001391?casa_token=FKEeNMS1lwsAAAAA:X76VgFJdIyLYZN_Qjq-ifGAzd6Qpk13mTjMBnR3eSaWzzhwmxKAEMzGcTnnuLW2uEZyt44VUmDA">Our study</a> in WA confirms what others have found: passing distance laws make overtaking by cars <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856420308107">safer for cyclists</a>.</p>
<p>However, we found the law may have the unintended side effect of increased aggressive behaviour towards cyclists.</p>
<p>There are several possible explanations for these unintended changes. We think it is an issue of culture: Australia is a car-centric society. Many car drivers in Australia believe cyclists <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Driver-Road-Rule-Knowledge-and-Attitudes-towards-Rissel-Campbell/4577a9b3a9e108db9cb81e9d6fba77c53c35f92e">do not belong on the roads</a>. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/drivers-v-cyclists-its-like-an-ethnic-conflict-which-offers-clues-to-managing-road-wars-139107">Drivers v cyclists: it's like an ethnic conflict, which offers clues to managing 'road wars'</a>
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<p>Passing distance laws signal that cyclists are deserving of space and may “force” drivers to give cyclists more space, against their beliefs. Some drivers may give cyclists more space to comply with the law, but counter any discomfort they experience by being more aggressive towards cyclists.</p>
<p>Drivers often experience frustration with having to overtake cyclists and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0001457574900037">other slow road users</a>. The law may have actually drawn attention to this frustration, which in turn may have contributed to more aggressive behaviour among drivers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Angry man yells while driving" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400918/original/file-20210517-19-9og4d0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400918/original/file-20210517-19-9og4d0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400918/original/file-20210517-19-9og4d0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400918/original/file-20210517-19-9og4d0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400918/original/file-20210517-19-9og4d0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400918/original/file-20210517-19-9og4d0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400918/original/file-20210517-19-9og4d0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">An increase in driver aggression directed at cyclists appears to be an unintended consequence of the laws.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/angry-man-driving-vehicle-without-seat-164132411">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>We also found <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457521001391">cycling rates have remained stable</a> since the passing distance law was introduced. Unfortunately, this suggests the law did not translate into greater enthusiasm for cycling.</p>
<h2>What can be done to improve the situation?</h2>
<p>If these laws have these side effects, what else can we do?</p>
<p>It seems passing distance laws are effective in regulating the specific behaviour of overtaking cyclists. This is great news for cyclists’ safety. However, to make cycling safer overall, and to increase cycling rates, <a href="https://theconversation.com/delivery-rider-deaths-highlight-need-to-make-streets-safer-for-everyone-150752">further measures</a> to complement these laws are needed.</p>
<p>Changing drivers’ deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes towards cyclists may be a longer process, but one worth embarking on. Infrastructure and road layouts also matter and can play a role in shifting priorities away from cars. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-can-design-better-intersections-that-are-safer-for-all-users-92178">We can design better intersections that are safer for all users</a>
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<p>Infrastructure that plans space for cyclists would reduce the number of interactions between cyclists and drivers. It also signals that cyclists have a right to this space. </p>
<p>As an added benefit, this type of infrastructure can play a key part in <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-old-road-rules-no-longer-apply-how-e-scooters-challenge-outdated-assumptions-129074">preparing the road network for emerging technology</a> such as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200608-how-sustainable-are-electric-scooters">e-scooters and other transport modes</a>.</p>
<p>Public policy is an inexact science. Most new laws will have some unintended consequences. Our study confirms the importance of careful evaluation of such laws. It shows the passing distance law is a great first step, but more can be done to protect cyclists on the roads.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159926/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Passing distance laws do change driver behaviour. But new research suggests not all the changes are positive.Laura Fruhen, Lecturer, School of Psychological Science, The University of Western AustraliaIsabel Rossen, Senior Learning Skills Officer, The University of Western AustraliaLisette Kanse, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychological Science, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1566202021-03-09T13:35:07Z2021-03-09T13:35:07ZTraffic is down on American highways during the pandemic, but vehicle deaths are up – here’s how to stay safe on the road<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388124/original/file-20210305-13-1uumx2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Be careful on the road.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/car-crashed-on-country-road-with-field-and-sky-royalty-free-image/117852386?adppopup=true">Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Although there are fewer cars on America’s roads since the pandemic began, the number of fatal car crashes has increased. </p>
<p>Early nationwide <a href="https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813053">data</a> supports this counterintuitive finding: Although daily trips from households <a href="https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/traffic_safety_during_covid19_01062021_0.pdf">fell by as much as 35% in 2020</a>, preliminary traffic fatality count data for the first nine months of 2020 shows 28,190 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes - a 4.6% increase compared with the same period in 2019. The same trend has been <a href="https://etsc.eu/covid-19-huge-drop-in-traffic-in-europe-but-impact-on-road-deaths-unclear/">reported in countries outside the U.S.</a>, such as Australia, where less traffic has not produced fewer road deaths.</p>
<p>Curious about traffic crashes during the pandemic, we decided to use our skills as a <a href="https://www.cti.uconn.edu/cti/Marisa_Auguste.asp">social scientist</a> and <a href="https://www.cti.uconn.edu/cti/Eric_Jackson.asp">a research engineer</a> who study vehicle crash data to see what we could learn about Connecticut’s traffic deaths when the stay-at-home orders first went into place last March.</p>
<p>A partnership between the Department of Transportation, local hospitals and the University of Connecticut discovered what many people intuitively knew: Traffic volume and multivehicle crashes fell significantly during the stay-at-home order. Statewide, daily vehicle traffic <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2020-043945">fell by 43%</a> during the stay-at-home order compared to earlier in the year, while mean <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2020-043945">daily counts</a> of multivehicle crashes decreased from 209 before the stay-at-home order to 80 during lockdown. </p>
<p>What was unexpected, however, was the significant increase in single-vehicle crashes, especially fatal ones. During the stay-at-home period, the incidence rate of fatal single-vehicle crashes increased <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2020-043945">4.1 times</a>, while the rate of total single-vehicle crashes was also up significantly.</p>
<p>Data about all crash types in the state, whether single- or multivehicle, tell a similar story. Although preliminary, police reports have placed the 2020 year-end total for traffic deaths at 308, <a href="https://www.ctcrash.uconn.edu">a 24% increase from 2019</a>. </p>
<p>It is unclear exactly why this is happening, but we are using data to investigate a few theories.</p>
<p>Data show that drivers are <a href="https://portal.ct.gov/DOT/News-from-the-Connecticut-Department-of-Transportation/2020/CTDOT-and-State-Police-Launch-Please-Do-Not-Speed-Initiative">more likely to be speeding</a>. Although traffic volume on Route 15 and Interstate 95 in Connecticut fell 52% in April 2020, the number of vehicles going more than 80 mph increased by 94%. Other <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-22/tickets-for-drivers-speeding-more-than-100-mph-surges-87-amid-california-shutdown-chp-says">states are seeing the same trends</a>.</p>
<p>Drivers also appear to be very distracted. Data collected by Zendrive, a company that tracks smartphone data to predict drivers’ behavior, shows that in <a href="https://live.zendrive.com/collision-report">57% of crashes nationwide in 2020</a>, drivers were on their phones. From January (pre-lockdown) to March 2020, drivers in crashes spent 7% more time on their phones; when that data collection was extended to November, drivers checked their phones 17% more often. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2020.100186">These trends are also holding up in other countries</a>. </p>
<p>American drivers are also being riskier on the road: According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the percentage of injured road users – drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists – with alcohol, marijuana or opioids in their system <a href="https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/50941">all increased during the pandemic</a>. </p>
<p>Any death during COVID-19 – whether it’s the direct result of the virus or its indirect effects on daily life – is a tragedy. Yet there are ways to keep drivers safe during this tumultuous period.</p>
<h2>Check your speed</h2>
<p>Fewer drivers does not make speeding less dangerous. In 2010, <a href="https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training/fhwasa010413spmgmt/speedmanagementguide.pdf">more than one-third of fatal crashes took place on local rural roads</a> that tend to have relatively few cars – and nearly one-third of those crashes involved speeding. </p>
<p>In normal conditions, drivers often “go with the flow” of traffic, matching <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000145751300465X?via%3Dihub">the speed of other cars</a>. Without other cars around, it may be easy to unconsciously go much faster. Frequent speedometer checks can help combat this.</p>
<p>Setting cruise control to the speed limit – or, at most, five mph above – will lock in your speed and save you from having to check the speedometer.</p>
<h2>Don’t drive angry</h2>
<p>In addition, if you’re upset, try to avoid getting behind the wheel. The COVID-19 pandemic has left many feeling isolated, agitated or simply bored – but people who are feeling <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2017.10.006">aggressive</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2004.10.006">angry</a> are more likely to engage in unsafe driving. If you’re in a heightened emotional state, ask a friend or family member to drive, use public transit or ride-sharing services, take a walk, ride a bike or simply stay home. </p>
<p>Last, stay focused. With fewer vehicles on the road, it may also seem safer than usual to sneak a peek at your phone. That’s not the case, as the rise in phone use and fatal crashes during 2020 illustrates. To reduce the temptation of checking your phone, many free apps, such as Drivemode and Android Auto, simplify phone functions like GPS and music to minimize distractions.</p>
<p><em>This article was produced in collaboration with <a href="https://knowablemagazine.org/">Knowable Magazine</a>, a digital publication covering science and its emerging frontiers.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156620/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric Jackson receives funding from the Connecticut Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Federal Highway Administration. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marisa Auguste is an author of published research mentioned in this article. </span></em></p>Despite a decrease in traffic during the pandemic, single-vehicle car crashes increased.Eric Jackson, Associate Research Professor, Director, Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center, University of ConnecticutMarisa Auguste, Behavioral Research Assistant, Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1411662020-08-12T12:30:00Z2020-08-12T12:30:00ZRoad rage, stop and search and vehicle stereotypes: why cars drive so much racism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352026/original/file-20200810-18-1bjrfcd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3840%2C2546&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/boston-uk-april-01-2020-police-1701333685">Shutterstock/Tony Dunn</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Picture this for a moment, you’re in the car, tootling along, minding your own business – keeping a safe distance between you and the vehicle in front. All of a sudden some maniac in a loud vehicle comes along and neatly zips in front of you: “Bastard. Ignorant, selfish, bad mannered bastard”.</p>
<p>Your outburst may well be more sophisticated, but the point is, some behaviours can offend. Ordinarily, such encounters are part and parcel of the driving experience. But my <a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/race-taste-class-and-cars">research</a> shows that <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1070289X.2016.1232197">something else sometimes occurs</a> if the offending driver happens to not be white. Bastard can then mutate into “Paki”, “black” or “foreign bastard”.</p>
<p>As the recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests have shown, racial bias, prejudice and discrimination very much still exists, but has, in some cases, become more <a href="https://lithub.com/why-insidious-racism-is-much-harder-to-navigate/">subtle and complex</a> in formation over the past few decades. But, as <a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/race-taste-class-and-cars">the research for my new book</a> shows, one space where racism is routinely present <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/how-enthusiasm-for-cars-can-break-down-racial-boundaries-1.4276439?mode=amp">on the road</a> – specifically when it comes to the type of car a person may be driving.</p>
<h2>Driver stereotypes</h2>
<p>You might even be familiar with some of the simplistic stereotypes about various types of cars and drivers: from the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/cars-popular-driving-stereotypes-subaru-boy-racer-bmw-businessman-white-van-man-motoring-survey-a8107196.html">White Van Man to the Subaru Boy Racer</a>, narratives are created and circulated.</p>
<p>There are stereotypes about certain brands: Audi drivers as <a href="https://www.petrolprices.com/news/bmw-drivers-the-most-disliked-in-the-uk/">aggressive</a>, some convertible models are either “womens’ cars” or said to be “<a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Hairdressers%20Car">hairdressers</a>” cars – read that as sporty looking on a budget. And of course, the ubiquitous “Chelsea tractor” sobriquet is often used to describe any large four-wheel-drive vehicle in urban areas.</p>
<p>Over time and through repetition these stereotypes become highly meaningful and form shortcuts – underpinned with logic and experience, each reinforcing the other. Such ideas end up seeming normal, accepted and constitute conventional wisdom. </p>
<h2>Racism on the road</h2>
<p><a href="https://policypress.co.uk/social-cohesion-and-counter-terrorism">In my sociology research</a>, I’ve found that racial stereotypes are fairly common on the UK’s roads – particularly in multi-ethnic areas.</p>
<p>Over a period of several years, I spoke with people from various ethnic, gender, class and professional backgrounds. Through interview, observation and participation, the emerging data often painted car ownership as a complex but important indicator of status or success. But, at the same time, for many people, owning what appeared to be expensive cars also posed risks for the driver.</p>
<p>My research shows that narratives around particular types of cars in the hands of particular types of owners were abundant and held as <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1070289X.2016.1232197">common shorthand</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Modified cars parked in carpark." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352000/original/file-20200810-16-1tlfyhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/352000/original/file-20200810-16-1tlfyhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352000/original/file-20200810-16-1tlfyhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352000/original/file-20200810-16-1tlfyhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352000/original/file-20200810-16-1tlfyhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352000/original/file-20200810-16-1tlfyhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/352000/original/file-20200810-16-1tlfyhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bradford Modified Club car meet, Bradford, May 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I found, for example, that if you’re young and of South Asian heritage and you drive an expensive looking car in an inner city, then you run the risk of being stereotyped as a drug dealer. How else, after all, could someone who is not expected to have the life chances to succeed using legitimate endeavour, demonstrate such success?</p>
<p>Similarly, people with cars that happen to be equipped with loud in-car entertainment systems, may be seen as unruly, self-indulgent and possibly antisocial.</p>
<h2>Changing lanes</h2>
<p>In my new book <a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/race-taste-class-and-cars">Race, Taste, Class and Cars</a> I look at the complexity of car acquisition, ownership and maintenance. Part of my book is dedicated to car modification – and looks at the experiences of owners who tweak their car’s performance, or aesthetics to improve its overall style, in turn adding a layer of creativity. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="BMW and other vehicles parked in carpark." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351998/original/file-20200810-24-16aajtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351998/original/file-20200810-24-16aajtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351998/original/file-20200810-24-16aajtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351998/original/file-20200810-24-16aajtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=249&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351998/original/file-20200810-24-16aajtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351998/original/file-20200810-24-16aajtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/351998/original/file-20200810-24-16aajtu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bradford Modified Club car meet, Bradford, September, 2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But I’ve found that instead of seeing car customisation and modification as a creative, artistic endeavour, those who invest emotionally and economically into the look, feel and sound of their cars are often <a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/race-taste-class-and-cars">made to feel</a> they are problematic troublemakers – and doubly problematic if they are not white.</p>
<p>At the heart of my analysis is the fact that race and class-based prejudices are given licence to be enacted on the road with such frequency that they become rational, banal, accepted and – as things stand – unlikely to be challenged. </p>
<p>And this can have wide implications. Just look at <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/police-defend-officers-who-stopped-22507146">the recent</a> experience of Labour MP Dawn Butler who has accused the Metropolitan Police of racial profiling after the BMW in which she was travelling (driven by a black male drive) was pulled over in Hackney, east London:</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1292734075904634880"}"></div></p>
<p>Then there was also the recent case of team GB sprinter, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bianca-williams-metropolitan-police-watchdog-racial-profiling-a9606616.html">Bianca Williams and her partner Ricardo dos Santos</a>, the Portuguese 400m runner, who were stopped when they were driving through Maida Vale in west London. They were both dragged from their vehicle and handcuffed – Williams has <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/53301318">since accused</a> the police of racial profiling. </p>
<p>Indeed, a prestige car with tinted windows and black occupants in a largely white and affluent district may have been something of a flag – hence the stop. </p>
<p>There are many similar cases, some of which have lasting effects on those suspected by police officers as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x0G4NCBTzg">criminal</a>, partly because of the false assumption that the car they drive seems only attainable through illicit means.</p>
<p>It is clear that what is needed is a shift in cultural attitudes as well as an acknowledgement of these now racially primed shortcuts for what they are. In turn, policing strategy especially within multi-ethnic areas needs modification to ensure practices aren’t just a result of stereotypical prejudice.</p>
<p>
<section class="inline-content">
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249586/original/file-20181210-76983-1azl8ax.png?h=128">
<div>
<header>Yunis Alam is the author of:</header>
<p><a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/race-taste-class-and-cars">Race, Taste, Class and Cars.</a></p>
<footer>Bristol University Press provides funding as a content partner of The Conversation UK</footer>
</div>
</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141166/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yunis Alam previously received funding from JRF, AWYA, DFG.</span></em></p>As the recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests have shown many people, racial bias, prejudice and discrimination very much still exist, but have become increasingly subtle and complex.Yunis Alam, Lecturer in Sociology, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1364502020-07-23T14:10:46Z2020-07-23T14:10:46ZUber supreme court battle: even if drivers win, they need new laws to protect them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349141/original/file-20200723-31-100kd06.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/photos/car-traffic-man-hurry-1149997/">Pixabay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK <a href="https://www.supremecourt.uk/about/the-supreme-court.html">supreme court</a> has just heard <a href="https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2019-0029.html">an appeal</a> from Uber that has far-reaching implications for UK drivers and the wider gig economy. Uber wants to overturn an employment tribunal ruling <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/28/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/28/uber-uk-tribunal-self-employed-statusuber-uk-tribunal-self-employed-status">from 2016</a>, which improved the lot of its drivers by classifying them as “workers” instead of “self-employed contractors”. </p>
<p>If upheld, many Uber drivers can look forward to an hourly minimum wage, paid breaks, sick pay and holiday pay, and <a href="https://www.leighday.co.uk/News/Press-releases-2020/May-2020/Uber-drivers-legal-challenge-proceeds-to-Supreme">an average £12,000</a> in compensation for their past work – all provided they lodge a claim. </p>
<p>Drivers with other companies won’t automatically benefit from the ruling, though it will create a strong precedent for similar claims. The 2017 <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/good-work-the-taylor-review-of-modern-working-practices">Taylor review</a> of modern working practices highlighted the need to “be clearer about how to distinguish workers from those who are legitimately self-employed” as one of its “seven steps towards fair and decent work”. </p>
<p>Uber last challenged the ruling in the court of appeal in 2018, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/7cdcf52c-03a5-11e9-9d01-cd4d49afbbe3">but lost the case</a>. If it loses in the supreme court, the original tribunal finding should be implemented. </p>
<h2>Driving precariously</h2>
<p>Many taxi drivers are in a very precarious position in their work, as both <a href="https://www.ntu.ac.uk/research/groups-and-centres/projects/private-hire-and-hackney-drivers-work">my research team</a> and <a href="https://www.steven-hill.com/the-uber-way-of-precarious-work/">others have shown</a>. Uber controls fares, aiming to be significantly cheaper than its competitors, and takes a 25% commission, which limits drivers’ earnings per mile. Our research suggests that after purchasing, maintaining and running their vehicle, some Uber drivers in England earn as little as £5 an hour. </p>
<p>Some of our industry participants suggested that Uber has contributed to a systematic oversupply of drivers by attempting to ensure a driver is available whenever required. Local private-hire competitors have adopted some of the American company’s practices, such as offering bookings via an app, although their relationship with drivers was described to us as less impersonal. Other international private-hire platforms like <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51443419">Ola</a>, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bolt-london/ubers-european-rival-bolt-enters-london-market-again-idUKKCN1TC002">Bolt</a> and <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/16/kapten-rides-into-london/">Kapten</a> are also entering the British market. </p>
<p>We found indications that the increasing <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/833569/taxi-and-phv-england-2019.pdf">number of drivers</a> has combined with low earnings to lead some private-hire drivers to illegally “ply for hire”: they pick up fares without a pre-booking, which invalidates their insurance. This increases competition for Hackney drivers, some of whom said they now work significantly longer hours to survive. Forcing Uber to guarantee an hourly minimum wage may help by removing its incentive to recruit so many drivers. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Row of parked Hackney cabs" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349138/original/file-20200723-25-ioq4xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349138/original/file-20200723-25-ioq4xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349138/original/file-20200723-25-ioq4xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349138/original/file-20200723-25-ioq4xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349138/original/file-20200723-25-ioq4xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349138/original/file-20200723-25-ioq4xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349138/original/file-20200723-25-ioq4xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hackney cabs: facing more competition.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-13-may-2015-black-522965605">pxl.store</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Beyond the immediate implications of the ruling, re-designating drivers as workers would send a message that operators share some responsibility for drivers’ wellbeing. This particularly matters during the pandemic: male taxi drivers and chauffeurs in England and Wales <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/causesofdeath/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19relateddeathsbyoccupationenglandandwales/deathsregisteredbetween9marchand25may2020">are among those</a> most severely affected by COVID-19, dying at over three times the average rate.</p>
<p>Drivers were <a href="https://www.instituteoflicensing.org/news/covid-19-licensing-issues-taxis-and-phvs-dft-advice/">permitted to work</a> during the lockdown and played an important role <a href="https://www.uber.com/en-GB/newsroom/uber-medic-uk/">in transporting</a> key workers and patients. Yet it <a href="https://www.local.gov.uk/approaches-use-screens-private-hire-vehicles-phvs-and-taxis-during-covid-19-pandemic">was left</a> to local authorities and operators to set any rules around drivers and passengers wearing <a href="https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/minicab-and-private-hire-drivers-launch-crowdfund-judicially-review-corporate">personal protective equipment</a>. </p>
<p>Requirements for wearing masks on public transport <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers">do not apply</a> to private hire cars or Hackneys in England, unlike in Scotland. Drivers can refuse passengers without masks, but risk receiving a poor app rating or complaints to the operator, jeopardising future work. </p>
<p>Due to their self-employed status, drivers only became entitled to government financial support from June, several months after employees. Even then, there <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53171372">have been suggestions</a> that many still <a href="https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/uber-drivers-adiatu-hm-treasury-coronavirus-cjrs-seiss/">don’t qualify</a> – for example, if they derive less than half their income from self-employment or became self-employed after April 6. </p>
<p>The only institutions that acknowledge responsibility for drivers’ welfare are their trade unions, associations and cooperatives. Significantly, the legal challenge to Uber involves several trade unions, rather than being led by parliament, councils or operators.</p>
<h2>Beyond the supreme court</h2>
<p>Even if the supreme court rules in favour of workers – the decision is due in a few weeks – other factors that make drivers’ lives precarious still need to be addressed. Uber is facing a separate <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jul/20/uber-drivers-to-launch-legal-bid-to-uncover-apps-algorithm">new action</a> over its algorithm, with drivers complaining that there is little transparency about how it collects data about their work and uses it for things like allocating jobs. </p>
<p>Legislation governing the sector is also <a href="https://www.local.gov.uk/parliament/briefings-and-responses/taxi-and-private-hire-licensing-reform-house-commons-3-october">widely regarded</a> as outdated, since it long pre-dates the Uber era, and is <a href="https://www.instituteoflicensing.org/news/dft-questioned-on-statutory-guidance/">slowly being reformed</a>. The sector was <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/20/contents/enacted">deregulated in 2015</a> to allow private-hire drivers registered in one local authority to operate anywhere in England and Wales. Our research suggests this has contributed to the over-supply of drivers in some areas, since they can obtain a cheaper licence with fewer restrictions from another local authority and use it to work anywhere. </p>
<p>This has encouraged divisions among drivers and made it more complicated for local authorities to enforce their taxi rules, since they have to liaise with the local authority that issued the licence. This could be addressed by changing the law to limit private-hire drivers to the licensing local authority. If local authorities could also cap the number of licensed private-hire vehicles in their area, as is <a href="https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/17581219.glasgow-first-council-to-introduce-cap-on-private-hire-car-and-taxi-licences/">already the case</a> in Scotland, this could make a big difference to the over-supply. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349193/original/file-20200723-27-1dtizp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Neon minicab sign" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349193/original/file-20200723-27-1dtizp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349193/original/file-20200723-27-1dtizp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349193/original/file-20200723-27-1dtizp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349193/original/file-20200723-27-1dtizp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349193/original/file-20200723-27-1dtizp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349193/original/file-20200723-27-1dtizp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/349193/original/file-20200723-27-1dtizp8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Legal framework for drivers needs improved.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pfig/89346448/in/photolist-PKM6eL-oSNhPF-rtNeEF-CkAKb-oSMMpb-9nZjT6-489bMT-nDp4E6-hH54q1-9LfRoD-73GrtZ-StkiRu-2412eXn-a1XWJU-2eH49dK-6yexRM-njU11g-6totWM-8FCprd-8TVA1-4NufYB-oun3RT-6qhfWt-2gRVTgq-aSXF5i-qxrE4f-7qsDYs-9TTJFP-7kX37r-69Atcu-7fvJ5f-5XDz4T-ebfH2X-95kRaa-9pCw8T-7Vav4c-6m62DF-piTe6-2egAwvi-nS5Ki-nDo3rt-nDp4wF-6z1jnf-3s5oa-39v9LA-2XmcW4-Xotmoo-PfRPNW-MBcTJr-MCTdYe">Pedro Figueiredo</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Such measures carry risks, however. Some of our research participants suggested that working as a private-hire driver was the last resort for some people, so any licensing restrictions would need combined with creating alternative work opportunities and support to help people change career. </p>
<p>Finally, the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1976/57">legislation</a> imposes <a href="https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/10.9%20Councillor%20Handbook%20-%20Taxi%20and%20PHV%20Licensing_November_2017.pdf">conditions aimed</a> at protecting passengers’ safety and welfare, and this could be extended to include drivers’ welfare. For example, it could enable them to complain officially over unfair treatment as part of their licensing conditions. Indeed, if drivers are overworked, underpaid and stressed, this has <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/56364959.pdf">clear negative implications</a> for passengers, so this is really part of protecting their welfare too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136450/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Vickers has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, the British Academy, the Leverhulme Trust and the British Sociological Association.</span></em></p>Uber drivers are back in court for a final showdown with the American company.Tom Vickers, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1391072020-06-10T19:51:33Z2020-06-10T19:51:33ZDrivers v cyclists: it’s like an ethnic conflict, which offers clues to managing ‘road wars’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340797/original/file-20200610-82651-idbmq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7315%2C4891&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/forcing-right-way-on-road-driver-1111918487">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Motorists and cyclists are akin to ethnic groups, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14442213.2020.1754894">our research</a> shows. This means we might want to look to multiculturalism in managing relations on the roads.</p>
<p>As we exit lockdown, <a href="https://theconversation.com/cars-transition-from-lockdown-is-a-fork-in-the-road-here-are-two-possible-outcomes-for-future-travel-139885">car and bicycle use will increase greatly</a>. Commuters may be swapping one risk for another – an increased risk of traffic accidents and congestion for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-coronavirus-restrictions-ease-heres-how-you-can-navigate-public-transport-as-safely-as-possible-138845">risk of coronavirus infection on public transport</a>. Cities overseas are increasingly turning to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/21/milan-seeks-to-prevent-post-crisis-return-of-traffic-pollution">segregated car and bicycle lanes as a solution</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-recovery-public-transport-is-key-to-avoid-repeating-old-and-unsustainable-mistakes-138415">Coronavirus recovery: public transport is key to avoid repeating old and unsustainable mistakes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Segregation isn’t a panacea</h2>
<p>However, segregation can be difficult to implement. Its construction may be costly and increase traffic congestion. </p>
<p>In addition, when many motorists incorrectly view car licensing as the main means of financing roads, it can be a politically risky project. Simply, there are many more motorist than cyclist voters.</p>
<p>Claims that segregation is a panacea are debatable anyway. Vehicle segregation in Australia dates to the 19th century. Its purpose then was to designate roads as being <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279622103_The_disruptive_traveller_A_Foucauldian_analysis_of_cycleways">mainly for “car-riages”</a>, to the exclusion of activities such as walking and trading. In turn, cars came to be <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0263276404046059">viewed as the “natural” vehicles</a> of the road.</p>
<p>This engendered a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14442213.2020.1754894">sense of road entitlement and aggressive driving</a>. So segregation, the very thing designed to protect cyclists from motorists, lies at the root of why some motorists are a danger in the first place.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235357394_Hell_is_other_cyclists_Rethinking_transport_and_identity">Research also suggests</a> motorists’ conduct towards cyclists becomes less responsible in mixed traffic settings as segregation increases elsewhere. Basically, danger is displaced to the suburbs.</p>
<h2>Why is aggression on roads so common?</h2>
<p>Given this, segregation must surely be complemented by promoting safety in mixed traffic settings too. This requires an understanding of behaviour on the roads and how to promote good behaviour.</p>
<p>It is not enough to put motorists’ aggression towards cyclists down to “road rage”. Aggression on the roads is more common in some places than others, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369847805000884">in the Antipodes more than in the UK</a> for example. </p>
<p>We would not conceive of aggression in other contexts, such as ethnic conflict, as being the result of a universally aberrant state of mind. We would take social and cultural circumstances into account. So why do otherwise in the case of roads?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rising-cyclist-death-toll-is-mainly-due-to-drivers-so-change-the-road-laws-and-culture-102567">Rising cyclist death toll is mainly due to drivers, so change the road laws and culture</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What does this have to do with ethnic conflict?</h2>
<p>The ethnic conflict analogy is not coincidental. Ethnicity is a useful point of reference for thinking about the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14442213.2020.1754894">identities and relations of drivers and cyclists</a>. </p>
<p>Much like disability and LGBTQI activists, a growing body of cycling activists see cyclists as having <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369847816302388">characteristics like those of an ethnic minority</a>. In these terms, one could argue segregated car and bicycle lanes perpetuate a form of historical domination: driving is the equivalent of “whiteness” and segregation a form of infrastructural “apartheid”.</p>
<p>However, we do not want to take the analogy that far. Cyclists do not meet cultural criteria of minority status. And so, in times when ethnic minority status is an increasingly influential advocacy discourse, the cyclist-equals-oppressed ethnic-group equation can be exposed as purely tactical.</p>
<p>What we do observe, however, is that identity formation among motorists and cyclists mirrors that of ethnic group formation. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14442213.2020.1754894">Our research</a> analyses what several hundred respondents had to say in online public forums about motorist-cyclist relations in Melbourne. </p>
<p>Our analysis reveals motorists and cyclists have distinct identities, involving both their sense of themselves and of the other group of road users. There is also a widespread sense, even among cyclists, that cars are the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258192332_The_'System'_of_Automobility">“natural” vehicles of the road</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340502/original/file-20200609-165349-5wgll9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340502/original/file-20200609-165349-5wgll9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340502/original/file-20200609-165349-5wgll9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=232&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340502/original/file-20200609-165349-5wgll9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=232&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340502/original/file-20200609-165349-5wgll9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=232&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340502/original/file-20200609-165349-5wgll9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340502/original/file-20200609-165349-5wgll9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/340502/original/file-20200609-165349-5wgll9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cyclists and motorists have a distinct sense of identity, of themselves and of each other.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gwoeii/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our analysis also reveals an array of derogatory ethnic-like stereotypes that motorists and cyclists hold about one another. Interestingly, like some Bosnian former Yugoslavs who deny their ambiguous ethnic status by declaring militant Bosniac (Muslim), Croat or Serb patriotism and hatred of the ethnic other, cyclists who also drive often express the most extreme views. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/contested-spaces-virtuous-drivers-malicious-cyclists-mindset-gets-us-nowhere-73371">Contested spaces: 'virtuous drivers, malicious cyclists' mindset gets us nowhere</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Drawing on multicultural tolerance</h2>
<p>If ethnicity is a useful point of comparison for thinking about the identities and relations of drivers and cyclists, then it makes sense to go a step further. It may also, à la multiculturalism, offer pointers to how to manage relations between drivers and cyclists.</p>
<p>At the heart of multiculturalism is a <a href="http://elplandehiram.org/documentos/JoustingNYC/Politics_of_Recognition.pdf">politics of “recognition”</a>. We see it in a range of practices such as cross-cultural awareness training. Likewise, vehicle use education could pay more attention to increasing awareness of the capacities and limitations of other vehicles.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cars-bicycles-and-the-fatal-myth-of-equal-reciprocity-81034">Cars, bicycles and the fatal myth of equal reciprocity</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There is also recognition in the legal practice of “<a href="http://defensewiki.ibj.org/index.php/Cultural_Defense">cultural defence</a>”. Crime and punishment are not determined solely by a universal standard, but also with regard to a defendant’s cultural background. </p>
<p>Likewise, a shared code of conduct could govern conduct on the road, tempered sensitively to the unique capacities of particular vehicles. The “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop">Idaho stop</a>”, for example, permits cyclists in that state to treat stop signs as yield or give way signs if conditions are safe to do. Research has shown this <a href="https://cyclingmagazine.ca/sections/news/the-idaho-stop-gets-added-momentum-with-chicago-study/">increases safety on the roads</a>. Versions of this law have been passed in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho_stop">Delaware, Colorodo, Arkansas and Oregon</a> since 2017.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/4140910" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An explanation of the ‘Idaho stop’ law, which has been in place in that state since 1982.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Practices such as these might lead to greater “tolerance” between different road users. Putting this another way, we argue for the road to be reconceived as a “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14442213.2020.1754894">multiautocultural</a>” space.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/seeing-red-why-cyclists-ride-through-traffic-lights-12916">Seeing red: why cyclists ride through traffic lights</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Drivers and cyclists develop distinct identities of themselves and others in ways that mirror the formation of ethnic identities. And on-road segregation runs the risk of reinforcing this process.Andrew Dawson, Professor and Chair of Anthropology, The University of MelbourneJennifer Day, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1256382019-11-03T18:55:12Z2019-11-03T18:55:12ZCaught red-handed: automatic cameras will spot mobile-using motorists, but at what cost?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299830/original/file-20191101-102228-2ypsrq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C9%2C920%2C820&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Trials found that 5% of offending drivers used a mobile phone with both hands while the vehicle was moving. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">NSW Transport</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the years, advances in technology and transport policy have greatly impacted drivers. In the 1980s this came in the form of random breath testing, and more recently, mobile drug testing.</p>
<p>A new policing tool under consideration may have a similar effect, as the New South Wales legislature considers the camera-based detection of illegal mobile phone use. Other states have <a href="https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2019/10/australian-states-are-eyeing-nsws-phone-detection-stealth-cameras/">also indicated</a> interest in the program.</p>
<p>If the NSW rollout (scheduled for December) is enacted, within months there could be widespread detection of drivers illegally using mobile phones. This will likely receive community support, as the use of handheld phones is <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/motoring/on-the-road/nsw-government-crack-down-on-drivers-using-mobile-phones-and-drugs/news-story/4a6d7809b3564167da44432f52c955e0">recognised as being dangerous</a>. </p>
<p>Currently, an estimated <a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/carrsq/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/2017/12/Mobile-phone-distraction-email.pdf">two in three drivers (at least)</a>, are tempted to make or take a call, text, or browse the internet while driving. With these cameras, driver behaviour is likely to change radically, simply by increasing the risk of detection. </p>
<h2>How will it work?</h2>
<p>The cameras (which can be fixed or mobile) and their supporting software have been developed by Australian-Indian alliance Acusensus.</p>
<p>Known as the <a href="https://www.acusensus.com/acusensus-headsup-jr-faq">Heads-Up Distracted Driving Detection and Enforcement Solution</a>, they can be used 24/7. As with speed cameras, a sensor system records the speed of vehicles, and a specialised camera captures a high-resolution image of the vehicle, driver and registration plate. </p>
<p>Using artificial intelligence, the system examines images to detect the possibility of mobile use. While all vehicles at a site are examined, only photos that are likely to show mobile use are sent to a human reviewer (with passengers and registration plates blurred). </p>
<p>If an offence is alleged, the evidence is forwarded to authorities who can issue fines.</p>
<h2>2019 trial results</h2>
<p>A trial conducted early this year at eight sites assessed 8.5 million vehicles, and Acusensus presented some results:</p>
<p>• 104,000 evidence packages of drivers using a mobile were detected, screened and adjudicated as evidence of an offence </p>
<p>• drivers offended more in lower speed limit areas</p>
<p>• offending happened throughout day and night, with only slight variation: slightly lower from 6am-9am; slightly higher from 7pm-9pm; and highest of all between 4pm-5pm</p>
<p>• 15% of offending drivers drove a heavy vehicle </p>
<p>• 85% of offending drivers were the only person in the vehicle</p>
<p>• 5% of offending drivers used the mobile with both hands while the vehicle was moving</p>
<p>• 75% of drivers were using their left hand to operate the mobile </p>
<p>• offending drivers were generally texting or viewing the mobile screen (28%), speaking on the phone (4%), simply holding the mobile (25%), or had the mobile on their lap (43%).</p>
<p>Currently in NSW, about 40,000 traffic infringement notices are issued annually for mobile use. During the trials, a limited number of cameras detected more than 104,000 offences within months. </p>
<p>The NSW government has announced plans for at least 135 million vehicles to be screened annually. If a similar detection rate is assumed, this means 1.65 million offences can be expected to be detected each year by the cameras. </p>
<p>However, these estimates are likely at the high end, as drivers will probably change their mobile use rapidly following the rollout.</p>
<h2>The planned rollout</h2>
<p>Currently, drivers who use a mobile illegally are fined A$337 and get 5 demerit points. Novice drivers, who aren’t permitted to use a phone at all, may exceed their limit with one offence and have to serve a three-month suspension.</p>
<p>But these penalties won’t apply at the start of the program, and there will be a three-month warning letter period for drivers.</p>
<p>Signage indicating mobile phone detection cameras are being used will also be placed on roads to make drivers aware. </p>
<h2>Trouble in the courts</h2>
<p>The proposed legislation will have a significant impact on the justice system and on driver licence administration, as large numbers of drivers will experience penalties and potential licence loss, and may seek to challenge infringements.</p>
<p>There are some heavily-debated aspects of the program. Firstly, the legislation will presume an object held by a driver is a phone and place an onus on a driver to prove it isn’t. This may be problematic if the object looks similar to a mobile phone, such as a chocolate bar or wallet. Under current enforcement practice for alleged illegal mobile use, police officers must provide evidence the object was a phone. </p>
<p>Issues around privacy also arise. Camera-based mobile enforcement is invasive, as images are purposely taken of the driver and passenger compartment. While the cameras are used in public spaces, privacy concerns remain around how images are stored, accessed and disposed of. Also, who has access?</p>
<p>The form in which evidentiary images are presented must be subject to explicit safeguarding rules, which should also be audited. Also, a legal obligation to delete images where no offence is detected must be enacted.</p>
<p>Given the scale of enforcement possible with the cameras, there will also be pressure to extend the program for other surveillance purposes. </p>
<h2>Too many unknowns</h2>
<p>The decision to introduce mobile phone enforcement in NSW, while worthwhile, seems rushed. While some elements of an evaluative approach are evident, others are missing. </p>
<p>For instance, there has been:</p>
<p>• no public report of the trial released, </p>
<p>• limited modelling (at best) of the impact on the justice system,</p>
<p>• no modelling of the impact on driver licence administration and</p>
<p>• no modelling of the personal, social and economic impact of potential widespread driver licence loss.</p>
<p>This is not to say the program should not be advanced. But it seems appropriate a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_provision">sunset provision</a> is inserted into the legislation, to allow for a review of the impact of the program.</p>
<p>Especially since the new camera-based enforcement approach will likely be a game-changer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125638/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian J. Faulks MAPS is an NRMA-ACT Road Safety Trust Research Scholar, and has received funding from the Trust. He is an Adjunct Fellow with the Department of Psychology, Macquarie University. He is a member of the Australasian College of Road Safety.</span></em></p>Trials of the program found about 5% of offending drivers used their mobile phone with both hands, while the vehicle was moving.Ian J. Faulks, Adjunct Fellow, Macquarie University & NRMA-ACT Road Safety Trust Research Scholar, Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety (CARRS-Q),, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1258742019-11-03T18:54:58Z2019-11-03T18:54:58ZHow we feel about our cars means the road to a driverless future may not be smooth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299369/original/file-20191030-138168-hq8p3r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Car owners' attachment to driving and the willingness of others to switch from public transport could confound rosy predictions for autonomous vehicles.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/adelaide-south-australia-july-27-2019-1466462240?src=srX7g0tCsTO2lfuw4YzG9Q-1-15">Steven Giles/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a reasonable expectation that autonomous vehicles will dominate the future of transport. Utopian visions suggest these driverless vehicles will lead to dramatic changes to our cities and their transportation. </p>
<p>Autonomous vehicles operating on a network would allow traffic to move safely and seamlessly through cities. They would use less space per vehicle. Traffic flow would be unhindered by traffic lights or other traditional driver signals. </p>
<p>More efficient transportation would use less fuel. Urban spaces could be repurposed as parking needs virtually disappear.</p>
<p>But this utopian vision depends on a range of factors. In particular, these predictions largely rely on how current car drivers respond to the advent of autonomous vehicles. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08111146.2019.1674646?needAccess=true">Our research</a> suggests people’s attitudes to driving and their cars could limit the predicted benefits to traffic flow and city efficiency, at least during the initial transition to driverless vehicles. </p>
<h2>What did the research look at?</h2>
<p>The research uses the city of Adelaide as a test case. We surveyed commuter preferences for the acceptance and use of driverless vehicles, as compared with their current preferences. </p>
<p>We then developed two scenarios. One is for the medium to long term, when vehicles are fully autonomous. The other is for the short-term transitional phase, during which a mix of conventional and driverless vehicles share the roads. </p>
<p>Using traffic-flow data for Adelaide, we analysed the implications of a shift towards driverless vehicles for: </p>
<ul>
<li>traffic flow</li>
<li>the number of vehicles needed to service commuter demands</li>
<li>parking</li>
<li>broader land use in the city centre.</li>
</ul>
<p>Adelaide is unusual, as a result of its <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18907622?q&versionId=45120027">history as a planned city</a>, in having a discrete number of entry and exit points. This allows us to map more accurately average daily traffic flows into and out of the city centre. </p>
<p>Our analysis focuses on three of the city’s gateways, as shown below. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298688/original/file-20191025-173533-1630e0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298688/original/file-20191025-173533-1630e0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298688/original/file-20191025-173533-1630e0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298688/original/file-20191025-173533-1630e0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298688/original/file-20191025-173533-1630e0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=664&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298688/original/file-20191025-173533-1630e0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298688/original/file-20191025-173533-1630e0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298688/original/file-20191025-173533-1630e0o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=834&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The three Adelaide city gateways analysed for the research.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google Earth</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We measured flows through these intersections on a typical day. Using minute-by-minute real-time data, monitored at traffic signals, we created a picture of typical traffic flows into and out of the CBD. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299103/original/file-20191029-183147-k1m5dy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299103/original/file-20191029-183147-k1m5dy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299103/original/file-20191029-183147-k1m5dy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299103/original/file-20191029-183147-k1m5dy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299103/original/file-20191029-183147-k1m5dy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299103/original/file-20191029-183147-k1m5dy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299103/original/file-20191029-183147-k1m5dy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299103/original/file-20191029-183147-k1m5dy.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Traffic flows at gateway site into and out of Adelaide city (Unley Rd/South Terrace).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adelaide City Council</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also surveyed commuters to discern their current transport preferences versus their perceptions of the hypothetical future. </p>
<p>Combining this information, we then describe possible outcomes of the transition to automated vehicles.</p>
<h2>What did the survey find?</h2>
<p>Below is a summary of the survey of a representative sample of 526 regular commuters into the Adelaide CBD.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299129/original/file-20191029-183098-dm4vj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299129/original/file-20191029-183098-dm4vj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299129/original/file-20191029-183098-dm4vj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299129/original/file-20191029-183098-dm4vj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299129/original/file-20191029-183098-dm4vj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=285&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299129/original/file-20191029-183098-dm4vj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299129/original/file-20191029-183098-dm4vj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299129/original/file-20191029-183098-dm4vj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08111146.2019.1674646?needAccess=true">Data: How Might Autonomous Vehicles Impact the City?</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We queried respondents’ willingness to carshare by taking advantage of common knowledge of real-world company Uber. </p>
<p>We also investigated respondents’ attitudes by positing a scenario in which driverless vehicles are the norm and conventional driving is a luxury. We assessed likely resistance to autonomous vehicles by considering their willingness to pay to continue to drive traditional vehicles in this scenario. </p>
<p>Key results are shown below. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299132/original/file-20191029-183103-vr0itp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299132/original/file-20191029-183103-vr0itp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299132/original/file-20191029-183103-vr0itp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299132/original/file-20191029-183103-vr0itp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299132/original/file-20191029-183103-vr0itp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=292&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299132/original/file-20191029-183103-vr0itp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299132/original/file-20191029-183103-vr0itp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299132/original/file-20191029-183103-vr0itp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=367&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08111146.2019.1674646?needAccess=true">Data: How Might Autonomous Vehicles Impact the City?</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Attitudes and costs will shape transition</h2>
<p>Two observations flow from the responses. </p>
<p>First, it seems likely drivers’ prevailing attitudes to vehicle ownership may be influencing their attitudes to autonomous vehicles. For many, their car represents a status symbol. They feel a strong personal attachment to it.</p>
<p>Second, cost may be a crucial factor in take-up of driverless vehicles. As costs fall, most commuters might bow to financial pressure to shift to autonomous vehicles. However, a minority might lobby to keep a mix of driverless and conventional vehicles on the road.</p>
<p>Our analysis suggests Adelaide could reduce its current vehicle fleet by as much as 76% in the utopian driverless future. This is due to current high car dependence and long commuting times and distances at peak periods. </p>
<p>Yet some predicted benefits, notably the very large reduction in vehicle numbers and better traffic flows, might not be achieved in the near to medium term. This is due to uncertainty about how the transition to a totally driverless city will be achieved and how long it will take. </p>
<p>Key factors are commuter attitudes to driving and autonomous vehicles, the price of the technology, and consumer attitudes to car sharing. Attitudes to car ownership and driving appear to be central to how the transition will play out. </p>
<p>The survey suggests the pleasure of driving themselves, which a substantial minority of Adelaide drivers are unwilling to forgo, could limit the benefits that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01441647.2018.1466835">much of the academic literature</a> optimistically predicts. </p>
<p>Public transport may also be adversely affected as riders switch to driverlesss vehicles. This shift could increase vehicle flows in peak periods, making congestion worse during the transition to complete adoption. </p>
<p>We support the <a href="https://theconversation.com/driverless-vehicles-could-bring-out-the-best-or-worst-in-our-cities-by-transforming-land-use-84127">oft-suggested</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/utopia-or-nightmare-the-answer-lies-in-how-we-embrace-self-driving-electric-and-shared-vehicles-90920">argument</a> that large-scale adoption of driverless vehicles risks stimulating an <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-driverless-vehicles-should-not-be-given-unchecked-access-to-our-cities-102724">increase in urban sprawl</a>. In the city centre, parking demand is likely to reduce greatly, allowing more diverse land uses and intensification of economic activity. But parking outside the CBD might increase, as driverless vehicles need not park near their users’ or owners’ workplace, at the expense of amenity. </p>
<p>Our analysis strongly suggests urban policy will be needed to counter the potential negative effects of introducing driverless vehicles.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125874/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raul A. Barreto does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Scenarios based on a survey of Adelaide commuters and analyses of traffic flows show it’s possible the congestion could get worse in the transition to driverless vehicles.Raul A. Barreto, Senior Lecturer, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1148842019-06-12T11:28:30Z2019-06-12T11:28:30ZAs cars become increasingly driverless, people are already seeking analogue motoring experiences<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269623/original/file-20190416-147487-1wjchit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C203%2C3770%2C1817&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>According to those in the industry, and researchers too, driverless cars will totally revolutionise the way we think about individual transport. They will <a href="https://theconversation.com/driverless-cars-how-youll-use-free-time-for-work-and-rest-according-to-research-113090">change the way we work and rest</a>. They could herald the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-maths-and-driverless-cars-could-spell-the-end-of-traffic-jams-63462">end of traffic jams</a>, and have the potential to <a href="https://theconversation.com/driverless-cars-could-change-lives-for-disabled-people-if-we-let-them-30286">change the lives</a> of disabled people, to give a few examples. But as the push to get autonomous vehicles on the roads <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/driverless-cars-uk-roads-2019-self-driving-hacking-cyber-security-a8766716.html">accelerates</a>, there is one factor that deserves more consideration – the changing role of the human driver.</p>
<p>For many, driving is about getting from A to B, but even for those who wouldn’t class themselves as “petrolheads”, driving can be enjoyable. In fact, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0263276404046068">researchers argue</a> that drivers can develop emotional connections to their cars and the experience of driving. Others have shown that this emotional connection to cars is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpim.12245">important for brand loyalty</a>, and for many manufacturers <a href="http://m.peugeot.com/en">emotion</a>, or the emotive aspect of the <a href="https://www.porsche.com/uk/motorsportandevents/experience/">driving experience</a>, is a key part of their brand. </p>
<p>But we are moving closer and closer to a world where cars will not need drivers. Many new cars on the market, such as the <a href="https://www.nissan-global.com/EN/TECHNOLOGY/OVERVIEW/propilot_park.html">Nissan Leaf</a> or the <a href="https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motor-shows-geneva-motor-show/2016-volvo-v90-prices-revealed-full-pictures-and-information">Volvo V90</a>, already contain some of the elements needed for “conditional automation”, where technology can control speed, steering and other functions within specific conditions.</p>
<p>The most advanced systems allow cars, such as <a href="https://www.autoblog.com/2018/10/16/2019-audi-a8-l-review-first-drive/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADTsb1OYp01ZfNYi6G5ZBVYTAq1psIdQZlqE70t5_HNCvVBD7rX27JBogyEiqshPjlYqL5XBsdK-ZQdO7mZUD62DXOWRVB78HR9marO-vGSMs_7Rmml7qG1B2iq9Q7zSEM3F6RH6WKn_ghiyGmbiZuRskBSJAo5a63w-6Tmx-VUD">Audi’s A8</a>, to take full control in certain situations. But as computers take the wheel, what will happen to human relationships with cars?</p>
<h2>The ‘driver-car’</h2>
<p>Building on existing research into <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1548-744X.2010.01029.x">car cultures</a>, <a href="https://pure.aber.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/enthusiasm-community-and-cars(49dba21d-767d-4e6c-8e07-3492d42e40d2).html">my PhD theses</a> looked at how the driven car is more than just a vehicle. It can be understood as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0263276404046061">a hybrid of human and machine</a>. Drivers use their arms and hands to turn the steering wheel, while legs and feet press the pedals. The human body is an integral component of the driven car, as important as the engine or the wheels. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278945/original/file-20190611-32347-j39hhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/278945/original/file-20190611-32347-j39hhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278945/original/file-20190611-32347-j39hhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278945/original/file-20190611-32347-j39hhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278945/original/file-20190611-32347-j39hhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278945/original/file-20190611-32347-j39hhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/278945/original/file-20190611-32347-j39hhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Without drivers, cars would have been pretty much useless.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/inside-car-classic-191210954?src=VRsGuz0UD2OC9yDeySCdQg-1-9&studio=1">Rattawich Kamal/Shuttertstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Thinking about the connection between car and driver as a “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228850522_The_Driver-car">driver-car</a>” hybrid is one way of remembering the people in driverless cars. After all, as MIT transportation researcher Ashley Nunes recently said, “<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/125e4ef4-fc6f-11e8-b03f-bc62050f3c4e">driverless will not mean humanless</a>”. These cars will still be used to transport people, even if they are not driving them.</p>
<p>Until relatively recently, removing the human from the driver-car would be just as drastic as removing the wheels, but increasingly we are moving towards a future where people take a more passive role. Where arms and hands previously kept a car in lane, now a <a href="https://www.mercedes-benzsouthwest.co.uk/about/news-and-events/active-lane-keeping-assist/">programme can take over</a>. And where legs and feet once accelerated and braked, a computer can control <a href="https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/mandatory-speed-limiters/">speed</a>. For better or for worse, the human is increasingly being written out of the story of driving.</p>
<h2>New car enthusiasms?</h2>
<p>The driver-car also describes a complex relationship between humans and their cars, a connection which goes beyond embodiment to include <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249725932_Automotive_Emotions_Feeling_the_Car">emotional attachments</a> to vehicles. Discussions of increasingly humanless cars have already caused some to reflect on the joys of driving which transcend the niches of petrolheads. Commenting in The Guardian, writer and presenter Victoria Coren-Mitchell noted that driving can be a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/07/im-really-not-a-petrolhead-driverless-cars">liberating and therapeutic activity</a>”, which we may lose if we are no longer in the driving seat, as it were.</p>
<p>Of course, there is the possibility that new enthusiasms for non-automated cars will arise out of the move towards fully autonomous vehicles. Across a number of technologies, more and more people have sought analogue experiences as digital has grown. Sales of vinyl records, for example, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/billrosenblatt/2018/09/18/vinyl-is-bigger-than-we-thought-much-bigger/">have risen</a> despite the popularity of music downloads and streaming.</p>
<p>These non-automated cars could take the form of classic cars from a time before assisted driving, such as the original <a href="https://aircooledcommunity.com/blog/is-it-a-good-idea-to-use-your-vw-bug-as-a-daily-driver/">VW Beetle</a>, or newer vehicles designed to give control more to the human driver and less to computer systems, such as the <a href="https://carbuzz.com/news/the-ruf-ctr-is-the-undisputed-analog-supercar-star-of-geneva">Ruf CTR</a>.</p>
<p>Already some motoring commentators are talking of <a href="https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a19436721/analog-cars-are-more-meaningful-in-the-digital-era/">analogue driving</a>, building a movement focused on driving experience and connection between the driver-car and the road, and manufacturers are picking up on this too. Alois Ruf, owner of Ruf, mentioned above, has said that their, “<a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a27507512/analog-cars-luxury-column/">customers want an analogue car … a driver’s car</a>”. </p>
<p>This analogue driving movement in part stems from the perceived negative impacts of technology on the haptic experience of driving. However, some manufacturers use language similar to that of the analogue driving movement in their promotion of driverless cars, suggesting that automated vehicles could in fact contribute to an improved connection between driver-car and the road.</p>
<p>Jaguar Land Rover, for example, <a href="https://www.jaguarlandrovercareers.com/go/Automated-Driving/3202901/">say that</a>, “self-driving vehicles will enhance the driver’s experience — not replace it”. Similarly, BMW presents the driverless car as something which “expands the driver’s range of perception and transforms him or her into the <a href="https://www.bmwgroup.com/en/next100/brandvisions.html">ultimate driver</a>”.</p>
<p>One thing is for certain: as we move towards a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47144449">near future</a> where driverless cars become more common, human attitudes towards cars and driving will change dramatically. Only time will tell whether that will end our emotional relationships with our vehicles, or change it into something entirely new.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114884/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Will Andrews received funding for his PhD from the Doctoral Career Development Scholarship at Aberystwyth University.</span></em></p>When computers take the wheel, the emotive aspect of driving will change significantly.Will Andrews, Research Officer, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1130512019-03-07T13:49:24Z2019-03-07T13:49:24ZDVLA U-turn over autistic drivers highlights the ongoing issue of autism discrimination<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262663/original/file-20190307-82669-10exdrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Without consultation or warning, the UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/05/dvla-u-turns-on-autism-disclosure-policy-after-uproar">recently changed its website guidance</a> for drivers with an autistic spectrum disorder. It stated that such drivers need to declare to the DVLA that they are autistic regardless of whether or not this affects their driving. And with no publicity for the change, this immediately put many autistic drivers in the position of unknowingly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/03/autistic-people-angry-at-having-to-disclose-diagnosis-to-dvla-even-if-driving-not-affected">breaking the law by continuing to drive</a>. </p>
<p>The change required <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/777403/m1-online-confidential-medical-information.pdf">autistic drivers to complete a form</a> and detail levels of alcohol and drug use, name their doctor and specialist consultant, as well as what clinics they attend and when. Drivers also had to agree to these medical professionals being contacted for information – even though their doctor’s specific understanding of what it means to be autistic might be limited. </p>
<p>The declaration also meant that autistic drivers had to prove they were fit to drive or face a £1,000 fine and possible prosecution in the event of an accident – and in some instances have their licence revoked. </p>
<p>But thankfully, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/autism-dvla-driving-jess-phillips-a8807096.html">a successful challenge to the DVLA</a> over the practice of treating autistic drivers differently was launched and the decision was overturned. The challenge centred on the idea that the requirement of disclosure is against the human rights of autistic people as it treats them differently. </p>
<h2>Being different</h2>
<p>But herein lies part of the problem, because it is the autistic community and its allies that have promoted this very idea of autistic people being different.</p>
<p>Many people, the DVLA included, use the term <a href="https://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is/asd.aspx?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIg4ec9ovw4AIVxZ3tCh1C1gonEAAYASAAEgIYc_D_BwE">autistic spectrum disorder</a>. It is unsurprising, then, that this raises questions about whether people who are considered to be “disordered” are safe to drive on the roads. </p>
<p>Autistic people and their supporters challenge the use of the term “disorder”, claiming it to be misleading, demeaning and an attack on self-esteem. Instead, many autistic self-advocates identify as <a href="https://ollibean.com/autism-disability-difference/">“different” rather than “disordered”</a>. The National Autistic Society (NAS) supports this notion of difference but also refers to <a href="https://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is/asd.aspx">autism as a “condition”</a>. </p>
<p>But for autistic drivers, this is probably no more helpful than the term “disorder”, as the DVLA is as likely to be concerned about people driving with a “condition” as a “disorder”. Nor will the idea of being “different” be of any more help to autistic drivers – as it is not clear who or what autistics are different from. Difference therefore becomes just another term that marginalises autistic people. It sets them apart as “other” and makes them vulnerable to particular regulation.</p>
<h2>Not all the same</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.shu.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/staff-profiles/nicholas-hodge">My own research</a> has long been concerned with how this notion of difference has the potential to take those who identify as autistic outside of being human. In doing so, people who identify as autistic are then left without the protection of rights that are the <a href="https://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/education-education-system-should-help-autistic-pupils-achieve-potential-1-8365121">entitlement of all human beings</a>. </p>
<p>Fortunately, the DVLA has made a U-turn in this case and now drivers only have to declare that they are autistic if this will impede their driving. But this lucky escape should be a warning to us all to think more carefully about claiming difference. </p>
<p>I worry, though, that this regulation change from the DVLA is just one example of how being different can lead to being treated differently. The panic that has resulted from this action of the DVLA clearly demonstrates how devastating the effects of being denied the protection of human rights can be.</p>
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<p>It is time we moved way from celebrating and promoting this concept of difference. We need instead to assert the humanity of people who identify as, or have been categorised as, autistic. This will involve the identification and celebration of the qualities and contributions that all its members bring to society as well as recognising the challenges and barriers they face. </p>
<p>We should, of course, highlight and protest against physical and social environments when they are constructed in ways that disable some people. But this happens because society often only considers the needs of some, rather than all, of its members. It is not because some beings are essentially and distinctly different. Along with the concepts of “disorder” and “condition”, the action of the DVLA has highlighted how “difference” can be an equally dangerous road to take.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113051/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Hodge does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This is just one example of how being ‘different’ can lead to being treated differently.Nick Hodge, Professor of Inclusive Practice, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.