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Driver distraction has been identified as a contributing factor to road crashes, among which the most common is the use of mobile phones while driving. For this reason, the aim of this paper is to analyse the behaviour of young drivers while they use mobile phones (answering a telephone call, texting, and browsing the internet) and drive in a simulated urban environment. In total 28 volunteers participated in the study. Several variables were recorded for each participant: driving speed, acceleration, deceleration, and eye movement. The results show that the difference in driving speed, acceleration, and deceleration was relatively small for each task and for the control condition (no use of mobile phone). However, when looking at the total time required for conducting each task, participants spent 26.44% of the time looking at the phone when texting, 37.01% when browsing the internet, and 2.27% when talking on the phone. In addition, participants viewed on average 66.45% traffic signs when distracted, compared to 79.22% during undistracted driving. Based on the results, a proactive approach to reduce the problem related to the use of mobile phones while driving is proposed.

Road markings provide drivers with the information necessary for their comfortable and safe journey. To achieve that, they must be visible in all driving conditions, which means that they have to be renewed and maintained in a timely manner. This research aims to develop a model for predicting the service life of paint, thermoplastic and agglomerate cold plastic road markings. The research comprised 5218.00 km (115 roads) of solvent-borne paint road markings, 579.00 km (30 roads) of thermoplastic and 4979.00 km (30 roads) of agglomerate cold plastic road markings. The retroreflectivity of road markings was measured two times (after renewal and after winter) using the dynamic measuring method. Service life prediction model was developed for each material based on factors such as initial retroreflectivity, road marking age and position, annual average daily traffic and winter maintenance activity of the road. Developed models were tested using a new data set, and all three models showed satisfactory accuracy. The application of the model enables road authorities to optimise road-marking maintenance activities, while at the same time, ensuring the level of visibility required by drivers.

Abstract One of the pillars of road safety strategies, in almost every country in the world, is training and education. Due to the diversity and different extents of evaluation methods, the influence of educational and training programs on traffic safety is still limited. The aim of this research is to evaluate the effect of the Slovenian educational program “I still drive, but I cannot walk”. For this purpose 183 participants, divided into two groups: ones who participated in the program and others who did not, fulfilled the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) in order to identify their most common errors and violations. The results, based on the best model of multi-group moderator effect, indicate that the link between Violations and Accidents is significantly different between those who participated in the program and those who did not. This link is weaker among the respondents who participated in the program compared to others who did not. This may lead to the conclusion that the group of drivers who participated in the program has a “weaker” Violations resulting in accidents.

As part of the traffic control plan, road markings form the traffic surface and provide visual guidance for road users. Since their first application to the present day, road markings have become a common element of road infrastructure and one of the basic low-cost safety measures. The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the most significant academic activities to date regarding the influence of longitudinal and transverse road markings as well as road markings for hazard locations (curves, intersections, and rural-urban transitions) on driver’s behaviour and overall road safety. The review includes a total of 71 studies from which are 52 peer-reviewed journal studies, 4 conference proceedings, and 15 professional reports. The studies are, based on their aim, divided into two categories: (1) studies on the impact of road markings on driver behaviour (36 studies) and (2) studies on the impact of road markings on road safety (35 studies).

(1) Background: Due to its high safety potential, one of the most common ADAS technologies is the lane support system (LSS). The main purpose of LSS is to prevent road accidents caused by road departure or entrance in the lane of other vehicles. Such accidents are especially common on rural roads during nighttime. In order for LSS to function properly, road markings should be properly maintained and have an adequate level of visibility. During nighttime, the visibility of road markings is determined by their retroreflectivity. The aim of this study is to investigate how road markings’ retroreflectivity influences the detection quality and the view range of LSS. (2) Methods: An on-road investigation comprising measurements using Mobileye and a dynamic retroreflectometer was conducted on four rural roads in Croatia. (3) Results: The results show that, with the increase of markings’ retroreflection, the detection quality and the range of view of Mobileye increase. Additionally, it was determined that in “ideal” conditions, the minimal value of retroreflection for a minimum level 2 detection should be above 55 mcd/lx/m2 and 88 mcd/lx/m2 for the best detection quality (level 3). The results of this study are valuable to researchers, road authorities and policymakers.

Lateral support systems in vehicles have a high potential for reduction of lane departure crashes. To profit from their full potential, such systems should function properly in adverse conditions. Literature indicates that their accuracy varies between day and night-time. However, detailed quantifications of the systems’ performance in these conditions are rare. The aim of this study is to investigate the differences in detection quality and view range of Mobileye 630 in dry daytime and night-time conditions. On-road tests on four rural road sections in Croatia were conducted. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to test the difference between the number of quality rankings while absolute average, average difference and standard deviation were used to analyse the view range. Also, a paired samples t-test was used to test the difference between conditions for each line on each road. The overall results confirm that a significant difference in lane detection quality view range exists between tested conditions. “Medium” and “high” detection confidence (quality level 3 and 2), increased by 5% and 8% during night-time compared to daytime while level 0 (“nothing detected”) decreased by 12%. The view range increased (almost 16% for middle line) during daytime compared to night-time. The findings of this study expand the existing knowledge and are valuable for research and development of machine-vision systems but also for road authorities to optimize the markings’ quality performance.

Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) represents a collection of vehicle-based intelligent safety systems. One in particular, Traffic Sign Recognition System (TSRS), is designed to detect and interpret roadside information in the form of signage. Even though TSRS has been on the market for more than a decade now, the available ones differ in hardware and software solutions they use, as well as in quantity and typology of signs they recognize. The aim of this study is to determine whether differences between detection and readability accuracy of market-ready TSRS exist and to what extent, as well as how different levels of “graphical changes” on the signs affect their accuracy. For this purpose, signs (“speed limit” and “prohibition of overtaking”) were placed on a test field and 17 vehicles from 14 different car brands underwent testing. Overall, the results showed that sign detection and readability by TSRS differ between car brands and that even small changes in the design of signs can drastically affect TSRS accuracy. Even in a controlled environment where no sign has been altered, there has been a 5% margin of misread signs.

Inadequate and poorly maintained road markings significantly contribute to the occurrence of traffic accidents. Consequently, it is necessary to periodically evaluate the state of road markings by conducting several tests, the most important being the coefficient of retroreflection as determined using the static or dynamic test method. The results of the research conducted in this study show that the dynamic test method provides complete and objective results regarding the quality of road markings, while the static method is somewhat unreliable due to its limitations.

The study investigates how the presence of traffic signalling elements (road markings and traffic signs) affects the behaviour of young drivers in night-time conditions. Statistics show that young drivers (≤30 years old) are often involved in road accidents, especially those that occur in night-time conditions. Among other factors, this is due to lack of experience, overestimation of their ability or the desire to prove themselves. A driving simulator scenario was developed for the purpose of the research and 32 young drivers took two runs using it: (a) one containing no road markings and traffic signs and (b) one containing road markings and traffic signs. In addition to the driving simulator, eye tracking glasses were used to track eye movement and an electrocardiograph was used to monitor the heart rate and to determine the level of stress during the runs. The results show statistically significant differences (dependent samples t-test) between the two runs concerning driving speed, lateral position of the vehicle, and visual scanning of the environment. The results prove that road markings and traffic signs provide the drivers with timely and relevant information related to the upcoming situation, thus enabling them to adjust their driving accordingly. The results are valuable to road authorities and provide an explicit confirmation of the importance of traffic signalling for the behaviour of young drivers in night-time conditions, and thus for the overall traffic safety.

Due to the dynamic nature and complexity of road traffic, road safety is one of the most demanding social challenges. Therefore, contemporary road safety strategies incorporate a multidisciplinary and comprehensive approaches to address this problem and improve the safety of each individual element, i.e., the human, vehicle, and road. Traffic control devices are an important part of road infrastructure, among which road markings and road signs play a significant role. In general, road markings and signs represent basic means of communication between the road authorities and road users and, as such, provide road users with necessary information about the rules, warnings, obligations, and other information related to the upcoming situations and road alignment. The aim of this entry is to briefly present the main functions and characteristics of road markings and signs, and their role in road safety. In addition, practical issues and future trends and directions regarding road markings and signs are discussed.