<p>This Dissertation includes a statistical analysis of traffic accidents followed by a test to know the effect of new pavement on traffic safety. The accident data is considered for the roads those are in Region South-East Sweden that got new pavement during the year 2001. In Sweden, this is the fourth study concerning the before and after effect of the new pavement. Johansson (1997) studied the change in the number of accidents between the before-years and after-years. Tholén (1999) and Velin et al (2002) have additionally compared the change with the change in the number of accidents in a reference road network (also called control sites) consisting of all public roads in Region West Sweden which were not resurfaced during the study period.</p>

This Dissertation includes a statistical analysis of traffic accidents followed by a test to know the effect of new pavement on traffic safety. The accident data is considered for the roads those are in Region South-East Sweden that got new pavement during the year 2001. In Sweden, this is the fourth study concerning the before and after effect of the new pavement. Johansson (1997) studied the change in the number of accidents between the before-years and after-years. Tholén (1999) and Velin et al (2002) have additionally compared the change with the change in the number of accidents in a reference road network (also called control sites) consisting of all public roads in Region West Sweden which were not resurfaced during the study period.

Master of Science / Department of Civil Engineering / Sunanda Dissanayake / Construction of by-pass lanes at rural intersections typically has been considered a low-cost safety improvement. Safety analysis utilizes two common approaches to evaluate treatment effectiveness: before-and-after study and cross-sectional study. This research performed paired sample t-test statistical analysis to estimate changes in total of crash frequency, crash rates, EPDO crash frequency, and EPDO crash rates at intersections, three to five years after adding a by-pass lane compared to identical time period before the by-pass lane was added. Crash data between 1990 and 2011 were obtained from Kansas Crash and Analysis Record System (KCARS) maintained by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). In order to perform a cross-sectional study, intersections with by-pass lanes were compared to intersections with no countermeasures; crash data were obtained for more than 1,100 intersections in the state of Kansas. According to before-and-after study, addition of by-pass lanes improves safety at unsignalized rural intersections; crashes and their severities are reduced after adding by-pass lanes. But, these reductions are not statistically significant under 95% confidence level. However, when considering intersection related crashes, a statistically significant reduction in crash rates is happened after adding by-pass lanes at 3-legged intersections. In cross-sectional study, crashes and their severities are lower at 3-legged intersections with the by-pass lanes versus 3-legged intersections without the by-pass lanes. However, these reductions are not statistically significant under 95% confidence level. When considering 300 feet intersection crash box, statistically significant reductions are happened at 4-legged intersection. In contrast, crashes and their severities increased at 4-legged intersections with the by-pass lanes, but these changes are not statistically significant under 95% confidence level. The Crash Modification Factors were calculated to evaluate safety effectiveness of adding by-pass lanes at unsignalized rural intersections. The calculated CMFs less than 1.0, indicate a reduction in crashes after implementation of by-pass lanes. Finally, this study concluded that expected crashes at intersections with by-pass lanes are lower than intersections without by-pass lanes.

Doctor Educationis / The weak routine immunization activities in Nigeria have led to an upsurge of vaccine preventable diseases such as poliomyelitis in the northern parts of the country. This made the federal government to intensify efforts to improve routine immunization activities with various intervention programmes over the years. This commitment of the federal government towards improving routine immunization as a way to promote infant and child survival led to the partnership between the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to support the launching of Partnership for Reviving Routine Immunization in Northern Nigeria (PRRINN) programme in 2006. The programme, implemented in the northern states of Jigawa, Katsina, Yobe, and Zamfara was intended to augment other federal government immunization intervention efforts in improving routine immunizations services. After five years of programme implementation, assessment of the effectiveness of PRRINN had not be undertaken using a survey based immunization coverage to establish how well the primary objectives of the programme are being met in terms of improving routine immunization. This study was designed to evaluate the performance of the PRRINN programme in improving routine immunization coverage in Jigawa State using coverage data from the National Immunization Coverage Survey (NICS) of 2010.

The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate the impact of dynamic message signs (DMS) on the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA) toll road network using a Pre and Post-Deployment DMS Survey (henceforth referred to as "pre and post-deployment survey") analysis. DMS are electronic traffic signs used on roadways to give travelers information about travel times, traffic congestion, accidents, disabled vehicles, AMBER alerts, and special events. The particular DMS referred to in this study are large rectangular signs installed over the travel lanes and these are not the portable trailer mount signs. The OOCEA have been working over the past two years to add several fixed DMS on their toll road network. At the time of the pre-deployment survey, only one DMS was installed on the OOCEA toll road network. At the time of the post-deployment survey, a total of 30 DMS were up and running on the OOCEA toll road network. Since most of the travelers on the OOCEA toll roads are from Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties, this study was limited to these counties. This thesis documents the results and comparisons between the pre and post-deployment survey analysis. The instrument used to analyze the travelers' perception of DMS was a survey that utilized computer aided telephone interviews. The pre-deployment survey was conducted during early November of 2006, and the post-deployment survey was conducted during the month of May, 2008. Questions pertaining to the acknowledgement of DMS on the OOCEA toll roads, satisfaction with travel information provided on the network, formatting of the messages, satisfaction with different types of messages, diversion questions (Revealed and Stated preferences), and classification/socioeconomic questions (such as age, education, most traveled toll road, county of residence, and length of residency) were asked to the respondents. The results of both the pre and post-deployment surveys are discussed in this thesis, but it should be noted that the more telling results are those of the post-deployment survey. The results of the post-deployment survey show the complete picture of the impact of DMS on travelers' experience on the OOCEA toll road network. The pre-deployment results are included to show an increase or decrease in certain aspects of travel experience with relation to DMS. The results of the pre-deployment analysis showed that 54.4% of the OOCEA travelers recalled seeing DMS on the network, while a total of 63.93% of the OOCEA travelers recalled seeing DMS during the post-deployment analysis. This showed an increase of almost 10% between the two surveys demonstrating the people are becoming more aware of DMS on the OOCEA toll road network. The respondents commonly agreed that the DMS were helpful for providing information about hazardous conditions, and that the DMS are easy to read. Also, upon further research it was found that between the pre and post-deployment surveys the travelers' satisfaction with special event information provided on DMS and travel time accuracy on DMS increased significantly. With respect to formatting of the DMS, the following methods were preferred by the majority of respondents in both the pre and post-deployment surveys: ● Steady Message as a default DMS message format ● Flashing Message for abnormal traffic information (94% of respondents would like to be notified of abnormal traffic information) ● State road number to show which roadway (for Colonial - SR 50, Semoran - SR 436 and Alafaya - SR 434) ● "I-Drive" is a good abbreviation for International Drive ● If the distance to the international airport is shown on a DMS it thought to be the distance to the airport exit The results from the binary logit model for "satisfaction with travel information provided on OOCEA toll road network" displayed the significant variables that explained the likelihood of the traveler being satisfied. This satisfaction model was based on respondents who showed a prior knowledge of DMS on OOCEA toll roads. With the use of a pooled model (satisfaction model with a total of 1775 responses - 816 from pre-deployment and 959 from post-deployment), it was shown that there was no statistical change between the pre and post-deployment satisfaction based on variables thought to be theoretically relevant. The results from the comparison between the pre and post-deployment satisfaction models showed that many of the coefficients of the variables showed a significant change. Although some of the variables were statistically insignificant in one of the two survey model results: Either the pre or post-deployment model, it was still shown that every variable was significant in at least one of the two models. The coefficient for the variable corresponding to DMS accuracy showed a significantly lower value in the post-deployment model. The coefficient for the variable "DMS was helpful for providing special event information" showed a significantly higher value in the post-deployment model. The final post-deployment diversion model was based on a total of 732 responses who answered that they had experienced congestion in the past 6 months. Based on this final post-deployment diversion model, travelers who had stated that their most frequently traveled toll road was either SR 408 or SR 417 were more likely to divert. Also, travelers who stated that they would divert in the case of abnormal travel times displayed on DMS or stated that a DMS influenced their response to congestion showed a higher likelihood of diversion. These two variables were added between the pre and post-deployment surveys. It is also beneficial to note that travelers who stated they would divert in a fictitious congestion situation of at least 30 minutes of delay were more likely to divert. This shows that they do not contradict themselves in their responses to Revealed Preference and Stated Preference diversion situations. Based on a comparison between pre and post-deployment models containing similar variables, commuters were more likely to stay on the toll road everything else being equal to the base case. Also, it was shown that in the post-deployment model the respondents traveling on SR 408 and SR 417 were more likely to divert, but in the pre-deployment model only the respondents traveling on SR 408 were more likely to divert. This is an expected result since during the pre-deployment survey only one DMS was located on SR 408, and during the post-deployment survey there were DMS located on all toll roads. Also, an interesting result to be noted is that in the post-deployment survey, commuters who paid tolls with E-pass were more likely to stay on the toll road than commuters who paid tolls with cash. The implications for implementation of these results are discussed in this thesis. DMS should be formatted as a flashing message for abnormal traffic situations and the state road number should be used to identify a roadway. DMS messages should pertain to information on roadway hazards when necessary because it was found that travelers find it important to be informed on events that are related to their personal safety. The travel time accuracy on DMS was shown to be significant for traveler information satisfaction because if the travelers observe inaccurate travel times on DMS, they may not trust the validity of future messages. Finally, it is important to meet the travelers' preferences and concerns for DMS.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of defensive driving as a preventative strategy for road traffic violations and collisions in Zimbabwe. A sample of one hundred defensive driving graduates was used in the study. The descriptive survey method was used and data were collected using a questionnaire schedule. Literature review revealed that the majority of similar s udies by other researchers indicate that defensive driving is effective in preventing traffic violations and traffic collisions. The major findings of the present study showed that: (a) The defensive driving course is effective in preventing traffic violations and collisions; and (b) The defensive driving course should be compulsory in Zimbabwe. In view of these findings, this researcher urges the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe to request the government to make legislation that compels every motorist to attend the defensive driving course. The same organisation should start conducting research on road traffic accidents. / Criminology / MA (Criminology)

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of defensive driving as a preventative strategy for road traffic violations and collisions in Zimbabwe. A sample of one hundred defensive driving graduates was used in the study. The descriptive survey method was used and data were collected using a questionnaire schedule. Literature review revealed that the majority of similar s udies by other researchers indicate that defensive driving is effective in preventing traffic violations and traffic collisions. The major findings of the present study showed that: (a) The defensive driving course is effective in preventing traffic violations and collisions; and (b) The defensive driving course should be compulsory in Zimbabwe. In view of these findings, this researcher urges the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe to request the government to make legislation that compels every motorist to attend the defensive driving course. The same organisation should start conducting research on road traffic accidents. / Criminology and Security Science / MA (Criminology)