A la faveur d'un accroissement de la répression et de l'introduction des techniques de managérialisation (telles que la comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité) au sein de l'institution judiciaire, les magistrats des juridictions lyonnaise, roannaise et stéphanoise adoptent des pratiques standardisées en matière de répression de la délinquance routière. Cette apparition d'un modèle managérial et standardisé du traitement de la délinquance routière, privilégiant une réponse pénale systématique, rapide, normée et sévère, redéfinit le cadre de travail de tous les acteurs de la chaîne pénale, en l'occurrence des forces de l'ordre, des parquetiers, des juges et des avocats. Plus précisément, remettant en cause les principes d'individualisation de la peine et d'autonomie propre à la profession de magistrat, les parquetiers et, par effet domino, les juges alignent leurs pratiques sur les prescriptions ministérielles qui sont de plus en plus répressives. Ce travail montre que la déclinaison de la politique pénale en matière de délinquance routière au niveau local est le produit d'une action top-down, traduisant un «Etat en action » et non pas en « interaction ». La politique pénale de sécurité routière et le traitement de la délinquance routière restent plus que jamais des secteurs régaliens dans lesquels l'Etat veut réaffirmer son leadership. / As a consequence of the increase in repression and of the implementation of management standards(such as the plea bargaining) in Justice, the substitutes of the prosecutor and the judges adopt standardized practices as regards repression of the road delinquency in Lyon, Roanne and Saint-Etienne. The implementation of management standards as regards the road delinquency, privileging systematic and fast penal answer, redefines the framework of ali the actors of the criminal justice system (police, substitutes of the prosecutor, judges and lawyers). More precise! y, the substitutes of the prosecutor and the judges put into question fundamental principles such as individualized judgments and autonomy. They align their practices on the ministerial directives, which are increasingly repressive. This work shows that the variation in criminal policy as regards road delinquency at the local leve! is the product of a top-down action, translating a "State into action" and not in "interaction". The cri minai policy of road safety and the treatment of road delinquency remain sectors in which the State wants to reaffirm its leadership.

The aim of this study is to further establish the validity and reliability of the Dula Dangerous Driving Index (DDDI). The reliability and validity of the instrument was investigated by comparing data from a US university sample, a US community sample, and a sample of Belgian traffic offenders. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported the presence of a four-factor structure with items for Drunk Driving forming a separate scale apart from items for Risky Driving, Negative Cognitive/Emotional Driving and Aggressive Driving. A multi-group confirmatory factor analysis with model constraints supported the validity of the DDDI. Inter-correlations revealed that the DDDI subscales are closely interrelated and uni-dimensionality of the measure was found in all three samples. This suggests the DDDI Total score can be used as a composite measure for dangerous driving. However, the validity of the subscales was demonstrated in the Belgian sample, as specific traffic offender groups (convicted for drunk driving, aggressive driving, speeding) scored higher on corresponding scales (Drunk Driving, Aggressive Driving, and Risky Driving, respectively), indicating that it is clinically meaningful to differentiate the subscales.

Statistics show that motor vehicle driving is a risky activity when combined with other factors such as alcohol consumption, excessive speed and road conditions, what make undisputed the necessary incriminating of risky behaviors. In the same way, it could generate specific dangerous situations to pedestrians´ life or physical integrity, drivers or attendants who daily are involved in road traffic. This kind of dangerous driving is the backbone of this Thesis which aims to provide an analysis dogmatic about the recklessly driving and the concrete danger to the life or integrity of persons. Attention is focuses on the doctrinal debate generated about the legally determination and establishment of the criteria coined by forensic practice in the specification of its constitutive elements, concluding a critical view of the current regulatory framework in our Legislation. / Las cifras que arrojan los datos estadísticos demuestran que la conducción de vehículos a motor es una actividad de riesgo que cuando se combina con otros factores como el consumo de alcohol, velocidad excesiva y el estado de las vías, hace indiscutible la necesaria incriminación de comportamientos peligrosos que generan situaciones de riesgo concreto para la vida o integridad física de peatones, conductores o acompañantes que a diario intervienen en el tráfico rodado. Es precisamente esta forma de conducción peligrosa la que constituye el eje de estudio de esta tesis doctoral que tiene como objetivo ofrecer un análisis dogmático del delito de conducción con temeridad manifiesta y concreto peligro para la vida o integridad de las personas, prestando especial interés al debate doctrinal que genera la determinación del bien jurídico y la fijación de los criterios acuñados por la práctica forense en la determinación de los elementos constitutivos del mismo, para concluir con una visión crítica al actual marco normativo.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Developed countries have led the way in the implementation of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), with the main objectives of improving road safety and efficiency. Current ITS solutions are heavily dependent on advanced and expensive technologies, and do not necessarily meet the unique requirements of public transportation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The informal minibus taxi sector dominates public transport in SSA in general, and in South Africa in particular, and is notoriously dangerous – leading to many fatalities annually. This work presents the design and testing of a sensing and reporting system for public transport in SSA. The system contributes to improving the safety and efficiency of minibus taxis in SSA. The system provides three core functions, namely, reckless driving detection, multiple occupancy detection, and wireless reporting to a visualised online platform. The reckless driving detection system implements a novel model that augments inertial vehicle acceleration data with GPS speed information. The model is based on standards used in road design, and takes into account the relationship between a vehicle’s tyres and the road surface. A lateral acceleration threshold, which is speed dependant, and a longitudinal acceleration threshold are suggested to detect reckless driving. Acceleration data is filtered to remove both high-frequency noise and zero-frequency offset, and compared to the thresholds to detect reckless driving events. The occupancy detection system detects multiple occupants in the minibus taxi using low-cost capacitive sensor electrodes, which utilise the electrical field properties of a human body for presence detection. A simplified mathematical model was created to calculate the expected capacitance on the occupancy sensor electrode, and was compared to the measured capacitance in the minibus taxi. The theoretical and empirical results demonstrate that the capacitance of an occupied seat is more than double that of an unoccupied seat. Occupants were clearly detected in various scenarios, such as different occupant sizes, water on seat, various seated positions on the sensor, etc. The wireless reporting inside the vehicle is implemented using a ZigBee network on an Arduino platform. The extra-vehicle wireless reporting uses the existing SSA cellular network, and the online data visualisation is implemented on Trinity Telecoms’ SMART platform. The complete sensing and reporting system is implemented as a prototype, and tested in South African and Ugandan minibus taxis. The results demonstrate that the system achieves the set goals, and could be used to make transport in SSA safer and more efficient. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ontwikkelde lande neem die voortou met die implementering van Intelligente Vervoer Stelsels (IVS) met die hoof doelwit om padveiligheid en vervoerstelsels se effektiwiteit te verbeter. Huidige stelsels wat ontwikkel is vir IVS is baie afhanklik van duur en gevorderde tegnologieë en bevredig dus nie die huidige vereistes binne die openbare vervoer stelsel van Sub-Sahara Afrika (SSA) nie. Die minibus taxi sektor domineer die openbare vervoer stelsel in SSA en meer spesifiek in Suid-Afrika, en daar is jaarliks duisende ongelukke waarvan baie tot sterftes lei. In hierdie werkstuk word daar ’n stelsel voorgestel wat minibus taxi’s in SSA kan monitor. Die doel van die stelsel is om die openbare vervoerstelsel se effektiwiteit en padveiligheid te verbeter. Die stelsel bestaan uit: roekelose bestuur opsporing, veelvoudigepassasier waarneming (monitor van aantal passasiers in voertuig) en network verslagdoening na ’n aanlyn platform. ’n Nuwe model is ontwikkel om roekelose bestuur op te spoor – deur die voertuig se versnelling en spoed te kombineer in berekenings. Die model se berekenings is ook gebasseer op die verwantskap tussen die voertuig se bande en die padoppervlak. Roekelose bestuur word bespeur deur ’n laterale en longitudinale drempel wat spoed afhanklik is. Versnellingsdata word gefilter om hoë-frekwensie geraas en nul-frekwensie afwykings te verwyder. Gefilterde data word dan met die gepaste drempel vergelyk om te bepaal of die bestuurder ’n roekelose beweging uitgevoer het. Die veelvoudige-passasier waarnemingstelsel is getoets in ’n minibus taxi en bestaan uit ’n lae-koste kapasitiewe sensor stelsel. Die stelsel meet ’n passasier se liggaamlike elektriese lading. ’n Wiskundige uitrukking van die kapasitiewe sensor stelsel is bepaal wat ’n teoretiese kapasitansie waarde gee. Dié waarde is met die gemete kapasitansie op die sensor elektrode vergelyk. Die resultate bevestig dat die ontwikkelde stelsels duidelik ’n sittende passasier kan identifiseer. Verskeie toetse is gedoen om te verseker dat die kapasitiewe stelsel gepas is vir die heterogene minibus taxi omgewing. Draadlose verslagdoening word binne die voertuig uitgevoer met behulp van ’n ZigBee netwerk wat geïmplementeer is op ’n Arduino platform. Die buite-voertuig verslagdoening stelsel gebruik bestaande sellulêre kommunikasie netwerke en die inligting word dan op Trinity Telecoms’ SMART platform visueel vertoon. Die volledige ontwikkelde stelsel is as ’n prototipe geïmplementeer en getoets in Suid-Afrikaanse en Ugandese minibus taxi’s. Die resultate toon aan dat die stelsel die doelwitte bereik en dat dit gebruik kan word om die vervoer stelsel in Suid Afrika veiliger en meer doeltreffend te maak.