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Open research questions in Traffic and Road Safety

412 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 4,170 Traffic and Road Safety papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • The study faces the challenge of converting social outcomes into monetary values. The study needs to address the potential Regression-to-the-Mean (RTM) effects in the evaluation of road safety interventions.

    An Evaluation Framework for Social Return on Investment (SROI) of Low-Cost Road Safety Engineering Interventions · 2026 · DOI

  • The study had no control over characteristics that would have limited the ability to draw conclusions about causality or advocate policies based on the findings - The study participants had access to all pertinent information

    Road traffic accidents and the contributing factors among drivers of public transportation in Mizan Aman town, Ethiopia: a Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study · 2024 · DOI

  • Limited studies have investigated the prevalence of traffic accidents and contributing factors among drivers in Ethiopia. There is a need to assess the prevalence of road traffic accidents and contributing factors among drivers of public transportation in Mizan Aman town, Ethiopia.

    Road traffic accidents and the contributing factors among drivers of public transportation in Mizan Aman town, Ethiopia: a Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study · 2024 · DOI

  • Further research is needed to validate the proposed framework in different contexts. Further research is needed to explore the long-term effects of low-cost road safety engineering interventions. Further research is needed to develop more advanced methods for evaluating the social and economic impacts of road safety improvement projects.

    An Evaluation Framework for Social Return on Investment (SROI) of Low-Cost Road Safety Engineering Interventions · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research is needed to examine the relationship between lane width and road safety in different contexts. Studies should investigate the impact of lane width on pedestrian volume and road diet programs. Research should explore the effects of confounding variables, such as the number of lanes or the presence of a non-traversable median.

    Urban Arterial Lane Width Versus Speed and Crash Rates: A Comprehensive Study of Road Safety · 2025 · DOI

  • The findings highlight the need for further research on aggressive cycling and the development of effective strategies for reducing aggressive behavior on the road in different modes of transport.

    Aggressive Cycling: Prevalence, Predictors, and Overlap With Aggressive Car Driving · 2026 · DOI

  • Conclusions: The majority of respondents underestimated the DUI penalty in their state and suggest that large-scale campaigns to educate the public on the severity of DUI penalties are warranted.

    Assessing factors associated with knowledge of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) penalties · 2025 · DOI

  • However, the safety benefits of narrower travel lanes remain a topic of debate due to mixed findings in the literature.

    Urban Arterial Lane Width Versus Speed and Crash Rates: A Comprehensive Study of Road Safety · 2025 · DOI

  • Computer technology has been increasingly used to enhance driving safety, however, as a risk factor for driving safety, how anger can be effectively controlled by computer technology remains to be explored.

    The impact of two computer-aided emotion regulation strategies on risky driving behaviors in a virtual environment · 2025 · DOI

  • Teens' improvement in limiting long-glances as assessed after each FOCAL+ training session has not been examined.

    Examining Patterns and Predictors of ADHD Teens’ Skill-Learning Trajectories During Enhanced FOrward Concentration and Attention Learning (FOCAL+) Training · 2024 · DOI

  • These differences should be further investigated to ensure equitable crash protection.

    Female vs. male relative fatality risk in fatal motor vehicle crashes in the US, 1975–2020 · 2024 · DOI

  • Little is known about patients’ experiences with home-based rehabilitation, and this study aimed to investigate patient-perceived facilitators and barriers to home-based rehabilitation exercise and general physical activity after THA.

    Magnitude and determinants of road traffic accidents in North Gondar Zone; Amhara Region, Ethiopia · 2024 · DOI

  • The warranty information, the spoken promises warning, and the advice on independent inspection given on the Buyer's Guide window sticker, while helpful general consumer education, are insufficient responses to the widespread evidence in the record of dealer misrepresentation of mechanical condition.

    Speak no evil: Known defects in the FTC's used car rule · 1987 · DOI

  • The traditional methods of road safety are not sufficient to address the challenges of road accidents. There is a need for a more proactive and responsive solution for road safety. The study aims to fill this gap by developing predictive solutions using Machine Learning techniques.

    Improving road safety in smart cities using machine learning techniques · 2026 · DOI

  • Currently, prediction of road traffic accidents injuries and their severity has become an important challenge for traffic control departments around the globe. Researchers have used many AI and machine learning techniques to solve various challenges when attempting to construct a warning system that can predict the traffic alert. The results show that XGBoost Classifiers are the top three best injury severity predictors for the KSI dataset. in terms of accuracy, recall and AUC. However, if the metric of accuracy and recall is considered then the XGBoost model has achieved the highest recall of 75% and accuracy 74%. But after apply hyperparametering tuning, the performance of the RF model (Accuracy =0.99, F1-score=0.99) is increased as compared to other models. Moreover, the researcher has conducted association rule mining techniques and identified various factors contributing to severe collisions in a developing country like Pakistan, as opposed to a developed nation like Canada. The results ARTICLE IN PRESS ARTICLE IN PRESS show that over speeding, carelessness and driver’s inattentiveness can cause fatal or major injuries. However, some factors are more common in developing countries like Pakistan as compared to developed countries like Canada. The results show that in Pakistan, the majority of the severe accidents involve young drivers below the age of 20 however, in Canada, the drivers involved in collisions with minimum age is between 20 and 24 years. The current study also reveals that in Pakistan, fatal and major collisions of head injuries resulting from motorcycle accidents. On the other side, in Canada, major accidents often entail collisions between pedestrians or cyclists and automobiles. Timing and rainy weather are important factors of severe collisions in Pakistan and Canada. In Pakistan, nighttime significantly contributes to higher probability of severe collisions compared to daytime incidents. In Canada, daytime emerges as a more critical period for major collisions. Similarly, in Pakistan, rainy weather is associated with a higher incidence of major accidents, whereas in Canada, fewer accidents occur during rainy conditions. This is due to the fact that drivers in Canada exhibit greater caution and restraint during rainfall, leading to a reduction in aggressive driving behaviors compared to their counterparts in Pakistan. Based on the association rule mining results from the KSI (Canada) and RTA (Pakistan) datasets, several key recommendations can be made to improve road safety in both countries. In Canada, pedestrian safety can be enhanced by implementing stricter measures against aggressive driving and red-light violations, especially on weekends.

    Improving road safety in smart cities using machine learning techniques · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of operationality of traffic signals due to electrical outages is a significant weakness in the operation. The absence of adequate sign maintenance, insufficient pedestrian amenities, and inoperative electrical infrastructure are contributing factors to key operational and safety risks at major crossroads.

    Evaluation and Improvement of Urban Unsignalized Intersection Safety: A Case Study of Latakia City, Syria · 2026 · DOI

  • Conventional approaches to crash hotspot analysis fail to capture vehicle traversal patterns and segment-level exposure. The lack of detailed traffic volume data makes it difficult to assess risk while accounting for road exposure. The need for a new perspective on crash risk analysis that shifts from point-based to path-based interpretation.

    Path-Based Risk Segmentation of Road Networks with Exposure Modeling · 2026 · DOI

  • Our study provides a rigorous methodology for speed ob- servations that can be applied globally, particularly in loca- tions where the conditions vary in urban compared to rural areas. In the local context, our study provides a baseline benchmark for future comparisons in BMR, with scope for expansion to other parts of the state. Limitations of our study include the inability to record some parameters during nighttime due to poor visibility. In a couple of instances, data collection was stopped due to rain or security issues. Weighting for traffic volume or road length was not applied, as the primary aim was to estimate the prevalence of speeding among all observed vehicles across representative sites rather than to model network- level exposure. Additionally, the study did not distinguish between free-flow and congested traffic conditions, which may influence observed speed patterns and could be ex- plored in future stratified analyses.

    Urban and Rural Differences in Driver Speeds and Associated Factors: Results From a Large-Scale Roadside Study in India · 2026 · DOI

  • The study is limited to assessing the Anti-Distracted Driving Act implementation among drivers in Tuguegarao City. The study focused solely on the level of awareness and implementation of the Act's provisions. Other traffic laws, accident statistics, and vehicle conditions were excluded from the scope.

    A Quantitative Research of Assessment on the Anti-Distracted Driving Act Among Public Utility Vehicle in Tuguegarao City · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap between legal knowledge and behavioral compliance among drivers. The study highlights the need for targeted intervention measures to address implementation gaps.

    A Quantitative Research of Assessment on the Anti-Distracted Driving Act Among Public Utility Vehicle in Tuguegarao City · 2026 · DOI

  • The study has a cross-sectional and exploratory design, which does not permit causal or structural testing of the full TPB model. The study uses a convenience sample, which may not be representative of the larger population. The study does not test for mediation, which remains a hypothesis for future confirmatory analysis.

    Pedestrian Safety: Understanding the Interplay of Awareness, Attitudes, and Violation Behaviour · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a significant research gap in understanding the interplay between pedestrian safety perceptions, attitudes, and self-reported behaviours in urban Indian settings. Previous studies have not investigated the psychological underpinnings of pedestrian behaviour in Bengaluru City, India.

    Pedestrian Safety: Understanding the Interplay of Awareness, Attitudes, and Violation Behaviour · 2026 · DOI

  • Speeding motor vehicles and low driver compliance pose a significant risk to pedestrian safety in school zones. Limited enforcement and lack of traffic calming measures can exacerbate the problem. Urban planning and traffic management in low- and middle-income countries often face challenges in implementing effective traffic control interventions.

    Stopping at School Crosswalks: Comparative Impacts of Visible Monitoring and Enforcement on Drivers’ Yielding Behaviour · 2026 · DOI

  • Limited evidence exists on the relative and combined effects of visible monitoring, police enforcement, and bundled low-cost control strategies on yielding behavior and approach speed. Few field-based studies have compared multiple intervention scenarios within the same school-zone crossing under naturalistic conditions.

    Stopping at School Crosswalks: Comparative Impacts of Visible Monitoring and Enforcement on Drivers’ Yielding Behaviour · 2026 · DOI

  • Existing approaches remain limited in capturing complex vehicle interactions. There is a lack of hotspot identification based on autonomous driving data. Traditional SSMs largely focus on one-dimensional interactions, considering only longitudinal behaviors.

    Assessing Sustainable Autonomous Driving Performance by Real-World Multi-Dimensional Conflict Hotspot Analysis · 2026 · DOI

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412 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 4,170 Traffic and Road Safety papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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