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Open research questions in Traffic and Road Safety

143 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 3,526 Traffic and Road Safety papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • • Awareness campaigns and traffic law education directed at schoolchildren can create responsible individuals for the future. Enforce strict restrictions to ensure that jaywalkers and pedestrians adhere to the law. Integrating road safety education into school curricula, driver licensing programs, and community awareness campaigns may improve long-term compliance with traffic safety practices (59). • To reduce crash risk associated with distracted driving, enforcement should be combined with behavioral message such as “head up-phone down” approach (60). • Pedestrian traffic safety is a complex aspect of urban traffic and a significant health determinant associated with the transportation sector. To promote pedestrian safety, central and local governments should provide a need-based infrastructure, especially for vulnerable groups such as the older adult, disabled, and children. Pedestrians should also be educated to be visible on the road by wearing reflectors or bright clothing, and carrying a torch light, especially at night. • Municipal cattle management programs, designated holding shelters, fencing of high-risk highway corridors, and community-based livestock control measures may reduce animal-related road crashes (61, 62). • Given Nepal’s monsoon vulnerability, rapid response infrastructure (bulldozers, graders, and excavators) should be pre-positioned in landslide-prone areas. Evidence shows fog, snow) that extreme weather conditions (sleet, rain, significantly increase crash frequency through visibility reduction, and infrastructure failure (63). • In addition to regular sobriety and vehicle registration checks, operational headlights, taillights, and sidelights should also be inspected. During the winter, it should be mandatory to install fog/mist lights. vehicle • The government of Nepal should establish a mandatory program, roadworthiness periodic integrated into the vehicle registration renewal process. Inspections should cover passive safety systems that should include airbags, seatbelts, and brakes. inspection • A nationally consistent tiered system with a 50 km/h urban limit, an 80 km/h highway limit, and a 30 km/h limit in school zones, market areas, and wildlife reserve corridors would provide a clear, enforceable standard aligned with international best practice. awareness on correcting misconceptions regarding road crash causation while promoting to evidence-based traffic safety measures.

    Crash causation, countermeasures, and strengthening of road safety policy in Nepal: a narrative review · 2026 · DOI

  • Based on the study, the following recommendations were drawn: • Adapt prevention activities to regional needs: Educational programs should take into account the specifics of each province, focusing on the most common local causes of accidents. • Develop pedestrian infrastructure: The number of safe pedestrian crossings should be increased in provinces with a high number of accidents caused by careless crossing. • Strengthening surveillance: In regions with a high rate of fatal accidents (Lublin, Subcarpathian), it is necessary to increase police patrols, especially in areas of frequent incidents. • Social campaigns: Educational programs aimed specifically at at-risk groups should be developed, taking into account local pedestrian behavior patterns. • Further research: It is advisable to deepen analyses that take into account additional factors such as time of day, weather conditions and the age of accident participants. The above measures can help reduce the number of traffic accident victims and improve the overall safety level of traffic participants.

    Regional differentiation of pedestrian-caused road accidents in Poland: causes, severity, and safety implications · 2026 · DOI

  • Appropriate Design: Barriers must be designed according to traffic safety standards, adhering to strict safety standards and ensuring adequate thickness to guarantee sufficient protection. Materials Used: High-quality concrete with proven durability and precision should be used. Location: Barriers should be placed in locations subject to physical force or where forces need to be separated.

    Road Safety Audit of the Third Ring Road (Highway) in Benghazi City, Libya · 2026 · DOI

  • as the name, provide intersections Suitable Location: Signs should be placed in prominent locations and such entrances, ensuring clear and unobstructed visibility. Design: Use an appropriate size location, bright and for contrasting colors (e.g., blue background with white text), and simple, easy-to-read fonts such as Arial. the Content: Clearly display area clear directions (arrows), and indicate the remaining distance. Symbols and Images: Use easily understandable symbols and add images if of appropriate. Quality and Durability: Use weather-resistant materials and maintain to them preserve clarity. Technology Integration: Include additional codes QR information.

    Road Safety Audit of the Third Ring Road (Highway) in Benghazi City, Libya · 2026 · DOI

  • law name, placed provide (arrows), Suitable Location: Signs should be prominent in locations such as intersections and entrances, ensuring clear and unobstructed visibility. Design: Use an appropriate size for the location, bright and contrasting colors (e.g., blue background with white text), and simple, easy-to-read fonts such as Arial. Content: Clearly display the clear area directions and indicate the remaining distance.

    Road Safety Audit of the Third Ring Road (Highway) in Benghazi City, Libya · 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

  • Strengthening hospital injury registries and linking them with police crash reports is essential to guide policy and cap- ture injury mechanisms, severity, and rider experience. Equally important are affordable trauma care, physiotherapy PLOS One | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0341275 May 27, 2026 7 / 10 and rehabilitation centers and services integrated into student health programs to reduce long-term disability, alongside expanded health insurance to ease the financial burden on young riders and their families. While these measures are well recognized globally, their integrated implementation remains limited in many low- and middle-income countries, where fragmented efforts fail to address the combined health, financial, and academic impacts of RTIs. A holistic approach is therefore necessary by tailoring strategies based on local realities, with a focus on preventing disability and reducing financial burden among students, is critical to ensure that road safety measures to deliver equitable, sustained impact.

    Motorization and its consequences: A mixed-methods study on the epidemiology, impact, and stakeholder perspectives of road traffic injuries among undergraduate two-wheeler riding students in Nepal · 2026 · DOI

  • This study faced limitations, including potential non-responses due to issues with email delivery via Google Forms, as some of the email went into spam folders and some of the email addressed provided by the administration was not being used by the participants, recall bias affecting respondents’ injury details, and restricted generalizability as it was limited to one district in Kathmandu Valley.

    Motorization and its consequences: A mixed-methods study on the epidemiology, impact, and stakeholder perspectives of road traffic injuries among undergraduate two-wheeler riding students in Nepal · 2026 · DOI

  • Sociodemographic profile of the study participants varies from study to study. Also, studies done in different parts of the world and among differing population groups can give varying results. Our study on road traffic accident victims was conducted in a tertiary care centre in Vijayapura, North Karnataka, India. This article mentions only the sociodemographic profile, while other facets of the study are covered in other articles. CONCLUSION Sociodemographic profile of road traffic accident victims varies in different studies conducted in many parts of the world. It definitely has a bearing on the outcome of the road traffic accident, follow-up, treatment and prevention.

    Sociodemographic profile of road traffic accident victims in Vijayapura, North Karnataka: a cross-sectional study · 2026 · DOI

  • V. Based on the conclusion drawn from this study, the following recommendations are hereby drawn: 1. Drivers may use the findings to deepen their understanding of RA 10913 rules, especially electronic device limits while driving, to improve compliance and adopt safer habits through clearer gadget guidelines; 2. Educators may draw from the findings as reference material in criminal justice, integrating road safety and traffic law social sciences, and civic education classes, discussions into lessons and community activities to build students' legal awareness; 3. Land Transportation Office (LTO) may apply the data on awareness and compliance to strengthen campaigns, licensing seminars, and materials promoting safe device use; 4. 5. 6. 7. Local Government Unit of Tuguegarao City may base traffic-safety programs, ordinances, and info drives on the findings to target community awareness gaps; Philippine National Police – Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) may review enforcement visibility and communication using the findings; Public Safety and Security Office (PSSO) may leverage the findings to support enforcement duties and safety efforts; laws, compliance, and enforcement; Researchers may build on the findings as baseline data for studies on road-safety 430 Future Researchers may use the findings to guide methods, variables, and Volume 2 Issue 5 (2026) 8. expanded work on distracted driving and policy implementation. 431 REFERENCES Volume 2 Issue 5 (2026) Evangelista, J., et al. (2025).

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

  • Child passenger safety practices have not been characterized in a national crash dataset since 2011 updates to American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines.

    Characterizing suboptimal child passenger safety practices in crashes with fatalities: Child, driver, vehicle, neighborhood, and policy factors · 2025 · DOI

  • Despite efforts to mitigate heterogeneous traffic individual conflict, the accurate trajectory prediction of VRU-vehicle interactions remains elusive due to asymmetric information, unequal risks, and uncertainties in decision-making behaviors.

    Incorporating safety field theory into interactive trajectory prediction between VRU and vehicle: An integrated spatial–temporal and risk-aware model · 2025 · DOI

  • Inter-regional variability in the decrease of deaths might be associated with the severity of the SARS-CoV-2 local outbreak, although specific causes need to be investigated.

    Road traffic accidents in Italy during COVID-19 · 2022 · DOI

  • OBJECTIVE: Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) is a significant threat to traffic safety worldwide, but little is known about the motivational factors behind the willingness to drink and drive especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as India.

    Are you willing to drink and drive? An investigation in Indian scenario using an extended prototype willingness model · 2021 · DOI

  • The analysis of scientific works shows that at this stage, the mechanism of occurrence, localization and differentiation of injuries in drivers and passengers depending on the angle of collision and class of car with different design features of the cabin and control panel remains insufficiently studied.

    PECULIARITIES OF INJURIES TO THE DRIVER AND THE PASSENGER OF CARS IN CASES OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS DEPENDING ON THE CLASS OF THE VEHICLE AND THE ANGLE OF IMPACT · 2020 · DOI

  • To address this important gap in the literature, this paper examines historical data from two different sources – police-reported crash data and organizational Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) records – to understand work zone crashes and their characteristics in Queensland, Australia.

    Understanding vehicle crashes in work zones: Analysis of workplace health and safety data as an alternative to police-reported crash data in Queensland, Australia · 2020 · DOI

  • Factors linked to incorrect perception of RTI problem are insufficient information, societal insights about the RTIs and health system’s inability to capture the RTI events.

    Complexities of Road Safety Interventions in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) posed a major challenge in achieving Decade Goal- Lessons for the next span · 2019 · DOI

  • CONCLUSIONS: We discuss cognitive and perceptual development factors in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood that may contribute to differences in risk perception and responsibility attribution among Chinese pedestrians and suggest future research should explore those processes and subsequently develop evidence-based interventions to reduce pedestrian injury risk.

    Pedestrian-vehicle crashes: risk perception and responsibility attribution among children, adolescents and adults · 2019 · DOI

  • According to the results of the analysis made it impossible to offer modern, optimal, evidence-informed, and until only itremains to be reliable in practice the system approach to the organizational model of forensic activities, while ensuring the interests of the investigation of an accident involving a bus and a large number of victims:1.

    Features of organization of medico-legal expert researches in the cases of the mass injuring of victims in the salon of bus · 2017 · DOI

  • Although flow theory (FLT) is a valid model for understanding behavior, currently the nature of the roles and interplay of FLT constructs within the theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework when attempting to explain the determinants of motivations for intention to speed and speeding behavior of car drivers is not yet known.

    Perceived enjoyment, concentration, intention, and speed violation behavior: Using flow theory and theory of planned behavior · 2017 · DOI

  • Among many confounding factors, traffic citations as an element that may reduce MVC frequency are not well understood, and most research carried out to date has evaluated the effects of the total number of citations on the number of MVCs.

    Impact of traffic Enforcement on Traffic Safety · 2017 · DOI

  • Evaluation of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a larger number of possible road safety interventions in a variety of LMIC settings is warranted to generate the evidence base for effective traffic injury prevention programs.

    Cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent road traffic injuries in low- and middle-income countries: A literature review · 2016 · DOI

  • CONCLUSIONS: Due to the limited and inconsistent evidence regarding DCTs' effects on intersection safety and efficiency, it is not sufficient to recommend any type of DCT to be installed at signalized intersections to improve safety and operational efficiency.

    Effects of digital countdown timer on intersection safety and efficiency: A systematic review · 2015 · DOI

  • The Useful Field of View (UFOV) task, a cognitive measure of processing speed, divided attention, and selective attention, has been shown to be predictive of motor vehicle collisions in older adults, but its use as a predictor of driving performance in a young adult population has not been investigated.

    Predicting Motor Vehicle Collisions in a Driving Simulator in Young Adults Using the Useful Field of View Assessment · 2015 · DOI

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143 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 3,526 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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