TR News - Transportation Research Board

NEWS BRIEFS(continued from page 33)percentage of underage drivers with an illegal BAChas decreased since 1973.Illegal drugs, as well as prescription and over-thecountermedications, were included in NHTSA’s 2007survey findings. According to the report, 16.3 percentof nighttime drivers had positive drug testresults—however, this does not necessarily indicateimpairment. The most commonly detected drugswere marijuana (8.6 percent of drivers), cocaine (3.9percent), and methamphetamine (1.3 percent).Additional research is needed to determine whichdrugs and dosage levels might impair driving.NHTSA is sponsoring a study to examine the linkbetween drug use and involvement in crashes; resultsare expected in 2012.INTERNATIONAL NEWSDetermining Crash Riskfor Older DriversAge is not the sole determining factor of driver capacity,according to a study recently released by VTI, theSwedish National Road and Transport Research Institute.Commissioned by the Norwegian Public RoadsAdministration (Statens Vegvesen) and conductedin collaboration with TØI, Norway’s Institute ofTransport Economics, the report compiled and analyzedpolice-reported accidents in Norway, a literaturestudy, and experimental studies in Norway andSweden to identify hazardous situations for driversage 65 and older and to examine visual behavior inthese situations.The VTI study found that the most frequent typeof accident among older drivers occurs when thedriver is making a left turn and is hit by anothervehicle on the right or left side. Rear-end collisions—the most frequent among all drivers—are less commonfor older drivers, according to the report.Researchers found that older drivers had proportionatelyfewer accidents than younger ones in situationsof inclement weather, poor visibility, orhazardous road conditions; this indicates that olderdrivers tend to avoid driving in these situations.The study also reconsidered the assumption thatadvanced age naturally implies risky driving behavior.According to researchers, driving risk in thesenior age group comes from two main causes—illnessand fatigue. As a group, older people had moreindividual differences in driving capacity thanyounger people; subsequent methods to determinecrash risk or unsuitable drivers must be refinedbeyond age groups, the study concluded.For more information, see www.vti.se/EPi-Browser/Publikationer/R656ASve.pdf.TR NEWS 264 SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 200934Aviation Group SetsEnvironmental GoalsThe International Air Transport Association (IATA)has set three environment-friendly targets for theaviation industry: by 2020, a 25 percent improvementin fuel efficiency from 2005; a 10 percent useof alternative fuels by 2017; and a 50 percent reductionin aviation emissions by 2050. IATA is developinga fourth target—a “carbon-neutral growth” datebeyond which emissions will not increase, even withpopulation growth.According to IATA Director Giovanni Bisignani,aviation emissions will decline by 8 percent this year;although 6 percent of the drop is attributable to therecession, 2 percent is related to implementation ofIATA’s strategy, which incorporates technology, operations,infrastructure, and positive economic measuresto reduce aviation emissions.For more information, visit www.iata.org.Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO ofIATA, opens the 65th IATA Annual General Meetingand World Air Transport Summit in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia in June.