Crash course: Traffic safety analyst studies how to make roadways safer
Aaron Hale
Senior reporter
Recent and archived articles by Aaron Hale
Hodgson Oil Building
286 Oconee Street
Athens, GA
Email: aahale@uga.edu
There are about 300,000 vehicle crashes on Georgia roadways every year.
Part of James Barlament’s job is to pore through the data of those crashes and make some sense of how to improve policy to make roads safer.
As a program analyst for UGA’s Traffic Safety Research and Evaluation Group within the College of Public Health, Barlament researches traffic safety, evaluates existing programs for efficacy and examines new safety issues revealed by the data.
He works with a team under the supervision of the group’s director Carol Cotton; the group primarily analyzes the progress of programs for the Governor’s Office of Highway
Safety.
“The eventual goal of what we do is to save lives,” Barlament said.
Barlament is a “double Dawg” (an alumnus with two UGA degrees) who never left UGA after arriving as a freshman in 1998. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history, with a focus on the history of sciences. The transition from history to traffic safety wasn’t much of a stretch for him.
“Whether it’s people, ideas or numbers, it’s all research,” he said.
When it comes to putting the necessary numbers together, it’s often up to Barlament to dive into the haystack of data to find the needles needed for each project.
Cotton, who hired Barlament six years ago in part because of his ability to perform under pressure, said he is “determined and persistent in doing data analysis.”
Research information often comes from multiple databases from various agencies across the state and country formatted in different ways.
“It’s a matter of looking at each database and determining what is usable, pulling it together to get the big picture,” Cotton said. “(Barlament) will work on each assignment until it’s really phenomenal.”
Often under tight deadlines, she added.
In addition, she adds that he has been an invaluable resource for the other members of the Traffic Safety Research and Evaluation Group. He has easily taken on the role of helping to mentor the group’s research assistants.
“He is an incredible team player,” Cotton said.
One of Barlament’s recent projects was studying road safety for bicycles. While the rest of the nation and the Southeast are seeing a decline in bicycle-related fatalities, deaths are not dropping in Georgia.
To analyze the problem and offer recommendations for solutions, Barlament studied the state’s bicycle fatalities in detail to find common threads.
What he determined was that many of these crashes involved larger vehicles during dusk and dark when it was harder to see bicyclists.
“The main thing for bicyclists is to be visible,” he said.
The traffic safety group recommends reflective gear that indicates a bicyclist’s movement to drivers.
“Dressing like a crazy person isn’t a bad thing, especially when you’re on a bike,” said Barlament. “At least you get noticed.”
Research also showed that light truck vehicles (SUVs, pick-up trucks and minivans) disproportionately cause bicycle fatalities. Based on that data, one of the recommendations from the university’s traffic safety group was to target commuter bikers and LTV drivers for education on bike safety.
The group also is working on a project examining school bus safety, and Barlament works closely with Athens-Clarke County officials to track local crash data.
All of that research has made Barlament a different kind of driver. He describes himself as a fairly safe driver before becoming a traffic safety researcher, but is more aware of the safety issues around him now.
“I know what can happen,” he said. “I know what a dangerous situation looks like. I guess it’s caused me to grow up as a driver.”
Crash course: Traffic safety analyst studies how to make roadways safer
More from this issue
-
November 5, 2012
Nine faculty members named 2012-13 Service-Learning Fellows
The Service-Learning Fellows program, now entering its eighth year, provides an opportunity for faculty members from a range of disciplines to integrate academic service-learning into their professional practice. Fellows meet regularly throughout the academic year and receive an award of up to $2,500 to develop a proposed service-learning project. Continue
-
November 5, 2012
‘Raw material of history’
The term “history book” takes on an entirely different meaning at the Hargrett Library. Continue
-
November 5, 2012
Academic showcase
The inaugural SEC Symposium, to be led by UGA, will be held Feb. 10-12 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. The theme of the symposium is “Impact of the Southeast in the World’s Renewable Energy Future.” Participation is open to UGA faculty, staff and students. Continue
-
November 5, 2012
Protect and defend
In 1906, when Alois Alzheimer discovered the neurodegenerative disease that would later be named for him, he saw amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles inside the brain. Several decades later, abnormal protein structures called Hirano bodies also were frequently observed in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Continue
-
November 5, 2012
Investigation continues into computer security breach
University and outside law enforcement agencies continue to investigate the computer information security breach that occurred in September in which unknown perpetrators accessed the sensitive identity information of 7,847 current and former UGA employees. Continue
-
November 5, 2012
Participants needed for study on exercise habits
People trying to lose weight through increasing exercise in their daily routines often drop the new habit when they don’t see any changes on the scale. Continue
-
November 5, 2012
University launches ConnectUGA, new student info system
UGA is making dramatic changes to its database infrastructure by implementing a new, integrated student information system over the next two years. The new system will replace the current multiple, 30-year-old database systems that students, faculty and staff use to access student information. Continue
-
November 5, 2012
Six industry ‘storytellers’ will be inducted into Grady Fellowship
The Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication will welcome six industry leaders—including two from UGA—to its Grady Fellowship during All Fellows Day on Nov. 15. Continue
-
November 5, 2012
McGill lecturer tells students to have ‘the courage to innovate’
At a time when many major media outlets are cutting back, trying something new is difficult but necessary for journalists trying to make an impact. Continue
FOR MORE ONLINE
