Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)

Overview of Automotive Policies, Evolution of Automotive Regulations, and Striking a Balanced Approach for Harmonization

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 15:28:19 GMT

The automotive regulatory landscape in India is evolving rapidly, driven by a dynamic policy intervention by GOI, striking push for sustainable mobility, safety, technological advancements, dEnvironmentally soundeeper localization, energy self-reliance, product quality control and simplified registration process. Key regulations cover areas like vehicle safety norms, emission norms, fuel economy norms, BIS QCO, the promotion of EVs and alternative fuel vehicles, R & D roadmaps, ELVs, incentive policies and vehicle registration reforms.India has been keeping a close eye on the automotive regulatory progress in the Europe as well as other developed countries as a cornerstone for technical harmonization, cross learning, gauge benefits and economic implications.India is progressively aligning its automotive regulations with global standards, particularly with UN Regulations and GTRs, while also considering unique Indian driving and environmental conditions. This alignment is crucial for integrating into global value chains and enhancing India's competitiveness in the automotive sector. At the same time, GIO also has been taking the cognizance of ground realities regarding technological readiness, skilled workforce, supply chain resilience, infrastructure and cost competitiveness. Therefore, GOI always has been striking a balanced approach between harmonization of regulations and business implications (TCO, business sustenance and growth). This balancing act aims to foster a globally competitive automotive industry ensuring safety and environmental responsibility while nurturing the domestic market.This paper explores the various initiatives and policy reforms undertaken by GOI time to time in shaping India’s transition to a safe and sustainable mobility. This paper also upholds the commendable and remarkable actions accomplished collectively by GOI Ministries/Departments, Test agencies, OEMs for the stride towards the destination of safe and clean mobility. The regulatory information presented in the paper focuses on four and above wheeled vehicles and excludes 2/3-wheeled vehicles.

Police-Reported Impaired Driving After Recreational Cannabis Legalization in Canada

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 14:07:18 GMT

When Canada legalized recreational cannabis in 2018, it also enhanced enforcement against impaired driving. This observational study analyzed how police-reported impaired driving rates evolved after those 2 policy changes. The study analyzed province-level annual counts of driving impaired by alcohol, drugs (including but not limited to cannabis), or both during 2009–2023. The data were published in 2024 and analyzed in 2025. Interrupted time-series regressions tested for changes in annual impairment rates per million population aged ≥16 years after 2018. Further regressions tested whether the changes were associated with legal cannabis sales, cannabis use prevalence, police drug recognition expert employment, or COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. During 2009–2018, alcohol-related impaired driving rates were decreasing, whereas those involving drugs were increasing. During 2019–2023, police reported 65 (95% CI=36, 93) extra drug-impaired incidents per million population annually or 42% more than the 2009–2018 trend had projected. Police also reported 280 (95% CI=134, 425) extra alcohol-impaired incidents per million population annually or 17% more than projected. New offenses covering mixed alcohol and drug impairment or unspecified-substance impairment added more incidents. Drug-impaired incidents were positively associated with drug expert employment, pandemic restrictions, and licensed cannabis sales (p<0.05). Alcohol-impaired incidents were positively associated with drug expert employment but negatively with pandemic restrictions (p<0.05). Canada’s police-reported impaired driving rates increased after 2018 for alcohol and more so for drugs. The changes seemed associated more with enhanced enforcement and pandemic disruptions rather than with legal cannabis sales or overall cannabis use.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of efficacy of helmet use and helmet laws to reduce mortality and cervical spine injury in adult motorcycle riders: A practice management guideline from the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 10:19:56 GMT

This article reports on a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of helmet use and helmet laws to reduce mortality and cervical spine injury in adult motorcyclists. The goal of the review is to provide a practice management guideline that covers important outcomes including mortality, cervical spine injury, and discharge disposition. The literature review was conducted in Medline, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL, Embase, Engineering Village, Health and Safety Science Abstracts, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, TRID, the VHL Regional Portal, and Elsevier, resulting in 38 studies for analysis. The authors used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology to assess the quality of the evidence and create the subsequent recommendations. The study found that helmet use was associated with a lower incidence of mortality and lower incidence of cervical spine injury. In terms of helmet laws, the meta-analysis was not possible because of variance in the study methodologies. However, the vast majority of studies demonstrated large improvements in outcomes when universal helmet laws (UHL) were present.

Relationships of Changing State Cannabis Policies With Alcohol Policy Effectiveness and Alcohol or Cannabis Involvement in Motor Vehicle Fatalities

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 10:19:55 GMT

Alcohol use is an established and important risk factor for motor vehicle crashes and crash fatalities. The liberalization of cannabis policy across U.S. states could impact motor vehicle crash fatalities involving alcohol or the co-use of alcohol and cannabis. Mortality data were from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System in 50 states and Washington, DC, from 2010 to 2019. State-year alcohol policy scores and cannabis policy scores were used as measures of policy exposure in multivariable mixed logistic regression models to estimate the AOR of 2 blood alcohol concentration thresholds and/or any detectable tetrahydrocannabinol involvement in crash fatalities. In fully adjusted models, a 10-percentage point increase in alcohol policy scores (representing more robust alcohol control policies) was associated with a 6.3% lower risk of a blood alcohol concentration >0.00% (AOR=0.937; 95% CI=0.886, 0.991) or involvement at a blood alcohol concentration ≥0.08% (AOR=0.938; 95% CI=0.888, 0.992) among motor vehicle crash decedents. However, there were no significant independent association between cannabis policy scores and alcohol involvement. A 10-percentage point increase in cannabis policy scores (representing more robust cannabis control policies) was associated with reduced odds of cannabis involvement (AOR=0.956; 95% CI=0.922, 0.991) or alcohol and cannabis coinvolvement (AOR=0.962; 95% CI=0.928, 0.997).More restrictive alcohol policies and cannabis policies were associated with reduced odds of motor vehicle crash fatalities involving alcohol and cannabis, respectively. Cannabis policies did not affect protective associations between alcohol policies and alcohol involvement. However, more restrictive cannabis policies were protective for coinvolvement of alcohol and cannabis.

Transportation Sales Taxes in Los Angeles: Lessons from Forty Years of Experience

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 13:40:06 GMT

This is the second study of voter-approved transportation sales taxes in Los Angeles County performed by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Institute of Transportation Studies with support from the Haynes Foundation. The earlier study examined the history of the four half cent sales taxes enacted by voters in Los Angeles County between 1980 and 2016. The current study looked in depth at four issues raised but not addressed in the first one. The authors report on the extent to which the “local return” provisions of the four measures fund transportation programs and projects in the cities and unincorporated areas of the county. The authors also explored tradeoffs between accountability to the voters through audits and taxpayer advisory committees in comparison with the county’s flexibility to change program elements through amendments when conditions change. Accountability to the voters was enhanced in the later sales tax measures but amendment procedures have been used to respond to changing needs in the county. The authors examined lawsuits brought against Metro regarding implementation of the sales taxes and found that there have been rather few. The COVID-19 pandemic struck while the study was underway and in response the report also explores the impacts of the pandemic on transportation sales tax revenues and program expenditures. The transportation sales taxes through the end of year 2020 have been the most important and resilient LA Metro funding sources during the pandemic. Sales tax revenue declined but far less than did federal and state sources of finance and revenues from fares paid by passengers.

Autonomous Vehicles and the Law: How Each Field is Shaping the Other

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 10:55:41 GMT

Disciplines can no longer be isolated. Technology has rapidly evolved to the point that driverless vehicles have truly become a reality and are not something out of a futuristic exhibition from the 1950s. However, engineers and researchers working on the development of autonomous vehicles cannot ignore the policy implications and policymakers as well as attorneys cannot ignore the technology. Society is at a point where cross-disciplinary collaboration is vital in order to produce a technology that will immensely benefit society. This is the goal of this book: to educate autonomous vehicle developers on legal theory at the most basic level. Both policymakers and lawyers may also find the book helpful in gaining a basic understanding of the technology the developers are working on. The 2nd edition will dive further into cyber security as well as provide legal hypotheticals to give a perspective to engineers or others working in the field. Additionally, it will focus more on liability, which has had some changes recently.

A systematic literature review on road safety management: land use, budget and legislation

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 09:02:56 GMT

Road safety is a significant developmental delinquent, an issue of public health, and a major global cause of demise and injury. Several research and review articles were focused on road safety concerning road characteristics, vehicle characteristics, and environment. However, a review article concerning land use, budget, and legislation towards road safety needs to be included. The present study reviewed literatures and reports on road safety concerning land use, budget, and legislation. The method used for review was “Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA)”. Initially, the paper discussed the impact of accidents concerning land use. The parameters such as crash type, crash cause, crash severity, traffic violation, infrastructural risk, operational hours, Traffic analysis Zone (TAZ) level crashes, on –network factors and medical service response were influenced by land use. Commercial area was more inclined to risk than other land use types. Later, budget section was examined, and it revealed that fuel subsidies, cost-effective strategies, and advertising budgets had a notable impact on reducing crashes. Road safety budget allocation strategies were impacted by significant parameter such as policy scenario and the performance indicator. Over 50% of road crash costs were related to injuries, while 10% of accident costs were related to delays. Indexes of road safety were reliant on budget. The study concluded by discussing the impact of legislation- changes to the traffic laws were successful in reduction of crashes, however, formulation of laws might or might not be successful in lowering casualities. Furthermore, “being aware of the laws” reduced collisions, as well public was persuaded in formulation of law for road safety. Finally, examination of three factors such as land use, budget, and legislation—found an incredible impact on road safety.

Role of Legislation in the Regulatory Process or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Law

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 12:12:23 GMT

Regulation refers to any enforceable rule that is placed on society to govern certain actions or behavior. However, legislation and regulation have taken on unique meanings in the context of federal governance in the United States. Typically, legislation refers to acts that are passed by Congress—the legislative branch—and enacted into federal law, while regulation refers to the enforceable rules that are issued by executive branch agencies. The regulatory agencies are typically placed within a cabinet-level department, as with the Coast Guard and its current home in the Department of Homeland Security. The modern Coast Guard was created by statute and is provided with a host of various authorities defining its missions and powers. Parallel to these authorities are the various laws Congress has passed that relate to shipping, the marine environment, the Outer Continental Shelf, among others, and which the Coast Guard is intended to regulate. Within these various statutory schemes Congress has authorized or directed the issuance of further regulations, thus laying out the respective arenas and topics the Coast Guard may regulate.

Legal Regulation of Public Transport Policy: History and Modernity

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 16:02:27 GMT

This article is devoted to the development of transport law in pre-revolutionary Russia, the USSR and the Russian Federation. The stages of the creation of central institutions that were directly related to the development of internal transport have been identified. Based on the analysis of regulatory legal acts, the features of railway transport are identified and similar features in the development of domestic transport law in the XIX–XXI centuries are revealed. The significant role of state regulation of the industry and the high degree of militarization are unique in the history of the development of transport law. It is revealed that modern domestic transport law is largely an evolution of Russian pre-revolutionary transport law. It is indicated that the list of primary sources of modern Russian transport law is traditional for the Romano-German legal family. Among the leading areas of scientific research is the development of a system for formalizing regulatory requirements for vehicles and equipment and monitoring the implementation of these requirements. It indicates the creation (with its subsequent implementation in practice) of a regulatory framework for a system of voluntary certification of transport industry facilities. The authors paid special attention to the problem of developing the Transport Strategy of the Russian Federation until 2030. The problematic issues of law enforcement practice in the field of transport law at the present stage of its development in the Russian Federation are analyzed. Some essential aspects of foreign experience, primarily American, are analyzed.

Analysis of the reasons and legal countermeasures of disruptive behaviors on Chinese civil aircraft—From the perspective of legislation improvement

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 09:35:09 GMT

With the continuous development of the international civil aviation transportation industry, the importance of aviation safety has become increasingly important, and Chinese disruptive behaviors have gradually increased by natural reasons, objective factors, and digital era. By analyzing the scope, reasons and legislative status of disruptive behavior on Chinese civil aircraft, the author explored legislative ways to further restrain disruptive behaviors on civil aircraft. In order to improve Chinese aviation transportation safety, the author studied the Tokyo Convention, the Montreal Convention and the International Civil Aviation Convention vertically, and compared the practice of foreign legislation horizontally of disruptive behaviors, so as to make recommendations on relevant laws, jurisdiction, punishment measures.

Investigating the factors behind cellphone-distracted crashes: Assessing injury severity among distracted drivers in states with and without cell phone bans

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 09:57:33 GMT

Distracted driving, particularly due to cellphone usage, poses a serious threat to road safety by diverting drivers’ attention from the road to activities like calling, talking, and texting. This not only jeopardizes the safety of the drivers themselves but also puts other road users at risk. To address this issue, many states have enacted laws prohibiting cellphone use while driving. This study investigates the impact of such laws on the severity of driver injuries, focusing on a comparison between Connecticut and Florida. The study examines four years of crash data, during which Connecticut banned handheld phone use while driving, while Florida allowed hands-free use and treated handheld phone use as a secondary offense. Using random parameter logit models with heterogeneity in means and variances, the analysis identified differences in risk factors contributing to driver injury severity in both states with and without a cellphone ban. Despite variations in data collection methods and variables across states, the study aligns and compares commonly defined and measured variables from crash incidents. The analysis identified 26 statistically significant variables in both models, with only four variables consistently affecting all levels of driver injury severity. These common risk factors include the involvement of newer vehicles (less than five years old from the crash involvement), incidents involving shoulders, young drivers (under 30 years old), and seat belt usage. The findings emphasize the importance of modern safety features in newer vehicles, improved roadside design, driver training, and law enforcement measures targeting younger drivers to promote seat belt usage and mitigate distracted driving risks.

Implementation of the new acts on driving under the influence of alcohol and clinical outcomes for patients severely injured in road traffic crashes

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 09:32:01 GMT

Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol is a major risk factor for fatal road traffic injuries (RTIs) worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the implementation of new acts on DUI of alcohol and the clinical outcomes of patients with severe RTIs in Korea. This is a community-based cross-sectional study using a nationwide severe trauma registry in Korea. In 2018, 2 acts with the Yoon Chang-Ho Act (Yoon’s Act) were passed to strengthen the punishment for drunk driving fatal RTIs (first Yoon’s act) and lower the blood alcohol concentration limit to restrict driver’s licenses (second Yoon’s act). The first Yoon’s act was implemented on December 18, 2018, and the second Yoon’s act was implemented on June 25, 2019. The study periods were categorized as pre-Act-1, pre-Act-2, Act-1, and Act-2 according to the application of Yoon’s Act, and the study outcome was in-hospital mortality. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to estimate the relationship of the new acts and in-hospital mortality. Among a total of 20,376 patients with severe RTIs and 7,928 patients (drivers) with RTIs (hereafter drivers), the in-hospital mortality rates were 20.8% and 17.0%, and alcohol-related RTIs accounted for 9.7% and 8.1%, respectively. Severe RTIs tended to increase with each period (25.5 cases/day, 24.5 cases/day, 26.8 cases/day, and 30.4 cases/day, P for trend <.01). In-hospital mortality significantly decreased during the Act-2 period compared to the pre-Act-2 period for all patients with severe RTIs (adjusted odds ratio = 0.54, 95% confidence interval 0.43–0.67) and drivers with RTIs (adjusted odds ratio = 0.50, 95% confidence interval 0.34–0.73). Implementation of the new acts on DUI of alcohol was associated with lower odds for in-hospital mortality for patients with severe RTIs. Further studies are needed to evaluate the long-term impact of the new acts on reducing alcohol-related RTIs.

Multistate Coordination and Harmonization for AV Legislation

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 11:49:33 GMT

Over two-thirds of states in the United States have enacted automated vehicle (AV) legislation, an executive order regarding AVs, or both. AV laws and regulations may differ for licensing, registration, operator requirements, equipment, insurance, and platooning, among others. A consistent deployment framework for AV technology and AV regulations among state, local, and tribal territories is necessary so AVs can operate seamlessly. This legal research digest provides guidance for multistate coordination and harmonization for AV legislation for Levels 3 through 5 vehicles. It presents the legal issues and barriers to national harmonization of state AV laws. This digest addresses the federal government’s role in AV legislation concerning deployment, the operation of a vehicle on public roads by members of the public who are not employees, contractors, or designees of a manufacturer or other testing entity. It identifies areas of exclusive jurisdiction and shared jurisdiction among federal agencies and states. The digest provides a review of AV legislation in all states and the District of Columbia and describes the differences among stations in the following research areas: registration; vehicle licensing; licensing of operators and operator education/training requirements; vehicle inspection requirements; liability insurance for owners and operators; traffic laws unique to AV and those that should not apply to AV, including distinctions between personal use, commercial freight use, and public transit; tort liability-personal injury and product liability; law enforcement, including accident reporting and investigation; cybersecurity; and privacy of collected vehicle data. This digest will be helpful to all involved in the deployment and management of AVs, including attorneys, policymakers, local, state, and federal personnel, transportation practitioners, decision-makers, and stakeholders.

Circular Economy in Asphalt Pavements in Mexico

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 09:40:42 GMT

At the end of 2019, Mexico’s Senate of the Republic approved the proposal for a circular economy law. The main objective of this is to ensure that Mexico has a general regulatory framework that enables it to use its natural, economic and human resources in an effective and sustainable manner, creating a legal framework that will facilitate the transition to a circular economy model.

Medical cannabis and automobile accidents: Evidence from auto insurance

Mon, 20 May 2024 17:06:51 GMT

This article reports on a study that utilized automobile insurance data to determine the impact of medical cannabis and cannabis legislation on traffic safety. By using a modern difference-in-differences analysis and zip code-level data on automobile insurance premiums (2014 to 2019), the authors find that premiums declined, on average, by $22 per year following medical cannabis legalization. They note a more substantial effect in areas near a marijuana dispensary as well as in areas that saw a higher prevalence of drunk driving before legalization. The authors discuss the possible reasons for this interplay between legalized medical marijuana and reduced insurance costs, notably the wealth of factors that impact traffic safety, including those related to behaviors of substance use and travel habits. The authors estimate that existing legalization has reduced health expenditures related to auto accidents by almost $820 million per year. They conclude that, if cannabis was legalized nationally, there is potential for an additional $350 million reduction.