What we've been up to
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POLICY BRIEF - Preventing Distracted Driving in Iowa: Hands-Free Laws
Monday, October 28, 2024
The Injury Prevention Research Center and TRIPS Lab partnered to publish a policy brief on distracted driving and hands-free driving laws in Iowa and across the United States. Current Iowa law allows the use of handheld phones for making calls and navigation (using GPS) but bans texting while driving. 30 states and D.C. have hands-free laws.
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POLICY BRIEF - Improving Child Passenger Safety on Iowa Roads
Friday, October 25, 2024
Iowa’s laws on child passenger restraint in motor vehicles does not meet current best practices developed by safety experts with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The Injury Prevention Research Center and TRIPS Lab recently published a policy brief describing child passenger restraint trends over the years in Iowa and the risks asscoiated with improper restraint.
Pae presents research at 2025 Rural Health Summit
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
The University of Iowa hosted the 2025 Rural Health Summit on Friday, February 28th. Students, faculty, staff, and practicioners gathered to celebrate rural health research, resources, and partnerships. TRIPS Lab member, Gilsu Pae presented a poster on related research titled "Exploring varied definitions of rurality and their impacts on motor vehicle collision studies."
Amir Ghanbari featured in UI 'Dare to Discover' campaign
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
PhD student and TRIPS Lab member, Amir Ghabari, studies crashes involving vulnerable road users, such as bicyclists and pedestrians, with the goal of identifying risk factors and developing strategies to reduce these incidents. In a little over three years at UI, Amir has already left his mark on the field of traffic safety.
Article published on driver licensing renewal policies and older driver crash involvement
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Motor vehicle crashes are the second leading cause of injury death among adults aged 65 and older in the U.S. A common state-level approach to mitigating older adult crash risk is the implementation of driver license renewal policies. These policies vary by state and their effectiveness is not well documented. TRIPS Lab members examine this topic further in an article published in Injury Epidemiology.
Hamann and Ghanbari present research at the TRB Annual Meeting 2025
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
The 140th Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting included a presentation and a poster from TRIPS Lab team members Dr. Cara Hamann and PhD student Amir Ghanbari. Hamann spoke on her work related to older driver safety and Amir presented on his work related to e-bike safety.
Meet Cara
Cara Hamann (PhD), Director of the TRIPS Lab, is interested in the safety of bikes, pedestrians, and other vulnerable road users. When she was a student, a simple piece of advice from a faculty mentor sparked an idea and set her on a path to public health. Learn more about Cara and her work here.
