TOI is the Norwegian national
institution for transport research and development, established 1958. The Institute carries out
applied research on issues connected to transport and promotes the application of research results
by advising the authorities, the transport industry and the public in general. Its sphere of
activity includes most current issues in road, rail, sea and air transport. The Institute is also
involved in international co-operation within the transport sector. The Institute is divided into
four departments: Transport Economics, Passenger Transport, Safety and Environment, and Transport
Analysis and Regional Studies. The research staffs - 71 officers - are economists (30%), engineers
(28%), sociologists (14%), political scientists (10%), psychologists (8%), geographers (7%), and
others (3%).
Dr. Alf Glad (Senior Research Psychologist) obtained his Ph.D. in
psychology from the University of Oslo in 1978, with a dissertation on visual perception. His
research activities have included road user information processing, driver training, accident risk
associated with health problems among drivers, epidemiological and other research on drivers
influenced by alcohol or drugs, factors influencing driver speed, as well as several evaluation
studies of traffic safety measures. He is a member of International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and
Traffic Safety (ICADTS).
Mr. Fridulv Sagberg (Senior Research Psychologist) studied
experimental and cognitive psychology at the University of Oslo, where he received his
Cand.Psychol. degree in 1974, with a thesis on the psychophysiology of attention. The research
activities at TOI have comprised evaluation of crash investigation methods, , driver
distraction/inattention and accident risk, and driver sleep and fatigue. He is presently
participating in the EU projects GADGET
and ESCAPE.
Mr. Truls Vaa (Chief Research Officer) studied social and clinical psychology at the University of Oslo where he received his
Cand. Psychology degree in 1982 with a thesis on psychometrics. At TOI he has done comprehensive
literature surveys and meta-analyses of effects of various traffic safety measures for the
Norwegian Traffic Safety Handbook. A main subject has been assessment of the effects of police
enforcement on speed behaviour and the perceived risk of apprehension.
Dr. Rune
Elvik (Chief Research Officer) studied political science, law and history at the University of
Oslo, Norway, from 1974 to 1979. He obtained a doctorate in political science at the University of
Oslo in 1993. He obtained a Master's degree in political science in 1979 and started working at the
Institute of Transport Economics the same year on a project basis.. His main research activities
have been in two areas: Evaluation studies, including meta-analysis of such studies, and cost-benefit analyses.
