Traffic injury prevention
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2015
Prevalence of and attitudes about distracted driving in college students.
To identify current distracted driving (DD) behaviors among college students, primarily those involving cell phone use, and elucidate the opinions of the students on the most effective deterrent or intervention for reducing cell phone use. ⋯ Distracted driving is a highly prevalent behavior among college students who have higher confidence in their own driving skills and ability to multitask than they have in other drivers' abilities. Drivers' self-efficacy for driving and multitasking in the car, coupled with a greater likelihood of having witnessed DD behaviors in others, greatly increased the probability that a student would engage in DD. Most students felt that policies, such as laws impacting driving privilege and insurance rate increases, would influence their behavior.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2015
Effects of LATCH versus Available Seatbelt Installation of Rear Facing Child Restraint Systems on Head Injury Criteria for 6 Month Old Infants in Rear End Collisions.
The Lower Anchor and Tethers for CHildren (LATCH) system was introduced in vehicles made after September 1, 2002 and intended to make installation of rear and forward-facing child safety seats easier. Due to the lack of rear impact testing of RFCRS required per the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), the purpose of this study was to explore the effects, if any, of installation method of RFCRS on the performance of commonly purchased makes and models of RFCRS. Specifically, we hypothesize that in a 48 km/h (29.8 MPH) rear-end collision, installation of RFCRS using the LATCH system will result in higher Head Injury Criteria (HIC) values when compared to using the available lap/shoulder seatbelt (Emergency Locking Retractor - ELR or Automatic Locking Retractor - ALR). ⋯ The results of this study suggest that LATCH does not offer equal protection to lap/shoulder belts from head injuries in rear impacts when used with infant seat type RFCRS.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2015
Census study of real-life near-side crashes with modern side airbag-equipped vehicles in the United States.
This study aimed to investigate the crash characteristics, injury distribution, and injury mechanisms for Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score (MAIS) 2+ injured belted, near-side occupants in airbag-equipped modern vehicles. Furthermore, differences in injury distribution for senior occupants compared to non-senior occupants was investigated, as well as whether the near-side occupant injury risk to the head and thorax increases or decreases with a neighboring occupant. ⋯ Compared to non-senior occupants, the senior occupants sustained a considerably higher rate of thoracic and pelvis injuries, which should be addressed by improved thorax side airbag protection. The influence on near-side occupant injury risk by the neighboring occupant should also be further evaluated. Furthermore, side airbag performance and injury assessments in intersection crashes, especially those involving senior occupants in lower severities, should be further investigated and side impact dummy biofidelity and injury criteria must be determined for these crash scenarios.