Traffic injury prevention
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Traffic injury prevention · May 2016
Comparative StudyCrash risk perception of sleepy driving and its comparisons with drink driving and speeding: Which behavior is perceived as the riskiest?
Driver sleepiness is a major crash risk factor but may be underrecognized as a risky driving behavior. Sleepy driving is usually rated as less of a road safety issue than more well-known risky driving behaviors, such as drink driving and speeding. The objective of this study was to compare perception of crash risk of sleepy driving, drink driving, and speeding. ⋯ The results suggest a lack of awareness or appreciation of circadian rhythm functioning, particularly the descending phase of circadian rhythm that promotes increased sleepiness in the afternoon and during the early hours of the morning. Yet, the results suggested an appreciation of the danger associated with long-distance driving and driver sleepiness. Further efforts are required to improve the community's awareness of the impairing effects from sleepiness and, in particular, knowledge regarding the human circadian rhythm and the increased sleep propensity during the circadian nadir.
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Traffic injury prevention · May 2016
Review Meta Analysis"Are you still driving?" Metasynthesis of patient preferences for communication with health care providers.
The aim of this study was to synthesize published qualitative studies to identify older adults' preferences for communication about driving with health care providers. ⋯ Various stakeholders involved in older driver safety should consider older drivers' perspectives regarding discussions about driving. Health care providers can respect and empower older drivers-and support their family members-through tactful communication about driving safety and mobility transitions during the life course.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2016
Evaluation of developmental metrics for utilization in a pediatric advanced automatic crash notification algorithm.
Appropriate treatment at designated trauma centers (TCs) improves outcomes among injured children after motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). Advanced Automatic Crash Notification (AACN) has shown promise in improving triage to appropriate TCs. Pediatric-specific AACN algorithms have not yet been created. To create such an algorithm, it will be necessary to include some metric of development (age, height, or weight) as a covariate in the injury risk algorithm. This study sought to determine which marker of development should serve as a covariate in such an algorithm and to quantify injury risk at different levels of this metric. ⋯ The injury patterns observed across developmental metrics in this study mirror those previously described among children with blunt trauma. This study identifies age as the metric best suited for use in a pediatric AACN algorithm and utilizes 12 years of data to provide quantifiable risks of particular injuries at different levels of this metric. This risk quantification will have important predictive purposes in a pediatric-specific AACN algorithm.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2016
ReviewEffects of digital countdown timer on intersection safety and efficiency: A systematic review.
To investigate the available evidence referring to the effectiveness of digital countdown timers (DCTs) in improving the safety and operational efficiency of signalized intersection. ⋯ Due to the limited and inconsistent evidence regarding DCTs' effects on intersection safety and efficiency, it is not sufficient to recommend any type of DCT to be installed at signalized intersections to improve safety and operational efficiency. Nevertheless, it is apparent that both RSCTs and CCTs enhance intersection capacity, though their impacts on intersection safety are unclear. Future studies need to further verify those anticipated safe and operational benefits of DCTs with enriched field observation data.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialEvaluation of measures of impairment in real and simulated driving: Results from a randomized, placebo-controlled study.
Standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP) is often the primary outcome in experimental studies on impaired driving. However, other measures may be easier and more practical to obtain and reflect a broader range of driving-related behaviors. We wanted to assess the validity and sensitivity of a range of measures in a driving simulator as well as during real driving and compare these to SDLP. ⋯ The results suggest that the driving-related measures explored in this study are less sensitive to alcohol-mediated driving impairment than SDLP, especially during real (test track) driving. The discrepancy in effect sizes between simulated and real driving may imply low external validity of these measures in simulator studies.