Traffic injury prevention
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2013
The result of a baseline survey on drink driving in Nanning and Liuzhou of Guangxi Province, China.
Because the official data in China on drink-driving accidents as well as related fatalities and injuries are much lower than many of the developed and developing countries in the world, the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) decided to conduct a baseline survey to understand the prevalence of drink driving and related accidents in Nanning and Liuzhou, both in Guangxi Province, in order to develop targeted interventions. ⋯ Valuable information was obtained from the baseline survey to provide a better understanding of the drink driving situation in Nanning and Liuzhou. From the survey data it can be seen that drinking and driving was a major issue in both cities. A drink driving intervention was developed with both components of public education/social marketing and enforcement activities after the survey, which was conducted in 2008. However, this article will focus on the methodology and results of the baseline survey, not the activities and outcome of the intervention.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2013
Head injuries to restrained occupants in single-vehicle pure rollover crashes.
Studies performed previously of seat-belted occupants in real-world passenger vehicle rollover-only crashes have identified the head as one of the body regions most often seriously injured. However, there have been few studies investigating how these head injuries occur in any detail. This study aims to investigate the characteristics and patterns of head injury to seat-belted occupants in real-world rollover-only crashes and to identify possible biomechanical mechanisms responsible for head injury to aid in the development of a dynamic rollover test protocol. ⋯ Serious brain injuries appear to occur frequently as a result of loading to the periphery of the head from contact with the roof assembly. Two mechanisms of injury for basal skull fractures in rollover crashes were identified. The injury patterns and locations of contact to the head are sensitive to the seated position of the occupant.
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Traffic injury prevention · Sep 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialBoth texting and eating are associated with impaired simulated driving performance.
Distracted driving is a known contributor to traffic accidents, and many states have banned texting while driving. However, little is known about the potential accident risk of other common activities while driving, such as eating. The objective of the current study was to examine the adverse impact of eating/drinking behavior relative to texting and nondistracted behaviors on a simulated driving task. ⋯ These findings suggest that both texting and eating are associated with poorer simulated driving performance. Future work is needed to determine whether these findings generalize to real-world driving and the development of strategies to reduce distracted driving.
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Traffic injury prevention · Sep 2012
Comparative StudyFactors affecting accident severity inside and outside urban areas in Greece.
This research aims to identify and analyze the factors affecting accident severity through a macroscopic analysis, with a focus on the comparison between inside and outside urban areas. Disaggregate road accident data for Greece for the year 2008 were used. ⋯ Factors affecting road accident severity only inside urban areas include young driver age, bicycles, intersections, and collision with fixed objects, whereas factors affecting severity only outside urban areas are weather conditions and head-on and side collisions, demonstrating the particular road users and traffic situations that should be focused on for road safety interventions for the 2 different types of networks (inside and outside urban areas). The methodology and the results of this research may provide a promising tool to prioritize programs and measures to improve road safety in Greece and worldwide.
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Traffic injury prevention · Sep 2012
Investigating cervical muscle response and head kinematics during right, left, frontal and rear-seated perturbations.
Whiplash research has largely focused on rear collisions because they account for the majority of whiplash injuries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of 4 perturbation directions (anterior, posterior, right, and left) on muscle activity and head kinematics to provide insight into the whiplash mechanism of injury. ⋯ Compared to frontal, left, and right directions, rear perturbations showed smaller SCM onset latencies, greater SCM amplitudes, and larger head accelerations, relating to a greater potential for injury. We suggest that the greater contact area and stiffness of the seatback, in the posterior direction, compared to restrictions in other directions, led to increased peak head accelerations and shorter SCM onset latencies.