Accident; analysis and prevention
-
Crashes occurring on rural two-lane highways are more likely to result in severe driver incapacitating injuries and fatalities. In this study, mixed logit models are developed to analyze driver injury severities in single-vehicle (SV) and multi-vehicle (MV) crashes on rural two-lane highways in New Mexico from 2010 to 2011. A series of significant contributing factors in terms of driver behavior, weather conditions, environmental characteristics, roadway geometric features and traffic compositions, are identified and their impacts on injury severities are quantified for these two types of crashes, respectively. ⋯ Although some common attributes, such as alcohol impaired driving, are significant in both SV and MV crash severity models, their effects on different injury outcomes vary substantially. This study provides a better understanding of similarities and differences in significant contributing factors and their impacts on driver injury severities between SV and MV crashes on rural two-lane highways. It is also helpful to develop cost-effective solutions or appropriate injury prevention strategies for rural SV and MV crashes.
-
The effects of age, body mass index (BMI) and gender on motor vehicle crash (MVC) injuries are not well understood and current prevention efforts do not effectively address variability in occupant characteristics. ⋯ Restraint systems that account for the differential injury risks associated with age, BMI and gender could have a meaningful effect on injury in motor-vehicle crashes. Computational models of humans that represent older, high BMI, and female occupants are needed for use in simulations of particular types of crashes to develop these restraint systems.
-
The aim of the present study was to describe the consequences of a road accident in adults, taking account of the type of road user, and to determine predictive factors for consequences at 2 years. ⋯ Overall, victims were affected by their accident even 2 years after it occurred. The severity of lesions induced by the accident was the main predictive factor. However, considering lesion as intermediary factors between the accident and the recovery status at 2 year post-accident, impact on health status was lower for cyclists than M4W users or M2W users.
-
There is currently scant research on the role of transport priorities, risk perception and worry for travel mode use and preferences. The present study aims to examine these factors in relation to mode use and preferences among Norwegian commuters. A web-based survey was conducted in a randomly obtained representative sample of daily commuters in the extended greater Oslo area (n=690). ⋯ Transport-related worry exerted weak influences on mode use and preferences. Increased speed on rail transport and more frequent departures may be effective in reducing car use on commuter travels. Risk communication should focus on highlighting the low risk of experiencing security and safety issues in the public transport sector, and this message should be complemented by efforts to reduce the probability of negative events affecting public transport.
-
Instrument certification (IFR) enhances a pilot's skills in precisely controlling the aircraft and requires a higher level of standards in maintaining heading and altitude compared with the less stringent private pilot certificate. However, there have been no prior studies to compare fatal accident causes for airmen with, and without, this rating, The NTSB accident database was queried for general aviation fatal accidents for private pilots with, and without IFR certification. Exact Poisson tests were used to calculate whether two rate parameters were equal (ratio of 1), normalized to the number of IFR-rated pilots and flight hours in the given time period. ⋯ Both training for aerodynamic stalls, which causes over a quarter of all fatal accidents, should be intensified for both IFR-certified and non-certified private pilots. Similarly, adherence to minimum safe altitudes for both groups of pilots should be encouraged toward reducing the fatal accidents rate due to failure to maintain obstacle/terrain clearance. For night operations, the high percentage of accidents due to spatial disorientation for non-IFR certified airmen suggests that additional training be required for such operations or such flights carry restrictions for this subset of pilots.