Accident; analysis and prevention
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The study deals with the evaluation of the effects of a new deployment of the National Traffic Police in Israel--a concentrated general enforcement on 700 km of interurban roads, which contain 60% of all rural accidents and about half of the severe accident locations. The enforcement project began in April 1997 and lasted for 1 year, aiming at a 10% reduction of severe accidents on those roads. The evaluation study consisted of three main parts: (a) monitoring of everyday police operations on the project roads; (b) periodic evaluation of the project's influence on drivers' behavior and attitudes; and (c) the evaluation of accident changes within the project area, at the end of the project year. ⋯ However, it was noted that in four of the five project road groups the mean value of the odds ratio was much less than one. Thus, although the enforcement project did not attain its full purpose, it seemed to be a deterrent factor for the increasing accident trend that appeared that year on the interurban roads. The findings pointed out that the National Traffic Police did not exhaust its potential in the project's performance and needs more flexible enforcement and deployment tactics.
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Road traffic accidents in Greece are one of the major problems of the public health sector and the first cause of death in the ages 18-24. However, there are no records available for defining the determinants of road accidents and seatbelt wearing rates. The main objective of this study is to determine and clarify the relationship between young drivers' intentions (motivation to use/non use seatbelt) and their behaviour (self-reported use). ⋯ The factor of 'discomfort' is negatively associated with the seatbelt use. Furthermore, mileage was negatively related with seatbelt use. Finally, some preliminary suggestions on how prevention strategies should be implemented in Greece are discussed.
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Blood samples from 2,500 injured drivers were analysed for alcohol, cannabinoids (measured by the presence of THC), benzodiazepines and stimulants. The relationship between the prevalence and concentration of drugs and the culpability of the driver was examined using an objective method for assessing culpability. There were no significant differences between males and females with respect to culpability. ⋯ For those drivers with benzodiazepines at therapeutic concentrations and above, there was a significant increase in culpability. The relationship between stimulants and culpability was not significant, although a higher proportion of stimulant-positive drivers were culpable compared with drug-free drivers. The combinations of alcohol and THC, and alcohol and benzodiazepines also produced a significant increase in culpability, but this increase was not significantly greater than that produced by alcohol alone.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Traffic accident reduction by monitoring driver behaviour with in-car data recorders.
People who are aware of being observed tend to modify their behaviour. This phenomenon could potentially be used to encourage individuals to behave more safely when driving if there were means of providing feedback to the drivers about their behaviour on the road. So-called 'vehicle data recorders' offer such a means of providing behavioural feedback by confronting drivers with their recorded driving actions. ⋯ Analysis of the effects of the use of data recorders in these fleets resulted in an average estimated accident reduction of some 20%. The analysis shows that the actual savings vary depending on the transport sector involved and on the prior level of the fleet's safety record. Further studies are needed to identify the more promising application of such a use of traffic data recorders as a means of reducing road accidents.