Accident; analysis and prevention
-
This study compares child passenger safety (CPS) practices of grandparents versus parents and determines grandparents' opinions on car safety seats (CSS), barriers to use, and ways to transport grandchildren safely. ⋯ Grandparents and parents were equally likely to use CSS and choose correct seats. Compared to parents, grandparents were more likely to travel with their grandchildren with CSS installed with looser harnesses or an installed CSS with looser seat belt or lower anchors. Additionally, grandparents were more likely to have a child younger than thirteen years in the front seat. The use of community resources such as permanent fitting stations could help grandparents improve a grandchild's travel safety.
-
Powered two-wheelers (PTWs--mopeds, motorcycles, and scooters) remain the most dangerous form of travel on today's roads. This study used hospital discharge data from eight European countries to examine the frequencies and patterns of injury among PTW users (age≥14 years), the predicted incidence of the loss of functional ability, and the mechanisms of the head injuries observed (all in light of increased helmet use). Of 977,557 injured patients discharged in 2004, 12,994 were identified as having been injured in PTW collisions. ⋯ Among the AIS3+ head injuries that could be mapped to an injury mechanism, 48% of these were associated with a translational-impact mechanism, and 37% were associated with a rotational mechanism. The observation of high rates of expected long-term disability suggests that future efforts aim to mitigate lower and upper extremity injuries among PTW users. Likewise, the high rates of concussion and head injuries associated with a rotational mechanism provide goals for the next phase of PTW user head protection.
-
Stated response to increased enforcement density and penalty size for speeding and driving unbelted.
To what extent can traffic offences be reduced through stronger enforcement, higher penalties, and the provision of information to road users? This question was addressed with respect to the offences of "speeding" and "driving unbelted." Data were collected by a telephone survey of admitted speeders, followed by 438 face-to-face stated response interviews. Based on the data collected, separate statistical models were developed for the two offences. The models predict the behavioral effect of increasing enforcement density and/or penalty size as well as the additional effect of providing information to car drivers. ⋯ An increase in the penalty size is predicted to raise the stated wearing rate, which is already 90% in Austria. It seems that both the fear of punishment and the motivation for driving unbelted are limited, so that there is only a weak tradeoff between the two. This may apply to most traffic offences, with the exception of speeding, which accounts for over 80% of tickets alone, whereas all other offences account for less than 3% each.
-
Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) is a driver support system which brings the speed limit information into the vehicle. This paper describes the UK ISA field trials taken place between 2004 and 2006 and presents evidence on how drivers' choice of speed is altered. The ISA system was observed to have a distinctive effect in transforming the speed distribution from a conventional bell shape to an asymmetric distribution biased towards the high speed end. ⋯ The use of an overridable ISA system also provided an opportunity to investigate where drivers would choose to have ISA based on observed behaviour instead of opinion. Evidence shows that ISA tends to be overridden on roads where it was perhaps needed most. Behavioural difference among driver groups also suggests that ISA tends to be overridden by those drivers who in safety terms stand to benefit most from using it, as with other safety systems.
-
Changes in workforce demographics have led to the need for more sophisticated approaches to addressing the safety requirements of the construction industry. Despite extensive research in other industry domains, the construction industry has been passive in exploring the impact of a color scheme; perception-related accidents have been effectively diminished by its implementation. The research demonstrated that the use of appropriate color schemes could improve the actions and psychology of workers on site, thereby increasing their perceptions of potentially dangerous situations. ⋯ The impacts of color schemes suggested in this paper are summarized as follows. First, the color schemes improve the conspicuity of facilities with other on site components, enabling workers to quickly discern and orient themselves in their work environment. Secondly, the color schemes have been selected to minimize the visual work fatigue and monotony that can potentially increase accidents.