Traffic injury prevention
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2014
The six degrees of freedom motion of the human head, spine, and pelvis in a frontal impact.
The goal of this study is to characterize the in situ 6-degree-of-freedom kinematics of the head, 3 vertebrae (T1, T8, and L2), and the pelvis in a 40 km/h frontal impact. ⋯ Despite the predominance of the sagittal motion of the occupant in a pure (12 o'clock) frontal impact, the asymmetry of belt loading induced other relevant displacements and rotations of the head and thoracic spine. Attempts to model occupant kinematics in a frontal impact should consider these results to biofidelically describe the interaction of the torso with the belt.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2014
Investigating motorists' behaviors in response to supplementary traffic control devices at land surveying work sites.
Since land surveyors working alongside live traffic encounter unique safety challenges there is a great need for innovative and effective traffic control devices (TCDs) that alert motorists approaching short-term land surveying work sites. Unlike the volume of research that has been completed on traditional work zones, however, there is a limited amount of information that has been collected on how motorists respond to TCDs at land surveying work sites. This article aims to fill the void by investigating motorists' behaviors in response to the use of 2 supplementary TCDs at land surveying work sites: portable plastic rumble strips (PPRS) and warning lights. ⋯ The use of supplemental TCDs can greatly contribute to the changes in motorists' behaviors at surveying work sites. The changes in motorists' driving behaviors imply that the motorists reacted favorably to the deployed TCDs at the land-surveying work sites.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2014
Evaluation of deterrent impact of Ontario's Street Racing and Stunt Driving Law on extreme speeding convictions.
The purpose of this study was to conduct a process and outcome evaluation of the deterrent impact of Ontario's street racing and stunt driving legislation, introduced in September 2007, on extreme speeding convictions. It was hypothesized that because males are much more likely to engage in speeding, street racing, and stunt driving, the new law would have more impact in reducing extreme speeding in males compared to females. ⋯ These findings are congruent with deterrence theory that certain, swift, and severe sanctions can deter risky driving behavior and support the hypothesis that legal sanctions can have an impact on the extreme speeding convictions of the intervention group.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2014
Characteristics of 1226 alcohol-positive drivers involved in nonfatal traffic crashes in Shanghai, China.
The purpose of our study was to better characterize and evaluate drunk driving for governmental reference in order to further reduce alcohol-impaired driving. ⋯ The results indicated a notable need for more governmental attention that would prevent accidents caused by driving under the influence of alcohol.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2014
Alcohol involvement and other risky driver behaviors: effects on crash initiation and crash severity.
Alcohol-involved drivers or those with blood alcohol concentrations greater than 0.00 percent have more frequent and more severe crashes than other drivers. Alcohol use, because it delays perception and response and impairs coordination, increases the risk of a crash. However, those using alcohol may take additional driving risks, which may also lead to crashes. This study was done to learn whether risks besides alcohol involvement contributed to crash initiation and whether crash severity increased with alcohol involvement or with those other risky behaviors. ⋯ Risky driving behaviors, including alcohol involvement, increased the risk of a crash. Crash severity tended to increase with any risky behavior and to increase further with multiple risky behaviors. Other risky behaviors were associated with both alcohol involvement and crashes. Therefore, if effects from those other risky behaviors were not accommodated for, those effects would confound apparent associations between alcohol involvement and crashes. Therefore, this study's use of multivariate models that accommodated for effects from those other behaviors provided a truer picture of alcohol's association with crashes than simpler models would have. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Traffic Injury Prevention to view the supplemental file.