Traffic injury prevention
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2015
Epidemiology of Road Traffic Injuries Treated in a Large Romanian Emergency Department in Tîrgu-Mureş Between 2009 and 2010.
Road traffic injuries are one of the leading causes of preventable unintentional injury. The European Injury Database estimated that in European Union (EU)-27 countries, road traffic injuries account for 10% of all injuries treated in the emergency department or admitted to the hospital, accounting for 4.2 million victims each year. We examined the characteristics and outcomes of road traffic injuries treated in a large emergency department in Romania by different types of road users. ⋯ Understanding the extent, nature, and characteristics of road traffic injuries may help to identify vulnerable road users in specific settings and implement the most effective prevention strategies targeting the most affected populations.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialThe influence of drinking, texting, and eating on simulated driving performance.
Driving is a complex task and distractions such as using a mobile phone for the purpose of text messaging are known to have a significant impact on driving. Eating and drinking are common forms of distraction that have received less attention in relation to their impact on driving. The aim of this study was to further explore and compare the effects of a variety of distraction tasks (i.e., text messaging, eating, drinking) on simulated driving. ⋯ Distracting behaviors such as eating and texting while driving appear to negatively impact driving measures of lane position control and reaction time. These findings may have direct implications for motorists that engage in these types of distracting behaviors behind the wheel and for the safety of other road users.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2015
Comparative StudyComparative analysis of risky behaviors of electric bicycles at signalized intersections.
The primary objective of this study was to compare the risky behaviors of e-bike, e-scooter, and bicycle riders as they were crossing signalized intersections. ⋯ Compared to e-bike and bicycle riders, e-scooter riders are more likely to take risky behaviors. More specifically, they are more likely to ride in motorized lanes and ride against traffic.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2015
Finite element model prediction of pulmonary contusion in vehicle-to-vehicle simulations of real-world crashes.
Pulmonary contusion (PC) is a common chest injury following motor vehicle crash (MVC). Because this injury has an inflammatory component, studying PC in living subjects is essential. Medical and vehicle data from the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) database were utilized to examine pulmonary contusion in case occupants with known crash parameters. ⋯ A preliminary threshold for maximum crush was calculated to predict a clinically significant volume of pulmonary contusion.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2015
Lumbar Bone Mineral Density Phantomless Computed Tomography Measurements and Correlation with Age and Fracture Incidence.
Low bone quality is a contributing factor to motor vehicle crash (MVC) injury. Quantification of occupant bone mineral density (BMD) is important from an injury causation standpoint. The first aim of this study was to validate a technique for measuring lumbar volumetric BMD (vBMD) from phantomless computed tomography (CT) scans. The second aim was to apply the validated phantomless technique to quantify lumbar vBMD in Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) occupants for correlation with age, fracture incidence, and osteopenia/osteoporosis diagnoses. ⋯ Because lumbar vBMD was estimated from phantomless CT scans with accuracy similar to qCT, the phantomless technique can be broadly applied to both prospectively and retrospectively assess patient bone quality for research and clinical studies related to MVCs, falls, and aging.