Traffic injury prevention
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To describe and analyze the drink driving situation in Colombia. ⋯ Legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits are on a par with international standards and the traffic authorities carry out regular roadside sobriety checks. However, the enforcement is weakened by poor implementation of sanctions. In addition, issues with data mean that the nature and extent of drink driving in Colombia cannot be accurately monitored.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2012
Effects of booster seat laws on injury risk among children in crashes.
Belt-positioning booster seats have been shown to reduce injury risk among child passengers aged 4 to 8 in motor vehicle crashes. To encourage the use of booster seats, many states have enacted laws that require the use of either a child restraint with internal harness or a belt-positioning booster seat, but the specific age range covered by the laws varies by state. Previous studies have found evidence that booster seat laws are effective in reducing injury risk among children, but these studies primarily have included states with younger age requirements (e.g., ages 4-6) for booster seats. The objective of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of booster seat laws in several states that cover children through age 7 or 8. ⋯ Results provide evidence that booster seat laws are effective in increasing the use of child safety seats, increasing the placement of children in rear seats, and reducing injuries, especially severe injuries, among children covered by the laws.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2012
ReviewRoad traffic injury in China: a review of national data sources.
Road traffic injury (RTI) has become one of the leading causes of deaths in China, yet numbers on road traffic deaths are often inconsistent. This study sought to systematically review 4 national-level data sources that can be used to estimate burdens of RTI, including mortality, injury, and crashes in China. ⋯ As the foundation of injury prevention, national-level data sources and surveillance systems were reviewed in the study. Existing data infrastructures present the Chinese government a great opportunity to strengthen and integrate existing surveillance systems to better track road traffic injury and fatality and identify the population at risk.
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Triggered by the new federal commitment announced by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONCDP) to encourage states to enact drugged driving per se laws, this article reviews the reasons to establish such laws and the issues that may arise when trying to enforce them. ⋯ Based on the analysis presented, this article recommends a number of steps that can be taken to evaluate current drugged driving enforcement procedures and to move toward the enactment of drug per se laws.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jan 2012
ReviewRoad traffic injuries and data systems in Egypt: addressing the challenges.
Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are a major cause of global mortality and morbidity, killing approximately 1.3 million people and injuring 20 to 50 million each year. The significance of this public health threat is most pronounced in low- and middle-income countries where 90 percent of the world's road traffic-related fatalities take place. Current estimates for Egypt show a road traffic fatality rate of 42 deaths per 100,000 population-one of the highest in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. RTIs are also responsible for 1.8 percent of all deaths and 2.4 percent of all disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost in the country. Despite this, studies surrounding this topic are scarce, and reliable data are limited. The overall goal of this article is to define the health impact of RTIs in Egypt and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each data source for the purpose of improving the current RTI data systems. ⋯ The results of this article clearly highlight the significant burden that road traffic injuries pose on the health of the Egyptian population. The hospital-based injury surveillance system that has been established in the country and the use of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) coding brings the system very closely in line with international guidelines. There is, however, some considerable room for improvement, including the need to extend the coverage of the surveillance system, the inclusion of injury severity scores and disability indicators, and standardization of the sometimes rather disparate sources from various sectors in order to maximally capture the true burden of RTIs.