Traffic injury prevention
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Traffic injury prevention · Jun 2010
Volvo and Infiniti drivers' experiences with select crash avoidance technologies.
Vehicle-based crash avoidance systems can potentially reduce crashes, but success depends on driver acceptance and understanding. This study gauged driver use, experience, and acceptance among early adopters of select technologies. ⋯ Despite some unnecessary or annoying warnings, most Volvo and Infiniti owners use crash avoidance systems most of the time. Among early adopters, the first requirement of effective warning systems (that owners use the technology) seems largely met. Systems requiring activation by drivers for each trip are used less often. Owner experience with the latest technologies from other automobile manufacturers should be studied, as well as for vehicles on which technologies are standard (versus optional) equipment. The effectiveness of technologies in preventing and mitigating crashes and injuries, and user acceptance of interfaces, should be examined as more vehicles with advanced technologies penetrate the fleet.
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Traffic injury prevention · Jun 2010
Graduated licensing laws and fatal crashes of teenage drivers: a national study.
The objective of the current study was to quantify the effects of the strength of US state graduated driver licensing laws and specific licensing components on the rate of teenage driver fatal crash involvements per 100,000 teenagers during 1996-2007. The strengths of state laws were rated good, fair, marginal, or poor based on a system developed previously by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. ⋯ Graduated licensing laws that include strong nighttime and passenger restrictions and laws that delay the learner's permit age and licensing age are associated with lower teenage fatal crash rates. States that adopt such laws can expect to achieve substantial reductions in crash deaths.
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Traffic injury prevention · Apr 2010
Long-term effects of handheld cell phone laws on driver handheld cell phone use.
As of October 2009, seven U.S. states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) ban driving while talking on a handheld cell phone. Long-term effects on driver handheld phone use in D.C., New York State, and Connecticut were examined. ⋯ Jurisdictional bans have reduced handheld phone use and appear capable of maintaining reductions for the long term. However, it is unknown whether overall phone use is lower because many drivers may have switched to hands-free devices. Further research is needed to determine whether reduced handheld cell phone use has reduced crashes.
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Traffic injury prevention · Feb 2010
Randomized Controlled TrialEffects of a simulation-based training intervention on novice drivers' hazard handling performance.
Young novice drivers are overrepresented in crash rates during their first few months of driving. The dramatic drop afterwards implies that some important skills of safe driving are learned during this period. In an attempt to help novice drivers acquire higher-order perceptual and cognitive skills for safe driving, a training intervention based on driving simulation was developed, tested, and evaluated. ⋯ The tested comprehensive training intervention has shown positive effects in improving novice drivers' abilities to anticipate, recognize, and deal with hazards in simulated driving. Performance of the trained drivers with different starting levels converged to a relatively high level after training.
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Traffic injury prevention · Feb 2010
Proportion of injured drivers presenting to a tertiary care emergency department who engage in future impaired driving activities.
We determined the rate of, and predictive factors for, subsequent impaired driving activity (IDA) by injured drivers treated in a Canadian tertiary care emergency department (ED) following a motor vehicle crash (MVC). ⋯ A high portion of injured impaired drivers who present to hospital engage in repeat IDA following discharge. Besides impairment at time of hospital visit, the best predictor of future IDA is a history of IDA prior to the index event.