Accident; analysis and prevention
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In 1995, an experiment was started to give extra medical help by helicopter to patients who needed emergency treatment. The aim of the experiment was not to reduce the transportation time to the hospital, but to bring specialised medical care directly to patients as soon as possible. An evaluation study was carried out to assess the effect of the treatment given by the Helicopter Trauma Team (HTT) on survival and quality of life. ⋯ The survival rate increased for patients in the 'in between' group, but not for patients with a low probability of survival. There was no difference in the quality of life of patients from the HTT and non-HTT groups 15 months after the accident. These findings refute the hypothesis that only the most severely injured patients with a low quality of life profit from HTT-treatment.
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We use panel data on road sections to investigate the effect of traffic policing on non-urban road accidents in Israel. Traffic policing is measured indirectly by the number of police reports issued for driving offences. Our main findings are: (1) only large-scale enforcement has any measurable effect on road accidents while small-scale enforcement has no apparent effect. (2) The enforcement effect is slightly larger in the long run than it is in the short-run. (3) The effect of enforcement tends to dissipate rapidly after the dosage of enforcement is reduced. (4) Enforcement has no effect on fatal road accidents. (5) The evidence that the effect of policing in one road section spills over onto other road sections is weak.
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The study deals with the evaluation of the effects of a new deployment of the National Traffic Police in Israel--a concentrated general enforcement on 700 km of interurban roads, which contain 60% of all rural accidents and about half of the severe accident locations. The enforcement project began in April 1997 and lasted for 1 year, aiming at a 10% reduction of severe accidents on those roads. The evaluation study consisted of three main parts: (a) monitoring of everyday police operations on the project roads; (b) periodic evaluation of the project's influence on drivers' behavior and attitudes; and (c) the evaluation of accident changes within the project area, at the end of the project year. ⋯ However, it was noted that in four of the five project road groups the mean value of the odds ratio was much less than one. Thus, although the enforcement project did not attain its full purpose, it seemed to be a deterrent factor for the increasing accident trend that appeared that year on the interurban roads. The findings pointed out that the National Traffic Police did not exhaust its potential in the project's performance and needs more flexible enforcement and deployment tactics.