Accident; analysis and prevention
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A considerable amount of all traffic accidents can be attributed to driving under the influence of alcohol. In particular the group of drivers aged 18-24 years is involved in many serious traffic accidents where alcohol turns out to be a major factor. In fact this age group shows about three times as many alcohol related traffic fatalities as all other categories of road users. ⋯ However, the intervention is unique and warrants a more robust evaluation. A large-sized randomized controlled trial should be conducted in the next phase to confirm the findings that the intervention program is a suitable educational tool to decrease driving under the influence of alcohol. The present paper serves to raise awareness of this intervention and its potential.
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There have been many studies of the link between the level of policing in an area and the behaviour of local drivers, but those that have been conducted in the United Kingdom were either small scale or were conducted many years ago. Consequently, a practical trial was carried out in London in May 2008 to investigate the effects of increasing the level of traffic policing in a busy urban area under modern conditions. Operation Radar ran for four weeks and increased the visible presence of police on a six mile stretch of the A23 in South London. ⋯ These surveys measured vehicle speeds and drivers' use of mobile phones and seatbelts. Vehicle speeds reduced systematically during the operation along the route and in surrounding areas, and some effects remained at least two weeks after the operation had finished. The survey data do not, however, show any positive effect of enforcement on the use of mobile phones or seatbelts.
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Standard multinomial logit (MNL) and mixed logit (MXL) models are developed to estimate the degree of influence that bicyclist, driver, motor vehicle, geometric, environmental, and crash type characteristics have on bicyclist injury severity, classified as property damage only, possible, nonincapacitating or severe (i.e., incapacitating or fatal) injury. This study is based on 10,029 bicycleinvolved crashes that occurred in the State of Ohio from 2002 to 2008. Results of likelihood ratio tests reveal that some of the factors affecting bicyclist injury severity at intersection and non-intersection locations are substantively different and using a common model to jointly estimate impacts on severity at both types of locations may result in biased or inconsistent estimates. ⋯ Conversely, six variables were found to significantly influence injury severity at intersection locations but not non-intersection locations while four variables influenced bicyclist injury severity only at non-intersection locations. In crashes occurring at intersection locations, the likelihood of severe bicyclist injury increases by 14.8 percent if the bicyclist is not wearing a helmet, 82.2 percent if the motorist is under the influence of alcohol, 141.3 percent if the crash-involved motor vehicle is a van, 40.6 percent if the motor vehicle strikes the side of the bicycle, and 182.6 percent if the crash occurs on a horizontal curve with a grade. Results from non-intersection locations show the likelihood of severe injuries increases by 374.5 percent if the bicyclist is under the influence of drugs, 150.1 percent if the motorist is under the influence of alcohol, 53.5 percent if the motor vehicle strikes the side of the bicycle and 99.9 percent if the crash-involved motor vehicle is a heavy-duty truck.
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In the current study, research was conducted in five cities in China to examine seatbelt use and to explore Chinese drivers' attitudes toward using seatbelts. Multiple data collection methods consisted of 35 initial semi-structured interviews to create questions for an in-person survey and 500 driver observations that included administering the in-person survey. ⋯ Also examined were the relationships between seatbelt use (both objective observation and subjective self-reported use) and self-reported car crashes and traffic violations. This study provides insight into the attitudes of Chinese drivers on seatbelt use and potential interventions.
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We examined the accuracy of data on unintentional firearm fatalities in the United States. We began with data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) and examined every firearm death reported as an accident by any NVDRS data source--the NVDRS abstracter, the State Vital Statistics Registry (i.e., the ICD-10 Underlying Cause of Death code and manner of death from the death certificate), the medical examiner or coroner report, and the police Supplementary Homicide Report. After carefully reading the information from all sources, we then classified each case as either unintentional or intentional using NVDRS definitions. ⋯ We found evidence of even greater over-reporting of unintentional firearm deaths there. In answer to the question, "Are there too many or too few unintentional firearm deaths in official mortality data?" the best answer is, "Both." Many true accidents are missed, while many suicides and homicides are mistakenly reported as accidents. By contrast, the NVDRS applies a case definition for unintentional firearm deaths with consistency and accuracy.