Accident; analysis and prevention
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National seatbelt observation surveys indicate commercial vehicle drivers' seatbelt usage is lower than passenger vehicle drivers. Seatbelts are effective at preventing injuries and death following motor vehicle crashes and an important component in decreasing morbidity and mortality related to commercial vehicle crashes. ⋯ Our observations demonstrate a need to increase seatbelt usage among heavy commercial vehicle drivers. Specific programs and resources for intervention programs targeting heavy commercial vehicle drivers are warranted.
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The empirical basis for legislation to limit cell phones while driving is addressed. A comprehensive meta-analysis of the effects of cell phones on driving performance was performed. A total of 33 studies collected through 2007 that met inclusion criteria yielded 94 effect size estimates, with a total sample size of approximately 2000 participants. ⋯ In addition, drivers using either phone type do not appreciably compensate by giving greater headway or reducing speed. Tests for moderator effects on RT and speed found no statistically significant effect size differences across laboratory, driving simulation and on-road research settings. The implications of the results for legislation and future research are considered.
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Data from crashes investigated through the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) Program were used to assess differences in injury patterns, severity, and sources for drivers, protected by safety belts and deploying steering wheel air bags, in head-on frontal impacts. We studied whether exterior vehicle damage with a different distribution (wide vs. narrow) across the front vehicle plane influenced injury characteristics. Drivers from both impact types were similar on the basis of demographic characteristics (except age), restraint use, and vehicle characteristics. ⋯ Adjusted odds ratios showed that drivers in wide impacts were less likely (OR=0.54, 95% CI 0.37, 0.79) to have severe injury (based on injury severity score (ISS)>25) when controlling for intrusion, vehicle body type, vehicle curb weight, age, proper safety belt use, and delta V. Drivers with intrusion into their position or who were driving a passenger vehicle were almost twice more likely to have severe injury, regardless of whether the frontal plane damage distribution was wide or narrow. Our study supports that the type of damage distribution across the frontal plane may be an important crash characteristic to consider when studying drivers injured in head-on motor vehicle crashes.
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Age is often used as a predictor of injury and mortality in motor vehicle crashes (MVCs), however, the age that defines an "older" occupant in terms of injury-risk remains unclear, as do specific injury patterns associated with increasing age. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between age and serious injury (including injury patterns) for occupants involved in MVCs. ⋯ Age is a strong predictor of serious injury from motor vehicle trauma, the risk of which increases in non-linear fashion as age increases. There is no specific age that clearly defines an "older" occupant by injury risk.
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This study analyzed fatal occupational injuries in Taiwan. One thousand eight hundred ninety work-related accident reports filed in the years 1996-1999 were extracted from the annual publication of the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA). These data were analyzed in terms of gender, age and work experience of the accident victim as well as accident type and the work-related source of injury to identify significant contributing factors. ⋯ Male workers had a significantly higher prevalence of fatal occupational injuries than female workers throughout the analyzed period (7.4 compared to 0.9 per 100,000 full-time workers). Young males aged 24 years or less had the highest rate of fatal occupational injuries. The finding that gender and age are major factors in occupational injuries is a significant finding in the field of occupational safety and may be helpful for developing accident prevention programs.