Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention
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Reducing vehicle speed is among the most effective road safety strategies. We assess how a new policy in Russia that eliminates fines for driving up to 20 km/h above the speed limit has affected the prevalence of speeding. We measured speeds periodically in 13 districts of two Russian regions during 2011-2013 and analysed the effect of the policy using difference-in-differences to control for seasonality. ⋯ Overall speeding increased significantly by 13 percentage points (pp, 95% CI 4 to 19). Speeding more than 10 km/h above the limit increased significantly by 10 pp (95% CI 2 to 12), and extreme speeding increased but not significantly (1.7 pp, 95% CI -1.1 to 4.5). Road traffic injuries will likely increase in Russia unless speeding fines are reinstated.
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To estimate the effect of the 2005 Victorian mandatory personal flotation device (PFD) wearing regulations on PFD use by occupants of small (hull length ≤4.8 m) power recreational vessels. ⋯ The legislative intervention was successful in increasing PFD wearing in small vessels. However, visible enforcement and tougher penalties are needed to optimise compliance.
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Determining the relationship between gun ownership levels and firearm homicide rates is critical to inform public health policy. Previous research has shown that state-level gun ownership, as measured by a widely used proxy, is positively associated with firearm homicide rates. A newly developed proxy measure that incorporates the hunting license rate in addition to the proportion of firearm suicides correlates more highly with state-level gun ownership. ⋯ Using state-specific data for the years 1981-2010, we modelled these rates as a function of gun ownership level, controlling for potential confounding factors. We used a negative binomial regression model and accounted for clustering of observations among states. We found that state-level gun ownership as measured by the new proxy, is significantly associated with firearm and total homicides but not with non-firearm homicides.
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To examine national trends in fall-related injuries among older adults treated in emergency departments (ED) and project these injuries until the year 2030. The Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System was used to generate data on fall-related injuries treated in ED. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to examine the average annual change in injury rates over time. ⋯ Assuming the increase in fall-related injury rates remains unchanged, the number of fall-related injuries may increase to 5.7 million by the year 2030. Fall-related injuries among older adults treated in ED increased in the USA during the study period. Moreover, a marked increase in the number of these injuries may occur over the next decades.
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Review Comparative Study
Comparing responsible and non-responsible drivers to assess determinants of road traffic collisions: time to standardise and revisit.
In 1994, Robertson and Drummer formalised the responsibility analysis as an alternative to case-control studies in the study of road traffic crashes. Our objective was to assess whether published responsibility studies respected standards defining adequate case-control studies. ⋯ Basic requirements of case-control studies are often not or not clearly met in responsibility studies. There is a need to revisit the method and to adapt existing publication standards to the way responsibility studies are reported.