Intervention strategies for the retro-fitment of Rollover Protective Structures (ROPS) and fleet characteristic,farm tractors

Retro-fitment of Rollover Protective Structures (ROPS) on old tractors continues to be a priority for farm safety in Australia. Methods: A state wide (New South Wales (NSW), Australia) random postal survey asked farmers about awareness of, attitudes to and barriers to fitting ROPS; age and number of tractors with/without ROPS on their farm; and considerations when purchasing a tractor. Results: In NSW there are 2.5 tractors per farm ranging from new to 79 years of age (average 17 years) of which 0.4 per farm do not have a ROPS (18 430 tractors). People who knew of someone who had been injured or killed in a tractor rollover were 3.6 times (CI_95% 3.1–4.2) more likely to have all their tractors fitted with a ROPS. Those who thought ROPS were effective or knew it was a legal requirement were 1.5 (CI_95% 1.2–1.8 and 1.4–1.7 respectively) times more likely to have all their tractors fitted with a ROPS. Some of the barriers to fitting a ROPS were cost, availability of a ROPS and making ROPS a priority. The three most common considerations for farmers when purchasing a tractor are size, jobs to be undertaken and cost with safety coming in fourth. Ideas that were considered useful in prompting farmers to fit a ROPS were threat of fine or prosecution, increased awareness and high rebates. Discussion: As the average age of the primary working tractor is 17 years, any new tractor safety measure will have a long latency period if there is not some sort of retro-fitment. To increase retro-fitment rebates are a useful strategy. Any retro-fitment campaign needs to ensure that they create a need for the safety item and have addressed the barriers.     

Risk of repeat accidents by economic activity in Italy

RationaleThe phenomenon of repeat work-related accidents has not been sufficiently studied.ObjectivesTo evaluate the role of work-related factors in the occurrence of repeat accidents in Italy, using economic activity and the size of the enterprise as proxies and basing the analysis on available administrative data.MethodsThe data, provided by the Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), refer to accidents in the industry and artisan sectors and in the service industry between 1994 and 1999. We selected the data on accidents among 633,735 persons 25–55 years of age with a first accident in 1996–1997, and we determined the occurrence of further accidents within two years in the same economic activity, taking into account job mobility and factors associated with underreporting (geographic area, age, and size of the enterprise). The gender-specific relative risk was computed for each economic activity, given by the ratio between the risk of repeat accidents in a given economic activity and the risk in all of the other activities.ResultsIndividuals with a single accident differed from those with a repeat accident in terms of the distribution by gender, age-class, and severity of injury. The economic activities with the highest relative risk were generally those known to represent a risk of accidents in general: metal ore and coal mining, shipbuilding, the manufacturing of railroad equipment, building construction, road and railway construction, the primary iron and steel industry, foundry work, logging/wood manufacturing, slaughtering, and agriculture. However, certain activities not generally considered as hazardous showed a high risk of repeat accidents (e.g., public hygiene, and the manufacturing of bricks, pottery, and glass).ConclusionsThe epidemiological pattern of repeat accidents by economic activity reflects that of accidents in general, though with exceptions. Results suggest that factors associated with specific technical aspects and production processes are important determinants of safety. The differences between single accidents and repeat accidents by gender, age class, and severity of injury suggest that studying repeat accidents separately from first accidents is quite useful.     

非公路车辆翻车安全保护技术的研究

在我国农业、矿山、建筑、水利等行业中 ,非公路车辆保有量上千万台 ,使用者上亿人 ,由于车辆技术性能和操作使用水平参差不齐 ,非公路车辆作业工况恶劣 ,特别是车辆在承载时 ,重心上移 ,整车稳定性下降 ,加上车辆在边坡作业时 ,可能出现车辆翻滚现象 ,造成人员伤亡。笔者列举并分析了瑞典、德国、美国和中国等国家的非公路车辆翻车的人员伤亡统计数据 ;指出通过建立相应的保护法规 ,增设车辆翻车安全保护装置 (ROPS) ,一定程度上保护了工作人员安全 ;同时强调我国农业及工程车辆采用翻车保护装置的必要性 ,并给出了ROPS的设计选用原则。     

Self-reported seatbelt use,United States, 2002–2010: Does prevalence vary by state and type of seatbelt law?

ProblemMotor-vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States. Seatbelts are highly effective in preventing serious injury and death in the event of a crash. Not all states have primary enforcement of seatbelt laws.MethodsData from the 2002, 2006, 2008, and 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used to calculate prevalence of seatbelt use by state and type of state seatbelt law (primary vs. secondary enforcement).Results and discussionSelf-reported seatbelt use among adults in the United States increased steadily between 2002 and 2010, with the national prevalence reaching 87% in 2010. Overall, seatbelt use in 2010 was 9 percentage points higher in the states with primary enforcement laws than in the states with secondary enforcement laws (89% vs. 80%). Impact on industry: Primary enforcement seatbelt laws and enhanced enforcement of seatbelt laws are proven strategies for increasing seatbelt use and reducing traffic fatalities.     

Injury severity related to overturn characteristics of tractors

Introduction

Early studies of injuries associated with overturns indicate that more fatalities occurred when a tractor overturned beyond 90° (continuous roll) relative to the impact plane. Recently, the principle of preventing continuous rolls has re-emerged for the protection of riding lawnmower operators.

Method

Related to tractors, a population-based study was conducted that compared the severity of fatal and nonfatal injuries between a 90° and continuous roll for tractors equipped with rollover protective structures (ROPS) and not equipped with a ROPS (non- ROPS). In 2002, the Kentucky Farm Tractor Overturn Survey was administered to an 8% random sample (6,063) of Kentucky farm operators. The farmers responded to questions that differentiated between the types of overturns and operator injury outcomes for ROPS-equipped and non-ROPS tractors during overturn events. Overturn characteristics were collected that included 90° to the side, beyond 90° to the side, and to the rear for both ROPS-equipped and non-ROPS tractors.

Results

Of the 541 overturns reported in this study, 535 (99%) of the respondents reported the most recent overturn characteristics of the tractor: 92 (17%) were ROPS-equipped and 443 (83%) were non-ROPS. For side overturns, 67% of the rolls occurred with ROPS-equipped tractors, and 54% occurred with non-ROPS tractors. The percentages of deaths related to rolls to the side for ROPS-equipped and non-ROPS tractors were, respectively, 1.6% and 3.7%. There was one (2%) deaths related to 90° rolls for ROPS-equipped tractors, whereas for continuous rolls there were 6.4% fatalities related to side overturns, 13% resulted in non-fatal injuries with an average of 1 day of hospitalization for ROPS-equipped tractors, and 39% resulted in non-fatal injuries with an average of 18 days of hospitalization for non-ROPS tractors. The results from this study indicated that a ROPS was more effective at stopping an overturn at 90° than no ROPS, with an associated reduction in the severity of injury in the event of a tractor overturn.     

Electric Accidents in the Production,Transmission, and Distribution of Electric Energy: A Review of the Literature

Many work related electric accidents occurred in electric energy industries and they were very often fatal. The situation of electric accidents in electric companies worldwide is investigated by reviewing the scientific literature, to offer perspectives on the types and kinds of statistics available, the factors regarded as influencing their occurrence, their consequences, and also methodological shortcomings.

Worldwide, reliable comparable data exist and indicate a downward trend in fatal electric accidents. Difficulties were encountered in compiling international statistics because of differences in how accident data were defined and recorded, variations in mandatory practices, lack of suitable data and indices, accident insurance systems, and lack of correlation between technical, financial, and medical aspects.     

Worker safety and injury severity analysis of earthmoving equipment accidents

Introduction: Research on construction worker safety associated with construction equipment has mostly focused on accident type rather than injury severity and the embedded factor relationships. Significant variables and their effects on the degree of injury are examined for earthmoving equipment using data from OSHA. Four types of equipment, backhoe, bulldozer, excavator, and scraper are included in the study. Accidents involving on-foot workers and equipment operators are investigated collectively, as well as separately. Methods: Cross tabulation analysis was conducted to establish the associations between selected categorical variables, using degree of injury as a dichotomous dependent variable (fatal vs. nonfatal) and a number of independent variables having different values. Odds ratios were calculated to determine how much a certain variable/factor increases the odds of fatality in an accident, and the odds ratios were ranked to determine the relative impact of a given factor. Results: It was found that twelve variables were significantly associated with injury severity. Rankings based on odds ratios showed that inadequate safety training (2.54), missing equipment protective system (2.38), being a non-union worker (2.26), being an equipment operator (1.93), and being on or around inadequately maintained equipment (1.58) produced higher odds for fatality. Conclusion: A majority of the earthmoving equipment accidents resulted in fatality. Backhoes were the most common equipment involved in accidents and fatalities. Struck-by accidents were the most prevalent and most fatal. Non-OSHA compliant safety training, missing seatbelt, operator not using seatbelt, malfunctioning back-up alarms, and poorly maintained equipment were factors contributing to accidents and fatalities. On-foot workers experienced a higher number of accidents than operators, while fatality odds were higher for the operators. Practical applications: Safety professionals should benefit from our findings in planning and delivering training and providing oversight to workers in earthmoving equipment operations.     

Fatal injuries among Hispanic workers in the U.S. construction industry: Findings from FACE investigation reports

IntroductionIdentifying and understanding the characteristics of workplace accidents can provide vital information required to clarify their causes and prevent similar accidents from happening in the future. The Hispanic workforce represents a significant segment of the U.S. construction labor force that is projected to continue increasing in population. The government statistical data show higher rates of fatalities among Hispanic workers when compared to other ethnic groups.MethodThis study aims to provide details about the trends of fatal injuries among Hispanic workers. The study examined 92 government investigation reports to reveal the general trends, then an examination of fatal fall injuries within the study sample was conducted since falling is the predominant cause of fatal injuries.ResultsThe findings suggest differences in accident characteristics between Hispanic workers and all workers, which could indicate a need for different interventions to improve the overall site safety. The study also revealed the dire need to propose revised investigation procedures that would help identify the root causes of accidents, which in turn leads to better recommendations and interventions.     

The potential of vehicle and road infrastructure interventions in fatal bicyclist accidents on Swedish roads—What can in-depth studies tell us?

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this article is to describe the characteristics of fatal crashes with bicyclists on Swedish roads in rural and urban areas and to investigate the potential of bicycle helmets and different vehicle and road infrastructure interventions to prevent them. The study has a comprehensive approach to provide road authorities and vehicle manufacturers with recommendations for future priorities.

Methods: The Swedish Transport Administration’s (STA) in-depth database of fatal crashes was used for case-by-case analysis of fatal cycling accidents (2006–2016) on rural (n?=?82) and urban (n?=?102) roads. The database consists of information from the police, medical journals, autopsy reports, accident analyses performed by STA, and witness statements. The potential of helmet use and various vehicle and road infrastructure safety interventions was determined retrospectively for each case by analyzing the chain of events leading to the fatality. The potential of vehicle safety countermeasures was analyzed based on prognoses on their implementation rates in the Swedish vehicle fleet.

Results: The most common accident scenario on rural roads was that the bicyclist was struck while cycling along the side of the road. On urban roads, the majority of accidents occurred in intersections. Most accidents involved a passenger car, but heavy trucks were also common, especially in urban areas. Most accidents occurred in daylight conditions (73%). Almost half (46%) of nonhelmeted bicyclists would have survived with a helmet. It was assessed that nearly 60% of the fatal accidents could be addressed by advanced vehicle safety technologies, especially autonomous emergency braking with the ability to detect bicyclists. With regard to interventions in the road infrastructure, separated paths for bicyclists and bicycle crossings with speed calming measures were found to have the greatest safety potential. Results indicated that 91% of fatally injured bicyclists could potentially be saved with known techniques. However, it will take a long time for such technologies to be widespread.

Conclusions: The majority of fatally injured bicyclists studied could potentially be saved with known techniques. A speedy implementation of important vehicle safety systems is recommended. A fast introduction of effective interventions in the road infrastructure is also necessary, preferably with a plan for prioritization.     

危险货物道路运输事故统计分析

为掌握危险货物道路运输事故的发生规律,预防事故与灾害发生,笔者收集、整理了2000年9月至2007年3月间的609起危险货物道路运输事故案例,并对案例进行详细分解和统计分析,获得了危险货物道路运输事故的时间分布、地域分布、路段分布、事故形态分布、事故原因分布等统计特征。研究结果表明,危险货物道路运输事故具有如下规律:早晨和上午(4时至12时)是事故多发时段;事故形态以单车事故为主,特别是车辆倾斜或侧翻事故为数最多;驾驶员处置不当和违法驾驶行为以及运输车辆机件失效是导致事故的最主要的两类原因。针对案例分析结果,提出预防危险货物道路运输事故、保障危险货物道路运输安全的对策与建议。     

Safety in high-risk helicopter operations: The role of additional crew in accident prevention

ObjectivesTo examine the causes associated with high risk helicopter operations, in particular external load and aerial application flight, and determine the role of crew management in accident mitigation strategies.MethodsData from the US National Transportation Safety Board online database were analyzed. Flight phases and types of rotor strike were added categories extracted from the narrative statements included in the accident reports.Results and recommendationsAerial application and external load accidents are characterized by high numbers of rollovers, rotor strikes and errors during preflight checks. Additional flight or ground crew may assist the pilot in maintaining a visual lookout. The number of accidents can be further reduced with adequate fuel management in which both pilot and ground crew can contribute. Although the ground crew can be both victim and cause of an accident, their supporting role has much to contribute to safety in high risk helicopter operations.     

Etiology of fatal thoracic aortic injuries: Secondary data analysis

Objectives: Motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death in the United States (US). Thoracic aortic dissection due to blunt trauma remains a major injury mechanism, and up to 90% of these injuries result in death on the scene. The objective of this study is to understand the modern risk factors and etiology of fatal thoracic aortic injuries in the current US fleet.

Methods: Using a unique, linked, Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and Multiple Cause of Death (MCOD) database from 2000–2010, 144,169 drivers over 16 years of age who suffered fatal injuries were identified. The merged database provides an unparalleled fidelity for identifying thoracic aortic injuries due to motor vehicle accidents. Thoracic aortic injuries were defined by ICD-10 codes S250. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models for presence of any thoracic aortic injuries were fitted. Age, gender, BMI weight categories, vehicle class, model year, crash type/direction, severity of crash damage, airbag deployment location, and seatbelt use, fatal injury codes, and location of injury were considered. Odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) are calculated.

Results: There were 2953 deaths (2.10%) related to thoracic aortic injuries that met the inclusion criteria. Nearside crashes were associated with an increased odds (OR = 1.42, 1.1-1.83), while rollover crashes (OR =.44,.29-.66) were associated with a reduced odds of fatal thoracic aortic injury. Using backward selection on the full multivariate model, the only significant model effects that remained were vehicle type, crash type, body region, and injury type.

Conclusions: The increased prevalence of fatal thoracic aortic injury in nearside crashes, increasing age, and vehicle type provide some insight into the current US fleet. Important factors, including model year, had significantly lower levels of the injury in univariate analysis, demonstrating the effect of safety improvements in newer model vehicles. Further study of this fatal injury is warranted, including comparisons of those who survive the injury.     

Factors associated with fatal accident involvement among California drivers

The primary objectives of this study were to examine characteristics of drivers involved in fatal accidents and to determine if those drivers could be distinguished from California's general driving population on the basis of prior driving record. A sample of drivers involved in 1970–1971 fatal accidents was analyzed and compared to a sample of drivers from the general driving population during the same time period. Drivers who had been drinking prior to the accident, who were considered at-fault for the accident, or whose accident occurred at night were found to have worse prior driving records than other fatal accident-involved drivers. The results also indicated that, as a whole, drivers involved in fatal accidents had worse violation and/or accident records, as well as different demographic and license characteristics than drivers in the general population. The classification functions derived to predict fatal accidents, however, did not differ greatly from regression equations that have been constructed to predict total accidents. It was therefore concluded that prediction systems keyed to total accidents will, to a large extent, also identify high-risk fatal accident drivers.     

基于APRIORI-TAN的交通事故伤害分析与预测*

为探究道路交通事故因素和事故伤害的相关性,以2 467起涉及人员伤亡的交通事故为数据集,运用Apriori算法分别挖掘事故伤害关联规则,并结合社会网络分析的可视化和核心-边缘分析构建受伤事故和死亡事故的关联规则网络。结果表明:事故伤害程度与事故时间、道路条件和交通环境等因素关系紧密,尤其死亡事故与碰撞固定物、人行横道事故、高速公路、高速道路、非市区、酒驾和超速存在高相关性。基于树型贝叶斯网络（TAN）构建事故伤害程度的预测模型,预测结果准确率可达87.56%。     

Traffic accident reconstruction and an approach for prediction of fault rates using artificial neural networks: A case study in Turkey

Objective: Currently, in Turkey, fault rates in traffic accidents are determined according to the initiative of accident experts (no speed analyses of vehicles just considering accident type) and there are no specific quantitative instructions on fault rates related to procession of accidents which just represents the type of collision (side impact, head to head, rear end, etc.) in No. 2918 Turkish Highway Traffic Act (THTA 1983). The aim of this study is to introduce a scientific and systematic approach for determination of fault rates in most frequent property damage–only (PDO) traffic accidents in Turkey.

Methods: In this study, data (police reports, skid marks, deformation, crush depth, etc.) collected from the most frequent and controversial accident types (4 sample vehicle–vehicle scenarios) that consist of PDO were inserted into a reconstruction software called vCrash. Sample real-world scenarios were simulated on the software to generate different vehicle deformations that also correspond to energy-equivalent speed data just before the crash. These values were used to train a multilayer feedforward artificial neural network (MFANN), function fitting neural network (FITNET, a specialized version of MFANN), and generalized regression neural network (GRNN) models within 10-fold cross-validation to predict fault rates without using software. The performance of the artificial neural network (ANN) prediction models was evaluated using mean square error (MSE) and multiple correlation coefficient (R).

Results: It was shown that the MFANN model performed better for predicting fault rates (i.e., lower MSE and higher R) than FITNET and GRNN models for accident scenarios 1, 2, and 3, whereas FITNET performed the best for scenario 4. The FITNET model showed the second best results for prediction for the first 3 scenarios. Because there is no training phase in GRNN, the GRNN model produced results much faster than MFANN and FITNET models. However, the GRNN model had the worst prediction results. The R values for prediction of fault rates were close to 1 for all folds and scenarios.

Conclusions: This study focuses on exhibiting new aspects and scientific approaches for determining fault rates of involvement in most frequent PDO accidents occurring in Turkey by discussing some deficiencies in THTA and without regard to initiative and/or experience of experts. This study yields judicious decisions to be made especially on forensic investigations and events involving insurance companies. Referring to this approach, injury/fatal and/or pedestrian-related accidents may be analyzed as future work by developing new scientific models.     

Severity models of cross-median and rollover crashes on rural divided highways in Pennsylvania

Introduction

Crossover and rollover crashes in earth-divided, traversable medians on rural divided highways can lead to severe injury outcomes. This study estimated severity models of these two crash types. Vehicle, driver, roadway, and median cross-section design data were factors considered in the models. A unique aspect of the data used to estimate the models were the availability of median cross-slope data, which are not commonly included in roadway inventory data files.

Methods

A binary logit model of cross-median crash severity and a multinomial logit model of rollover crash severity were estimated using five years of data from rural divided highways in Pennsylvania.

Results

The highest probability of a fatal or major injury in cross-median and rollover crashes was found to occur in cases when a driver was not wearing a seatbelt. While flatter cross-slopes and narrower medians were associated with more severe cross-median crash outcomes, steeper cross-slopes and narrower medians significantly increased rollover crash severity outcomes. The presence of horizontal curves was associated with increased probabilities of high-severity outcomes in a median rollover crash.

Impact on Industry

Modeling results in this study confirmed that cross-median and median rollover crash severity outcomes are associated with median cross-section design characteristics. Based on the estimated models, it appears that flatter and narrower medians lead to more severe injury outcomes in cross-median crashes. Steeper median cross-slopes and narrower medians were associated with higher probabilities of more severe outcomes in median rollover crashes. The results presented in this study suggest that there is a trade-off between median cross-section design and cross-median and rollover crashes in earth-divided, traversable medians on rural divided highways. While the severity models can be included in a framework to develop design guidance in relation to this trade-off, models of crash frequency should also be considered.     

Tracking the prevalence of rollover protective structures on U.S. farm tractors: 1993, 2001, and 2004

Problem

Between 1992 and 2005, 1412 workers on farms died from tractor overturns. A Rollover Protective Structure (ROPS) is a proven intervention to reduce overturn deaths. However, farm characteristics that are associated with the adoption of ROPS are not well understood.

Methods

ROPS prevalence statistics were derived from National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) surveys that tracked ROPS use on farms. Data were from the years 1993, 2001, and 2004.

Results

In 1993, 38% of tractors were equipped with ROPS. This increased to 51% by 2004. ROPS prevalence rates were higher on farms in the Southern region of the United States, on farms where the operator was 25-34 years old, and on farms with $100,000 or more of farm sales. Low ROPS prevalence rates were associated with farm operators 65 years old or older and with farms with less than $10,000 of farm product sales.

Summary

The increase in ROPS prevalence between 1993 and 2004 has not been sufficient to decrease the rate of tractor overturn deaths on farms. Incentive programs targeting older farm operators and low-income farm operations are suggested to increase ROPS use on tractors.

Impact on Industry

The study provides farm characteristics associated with low ROPS prevalence rates. The results can be used to target farms for future ROPS promotion activities.     

Evaluation on consequences prediction of fire accident in emergency processes for oil-gas storage and transportation by scenario deduction

This paper takes the safety in emergency processes as the starting point, from the perspective of scenario deduction, to study the consequences of fire accidents for oil-gas storage and transportation. Through the statistical analysis of actual accident cases, 19 frequently occurring basic scenarios in emergency processes are summarized. The scenario evolution paths of fire accidents for oil-gas storage and transportation are given by analyzing the evolution law of the accident development. Fuzzy numbers are introduced to express experts' qualitative judgment on accident scenarios. The empirical probabilities of scenario nodes are obtained by defuzzification calculation, and the state probability of each scenario node is calculated by using the dynamic Bayesian network joint probability formula. Under the comprehensive consideration about the probability statistics of actual accident cases, the critical scenario nodes on the evolution path and their final scenario probabilities are jointly determined to realize the optimization of the scenario evolution path. By constructing the correlation between the optimized scenario evolution path and the accident consequences, an accident consequence prediction model is established. The occurrence probability of accident consequences is calculated by the defuzzification method and dynamic Bayesian network. The accuracy of the consequence prediction model is verified by the July 16 Dalian's Xingang Harbor oil pipeline explosion accident. The research results provide scientific basis for helping decision makers to make the effective emergency measures that are most conducive to the rapid elimination of accidents and reducing the severity of accident consequences.