COMPARING THE IMPAIRMENT PROFILES OF OLDER DRIVERS AND NON-DRIVERS: TOWARD THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FITNESS-TO-DRIVE MODEL

The purpose of this research effort was to compare older driver and non-driver functional impairment profiles across some 60 assessment metrics in an initial effort to contribute to the development of fitness-to-drive assessment models. Of the metrics evaluated, 21 showed statistically significant differences, almost all favoring the drivers. Also, it was shown that a logistic regression model comprised of five of the assessment scores could completely and accurately separate the two groups. The results of this study imply that older drivers are far less functionally impaired than non-drivers of similar ages, and that a parsimonious model can accurately assign individuals to either group. With such models, any driver classified or diagnosed as a non-driver would be a strong candidate for further investigation and intervention.     

Associations between driver training, determinants of risky driving behaviour and crash involvement

The core aim of the study is to examine associations between formal and informal practical driver training as well as driving experience on the one hand and young drivers’ safety attitudes, self-assessment of driving ability and self-reported driver behaviour on the other hand. An additional aim is to examine the associations between attitudes, self-assessment and behaviour on the one hand and crash involvement on the other hand. The results are based on a self-completion questionnaire survey conducted among a representative sample of Norwegian drivers aged 18–20 years (n = 1419). The results showed that there were small yet significant associations between driver training, on the one hand and traffic safety attitudes and risky driving behaviour on the other hand. The amount of formal driver training was negatively associated with the respondents’ evaluation of their driving skills; although the amount of lay instruction was positively associated with such self-evaluation. The results also showed that attitudes as well as self-assessment of driving ability were significantly associated with self-reported risk behaviour. This was especially true for attitudes related to rule violations. There was a strong association between crash involvement and exposure (measured as months holding a licence). Young novice drivers’ crash involvement seems stronger associated with driving skills (manifested as self-assessment of driving ability) than safety attitudes and self-reported driver behaviour. The consequences of the results for driver training and accident prevention are discussed.     

Age and gender differences in conviction and crash occurrence subsequent to being directed to Iowa's driver improvement program

Introduction

This paper investigates potential gender and age differences in conviction and crash occurrence subsequent to being directed to attend Iowa's Driver Improvement Program (DIP).

Methods

Binary logit models were developed to investigate the factors that influence conviction occurrence after DIP by gender and age. Because of the low crash occurrence subsequent to DIP, association rules were applied to investigate the factors that influence crash occurrence subsequent to DIP, in lieu of econometric models.

Results

There were statistical significant differences by driver gender, age, and conviction history in the likelihood of subsequent convictions. However, this paper found no association between DIP outcome, crash history, and crash occurrence.

Impact on industry

Evaluating the differences in conviction and crash occurrence subsequent to DIP between female and male drivers, and among different age groups can lead to improvements of the effectiveness of DIPs and help to identify low-cost intervention measures, customized based on drivers’ gender and age, for improving driving behaviors.     

Crash data analysis: collective vs. individual crash level approach

INTRODUCTION: Traffic safety literature has traditionally focused on identification of location profiles where "more crashes are likely to occur" over a period of time. The analysis involves estimation of crash frequency and/or rate (i.e., frequency normalized based on some measure of exposure) with geometric design features (e.g., number of lanes) and traffic characteristics (e.g., Average Annual Daily Traffic [AADT]) of the roadway location. In the recent past, a new category of traffic safety studies has emerged, which attempts to identify locations where a "crash is more likely to occur." The distinction between the two groups of studies is that the latter group of locations would change based on the varying traffic patterns over the course of the day or even within the hour. METHOD: Hence, instead of estimation of crash frequency over a period of time, the objective becomes real-time estimation of crash likelihood. The estimation of real-time crash likelihood has a traffic management component as well. It is a proactive extension to the traditional approach of incident detection, which involves analysis of traffic data recorded immediately after the incident. The units of analysis used in these studies are individual crashes rather than counts of crashes. RESULTS: In this paper, crash data analysis based on the two approaches, collective and at individual crash level, is discussed along with the advantages and shortcomings of the two approaches.     

Case-control and cross-sectional methods for estimating crash modification factors: comparisons from roadway lighting and lane and shoulder width safety effect studies

Problem

While observational before-after studies are considered the industry standard for developing crash modification factors (CMFs), there are practical limitations that may preclude their use in highway safety analysis. There is a need to explore alternative methods for estimating CMFs.

Method

This paper employs case-control and cross-sectional analyses to estimate CMFs for fixed roadway lighting and the allocation of lane and shoulder widths.

Results

Based on the case-control method, the CMF for intersection lighting is 0.886, while the cross-sectional study indicates a CMF of 0.881. The CMFs developed for lane and shoulder widths are also similar when comparing the two methods.

Conclusions

This paper suggests that case-control and cross-sectional studies produce consistent results if care is taken in the study design and model development.

Impact on industry

Case-control and cross-sectional studies may provide a viable alternative to estimate CMFs when a before-after study is impractical due to data restrictions.     

Integration of safety instrumented system with automated HAZOP analysis: An application for continuous biodiesel production

Integration of a human-machine interface (HMI) with hazard and operability (HAZOP) analysis is proposed in this work. This concept can potentially lead to the identification of some unexpected deviations, and radically decreases the time necessary for hazard identification. A continuous biodiesel production was simulated. This can be divided into two cases, covering both conventional and reactive distillation. Soybean oil (trioleic, trilinoleic and tripalmitic) at 1000 kg/h as raw material is converted to 99 wt% pure biodiesel. The HMI was designed to improve these processes by combining automatic HAZOP analysis. With this approach, users can receive sufficient information from the simulation to analyze the optimum operation and safety. Severity levels are also provided to classify the actions in the process. Severity levels 1 and 2 are concerned with operating conditions, which are 58-64 °C, and 50-150 kPa. If the analysis shows severity level 3, the safety instrumented system (SIS) will automatically manage the operation in order to reduce/restrain the amount of damage at this level. This proposed system could minimize the damage and also improve the overall quality of the process.     

起重机在特殊工况下的静刚度与动刚度安全性分析

通过对一台桥式电磁起重机静刚度和动刚度的理论计算,以及对其主梁的探伤检查,分析了桥式起重机在特殊工况下的静刚度和动刚度,指出了在设计时应考虑的安全性问题。     

Pilot sample risk analysis for underground coal mine fires and explosions using MSHA citation data

After three decades of sustained continuous improvement of mine safety performances in the US, mine disasters in 2006 and 2007 compromised an excellent record and presented new challenges and vulnerabilities for the underground coal mining industry. In the aftermath of the incidents, formal investigations and new scrutiny of mine safety by the US Congress and expert study groups followed. The US Congress passed the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act), which mandated new laws to address the issues, including those related to mine fires and explosions from which miners must be protected. The National Mining Association-sponsored Mine Safety Technology and Training Commission report highlighted the role of risk analysis and management in identifying and controlling major hazards, such as fires and explosions. In this paper an approach is given for analyzing the risks for fires and explosions based on the Mine Safety and Health Administration citation database. Using 2006 citation data and focusing on subsystem failures, the methodology is applied to a database for a pilot sample of underground coal mines stratified by mine size and state.     

Estimating the effectiveness of ergonomics interventions through case studies: implications for predictive cost-benefit analysis

PROBLEM: Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) can help to justify an investment in ergonomics interventions. A predictive CBA model would allow practitioners to present a cost justification to management during the planning stages, but such a model requires reliable estimates of the benefits of ergonomics interventions. METHOD: Through literature reviews and Internet searches, 250 case studies that reported the benefits of ergonomics programs and control measures were collected and summarized. RESULTS: Commonly reported benefits included reductions in the number of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) or their incidence rate, as well as related lost workdays, restricted workdays, and workers' compensation costs. Additional benefits reported were related to productivity, quality, turnover and absenteeism. DISCUSSION: Benefits reported were largely positive, and payback periods for ergonomics interventions were typically less than one year. SUMMARY: The results of this review could be used to develop predictive CBA models for ergonomics programs and individual control measures. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Cost-justifying ergonomics interventions prior to implementation may help to secure management support for proposed changes. Numbers used for the benefits side of a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) need to be based on "real world" data in order to be credible. The data presented in this paper may help in the development of simple cost-benefit models for ergonomics programs and control measures.     

Risk analysis for road and rail transport of hazardous materials: a simplified approach

A simplified approach to transportation risk analysis for road and rail transport of dangerous goods is proposed, which is based on the use of a product databank, containing the impact areas for a number of pre-selected accidental scenarios, and on the selection of a few typical average values of the involved parameters, relevant to the type of transport activity and to the route. Such an approach enables also a non-specialist to very rapidly perform a transportation risk analysis, obtaining both individual and societal risk measures for the study case(s): the results may be used to support a decision making process, and/or as a basis for a more in deep analysis.     

Cross-sectional study of road accidents and related law enforcement efficiency for 10 countries: A gap coherence analysis

Objective: Road crashes are considered as the eighth leading causes of death. There is a wide disparity in crash severity and law enforcement efficiency among low-, medium-, and high-income countries. It would be helpful to review the crash severity trends in these countries, identify the vulnerable road users, and understand the law enforcement effectiveness in devising efficient road safety improvement strategies.

Method: The crash severity, fatality rate among various age groups, and law enforcement strategies of 10 countries representing low-income (i.e., India and Morocco), medium-income (i.e. Argentina, South Korea, and Greece), and high-income (i.e., Australia, Canada, France, the UK, and the United States) are studied and compared for a period of 5 years (i.e., 2008 to 2012). The critical parameters affecting road safety are identified and correlated with education, culture, and basic compliance with traffic safety laws. In the process, possible road safety improvement strategies are identified for low-income countries.

Results: The number of registered vehicles shows an increasing trend for low-income countries as do the crash rate and crash severity. Compliance related to seat belt and helmet laws is high in high-income countries. In addition, recent seat belt– and helmet-related safety programs in middle-income countries helped to curb fatalities. Noncompliance with safety laws in low-income countries is attributed to education, culture, and inefficient law enforcement.

Conclusion: Efficient law enforcement and effective safety education taking into account cultural diversity are the key aspects to reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities in low-income countries like India.     

The productivity assessment tool: computer-based cost benefit analysis model for the economic assessment of occupational health and safety interventions in the workplace

INTRODUCTION AND MEthod: This paper describes the concepts behind cost benefit analysis in occupational health and safety and introduces the Productivity Assessment Tool, a method by which an analysis may be performed relatively easily in a service or manufacturing workplace. The advantage of using such analyses is to show the important financial role that safe and efficient workplaces play in the workplace. RESULTS: By using analytical tools, the effectiveness of an intervention (workplace change) may be estimated prior to its introduction. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This places occupational health and safety on the same financial footing as other proposed workplace changes and thus places occupational health and safety in a strong position to attract scarce resources.