Coverage of motor vehicle crashes with injuries in U.S. newspapers, 1999-2002

Problem

The aims of the study were to evaluate information on motor-vehicle crashes with injuries provided in newspaper reports and to assess the frequency of thematic and episodic reporting of motor-vehicle crashes.

Method

The study used Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) derived variables to code a nationally representative sample of U.S. newspaper reports of motor-vehicle crashes from 1999-2002. A total of 473 newspaper reports of motor-vehicle crashes with injuries were included. Information on the crash event, people involved, and vehicles was extracted. The reports were coded for episodic and thematic news framing.

Results

A majority of newspaper reports used episodic framing. The majority of reports included information on the type of crash, but characteristics about people and vehicles were rarely reported.

Discussion

Lack of information in newspapers makes them an incomplete source from which to influence public perceptions and attitudes.

Impact on industry

This provides an opportunity for news print media to improve public health content.

Impact on industry

Newspapers represent an important source of public information; they are, however, an incomplete source [Voight, B., Lapidus, G., Zavoski, R., & Banco, L. (1998). Injury reporting in Connecticut newspapers. Injury Prevention, 4, 292-294.; Baullinger, J., Quan, L., Bennett, E., Cummings, P., & Williams, K. (2001). Use of Washington state newspaper for submersion injury surveillance. Injury Prevention, 7, 339-342]. To increase the accuracy of information provided to the public through media sources, there is a need for increased communication between public health professionals and reporters.The results of this study raise concerns about the contents of motor-vehicle crash information provided in newspapers and suggest that newspapers do not provide information to allow public perception to be in accord with the importance of motor-vehicle crash injuries and health promoting actions to reduce risk of injury. More balanced and detailed information in newspapers would provide an opportunity for news print media to improve public health programs and public perception about the impact of motor-vehicle crashes on safety for all.     

Pediatrician attitudes, knowledge, and practice behavior regarding teen driving safety

Problem

Each year about 4,000 teens ages 16-19 die on U.S. roads. Injury prevention counseling is recommended as a valuable and cost-effective part of routine health supervision. This study describes pediatrician knowledge and practice regarding teen driving safety.

Methods

A 31-item self-administered survey was mailed to pediatricians.

Results

160 of 392 pediatricians (41%) completed the survey. During a health supervision visit 93% of pediatricians reported discussing seat belt use, 89% impaired driving, 54% teen licensing laws, and 16% parent teen contract. Half reported having a teen in their practice killed in a crash.

Conclusions

A majority surveyed report discussing and counseling teens on first wave teen driver safety issues (seat belts, alcohol use), but most do not discuss graduated driver licensing laws or related issues. Impact on Industry: Broadly adopted, this inexpensive counseling approach, could lead to reductions in teen motorvehicle crash injuries.     

Global trend according to estimated number of occupational accidents and fatal work-related diseases at region and country level

Background

Although occupational accidents and work-related diseases have been of interest for a long time, due to lack of proper recording and notification systems the official numbers of occupational accidents and work-related diseases are missing for many countries. Presently, the demand for effectiveness and an interest in the economic aspects of accidents have increased prevention activities at company and country levels.

Methods

Occupational accident data of selected countries and of World Health Organization regional divisions together with the global burden of disease were used in estimating global occupational accidents and fatal work-related diseases. The trend of global occupational accidents and work-related diseases is presented at region and country levels. The years 1998, 2001, and 2003 are compared in the case of occupational accidents and the years 2000 and 2002 in the case of work-related diseases.

Results

The total number of occupational accidents and fatal work-related diseases has increased, but the fatality rates per 100,000 workers have decreased. There were almost 360,000 fatal occupational accidents in 2003 and almost 2 million fatal work-related diseases in 2002. Every day more than 960,000 workers get hurt because of accidents. Each day 5,330 people die because of work-related diseases.

Conclusions

Information on occupational accidents and work-related diseases is needed so that countries may understand better the importance of occupational health and safety at country and company level. Especially companies in developing countries are not familiar with occupational safety and health. Statistical data is essential for accident prevention; it is a starting point for the safety work.     

[Case Study] CityCenter and Cosmopolitan Construction Projects, Las Vegas, Nevada: Lessons learned from the use of multiple sources and mixed methods in a safety needs assessment

Problem

The present study describes a response to eight tragic deaths over an eighteen month times span on a fast track construction project on the largest commercial development project in U.S. history.

Methods

Four versions of a survey were distributed to workers, foremen, superintendents, and senior management. In addition to standard Likert-scale safety climate scale items, an open-ended item was included at the end of the survey.

Results

Safety climate perceptions differed by job level. Specifically, management perceived a more positive safety climate as compared to workers. Content analysis of the open-ended item was used to identify important safety and health concerns which might have been overlooked with the qualitative portion of the survey.

Discussion

The surveys were conducted to understand workforce issues of concern with the aim of improving site safety conditions. Such efforts can require minimal investment of resources and time and result in critical feedback for developing interventions affecting organizational structure, management processes, and communication.

Summary

The most important lesson learned was that gauging differences in perception about site safety can provide critical feedback at all levels of a construction organization.

Impact on the Industry

Implementation of multi-level organizational perception surveys can identify major safety issues of concern. Feedback, if acted upon, can potentially result in fewer injuries and fatal events.     

Epidemiology of subway-related fatalities in New York City, 1990-2003

Problem

Subway transit is a relatively safe mode of transportation, yet compared to all other forms of mass transit in the United States (U.S.), subways have the highest fatality rate. The aim of this paper is to characterize subway-related fatalities in order to identify opportunities for risk reduction.

Method

Medical examiner records for all New York City (NYC) subway-related deaths (1990-2003) were reviewed. Data were abstracted on decedents' demographics and autopsy findings, including laboratory findings.

Results

There were 668 subway-related fatalities, of these, 10 (1.5%) were homicides, 343 (51.3%) were determined to be suicides, and 315 (47.2%) were accidental. Although decedent characteristics varied between fatality categories, they were not particularly informative with regard to prevention.

Conclusion

Prevention strategies that focus on structural controls are likely to be most efficacious in improving the overall safety of the NYC subway systems.

Impact on industry

These findings suggest that structural rather than individual-level interventions would be most successful in preventing subway fatalities.     

Implied-consent laws: A review of the literature and examination of current problems and related statutes

Problem

A substantial proportion of drivers arrested for DUI refuse the BAC test, thereby reducing the likelihood that they will be convicted and potentially increasing the number of high-risk multiple offenders contributing to alcohol-related crashes.

Method

This paper reviews the information on the current status of implied-consent laws (which impose a sanction on offenders who refuse the BAC test) in the 50 states and the other relevant traffic safety laws and policies that may influence state refusal rates.

Results

Although there appears to be only a weak relationship between state refusal rates and crash rates, there is strong evidence that BAC test refusals significantly compromise the arrest, prosecution, and sentencing of DUI suspects and the overall enforcement of DUI laws in the United States.

Discussion

Laws and policies that may reduce the number of refusals are discussed.

Impact on industry

Alcohol-related crash injuries are an important cost problem for U.S. industry because of property damage from crashes, crash injuries to employees that raise health costs, or the reduction of time on the job resulting from a highway injury.     

An economic evaluation of a participatory ergonomics process in an auto parts manufacturer

Problem

We assess the costs and consequences of a participatory ergonomics process at a Canadian car parts manufacturer from the perspective of the firm.

Method

Regression modeling was used with interrupted time series data to assess the impact of the process on several health measures. Consequences were kept in natural units for cost-effectiveness analysis, and translated into monetary units for cost-benefit analysis.

Results

The duration of disability insurance claims and the number of denied workers' compensation claims was significantly reduced. The cost-effectiveness ratio is $12.06 per disability day averted. The net present value is $244,416 for a 23-month period with a benefit-to-cost ratio of 10.6, suggesting that the process was worth undertaking (monetary units in 2001 Canadian dollars).

Discussion

Our findings emphasize the importance of considering a range of outcomes when evaluating an occupational health and safety intervention.

Impact on industry

Participatory ergonomics process can be cost-effective for a firm.     

Occupational injuries of immigrant and Finnish bus drivers

Problem

With baby boomers reaching retirement age, Western countries may need more immigrant workers to ensure productivity. Many studies have suggested a higher occupational injury frequency among immigrant workers, which could considerably reduce their contribution to society. The aim of this study was to examine whether immigrant workers have a higher injury frequency compared to Finnish workers when performing the exact same tasks under the same working conditions.

Method

A total of 176 Finnish and 130 immigrant bus drivers were asked about their occupational injuries during the past 12 months via a questionnaire. In addition, the data contained 134 injuries reported by the transport firm to an insurance company.

Results

There was no significant difference in reporting occupational injuries by self-reporting or by company-records. Because there were more accident-repeaters among Finnish drivers, their injury frequency (114) was higher than that of immigrant drivers (78).

Application/Impact

This study showed that immigrant workers did not have a higher injury frequency than other workers when they worked in the exact same conditions. Immigrant workers can work as safely as native-Finnish workers, when their working conditions and job contracts are at the same level as those of the original population. Immigrant workers can compensate for the shortage of workforce caused by an aging population.     

Predicting driver drowsiness using vehicle measures: Recent insights and future challenges

Introduction

Driver drowsiness is a significant contributing factor to road crashes. One approach to tackling this issue is to develop technological countermeasures for detecting driver drowsiness, so that a driver can be warned before a crash occurs.

Method

The goal of this review is to assess, given the current state of knowledge, whether vehicle measures can be used to reliably predict drowsiness in real time.

Results

Several behavioral experiments have shown that drowsiness can have a serious impact on driving performance in controlled, experimental settings. However, most of those studies have investigated simple functions of performance (such as standard deviation of lane position) and results are often reported as averages across drivers, and across time.

Conclusions

Further research is necessary to examine more complex functions, as well as individual differences between drivers.

Impact on Industry

A successful countermeasure for predicting driver drowsiness will probably require the setting of multiple criteria, and the use of multiple measures.     

Time trends and predictive factors for safety perceptions among incoming South Australian university students

Problem

Young workers are over-represented in injury statistics. In order to develop injury prevention strategies, this study investigated time trends and predictive factors relating to safety skills, confidence, and attitudes.

Method

Annual surveys were conducted from 2006-2009 among incoming students at the University of Adelaide. The questions addressed safety training, injury experience, and health and safety perceptions.

Results

Time trends in training, perceived safety skills, confidence, and attitudes were not significant. In terms of skills and confidence, the most important correlate was safety training outside of high school (odds ratio = 1.6), especially when repeated, assessed, or in face to face mode. Feeling strongly about safety issues was best predicted by injury experience (OR = 1.7) and gender.

Discussion

These results emphasize the value of assessed training, but they are also consistent with published U.S. data, indicating no improvement over time. It is suggested that there be a more integrated approach in safety education, involving schools and workplaces.

Impact on industry

By developing an understanding of student safety perceptions and experiences, this research aims to target strategies to reduce the excess injury rate for young workers. Workplaces should be more aware of the limitations of school-based safety education and a more integrated and evidence-based approach should be developed, involving schools and workplaces.     

Evaluation of guardrail systems for preventing falls through roof and floor holes

Introduction

Fall-related occupational injuries and fatalities are serious problems in the U.S. construction industry, especially incidents related to unguarded holes. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Safety Research, Morgantown, WV conducted a project to evaluate the effectiveness of guardrail systems to prevent falls through roof and floor holes.

Methods

Two commercial edge-protection products were evaluated when used as perimeter guarding around a roof hole. Installations of the commercial products were compared to job-built guardrails constructed of 2^″ × 4^″ construction-grade lumber. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations require that “a force of at least 200 pounds” must be supported by the top rail of a guardrail system “in any outward or downward direction at any point along the top edge.” A laboratory testing system was developed to evaluate this requirement. A dynamic 200-lb force was generated against the top rail using a weighted manikin mounted on a hinged steel frame. Nine construction workers, who served as test subjects, each built five different guardrail configurations.

Results

All 45 configurations met the 200-lb OSHA requirement. Installation time for one commercial product was 32% quicker than the job-built configuration (25.6 min vs. 37.9 min).

Impact on Industry

This study: (a) indicates that the two edge-protection products can be used as perimeter guarding; (b) highlights the importance of using proper materials and fasteners to construct guardrails to protect workers from falling into unguarded roof and floor holes; and (c) discusses an overall-strength-testing methodology that can be used by fall-protection researchers.     

Effects of red light camera enforcement on fatal crashes in large U.S. cities

Objective

To estimate the effects of red light camera enforcement on per capita fatal crash rates at intersections with signal lights.

Methods

From the 99 large U.S. cities with more than 200,000 residents in 2008, 14 cities were identified with red light camera enforcement programs for all of 2004-2008 but not at any time during 1992-1996, and 48 cities were identified without camera programs during either period. Analyses compared the citywide per capita rate of fatal red light running crashes and the citywide per capita rate of all fatal crashes at signalized intersections during the two study periods, and rate changes then were compared for cities with and without cameras programs. Poisson regression was used to model crash rates as a function of red light camera enforcement, land area, and population density.

Results

The average annual rate of fatal red light running crashes declined for both study groups, but the decline was larger for cities with red light camera enforcement programs than for cities without camera programs (35% vs. 14%). The average annual rate of all fatal crashes at signalized intersections decreased by 14% for cities with camera programs and increased slightly (2%) for cities without cameras. After controlling for population density and land area, the rate of fatal red light running crashes during 2004-2008 for cities with camera programs was an estimated 24% lower than what would have been expected without cameras. The rate of all fatal crashes at signalized intersections during 2004-2008 for cities with camera programs was an estimated 17% lower than what would have been expected without cameras.

Conclusions

Red light camera enforcement programs were associated with a statistically significant reduction in the citywide rate of fatal red light running crashes and a smaller but still significant reduction in the rate of all fatal crashes at signalized intersections.

Impact on Industry

The study adds to the large body of evidence that red light camera enforcement can prevent the most serious crashes. Communities seeking to reduce crashes at intersections should consider this evidence.     

A reporting guide for studies on individual differences in traffic safety

Problem

Studies on individual differences in traffic safety report differently on their methodologies, and use different statistics, and these are therefore difficult to compare and meta-analyze.

Method

Based upon a previous, extensive review and meta-analysis of the traffic safety literature, several recommendations are made about what features of the methodology of studies on individual differences (including evaluations) in safety need to be reported to facilitate interpretation and meta-analysis. Similarly, some basic types of statistical values are recommended.

Impact on Industry

The accumulation of knowledge about individual differences in traffic safety would be facilitated if scientific authors and journals adhered to these guidelines.     

Occupational accident rate in olive oil mills

Problem

This paper aims at examining the occupational accident rate in Spain in the olive oil mill industry. These mills produce olive oil by physical or mechanical, but not chemical procedures. Although Spain is the leading olive oil producer in the world with 1,200,000 tons/year and over 25% of the world olive farming area, the occupational accident rate in this sector has been little studied in the relevant scientific literature.

Method

Our study analyses all occupational accidents which occurred during 2004-2009, with or without sick leave, at 90 Andalusian olive oil mills covered by one of the biggest state insurance companies for accidents at work and occupational diseases (within the Spanish Social Security system).

Results and discussion

Slips or trips are the most frequent cause of occupational accidents in this sector, accounting for 14.86% of the cases. In second position, incorrectly coordinated bodily movements account for almost 13.51% of the accidents. Falls from height, 12.2% of the cases, are also statistically noteworthy. As for the seriousness of the injuries, entrapments are particularly important, since in 2.70% of the cases they result in the traumatic amputation of a part of the body. The analysis of accidents without sick leave reveals that a high number of incidents are caused by contact of the skin and eyes with hazardous substances (20% of the cases) and 10% of them involve superficial injuries.

Impact on the industry

This paper provides a clear and updated image of the accident rate in Spanish olive oil mills and can be a useful tool for the design and adequate adjustment of the management systems implemented in these plants to guarantee a satisfactory level of occupational health and safety by means of more efficient planning and monitoring of measures intended to reduce professional risks and improve working conditions.

Recommendations

Given not only the high incidence of falls on the same level and the potential seriousness of falls from different levels, but also the small, round fruit involved, with a high oil content and a hard round stone, it is extremely important to design and implement safe working procedures and specifically train both operatives and managers in charge of the tidiness, cleanliness and regular control of the premises and operations. The analysis of the accidents not requiring sick leave (mostly cases of contact with hazardous substances on the skin or eyes, or superficial injuries) clearly reveals that the use of suitable personal protective equipment and the relevant training are crucial issues.     

Estimating the variance in before-after studies

Problem

To simplify the computation of the variance in before-after studies, it is generally assumed that the observed crash data for each entity (or observation) are Poisson distributed. Given the characteristics of this distribution, the observed value (x_i) for each entity is implicitly made equal to its variance. However, the variance should be estimated using the conditional properties of this observed value (defined as a random variable), that is, f(x_i|μ_i), since the mean of the observed value is in fact unknown.

Method

Parametric and non-parametric bootstrap methods were investigated to evaluate the conditional assumption using simulated and observed data.

Results

The results of this study show that observed data should not be used as a substitute for the variance, even if the entities are assumed to be Poisson distributed. Consequently, the estimated variance for the parameters under study in traditional before-after studies is likely to be underestimated.

Conclusions

The proposed methods offer more accurate approaches for estimating the variance in before-after studies.     

An analysis of injury claims from low-seam coal mines

Introduction

The restricted workspace present in low-seam coal mines forces workers to adopt awkward working postures (kneeling and stooping), which place high physical demands on the knee and lower back.

Method

This article provides an analysis of injury claims for eight mining companies operating low-seam coal mines during calendar years 1996-2008. All cost data were normalized using data on the cost of medical care (MPI) as provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Results

Results of the analysis indicate that the knee was the body part that led in terms of claim cost ($4.2 million), followed by injuries to the lower back ($2.7 million). While the average cost per injury for these body parts was $13,100 and $14,400, respectively (close to the average cost of an injury overall), the high frequency of these injuries resulted in their pre-eminence in terms of cost. Analysis of data from individual mining companies suggest that knee and lower back injuries were a consistent problem across companies, as these injuries were each among the top five most costly part of body for seven out of eight companies studied.

Application/Impact

Results of this investigation suggest that efforts to reduce the frequency of knee and low back injuries in low-seam mines have the potential to create substantial cost savings.