The influence of alcohol on pedestrians: A different approach to the effectiveness of the new traffic safety law

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the effects of the new traffic safety law on pedestrian mortality by exploring hazardous behaviors of pedestrians in terms of alcohol use and blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

Methods: A retrospective autopsy study was performed, covering a 7-year period (from 2006 to 2012), including cases of fatally injured pedestrians who died at the scene of the incident. Blood samples obtained from the femoral vein during autopsy were analyzed for BAC. The entire sample was divided into 2 groups. The first included cases from 2006 to 2009, at which time the old traffic safety law was in force, and the second included cases from 2010 to 2012, under the new traffic safety law.

Results: A total of 247 cases were examined, covering a 7-year period. The average age was 57.5 ± 19.7 years (median 61.0 years) with a significant male predominance of 147 men to 100 women. This predominance also applied to alcohol use (54 vs. 13). The results show a significant decrease in the total annual number of fatally injured pedestrians, starting from 2009, compared to previous years, reaching a low in 2010, one year after implementation of the new traffic safety law. In contrast, the proportion of alcohol-intoxicated pedestrians showed no significant difference in the years preceding and following the new traffic safety law, nor did the annual distribution of BAC or mean BAC before and after application of the new law.

Conclusion: The present study indicates that the new traffic safety law has been quite effective in reducing pedestrian mortality. However, alcohol consumption and intoxication in pedestrians remains a fairly important factor in motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians, because the proportion of pedestrians positive for alcohol, the proportion of severely intoxicated pedestrians with BAC > 1 g/L, and annual mean BAC have remained unchanged.     

Epidemiology of alcohol and drug screening among pedestrian fatalities in the United States, 2014–2016

Objective: U.S. pedestrian fatalities increased by 25% between 2010 and 2015. Risk factors include distractions, the built environment, urbanization, economic variables, and weather conditions. Of interest is the role of alcohol and drugs in premature death among pedestrians. This study sought to explore the prevalence of substance use screenings among pedestrian fatalities in the United States between 2014 and 2016.

Methods: Data were collected from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System provided by the NHTSA. Pedestrian crash variables included demographics as well as information regarding alcohol or drug testing status. Frequency and cross-tabulation tables were constructed to assess the prevalence of screening by person, place, and time. Log-linear analyses were completed to explore age, race, and sex differences. A 3-year examination period was used to control for yearly fluctuations and to incorporate an increasing trend in cases.

Results: Pedestrian fatalities accounted for 84% of all deaths among vulnerable road users during the examination period. Those most at risk were white males between the ages of 45 and 64. Over all states, 74.7% of fatalities were tested for alcohol and 67.1% were tested for drugs; further, 66.5% of cases were tested for both alcohol and drugs and 24.8% were tested for neither substance. Cases screened for both alcohol and drugs ranged from 2.9% in North Carolina to 95.7% in Nevada and those testing for neither substance ranged from a high of 68.9% in Indiana to a low of 1.1% in Maryland. Log-linear regression revealed significant differences in alcohol screening by age and race but not by sex. Differences in drug screening were not identified for any demographic variable. Fatalities tested for alcohol were significantly more likely to be tested for drugs; only 8.2% were screened solely for alcohol and 0.05% were screened for drugs alone.

Conclusions: Preventive strategies become more important as pedestrian crashes and fatalities increase. Risk reduction in the form of policy change, alterations to the built environment, or interdisciplinary approaches to injury prevention is dependent upon best evidence supported in part by more deliberate and consistent screening.     

Assessing the safety criticality of driver behavior toward cyclists at intersections

Abstract

Objective: Detailed analyses of car-to-cyclist accidents show that drivers intending to turn right at T-junctions collide more often with cyclists crossing from the right side on the bicycle lane than drivers intending to turn left. This fact has led to numerous studies examining the behavior of drivers turning left and right. However, the most essential question still has not been sufficiently answered: is the behavior of drivers intending to turn right generally more safety critical than the behavior of those intending to turn left? The purpose of this article is to provide a method that allows to determine whether a driver’s behavior toward cyclists can retrospectively be assessed as critical or non-critical.

Methods: Several theoretical considerations enriched by findings of experimental studies were employed to devise a multi-measure method. This method was applied to a dataset containing real-world approaching behavior of 48 drivers turning right and left at four T-junctions with different sight obstructions. For each driver a behavior-specific criticality was defined based on both, their driving and gaze behavior. Moreover, based on the behavior-specific criticality of each driver, the required field of view to see a cyclist from the right was defined and was set into relation with the available field of view of the T-junction.

Results: The results show that only a small portion of the drivers within the dataset would have posed an actual risk to cyclists crossing from the right side. Those situations with a higher safety criticality did not only arise when drivers intended to turn right, but also left.

Conclusion: Therefore, the analysis can only provide an explanation for the higher proportion of accidents between drivers turning right and cyclists crossing from the right side in certain situations. Further research, for example analyses of exposure data regarding the frequency of turning manoeuvers at T-junctions, is needed in order to explain the higher proportion of accidents between drivers turning right and cyclists crossing from the right side.     

Parental awareness and perception for correct use of child restraint systems and airbags in Brazil

Objective: The objective of this study was to obtain information about the current knowledge and habits of parents who transport children in cars in Brazil.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using specifically designed self-report questionnaires to parents of children attending a private pediatric office in a town in southwest Brazil. Data were collected regarding children's age, gender, height, and weight and possession of an automobile child restraint system (CRS), its type, frequency and adequacy of use, and reasons for not possessing or not using the devices. Parents were asked whether their cars were equipped with airbags and about the use of the restraints in seats with airbags.

Results: We interviewed parents of 293 children transported in cars who met the criteria for use of a CRS. Children were younger than 1 year in 15.3% of the cases, between 1 and 4 years in 38.6%, and older than 4 in 46.1%. Cars were equipped with CRS in 78.5% of the cases, but in only 58% of the cases was the device proper for child's age and adequately installed in the seat. Among owners of the devices, 84.3% reported that they always used it. Reasons for infrequency were forgetting the device at home or in another car (6.4%), the child disliking the device (3.2%), or the false impression that the child was grown enough not to use it (3.2%)l 87.1% did not justify why they did not always use the CRS. Considering type of CRS, correct installation of the seat, and frequency of use, only 44.4% of children under 1 year, 69.9% of those 1 to 4 years, and 52.6% over age 4 were protected. Only 28.6% of the parents knew that children should never be positioned in a seat with active airbags.

Conclusion: Considering appropriateness for age, correctness of installation (in the back seat in the correct orientation), and frequency of use, only 50.85% (149/293) of the children were reported as always protected with a CRS. Children between 1 and 4 years were more likely to always use a CRS in this Brazilian survey. We were also able to identify an important gap in the knowledge about airbags among parents. Further efforts are needed to correct those distortions.     

基于交通心理的行人不安全行为研究

基于交通心理学原理,对城市行人交通不安全行为进行研讨.分析了行人出行认知心理与行为的关系,给出行人信息处理过程的概念模型,指出行人的认知心理状态与交通事故关系密切.以定性分析的方法,把行人不安全行为归为有意和无意两类,从主客观方面分析行人心理对不安全行为的影响.通过实际交通调查及对实测数据的统计处理,表明行人交通安全意识淡薄,性别、年龄和有无驾照对行人交通安全意识有重要影响;系统分析了行人不安全行为的心理因素.从行人心理角度考虑,给出了一些相应的改善行人交通不安全行为的教育、管理、法制方面的建议和预防措施,例如:从行人心理角度对过街设施进行合理设置,从驾驶员心理角度考虑改善行人交通安全,对人行天桥和地道进行人性化设置等,将心理学行为矫正法原理应用于行人交通管理中.     

乘客登机离港情景下的首都机场T3航站楼行人流特征

为了解决机场类公众聚集场所乘客群体行为及其控制的难点问题,以首都机场T3航站楼作为仿真对象,利用MassMotion软件,对T3航站楼内部行人交通组织与登机离港服务关键情景进行仿真模拟,揭示了在工作日和假期情景下,首都机场T3航站楼进站与登机离港时行人流特征。研究结果,首都机场T3航站楼行人流量与密度在水平通道处呈二元函数关系,速度与密度的关系相比密度与流量的关系更为复杂,密度适中时,两者呈线性关系;密度较大,行人拥挤时,呈对数关系;密度较小时,呈指数关系。因此,科学预测节假日高峰期行人流平均密度是机场类公众聚集场所风险控制的关键措施。     

A new method for the prediction of flash points for ternary miscible mixtures

The flash point is one of the most important physicochemical parameters used to characterize the fire and explosion hazard for flammable liquids. The flash points of ternary miscible mixtures with different components and compositions were measured in this study. Four model input parameters, being normal boiling point, the standard enthalpy of vaporization, the average number of carbon atoms and the stoichiometric concentration of the gas phase for mixtures, were employed and calculated based on the theory of vapor–liquid equilibrium. Both multiple linear regression (MLR) and multiple nonlinear regression (MNR) methods were applied to develop prediction models for the flash points of ternary miscible mixtures. The developed predictive models were validated using data measured experimentally as well as taking data on flash points of ternairy mixtures from the literature. Results showed that the obtained average absolute error of both the MLR and the MNR model for all the datasets were within the range of experimental error of flash point measurements. It is shown that the presented models can be effectively used to predict the flash points of ternary mixtures with only some common physicochemical parameters.     

二次过街路口行人违反交通法规规律的研究

为了解在不同类型二次过街路口行人违反交通法规闯红灯的违法率,找出二次过街路口不同参数对行人违法率的影响,从而找出降低路口行人违法率的对策,保障路口行人交通安全和人车流畅通,本文选取上海市5种类型的二次过街路口调查行人在路口的违法率.通过分析调查数据,行人在路口一次穿越车道数为2～7,两次穿越车道总数为6～12,违法率随车道数的增加而降低.在红灯等待时间90 s之内,行人违法率随等待时间的升高呈一定的下降趋势.红灯等待时间在90～150 s之间,行人违法率没有确定的规律.安全岛、引导护栏、中继信号灯等设施具有明显降低行人违法率的作用.根据二次过街路口设置安全岛、引导护栏、中继信号灯、车道数以及是否从路边穿越5个影响因素的安全评价系数之和建立综合安全评价系数,得到行人在二次过街路口违法率随综合安全评价系数的增大而降低.研究表明,完善和优化二次过街路口的设施参数可以降低路口行人违法率.     

The use of navigation systems in naturalistic driving

Objective: In this study, we assessed the use of portable navigation systems in everyday driving by applying in-vehicle naturalistic driving.

Method: Experienced users of navigation systems, 7 females and 14 males, were provided with a specially equipped vehicle for approximately 1 month. Their trips were recorded using 4 cameras, Global Positioning System (GPS) data, and other sensor data. The drivers’ navigation system use data were coded from the video recordings, which showed how often and for how long the system was activated and how often and for how long a driver operated the system.

Results: The system was activated for 23% of trips, predominantly on longer and unique trips. Analyses of the percentage of time for which the speed limit was exceeded showed no evidence of differences between trips for which the navigation system was used or not used. On trips for which the navigation system was activated, participants spent about 5% of trip time interacting with the device. About 40% of interacting behavior took place in the first 10% of the trip time, and about 35% took place while the car was standing still or moving at a very low speed; that is, 0–10 km/h.

Conclusion: These results shed light on how and when drivers use navigation systems. They suggest that although drivers regulate their use of such systems to some extent, they often perform risky tasks while driving.     

Analysis of the influence of passenger vehicles front-end design on pedestrian lower extremity injuries by means of the LLMS model

Objective: This work aims at investigating the influence of some front-end design parameters of a passenger vehicle on the behavior and damage occurring in the human lower limbs when impacted in an accident.

Methods: The analysis is carried out by means of finite element analysis using a generic car model for the vehicle and the lower limbs model for safety (LLMS) for the purpose of pedestrian safety. Considering the pedestrian standardized impact procedure (as in the 2003/12/EC Directive), a parametric analysis, through a design of experiments plan, was performed. Various material properties, bumper thickness, position of the higher and lower bumper beams, and position of pedestrian, were made variable in order to identify how they influence the injury occurrence. The injury prediction was evaluated from the knee lateral flexion, ligament elongation, and state of stress in the bone structure.

Results: The results highlighted that the offset between the higher and lower bumper beams is the most influential parameter affecting the knee ligament response. The influence is smaller or absent considering the other responses and the other considered parameters. The stiffness characteristics of the bumper are, instead, more notable on the tibia. Even if an optimal value of the variables could not be identified trends were detected, with the potential of indicating strategies for improvement.

Conclusions: The behavior of a vehicle front end in the impact against a pedestrian can be improved optimizing its design. The work indicates potential strategies for improvement. In this work, each parameter was changed independently one at a time; in future works, the interaction between the design parameters could be also investigated. Moreover, a similar parametric analysis can be carried out using a standard mechanical legform model in order to understand potential diversities or correlations between standard tools and human models.     

Validation of a questionnaire about the perception of occupational biohazard in Spanish companies

Objectives. The aim of this work was to develop, validate and test a new questionnaire to assess the biological risk in workers with intentional or unintentional exposure to biological agents. Methods. A questionnaire including 34 questions was developed to study the perception of workers against occupational biohazard. Content Validity Index (CVI) and Content Validity Ratio (CVR) were calculated for the analysis of content validity. A pilot study was carried out with 60 workers from 17 companies performing analysis of Cronbach's α to assess the internal consistency or reliability. Results. A total of 518 workers from 51 Spanish companies in which there is exposure to biological agents participated in the study yielding a response rate of 90%. The final questionnaire obtained a Cronbach's α > 0.759 with a stable test–retest result. The questionnaire validation demonstrates that it could be used to evaluate the biological risks and help the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases. Discussion. This study has validated the need to evaluate worker's perception against occupational risks, as well as the application of prevention methods and protective equipment. It is a first step towards developing an occupational biohazards assessment method including all the requirements set by the European Health and Safety Strategy 2013–2020.     

Effects of safety climate on safety norm violations: exploring the mediating role of attitudinal ambivalence toward personal protective equipment

Problem

Research on the role of organizational and psychosocial factors in influencing risk behaviors and the likelihood of injury at work showed that safety climate also has great impact on workers’ behavior. However, the mechanisms through which this impact operates are still partially unclear.

Method

In order to explore the role that attitudinal ambivalence toward wearing PPE might play in mediating the impact of safety climate on safety norm violations, a questionnaire was administered to 345 Italian workers.

Results

Three dimensions of safety climate (i.e., company safety concern, senior managers’ safety concern, supervisors’ attitudes towards safety) were found to be positively associated with the individual ambivalence level, whereas the fourth one (i.e., work pressure) was negatively correlated with it. In turn, low levels of ambivalence were associated with a lower tendency to break the safety norms, even though the perception of a good safety climate also maintained a direct effect on unsafe behaviors.

Impact on industry

Designers of training program for the prevention of work related injuries must pay great attention to the psycho-social factors (such as the effects of the safety climate perception by employees on their attitudes and behaviors), and include specific contents into the prevention programs in order to improve workers compliance with safety norms.     

连续长坡路段驾驶员心率与平曲线半径关系研究

为研究公路连续长坡路段驾驶员心率与曲线半径的关系,提高行车安全,选取9名驾驶员进行实际道路试验.用多导生理记录仪采集驾驶员的心率数据,按上、下坡方向将试验路段的每个曲线划分为7个位置,分别对上、下坡方向每个位置驾驶员的心率增长率和曲线半径的关系进行回归分析,建立相应的模型,并对每个位置的模型进行分析,提出合理的曲线半径设置建议.综合上、下坡方向各位置的曲线半径研究结论提出合理的曲线半径取值建议,公路连续长坡路段曲线半径在r≥900 m和200 m≤r≤300 m内取值.     

Rating the Aggressivity of Australian Passenger Vehicles Towards Other Vehicle Occupants and Unprotected Road Users

Two measures of aggressivity of Australian passenger vehicles have been developed. The first measures the aggressivity to occupants of other cars. This type of aggressivity rating is based on two-car crashes between passenger vehicles and measures the injury risk each make/model in the collisions poses to the drivers of the other vehicles. The second measures aggressivity to unprotected road users. These aggressivity ratings reflect the threat of severe injury to pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists by die make/model of vehicle colliding with them. This analysis was based on nearly 102,000 drivers involved in tow-away crashes with the makes/models which were the focus of the study and on nearly 22,000 injured pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists. The results suggest that crasbworthiness and aggressivity are two different aspects of a vehicle's safety performance, with good performance on one dimension not necessarily being associated with good performance on the other.     

The use of technology to address patterns of risk among teenage drivers

INTRODUCTION: The crash risk of teens is high, with fatal crash rates of teen drivers higher than any other age group. New approaches to reduce teen traffic fatalities are clearly needed. METHOD: A possible approach to reduce the incidence of teen driver crashes and fatalities is through the use of vehicle-based intelligent driver support systems. To be most effective, the system should address the behaviors associated with an overwhelming number of teen fatal crashes: speed, low seatbelt use, and alcohol impairment. In-vehicle technology also offers an opportunity to address the issue of inexperience through enforcement of certain Graduated Driver's License provisions. RESULTS: To fully understand the capability of such technologies, there should be a concerted effort to further their development, and human factors testing should take place to understand their effects on the driver. IMPACT: If successfully implemented, a Teen Driver Support System (TDSS), such as the one described here, could significantly decrease the number of teens killed in traffic crashes.     

煤矿安全状况随社会经济发展演化规律研究

利用安全效用原理系统地阐述煤矿安全生产投入产出理论,并借助安全经济学知识建立一个国家或地区的煤矿安全状况演化规律的理论模型。从理论上阐明煤矿安全状况演化的本质规律,并运用发达国家的安全生产发展历程的统计数据对该模型进行实证分析,同时通过该模型系统地反映我国现阶段安全生产与经济发展的关系。笔者认为:中央直属煤矿和地方重点煤矿基本上服从演化规律,但仍需要加大安全投入力度,乡镇煤矿近几年有偏离规律曲线的趋势;建议社会经济迅速发展阶段提高安全意识,加大安全投入,积极采取有效措施,把煤矿事故控制在可接受范围之内。     

Restraint use in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Objectives: This study set out to examine seat belt and child restraint use in the Dammam Municipality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, based on the premise that an increase in seat belt use would significantly reduce personal injury in traffic crashes. It was expected that local data would help identify intervention strategies necessary to improve seat belt use in the region.

Methods: The research involved 2 methodologies. First, 1,389 face-to-face interviews were conducted with male and female adults in regional shopping plazas regarding their own and their children's restraint use in their vehicles and reasons for these attitudes and beliefs. Second, 2 on-road observation studies of adult and child restraint use were conducted by trained observers. Occupants of approximately 5,000 passenger vehicles were observed while stopped at representative signalized traffic intersections.

Results: The findings showed front seat belt use rates of between 43 and 47% for drivers and 26 to 30% for front seat passengers; rear seat belt use rates were lower. While there seemed to be some knowledge about the purpose and reasons for restraining both adults and children in suitable restraints, this failed to be confirmed in the on-road observations.

Conclusions: Reasons for these rates and findings are discussed fully, and recommendations for improving seat belt use in the Dammam Municipality are included.     

Young females' attention toward road safety images: An ERP study of the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory

Objective: This study examined whether reward and punishment sensitivities, as conceptualized by Gray and McNaughton's revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST), influenced young female drivers' attention toward a series of positive and negative antispeeding advertisement images. Young females' increasing crash risk is associated with their engagement in risky behaviors, which, in turn, has been associated with a stronger behavioral approach system (BAS; sensitive to rewards). It was predicted that individuals with a stronger BAS would elicit larger N100 and N200 mean amplitudes (reflecting greater attention) toward the positive images. Similar associations were predicted in relation to the fight–flight–freeze system (FFFS; sensitive to punishments) for negative images.

Method: Twenty-four female drivers (17–25 years; final N = 16) completed Corr-Cooper's RST-Personality Questionnaire, prior to undergoing an event-related potential computerized visual task (i.e., oddball paradigm) that included positive, negative, and neutral images as targets against checkerboard image distractors.

Results: Contrary to expectations, individuals with a stronger BAS (Reward Reactivity and Impulsivity) demonstrated significantly larger N200 mean amplitudes at the Cz electrode site on presentation of the negative images than those with a weaker BAS. No other significant RST effects were found.

Conclusions: These findings provide some preliminary objective support for the use of negative emotion-based road safety advertisements for young females. Further, this study provides support for using psychophysiological measures to enhance understanding of traffic injury persuasion.     

The relationship between perceived risk of being ticketed and self-reported seat belt use

PROBLEM: Twenty-nine percent of Americans failed to use their seat belts in 2000. Efforts to improve safety belt usage can be enhanced by identifying specific factors that motivate belt use. METHOD: Motorist survey data were used to examine the effect of Perceived Risk of being Ticketed (PRT) for a seat belt infraction on self-reported seat belt use. RESULTS: Analyses indicated that individuals and groups of individuals who have higher PRT typically report higher belt usage. Factorial analyses indicated that this perceived risk to belt use relationship holds both within groups with generally high (e.g., upper income) and generally low (e.g. young men) overall self-reported belt use. DISCUSSION: Applications of PRT to improve seat belt use are discussed. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Enforcement of existing laws, perhaps through selective traffic enforcement programs, and strengthening laws to create a higher perception of being ticketed by motorists should increase safety belt use thereby saving lives and reducing cost for individuals, government, and industry.     

Investigation of seat belt use among the drivers of different education levels

Seat belt use habit has been investigated according to the education level of drivers. Copies of a questionnaire were distributed to 1000 participants of four different education levels. Factors such as seat belt usage habit, restricting factors and crash data have been investigated. Data have been analyzed with SPSS 15.0 software. Increased level of education leads to increased seat belt usage, lower numbers of crashes and crash severities. The factors restricting seat belt use are lack of habit, discomfort and short distance driving. The use of precaution signal and increases in comfort can increase seat belt usage. The primary and high school education on traffic safety and seat belt usage has been serving the purpose.