The safest seat: effect of seating position on occupant mortality

INTRODUCTION: This study investigated the survival rates of occupants of passenger cars involved in a fatal crash between 2000 and 2003. METHODS: The information from every fatal crash in the United States between 2000 and 2003 was analyzed. Variables such as seat position, point of impact, rollover, restraint use, vehicle type, vehicle weight, occupant age, and injury severity were extracted from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Univariate and a full logistic multivariate model analyses were performed. RESULTS: The data show that the rear middle seat is safer than any other occupant position when involved in a fatal crash. Overall, the rear (2(nd) row) seating positions have a 29.1% (Univariate Analysis, p<.0001, OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.22 - 1.37) increased odds of survival over the first row seating positions and the rear middle seat has a 25% (Univariate Analysis, p<.0001, OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.17 - 1.34) increased odds of survival over the other rear seat positions. After correcting for potential confounders, occupants of the rear middle seat have a 13% (Logistic Regression, p<.001, 95% CI 1.02 - 1.26) increased chance of survival when involved in a crash with a fatality than occupants in other rear seats. CONCLUSION: This study has shown that the safest position for any occupant involved in a motor-vehicle crash is the rear middle seat. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The results of this research may impact how automobile manufacturers look at future rear middle seat designs. If the rear seat was to be designed exactly like its outboard counterparts (headrest, armrests, lap and shoulder belt, etc.) people may choose to sit on it more often rather than waiting to use it out of necessity due to multiple rear seat occupants.     

Critical infrastructures and responsibility: A conceptual exploration

In this article some considerations are presented as a starting point for judging responsibility for infrastructural systems from a moral point of view. Infrastructural systems are essential for present day high-tech society. Without good working infrastructural systems people would hardly be able to survive. The importance and relevance of good working critical infrastructures for states and other public authorities are illustrated with some examples. Next, the meaning of the concept of responsibility in relation to infrastructural systems is developed. Outcome responsibility and remedial responsibility – developed in philosophy of law and political philosophy – are elaborated as useful concepts for dealing with responsibilities in infrastructural systems. This analysis is applied to the players on the infrastructural field: governments and other public authorities, non-state institutional actors and last but not least individual agents. In a last paragraph some conclusions are drawn, which can be applied for apportioning responsibility for infrastructures in practice.     

Comments on explosion problems for hydrogen safety

The future widespread use of hydrogen as an energy carrier brings in safety issues that have to be addressed before public acceptance can be achieved. The prediction of the consequences of a major accident release of hydrogen into the atmosphere or the contamination of high-pressure hydrogen storage facilities by air entrainment requires a good knowledge of the explosion parameters of hydrogen–air mixtures. The present paper reviews and comments on the current knowledge of dynamic parameters of hydrogen detonation for hazard assessment. The major problem that remains to be resolved involves the understanding of the effect of turbulence on the cellular detonation structure, the propagation of high-speed deflagrations and the transition from deflagration to detonations. It is recommended that future research should be aimed towards experiments that permit the quantitative understanding of the mechanisms of high-speed turbulent combustion rather towards large-scale tests in complex geometries where minimal quantitative information of fundamental significance could be extracted. In spite of its wide flammability and sensitivity to ignition and detonation initiation, it is felt that hydrogen can be produced, stored and handled safely with the appropriate considerations in the design of the hydrogen facilities.     

Partial stroke testing of process shutdown valves: How to determine the test coverage

Partial stroke testing (PST) has recently been introduced as a semi-automatic means to test process shutdown valves. Normally, this type of testing does not disturb the process and can detect many of the failures that traditionally have been revealed only by functional testing. The fraction of all dangerous failures that are detected by PST is called the PST coverage and is decisive for the effectiveness of the PST. So far, limited guidance on how to determine the PST coverage has been given. This paper discusses the application and limitations of PST and suggests a new procedure for how to determine the PST coverage factor.     

试论煤矿职工的自我保护

就煤矿职工的自我保护从涵义、重要性和基本要求进行论述,并提出加强和提高自我保护工作的措施。     

德兴铜矿2号尾矿库安全管理经验

从4个部分介绍了德兴铜矿2号尾矿库生产运行情况,安全管理的一些具体做法。并针对生产中存在的问题进行了剖析、总结,取得了一些经验,对后期堆坝的设计、管理工作也具有一定的指导意义。     

21世纪中国安全减灾战略问题新论——兼议国家“十五”计划应纳入安全减灾问题的思考

中国正处于社会经济全面高速发展阶段,２１ 世纪仍将面临不同程度的自然灾害及人为事故的影响。虽然,在１９９９ 年即联合国“国际减灾十年”的最后一年召开了日内瓦“世界减灾大会”,并通过了一系列宣言及声明,但笔者认为,同近十年兴起的环境保护科学与管理相比,中国在灾害及事故的预测预报、规划战略、科技管理、文化教育诸方面尚有不少差距。为此,就其重要方面作一论述,并对国家“十五”计划未纳入安全减灾目标提出建议,以期引起科技界、决策管理界的关注。     

事故致因理论综述

对系统安全科学的基本原理－事故致因理论进行了回顾,介绍了当前国际上在事故致因理论上的主要观点,对他们的见解进行了评价,并对事故致因理论的未来发展进行展望。     

适应钝感弹药发展提高武器系统使用的安全性

为了适应钝感弹药发展的需求,利用冲击波汇聚技术和起爆理论,研究了环形、锥环形两种新型传爆药装药结构。试验表明,环形传爆药较圆柱形传爆药可减少药量约１５％ ,锥环形传爆药较圆柱形传爆药可减少药量约２６％ 。研究结果对于减少武器爆炸序列中敏感元件——传爆药的使用数量,进而提高武器系统使用安全性具有重要意义     

铁路轮渡工程安全设计中应考虑的几个问题

通过对粤海铁路通道——琼州海峡铁路轮渡工程的安全评价,阐述了适合于我国海峡及内河铁路轮渡码头工程的建设方案,对铁路轮渡码头工程设计中及运营中可能出现的危险进行了探讨和分析,提出了铁路轮渡工程安全设计中应重点加以考虑的问题和相应的安全措施。