Comparison of epidemiology and injury profile between vulnerable road users and motor vehicle occupants in road traffic fatalities

Pedestrians and motorcyclists are vulnerable road users, being over represented in road traffic collisions (RTCs). One assumed benefit of road lighting is a reduction in RTCs after dark by countering the impairment to the visual detection of hazards that occur after dark. One way to optimise the use of road lighting is to light only those sections of road where light level, and hence visibility, is an important factor. The current study used change in ambient light level on RTCs to investigate those situations where improved vision is likely to have significant impact, and therefore the situations where road lighting is of better cost-benefit effectiveness. For both motorcyclist and pedestrian RTCs there was a significant increase in overall RTC risk in darkness compared to daylight, indicating that there may be an overall benefit of road lighting. While darkness was a particular detriment at junctions for motorcyclists and on high-speed roads for pedestrians, road lighting may not be effective mitigation in either case and therefore alternative ways of increasing conspicuity should be considered.

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Does a “Cushion Effect” Really Exist? A Morphomic Analysis of Vulnerable Road Users with Serious Blunt Abdominal Injury

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9081006 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 1006

Author(s):

Yu-San Tee ◽

Chi-Tung Cheng ◽

Chi-Hsun Hsieh ◽

Shih-Ching Kang ◽

Chih-Yuan Fu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multivariate Analysis ◽

Visceral Fat ◽

Motor Vehicle ◽

Subcutaneous Fat ◽

Abdominal Injury ◽

Visceral Fat Area ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Road Users ◽

Severity Of Injury ◽

Vulnerable Road Users

Introduction: The severity of injury from motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) depends on complex biomechanical factors, and the bodily features of the injured person account for some of these factors. By assuming that vulnerable road users (VRUs) have limited protection resulting from vehicles and safety equipment, the current study analyzed the characteristics of fat distribution measured by computed tomography (CT) imaging and investigated the existence of a “cushion effect” in VRUs. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 592 VRUs involved in MVCs who underwent CT scans. Visceral fat area and subcutaneous fat cross-sectional area were measured and adjusted according to total body area (TBA) and are presented as the visceral fat ratio and the subQ fat ratio (subcutaneous fat ratio). Risk factors for serious abdominal injury (maximum abbreviated injury scale (MAISabd ≥ 3)) resulting from MVCs were determined by univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: MAISabd ≥ 3 was observed in 104 (17.6%) of the patients. The subQ fat ratio at the L4 vertebral level was significantly lower in the MAISabd ≥ 3 group than in the MAISabd < 3 group (24.9 ± 12.0 vs. 28.1 ± 11.9%; p = 0.015). A decreased L4 subQ fat ratio was associated with a higher risk for MAISabd ≥ 3 in multivariate analysis (odds ratio 0.063; 95% CI 0.008–0.509; p = 0.009). Conclusion: The current study supported the “cushion effect” theory, and protection was apparently provided by subcutaneous fat tissue. This concept may further improve vehicle and safety designation in the future.

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Road traffic-related deaths among vulnerable road users. Argentina, 1980 - 2007

Injury Prevention ◽

10.1136/ip.2010.029215.475 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 16 (Supplement 1) ◽

pp. A132-A133

Author(s):

C. Ubeda ◽

V. Espitia ◽

R. Peltzer ◽

A. Perinetti

Keyword(s):

Road Traffic ◽

Road Users ◽

Vulnerable Road Users

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Penegakan Hukum Undang Undang Nomor 22 Tahun 2009 Tentang Lalu Lintas dan Angkutan Jalan Terhadap Pengendara Anak Usia Sekolah di Wilayah Kota Malang (Studi Kasus Pada Satuan Lalu Lintas POLRESTA Malang)

Airlangga Development Journal ◽

10.20473/adj.v1i2.18016 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 119

Author(s):

Firman Widyaputra*

Keyword(s):

Motor Vehicle ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Motor Vehicles ◽

Road Transportation ◽

The Road ◽

Sociological Approach ◽

Road Users ◽

Community Behavior ◽

Socio Economic Development ◽

The City

The condition of transportation as one of the pillars of the movement of people from one place to another safely, comfortably, quickly, cheaply in accordance with the environment, with the increasing growth rate of motor vehicles (four-wheeled and two-wheeled) is not balanced with the physical road, so that more dense road transportation, especially in the city, with the socio-economic development of the community will affect parents who provide concessions to their children who have not met the age of driving a motor vehicle, especially two wheels. Thus it will affect the road traffic and will result in the occurrence of violations and accidents. The approach to be used is a normative juridical approach or statutory approach, namely research that examines laws relating to road traffic and transportation in accordance with Law No. 22/2009 concerning Traffic and Road Transportation. In addition to this approach, the authors also carried out a sociological approach which can empirically be known symptoms of changes in community behavior towards social development in society related to road users in Malang. Existence in legislation relating to road users in traffic can be obeyed and minimize the occurrence of violations, crime, safety and comfort, and accidents. Thus the violation of the law will be reduced and order will be well realized.

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Towards Safer Rides: Measuring Motorcycle Dynamics with Smartphones

10.26128/2020.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Maximilian Stanglmayr ◽

◽

Maximilian Bäumler ◽

Keyword(s):

Measurement System ◽

Inertial Sensors ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Low Cost ◽

Measurement Data ◽

Smartphone App ◽

High Precision Measurement ◽

Road Users ◽

Vulnerable Road Users ◽

Motorcycle Dynamics

Motorcyclists are among the most vulnerable road users in road traffic. Often, the cause of accidents is a loss of control on rural roads which could be averted by making use of the physical potential in terms of larger lean angles. At the same time, in reality driven lean angles over a larger group of riders and a longer route are unknown which is mainly due to the special measuring technology required. The focus is therefore on the development of a low-cost measurement method for measuring the lean angles of motorcycles. Smartphones are usually characterized by integrated inertial sensors, which are suitable for the acquisition of motorcycle driving dynamics. Employing a smartphone app tailored to the requirements for collecting measurement data on the motorcycle, the data of the sensors are recorded. During the offline evaluation, the rotation angles between the smartphone and the motorcycle coordinate system are determined, the inertial measurement data are transformed and the roll angle is calculated. An essential part is the alignment of the developed measurement chain with a high-precision measurement system. This was carried out on different routes and thus the data quality was determined. As a feasibility study, a test person study with several participants was carried out, which confirmed the practical suitability of the measurement chain. Hence, the study outcomes are briefly shown and discussed. The successful validation on different routes, the practical suitability of the data acquisition and the accuracy of the measurement system encourage to roll out the smartphone app to a larger panel of test persons and thus to collect data on a larger driver collective.

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Method for Pedestrian Crossing Risk Assessment and Safety Level Determination: the Case Study of Tallinn

Libro de Actas CIT2016. XII Congreso de Ingeniería del Transporte ◽

10.4995/cit2016.2016.4124 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Maria Pashkevich ◽

Anna Krasilnikova ◽

Dago Antov

Keyword(s):

Traffic Accidents ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Risk Level ◽

Safety Level ◽

Road Users ◽

Vulnerable Road Users ◽

Pedestrian Crossing ◽

The City ◽

Traffic Measurements

Pedestrians are a part of vulnerable road users which safety requires a special attention. Official statistics in Estonia from the last decade returns the following numbers: around 30 % of all road traffic accidents in the country were accidents with pedestrians, 32 % of all traffic fatalities were finished with pedestrian death. Pedestrian crossing has the biggest risk level between all kinds of pedestrian facilities, because it includes a direct conflict point between vehicle and pedestrian traffics. The article presents a method to assess risk of pedestrian crossing users and to determine safety level of this road infrastructure element. This approach is based on observation and collection of infrastructural as well as traffic data, which includes: (1) information about each pedestrian crossing facility, its location and state, (2) data about accidents with pedestrians and their features, (3) data from road traffic measurements. The main advantages of the described method are universality and comprehensiveness. The case study was done in Kristiine district of the city Tallinn, which was chosen as the most typical average district of Estonian capital. Results of this study are also presented in the article.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/CIT2016.2016.4124

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Does a “Cushion Effect” Really Exist? A Morphomic Analysis of Vulnerable Road Users with Serious Blunt Abdominal Injury

10.21203/rs.3.rs-354841/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yu-San Tee ◽

Chi-Tung Cheng ◽

Chi-Hsun Hsieh ◽

Shih-Ching Kang ◽

CHIH-YUAN FU ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multivariate Analysis ◽

Visceral Fat ◽

Motor Vehicle ◽

Subcutaneous Fat ◽

The Body ◽

Abdominal Injury ◽

Visceral Fat Area ◽

Road Users ◽

Severity Of Injury ◽

Vulnerable Road Users

Abstract Background: The severity of injury from motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) depends on complex biomechanical factors, and the body features of the injured person account for some of these factors. By assuming that vulnerable road users (VRU) have limited protection resulting from vehicle and safety equipment, the current study analyzed the characteristics of fat distribution measured by computed tomography (CT) imaging and investigated the existence of a “Cushion effect” in VRU.Materials and Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 592 VRU involved in MVCs who underwent CT scans. Visceral fat area and subcutaneous fat cross-sectional area were measured and adjusted according to total body area (TBA) and are presented as the visceral fat ratio and the subQ fat ratio (subcutaneous fat ratio). Risk factors for serious abdominal injury [maximum abbreviated injury scale (MAISabd ≥ 3)] resulting from MVCs were determined by univariate and multivariate analysis.Results: MAISabd ≥ 3 was observed in 104 (17.6%) of the patients. The SubQ fat ratio at the L4 vertebral level was significantly lower in the MAISabd ≥ 3 group than in the MAISabd < 3 group (24.9 ± 12.0 vs 28.1 ± 11.9%; p=0.015). A decreased L4 subQ fat ratio was associated with a higher risk for MAISabd ≥ 3 in multivariate analysis (odds ratio 0.063; 95% CI 0.008-0.509; p = 0.009).Conclusion: The current study supported the “Cushion effect” theory, and protection was apparently provided by subcutaneous fat tissue. This concept may further improve vehicle and safety designation in the future.

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SafeRoadMaps: Communication of Location and Density of Traffic Fatalities through Spatial Visualization and Heat Map Analysis

Information Visualization ◽

10.1057/ivs.2010.14 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 82-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Brian N. Hilton ◽

Thomas A. Horan ◽

Richard Burkhard ◽

Benjamin Schooley

Keyword(s):

Motor Vehicle ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Safety Information ◽

Geographic Location ◽

The United States ◽

Transportation Safety ◽

Spatial Density ◽

Traffic Fatalities ◽

Road Transportation ◽

Rural And Urban

Road traffic injuries are the number one, non-disease-related, cause of death in the world; more than 1.2 million people die each year on the roads, and between 20 and 50 million sustain non-fatal injuries. In 2008, in the United States, there were 37 261 motor vehicle fatalities – the result of 34 017 motor vehicle crashes. Clearly, there is an urgent need for governmental agencies, and other key institutions, to increase and sustain action to prevent motor vehicle injuries. This article reports on the iterative development of SafeRoadMaps, a publicly accessible system for presenting accident frequencies and characteristics based on geographic location ( www.saferoadmaps.org ). The system was developed to visually communicate and allow analysis of public health issues related to rural and urban road transportation safety. One of the distinctive features of this online system is the use of ‘heat maps’ as a visual means for communicating the spatial density of traffic fatalities. The article begins with a review of the action research design approach utilized for the analysis, design and implementation of this system, continues with an overview of the system and its visualization methods to communicate safety information to travelers and other stakeholders, and concludes with a summary of findings from end-user feedback, including the system's potential to raise user awareness and affect driving behavior.

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Study on Hazard Perception of Malaysian Drivers

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.663.644 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 663 ◽

pp. 644-648

Author(s):

Syed Tarmizi Syed Shazali ◽

Anand Selvam ◽

Zamri Bujang

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Road Accident ◽

Hazard Perception ◽

Novice Drivers ◽

Road Users ◽

Driving Skill ◽

Accident Causation ◽

Vulnerable Road Users ◽

Causes Of Deaths

Road accident is one of the top ten causes of deaths around the world. Malaysia is not an exception as in the year 2007 there were 6282 road traffic fatalities and 21363 non-fatal road traffic injuries. Research on hazard perception skill of drivers in recent years shows that the driving skill is a mian factor of accident causation and accident prevention. A video-based hazard perception test and questionnaires were used to study the effect of experience, type of hazards, and type of driving settings to the hazard perception skill of Malaysian drivers. The findings of the study shows that in general experienced drivers have better hazard perception than novice drivers, and experience in road accident contributes toward the development of hazard perception more significantly among novice drivers. The study also shows that both driver groups have slowest perception on hazards caused by vulnerable road users. Drivers also perceive hazards faster in rural areas compared to residential and city areas.

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