Socio-demographic and trauma-related predictors of depression within eight weeks of motor vehicle collision in the AURORA study

Background This is the first report on the association between trauma exposure and depression from the Advancing Understanding of RecOvery afteR traumA(AURORA) multisite longitudinal study of adverse post-traumatic neuropsychiatric sequelae (APNS) among participants seeking emergency department (ED) treatment in the aftermath of a traumatic life experience. Methods We focus on participants presenting at EDs after a motor vehicle collision (MVC), which characterizes most AURORA participants, and examine associations of participant socio-demographics and MVC characteristics with 8-week depression as mediated through peritraumatic symptoms and 2-week depression. Results Eight-week depression prevalence was relatively high (27.8%) and associated with several MVC characteristics (being passenger v. driver; injuries to other people). Peritraumatic distress was associated with 2-week but not 8-week depression. Most of these associations held when controlling for peritraumatic symptoms and, to a lesser degree, depressive symptoms at 2-weeks post-trauma. Conclusions These observations, coupled with substantial variation in the relative strength of the mediating pathways across predictors, raises the possibility of diverse and potentially complex underlying biological and psychological processes that remain to be elucidated in more in-depth analyses of the rich and evolving AURORA database to find new targets for intervention and new tools for risk-based stratification following trauma exposure.

Estimating transport safety of propane-butane mixture with event and fault trees and probability methods

The threat of people as a result of delivery vehicle fire handling 11 kg and 33 kg bottles with propane-butane, due to leakage of these bottles was estimated. The probability of unsealing LPG bottles with gas during the year at loading, unloading and transport operations in carrier trade company was determined. Partial and total risk of serious driver injuries and the risk of death in the event of a fire in open load-carrying body of the car and tire damage was estimated. The risk assessment uses the methods of the event and fault tree as well as the probabilistic method.

Injury Severity of Truck Drivers in Crashes at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings in the United States

The physical and operational characteristics of large trucks distinguish them from other types of vehicles in terms of facility design needs and safety requirements. A critical node in the surface transportation network is the highway-rail grade crossing (HRGC) because it represents a conflict point between different modes of transportation. The focus of this research was to identify factors related to different injury severity levels of truck/truck-trailer drivers in crashes reported at HRGCs. This study utilized a mixed logit model to investigate injury severity of those drivers and relied on 2007–2014 Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) crash and inventory data involving trucks/truck-trailers. Results showed that truck/truck-trailer drivers’ injuries in crashes reported at HRGCs were positively associated with train speed, when train struck the road user (truck/truck-trailer), when the driver “went around crossing gates”, older drivers, crashes reported in rural areas, and crashes at crossings with a minimum crossing angle of 60–90 degrees. Presence of crossbucks, gates, track obstructions, and HRGCs located within 500 feet of a highway were associated with relatively less severe driver injuries. The paper provides recommendations for safety improvements at HRGCs and recommendations for future research.

A multibody approach applied to the study of driver injuries due to a narrow-track wheeled tractor rollover

This paper proposes the use of the multibody approach to evaluate the severity of the injuries to the driver associated with rollover of an agricultural tractor. A simple rollover accident of a narrow-track wheeled tractor was simulated in the multibody-FEM Madymo environment and the biomechanical damage to the operator with and without 2-point pelvic restraint was analysed. The structure of the tractor was considered to be unbendable, whereas i) infinitely rigid, ii) clay-based and iii) sand-based soils have been studied. The obtained results highlight the important role played by the seat belt in confining the farm operator within the safety volume maintained by the rollover protective structure (ROPS) of the tractor so that the injuries are reduced. The deformation of the soil produces lower acceleration and velocity values than those obtained with a rigid soil. On the other hand, as soil plastic deformations increase, the penetration of ROPS into the soil also increases, thus reducing the safety volume of the tractor and increasing the probability of interactions between the operator and the soil.

Injury Risk Posed by Side Impact of Nontracking Vehicles into Guardrails

Side impact is one of the most dangerous types of guardrail crashes. Of particular concern is a nontracking vehicle sliding sideways into a guardrail end treatment. This study investigated the issue of end terminal-side crashes with the use of a data set of 142 guardrail crashes extracted from the National Automotive Sampling System–Crashworthiness Data System. Side crashes involving an end terminal were substantially over-represented in driver injuries. End terminal contact occurred in about 25% of all guardrail-side crashes but represented almost 70% of driver injuries. Terminals that were noncompliant with NCHRP Report 350 were roughly five times as likely as compliant designs to cause serious crash injury. Collisions with terminals were also about twice as likely to initiate rollover compared with collisions with the length-of-need section of the guardrail. When injuries caused by rollovers, unbelted drivers, and driver ejections were accounted for, the risk presented by terminal contact was accentuated, as was the difference between cars, light trucks, and vans in terminal impacts.