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RESUMO Objetivo. Identificar a tendência temporal da mortalidade e dos anos de vida perdidos por morte ou incapacidade (DALY) de homens por acidente motociclístico na América Latina e Caribe no período de 2010 a 2019, utilizando estimativas do estudo Global Burden of Disease (GBD). Métodos. Este estudo ecológico analisou a série temporal pelo modelo de regressão linear segmentada (joinpoint), estimando-se e testando-se a variação percentual anual e a variação percentual anual média, com intervalo de confiança de 95%. Resultados. A grande região da América Latina e Caribe definida pelo GBD ocupou o primeiro lugar global em mortalidade e DALY de motociclistas homens de 15 a 49 anos em 2019. As taxas aumentaram significativamente de 2010 a 2013, havendo redução significativa de ambas após esse período. Durante a década analisada, a sub-região da América Latina Tropical (Brasil e Paraguai) apresentou as maiores taxas de mortalidade e DALY na população em estudo, porém foi a única com redução significativa das mesmas; a sub-região do Caribe (Bermudas, Dominica, Suriname, Guiana, Belize, Bahamas, Porto Rico, Santa Lúcia, República Dominicana, Haiti, São Cristóvão e Névis, Ilhas Virgens/EUA, Granada, Trinidad e Tobago, Barbados, São Vicente e Granadinas, Antígua e Barbuda, Cuba e Jamaica) apresentou aumento significativo de ambas as taxas, enquanto América Latina Andina (Equador, Bolívia e Peru) e América Latina Central (Colômbia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, México, Nicarágua, Panamá, Honduras e Venezuela) permaneceram estáveis. Conclusões. Os dados reforçam a importância das ações de vigilância destinadas à prevenção de acidentes motociclísticos, uma vez que os resultados de queda nas taxas ainda são insuficientes frente à morbimortalidade no trânsito como problema de saúde pública.
ABSTRACT Objective. To identify the temporal trend in mortality and years of life lost to death or disability (DALY) due to motorcycle accidents in males from Latin America and the Caribbean from 2010 to 2019, using estimates produced by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. Method. In this ecological study, the time series was analyzed using a piecewise linear regression model (joinpoint) to estimate and test the annual percent change and the average annual percent change with a 95% confidence interval. Results. The super-region defined by GBD 2019 as Latin America and the Caribbean ranked first globally in mortality and DALY for male motorcyclists aged 15-49 in 2019. Rates increased significantly from 2010 to 2013, with a significant reduction in both after this period. During the analyzed decade, the Tropical Latin America sub-region (Brazil and Paraguay) had the highest mortality and DALY rates in the population of interest; nevertheless, this was the only sub-region achieving a significant reduction in these rates. The Caribbean sub-region (Bermuda, Dominica, Suriname, Guyana, Belize, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, U.S. Virgin Islands, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba e Jamaica) showed a significant increase in both rates over the same period, while Andean Latin America (Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru) and Central Latin America (Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Honduras, and Venezuela) remained stable. Conclusions. The data underscore the importance of developing surveillance actions aimed at preventing motorcycle accidents, since the observed declining rates are still insufficient to address the morbidity and mortality associated with road accidents as a public health problem.
RESUMEN Objetivo. Determinar la tendencia temporal de la mortalidad y los años de vida perdidos por muerte o ajustados por discapacidad (AVAD) de hombres por accidentes de motocicleta en América Latina y el Caribe en el período 2010-2019, a partir de las estimaciones del estudio de la carga mundial de enfermedades (CME). Métodos. En este estudio ecológico se analizaron las series temporales mediante el modelo de regresión lineal segmentada (joinpoint), con cálculo y comprobación del cambio porcentual anual y del cambio porcentual anual promedio, con un intervalo de confianza del 95%. Resultados. La región de América Latina y el Caribe definida por el estudio de la CME ocupó el primer lugar a nivel mundial en mortalidad y AVAD de motociclistas varones de 15 a 49 años en el 2019. Las tasas tuvieron un notable aumento del 2010 al 2013, y ambas registraron una reducción importante después de ese período. En la década analizada, la subregión de América Latina Tropical (Brasil y Paraguay) presentó las mayores tasas de mortalidad y de AVAD en la población de estudio, pero fue la única con una reducción importante de las mismas. La subregión del Caribe (Antigua y Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belice, Bermudas, Cuba, Dominica, Granada, Guyana, Haití, Islas Vírgenes de Estados Unidos, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, República Dominicana, Saint Kits y Nevis, San Vicente y las Granadinas, Santa Lucía, Suriname, y Trinidad y Tabago) mostró un aumento importante de ambas tasas, mientras que América Latina Andina (Bolivia, Ecuador y Perú) y América Latina Central (Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Nicaragua, Panamá y Venezuela) se mantuvieron estables. Conclusiones. Los datos refuerzan la importancia de las actividades de vigilancia destinadas a prevenir los accidentes de motocicleta, puesto que la reducción observada de las tasas aún es insuficiente para abordar la morbimortalidad por accidentes de tráfico como problema de salud pública.
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Introducción: En Colombia mueren anualmente alrededor de 7000 personas por accidentes de tránsito y otras resultan gravemente heridas, con más de 30 000 lesionados en 2018. Estas cifras reflejan un problema de salud pública, lo que hace necesario generar un proceso de concienciación para lograr un cambio de actitud en todos los actores viales, así como incrementar el conocimiento de las personas respecto a la movilización y las señales de tránsito. Objetivo: Determinar el impacto de un programa educativo en conocimiento vial en la adopción de actitudes seguras hacia el tránsito y la movilidad en escolares de 11 a 14 años de Barranquilla, Colombia. Materiales y métodos: La investigación está estructurada en un diseño de preprueba, posprueba con grupo de comparación con mediciones a través de dos escalas: una escala de actitudes de los estudiantes en relación con la seguridad vial y un segundo instrumento que evalúa conocimientos respecto a las normas de tránsito y la movilidad. Resultados: Se encontró que existen diferencias significativas entre los niños que tuvieron la experiencia educativa en relación con las normas y señales de tránsito. Conclusiones: La educación vial se muestra como una estrategia positiva en la formación de actitudes seguras en relación con la normativa de tránsito y movilidad.
Introduction: In Colombia, 7,000 people, in average, die every year from traffic accidents and others are seriously injured, with more than 30,000 injured in 2018. These figures reflect a public health problem, which makes it necessary to generate an awareness process to achieve change in attitude in all road actors, as well as increasing people's knowledge regarding mobilization and traffic signs. Objective: To determine the impact of an educational program on road knowledge in the adoption of safe attitudes towards traffic and mobility in schoolchildren aged 11 to 14 years from Barranquilla, Colombia. Materials and methods: This research is structured in a pre-test and post-test design with a comparison group with measurements through two scales: a scale of students' attitudes in relation to road safety, and a second instrument that assesses knowledge regarding traffic regulations and mobility. Results: It was found that there are significant differences between the children who had the educational experience in relation to traffic rules and signs. Conclusions: Road safety education is shown as a positive strategy in the formation of safe attitudes in relation to traffic and mobility regulations.
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Background: Injuries due to road traffic injuries (RTIs) depend upon various factors that include human, vehicle and environmental factors that plays a vital role before, during and after a fatal vehicular accident. Road traffic injuries involve high human suffering and monetary costs in terms of ultimately deaths, injuries and loss of potential income. Aims and Objective: The aims and objective of study was to study the incidence of death due to road traffic injuries, demographic profile including various contributary factors of victims and vehicles and to analyse the magnitude of deaths.Material & Methods:The present retrospective and cross sectional study was conducted in Forensic Medicine & Toxicology Department, Government Medical College, Amritsar. All the autopsies conducted on road traffic injuries victims during the period from Jan, 2016 to Dec, 2020 were studied. Results:Majority of cases taken up for study were males (80%) followed by females (20%), majority cases belonged to the age group of 21 -30 years (34.72%). The majority of cases (70.61 %)that met with road traffic injury happened at evening time period. Head injury was the cause of death in 42.45% cases followed by 33.88% cases having multiple injuries.Conclusions:Motorization though has enhanced the lives in this era but that has come up with some price. High priority is demanded towards the alarming rate of human loss due to RTIs. Awareness at every level including the strict formation of policies that would prevent such RTIs in future.
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The visual ability of road users is fundamental to traffic safety. Despite the high burden of traffic crashes and associated mortality in low-income countries such as Nigeria, evidence for an association between vision function and traffic safety outcomes is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the visual acuity of commercial motorcyclists operating within the main campus of Abia State University, Uturu. Two hundred operators who had been on the job for at least one year constituted the test population, while staff and students of Abia State University, Uturu, who were sex and aged-matched and who are not commercial motor cyclists constituted the control group. Data were obtained with the aid of a structured questionnaire and clinical examinations were carried out by standard procedures. Results showed that Snellen抯 fraction which is a indicator of visual acuity for the left eye of control and test groups was recorded as 0.98+- 0.30 and 0.88+- 0.35 respectively and for the right eyes 0.99+- 0.10 and 0.87+- 0.50 respectively. Only 38% of test group had normal visual acuity of 6/6 compared to 73% of control. Visual acuity correlated negatively with age for the left (r = - 0.712) and right (r = - 0.740) eyes as well as with length of service for left (r = -0.623 and right (r = - 0.632) eyes of motorcyclist operators. In conclusion, visual acuity was inversely proportional to age and length of service.
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Introduction@#Mobility in the Philippines has increasingly become a major issue especially with the growing economy of the country. Collisions on the road cannot be entirely avoided; thus, we focus our efforts to reducing road crashes that result in death and serious injuries. To do this, we analyzed road crash patients brought to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). @*Objective@#The study aimed to quantify how crash factors affect length of hospital stay (LOS) of patients brought to PGH, as well as to look for associations between the LOS and demographic and clinical variables. @*Methods@#This is a retrospective study using database of patients admitted in PGH from 2008 to 2017. The study focused on LOS, which was used as the dependent variable for Poisson regression and Kruskal-Wallis H tests. The determinants considered in the study are socio-demographic variables such as age, sex, civil status, victim type, vehicle type, patient classification, and region of incidence, as well as clinical variables such as consult type, outcome of the patient, body parts injured, Glasgow coma score (GCS), among others. @*Results@#We analyzed data of 4979 road crash patients from the PGH database. We found that civil status, age, patient classification, vehicle type, and province were associated with LOS. For the clinical variables, consult type, primary service, outcome of patient, body injuries, GCS and systolic blood pressure were found significant. Poisson regression suggests longer hospital stay for patients with injuries sustained in the head and neck (RR = 1.102, p < 0.001), face (RR = 1.218, p < 0.001), and extremity (RR = 1.673, p < 0.001). @*Conclusion@#Results show that injury sustained in certain parts of the body such as head and neck, face, and extremity significantly affect LOS. Results also show that subgroups within demographic variables affect LOS. There is a need to address the ever-increasing number of road crash patients and implications to length of hospitalization.
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Length of StayABSTRACT
Resumen La inseguridad vial es un tema de interés para la sociedad, por sus implicaciones y consecuencias en cuanto al costo social, económico y en la salud pública. El objetivo del presente estudio fue conocer el nivel de actitudes protectoras hacia la seguridad vial en conductores de la ciudad colombiana de Villavicencio. Para esto se empleó un instrumento de 18 ítems sobre conductas de riesgo, conductas de prevención y emociones en la conducción. La muestra conformada por 1018 conductores fue de disponibilidad. Los resultados muestran una fiabilidad interna alta del instrumento y una estructura factorial de cuatro dimensiones. Además, los hombres, los conductores de taxis y de camionetas, las personas con menor nivel educativo o con estado civil de unión libre, mostraron los niveles más altos de conductas de riesgo y de velocidad excesiva. El nivel de ira al manejar fue mayor en las personas separadas. Si bien condiciones como la edad, el sexo, el estado civil, el nivel de escolaridad y factores como el tipo de vehículo, las fallas técnicas del vehículo, el ambiente y el diseño de las vías públicas influyen, de algún modo, en el comportamiento de los conductores, es, en últimas, el elemento subjetivo en la conducción la variable clave en la explicación de la accidentalidad vial. No obstante, los comportamientos desfavorables hacia la seguridad vial pueden modificarse mediante un programa formativo que se fundamente en un modelo de cambio de actitudes.
Abstract Road insecurity is a topic of interest for society, due to its implications and consequences in terms of social, economic, and public health costs. This paper aimed to determine the level of protective attitudes towards road safety in drivers from Villavicencio, Colombia. For this purpose, an 18-item instrument was used, measuring risk behaviors, preventive behaviors, and emotions while driving. The sample was non-randomized, with 1018 car, bus, motorcycle, taxi, van, or truck drivers. Results showed high internal reliability of the instrument and a factorial structure with four dimensions. Also, male, taxi, and van/truck drivers, people with low educational levels, or with a marital status of free union showed the highest levels of risk behaviors and excessive speed. The anger level while driving was higher for divorced people. Although conditions such as age, sex, marital status, level of education, and factors such as vehicle type, vehicle technical issues, and environment and road design have some influence on drivers' behaviors, it is ultimately the subjective element in driving the key variable explaining road accidents. However, unfavorable road safety behaviors can be modified through a training program based on an attitude change model.
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Resumo: Consideramos a atenção pública voltada à segurança da criança no trânsito tendo por base a abordagem, de inspiração foucaultiana, What's the Problem Represented to Be?, (WPR) de Carol Bacchi. A premissa, neste estudo, reside em utilizar textos de políticas e propostas de políticas visando acessar problematizações por meio das quais somos governados. Seu potencial é relevante para que repensemos ênfases convencionais na definição de agenda e em processos de elaboração de políticas. A WPR sugere que, na internalização do discurso da segurança da criança, o 'problema' do trânsito não é dado a priori, mas produzido também discursivamente no contexto das políticas e propostas de políticas, com efeitos práticos sobre o cotidiano de crianças em aglomerados urbanos.
Resumen: Consideramos la atención pública a la seguridad infantil en el tránsito desde el enfoque inspirado en Foucault ¿Cuál es el problema que representa ser? (WPR) de Carol Bacchi, cuya premisa radica en el uso de textos de políticas y propuestas de políticas para acceder a las problematizaciones a través de las cuales estamos gobernados. Su potencial es relevante para repensar los énfasis convencionales en el establecimiento de la agenda y en los procesos de formulación de políticas. El WPR sugiere que en la internalización del discurso de seguridad de los niños, el "problema" del tránsito no se da a priori, sino que también se produce de manera discursiva en el contexto de políticas y propuestas de políticas con efectos prácticos en la vida cotidiana de los niños en las zonas urbanas.
Abstract We consider public attention to child safety in traffic from the Foucault-inspired approach What's The Problem Represented to Be? (WPR) by Carol Bacchi, whose premise lies in using policy texts and policy proposals to access problematizations through which we are governed. It highlights a potential to rethink conventional emphases in agenda setting and in policy-making processes. The WPR approach suggests that in the internalization of children's safety discourse, the 'problem' of traffic is not given a priori, but is also produced discursively in the context of policies and policy proposals with practical effects on the daily lives of children in urban areas.
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Humans , Male , Female , Child , Public Policy , Security Measures , Accidents, Traffic , ChildABSTRACT
Background: India being a developing country faces a double burden of communicable disease and increasing burden of non-communicable disease like road traffic accidents. The year 2000–2011 was declared “Decade of action for road safety” by the UN General Assembly with a goal to reduce and stabilize road traffic accidents. Age groups from 15 to 19 years and second 5 to 14 years are more commonly exposed to road traffic accidents (RTAs), with this background, the study was focused on school-children. Objectives: The objectives of the study were as follows: (i) To study the sociodemographic profile of the study population and (ii) to study the knowledge, attitude, and practices of road safety rules and regulations among higher secondary school students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 266 higher secondary school students in Lokikere, field practice area of S. S. Institute of Medical Sciences, Davangere. Data were collected using pre-tested questionnaire for a period of 2 months from October 2019 to November 2019. Results: Among 266 students, 97.7% of students have received knowledge from their teacher and 61.2% of higher secondary school students have adequate knowledge and positive attitude regarding road safety rules and regulations, even after 95.5% of students having adequate knowledge of age to attain driving license still 23.4% of them drive vehicle without obtaining license, of which 48.3% drive vehicle without parent’s knowledge and 29% of them have been exposed to RTA. Conclusion: Majority of the students have good knowledge of road safety. Around 95% of the students have adequate knowledge, 61.2% of students have positive attitude regarding road safety rules. About 23% of the students drove vehicles without license, among whom 48.3% drove vehicles without parents knowledge and 29% of them have been exposed to RTA.
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Background: More than 1.2 million deaths occur each year on the world's roads. In India, the number of motor vehicles on the road is increasing with the population and economic growth. It has been estimated that if effective and immediate action is not taken, deaths due to road traffic accidents will become the fifth leading cause of deaths by 2020. Objectives was to assess the level of awareness and behavior regarding road safety rules among undergraduate medical students.Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in a Medical College of western Uttar Pradesh. In the present study 200 final and pre-final year, undergraduate medical students were selected with the help of simple random selection, who drive/use vehicles either of their own or others. The study period was from June 2019 to August 2019.Results: About 29 percent of participants responded that they do not follow lane rules while driving. Study showed that 72.1% and 42.0% were aware that what documents to be carried with them while driving among those who attend and did not attend any program on road safety measures respectively. About 58.1 % and 38.2% were aware that penalty for driving without a helmet can be imposed among those who attend and did not attend any program on road safety measures.Conclusions: Awareness of road safety measures among participants was satisfactory, but the gap was also seen between awareness and behavior patterns regarding road safety measures.
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@#Road traffic injury is a growing public health concern that has already caught the attention of governments and health professionals worldwide. The objectives of this study were to determine the knowledge and attitude toward road traffic regulations of medical students of the University of the Philippines-College of Medicine (UPCM) and their association with road safety practices. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 2016 among UPCM medical students. Questionnaire was developed based on national laws on traffic and adopted from related literature. Data were analyzed using T-test and chi-square at 95% confidence interval utilizing software STATA V12. Among the 156 drivers who were included in the study, 89(57.05%) were men, mean age= 22.31 + 1.94, and 85 (54.49%) were involved in road traffic crash. Low overall safe driving knowledge, attitude and practices were reported while knowledge and attitude did not correlate with practice (p> 0.005). Being older was the only demographic characteristic which had significant association (p= 0.0028) with safe knowledge toward road safety while attitude on speeding (p < 0.001) and use of seat belt (p =0.007) showed significant correlations to acceptable practices on the road. Strict and consistent enforcement of traffic rules are therefore recommended.
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Background: Worldwide, road traffic accident (RTA) poses a public health and development challenge and greatly affects the human capital development of every nation. This study aims in providing tangible evidences about determinants of road traffic accident cases at tertiary care center with a good area coverage giving insight into burden of RTA.Methods: This study was cross sectional hospital based study done in Rajendra Institute of Medical Science Ranchi, Jharkhand. Patients coming to emergency department were recorded and followed in ENT, neurosurgery and orthopedics department of RIMS, Ranchi in the period of one month (15th January to 20th Febuary2019).Results: Most of the patients were (59%) among the age group of 19-35 years of which 89.5% of the patients were male. 84.8% of the accident took place while motorcycle was driven. 53.3% of the patients were without license. Majority of the cases were driving between the speed of 30-60 km/hr at the time of accident. Majority of cases were not wearing helmet at time of accident (76%). Majority of accidents took place in state highway (53.3%) (roads connecting major cities of states). 59% of the accident took place at T-type junction. Major factor responsible was unusual behavior of man and animal (19%) and followed by overtaking (18.1%). Majority of the accidents were due to front collision (34.3%).Conclusions: There is a need for encouraging and promoting safe driving behavior among community members by the awareness through road safety campaigns and enforcement of road traffic laws to bring down the burden of RTA
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Background: The UN General Assembly declared 2011-2020 as the "Decade of Action for Road Safety” with the goal to stabilize and reduce the increasing trend in road traffic fatalities. The objective of the study was to assess awareness and practices on road safety among adolescent school children and to determine any factors associated with awareness and practices on road safety with selected socio-demographic variable.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2306 adolescent school students studying in classes VIII-XII in various schools selected by random sampling technique in two districts of Manipur during June 2018. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Based on the percentile, awareness level of the students was grouped into good, average and poor. Descriptive statistics like mean, SD and analytical statistics such as Chi-squared test were used. A p-value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results: The mean (SD) age of the 2306 students was 15.29±1.4 year. Majority of the students belongs to late adolescents. Only 10% of the students have good awareness level on road safety. Majority of the students’ drives two wheelers (96.7%), does not possess driving license (89.1%) and around two-fifths used mobile phone while driving. Around 30% of the students were ever exposed to road traffic accident. Statistically significant association was found between late adolescents, boys, higher class, increase in parent’s educational level with good awareness level.Conclusions: Few students have good awareness level on road safety measures. Therefore, awareness campaigns regarding road traffic safety should be included in the compulsory training program of schools.
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Background: Road traffic injuries are the eighth leading cause of death globally, and the leading cause of death for young people aged 15–29 years. Each year, almost 400,000 young people under 25 years old are killed in a road traffic crash - about 1049 youngsters every day. Aims and objectives: To find out the prevalence of road safety related health risk behaviours and its determinants amongst young males of District Dehradun. Methodology: It was a cross sectional study conducted over 12 months of duration. The study sample comprised of 1800 male youth aged 15-24years studying in various schools and colleges of District Dehradun. A pre-tested and pre-structured questionnaire (YRBSS) was used. The data was entered and analysed using SPSS-version 20.0. Results: Approximately three-fourth of youth reported never using seat-belt while driving and only 4.4% reported always using helmet whereas 24.0% accepted never use of helmet. Approximately one-fourth of the total 1168 at risk subjects in past 30 days, accepted driving a vehicle while drunk and 39.9% reported use of mobile phones while driving. Personality traits (extrovert, neuroticism and lack of direction) turned out to be the major factor in road safety related health risk behaviour. Conclusion: Although, road safety related health risk was found to be more among urban youth as compared to their rural counterparts, yet it was found alarmingly high for both rural and urban study population.
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PURPOSE@#Vehicle-pedestrian conflicts are common at road intersections when traffic lights change. However, the impact of traffic light on transportation safety and efficiency remains poorly understood.@*METHODS@#A two-stage study was used to survey the proportion of intersections with conflicting traffic lights and the related transportation efficiency and safety were evaluated as well. First, a cross-sectional study estimated the proportion of signalized intersections with conflicting left-turning vehicle-pedestrian traffic lights in Changsha city, China. Second, a natural experiment compared transportation efficiency and safety between intersections with and without conflicting left-turning vehicle-pedestrian traffic lights. Risky conflicts, where motor vehicles violated laws and failed to yield to pedestrians in crosswalk were used as a surrogate for transportation safety. The number of motor vehicles and pedestrians passing through the intersections per second and per meter were used to estimate transportation efficiency. Data were collected and analyzed in 2015 (from March to December). A search of online news from domestic media sources was also conducted to collect pedestrian injury data occurring at the intersections.@*RESULTS@#About one-fourth (57/216) intersections had conflicting left-turning traffic lights (95% CI: 20.5%, 32.3%). Risky vehicle-pedestrian conflicts were more frequently observed at intersections with conflicting lights compared to those without (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 3.13; pedestrians: IRR = 4.02), after adjusting for type of day (weekday vs. weekend), the time period of observation, and motor vehicles traffic flow. Intersections without conflicting vehicle-pedestrian traffic lights had similar transportation efficiency to those with conflicting lights after controlling for covariates (p > 0.05). The systematic review of news media reports yielded 10 left-turning vehicle-pedestrian crash events between 2011 and 2017, involving 11 moderate or severe pedestrian injuries and 3 fatal pedestrian injuries.@*CONCLUSION@#Over one-fourth of road intersections in Changsha city, China have conflicting left-turning traffic lights. Conflicting traffic lights cannot improve transportation efficiency, but increase risky conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians.
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Humans , Accidents, Traffic , China , Epidemiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Motor Vehicles , Pedestrians , Safety , Time Factors , Wounds and Injuries , EpidemiologyABSTRACT
Road traffic accidents claim over a million lives every year in the world. As per World Health Organization (WHO) it is one of the leading cause of death. India, being a rapidly developing country with expanding economy has its own issues as regarding road traffic accidents due to rapid proliferation of motorization. Road traffic accidents causes enormous morbidity and mortality and at the same time, the toll on the economy of the country as a result of it is quite heavy. Road traffic accident is a result of an interaction among different factors which include the environ-ment, vehicle and the human being. Traditionally it is considered that road traffic accidents are accidents which are unpredictable, inevitable and not preventable. But road traffic accidents are indeed predictable and preventable in majority of the cases. This require the knowledge of factors contributing and leading to road traffic accidents. There are certain preventive measures which if adopted can lead to decrease in morbidity and mortality resulting from RTA. Hence, it is the responsibility of all to contribute in reducing road traffic accidents.
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OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge and attitude of medical students towards road safety and to determine their driving behavior and its relation to different related factors. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 480 medical students at Mansoura University, Egypt. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect student personal data, knowledge about road safety, attitude towards road safety, and driving practices. RESULTS: More than 40% of students experienced an injury in the previous year, mainly as a pedestrian (56%), and 15.2% practiced driving, although only 9.6% had a driving licence. Most of the students had correct road safety knowledge except for awareness that the safe time to read maps is when your vehicle is parked (44%), one should drive in the left lane (29.6%), and one should overtake from the right-hand lane only (25.8%). The majority of the students reported that road traffic injuries can be prevented (89.2%). The mean score of the driving practices of the students ranged from 0.66±1.04 to 2.44±6.28 and rural residents showed significantly higher score regarding errors and lapses. CONCLUSION: Good road safety knowledge and a favorable, low risk attitude, did not translate into improved road traffic behavior and this highlights the importance of stricter implementation of the existing rules and including road safety in medical education programs.
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Humans , Cross-Sectional Studies , Education, Medical , Egypt , Students, MedicalABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Fatigue and sleepiness are inter-related and common among road transport drivers. In this study, sleep deprivation and fatigue among chemical transportation drivers were examined. METHODS: A cross-sectional study surveying 107 drivers from three hazardous types of chemical production and transportation industries (nonflammable gases, flammable gases, and flammable liquids) was conducted. Data on sleep deprivation were collected using questionnaires of the Stanford Sleeping Scale and the Groningen Sleep Quality Scale. Fatigue was assessed using an interview questionnaire and a flicker fusion instrument. RESULTS: Chemical drivers had a mean sleeping scale (Stanford Sleeping Scale) of 1.98 (standard deviation 1.00) and had a mean score of 1.89 (standard deviation 2.06) on the Groningen Sleep Quality Scale. High-risk drivers had higher scores in both the Stanford Sleeping Scale and the Groningen Sleep Quality Scale with a mean score of 2.59 and 4.62, respectively, and those differences reached statistical significance (p < 0.05). The prevalence of fatigue, as assessed through a critical flicker fusion analyzer, subjective fatigue question, and either of the instruments, was 32.32%, 16.16%, and 43.43%, respectively. Drivers who slept <7 hours and had poor sleep quality were found to have more fatigue than those who slept enough and well. Drivers who had a more sleepiness score resulted in significantly more objective fatigue than those who had a less sleepiness score. CONCLUSION: Sleep quality and sleeping hour can affect a driver's fatigue. Optimization of work–rest model should be considered to improve productivity, driver retention, and road safety.
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Cross-Sectional Studies , Efficiency , Fatigue , Flicker Fusion , Gases , Prevalence , Sleep Deprivation , Thailand , TransportationABSTRACT
@#<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:</strong> Road safety in the Philippines has been increasingly significant with the increasing level of industrialization and urbanization over the last decade. The main objective of the study was to determine the road safety performance for Metro Manila by computing for an index based on data and variables of road traffic over the past years.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>METHODOLOGY: </strong>The variables for index calculation included speed, alcohol, infrastructure, vehicle defect, and other unsafe driver behavior were drawn from the Metro Manila Development (MMDA) database complemented with literature review from several sources. Equal Weighting method was utilized, as this is the simplest, yet, least biased measurement suitable for the data at hand.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b>RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:</b> The Road Safety Performance Index for Metro Manila remains more or less constant over a five-year period, increasing and decreasing from 0.45 to 0.59 which means that Metropolitan Manila has fared poorly in all indicators. Metro Manila has a poor road safety performance as evidenced by the road safety index. There is a need to improve on all components of road safety identified in this study for the safety of road users. </p>
Subject(s)
Industrial Development , Urbanization , PhilippinesABSTRACT
@#<p><strong>BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:</strong> Road traffic injuries were the second leading cause of death due to injury in 2003 in the Philippines. In 2011, the Philippine Road Safety Action Plan (PRSAP) was instituted. Five years into the program, latest data showed that the death rate due to road injuries continue to increase despite the presence of key legislation supporting road safety. This study was aimed at identifying the gaps in addressing road safety in the Philippines.</p><p><strong>METHODOLOGY:</strong> Literature review and key informant interviews of representatives of the different agencies including the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Road Board, Philippine National Police (PNP), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and Land Transportation Office (LTO) were conducted to identify gaps in the program.</p><p><strong>RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:</strong> Key gaps include: weak leadership at the national and local level, limited material and human resources for enforcement of laws, and fragmented information system. These gaps should be addressed to improve the road safety situation in the country.</p>
Subject(s)
Developing CountriesABSTRACT
@#The use of child restraints such as car seats or booster seats inevitability increases with the implementation of laws mandating its use in the general public. This is of great importance to child health and injury prevention as child restraint use has been shown to reduce the risk of serious injury by 71% to 82% for children less than 1-year-old, and 45% for children aged 4 to 8 years old.2,3 In terms of averting death, child restraints were associated with 28% reduction in risk for death.4 It has been found that using ageand size-appropriate child restraints is the best way to save lives and reduce injuries in a crash.5 It is reasonable, therefore, that one study that investigated the association between child restraint law implementation and traffic injury rate among 4 to 6 years old children in New York State found that these children experienced an 18% reduction in traffic injury rate. (See full-text for continuation).