[Prevention of bicycle accidents]. / Prävention von Fahrradfahrerunfällen.

For a very precise analysis of all injured bicyclists in Germany it would be important to have definitions for "severely injured", "seriously injured" and "critically injured". By this, e.g., two-thirds of surgically treated bicyclists who are not registered by the police could become available for a general analysis. Elderly bicyclists (> 60 years) are a minority (10 %) but represent a majority (50 %) of all fatalities. They profit most by wearing a helmet and would be less injured by using special bicycle bags, switching on their hearing aids and following all traffic rules. E-bikes are used more and more (145 % more in 2012 vs. 2011) with 600,000 at the end of 2011 and are increasingly involved in accidents but still have a lack of legislation. So even for pedelecs 45 with 500 W and a possible speed of 45 km/h there is still no legislative demand for the use of a protecting helmet. 96 % of all injured cyclists in Germany had more than 0.5 ‰ alcohol in their blood, 86 % more than 1.1 ‰ and 59 % more than 1.7 ‰. Fatalities are seen in 24.2 % of cases without any collision partner. Therefore the ADFC calls for a limit of 1.1 ‰. Some virtual studies conclude that integrated sensors in bicycle helmets which would interact with sensors in cars could prevent collisions or reduce the severity of injury by stopping the cars automatically. Integrated sensors in cars with opening angles of 180° enable about 93 % of all bicyclists to be detected leading to a high rate of injury avoidance and/or mitigation. Hanging lamps reduce with 35 % significantly bicycle accidents for children, traffic education for children and special trainings for elderly bicyclists are also recommended as prevention tools. As long as helmet use for bicyclists in Germany rates only 9 % on average and legislative orders for using a helmet will not be in force in the near future, coming up campaigns seem to be necessary to be promoted by the Deutscher Verkehrssicherheitsrat as, e.g., "Helmets are cool". Also, spots in TV should be broadcasted like "The 7th sense" or "Traffic compass", which were warning car drivers many years ago of moments of danger but now they could be used to warn bicyclists of life-threatening situations in traffic.

[Prevention of road accidents involving non-motorized traffic participants (pedestrians and cyclists) in Germany]. / Prävention von Verkehrsunfällen äußerer Verkehrsteilnehmer (Fußgänger und Fahrradfahrer) in Deutschland.

During a 1-day workshop organized by the German Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (DGOU) 15 German accident researchers used different approaches to improve the effectiveness of accident prevention for pedestrians and bicyclists on German roads. The main results of this analysis show: Fatal injuries of pedestrians have been significantly reduced by 82% between 1970 (n=6.056) and 2007 (n=695). Similarly, fatalities of bicyclists have been reduced during the same time period from 1,835 to 425 which amount to almost 80%. However, the total number of injured cyclists increased almost twice, i.e. from 40,531 (in 1979) to 78,579 (in 2007) a fact that needs to be analyzed in more detail. Although scientifically proven to provide protection against severe head injuries, helmets are worn less frequently by adolescents and women as compared to younger children and men. Fatalities of bicyclists might be reduced by using Dobli mirrors which allow the truck driver to see the bicyclist when turning right. Recently developed sensors are able to detect pedestrians walking closely (<2.5 m) and warn the truck driver acoustically. Bicycle lanes should be planned for one direction only, separated from the pedestrian way and large enough (2.0 m are safer than 1.6 m). Traffic education for school beginners and younger children should be repeated to be effective. Training for elderly bicyclists in cities with heavy traffic would also be reasonable. Active security systems in cars like ESP (electronic stability program), BAS (brake assist system), special light systems for curves, and night vision utilities are most effective to prevent collision with pedestrians and bicyclists. TV spots for bicyclists could help to point out dangerous situations and the proven benefits of wearing a helmet in the same way as previous campaigns, e.g."The 7th Sense" for car drivers.

[The Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). Options and problems in application]. / Die Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS). Potenzial und Probleme bei der Anwendung.

The new AIS (Abbreviated Injury Scale) was released with an update by the AAAM (Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine) in 2008. It is a universal scoring system in the field of trauma applicable in clinic and research. In engineering it is used as a classification system for vehicle safety. The AIS can therefore be considered as an international, interdisciplinary and universal code of injury severity. This review focuses on a historical overview, potential applications and new coding options in the current version and also outlines the associated problems.

[An innovative software for emergency diagnostics of injury severity at a traffic accident scene]. / Ein innovatives Rettungstool zur Einschätzung der Unfallschwere am Unfallort.

AIM OF THE STUDY: With respect to the restricted diagnostic possibilities at an accident scene and the limited time for decisions essential for survival, this project dealt with severe injuries with an abbreviated injury scale (AIS) 3-6 in traffic accidents. The objective was the development of a diagnostic aid that can be used directly at the accident site. METHODS: The analysis was based on data from the GIDAS (German in depth accident study) files from the years 1999-2006. To investigate the accident parameters and to draw up the injury risk functions a multivariate regression analysis of 5,010 traffic accidents was performed. RESULTS: For the 20 most prevalent severe injuries of passenger car drivers and front seat passengers the cumulative influence of clearly evident factors was depicted and the combined likelihood was calculated. For the utilization at the accident scene software has been developed to display these likelihoods in a simple and comprehensible manner. CONCLUSIONS: At the accident scene crucial diagnostic indications can be acquired with simple observation and a software-assisted analysis.

[Uni- and multivariate analysis of factors influencing car crash mortality of passengers]. / Uni- und multivariate Analyse der Einflussfaktoren auf die Verkehrsunfallmortalität von Pkw-Insassen.

BACKGROUND: While the number of fatal accidents decreases every year, there is still need for improvement and action to prevent these deaths. The basis for this purpose has to be an analysis about the factors influencing the car crash mortality. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This multivariate analysis is based on 2,609 cases collected by the accident research units in Dresden and Hanover during the years 1999-2003. This paper presents a multivariate model containing ten different variables which detects 93% of these cases properly as"survived" or"dead." RESULTS: The variable"energy equivalent speed" (EES) has the most important effect on car crash mortality. Values greater than 60 km/h lead to a 248-fold higher mortality risk. The mortality is not related to gender, but rather to the value of EES. Younger persons (18-25 years) have no significantly higher risk for death, but for persons older than 60 years the risk was threefold higher. CONCLUSION: Univariate assessments may be falsified by bias; this effect can be uncovered by multivariate models.