| 1. |
- Ahlgren, Ewa, 1959-, et al.
(författare)
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Patients with Coronary Artery Disease Are Active Car Drivers Both Before and Soon After Heart Surgery
- 2002
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Ingår i: Traffic Injury Prevention. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1538-9588 .- 1538-957X. ; 3:3, s. 205-208
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cognitive ability is essential for the fitness to drive. Impaired cognitive functions are common after cardiac surgery. Little is known about driving habits and influence of postoperative cognitive decline on driving performance in these patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of driving activity of patients before and after cardiac surgery. Ninety-seven cardiac surgical patients were interviewed about their driving habits before and 12 weeks after surgery. The mean age was 66. Before the operation, 78% were active car drivers. They drove several times a week including longer than 100 km distances. After the operation, 64% continued to drive and most of them (69%) had commenced driving within 6 weeks. The majority (79%) reported unchanged driving habits, while 13 patients (21%) had reduced their driving activity due to the cognitive symptoms they experienced. Patients with coronary artery disease are active car drivers both before and after heart surgery. Further evaluation of the ability of these patients to drive is required if we are to give advice and apply restrictions in the interest of traffic safety.
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| 2. |
- Ahlm, Kristin, et al.
(författare)
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Driver's alcohol and passenger's death in motor vehicle crashes
- 2006
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Ingår i: Traffic Injury Prevention. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1538-9588 .- 1538-957X. ; 7:3, s. 219-223
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Previous studies on alcohol involvement associated with fatal injury in traffic crashes have focused on the drivers, but the passenger's view is not well known. This study (1) analyzes the relationship between passenger's death and alcohol inebriation of the driver and (2) estimates the role of alcohol as the cause of a crash by examining who was at fault, sober, or inebriated.METHOD: The study includes all motor vehicle passengers (n = 420) who died in crashes in Sweden 1993 through 1996 and were medicolegally autopsied. Autopsy reports from the Departments of Forensic Medicine, including toxicological analyses, and police reports were studied. Presence of alcohol among drivers was based on blood and breath tests.RESULTS: One-fifth of the fatally injured passengers and one-fifth of the tested drivers were under the influence of alcohol. The youngest drivers had the highest prevalence of drunken driving. Drivers at fault were alcohol positive in 21% of these crashes and drivers were not at fault in 2% of these crashes. In 53% of the crashes where both the passenger and driver were alcohol positive, the passenger had a lower alcohol concentration than the driver. Children (<16 years) comprised 15% of the killed passengers. Notably, the children were riding with a driver who was under influence of alcohol in 13% of these crashes. Alcohol involvement was not tested in half of the surviving drivers.CONCLUSIONS: The data show that 20% of both passengers and drivers were under the influence of alcohol. Increased testing of surviving drivers regarding alcohol and other drugs is recommended.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Albertsson, Pontus, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of Insight Training of Ambulance Drivers in Sweden Using DART : a New E-learning Tool
- 2011
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Ingår i: Traffic Injury Prevention. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1538-9588 .- 1538-957X. ; 12:6, s. 621-629
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate whether a new e-learning tool for insight training of ambulance drivers can have an effect on drivers’ driving behaviors, perceived driving competence, competence to assess risks, self-reflection, and safety attitudes.Methods: A quasi-experimental study design, with participants nonrandomly assigned into a control and intervention group, was used. The intervention group participated in the insight-training course and the control group did not. Both groups completed a self- and peer assessment online questionnaire before and after the training.Results: The main finding is that the ambulance drivers assessed themselves through the instruments after the training, with the e-learning tool Driver Access Recording Tool (DART), as safer drivers in the areas of speed adaptation, closing up, and overtaking. In the answers from the group-based evaluation, the ambulance drivers responded that they were more reflective/analytical, had increased their risk awareness, and had changed their driving behaviors.Conclusions: After insight training, the ambulance drivers in this study assessed themselves as safer drivers in several important areas, including speed adaptation, closing up, and overtaking. In future training of ambulance drivers there should be more focus on insight training instead of previous training focusing on maneuvering capabilities.
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| 5. |
- Andersson, Marianne, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of the Head Kinematics of the Q3 Model and a Modified Q3 Model by Means of Crash Reconstruction
- 2012
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Ingår i: Traffic Injury Prevention. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1538-957X .- 1538-9588. ; 13:6, s. 600-611
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: One objective of this study is to evaluate the head kinematics of the Q3 model. Another objective is to evaluate the effect on head kinematics of increased thoracic spine flexibility; more humanlike mass distribution; and more humanlike body geometry in the Q3 model. The evaluations were based on the head kinematics of children deduced from real crashes and on new data of mass distribution and updated body dimensions for 3-year-olds. Methods: The head kinematics of the Q3 model was evaluated by comparing the Q3 model's head displacement response with the deduced response of 3-year-old children in real crashes. To do so, data from crashes were collected. The data were used to develop the mathematical vehicle and restraint system models (MADYMO, TASS, the Netherlands). Three crashes involving 3-year-old children in frontal impacts were reconstructed. The models were run 35 times each (one model per crash), each time with a different setting to each of the variables for which the exact value was not known. Examples of those variables include crash pulse, initial dummy position, and initial seat belt position. Two versions of the Q3 model were used: one that correlated with the Q3 ATD and one that was modified regarding anthropometry and thoracic flexibility. The basis for the updated anthropometry was new data regarding characteristic dimensions and mass distribution collected at a Swedish hospital. Results: In the anthropometry study, 26 children were measured. The main differences between the average of the measured children and the Q3 model were found in the mass distribution of the torso and thighs: the Q3's pelvis was too heavy and the thorax, abdomen/lumbar spine, and thighs were too light. Another difference was identified in the buttock-knee length. Two of the 3 reconstructed crashes had confirmed head impacts. The Q3 model responded with head kinematics that reflected the deduced courses of events for the real children in one of 3 crashes (the one without head impact). The modified Q3 model reflected the real children in 2 of 3 crashes. Conclusions: In high-severity, straight frontal crashes, the Q3 model predicted non-head impact adequately. However, in oblique frontal crashes, the Q3 model did not sufficiently predict the head impacts. The modified Q3 model predicted the head impacts better than the Q3 model did. Greater flexibility of the thorax and redistributed mass made a positive difference regarding the head kinematics.
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| 6. |
- Andersson, Marianne, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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Parameter study for child injury mitigation in near side impacts through FE simulations
- 2012
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Ingår i: Traffic Injury Prevention. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1538-957X .- 1538-9588. ; 13:2, s. 182-192
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the effects by crash related car parameters on head and chest injury measures for 3- and 12-year-old children in near side impacts.Methods: The evaluation was made by using a model of a complete passenger car which was impacted laterally by a barrier. The car model was validated in two crash conditions: the IIHS and the USNCAP side impact tests. The SID-IIs and the HBM3 (THUMS 3-yo) finite element models were used for the parametric investigation (HBM3 on a booster). The car parameters were: vehicle mass, side impact structure stiffness, a head airbag, a thorax-pelvis airbag, and a seat belt with pretensioner. The studied dependent variables were: resultant head linear acceleration, resultant head rotational acceleration, chest viscous criterion, rib deflection, and relative velocity at head impact. The chest measurements were only considered for the SID-IIs.Results: The head airbag had the greatest effect on the head measurements for both of the occupant models. On average, it reduced the peak head linear acceleration by 54 g for the HBM3 and 78 g for the SID-IIs. The seat belt had the second greatest effect on the head measurements; the peak head linear accelerations were reduced on average by 39 g (HBM3) and 44 g (SID-IIs). The high stiffness side structure increased the SID-IIs head acceleration, while it had marginal effect on the HBM3. The vehicle mass had marginal effect on SID-IIs head accelerations, while the lower vehicle mass caused 18 g higher head acceleration for HBM3 and the greatest rotational acceleration. The thorax-pelvis airbag, the vehicle mass and the seat belt pretensioner affected the chest measurements the most. The presence of a thorax-pelvis airbag, high vehicle mass and a seat belt pretensioner all reduced the chest VC and peak rib deflection in the SID-IIs.Conclusions: The head and thorax-pelvis airbags have the potential to reduce injury measurements for both the SID-IIs and the HBM3, provided that the airbag properties are designed to consider these occupant sizes also. The seat belt pretensioner is also effective, provided that the lateral translation of the torso is managed by other features. The importance of lateral movement management is greater the smaller the occupant is. Light vehicles require interior restraint systems of higher performance than heavy vehicles do to achieve the same level of injury measures for a given side structure.
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| 7. |
- Andersson, Marianne, 1969, et al.
(författare)
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Rear Seat Child Safety in Near-Side Impacts: A Modeling Study of Common Sitting Positions
- 2013
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Ingår i: Traffic Injury Prevention. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1538-957X .- 1538-9588. ; 14:2, s. 198-208
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and propose improvements to the injury mitigation systems, in near-side impacts, for 6 common sitting positions of young adolescents using a previously validated model. Methods: The evaluation was made by using a model of a complete passenger car, including head and thorax–pelvis air bags, which was impacted laterally by a barrier in 2 load cases. The SID-IIs finite element model was used for the evaluations and was seated in 6 different positions in the rear outboard seat: the nominal anthropomorphic test device (ATD) position, 1 inboard position, 3 outboard positions, and 1 braking (forward) position. These positions have previously been identified as common sitting positions in awake and asleep children. The studied dependent variables were head injury criterion (HIC) 36, resultant head linear acceleration, resultant head rotational acceleration, chest viscous criterion, and chest deflection. Results: The lowest head injury measures were seen in the braking positions and in the nominal ATD position, and the highest were seen in the inboard and outboard positions. The lowest chest injury measures were recorded in the inboard and nominal ATD positions, and the highest were recorded in the outboard and braking positions. The occupant in the outboard positions interfered with the air bags during their deployment. The occupant in inboard and braking positions tended to push the curtain air bag over the windowsill. Conclusions: Studies that investigate the injury mitigation effects in common sitting positions, beyond the nominal ATD position, are essential to highlight means to provide improved and robust safety for child occupants. This study was based on the SID-IIs 5th percentile female, which has very similar anthropometry to a 50th percentile 12-year-old. Therefore, the conclusions of this study are applicable to many 11-year-olds up to young adolescents, as well as to small females.The outboard and inboard positions of this study resulted in the highest head injury measures. Although all of the injury measures were only slightly higher than the nominal position, the trends suggest that, in near-side impacts, these positions should be discouraged. The extensively outboard positions resulted in unfavorable air bag positioning during deployment. The inboard position resulted in head strikes further forward of the nominal one; the curtain air bags need inflated cells at all locations of head strike.
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| 8. |
- Antona, Jacobo, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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Effect of Aging on Brain Injury Prediction in Rotational Head Trauma - A Parameter Study with a Rat Finite Element Model
- 2015
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Ingår i: Traffic Injury Prevention. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1538-957X .- 1538-9588. ; 16, s. S91-S99
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the possible effects of age-related intracranial changes on the potential outcome of diffuse axonal injuries and acute subdural hematoma under rotational head loading.Methods: A simulation-based parametric study was conducted using an updated and validated finite element model of a rat head. The validation included a comparison of predicted brain cortex sliding with respect to the skull. Further, model material properties were modified to account for aging; predicted tissue strains were compared with experimental data in which groups of rats in 2 different lifecycle stages, young adult and mature adult, were subjected to rotational trauma. For the parameter study, 2 age-dependent factors-brain volume and region-specific brain material properties-were implemented into the model. The models young adult and old age were subjected to several injurious and subinjurious sagittal plane rotational acceleration levels. Results: Sequential analysis of the simulated trauma progression indicates that an increase in acute subdural hematoma injury risk indicator occurs at an early stage of the trauma, whereas an increase in diffuse axonal injury risk indicators occurs at a later stage. Tissue stiffening from young adult to mature adult rats produced an increase in strain-based thresholds accompanied by a wider spread of strain distribution toward the rear part of the brain, consistent with rotational trauma experiments with young adult and mature adult rats. Young adult to old age brain tissue softening and brain atrophy resulted in an increase in diffuse axonal injuries and acute subdural hematoma injury risk indicators, respectively. Conclusions: The findings presented in this study suggest that age-specific injury thresholds should be developed to enable the development of superior restraint systems for the elderly. The findings also motivate other further studies on age-dependency of head trauma.
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| 9. |
- Antonson, Hans, et al.
(författare)
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Crash Barriers and Driver Behavior : A Simulator Study
- 2013
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Ingår i: Traffic Injury Prevention. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1538-9588 .- 1538-957X. ; 14:8, s. 874-880
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The study examines how drivers experience a conventional W-beam guardrail (metal crash barrier) along both sides of narrow versus wider roads (single carriageway with 2 lanes) in terms of stress, feelings, and driving patterns and whether subjective experience concurs with the actual driving patterns captured by the quantitative data.Methods: The study used different methods to capture data, including the VTI Driving Simulator III (speed and lateral vehicle position) in conjunction with electrocardiogram (ECG) data on heart rate variability (HRV) and questionnaires (oral during driving and written after driving). Eighteen participants-8 men and 10 women-were recruited for the simulator study and the simulator road section was 10 km long.Results: Driving speeds increased slightly on the wider road and on the road with a crash barrier, and the lateral driving position was nearer to the road center on the narrower road and on the road with a crash barrier. The HRV data did not indicate that participants experienced greater stress due to road width or due to the presence of a crash barrier. Participant experience captured in the oral questionnaires suggested that road width did not affect driver stress or driving patterns; however, the written questionnaire results supported the simulator data, indicating that a wider road led to increased speed. None of the participants felt that crash barriers made them feel calmer.Conclusions: We believe that there is a possibility that the increased speed on roads with crash barriers may be explained by drivers’ sense of increased security. This study demonstrates that an experimental design including experience-based data captured using both a simulator and questionnaires is productive. It also demonstrates that driving simulators can be used to study road features such as crash barriers. It seems more than likely that features such as street lamps, signs, and landscape objects could be tested in this way. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
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| 10. |
- Anund, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Stakeholders' Opinions on a Future In-Vehicle Alcohol Detection System for Prevention of Drunk Driving
- 2015
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Ingår i: Traffic Injury Prevention. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1538-9588 .- 1538-957X. ; 16:4, s. 336-344
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: There is a common understanding that driving under the influence of alcohol is associated with higher risk of being involved in crashes with injuries and possible fatalities as the outcome. Various countermeasures have therefore from time to time been taken by the authorities to prevent drunk driving. One of them has been the alcohol interlock. Up to now, interlocks have mainly been used by previously convicted drunk drivers and in the commercial road transport sector, but not in private cars. Objective and Method: New technology has today reached a level where broader implementation might be possible. To our knowledge, however, little is known about different stakeholders' opinions of a broader implementation of such systems. In order to increase that knowledge, we conducted a focus group study to collect in-depth thoughts from different stakeholders on this topic. Eight focus groups representing a broad societal span were recruited and conducted for the purpose. Results and Conclusions: The results show that most stakeholders thought that an integrated system for alcohol detection in vehicles might be beneficial in lowering the number of drunk driving crashes. They said that the system would probably mainly prevent driving by people who unintentionally and unknowingly drive under the influence of alcohol. The groups did, however, not regard the system as a final solution to the drunk driving problem, and believed that certain groups, such as criminals and alcoholics, would most likely find a way around the system. Concerns were raised about the risk of increased sleepy driving and driving just under the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit. The results also indicate that stakeholders preferred a system that provides information on the BAC up to the legal limit, but not for levels above the limit; for those, the system should simply prevent the car from starting. Acceptance of the system depended on the reliability of the system, on its ability to perform fast sampling, and on the analytical process, as well as the system's more or less inconspicuous placement and user-friendliness. The stakeholders thought that drivers would probably not voluntarily demand the system. So if broad implementation was desired, it would have to be made compulsory by legislation. As an incentive to increase demand, lower taxes and insurance premiums were suggested.
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