Injuries in special transport services : Situations and risk levels involving wheelchair users

• Previous research has shown that wheelchair-seated passengers using special transportation services (STS) have been injured without being involved in a vehicle crash. In order to estimate incident rate andsocietal costs for these vehicle-related injuries, the focus needs to be adjusted towards a traveler/incidentoriented perspective. The aim of the project was to utilize such a perspective, related to travelers using STS in Sweden. In order to address the chosen perspective, a mixed method approach was used, involving quantitative as well as qualitative research techniques applied on four different sets of data: one hospital-based record,two sets of STS incident report databases, and interviews with wheelchair-seated STS passengers. The results showed that the injury incidence rate in STS is considerable, i.e. 10 per 100,000 trips. However, this high incidence rate is not due to road traffic collisions, but to non-collision injury incidents involving many elderly and frail passengers, who easily sustain traumas ranging from minor to moderate. The costs were estimated to be 23 million USD per annum or 14 USD per trip. Results suggest that future injury prevention measures should focus on safety in boarding and alighting procedures, as well as thecontinuing development of WTORS. 

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Samhällsbyggnadsteknik -- Infrastrukturteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Civil Engineering -- Infrastructure Engineering (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Wheelchair

Special transportation services

Injury incidence

Cost estimations

Travel chain perspective

STS special vehicles

STS taxis

Caring sciences

Vårdvetenskap

injury incidence

cost estimations

travel chain perspective

STS special vehicles

Special Transportation Services

wheelchair

STS taxis.

MEDICINE

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)