Tag: nevin manimala

J Safety Res. 2023 Jun;85:95-100. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.01.009. Epub 2023 Feb 8.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Many studies have found that daytime running lights (DRLS) are effective in reducing daytime multi-vehicle crashes. From an Australian perspective, while studies exist using data from other jurisdictions, there has been uncertainty about how effective DRLs would be under Australian environmental conditions, which can differ from other parts of the world. In addition, in recent years DRLs have become a standard feature of many new vehicles. The objective of this work was to utilize Australian crash data to estimate the impact of DRLs on casualty crash risk reflecting the Australian crash population and local conditions. It also aimed to broadly examine the real-world crash-based effectiveness of DRLs currently present in the light vehicle fleet.

METHOD: The study utilized police reported casualty crash data for crashes that occurred during 2010-2017. The analysis used induced exposure methods, which offers the potential to assess the relationship between crash risk and DRL fitment by intrinsically controlling for confounding factors.

RESULTS: It was found that DRL fitment can reduce the overall risk of being involved in a non-nighttime multi-vehicle crash where vehicle visibility may be a factor in crash causation by a statistically significant 8.8%. Estimated crash reductions were higher at dawn or dusk and in higher speed zones.

CONCLUSION: Results provide clear evidence that mandating DRLs on all new vehicles would likely lead to reductions in the overall crash risk of the fleet through accelerating fitment through the fleet.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION: DRL fitment can reduce the overall risk of being involved in a non-night-time multi-vehicle crash where vehicle visibility may be a factor in crash causation. Governments should consider a DRL mandate on all new vehicle models, including all variants to accelerate the process of fitment through the fleet. This would likely lead to reductions in the overall crash risk of the fleet.

PMID:37330905 | DOI:10.1016/j.jsr.2023.01.009

J Safety Res. 2023 Jun;85:66-85. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.01.007. Epub 2023 Jan 31.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The construction industry employs about 7% of global manpower and contributes about 6% to the global economy. However, statistics have depicted that the construction industry contributes significantly to workplace fatalities and injuries despite multiple interventions (including technological applications) implemented by governments and construction companies. Recently, immersive technologies as part of a suite of industry 4.0 technologies, have also strongly emerged as a viable pathway to help address poor construction occupational safety and health (OSH) performance.

METHOD: With the aim of gaining a broad view of different construction OSH issues addressed using immersive technologies, a review on the application of immersive technologies for construction OSH management is conducted using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) approach and bibliometric analysis of literature. This resulted in the evaluation of 117 relevant papers collected from three online databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and Engineering Village).

RESULTS: The review revealed that literature have focused on the application of various immersive technologies for hazard identification and visualization, safety training, design for safety, risk perception, and assessment in various construction works. The review identified several limitations regarding the use of immersive technologies, which include the low level of adoption of the developed immersive technologies for OSH management by the construction industry, very limited research on the application of immersive technologies for health hazards, and limited focus on the comparison of the effectiveness of various immersive technologies for construction OSH management.

CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: For future research, it is recommended to identify possible reasons for the low transition level from research to industry practice and proffer solutions to the identified issues. Another recommendation is the study of the effectiveness of the use of immersive technologies for addressing health hazards in comparison to the conventional methods.

PMID:37330902 | DOI:10.1016/j.jsr.2023.01.007

J Safety Res. 2023 Jun;85:492-506. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.05.003. Epub 2023 May 16.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Falling from heights can be a serious and potentially life-threatening hazard. In Malaysia, falls from heights are one of the leading causes of workplace accidents and fatalities. The Malaysian Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) reported that the year 2021 recorded an alarmingly high number of fatalities, of which the majority of the injuries were due to falls from heights.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between the different variables associated with fatal falls from heights, which will help identify potential areas to work on to prevent these types of injuries.

METHODS: The study analyzed 3,321 fatal falls from height accidents from 2010 to 2020 DOSH data. Data were cleaned and normalized to extract relevant information for analysis, with agreement on variables and reliability achieved through independent sampling.

RESULTS: This study found that general workers were the most vulnerable category to fatal falls, with a 32% yearly average, whereas supervisors were the least vulnerable, with 4%. Roofers recorded a yearly fatal falls average of 15.5%, followed by electricians with 12%. Cramer’s V results ranged from negligible, weak, and strong correlations; strong to moderate correlation between the dates of injuries and the factors used in this study, whereas the direct and root causes recorded a weak to negligible correlation with the rest of the variables.

CONCLUSIONS: This study provided a better understanding of the working conditions of the Malaysian construction industry. By analyzing fall injury patterns and uncovering the factors, direct and root causes relationship with other variables, it was clear how severe the Malaysian workplace conditions were.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This study will help better understand fatal fall injuries in the Malaysian construction industry and help develop prevention measures based on the uncovered patterns and associations.

PMID:37330899 | DOI:10.1016/j.jsr.2023.05.003

J Safety Res. 2023 Jun;85:429-435. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.04.010. Epub 2023 Apr 27.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: In Australia, between 2017-2021, 16% of quad bike fatalities involved children. Trauma statistics highlight that public awareness of the risks associated with children driving quads is required. Consistent with the Step approach to Message Design and Testing (SatMDT) and, in particular, Steps 1 and 2, this study sought to identify critical beliefs influencing parental intentions to allow their children to drive a quad bike and develop message content. The critical beliefs analysis was based on eliciting the Theory of Planned Behavior’s (TPB) behavioral, normative, and control beliefs.

METHODS: An online survey was distributed via parenting blogs, social media posts, and snowballing of the researchers’ network list. Parents who participated (N = 71; 53F, 18 M), were aged between 25-57 years (M = 40.96, SD = 6.98), had at least one child aged between 3 to 16 years, and currently resided in Australia.

RESULTS: The critical beliefs analysis identified four critical beliefs that significantly predicted parental intentions to allow their child to drive a quad bike. These beliefs included a behavioral belief (the perceived advantage that allowing their child to drive a quad bike would enable tasks to be completed), two normative beliefs (the perception that one’s parents and partner would likely approve of allowing their child to drive a quad bike), and one control belief (a perceived barrier to allowing one’s child to drive a quad that was associated with being aware of an increasing cultural concern around the safety of quad bikes).

CONCLUSIONS: Findings contribute to insights regarding parental beliefs underpinning their intention to allow their child to drive a quad bike, an area previously lacking in research evidence.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: With child-use posing a high-risk activity for children, this study provides an important contribution that may help to inform future safety messaging targeting children’s use of quad bikes.

PMID:37330893 | DOI:10.1016/j.jsr.2023.04.010

J Safety Res. 2023 Jun;85:419-428. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.04.009. Epub 2023 Apr 27.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The research described in this paper explored the factors contributing to the injury severity resulting from the male and female older driver (65 years and older) at-fault crashes at unsignalized intersections in Alabama.

METHOD: Random parameter logit models of injury severity were estimated. The estimated models identified a variety of statistically significant factors influencing the injury severities resulting from older driver at-fault crashes.

RESULTS: According to these models, some variables were found to be significant only in one model (male or female) but not in the other one. For example, variables such as driver under the influence of alcohol/drugs, horizontal curve, and stop sign were found significant only in the male model. On the other hand, variables such as intersection approaches on tangents with flat grade, and driver older than 75 years were found significant only in the female model. In addition, variables such as making turning maneuver, freeway-ramp junction, high speed approach, and so forth were found significant in both models. Estimation findings showed that two parameters in the male model and another two parameters in the female model could be modeled as random parameters, indicating their varying influences on the injury severity due to unobserved effects. In addition to the random parameter logit approach, a deep learning approach based on Artificial Neural Networks was introduced to predict the outcome of the crashes based on 164 variables that are listed in the crash database. The artificial intelligence (AI)-based method achieved an accuracy of 76% indicating the role of the variables in deciding the final outcome.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Future plans are set to study the use of AI on large sized datasets to achieve a relatively high-performance, and hence to be able to identify which variables contribute the most to the final outcome.

PMID:37330891 | DOI:10.1016/j.jsr.2023.04.009

J Safety Res. 2023 Jun;85:296-307. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.03.003. Epub 2023 Mar 17.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Setting quantified road safety targets has been recognized as a best practice to eliminate road fatalities by international organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Previous studies have examined the relationship between setting quantified road safety targets and road fatality reduction. However, little attention has been paid to the association between the targets’ characteristics and their successes under certain socioeconomic conditions.

METHOD: This study aims to fill this gap by identifying the quantified road safety targets that are the most achievable. Specifically, using panel data on the OECD countries’ quantified road safety targets, this study develops a fixed effects model to determine the specific characteristics (i.e., target duration and level of ambition) of an optimal target to make it as achievable as possible for OECD countries.

RESULTS: The study finds that a significant association exists between target duration, level of ambition, and target achievement, with targets that have lower levels of ambition having higher achievements. Moreover, different groups of OECD countries carry different characteristics (e.g., target duration) that concern their most achievable targets.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that, in terms of duration and level of ambition, OECD countries’ target setting should establish their own socioeconomic development conditions. This provides government officials, policymakers, and practitioners with useful references for the future quantified road safety target settings that are the most likely to be achieved.

PMID:37330879 | DOI:10.1016/j.jsr.2023.03.003

J Safety Res. 2023 Jun;85:287-295. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.03.002. Epub 2023 Mar 22.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The negative traffic safety impact of California’s prior traffic violator school (TVS) citation dismissal policy is well documented in past California TVS evaluations.

METHOD: Using advanced inferential statistical techniques, the current study evaluated the substantive changes to California’s traffic violator school program as required by California Assembly Bill (AB) 2499. The program changes implemented by AB 2499 appear to be associated with a specific deterrent effect as evidenced by a reliable and statistically significant reduction in subsequent traffic crashes of those receiving a masked TVS conviction as opposed to a countable conviction.

RESULTS: The results suggest that this relationship exists primarily among TVS drivers with less elevated prior records. The change in status from a TVS citation dismissal to a TVS masked conviction has reduced the negative traffic safety impact of the TVS citation dismissal policy in effect prior to the implementation of AB 2499. Several recommendations are offered to enhance the positive traffic safety impact of the TVS program by further combining its educational elements with the state’s post license control program by way of the Negligent Operator Treatment System.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The findings and recommendations have implications to all states and jurisdictions utilizing pre-conviction diversion programs and/or demerit point systems associated with traffic violations.

PMID:37330878 | DOI:10.1016/j.jsr.2023.03.002

J Safety Res. 2023 Jun;85:242-253. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.02.008. Epub 2023 Feb 18.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Construction practitioners are at a disproportionately higher risk of fatal and nonfatal injuries compared to practitioners from other industries. The absence of and inappropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE), hereinafter referred to as PPE non-compliance, are major causes of fatal and nonfatal injuries at construction workplaces.

METHOD: Accordingly, a robust 4-step research methodology was employed to investigate and assess factors that contribute to PPE non-compliance. As a result, 16 factors were identified utilizing literature review and ranked utilizing fuzzy set theory and K-means clustering. Top among them: inadequate safety supervision, poor risk perception, lack of climate adaptation, lack of safety training, and lack of management support.

RESULTS: Managing construction safety in a proactive manner is vital to eliminate or minimize construction hazards and improve overall site safety. Thus, proactive measures to address these 16 factors were identified utilizing a focus group methodology. The validation of the statistical findings with that of the focus groups of industry professionals provides validation of the findings as both practical and actionable.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This study significantly contributes to construction safety knowledge and practice which, in turn, aids academic researchers and construction practitioners in their continuous efforts to reduce fatal and nonfatal injuries among construction workers.

PMID:37330874 | DOI:10.1016/j.jsr.2023.02.008

J Safety Res. 2023 Jun;85:210-221. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.02.005. Epub 2023 Feb 16.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The rates of road traffic injuries and fatalities in developing countries are significantly higher than in developed countries. This study examines the differences in driving behavior, road safety attitudes, and driving habits between a developed country (the Netherlands) and a developing country (Iran), which bear major differences in terms of crash involvement per population.

METHOD: In this context, this study assesses the statistical association of crash involvement with errors, lapses, aggressive driving incidents, and non-compliance with traffic rules, attitudes, and habits. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate data obtained from 1,440 questionnaires (720 samples for each group).

RESULTS: The results revealed that more insecure attitudes toward traffic-regulation observance, negative driving habits, and risky behaviors, such as traffic rule violations act as influential factors of crash involvement. Iranian participants showed a greater likelihood to get involved in violations and driving habits with a higher level of risk. In addition, lower levels of safety attitudes toward traffic-regulation observance were observed. On the other hand, Dutch drivers were more likely to report lapses and errors. Dutch drivers also reported safer behavior in terms of unwillingness to engage in risky behaviors such as violations (speeding and no-overtaking). The structural equation models for crash involvement based on behaviors, attitudes, and driving habits were also evaluated for their accuracy and statistical fit using relevant indicators.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Finally, the findings of the present study point out the need for extensive research in some areas to foster policies that can effectively enhance safer driving.

PMID:37330871 | DOI:10.1016/j.jsr.2023.02.005

J Safety Res. 2023 Jun;85:192-199. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.02.003. Epub 2023 Feb 13.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: This study examined changes in product-related injury morbidity among under-20 Americans between 2001 and 2020.

METHOD: Product-related injury morbidity data came from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). Using age-standardized morbidity rates, the authors performed Joinpoint regression models to identify time periods with significant changes between 2001 and 2020 and quantified the annual magnitude of morbidity changes with annual percent changes (APCs) in rates and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS: Age-standardized product-related injury morbidity declined consistently among under-20 Americans from 2001 to 2020 (from 7449.3 to 4023.5 per 100,000 persons; APC = -1.5 %, 95 % CI: -2.3 %, -0.7 %), with the most striking morbidity drop in 2019-2020 (-1576.8 per 100,000 persons). Sports and recreation equipment and home were the most common product and location, respectively, for nonfatal pediatric product-related injuries. Large morbidity differences and varying spectrum by product and by occurring location existed across sex and age groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Product-related injury morbidity declined significantly among under-20 Americans between 2001 and 2020, but large variations remained across sex and age groups.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Further research is recommended to understand causal factors contributing to the observed decrease in product-related injury morbidity over the past 20 years and to understand product-related injury morbidity disparities across sex and age groups. Understanding of causal factors could lead to implementation of additional interventions to reduce product-related injury among children and adolescents.

PMID:37330869 | DOI:10.1016/j.jsr.2023.02.003