Relation between alcohol consumption and traffic violations and accidents in the region of Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo State

In recent years, alcohol consumption has been considered an important public health problem. Ethanol, the alcohol used in beverages, is a drug that affects the central nervous system (CNS) and impairs driving skills and co-ordination, increasing risk of deaths and injuries derived from crashes and road accidents. Consumption of alcoholic beverages is implicated with premature deaths, injuries and damages caused by motor vehicle crashes, which result in high costs to government and society. Considering that alcohol consumption is the main responsible factor for deaths and disabilities in young people, the aim of this work was to evaluate the prevalence of blood alcohol in offenders and/or fatal and non-fatal victims of traffic occurrences in the region of Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo State, from 2005 to 2007. The results revealed that in 2134 cases investigated, blood alcohol positivity was generally found in young adults, 25-45 years old and male. The study showed the high risk of drinking and driving and the importance in establishing actions of prevention and intervention to promote the reduction in the number of traffic occurrences related to consumption of alcoholic beverages. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Setilement of motor accidents claims with special reference to Kerala

The accident toll on our road traffic is staggering. Obviously this appalling toll of life and.health represents heavy economic loss in addition to human tragedy. the enormous increase in the number of motor vehicles with its rash, negligent and reckless use by unscrupulous, inexperienced and dangerous drivers in the most miserably managed roads coupled with concomitant hazards would draw our attention that Accident Prevention, and Accident compensation are thoroughly two compatiable aims. Proposed solutions to the traffic Problems abound. Preventive efforts concentrated on each of the variables the driver, the road and the vehicle are all being initiated. Still it is a Will the .Motor Vehicles are not considered as dangerous machines. Motoring activity is found useful.A competent and specially trained police force has to be created to deal with the traffic offences in a more scientific ways.The term ‘legal representative needs to be defined on the constructive aspects of relation and dependence.Services of legal aid and public counsels shall necessarily be extended to the poor Motor Accident victims.Timely reporting and timely investigation of Motor Accidents cases will reduce the number of fraudulent claims. There are instances where cases are taken in to investigation after several months of occurrence.It is hoped that the suggestions made above as a result of the present study, if pwgninto practice, may make a humble contribution to the prevention sssof motor accidents and to a faster and speedier settlement of motor accident compensation claims.

Are traffic violators criminals? Searching for answers in experiences of European countries

The connection between road traffic safety and criminal behavior has recently become a topic of interest in the literature, although little emphasis placed on the relationship with road accidents. Evidence worldwide shows that people who commit other offences characteristic of antisocial attitudes, are more prone to suffer road traffic accidents and infringe traffic laws. Here we examine the records of the 28 current member states of the European Union over the period 1999 - 2010. Our aim is to test the hypothesis that crime rates (and specifically, motor vehicle-related crimes) may be considered as predictors of fatal road traffic accidents. If they may, this could justify, at least prima facie, the tendency in several countries to consider traffic offences as crimes in their penal codes and to toughen the punishment imposed on those who commit them. We also analyze the effect of the severity of the legal system applied to traffic offences. Our results reveal that road traffic fatality rates are higher in countries whose inhabitants have more aggressive behavior, while the rates are lower in countries with more severe penal systems.

Are traffic violators criminals? Searching for answers in experiences of European countries

The connection between road traffic safety and criminal behavior has recently become a topic of interest in the literature, although little emphasis placed on the relationship with road accidents. Evidence worldwide shows that people who commit other offences characteristic of antisocial attitudes, are more prone to suffer road traffic accidents and infringe traffic laws. Here we examine the records of the 28 current member states of the European Union over the period 1999 - 2010. Our aim is to test the hypothesis that crime rates (and specifically, motor vehicle-related crimes) may be considered as predictors of fatal road traffic accidents. If they may, this could justify, at least prima facie, the tendency in several countries to consider traffic offences as crimes in their penal codes and to toughen the punishment imposed on those who commit them. We also analyze the effect of the severity of the legal system applied to traffic offences. Our results reveal that road traffic fatality rates are higher in countries whose inhabitants have more aggressive behavior, while the rates are lower in countries with more severe penal systems.

Comparative analysis of the frequency and the severity of diagnosed lesions between pedestrians struck by motor vehicles and other blunt trauma mechanisms victims

ABSTRACTObjective:to compare the frequency and the severity of diagnosed injuries between pedestrians struck by motor vehicles and victims of other blunt trauma mechanisms.Methods:retrospective analysis of data from the Trauma Registry, including adult blunt trauma patients admitted from 2008 to 2010. We reviewed the mechanism of trauma, vital signs on admission and the injuries identified. Severity stratification was carried using RTS, AIS-90, ISS e TRISS. Patients were assigned into group A (pedestrians struck by motor vehicle) or B (victims of other mechanisms of blunt trauma). Variables were compared between groups. We considered p<0.05 as significant.Results:a total of 5785 cases were included, and 1217 (21,0%) of which were in group A. Pedestrians struck by vehicles presented (p<0.05) higher mean age, mean heart rate upon admission, mean ISS and mean AIS in head, thorax, abdomen and extremities, as well as lower mean Glasgow coma scale, arterial blood pressure upon admission, RTS and TRISS. They also had a higher frequency of epidural hematomas, subdural hematomas, subarachnoid hemorrhage, brain swelling, cerebral contusions, costal fractures, pneumothorax, flail chest, pulmonary contusions, as well as pelvic, superior limbs and inferior limbs fractures.Conclusion:pedestrian struck by vehicles sustained intracranial, thoracic, abdominal and extremity injuries more frequently than victims of other blunt trauma mechanism as a group. They also presented worse physiologic and anatomic severity of the trauma.

Application of 3D documentation and geometric reconstruction methods in traffic accident analysis: with high resolution surface scanning, radiological MSCT/MRI scanning and real data based animation

The examination of traffic accidents is daily routine in forensic medicine. An important question in the analysis of the victims of traffic accidents, for example in collisions between motor vehicles and pedestrians or cyclists, is the situation of the impact. Apart from forensic medical examinations (external examination and autopsy), three-dimensional technologies and methods are gaining importance in forensic investigations. Besides the post-mortem multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the documentation and analysis of internal findings, highly precise 3D surface scanning is employed for the documentation of the external body findings and of injury-inflicting instruments. The correlation of injuries of the body to the injury-inflicting object and the accident mechanism are of great importance. The applied methods include documentation of the external and internal body and the involved vehicles and inflicting tools as well as the analysis of the acquired data. The body surface and the accident vehicles with their damages were digitized by 3D surface scanning. For the internal findings of the body, post-mortem MSCT and MRI were used. The analysis included the processing of the obtained data to 3D models, determination of the driving direction of the vehicle, correlation of injuries to the vehicle damages, geometric determination of the impact situation and evaluation of further findings of the accident. In the following article, the benefits of the 3D documentation and computer-assisted, drawn-to-scale 3D comparisons of the relevant injuries with the damages to the vehicle in the analysis of the course of accidents, especially with regard to the impact situation, are shown on two examined cases.

Injury severity and mortality of adult zebra crosswalk and non-zebra crosswalk road crossing accidents: a cross-sectional analysis

PRINCIPALS Over a million people worldwide die each year from road traffic injuries and more than 10 million sustain permanent disabilities. Many of these victims are pedestrians. The present retrospective study analyzes the severity and mortality of injuries suffered by adult pedestrians, depending on whether they used a zebra crosswalk. METHODS Our retrospective data analysis covered adult patients admitted to our emergency department (ED) between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2012 after being hit by a vehicle while crossing the road as a pedestrian. Patients were identified by using a string term. Medical, police and ambulance records were reviewed for data extraction. RESULTS A total of 347 patients were eligible for study inclusion. Two hundred and three (203; 58.5%) patients were on a zebra crosswalk and 144 (41.5%) were not. The mean ISS (injury Severity Score) was 12.1 (SD 14.7, range 1-75). The vehicles were faster in non-zebra crosswalk accidents (47.7 km/n, versus 41.4 km/h, p<0.027). The mean ISS score was higher in patients with non-zebra crosswalk accidents; 14.4 (SD 16.5, range 1-75) versus 10.5 (SD13.14, range 1-75) (p<0.019). Zebra crosswalk accidents were associated with less risk of severe injury (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.38-0.98, p<0.042). Accidents involving a truck were associated with increased risk of severe injury (OR 3.53, 95%CI 1.21-10.26, p<0.02). CONCLUSION Accidents on zebra crosswalks are more common than those not on zebra crosswalks. The injury severity of non-zebra crosswalk accidents is significantly higher than in patients with zebra crosswalk accidents. Accidents involving large vehicles are associated with increased risk of severe injury. Further prospective studies are needed, with detailed assessment of motor vehicle types and speed.

Truck occupant protection. Prepared in response to Section 217 of the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984. Final report.

Mode of access: Internet.

Analysis of Madison County vehicle data to evaluate the effect of Autocheck program on vehicle accident rates. Final report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Inspection guidelines for motor vehicles of less than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.

Mode of access: Internet.

Report from the Select committee on motor traffic : together with the proceedings of committee /

Sir George Toulmin, chairman.

Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Perinatal Mortality: A Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND: Ambient levels of air pollution may affect the health of children, as indicated by studies of infant and perinatal mortality. Scientific evidence has also correlated low birth weight and preterm birth, which are important determinants of perinatal death, with air pollution. However, most of these studies used ambient concentrations measured at monitoring sites, which may not consider differential exposure to pollutants found at elevated concentrations near heavy-traffic roadways. OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to examine the association between traffic-related pollution and perinatal mortality. METHODS: We used the information collected for a case-control study conducted in 14 districts in the City of Sao Paulo, Brazil, regarding risk factors for perinatal deaths. We geocoded the residential addresses of cases (fetal and early neonatal deaths) and controls (children who survived the 28th day of life) and calculated a distance-weighted traffic density (DWTD) measure considering all roads contained in a buffer surrounding these homes. RESULTS: Logistic regression revealed a gradient of increasing risk of early neonatal death with higher exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Mothers exposed to the highest quartile of the DWTD compared with those less exposed exhibited approximately 50% increased risk (adjusted odds ratio = 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.67-3.19). Associations for fetal mortality were less consistent. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that motor vehicle exhaust exposures may be a risk factor for perinatal mortality.

Avaliação do impacto na circulação e risco de acidente em estradas em obras

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Civil

Motor Vechicle Crash Fatalities for Week Ending, March 20, 2009

Motor Vehicle Crash Fatalities

Motor Vechicle Crash Fatalities for Week Ending, March 27, 2009

Motor Vehicle Crash Fatalities