Inconsistency of surrogate measures of alcohol-related accidents in South Australia

Three major changes in drink driving enforcement have occurred in South Australia since 1981. The effect of these changes on a number of surrogate measures of alcohol involvement in accidents were investigated. The surrogates included alcohol involvement of driver fatalities, and combinations of casualty, serious casualty, single vehicle and nighttime accidents. Data from previous studies were also cited. It was found that relationships between surrogate measures were inconsistent, and incompatible with assumptions about drink driving levels and related accidents. It was concluded that until these effects are understood the use of surrogate measures should be treated with caution.

Anthropotechnological analysis of industrial accidents in Brazil

The Brazilian Ministry of Labour has been attempting to modify the norms used to analyse industrial accidents in the country. For this purpose, in 1994 it tried to make compulsory use of the causal tree approach to accident analysis, an approach developed in France during the 1970s,without having previously determined whether it is suitable for use under the industrial safety conditions that prevail in most Brazilian firms. In addition, apposition from Brazilian employers has blocked the proposed changes to the norms. The present study employed anthropotechnology to analyse experimental application of the causal tree method to work-related accidents in industrial firms in the region of Botucatu, São Paulo. Three work-related accidents were examined in three industrial firms representative of local, national and multinational companies. on the basis of the accidents analysed in this study, the rationale for the use of the causal tree method in Brazil can be summarized for each type of firm as follows:the method is redundant if there is a predominance of the type of risk whose elimination or neutralization requires adoption of conventional industrial safety measures (firm representative of local enterprises); the method is worth while if the company's specific technical risks have already largely been eliminated (firm representative of national enterprises); and the method is particularly appropriate if the firm has a good safety record and the causes of accidents are primarily related to industrial organization and management (multinational enterprise).

The need to establish coordinated measures for the reduction of road accidents in Latin America and the Caribbean

This edition of the FAL Bulletin approaches road safety and the need for urgent, coordinated measures to be established between the public and private sectors and civil society in order to prevent the rapid increase in deaths and casualties in road accidents in Latin America and the Caribbean, an issue which is threatening the sustainability of regional development.

Work Precariousness and Risk of Accidents in Civil Construction: A study based on the Collective Work Analysis

This paper aims to describe the construction workers' activities, as well as their perceptions about risks and workload. The study, based on the Collective Work Analysis, is part of a broader public policies project for the improvement of SIVAT (Surveillance System of Work Accidents) - in the city of Piracicaba (Southeastern Brazil). Civil construction was prioritized given the epidemiological magnitude of the occurrence of work accidents and the limited efficacy of traditional surveillance initiatives in this sector due to informal employment practices, outsourcing, high staff turnover, etc. The workers have a high level of awareness concerning the risk of accidents, but they believe that the main preventive measures hinder or even make it impossible for them to carry out the tasks. Our findings question the efficacy of traditional training for adherence to safety practices, thus highlighting the need for a transformative pedagogy for preventive practices and the health promotion of workers.

Mortality from road traffic accidents in Switzerland: longitudinal and spatial analyses

Road traffic accidents (RTA) are an important cause of premature death. We examined socio-demographic and geographical determinants of RTA mortality in Switzerland by linking 2000 census data to RTA mortality records 2000-2005 (ICD-10 codes V00-V99). Data from 5.5 million residents aged 18-94 years, 1744 study areas, and 1620 RTA deaths were analyzed, including 978 deaths (60.4%) in motor vehicle occupants, 254 (15.7%) in motorcyclists, 107 (6.6%) in cyclists, and 259 (16.0%) in pedestrians. Weibull survival models and Bayesian methods were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR), and standardized mortality ratios (SMR) across study areas. Adjusted HR comparing women with men ranged from 0.04 (95% CI 0.02-0.07) in motorcyclists to 0.43 (95% CI 0.32-0.56) in pedestrians. There was a u-shaped relationship with age in motor vehicle occupants and motorcyclists. In cyclists and pedestrians, mortality increased after age 55 years. Mortality was higher in individuals with primary education (HR 1.53; 95% CI 1.29-1.81), and higher in single (HR 1.24; 95% CI 1.05-1.46), widowed (HR 1.31; 95% CI 1.05-1.65) and divorced individuals (HR 1.62; 95% CI 1.33-1.97), compared to persons with tertiary education or married persons. The association with education was particularly strong for pedestrians (HR 1.87; 95% CI 1.20-2.91). RTA mortality increased with decreasing population density of study areas for motor vehicle occupants (test for trend p<0.0001) and motorcyclists (p=0.0021) but not for cyclists (p=0.39) or pedestrians (p=0.29). SMR standardized for socio-demographic and geographical variables ranged from 82 to 190. Prevention efforts should aim to reduce inequities across socio-demographic and educational groups, and across geographical areas, with interventions targeted at high-risk groups and areas, and different traffic users, including pedestrians.

Cerebrovascular accidents in adult patients with congenital heart disease

To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) in a large population of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD).

The interurban DRAG-Spain model: the main factors of influence on road accidents in Spain

This paper presents the results of applying DRAG methodology to the identification of the main factors of influence on the number of injury and fatal accidents occurring on Spain’s interurban network. Nineteen independent variables have been included in the model grouped together under ten categories: exposure, infrastructure, weather, drivers, economic variables, vehicle stock, surveillance, speed and legislative measures. Highly interesting conclusions can be reached from the results on the basis of the different effects of a single variable on each of the accident types according to severity. The greatest influence revealed by the results is exposure, which together with inexperienced drivers, speed and an ageing vehicle stock, have a negative effect, while the increased surveillance on roads, the improvement in the technological features of vehicles and the proportion of high capacity networks have a positive effect, since the results obtained show a significant drop in accidents.

Poisson dynamic models. An application to interurban accidents in Spain

In this study we apply count data models to four integer–valued time series related to accidentality in Spanish roads applying both the frequentist and Bayesian approaches. The time series are: number of fatalities, number of fatal accidents, number of killed or seriously injured (KSI) and number of accidents with KSI. The model structure is Poisson regression with first order autoregressive errors. The purpose of the paper is first to sort out the explanatory variables by relevance and second to carry out a prediction exercise for validation.