Identifying the factors behind fatal and non-fatal road crashes: a case study of Lahore,Pakistan

ABSTRACT

The study identifies the factors behind fatal and non-fatal road crashes in Lahore, Pakistan, by investigating 461 reported cases to Traffic Police Lahore that occurred during January–November 2014. Road crashes are categorized into fatal and non-fatal crashes and, because of the binary nature of the dependent variable, logistic regression is used to identify the factors behind these crashes. As a follow-up, discriminant analysis is employed to classify the factors related to fatal and non-fatal crashes. The logistic regression results reveal that females are at higher risk of fatalities than male drivers. Among vehicle types, rickshaws and cars are more involved in fatal accidents because both are growing at large on roads. Long trucks and trailers are also involved in fatal accidents, mainly because of their huge size and drivers’ risky driving behaviours. It is also noted that risk of fatalities is higher in case where two vehicles bumped each other. Speeding and overloading are the common behaviours resulting in fatal crashes. Better urban transport systems and strict compliance with traffic rules and regulations may improve road safety in Pakistan.     

Pattern of road traffic injuries in Ghana: Implications for control

Road traffic injuries and fatalities are increasing in Ghana. Police-collected crash and injury data for the period 1994-1998 were aggregated and analyzed using the MAAP5 accident analysis package developed by the Transport Research Laboratory, U.K. Published results of recent transport-related epidemiological and other surveys provided an additional data source. According to the 1994-1998 police data, road traffic crashes were a leading cause of death and injuries in Ghana. The other leading causes of death and injuries are occupational injuries which involve nonmechanized farming and tribal conflicts. The majority of road traffic fatalities (61.2%) and injuries (52.3%) occurred on roads in rural areas. About 58% more people died on roads in the rural areas than in urban areas, and generally more severe crashes occurred on rural roads compared with urban areas. Pedestrians accounted for 46.2% of all road traffic fatalities. The majority of these (66.8%) occurred in urban areas. The second leading population of road users affected was riders in passenger-ferrying buses, minibuses and trucks. The majority of these (42.8%) were killed on roads that pass through rural areas. Pedestrian casualties were overrepresented (nearly 90%) in five regions located in the southern half of the country. Efforts to tackle pedestrian safety should focus on the five regions of the country where most pedestrian fatalities occur in urban areas. Policies are also needed to protect passengers in commercially operated passenger-ferrying buses, minibuses and trucks because these vehicles carry a higher risk of being involved in fatal crashes.     

Intervention strategies to eliminate truck-related fatalities in surface coal mining in West Virginia

The main objective of this review was to build upon a previous study on the root causes of truck-related fatalities in surface coal mining operations in West Virginia, and to develop intervention strategies to eliminate these fatalities. This review considers a two-pronged approach to accident prevention: one that is fundamental and traditional (safety regulations, training and education, and engineering of the work environment); and one that is innovative and creative (e.g., applying technological advances to better control and eliminate the root causes of accidents). Suggestions for improving current training and education system are proposed, and recommendations are provided on improving the safety of mine working conditions, specifically safety conditions on haul roads, dump sites, and loading areas. We also discuss various currently available technologies that can help prevent haul truck-related fatal accidents. The results of this review should be used by mine personnel to help create safer working conditions and decrease truck-related fatalities in surface coal mining.     

Analysis of fatal injuries in Serbian underground coal mines – 50 years review

Abstract

The study presented here analyzes mining accidents and fatal injuries in Serbian underground coal mines over a period of 50?years, in order to assess the effectiveness of legislation changes in the overall safety of work environment. Two distinct periods, prior to 2000 and after 2000 were compared. The data from the period after 2000 were further analyzed to provide better understanding of the results. In order to assess the overall state of safety in Serbian mines, the data on fatal injuries were also compared to the international data. It was found that the legislative changes are more easily accepted by the common workers than by the mine management. Consequently, the key recommendation for the safety of coal mine companies in Serbia is the investment in the new technology. Additionally, mine management should be in the focus of the mining inspection with a stronger penal policy regarding mine safety neglect.     

Safety concerns related to modular/prefabricated building construction

The US construction industry annually experiences a relatively high rate of fatalities and injuries; therefore, improving safety practices should be considered a top priority for this industry. Modular/prefabricated building construction is a construction strategy that involves manufacturing of the whole building or some of its components off-site. This research focuses on the safety performance of the modular/prefabricated building construction sector during both manufacturing and on-site processes. This safety evaluation can serve as the starting point for improving the safety performance of this sector. Research was conducted based on Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated accidents. The study found 125 accidents related to modular/prefabricated building construction. The details of each accident were closely examined to identify the types of injury and underlying causes. Out of 125 accidents, there were 48 fatalities (38.4%), 63 hospitalized injuries (50.4%), and 14 non-hospitalized injuries (11.2%). It was found that, the most common type of injury in modular/prefabricated construction was ‘fracture’, and the most common cause of accidents was ‘fall’. The most frequent cause of cause (underlying and root cause) was ‘unstable structure’. In this research, the accidents were also examined in terms of corresponding location, occupation, equipment as well as activities during which the accidents occurred. For improving safety records of the modular/prefabricated construction sector, this study recommends that future research be conducted on stabilizing structures during their lifting, storing, and permanent installation, securing fall protection systems during on-site assembly of components while working from heights, and developing training programmes and standards focused on modular/prefabricated construction.     

Road traffic crashes with fatal and non-fatal injuries in Arkhangelsk,Russia in 2005–2010

The study investigated trends in traffic crashes with fatal and non-fatal injuries in Arkhangelsk, Russia in 2005–2010. Data were obtained from the road police. Negative binomial regression with time regressor was used to investigate trends in monthly incidence rates (IRs) of crashes, fatalities, and non-fatal injuries. During the six-year period, the police registered 4955 crashes with fatal and non-fatal injuries, which resulted in 217 fatalities and 5964 non-fatal injury cases. The IR of crashes with fatal and non-fatal injuries per total population showed no evident change, while the IR per increasing total number of motor vehicles decreased on average by 0.6% per month. Pedestrian crashes constituted 51.8% of studied crashes, and pedestrians constituted 54.6% of fatalities and 44.5% of non-fatal injuries. The IRs of pedestrian crashes and non-fatal pedestrian injuries per total population decreased on average by 0.3% per month, and these were the major trends in the data.     

Fatal motorcycle crashes: a growing public health problem in Cambodia

This study examines the risk characteristics of fatal motorcycle crashes in Cambodia over a 5-year period (2007–2011). Secondary data analyses were conducted using the Cambodia Road Crash and Victim Information System, the only comprehensive and integrated road crash surveillance system in the country. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Handicap International found that (1) males are dying in motorcycle crashes roughly seven times more frequently than females; (2) motorcyclist fatalities increased by about 30% from 2007 to 2011; (3) the motorcyclist death rates per 100,000 population increased from 7.4 to 8.7 deaths from 2007 to 2011; and (4) speed-related crashes and not wearing motorcycle helmet were commonly reported for motorcyclist fatalities at approximately 50% and over 80% through the study years, respectively. Additionally, this study highlights that Cambodia has the highest motorcycle death rate in South-East Asia, far surpassing Thailand, Malaysia, and Myanmar. By recognising the patterns of fatal motorcycle crashes in Cambodia, local road-safety champions and stakeholders can design targeted interventions and preventative measures to improve road safety among motorcyclists.     

The accident analysis of mobile mine machinery in Indian opencast coal mines

This paper presents the analysis of large mining machinery related accidents in Indian opencast coal mines. The trends of coal production, share of mining methods in production, machinery deployment in open cast mines, size and population of machinery, accidents due to machinery, types and causes of accidents have been analysed from the year 1995 to 2008. The scrutiny of accidents during this period reveals that most of the responsible factors are machine reversal, haul road design, human fault, operator's fault, machine fault, visibility and dump design. Considering the types of machines, namely, dumpers, excavators, dozers and loaders together the maximum number of fatal accidents has been caused by operator's faults and human faults jointly during the period from 1995 to 2008. The novel finding of this analysis is that large machines with state-of-the-art safety system did not reduce the fatal accidents in Indian opencast coal mines.     

Safety and Ethics in the Global Workplace: Asymmetries in Culture and Infrastructure

This study described and analysed the circumstances surrounding a fatal car accident involving personnel of a multinational corporation in a developing country. For some companies, road accidents are the leading cause of work-related fatalities in developing countries. This reality highlights the ethical dilemmas encountered in a global workplace. Questions as to how a company addresses safety concerns outside the standard work environment, the ethics of operating in a risky environment and the requirements for international consistency in compensation standards for loss of life were addressed. The authors argued that multinational companies should localize health and safety practices to address the important asymmetries between different regions of the world regarding social, cultural and infrastructural issues. Furthermore, the authors analysed the leadership role that should be played by multinational companies to help and support national governments to reduce traffic fatalities in developing countries. From this perspective, the article represents a contribution for the body of knowledge dealing with the business–society relations. The authors used an action research approach to address these issues, both in response to the particular incident and to contribute to the body of research in this field.     

Pillion riders' cloth related injuries and helmet wearing patterns: a study of Lahore,Pakistan

This study aims at investigating the burden and pattern of clothing related pillion riders' injuries and their helmet wearing pattern in Lahore, Pakistan. Data were collected for nine months (July 2013 to March 2014), reporting 13,248 motorcycle related injuries, out of which 8751 (66%) cases were related to the clothing related pillion riders' injuries. Out of these injuries 10.30% were severe injuries which can be prevented or reduced by proper safety measure, e.g. wearing helmet. It was also found that most of the fatalities were not wearing helmet. Injuries due to wearing of loose fitting clothes and absence of helmet are not uncommon in Pakistan and other underdeveloped parts of the world. Such accidents may be reduced by creating awareness and safety sense in the riders, where use of safe dress and helmet should be encouraged in order to avoid such fatal damages.     

民用渔船雷达动态组网的避障连通恢复方法

为了有效地整合海域内数目众多却各自分散的民用渔船雷达资源,提出了一种利用动态组网对不同区域渔船的避障连通恢复方法。首先,从数据融合的角度简单论证了民用渔船雷达动态组网的可能性和必要性;然后,将每艘渔船视为一个配置有传感器的节点,通过改进图论中最小生成树的方法,同时考虑海洋中障碍物的存在,将分布在各个区域的“小渔船群”进行动态组网,让它们实现避障连通。该方法能够实现个体数据的有效整理和融合,大大地扩展了对相关海域的探测、监控及态势分析的能力。该设计模型符合海域实际情况,能够较好地为实际工作提供理论支撑,仿真结果证明了算法的有效性。     

渔船公约来袭我国渔船整体升级换代势在必行

10月9-11日，国际海事组织（IMO）关于通过（1997托雷莫里诺斯渔船安全公约1993议定书》以下简称《国际渔船安全公约1993年议定书》实施协议的外交大会在南非开普敦召开．会议决定．其生效条件为3600艘24米以上公海作业渔船和15个批准国．这与IM0最初提出的14000艘24米以上渔船和15个国家批准的生效条件相比．要求大大降低．意味着其近期生效的可能性进一步提高．而目前我国渔船整体技术水平较低、渔船总体船龄偏高．与国际新规的要求相比差距很大。国际渔船新规的生效在即，对我国渔船产业来说，既是危机，又是挑战，我们应努力化危为机．推动我国渔船整体升级换代。渔船国际新规将形成巨大挑战     

A decade of occupational accidents due to direct or indirect electrical contact in the primary,secondary and tertiary sectors in Spain (2003–2012)

Occupational accidents caused by electrical contact are a major concern worldwide due to their severe consequences. The study conducted is based on an analysis of the evolution of incidence rates and dependence between variables for 14,022 electrical accidents occurring in Spain between 2003 and 2012. The results show that electrical accidents as a whole are 3.6 times more likely to have severe consequences than the rest of the accidents in the country. This proportion is even nine times greater in the case of fatal accidents. They also confirm a significant relationship between the severity of this type of accidents and the economic sector in which they occur. On the other hand, there is a positive trend in the reduction of the incidence rate, especially in relation to direct contact, although unexpectedly the rate of accidents due to indirect contact is on the rise. Thus, preventing electrical occupational accidents requires efforts to guarantee adequate training adapted to the needs of workers in the various economic sectors. Furthermore, those responsible for safety should work to implement mechanisms to monitor and control compliance with efficient protective measures against electrical contact.     

Maritime accident investigation methodologies

Whenever a naval disaster occurs, a public outcry is heard to a full investigation into the causes of the event. Although the maritime industry has an outstanding reputation in accident investigation, such investigations are hardly conducted in inland shipping or leisure craft sailing. Due to a number of serious accidents in the maritime sector and increasing interest by public and media, the philosophy of independent investigations has gained interest at a policy making level in the European Union and with international NGO’s, such as the International Maritime Organization IMO. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the application of this methodology in all segments of shipping. The paper elaborates a conceptual model, principle processes and available techniques as a common orientation to safety-focused investigations. Accident investigation reports of Dutch investigative agencies are benchmarked to this model assessing the potential of the approach to all segments of shipping. It shows the applicability to minor as well as major accidents and the importance of independence. Systemic deficiencies at all levels in safety of shipping are identified and a generic applicability is demonstrated. It is concluded that independent accident investigation provides a powerful diagnostic tool for reducing the peril of drowning.     

Impact of the effect of economic crisis and the targeted motorcycle safety programme on motorcycle-related accidents, injuries and fatalities in Malaysia

In 1997, a Motorcycle Safety Programme (MSP) was introduced to address the motorcycle-related accident problem. The MSP was specifically targeted at motorcyclists. In addition to the MSP, the recent economic recession has significantly contributed to a reduction of traffic-related incidents. This paper examines the effects of the recent economic crisis and the MSP on motorcycle-related accidents, casualties and fatalities in Malaysia. The autocorrelation integrated moving average model with transfer function was used to evaluate the overall effects of the interventions. The variables used in developing the model were gross domestic product and MSPs. The analysis found a 25% reduction in the number of motorcycle-related accidents, a 27% reduction in motorcycle casualties and a 38% reduction in motorcycle fatalities after the implementation of MSP. Findings indicate that the MSP has been one of the effective measures in reducing motorcycle safety problems in Malaysia. Apart from that, the performance of the country's economy was also found to be significant in explaining the number of motorcycle-related accidents, casualties and fatalities in Malaysia.     

Road trauma perceptions and the potential influence of the media

The United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011–2020) recognises the urgency of addressing global road trauma. Road crashes and attempts to reduce risky driving, including public education campaigns, receive media attention in many countries. In Australia, road fatalities have declined significantly. However, the extent of awareness about this success and of fatalities overall is unclear. A survey of 833 Australian drivers revealed the majority of participants under-estimated fatalities. Unexpectedly, some under-estimates appear based on recollections of media reports. The findings suggest lack of awareness of the extent of road deaths and that, paradoxically, media reports might contribute to under-estimations. This represents a major public health challenge. Engaging community support for road safety, relative to other health/safety messages, may prove difficult if the extent of road trauma is misunderstood. Misperceptions about fatality levels may be a barrier to road users adopting safety precautions or supporting further road safety countermeasures.     

Redistribution of fishing rights

Congestion on fishing grounds and overfishing have convinced fishermen, economists, and most governments of the necessity to control access to fishing grounds. The living resources of the sea, however, present particularities which may make the task of redefining international fishing rights more difficult than that of distributing claims to mineral resources.