Search

Background/Aim: This study aimed to assess the incidence and pattern of maxillofacial fractures and related demographic data in the victims of rollover crashes. Patients and Methods: This retrospective study was based on medical records of patients who sustained maxillofacial injuries following rollover accidents. Investigated data included age, gender, accident date and time, accident cause, seat belt usage, airbag deployment, road type, anatomical location of the facial fracture, and treatment approach. Results: Among the 147 patients who met the inclusion criteria, the most prevalent age groups were 20–30 (36.7%) and 30–40 (32.7%) years, with a mean age of 33.6 ± 9.7 years. The male‐to‐female ratio was 6:1. Most crashes occurred in March, August, and July. These accidents involved 69.4% light vehicles and 39.6% heavy vehicles. The leading causes of rollover crashes were speeding (58.5%) followed by distracted driving (21.1%) and traffic rule violations (13.6%). The most prevalent injuries were fractures of the maxillary sinus wall (40.8%), nasal bones (39.5%), zygomaticomaxillary complex (36.1%), and the mandible (32.6%). Surgical intervention was necessary for 44.2% of patients, while 12.9% of cases underwent close reduction, and 42.9% did not require any surgical intervention. The occurrence of nasal bone fractures was significantly lower in cases where seat belts were worn and zygomatic arch fractures were less frequent in incidents with airbag deployment. Conclusions: In rollover crashes, the midface is the most vulnerable anatomical location. Utilization of seat belts and airbag deployment has the potential to prevent nasal bone and zygomatic arch fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forensic engineers and crash safety researchers sometimes use the injuries of a seatbelted occupant to infer the injury risk of an unbelted occupant in the same crash, had they instead been wearing a seatbelt. It is unclear, however, whether this inference is valid or how often two occupants in the same collision have similar injuries. Here, we sought to compare the injury outcomes between drivers and front‐seat passengers in frontal collisions using real‐world collision data. We compared the injury severity, quantified using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), of 22 injury categories between front‐seat occupants with matching seatbelt use and airbag deployment in single‐event frontal collisions recorded in the publicly available National Automotive Sampling System, Crashworthiness Data System (years 1993–2015) database to assess whether they had similar severity injuries. We analyzed the four combinations of seatbelt use and airbag deployment and all seatbelt/airbag conditions combined. In only 3 of 88 combinations of injuries and seatbelt/airbag conditions did more than 50% of occupant pairs have the same AIS score, although the related confidence intervals showed these proportions were not significantly greater than 50%. In contrast, we found 19 combinations of injuries and seatbelt/airbag conditions where one occupant was consistently injured more severely than the other. Our findings show that injury outcome is not similar for both front‐seat occupants in the same frontal collision with similar seatbelt and airbag conditions; however, one may be able to predict that one occupant would be more severely injured than their fellow occupant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: We conducted this review to characterize the quality of evidence about associations between diabetes and safe driving and to evaluate how these findings are reflected within current guidelines available to support clinicians and their patients with diabetes. Methods: The first stage entailed a systematic search and review of the literature. Evidence surrounding harms associated with diabetes and driving was identified, screened, extracted and appraised for quality utilizing the Newcastle Ottawa Scales (NOS). Next, relevant guidelines regarding driving and diabetes were sourced and summarized. Finally, the identified guidelines were cross‐referenced with the results of the systematic search and review. Results: The systematic search yielded 12,461 unique citations; 52 met the criteria for appraisal. Fourteen studies were rated as 'high', two as 'medium' and 36 as 'low'. Studies with ratings of 'high' or 'medium' were extracted, revealing a body of inconsistent methods and findings. These results, cross‐referenced with the guidelines, suggest a lack of agreement and a limited evidence base to justify recommendations. Conclusions: The results presented emphasize the need for a better understanding of the impacts of diabetes on safe driving to inform evidence‐based guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methamphetamine (METH) and 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) are common drugs of abuse and driving under their influence may occur in 1 million people yearly in the United States. This systematic review fills the currently unmet need in understanding the effects of METH and MDMA on motor vehicle driving performance (MVP) and provides insight into the forensic community. A PubMed search on September 24, 2020, for experimental and observational studies, which evaluated the impact of METH and MDMA on MVP was performed. After a review of 208 abstracts, 103 were considered potentially interesting and full texts were obtained. After the exclusion of non‐English articles, review articles, single case reports, and articles which did not evaluate METH or MDMA on MVP, a total of nine experimental studies, 10 traditional observational studies, and 35 case series were included. The clinical rigor of experimental studies was evaluated using the Jadad scale. Experimental studies often demonstrated no significant MVP safety signals for METH or MDMA use, which was contrary to the overwhelming MVP safety risks found in observational studies. Common driving behaviors while using METH or MDMA include: errors in judgment, traveling at high speeds, failure to stop, merging inappropriately, lane weaving, and crashes. Limitations of experimental studies that led to dissimilar MVP outcomes from observational studies include: the common use of driving simulators, as opposed to actual driving examinations, and doses of METH or MDMA administered may not be representative of blood concentrations seen in observational studies. This systematic review has no funding source and was not registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many older adults face the difficult decision of when to stop driving. We sought to test whether an online driving decision aid (DDA) would improve decision quality. Methods: This prospective two‐arm randomized trial enrolled English‐speaking licensed drivers (age ≥70 years) without significant cognitive impairment but with ≥1 diagnosis associated with increased likelihood of driving cessation; all participants received primary care in clinics associated with study sites in three states. The intervention was the online Healthwise® DDA for older adults addressing "Is it time to stop driving?"; control was web‐based information for older drivers only. The primary outcome was decision conflict as estimated by the Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS; lower scores indicate higher quality). Secondary outcomes were knowledge and decision self‐efficacy about driving decisions. We examined postrandomization differences in primary and secondary outcomes by study arm using generalized linear mixed‐effects models with adjustment for site and prerandomization scores. Results: Among 301 participants (mean age: 77.1 years), 51.2% identified as female and the majority as non‐Hispanic (99.0%) and white (95.3%); 98.0% lived in an urban area. Participant characteristics were similar by study arm but differed across sites. Intervention participants had a lower mean DCS score (12.3 DDA vs 15.2 control; adjusted mean ratio [AMR] 0.76, 95%CI 0.61–0.95; p = 0.017). Intervention participants had higher mean knowledge scores (88.9 DDA vs. 79.9 control; OR 1.13, 95%CI 1.01–1.27, p = 0.038); there was no difference between groups in self‐efficacy scores. The DDA had high acceptability; 86.9% of those who viewed it said they would recommend it to others in similar situations. Conclusions: The online Healthwise® DDA decreased decision conflict and increased knowledge in this sample of English‐speaking, older adults without significant cognitive impairment, although most chose to continue driving. Use of such resources in clinical or community settings may support older adults as they transition from driving to other forms of mobility. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier "Advancing Understanding of Transportation Options (AUTO)" NCT04141891. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: Sobriety checkpoints are an effective strategy to reduce alcohol‐impaired driving, motor vehicle crashes, injuries and fatalities. The aim of this study was to identify the geographic extent over which individual sobriety checkpoints affect alcohol‐impaired driving. Design, Setting, Participants: Spatial ecological panel analysis using geolocated breath test data from the Queensland Police Service, Australia, for January 2012 to June 2018. Data were aggregated over 338 weeks within 528 Statistical Area level 2 (SA2) units (n = 178 464 SA2‐weeks) and 84 Statistical Area level 3 (SA3) units (n = 28 392 SA3‐weeks). SA2 units in Queensland contain a mean population of 8883.5 (SD = 55 018.3) and encompass 468.9 roadway kilometers (SD = 1490.0); SA3 units contain a mean population of 57 201.6 (SD = 29521.6) and encompass 2936.0 roadway kilometers (SD = 7025.0). Measurements Independent measures were the density of sobriety checkpoints conducted per 500 roadway kilometers within local and spatially adjacent space–time units. The dependent measure was the rate of tests that detected breath alcohol concentration (a proxy for blood alcohol concentration [BAC]) greater than the legal maximum value of 0.05% for fully licensed drivers in Queensland. Bayesian hierarchical spatial negative binomial models‐related sobriety checkpoints to the rate of breath tests with BAC ≥ 0.05% within and between space–time units. Findings One additional sobriety checkpoint conducted per 500 roadway kilometers was associated with 2.5% reduction in the rate of breath tests with BAC ≥ 0.05% within local SA2 units (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.975; 95% credibility interval (CrI): 0.973–0.978), and with 5.5% reduction in the rate of breath tests with BAC ≥ 0.05% within local SA3 units (IRR = 0.945; 95%CrI: 0.937–0.953). Associations were attenuated towards null in spatially adjacent units and in temporally lagged units (e.g. SA3‐weeks; adjacent lagged 1 week: IRR = 0.969; 95%CrI: 0.937–1.003). Conclusions: Individual sobriety checkpoints appear to be associated with reductions in nearby alcohol‐impaired driving. Relationships decay after approximately 1 week and beyond local areas containing approximately 60 000 residents and 3000 kilometers of roadway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Sobriety checkpoints have strong empirical and theoretical support as an intervention to reduce alcohol‐involved motor vehicle crashes. The purpose of this study was to examine whether checkpoint size (the number of police officers) and checkpoint duration (the amount of time in operation) affect associations between individual checkpoints and subsequent alcohol‐related crash incidence. Method: Queensland Police Service provided latitude–longitude coordinates and date and time data for all breath tests that occurred in Brisbane, Australia, from January 2012 to June 2018. We applied hierarchical cluster analysis to the latitude–longitude coordinates for breath tests, identifying checkpoints as clusters of ≥25 breath tests conducted by ≥3 breath testing devices over a duration of 3 to 8 hours. Generalized linear autoregressive moving average (GLARMA) models related counts of alcohol‐involved motor vehicle crashes to the number of checkpoints conducted per week, as well as 1 week prior and 2 weeks prior. Results: A total of 3420 alcohol‐related crashes occurred and 2069 checkpoints were conducted in Brisbane over the 6.5‐year (339‐week) study period. On average, checkpoints included a mean of 266.0 breath tests (SD = 216.3), 16.4 devices (SD = 13.7), and were 286.3 minutes in duration (SD = 104.2). Each 10 additional checkpoints were associated with a 12% decrease in crash incidence at a lag of 1 week (IRR = 0.88; 95%CI: 0.80, 0.97). We detected no differential associations according to checkpoint size or duration. Conclusions: Sobriety checkpoints are associated with fewer alcohol‐related motor vehicle crashes for around 1 week. Checkpoint size and duration do not appear to affect this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Non‐fatal injuries sustained from animal–vehicle collisions are a globally under‐recognised road safety issue, with limited data on these crash types. The present study aimed to quantify the number and causes of major trauma events resulting from animal–vehicle collisions. Methods: The study was a retrospective analysis of major trauma cases occurring in Victoria, Australia, between 2007 and 2016, using data from the population‐based Victorian State Trauma Registry. To identify animal–vehicle collisions, Victorian State Trauma Registry injury codes were combined with text‐mining of the text description of the injury event. Results: Over the 10 year period, there were 152 major trauma patients who were admitted to Victorian trauma‐receiving hospitals due to vehicle collisions with animals. The crude population‐based incidence rate for animal–vehicle collisions increased by 6.7% per year (incidence rate ratio 1.07; 95% confidence interval 1.01–1.13; P = 0.02). Conclusion: Development of systematic recording methods of animal–vehicle collisions will improve reporting of these crash types to assist future studies in implementing effective countermeasures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A license plate (LP) can help identify a motor vehicle. However, no common standard for LP exists across countries, and even within a country, significant LP variations are observed. In addition, environmental factors cause uncontrolled plate and character variations. It is, therefore, a challenge to design a robust and universal license plate recognition (LPR) system which works for multiple countries, for different types of vehicles, and for different styles of LPs. This study presents a novel approach for locating LP based on the use of multiple clustering and filtering techniques applied to the geometrical properties of LP characters. The proposed approach is independent of the size, rotation, and colour of the LP and can be used to locate single or multiple LP of different styles of different vehicles and of different countries. The approach has been validated using the standard Media‐lab and application‐oriented license plate (AOLP) datasets as well as on datasets of vehicles from other countries. The approach achieved an average success ratio of 93.42% for locating LPs from both the Media‐lab and the AOLP dataset and is higher than the results of previously published methods which evaluated their performance over the same datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Good seat belt fit and positioning is important for crash protection. Older drivers experience problems in achieving good seat belt fit and often reposition seat belts and/or use seat cushions. Comfort influences these behaviours. This work examines the impact of functional morbidities on belt positioning and accessory use and whether comfort mediates this relationship Methods Mediation analysis was used to examine the relationship between morbidities affecting physical function, comfort, belt repositions and seat cushion use among 380 drivers aged 75 years and older. Results Musculoskeletal morbidities increase the likelihood of seat belt repositioning ( OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.12-1.67) and comfort partially mediates this relationship ( P = 0.03). Morbidities of any type also increase the likelihood of seat cushion use ( OR 1.15 95% CI 1.04-1.27), but comfort plays no role in this relationship ( P = 0.87). Conclusion Greater awareness among older drivers is needed, to ensure behavioural modifications do not impair their crash protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To determine what effect driving cessation may have on subsequent health and well-being in older adults. Design Systematic review of the evidence in the research literature on the consequences of driving cessation in older adults. Setting Community. Participants Drivers aged 55 and older. Measurements Studies pertinent to the health consequences of driving cessation were identified through a comprehensive search of bibliographic databases. Studies that presented quantitative data for drivers aged 55 and older; used a cross-sectional, cohort, or case-control design; and had a comparison group of current drivers were included in the review. Results Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Driving cessation was reported to be associated with declines in general health and physical, social, and cognitive function and with greater risks of admission to long-term care facilities and mortality. A meta-analysis based on pooled data from five studies examining the association between driving cessation and depression revealed that driving cessation almost doubled the risk of depressive symptoms in older adults (summary odds ratio = 1.91, 95% confidence interval = 1.61-2.27). Conclusion Driving cessation in older adults appears to contribute to a variety of health problems, particularly depression. These adverse health consequences should be considered in making the decision to cease driving. Intervention programs ensuring mobility and social functions may be needed to mitigate the potential adverse effects of driving cessation on health and well-being in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To calculate the alcohol-attributable fraction (AAF) of injury morbidity by volume of consumption prior to injury based on newly reported relative risk (RR) estimates. Design AAF estimates based on the dose-response RR estimates obtained from previous pair-matched case-crossover fractional polynomial analysis of mean volume in volume categories were calculated from the prevalence of drinking prior to injury in each volume category. Setting Thirty-seven emergency departments (EDs) across 18 countries. Participants Probability samples of patients, with equal representation of each shift for each day of the week, totaling 14,026 who arrived at the ED within six hours of injury from ED studies conducted between 2001 and 2011. Measurements AAF was analyzed by gender, age (18-30; >30), cause of injury (traffic, assault, fall, other), and country detrimental drinking pattern (DDP). Findings For the EDs analyzed, 16.4% of all injuries were estimated to be attributable to alcohol, and the AAF did not vary by age but was over twice as large for males (20.6%; 19.3-21.8) than for females (8.6%; 7.5-9.7%). While females were at greater risk of injury than males at higher volume levels, lower prevalence of women drinking at higher levels contributed to overall lower AAF for women. Assault-related injuries showed the largest AAF (44.1%; 37.6-42.6). AAF was slightly higher for injuries from falls (14.3%; 12.9-15.7) than motor vehicle crashes (11.1%; 9.3-12.9). AAF was higher in those countries with a DDP of 3 (18.6; 17.5-19.7) and 4 (19.4%; 17.3-21.6) than those with a DDP of 2 (12.0%; 10.5-13.5). Conclusions Alcohol-attributable injuries presenting in emergency departments are higher for males than females, for violence-related injuries compared with other types of injury, and for countries with more detrimental drinking patterns compared with those with less detrimental patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To explore the relationship between injury risk among child occupants involved in motor vehicle collisions according to the age of the vehicle driver. Methods The National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System 2000-2009 ( n = 10 797) was used to identify demographic, vehicle-, collision- and injury-related characteristics among motor vehicle collision occupants ≤15 years of age. The association between the age of the driver (older vs. younger, defined as individuals <50 years of age vs. individuals ≥50 years of age, respectively) and injury occurrence was estimated using logistic regression adjusting for the potentially confounding effect of occupant, vehicle and collision characteristics. Results Of the child occupants in motor vehicle collisions, 2.9% were driving with an older driver, and approximately 2.9% were injured while driving with a younger driver (odds ratio 1.03; 95% confidence interval 0.55-1.91). After adjusting for child occupant age, gender, restraint use, seat position and vehicle type, there remained no significant association between the age of the driver (older vs. younger) and the risk of injury (odds ratio 0.92; 95% confidence interval 0.49-1.74). Conclusions These findings add to the body of literature indicating no difference in injury risk found among children when considering the age of the driver. Research is needed to ascertain the association and further evaluate characteristics more specific to the relationship being explored in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change requires a re-evaluation of the regulations pertaining to motor vehicles from the perspective of greenhouse gas (GHG) management. This article evaluates the regulations of motor vehicles in China from that perspective. Technology-based regulations on motor vehicles play an important role in reducing GHG emissions. However, technology-based regulations are not likely to be sufficient to achieve effective GHG management. Non-technology-based regulations can influence the behaviour of citizens and promote climate-friendly transport modes. They can contribute significantly to the mitigation of GHG. In China, both the regulations on automobile ownership and those on automobile utilization should be adopted in order for the country to avoid being locked into an unsustainable transportation system. Regulations to promote public transport and non-motorized transport modes should be introduced as early as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: To examine injuries in older adults due to boarding (i.e., entering) and alighting from (i.e., exiting) motor vehicles, with a special emphasis on falls. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of incident fall injuries while boarding or alighting from a motor vehicle. SETTING: 2001 to 2003 National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP) data from a representative sample of 500,000 injury and consumer product–related emergency department (ED) cases in the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Fourteen thousand seven hundred seventy-four persons unintentionally injured while boarding or alighting from a passenger vehicle. MEASUREMENTS: Annualized estimates and injury rates. RESULTS: There were an estimated 37,000 annual boarding and alighting injuries requiring medical care in EDs among older adults, many of these injuries (41.3%) due to falls. Fall rates were higher in women (52.8 per 100,000) than men (29.5 per 100,000) ( P<.01). The hospitalization rate was 10 times higher for those aged 65 and older than for those younger than 65 ( P<.001). Injury rates differed according to whether the person was boarding or alighting from the vehicle. Fall-related injury associated with alighting was more common (11,030) than with boarding (4,346), and the overall injury rate for alighting (31.0 per 100,000) was more than twice the rate for boarding (12.2 per 100,000). CONCLUSION: The high incidence of falls in older adults in this study points to a variety of injury circumstances that result in falls; therefore, fall prevention activities must address the underlying risks that are widespread in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy makers, vehicle manufacturers, and consumers have shown growing concern about the relative safety of sport utility vehicles (SUVs), vans, pickups, and cars. Empirical analysis of real-world crashes is complicated by the possibility that apparent relationships between vehicle type and safety may be confounded by other factors, such as driver behavior and crash circumstances. This study compares different vehicle types with respect to their crashworthiness (self-protection) and aggressivity (risk to others) in crashes between two passenger vehicles. The U.S. Crashworthiness Data System is used to analyze detailed information on 6,481 drivers involved in crashes during 1993-1999. Logistic regression analysis is used to model the risk of serious injury or death to a driver, conditional on a crash occurring. Covariates include the body type of each vehicle in the crash; the driver's age, gender, and restraint use; and the configuration of the crash. A unique feature of this study is the use of "delta-v" to represent the joint effects of vehicle mass and crash severity. While estimated effects are somewhat sensitive to the injury severity level used as the outcome variable, SUVs, vans, and pickups appear to be more aggressive and may be more crashworthy than cars. Effects of pickups are most pronounced. Drivers in pickups face less risk of serious injury than car drivers (odds ratio [OR], 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.20-0.60), and drivers who collide with pickups experience more than twice the risk than those who collide with a car (OR, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.03-4.62). While vehicle mass and crash severity contribute to the apparent crashworthiness and aggressivity of passenger vehicles, other vehicle characteristics associated with body type (e.g., the stiffness and height of the underlying structure of the vehicle) also influence safety risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: To understand why older drivers living in a community setting stop driving. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study within a longitudinal cohort. SETTING: A geographically defined community in southern California. PARTICIPANTS: 1,950 respondents age 55 and older who reported ever being licensed drivers. MEASUREMENTS: A mailed survey instrument of self-reported driving habits linked to prior demographic, health, and medical information. RESULTS: Of the 1,950 eligible respondents, 141 had stopped driving within the previous 5 years. Among those who stopped, mean age was 85.5 years, 65.2% were female, and the majority reported they were in very good (43.4%) or good (34.0%) health. Nearly two-thirds reported driving less than 50 miles per week prior to stopping and 12.1% reported a motor vehicle crash during the previous 5 years. The most common reasons reported for stopping were medical (41.0%) and age-related (19.4%). In bivariate analyses, age and miles driven per week were each associated with cessation (P ≤ .001). Medical conditions, crashes in the previous 5 years, and gender did not reach statistical significance at the P ≤ .05 level. Logistic regression results found that the number of medical conditions was inversely associated with driving cessation. CONCLUSION: The relationship between medical conditions and driving is complex; while medical conditions were the most common reason given for driving cessation, those who stopped had fewer medical conditions than current drivers. This suggests that a broader measure of general health or functional ability may play a dominant role in decisions to stop driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether a Traffic Sign Recognition Test (TSRT) can identify older drivers who recently had a motor vehicle crash (MVC). DESIGN: Retrospective, matched, case-control study. SETTING: Licensed drivers in Galveston, Texas. PARTICIPANTS: 60 crash and 60 control subjects matched for age and gender. Cases were identified from accident records. Controls were selected from a randomized list of licensed drivers in Galveston. MEASUREMENTS: Folstein Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the TSRT. RESULTS: A TSRT significantly distinguished between case and control groups (P = .01). The MMSE did not (P = .61). A TSRT predicted MVC in a multivariate analysis controlling for education, MMSE score, race/ethnicity, and mileage driven/year (odds ratio = 0.88, 95% confidence interval = 0.77–1.00). CONCLUSION: A TSRT successfully identifies older drivers with a recent MVC, but the test lacks sensitivity and specificity. A prospective study is needed to further delineate the TSRT's usefulness in predicting crash risk in older drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The installation of passenger-side airbags in new vehicles complicates efforts to maximize child safety in motor vehicle crashes. It has been recommended by both public and private organizations that children sit in the rear seat with proper restraint to achieve maximum safety. Drivers now need to decide whether a child should be restrained, where the child should be seated (front versus rear), and whether the child should be seated in front of a passenger-side airbag. This research was undertaken to determine which choice minimizes the risk of fatality to children. Using data from the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System for calendar years 1989 to 1998, fatal vehicle crashes with child passengers younger than 13 years were analyzed. The effectiveness of passenger-side airbags and rear seating for children, by age category and restraint use, was estimated using the double-pair comparison method. For each of four age categories, the fatality risk of each possible combination of restraint use, seating location, and airbag presence was also estimated using logistic regression. Passenger airbags were associated with an increase in child fatality risk of 31% for restrained children, and 84% for unrestrained children. Passenger airbags did appear to offer protection to restrained 9- to 12-year-old children. Restraint use and rear seating were associated with statistically significant reductions in the odds of a child dying in a crash. In order to minimize child fatality risk, parents should seat children in the rear of the vehicle while using the proper child restraint system, especially in vehicles with passenger airbags. These findings support current public education efforts in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is the most serious threat that the world is facing today. Transport sector in general and road transport in particular have a prominent contribution in intensifying the causes of climate change. Mitigating the vehicular greenhouse gas emission is one of the finest approaches to deal with climate change. Thus, the main aim of the study is to examine the vehicular greenhouse gas emission reduction measures being undertaken in the emerging cities of Ethiopia. The study has employed a descriptive research method with qualitative and quantitative research approaches. Data for the study were obtained from the emerging and second largest city of Ethiopia, Mekelle. Auxiliary facts are also obtained from the other two emerging regional capital cities (Bahir Dar and Adama) and one city council (Dire Dawa) of Ethiopia. This study has found that two measures of reducing vehicular greenhouse gas emissions are being undertaken in the urban road transport of Ethiopia: the technical and nontechnical measures. The technical measures of reducing vehicular emissions entertain mechanical measures taken by drivers. These include: use of biofuel, annual inspections of cars and complying with speed limits. Nontechnical measures, on the other hand, incorporate policy measures carried out to reduce the levels of emissions. These include: extending public transport services, promoting the use of non‐motorized transport, taxing vehicles, integrating urban transport with the land use planning, improving and extending urban road infrastructures, regulation of transport‐related legislation, and organizing civil society movements to mitigate vehicular emissions. © 2019 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38:e13146, 2019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]