Physical Activity and Ecological Means of Transport-Functional Assessment Methodology.

Medical developments have led to lower mortality rates but have increased the proportion of people with disabilities or mobility dysfunctions. A higher level of awareness of the general need to perform physical activity, in different spheres of life and at any age, is necessary. A device produced in response to the growing need of supporting active participation in activities of daily life is the Torqway. The aim of this research conducted at the Faculty of Transport, Warsaw University of Technology, was to evaluate the kinematic of users' upper and lower body muscles motion while riding the tested device. The research was carried out using the MyoMotion system on a stand designed for the purpose of the experiment. Analysis of the results showed a high level of activity in the muscles of the upper limbs, demonstrating that the device can be used to train muscle strength and mass, prevent muscle atrophy, improve the elasticity of periarticular soft tissues and improve the action of the muscle pump (increasing blood flow to the muscles and, with it, the flow of oxygen and nutrients, which promotes the development and subsequent regeneration of muscles). The device can not only serve as a form of recreation but also be used to promote convalescence.

The Importance of the Human Factor in Safety for the Transport of Dangerous Goods.

This article discusses the issues related to the safety for the transport of dangerous goods by road. Research on accidents in transport unambiguously points to the human factor, which is the most responsible for causing accidents. Determining the causes of driver unreliability in the human-vehicle-environment system requires thorough research. Unfortunately, in this case, experimental research with human involvement is limited in scope. This leaves modeling and simulation of the behavior of the human factor, i.e., the driver transporting dangerous goods. The human being, because of its complexity, is a challenging element to parameterize. The literature presents various attempts to model human actions. Herein, the authors used heuristic methods, specifically fuzzy set techniques, to build a human factor model. In these models, human actions were specified using a verbal or linguistic description. The specificity of the fuzzy sets allowed for "naturally" limiting the "precision" in describing human behavior. The model was built based on the author's questionnaire and expert research, based on which individual features were selected. Then, the traits were assigned appropriate states. The output parameter of the model was λL-the intensity of human error. The obtained values of the intensity of the accident caused by the driver's error were implemented into the author's method of risk assessment. They constituted one of the factors determining the probability of an accident in the transport of dangerous goods, which allowed for determining the optimal route for the transport of these goods characterized by the lowest risk of an undesirable event on the route. The article presents the model's assumptions, structure, and the features included in the model, all of which have the most significant influence on shaping the intensity of human error. The results of the simulation studies showed a diversified effect of the analyzed characteristics on the driver's efficiency.