Limitations of the European barrier crash testing regulation relating to occupant safety.

The safety of roadside restraint systems in Europe is ensured by the EN 1317 regulation. The ability of the barrier to mitigate injury to the occupants of vehicles is tested according to two occupant injury metrics: Acceleration Severity Index (ASI) and Theoretical Head Impact Velocity (THIV). Both metrics aim to predict occupant head injury from vehicle kinematics, despite the potential to easily measure actual head kinematics from instrumented Anthropomorphic Test Dummies, a non-instrumented version of which is already required according to the regulation. Retrospective data provided by AISICO S.r.l. for 33 certificated barrier tests, where acceleration of the dummy's head had also been recorded, were re-analysed. ASI and THIV were compared with Head Injury Criterion (HIC15) and Neck injury Criterion (Nij), as well as corresponding Real Head Impact Velocity (RHIV) values. Three barriers presented HIC15 values above the threshold used in crashworthiness testing, two of which corresponded to fatal injury according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale. One barrier presented an Nij value corresponding to a 30% risk of neck injury. RHIV values were above the regulation threshold in 15% of tests, but were not significantly different from the corresponding THIV values. It was concluded that vehicle kinematics do not accurately predict head kinematics during barrier testing. The presented data indicate the current EN 1317 regulation was not capable of detecting all potential dangerous outcomes, with the potential to underestimate occupant risk. Further investigation is necessary to devise suitable indices based on actual head and neck data. These data would be obtained from a dummy instrumented with both a head accelerometer and neck load cell and, possibly, a gyroscope. To consistently test the true worst-case scenario, the tested side window should be closed and non-reinforced.

Exploring and visualizing the small-area-level socioeconomic factors, alcohol availability and built environment influences of alcohol expenditure for the City of Toronto: a spatial analysis approach. / Explorer et visualiser à échelle fine les facteurs socioéconomiques, l'accès aux boissons alcoolisées et l'incidence de l'environnement bâti sur les dépenses en alcool dans la ville de Toronto : démarche d'analyse spatiale.

INTRODUCTION: Many Canadians continue to drink alcohol in excess of the recommended low-risk guidelines. In this study, we visualized the geographic variation of licensed premises alcohol expenditures in Toronto and examined the effects of area-level socioeconomic characteristics, alcohol availability and built environment influences on alcohol expenditures at the Dissemination Area (DA) level. METHODS: Dissemination Area average total household expenditures on alcohol from licensed premises, from the 2010 Survey of Household Spending, was the main outcome variable. Moran's I and Local Moran's I were used to quantify geographic variation and determine hot spots and cold spots of expenditure. We used DA-level socioeconomic characteristics from the 2006 Census of Canada, and the density of licensed premises and other built environment characteristics from the 2008 DMTI Spatial and 2010 CanMap datasets to predict alcohol expenditures in multivariate spatial regression models. RESULTS: The results indicated that the most significant area-level predictors of alcohol expenditure were the percentage of individuals in management or finance occupations and the percentage with postsecondary education (one-unit increases associated with 78.6% and 35.0% increases in expenditures respectively). Presence of subway lines in the immediate and neighbouring areas was also significant (one-unit increases resulted in 5% and 28% increases respectively). Alcohol outlet density was also positively associated with alcohol expenditures. CONCLUSION: The associations identified between licensed premises alcohol expenditures and small-area-level characteristics highlight the potential importance of small-area-level factors in understanding alcohol use. Understanding the small-area-level characteristics of expenditures and geographic variation of alcohol expenditures may provide avenues for alcohol use reduction initiatives and policies.

INTRODUCTION: De nombreux Canadiens continuent de boire beaucoup plus d'alcool que ce que préconisent les Directives de consommation d'alcool à faible risque. Dans cette étude, nous avons illustré les variations spatiales associées aux dépenses engagées dans des établissements licenciés à Toronto et nous avons examiné les effets des facteurs socioéconomiques locaux, de l'accès aux boissons alcoolisées et de l'incidence de l'environnement bâti sur les dépenses en alcool à l'échelle des aires de diffusion (AD). MÉTHODOLOGIE: D'après l'Enquête sur les dépenses des ménages de 2010, ce sont les dépenses totales moyennes des ménages à l'échelle des AD en boissons alcoolisées achetées dans des établissements licenciés qui sont la variable ayant la plus grande incidence sur les résultats. L'indice de Moran et l'indice local de Moran ont été utilisés pour quantifier les variations spatiales et pour identifier les points chauds et les points froids en termes de dépenses. Nous avons utilisé, dans divers modèles multidimensionnels de régression spatiale, les caractéristiques socioéconomiques à l'échelle des AD tirées du Recensement de 2006 ainsi que des ensembles de données de 2008 de DMTI Spatial et de 2010 de CanMap concernant la densité des établissements licenciés et les autres caractéristiques socioéconomiques de l'environnement bâti afin de prédire les dépenses en alcool. RÉSULTATS: Les principaux indicateurs à échelle fine associés aux dépenses en alcool étaient le pourcentage de personnes occupant des postes dans les domaines de la gestion ou des finances ainsi que le pourcentage de personnes ayant une éducation post-secondaire (une augmentation d'une unité étant associée à des augmentations respectives de l'ordre de 78,6 % et de 35,0 % des dépenses). La présence de lignes de métro dans l'environnement immédiat et dans le quartier constituait aussi un facteur important (une augmentation d'une unité entraînant des hausses de l'ordre de respectivement 5 % et 28 % des dépenses). La densité des points de vente d'alcool constituait également un facteur positif sur les dépenses en alcool. CONCLUSION: Les liens entre les dépenses en alcool engagées dans des établissements licenciés et les caractéristiques des zones à échelle fine mettent en lumière l'importance que pourraient jouer les facteurs à cette échelle dans notre compréhension de la consommation d'alcool. Bien comprendre les caractéristiques des unités géographiques à échelle fine et les variations spatiales en matière de dépenses en alcool pourrait offrir des outils pour les politiques et initiatives de réduction de la consommation d'alcool.

Investigating factors affecting riders' behaviors of occupying motorized vehicle lanes on urban streets.

The violation activity of non-motorized vehicles riding in motorized vehicle lanes interferes roadway traffic serious, as it can not only seriously depreciate the efficiency of motorized vehicle traffic, but also raise possibility of triggering traffic accidents. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate intrinsic features of unlawful non-motorized vehicles' violation behaviors of riding on motorized vehicle lanes. The binary logistic regression model was proposed to find inherent reasons of triggering such misbehaviors. The misbehaviors of non-motorized vehicles (including regular bicycles, electric bicycles and human-powered tricycles) at seven sections, located at Hefei, China, were collected and studied. The experimental results indicate that male traffic participants exhibit higher rates of traffic violations than females, and rainy days shows higher misbehaviors than sunny and cloudy days. Another finding is that morning peak violation rate is higher than the evening peak and non-peak hours due to the fact people are in hurry for work. The traffic density of motorized vehicles and the traffic density of non-motorized vehicles strongly affect illegal occupancy behavior. The effect of dividing strip type and non-motorized vehicle type on lane illegal occupancy behavior are significant. We find that the average lane illegal occupancy rate of non-motorized vehicle is 36.1% which suggests that over one-third of non-motorized riders violate traffic rules. The findings of this study can help traffic authorities, road construction departments and traffic participants perform effective and efficient measurements to improve road traffic safety.

Creating 'healthy built environment' legislation in Australia; a policy analysis.

Influencing healthy public policy through health advocacy remains challenging. This policy analysis research uses theories of agenda setting to understand how health came to be considered for specific mention in legislation arising from land-use planning system reform in New South Wales, Australia. This qualitative study follows critical realist methodology to conduct a policy analysis of the case. We collected data from purposively sampled in-depth interviews (n = 9), a focus group and documentary analysis. We used three classic policy process (agenda setting) theories to develop an analytic framework for explaining the empirical data: Multiple Streams; Punctuated Equilibrium Theory and Advocacy Coalition Framework. The reform process presented a window of opportunity that opened incrementally over a 2 year period. The opportunity was grasped by individual policy entrepreneurs who subsequently formed a coalition of healthy planning advocates focused on strategically positioning 'health' as legislative objective for the new system. The actual point of influence seemed to appear suddenly when challenges to a perceived economic development agenda within the reforms peaked, and the health objective, see as non-threatening by all stakeholders, was taken up. Our analysis demonstrates how this particular point of influence followed sustained long-term activity by health advocates prior to and during the reform process. We demonstrate a theory-driven policy analysis of health advocacy efforts to influence an instance of major land-use planning reform. The application of multiple policy process theories enables deep understanding of what is required to effectively advocate for healthy public policy.