Do automotive window films affect drivers' safety by decreasing vision sensitivity? A Cross-sectional study / Películas automotivas e perda de acuidade visual? Estudo transversal

ABSTRACT Objective: To measure visual acuity in high contrast and low contrast sensitivities in different grades of visible light transmission films in three different positions (front, lateral and rear windows). Methods: Forty-four healthy volunteers between 30-75 y-o, with BCVA better than 0,5, were tested in the 5 following vehicles with different grades of visible light transmission films. Vehicle 1: 75% in the front and 70% in the lateral and rear windows; Vehicle 2: 70% in the front and lateral windows and 28% in the rear; Vehicle 3: 70% in the front, 28% in the lateral and 15% rear; Vehicle 4: 35% in all 3 windows; Vehicle 5: 50% in the front, 20% in the lateral and 15% in the rear. Descriptive statistics were used and the average of the 3 measurements of VA was considered. Wilcoxon Test was applied to compare the average visual acuity in each vehicle and position. P value<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: According to the Brazilian Traffic Regulations for driving in categories C/D/E, when low contrast was tested in the front window, all visible light transmissions were borderline, in the lateral window they were all outside the limit, while in the rear window for both low and high contrast, all visible light transmissions tested were outside the limit and also borderline for driving in categories A/B, with the exception of the vehicle with visible light transmission of 35%. Conclusion: Visual acuity is affected, especially in the rear window, by the use of automotive films. The study is an alert that window films is a possible cause of accidents and may contribute to the revision of traffic regulations worldwide.

RESUMO Objetivo: Medir a acuidade visual em alto e baixo contraste nas diversas graduações de transparência de filmes em três janelas de veículos: frontal, lateral e traseira. Métodos: Foram avaliados 44 voluntários saudáveis entre 30 e 75 anos, com acuidade visual melhor corrigida acima de 0,5, em cinco veículos, sendo: veículo 1, com 75% de transparência frontal e 70% na lateral e traseira; veículo 2, com 70% na frontal e na lateral e 28% na traseira; veículo 3, com 70% na frontal, 28% na lateral e 15% na traseira; veículo 4, com 35% nas três janelas; e veículo 5, com 50% na frontal, 20% na lateral e 15% na traseira. Foi realizada estatística descritiva utilizando a média de três medidas consecutivas, com teste de Wilcoxon para comparar a média de acuidade visual em cada janela, e foi considerado estatisticamente significativo quando valor de p<0,05. Resultados: Todas as transparências testadas nos vidros reduziram a acuidade visual em situação de baixo contraste para níveis limítrofes na janela frontal e níveis ilegais na lateral para conduzir veículos nas categorias C/D/E. Na janela traseira, tanto em alto quanto em baixo contraste, todas as transparências mostraram redução da acuidade visual para níveis ilegais para categorias C/D/E e limítrofes para as categorias A/B, exceto na transparência de 35%. Conclusão: A acuidade visual é reduzida pelo uso dos filmes automotivos, especialmente na janela traseira. Condutores de veículos com filmes devem ser alertados pelo risco aumentado de acidentes. Esse dado científico propõe revisões nas regulações de tráfego mundiais.

Smoke-free cars legislation: it works but New Zealand should still rigorously evaluate its upcoming law.

In this viewpoint we briefly review the evidence for smoke-free car legislation. We find that this legislation has been consistently associated with reduced secondhand exposure in cars with children/youth in all nine jurisdictions studied. Despite this, there are various aspects of this intervention that warrant further study-especially determining its impact on reducing tobacco-related ethnic inequalities. So we argue that the New Zealand Ministry of Health should invest in a thorough evaluation of this important upcoming public health intervention. This could both help the country in further refining the design of the law (if necessary) and would also be a valuable contribution to advancing the knowledge base for international tobacco control.

Impact of banning smoking in cars with children on exposure to second-hand smoke: a natural experiment in England and Scotland.

England banned smoking in cars carrying children in 2015 and Scotland in 2016. We used survey data from 3 years for both countries (NEngland=3483-6920, NScotland=232-319) to assess effects of the English ban using logistic regression within a difference-in-differences framework. Among children aged 13-15 years, self-reported levels of regular exposure to smoke in cars for Scotland were 3.4% in 2012, 2.2% in 2014 and 1.3% in 2016 and for England 6.3%, 5.9% and 1.6%. The ban in England was associated with a -4.1% (95% CI -4.9% to -3.3%) absolute reduction (72% relative reduction) in exposure to tobacco smoke among children.

Teeth or no teeth: exploring punitive measures for adults smoking in cars containing children in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

This viewpoint welcomes the recent announcement of the Government of Aotearoa/New Zealand to ban smoking in cars with children. However, it notes that the thorny issue of enforcement and punishment remains. Internationally there is a deficit on research on this issue. The experiences of the UK and Ireland are examined, where there was little or no enforcement of such laws, as well as a comparison with the State of Victoria in Australia, where the law was more robustly enforced. This viewpoint argues that enforcement is an important element in safeguarding the health and wellbeing of children.

Development and validation of a method to quantify benefits of clean-air taxi legislation.

Air pollution from motor vehicle traffic remains a significant threat to public health. Using taxi inspection and trip data, we assessed changes in New York City's taxi fleet following Clean Air Taxi legislation enacted in 2005-2006. Inspection and trip data between 2004 and 2015 were used to assess changes in New York's taxi fleet and to estimate and spatially apportion annual taxi-related exhaust emissions of nitric oxide (NO) and total particulate matter (PMT). These emissions changes were used to predict reductions in NO and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations estimates using data from the New York City Community Air Survey (NYCCAS) in 2009-2015. Efficiency trends among other for-hire vehicles and spatial variation in traffic intensity were also considered. The city fuel efficiency of the medallion taxi fleet increased from 15.7 MPG to 33.1 MPG, and corresponding NO and PMT exhaust emissions estimates declined by 82 and 49%, respectively. These emissions reductions were associated with changes in NYCCAS-modeled NO and PM2.5 concentrations (p < 0.001). New York's clean air taxi legislation was effective at increasing fuel efficiency of the medallion taxi fleet, and reductions in estimated taxi emissions were associated with decreases in NO and PM2.5 concentrations.

Drivers are blamed more than their automated cars when both make mistakes.

When an automated car harms someone, who is blamed by those who hear about it? Here we asked human participants to consider hypothetical cases in which a pedestrian was killed by a car operated under shared control of a primary and a secondary driver and to indicate how blame should be allocated. We find that when only one driver makes an error, that driver is blamed more regardless of whether that driver is a machine or a human. However, when both drivers make errors in cases of human-machine shared-control vehicles, the blame attributed to the machine is reduced. This finding portends a public under-reaction to the malfunctioning artificial intelligence components of automated cars and therefore has a direct policy implication: allowing the de facto standards for shared-control vehicles to be established in courts by the jury system could fail to properly regulate the safety of those vehicles; instead, a top-down scheme (through federal laws) may be called for.

ASPA: Advanced Strong Pseudonym based Authentication in Intelligent Transport System.

Intelligent Transport System (ITS) uses the IEEE 802.11P standard for the wireless communication among vehicles. A wireless ad hoc network of vehicles is established to improve road safety, comfort, security, and traffic efficiency. Wireless communication in ITS leads to many security and privacy challenges. Security and privacy of ITS are important issues that demand incorporation of confidentiality, privacy, authentication, integrity, non-repudiation, and restrictive obscurity. In order to ensure the privacy of vehicles during communication, it is required that the real identity of vehicles should not be revealed. There must be robust and efficient security and privacy mechanisms for the establishment of a reliable and trustworthy network. Therefore, we propose Advanced Strong Pseudonym based Authentication (ASPA), which is a distributed framework to handle the security and privacy issues of vehicle communications in ITS. ASPA only allows vehicles with valid pseudonyms to communicate in ITS. Pseudonyms are assigned to vehicles in a secure manner. The pseudonym mappings of vehicles are stored at different locations to avoid any chance of vehicle pseudonyms certificates linkability. In addition, the most recent communication pseudonyms of a malicious vehicle are revoked and are stored in the Certificate Revocation List (CRL) that results in small size of the CRL. Therefore, the CRL size does not increase exponentially. The distributed framework of ASPA guarantees, the vehicles privacy preservation in the real identities mapping and revocation phase. The empirical results prove that ASPA is robust and efficient with low computational cost, overhead ratio, average latency, and an increased delivery ratio.

Who is responsible for automated driving? A macro-level insight into automated driving in the United Kingdom using the Risk Management Framework and Social Network Analysis.

To date, vehicle manufacturers have largely been left to their own initiatives when it comes to the design, development and implementation of automated driving features. Whilst this has enabled developments within the field to accelerate at a rapid pace, we are also now beginning to see the negative aspects of automated design (e.g., driver complacency, automation misuse and ethical dilemmas). It is therefore becoming increasingly important to identify systemic aspects that can address some of these Human Factors challenges. This paper applies the principles of the Risk Management Framework to explore the wider systemic issues associated with automated driving in the United Kingdom through the novel application of network metrics. The authors propose a number of recommendations targeted at each level of the Risk Management Framework that seek to shift the power of influence away from vehicle manufacturers and back into the hands of governing bodies.

Pay or prevent? Human safety, costs to society and legal perspectives on animal-vehicle collisions in São Paulo state, Brazil.

Direct road mortality and the barrier effect of roads are typically identified as one of the greatest threats to wildlife. In addition, collisions with large mammals are also a threat to human safety and represent an economic cost to society. We documented and explored the effects of animal-vehicle crashes on human safety in São Paulo State, Brazil. We estimated the costs of these crashes to society, and we summarized the legal perspectives. On average, the Military Highway Police of São Paulo reported 2,611 animal-vehicle crashes per year (3.3% of total crashes), and 18.5% of these resulted in human injuries or fatalities. The total annual cost to society was estimated at R$ 56,550,642 (US $ 25,144,794). The average cost for an animal-vehicle crash, regardless of whether human injuries and fatalities occurred, was R$ 21,656 (US $ 9,629). The Brazilian legal system overwhelmingly (91.7% of the cases) holds the road administrator liable for animal-vehicle collisions, both with wild and domestic species. On average, road administrators spent R$ 2,463,380 (US $ 1,005,051) per year compensating victims. The logical conclusion is that the Brazilian legal system expects road administrators to keep animals, both wild and domestic species, off the road. We suggest an improved coordination between the laws that relate to animal-vehicle collisions and human safety, and the process for environmental licenses that focusses on reducing collisions with wildlife and providing habitat connectivity. In addition, we suggest better management practices, raising awareness and social change with regard to abandoned domesticated animals including horses, cattle, and dogs. This should ultimately result in a road system with improved human safety, reduced unnatural mortality for both domestic and wild animal species, safe crossing opportunities for wildlife, and reduced monetary costs to society.

Have pedestrian subsystem tests improved passenger car front shape?

Subsystem impactor tests are the main approaches for evaluation of safety performance of vehicle front design for pedestrian protection in legislative regulations. However, the main aspects of vehicle safety for pedestrians are shape and stiffness, and though it is clear that subsystem impact tests encourage lower vehicle front stiffness, it is unclear whether they promote improved vehicle front shapes for pedestrian protection. The purpose of this paper is therefore to investigate the effects of European pedestrian safety regulations on passenger car front shape and pedestrian injury risk using recent German In-Depth Accident Study (GIDAS) pedestrian collision data and numerical simulations. Firstly, a sample of 579 pedestrian collision cases involving 190 different car models between 2000-2015 extracted from the GIDAS was used to compare front-end shapes of passenger cars manufactured before and after the legislative pedestrian safety regulations were introduced in Europe. The focus was on changes in passenger car front shape and differences in pedestrian AIS2+ (Abbreviated Injury Scale at least level 2) leg, pelvis/femur and head injury risk observed in collisions. Multi-body simulations were also used to assess changes in vehicle aggressivity due to the observed changes in vehicle shape. The results show that newer passenger cars tend to have a flatter and wider bumper, higher bonnet leading edge, shorter and steeper bonnet and a shallower windscreen. Both the collision data and the numerical simulations indicate that newer passenger car front bumper designs are significantly safer for pedestrians' legs. However, the results also show that the higher bonnet leading edge in newer passenger cars is poor for pedestrian pelvis/femur protection, even though newer cars show an obviously lower AIS2+ injury risk to younger pedestrians in collisions. Newer cars have a lower AIS2+ head injury risk for pedestrians in collisions, but the numerical analysis indicate that this is not likely due to shape changes in passenger car fronts. Overall, the introduction of pedestrian safety regulations has resulted in reductions in pedestrian injury risk, but further benefits would accrue from tests which promote a lower bonnet leading edge. The influence of vehicle shape on pedestrian head injury risk remains unclear.

Why is the market for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) moving slowly?

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) could be a good short term option to help achieve global targets regarding road transport greenhouse gas emissions. Several common and country-specific public policies based on price or tax rebates are established in order to encourage the adoption of HEVs. The present research empirically assesses market preferences for HEVs in Spain, looking at the role of subsidies. An interactive internet-based survey was conducted in a representative sample (N = 1,200) of Spanish drivers. Drivers are willing to pay an extra amount of €1,645 for a HEV model compared to a conventional vehicle, premium which is well below the price markup for these cars. Therefore, current levels of economic subsidies applied in isolation to promote these types of vehicles may have a quite limited effect in extending their use. Overall, it is found that drivers have clear misconceptions about HEVs, which affect their purchasing choices and perceptions. Therefore, a policy mix of various incentives (including informational campaigns) may be required in order to stimulate the demand for HEVs.

The changing epidemiology of open fractures in vehicle occupants, pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists.

AIMS: To investigate the changing epidemiology of open fractures in vehicle occupants, pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data on all non-spinal open fractures admitted to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh after a road traffic accident between 1988 and 2010 were collected and analysed to provide information about the changing epidemiology in different patient groups. Demographic information was collected on all patients with the severity of injury being analysed with the Injury Severity Score (ISS), Musculoskeletal Index (MSI) and the number of open fractures. The severity of the open fractures was analysed using the Gustilo classification. The 23-year study period was divided into four shorter periods and the results were compared. RESULTS: There were 696 patients treated in 23 years. Analysis showed that the incidence of RTA open fractures initially fell in both males and females and continued to fall in females during the 23 years. In males it levelled off about 2000. The age of the female patients also fell during the study period but it did not change in males. The only patient group to show an increased incidence of open fractures were cyclists. In vehicle occupants the incidence fell throughout the study period but it levelled off in pedestrians and motorcyclists. There was no difference in the severity of injury in any group during the study period. The most severe open fractures were those of the distal femur and femoral diaphysis although open tibial diaphyseal fractures were the most common fracture in all patient groups. CONCLUSIONS: Improved car design and road safety legislation has resulted in a reduction in the incidence of open fractures in vehicle occupants, pedestrians and motorcyclists. The most obvious group to have benefitted from this are older female pedestrians. The only group to show an increase in age during the study period were male motorcyclists.

Booster Seat Effectiveness Among Older Children: Evidence From Washington State.

INTRODUCTION: The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that children as old as 12 years use a booster seat when riding in motor vehicles, yet little is known about booster seat effectiveness when used by older children. This study estimated the association between booster use and injuries among children aged 8-12 years who were involved in motor vehicle crashes. METHODS: Researchers analyzed data on all motor vehicle crashes involving children aged 8-12 years reported to the Washington State Department of Transportation from 2002 to 2015. Data were collected in 2015 and analyzed in 2016. Children who were in a booster seat were compared with children restrained by a seat belt alone. Logistic regression was used to adjust for potential confounders. RESULTS: In unadjusted models, booster use was associated with a 29% reduction in the odds of experiencing any injury versus riding in a seat belt alone (OR=0.709, 95% CI=0.675, 0.745). In models adjusted for potential confounders, booster use was associated with a 19% reduction in the odds of any injury relative to riding in a seat belt alone (OR=0.814, 95% CI=0.749, 0.884). The risk of experiencing an incapacitating/fatal injury was not associated with booster use. CONCLUSIONS: Children aged 8-12 years involved in a motor vehicle crash are less likely to be injured if in a booster than if restrained by a seat belt alone. Because only 10% of U.S. children aged 8-12 years use booster seats, policies encouraging their use could lead to fewer injuries.

Primary Enforcement of Mandatory Seat Belt Laws and Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths.

INTRODUCTION: Policies that allow directly citing motorists for seat belt non-use (primary enforcement) have been shown to reduce motor vehicle crash deaths relative to secondary enforcement, but the evidence base is dated and does not account for recent improvements in vehicle designs and road safety. The purpose of this study was to test whether recent upgrades to primary enforcement still reduce motor vehicle crash deaths. METHODS: In 2016, researchers used motor vehicle crash death data from the Fatal Analysis Reporting System for 2000-2014 and calculated rates using both person- and exposure-based denominators. Researchers used a difference-in-differences design to estimate the effect of primary enforcement on death rates, and estimated negative binomial regression models, controlling for age, substance use involvement, fixed state characteristics, secular trends, state median household income, and other state-level traffic safety policies. RESULTS: Models adjusted only for crash characteristics and state-level covariates models showed a protective effect of primary enforcement (rate ratio, 0.88, 95% CI=0.77, 0.98; rate difference, -1.47 deaths per 100,000 population, 95% CI= -2.75, -0.19). After adjustment for fixed state characteristics and secular trends, there was no evidence of an effect of upgrading from secondary to primary enforcement in the whole population (rate ratio, 0.98, 95% CI=0.92, 1.04; rate difference, -0.22, 95% CI= -0.90, 0.46) or for any age group. CONCLUSIONS: Upgrading to primary enforcement no longer appears protective for motor vehicle crash death rates.

Car Seat Safety: Typologies of Protective Health and Safety Behaviors for Mothers in West Virginia.

Objective Parenting practices differ for a variety of reasons, and three parenting behaviors may be directly influenced by research, policy, and overall parenting trends: car safety seats, vaccination, and breastfeeding. Mothers were categorized in terms of their rear-facing car safety seat utilization and its relationship to other parental health and safety behaviors. Methods A cross-sectional, online survey of mothers of children under 3 years of age (n = 124) was conducted. Items assessed mother's perceived risk and worry about being in an automobile accident, as well as duration of rear-facing car seat utilization. A cluster analysis based on these variables was performed to differentiate the sample into four distinct groups. Outcomes were knowledge of car safety seats, breastfeeding duration, and adherence to vaccination schedules. Results The sample was predominantly White, had an average age of 32 years, had breastfed, and had at least some college education. Two groups of interest had (Group 1) long duration of rear-facing use with low perceived risk and worry and (Group 2) short use with high perceived risk and worry. Fisher's Exact test indicated Group 1 had higher knowledge of airbag use with car seats (p = 0.035), lower intentions to use the recommended vaccinations schedule (p = 0.005), and were more likely to breastfeed (p = 0.044) for longer duration (p = 0.012). Conclusion Propensity for mothers' risk aversion may be the crucial element in both an appropriate duration of rear-facing car safety seat use and refusal of recommended vaccination schedule.

Autonomous Cars: In Favor of a Mandatory Ethics Setting.

The recent progress in the development of autonomous cars has seen ethical questions come to the forefront. In particular, life and death decisions regarding the behavior of self-driving cars in trolley dilemma situations are attracting widespread interest in the recent debate. In this essay we want to ask whether we should implement a mandatory ethics setting (MES) for the whole of society or, whether every driver should have the choice to select his own personal ethics setting (PES). While the consensus view seems to be that people would not be willing to use an automated car that might sacrifice themselves in a dilemma situation, we will defend the somewhat contra-intuitive claim that this would be nevertheless in their best interest. The reason is, simply put, that a PES regime would most likely result in a prisoner's dilemma.