The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety in the United States has just published a report titled, “Measuring Cognitive Distraction in the Automobile.” https://www.aaafoundation.org/measuring-cognitive-distractions The report, based on research led by David Strayer from the University of Utah, concludes that many activities that don’t require the use of hands still pose a significant cognitive distraction that […]
Category: Motor vehicle crashes
Marijuana and driving: How much is too much?
Two U.S. states, Colorado and Washington, have recently legalized the recreational use of Marijuana and both are struggling with the question of how much is too much when it comes to Marijuana and driving. Colorado and Washington have both recently passed legal limits for tetrahydrocannabinol or THC in the blood at 5 ng/ml but Washington’s […]
Experts concerned over the car safety features in Brazil
Rafael Consunji shared an interesting news feature on passenger car safety standards in Brazil written by Bradley Brooks of the Associated Press (Link: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-impact-cars-made-brazil-deadly-180411170.html). Brooks in his feature, based on experts’ opinions, indicates that passenger cars made by the international automakers in Brazil lack standard safety features, which they usually provide in the cars […]
High-income is not necessarily associated with better road safety performance in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
There is an interesting relationship between national income and road safety that becomes apparent when going through the second global status report on road safety (GSRRS). Numerous studies have shown that the wealth of a country is one of the major determinants of road fatality risk. One study by Koptis and Cropper (2005) showed that, […]
National Transportation Safety Board Recommends a move from 0.08 to 0.05 BAC laws in the U.S.
On May 14, 2013 the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States released a report titled, “Reaching Zero: Actions to Eliminate Alcohol-Impaired Driving.” http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2013/SR1301.pdf The National Transportation Safety Board is a legislatively mandated independent federal agency that is charged with, among other things, making recommendations related to transportation safety. The NTSB report is […]
Motor vehicle crash risks for pregnant women
The risk of crash is ever present for any road user, however risks specific to women when they are pregnant remain to be fully understood. A recent article in Accident Analysis and Prevention estimated the risk of being a pregnant driver in a crash for nearly 900 000 thousand pregnant women (>= 20 weeks gestation) in North […]
Distractions – a growing injury issue moving beyond the car?
Distracted driving has justifiably received a tremendous amount of attention in the injury prevention field. But the issue of distractions and the associated injury risk might be getting even bigger and becoming more relevant outside of the motor vehicle realm. There is lots of interesting speculation about an impending boom in wearable computing. Several major […]
Global Progress towards Comprehensive Legislation for Road Safety
On March 14th, 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) released the second Global Status Report on Road Safety* (GSRRS-2013). Overall, the GSRRS-2013 concludes that “the number of road traffic deaths each year has not increased (from 2007 to 2011) – but remains unacceptably high at 1.24 million per year.” The GSRRS-2013 also noted the global […]
NYPD joins in banning the A word
In 2001, the late Ron Davis (then North American editor of the BMJ) and I wrote an editorial in the BMJ announcing that the publishing group would no longer permit the use of the word ‘accident’ when the intended meaning was ‘injury’. This was greeted by a storm of criticism in letters to the editor […]
Honda’s new safety package
Honda Motor Co. has developed an “accident” avoidance support system that will be bundled into an enhanced safety package. While driving at less than 30 kph, the “City-Brake Active System” gives audio and visual warnings when the system recognizes a high risk of collision by a laser radar installed in the upper part of the front […]