Safety, Volume 6, Issue 4 (December 2020) – 14 articles

Traffic-related crashes impact drivers of all ages. Post-license driving classes have emerged to equip drivers with higher level skills needed to prevent and avoid emergency situations. A performance driving center offers teenage and adult car control classes designed to address defensive driving skills through both classroom instruction and hands-on practice on a closed-road track. To obtain the views from teenagers and adults, both groups completed a survey immediately after their classes, and the adults completed a phone interview six months later. Results from the teenage and adult survey showed that both groups reported the most important topics learned during the car control class were skid recovery, using the antilock braking system (ABS) and looking where the car should go. Both teenagers and adults reported that they plan to significantly change their driving behaviors, especially those concerning seating, hand and mirror positions. Overall, after the class, the teenagers and adults felt “moderately competent” in their ability to perform the exercises practiced during the class, which increased from the rating of “not competent” prior to the class. The results from the phone interview with the adults suggest that ABS braking was the most important topic six months later. ABS braking was also the single-most reported skill used after the class and the self-identified skill most used to avoid a crash. The phone interview showed that the adults accurately predicted their use of the behaviors (seating position, vision, distractions, etc.) and turned those behaviors taught during the class into habits of their daily driving. Overall, the results from the teenage and adult survey, as well as the phone interview with the adults, suggest that the participants benefitted from the knowledge and skills gained from the one-day car control class. Full article

In the US, teenage drivers have an increased risk of being involved in crashes. To address this, post-license advanced driving programs have emerged. This study gains parents’ perspectives while observing their teens’ involvement in a post-license driving program focused on a hands-on introduction to emergency braking, skid recovery and the dangers of distracted driving. Parents completed a survey after the program, and for comparison purposes, the teens also completed a survey at the end of the program. While the parents only observed the program, the results revealed that most learned useful information and would consider additional training for themselves. Almost all teens and parents reported anticipating changing their driving behaviors, specifically by reducing distractions, having a heightened awareness and changing their driving position. These results suggest that parents benefited from simply observing the class. Full article

Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADASs) are used for increasing safety in the automotive domain, yet current ADASs notably operate without taking into account drivers’ states, e.g., whether she/he is emotionally apt to drive. In this paper, we first review the state-of-the-art of emotional and cognitive analysis for ADAS: we consider psychological models, the sensors needed for capturing physiological signals, and the typical algorithms used for human emotion classification. Our investigation highlights a lack of advanced Driver Monitoring Systems (DMSs) for ADASs, which could increase driving quality and security for both drivers and passengers. We then provide our view on a novel perception architecture for driver monitoring, built around the concept of Driver Complex State (DCS). DCS relies on multiple non-obtrusive sensors and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for uncovering the driver state and uses it to implement innovative Human–Machine Interface (HMI) functionalities. This concept will be implemented and validated in the recently EU-funded NextPerception project, which is briefly introduced. Full article

Police officers perform a variety of physical tasks that can range from deskwork to chasing down fleeing suspects on foot. If not sufficiently prepared these tasks can lead to an increased risk of injury or task failure. The aim of this study was to profile the routine dispatch tasks performed by the Australian law enforcement officers of a state police force by frequency and duration. Participants for this study (n = 53: male n = 43, age = 33.5 ± 7.7 years, years of service = 7.2 ± 6.4 years: Female n = 10; age = 31.6 ± 9.1 years, years of service = 7.1 ± 6.1 years) were drawn from ten different police stations. Data reporting the tasks attended, their priorities, and their durations were gathered from a computer-aided dispatch system. Data from 77 shifts (3.8 ± 4.0 tasks/shift) captured 292 tasks attended (29.2 ± 17.5 task per station). ‘Check bona fides’ (checking an individual’s identification; 27%) was the most frequently occurring task followed by attending a domestic incident (14%). The longest task was attending an accident (mean = 43.50 ± 78.85 min, range 2–249 min). The results of this study suggest that police tasks are highly varied in terms of type and duration and these may differ between regions. An understanding of the dispatch tasks police officers are required to attend can inform injury mitigation and return-to-work rehabilitation practices. Full article

Shipping is a high-risk industry and prone to accidents. A near-miss management system is an important aspect of the safety performance in shipping because the causes are the same for near-misses and accidents. Reporting, analyzing, and learning from near-misses can prevent the recurrence of accidents and thus improve safety on ships. This paper addresses near-miss management systems in shipping and provides insights into the quality of the implementation of these systems, with an emphasis on the importance of reporting. Research data were derived from two surveys and supported by data gained from near-miss reports and existing literature reviews. Professional seafarers of various ranks, ages, nationalities, and experiences, serving on tankers, cruise ships, bulk carriers, and container ships, voluntarily participated in these surveys. The first survey comprised 223 participants, and the second survey involved 22 participants. The research results indicate that near-miss reporting is inadequate, and several barriers limit appropriate near-miss reporting. The difficulty of seafarers in identifying near-miss events was found to be one of the major barriers to near-miss reporting at sea. Based on this research, a conceptual model of a near-miss management system was developed, and measures that can be applied to overcome barriers and increase reporting are proposed. Full article

There is little data delineating relationships between health and worker musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS), particularly among stone, sand, and gravel mine (SSGM) workers. There is also little data detailing the relationships between physical activity and MSS among these workers. A cross-sectional study using data from 459 SSGM workers was completed. Logistic regression analyses assessed relationships between health factors, physical activity, and low back, neck, shoulder, and knee MSS. Those who reported their health as very good/excellent were less likely to suffer low back and knee MSS. Those who indicated their health was poor/fair were more likely to suffer shoulder, neck, and knee MSS. Obese workers were more likely to experience knee MSS and those who smoked in the past had higher odds of neck MSS. Vigorous physical activity was mostly protective, but those performing more than 5 h of moderate physical activity each week had greater odds of shoulder and neck MSS. Given these results, workers in SSGM may benefit from targeted interventions that bolster vigorous physical activity and improve health. Further, health protection efforts need to be initiated by SSGM operations to address work issues and to sustain health as job roles and work hours impacted MSS as well. Full article

Researchers in the resilience engineering space have proposed the notion that organisations operating in complex socio-technical systems cannot ‘be’ resilient but can have the ‘potential for resilient performance’. This theoretical stance also suggests that organisations wanting to enhance their potential for resilience begin by measuring their operational safety performance against four key potentials, these being: the Potential to Anticipate; the Potential to Respond; the Potential to Learn; and the Potential to Monitor. Furthermore, to measure these four key resilience constructs, organisations have been recommended to use a Resilience Assessment Grid (RAG) developed as part of this theory. However, scarce research appears to have been conducted that bridges the theory and practice divide on just how organisations can pragmatically measure their current performance against these four resilience potentials using the RAG. Therefore, this research was interested in undertaking a pilot study using RAG theory in order to examine an organisation’s four resilience potentials, and was conducted within a large road transport organisation in Australia. Results indicated that measuring both the four individual potentials and a combination of the four potentials was possible using a RAG and proved effective in providing a snapshot of operational safety system resilience concepts. Recommendations on how to increase organisational resilience potentials were provided to ensure future safety endeavours would enhance the organisation’s potential to be resilience in the face of system variability and operational demands. Full article

In recent years, the focus in safety management has shifted from failure-based analysis towards a more systemic perspective, redefining a successful or failed performance as a complex and emergent event rather than as a conclusion of singular errors or root causes. This paradigm shift has also necessitated the introduction of innovative tools capable of capturing the complex and dynamic nature of modern sociotechnical systems. In our research, we argued at previous stages for adopting a more systemic and human-centric perspective to evaluate the context of aircraft de-icing operations. The Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) was applied in the first stage for this purpose. Consequently, fuzzy logic was combined with FRAM in the second stage to provide a quantified representation of performance variability. Fuzzy logic was used as a quantification tool suitable for computing with natural language. Several limitations were found in the data collection and rule generation process for the first prototype. In the third phase, the model was further improved by integrating rough sets as a data-mining tool to generate and reduce the size of the rule base and classify outcomes. In this paper, we reflect on the three stages of the project and discuss in a qualitative manner the challenges and limitations faced in the development and application of the models. A summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the three models as experienced in our case are presented at the end. The objective is to present an outlook for future studies to address methodological limitations in the study of complex sociotechnical systems. Full article

Trends and underlying patterns should be identified in the timely distribution of road traffic offenses to increase traffic safety. In this study, a time series analysis was used to study the incidence rate of road traffic violations on Iranian rural roads. Road traffic volume and offenses data from March 2011 to October 2019 were aggregated. Interrupted time series were used to evaluate the impact of increasing fuel cost in June of 2013 and July of 2014 and the currency devaluation of Rial vs. US dollars in July of 2017 on trends and patterns, traffic volume, and number of offenses. A change-point detection (CPD) analysis was also used to identify singular changes in the frequency of traffic offenses. Results show a general decline in the number of overtaking and speeding offenses of −24.31% and −13.23%, respectively, due to the first increase in fuel cost. The second increase only reduced overtaking by 20.97%. In addition, Iran’s currency devaluation reduced the number of overtaking offenses by 26.39%. Modeling a change-point detection and a Mann-Kendall Test of traffic offenses in Iran, it was found that the burden of violations was reduced. Full article

(1) Background: The purpose of this study is to identify emergency medical technicians’ perceptions of the most pressing issues that they experience when responding to motor vehicle collisions and record their opinions about what information is needed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the care they provide. (2) Methods: Emergency medical technicians participated in one-on-one structured interviews about their experiences responding to motor vehicle collisions. Their feedback on dispatching procedures and protocols, travel to and from the scene, and the response process was collected. (3) Results: Participants reported experiencing difficulties related to lack of or inaccuracies in information, interactions with traffic, incompatibility in communication technology, scene safety, resource management, and obtaining timely notifications of motor vehicle collisions. Regarding the type of information most needed to improve emergency medical response, respondents indicated a desire for additional data related to the vehicle and its occupants. (4) Conclusions: The early and widespread availability of this information is expected to aid emergency responders in coordinating necessary resources faster and more optimally, help service optimization in situations with multiple motor vehicle collisions in close temporal proximity, and improve on-scene safety for first responders and other necessary personnel. Full article

About 67% of workers employed in the industrial and service sectors in the European Union are currently contracted by Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), which represent the economic heart of the European economy. However, this strength is counterbalanced by a considerably higher overall accident rate compared to Large Enterprises (LEs), and this trend seems to be confirmed worldwide. Moreover, most available tools for risk assessment and occupational health and safety (OHS) management are originally designed to fit the needs of LEs, resulting in a gap for SMEs. Therefore, the effective management of OHS in SMEs has become a crucial issue for researchers, practitioners and policymakers, aiming to improve the social and economic sustainability of small companies. The main purpose of this study is to provide guidelines to implement effective risk assessment processes and integrate them with OHS management systems in SMEs. A literature analysis of risk assessment and OHS management in SMEs highlights the main findings and gaps. Then, the three-phases methodology adopted is presented, outlining the main steps and outputs of the project. Finally, the web-based software tool for OHS risk analysis and management, designed to answer the specific needs of SMEs, is presented. Full article

Driver education providers may utilise technologies such as driving simulators to augment their existing courses. Understanding the perceptions that young drivers and parents have of simulators may help to make simulator-based driver education more accepted and more likely to be effective. Young drivers and parents completed an online questionnaire that included a “simulator invention” visualisation task. Items based on the Goals for Driver Education framework investigated perceptions of the most appropriate skill type, while others examined the most suitable target group for simulator training, and timing in relation to completing a formal driver education course for simulator training to occur. Both groups perceived that simulators were most appropriate for training a combination of physical, traffic, psychological, and social driving skills with learner drivers during attendance at a novice driver education program. Young drivers and parents had similar perceptions regarding the amount that each skill type should be trained using a simulator. Understanding the perceptions of young drivers and parents, and especially those who are somewhat naïve to the use of driving simulators, may aid in the introduction and administration of simulator training and may increase the effectiveness of driver education as a crash countermeasure. Full article

The objective of this research is to develop a useful procedure to assess and identify risks that promote accidents by road users, with the vision of improving safety through the implementation and technical employment of operative strategies. The relevance of this proposal lies in the fact that the issue of traffic accidents is a global problem. This project is located in the mountain range of Baja California, Mexico, in the Centinela–La Rumorosa highway and integrates accidental and pavement surface condition data, geometric design performance, analysis of traffic signals, and road safety devices present on the road using geodetic techniques. It is concluded that this procedure contributes to determining risk areas that promote accidents and generate a risk reduction plan to support future decision-making that guarantees better performance for road users. Furthermore, it is highlighted that the analysis of road safety must be a permanent process for those who operate, design, and build the road system. Full article

In the US, teenage drivers have an increased risk of being involved in crashes. To address this, post-license advanced driving programs have emerged. This study gains teenagers’ perspective of a post-license defensive driving program focused on a hands-on introduction to emergency braking, skid recovery and the dangers of distracted driving. The teenagers completed a survey immediately following the program and a phone interview three months later. The open-ended survey and phone interview items reflect the program’s key concepts. During the follow-up phone interview, the majority of teenagers reported using the skills experienced and half of the participants who participated in the phone interview reported using skills that they learned to avoid a crash. Almost all teenagers reported anticipating or changing their driving behaviors, specifically by reducing distractions, having a heightened awareness and changing their driving position. The survey and follow-up phone interview results suggest that the teenagers benefited from the skills introduced and, from the teenagers’ perspective, has helped them avoid crashes. Full article