Journal of Local and Global Health Science - Proceedings of the 24th World International Traffic Medicine Association Congress, Qatar 2015, November 2015

Traffic has become essential to our daily life. It is necessary to handle it properly by means of prediction, planning and management. This is especially true for the rapid development of road networks in the country and the exponential increase in the number of drivers, vehicles and the related industry development. In recent years, traffic safety, as well as the prevention and treatment of accident injuries have received more attention. In par Read More

For the last fourteen years in Japan, casualties due to traffic collisions have decreased. There were 9,073 traffic fatalities in 2000 and 4,113 in 2014. However, it has been argued that traffic collisions caused by one driver’s poor physical condition account for 10% of all traffic collisions. To reduce collisions to an even greater degree, this type of collision should be prevented. To investigate this issue, we studied criminal liability for driver Read More

Although there has been a decline in the popularity of walking, it remains a very commonly employed mode of travel and people of almost all ages and sexes walk. Walking almost inevitably involves crossing a road, where the desire line of the pedestrian conflicts with the higher speed. Where speeds are high, this can result in either delay or risk for the pedestrian and when pedestrians are children the situation becomes more complicated. So Read More

The 1.2 million deaths per annum globally caused by road traffic injuries (RTIs) have been likened to a plane crashing every day (1). Nevertheless, RTIs are a neglected public health concern. There were 247 road traffic fatalities in Qatar in 2010, a rate of 14.4 deaths per 100,000 people. Even though recent progress has been made, this remains three times higher than Western European countries. It is akin to a plane crash every year for Read More

Motor vehicle collisions are responsible for a large number of ocular injuries. Although ocular injuries require an early ophthalmological examination at the time of trauma to detect any type of ocular dysfunction, some ophthalmological abnormalities are not detected after the facial injury owing to failure of referral ophthalmologists. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of requiring ophthalmological care by evaluating the patte Read More

On any given day, almost 3400 people die globally due to road traffic accidents. The global status report from WHO in 2013 estimates that in India alone approximately 231,000 people are killed due to RTAs yearly. The majority of the victims are unfortunately children, elderly and innocent pedestrians. Due to these astonishing numbers, in 2014 the UN General Assembly, in union with a dozen countries, adopted a resolution of “Improving global r Read More

Pedestrian–vehicle conflicts are one of the most important safety concerns especially at intersections. Of total traffic fatalities, 30% and 36% are pedestrians in Qatar and in Japan, respectively (National Police Agency in Japan, 2015). Although pedestrians at signalized intersections are given priority during the green phase, turning vehicles in conflict often do not give the right of way to pedestrians but tend to compete for it. Furthermore, l Read More

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders among children and adolescents. Adult ADHD is often underestimated and untreated, but may influence drivers’ behaviour in traffic. The objective of the present study is to clarify how symptoms of ADHD are associated with different types of traffic accidents. A subsample of the subjects of Estonian Psychobiological Traffic Behaviour Study was r Read More

Presently there are about 53 lakh vehicles plying on Bangalore’s roads. The absolute number of road accidents has also been growing at an alarming rate which reflects concomitant investment in road safety strategies coupled with rapid rate of motorisation. At the same time, there is lacuna in the whole system of reporting, recording and analysing road traffic crashes. The process of building a report on ‘road accidents in Bangalore” sta Read More

From 3 lakh vehicles in 1985, to about 53 lakh now, vehicle population in Bangalore has increased more than five fold during the last two decades. While the vehicle population is growing by at least one lakh every year, total road length has remained the same. Many of the arterial roads and junctions are operating over the capacity and to upgrade the city's traffic management system and resulted in the creation of the Bangalore Traffic Improv Read More

The use of helicopters and planes for transporting sick or injured patients to tertiary care centers is common practice. Aviation medicine requires a different perspective regarding patient care. One must consider the effects of higher altitudes on patients when utilizing aeromedical transportation. An endotracheal tube (ETT) utilizes air to inflate a balloon (“cuff”); the cuff invasively secures the ETT and the pressure must be measured and Read More

To elucidate crash and injury patterns of vehicle occupants in fatal motor vehicle accidents (MVA). A retrospective study of fatal MVA victims based on data from post mortem examinations between 2000-2014 in South East Norway was conducted. Within the 15 year period, 561 vehicle occupants killed in traffic were identified, 373 were vehicle drivers and 158 passengers. Compared with data from official statistics, this represents an autopsy Read More

Protection of vulnerable road users is important to reduce traffic fatality in Japan. The use of active safety devices that can detect cyclists is considered to be an effective countermeasure for reducing the severity of injuries and number of cyclist fatality. The detailed features of car–cyclist contact scenarios need to be clarified to develop such safety devices. Since there is limited information on real-world accidents, the present study inv Read More

Road traffic injuries are second leading cause of mortality in hospitals of Ministry of Health (MOH) – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (1), costing billions of Saudi Riyals annually (2). The Injury & Accidents Prevention Program in MOH, realizing the dearth of data about injuries, designed a uniform Injury Surveillance System in 2013, with assistance of the World Health Organization (WHO) and in collaboration with Ministry of Interior and Red Cr Read More

Annually 1.2 million deaths occur globally due to road traffic injuries; additionally, 20-50 million are injured or disabled ("Global status report", 2013). Concomitant with rapid socioeconomic growth, infrastructure development and increased vehicle ownership, injury, disability and mortality due to road traffic collisions are high in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. This is also true for Qatar where road traffic collisions are one of the leadi Read More

Morbid obesity is a major public health problem in high-income, developed and fast developing countries. The potential effects of morbid obesity on road crash risk have rarely been investigated. In this study, we evaluated road crash risks in morbidly obese drivers who underwent bariatric surgery. We conducted a self-matched cohort analysis of morbidly obese adult patients in Ontario (Canada) who underwent bariatric surgery between Apr Read More

We assessed obesity trends in US drivers involved in fatal crashes since 1999 and distinguished whether crash risk factors were different between obese and non-obese drivers. We included drivers of passenger cars involved in fatal traffic crashes between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2012. Obesity was classified according to the World Health Organization guidelines and profiled between 1999 and 2012 using adjusted prevalence ratio (aP Read More

Although road safety and driver behaviour have improved over the last few years in Qatar, more accidents can be prevented and still more lives saved. One simple and very important step to reduce the severity of injuries for drivers and passengers is the proper and consistent use of a seat belt (1). Since law enforcement is not always effective, additional approaches should be used. We believe a road safety culture needs to be developed amo Read More

Recent years have witnessed acceleration in wireless technology breakthroughs that proved to be key technology enablers of a plethora of applications that have shaped our modern society. For road safety and accident preventions, wireless technologies play a pivotal role in saving lives by assisting drivers in detecting potential collisions from blind spots and in inclement weather conditions such as thick fog or heavy rain. These wireless te Read More

Road Safety Audits are used to identify risks and to propose remedial works on new and existing. The Safe System requires a change in focus from mitigating crashes to preventing death and serious injury. Development of the Qatar Road Safety Audit Guide (RSAG) presented an ideal opportunity to reinvigorate road safety auditing practices in accordance with the Safe System. The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) commissioned a RSAG t Read More

Helmets save lives, yet many countries do not have laws about their quality assessment or how they should be worn. We assessed the effectiveness of helmet use in preventing injuries in such a setting. The data were extracted from a large road traffic injury surveillance study in Karachi, Pakistan. We assessed the association of wearing helmets with several injury outcomes including deaths, injury severity (via New Injury Severity Score, NIS Read More

Significant reductions in road trauma among young drivers could be achieved if they drove safer vehicles. Parents are likely to play a critical role in the access, timing of vehicle purchase, available budget, and vehicle choice for the young driver’s first vehicle. However, little attention has been directed to understanding the most effective communication strategies to encourage young drivers and their parents to purchase and use safe vehicles. Read More

Speeding remains a major contributor to trauma on our roads, held to be a major factor in around one-third of fatal crashes and over 10 percent of all crashes (Bowie & Walz, 1994; Fildes & Lee, 1993). This study reviewed speed management strategies and key factors that should be considered through a comprehensive review of the literature. One of the most frequently used methods of managing travel speeds is the posted speed limit. The Read More

Around schools, increases in walking and cycling help to reduce traffic congestion and improve the road safety and neighborhood navigation skills of children. Physical activity and independent mobility may also have a positive effect on children’s behavioural and cognitive development. Child pedestrians, however, are a vulnerable road user groups, experiencing an increased crash and injury risk relative to older pedestrians, consti Read More

The Department of Transport (DoT) in Abu Dhabi has recognised that while minibuses play a key role in transporting people within the United Arab Emirates, levels of fatal and serious injury among minibus occupants in crashes are high. As a first step toward addressing this problem, the DoT commissioned a benchmarking study to gain an understanding of the state of the minibus fleet, focusing on fundamental vehicle safety aspe Read More

Controlling the speed of vehicles on various roads and streets is crucial in order to maintain the safety of people and to prevent any possibility of injury or death. One technique that is widely used in Qatar to force road users to reduce their vehicles’ speed is the installation of speed humps and tables. In this study, an evaluation of speed humps and tables in selected areas of Qatar was conducted, since they vary in shape and size and many c Read More

Since 2010, Sweden presents suicides in road traffic separately from fatalities caused by accidents. The aim with this study was to assess the number of road traffic suicides by studying the fatality from three angles; the vehicle, the road and the road user. The main focus was to develop and perform a psychosocial examination of the road user. First, a method was developed for classification of road fatalities to determine if they were cause Read More

Not all fatalities in road traffic are accidents; some are suicides. Since 2010, Sweden have been presenting suicides in road traffic separately from fatalities caused by accidents. To carry out this task a method has been developed for classification of road traffic fatalities in order to determine if the fatality was caused by accident or suicide. A five-grade classification scale was developed. Grade one indicated a clear suicide and grade five Read More

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence pattern of the burden severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) among young children in Qatar and to suggest practical prevention policies that can be implemented in Qatar. This is a retrospective study that included all pediatric cases of severe TBI during the period from January 2002 to December 2008. The study was conducted among children aged 14 years or less at the Children Rehabilitati Read More

An increasing part of the global population holds a driver’s license. Thus, a greater variety of prerequisites regarding the fitness to drive will occur, increasing the demand for assessing fitness to drive. However, today, there is a lack of internationally agreed upon methods for assessing the fitness to drive. Specifically, there is a need to develop methods to assess cognitive abilities required for driving safely (Hird, Vetivelu, Saposnik, & Schw Read More

Providing safe roads around schools is a challenge faced by all communities. Children’s behaviour is unpredictable and their safety is of particular concern in an area where there is often a mix of vulnerable road users and motor vehicles. In 2011, Ashghal commissioned a major road safety contract to conduct road safety assessments at 200 schools throughout Qatar. The results have since been collated into a comprehensive school safet Read More

Road traffic accidents are an emerging public health problem. The deaths due to road traffic injuries represent only a small fraction of the total waste of human and social resources. Road traffic injuries leading to disabilities are often neglected part of the problem. In the year of 2010, it was reported 2721 have died and 26487 have sustained injuries due to road traffic accidents. Sri Lanka being a middle income country, the information on disabi Read More

Driving is a visually demanding task (Kotecha, Spratt and Viswanathan, 2008). Does individuals with visual deficits fulfill the “Fitness to drive” criteria? The developed simulator based method presented below was driven by the purpose to be able to discriminate between individuals with and without visual deficits. (Owsley, Wood, and McGwin, 2015). An advanced driving simulator was used to develop a simulated driving task, which also in Read More

Backgrounds: Pre-hospital emergency call is a crucial index to indicate emergency disease spectrum. For Beijing, which has changed greatly in economy and population, analyzing the trend of the emergency disease spectrum can greatly contribute to formulate the pre-hospital emergency planning. Methods: In this 10-year retrospective study, pre-hospital emergency records of Beijing Emergency Medical Center from 2003 to 2012 were c Read More

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effects of standardization processes in improving severe trauma treatments in China. Methods: This study was conducted in 12 hospitals located in 12 geographically and industrially different cities in China. A standard process on severe trauma rescue was established as a general rule for staff training and patient treatment. A regional network (system) efficiently integrating pre-hospital rescue, Read More

This research considers a Bayesian analysis of crash data in an attempt to predict, from a group of potential collision hotspot sites, which of these sites could benefit from treatment with a road safety scheme. Intrinsic to the analysis is the identification of trend and site-specific regression to the mean (RTM) effects. As in a standard retrospective before-after study to evaluate the effectiveness of a change in e.g. the geometric design of an i Read More

Road traffic injuries (RTI) are the leading cause of death in Qatar with one in eight deaths from all causes due to RTIs. Furthermore, motor vehicle crashes (MVC) are becoming a growing public health problem and the use of seatbelt is universally low throughout the nation. The aim of our study was to investigate and highlight potential socio-demographic risk factors that contribute to seatbelt non-compliance. A prospective cross-sectional Read More

Hearing loss (HL) is one of the most frequent sensory deficit in humans (Stevens et al., 2013), which might reduce traffic safety. The prevalence of age-related HL is increasing (Roth et al., 2001), and as a consequence the number of road users with HL will also increase. The effects of HL on traffic safety have been investigated and the use of tactile support systems has been evaluated both in a driving simulator and in real traffic. Tactile suppo Read More

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are number one reason for human mortality around the world (Fig. 1) [1]. Pulse pressure (PP) and pulse rate (PR) are considered as the two most vital physiological markers for CVDs like myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmia, and heart failure. Currently, long-term PP and PR analysis is not possible due to the lack of systems that can frequently measure the data over a period of time. Motor vehicle drivers w Read More

In a report by the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region(1), the non-use of child restraints for children was identified as a key risk factor that can be addressed by the adoption and enforcement of legislation that will increase their use. Currently, there are no child restraint laws in Qatar. The objective of the study is to report baseline data on child restraint use and to provide evidence to inform the passage of child passenger restraint laws i Read More

Mortality for young children in motor vehicle crashes in Qatar was highest in those who were unrestrained1. Anecdotal reports have attributed low car seat use to their expense and unavailability prompting car seat giveaway programs, but an assessment of the local car seat market has not been conducted previously. This study will report the results of a rapid market survey (RMS) to understand the availability, characteristics and the c Read More

Introduction: In Sweden, physicians are required to report dementia patients who are unfit to drive to the Swedish Transport Agency (STA). However, physicians may refrain from reporting if there is reason to believe that the patient will cease to drive as part of an agreement. Aims: To investigate to what extent physicians address driving and dementia, and whether there is a difference in how the issue is addressed depending on patient-r Read More

Young driver overrepresentation in road crash deaths and injuries is observed worldwide including Qatar. Multiple independent factors contribute to this high risk including age, brain development and inexperience. These factors also explain young drivers' high level deliberate risk taking behaviors including speeding. A Graduate licensing scheme (GLS) which requires new drivers to pass through multiple licensing stages (each with specifi Read More

Experience of the State of Qatar Introduction: Since the second half of the last decade of the twentieth century, Qatar has witnessed the implementation of a comprehensive development plan in various economic, urban and social scales. This comprehensive plan granted greater attention to developing the infrastructure and providing the necessary facilities. Road network development, with world-class engineering standards, w Read More

Managing the safety of high-risk drivers continues to be a major challenge. The traditional approach has been to develop training and education based programs in order to achieve this. Relatively few of these types of road safety education programs have been evaluated and for those that have included effective evaluation the results have been disappointing in terms of reducing the subsequent crash risk of participants. Some interve Read More

School buses and minibuses are one of the major modes of traveling for students in the state of Qatar. Many studies pointed to the fact that school buses travelling are safer for students than walking or car riding (Bolte, et al., 2000; Hinch, et al., 2002). For that reason, safety measures and performance of school buses in the State of Qatar should be studied and evaluated carefully and wisely. The project aims were done through Read More

The contribution of alcohol to the health burden of road traffic injuries [RTI’s] has been well documented in various settings. However, in a recent global report released by the WHO, almost half of all countries lack data on alcohol-related road deaths and injuries. This study will report the results of the Alcohol Screening Brief Intervention and Referral for Treatment [ASBIRT] Program of the Hamad Trauma Center [HTC]. This ASBIRT is a progr Read More

Objective: To study the mortality, causes and characteristics of child road traffic death (CRTD) in China in 2013, in order to find new ways to improve CRTD prevention and control. Materials: The road traffic death data and population data of children under 18 years old in 2013 were mainly from: (1) Annual statistics report on road traffic accident of China in 2013, by Transportation Bureau, Ministry of Public Security. (2) Annual demographi Read More

Global road traffic accidents (RTAs) account for around 1.2 million fatalities annually and alarmingly, 30-40% of these fatalities are children [24]. Even in the UK, 60% of child deaths are from RTAs. In Asia, up to one third of these deaths are due to two-wheelers [24]. Helmets can help reduce fatalities by 25% but studies show compliance as low as 20% in Indonesia. Aims and objectives of the study were to find out why people don’t wear helme Read More

Effective injury mitigation measures can only be developed once a clear understanding of the problem has been obtained. The factors which contribute to the problem and hence the solution are based of analysis of real world data. The incidence of spinal injuries in traffic accidents has been identified to be a significant problem in Saudi Arabia and Gulf Countries (GCC). However, a detailed database, which could offer data from real world acci Read More

Background: Traffic injury is a major risk factor among children • Traffic injury is a leading cause of injuries among Chinese children aged 0 to 14.1 • Nowadays, family car ownership has reached 60 million in China2 Objectives: • Raise the public awareness on child passenger safety and correct usage of car seats, especially among parents through multi-sectorial collaboration Methods: • Introduce global evidence-based safety messages an Read More

As an integral part of engineering safer roads, road side safety devices passively interact with errant vehicles to redirect them safely back to the road or bring them to a safe and controlled stop. These devices take the form of crash cushions, cable barriers, concrete barriers, steel barriers, guard rails, guardrail terminals and others. Placement criteria and warrants are established in the AASHTO Road Side Design Guide (1). However, before Read More

The revolution of auto industry has led to an exponential increase in energy consumption, mainly fossil fuel, which motivated scientists to search for alternative clean, safe and sustainable energy resources. One of the promising energy sources is that produced as a byproduct from operating vehicles. This thermal energy can be harvested and reused as a viable secure source of electricity by utilizing thermoelectric (TE) devices. The TE solid Read More

Introduction In pursuit of the realization of the Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV 2030) and to ensure the success of the hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Qatari higher authorities have assigned paramount importance to instilling and prorogating traffic awareness among the various community groups and school students. Thus, the establishment of the National Committee for Traffic Safety (NCTS) headed by His Excellency the Prime Read More

Today, the world has observed a remarkable growth in the use of transportation mobile communications for road safety. While a user in a vehicle moves to a new communication cell, a wireless terminal requests a handoff for new channel in the new cell. Due to that movement, some of the challenges issues are developed such as, the increase in traffic volumes and demand for high speed transportation mobile communications call for fast, Read More

While dealing with motor vehicle collision (MVC) victims, the Paramedics on-scene make patient management decisions based on assessment of the physiological parameters, anatomic site of injury, mechanism of injury (MOI), and some special considerations (age and underlying illnesses). In victims with normal physiological and anatomical parameters, and no alarming consideration, the MOI alone is found to be an independent predictor Read More

Not being able to drive your own car can be devastating for mobility, health, finances and self-esteem. Driving is a visually demanding task (Owsley et al., 2008) and insufficient visual field can lead to revoked license. Acquired brain damage can impair the visual field and stroke is a very common diagnosis among drivers with visual field defects. de Haan et al. (2015) identified several undocumented difficulties among patients with hom Read More

Driving is a visually demanding task (Owsley, et al., 2008), manifested in visual ability requirements. Sweden, does not allow on road assessment of drivers with visual field defects. However, driving simulators can be used for fitness to drive assessment (Rizzo, 2011) but authoring driving scenarios is a critical task Vardaki et al. (2014). This paper discuss a driving simulator based assessment method aiming to assess drivers with visual field d Read More

Fatal vehicle crashes are not uncommon for ambulance paramedics (1-3). Emergency services staff may be overconfident and overestimate the privileges they have on the road and overlook basic driving safety principles (4). In line with the WHO (5) a driving safety campaign targeting some 935 registered HMCAS drivers and other staff was initiated in June 2015. We aim to determine if our approach is effective in changing behaviour a Read More

This presentation focusses on the analysis of the fundamental characteristics of traffic enforcement systems for the improvement of traffic safety and the development of a framework of principles and proposals for enforcement programs of selected traffic violations in rapidly developing countries. The methodology used includes a wide review of international literature as well as processing, evaluation and ranking of particular enforcement a Read More

Ambulance use in low-and middle-income countries is very low. This study assesses characteristics of road traffic injury (RTI) victims coming to emergency departments (EDs) by ambulance and compares with RTI victims coming via alternative modes of transportation. The Pakistan National Emergency Departments Surveillance (Pak-NEDS) was a surveillance conducted in seven major tertiary-care EDs in six main cities of Pakistan Read More

In 2010, road traffic injuries (RTIs) are the leading cause of deaths in those aged 1-19 years globally and half of those victims are vulnerable road users (VRUs), defined as pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists. Low-income countries account for the highest proportion of VRU deaths. The change in distribution of the burden of RTI during recent decades is unclear. To highlight changes over time in RTI mortality among children and adolesc Read More

The Philippines is a low-middle income country with an estimated population of 102 Million and a 2.18 annual population growth rate. The consequent urbanization has rapidly increased the number of motor vehicles resulting in increased number of road traffic injuries in the country. According to the World Health Organization, next to assault, road traffic crashes are the second leading cause of injury deaths for all ages. Among 0 to 17 yea Read More

The World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention of 2004 recommended that the newly motorizing countries establish road injury surveillance to define the burden, identify high-risk groups, plan intervention and monitor their impact. Despite its stated importance in the literature, very few examples of sustained surveillance systems are reported from low income countries. This presentation shares the results of an urban RTI surveillance pro Read More

Road safety is a major public health concern. Between 2008 and 2010 an average of 220 people were killed each year and over 550 people were seriously injured in the State of Qatar because of road crashes. Qatar Red Crescent (QRC), as a member of The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) which is the host of The Global Road Safety Partnership, has identified the road safety as one of its priorities to save l Read More

The advent of the Big Data era has transformed the outlook of numerous fields in science and engineering. The transportation arena also has great expectations of taking advantage of Big Data enabled by the popularization of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The challenges in the transportation system are many, ranging from increase in travel demand, growth in congestion, need to improve safety to the reality of limit Read More

The Qatar Mobility Innovations Center (QMIC) has defined an integrated innovations strategy for developing and deploying local solutions and applications that tackle road safety in Qatar and the region. This strategy is based on utilizing distributed data and connected devices to deliver intelligent user-centric services and applications that will tackle different problems contributing to road accidents in Qatar and the region. In t Read More

Traffic crashes are the obvious and tragic outcome of a complex process of which traffic, human factors, roadway engineering and surrounding environment are all contributing factors. Traffic operations, however, inflict more physical and psychological harm on human health, albeit, it is not immediately obvious as crashes. Some of those harms show symptoms over longer terms, possibly a lifetime. That, however, does not chang Read More

Trauma systems have been shown to improve outcomes for trauma victims with severe and multiple complex injuries in many Western settings. This same effect have not been adequately demonstrated in rapidly developing economies nor specifically for patients with road traffic injuries [RTI's]. This session will present temporal trends in the development of the trauma system and their effect on RTI patient outcomes in Qatar. A review of Read More

Oman has undergone a rapid epidemiological transition, and has witnessed substantial social and economic changes in the last four decades. Based on oil revenues, the government of Oman has accelerated the development, in the present context, of road network and rapid growth of motorization. Despite the positive side of the substantial development, however, there are other challenges appeared on the scene that have negative imp Read More

Introduction: Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among young people, aged 15-29 years (1). It is generally accepted that the high rate of adolescent injuries may be due to a variety of factors. Studies have shown young drivers are more likely to underestimate the probability of specific risks caused by traffic situations, as well as to overestimate their own driving skills making them more vulnerable to trauma. It has also been hypot Read More

Qatar is one of the 20 countries of the IDF MENA region. Three hundred and eighty seven million people have diabetes worldwide and more than 37 million people in the MENA Region; by 2035 this will rise to 68 million. There were 303,700 cases of diabetes in Qatar in 2014. Large number of diabetic patients will seek or currently hold a license to drive. Most of these patients are either on oral medications or insulin to control their diabetes. Read More

Young drivers run a greater risk everywhere. Better understanding of the underlying processes to this problem are a useful tool in preventive endeavors. An understanding that a person’s life ambition and context of driving mostly influence young drivers in terms of traffic safety more than their ability of mastering different driving situations and their skill of vehicle maneuvering is important to understand young drivers overrisk. Research has i Read More

As President of the German Road Safety Association and Vice President of the German Road Safety Council, I strongly force the way of the Vision Zero as a permanent strategy to reduce accidents and to avoid victims of the fast-growing road traffic. In this strategy are some components which have to be realized. One is an intensive campaigning for more safety by changing the behavior of the car users inside the traffic and the mobility of p Read More

Within the German road traffic safety system, the Medical-Psychological Assessment (MPA) has a more than six-decade-old history and tradition. According to the German traffic law system a driver has to make sure to drive only in a good physical and mental condition and to obey the traffic regulations. If drivers are sanctioned for driving under the influence (alcohol), driving while intoxicated (illegal drugs) or received offences for Read More

In a general sense Traffic Medicine in the Netherlands concerns multidisciplinary research about how to reduce traffic crashes and injuries following a “systems approach”. Several universities and research institutes are involved, including the SWOV research institute of traffic safety( 1). In a specific sense Traffic Medicine in the Netherlands concerns researching and applying regulations and methods for assessing and improving fitness to Read More

High-risk drivers (HRDs) prone to repeat episodes of dangerous driving are over-represented in road traffic morbidity, making them important targets for selective prevention. Better understanding of why some drivers engage in risky behavior is a necessary precursor to the design of effective prevention programs. Nevertheless, HRD research has traditionally focused on healthy young drivers and their self-reported personality featu Read More

Safe driving campaigns in Qatar are in their infancy. The first campaigns were fear appeals that typically involved pictures of vehicles that had been smashed almost beyond recognition in accidents posted on signs around the capital city, Doha. A second generation of campaigns has recently been developed that are also fear appeal based, but feature more sophisticated messaging and visuals than the first group did. While laudable in t Read More

International statistics show that Australia is one of the top 10 countries in terms of road crashes per 100,000 population. In spite of this, four people are killed and 90 seriously injured every day on Australian roads. In 2011, the Australian Transport and Infrastructure Council released a National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS) for Australia, calling for a reduction of at least 30 percent of deaths and serious injuries on our roads by the year 202 Read More

Road deaths and injuries are increasing in India due to unprecedented motorization and expansion of infrastructure amidst absence of strong road safety policies and programmes. In 2014, 141,000 persons died and 4,77,731 persons were injured as per official reports (1). However, data from World Health Organization, Global Burden of Disease 2013 and independent Indian studies estimate these numbers to be much higher due to under Read More

Injury contributes approximately 12% of the world’s burden of injury and there is increasing evidence that injury results in the new onset of a range of psychiatric disorders. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the more common psychiatric disorders after injury due to road crashes and other forms of traumatic injury. The incidence of PTSD in a number of well controlled studies has been reported at 10-25% but it has been reported Read More

Most of the world's population and economic growth is occurring in the cities. Essential as the movements of people and goods are to the economic and social aspects of urban life, they present people and their surrounding with the ever-increasing problems. As a consequence, world's cities face traffic congestion associated with imbalance of the available road space and operation vehicles, slow traffic flow, poor access to main activity cente Read More

Safe automobile driving requires sufficient vision, cognition, and physical capability that, in turn, depend on the relative integrity of cerebral functioning. Fairly common medical conditions such as dementia, stroke, and seizures affect the brain, and may therefore compromise safe driving. Evidence of unsafe or impaired driving in these diagnostic groups has been presented, but has also been subject to debate. Furthermore, legislation rega Read More

Traffic fatality data for four continents, namely Asia, Africa, Europe and North America, are analysed and modelled here. The analysis is based on gathered traffic death frequencies and rates for over three decades considering 176 countries within the four continents. The predicted values for the coming decade, based on best regression fits, are also analysed. The data sums to over 28,000 records. Official publications, well-known dat Read More

• Cite worldwide research & statistics on motor vehicle collisions (number of deaths, injuries and primary cause of road incidences). • Explain the concepts of defensive driving (which was pioneered and developed by the National Safety Council in 1964) • Discuss distracted driving (e.g., use of cell phones or texting while driving) which has joined speeding and alcohol as one of the 3 leading factors in fatal and serious injury crashes • Be Read More

A research team from Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) and Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) conducted during the past three years a study that focused on traffic safety situation in Qatar, tyre properties, and the influence of tyre properties on driving safety. The presentation will compare and contrast the specifications of the Gulf Standardization Organization (GSO) and other specifications used in Europe and United St Read More

Road traffic injuries found to be the second rank of Years of Life Lost (YLL) and third rank of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) in Iran based on Global Burden of Disease 2010. The number of annual fatalities, which had been on the rise for several decades, reached to the maximum number of over 27500 deaths in 2005. The number decreased to 23000 in 2010 and less than 18000 in 2013. The reduction in number of deaths happened d Read More

Safety education and training is one of the four basic injury prevention strategies, although there are concerns about its effectiveness. In this study, we aimed to summarize the scientific evidence on effectiveness of education and training for different road user groups. Cochrane Injuries Group, Pubmed, Campbell Systematic Reviews and TRID databases were searched for the relevant literature. Only systematic reviews or meta-analyses were Read More

Three thousand people, including 500 children, are killed every day on the world’s roads. These amounts to 1.2 million deaths a year .In addition more than 50 million people are seriously injured; many are disabled for life. According to WHO reports, the number of road crashes fatalities will increase worldwide by 60% by 2020. Road crashes represent a major social cost to most societies, and their management has thus been a high priorit Read More

The main goal of this presentation is to describe the current state of research in regards to in-vehicle feedback technology aimed at young drivers. Young drivers have a higher crash risk worldwide than other age groups, and the first months after licensing are the most dangerous. Several countries have achieved important crash reductions over the past years that are associated with the implementation of graduated driver licensing pro Read More

Road traffic injuries [RTI’s] are known to be a global leading cause of death and disability. In Latin America, they have been shown in disproportionately affect young males, vulnerable road users and low-income populations. Some of the world’s highest death rates from RTI’s are found in this region and this lecture will describe the efforts to improve road safety in the Dominican Republic [DR]. Temporal trends in RTI incidence and mortality rat Read More

In place of Germany as a whole, the situation of traffic medicine in Hamburg is described. As a metropolis in the north of Europe and hub for the land traffic, maritime transport and air traffic – Hamburg is a good location for the topic of traffic safety. In particular the maritime medicine as well as the production of traffic airplanes define our city. Furthermore Hamburg and the University Medical Center of Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), as a sci Read More

Injuries and fatalities occur in all forms of transportation. Numerically, road traffic accidents account for the great majority worldwide. Special questions (especially from the forensic medical point of view) are associated with maritime and flight crashes, when bodies are heavily mutilated and severely decomposed (concerning i. e. identification). – Post mortem radiological investigations are of special value (especially body scanning, pm CT, Read More

Pregnancy causes diverse physiologic and lifestyle changes that may contribute to increased driving and driver error. We compared a woman’s risk of a serious motor vehicle crash during her second trimester to her own baseline risk before pregnancy. We conducted a population-based self-matched exposure-crossover longitudinal cohort analysis of women who gave birth in Ontario, Canada, between April 1, 2006 and March 31, 2011 (5 y Read More

Canada is a country of about 35 million people located about 11,000 kilometers away from Qatar. The purpose of this talk is to provide six informal insights from the Canadian experience that may inform traffic risks in Qatar. A greater awareness of these points, we suggest, might help lessen the losses from traffic crashes in both countries.

Saudi Arabia is a vast country of 2,149,690 km2, and is the largest Arab state in Western Asia. The Kingdom has been categorized as a high-income nation, and is part of the “Group of Twenty” (G-20) of major economies. It has a total population of approximately 27 million, one-fourth of whom are expatriates, with the highest population density (per km2) of 101 in Jizan, and 38 in Makkah, and the lowest of 2.8 in Najran, and 3.6 in Al Jawf Read More

If every driver in Sweden were to obey the speed limits there would be more than 100 lives spared each year. Every reduction of 1 km/h on average speed in the country saves approximately 20 lives per year (SRA 2015). One of many important measures in the later road safety work in Sweden is a project attempting to reduce speed, namely the implementation of speed cameras. Without a comprehensive increase in traffic surveillance i Read More

Reliable high quality traffic safety data has been essential for monitoring, developing and evaluating strategies to reduce the burden of injuries from traffic injuries. Information is often available in many different sources including police reports, ambulance/emergency medical service (EMS) run data, emergency department(ED) and hospital data, and mortality data from death certificates or medical examiner/coroner systems. However wh Read More

The presentation will highlight the population health effects arising from land-use changes and public policy initiatives that lead to changes in transport mode share for six international cities namely, Melbourne, Beijing, Delhi, London, Copenhagen and New York. The findings demonstrate that policies encouraging optimal land-use for active transport combined with provision of infrastructure that reduces the risk of injury for vulnerable road Read More

The United Nations has declared the period from 2011 to 2020 as the Decade of Action for Traffic Safety. The World Health Organization indicates that in most Latin America countries, alcohol consumption is responsible for about 8% of all existing diseases. Worldwide 35% to 50% of all serious vehicule crashes are alcohol related (JORGE, ADURA, 2012-2013). Brazil has a practical system of control to catch drunk drivers, while the abuse of ot Read More