bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The outcome of severe traumatic brain injury in children in Qatar: Six-year study
Authors: Khattab Azhar , Othman Yahha
Published: November 2015

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 Rehabilitation Unit, Pediatric Department, Hamad General Hospital. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was used to assess severity of TBIs.
This study was based on 65 children suffering from severe traumatic brain injury, of which 12 of them died within the first month of admission in pediatric intensive care unit. The predominant gender was male (73.8%), of which non-Qataris form 50.8%. Predominant mechanisms of injury were road traffic accident (84.6%), then injuries due to falls (10.8%), followed by sports and recreation injuries. Among our patients 43.1% had spasticity, 33.8% experienced posttraumatic epilepsy. Better outcomes were observed after severe TBI among older children. The current study revealed that 24.6% had communication disorder, 26.2% had poor cognition, 24.6% had hemiplegia, 18.5% had abnormal behavior and 15.4% had a vegetative state. All the patients (98.5%) required physiotherapy and occupational therapy, 50.8% of them required speech therapy and swallowing assessment. Further, 47.7% required braces either ankle foot orthosis or hands splints; also, 16.9% required behavior therapy and we have used Botox injection in only 6.2% of the spastic patients. Finally, the incidence of TBIs from road traffic crashes and injuries in Qatar are increasing significantly compared to other developing and developed countries. In conclusion, the present study findings provided an overview of TBI in Qatar and mostly related to the road traffic crashes and injuries.
Children safety risk factors in Khorasan Razavi province
Authors: Zayerzadeh Ali , Baradaran Rahmanian Nassir , Shahamat Jafar
Published: November 2015

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. Sound transportation safety policies depend on appropriate knowledge to assess the potential effectiveness of safety programs. Since children have lower abilities to detect and determine speed of vehicles they could be at risk more than other road users. Also educational programs for children vary by their age groups and as they grow up they'll have more abilities to learn new things about coping with road risks and have more experience to save themselves.

This study focused on the severity of injuries and fatalities incurred by children colliding with motor vehicles. The paper includes a review of the literature and a description of new research carried out on correlates of injury severity and measures of their relative effects on fatal or high injury collisions. The study focused on rural roads in Khorasan Razavi province. Data came from police records and forensic medicine processed from 2010 to 2015. Analysis of reported accidents during recent years showed that the number of traffic accidents sharply decreased that could be a result of educational programs along with traffic calming measure around schools.

However, increase or decrease in number of fatalities or accidents could be interpreted in different ways by we need strong evidences using scientific methods to analyze the results and follow the best practices.
Method for simulator and scenario design assessing cognitive aspects of fitness to drive
Authors: Mårdh Selina
Published: November 2015

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, & Schweizer, 2014; Vrkljan, Myers, Crizzle, Blanchard, & Marshall, 2013).
The aim of the present project was to develop an objective and scientifically valid method for assessing cognitive aspects of the fitness to drive in a few targeted groups. The aim was to design and implement a mini-simulator for assessing fitness to drive. The target groups included stroke, mild cognitive impairment, ageing and ADHD.
A mini-simulator as well as test scenarios for the assessment of cognitive aspects of fitness to drive was designed (see figure 1). A literature review was undertaken regarding previous research on assessing fitness to drive in the targeted groups. The features of the focused diagnosis were studied regarding underlying cognitive impairment with bearing on driving ability. Each scenario of the simulator drive was designed to enable assessment of these cognitive abilities. Examples of diagnose features that were included were risk taking, distraction, impulsivity, inattention, cognitive flexibility, overconfidence, reaction time, responsiveness, neglect, divided attention and memory.

A fixed based mini-simulator was built (Figure 1). To assess the cognitive features mentioned, a road stretch was designed. The road included rural road, highway and urban road. The speed limits varied as well as the landscape surrounding the road. Along the road, different, more or less critical situations, were staged enabling assessment of the targeted cognitive abilities.
The mini-simulator met the expectations regarding a good implementation of the simulated scenarios. Future research include validation of the mini-simulator and the scenarios.

References
Hird, M. A., Vetivelu, A., Saposnik, G., Schweizer, T. A. (2014). Cognitive, On-road, and simulator-based Driving Assessment after Stroke. Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, 23(10), 2654-2670. Doi.org/10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2014.06.010
Vrkljan, B. H., Myers, A. M., Crizzle, A. M., Blanchard, R. A., & Marshall, S. C. (2013). Evaluating medically at-risk drivers: A survey of assessment practices in Canada. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 80(5), 295-303. Doi: 10.1177/0008417413511788
Embedding the Safe System approach at schools in Qatar
Authors: Marsh Fabian , De Roos Michael , Gomez Victor
Published: November 2015

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 safety improvements program and Ashghal is now constructing safe and convenient school zones for all road users throughout Qatar, based on the principles of a Safe System.
The Qatar National Road Safety Strategy (2013-2022) has a vision of “a safe road transport system that protects all road users from death and serious injury” and adopts the Safe System as the guiding principle for building safe roads. The Safe System acknowledges that people make mistakes and that there is a limit to human injury tolerance. For example, a pedestrian hit at 30km/h is likely to survive (OECD, 2008). Whereas, a pedestrian hit at 60km/h is likely to be killed. Schools in Qatar are being treated with standard traffic engineering measures in a way that aims to achieve a Safe System 30km/h environment.
Schools that have been completed show tremendous success and the benefits are being directly felt by parents, teachers, children and key stakeholders. Survey results show that vehicle speeds within school zones are successfully lowered to Safe System limits and that these speed reductions are being achieved over a 24 hour period without the need for Police enforcement.
The improvements carried out to date have been well received and are seen as a positive step towards Qatar’s ambitious road safety vision. Site observations and speed surveys undertaken to date support the proposition of developing Safe System schools in Qatar.
References:
Qatar National Road Safety Strategy (2013-2022)
Marsh, F. Principles of road design under a Safe System. ITS & Road Safety Conference, 22-23 September 2014, Doha, Qatar.

OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), 2008. Towards Zero, Ambitious Road Safety Targets and the Safe System Approach, In International Transport Forum, OECD Transport Research Centre, Paris.
UN (United Nations), 2011. Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, UN Road Safety Collaboration, Geneva.
Functional disability of road traffic injury patients admitted to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka on admission and three months after discharge from the hospital
Authors: Chaminda Sampath Roshan , de A Seneviratne Rohini
Published: November 2015

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 disability following road traffic injuries is scarce. Therefore, a descriptive cross sectional study was conducted to describe the functional disability of road traffic injury patients.
A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among 881road traffic injury patients admitted to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. The functional disability of activities of daily living was assessed on admission and after three months of hospital discharge using validated Sinhala version of 10 item- Barthel Index. The total score of the index was 0 to 20 and score of less than 19 was considered as functional disability. Injury severity was measured using Injury Severity Score (ISS) based in Abbreviated Injury Severity Scale (AIS).
There were 793 (90.1%) males and 88 (9.9%) females. Of them 551 (56.9%) had sustained injuries to one AIS body regions, 322 (36.5%) and 58 (6.6%) had sustained injuries to two and three or more than three AIS body region respectively. The mean (±SD) total score of Barthel Index on admission and three months after discharge were 12.8(±4.4) and 18.2(± 2.9) respectively. Functional disability was observed in 91.1% of the injured at admission and 33.9% at three months after hospital discharge (p=0.00). At three months after the injury significant increase proportion of functional disability was observed with increase number of body regions injured (p=0.000) and with increase injury severity (p=0.000).
Functional disability of road traffic injury patients on admission had reduced to 33.9% at three months after discharge from the hospital. One third of the study population was having functional disability at three months of the hospital discharge is note worthy to take actions.
Effects of visual field impairment on driving
Authors: Andersson Jan , Peters Björn
Published: November 2015

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 included a choice reaction test performed while driving on a rural road. Twenty-four drivers with various visual field impairments were compared to 55 drivers without visual defects. Two types of traffic signs positioned 5, 10, and 15 degrees (left, right) horizontally were used as stimuli. The test included both single and double stimuli. Drivers reacted by pressing buttons attached to the drivers fingers.
It was found that the visually impaired drivers reacted 23% slower (1.46s vs. 1.19s) and had 14% less correct number of hits (74% vs. 84%) for single stimuli trials. Reaction time for double stimuli trials was 15% longer (1,68s vs. 1.46s) and hit rate was 27% less (69% vs. 88%). When the results from a secondary trial for drivers visual impairments were compared the normal sighted drivers’ first try the differences decreased but were still statistical significant. For single stimuli 17% slower, 5% less correct and for double stimuli 5% slower and 13% less correct hits.
It was concluded that the developed test was useful in order to detect performance differences between drivers with visual impairments compared to drivers with an unimpaired visual field. However, the test should be completed with other performance assessment of more naturalistic critical traffic situations in order to be used as an instrument to measure “Fitness to drive”. Furthermore, the analysis needs to be complemented with an analysis which consider diagnosis and cognitive status.
Changes and trends of pre-hospital emergency disease spectrum in Beijing in the past decade (from 2003 to 2012)
Authors: Wang Tianbing , Wang Fei , Yin Xiaofeng , Han Na , Zhang Peixun , Kou Yuhui , Jiang Baoguo
Published: November 2015

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 collected. Medical Priority Dispatch System was used to classify the call demands. Linear regression models were constructed to examine the changing trends.
Results:
2,410,575 cases were collected, and 2,278,415 of them were analyzed in this study.
The results showed that:
1. In the past decade, the number of pre-hospital emergency call demands soared from 150,656 to 309,297 (204.6%, 2012/ 2003, p<0.001).
2. The top five call demands based on the rank of proportion were trauma related demands(25.4%, including falls（5.0%）, traffic/ transportation incidents(7.2%) and traumatic injuries(13.1%)), sick person(17.7%), heart problems(11.4%), unconscious/fainting（10.0%） and breathing problems（8.1%）Also, they were the top five fastest growing call demands.

Conclusion:
Compared with the growth of population (145.4%, 2012/2003), pre-hospital emergency calls increased much more, which shows a growing desire on ambulance service. Different from developed countries, the proportion of trauma related cases was constantly in the top rank and continuously increasing, much higher than that in San Francisco (15.7%), which could be resulted from accelerated city construction and rapid augment of vehicle quantity(244.8%, 2012/ 2003). Based on the changes and trends of pre-hospital emergency disease spectrum, it is encouraged to provide specific training program for emergency medical service staff and improve related medical devices.

Note: Beijing emergency medical center is the only pre-hospital emergency system of Beijing government
Evaluation of the effects of standardization process of severe trauma treatment in China
Authors: Yin Xiaofeng , Wang Tianbing , Zhang Peixun , Kou Yuhui , Jiang Baoguo
Published: November 2015

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, emergency room treatments, and hospital specialist treatments was built under the rule for information sharing and improving severe trauma treatments. Treatment outcomes were compared between before and one year after the implementation of standardization processes.
Results: The outcomes of a total of 74,615 and 12051 cases of severe trauma were collected from 12 hospitals before the implementation of standardization processes. Implementation of the standardization processes led to efficient cooperation and information sharing of different treatmen services. The emergency response time, pre-hospital transit time, emergency rescue time, consultation call time, and mortality rate of patients were 24.24±4.32、45.69±3.89、6.38±1.05、17.53±0.72 minutes, and 33.82±3.87%, n=441,respectively before the Implementation of the standardization and significantly reduced to 10.11±3.21、22.39±4.32、3.26±0.89、3.45±0.45 minutes, and20.49±3.11 %, seperatly, n=495, (P<0.05) after that.
Conclusion: Staff training and standardization processes can significantly improve the treatment efficiency of severe trauma based on current personnel and organizations of severe trauma treatments in China.
A novel approach to collision hotspot identification accounting for regression to the mean and trend
Authors: Hoffmann Timo , Fawcett Lee , Thorpe Neil , Galatioto Fabio , Kremer Karsten , Münch Ane , Slater Peter
Published: November 2015

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 intersection, observed collision rates are adjusted using values from a suitable crash prediction model (CPM). In any year, collision rates, which are unusually high/low will be suitably depressed/inflated according to the posterior distributions for collision rates at each site, hence giving a more realistic summary of safety in that year. Where site characteristic information (e.g. annual figures for average speed or traffic flow) for use in the CPM is limited, standard techniques from time series analysis are employed to exploit any time dependent (autoregressive) structure observed in historical collision rates at each site.

The Bayesian posterior predictive distribution is then used to predict collision rates at each site in future years, having adjusted for trend, RTM and any autoregression in collision rates at each site. This equips road safety practitioners with the necessary methodology to identify, and possibly treat, such locations before these collisions occur and this has the potential to help, inform, and direct, investment in future road safety schemes.

In this research, crash data from the United Kingdom and Germany were analysed, and results have shown that this methodology is transferable between regions. The methodology is currently being implemented into a prototype software application to be tested by local road safety practitioners later in the year in the UK.
Seatbelt compliance among orthopaedic injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) in the State of Qatar
Authors: Mahmoud Shady , Waseemuddin Mohammed , Hasan Khalid , Hegazy Abdelsalam , Al Ateeq Mohamad , Ibrahim Talal
Published: November 2015

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 survey of all adults admitted with orthopaedic injuries following a MVC was conducted. A physician-administered questionnaire was used to interview all patients. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out to examine the association of various risk factors and seatbelt compliance.
One hundred and seventy one patients were interviewed over a twelve-month period. Of the 171 patients, 103 patients (60%) (92 males, 11 females) were not wearing a seatbelt compared to 68 patients (59 males, 8 females) wearing a seatbelt. The mean age of the non-compliant patients was 32.8 years compared to 33.8 years of the compliant patients. Seatbelt compliance was associated with gender (OR: 11.3), nationality (ORs: 7.6 and 1.9), position in the car (OR: 14.2), education of the patient (ORs: 25.9 and 30.5), time of the injury (OR: 3.3), marital status (OR: 6.5), awareness of seatbelt campaign (OR: 5.9) and owner of a vehicle (OR: 11.2). The majority of non-compliant patients were single males from a Middle Eastern background that we involved in a MVC during the weekend.
The majority of patients admitted with orthopaedic injuries following MVCs were not wearing seatbelts. The majority of non-compliant patients were driving 4WD vehicles and had crashes on main roads. A further national seatbelt campaign is required to promote the importance of seatbelt compliance amongst young male drivers with more stringent traffic penalties.
Road users with hearing loss and evaluation of tactile support systems
Authors: Marie Thorslund Birgitta
Published: November 2015

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 support was used to alert the driver during the simulator drive and to facilitate navigation with a GPS during the drive in real traffic.
Differences related to HL in terms of driving behavior were bound to driving condition and occurred when complexity of driving task increased. There was also an effect of HL on visual behavior, indicated in the simulator and confirmed in the field study, suggesting that drivers with HL have a more active visual behavior with more frequent glances in the rear view mirror and a general scanning of the environment before looking away from road. Tactile signal in the driver seat was found useful, both for calling for driver attention and to facilitate navigation. Also, of high relevance for the traffic safety aspect and regardless of hearing status, the tactile support lead to higher satisfaction with the navigation system, less time spent to look at the navigation display, and thus more focus on road and better driving performance.
The effects of HL on traffic safety consistently point towards a generally more cautious driving behavior. Compensatory strategies associated with HL include driving at lower speeds, more comprehensive visual search behavior and less engagement in distracting activities. Evaluation of a tactile signal suggests that by adding a tactile modality, some driver assistance systems can be made accessible also for drivers with HL. At the same time the systems might be more effective for all users, which could generally increase both traffic safety and mobility.

Roth, T.N., Hanebuth, D., & Probst, R. (2001). Prevalence of age-related hearing loss in Europe: a review. European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, 268(8), 1101–1107.
Stevens, G., Flaxman, S., Brunskill, E., Mascarenhas, M., Mathers, CD., & Finucane, M. (2013). Global and regional hearing impairment prevalence: an analysis of 42 studies in 29 countries. European Journal of Public Health, 23(1), 146–152.
Optical imaging of finger for blood pressure monitoring of the driver
Authors: Motasim Bellah Mohammad , Raziul Hasan Mohammad , Iqbal Samir M
Published: November 2015

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 with known CVDs are at higher risk due to traffic air pollution.
This paper presents our work on an inexpensive and readily deployable approach that keeps track of PP and PR with simple cameras. The computation of PP and PR makes the real-time monitoring possible. The approach makes it highly customizable and ready for on-the-go use in field by drivers, construction zone workers, healthcare workers, law enforcement agencies, etc.
The video recordings of fingertips were made using a cellphone camera. The analysis extracted the pulse pressure, which was the difference between systolic and diastolic pressures, and pulse rate. The PP measured with this system was compared with a standard off-the-shelf tool. The comparison showed high accuracy. The measurement of PRs also showed a high level of reliability in comparison to the standard tool. The fundamental concept of the technology depended on the measurement of blood quantity in the fingertip arteries. The amount of blood on fingertips was different during systolic and diastolic phases. This created light intensity variations, which were extracted by analyzing the video frames.
A simple embodiment of this approach can be in the dashboard of cars with a camera to create short high-resolution videos of fingertips. The doctors can remotely monitor their patients through a standard computer interface. The patients can also be trained to interpret the results of the measurement.

References:
1. WHO Fact Sheet No. 317. www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs317/ (Accessed 29 Jul 2015)
2. 1950 Mortality Data: “Leading Causes of Death, 1900-1998,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website (www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality_historical_data.htm).
3. 2011 Mortality Data: Hoyert and Xu, “Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2011”, National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 61, no. 6, 10 Oct 2012
Identification of the demographic, temporal and geographical risk factors for road traffic injuries (RTIs) in the State of Qatar: An analysis of health sector (ambulance, emergency and trauma) data on RTIs
Authors: Tallon Lawrence
Published: November 2015

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 Qatar.
This study builds on previous analyses of death rates from RTIs in Qatar (2). However, deaths represent less than 3% of all RTIs. This study uses the much larger sample size of all RTIs for 2014. It triangulates three important sources of health sector data: ambulance, emergency department and trauma registry. It analyses 13,000 patient episodes and deconstructs in more detail than heretofore the epidemiology of RTIs in Qatar.
The results identify the key demographic, temporal and geographical features of this public health emergency. Qatari males aged 15-19 have a relative risk of RTI 8-11 times higher than the general population and those aged 20-24 have a relative risk 6-9 times higher (see chart for illustration). RTIs in those aged 25 and above are overwhelmingly in non-Qataris and vary substantially in type of road use between the other Arabic and South Asian resident populations. The results also identify the temporal and seasonal effects associated with RTIs and a “heat map” of the accident “hot spots” by geographical zone.
It is possible to identify with a high degree of probability which road users are most at risk of harm, when and where. Using recent insights into how predictive data is used by the insurance industry, health policy makers may be able to more effectively target regulatory, technological and behavioural interventions to those most at risk.

References:
Hyder A A, Puvanachandra P and Allen K A. Road Traffic Injury and Trauma Care: Innovations for Policy (Road Trip). Report for the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), Doha 2013.
2 Consunji R J, Peralta R R, Al-Thani H and Latifi R. The Implications of the Relative Risk for Road Mortality on Road Safety Programmes in Qatar. Injury Prevention. Accessed on 29 January 2014.
Roadside observational surveys of restraint use by young children in Qatar: Initial results and recommendations
Authors: Malik Shahnaz , Saad Rania , Peralta Ruben , Allen Kate , Hyder Adnan , Al Thani Hassan , Consunji Rafael
Published: November 2015

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 in Qatar.
This roadside observational survey was conducted as part of the Young Kids in Safe Seats Project funded by the Qatar Foundation. Trained observers conducted roadside observations of passenger restraint use in vehicles with children, less than 5 years, at 12 sampling sites. Standard data was collected per observation: seating position, restraint used and appropriateness of restraint used.
Of 2232 observations of young child passengers: 41% were properly restrained, 21% improperly restrained and 38% unrestrained, 10.9% were on an adult’s lap. The most common seating location was right second row followed by left second row. These 2 locations also had the highest rates of proper restraint use. The positions with the lowest restraint use were the front and second row middle seat. One in 9 children observed was illegally seated in the front row, most on the lap of an adult [38.3%] or unrestrained [34.4%].
This is the first observational study in Qatar that measures child restraint rates in children younger than 5. Less than half of these children are traveling safely. Priority areas for intervention include: enforcement of existent laws banning children in the front seat, education about the risks for children in an adult’s lap and encouraging the proper use of age/size appropriate restraint systems. These findings can inform the development of national child passenger restraint laws.
Reference:
1. Road safety in the Eastern Mediterranean Region Facts from the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2013.
Are there car seats in Qatar? Results and recommendations from a rapid market survey
Authors: Malik Shahnaz , Ruben Peralta , Kate Allen , Hyder Adnan , Al Thani Hassan , Consunji Rafael
Published: November 2015

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 cost of child restraints and make recommendations for future child restraint policies and legislation in Qatar.
This RMS was conducted as part of the Young Kids in Safe Seats Project funded by the Qatar Foundation. The survey involved locating all retail outlets that sell child restraints in Qatar and collecting standard data on each restraint system: brand, model no. age/weight limits, compliance with standards, availability and language of owner's manual. The RMS showed a sufficient number and variety of car seat models [83] available at 19 retail outlets with a wide affordability range [$46 - $810]. All of the car seats complied with the European standard. Only 2% showed a date of manufacture or expiry. A user manual was available in only 71% of seats and in a variety of different languages, but only 36% in the native language of Arabic.
This RMS demonstrates the availability and variety of child restraint systems in Qatar. Unavailability and expense cannot be cited as barriers to their use and the market is prepared for legislation requiring car seats for children in Qatar. Areas for improvement include: requiring user manuals for all seats, especially in Arabic, that all car seats comply with globally accepted safety standards, especially expiry/manufacturing dates, given the harsh local climate, and encouraging more variety in the local markets.

References:

Consunji RJ, Peralta R, Al-Thani H and Latifi R. A focused approach to the road safety of young children in Qatar. Oral Presentation. 2nd Annual Child Health Research Day. Sick Kids International/Hamad Medical Corporation Partnership. 28 January 2012. Doha, Qatar.
Driving and dementia: What factors influence how physicians address the issue? Data from the Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem)
Authors: Religa Dorota , Lovas Joel , Cermakova Pavla , Fereshtehnejad Seyed-Mohammad , Lundberg Catarina , Johansson Kurt , Johansson Bjorn , Winblad Bengt , Eriksdotter Maria
Published: November 2015

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-related factors.

Material and Methods: Data on 13852 newly diagnosed dementia patients, who held a driver's license, was obtained from the Swedish Dementia Registry. Associations between patient-related factors and being reported, or an agreement being reached, were examined in binary logistic regression.

Results: Physicians had not taken any action in 17% of cases. Male gender (OR 2.97, p<0.001) and living alone was associated with an increased likelihood of being reported to the STA. When compared to Alzheimer's disease (AD), Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) displayed a similar association (OR 2.38, p<0.001), while the inverse was observed in dementia with Lewy body (DLB) (OR 0.58, p=0.025).

Conclusions: Physicians, collectively, omit to address the issue of diving and dementia in almost 20% of dementia patients, and are thus noncompliant with national law and regulations. Furthermore, a difference in practice was observed in patients with DLB and FTD, but more evidence is needed in order to determine what the practical implications are.
Employing refined licensing conditions to reduce the serious crashes of young drivers
Authors: Sakashita Chika , Soames Job R.F.
Published: November 2015

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 specific restrictions) before obtaining a full license is utilized in many countries to manage the risks of these drivers coming out of constrained learner license conditions (e.g. Australia, USA, Canada, South Africa, United Kingdom). For example, in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, drivers are required to go through three licensing stages?Learner license for at least 12 months, provisional P1 license for at least 12 months, and provisional P2 license for at least 24 months. Specific restrictions apply at each license stage (e.g. Learners to observe a maximum speed limit of 80 km/h; P1 a maximum of 90km/h; P2 a maximum of 100km/h) in addition to the NSW Road Rules which apply for all license holders. The successes of GLS in reducing crash risks have been demonstrated in multiple evaluations. In July 2007 NSW introduced additional license conditions for P1 drivers including automatic license suspension if caught for any level of speeding. This tougher penalty for speeding is intended to increase deterrence for speeding and for novice drivers based on evidence of young driver over-representation in serious speed related crashes. This change brought about a 34% reduction in deaths involving novice drivers. It is recommended that GLS be implemented in Qatar with tightened license conditions for novice drivers to address the young driver serious crashes in Qatar.
Managing the safety of high-risk drivers with vehicle-based safety monitoring
Authors: Halkett Bowis Tony
Published: November 2015

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 interventions have even been shown to increase the crash risk of drivers (McKenna, F.P., 2010).
A recent development in driver behavior management is vehicle-based safety monitoring technology, the motor vehicle equivalent of the "black box" in aircraft that records data on driver behavior from a variety of sources (Horrey et al., 2012). Recent research in the use of driver monitoring has identified key behaviors of high risk drivers (Klauer et al., 2009) and has demonstrated how it can be utilized to manage those behaviors and reduce crash risk (Horrey et al., 2012).
This new technology enables intervention models that are more focused on the specific risky driving behaviors of individual drivers. Programs for high-risk drivers (e.g. traffic offenders, young drivers) should involve the systematic long term monitoring and coaching/counseling of the individual driver. The success of this type of intervention model has already been demonstrated by the widely adopted alcohol interlock programs for drink driving offenders (Casanova-Powell et al., 2015). A key component of alcohol interlock programs is that they are included in driver licensing legislation. To be effective, vehicle-based safety monitoring technology also needs to be included in driver licensing legislation. This legislation should require the use of safety monitoring in a variety of areas including as part of graduated driver license systems, fleet management systems and for traffic offenders.

References:
McKenna, F.P., 2010. Education in Road Safety. Are we getting it right? RAC Foundation Report 10/113, UK.
William J. Horrey, Mary F. Lesch, Marvin J. Dainoff, Michelle M. Robertson, Y. Ian Noy. (2012) On-Board Safety Monitoring Systems for Driving: Review, Knowledge Gaps, and Framework. Journal of Safety Research 43, 49-58. Online publication date: 1-Feb-2012.
Klauer, S. G., Dingus, T. A., Neale, V. L., Sudweeks, J. D., & Ramsey, D. J. (2009). Comparing real-world behaviors of drivers with high vs. low rates of crashes and near-crashes (Report No. DOT HS 811 091). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Casanova-Powell, T., Hedlund, J., Leaf, W., & Tison, J. (2015, May). Evaluation of State ignition interlock programs: Interlock use analyses from 28 States, 2006–2011. (Report No. DOT HS 812 145). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, & Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Safety performance of school buses in the State of Qatar
Authors: Kharbeche Mohamed , Ata Abou Nada Sajeda , Nasser M N Al-Khalifa Khalifa , S. Hamouda Abdelmagid
Published: November 2015

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 merged qualitative and quantitative methods. Initially a safety checklist was constructed for school buses and a comprehensive schools map to evaluate of the current safety measures in school buses and to understand the conditions around the surrounding areas like the location of the bus stops and the availability of signage. Then, the second step focuses on conducting a survey for school bus drivers, school bus guides, students, and parents. Finally, the third steps compares between the school bus safety strategies followed in the State of Qatar and the strategies followed in other high income countries.

The results of the field visits revealed many very important statistics for all surveys on the safety of school bus and the surrounding areas as well as the behavior of students and drivers. The results revealed that most of the parents are not happy with the safety while loading and unloading and with the safety procedures. In addition, 43% of school bus users didn’t attend any training or workshops about the safety procedures in school bus.
References:
[1] Bolte, K. et al., 2000. Simulations of Large School Bus Crashes. [Online]
Available at: http://papers.sae.org/2000-01-0469/ [Accessed 10 october 2014].

[2] Hinch, J. et al., 2002. School Bus Safety: Crashworthiness Research, Washington: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
One year of alcohol-related road traffic Injuries in Qatar: Results from the Hamad Trauma Center Alcohol Screening Program
Authors: Mollazehi Monira , Peralta Ruben , El-Menyar Ayman , Hepp Holly , Al-Thani Hassan , Consunji Rafael
Published: November 2015

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 program of the HTC, the only Level I Trauma Center in Qatar. All severely injured patients who are treated at the HTC undergo a blood alcohol concentration [BAC] test. Those that test positive undergo a series of screening interviews to determine the nature of their alcohol use and their need for intervention or treatment.
The ASBIRT conducted 578 BAC tests, on adult RTI patients, during the 1-year study period. Most tested were vehicle drivers or passengers [MVC] [58%] followed by pedestrians [27%] and ATV drivers [5%]. Eighty eight percent were males with an average age of 32 years. The over-all BAC (+) rate, for all tested victims, was 9.2%. The highest BAC (+) rates were seen in MVC [10.2%], followed by pedestrians [9.7%] and ATV drivers [9.4%]. Of testing BAC (+), 92%, were males, most were MVC [64%] and pedestrian [28%] victims, more than half [57%] were from South Asia followed by 34% from the Eastern Mediterranean Region and 7.5% needed further treatment for alcohol abuse.
Alcohol use has a contributory role in one out of every 11 victims suffering from a severe RTI in Qatar. More stringent and high-visibility enforcement of existing ‘zero tolerance' laws on driving under the influence and public awareness can significantly contribute to reducing the health burden of RTI's in Qatar.

Reference:

Global status report on road safety 2013: supporting a decade of action. World Health Organization. May 2013. Geneva, Switzerland.
Analysis of characteristics and causes of child road traffic death (CRTD) of China in 2013
Authors: Zhou Jihong , Qiu Jun , Ma Chao , Yuan Danfeng , Zhou Daijun , Liang Yi , Dai Wei , Liu Dawei
Published: November 2015

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 demographic data by China State Statistics Bureau. Results: CRTD were 3994 persons and the ratio of male and female was1.64:1 in 2013. The highest CRTD occurred in 15-17 years old group which was 30.0% of total, followed by 2-5 years old group (28.3%). Mortality per million population (MPMP) of total CRTD was 14.61 persons. The highest MPMP was 23.92 persons in 15-17 years old group. MPMP of male was 16.85 persons, and the highest group was 15-17 years old group with MPMP 33.30 persons. MPMP of female was 11.99 persons, and the highest group was 2-5 years old group with MPMP 16.54 persons. The highest ratio of male and female was in 15-17 years old group(2.47:1). However, female was much more than male in 0-1 years old group (0.76:1). Brain injury was the main cause of CRTD (78.1%), followed by chest and abdomen injury (8.8%). This paper has also deeply studied on the crash reasons, part of injury, time distribution and so on about CRTD in 2013. Conclusion: The CRTD of high school and preschool children were highlight in all groups, and it was very remarkable that CRTD of female was much more than that of male in 0-1 years old group. Brain injury is the main cause of death. Cause of accident and death, injury part, gender, transportation mode and time distribution all have different characteristics in different groups.