Predicting severe injury using vehicle telemetry data.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayoung-Chee, Patricia; Mack, Christopher D; Kaufman, Robert; Bulger, Eileen

2013-01-01

In 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standardized collision data collected by event data recorders, which may help determine appropriate emergency medical service (EMS) response. Previous models (e.g., General Motors ) predict severe injury (Injury Severity Score [ISS] > 15) using occupant demographics and collision data. Occupant information is not automatically available, and 12% of calls from advanced automatic collision notification providers are unanswered. To better inform EMS triage, our goal was to create a predictive model only using vehicle collision data. Using the National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System data set, we included front-seat occupants in late-model vehicles (2000 and later) in nonrollover and rollover crashes in years 2000 to 2010. Telematic (change in velocity, direction of force, seat belt use, vehicle type and curb weight, as well as multiple impact) and nontelematic variables (maximum intrusion, narrow impact, and passenger ejection) were included. Missing data were multiply imputed. The University of Washington model was tested to predict severe injury before application of guidelines (Step 0) and for occupants who did not meet Steps 1 and 2 criteria (Step 3) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Field Triage Guidelines. A probability threshold of 20% was chosen in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations. There were 28,633 crashes, involving 33,956 vehicles and 52,033 occupants, of whom 9.9% had severe injury. At Step 0, the University of Washington model sensitivity was 40.0% and positive predictive value (PPV) was 20.7%. At Step 3, the sensitivity was 32.3 % and PPV was 10.1%. Model analysis excluding nontelematic variables decreased sensitivity and PPV. The sensitivity of the re-created General Motors model was 38.5% at Step 0 and 28.1% at Step 3. We designed a model using only vehicle collision data that was predictive of severe injury at

The influence of motor vehicle legislation on injury claim incidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemstra, Mark; Olszynski, W P

2005-01-01

Although there have been numerous strategies to prevent motor vehicle collisions and their subsequent injuries, few have been effective in preventing motor vehicle injury claims. In this paper, we examine the role of legislation and compensation system in altering injury claim incidence. The population base for our natural experiment was all Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia and Quebec residents who submitted personal injury claims to their respective motor vehicle insurance provider from 1990 to 1999. The provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba switched from Tort to pure No-Fault insurance on January 1, 1995 and on March 1, 1994 respectively. British Columbia maintained tort insurance and Quebec maintained pure no-fault insurance throughout the entire 10-year period. The conversion from tort insurance to pure no-fault motor vehicle insurance resulted in a five-year 31% (RR = 0.69; 95% CI 0.68-0.70) reduction in total injury claims per 100,000 residents in Saskatchewan and a five-year 43% (RR = 0.57; 95% CI 0.56-0.58) reduction in Manitoba. At the same time, the province of British Columbia retained tort insurance and had a five-year 5% reduction (RR = 0.95; 95% CI 0.94-0.99). Quebec, which retained pure no-fault throughout the entire 10-year period, had less than one third of the injury claims per 100,000 residents than the tort province of British Columbia. The conversion from tort to pure no-fault legislation has a large influence in reducing motor vehicle injury claim incidence in Canada. Legislative system and injury compensation scheme have an observable impact on injury claim incidence and can therefore have significant impact on the health care system.

Identification of vehicle components associated with severe thoracic injury in motor vehicle crashes: a CIREN and NASS analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nirula, R; Pintar, F A

2008-01-01

Thoracic trauma secondary to motor vehicle crashes (MVC) continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Specific vehicle features may increase the risk of severe thoracic injury when striking the occupant. We sought to determine which vehicle contact points were associated with an increased risk of severe thoracic injury in MVC to focus subsequent design modifications necessary to reduce thoracic injury. The National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) databases from 1993 to 2001 and the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) databases from 1996 to 2004 were analyzed separately using univariate and multivariate logistic regression stratified by restraint use and crash direction. The risk of driver thoracic injury, defined as an abbreviated injury scale (AIS) of score > or =3, was determined as it related to specific points of contact between the vehicle and the driver. The incidence of severe chest injury in NASS and CIREN were 5.5% and 33%, respectively. The steering wheel, door panel, armrest, and seat were identified as contact points associated with an increased risk of severe chest injury. The door panel and arm rest were consistently a frequent cause of severe injury in both the NASS and CIREN data. Several vehicle contact points, including the steering wheel, door panel, armrest and seat are associated with an increased risk of severe thoracic injury when striking the occupant. These elements need to be further investigated to determine which characteristics need to be manipulated in order to reduce thoracic trauma during a crash.

Vehicle mass and injury risk in two-car crashes: A novel methodology.

Science.gov (United States)

Tolouei, Reza; Maher, Mike; Titheridge, Helena

2013-01-01

This paper introduces a novel methodology based on disaggregate analysis of two-car crash data to estimate the partial effects of mass, through the velocity change, on absolute driver injury risk in each of the vehicles involved in the crash when absolute injury risk is defined as the probability of injury when the vehicle is involved in a two-car crash. The novel aspect of the introduced methodology is in providing a solution to the issue of lack of data on the speed of vehicles prior to the crash, which is required to calculate the velocity change, as well as a solution to the issue of lack of information on non-injury two-car crashes in national accident data. These issues have often led to focussing on relative measures of injury risk that are not independent of risk in the colliding cars. Furthermore, the introduced methodology is used to investigate whether there is any effect of vehicle size above and beyond that of mass ratio, and whether there are any effects associated with the gender and age of the drivers. The methodology was used to analyse two-car crashes to investigate the partial effects of vehicle mass and size on absolute driver injury risk. The results confirmed that in a two-car collision, vehicle mass has a protective effect on its own driver injury risk and an aggressive effect on the driver injury risk of the colliding vehicle. The results also confirmed that there is a protective effect of vehicle size above and beyond that of vehicle mass for frontal and front to side collisions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rural-urban variation in injury-related hospitalisation, health outcomes and treatment cost in New South Wales.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Rebecca J; Lower, Tony

2018-04-19

To compare differences in injury characteristics, health outcomes and treatment costs between urban and rural residents who were hospitalised following an injury. A retrospective examination of injury-linked hospitalisation and mortality data in New South Wales from 1 January 2010 to 30 June 2014. Urban (496 325) and rural (213 139) residents who were hospitalised following an injury. Demographic and injury characteristics, injury severity, hospital length of stay, 28-day hospital readmission, 90-day mortality and treatment cost. Rural residents had an increased likelihood of being hospitalised for injuries from motorcycles, vehicles, animate causes, venomous animals or plants and assault compared to urban residents. Rural residents were less likely to be readmitted to hospital within 28 days and had a lower length of stay and age-adjusted length of stay than urban residents. Injury-related hospitalisations for urban and rural residents cost $4.4 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively. Annually, acute injury treatment ($1.1 billion), rehabilitation ($130 million) and subacute non-acute patient care ($57 million) cost $1.3 billion ($990 million for urban and $384 million for rural residents) in New South Wales. Fall-related injuries and transport incidents were the costliest injury mechanisms for both urban and rural residents. Injuries contribute substantially to hospitalised morbidity and its cost. The development and implementation of injury prevention strategies targeting the most common injuries for urban and rural residents will go some way towards reducing hospitalised injury and its cost. © 2018 National Rural Health Alliance Ltd.

Seatbelt use to save money: Impact on hospital costs of occupants who are involved in motor vehicle crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Guang-Ming; Newmyer, Ashley; Qu, Ming

2017-03-01

Seatbelt use is the single most effective way to save lives in motor vehicle crashes (MVC). However, although safety belt laws have been enacted in many countries, seatbelt usage throughout the world remains below optimal levels, and educational interventions may be needed to further increase seatbelt use. In addition to reducing crash-related injuries and deaths, reduced medical expenditures resulting from seatbelt use are an additional benefit that could make such interventions cost-effective. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to estimate the correlation between seatbelt use and hospital costs of injuries involved in MVC. The data used in this study were from the Nebraska CODES database for motor vehicle crashes that occurred between 2004 and 2013. The hospital cost information and information about other factors were obtained by linking crash reports with hospital discharge data. A multivariable regression model was performed for the association between seatbelt use and hospital costs. Mean hospital costs were significantly lower among motor vehicle occupants using a lap-shoulder seatbelt ($2909), lap-only seatbelt ($2289), children's seatbelt ($1132), or booster ($1473) when compared with those not using any type of seatbelt ($7099). After adjusting for relevant factors, there were still significantly decreased hospital costs for motor vehicle occupants using a lap-shoulder seatbelt (84.7%), lap-only seatbelt (74.1%), shoulder-only seatbelt (40.6%), children's seatbelt (95.9%), or booster (82.8%) compared to those not using a seatbelt. Seatbelt use is significantly associated with reduced hospital costs among injured MVC occupants. The findings in this study will provide important educational information for emergency department nurses who can encourage safety belt use for vehicle occupants. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Features of fatal injuries in older cyclists in vehicle-bicycle accidents in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsui, Yasuhiro; Oikawa, Shoko; Hitosugi, Masahito

2018-01-02

The purpose of this study was to identify and better understand the features of fatal injuries in cyclists aged 75 years and over involved in collisions with either hood- or van-type vehicles. This study investigated the fatal injuries of cyclists aged 75 years old and over by analyzing accident data. We focused on the body regions to which the fatal injury occurred using vehicle-bicycle accident data from the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (ITARDA) in Japan. Using data from 2009 to 2013, we examined the frequency of fatally injured body region by gender, age, and actual vehicle travel speed. We investigated any significant differences in distributions of fatal injuries by body region for cyclists aged 75 years and over using chi-square tests to compare with cyclists in other age groups. We also investigated the cause of fatal head injuries, such as impact with a road surface or vehicle. The results indicated that head injuries were the most common cause of fatalities among the study group. At low vehicle travel speeds for both hood- and van-type vehicles, fatalities were most likely to be the result of head impacts against the road surface. The percentage of fatalities following hip injuries was significantly higher for cyclists aged 75 years and over than for those aged 65-74 or 13-59 in impacts with hood-type vehicles. It was also higher for women than men in the over-75 age group in impacts with these vehicles. For cyclists aged 75 years and over, wearing a helmet may be helpful to prevent head injuries in vehicle-to-cyclist accidents. It may also be helpful to introduce some safety measures to prevent hip injuries, given the higher level of fatalities following hip injury among all cyclists aged 75 and over, particularly women.

THE RISK OF INJURY AND VEHICLE DAMAGE SEVERITY IN VEHICLE MISMATCHED SIDE IMPACT CRASHES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ediriweera DESAPRIYA

2005-01-01

Full Text Available As occupant protection offered by new passenger vehicles has improved, there has been growing concern about the harm that some vehicle designs may inflict on occupants of other vehicles with which they collide. Preceding analyses of crash statistics have clearly demonstrated the incompatibility between passenger sedan cars (PS and pick-up trucks (PU involved in side impact crashes in British Columbia. A comparison of light truck and passenger car crashes in previous literature reveals that light truck vehicles inflict greater harm than passenger cars for a number of reasons including their greater weight, stiffer structure, and higher ride height. These features place occupants of passenger cars at a disadvantage should they be involved in a collision with a light truck vehicle. The injury risk for passenger sedan car occupants is greater than the risk for pick-up truck occupants in two-vehicle crashes (Odds Ratio (OR 1.87; 95% Confidence Interval (CI 1.38-2.52. In addition, the risk of vehicle damage severity was increased for passenger cars compared with pick-up trucks (write off vehicle-OR 5.35; 95% CI 3.75-7.63, severely damaged vehicles-OR 5.87; 95% CI 4.79–7.19, moderately damaged vehicles-OR 2.86; 95% CI 2.44–3.36. There is strong justification for injury prevention experts and policy makers to step up motor vehicle crash injury prevention advocacy by implementing evidence-based policies to reduce rates of injury as a result of passenger sedan cars and pick-up trucks involved in side impact crashes in the province of British Columbia.

Overview of causes and costs of injuries in Massachusetts: a methodology for analysis of state data.

Science.gov (United States)

Schuster, M; Cohen, B B; Rodgers, C G; Walker, D K; Friedman, D J; Ozonoff, V V

1995-01-01

Massachusetts has developed the first State profile of the causes and costs of injury based on the national study, "Cost of Injury in the United States: A Report to Congress." Incidence of fatal injuries is based on Massachusetts data; nonfatal hospitalized injuries, on Massachusetts age and sex rates and U.S. cause data; and nonhospitalized injuries, on U.S. rates applied to Massachusetts census data. Lifetime costs per injured person are based on national data adjusted for higher personal health care expenditures and for higher mean annual earnings in Massachusetts. The estimated total lifetime cost for the 1.4 million injuries that occurred in 1989 is $4.4 billion--$1.7 billion for health care and $2.7 billion for lost earnings. Injuries attributed to motor vehicles and falls account for more than half of the total cost. The other cause categories are poisonings, fire-burns, firearms, drowings-near drownings, and other. For every person who dies from an injury, 17 people are hospitalized, and an estimated 535 people require outpatient treatment, consultation, or restricted activity. Development of a State-based cost report can be useful in monitoring the contribution of injuries to health status and in planning effective injury prevention strategies in a community-based health care system. The methodology described in this paper can be replicated by other States through accessing their State-specific mortality and hospital discharge data bases. PMID:7610211

Costs of lithium-ion batteries for vehicles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaines, L.; Cuenca, R.

2000-08-21

One of the most promising battery types under development for use in both pure electric and hybrid electric vehicles is the lithium-ion battery. These batteries are well on their way to meeting the challenging technical goals that have been set for vehicle batteries. However, they are still far from achieving the current cost goals. The Center for Transportation Research at Argonne National Laboratory undertook a project for the US Department of Energy to estimate the costs of lithium-ion batteries and to project how these costs might change over time, with the aid of research and development. Cost reductions could be expected as the result of material substitution, economies of scale in production, design improvements, and/or development of new material supplies. The most significant contributions to costs are found to be associated with battery materials. For the pure electric vehicle, the battery cost exceeds the cost goal of the US Advanced Battery Consortium by about $3,500, which is certainly enough to significantly affect the marketability of the vehicle. For the hybrid, however, the total cost of the battery is much smaller, exceeding the cost goal of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles by only about $800, perhaps not enough to deter a potential buyer from purchasing the power-assist hybrid.

Costs of occupational injury and illness across industries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leigh, J.P.; Waehrer, G.; Miller, T.R.; Keenan, C. [University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA (United States)

2004-06-01

This study ranked industries using estimated total costs and costs per worker. The incidence study of nationwide data was carried out in 1993. The main outcome measure was total cost for medical care, lost productivity, and pain and suffering for the entire United States (US). The analysis was conducted using fatal and nonfatal injury and illness data recorded in large data sets from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cost data were derived from workers' compensation records, estimates of lost wages, and jury awards. Current-value calculations were used to express all costs in 1993 in US dollars. The following industries were at the top of the list for average cost (cost per worker): taxicabs, bituminous coal and lignite mining, logging, crushed stone, oil field services, water transportation services, sand and gravel, and trucking. Industries high on the total-cost list were trucking, eating and drinking places, hospitals, grocery stores, nursing homes, motor vehicles, and department stores. Ranking by total costs provided information on total burden of hazards, and ranking by cost per worker provided information on risk. Industries that ranked high on both lists deserve increased research and regulatory attention.

Literature review on vehicle travel speeds and pedestrian injuries

Science.gov (United States)

1999-10-01

The relationship between vehicle travel speeds and resulting pedestrian injury was reviewed in the literature and in existing data sets. Results indicated that higher vehicle speeds are strongly associated with both a greater likelihood of pedestrian...

Systematic review of military motor vehicle crash-related injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Krahl, Pamela L; Jankosky, Christopher J; Thomas, Richard J; Hooper, Tomoko I

2010-01-01

Motor vehicle crashes account for nearly one third of U.S. military fatalities annually. The objective of this review is to summarize the published evidence on injuries due specifically to military motor vehicle (MMV) crashes. A search of 18 electronic databases identified English language publications addressing MMV crash-related injuries between 1970 and 2006 that were available to the general public. Documents limited in distribution to military or government personnel were not evaluated. Relevant articles were categorized by study design. The search identified only 13 studies related specifically to MMV crashes. Most were case reports or case series (n=8); only one could be classified as an intervention study. Nine of the studies were based solely on data from service-specific military safety centers. Few studies exist on injuries resulting from crashes of military motor vehicles. Epidemiologic studies that assess injury rates, type, severity, and risk factors are needed, followed by studies to evaluate targeted interventions and prevention strategies. Interventions currently underway should be evaluated for effectiveness, and those proven effective in the civilian community, such as graduated driver licensing, should be considered for implementation and evaluation in military populations. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Injury patterns among obese children involved in motor vehicle collisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Haricharan, Ramanath N; Griffin, Russell L; Barnhart, Douglas C; Harmon, Carroll M; McGwin, Gerald

2009-06-01

The purpose of this study was to compare injury patterns among obese children to their nonobese counterparts involved in motor vehicle collisions. A nationwide data collection program containing occupant, collision, and injury details from police-reported tow-away crashes between 1997 and 2006 were used. Risk ratios (RRs) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were adjusted for age, sex, restraint, seat track position, vehicle curb weight, and total velocity change. An estimated 9 million children aged 2 to 17 years (20.2% obese) were involved in motor vehicle collisions during the study period. Among 2-to-5-year-olds, obesity increased the risk of severe head (RR, 3.67; 95% CI, 1.03-13.08) and thoracic (2.27; 1.01-5.08) injuries. Among 6-to-9-year-olds, obesity increased risk of thoracic (2.31; 1.08-4.95) and lower extremity (LE) injuries (1.89; 1.03-3.47). Among 10-to-13-year-olds, obesity increased the risk of severe thoracic (1.98; 1.08-3.65) and LE (6.06; 2.23-16.44) injuries. Among 14-to-17-year-olds, obesity increased risk of severe LE injuries (1.44; 1.04-2.00) but decreased risk of abdominal (0.20; 0.07-0.60) and head (0.33; 0.18-0.60) injuries, very similar to the pattern reported in obese adults. The pattern of obesity-associated injuries changes from a higher risk of head and thoracic injuries among young children to a pattern in late teenagers that is similar to obese adults.

Predicting Production Costs for Advanced Aerospace Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Han P.; Samareh, J. A.; Weston, R. P.

2002-01-01

For early design concepts, the conventional approach to cost is normally some kind of parametric weight-based cost model. There is now ample evidence that this approach can be misleading and inaccurate. By the nature of its development, a parametric cost model requires historical data and is valid only if the new design is analogous to those for which the model was derived. Advanced aerospace vehicles have no historical production data and are nowhere near the vehicles of the past. Using an existing weight-based cost model would only lead to errors and distortions of the true production cost. This paper outlines the development of a process-based cost model in which the physical elements of the vehicle are soared according to a first-order dynamics model. This theoretical cost model, first advocated by early work at MIT, has been expanded to cover the basic structures of an advanced aerospace vehicle. Elemental costs based on the geometry of the design can be summed up to provide an overall estimation of the total production cost for a design configuration. This capability to directly link any design configuration to realistic cost estimation is a key requirement for high payoff MDO problems. Another important consideration in this paper is the handling of part or product complexity. Here the concept of cost modulus is introduced to take into account variability due to different materials, sizes, shapes, precision of fabrication, and equipment requirements. The most important implication of the development of the proposed process-based cost model is that different design configurations can now be quickly related to their cost estimates in a seamless calculation process easily implemented on any spreadsheet tool.

Estimating Texas motor vehicle operating costs.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-10-01

A specific Vcost model was developed for Texas conditions based on a sophisticated fuel model for light : duty vehicles, several excellent sources of secondary vehicle cost data, and the ability to measure heavy truck fuel : consumption through both ...

Vehicle-related injuries in and around a medium sized Swedish City - bicyclist injuries caused the heaviest burden on the medical sector.

Science.gov (United States)

Björnstig, Johanna; Bylund, Per-Olof; Björnstig, Ulf

2017-12-01

A data acquisition from the medical sector may give one important view of the burden on the society caused by vehicle related injuries. The official police-reported statistics may only reflect a part of all vehicle-related injured seeking medical attention. The aim is to provide a comprehensive picture of the burden of vehicle related injuries on the medical sector (2013), and to compare with official police-reported statistics and the development year 2000-2013. The data set includes 1085 injured from the Injury Data Base at Umeå University Hospital's catchment area with 148,500 inhabitants in 2013. Bicyclists were the most frequently injured (54%). One-third had non-minor (MAIS2+) injuries, and bicyclists accounted for 58% of the 1071 hospital bed days for all vehicle-related injuries. Car occupants represented 23% of all injured, and only 9% had MAIS2+ injuries. They accounted for 17% of the hospital bed days. Motorized two wheel vehicle riders represented 11% of the injured and 39% had MAIS2+ injuries and they occupied 11% of the hospital bed days. Of the 1085 medically treated persons, 767 were injured in public traffic areas, and, therefore, should be included in the official police statistics; however, only a third (232) of them were reported by the police. The annual injury rate had not changed during 2000-2013 for bicyclists, motor-cycle riders, pedestrians or snowmobile riders. However, for passenger car occupants a decrease was observed after 2008, and for mopedists the injury rate was halved after 2009 when a licensing regulation was introduced. The Swedish traffic injury reducing strategy Vision Zero, may have contributed to the reduction of injured car occupants and moped riders. The official police-reported statistics was a biased data source for vehicle related injuries and the total number medically treated was in total five times higher. Bicyclists caused the heaviest burden on the medical sector; consequently, they need to be prioritized in

Head injuries (TBI) to adults and children in motor vehicle crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Viano, David C; Parenteau, Chantal S; Xu, Likang; Faul, Mark

2017-08-18

This is a descriptive study. It determined the annual, national incidence of head injuries (traumatic brain injury, TBI) to adults and children in motor vehicle crashes. It evaluated NASS-CDS for exposure and incidence of various head injuries in towaway crashes. It evaluated 3 health databases for emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and deaths due to TBI in motor vehicle occupants. Four databases were evaluated using 1997-2010 data on adult (15+ years old) and child (0-14 years old) occupants in motor vehicle crashes: (1) NASS-CDS estimated the annual incidence of various head injuries and outcomes in towaway crashes, (2) National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS)-estimated ED visits for TBI, (3) National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) estimated hospitalizations for TBI, and (4) National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) estimated TBI deaths. The 4 databases provide annual national totals for TBI related injury and death in motor vehicle crashes based on differing definitions with TBI coded by the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) in NASS-CDS and by International Classification of Diseases (ICD) in the health data. Adults: NASS-CDS had 16,980 ± 2,411 (risk = 0.43 ± 0.06%) with severe head injury (AIS 4+) out of 3,930,543 exposed adults in towaway crashes annually. There were 49,881 ± 9,729 (risk = 1.27 ± 0.25%) hospitalized with AIS 2+ head injury, without death. There were 6,753 ± 882 (risk = 0.17 ± 0.02%) fatalities with a head injury cause. The public health data had 89,331 ± 6,870 ED visits, 33,598 ± 1,052 hospitalizations, and 6,682 ± 22 deaths with TBI. NASS-CDS estimated 48% more hospitalized with AIS 2+ head injury without death than NHDS occupants hospitalized with TBI. NASS-CDS estimated 29% more deaths with AIS 3+ head injury than NVSS occupant TBI deaths but only 1% more deaths with a head injury cause. Children: NASS-CDS had 1,453 ± 318 (risk = 0.32 ± 0.07%) with severe head injury (AIS 4+) out of 454,973 exposed

THE INJURY SEVERITY RATE DIFFERENCES IN PASSENGER CARS AND PICK UP TRUCKS RELATED TWO VEHICLE INVOLVED MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E.B.R. DESAPRIYA

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The effect of large vehicle involvement on motor vehicle crash (MVC rates and severity has long been a concern in MVC analysis literature. Injuries in drivers and occupants are related to several key factors: the mass of the case vehicle and mass of its collision partner and speed of case vehicle and collision partner at the time of the crash. Objective: To evaluate the relative risk of injury occurrence in collisions between picks up trucks (PU and passenger sedan cars (PS. Methods: Data from the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC crash data base was used to determine MVC rates and injury occurrence. Descriptive characteristics of the injury location and injury type were analyzed comparing the Odds Ratios and chi-squares. Results: PS occupants received more injuries; Odds Ratio was 2.49 (95% confidence interval: 2.15–2.88. Conclusion: Occupants in PS which collide with PU were at twice the risk of injuries. Concussion, whiplash, lacerations and abrasion were more frequent in PS drivers and occupants than in PU drivers and occupants. Overall, PS drivers/occupants experienced greater injuries than PU drivers/occupants in PU-PS collisions. In this paper, results are shown as odds ratios comparing occupants injuries in PS (case group with occupant injuries in PU (control group.

The Cost-Optimal Size of Future Reusable Launch Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Koelle, D. E.

2000-07-01

The paper answers the question, what is the optimum vehicle size — in terms of LEO payload capability — for a future reusable launch vehicle ? It is shown that there exists an optimum vehicle size that results in minimum specific transportation cost. The optimum vehicle size depends on the total annual cargo mass (LEO equivalent) enviseaged, which defines at the same time the optimum number of launches per year (LpA). Based on the TRANSCOST-Model algorithms a wide range of vehicle sizes — from 20 to 100 Mg payload in LEO, as well as launch rates — from 2 to 100 per year — have been investigated. It is shown in a design chart how much the vehicle size as well as the launch rate are influencing the specific transportation cost (in MYr/Mg and USS/kg). The comparison with actual ELVs (Expendable Launch Vehicles) and Semi-Reusable Vehicles (a combination of a reusable first stage with an expendable second stage) shows that there exists only one economic solution for an essential reduction of space transportation cost: the Fully Reusable Vehicle Concept, with rocket propulsion and vertical take-off. The Single-stage Configuration (SSTO) has the best economic potential; its feasibility is not only a matter of technology level but also of the vehicle size as such. Increasing the vehicle size (launch mass) reduces the technology requirements because the law of scale provides a better mass fraction and payload fraction — practically at no cost. The optimum vehicle design (after specification of the payload capability) requires a trade-off between lightweight (and more expensive) technology vs. more conventional (and cheaper) technology. It is shown that the the use of more conventional technology and accepting a somewhat larger vehicle is the more cost-effective and less risky approach.

Emission Control Cost-Effectiveness of Alternative-Fuel Vehicles

OpenAIRE

Wang, Quanlu; Sperling, Daniel; Olmstead, Janis

1993-01-01

Although various legislation and regulations have been adopted to promote the use of alternative-fuel vehicles for curbing urban air pollution problems, there is a lack of systematic comparisons of emission control cost-effectiveness among various alternative-fuel vehicle types. In this paper, life-cycle emission reductions and life-cycle costs were estimated for passenger cars fueled with methanol, ethanol, liquified petroleum gas, compressed natural gas, and electricity. Vehicle emission es...

Etiologies of pediatric craniofacial injuries: a comparison of injuries involving all-terrain vehicles and golf carts.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Lauren C; McKinnon, Brian J; Hughes, C Anthony

2013-03-01

To determine incidence and etiologies of craniofacial injuries in the pediatric population through comparison of injuries caused by all-terrain vehicles and golf cart trauma. Case series with chart review. Level 1 trauma center. Retrospective review of pediatric traumas at a tertiary academic medical center from 2003 to 2012 identified 196 patients whose injuries resulted from accidents involving either all-terrain vehicles or golf carts. Data was collected and variables such as age, gender, driver vs. passenger, location of accident, Glasgow coma scale, Injury severity scale, Abbreviated injury scale, and presence or absence of helmet use were examined. 196 pediatric patients were identified: 68 patients had injuries resulting from golf cart accidents, and 128 patients from ATV accidents. 66.4% of ATV-related traumas were male, compared to 52.9% of golf cart-related traumas. Ages of injured patients were similar between the two modalities with average age of ATV traumas 10.8 (±4.0) years and golf cart traumas 10.0 (±4.6) years. Caucasians were most commonly involved in both ATV (79.7%) and golf cart traumas (85.3%). 58.6% of all ATV related trauma and 69.1% of all golf cart trauma resulted in craniofacial injuries. The most common craniofacial injury was a closed head injury with brief loss of consciousness, occurring in 46.1% of the ATV traumas and 54.4% of the golf cart traumas. Temporal bone fractures were the second most common type of craniofacial injury, occurring in 5.5% of ATV accidents and 7.4% of the golf cart traumas. Length of hospital stay and, cases requiring surgery and severity scores were similar between both populations. Intensive care admissions and injury severity scores approached but not reach statistical significance (0.096 and 0.083, respectively). The only statistically significant differences between the two modalities were helmet use (P=0.00018%) and days requiring ventilator assistance (P=0.025). ATVs and golf carts are often exempt

All-terrain vehicle, trampoline and scooter injuries and their prevention in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Deborah

2006-06-01

Childhood injuries are the leading cause of death in children and result in significant healthcare utilization. Injuries specifically related to all terrain vehicles, trampolines and scooter usage can be devastating and are often preventable. Our understanding of how and why these injuries occur can aid in preventing morbidity and mortality. The popularity of all-terrain vehicles, nonmotorized scooters and trampolines has soared over recent years. This increased usage has led to a tremendous rise in injuries in children utilizing these recreational activities. Many of the injuries occur in younger children who may not possess the motor and cognitive skills necessary to safely engage in these activities. These activities lead to a number of head and extremity injuries, most of which can be attenuated by the use of protective gear such as helmets and protective padding. Understanding the nature of these injuries can lead to advocacy and hopefully legislation to prevent further injuries from occurring.

Costs, emissions reductions, and vehicle repair: evidence from Arizona.

Science.gov (United States)

Ando, A; McConnell, V; Harrington, W

2000-04-01

The Arizona inspection and maintenance (I/M) program provides one of the first opportunities to examine the costs and effectiveness of vehicle emission repair. This paper examines various aspects of emission reductions, fuel economy improvements, and repair costs, drawing data from over 80,000 vehicles that failed the I/M test in Arizona between 1995 and the first half of 1996. We summarize the wealth of data on repair from the Arizona program and highlight its limitations. Because missing or incomplete cost information has been a serious shortcoming for the evaluation of I/M programs, we develop a method for estimating repair costs when they are not reported. We find surprising evidence that almost one quarter of all vehicles that take the I/M test are never observed to pass the test. Using a statistical analysis, we provide some information about the differences between the vehicles that pass and those that do not. Older, more polluting vehicles are much more likely never to pass the I/M test, and their expected repair costs are much higher than those for newer cars. This paper summarizes the evidence on costs and emission reductions in the Arizona program, comparing costs and emissions reductions between cars and trucks. Finally, we examine the potential for more cost-effective repair, first through an analysis of tightening I/M cut points and then by calculating the cost savings of achieving different emission reduction goals when the most cost-effective repairs are made first.

Driver Injury Risk Variability in Finite Element Reconstructions of Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) Frontal Motor Vehicle Crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaewsky, James P; Weaver, Ashley A; Koya, Bharath; Stitzel, Joel D

2015-01-01

A 3-phase real-world motor vehicle crash (MVC) reconstruction method was developed to analyze injury variability as a function of precrash occupant position for 2 full-frontal Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) cases. Phase I: A finite element (FE) simplified vehicle model (SVM) was developed and tuned to mimic the frontal crash characteristics of the CIREN case vehicle (Camry or Cobalt) using frontal New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) crash test data. Phase II: The Toyota HUman Model for Safety (THUMS) v4.01 was positioned in 120 precrash configurations per case within the SVM. Five occupant positioning variables were varied using a Latin hypercube design of experiments: seat track position, seat back angle, D-ring height, steering column angle, and steering column telescoping position. An additional baseline simulation was performed that aimed to match the precrash occupant position documented in CIREN for each case. Phase III: FE simulations were then performed using kinematic boundary conditions from each vehicle's event data recorder (EDR). HIC15, combined thoracic index (CTI), femur forces, and strain-based injury metrics in the lung and lumbar vertebrae were evaluated to predict injury. Tuning the SVM to specific vehicle models resulted in close matches between simulated and test injury metric data, allowing the tuned SVM to be used in each case reconstruction with EDR-derived boundary conditions. Simulations with the most rearward seats and reclined seat backs had the greatest HIC15, head injury risk, CTI, and chest injury risk. Calculated injury risks for the head, chest, and femur closely correlated to the CIREN occupant injury patterns. CTI in the Camry case yielded a 54% probability of Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 2+ chest injury in the baseline case simulation and ranged from 34 to 88% (mean = 61%) risk in the least and most dangerous occupant positions. The greater than 50% probability was consistent with the case occupant's AIS 2

A perspective on electric vehicles: cost-benefit analysis and potential demand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This report proposes some quantitative elements to assess the large scale diffusion of electric vehicles and analyse the potential demand for such vehicles. The first part proposes a cost-benefit analysis of the development of electric vehicles based on estimated costs and expected benefits by 2020. It addresses the following issues: framework and hypothesis, total cost of ownership, costs related to the deployment of a network of recharging infrastructures, assessment of external costs, and comparative cost-benefit analysis of electric vehicles. In the second part, the authors aim at identifying a potential demand for electric vehicles from the 2008 French national transport displacement survey (ENTD 2008) which provides recent data on the mobility of the French population

Comparative costs and benefits of hydrogen vehicles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berry, G.D. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)

1996-10-01

The costs and benefits of hydrogen as a vehicle fuel are compared to gasoline, natural gas, and battery-powered vehicles. Costs, energy, efficiency, and tail-pipe and full fuel cycle emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases were estimated for hydrogen from a broad range of delivery pathways and scales: from individual vehicle refueling systems to large stations refueling 300 cars/day. Hydrogen production from natural gas, methanol, and ammonia, as well as water electrolysis based on alkaline or polymer electrolytes and steam electrolysis using solid oxide electrolytes are considered. These estimates were compared to estimates for competing fuels and vehicles, and used to construct oil use, air pollutant, and greenhouse gas emission scenarios for the U.S. passenger car fleet from 2005-2050. Fuel costs need not be an overriding concern in evaluating the suitability of hydrogen as a fuel for passenger vehicles. The combined emissions and oil import reduction benefits of hydrogen cars are estimated to be significant, valued at up to {approximately}$400/yr for each hydrogen car when primarily clean energy sources are used for hydrogen production. These benefits alone, however, become tenuous as the basis supporting a compelling rationale for hydrogen fueled vehicles, if efficient, advanced fossil-fuel hybrid electric vehicles (HEV`s) can achieve actual on-road emissions at or below ULEV standards in the 2005-2015 timeframe. It appears a robust rationale for hydrogen fuel and vehicles will need to also consider unique, strategic, and long-range benefits of hydrogen vehicles which can be achieved through the use of production, storage, delivery, and utilization methods for hydrogen which are unique among fuels: efficient use of intermittent renewable energy sources, (e,g, wind, solar), small-scale feasibility, fuel production at or near the point of use, electrolytic production, diverse storage technologies, and electrochemical conversion to electricity.

Marginal abatement cost curves for Heavy Duty Vehicles. Background report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schroten, A.; Warringa, G.; Bles, M.

2012-09-15

Cost curves were calculated for CO2 abatement technologies for Heavy Duty Vehicles. These curves were elaborated for eight different vehicle categories (six categories of truck and two subcategories), as well as for an 'average' truck and bus. Given that cost curves depend very much on underlying assumptions, the MACH model (Marginal Abatement Costs of Heavy duty vehicles) was developed. This model allows users to enter their own assumptions with respect to parameters like fuel prices and cost and lifetime of individual technologies, with the model then generating new cost curves for the various vehicle categories. This background report contains a description of the model and a summary of the results of several model runs.

Operations Assessment of Launch Vehicle Architectures using Activity Based Cost Models

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Torres, Alex J.; McCleskey, Carey

2000-01-01

The growing emphasis on affordability for space transportation systems requires the assessment of new space vehicles for all life cycle activities, from design and development, through manufacturing and operations. This paper addresses the operational assessment of launch vehicles, focusing on modeling the ground support requirements of a vehicle architecture, and estimating the resulting costs and flight rate. This paper proposes the use of Activity Based Costing (ABC) modeling for this assessment. The model uses expert knowledge to determine the activities, the activity times and the activity costs based on vehicle design characteristics. The approach provides several advantages to current approaches to vehicle architecture assessment including easier validation and allowing vehicle designers to understand the cost and cycle time drivers.

Total cost of ownership of electric vehicles compared to conventional vehicles: A probabilistic analysis and projection across market segments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Geng; Inderbitzin, Alessandro; Bening, Catharina

2015-01-01

While electric vehicles (EV) can perform better than conventional vehicles from an environmental standpoint, consumers perceive them to be more expensive due to their higher capital cost. Recent studies calculated the total cost of ownership (TCO) to evaluate the complete cost for the consumer, focusing on individual vehicle classes, powertrain technologies, or use cases. To provide a comprehensive overview, we built a probabilistic simulation model broad enough to capture most of a national market. Our findings indicate that the comparative cost efficiency of EV increases with the consumer's driving distance and is higher for small than for large vehicles. However, our sensitivity analysis shows that the exact TCO is subject to the development of vehicle and operating costs and thus uncertain. Although the TCO of electric vehicles may become close to or even lower than that of conventional vehicles by 2025, our findings add evidence to past studies showing that the TCO does not reflect how consumers make their purchase decision today. Based on these findings, we discuss policy measures that educate consumers about the TCO of different vehicle types based on their individual preferences. In addition, measures improving the charging infrastructure and further decreasing battery cost are discussed. - Highlights: • Calculates the total cost of ownership across competing vehicle technologies. • Uses Monte Carlo simulation to analyse distributions and probabilities of outcomes. • Contains a comprehensive assessment across the main vehicle classes and use cases. • Indicates that cost efficiency of technology depends on vehicle class and use case. • Derives specific policy measures to facilitate electric vehicle diffusion

Costs of occupational injuries and illnesses in Croatia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bađun, Marijana

2017-03-01

Apart from influencing the quality of life, occupational injuries and illnesses can pose a large economic burden to a society. There are many studies that estimate the costs of occupational injuries and illnesses in highly developed economies, but the evidence for other countries is scarce. This study aimed to estimate the financial costs of occupational injuries and illnesses to Croatian government and employers in 2015. Workers were excluded due to the lack of data. Costs were estimated by analysing available data sources on occupational health and safety. Financial costs were grouped in several categories: medical costs, productivity losses, disability pensions, compensation for physical impairment, administrative costs, and legal costs. Unlike in other studies, the costs of compliance with occupational safety and health regulations were also investigated. In 2015, financial costs to employers were twice higher than costs to the government (HRK 604.6 m vs HRK 297 m). Employers additionally covered around HRK 300 m of compliance costs. Taking into account that financial costs of occupational injuries and illnesses are significant, even without including the costs to workers, policy makers should put additional efforts into their prevention. A prerequisite is transparency in Croatian Health Insurance Fund's expenditures, as well as more detailed data on lost days from work by industries, causes of injury etc. Organisations in charge of occupational health and safety and policy makers should observe relevant statistics in monetary terms too.

Risk of injury for occupants of motor vehicle collisions from unbelted occupants.

Science.gov (United States)

MacLennan, P A; McGwin, G; Metzger, J; Moran, S G; Rue, L W

2004-12-01

Unbelted occupants may increase the risk of injury for other occupants in a motor vehicle collision (MVC). This study evaluated the association between occupant restraint use and the risk of injury (including death) to other vehicle occupants. A population based cohort study. United States. MVC occupants (n = 152 191 unweighted, n = 18 426 684 weighted) seated between a belted or unbelted occupant and the line of the principal direction of force in frontal, lateral, and rear MVCs were sampled from the 1991-2002 National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System. Offset MVCs were not included in the study. Risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals for injury (including death) for occupants seated contiguous to unbelted occupants compared to occupants seated contiguous to belted occupants. Risk ratios were adjusted for at risk occupant's sex, age, seating position, vehicle type, collision type, travel speed, crash severity, and at risk occupants' own seat belt use. Exposure to unbelted occupants was associated with a 40% increased risk of any injury. Belted at risk occupants were at a 90% increased risk of injury but unbelted occupants were not at increased risk. Risks were similar for non-incapacitating and capacitating injuries. There was a 4.8-fold increased risk of death for exposed belted occupants but no increased risk of death for unbelted occupants. Belted occupants are at an increased risk of injury and death in the event of a MVC from unbelted occupants.

The vehicle routing problem with edge set costs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reinhardt, Line Blander; Jepsen, Mads Kehlet; Pisinger, David

We consider an important generalization of the vehicle routing problem with time windows in which a fixed cost must be paid for accessing a set of edges. This fixed cost could reflect payment for toll roads, investment in new facilities, the need for certifications and other costly investments....... The certifications and contributions impose a cost for the company while they also give unlimited usage of a set of roads to all vehicles belonging to the company. Different versions for defining the edge sets are discussed and formulated. A MIP-formulation of the problem is presented, and a solution method based...

Toward an Effective Long-Term Strategy for Preventing Motor Vehicle Crashes and Injuries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony R. Mawson

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Casualties due to motor vehicle crashes (MVCs include some 40,000 deaths each year in the United States and one million deaths worldwide. One strategy that has been recommended for improving automobile safety is to lower speed limits and enforce them with speed cameras. However, motor vehicles can be hazardous even at low speeds whereas properly protected human beings can survive high-speed crashes without injury. Emphasis on changing driver behavior as the focus for road safety improvements has been largely unsuccessful; moreover, drivers today are increasingly distracted by secondary tasks such as cell phone use and texting. Indeed, the true limiting factor in vehicular safety is the capacity of human beings to sense and process information and to make rapid decisions. Given that dramatic reductions in injuries and deaths from MVCs have occurred over the past century due to improvements in safety technology, despite increases in the number of vehicles on the road and miles driven per vehicle, we propose that an effective long-term strategy for reducing MVC-related injury would be continued technological innovation in vehicle design, aimed at progressively removing the driver from routine operational decision-making. Once this is achieved, high rates of speed could be achieved on open highways, with minimal risk of crashes and injury to occupants and pedestrians.

Toward an effective long-term strategy for preventing motor vehicle crashes and injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Mawson, Anthony R; Walley, E Kenneth

2014-08-11

Casualties due to motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) include some 40,000 deaths each year in the United States and one million deaths worldwide. One strategy that has been recommended for improving automobile safety is to lower speed limits and enforce them with speed cameras. However, motor vehicles can be hazardous even at low speeds whereas properly protected human beings can survive high-speed crashes without injury. Emphasis on changing driver behavior as the focus for road safety improvements has been largely unsuccessful; moreover, drivers today are increasingly distracted by secondary tasks such as cell phone use and texting. Indeed, the true limiting factor in vehicular safety is the capacity of human beings to sense and process information and to make rapid decisions. Given that dramatic reductions in injuries and deaths from MVCs have occurred over the past century due to improvements in safety technology, despite increases in the number of vehicles on the road and miles driven per vehicle, we propose that an effective long-term strategy for reducing MVC-related injury would be continued technological innovation in vehicle design, aimed at progressively removing the driver from routine operational decision-making. Once this is achieved, high rates of speed could be achieved on open highways, with minimal risk of crashes and injury to occupants and pedestrians.

Life-cycle private-cost-based competitiveness analysis of electric vehicles in China considering the intangible cost of traffic policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diao, Qinghua; Sun, Wei; Yuan, Xinmei; Li, Lili; Zheng, Zhi

2016-01-01

Highlights: • LCCs of BEVs and CVs are compared, considering the effects of traffic policy. • BEVs are economically competitive with both national and local subsidies. • Traffic policies have a significant impact on the competitiveness of BEVs. • The promotion of electric vehicles should prioritize mega-cities. - Abstract: Electric vehicles produce zero tailpipe emissions during operation and have thus been considered a most promising method for providing mobility while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of the transportation sector in the future. The life-cycle cost of electric vehicles has been widely studied to evaluate their competitiveness compared to conventional vehicles. However, the competitiveness of electric vehicles is highly dependent on government promotion policies, and the effects of non-economic incentive policies are currently difficult to include in life-cycle cost analysis. These non-economic effects are usually measured by the intangible cost. Traffic policies represent typical non-economic incentive policies. In China, electric vehicles are exempted from purchase restrictions (license plate control policy) and driving restrictions; thus, the intangible cost of traffic policies has significant effects on the comparison of electric vehicles and conventional vehicles. In this paper, from the consumers’ perspective, the intangible cost of purchase and driving restrictions is modeled and expressed in monetary terms; then, the impact of these non-economic incentive policies are compared with subsidies and other costs of vehicles. Thus, a more comprehensive comparison between electric and conventional vehicles can be provided. Using three selected typical battery electric vehicles and three correspondingly similarly sized conventional vehicles in China, the private life-cycle costs of battery electric vehicles and conventional vehicles are calculated and compared, a parametric variation analysis is performed, and the effects of economic

Railway train versus motor vehicle collisions: a comparative study of injury severity and patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Kligman, M D; Knotts, F B; Buderer, N M; Kerwin, A J; Rodgers, J F

1999-11-01

This study compares the demographics, injury severity, resource use, and injury patterns of patients involved in railway train-motor vehicle (RT-MV) to motor vehicle-motor vehicle (MV-MV) collisions. Retrospective trauma registry review of 74 RT-MV and 1,931 MV-MV consecutive patients, age more than 14 years, presenting to two Level I trauma centers, January of 1991 to May of 1998. Compared with MV-MV, RT-MV had significantly more males (72% vs. 54%), higher mortality (15% vs. 7%), higher Injury Severity Score (median, 20 vs. 9), longer intensive care unit length of stay (1.7 vs. 0.04 days), and longer hospital length of stay (7.5 vs. 4 days). RT-MV patients had a higher percentage of scalp/facial lacerations; intracranial hemorrhage; hemothorax and pneumothorax; fractures of the rib/sternum, upper extremity, skull, and face; and lung, splenic, and renal injuries. After adjusting for the difference in Injury Severity Score between groups, the only remaining significant group difference was the odds of a scalp/facial laceration. RT-MV collisions are a marker for more severe injuries, but not a different pattern of injury, compared with MV-MV collisions.

Weight and cost forecasting for advanced manned space vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Raymond

1989-01-01

A mass and cost estimating computerized methology for predicting advanced manned space vehicle weights and costs was developed. The user friendly methology designated MERCER (Mass Estimating Relationship/Cost Estimating Relationship) organizes the predictive process according to major vehicle subsystem levels. Design, development, test, evaluation, and flight hardware cost forecasting is treated by the study. This methodology consists of a complete set of mass estimating relationships (MERs) which serve as the control components for the model and cost estimating relationships (CERs) which use MER output as input. To develop this model, numerous MER and CER studies were surveyed and modified where required. Additionally, relationships were regressed from raw data to accommodate the methology. The models and formulations which estimated the cost of historical vehicles to within 20 percent of the actual cost were selected. The result of the research, along with components of the MERCER Program, are reported. On the basis of the analysis, the following conclusions were established: (1) The cost of a spacecraft is best estimated by summing the cost of individual subsystems; (2) No one cost equation can be used for forecasting the cost of all spacecraft; (3) Spacecraft cost is highly correlated with its mass; (4) No study surveyed contained sufficient formulations to autonomously forecast the cost and weight of the entire advanced manned vehicle spacecraft program; (5) No user friendly program was found that linked MERs with CERs to produce spacecraft cost; and (6) The group accumulation weight estimation method (summing the estimated weights of the various subsystems) proved to be a useful method for finding total weight and cost of a spacecraft.

The effects of age, gender, and crash types on drivers' injury-related health care costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Sijun; Neyens, David M

2015-04-01

There are many studies that evaluate the effects of age, gender, and crash types on crash related injury severity. However, few studies investigate the effects of those crash factors on the crash related health care costs for drivers that are transported to hospital. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between drivers' age, gender, and the crash types, as well as other crash characteristics (e.g., not wearing a seatbelt, weather condition, and fatigued driving), on the crash related health care costs. The South Carolina Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (SC CODES) from 2005 to 2007 was used to construct six separate hierarchical linear regression models based on drivers' age and gender. The results suggest that older drivers have higher health care costs than younger drivers and male drivers tend to have higher health care costs than female drivers in the same age group. Overall, single vehicle crashes had the highest health care costs for all drivers. For males older than 64-years old sideswipe crashes are as costly as single vehicle crashes. In general, not wearing a seatbelt, airbag deployment, and speeding were found to be associated with higher health care costs. Distraction-related crashes are more likely to be associated with lower health care costs in most cases. Furthermore this study highlights the value of considering drivers in subgroups, as some factors have different effects on health care costs in different driver groups. Developing an understanding of longer term outcomes of crashes and their characteristics can lead to improvements in vehicle technology, educational materials, and interventions to reduce crash-related health care costs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relationship between pedestrian headform tests and injury and fatality rates in vehicle-to-pedestrian crashes in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Becky; Farmer, Charles; Jermakian, Jessica; Zuby, David

2013-11-01

Pedestrian protection evaluations have been developed to encourage vehicle front-end designs that mitigate the consequences of vehicle-to-pedestrian crashes. The European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) evaluates pedestrian head protection with impacts against vehicle hood, windshield, and A-pillars. The Global Technical Regulation No. 9 (GTR 9), being evaluated for U.S. regulation, limits head protection evaluations to impacts against vehicle hoods. The objective of this study was to compare results from pedestrian head impact testing to the real-world rates of fatal and incapacitating injuries in U.S. pedestrian crashes. Data from police reported pedestrian crashes in 14 states were used to calculate real-world fatal and in- capacitating injury rates for seven 2002-07 small cars. Rates were 2.17-4.04 per 100 pedestrians struck for fatal injuries and 10.45-15.35 for incapacitating injuries. Euro NCAP style pedestrian headform tests were conducted against windshield, A-pillar, and hoods of the study vehicles. When compared with pedestrian injury rates, the vehicles' Euro NCAP scores, ranging 5-10 points, showed strong negative correlations (-0.6) to injury rates, though none were statistically significant. Data from the headform impacts for each of the study vehicles were used to calculate that vehicle's predicted serious injury risk. The predicted risks from both the Euro NCAP and GTR 9 test zones showed high positive correlations with the pedestrian fatal and incapacitating injury rates, though few were statistically significant. Whether vehicle stiffness is evaluated on all components of vehicle front ends (Euro NCAP) or is limited to hoods (GTR 9), softer vehicle components correspond to a lower risk of fatality.

Optimal Vehicle Design Using the Integrated System and Cost Modeling Tool Suite

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-01

Space Vehicle Costing ( ACEIT ) • New Small Sat Model Development & Production Cost O&M Cost Module  Radiation Exposure  Radiation Detector Response...Reliability OML Availability Risk l l Tools CEA, SRM Model, POST, ACEIT , Inflation Model, Rotor Blade Des, Microsoft Project, ATSV, S/1-iABP...space STK, SOAP – Specific mission • Space Vehicle Design (SMAD) • Space Vehicle Propulsion • Orbit Propagation • Space Vehicle Costing ( ACEIT ) • New

Costs of occupational injuries in construction in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Waehrer, Geetha M; Dong, Xiuwen S; Miller, Ted; Haile, Elizabeth; Men, Yurong

2007-11-01

This paper presents costs of fatal and nonfatal injuries for the construction industry using 2002 national incidence data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a comprehensive cost model that includes direct medical costs, indirect losses in wage and household productivity, as well as an estimate of the quality of life costs due to injury. Costs are presented at the three-digit industry level, by worker characteristics, and by detailed source and event of injury. The total costs of fatal and nonfatal injuries in the construction industry were estimated at $11.5 billion in 2002, 15% of the costs for all private industry. The average cost per case of fatal or nonfatal injury is $27,000 in construction, almost double the per-case cost of $15,000 for all industry in 2002. Five industries accounted for over half the industry's total fatal and nonfatal injury costs. They were miscellaneous special trade contractors (SIC 179), followed by plumbing, heating and air-conditioning (SIC 171), electrical work (SIC 173), heavy construction except highway (SIC 162), and residential building construction (SIC 152), each with over $1 billion in costs.

Injuries Sustained in Noncombat Motor Vehicle Accidents During Operation Iraqi Freedom

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

pneumothorax , lung contusion, flail chest ). This finding, and whether it relates in any way to vehicle type, protective equipment worn, or MVA... Trauma Registry. The EMED is a deployment health database maintained by Naval Health Research Center (NHRC), in San Diego, California, and contains...accounted for a majority of all serious injuries. Upon further examination of the 22 serious torso injuries, approximately 40% were chest injuries (e.g

Cost-benefit analysis of electrical vehicles. Cars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taszka, Stephane; Domergue, Silvano; Poret, Mathilde; Monnoyer-Smith, Laurence

2017-07-01

This study aims at assessing technologies of electrical or hybrid vehicle from a social-economic point of view as well as from a user's point of view by 2020 and 2030, and thus at identifying relevant fields for these technologies. After having recalled some elements of context (Paris agreement, climate change issues for which transport is an important matter of concern, necessity to reduce CO 2 emissions, atmospheric pollution, and sound pollutions), and envisaged solutions (technological advances in engines and motorizations, evolution of mobility behaviours, use of alternate fuels and more particularly of electric and hybrid vehicles), the authors report a social-economic analysis which compares costs and benefits while taking environmental externalities into account, and an analysis of consumer's or user's point of view by using a total cost of ownership (TCO) approach which takes taxation into account. Four technologies are thus studied: thermal vehicles (petrol and diesel), hybrid vehicles, reloadable hybrid vehicles, and fully electrical vehicles. The implemented methodology and general hypotheses are presented. Results are presented and discussed. They show that an electric vehicle could be already profitable in a dense urban environment in 2020, and hybrid technology in 2030. A mixed use (electric propulsion in urban environment, thermal propulsion for inter-urban trips) seems to be the best solution before these both horizons. The study also reports some elements of assessment of the 'smart grid' value of electric vehicle batteries. Appendices propose detailed assessments and indications of sources of pollutant emissions

The burning issues of motor vehicle radiator scald injuries revisited - a fresh review and changing prevention strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, J N; Tan, A; Frew, Q; Dziewulski, P

2016-12-31

A preventable subgroup of burn injuries is scalds sustained from motor vehicle radiators. This study was to determine changes in trends in epidemiology of such injuries and to discuss whether current and other prevention efforts proposed previously require reinforcement. We conducted a retrospective study (February 2007-August 2015) of all motor vehicle-related burn referrals to our regional burns service. 68 cases of motor vehicle radiator burns were identified. Male to female ratio was 65:3. Mean age was 35.1 (range = 9-71). Most cases occurred in the summer months (22/68 = 32.4%). 65 cases (95.6%) involved car radiators. 66% of injuries resulted from actively removing the pressure cap of an overheated radiator in the motor vehicle. Mean total burn surface area (%TBSA) was 2.1% (range = 0.5- 11%). The depths of burn injuries were mostly superficial partial thickness. Face, chest and upper limbs were the most common sites of injury. Mean healing time was 14.2 days (range = 4-60). Following the introduction of safety measures by vehicle manufacturers, motor vehicle radiator burns in this era are mostly minor injuries and can be potentially managed conservatively as an outpatient. This contrasts with findings from previous studies over a decade ago of larger, more significant injuries requiring admission and surgery. Whilst manufacturers have installed safety measures into the design of radiator caps, our findings suggest that re-educating the public to allow a period of cooling prior to opening caps should be reinforced.

Electric vehicle life cycle cost analysis : final research project report.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-02-01

This project compared total life cycle costs of battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), and vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE). The analysis considered capital and operati...

Cost-assessment Analysis of Local Vehicle Scrapping Facility

Science.gov (United States)

Grabowski, Lukasz; Gliniak, Maciej; Polek, Daria; Gruca, Maria

2017-12-01

The purpose of the paper was to analyse the costs of recycling vehicles at local vehicle scrapping facility. The article contains regulations concerning vehicle decommissioning, describes the types of recovery, vehicles recycling networks, analyses the structure of a disassembly station, as well as the financial and institutional system in charge of dealing with the recycling of vehicles in Poland. The authors present the number of scrapped vehicles at local recycling company and the level of achieved recovery and recycling. The research presented in the article shows financial situation of the vehicle scrapping industry. In addition, it has been observed that the number of subsidies are directly proportional to the number of scrapped vehicles, and achieved levels of recycling and recovery depends on the percentage of incomplete vehicles.

Cost prediction following traumatic brain injury: model development and validation.

Science.gov (United States)

Spitz, Gershon; McKenzie, Dean; Attwood, David; Ponsford, Jennie L

2016-02-01

The ability to predict costs following a traumatic brain injury (TBI) would assist in planning treatment and support services by healthcare providers, insurers and other agencies. The objective of the current study was to develop predictive models of hospital, medical, paramedical, and long-term care (LTC) costs for the first 10 years following a TBI. The sample comprised 798 participants with TBI, the majority of whom were male and aged between 15 and 34 at time of injury. Costing information was obtained for hospital, medical, paramedical, and LTC costs up to 10 years postinjury. Demographic and injury-severity variables were collected at the time of admission to the rehabilitation hospital. Duration of PTA was the most important single predictor for each cost type. The final models predicted 44% of hospital costs, 26% of medical costs, 23% of paramedical costs, and 34% of LTC costs. Greater costs were incurred, depending on cost type, for individuals with longer PTA duration, obtaining a limb or chest injury, a lower GCS score, older age at injury, not being married or defacto prior to injury, living in metropolitan areas, and those reporting premorbid excessive or problem alcohol use. This study has provided a comprehensive analysis of factors predicting various types of costs following TBI, with the combination of injury-related and demographic variables predicting 23-44% of costs. PTA duration was the strongest predictor across all cost categories. These factors may be used for the planning and case management of individuals following TBI. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Injury rate and socioeconomic costs resulting from sports injuries in Flanders: data derived from sports insurance statistics 2003.

Science.gov (United States)

Cumps, E; Verhagen, E; Annemans, L; Meeusen, R

2008-09-01

This study determines the injury rate (%) and the associated direct medical and indirect costs of sports injuries in Flanders. Epidemiological cohort designs and a human capital method were set up to measure respectively the medical direct and indirect cost of sports injuries. 72 out of 82 Flemish sports federations participated. Insurance statistics from 2003 were used to determine the overall rate of injury and injury localisations. Using these data, the medical direct cost and the impact sports injuries have on indirect costs were estimated. The indirect costs were determined by multiplying the days of absence from work with the daily cost resulting from a loss of production, being 200 euros. The total direct medical cost extrapolated for the Flemish sports participants was 15,027,423 euros, which amounted to 0.07% to 0.08% of the total budget spent on healthcare. The indirect cost extrapolated for the Flemish sports participants was 111,420,813 euros, which is about 3.4% of the costs arising from absenteeism from work. Of the 14 in-depth analysed sports, the rate of injury was highest in European team handball (8.96%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 8.95-8.96) and lowest in swimming (0.62%; 95% CI 0.62-0.62). The highest direct medical cost was found for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries (1358 euros per injury) and the lowest for foot injuries (52 euros per injury). The costs calculated in this study could become critical statistics in medical care debates. Data obtained here will enable a cost-benefit analysis of the impact of preventive measures to be made.

Obesity and non-fatal motor vehicle crash injuries: sex difference effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, X; Laud, P W; Pintar, F; Kim, J-E; Shih, A; Shen, W; Heymsfield, S B; Allison, D B; Zhu, S

2011-09-01

Obesity and motor vehicle crash (MVC) injuries are two parallel epidemics in the United States. An important unanswered question is whether there are sex differences in the associations between the presence of obesity and non-fatal MVC injuries. To further understand the association between obesity and non-fatal MVC injuries, particularly the sex differences in these relations. We examined this question by analyzing data from the 2003 to 2007 National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System (NASS CDS). A total of 10,962 drivers who were aged 18 years or older and who survived frontal collision crashes were eligible for the study. Male drivers experienced a lower rate of overall non-fatal MVC injuries than did female drivers (38.1 versus 52.2%), but experienced a higher rate of severe injuries (0.7 versus 0.2%). After adjusting for change in velocity (ΔV) during the crashes, obese male drivers showed a much higher risk (logistic coefficients of body mass index (BMI) for moderate, serious and severe injury are 0.0766, 0.1470 and 0.1792, respectively; all Pobese male drivers and these risks increased with injury severity. Non-fatal injury risks were not found to be increased in obese female drivers. The association between obesity and risk of non-fatal injury was much stronger for male drivers than for female drivers. The higher risk of non-fatal MVC injuries in obese male drivers might result from their different body shape and fat distribution compared with obese female drivers. Our findings should be considered for obesity reduction, traffic safety evaluation and vehicle design for obese male drivers and provide testable hypotheses for future studies.

Comparing the Mass, Energy, and Cost Effects of Lightweighting in Conventional and Electric Passenger Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johannes Hofer

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In this work the effect of weight reduction using advanced lightweight materials on the mass, energy use, and cost of conventional and battery electric passenger vehicles is compared. Analytic vehicle simulation is coupled with cost assessment to find the optimal degree of weight reduction minimizing manufacturing and total costs. The results show a strong secondary weight and cost saving potential for the battery electric vehicles, but a higher sensitivity of vehicle energy use to mass reduction for the conventional vehicle. Generally, light weighting has the potential to lower vehicle costs, however, the results are very sensitive to parameters affecting lifetime fuel costs for conventional and battery costs for electric vehicles. Based on current technology cost estimates it is shown that the optimal amount of primary mass reduction minimizing total costs is similar for conventional and electric vehicles and ranges from 22% to 39%, depending on vehicle range and overall use patterns. The difference between the optimal solutions minimizing manufacturing versus total costs is higher for conventional than battery electric vehicles.

Injury severity in delivery-motorcycle to vehicle crashes in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Younshik; Song, Tai-Jin; Yoon, Byoung-Jo

2014-01-01

More than 56% of motorcycles in Korea are used for the purpose of delivering parcels and food. Since such delivery requires quick service, most motorcyclists commit traffic violations while delivering, such as crossing the centerline, speeding, running a red light, and driving in the opposite direction down one-way streets. In addition, the fatality rate for motorcycle crashes is about 12% of the fatality rate for road traffic crashes, which is considered to be high, although motorcycle crashes account for only 5% of road traffic crashes in South Korea. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze the injury severity of vehicle-to-motorcycle crashes that have occurred during delivery. To examine the risk of different injury levels sustained under all crash types of vehicle-to-motorcycle, this study applied an ordered probit model. Based on the results, this study proposes policy implications to reduce the injury severity of vehicle-to-motorcycle crashes during delivery. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Costs in hand amputations derived from labor injuries].

Science.gov (United States)

Castañeda-Borrayo, Yaocihuatl; Mireles-Pérez, Ana Bárbara Isabel; González-Ramos, Ana Margarita; Pérez-García, Cindy; Navarro-Trujillo, Luz Rocío

2010-01-01

Hand injuries by labor accidents are first rank. It is necessary to have a multidisciplinary medical approach to frequently generated temporary and permanent disabilities that affect costs to an institution and to enterprise. To determine the direct cost (DC) and the indirect cost (IC) of complete and partial amputations in hand caused by labor injuries. An observational study was performed. The data was obtained from labor injuries with amputation of a finger or hand that received multidisciplinary management. The costs were calculated according to the list of Institutional Unit Costs. The IC were obtained with the "safety pays" program. We included 48 cases. The average age was 32.17 years; the cost of surgical operations was $767,470; and the payment of a partial disability permanent was $1,032,670; the DC of the sample of 48 workers was $2,955,007 with an IC of $3,250,507 and a total cost of $6,205,515, the average cost per worker of $51,741 for DC, $56,915 for IC and $108,657 for the total cost. Costs of hand injures requires the creation of prevention programs.

Safety and Cost Assessment of Connected and Automated Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

2018-03-29

Many light-duty vehicle crashes occur due to human error and distracted driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that ten percent of all fatal crashes and seventeen percent of injury crashes in 2011 were a result of...

Cost of work-related injuries in insured workplaces in Lebanon.

OpenAIRE

Fayad, Rim; Nuwayhid, Iman; Tamim, Hala; Kassak, Kassem; Khogali, Mustafa

2003-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the medical and compensation costs of work-related injuries in insured workplaces in Lebanon and to examine cost distributions by worker and injury characteristics. METHODS: A total of 3748 claims for work injuries processed in 1998 by five major insurance companies in Lebanon were reviewed. Medical costs (related to emergency room fees, physician consultations, tests, and medications) and wage and indemnity compensation costs were identified from the claims. FINDINGS: ...

VEHICLE REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE COSTS IN NIGERIA ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A standard model was established for the prediction of repair and maintenance costs of vehicles in a non-profit making government parastatal. The model was derived based on data collected over a ten year period from a non-profit making government parastatal, and it predicts repair and maintenance costs as a linear ...

Exploring the mechanisms of vehicle front-end shape on pedestrian head injuries caused by ground impact.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Sha; Li, Jiani; Xu, Jun

2017-09-01

In pedestrian-vehicle accidents, pedestrians typically suffer from secondary impact with the ground after the primary contact with vehicles. However, information about the fundamental mechanism of pedestrian head injury from ground impact remains minimal, thereby hindering further improvement in pedestrian safety. This study addresses this issue by using multi-body modeling and computation to investigate the influence of vehicle front-end shape on pedestrian safety. Accordingly, a simulation matrix is constructed to vary bonnet leading-edge height, bonnet length, bonnet angle, and windshield angle. Subsequently, a set of 315 pedestrian-vehicle crash simulations are conducted using the multi-body simulation software MADYMO. Three vehicle velocities, i.e., 20, 30, and 40km/h, are set as the scenarios. Results show that the top governing factor is bonnet leading-edge height. The posture and head injury at the instant of head ground impact vary dramatically with increasing height because of the significant rise of the body bending point and the movement of the collision point. The bonnet angle is the second dominant factor that affects head-ground injury, followed by bonnet length and windshield angle. The results may elucidate one of the critical barriers to understanding head injury caused by ground impact and provide a solid theoretical guideline for considering pedestrian safety in vehicle design. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The burning issues of motor vehicle radiator scald injuries revisited – a fresh review and changing prevention strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, J.N.; Tan, A.; Frew, Q.; Dziewulski, P.

2016-01-01

Summary A preventable subgroup of burn injuries is scalds sustained from motor vehicle radiators. This study was to determine changes in trends in epidemiology of such injuries and to discuss whether current and other prevention efforts proposed previously require reinforcement. We conducted a retrospective study (February 2007-August 2015) of all motor vehicle-related burn referrals to our regional burns service. 68 cases of motor vehicle radiator burns were identified. Male to female ratio was 65:3. Mean age was 35.1 (range = 9-71). Most cases occurred in the summer months (22/68 = 32.4%). 65 cases (95.6%) involved car radiators. 66% of injuries resulted from actively removing the pressure cap of an overheated radiator in the motor vehicle. Mean total burn surface area (%TBSA) was 2.1% (range = 0.5- 11%). The depths of burn injuries were mostly superficial partial thickness. Face, chest and upper limbs were the most common sites of injury. Mean healing time was 14.2 days (range = 4-60). Following the introduction of safety measures by vehicle manufacturers, motor vehicle radiator burns in this era are mostly minor injuries and can be potentially managed conservatively as an outpatient. This contrasts with findings from previous studies over a decade ago of larger, more significant injuries requiring admission and surgery. Whilst manufacturers have installed safety measures into the design of radiator caps, our findings suggest that re-educating the public to allow a period of cooling prior to opening caps should be reinforced. PMID:28289357

An Optimal Operating Strategy for Battery Life Cycle Costs in Electric Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yinghua Han

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Impact on petroleum based vehicles on the environment, cost, and availability of fuel has led to an increased interest in electric vehicle as a means of transportation. Battery is a major component in an electric vehicle. Economic viability of these vehicles depends on the availability of cost-effective batteries. This paper presents a generalized formulation for determining the optimal operating strategy and cost optimization for battery. Assume that the deterioration of the battery is stochastic. Under the assumptions, the proposed operating strategy for battery is formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem considering reliability and failure number. And an explicit expression of the average cost rate is derived for battery lifetime. Results show that the proposed operating strategy enhances the availability and reliability at a low cost.

Vehicle Lightweighting: 40% and 45% Weight Savings Analysis: Technical Cost Modeling for Vehicle Lightweighting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mascarin, Anthony [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Hannibal, Ted [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Raghunathan, Anand [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Ivanic, Ziga [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Francfort, James [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-04-01

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office, Materials area commissioned a study to model and assess manufacturing economics of alternative design and production strategies for a series of lightweight vehicle concepts. The strategic targets were a 40% and a 45% mass reduction relative to a standard North American midsize passenger sedan at an effective cost of $3.42 per pound (lb) saved. The baseline vehicle was an average of several available vehicles in this class. Mass and cost breakdowns from several sources were used, including original equipment manufacturers’ (OEMs’) input through U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office programs and public presentations, A2Mac1 LLC’s teardown information, Lotus Engineering Limited and FEV, Inc. breakdowns in their respective lightweighting studies, and IBIS Associates, Inc.’s decades of experience in automotive lightweighting and materials substitution analyses. Information on lightweighting strategies in this analysis came from these same sources and the ongoing U.S. Department of Energy-funded Vehma International of America, Inc. /Ford Motor Company Multi-Material Lightweight Prototype Vehicle Demonstration Project, the Aluminum Association Transportation Group, and many United States Council for Automotive Research’s/United States Automotive Materials Partnership LLC lightweight materials programs.

Imaging findings in 512 children following all-terrain vehicle injuries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shah, Chetan C.; Greenberg, Bruce S.; Ramakrishnaiah, Raghu H.; Bhutta, Sadaf T.; Parnell-Beasley, Donna N.

2009-01-01

Injuries related to all-terrain vehicle (ATV) use by children have increased in recent years, and the pattern of these injuries is not well known among radiologists. Our purpose was to identify different radiologically diagnosed injuries in children suffering ATV-related trauma and determine associations among various injuries as well as between injuries and outcome. The study included 512 consecutive children suffering from ATV injuries treated at a tertiary care pediatric hospital. All imaging studies were reviewed and correlated with injury frequency and outcome using multivariate analysis. Head injuries occurred in 244 children (48%) and in five of six deaths. Calvarial skull fractures occurred in 104 children and were associated with brain, subdural and epidural injuries. Brain and orbit injuries were associated with long-term disability. A total of 227 extremity fractures were present in 172 children (34%). The femur was the most commonly fractured bone. Nine children had partial foot amputations. Multiorgan injuries occurred in nearly half of the 97 children with torso injuries. Determinants for long-term disability or death were head injuries (odds ratio 3.4) and extremity fractures (odds ratio 3.3). Head and extremity injuries are the two most common injuries in children suffering ATV injuries and are associated with long-term disability. ATV use by children is dangerous and is a significant threat to child safety. (orig.)

Direct cost associated with acquired brain injury in Ontario

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Amy

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Acquired Brain Injury (ABI from traumatic and non traumatic causes is a leading cause of disability worldwide yet there is limited research summarizing the health system economic burden associated with ABI. The objective of this study was to determine the direct cost of publicly funded health care services from the initial hospitalization to three years post-injury for individuals with traumatic (TBI and non-traumatic brain injury (nTBI in Ontario Canada. Methods A population-based cohort of patients discharged from acute hospital with an ABI code in any diagnosis position in 2004 through 2007 in Ontario was identified from administrative data. Publicly funded health care utilization was obtained from several Ontario administrative healthcare databases. Patients were stratified according to traumatic and non-traumatic causes of brain injury and whether or not they were discharged to an inpatient rehabilitation center. Health system costs were calculated across a continuum of institutional and community settings for up to three years after initial discharge. The continuum of settings included acute care emergency departments inpatient rehabilitation (IR complex continuing care home care services and physician visits. All costs were calculated retrospectively assuming the government payer’s perspective. Results Direct medical costs in an ABI population are substantial with mean cost in the first year post-injury per TBI and nTBI patient being $32132 and $38018 respectively. Among both TBI and nTBI patients those discharged to IR had significantly higher treatment costs than those not discharged to IR across all institutional and community settings. This tendency remained during the entire three-year follow-up period. Annual medical costs of patients hospitalized with a brain injury in Ontario in the first follow-up year were approximately $120.7 million for TBI and $368.7 million for nTBI. Acute care cost accounted for 46

Life cycle cost analysis of alternative vehicles and fuels in Thailand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goedecke, Martin; Therdthianwong, Supaporn; Gheewala, Shabbir H.

2007-01-01

High crude oil prices and pollution problems have drawn attention to alternative vehicle technologies and fuels for the transportation sector. The question is: What are the benefits/costs of these technologies for society? To answer this question in a quantitative way, a web-based model (http://vehiclesandfuels.memebot.com) has been developed to calculate the societal life cycle costs, the consumer life cycle costs and the tax for different vehicle technologies. By comparing these costs it is possible to draw conclusions about the social benefit and the related tax structure. The model should help to guide decisions toward optimality, which refers to maximum social benefit. The model was applied to the case of Thailand. The life cycle cost of 13 different alternative vehicle technologies in Thailand have been calculated and the tax structure analyzed

Costs and compensation of work‐related injuries in British Columbia sawmills

Science.gov (United States)

Alamgir, Hasanat; Tompa, Emile; Koehoorn, Mieke; Ostry, Aleck; Demers, Paul A

2007-01-01

Objective To estimate the costs of work‐related injury in a cohort of sawmill workers in British Columbia from the perspective of the workers' compensation system. Methods Hospital discharge records were extracted from 1989 to 1998 for a cohort of 5786 actively employed sawmill workers. A total of 173 work‐related injury cases were identified from these records using the International classification of diseases—ninth revision (ICD‐9) external cause of injury codes and the responsibility of payment schedule. Workers' compensation records were extracted and matched with hospital records by dates and ICD‐9 diagnosis codes. All costs were converted into 1995 constant Canadian dollars using the Provincial General Consumer Price Index for the non‐healthcare costs and Medical Consumer Price Index for the healthcare costs. A 5% discounting rate was applied to adjust for the time value of money. For the uncompensated cases, costs were imputed from the compensated cases using the median cost for a similar nature of injury. Results 370 hospitalisation events due to injury were captured, and by either of the two indicators (E Codes or payment schedules), 173 (47%) hospitalisation events due to injury, were identified as work related. The median healthcare cost was $4377 and the median non‐healthcare cost was $16 559 for a work‐related injury. The median non‐healthcare and healthcare costs by injury were falls, $19 978 and $5185; struck by falling object, $32 398 and $8625; struck against, $12 667 and $5741; machinery related, $26 480 and $6643; caught in or between, $24 130 and $4389; and overexertion, $7801 and $2710. The total cost was $10 374 115 for non‐healthcare and $1 764 137 for healthcare. The compensation agency did not compensate $874 871 (8.4%) of the non‐healthcare costs and $200 588 (11.4%) of the healthcare costs. Conclusion Eliminating avoidable work‐related injury events can save valuable resources. PMID:17053018

Costs and compensation of work-related injuries in British Columbia sawmills.

Science.gov (United States)

Alamgir, Hasanat; Tompa, Emile; Koehoorn, Mieke; Ostry, Aleck; Demers, Paul A

2007-03-01

To estimate the costs of work-related injury in a cohort of sawmill workers in British Columbia from the perspective of the workers' compensation system. Hospital discharge records were extracted from 1989 to 1998 for a cohort of 5786 actively employed sawmill workers. A total of 173 work-related injury cases were identified from these records using the International classification of diseases-ninth revision (ICD-9) external cause of injury codes and the responsibility of payment schedule. Workers' compensation records were extracted and matched with hospital records by dates and ICD-9 diagnosis codes. All costs were converted into 1995 constant Canadian dollars using the Provincial General Consumer Price Index for the non-healthcare costs and Medical Consumer Price Index for the healthcare costs. A 5% discounting rate was applied to adjust for the time value of money. For the uncompensated cases, costs were imputed from the compensated cases using the median cost for a similar nature of injury. 370 hospitalisation events due to injury were captured, and by either of the two indicators (E Codes or payment schedules), 173 (47%) hospitalisation events due to injury, were identified as work related. The median healthcare cost was 4377 dollars and the median non-healthcare cost was 16,559 dollars for a work-related injury. The median non-healthcare and healthcare costs by injury were falls, 19,978 dollars and 5185 dollars; struck by falling object, 32,398 dollars and 8625 dollars; struck against, 12,667 dollars and 5741 dollars; machinery related, 26,480 dollars and 6643 dollars; caught in or between, 24,130 dollars and 4389 dollars; and overexertion, 7801 dollars and 2710 dollars. The total cost was 10,374,115 dollars for non-healthcare and 1,764,137 dollars for healthcare. The compensation agency did not compensate 874,871 dollars (8.4%) of the non-healthcare costs and 200,588 dollars (11.4%) of the healthcare costs. Eliminating avoidable work-related injury events

Passenger vehicles that minimize the costs of ownership and environmental damages in the Indian market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilmore, Elisabeth A.; Patwardhan, Anand

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Full costs (private and social) are evaluated for Indian passenger cars. • Diesel has low ownership costs, but higher climate and health damages. • Compressed natural gas cars have lower costs and damages than petrol cars. • Electric cars have higher damages due to electricity generation emissions. • CNG and less carbon intensive electricity minimizes Indian cars’ full cost. - Abstract: Rapid expansion of population and income growth in developing countries, such as India, is increasing the demand for many goods and services, including four-wheeled passenger cars. Passenger cars provide personal mobility; however, they also have negative implications for human wellbeing from increased air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHG). Here, we evaluate the range of passenger vehicles available in the Indian market to identify options that minimize costs, human health effects and climate damages. Our approach is to compare alternative fuel/powertrain vehicles with similar conventional gasoline fueled vehicles and assess the differences in full (private and societal) costs for each pair. Private costs are the combination of capital costs and the discounted expected future fuel costs over the vehicle lifetime. The costs to human health from air quality are calculated using intake fractions to estimate exposure and literature values for the damage costs adjusted by benefits transfer methods. We use the Social Cost of Carbon to estimate climate damages. We find that, on average, the net present value (NPV) of the full costs of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles are lower than comparable gasoline vehicles, while, diesel vehicles have higher costs. Presently, electric vehicles have higher private costs (due to high capital costs) and societal costs (due to electricity generation emissions). Either a less carbon intensive electricity grid or an increase in the CNG fleet would minimize total costs, human health effects and GHG emissions from the

Assessing the cost-effectiveness of electric vehicles in European countries using integrated modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seixas, J.; Simões, S.; Dias, L.; Kanudia, A.; Fortes, P.; Gargiulo, M.

2015-01-01

Electric vehicles (EVs) are considered alternatives to internal combustion engines due to their energy efficiency and contribution to CO 2 mitigation. The adoption of EVs depends on consumer preferences, including cost, social status and driving habits, although it is agreed that current and expected costs play a major role. We use a partial equilibrium model that minimizes total energy system costs to assess whether EVs can be a cost-effective option for the consumers of each EU27 member state up to 2050, focusing on the impact of different vehicle investment costs and CO 2 mitigation targets. We found that for an EU-wide greenhouse gas emission reduction cap of 40% and 70% by 2050 vis-à-vis 1990 emissions, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are cost-effective in the EU only by 2030 and only if their costs are 30% lower than currently expected. At the EU level, vehicle costs and the capability to deliver both short- and long-distance mobility are the main drivers of BEV deployment. Other drivers include each state’s national mobility patterns and the cost-effectiveness of alternative mitigation options, both in the transport sector, such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) or biofuels, and in other sectors, such as renewable electricity. - Highlights: • Electric vehicles were assessed through the minimization of the total energy systems costs. • EU climate policy targets could act as a major driver for PHEV adoption. • Battery EV is an option before 2030 if costs will drop by 30% from expected costs. • EV deployment varies per country depending on each energy system configuration. • Incentives at the country level should consider specific cost-effectiveness factors

Fuel economy and life-cycle cost analysis of a fuel cell hybrid vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Kwi Seong; Oh, Byeong Soo

The most promising vehicle engine that can overcome the problem of present internal combustion is the hydrogen fuel cell. Fuel cells are devices that change chemical energy directly into electrical energy without combustion. Pure fuel cell vehicles and fuel cell hybrid vehicles (i.e. a combination of fuel cell and battery) as energy sources are studied. Considerations of efficiency, fuel economy, and the characteristics of power output in hybridization of fuel cell vehicle are necessary. In the case of Federal Urban Driving Schedule (FUDS) cycle simulation, hybridization is more efficient than a pure fuel cell vehicle. The reason is that it is possible to capture regenerative braking energy and to operate the fuel cell system within a more efficient range by using battery. Life-cycle cost is largely affected by the fuel cell size, fuel cell cost, and hydrogen cost. When the cost of fuel cell is high, hybridization is profitable, but when the cost of fuel cell is less than 400 US$/kW, a pure fuel cell vehicle is more profitable.

The hospital costs of treating work-related sawmill injuries in British Columbia.

Science.gov (United States)

Alamgir, Hasanat; Tompa, Emile; Koehoorn, Mieke; Ostry, Aleck; Demers, Paul A

2007-05-01

This study estimates the hospital costs of treating work-related injury among a cohort of sawmill workers in British Columbia. Hospital discharge records were extracted from 1989 to 1998 for a cohort of 5,876 actively employed sawmill workers. Injury cases were identified as work-related from these records using ICD-9 external cause of injury codes that indicate place of occurrence and the responsibility of payment schedule that identifies workers' compensation as being responsible for payment. The hospitals in British Columbia have a standard ward rate chart prepared annually by the provincial Ministry of Health to bill and collect payment from agency like workers' compensation agency. Costs were calculated from the hospital perspective using this billing chart. All costs were expressed in 1995 Canadian dollars. The workers' compensation claim records for this study population were extracted and matched with the hospitalised work-related injury records. Costs were also calculated for work-related hospitalisations that the hospital did not appear to be reimbursed for by the workers' compensation system. There were 173 injuries requiring hospitalisation during the 10-year followup period. The median stay in hospitals was 3 days and the median hospital costs were $847. The most costly cause of injury categories were fire, flame, natural and environmental and struck against with median costs of $10,575 and $1,206, respectively, while the least costly category was cutting and piercing with median costs of $296. The most costly nature of injury categories were burns and fracture of lower limb with median costs of $10,575 and $1,800, respectively, while the least costly category was dislocation, sprains and strains with median costs of $437. The total hospital costs for all the work-related injuries were $434,990. Out of a total hospital cost of $434,990 for the 173 work-related injuries, the provincial compensation agency apparently did not compensate $50,663 (12

Age and pedestrian injury severity in motor-vehicle crashes: a heteroskedastic logit analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Joon-Ki; Ulfarsson, Gudmundur F; Shankar, Venkataraman N; Kim, Sungyop

2008-09-01

This research explores the injury severity of pedestrians in motor-vehicle crashes. It is hypothesized that the variance of unobserved pedestrian characteristics increases with age. In response, a heteroskedastic generalized extreme value model is used. The analysis links explanatory factors with four injury outcomes: fatal, incapacitating, non-incapacitating, and possible or no injury. Police-reported crash data between 1997 and 2000 from North Carolina, USA, are used. The results show that pedestrian age induces heteroskedasticity which affects the probability of fatal injury. The effect grows more pronounced with increasing age past 65. The heteroskedastic model provides a better fit than the multinomial logit model. Notable factors increasing the probability of fatal pedestrian injury: increasing pedestrian age, male driver, intoxicated driver (2.7 times greater probability of fatality), traffic sign, commercial area, darkness with or without streetlights (2-4 times greater probability of fatality), sport-utility vehicle, truck, freeway, two-way divided roadway, speeding-involved, off roadway, motorist turning or backing, both driver and pedestrian at fault, and pedestrian only at fault. Conversely, the probability of a fatal injury decreased: with increasing driver age, during the PM traffic peak, with traffic signal control, in inclement weather, on a curved roadway, at a crosswalk, and when walking along roadway.

The cost and distribution of firefighter injuries in a large Canadian Fire Department.

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, D M; Beach, T A C; Crosby, I; McGill, S M

2016-11-22

There is limited data available regarding the cost of firefighter injuries. This information is necessary to develop targeted injury prevention strategies. To categorize the cost of injuries filed in 2012 by firefighters from a from a large department by job duty, injury type, body part affected, and the general motion pattern employed at the time of injury. Data were taken from reports filed by CFD personnel and claims filed with the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) of Alberta between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. Of the 244 injuries reported, 65% were categorized as sprains and strains, the most frequent of which affected the back (32%). The total cost of all claims was $555,955; 77% were sprain/strain-related. Knee and back injuries were most costly ($157,383 and $100,459). Categorized by job duty, most sprains/strains (31%) were sustained while attending to fire station responsibilities, although physical training was associated with the highest costs (34%). Fireground operations were attributed to 18% of sprains/strains and 16% of costs. Lifting injuries were more frequent (23%) and costly (20%) than all injuries. The most common and costly injuries occurred while attending to fire station-related responsibilities and during physical training.

Cost per case or total cost? The potential of prevention of hand injuries in young children – Retrospective and prospective studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlsson Katarina

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Health-care costs for hand and forearm injuries in young children are poorly documented. We examined costs in 533 children injured years 1996–2003. Methods Health-care costs and costs for lost productivity were retrospectively calculated in children from three catchment areas in Sweden. Seven case categories corresponding to alternative prevention strategies were constructed. Results Over time, diminishing number of ward days reduced the health-care cost per case. Among children, the cost of lost productivity due to parental leave was 14 percent of total cost. Fingertip injuries had low median costs but high total costs due to their frequency. Complex injuries by machine or rifle had high costs per case, and despite a low number of cases, total cost was high. Type of injury, surgery and physiotherapy sessions were associated with variations in health-care cost. Low age and ethnic background had a significant effect on number of ward days. Conclusion The costs per hand injury for children were lower compared to adults due to both lower health-care costs and to the fact that parents had comparatively short periods of absence from work. Frequent simple fingertip injuries and rare complex injuries induce high costs for society. Such costs should be related to costs for prevention of these injuries.

Identifying injuries and motor vehicle collision characteristics that together are suggestive of diaphragmatic rupture.

Science.gov (United States)

Reiff, Donald A; McGwin, Gerald; Metzger, Jesse; Windham, Samuel T; Doss, Marilyn; Rue, Loring W

2002-12-01

Diaphragmatic rupture (DR) remains a diagnostic challenge because of the lack of an accurate test demonstrating the injury. Our purpose was to identify motor vehicle collision (MVC) characteristics and patient injuries that collectively could identify the presence of a DR. The National Automotive Sampling System was used to identify occupants involved in MVCs from 1995 to 1999 who sustained abdominal (Abbreviated Injury Scale score >or= 2) and/or thoracic injuries (Abbreviated Injury Scale score >or= 2). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to quantify the association between patient injuries, vehicle collision characteristics, and DR. Sensitivity and specificity were also calculated to determine the ability of organ injury and MVC characteristics to correctly classify patients with and without DR. Overall, occupants sustaining a DR had a significantly higher delta-V (DeltaV) (49.8 kilometers per hour [kph] vs. 33.8 kph, por= 30 cm or DeltaV >or= 40 kph with specific organ injuries generated a sensitivity for indicating the likelihood of diaphragm injury ranging from 68% to 89%. Patients with any of the following characteristics had a sensitivity for detecting DR of 91%: splenic injury, pelvic fracture, DeltaV >or= 40 kph, or occupant compartment intrusion from any direction >or= 30 cm. Specific MVC characteristics combined with patient injuries have been identified that are highly suggestive of DR. For this subpopulation, additional invasive procedures including exploratory laparotomy, laparoscopy, or thoracoscopy may be warranted to exclude DR.

A Low-Cost Vehicle Anti-Theft System Using Obsolete Smartphone

OpenAIRE

Liu, Bang; Liu, Nianbo; Chen, Guihai; Dai, Xili; Liu, Ming

2018-01-01

In modern society, vehicle theft has become an increasing problem to the general public. Deploying onboard anti-theft systems could relieve this problem, but it often requires extra investment for vehicle owners. In this paper, we propose the idea of PhoneInside, which does not need a special device but leverages an obsolete smartphone to build a low-cost vehicle anti-theft system. After being fixed in the vehicle body with a car charger, the smartphone can detect vehicle movement and adaptiv...

Launch vehicle operations cost reduction through artificial intelligence techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Tom C., Jr.

1988-01-01

NASA's Kennedy Space Center has attempted to develop AI methods in order to reduce the cost of launch vehicle ground operations as well as to improve the reliability and safety of such operations. Attention is presently given to cost savings estimates for systems involving launch vehicle firing-room software and hardware real-time diagnostics, as well as the nature of configuration control and the real-time autonomous diagnostics of launch-processing systems by these means. Intelligent launch decisions and intelligent weather forecasting are additional applications of AI being considered.

Potential Occupant Injury Reduction in Pre-Crash System Equipped Vehicles in the Striking Vehicle of Rear-end Crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kusano, Kristofer D; Gabler, Hampton C

2010-01-01

To mitigate the severity of rear-end and other collisions, Pre-Crash Systems (PCS) are being developed. These active safety systems utilize radar and/or video cameras to determine when a frontal crash, such as a front-to-back rear-end collisions, is imminent and can brake autonomously, even with no driver input. Of these PCS features, the effects of autonomous pre-crash braking are estimated. To estimate the maximum potential for injury reduction due to autonomous pre-crash braking in the striking vehicle of rear-end crashes, a methodology is presented for determining 1) the reduction in vehicle crash change in velocity (ΔV) due to PCS braking and 2) the number of injuries that could be prevented due to the reduction in collision severity. Injury reduction was only performed for belted drivers, as unbelted drivers have an unknown risk of being thrown out of position. The study was based on 1,406 rear-end striking vehicles from NASS / CDS years 1993 to 2008. PCS parameters were selected from realistic values and varied to examine the effect on system performance. PCS braking authority was varied from 0.5 G's to 0.8 G's while time to collision (TTC) was held at 0.45 seconds. TTC was then varied from 0.3 second to 0.6 seconds while braking authority was held constant at 0.6 G's. A constant braking pulse (step function) and ramp-up braking pulse were used. The study found that automated PCS braking could reduce the crash ΔV in rear-end striking vehicles by an average of 12% - 50% and avoid 0% - 14% of collisions, depending on PCS parameters. Autonomous PCS braking could potentially reduce the number of injured drivers who are belted by 19% to 57%.

Unintentional non-traffic injury and fatal events: Threats to children in and around vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Zonfrillo, Mark R; Ramsay, Mackenzie L; Fennell, Janette E; Andreasen, Amber

2018-02-17

There have been substantial reductions in motor vehicle crash-related child fatalities due to advances in legislation, public safety campaigns, and engineering. Less is known about non-traffic injuries and fatalities to children in and around motor vehicles. The objective of this study was to describe the frequency of various non-traffic incidents, injuries, and fatalities to children using a unique surveillance system and database. Instances of non-traffic injuries and fatalities in the United States to children 0-14 years were tracked from January 1990 to December 2014 using a compilation of sources including media reports, individual accounts from families of affected children, medical examiner reports, police reports, child death review teams, coroner reports, medical professionals, legal professionals, and other various modes of publication. Over the 25-year period, there were at least 11,759 events resulting in 3,396 deaths. The median age of the affected child was 3.7 years. The incident types included 3,115 children unattended in hot vehicles resulting in 729 deaths, 2,251 backovers resulting in 1,232 deaths, 1,439 frontovers resulting in 692 deaths, 777 vehicles knocked into motion resulting in 227 deaths, 415 underage drivers resulting in 203 deaths, 172 power window incidents resulting in 61 deaths, 134 falls resulting in 54 deaths, 79 fires resulting in 41 deaths, and 3,377 other incidents resulting in 157 deaths. Non-traffic injuries and fatalities present an important threat to the safety and lives of very young children. Future efforts should consider complementary surveillance mechanisms to systematically and comprehensively capture all non-traffic incidents. Continued education, engineering modifications, advocacy, and legislation can help continue to prevent these incidents and must be incorporated in overall child vehicle safety initiatives.

Motor vehicle injury, mortality, and hospital charges by strength of graduated driver licensing laws in 36 States.

Science.gov (United States)

Pressley, Joyce C; Benedicto, Camilla B; Trieu, Lisa; Kendig, Tiffany; Barlow, Barbara

2009-07-01

To assess the relation between strength of graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws and motor vehicle (MV) injury burden, this study examined injury mortality, hospitalizations and related charges for 15 year to 17 year olds in 36 states by strength of GDL legislation. Data sources include the CDC's Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) and the 2003 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Kids' Inpatient database (KID). Hospital admissions for injuries in 15 year to 17 year olds (n = 49,520) are unweighted. Injury severity was assessed using ICDMAP-90 and International Classification of Injury Severity Scores. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rating system was used to categorize legislative strength: good, fair, marginal/poor, and none. Logistic regression was used to assess independent predictors of MV injury. MV injury accounted for 14.6% of all-cause injury-related hospital admissions with 47.7% classified as drivers. Total MV occupant mortality was 14.6% lower after enactment of GDL with greater improvement observed in the good law category (26.0%). In multivariate models for hospitalized injury, all GDL law categories were protective for MV driver injury in 16 year olds. Compared with whites, black and Hispanic teens were more frequently injured as passengers than drivers. The contribution of MV occupant to all-cause injury-related hospital charges was 16.0% lower in good versus no-GDL categories and 39.5% lower for MV drivers. These findings suggest that the presence of any GDL legislation is associated with a lower burden of MV-related injury and expenditures with the largest differences observed for 16-year-old drivers.

Risk Factors Associated with Injury and Mortality from Paediatric Low Speed Vehicle Incidents: A Systematic Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Paul Anthikkat

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. This study reviews modifiable risk factors associated with fatal and nonfatal injury from low-speed vehicle runover (LSVRO incidents involving children aged 0–15 years. Data Sources. Electronic searches for child pedestrian and driveway injuries from the peer-reviewed literature and transport-related websites from 1955 to 2012. Study Selection. 41 studies met the study inclusion criteria. Data Extraction. A systematic narrative summary was conducted that included study design, methodology, risk factors, and other study variables. Results. The most commonly reported risk factors for LSVRO incidents included age under 5 years, male gender, and reversing vehicles. The majority of reported incidents involved residential driveways, but several studies identified other traffic and nontraffic locations. Low socioeconomic status and rental accommodation were also associated with LSVRO injury. Vehicles were most commonly driven by a family member, predominantly a parent. Conclusion. There are a number of modifiable vehicular, environmental, and behavioural factors associated with LSVRO injuries in young children that have been identified in the literature to date. Strategies relating to vehicle design (devices for increased rearward visibility and crash avoidance systems, housing design (physical separation of driveway and play areas, and behaviour (driver behaviour, supervision of young children are discussed.

Comparing the Mass, Energy, and Cost Effects of Lightweighting in Conventional and Electric Passenger Vehicles

OpenAIRE

Hofer, Johannes; Wilhelm, Erik; Schenler, Warren

2014-01-01

In this work the effect of weight reduction using advanced lightweight materials on the mass, energy use, and cost of conventional and battery electric passenger vehicles is compared. Analytic vehicle simulation is coupled with cost assessment to find the optimal degree of weight reduction minimizing manufacturing and total costs. The results show a strong secondary weight and cost saving potential for the battery electric vehicles, but a higher sensitivity of vehicle energy use to mass reduc...

Injury rate and socioeconomic costs resulting from sports injuries in Flanders: data derived from sports insurance statistics 2003

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cumps, E.D.; Verhagen, E.A.L.M.; Annemans, L.; Meeusen, R.

2008-01-01

Objective: This study determines the injury rate (%) and the associated direct medical and indirect costs of sports injuries in Flanders. Setting: Epidemiological cohort designs and a human capital method were set up to measure respectively the medical direct and indirect cost of sports injuries.

Estimation of the cost savings from participation of electric vehicles in Vehicle to Grid (V2G) schemes

OpenAIRE

Kiaee, Mahdi; Cruden, Andrew; Sharkh, S.M.

2015-01-01

The storage capacity of the batteries in an electric vehicle (EV) could be utilised to store electrical energy and give it back to the grid when needed by participating in vehicle to grid (V2G) schemes. This participation could be a source of revenue for vehicle owners thus reducing the total charging cost of their EVs. A V2G simulator has been developed using MATLAB to find out the potential cost saving from participation of EVs in V2G schemes. A standard IEEE30 network has been modelled in ...

Baseline knowledge on vehicle safety and head restraints among Fleet Managers in British Columbia Canada: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Desapriya, Ediriweera; Hewapathirane, D Sesath; Peiris, Dinithi; Romilly, Doug; White, Marc

2011-09-01

Whiplash is the most common injury type arising from motor vehicle collisions, often leading to long-term suffering and disability. Prevention of such injuries is possible through the use of appropriate, correctly positioned, vehicular head restraints. To survey the awareness and knowledge level of vehicle fleet managers in the province of British Columbia, Canada, on the topics of vehicle safety, whiplash injury, and prevention; and to better understand whether these factors influence vehicle purchase/lease decisions. A survey was administered to municipal vehicle fleet managers at a professional meeting (n = 27). Although many respondents understood the effectiveness of vehicle head restraints in the prevention of whiplash injury, the majority rarely adjusted their own headrests. Fleet managers lacked knowledge about the seriousness of whiplash injuries, their associated costs for Canada's healthcare system, and appropriate head restraint positions to mitigate such injuries. The majority of respondents indicated that fleet vehicle purchase/lease decisions within their organization did not factor whiplash prevention as an explicit safety priority. There is relatively little awareness and enforcement of whiplash prevention strategies among municipal vehicle fleet managers.

Electric and Hybrid Vehicle System Research and Development Project: Hybrid Vehicle Potential Assessment. Volume VI. Cost analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hardy, K.S.

1979-09-30

The purpose of the cost analysis is to determine the economic feasibility of a variety of hybrid vehicles with respect to conventional vehicles specifically designed for the same duty cycle defined by the mission analysis. Several different hybrid configurations including parallel, parallel-flywheel, and series vehicles were evaluated. The ramifications of incorporating examples of advanced batteries, these being the advanced lead-acid, nickel-zinc, and sodium sulfur were also investigated. Vehicles were specifically designed with these batteries and for the driving cycles specified by the mission. Simulated operation on the missions yielded the energy consumption (petroleum and/or electricity) over the driving cycles. It was concluded that: in the event that gasoline prices reach $2.50 to $3.00/gal, hybrid vehicles in many applications will become economically competitive with conventional vehicles without subsidization; in some commercial applications hybrid vehicles could be economically competitive, when the gasoline price ranges from $1.20 to $1.50/gal. The cost per kWh per cycle of the advanced batteries is much more important economically than the specific energy; the series hybrid vehicles were found to be more expensive in comparison to the parallel or parallel-flywheel hybrids when designed as passenger vehicles; and hybrid vehicles designed for private use could become economically competitive and displace up to 50% of the fuel normally used on that mission if subsidies of $500 to $2000 were supplied to the owner/operator. (LCL)

A Vehicle Steering Recognition System Based on Low-Cost Smartphone Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinhua Liu

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Recognizing how a vehicle is steered and then alerting drivers in real time is of utmost importance to the vehicle and driver’s safety, since fatal accidents are often caused by dangerous vehicle maneuvers, such as rapid turns, fast lane-changes, etc. Existing solutions using video or in-vehicle sensors have been employed to identify dangerous vehicle maneuvers, but these methods are subject to the effects of the environmental elements or the hardware is very costly. In the mobile computing era, smartphones have become key tools to develop innovative mobile context-aware systems. In this paper, we present a recognition system for dangerous vehicle steering based on the low-cost sensors found in a smartphone: i.e., the gyroscope and the accelerometer. To identify vehicle steering maneuvers, we focus on the vehicle’s angular velocity, which is characterized by gyroscope data from a smartphone mounted in the vehicle. Three steering maneuvers including turns, lane-changes and U-turns are defined, and a vehicle angular velocity matching algorithm based on Fast Dynamic Time Warping (FastDTW is adopted to recognize the vehicle steering. The results of extensive experiments show that the average accuracy rate of the presented recognition reaches 95%, which implies that the proposed smartphone-based method is suitable for recognizing dangerous vehicle steering maneuvers.

Cost and CO2 aspects of future vehicle options in Europe under new energy policy scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thiel, Christian; Perujo, Adolfo; Mercier, Arnaud

2010-01-01

New electrified vehicle concepts are about to enter the market in Europe. The expected gains in environmental performance for these new vehicle types are associated with higher technology costs. In parallel, the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engine vehicles and hybrids is continuously improved, which in turn advances their environmental performance but also leads to additional technology costs versus today's vehicles. The present study compares the well-to-wheel CO 2 emissions, costs and CO 2 abatement costs of generic European cars, including a gasoline vehicle, diesel vehicle, gasoline hybrid, diesel hybrid, plug in hybrid and battery electric vehicle. The predictive comparison is done for the snapshots 2010, 2020 and 2030 under a new energy policy scenario for Europe. The results of the study show clearly that the electrification of vehicles offer significant possibilities to reduce specific CO 2 emissions in road transport, when supported by adequate policies to decarbonise the electricity generation. Additional technology costs for electrified vehicle types are an issue in the beginning, but can go down to enable payback periods of less than 5 years and very competitive CO 2 abatement costs, provided that market barriers can be overcome through targeted policy support that mainly addresses their initial cost penalty. (author)

Operations and support cost modeling of conceptual space vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Ebeling, Charles

1994-01-01

The University of Dayton is pleased to submit this annual report to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center which documents the development of an operations and support (O&S) cost model as part of a larger life cycle cost (LCC) structure. It is intended for use during the conceptual design of new launch vehicles and spacecraft. This research is being conducted under NASA Research Grant NAG-1-1327. This research effort changes the focus from that of the first two years in which a reliability and maintainability model was developed to the initial development of an operations and support life cycle cost model. Cost categories were initially patterned after NASA's three axis work breakdown structure consisting of a configuration axis (vehicle), a function axis, and a cost axis. A revised cost element structure (CES), which is currently under study by NASA, was used to established the basic cost elements used in the model. While the focus of the effort was on operations and maintenance costs and other recurring costs, the computerized model allowed for other cost categories such as RDT&E and production costs to be addressed. Secondary tasks performed concurrent with the development of the costing model included support and upgrades to the reliability and maintainability (R&M) model. The primary result of the current research has been a methodology and a computer implementation of the methodology to provide for timely operations and support cost analysis during the conceptual design activities.

The financial cost of hamstring strain injuries in the Australian Football League.

Science.gov (United States)

Hickey, Jack; Shield, Anthony J; Williams, Morgan D; Opar, David A

2014-04-01

Hamstring strain injuries (HSIs) have remained the most prevalent injury in the Australian Football League (AFL) over the past 21 regular seasons. The effect of HSIs in sports is often expressed as regular season games missed due to injury. However, the financial cost of athletes missing games due to injury has not been investigated. The aim of this report is to estimate the financial cost of games missed due to HSIs in the AFL. Data were collected using publicly available information from the AFL's injury report and the official AFL annual report for the past 10 competitive AFL seasons. Average athlete salary and injury epidemiology data were used to determine the average yearly financial cost of HSIs for AFL clubs and the average financial cost of a single HSI over this time period. Across the observed period, average yearly financial cost of HSIs per club increased by 71% compared with a 43% increase in average yearly athlete salary. Over the same time period the average financial cost of a single HSI increased by 56% from $A25,603 in 2003 to $A40,021 in 2012, despite little change in the HSI rates during the period. The observed increased financial cost of HSIs was ultimately explained by the failure of teams to decrease HSI rates, but coupled with increases in athlete salaries over the past 10 season. The information presented in this report highlights the financial cost of HSIs and other sporting injuries, raising greater awareness and the need for further funding for research into injury prevention strategies to maximise economical return for investment in athletes.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles unique cost estimating requirements

Science.gov (United States)

Malone, P.; Apgar, H.; Stukes, S.; Sterk, S.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also referred to as drones, are aerial platforms that fly without a human pilot onboard. UAVs are controlled autonomously by a computer in the vehicle or under the remote control of a pilot stationed at a fixed ground location. There are a wide variety of drone shapes, sizes, configurations, complexities, and characteristics. Use of these devices by the Department of Defense (DoD), NASA, civil and commercial organizations continues to grow. UAVs are commonly used for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR). They are also use for combat operations, and civil applications, such as firefighting, non-military security work, surveillance of infrastructure (e.g. pipelines, power lines and country borders). UAVs are often preferred for missions that require sustained persistence (over 4 hours in duration), or are “ too dangerous, dull or dirty” for manned aircraft. Moreover, they can offer significant acquisition and operations cost savings over traditional manned aircraft. Because of these unique characteristics and missions, UAV estimates require some unique estimating methods. This paper describes a framework for estimating UAV systems total ownership cost including hardware components, software design, and operations. The challenge of collecting data, testing the sensitivities of cost drivers, and creating cost estimating relationships (CERs) for each key work breakdown structure (WBS) element is discussed. The autonomous operation of UAVs is especially challenging from a software perspective.

[Prevention of Occupational Injuries Related to Hands: Calculation of Subsequent Injury Costs for the Austrian Social Occupational Insurance Institution (AUVA)].

Science.gov (United States)

Rauner, M S; Mayer, B; Schaffhauser-Linzatti, M M

2015-08-01

Occupational injuries cause short-term, direct costs as well as long-term follow-up costs over the lifetime of the casualties. Due to shrinking budgets accident insurance companies focus on cost reduction programmes and prevention measures. For this reason, a decision support system for consequential cost calculation of occupational injuries was developed for the main Austrian social occupational insurance institution (AUVA) during three projects. This so-called cost calculation tool combines the traditional instruments of accounting with quantitative methods such as micro-simulation. The cost data are derived from AUVA-internal as well as external economic data sources. Based on direct and indirect costs, the subsequent occupational accident costs from the time of an accident and, if applicable, beyond the death of the individual casualty are predicted for the AUVA, the companies in which the casualties are working, and the other economic sectors. By using this cost calculation tool, the AUVA classifies risk groups and derives related prevention campaigns. In the past, the AUVA concentrated on falling, accidents at construction sites and in agriculture/forestry, as well as commuting accidents. Currently, among others, a focus on hand injuries is given and first prevention programmes have been initiated. Hand injuries represent about 38% of all casualties with average costs of about 7,851 Euro/case. Main causes of these accidents are cutting injuries in production, agriculture, and forestry. Beside a low, but costly, number of amputations with average costs of more than 100,000 Euro/case, bone fractures and strains burden the AUVA-budget with about 17,500 and 10,500 € per case, respectively. Decision support systems such as this cost calculation tool represent necessary instruments to identify risk groups and their injured body parts, causes of accidents, and economic activities, which highly burden the budget of an injury company, and help derive

Investigating the In-Vehicle Crowding Cost Functions for Public Transit Modes

OpenAIRE

Qin, Feifei

2014-01-01

In the densely populated metropolitan area, empirical studies have found that overcrowding inside transit vehicles has become substantially worse and worse over recent years. Chronic in-vehicle crowding is not only caused by a lack of physical infrastructure, but also triggered by inadequate service provisions. Given the prevalence of overcrowded transit vehicles, this paper conducts both quantitative and qualitative studies, especially focusing on remodeling the in-vehicle crowding cost func...

The cost of fuel economy in the Indian passenger vehicle market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chugh, Randy; Cropper, Maureen; Narain, Urvashi

2011-01-01

To investigate how fuel economy is valued in the Indian car market, we compute the cost to Indian consumers of purchasing a more fuel-efficient vehicle and compare it to the benefit of lower fuel costs over the life of the vehicle. We estimate hedonic price functions for four market segments (petrol hatchbacks, diesel hatchbacks, petrol sedans, and diesel sedans) to compute 95% confidence intervals for the marginal cost to the consumer for an increase in fuel economy. We find that the associated present value of fuel savings falls within the 95% confidence interval for most specifications, in all market segments, for the years 2002 through 2006. Thus, we fail to consistently reject the hypothesis that consumers appropriately value fuel economy. - Highlights: → We examine the tradeoffs faced by new vehicle consumers in India. → We use hedonic price functions and instrumental variables. → We find no support for the hypothesis that consumers undervalue fuel economy. → Some consumers are willing to forgo substantial potential savings to own their preferred vehicle.

Identification and validation of a logistic regression model for predicting serious injuries associated with motor vehicle crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kononen, Douglas W; Flannagan, Carol A C; Wang, Stewart C

2011-01-01

A multivariate logistic regression model, based upon National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) data for calendar years 1999-2008, was developed to predict the probability that a crash-involved vehicle will contain one or more occupants with serious or incapacitating injuries. These vehicles were defined as containing at least one occupant coded with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of greater than or equal to 15, in planar, non-rollover crash events involving Model Year 2000 and newer cars, light trucks, and vans. The target injury outcome measure was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-led National Expert Panel on Field Triage in their recent revision of the Field Triage Decision Scheme (American College of Surgeons, 2006). The parameters to be used for crash injury prediction were subsequently specified by the National Expert Panel. Model input parameters included: crash direction (front, left, right, and rear), change in velocity (delta-V), multiple vs. single impacts, belt use, presence of at least one older occupant (≥ 55 years old), presence of at least one female in the vehicle, and vehicle type (car, pickup truck, van, and sport utility). The model was developed using predictor variables that may be readily available, post-crash, from OnStar-like telematics systems. Model sensitivity and specificity were 40% and 98%, respectively, using a probability cutpoint of 0.20. The area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve for the final model was 0.84. Delta-V (mph), seat belt use and crash direction were the most important predictors of serious injury. Due to the complexity of factors associated with rollover-related injuries, a separate screening algorithm is needed to model injuries associated with this crash mode. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cost-Effectiveness of Emissions Reduction through Vehicle Repair Compared to CNG Conversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Guenther, Paul L; Lesko, Jon M; Stedman, Donald H

1996-10-01

In return for a temporary waiver from converting five vehicles to operate on compressed natural gas (CNG) for the Denver Clean Fuels program, the University of Denver identified, tested, repaired, and retested nine employee commuter vehicles. The results of the study validated the concept that employer-based identification and repair programs can be carried out in a cost-effective way. On average, each repaired vehicle removed fifty times more carbon monoxide (CO) emissions from Denver air than each CNG conversion. The average cost of each repair was eight times less than the average cost of each conversion. The average fuel economy benefit from the repairs was enough to pay for the average cost of repairs in less than three years of normal driving. When the expected lifetimes of repairs and conversions are included, the targeted repair program appears to be over sixty times more cost-effective as a CO emissions reduction strategy than CNG conversion.

Are the Costs of Reducing Greenhouse Gases from Passenger Vehicles Negative?

OpenAIRE

Parry, Ian W.H.

2006-01-01

Energy models suggest that the cost of reducing carbon emissions from the transportation sector is high relative to other sectors, such as electricity generation. However, this paper shows that taxes to reduce passenger vehicle emissions produce large net benefits, rather than costs, when account is taken of (a) their impact on reducing non-carbon externalities from passenger vehicle use, and (b) interactions with the broader fiscal system. Both of these considerations also strengthen the cas...

Vehicle Lightweighting: Mass Reduction Spectrum Analysis and Process Cost Modeling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mascarin, Anthony [IBIS Associates, Inc., Waltham, MA (United States); Hannibal, Ted [IBIS Associates, Inc., Waltham, MA (United States); Raghunathan, Anand [Energetics Inc., Columbia, MD (United States); Ivanic, Ziga [Energetics Inc., Columbia, MD (United States); Clark, Michael [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2016-03-01

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office, Materials area commissioned a study to model and assess manufacturing economics of alternative design and production strategies for a series of lightweight vehicle concepts. In the first two phases of this effort examined combinations of strategies aimed at achieving strategic targets of 40% and a 45% mass reduction relative to a standard North American midsize passenger sedan at an effective cost of $3.42 per pound (lb) saved. These results have been reported in the Idaho National Laboratory report INL/EXT-14-33863 entitled Vehicle Lightweighting: 40% and 45% Weight Savings Analysis: Technical Cost Modeling for Vehicle Lightweighting published in March 2015. The data for these strategies were drawn from many sources, including Lotus Engineering Limited and FEV, Inc. lightweighting studies, U.S. Department of Energy-funded Vehma International of America, Inc./Ford Motor Company Multi-Material Lightweight Prototype Vehicle Demonstration Project, the Aluminum Association Transportation Group, many United States Council for Automotive Research’s/United States Automotive Materials Partnership LLC lightweight materials programs, and IBIS Associates, Inc.’s decades of experience in automotive lightweighting and materials substitution analyses.

Vehicle Lightweighting: Mass Reduction Spectrum Analysis and Process Cost Modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mascarin, Anthony; Hannibal, Ted; Raghunathan, Anand; Ivanic, Ziga; Clark, Michael

2016-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office, Materials area commissioned a study to model and assess manufacturing economics of alternative design and production strategies for a series of lightweight vehicle concepts. In the first two phases of this effort examined combinations of strategies aimed at achieving strategic targets of 40% and a 45% mass reduction relative to a standard North American midsize passenger sedan at an effective cost of $3.42 per pound (lb) saved. These results have been reported in the Idaho National Laboratory report INL/EXT-14-33863 entitled Vehicle Lightweighting: 40% and 45% Weight Savings Analysis: Technical Cost Modeling for Vehicle Lightweighting published in March 2015. The data for these strategies were drawn from many sources, including Lotus Engineering Limited and FEV, Inc. lightweighting studies, U.S. Department of Energy-funded Vehma International of America, Inc./Ford Motor Company Multi-Material Lightweight Prototype Vehicle Demonstration Project, the Aluminum Association Transportation Group, many United States Council for Automotive Research's/United States Automotive Materials Partnership LLC lightweight materials programs, and IBIS Associates, Inc.'s decades of experience in automotive lightweighting and materials substitution analyses.

Potential vehicle fleet CO2 reductions and cost implications for various vehicle technology deployment scenarios in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pasaoglu, Guzay; Honselaar, Michel; Thiel, Christian

2012-01-01

The continuous rise in demand for road transportation has a significant effect on Europe's oil dependency and emissions of greenhouse gases. Alternative fuels and vehicle technology can mitigate these effects. This study analyses power-train deployment scenarios for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in EU-27 until 2050. It considers European policy developments on vehicle CO 2 emissions, bio-energy mandates and reductions in the CO 2 footprint of the European energy mix and translates these into comprehensive scenarios for the road transport sector. It quantifies and assesses the potential impact of these scenarios on well-to-wheel (WtW) CO 2 emission reductions primary energy demand evolution, and cost aspects for the prospective vehicle owners. The study reveals that, under the deployed scenarios, the use of bio-fuel blends, technological learning and the deployment of hybrids, battery electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell vehicles can decrease WtW CO 2 emissions in EU-27 passenger road transport by 35–57% (compared to 2010 levels) and primary energy demand by 29–51 Mtoe as they would benefit from a future assumed decarbonised electricity and hydrogen mix in Europe. Learning effects can lead to acceptable payback periods for vehicle owners of electric drive vehicles. - Highlights: ► Power-train penetration scenarios for 2010–2050 passenger road transport in Europe. ► A dedicated tool is developed to analyse H 2 production and distribution mix till 2050. ► Alternative vehicles can drastically reduce CO 2 emissions and energy demand. ► Electric vehicles could become cost competitive to conventional vehicles by 2030. ► Policies needed to create adequate momentum and guarantee decarbonised transport.

The Edge Set Cost of the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reinhardt, Line Blander; Jepsen, Mads Kehlet; Pisinger, David

2016-01-01

. The certifications and investments impose a cost for the company while they also give unlimited usage of a set of roads to all vehicles belonging to the company. This violates the traditional assumption that the path between two destinations is well defined and independent of other choices. Different versions......We consider an important generalization of the vehicle routing problem with time windows in which a fixed cost must be paid for accessing a set of edges. This fixed cost could reflect payment for toll roads, investment in new facilities, the need for certifications, and other costly investments...

Public opinion on motor vehicle-related injury prevention policies: a systematic review of a decade of research.

Science.gov (United States)

Debinski, Beata; Clegg Smith, Katherine; Gielen, Andrea

2014-01-01

Legislation is an effective strategy for reducing road-related fatalities and injuries. Public opinion can be an impetus for passing new laws and can affect the success of their implementation, but little is known about the current state of public opinion toward existing and proposed road-related policies in the United States. This review describes the scope and results of research on public support for state- and local-level evidence-based motor vehicle- and bicycle-related policies. We identify gaps in our understanding of public support for these policies. Published U.S. literature and all reports from the NHTSA from the past decade (2003-2012) were searched for data on opinions about existing or proposed policies related to motor vehicle or bicycle injury prevention. Twenty-six studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. In all, studies reported public opinion about 7 injury prevention topic areas: all-terrain vehicles (n = 1), automated enforcement with red light and speed cameras (n = 5), distracted driving (n = 4), drinking and driving (n = 5), graduated driver licensing (n = 7), helmets (n = 7), and seat belts (n = 4). Twenty-three studies focused only on one topic, and 3 sought public opinion about multiple topic areas. The studies revealed generally high levels of support for injury prevention policies in all topic areas. Fifteen studies collected information from national samples, and only 7 studies reported data from the state (n = 5) or local (n = 2) level. There is a relatively small evidence base on public opinion related to motor vehicle- and bicycle-related evidence-based policies; even less is less known for state- or county-specific policies. The findings of this review suggest that the public's opinion toward injury prevention legislation is generally favorable. This information can be used to communicate with the media and policy makers to reinforce the need for effective policy solutions to continuing motor vehicle injury problems. More research

Assessing the Battery Cost at Which Plug-In Hybrid Medium-Duty Parcel Delivery Vehicles Become Cost-Effective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramroth, L. A.; Gonder, J. D.; Brooker, A. D.

2013-04-01

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) validated diesel-conventional and diesel-hybrid medium-duty parcel delivery vehicle models to evaluate petroleum reductions and cost implications of hybrid and plug-in hybrid diesel variants. The hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants are run on a field data-derived design matrix to analyze the effect of drive cycle, distance, engine downsizing, battery replacements, and battery energy on fuel consumption and lifetime cost. For an array of diesel fuel costs, the battery cost per kilowatt-hour at which the hybridized configuration becomes cost-effective is calculated. This builds on a previous analysis that found the fuel savings from medium duty plug-in hybrids more than offset the vehicles' incremental price under future battery and fuel cost projections, but that they seldom did so under present day cost assumptions in the absence of purchase incentives. The results also highlight the importance of understanding the application's drive cycle specific daily distance and kinetic intensity.

A cost analysis of operative repair of major laparoscopic bile duct injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmeyr, S; Krige, J E J; Bornman, P C; Beningfield, S J

2015-06-01

Major bile duct injuries occur infrequently after laparoscopic cholecystectomy, but may result in life-threatening complications. Few data exist on the financial implications of duct repair. This study calculated the costs of operative repair in a cohort of patients who underwent reconstruction of the bile duct after major ductal injury. To calculate the total in-hospital cost of surgical repair of patients referred with major bile duct injuries. A prospective database was reviewed to identify all patients referred to the University of Cape Town Private Academic Hospital, South Africa, between 2002 and 2013 for assessment and repair of major laparoscopic bile duct injuries. The detailed clinical records and billing information were evaluated to determine all costs from admission to discharge. Total costs for each patient were adjusted for inflation between the year of repair and 2013. Results. Forty-four patients (33 women, 11 men; median age 48 years, range 30 - 78) underwent reconstruction of a major bile duct injury. First-time repairs were performed at a median of 24.5 days (range 1 - 3,662) after initial surgery. Median hospital stay was 15 days (range 6 - 86). Mean cost of repair was ZAR215,711 (range ZAR68,764 - 980,830). Major contributors to cost were theatre expenses (22%), admission to intensive care (21%), radiology (17%) and specialist fees (12%). Admission to a general ward (10%), consumables (7%), pharmacy (5%), endoscopy (3%) and laboratory costs (3%) made up the balance. The cost of repair of a major laparoscopic bile duct injury is substantial owing to prolonged hospitalisation, complex surgicalintervention and intensive imaging requirements.

The economic burden of unintentional injuries: a community-based cost analysis in Bavi, Vietnam.

Science.gov (United States)

Thanh, Nguyen Xuan; Hang, Hoang Mihn; Chuc, Nguyen Thi Kim; Lindholm, Lars

2003-01-01

Relatively little is known about patterns of injury at the community level in Vietnam and their economic consequences. This study sought to estimate the costs of various unintentional injuries in Bavi District during one year; to describe how costs depended on gender, age, circumstances, and severity of injury; and to describe how the economic burden of unintentional injuries was distributed between households, government, and health insurance agency. A cohort study was undertaken, which involved four cross-sectional household surveys among sampled communities in the Bavi District during the year 2000, each asking about injuries in the preceding three months. The costing system in public healthcare in Vietnam was applied as well as information from the victims. The total cost of injuries over one year in Bavi District was estimated to be D3,412,539,000 (Vietnamese dong) (US$235,347), equivalent to the annual income of 1,800 people. In total, 90% of this economic burden fell on households, only 8% on government, and 2% on the health insurance agency. The cost of a severe injury to the corresponded to approximately seven months of earned income. Home and traffic injuries together accounted for more than 80% of the total cost, 45% and 38% respectively. The highest unit cost was related to traffic injuries, followed by home, "other", work-related, and school injuries in descending order. The results can be considered as an economic baseline that can be used in evaluations of future interventions aimed at preventing injuries.

Cost Analysis of Plug-In Hybred Electric Vehicles Using GPS-Based Longitudinal Travel Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Xing [Lamar University; Dong, Jing [Iowa State University; Lin, Zhenhong [ORNL

2014-01-01

Using spatial, longitudinal travel data of 415 vehicles over 3 18 months in the Seattle metropolitan area, this paper estimates the operating costs of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) of various electric ranges (10, 20, 30, and 40 miles) for 3, 5, and 10 years of payback period, considering different charging infrastructure deployment levels and gasoline prices. Some key findings were made. (1) PHEVs could help save around 60% or 40% in energy costs, compared with conventional gasoline vehicles (CGVs) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), respectively. However, for motorists whose daily vehicle miles traveled (DVMT) is significant, HEVs may be even a better choice than PHEV40s, particularly in areas that lack a public charging infrastructure. (2) The incremental battery cost of large-battery PHEVs is difficult to justify based on the incremental savings of PHEVs operating costs unless a subsidy is offered for largebattery PHEVs. (3) When the price of gasoline increases from $4/gallon to $5/gallon, the number of drivers who benefit from a larger battery increases significantly. (4) Although quick chargers can reduce charging time, they contribute little to energy cost savings for PHEVs, as opposed to Level-II chargers.

Kinematic responses and injuries of pedestrian in car-pedestrian collisions

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, T. L.; Liang, C. C.; Hsu, C. Y.; Tai, S. F.

2017-10-01

How to protect pedestrians and reduce the collision injury has gradually become the new field of automotive safety research and focus in the world. Many engineering studies have appeared and their purpose is trying to reduce the pedestrian injuries caused by traffic accident. The physical model involving impactor model and full scale pedestrian model are costly when taking the impact test. This study constructs a vehicle-pedestrian collision model by using the MADYMO. To verify the accuracy of the proposed vehicle-pedestrian collision model, the experimental data are used in the pedestrian model test. The proposed model also will be applied to analyze the kinematic responses and injuries of pedestrian in collisions in this study. The modeled results can help assess the pedestrian friendliness of vehicles and assist in the future development of pedestrian friendliness vehicle technologies.

The relationship between body weight and risk of death and serious injury in motor vehicle crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Mock, Charles N; Grossman, David C; Kaufman, Robert P; Mack, Christopher D; Rivara, Frederick P

2002-03-01

We sought to investigate the effect of increased body weight on the risk of death and serious injury to occupants in motor vehicle crashes. We employed a retrospective cohort study design utilizing data from the National Automotive Sampling System, Crashworthiness Data System (CDS), 1993-1996. Subjects in the study included occupants involved in tow-away crashes of passenger cars, light trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles. Two outcomes were analyzed: death within 30 days of the crash and injury severity score (ISS). Two exposures were considered: occupant body weight and body mass index (BMI; kg/m2). Occupant weight was available on 27263 subjects (76%) in the CDS database. Mortality was 0.67%. Increased body weight was associated with increased risk of mortality and increased risk of severe injury. The odds ratio for death was 1.013 (95% CI: 1.007, 1.018) for each kilogram increase in body weight. The odds ratio for sustaining an injury with ISS > or = 9 was 1.008 (95% CI: 1.004, 1.011) for each kilogram increase in body weight. After adjustment for potentially confounding variables (age, gender, seatbelt use, seat position and vehicle curbweight), the significant relationship between occupant weight and mortality persisted. After adjustment, the relationship between occupant weight and ISS was present, although less marked. Similar trends were found when BMI was analyzed as the exposure. In conclusion, increased occupant body weight is associated with increased mortality in automobile crashes. This is probably due in part to increased co-morbid factors in the more overweight occupants. However, it is possibly also due to an increased severity of injury in these occupants. These findings may have implications for vehicle safety design, as well as for transport safety policy.

Societal cost of traumatic brain injury: A comparison of cost-of-injuries related to biking with and without helmet use.

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Camille K; Dagher, Jehane H; Lamoureux, Julie; de Guise, Elaine; Feyz, Mitra

2015-01-01

The goal of this study is to determine if a difference in societal costs exists from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in patients who wear helmets compared to non-wearers. This is a retrospective cost-of-injury study of 128 patients admitted to the Montreal General Hospital (MGH) following a TBI that occurred while cycling between 2007-2011. Information was collected from Quebec Trauma Registry. The independent variables collected were socio-demographic, helmet status, clinical and neurological patient information. The dependent variables evaluated societal costs. The median costs of hospitalization were significantly higher (p = 0.037) in the no helmet group ($7246.67 vs. $4328.17). No differences in costs were found for inpatient rehabilitation (p = 0.525), outpatient rehabilitation (p = 0.192), loss of productivity (p = 0.108) or death (p = 1.000). Overall, the differences in total societal costs between the helmet and no helmet group were not significantly different (p = 0.065). However, the median total costs for patients with isolated TBI in the non-helmet group ($22, 232.82) was significantly higher (p = 0.045) compared to the helmet group ($13, 920.15). Cyclists sustaining TBIs who did not wear helmets in this study were found to cost society nearly double that of helmeted cyclists.

Methodology for Calculating Cost-per-Mile for Current and Future Vehicle Powertrain Technologies, with Projections to 2024: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruth, M.; Timbario, T. A.; Timbario, T. J.; Laffen, M.

2011-01-01

Currently, several cost-per-mile calculators exist that can provide estimates of acquisition and operating costs for consumers and fleets. However, these calculators are limited in their ability to determine the difference in cost per mile for consumer versus fleet ownership, to calculate the costs beyond one ownership period, to show the sensitivity of the cost per mile to the annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and to estimate future increases in operating and ownership costs. Oftentimes, these tools apply a constant percentage increase over the time period of vehicle operation, or in some cases, no increase in direct costs at all over time. A more accurate cost-per-mile calculator has been developed that allows the user to analyze these costs for both consumers and fleets. The calculator was developed to allow simultaneous comparisons of conventional light-duty internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, mild and full hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). This paper is a summary of the development by the authors of a more accurate cost-per-mile calculator that allows the user to analyze vehicle acquisition and operating costs for both consumer and fleets. Cost-per-mile results are reported for consumer-operated vehicles travelling 15,000 miles per year and for fleets travelling 25,000 miles per year.

Macroeconomic Benefits of Low-Cost Reusable Launch Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Eric J.; Greenberg, Joel

1998-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) initiated its Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Technology Program to provide information on the technical and commercial feasibility of single-stage to orbit (SSTO), fully-reusable launchers. Because RLVs would not depend on expendable hardware to achieve orbit, they could take better advantage of economies of scale than expendable launch vehicles (ELVs) that discard costly hardware on ascent. The X-33 experimental vehicle, a sub-orbital, 60%-scale prototype of Lockheed Martin's VentureStar SSTO RLV concept, is being built by Skunk Works for a 1999 first flight. If RLVs achieve prices to low-earth orbit of less than $1000 US per pound, they could hold promise for eliciting an elastic response from the launch services market. As opposed to the capture of existing market, this elastic market would represent new space-based industry businesses. These new opportunities would be created from the next tier of business concepts, such as space manufacturing and satellite servicing, that cannot earn a profit at today's launch prices but could when enabled by lower launch costs. New business creation contributes benefits to the US Government (USG) and the US economy through increases in tax revenues and employment. Assumptions about the costs and revenues of these new ventures, based on existing space-based and aeronautics sector businesses, can be used to estimate the macroeconomic benefits provided by new businesses. This paper examines these benefits and the flight prices and rates that may be required to enable these new space industries.

Motor vehicle and pedestrian collisions: burden of severe injury on major versus neighborhood roads.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothman, Linda; Slater, Morgan; Meaney, Christopher; Howard, Andrew

2010-02-01

To determine whether the severity of injuries sustained by pedestrians involved in motor vehicle collisions varies by road type and age. All police-reported pedestrian motor vehicle collisions in the city of Toronto, Canada, between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2005, were analyzed. Geographic Information Systems software was used to determine whether the collisions occurred on major or neighborhood roads. Age-specific estimates of the burden of pedestrian collisions are presented. Odds ratios and 95 percent confidence intervals were calculated to examine age-specific relationships between injury severity and road type. A second analysis comparing the distribution of severe injury location between age groups was also performed. The majority of collisions involved adults (68%), although elderly pedestrians were overrepresented in fatal collisions (49%). Severe and fatal collisions involving working-age and elderly adult pedestrians were more likely on major roads. Odds of severe injury occurring on a major road were 1.36 (95% CI: 1.17-1.57) times higher for adults ages 18 to 64, and 1.55 (95% CI: 1.22-1.99) times higher for elderly aged 65+. By contrast, severe injuries among children were more common on neighborhood roads, with odds of severe injury on a major road of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.37-1.1) for children aged 5 to 9. Among children under 9, 64-67 percent of hospitalized or fatal injuries occurred on neighborhood roads, a marked difference from the distribution of such injuries in adults or the elderly, for whom only 29-30 percent of hospitalized or fatal injuries occurred on neighborhood roads (chi-square = 52.6, p roads alone will not make child pedestrians safer. Pedestrian interventions specific to children and focused on neighborhood roads must be considered in urban centers like Toronto.

Influence of driving patterns on life cycle cost and emissions of hybrid and plug-in electric vehicle powertrains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karabasoglu, Orkun; Michalek, Jeremy

2013-01-01

We compare the potential of hybrid, extended-range plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles to reduce lifetime cost and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions under various scenarios and simulated driving conditions. We find that driving conditions affect economic and environmental benefits of electrified vehicles substantially: Under the urban NYC driving cycle, hybrid and plug-in vehicles can cut life cycle emissions by 60% and reduce costs up to 20% relative to conventional vehicles (CVs). In contrast, under highway test conditions (HWFET) electrified vehicles offer marginal emissions reductions at higher costs. NYC conditions with frequent stops triple life cycle emissions and increase costs of conventional vehicles by 30%, while aggressive driving (US06) reduces the all-electric range of plug-in vehicles by up to 45% compared to milder test cycles (like HWFET). Vehicle window stickers, fuel economy standards, and life cycle studies using average lab-test vehicle efficiency estimates are therefore incomplete: (1) driver heterogeneity matters, and efforts to encourage adoption of hybrid and plug-in vehicles will have greater impact if targeted to urban drivers vs. highway drivers; and (2) electrified vehicles perform better on some drive cycles than others, so non-representative tests can bias consumer perception and regulation of alternative technologies. We discuss policy implications. - Highlights: • Electrified vehicle life cycle emissions and cost depend on driving conditions. • GHGs can triple in NYC conditions vs. highway (HWFET), cost +30%. • Under NYC conditions hybrid and plug-in vehicles cut GHGs up to 60%, cost 20%. • Under HWFET conditions they offer few GHG reductions at higher costs. • Federal tests for window labels and CAFE standards favor some technologies over others

Direct, indirect and intangible costs of acute hand and wrist injuries: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Luke Steven; Sarkies, Mitchell; Brown, Ted; O'Brien, Lisa

2016-12-01

Injuries sustained to the hand and wrist are common, accounting for 20% of all emergency presentations. The economic burden of these injuries, comprised of direct (medical expenses incurred), indirect (value of lost productivity) and intangible costs, can be extensive and rise sharply with the increase of severity. This paper systematically reviews cost-of-illness studies and health economic evaluations of acute hand and wrist injuries with a particular focus on direct, indirect and intangible costs. It aims to provide economic cost estimates of burden and discuss the cost components used in international literature. A search of cost-of-illness studies and health economic evaluations of acute hand and wrist injuries in various databases was conducted. Data extracted for each included study were: design, population, intervention, and estimates and measurement methodologies of direct, indirect and intangible costs. Reported costs were converted into US-dollars using historical exchange rates and then adjusted into 2015 US-dollars using an inflation calculator RESULTS: The search yielded 764 studies, of which 21 met the inclusion criteria. Twelve studies were cost-of-illness studies, and seven were health economic evaluations. The methodology used to derive direct, indirect and intangible costs differed markedly across all studies. Indirect costs represented a large portion of total cost in both cost-of-illness studies [64.5% (IQR 50.75-88.25)] and health economic evaluations [68% (IQR 49.25-73.5)]. The median total cost per case of all injury types was US$6951 (IQR $3357-$22,274) for cost-of-illness studies and US$8297 (IQR $3858-$33,939) for health economic evaluations. Few studies reported intangible cost data associated with acute hand and wrist injuries. Several studies have attempted to estimate the direct, indirect and intangible costs associated with acute hand and wrist injuries in various countries using heterogeneous methodologies. Estimates of the economic

Low-cost teleoperator-controlled vehicle for damage assessment and radiation dose measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyree, W.H.

1991-01-01

A low-cost, disposable, radio-controlled, remote-reading, ionizing radiation and surveillance teleoperator re-entry vehicle has been built. The vehicle carries equipment, measures radiation levels, and evaluates building conditions. The basic vehicle, radio control with amplifiers, telemetry, elevator, and video camera with monitor cost less than $2500. Velcro-mounted alpha, beta-gamma, and neutron sensing equipment is used in the present system. Many types of health physics radiation measuring equipment may be substituted on the vehicle. The system includes a black-and-white video camera to observe the environment surrounding the vehicle. The camera is mounted on a vertical elevator extendible to 11 feet above the floor. The present vehicle uses a video camera with an umbilical cord between the vehicle and the operators. Preferred operation would eliminate the umbilical. Video monitoring equipment is part of the operator control system. Power for the vehicle equipment is carried on board and supplied by sealed lead-acid batteries. Radios are powered by 9-V alkaline batteries. The radio control receiver, servo drivers, high-power amplifier and 49-MHz FM transceivers were irradiated at moderate rates with neutron and gamma doses to 3000 Rem and 300 Rem, respectively, to ensure system operation

Economic impact of hand and wrist injuries: Health-care costs and productivity costs in a population-based study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C.E. de Putter (Dennis); R.W. Selles (Ruud); S. Polinder (Suzanne); M.J.M. Panneman (Martien); S.E.R. Hovius (Steven); E.F. van Beeck (Ed)

2012-01-01

textabstractBackground: Injuries to the hand and wrist account for approximately 20% of patient visits to emergency departments and may impose a large economic burden. The purpose of this study was to estimate the total health-care costs and productivity costs of injuries to the hand and wrist and

Impact of Foot Type on Cost of Lower Extremity Injury

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-25

were at higher risk for injury. Additionally, researchers have found relationships between chronic heel pain and osteoarthritis of the knee and hip...Cost of Injury, in Physical Training and Sports Injury Prevention Guidelines . 2010, U.S. Army Public Health Command (Provisional). 11. Injury...study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord, 2007. 8: p. 41. 48. Reilly, K., et al., The role of foot and ankle assessment of patients with lower limb osteoarthritis

Pregnant women in vehicles: Driving habits, position and risk of injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Auriault, F; Brandt, C; Chopin, A; Gadegbeku, B; Ndiaye, A; Balzing, M-P; Thollon, L; Behr, M

2016-04-01

This study proposed to broadly examine vehicle use by pregnant women in order to improve realism of accident simulations involving these particular occupants. Three research pathways were developed: the first consisted in a questionnaire survey examining the driving habits of 135 pregnant women, the second obtained measurements of 15 pregnant women driving position in their own vehicle from the 6th to the 9th month of pregnancy by measuring distances between body parts and vehicle parts, and the third examined car accidents involving pregnant occupants. Results obtained indicate that between 90% and 100% of pregnant women wore their seat belts whatever their stage of pregnancy, although nearly one third of subjects considered the seat belt was dangerous for their unborn child. The measurements obtained also showed that the position of the pregnant woman in her vehicle, in relation to the various elements of the passenger compartment, changed significantly during pregnancy. In the studied accidents, no correlation was found between the conditions of the accident and the resulting fetal injury. Results reveal that pregnant women do not modify significantly the seat setting as a function of pregnancy stage. Only the distance between maternal abdomen and steering wheel change significantly, from 16 cm to 12 cm at 6 and 9 month respectively. Pregnant women are mainly drivers before 8 months of pregnancy, passengers after that. Car use frequency falls down rapidly from 6 to 9 months of pregnancy. Real crashes investigations indicate a low rate of casualties, i.e. 342 car accidents involving pregnant women for a period of 9 years in an approximately 1.7 million inhabitants area. No specific injury was found as a function of stage of pregnancy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimates of the cost and energy consumption of aluminum-air electric vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, J. F.

1980-11-01

Economic costs and primary energy consumption are estimated for general purpose electric vehicles using aluminum-air propulsion batteries within the time frame of the 1990's (earliest possible date of introduction). For an aluminum-air fuel economy of 36 tonne/km/kg-Al (optimized low-gallium alloys), a total refueling cost of 5.6 cents/km (1979$) was estimated for a 1.27 tonne vehicle. This is equivalent to $2 to 3/gal for automobiles of the same weight with fuel economies of 13.5 to 19.3 tonne-km/liter. The total primary energy consumption was estimated to be 1.3 to 1.7 kWh/km (coal) for the electric vehicle, which corresponds roughly to the energy cost of the automobiles using liquid fuels synthesized from coal. The energy consumption is 30 to 70 percent greater than the reference automobile using petroleum-derived gasoline.

FASTSim: A Model to Estimate Vehicle Efficiency, Cost and Performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brooker, A.; Gonder, J.; Wang, L.; Wood, E.; Lopp, S.; Ramroth, L.

2015-05-04

The Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator (FASTSim) is a high-level advanced vehicle powertrain systems analysis tool supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office. FASTSim provides a quick and simple approach to compare powertrains and estimate the impact of technology improvements on light- and heavy-duty vehicle efficiency, performance, cost, and battery batches of real-world drive cycles. FASTSim’s calculation framework and balance among detail, accuracy, and speed enable it to simulate thousands of driven miles in minutes. The key components and vehicle outputs have been validated by comparing the model outputs to test data for many different vehicles to provide confidence in the results. A graphical user interface makes FASTSim easy and efficient to use. FASTSim is freely available for download from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s website (see www.nrel.gov/fastsim).

Crash protectiveness to occupant injury and vehicle damage: An investigation on major car brands.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Helai; Li, Chunyang; Zeng, Qiang

2016-01-01

This study sets out to investigate vehicles' crash protectiveness on occupant injury and vehicle damage, which can be deemed as an extension of the traditional crash worthiness. A Bayesian bivariate hierarchical ordered logistic (BVHOL) model is developed to estimate the occupant protectiveness (OP) and vehicle protectiveness (VP) of 23 major car brands in Florida, with considering vehicles' crash aggressivity and controlling external factors. The proposed model not only takes over the strength of the existing hierarchical ordered logistic (HOL) model, i.e. specifying the order characteristics of crash outcomes and cross-crash heterogeneities, but also accounts for the correlation between the two crash responses, driver injury and vehicle damage. A total of 7335 two-vehicle-crash records with 14,670 cars involved in Florida are used for the investigation. From the estimation results, it's found that most of the luxury cars such as Cadillac, Volvo and Lexus possess excellent OP and VP while some brands such as KIA and Saturn perform very badly in both aspects. The ranks of the estimated safety performance indices are even compared to the counterparts in Huang et al. study [Huang, H., Hu, S., Abdel-Aty, M., 2014. Indexing crash worthiness and crash aggressivity by major car brands. Safety Science 62, 339-347]. The results show that the rank of occupant protectiveness index (OPI) is relatively coherent with that of crash worthiness index, but the ranks of crash aggressivity index in both studies is more different from each other. Meanwhile, a great discrepancy between the OPI rank and that of vehicle protectiveness index is found. What's more, the results of control variables and hyper-parameters estimation as well as comparison to HOL models with separate or identical threshold errors, demonstrate the validity and advancement of the proposed model and the robustness of the estimated OP and VP. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Injury and side impact air bag deployment in near and far sided motor vehicle crashes, United States, 2000-2005.

Science.gov (United States)

Stadter, Greg; Grabowski, Jurek G; Burke, Christine; Aldaghlas, Tayseer A; Robinson, Linda; Fakhry, Samir M

2008-12-01

Side impact crashes, the most lethal type, account for 26% of all motor vehicle crashes in the United States. The purpose of this study is to delineate side impact airbag (SIAB) deployment rates, injury rates, and analyze crash factors associated with SIAB deployment and occupant injury. All passenger vehicles equipped with SIABs that were involved in a side impact crash were identified from the National Automotive Sampling System database. Crashes with multiple impacts, ejections, unbelted drivers or rollovers were excluded from the study. The outcome variables of interest were SIAB deployment and driver injury. SIAB deployment was compared in similar crashes to analyze the impact on driver's injury severity score. Other crash factors were also examined to analyze what role they play in SIAB deployment rates and injury rates, such as plane of contact, striking object and Delta-V. The data set for this study contained 247 drivers in near and far side crashes in vehicles with installed SIABs. Overall SIAB deployment was 43% in side impact crashes. A significant factor associated with both the SIAB deployment rate and the driver's injury rate was increased Delta-V. SIABs do not deploy consistently in crashes with a high Delta-V or with a lateral primary direction of force and a front plane of contact. In these two scenarios, further research is warranted on SIAB deployments. With SIAB deployment, it appears drivers are able to sustain a higher Delta-V impact without serious injury.

Underutilization of occupant restraint systems in motor vehicle injury crashes: A quantitative analysis from Qatar.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Menyar, Ayman; Consunji, Rafael; Asim, Mohammad; Abdelrahman, Husham; Zarour, Ahmad; Parchani, Ashok; Peralta, Ruben; Al-Thani, Hassan

2016-01-01

Restraint systems (seat belts and airbags) are important tools that improve vehicle occupant safety during motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). We aimed to identify the pattern and impact of the utilization of passenger restraint systems on the outcomes of MVC victims in Qatar. A retrospective study was conducted for all admitted patients who sustained MVC-related injuries between March 2011 and March 2014 inclusive. Out of 2,730 road traffic injury cases, 1,830 (67%) sustained MVC-related injuries, of whom 88% were young males, 70% were expatriates, and 53% were drivers. The use of seat belts and airbags was documented in 26 and 2.5% of cases, respectively. Unrestrained passengers had greater injury severity scores, longer hospital stays, and higher rates of pneumonia and mortality compared to restrained passengers (P = .001 for all). There were 311 (17%) ejected cases. Seat belt use was significantly lower and the mortality rate was 3-fold higher in the ejected group compared to the nonejected group (P = .001). The overall mortality was 8.3%. On multivariate regression analysis, predictors of not using a seat belt were being a front seat passenger, driver, or Qatari national and young age. Unrestrained males had a 3-fold increase in mortality in comparison to unrestrained females. The risk of severe injury (relative risk [RR] = 1.82, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.49-2.26, P = .001) and death (RR = 4.13, 95% CI, 2.31-7.38, P = .001) was significantly greater among unrestrained passengers. The nonuse of seat belts is associated with worse outcomes during MVCs in Qatar. Our study highlights the lower rate of seat belt compliance in young car occupants that results in more severe injuries, longer hospital stays, and higher mortality rates. Therefore, we recommend more effective seat belt awareness and education campaigns, the enforcement of current seat belt laws, their extension to all vehicle occupants, and the adoption of proven interventions that will assure sustained

Repair costs and the intensity of vehicle use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paweł DROŹDZIEL

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents correlation analyses of real-life data associated with the intensity of use of vehicles and the costs of replacement of operating materials and components performed in a three-year period for delivery vans, which was operated by the Poczta Polska (Polish Mail delivery office in Lublin.

Life-cycle private costs of hybrid electric vehicles in the current Chinese market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Chengtao; Wu, Tian; Ou, Xunmin; Zhang, Qian; Zhang, Xu; Zhang, Xiliang

2013-01-01

Understanding the life-cycle private cost (LCPC) of the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is important for market feasibility analysis. An HEV LCPC model was established to evaluate HEV market prospects in China compared with traditional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV). The Kluger HV, a full-hybrid HEV sports utility vehicle (SUV), aimed at the Chinese market, was simulated as the 2010 model's technology details were well publicized. The LCPC of the Kluger HV was roughly the same (about 1.06 times) as that of its comparable ICEV (Highlander SUV). This aligns with other compact and midsize HEV cars (e.g., Toyota Prius, Honda Civic and Toyota Camry HEV) in China. With oil prices predicted to rise in the long-term, the advantage of HEVs energy saving will partly compensate the high manufacturing costs associated with their additional motor/battery components. Besides supporting technology development, enabling policy should be implemented to introduce HEV technology into taxi fleets and business cars. This technology's cost-competitiveness, compared with traditional ICEVs, is advantageous for these higher mileage vehicles. - Highlights: ► A model is set up to evaluate the life-cycle private cost of HEVs. ► Life-cycle private costs of HEVs are higher than conventional cars in China. ► HEVs become competitive when the oil price rises

A cost-outcome approach to pre and post-implementation of national sports injury prevention programmes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gianotti, Simon; Hume, Patria A

2007-12-01

In New Zealand (NZ), the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has developed a pre and post-implementation cost-outcome formulae for sport injury prevention to provide information regarding the success of a prevention programme. The ACC provides for the cost of all personal injuries in NZ and invests in prevention programmes to offset 1.6 million annual claims that cost $NZD 1.9 billion. The ACC invests in nine national community sport injury prevention programmes that represent 40% of sport claims and costs. Pre-implementation is used to determine the decision whether to invest in implementation and to determine the level of such investment for the injury prevention programme. Post-implementation is calculated two ways: unadjusted, assuming ceteris paribus; and adjusted assuming no prevention programme was in place. Post-implementation formulae provide a return on investment (ROI) for each dollar invested in the programme and cost-savings. The cost-outcome formulae approach allows ACC to manage expectations of the prevention programme as well as when it will provide a ROI, allowing it to take a long-term view for investment in sport injury prevention. Originally developed for its sport injury prevention programmes, the cost-outcome formulae have now been applied to the other prevention programmes ACC invests in such as home, road and workplace injury prevention.

State estimation and control for low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles

CERN Document Server

Hajiyev, Chingiz; Yenal Vural, Sıtkı

2015-01-01

This book discusses state estimation and control procedures for a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The authors consider the use of robust adaptive Kalman filter algorithms and demonstrate their advantages over the optimal Kalman filter in the context of the difficult and varied environments in which UAVs may be employed. Fault detection and isolation (FDI) and data fusion for UAV air-data systems are also investigated, and control algorithms, including the classical, optimal, and fuzzy controllers, are given for the UAV. The performance of different control methods is investigated and the results compared. State Estimation and Control of Low-Cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles covers all the important issues for designing a guidance, navigation and control (GNC) system of a low-cost UAV. It proposes significant new approaches that can be exploited by GNC system designers in the future and also reviews the current literature. The state estimation, control and FDI methods are illustrated by examples and MATLAB...

Research and Theory Towards a National Injury Costing System ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Both the capacity building component and the actual study were complicated by a number of obstacles, including limited personnel, poor costing and billing capacity, underdeveloped billing documentation and recording procedures, and limited levels of investment in the general practice of injury costing in the public health ...

High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle Rollover Accidents and Injuries to U.S. Army Soldiers by Reported Occupant Restraint Use, 1992-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Michael C; Giffin, Robert P; Pakulski, Kraig A; Davis, W Sumner; Bernstein, Stephen A; Wise, Daniel V

2017-05-01

The high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (HMMWV) is a light military tactical vehicle. During Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S. Army modified the HMMWV into a combat vehicle by adding vehicle armor, which made the vehicle more difficult to control and more likely to roll over. Consequently, reports of fatal rollover accidents involving up-armored HMMWVs began to accumulate during the up-armoring period (August 2003 to April 2005). Furthermore, the lack of occupant restraint use prevalent in a predominantly young, male, and enlisted military population compounded the injuries resulting from these accidents. In this retrospective case series analysis, we describe the characteristics of U.S. Army HMMWV rollover accidents, occupants, and injuries reported worldwide from fiscal year 1992 to 2013 based on reported occupant restraint use. We conducted all analyses using Microsoft Excel 2010 and SAS version 9.1. Because this analysis does not constitute human subjects research, no institutional review board review was required. First, we obtained U.S. Army HMMWV accident records from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center, and selected those records indicating a HMMWV rollover had occurred. Next, we successively deduplicated the records at the accident, vehicle, occupant, and injury levels for descriptive analysis of characteristics at each level. For each occupant position, we calculated relative, attributable, and population attributable risks of nonfatal and fatal injury based on reported occupant restraint use. Finally, we analyzed body part injured and nature of injury to characterize the injury patterns that HMMWV occupants in each position sustained based on restraint use. We performed a χ 2 test of homogeneity to assess differences in injury patterns between restrained and unrestrained occupants. A total of 819 U.S. Army HMMWV rollover accidents worldwide were reported from October 1991 through May 2013 involving 821 HMMWVs and

The importance of vehicle costs, fuel prices, and fuel efficiency to HEV market success.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santini, D. J.; Patterson, P. D.; Vyas, A. D.

1999-12-08

Toyota's introduction of a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) named ''Prius'' in Japan and Honda's proposed introduction of an HEV in the United States have generated considerable interest in the long-term viability of such fuel-efficient vehicles. A performance and cost projection model developed entirely at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) is used here to estimate costs. ANL staff developed fuel economy estimates by extending conventional vehicle (CV) modeling done primarily under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. Together, these estimates are employed to analyze dollar costs vs. benefits of two of many possible HEV technologies. We project incremental costs and fuel savings for a Prius-type low-performance hybrid (14.3 seconds zero to 60 mph acceleration, 260 time) and a higher-performance ''mild'' hybrid vehicle, or MHV (11 seconds 260 time). Each HEV is compared to a U.S. Toyota Corolla with automatic transmission (11 seconds 260 time). The base incremental retail price range, projected a decade hence, is $3,200-$3,750, before considering battery replacement cost. Historical data are analyzed to evaluate the effect of fuel price on consumer preferences for vehicle fuel economy, performance, and size. The relationship between fuel price, the level of change in fuel price, and consumer attitude toward higher fuel efficiency is also evaluated. A recent survey on the value of higher fuel efficiency is presented and U.S. commercial viability of the hybrids is evaluated using discount rates of 2090 and 870. Our analysis, with our current HEV cost estimates and current fuel savings estimates, implies that the U.S. market for such HEVS would be quite limited.

Correlation between crash avoidance maneuvers and injury severity sustained by motorcyclists in single-vehicle crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chen; Lu, Linjun; Lu, Jian; Wang, Tao

2016-01-01

In order to improve motorcycle safety, this article examines the correlation between crash avoidance maneuvers and injury severity sustained by motorcyclists, under multiple precrash conditions. Ten-year crash data for single-vehicle motorcycle crashes from the General Estimates Systems (GES) were analyzed, using partial proportional odds models (i.e., generalized ordered logit models). The modeling results show that "braking (no lock-up)" is associated with a higher probability of increased severity, whereas "braking (lock-up)" is associated with a higher probability of decreased severity, under all precrash conditions. "Steering" is associated with a higher probability of reduced injury severity when other vehicles are encroaching, whereas it is correlated with high injury severity under other conditions. "Braking and steering" is significantly associated with a higher probability of low severity under "animal encounter and object presence," whereas it is surprisingly correlated with high injury severity when motorcycles are traveling off the edge of the road. The results also show that a large number of motorcyclists did not perform any crash avoidance maneuvers or conducted crash avoidance maneuvers that are significantly associated with high injury severity. In general, this study suggests that precrash maneuvers are an important factor associated with motorcyclists' injury severity. To improve motorcycle safety, training/educational programs should be considered to improve safety awareness and adjust driving habits of motorcyclists. Antilock brakes and such systems are also promising, because they could effectively prevent brake lock-up and assist motorcyclists in maneuvering during critical conditions. This study also provides valuable information for the design of motorcycle training curriculum.

Life cycle air emissions impacts and ownership costs of light-duty vehicles using natural gas as a primary energy source.

Science.gov (United States)

Luk, Jason M; Saville, Bradley A; MacLean, Heather L

2015-04-21

This paper aims to comprehensively distinguish among the merits of different vehicles using a common primary energy source. In this study, we consider compressed natural gas (CNG) use directly in conventional vehicles (CV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), and natural gas-derived electricity (NG-e) use in plug-in battery electric vehicles (BEV). This study evaluates the incremental life cycle air emissions (climate change and human health) impacts and life cycle ownership costs of non-plug-in (CV and HEV) and plug-in light-duty vehicles. Replacing a gasoline CV with a CNG CV, or a CNG CV with a CNG HEV, can provide life cycle air emissions impact benefits without increasing ownership costs; however, the NG-e BEV will likely increase costs (90% confidence interval: $1000 to $31 000 incremental cost per vehicle lifetime). Furthermore, eliminating HEV tailpipe emissions via plug-in vehicles has an insignificant incremental benefit, due to high uncertainties, with emissions cost benefits between -$1000 and $2000. Vehicle criteria air contaminants are a relatively minor contributor to life cycle air emissions impacts because of strict vehicle emissions standards. Therefore, policies should focus on adoption of plug-in vehicles in nonattainment regions, because CNG vehicles are likely more cost-effective at providing overall life cycle air emissions impact benefits.

Prototyping low-cost and flexible vehicle diagnostic systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marisol GARCÍA-VALLS

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Diagnostic systems are software and hardware-based equipment that interoperate with an external monitored system. Traditionally, they have been expensive equipment running test algorithms to monitor physical properties of, e.g., vehicles, or civil infrastructure equipment, among others. As computer hardware is increasingly powerful (whereas its cost and size is decreasing and communication software becomes easier to program and more run-time efficient, new scenarios are enabled that yield to lower cost monitoring solutions. This paper presents a low cost approach towards the development of a diagnostic systems relying on a modular component-based approach and running on a resource limited embedded computer. Results on a prototype implementation are shown that validate the presented design, its flexibility, performance, and communication latency.

Economic costs of motor vehicle emissions in China: a case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xin Deng

2006-01-01

The last decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of motor vehicles in China. Motor vehicles have become an increasingly important contributor to air pollution in major Chinese cities. While research interest in vehicular pollution in China has increased in recent years, there is little research on evaluating monetary costs of this pollution. This paper uses Beijing as a case study to evaluate the magnitudes of air pollution concerning motor vehicles. A monetary estimation of air pollution in regard to motor vehicles is presented on the basis of data for Beijing in 2000. Two methods - willingness-to-pay and human capital methods - are used to analyse the high and low points of estimation. (author)

A Low-cost Vehicle Tracking Platform using Secure SMS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Rune Hylsberg; Aliu, Drini; Ebeid, Emad Samuel Malki

2017-01-01

as the in-vehicle device. Furthermore, a cloud web-platform is built involving the de-facto modern web-applications standards and carefully tailored concerning the security aspects. The cost-effectiveness of our solution results from the use of COTS components, open source software, and cheap SMS...

A Low-Cost Vehicle Anti-Theft System Using Obsolete Smartphone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bang Liu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In modern society, vehicle theft has become an increasing problem to the general public. Deploying onboard anti-theft systems could relieve this problem, but it often requires extra investment for vehicle owners. In this paper, we propose the idea of PhoneInside, which does not need a special device but leverages an obsolete smartphone to build a low-cost vehicle anti-theft system. After being fixed in the vehicle body with a car charger, the smartphone can detect vehicle movement and adaptively use GPS, cellular/WiFi localization, and dead reckoning to locate the vehicle during driving. Especially, a novel Velocity-Aware Dead Reckoning (VA-DR method is presented, which utilizes map knowledge and vehicle’s turns at road curves and intersections to estimate velocity for trajectory computation. Compared to traditional dead reckoning, it reduces accumulated errors and achieves great improvement in localization accuracy. Furthermore, based on the learning of the driving history, our system can establish individual mobility model for a vehicle and distinguish abnormal driving behaviors by a Long Short Term Memory (LSTM network. With the help of ad hoc authentication, the system can identify vehicle theft and send out timely alarming and tracking messages for rapid recovery. The realistic experiments running on Android smartphones prove that our system can detect vehicle theft effectively and locate a stolen vehicle accurately, with average errors less than the sight range.

Costing injuries in South Africa: preliminary results and challenges ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

On average, this type of injury was the most expensive to treat at ... life quality of populations, and minimise fiscal pressures on an already over-burdened health ... costing study of post-mortem procedures in the .... software and scanners keep an ongoing record of each ..... costing model: A review of the literature for.

Crash test rating and likelihood of major thoracoabdominal injury in motor vehicle crashes: the new car assessment program side-impact crash test, 1998-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Figler, Bradley D; Mack, Christopher D; Kaufman, Robert; Wessells, Hunter; Bulger, Eileen; Smith, Thomas G; Voelzke, Bryan

2014-03-01

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) implemented side-impact crash testing on all new vehicles since 1998 to assess the likelihood of major thoracoabdominal injuries during a side-impact crash. Higher crash test rating is intended to indicate a safer car, but the real-world applicability of these ratings is unknown. Our objective was to determine the relationship between a vehicle's NCAP side-impact crash test rating and the risk of major thoracoabdominal injury among the vehicle's occupants in real-world side-impact motor vehicle crashes. The National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System contains detailed crash and injury data in a sample of major crashes in the United States. For model years 1998 to 2010 and crash years 1999 to 2010, 68,124 occupants were identified in the Crashworthiness Data System database. Because 47% of cases were missing crash severity (ΔV), multiple imputation was used to estimate the missing values. The primary predictor of interest was the occupant vehicle's NCAP side-impact crash test rating, and the outcome of interest was the presence of major (Abbreviated Injury Scale [AIS] score ≥ 3) thoracoabdominal injury. In multivariate analysis, increasing NCAP crash test rating was associated with lower likelihood of major thoracoabdominal injury at high (odds ratio [OR], 0.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.7-0.9; p NCAP side-impact crash test rating is associated with a lower likelihood of major thoracoabdominal trauma. Epidemiologic study, level III.

Steering Control in a Low-Cost Driving Simulator: A Case for the Role of Virtual Vehicle Cab.

Science.gov (United States)

Mecheri, Sami; Lobjois, Régis

2018-04-01

The aim of this study was to investigate steering control in a low-cost driving simulator with and without a virtual vehicle cab. In low-cost simulators, the lack of a vehicle cab denies driver access to vehicle width, which could affect steering control, insofar as locomotor adjustments are known to be based on action-scaled visual judgments of the environment. Two experiments were conducted in which steering control with and without a virtual vehicle cab was investigated in a within-subject design, using cornering and straight-lane-keeping tasks. Driving around curves without vehicle cab information made drivers deviate more from the lane center toward the inner edge in right (virtual cab = 4 ± 19 cm; no cab = 42 ± 28 cm; at the apex of the curve, p vehicle width. This produces considerable differences in the steering trajectory. Providing a virtual vehicle cab must be encouraged for more effectively capturing drivers' steering control in low-cost simulators.

Utilization and cost of a new model of care for managing acute knee injuries: the Calgary acute knee injury clinic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lau Breda HF

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs affect a large proportion of the Canadian population and present a huge problem that continues to strain primary healthcare resources. Currently, the Canadian healthcare system depicts a clinical care pathway for MSDs that is inefficient and ineffective. Therefore, a new inter-disciplinary team-based model of care for managing acute knee injuries was developed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada: the Calgary Acute Knee Injury Clinic (C-AKIC. The goal of this paper is to evaluate and report on the appropriateness, efficiency, and effectiveness of the C-AKIC through healthcare utilization and costs associated with acute knee injuries. Methods This quasi-experimental study measured and evaluated cost and utilization associated with specific healthcare services for patients presenting with acute knee injuries. The goal was to compare patients receiving care from two clinical care pathways: the existing pathway (i.e. comparison group and a new model, the C-AKIC (i.e. experimental group. This was accomplished through the use of a Healthcare Access and Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (HAPSQ. Results Data from 138 questionnaires were analyzed in the experimental group and 136 in the comparison group. A post-hoc analysis determined that both groups were statistically similar in socio-demographic characteristics. With respect to utilization, patients receiving care through the C-AKIC used significantly less resources. Overall, patients receiving care through the C-AKIC incurred 37% of the cost of patients with knee injuries in the comparison group and significantly incurred less costs when compared to the comparison group. The total aggregate average cost for the C-AKIC group was $2,549.59 compared to $6,954.33 for the comparison group (p Conclusions The Calgary Acute Knee Injury Clinic was able to manage and treat knee injured patients for less cost than the existing state of healthcare delivery. The

Two-vehicle injury severity models based on integration of pavement management and traffic engineering factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Ximiao; Huang, Baoshan; Yan, Xuedong; Zaretzki, Russell L; Richards, Stephen

2013-01-01

The severity of traffic-related injuries has been studied by many researchers in recent decades. However, the evaluation of many factors is still in dispute and, until this point, few studies have taken into account pavement management factors as points of interest. The objective of this article is to evaluate the combined influences of pavement management factors and traditional traffic engineering factors on the injury severity of 2-vehicle crashes. This study examines 2-vehicle rear-end, sideswipe, and angle collisions that occurred on Tennessee state routes from 2004 to 2008. Both the traditional ordered probit (OP) model and Bayesian ordered probit (BOP) model with weak informative prior were fitted for each collision type. The performances of these models were evaluated based on the parameter estimates and deviances. The results indicated that pavement management factors played identical roles in all 3 collision types. Pavement serviceability produces significant positive effects on the severity of injuries. The pavement distress index (PDI), rutting depth (RD), and rutting depth difference between right and left wheels (RD_df) were not significant in any of these 3 collision types. The effects of traffic engineering factors varied across collision types, except that a few were consistently significant in all 3 collision types, such as annual average daily traffic (AADT), rural-urban location, speed limit, peaking hour, and light condition. The findings of this study indicated that improved pavement quality does not necessarily lessen the severity of injuries when a 2-vehicle crash occurs. The effects of traffic engineering factors are not universal but vary by the type of crash. The study also found that the BOP model with a weak informative prior can be used as an alternative but was not superior to the traditional OP model in terms of overall performance.

Severity of vehicle bumper location in vehicle-to-pedestrian impact accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsui, Yasuhiro; Hitosugi, Masahito; Mizuno, Koji

2011-10-10

Pedestrian protection is one of the key topics for safety measures in traffic accidents all over the world. To analyze the relation between the collision site of the vehicle bumper and the severity of the lower extremity injuries, we performed biomechanical experiments. We compared the applied external force and the risks of subsequent injuries between the impact of the center and side positions of the front bumper. These comparisons were performed by practical impact tests with eight typical different types of cars which were typical of the current vehicle fleets. The tests were made using the TRL legform impactor which was a mechanical substitute of a pedestrian lower extremity. The TRL impactor is used all over the world for assessing the safety of car bumpers. It was found that the risks of lower extremity injuries in the impacts at the side positions, in front of the vehicle's side member, were significantly higher than those at the center. In the tests, we found that foam materials around the rigid front cross member had a significant effect on reducing the lower extremity injury risks and especially tibia fracture risk against vehicle bumper center collisions, but had little effect at the sides of the bumper over the vehicle's side members where the foam was thinner. We also found that the front shape of the vehicle affected the risk of ligaments injuries. According to these results, the information of impact locations of cars in vehicle-to-pedestrian traffic accidents is valuable for clinicians to diagnose patients with lower extremity injuries in traffic accidents and for forensic pathologists to analyze the accident reconstruction. Furthermore, the results suggest that testing of the bumper area in front of the main longitudinal beams should be included in the car safety legislation to require pedestrian safety. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extent, nature and hospital costs of fireworks-related injuries during the Wednesday Eve festival in Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Alinia, Siros; Rezaei, Satar; Daroudi, Rajabali; Hadadi, Mashyaneh; Akbari Sari, Ali

2013-01-01

Fireworks are commonly used in local and national celebrations. The aim of this study is to explore the extent, nature and hospital costs of injuries related to the Persian Wednesday Eve festival in Iran. Data for injuries caused by fireworks during the 2009 Persian Wednesday Eve festival were collected from the national Ministry of Health database. Injuries were divided into nine groups and the average and total hospital costs were estimated for each group. The cost of care for patients with burns was estimated by reviewing a sample of 100 patients randomly selected from a large burn center in Tehran. Other costs were estimated by conducting semi structured interviews with expert managers at two large government hospitals. 1817 people were injured by fireworks during the 2009 Wednesday Eve festival. The most frequently injured sites were the hand (43.3%), eye (24.5%) and face (13.2%), and the most common types of injury were burns (39.9%), contusions/abrasions (24.6%) and lacerations (12.7%). The mean length of hospital stay was 8.15 days for patients with burns, 10.7 days for those with amputations, and 3 days for those with other types of injury. The total hospital cost of injuries was US$ 284 000 and the average cost per injury was US$ 156. The total hospital cost of patients with amputations was US$ 48 598. Most of the costs were related to burns (56.6%) followed by amputations (12.2%). Injuries related to the Persian Wednesday Eve festival are common and lead to extensive morbidity and medical costs. © 2013 KUMS, All rights reserved.

Emissions and Cost Implications of Controlled Electric Vehicle Charging in the U.S. PJM Interconnection.

Science.gov (United States)

Weis, Allison; Michalek, Jeremy J; Jaramillo, Paulina; Lueken, Roger

2015-05-05

We develop a unit commitment and economic dispatch model to estimate the operation costs and the air emissions externality costs attributable to new electric vehicle electricity demand under controlled vs uncontrolled charging schemes. We focus our analysis on the PJM Interconnection and use scenarios that characterize (1) the most recent power plant fleet for which sufficient data are available, (2) a hypothetical 2018 power plant fleet that reflects upcoming plant retirements, and (3) the 2018 fleet with increased wind capacity. We find that controlled electric vehicle charging can reduce associated generation costs by 23%-34% in part by shifting loads to lower-cost, higher-emitting coal plants. This shift results in increased externality costs of health and environmental damages from increased air pollution. On balance, we find that controlled charging of electric vehicles produces negative net social benefits in the recent PJM grid but could have positive net social benefits in a future grid with sufficient coal retirements and wind penetration.

Low-Cost Methane Liquefaction Plant and Vehicle Refueling Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilding, B.; Bramwell, D.

1999-01-01

The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is currently negotiating a collaborative effort with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG and E) that will advance the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a vehicle fuel. We plan to develop and demonstrate a small-scale methane liquefaction plant (production of 5,000 to 10,000 gallons per day) and a low-cost ($150,000) LNG refueling station to supply fuel to LNG-powered transit buses and other heavy-duty vehicles. INEEL will perform the research and development work. PG and E will deploy the new facilities commercially in two demonstration projects, one in northern California, and one in southern California

Alcohol-related hand injuries: an unnecessary social and economic cost.

OpenAIRE

Marston, R. A.

1992-01-01

Severe hand injuries constitute the largest number of acute referrals to this plastic surgery unit, the admission of these patients often displacing routine admissions due to bed shortages, thus increasing waiting list time. This study showed that a high percentage of these injuries were alcohol-related and were therefore preventable. The economic cost to the unit is discussed.

The association between a lifetime history of a neck injury in a motor vehicle collision and future neck pain: a population-based cohort study

Science.gov (United States)

Côté, Pierre; Cassidy, J. David; Carroll, Linda J.

2010-01-01

The objective of this population-based cohort study was to investigate the association between a lifetime history of neck injury from a motor vehicle collision and the development of troublesome neck pain. The current evidence suggests that individuals with a history of neck injury in a traffic collision are more likely to experience future neck pain. However, these results may suffer from residual confounding. Therefore, there is a need to test this association in a large population-based cohort with adequate control of known confounders. We formed a cohort of 919 randomly sampled Saskatchewan adults with no or mild neck pain in September 1995. At baseline, participants were asked if they ever injured their neck in a motor vehicle collision. Six and twelve months later, we asked about the presence of troublesome neck pain (grade II–IV) on the chronic pain grade questionnaire. Multivariable Cox regression was used to estimate the association between a lifetime history of neck injury in a motor vehicle collision and the onset of troublesome neck pain while controlling for known confounders. The follow-up rate was 73.5% (676/919) at 6 months and 63.1% (580/919) at 1 year. We found a positive association between a history of neck injury in a motor vehicle collision and the onset of troublesome neck pain after controlling for bodily pain and body mass index (adjusted HRR = 2.14; 95% CI 1.12–4.10). Our analysis suggests that a history of neck injury in a motor vehicle collision is a risk factor for developing future troublesome neck pain. The consequences of a neck injury in a motor vehicle collision can have long lasting effects and predispose individuals to experience recurrent episodes of neck pain. PMID:20213298

Predictors of seeking financial compensation following motor vehicle trauma: inception cohort with moderate to severe musculoskeletal injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Murgatroyd, Darnel; Harris, Ian A; Chen, Jian Sheng; Adie, Sam; Mittal, Rajat; Cameron, Ian D

2017-05-02

Compensation related factors have been repeatedly associated with poor recovery following orthopaedic trauma. There is limited research into the factors associated with seeking financial compensation. Further understanding of these factors could facilitate injury recovery by purposeful compensation scheme design. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictors of seeking financial compensation, namely making a claim and seeking legal representation, following motor vehicle related orthopaedic trauma. The study was conducted in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, in motor vehicle crash and workers' compensation schemes. Participants were patients admitted with upper or lower extremity factures following a motor vehicle crash to two trauma hospitals. Data were collected at baseline within two weeks of injury. Participants were followed up at six months. Analysis involved: descriptive statistics for baseline characteristics; comparison of compensable and non-compensable participants with Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and chi-squared tests; and logistic regression for predictor models. The cohort consisted of 452 participants with a mean age 40 years; 75% male; 74% working pre-injury; 30% in excellent pre-injury health; 56% sustained serious injuries with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) 9-15; 61% had a low-middle range household income; and 35% self-reported at fault in the crash. There was no significant difference in pre-injury/baseline health between compensable and non-compensable participants. Follow up data was available for 301 (67%) participants. The significant predictor of claiming compensation in the adjusted analysis was higher body mass index (BMI) (overweight Odds Ratio [OR] 3.05, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.63-5.68; obese OR 1.63, 95% CI 0.83-3.20). Participants less likely to claim were: involved in a motorcycle crash (OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.28-0.82); socioeconomically less disadvantaged (OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.17-0.82) or least disadvantaged (OR 0.39, 95

Reliability Assessment for Low-cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Paul Michael

Existing low-cost unmanned aerospace systems are unreliable, and engineers must blend reliability analysis with fault-tolerant control in novel ways. This dissertation introduces the University of Minnesota unmanned aerial vehicle flight research platform, a comprehensive simulation and flight test facility for reliability and fault-tolerance research. An industry-standard reliability assessment technique, the failure modes and effects analysis, is performed for an unmanned aircraft. Particular attention is afforded to the control surface and servo-actuation subsystem. Maintaining effector health is essential for safe flight; failures may lead to loss of control incidents. Failure likelihood, severity, and risk are qualitatively assessed for several effector failure modes. Design changes are recommended to improve aircraft reliability based on this analysis. Most notably, the control surfaces are split, providing independent actuation and dual-redundancy. The simulation models for control surface aerodynamic effects are updated to reflect the split surfaces using a first-principles geometric analysis. The failure modes and effects analysis is extended by using a high-fidelity nonlinear aircraft simulation. A trim state discovery is performed to identify the achievable steady, wings-level flight envelope of the healthy and damaged vehicle. Tolerance of elevator actuator failures is studied using familiar tools from linear systems analysis. This analysis reveals significant inherent performance limitations for candidate adaptive/reconfigurable control algorithms used for the vehicle. Moreover, it demonstrates how these tools can be applied in a design feedback loop to make safety-critical unmanned systems more reliable. Control surface impairments that do occur must be quickly and accurately detected. This dissertation also considers fault detection and identification for an unmanned aerial vehicle using model-based and model-free approaches and applies those

Impact of improving vehicle front design on the burden of pedestrian injuries in Germany, the United States, and India.

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Dane; Bose, Dipan; Bhalla, Kavi

2017-11-17

European car design regulations and New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) ratings have led to reductions in pedestrian injuries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of improving vehicle front design on mortality and morbidity due to pedestrian injuries in a European country (Germany) and 2 countries (the United States and India) that do not have pedestrian-focused NCAP testing or design regulations. We used data from the International Road Traffic and Accident Database and the Global Burden of Disease project to estimate baseline pedestrian deaths and nonfatal injuries in each country in 2013. The effect of improved passenger car star ratings on probability of pedestrian injury was based on recent evaluations of pedestrian crash data from Germany. The effect of improved heavy motor vehicle (HMV) front end design on pedestrian injuries was based on estimates reported by simulation studies. We used burden of disease methods to estimate population health loss by combining the burden of morbidity and mortality in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost. Extrapolating from evaluations in Germany suggests that improving front end design of cars can potentially reduce the burden of pedestrian injuries due to cars by up to 24% in the United States and 41% in India. In Germany, where cars comply with the United Nations regulation on pedestrian safety, additional improvements would have led to a 1% reduction. Similarly, improved HMV design would reduce DALYs lost by pedestrian victims hit by HMVs by 20% in each country. Overall, improved vehicle design would reduce DALYs lost to road traffic injuries (RTIs) by 0.8% in Germany, 4.1% in the United States, and 6.7% in India. Recent evaluations show a strong correlation between Euro NCAP pedestrian scores and real-life pedestrian injuries, suggesting that improved car front end design in Europe has led to substantial reductions in pedestrian injuries. Although the United States has fewer pedestrian crashes, it would

Maintenance & Repair Cost Calculation and Assessment of Resale Value for Different Alternative Commercial Vehicle Powertrain Technologies

OpenAIRE

Kleiner, Florian; Friedrich, Horst E.

2017-01-01

For detailed evaluation of the Total Cost of Ownership, expenditures for Maintenance & Repair as well as the resale value are important to consider and should not be neglected. However, information on Maintenance & Repair costs as well as residual values for commercial vehicles with alternative powertrains is missing and data on this issue is rare. There is a lack of information and consolidated knowledge. In order to enable a holistic cost assessment for commercial vehicles, a comprehensive ...

Optimal sizing of plug-in fuel cell electric vehicles using models of vehicle performance and system cost

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Liangfei; Ouyang, Minggao; Li, Jianqiu; Yang, Fuyuan; Lu, Languang; Hua, Jianfeng

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► An analytical model for vehicle performance and power-train parameters. ► Quantitative relationships between vehicle performance and power-train parameters. ► Optimal sizing rules that help designing an optimal PEM fuel cell power-train. ► An on-road testing showing the performance of the proposed vehicle. -- Abstract: This paper presents an optimal sizing method for plug-in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell and lithium-ion battery (LIB) powered city buses. We propose a theoretical model describing the relationship between components’ parameters and vehicle performance. Analysis results show that within the working range of the electric motor, the maximal velocity and driving distance are influenced linearly by the parameters of the components, e.g. fuel cell efficiency, fuel cell output power, stored hydrogen mass, vehicle auxiliary power, battery capacity, and battery average resistance. Moreover, accelerating time is also linearly dependant on the abovementioned parameters, except of those of the battery. Next, we attempt to minimize fixed and operating costs by introducing an optimal sizing problem that uses as constraints the requirements on vehicle performance. By solving this problem, we attain several optimal sizing rules. Finally, we use these rules to design a plug-in PEM fuel cell city bus and present performance results obtained by on-road testing.

The effect of vehicle protection on spine injuries in military conflict.

Science.gov (United States)

Possley, Daniel R; Blair, James A; Freedman, Brett A; Schoenfeld, Andrew J; Lehman, Ronald A; Hsu, Joseph R

2012-09-01

To evaluate the effect of critical time periods in vehicle protection on spine injuries in the Global War on Terror. To characterize the effect of method of movement on and around the battlefield during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2001 to 2009 in terms of its impact on the incidence and severity of spinal fractures sustained in combat. Retrospective study. Mounted and dismounted American servicemembers who were injured during combat. Extracted medical records of servicemembers identified in the Joint Theater Trauma Registry from October 2001 to December 2009. Methods of movement were defined as mounted or dismounted. Two time periods were compared. Cohorts were created for 2×2 analysis based on method of movement and the time period in which the injury occurred. Time period 1 and 2 were separated by April 1, 2007, which correlates with the initial fielding of the modern class of uparmored fighting vehicles with thickened underbelly armor and a V-shaped hull. Our four comparison groups were Dismounted in Time Period 1 (D1), Dismounted in Time Period 2 (D2), Mounted in Time Period 1 (M1), and Mounted in Time Period 2 (M2). In total, 1,819 spine fractures occurred over the entire study period. Four hundred seventy-two fractures (26%) were sustained in 145 servicemembers who were mounted at the time of injury, and 1,347 (74%) were sustained by 404 servicemembers who were dismounted (pto the TL junction (T10-L3) increased significantly from Time Period 1 to 2 (34% vs. 40% of all fractures, respectively, p=.03). Thoracolumbar fractures were significantly more severe in that there were more Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Osteosynthesefragen/Magerl Type A injuries versus all TL fractures, 1.75 versus 2.68/10,000 or 27% of all spine fractures in Time Period 1 versus 40% in Time Period 2 (p=.007). Furthermore, there were significantly fewer minor fractures (spinous process and transverse process fractures) (pto the Denis classification system, in

Cost and effectiveness analysis on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) use at border security

Science.gov (United States)

Yilmaz, Bahadır.

2013-06-01

Drones and Remotely Piloted Vehicles are types of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. UAVs began to be used with the war of Vietnam, they had a great interest when Israel used them in Bekaa Valley Operations of 1982. UAVs have been used by different countries with different aims with the help of emerging technology and investments. In this article, in the context of areas of UAV usage in national security, benefits and disadvantages of UAVs are put forward. Particularly, it has been evaluated on the basis of cost-effectiveness by focusing the use of UAV in the border security. UAVs have been studied by taking cost analysis, procurement and operational costs into consideration. Analysis of effectiveness has been done with illegal passages of people and drugs from flight times of UAVs. Although the procurement cost of the medium-level UAVs is low, its operational costs are high. For this reason, the idea of less costly alternative systems have been revealed for the border security. As the costs are reduced to acceptable level involving national security and border security in future with high-technology products in their structure, it will continue to be used in an increasing proportion.

Development of a Low-Cost Attitude Sensor for Agricultural Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

The objective of this research was to develop a low-cost attitude sensor for agricultural vehicles. The attitude sensor was composed of three vibratory gyroscopes and two inclinometers. A sensor fusion algorithm was developed to estimate tilt angles (roll and pitch) by least-squares method. In the a...

Road user charges for heavy goods vehicles (HGV). Tables with external costs of air pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skou Andersen, M.

2013-02-15

In this report, the European Environment Agency (EEA) presents updated estimates of the external costs of air pollution for different categories of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). The amended Eurovignette Directive (2011/76/EU) relating to the charging of HGVs for use of major European motorways prescribes that from 2013, Member States may include air pollution costs in any charging structure for roads under the Trans-European Network (TEN-T) and for comparable domestic motorways. The tables published here provide the basis for the inclusion of a vehicle-specific air pollution component in road user charges. Air pollution costs have been calculated on the basis of the formula prescribed in the directive, taking into account the fact that road transport emissions are mixed in a low volume of air. Following Article 9 in the Eurovignette Directive, additional revenues from external-cost charges must be used by Member States to benefit the transport sector and promote sustainable mobility. Making use of scientific developments subsequent to the 2007 Handbook of external costs (Maibach et al., 2008), the EEA is able to provide an updated estimate of the external costs of air pollution from road transport. The tables in this report indicate for each country and for the relevant vehicle categories, estimates of the external costs of air pollution in 2010 prices. The high level of detail gives member countries an informed basis to group the vehicle categories for administrative purposes. The tables also include estimates for three non-EU member countries of the EEA, of which one (Switzerland) pioneered the first HGV road user charge in Europe. (LN)

Review of the Fuel Saving, Life Cycle GHG Emission, and Ownership Cost Impacts of Lightweighting Vehicles with Different Powertrains.

Science.gov (United States)

Luk, Jason M; Kim, Hyung Chul; De Kleine, Robert; Wallington, Timothy J; MacLean, Heather L

2017-08-01

The literature analyzing the fuel saving, life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, and ownership cost impacts of lightweighting vehicles with different powertrains is reviewed. Vehicles with lower powertrain efficiencies have higher fuel consumption. Thus, fuel savings from lightweighting internal combustion engine vehicles can be higher than those of hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles. However, the impact of fuel savings on life cycle costs and GHG emissions depends on fuel prices, fuel carbon intensities and fuel storage requirements. Battery electric vehicle fuel savings enable reduction of battery size without sacrificing driving range. This reduces the battery production cost and mass, the latter results in further fuel savings. The carbon intensity of electricity varies widely and is a major source of uncertainty when evaluating the benefits of fuel savings. Hybrid electric vehicles use gasoline more efficiently than internal combustion engine vehicles and do not require large plug-in batteries. Therefore, the benefits of lightweighting depend on the vehicle powertrain. We discuss the value proposition of the use of lightweight materials and alternative powertrains. Future assessments of the benefits of vehicle lightweighting should capture the unique characteristics of emerging vehicle powertrains.

Autonomous vehicles are cost-effective when used as taxis.

Science.gov (United States)

Freedman, Isaac G; Kim, Ellen; Muennig, Peter A

2018-06-04

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) will radically re-shape the health and well-being of people in the United States in good ways and bad. We set out to estimate a reasonable time-to-adoption using cost-effectivenessmodels to estimate the point at which AVs become reasonably safe and affordable for widespread adoption. We used Waymo data (previously, Google Self-Driving Car Project) and a microsimulation model to explore projected costs and safety issues today and five years from today to get a sense of the speed of consumer adoption were AVs brought to the market. The adoption of AVs for private use was associated with an ICER of 1,396,110/QALY gained today, a figure that would decline to 173,890/QALY gained 5-years in the future. However, AV taxis are both less expensive and potentially already safer than human-piloted taxis. While AVs are not unlikely to be used a family vehicles any time soon, it would make economic sense to adopt them as taxis today. Legislation enhancing the benefits while mitigating the potential harmful health impacts of AV taxis is needed with some urgency.

Optimal design and allocation of electrified vehicles and dedicated charging infrastructure for minimum life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and cost

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Traut, Elizabeth; Hendrickson, Chris; Klampfl, Erica; Liu, Yimin; Michalek, Jeremy J.

2012-01-01

Electrified vehicles can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by shifting energy demand from gasoline to electricity. GHG reduction potential depends on vehicle design, adoption, driving and charging patterns, charging infrastructure, and electricity generation mix. We construct an optimization model to study these factors by determining optimal design of conventional vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with optimal allocation of vehicle designs and dedicated workplace charging infrastructure in the fleet for minimum life cycle cost or GHG emissions over a range of scenarios. We focus on vehicles with similar body size and acceleration to a Toyota Prius under government 5-cycle driving conditions. We find that under the current US grid mix, PHEVs offer only small GHG emissions reductions compared to HEVs, and workplace charging is insignificant. With grid decarbonization, PHEVs and BEVs offer substantial GHG emissions reductions, and workplace charging provides additional benefits. HEVs are optimal or near-optimal for minimum cost in most scenarios. High gas prices and low vehicle and battery costs are the major drivers for PHEVs and BEVs to enter and dominate the cost-optimal fleet. Carbon prices have little effect. Cost and range restrictions limit penetration of BEVs. - Highlights: ► We pose an MINLP model to minimize cost and GHG emissions of electrified vehicles. ► We design PHEVs and BEVs and assign vehicles and charging infrastructure in US fleet. ► Under US grid mix, PEVs provide minor GHG reductions and work chargers do little. ► HEVs are robust; PEVs and work charging potential improve with a decarbonized grid. ► We quantify factors needed for PEVs to enter and dominate the optimal fleet.

Thoracic aortic injury in motor vehicle crashes: the effect of impact direction, side of body struck, and seat belt use.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzharris, Michael; Franklyn, Melanie; Frampton, Richard; Yang, King; Morris, Andrew; Fildes, Brian

2004-09-01

Using in-depth, real-world motor vehicle crash data from the United States and the United Kingdom, we aimed to assess the incidence and risk factors associated with thoracic aorta injuries. De-identified National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System (U.S.) and Co-operative Crash Injury Study (U.K.) data formed the basis of this retrospective analysis. Logistic regression was used to assess the level of risk of thoracic aorta injury associated with impact direction, seat belt use and, given the asymmetry of the thoracic cavity, whether being struck toward the left side of the body was associated with increased risk in side-impact crashes. A total of 13,436 U.S. and 3,756 U.K. drivers and front seat passengers were analyzed. The incidence of thoracic aorta injury in the U.S. and U.K. samples was 1.5% (n = 197) and 1.9% (n = 70), respectively. The risk was higher for occupants seated on the side closest to the impact than for occupants involved in frontal impact crashes. This was the case irrespective of whether the force was applied toward the left (belted: relative risk [RR], 4.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.9-7.1; p direction. Thoracic aorta injuries were found to be associated with high impact severity, and being struck by a sports utility vehicle relative to a passenger vehicle (RR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2-2.3; p = 0.001). Aortic injuries have been conventionally associated with frontal impacts. However, emergency clinicians should be aware that occupants of side-impact crashes are at greater risk, particularly if the occupant was unbelted and involved in a crash of high impact severity.

Acute costs and predictors of higher treatment costs of trauma in New South Wales, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Kate; Lam, Mary; Mitchell, Rebecca; Black, Deborah; Taylor, Colman; Dickson, Cara; Jan, Stephen; Palmer, Cameron S; Langcake, Mary; Myburgh, John

2014-01-01

Accurate economic data are fundamental for improving current funding models and ultimately in promoting the efficient delivery of services. The financial burden of a high trauma casemix to designated trauma centres in Australia has not been previously determined, and there is some evidence that the episode funding model used in Australia results in the underfunding of trauma. To describe the costs of acute trauma admissions in trauma centres, identify predictors of higher treatment costs and cost variance in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Data linkage of admitted trauma patient and financial data provided by 12 Level 1 NSW trauma centres for the 08/09 financial year was performed. Demographic, injury details and injury scores were obtained from trauma registries. Individual patient general ledger costs (actual trauma patient costs), Australian Refined Diagnostic Related Groups (AR-DRG) and state-wide average costs (which form the basis of funding) were obtained. The actual costs incurred by the hospital were then compared with the state-wide AR-DRG average costs. Multivariable multiple linear regression was used for identifying predictors of costs. There were 17,522 patients, the average per patient cost was $10,603 and the median was $4628 (interquartile range: $2179-10,148). The actual costs incurred by trauma centres were on average $134 per bed day above AR-DRG costs-determined costs. Falls, road trauma and violence were the highest causes of total cost. Motor cyclists and pedestrians had higher median costs than motor vehicle occupants. As a result of greater numbers, patients with minor injury had comparable total costs with those generated by patients with severe injury. However the median cost of severely injured patients was nearly four times greater. The count of body regions injured, sex, length of stay, serious traumatic brain injury and admission to the Intensive Care Unit were significantly associated with increased costs (p<0.001). This

Investigating methods for determining mismatch in near side vehicle impacts - biomed 2009.

Science.gov (United States)

Loftis, Kathryn; Martin, R Shayn; Meredith, J Wayne; Stitzel, Joel

2009-01-01

This study investigates vehicle mismatch in severe side-impact motor vehicle collisions. Research conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has determined that vehicle mismatch often leads to very severe injuries for occupants in the struck vehicle, because the larger striking vehicle does not engage the lower sill upon impact, resulting in severe intrusions into the occupant compartment. Previous studies have analyzed mismatched collisions according to vehicle type, not by the difference in vehicle height and weight. It is hypothesized that the combination of a heavier striking vehicle at a taller height results in more intrusion for the struck vehicle and severe injury for the near side occupant. By analyzing Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) data and occupant injury severity, it is possible to study intrusion and injuries that occur due to vehicle mismatch. CIREN enrolls seriously injured occupants involved in motor vehicle crashes (MVC) across the United States. From the Toyota-Wake Forest University CIREN center, 23 near side impact cases involving two vehicles were recorded. Only 3 of these seriously injured occupant cases were not considered mismatched according to vehicle curb weight, and only 2 were not considered vehicle mismatched according to height differences. The mismatched CIREN cases had an average difference in vehicle curb weight of 737.0 kg (standard deviation of 646.8) and an average difference in vehicle height of 16.38 cm (standard deviation of 7.186). There were 13 occupants with rib fractures, 12 occupants with pelvic fractures, 9 occupants with pulmonary contusion, and 5 occupants with head injuries, among other multiple injuries. The average Injury Severity Score (ISS) for these occupants was 27, with a standard deviation of 16. The most serious injuries resulted in an Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) of 5, which included 3 occupants. Each of these AIS 5 injuries were to different body regions on different

Cost analysis of facial injury treatment in two university hospitals in Malaysia: a prospective study

Science.gov (United States)

Saperi, Bin Sulong; Ramli, Roszalina; Ahmed, Zafar; Muhd Nur, Amrizal; Ibrahim, Mohd Ismail; Rashdi, Muhd Fazlynizam; Nordin, Rifqah; Rahman, Normastura Abd; Yusoff, Azizah; Nazimi, Abd Jabar; Abdul Rahman, Roselinda; Abdul Razak, Noorhayati; Mohamed, Norlen

2017-01-01

Objective Facial injury (FI) may occur in isolation or in association with injuries to other parts of the body (facial and other injury [FOI]). The objective of this study was to determine the direct treatment costs incurred during the management of facial trauma. Materials and methods A prospective cohort study on treatment cost for FIs and FOIs due to road-traffic crashes in two university hospitals in Malaysia was conducted from July 2010 to June 2011. The patients were recruited from emergency departments and reviewed after 6 months from the date of initial treatment. Direct cost analysis, comparison of cost and length of hospital stay, and Injury Severity Score (ISS) were performed. Results A total of 190 patients were enrolled in the study, of whom 83 (43.7%) had FI only, and 107 (56.3%) had FOI. The mean ISS was 5.4. The mean length of stay and costs for patients with FI only were 5.8 days with a total cost of US$1,261.96, whereas patients with FOI were admitted for 7.8 days with a total cost of US$1,716.47. Costs doubled if the treatment was performed under general anesthesia compared to local anesthesia. Conclusion Treatment of FI and FOI imposes a financial burden on the health care system in Malaysia. PMID:28223831

Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths PSA (:60)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2016-07-06

This 60 second public service announcement is based on the July 2016 CDC Vital Signs report. In the U.S., about 90 people die in motor vehicle crashes each day and thousands more are injured, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in direct medical costs each year. Learn what you can do to stay safe.  Created: 7/6/2016 by National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC).   Date Released: 7/6/2016.

Vehicle tracking for an evasive manoeuvres assistant using low-cost ultrasonic sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez, Felipe; Naranjo, José E; Gómez, Oscar; Anaya, José J

2014-11-28

Many driver assistance systems require knowledge of the vehicle environment. As these systems are increasing in complexity and performance, this knowledge of the environment needs to be more complete and reliable, so sensor fusion combining long, medium and short range sensors is now being used. This paper analyzes the feasibility of using ultrasonic sensors for low cost vehicle-positioning and tracking in the lane adjacent to the host vehicle in order to identify free areas around the vehicle and provide information to an automatic avoidance collision system that can perform autonomous braking and lane change manoeuvres. A laser scanner is used for the early detection of obstacles in the direction of travel while two ultrasonic sensors monitor the blind spot of the host vehicle. The results of tests on a test track demonstrate the ability of these sensors to accurately determine the kinematic variables of the obstacles encountered, despite a clear limitation in range.

Vehicle Tracking for an Evasive Manoeuvres Assistant Using Low-Cost Ultrasonic Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felipe Jiménez

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Many driver assistance systems require knowledge of the vehicle environment. As these systems are increasing in complexity and performance, this knowledge of the environment needs to be more complete and reliable, so sensor fusion combining long, medium and short range sensors is now being used. This paper analyzes the feasibility of using ultrasonic sensors for low cost vehicle-positioning and tracking in the lane adjacent to the host vehicle in order to identify free areas around the vehicle and provide information to an automatic avoidance collision system that can perform autonomous braking and lane change manoeuvres. A laser scanner is used for the early detection of obstacles in the direction of travel while two ultrasonic sensors monitor the blind spot of the host vehicle. The results of tests on a test track demonstrate the ability of these sensors to accurately determine the kinematic variables of the obstacles encountered, despite a clear limitation in range.

Cost-effectiveness of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle battery capacity and charging infrastructure investment for reducing US gasoline consumption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peterson, Scott B.; Michalek, Jeremy J.

2013-01-01

Federal electric vehicle (EV) policies in the United States currently include vehicle purchase subsidies linked to EV battery capacity and subsidies for installing charging stations. We assess the cost-effectiveness of increased battery capacity vs. nondomestic charging infrastructure installation for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles as alternate methods to reduce gasoline consumption for cars, trucks, and SUVs in the US. We find across a wide range of scenarios that the least-cost solution is for more drivers to switch to low-capacity plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (short electric range with gasoline backup for long trips) or gasoline-powered hybrid electric vehicles. If more gasoline savings are needed per vehicle, nondomestic charging infrastructure installation is substantially more expensive than increased battery capacity per gallon saved, and both approaches have higher costs than US oil premium estimates. Cost effectiveness of all subsidies are lower under a binding fuel economy standard. Comparison of results to the structure of current federal subsidies shows that policy is not aligned with fuel savings potential, and we discuss issues and alternatives. - Highlights: ► We compare cost of PHEV batteries vs. charging infrastructure per gallon of gasoline saved. ► The lowest cost solution is to switch more drivers to low-capacity PHEVs and HEVs. ► If more gasoline savings is needed, batteries offer a better value than chargers. ► Extra batteries and chargers are both more costly per gal than oil premium estimates. ► Current subsidies are misaligned with fuel savings. We discuss alternatives.

[Monetary value of the human costs of road traffic injuries in Spain].

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez Pérez, Jorge Eduardo; Sánchez Martínez, Fernando Ignacio; Abellán Perpiñán, José María; Pinto Prades, José Luis

2015-09-01

Cost-benefit analyses in the field of road safety compute human costs as a key component of total costs. The present article presents two studies promoted by the Directorate-General for Traffic aimed at obtaining official values for the costs associated with fatal and non-fatal traffic injuries in Spain. We combined the contingent valuation approach and the (modified) standard gamble technique in two surveys administered to large representative samples (n1=2,020, n2=2,000) of the Spanish population. The monetary value of preventing a fatality was estimated to be 1.4 million euros. Values of 219,000 and 6,100 euros were obtained for minor and severe non-fatal injuries, respectively. These figures are comparable to those observed in neighboring countries. Copyright © 2014 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the extent and distribution of diffuse axonal injury from real world motor vehicle crashes - biomed 2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Lillie, Elizabeth M; Urban, Jillian E; Lynch, Sarah K; Whitlow, Christopher T; Stitzel, Joel D

2013-01-01

Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is a common traumatic brain injury (TBI) often seen as a result of motor vehicle crashes (MVC). Twelve (12) cases of DAI were selected from the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) to determine the extent and distribution of injury with respect to the head contact location. Head computed tomography (CT) scans were collected for each subject and segmented using semi-automated methods to establish the volumes of DAI. The impacted area on the subject's head was approximated from evidence of a soft tissue scalp contusion on the CT scan. This was used in conjunction with subject images and identified internal vehicle contact locations to ascertain a label map of the contact location. A point cloud was developed from the contact location label map and the centroid of the point cloud was calculated as the subject's head impact location. The injury and contact location were evaluated in spherical coordinates and grouped into 0.2 by 0.2 radial increments of azimuth and elevation. The radial increments containing DAI were projected onto a meshed sphere to evaluate the radial distance from the impact location to primary location of DAI and approximate anatomical location. Of the 170 injuries observed, 123 were identified in the frontal lobe and 36 in the parietal lobe. The distribution of the DAI in relation to the change in azimuth from the contact loca y correlated with contact to the head superficial to this lobe. Results from this study provide further insight into the biomechanics of traumatic brain injury and can be used in future work as an aid to validate finite element models of the head.

The costs of traumatic brain injury due to motorcycle accidents in Hanoi, Vietnam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vo Thuy TN

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries in Vietnam. The purpose of this study is to estimate the costs, in the first year post-injury, of non-fatal traumatic brain injury (TBI in motorcycle users not wearing helmets in Hanoi, Vietnam. The costs are calculated from the perspective of the injured patients and their families, and include quantification of direct, indirect and intangible costs, using years lost due to disability as a proxy. Methods The study was a retrospective cross-sectional study. Data on treatment and rehabilitation costs, employment and support were obtained from patients and their families using a structured questionnaire and The European Quality of Life instrument (EQ6D. Results Thirty-five patients and their families were interviewed. On average, patients with severe, moderate and minor TBI incurred direct costs at USD 2,365, USD 1,390 and USD 849, with time lost for normal activities averaging 54 weeks, 26 weeks and 17 weeks and years lived with disability (YLD of 0.46, 0.25 and 0.15 year, respectively. Conclusion All three component costs of TBI were high; the direct cost accounted for the largest proportion, with costs rising with the severity of TBI. The results suggest that the burden of TBI can be catastrophic for families because of high direct costs, significant time off work for patients and caregivers, and impact on health-related quality of life. Further research is warranted to explore the actual social and economic benefits of mandatory helmet use.

Frequency and cost of claims by injury type from a state workers' compensation fund from 1998 through 2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Mroz, Tracy M; Carlini, Anthony R; Archer, Kristin R; Wegener, Stephen T; Hoolachan, Jordan I; Stiers, William; Shore, Rebecca A; Castillo, Renan C

2014-06-01

To determine which work-related injuries are the most frequent and costly. Secondary analysis of workers' compensation claims data. Data were provided by a large, Maryland workers' compensation insurer from 1998 through 2008. Not applicable. None. For 45 injury types, the number of claims and compensation amount was calculated for total compensation and for medical and indemnity compensation separately. Back and knee injuries were the most frequently occurring single injury types, whereas heart attack and occupational disease were the most expensive in terms of mean compensation. When taking into account both the frequency and cost of injury (mean cost × number occurrences), back, knee, and shoulder injuries were the most expensive single injury types. Successful prevention and management of back, knee, and shoulder injuries could lead to a substantial reduction in the burden associated with work-related injuries. Copyright © 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle charging strategies on charging and battery degradation costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lunz, Benedikt; Yan, Zexiong; Gerschler, Jochen Bernhard; Sauer, Dirk Uwe

2012-01-01

The profitability of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) is significantly influenced by battery aging and electricity costs. Therefore a simulation model for PHEVs in the distribution grid is presented which allows to compare the influence of different charging strategies on these costs. The simulation is based on real-world driving behavior and European Energy Exchange (EEX) intraday prices for obtaining representative results. The analysis of comprehensive lithium-ion battery aging tests performed within this study shows that especially high battery states of charge (SOCs) decrease battery lifetime, whereas the cycling of batteries at medium SOCs only has a minor contribution to aging. Charging strategies that take into account the previously mentioned effects are introduced, and the SOC distributions and cycle loads of the vehicle battery are investigated. It can be shown that appropriate charging strategies significantly increase battery lifetime and reduce charging costs at the same time. Possible savings due to lifetime extension of the vehicle battery are approximately two times higher than revenues due to energy trading. The findings of this work indicate that car manufacturers and energy/mobility providers have to make efforts for developing intelligent charging strategies to reduce mobility costs and thus foster the introduction of electric mobility. - Highlights: ► Modeling of PHEVs based on real-world driving behavior and electricity prices. ► Consideration of battery degradation for the calculation of mobility costs. ► Smart charging decreases battery degradation and electricity costs simultaneously. ► Reduction of battery degradation costs is around two times higher than reduction of electricity costs.

The vehicle routing game: An application of cost allocation in a gas and oil company

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engevall, Stefan; Goethe-Lundgren, Maud; Vaerbrand, Peter

2000-12-01

In this article we study a cost allocation problem that arises in a distribution planning situation at the Logistics department at Norsk Hydro Olje AB. The routes from one depot during one day are considered, for which the total distribution cost is to be divided among the customers that are visited. This cost allocation problem is formulated as a vehicle routing game, allowing the use of vehicles with different capacities. Cost allocation methods based on different concepts from cooperative game theory, such as the core and the nucleolus, are discussed. A procedure that can be used to investigate whether the core is empty or not is presented, as well as a procedure to compute the nucleolus. Computational results for the Norsk Hydro case are also presented and discussed.

Intervention and societal costs of residential community reintegration for patients with acquired brain injury: a cost-analysis of the Brain Integration Programme.

Science.gov (United States)

van Heugten, Caroline M; Geurtsen, Gert J; Derksen, R Elze; Martina, Juan D; Geurts, Alexander C H; Evers, Silvia M A A

2011-06-01

The objective of this study was to examine the intervention costs of a residential community reintegration programme for patients with acquired brain injury and to compare the societal costs before and after treatment. A cost-analysis was performed identifying costs of healthcare, informal care, and productivity losses. The costs in the year before the Brain Integration Programme (BIP) were compared with the costs in the year after the BIP using the following cost categories: care consumption, caregiver support, productivity losses. Dutch guidelines were used for cost valuation. Thirty-three cases participated (72% response). Mean age was 29.8 years, 59% traumatic brain injury. The BIP costs were €68,400. The informal care and productivity losses reduced significantly after BIP (p costs per patient were €48,449. After BIP these costs were €39,773; a significant reduction (p costs after the BIP advocates the allocation of resources and, from an economic perspective, favours reimbursement of the BIP costs by healthcare insurance companies. However, this cost-analysis is limited as it does not relate costs to clinical effectiveness. :

Peritoneal dialysis vs. haemodialysis in the management of paediatric acute kidney injury in Kano, Nigeria: a cost analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Obiagwu, Patience N; Abdu, Aliyu

2015-01-01

To determine the cost of the dialytic management of paediatric acute kidney injury in a low-income country. All children under the age of 15 years, who had either peritoneal dialysis or haemodialysis for acute kidney injury in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital over a 1-year period, were studied. The average cost of each dialysis modality was estimated. Of 20 children, who had dialysis for acute kidney injury, 12 (60%) had haemodialysis and 8 (40%) had peritoneal dialysis. The mean cost for haemodialysis exceeded that of peritoneal dialysis ($363.33 vs. $311.66, t = 1.04, P = 0.313) with the mean cost of consumables significantly accounting for most of the cost variation ($248.49 vs. $164.73, t = 2.91, P = 0.009). Mean costs of nephrologist visit and nursing were not found to be significant. Peritoneal dialysis is the less costly alternative for managing acute kidney injury in children in our environment. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Intervention and societal costs of residential community reintegration for patients with acquired brain injury: a cost-analysis of the Brain Integration Programme

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heugten, C.M. van; Geurtsen, G.J.; Derksen, R.E.; Martina, J.D.; Geurts, A.C.H.; Evers, S.M.

2011-01-01

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the intervention costs of a residential community reintegration programme for patients with acquired brain injury and to compare the societal costs before and after treatment. METHODS: A cost-analysis was performed identifying costs of

Cost analysis of facial injury treatment in two university hospitals in Malaysia: a prospective study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saperi BS

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Bin Sulong Saperi,1 Roszalina Ramli,2 Zafar Ahmed,1 Amrizal Muhd Nur,1 Mohd Ismail Ibrahim,3 Muhd Fazlynizam Rashdi,2 Rifqah Nordin,2 Normastura Abd Rahman,4 Azizah Yusoff,4 Abd Jabar Nazimi,2 Roselinda Abdul Rahman,4 Noorhayati Abdul Razak,4 Norlen Mohamed 5 1International Centre for Casemix and Clinical Coding, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, 2Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, 3Department of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, 4School of Dental Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, 5Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Objective: Facial injury (FI may occur in isolation or in association with injuries to other parts of the body (facial and other injury [FOI]. The objective of this study was to determine the direct treatment costs incurred during the management of facial trauma. Materials and methods: A prospective cohort study on treatment cost for FIs and FOIs due to road-traffic crashes in two university hospitals in Malaysia was conducted from July 2010 to June 2011. The patients were recruited from emergency departments and reviewed after 6 months from the date of initial treatment. Direct cost analysis, comparison of cost and length of hospital stay, and Injury Severity Score (ISS were performed. Results: A total of 190 patients were enrolled in the study, of whom 83 (43.7% had FI only, and 107 (56.3% had FOI. The mean ISS was 5.4. The mean length of stay and costs for patients with FI only were 5.8 days with a total cost of US$1,261.96, whereas patients with FOI were admitted for 7.8 days with a total cost of US$1,716.47. Costs doubled if the treatment was performed under general anesthesia compared to local anesthesia. Conclusion: Treatment of FI and FOI imposes a financial burden on the health care system in Malaysia. Keywords: facial

Intervention and societal costs of residential community reintegration for patients with acquired brain injury: a cost-analysis of the Brain Integration Programme

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Heugten, Caroline M.; Geurtsen, Gert J.; Derksen, R. Elze; Martina, Juan D.; Geurts, Alexander C. H.; Evers, Silvia M. A. A.

2011-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine the intervention costs of a residential community reintegration programme for patients with acquired brain injury and to compare the societal costs before and after treatment. A cost-analysis was performed identifying costs of healthcare, informal care, and

Assessment of Vehicle Sizing, Energy Consumption and Cost Through Large Scale Simulation of Advanced Vehicle Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moawad, Ayman [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Kim, Namdoo [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Shidore, Neeraj [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Rousseau, Aymeric [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2016-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) has been developing more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly highway transportation technologies that will enable America to use less petroleum. The long-term aim is to develop "leapfrog" technologies that will provide Americans with greater freedom of mobility and energy security, while lowering costs and reducing impacts on the environment. This report reviews the results of the DOE VTO. It gives an assessment of the fuel and light-duty vehicle technologies that are most likely to be established, developed, and eventually commercialized during the next 30 years (up to 2045). Because of the rapid evolution of component technologies, this study is performed every two years to continuously update the results based on the latest state-of-the-art technologies.

An Ownership/Lease Cost Comparison Analysis of Heavy Equipment Motor Vehicles in Air Force Materiel Command

Science.gov (United States)

1994-09-01

costs are the costs associated with a particular piece of equipment that do not change despite change in variable operating cost ( Horngren and Foster...The Operating and maintenance costs account for direct and indirect costs associated with their respective functions and vary with the utilization of...each vehicle. The operating direct cost includes all on-base and off- base fuel cost . Indirect operations costs account for bench 28 stock items

Costs of injuries due to interpersonal and self-directed violence in Thailand, 2005.

Science.gov (United States)

Bundhamcharoen, Kanitta; Odton, Patarapan; Mugem, Suwanna; Phulkerd, Sirinya; Dhisayathikom, Kanjana; Brown, David W; Tangcharoensathien, Viroj

2008-06-01

Violence, a serious public health problem in Thailand, remains largely unknown for its economic costs. This study is a national-level economic cost-estimates of injury from interpersonal and self-directed violence for Thailand during 2005 using the World Health Organization-US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines. Direct medical costs from self-directed violence totaled 569 million Baht (THB) while the cost of interpersonal violence was THB 1.3 billion. Productivity losses for injuries due to self-directed violence were estimated at THB 12.2 billion and those for interpersonal violence were THB 14.4 billion. The total direct medical cost, thus, accounted for about 4% of Thailand's total health budget while the productivity losses accounted for approximately 0.4% of Thailand s GDP In summary, interpersonal and self-directed violence caused a total loss of 33.8 billion baht for Thailand in 2005. More than 90% of the economic loss was incurred from productivity loss and about four-fifths came from men.

System identification of a small low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle using flight data from low-cost sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffer, Nathan Von

Remote sensing has traditionally been done with satellites and manned aircraft. While. these methods can yield useful scientificc data, satellites and manned aircraft have limitations in data frequency, process time, and real time re-tasking. Small low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide greater possibilities for personal scientic research than traditional remote sensing platforms. Precision aerial data requires an accurate vehicle dynamics model for controller development, robust flight characteristics, and fault tolerance. One method of developing a model is system identification (system ID). In this thesis system ID of a small low-cost fixed-wing T-tail UAV is conducted. The linerized longitudinal equations of motion are derived from first principles. Foundations of Recursive Least Squares (RLS) are presented along with RLS with an Error Filtering Online Learning scheme (EFOL). Sensors, data collection, data consistency checking, and data processing are described. Batch least squares (BLS) and BLS with EFOL are used to identify aerodynamic coecoefficients of the UAV. Results of these two methods with flight data are discussed.

An unusual presentation of whiplash injury: long thoracic and spinal accessory nerve injury

Science.gov (United States)

Omar, N.; Srinivasan, M. S.

2007-01-01

Whiplash injuries from motor vehicle accidents are very common. The usual presentation and course of this condition normally results in resolution of symptoms within a few weeks. Brachial plexus traction injuries without any bone or joint lesion of the cervical spine have been reported before. We report a case where a gentleman was involved in a rear end vehicle collision, sustained a whiplash injury and was later found to have a long thoracic nerve palsy and spinal accessory nerve palsy. Although isolated injuries of both nerves following a whiplash injury have been reported, combined injury of the two nerves following a whiplash injury is very uncommon and is being reported for the first time. PMID:17587067

Impact of electric range and fossil fuel price level on the economics of plug-in hybrid vehicles and greenhouse gas abatement costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Özdemir, Enver Doruk; Hartmann, Niklas

2012-01-01

In this paper, the energy consumption shares of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) for electricity from the grid and conventional fuel depending on electric driving range are estimated. The resulting mobility costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement costs per vehicle kilometer for the year 2030 are calculated and optimal electric driving range (which indicates the size of the battery) is found for different oil price levels with the help of a MATLAB based model for a typical compact passenger car (e.g. VW Golf). The results show that the optimum electric driving range for minimum mobility costs of a PHEV is between 12 and 32 km. Furthermore, optimum GHG abatement costs are achieved with an electric driving range between 16 and 23 km. These results are considerable lower than most market ready PHEVs (electric driving range of 50 to 100 km), which shows that the automobile industry should concentrate on shorter electric driving range for PHEVs in the near future to offer cost optimum mobility and low GHG abatement costs. However, the oil price level and the consumer driving habits impact heavily on the cost performance as well as the optimum electric driving range of plug-in hybrid vehicles. - Highlights: ► We analyze the energy consumption (and share of grid electricity) of plug-in hybrid vehicles. ► We analyzed the mobility costs and GHG abatement costs depending on electric driving range. ► Mobility costs of plug-in hybrid vehicles can be lower than those of conventional diesel vehicles in 2030. ► The optimum mobility costs are achieved with the electric driving range between 12 and 32 km. ► The optimum GHG abatement costs are achieved with the electric driving range between 16 and 23 km.

Changes in the Severity and Injury Sources of Thoracic Aorta Injuries due to Vehicular Crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryb, Gabriel; Dischinger, Patricia; Kerns, Timothy; Burch, Cynthia; Rabin, Joseph; Ho, Shiu

Research using the National Automotive Sampling System-Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) suggested a decreased adjusted risk of thoracic aorta injuries (TAI) for newer vehicles during near-side crashes and an increased adjusted TAI risk during frontal crashes. This study attempted to explore possible explanations of these findings. Adult front seat occupants in the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) database through June 2012 were studied. TAI cases were compared with remaining cases in relation to crash and vehicular characteristics. TAI cases of later crash year (CY) (2004-2012) were compared to those in earlier CY (1996-2003) in relation to TAI severity (minor, moderate, severe and non-survivable). TAI cases in newer model year (MY) vehicles (1999-2012) were compared to those in older vehicles (1988-98) in relation to injury source (steering wheel, front, left, seat belt, air bag and other or unknown). Analysis was stratified by direction of impact (frontal and near-side) and the use of restraints. The similar TAI severity of earlier and later CY among frontal crashes suggests that the observed changes in the adjusted odds of injury seen in NASS-CDS are not due to an increase in injury detection. The decrease in TAI severity among newer vehicles in near-side crashes of later CY is consistent with a beneficial effect of crashworthiness improvements for this crash configuration. A shift of injury source in frontal crashes from the steering wheel in older vehicles to "front of vehicle structures", "seat belts" and "unknown and other" in newer vehicles should suggest potential sites for crashworthiness improvements.

Driver sleepiness and risk of motor vehicle crash injuries: a population-based case control study in Fiji (TRIP 12).

Science.gov (United States)

Herman, Josephine; Kafoa, Berlin; Wainiqolo, Iris; Robinson, Elizabeth; McCaig, Eddie; Connor, Jennie; Jackson, Rod; Ameratunga, Shanthi

2014-03-01

Published studies investigating the role of driver sleepiness in road crashes in low and middle-income countries have largely focused on heavy vehicles. We investigated the contribution of driver sleepiness to four-wheel motor vehicle crashes in Fiji, a middle-income Pacific Island country. The population-based case control study included 131 motor vehicles involved in crashes where at least one person died or was hospitalised (cases) and 752 motor vehicles identified in roadside surveys (controls). An interviewer-administered questionnaire completed by drivers or proxies collected information on potential risks for crashes including sleepiness while driving, and factors that may influence the quantity or quality of sleep. Following adjustment for confounders, there was an almost six-fold increase in the odds of injury-involved crashes for vehicles driven by people who were not fully alert or sleepy (OR 5.7, 95%CI: 2.7, 12.3), or those who reported less than 6 h of sleep during the previous 24 h (OR 5.9, 95%CI: 1.7, 20.9). The population attributable risk for crashes associated with driving while not fully alert or sleepy was 34%, and driving after less than 6 h sleep in the previous 24 h was 9%. Driving by people reporting symptoms suggestive of obstructive sleep apnoea was not significantly associated with crash risk. Driver sleepiness is an important contributor to injury-involved four-wheel motor vehicle crashes in Fiji, highlighting the need for evidence-based strategies to address this poorly characterised risk factor for car crashes in less resourced settings. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Improvement of injury severity prediction (ISP) of AACN during on-site triage using vehicle deformation pattern for car-to-car (C2C) side impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Pal, Chinmoy; Hirayama, Shigeru; Narahari, Sangolla; Jeyabharath, Manoharan; Prakash, Gopinath; Kulothungan, Vimalathithan; Combest, John

2018-02-28

The Advanced Automatic Crash Notification (AACN) system needs to predict injury accurately, to provide appropriate treatment for seriously injured occupants involved in motor vehicle crashes. This study investigates the possibility of improving the accuracy of the AACN system, using vehicle deformation parameters in car-to-car (C2C) side impacts. This study was based on car-to-car (C2C) crash data from NASS-CDS, CY 2004-2014. Variables from Kononen's algorithm (published in 2011) were used to build a "base model" for this study. Two additional variables, intrusion magnitude and max deformation location, are added to Kononen's algorithm variables (age, belt usage, number of events, and delta-v) to build a "proposed model." This proposed model operates in two stages: In the first stage, the AACN system uses Kononen's variables and predicts injury severity, based on which emergency medical services (EMS) is dispatched; in the second stage, the EMS team conveys deformation-related information, for accurate prediction of serious injury. Logistic regression analysis reveals that the vehicle deformation location and intrusion magnitude are significant parameters in predicting the level of injury. The percentage of serious injury decreases as the deformation location shifts away from the driver sitting position. The proposed model can improve the sensitivity (serious injury correctly predicted as serious) from 50% to 63%, and overall prediction accuracy increased from 83.5% to 85.9%. The proposed method can improve the accuracy of injury prediction in side-impact collisions. Similar opportunities exist for other crash modes also.

A cross-sectional study of emergency care utilization and associated costs of violent-related (assault) injuries in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Monuteaux, Michael C; Fleegler, Eric W; Lee, Lois K

2017-11-01

Violent-related (assault) injuries are a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Many violent injury victims seek treatment in the emergency department (ED). Our objectives were to (1) estimate rates of violent-related injuries evaluated in United States EDs, (2) estimate linear trends in ED visits for violent-related injuries from 2000 to 2010, and (3) to determine the associated health care and work-loss costs. We examined adults 18 years and older from a nationally representative survey (the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey) of ED visits, from 2000 to 2010. Violent injury was defined using International Classification of Diseases-9th Rev.-Clinical Modification, diagnosis and mechanism of injury codes. We calculated rates of ED visits for violent injuries. Medical and work-loss costs accrued by these injuries were calculated for 2005, inflation-adjusted to 2011 dollars using the WISQARS Cost of Injury Reports. An annual average of 1.4 million adults were treated for violent injuries in EDs from 2000 to 2010, comprising 1.6% (95% confidence interval, 1.5%-1.6%) of all US adult ED visits. Young adults (18-25 years), men, nonwhites, uninsured or publically insured patients, and those residing in high poverty urban areas were at increased risk for ED visits for violent injury. The 1-year, inflation-adjusted medical and work-loss cost of violent-inflicted injuries in adults in the United States was US $49.5 billion. Violent injuries account for over one million ED visits annually among adults, with no change in rates over the past decade. Young black men are at especially increased risk for ED visits for violent injuries. Overall, violent-related injuries resulted in substantial financial and societal costs. Epidemiological study, level III.

Functional capacity evaluation of work performance among individuals with pelvic injuries following motor vehicle accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Ratzon, Navah Z; Ari Shevil, Eynat Ben; Froom, Paul; Friedman, Sharon; Amit, Yehuda

2013-01-01

Pelvic injuries following motor vehicle accidents (MVA) cause disability and affect work capabilities. This study evaluated functional, self-report, and medical-based factors that could predict work capacity as was reflected in a functional capacity evaluation (FCE) among persons who sustained a pelvic injury. It was hypothesized that self-reported functional status and bio-demographic variables would predict work capacity. Sixty-one community-dwelling adults previously hospitalized following a MVA induced pelvic injury. FCE for work performance was conducted using the Physical Work Performance Evaluation (PWPE). Additional data was collected through a demographics questionnaire and the Functional Status Questionnaire. All participants underwent an orthopedic medical examination of the hip and lower extremities. Most participants self-reported that their work capacity post-injury were lower than their job required. PWPE scores indicated below-range functional performance. Regression models predicted 23% to 51% of PWPE subtests. Participants' self-report of functioning (instrumental activities of daily living and work) and bio-demographic variables (gender and age) were better predictors of PWPE scores than factors originating from the medical examination. Results support the inclusion of FCE, in addition to self-report of functioning and medical examination, to evaluate work capacity among individuals' post-pelvic injury and interventions and discharge planning.

Methodology for modelling plug-in electric vehicles in the power system and cost estimates for a system with either smart or dumb electric vehicles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kiviluoma, Juha; Meibom, Peter

2011-01-01

The article estimates the costs of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) in a future power system as well as the benefits from smart charging and discharging EVs (smart EVs). To arrive in a good estimate, a generation planning model was used to create power plant portfolios, which were operated in a more...... detailed unit commitment and dispatch model. In both models the charging and discharging of EVs is optimised together with the rest of the power system. Neither the system cost nor the market price of electricity for EVs turned out to be high (36–263 €/vehicle/year in the analysed scenarios). Most...

Evaluation of Vehicle-Based Crash Severity Metrics.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsoi, Ada H; Gabler, Hampton C

2015-01-01

Vehicle change in velocity (delta-v) is a widely used crash severity metric used to estimate occupant injury risk. Despite its widespread use, delta-v has several limitations. Of most concern, delta-v is a vehicle-based metric which does not consider the crash pulse or the performance of occupant restraints, e.g. seatbelts and airbags. Such criticisms have prompted the search for alternative impact severity metrics based upon vehicle kinematics. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of the occupant impact velocity (OIV), acceleration severity index (ASI), vehicle pulse index (VPI), and maximum delta-v (delta-v) to predict serious injury in real world crashes. The study was based on the analysis of event data recorders (EDRs) downloaded from the National Automotive Sampling System / Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) 2000-2013 cases. All vehicles in the sample were GM passenger cars and light trucks involved in a frontal collision. Rollover crashes were excluded. Vehicles were restricted to single-event crashes that caused an airbag deployment. All EDR data were checked for a successful, completed recording of the event and that the crash pulse was complete. The maximum abbreviated injury scale (MAIS) was used to describe occupant injury outcome. Drivers were categorized into either non-seriously injured group (MAIS2-) or seriously injured group (MAIS3+), based on the severity of any injuries to the thorax, abdomen, and spine. ASI and OIV were calculated according to the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware. VPI was calculated according to ISO/TR 12353-3, with vehicle-specific parameters determined from U.S. New Car Assessment Program crash tests. Using binary logistic regression, the cumulative probability of injury risk was determined for each metric and assessed for statistical significance, goodness-of-fit, and prediction accuracy. The dataset included 102,744 vehicles. A Wald chi-square test showed each vehicle-based crash severity metric

Dirt bikes and all terrain vehicles: the real threat to pediatric kidneys.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Hsi-Yang; Gaines, Barbara A

2007-10-01

Recent reviews show that bicycles are the major cause of significant renal injury with few injuries occurring during contact sports. All-terrain vehicles are also responsible for significant pediatric renal trauma. We determined whether dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles cause more significant renal injuries than contact sports. A retrospective review of our pediatric trauma database revealed 115 consecutive patients treated for renal trauma from 2000 to 2005. A total of 20 bicycle injuries occurred, including 6 on dirt bikes. A total of 13 all-terrain vehicle injuries occurred, including 4 involving rollovers. A total of 12 contact sport injuries occurred, including 2 during pick-up games. The mean grade of renal injury was compared among the mechanisms, with grades III-V considered high grade. In descending order of renal injury the mechanisms were dirt bike (2.8), all-terrain vehicle rollover (2.8), bicycle (2.3), all-terrain vehicle (2.1), contact sports (1.8) and organized contact sports (1.4). Dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicle rollovers caused significantly greater renal trauma than organized contact sports (2.8 vs 1.4, p = 0.007 and 0.02, respectively), whereas overall bicycle and all-terrain vehicle accidents resulted in similar renal trauma grades compared to those of all contact sports. The 2 high grade renal injuries during contact sports occurred during pick-up football games without protective gear. Physician advice regarding children with a solitary kidney should include avoiding dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles. Efforts to limit all-terrain vehicle use in children younger than 16 years would decrease the risk of significant renal injury in this population more effectively than limiting contact sports participation.

APPROACHING THE ECONOMIC COSTS ASSESSMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES AND DISEASES: PRINCIPLES, CONCEPTS AND STRUCTURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ROLAND IOSIF MORARU

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Occupational Health and Safety management is more and more strongly related to the costs of occupational injuries and illnesses, as a top priority in most companies. The present article presents a synthesis of authors’ attempts to identify the elements which should be taken into account in determining the cost of occupational injuries and diseases at the national level, with a focus on basic influence factors. Our aim is to help companies managers to emphasize the economic costs of not improving workplace safety and health – to employers, to workers and to society as a whole – and to inform decision-makers on further developments to be considered in the occupational risk management processes.

Opportunities for Low Cost Titanium in Reduced Fuel Consumption, Improved Emissions, and Enhanced Durability Heavy Duty Vehicles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kraft, E.H.

2002-07-22

The purpose of this study was to determine which components of heavy-duty highway vehicles are candidates for the substitution of titanium materials for current materials if the cost of those Ti components is very significantly reduced from current levels. The processes which could be used to produce those low cost components were also investigated. Heavy-duty highway vehicles are defined as all trucks and busses included in Classes 2C through 8. These include heavy pickups and vans above 8,500 lbs. GVWR, through highway tractor trailers. Class 8 is characterized as being a very cyclic market, with ''normal'' year volume, such as in 2000, of approximately 240,000 new vehicles. Classes 3-7 are less cyclic, with ''normal'' i.e., year 2000, volume totaling approximately 325,000 new vehicles. Classes 3-8 are powered about 88.5% by diesel engines, and Class 2C at very roughly 83% diesel. The engine portion of the study therefore focused on diesels. Vehicle production volumes were used in estimates of the market size for candidate components.

Conceptual Design and Cost Estimate of a Subsonic NASA Testbed Vehicle (NTV) for Aeronautics Research

Science.gov (United States)

Nickol, Craig L.; Frederic, Peter

2013-01-01

A conceptual design and cost estimate for a subsonic flight research vehicle designed to support NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project goals is presented. To investigate the technical and economic feasibility of modifying an existing aircraft, a highly modified Boeing 717 was developed for maturation of technologies supporting the three ERA project goals of reduced fuel burn, noise, and emissions. This modified 717 utilizes midfuselage mounted modern high bypass ratio engines in conjunction with engine exhaust shielding structures to provide a low noise testbed. The testbed also integrates a natural laminar flow wing section and active flow control for the vertical tail. An eight year program plan was created to incrementally modify and test the vehicle, enabling the suite of technology benefits to be isolated and quantified. Based on the conceptual design and programmatic plan for this testbed vehicle, a full cost estimate of $526M was developed, representing then-year dollars at a 50% confidence level.

Road user charges for heavy goods vehicles (HGV):Tables with external costs of air pollution

OpenAIRE

Andersen, Mikael Skou

2013-01-01

In this report, the European Environment Agency (EEA) presents updated estimates of the external costs of air pollution for different categories of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). This report on road transport is a continuation of previous reporting from EEA on estimates for the external costs of air pollution from industrial facilities (EEA, 2011).

Implications of Functional Capacity Loss and Fatality for Vehicle Safety Prioritization.

Science.gov (United States)

McMurry, Timothy L; Sherwood, Chris; Poplin, Gerald S; Seguí-Gómez, María; Crandall, Jeff

2015-01-01

We investigate the use of the Functional Capacity Index (FCI) as a tool for establishing vehicle safety priorities by comparing the life year burden of injuries to the burden of fatality in frontal and side automotive crashes. We demonstrate FCI's utility by investigating in detail the resulting disabling injuries and their life year costs. We selected occupants in the 2000-2013 NASS-CDS database involved in frontal and side crashes, merged their injuries with FCI, and then used the merged data to estimate each occupant's overall functional loss. Lifetime functional loss was assessed by combining this measure of impairment with the occupants' expected future life spans, estimated from the Social Security Administration's Actuarial Life Table. Frontal crashes produce a large number of disabling injuries, particularly to the lower extremities. In our population, these crashes are estimated to account for approximately 400,000 life years lost to disability in comparison with 500,000 life years lost to fatality. Victims of side crashes experienced a higher rate of fatality but a significantly lower rate of disabling injury (0.3 vs. 1.0%), resulting in approximately 370,000 life years lost to fatality versus 50,000 life years lost to disability. The burden of disabling injuries to car crash survivors should be considered when setting vehicle safety design priorities. In frontal crashes this burden in life years is similar to the burden attributable to fatality.

A Highly Reliable and Cost-Efficient Multi-Sensor System for Land Vehicle Positioning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu Li

2016-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a novel positioning solution for land vehicles which is highly reliable and cost-efficient. The proposed positioning system fuses information from the MEMS-based reduced inertial sensor system (RISS which consists of one vertical gyroscope and two horizontal accelerometers, low-cost GPS, and supplementary sensors and sources. First, pitch and roll angle are accurately estimated based on a vehicle kinematic model. Meanwhile, the negative effect of the uncertain nonlinear drift of MEMS inertial sensors is eliminated by an H∞ filter. Further, a distributed-dual-H∞ filtering (DDHF mechanism is adopted to address the uncertain nonlinear drift of the MEMS-RISS and make full use of the supplementary sensors and sources. The DDHF is composed of a main H∞ filter (MHF and an auxiliary H∞ filter (AHF. Finally, a generalized regression neural network (GRNN module with good approximation capability is specially designed for the MEMS-RISS. A hybrid methodology which combines the GRNN module and the AHF is utilized to compensate for RISS position errors during GPS outages. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed solution, road-test experiments with various scenarios were performed. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed system can achieve accurate and reliable positioning for land vehicles.

Electric/Hybrid Vehicle Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Slusser, R. A.; Chapman, C. P.; Brennand, J. P.

1985-01-01

ELVEC computer program provides vehicle designer with simulation tool for detailed studies of electric and hybrid vehicle performance and cost. ELVEC simulates performance of user-specified electric or hybrid vehicle under user specified driving schedule profile or operating schedule. ELVEC performs vehicle design and life cycle cost analysis.

CDC Vital Signs–Motor Vehicle Crash Deaths

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2016-07-06

This podcast is based on the July 2016 CDC Vital Signs report. In the U.S., about 90 people die in motor vehicle crashes each day and thousands more are injured, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in direct medical costs each year. Learn what you can do to stay safe.  Created: 7/6/2016 by National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC).   Date Released: 7/6/2016.

Improved heavy-duty vehicle fuel efficiency in India, benefits, costs and environmental impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gopal, Anand R. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Karali, Nihan [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Sharpe, Ben [International Council on Clean Transportation (United States); Delgado, Oscar [International Council on Clean Transportation (United States); Bandivadekar, Anup [International Council on Clean Transportation (United States); Garg, Mehul [International Council on Clean Transportation (United States)

2017-06-14

The main objectives of this analysis are to examine the benefits and costs of fuel-saving technologies for new heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) in India over the next 10 years and, to explore how various scenarios for the deployment of vehicles with these technologies will impact petroleum consumption and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions over the next three decades. The study team developed simulation models for three representative HDV types—a 40-tonne tractor-trailer, 25-tonne rigid truck, and 16-tonne transit bus—based on top-selling vehicle models in the Indian market. The baseline technology profiles for all three vehicles were developed using India-specific engine data and vehicle specification information from manufacturer literature and input from industry experts. For each of the three vehicles we developed a comprehensive set of seven efficiency technology packages drawing from five major areas: engine, transmission and driveline, tires, aerodynamics, and weight reduction. Our analysis finds that India has substantial opportunity to improve HDV fuel efficiency levels using cost-effective technologies. Results from our simulation modeling of three representative HDV types—a tractor-trailer, rigid truck, and transit bus—reveal that per-vehicle fuel consumption reductions between roughly 20% and 35% are possible with technologies that provide a return on the initial capital investment within 1 to 2 years. Though most of these technologies are currently unavailable in India, experiences in other more advanced markets such as the US and EU suggest that with sufficient incentives and robust regulatory design, significant progress can be made in developing and deploying efficiency technologies that can provide real-world fuel savings for new commercial vehicles in India over the next 10 years. Bringing HDVs in India up to world-class technology levels will yield substantial petroleum and GHG reductions. By 2030, the fuel and CO2 reductions of the

Analysis of environmental factors impacting the life cycle cost analysis of conventional and fuel cell/battery-powered passenger vehicles. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-01-31

This report presents the results of the further developments and testing of the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Model previously developed by Engineering Systems Management, Inc. (ESM) on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under contract No. DE-AC02-91CH10491. The Model incorporates specific analytical relationships and cost/performance data relevant to internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles, battery powered electric vehicles (BPEVs), and fuel cell/battery-powered electric vehicles (FCEVs).

Cost-appropriateness of whole body vs limited bone imaging for suspected focal sports injuries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagle, C.E.

1986-01-01

Bone imaging has been recognized as a useful diagnostic tool in detecting the presence of focal musculoskeletal injury when radiographs are normal. A retrospective review of bone images in a small number of amateur athletes indicates that secondary injuries were commonly detected at sites different from the site of musculoskeletal pain being evaluated for injury. While a larger study will be necessary to confirm the data, this review suggests that it is medically justified and cost-appropriate to perform imaging of the entire skeleton as opposed to imaging limited to the anatomic site of pain and suspected injury

The association of weight percentile and motor vehicle crash injury among 3 to 8 year old children.

Science.gov (United States)

Zonfrillo, Mark R; Nelson, Kyle A; Durbin, Dennis R; Kallan, Michael J

2010-01-01

The use of age-appropriate child restraint systems significantly reduces injury and death associated with motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). Pediatric obesity has become a global epidemic. Although recent evidence suggests a possible association between pediatric obesity and MVC-related injury, there are potential misclassifications of body mass index from under-estimated height in younger children. Given this limitation, age- and sex-specific weight percentiles can be used as a proxy of weight status. The specific aim of this study was to determine the association between weight percentile and the risk of significant injury for children 3-8 years in MVCs. This was a cross-sectional study of children aged 3-8 years in MVCs in 16 US states, with data collected via insurance claims records and a telephone survey from 12/1/98-11/30/07. Parent-reported injuries with an abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score of 2+ indicated a clinically significant injury. Age- and sex-specific weight percentiles were calculated using pediatric norms. The study sample included 9,327 children aged 3-8 years (weighted to represent 157,878 children), of which 0.96% sustained clinically significant injuries. There was no association between weight percentiles and overall injury when adjusting for restraint type (p=0.71). However, increasing weight percentiles were associated with lower extremity injuries at a level that approached significance (p=0.053). Further research is necessary to describe mechanisms for weight-related differences in injury risk. Parents should continue to properly restrain their children in accordance with published guidelines.

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) reduce costs in the management of isolated splenic injuries at pediatric trauma centers.

Science.gov (United States)

Gutierrez, Ivan M; Zurakowski, David; Chen, Qiaoli; Mooney, David P

2013-02-01

The American Pediatric Surgical Association Trauma Committee proposed the use of a clinical practice guideline (CPG) for the non-operative management of isolated splenic injuries in 1998. An analysis was conducted to determine the financial impact of CPGs on the management of these injuries. The Pediatric Health Information System database, which contains data from 44 children's hospitals, was used to identify children who sustained a graded isolated splenic injury between June 2005 and June 2010. Demographics, length of stay (LOS), readmission rates, and laboratory, imaging, procedural, and total cost data were determined for all hospitals verified as a pediatric trauma center by the American College of Surgeons and/or designated by their local authority. Comparisons were made between facilities self-identifying as having a splenic injury management CPG and those without a CPG. Children (1,154) with isolated splenic injuries (grades 1-4) were cared for in 26 pediatric trauma centers: 20 with a CPG and 6 without (non-CPG). Median costs were significantly lower at CPG than non-CPG centers for imaging (US $163 vs. US $641, P splenic injuries at a pediatric trauma center results in significantly reduced imaging, laboratory, and total hospital costs independent of patient age, gender, grade, and LOS.

Logistic Vehicle System Replacement Cost Estimate

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Stinson, Margaret

1998-01-01

The Logistics Vehicle System (LVS) was originally fielded from 1985-1989. Most of the LVS fleet will reach end-of-service life in 2005, therefore the goal of the Logistics Vehicle System Replacement (LVSR...

Cost Analysis of a Transition to Green Vehicle Technology for Light Duty Fleet Vehicles in Public Works Department Naval Support Activity Monterey (PWD Monterey)

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-01

price of the hybrid vehicle. Many consumers will view the idea of paying more initially to save on gasoline costs down the road as not worthwhile...braking and electricity generation from an ICE. Similar to the HEV, upon purchase of a PHEV, the consumer may take advantage of the green vehicle tax ... electric cards and Hybrids? (2015, November 3). Retrieved from Plug’n Drive website: https://www.plugndrive.ca/whats- the-difference-between- electric - cars

Cost Effectiveness of Falls and Injury Prevention Strategies for Older Adults Living in Residential Aged Care Facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Church, Jody L; Haas, Marion R; Goodall, Stephen

2015-12-01

To evaluate the cost effectiveness of interventions designed to prevent falls and fall-related injuries among older people living in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) from an Australian health care perspective. A decision analytic Markov model was developed that stratified individuals according to their risk of falling and accounted for the risk of injury following a fall. The effectiveness of the interventions was derived from two Cochrane reviews of randomized controlled trials for falls/fall-related injury prevention in RACFs. Interventions were considered effective if they reduced the risk of falling or reduced the risk of injury following a fall. The interventions that were modelled included vitamin D supplementation, annual medication review, multifactorial intervention (a combination of risk assessment, medication review, vision assessment and exercise) and hip protectors. The cost effectiveness was calculated as the incremental cost relative to the incremental benefit, in which the benefit was estimated using quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Uncertainty was explored using univariate and probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Vitamin D supplementation and medication review both dominated 'no intervention', as these interventions were both more effective and cost saving (because of healthcare costs avoided). Hip protectors are dominated (less effective and more costly) by vitamin D and medication review. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for medication review relative to vitamin D supplementation is AU$2442 per QALY gained, and the ICER for multifactorial intervention relative to medication review is AU$1,112,500 per QALY gained. The model is most sensitive to the fear of falling and the cost of the interventions. The model suggests that vitamin D supplementation and medication review are cost-effective interventions that reduce falls, provide health benefits and reduce health care costs in older adults living in RACFs.

National trends in occupational injuries before and after 1992 and predictors of workers' compensation costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhushan, Abhinav; Leigh, J Paul

2011-01-01

Numbers and costs of occupational injuries and illnesses are significant in terms of morbidity and dollars, yet our understanding of time trends is minimal. We investigated trends and addressed some common hypotheses regarding causes of fluctuations. We pulled data on incidence rates (per 100 full-time employed workers) for injuries and illnesses from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and on costs and benefits from the National Academy of Social Insurance for 1973 through 2007. Rates reflected all injury and illness cases, lost work-time cases, and cases resulting in at least 31 days away from work. We adjusted dollar costs (premiums) and benefits for inflation and measured them per employed worker. We plotted data in time-trend charts and ran linear regressions. From 1973 to 1991, there was a weak to nonexistent downward trend for injury and illness rates, and rates were strongly and negatively correlated with the unemployment rate. From 1992 to 2007, there were strong, consistent downward trends, but no longer were there statistically significant correlations with unemployment. Significant predictors (and signs) of workers' compensation premiums for 1973-2007 included medical price inflation (positive), number of lost-time injuries (positive), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (negative), and inflation-adjusted interest rate on U.S. Treasury bonds (negative). Dollars of benefits were positively and significantly predicted by medical inflation and number of lost-time cases. For 1992-2007, the Dow Jones variable was the only robust predictor of premiums; the number of injuries was not a significant positive predictor. We had two major conclusions. First, the year 1992 marked a sharp contrast in trends and correlations between unemployment and incidence rates for occupational injuries and illnesses. Second, for the entire time period (1973-2007), insurance carriers' premiums were strongly associated with returns on investments.

The cost-effectiveness of methanol for reducing motor vehicle emissions and urban ozone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krupnick, A.J.; Walls, M.A.

1992-01-01

This article analyzes the costs and emissions characteristics of methanol vehicles. The cost-effectiveness of methanol - the cost per ton of reactive hydrocarbon emissions reduced - is calculated and compared to the cost-effectiveness of other hydrocarbon reduction strategies. Methanol is found to cost from $33,000 to nearly $60,000 per ton, while several other options are available for under $10,000 per ton. The cost per part-per-million reduction in peak ambient ozone levels is also computed for two cities, Houston and Philadelphia. Despite the greater improvement in ozone in Philadelphia than Houston, methanol is found to be more cost-effective in Houston. This result occurs because Houston's distribution and marketing costs are lower than Philadelphia's. The costs in both cities, however, are far higher than estimates of the benefits from acute health improvements. Finally, the reduction in ozone exposure in Los Angeles is estimated and the costs of the reduction compared with an estimate of acute health benefits. Again, the benefits fall far short of the costs. 51 refs., 5 tabs

Cost-effectiveness of the SEN-concept: Specialized Emergency Nurses (SEN treating ankle/foot injuries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van Tulder Maurits W

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Emergency Departments (EDs are confronted with progressive overcrowding. As a consequence, the workload for ED physicians increases and waiting times go up with the risk of unnecessary complications and patient dissatisfaction. To cope with these problems, Specialized Emergency Nurses (SENs, regular ED-nurses receiving a short, injury-specific course, were trained to assess and treat minor injuries according to a specific protocol. Methods An economic evaluation was conducted alongside a randomized controlled trial comparing House Officers (HOs and SENs in their assessment of ankle and foot injuries. Cost prices were established for all parts of healthcare utilization involved. Total costs of health care utilization were computed per patient in both groups. Cost-effectiveness was investigated by comparing the difference in total cost between groups with the difference in sensitivity and specificity between groups in diagnosing fractures and severe sprains. Finally, cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated and presented on a cost-effectiveness plane. Results No significant differences were seen between treatment groups for any of the health care resources assessed. However, the waiting times for both first assessment by a treatment officer and time spent waiting between hearing the diagnosis and final treatment were significantly longer in the HO group. There was no statistically significant difference in costs between groups. The total costs were € 186 (SD € 623 for patients in the SEN group and € 153 (SD € 529 for patients in the HO group. The difference in total costs was € 33 (95% CI: – € 84 to € 155. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was € 27 for a reduction of one missed diagnosis and € 18 for a reduction of one false negative. Conclusion Considering the benefits of the SEN-concept in terms of decreased workload for the ED physicians, increased patient satisfaction and decreased waiting times

VEHIOT: Design and Evaluation of an IoT Architecture Based on Low-Cost Devices to Be Embedded in Production Vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Redondo, Jonatan Pajares; González, Lisardo Prieto; Guzman, Javier García; Boada, Beatriz L; Díaz, Vicente

2018-02-06

Nowadays, the current vehicles are incorporating control systems in order to improve their stability and handling. These control systems need to know the vehicle dynamics through the variables (lateral acceleration, roll rate, roll angle, sideslip angle, etc.) that are obtained or estimated from sensors. For this goal, it is necessary to mount on vehicles not only low-cost sensors, but also low-cost embedded systems, which allow acquiring data from sensors and executing the developed algorithms to estimate and to control with novel higher speed computing. All these devices have to be integrated in an adequate architecture with enough performance in terms of accuracy, reliability and processing time. In this article, an architecture to carry out the estimation and control of vehicle dynamics has been developed. This architecture was designed considering the basic principles of IoT and integrates low-cost sensors and embedded hardware for orchestrating the experiments. A comparison of two different low-cost systems in terms of accuracy, acquisition time and reliability has been done. Both devices have been compared with the VBOX device from Racelogic, which has been used as the ground truth. The comparison has been made from tests carried out in a real vehicle. The lateral acceleration and roll rate have been analyzed in order to quantify the error of these devices.

VEHIOT: Design and Evaluation of an IoT Architecture Based on Low-Cost Devices to Be Embedded in Production Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz, Vicente

2018-01-01

Nowadays, the current vehicles are incorporating control systems in order to improve their stability and handling. These control systems need to know the vehicle dynamics through the variables (lateral acceleration, roll rate, roll angle, sideslip angle, etc.) that are obtained or estimated from sensors. For this goal, it is necessary to mount on vehicles not only low-cost sensors, but also low-cost embedded systems, which allow acquiring data from sensors and executing the developed algorithms to estimate and to control with novel higher speed computing. All these devices have to be integrated in an adequate architecture with enough performance in terms of accuracy, reliability and processing time. In this article, an architecture to carry out the estimation and control of vehicle dynamics has been developed. This architecture was designed considering the basic principles of IoT and integrates low-cost sensors and embedded hardware for orchestrating the experiments. A comparison of two different low-cost systems in terms of accuracy, acquisition time and reliability has been done. Both devices have been compared with the VBOX device from Racelogic, which has been used as the ground truth. The comparison has been made from tests carried out in a real vehicle. The lateral acceleration and roll rate have been analyzed in order to quantify the error of these devices. PMID:29415507

VEHIOT: Design and Evaluation of an IoT Architecture Based on Low-Cost Devices to Be Embedded in Production Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonatan Pajares Redondo

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, the current vehicles are incorporating control systems in order to improve their stability and handling. These control systems need to know the vehicle dynamics through the variables (lateral acceleration, roll rate, roll angle, sideslip angle, etc. that are obtained or estimated from sensors. For this goal, it is necessary to mount on vehicles not only low-cost sensors, but also low-cost embedded systems, which allow acquiring data from sensors and executing the developed algorithms to estimate and to control with novel higher speed computing. All these devices have to be integrated in an adequate architecture with enough performance in terms of accuracy, reliability and processing time. In this article, an architecture to carry out the estimation and control of vehicle dynamics has been developed. This architecture was designed considering the basic principles of IoT and integrates low-cost sensors and embedded hardware for orchestrating the experiments. A comparison of two different low-cost systems in terms of accuracy, acquisition time and reliability has been done. Both devices have been compared with the VBOX device from Racelogic, which has been used as the ground truth. The comparison has been made from tests carried out in a real vehicle. The lateral acceleration and roll rate have been analyzed in order to quantify the error of these devices.

The benefits and costs of new fuels and engines for light-duty vehicles in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Keefe, Ryan; Griffin, James P; Graham, John D

2008-10-01

Rising oil prices and concerns about energy security and climate change are spurring reconsideration of both automobile propulsion systems and the fuels that supply energy to them. In addition to the gasoline internal combustion engine, recent years have seen alternatives develop in the automotive marketplace. Currently, hybrid-electric vehicles, advanced diesels, and flex-fuel vehicles running on a high percentage mixture of ethanol and gasoline (E85) are appearing at auto shows and in driveways. We conduct a rigorous benefit-cost analysis from both the private and societal perspective of the marginal benefits and costs of each technology--using the conventional gasoline engine as a baseline. The private perspective considers only those factors that influence the decisions of individual consumers, while the societal perspective accounts for environmental, energy, and congestion externalities as well. Our analysis illustrates that both hybrids and diesels show promise for particular light-duty applications (sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks), but that vehicles running continuously on E85 consistently have greater costs than benefits. The results for diesels were particularly robust over a wide range of sensitivity analyses. The results from the societal analysis are qualitatively similar to the private analysis, demonstrating that the most relevant factors to the benefit-cost calculations are the factors that drive the individual consumer's decision. We conclude with a brief discussion of marketplace and public policy trends that will both illustrate and influence the relative adoption of these alternative technologies in the United States in the coming decade.

The effect of pre-existing health conditions on the cost of recovery from road traffic injury: insights from data linkage of medicare and compensable injury claims in Victoria, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hassani-Mahmooei, Behrooz; Berecki-Gisolf, Janneke; Hahn, Youjin; McClure, Roderick J

2016-04-29

Comorbidity is known to affect length of hospital stay and mortality after trauma but less is known about its impact on recovery beyond the immediate post-accident care period. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of pre-existing health conditions in the cost of recovery from road traffic injury using health service use records for 1 year before and after the injury. Individuals who claimed Transport Accident Commission (TAC) compensation for a non-catastrophic injury that occurred between 2010 and 2012 in Victoria, Australia and who provided consent for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) linkage were included (n = 738) in the analysis. PBS and MBS records dating from 12 months prior to injury were provided by the Department of Human Services (Canberra, Australia). Pre-injury use of health service items and pharmaceuticals were considered to indicate pre-existing health condition. Bayesian Model Averaging techniques were used to identify the items that were most strongly correlated with recovery cost. Multivariate regression models were used to determine the impact of these items on the cost of injury recovery in terms of compensated ambulance, hospital, medical, and overall claim cost. Out of the 738 study participants, 688 used at least one medical item (total of 15,625 items) and 427 used at least one pharmaceutical item (total of 9846). The total health service cost of recovery was $10,115,714. The results show that while pre-existing conditions did not have any significant impact on the total cost of recovery, categorical costs were affected: e.g. on average, for every anaesthetic in the year before the accident, hospital cost of recovery increased by 24 % [95 % CI: 13, 36 %] and for each pathological test related to established diabetes, hospital cost increased by $10,407 [5466.78, 15346.28]. For medical costs, each anaesthetic led to $258 higher cost [174.16, 341.16] and every prescription of drugs

Estimated Bounds and Important Factors for Fuel Use and Consumer Costs of Connected and Automated Vehicles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stephens, T. S. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Gonder, Jeff [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Chen, Yuche [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Lin, Z. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Liu, C. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Gohlke, D. [US Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC (United States)

2016-11-01

This report details a study of the potential effects of connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies on vehicle miles traveled (VMT), vehicle fuel efficiency, and consumer costs. Related analyses focused on a range of light-duty CAV technologies in conventional powertrain vehicles -- from partial automation to full automation, with and without ridesharing -- compared to today's base-case scenario. Analysis results revealed widely disparate upper- and lower-bound estimates for fuel use and VMT, ranging from a tripling of fuel use to decreasing light-duty fuel use to below 40% of today's level. This wide range reflects uncertainties in the ways that CAV technologies can influence vehicle efficiency and use through changes in vehicle designs, driving habits, and travel behavior. The report further identifies the most significant potential impacting factors, the largest areas of uncertainty, and where further research is particularly needed.

Motor Vehicle Safety (A Cup of Health with CDC)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

In our highly mobile society, travel in vehicles is an almost daily occurrence for most Americans. Every trip places us at risk for serious injury. In this podcast, Dr. Gwen discusses ways to avoid serious injuries in motor vehicles.

Climate-based policies may increase life-cycle social costs of vehicle fleet operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emery, Isaac; Mbonimpa, Eric; Thal, Alfred E.

2017-01-01

Sustainability guidelines and regulations in the United States often focus exclusively on carbon or petroleum reductions. Though some of these policies have resulted in substantial progress toward their goals, the effects of these efforts on other social and environmental externalities are often ignored. In this study, we examine the life-cycle air pollutant emissions for alternative fuel and vehicle purchase scenarios at a military installation near a typical urban area in the United States (U.S.). We find that scenarios which minimize petroleum use or greenhouse gas emissions do not concomitantly minimize criteria air pollutant emissions. We also employ social cost methodologies to quantify economic externalities due to climate change and health-related air pollutant impacts. Accounting for the social costs of climate change and air pollution from vehicle use reveals that criteria air pollutants may have a greater total impact than greenhouse gas emissions in locations similar to the urban area examined in this study. Use of first-generation biofuels, particularly corn grain ethanol, may reduce net petroleum use at the cost of increased total health impacts. More comprehensive policies may be needed to ensure that sustainability policies result in a net benefit to society. - Highlights: • U.S. energy and transportation policies focus on petroleum use and greenhouse gases. • Use of corn ethanol at a military base in Ohio, U.S. increases total social costs vs. gasoline. • Renewable electricity provides cost-effective climate and health protection. • DOD strategy to improve energy security may damage Americans' health. • More inclusive policies needed to protect health and climate.

INJURY EVENTS AMONG BUS AND COACH OCCUPANTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ulf BJÖRNSTIG

2005-01-01

Conclusions: The aerodynamic cross-wind factor merits more studies. Injury reducing measures against alighting injuries, addressing especially step height and slippery conditions, may have a great potential to reduce these injuries. Rear-end collisions by other heavy vehicles in urban areas, causing a high number of “whip-lash” injuries, also need to be further addressed. The newly introduced law on compulsory seat belt use in long distance coaches may have a potential to reduce single vehicle crash and some collision injuries.

Road safety: serious injuries remain a major unsolved problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Ben; Cameron, Peter A; Fitzgerald, Mark C; Judson, Rodney T; Teague, Warwick; Lyons, Ronan A; Gabbe, Belinda J

2017-09-18

To investigate temporal trends in the incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and costs of health loss caused by serious road traffic injury. A retrospective review of data from the population-based Victorian State Trauma Registry and the National Coronial Information System on road traffic-related deaths (pre- and in-hospital) and major trauma (Injury Severity Score > 12) during 2007-2015.Main outcomes and measures: Temporal trends in the incidence of road traffic-related major trauma, mortality, DALYs, and costs of health loss, by road user type. There were 8066 hospitalised road traffic major trauma cases and 2588 road traffic fatalities in Victoria over the 9-year study period. There was no change in the incidence of hospitalised major trauma for motor vehicle occupants (incidence rate ratio [IRR] per year, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.99-1.01; P = 0.70), motorcyclists (IRR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.97-1.01; P = 0.45) or pedestrians (IRR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.97-1.02; P = 0.73), but the incidence for pedal cyclists increased 8% per year (IRR, 1.08; 95% CI; 1.05-1.10; P road traffic injuries exceeded $14 billion during 2007-2015, although the cost per patient declined for all road user groups. As serious injury rates have not declined, current road safety targets will be difficult to meet. Greater attention to preventing serious injury is needed, as is further investment in road safety, particularly for pedal cyclists.

Trends and projections of vehicle crash related fatalities and injuries in Northwest Gondar, Ethiopia: A time series analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Solomon Meseret Woldeyohannes

2014-01-01

Conclusion: The numbers of lives lost and disabilities due to vehicle crashes indicated an upward trend in the last decade showing future burden in terms of societal and economic costs threatening the lives of many individuals. Surveillance systems that could enable to monitor patterns of vehicle crashes with preventive strategies must be established.

Survivors of self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the head: characterization of ocular injuries and health care costs.

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, Amit K; Baker, Meredith S; Sobel, Rachel K; Whelan, David A; Carter, Keith D; Allen, Richard C

2014-06-01

Suicides and attempted suicides are major public health issues in the United States and around the world. Self-inflicted gunshot wounds (SIGSWs) are a common method of attempting suicide, the head being the most commonly injured body region; however, the literature lacks an overview of the orbital and ocular injuries as well as outcomes associated with SIGSWs. To characterize the ocular and orbital injuries and outcomes of patients presenting with SIGSWs and to examine the cost associated with these injuries. Retrospective medical record review was performed of all patients who presented to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics between 2003 to 2013 with the admitting diagnosis of self-inflicted injuries via firearms. Patients with no periorbital or ocular injuries and/or those who did not survive for at least 2 months following the incident were excluded. Ocular injuries and outcomes and health care costs and reimbursements, which were generated by a financial report obtained from the hospital finance department that included data from both the hospital billing and cost accounting systems. All patients in this study (n = 18) were men with a mean age of 47.2 years. Eight patients (44.4%) displayed submental missile entry points, 7 (38.9%) displayed intraoral entry points, and 3 (16.7%) displayed pericranial entry points. Patients with pericranial entries sustained more severe ocular injuries and had poorer ocular outcomes. Seven patients (38.9%) were found at final follow-up to have visual acuity of 20/40 or better in each eye and all showed missile trajectories in the sagittal plane. The mean cost of treatment of these patients totaled $117,338 while the mean reimbursement amount was $124,388. Data regarding ocular injuries and outcomes may assist ophthalmologists in the treatment of patients with SIGSWs in the future. Many patients had extremely functional vision at final follow-ups, which highlights the importance of specialists conducting examinations

Cost-effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation and exercise in preventing injurious falls among older home-dwelling women: findings from an RCT.

Science.gov (United States)

Patil, R; Kolu, P; Raitanen, J; Valvanne, J; Kannus, P; Karinkanta, S; Sievänen, H; Uusi-Rasi, K

2016-01-01

This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation and exercise, separately and combined, in preventing medically attended injurious falls among older home-dwelling Finnish women. Given a willingness to pay of €3,000 per injurious fall prevented, the exercise intervention had an 86 % probability of being cost-effective in this population. The costs of falling in older persons are high, both to the individual and to society. Both vitamin D and exercise have been suggested to reduce the risk of falls. This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation and exercise, separately and combined, in preventing medically attended injurious falls among older Finnish women. Economic evaluation was based on the results of a previously published 2-year randomized controlled trial (RCT) where 409 community-dwelling women aged 70 to 80 years were recruited into four groups: (1) no exercise + placebo (D-Ex-), (2) no exercise + vitamin D 800 IU/day (D+Ex-), (3) exercise + placebo (D-Ex+), and (4) exercise + vitamin D 800 IU/day (D+Ex+). The outcomes were medically attended injurious falls and fall-related health care utilization costs over the intervention period, the latter evaluated from a societal perspective based on 2011 unit costs. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) were calculated for the number of injurious falls per person-year prevented and uncertainty estimated using bootstrapping. Incidence rate ratios (95 % CI) for medically attended injurious falls were lower in both Ex+ groups compared with D-Ex-: 0.46 (0.22 to 0.95) for D-Ex+, 0.38 (0.17 to 0.81) for D+Ex+. Step-wise calculation of ICERs resulted in exclusion of D+Ex- as more expensive and less effective. Recalculated ICERs were €221 for D-Ex-, €708 for D-Ex+, and €3,820 for D+Ex+; bootstrapping indicated 93 % probability that each injurious fall avoided by D-Ex+ per person year costs €708. At a willingness to pay €3,000 per injurious fall prevented

Newspaper media reporting of motor vehicle crashes in Singapore: an opportunity lost for injury prevention education?

Science.gov (United States)

Heng, Kenneth W J; Vasu, Alicia

2010-06-01

Newspaper media advocacy can help steer public attention away from motor vehicle crash (MVC) injuries as a personal problem to that of a social and public health issue. If used properly, newspaper media is potentially a powerful mass educator on MVC prevention. However, there is often a conflict of interest in which newspapers, in an attempt to boost readership and revenue, may over-emphasize and sensationalize the human-interest aspect of an MVC story. The aim of this study is to examine newspaper articles of MVCs in Singapore to assess how our newspaper media coverage portray MVCs and identify factors that mitigate injury and educate the public on injury prevention measures. Details of the MVC were extracted from 12 months of newspaper coverage in Singapore. Two independent coders were used to establish inter-rater reliability. From 1 January to 31 December 2007, 201 articles about MVCs were published. About 74.1% of articles assigned blame to a particular road user, negligence on either road user was implied in 56.7% of articles, and road safety messages were mentioned in 8% of the articles. The mainstream communication tone used was positive for law enforcement (71.1%) and neutral towards injury prevention or road safety messages (89.1%). Newspaper media reporting of MVCs in Singapore generally does not include injury prevention messages or highlight injury-mitigating measures. This is a lost opportunity for public education. Collaboration between public health practitioners and newspaper media is required to address this issue.

Population-based, inception cohort study of the incidence, course, and prognosis of mild traumatic brain injury after motor vehicle collisions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cassidy, John David; Boyle, Eleanor; Carroll, Linda J

2014-01-01

. PARTICIPANTS: All adults (N=1716) incurring an MTBI in a motor vehicle collision between November 1997 and December 1999 in Saskatchewan. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age- and sex-stratified incidence rates, time to self-reported recovery, and prognostic factors over a 1-year follow......OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence, course, and prognosis of adult mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) caused by motor vehicle collisions. DESIGN: Prospective, population-based, inception cohort study. SETTING: The province of Saskatchewan, Canada, with a population of about 1,000,000 inhabitants...

Design of Low-Cost Vehicle Roll Angle Estimator Based on Kalman Filters and an Iot Architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia Guzman, Javier; Prieto Gonzalez, Lisardo; Pajares Redondo, Jonatan; Sanz Sanchez, Susana; Boada, Beatriz L

2018-06-03

In recent years, there have been many advances in vehicle technologies based on the efficient use of real-time data provided by embedded sensors. Some of these technologies can help you avoid or reduce the severity of a crash such as the Roll Stability Control (RSC) systems for commercial vehicles. In RSC, several critical variables to consider such as sideslip or roll angle can only be directly measured using expensive equipment. These kind of devices would increase the price of commercial vehicles. Nevertheless, sideslip or roll angle or values can be estimated using MEMS sensors in combination with data fusion algorithms. The objectives stated for this research work consist of integrating roll angle estimators based on Linear and Unscented Kalman filters to evaluate the precision of the results obtained and determining the fulfillment of the hard real-time processing constraints to embed this kind of estimators in IoT architectures based on low-cost equipment able to be deployed in commercial vehicles. An experimental testbed composed of a van with two sets of low-cost kits was set up, the first one including a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, and the other having an Intel Edison System on Chip. This experimental environment was tested under different conditions for comparison. The results obtained from low-cost experimental kits, based on IoT architectures and including estimators based on Kalman filters, provide accurate roll angle estimation. Also, these results show that the processing time to get the data and execute the estimations based on Kalman Filters fulfill hard real time constraints.

Light duty vehicle transportation and global climate policy: The importance of electric drive vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bosetti, Valentina; Longden, Thomas

2013-01-01

With a focus on the interaction between long-term climate targets and personal transport we review the electrification of light duty vehicles (LDVs) within a model that utilizes a learning-by-researching structure. By modeling the demand of vehicles, the use of fuels and emissions implied, the model solves for the optimum RD and D investments that decrease the cost of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. A range of technology and climate policy scenarios provide long term projections of vehicle use that highlight the potential synergies between innovation in the transportation sector and the energy sector. We find that even when the capital cost of electric drive vehicles (EDVs) remains higher than that of traditional combustion engine alternatives, EDVs are likely to play a key role in the decarbonisation implied by stringent climate policy. Limited innovation in batteries results in notable increases in policy costs consistent with a two degree climate policy target. - Highlights: • Significant increase in vehicles across regions in the medium to long term future. • Climate policy costs are sensitive to a lack of electric drive vehicles (EDVs). • Achieving 450ppm with no change in battery costs has a policy cost that is 2.86 percentage points higher than the base 450ppm scenario. • Climate policy hastens the introduction of electrified vehicles, however EDVs do not become the dominant vehicle of choice before the middle of the century

Characteristics of acute treatment costs of traumatic brain injury in Eastern China--a multi-centre prospective observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Qiang; Liu, Hua; Wu, Xing; Sun, Yirui; Yao, Haijun; Zhou, Liangfu; Hu, Jin

2012-12-01

This study investigated acute treatment costs and related factors for traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in eastern China based on a prospective multicentre study. Data were prospectively collected from 80 hospitals in eastern China by standardized structured questionnaires during 2004. Included patients were admitted to hospitals via an emergency service with a diagnosis of TBI. The total acute hospitalization treatment costs derived from unsubsidized total hospital billings were used as the main outcome measure. Univariate and multivariable regression models were used to examine factors associated with each outcome. In total, 13,007 TBI cases were identified from 80 hospitals in eastern China. The median cost per hospitalization was $879 US (range, $72-45,894). The median cost per day was $79 (interquartile range, $49-126). The hospitalization costs varied based on the cause of TBI, with a median of $1017 for traffic accidents, $816 for falls, $490 for blows to the head, and $712 for falls. The hospitalization costs also varied by injury type with a mean of $918 for TBI associated with other injuries and $831 for isolated TBI. Using multiple regression analyses, lower admission Glasgow Coma score, longer hospital stay (LOS), male sex, transient patient status, traffic accident, injury occurring on a construction site, treatment at a tertiary hospital, neurosurgical intensive care unit (NICU) or ICU stay, associated polytrauma, and those who needed a neurosurgical operation had significantly higher total acute hospitalization costs than those of other groups. Good recovery and self-paying patients had lower total costs. A double LOS was associated with a 1.61 (95% confidence interval, 1.59-1.62) times higher hospital cost. Our results have potential implications for health-care resource planning during TBI treatment. Measures to prevent traffic accidents and reduce the LOS may help to reduce acute hospitalization costs. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier

Costs and effectiveness of a brief MRI examination of patients with acute knee injury

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oei, Edwin H.G.; Nikken, Jeroen J.; Ginai, Abida Z.; Krestin, Gabriel P.; Verhaar, Jan A.N.; Vugt, Arie B. van; Hunink, M.G.M.

2009-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the costs and effectiveness of selective short magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with acute knee injury. A model was developed to evaluate the selective use of MRI in patients with acute knee injury and no fracture on radiography based on the results of a trial in which 208 patients were randomized between radiography only and radiography plus MRI. We analyzed medical (diagnostic and therapeutic) costs, quality of life, duration of diagnostic workup, number of additional diagnostic examinations, time absent from work, and time to convalescence during a 6-month follow-up period. Quality of life was lowest (EuroQol at 6 weeks 0.61 (95% CI 0.54-0.67)); duration of diagnostic workup, absence from work, and time to convalescence were longest; and the number of diagnostic examinations was largest with radiography only. These outcomes were more favorable for both MRI strategies (EuroQol at 6 weeks 0.72 (95% CI 0.67-0.77) for both). Mean total costs were 2,593 euros (95% CI 1,815-3,372) with radiography only, 2,116 euros (95% CI 1,488-2,743) with radiography plus MRI, and 1,973 euros (95% CI 1,401-2,543) with selective MRI. The results suggest that selective use of a short MRI examination saves costs and potentially increases effectiveness in patients with acute knee injury without a fracture on radiography. (orig.)

Evaluation of kinematics and injuries to restrained occupants in far-side crashes using full-scale vehicle and human body models.

Science.gov (United States)

Arun, Mike W J; Umale, Sagar; Humm, John R; Yoganandan, Narayan; Hadagali, Prasanaah; Pintar, Frank A

2016-09-01

The objective of the current study was to perform a parametric study with different impact objects, impact locations, and impact speeds by analyzing occupant kinematics and injury estimations using a whole-vehicle and whole-body finite element-human body model (FE-HBM). To confirm the HBM responses, the biofidelity of the model was validated using data from postmortem human surrogate (PMHS) sled tests. The biofidelity of the model was validated using data from sled experiments and correlational analysis (CORA). Full-scale simulations were performed using a restrained Global Human Body Model Consortium (GHBMC) model seated on a 2001 Ford Taurus model using a far-side lateral impact condition. The driver seat was placed in the center position to represent a nominal initial impact condition. A 3-point seat belt with pretensioner and retractor was used to restrain the GHBMC model. A parametric study was performed using 12 simulations by varying impact locations, impacting object, and impact speed using the full-scale models. In all 12 simulations, the principal direction of force (PDOF) was selected as 90°. The impacting objects were a 10-in.-diameter rigid vertical pole and a movable deformable barrier. The impact location of the pole was at the C-pillar in the first case, at the B-pillar in the second case, and, finally, at the A-pillar in the third case. The vehicle and the GHBMC models were defined an initial velocity of 35 km/h (high speed) and 15 km/h (low speed). Excursion of the head center of gravity (CG), T6, and pelvis were measured from the simulations. In addition, injury risk estimations were performed on head, rib cage, lungs, kidneys, liver, spleen, and pelvis. The average CORA rating was 0.7. The shoulder belt slipped in B- and C-pillar impacts but somewhat engaged in the A-pillar case. In the B-pillar case, the head contacted the intruding struck-side structures, indicating higher risk of injury. Occupant kinematics depended on interaction with

Occupational management in the workplace and impact on injury claims, duration, and cost: a prospective longitudinal cohort

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lemstra ME

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Mark E Lemstra Alliance Health Medical Clinic, Moose Jaw, SK, Canada Abstract: Few workplaces have prospectively reviewed workplace and worker issues simultaneously and assessed their impact on Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB claims. In January of 2014, each worker in a large workplace in Saskatchewan, Canada, was prospectively followed for 1 year to determine factors that impact injury claim incidence, recovery, and costs. In total, 207 out of 245 workers agreed to complete the baseline survey (84.5%. In 2014, 82.5% of workers had self-reported pain, but only 35.5% submitted a WCB claim. Binary logistic regression was used to compare those with pain who did not submit a WCB injury claim to those with pain who did initiate a WCB claim. Independent risk factors associated with WCB claim incidence included depressed mood (odds ratio [OR] =2.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.44–9.78 and lower job satisfaction (OR =1.70, 95% CI 1.08–10.68. Higher disability duration was independently associated with higher depressed mood (OR =1.60, 95% CI 1.05–4.11 and poor recovery expectation (OR =1.31, 95% CI 1.01–5.78. Higher cost disability claims were independently associated with higher depressed mood (OR =1.51, 95% CI 1.07–6.87 and pain catastrophizing (OR =1.11, 95% CI 1.02–8.11. Self-reported pain, physically assessed injury severity, and measured ergonomic risk of workstation did not significantly predict injury claim incidence, duration, or costs. In January 2015, the workplace implemented a new occupational prevention and management program. The injury incidence rate ratio reduced by 58% from 2014 to 2015 (IRR =1.58, 95% CI =1.28–1.94. The ratio for disability duration reduced by 139% from 2014 to 2015 (RR =2.39, 95% CI =2.16–2.63. Costs reduced from $114,149.07 to $56,528.14 per year. In summary, WCB claims are complex. Recognizing that nonphysical factors, such as depressed mood, influence injury claim incidence, recovery, and

Cost-Effectiveness Comparison of Coupler Designs of Wireless Power Transfer for Electric Vehicle Dynamic Charging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weitong Chen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a cost-effectiveness comparison of coupler designs for wireless power transfer (WPT, meant for electric vehicle (EV dynamic charging. The design comparison of three common types of couplers is first based on the raw material cost, output power, transfer efficiency, tolerance of horizontal offset, and flux density. Then, the optimal cost-effectiveness combination is selected for EV dynamic charging. The corresponding performances of the proposed charging system are compared and analyzed by both simulation and experimentation. The results verify the validity of the proposed dynamic charging system for EVs.

Trends in Injury-related Incidence and Mortality Among Inpatients in Guangdong Province in 1997-2001

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LI-PING LI; SHENG WANG

2004-01-01

Currently, China is in short of thorough and systemic data concerning the patterns and incidence of injuries and related deaths. Guangdong Province as one of the economically advanced areas in China is faced with a relatively serious injury problem, and investigation of this problem in this Province will provide valuable information for other provinces and areas in this Country, as well as scientific basis for policy making for injury prevention and control. Methods Analyses are based on the computerized hospital discharge data collected from 322 hospitals in Guangdong Province between 1997 and 2001. Diagnoses are coded according to the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). Results The total hospitalization rate related with injuries increased year by year from 1997 to 2001. The ratio of case-fatality has a decline trend for all injury inpatients, who were mainly caused by motor vehicle accidents, unintentional falls, puncture and cut by machine and others. The constituent ratio of death among patients caused by motor vehicle accidents accounted for 56.13% among the total deaths, which ranked as the first place. The direct medical cost also had an increased trend. Conclusions Data on injuries requiring hospitalization can be used to design and target more effective injury prevention programs. Injury prevention would decrease human sufferings, disability, and associated economic losses.

Bed wise cost analysis of in-patient treatment of brachial plexus injury at a Level I trauma Center in India

OpenAIRE

Pandey, Nityanand; Gupta, Deepak; Mahapatra, Ashok; Harshvardhan, Rajesh

2014-01-01

Aim: The aim was to calculate, in monetary terms, total cost incurred by a Level I trauma center in providing in-patient care to brachial plexus injury patients during their preoperative and the postoperative stay. Subjects and Methods: All patients of brachial plexus injury admitted and discharged between January and December 2010 were included in the study. Total cost per bed was calculated under several cost heads in pre- and post-operative ward care. Intra-operative costs were excluded. R...

Effectiveness of electronic stability control on single-vehicle accidents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lyckegaard, Allan; Hels, Tove; Bernhoft, Inger Marie

2015-01-01

the injury severity categories (slight, severe, and fatal). Conclusions: In line with previous results, this study concludes that ESC reduces the risk for single-vehicle injury accidents by 31% when controlling for various confounding factors related to the driver, the car, and the accident surroundings......Objective: This study aims at evaluating the effectiveness of electronic stability control (ESC) on single-vehicle injury accidents while controlling for a number of confounders influencing the accident risk. Methods: Using police-registered injury accidents from 2004 to 2011 in Denmark with cars...... the following were significant. For the driver: Age, gender, driving experience, valid driving license, and seat belt use. For the vehicle: Year of registration, weight, and ESC. For the accident surroundings: Visibility, light, and location. Finally, for the road: Speed limit, surface, and section...

Cost and emissions impacts of plug-in hybrid vehicles on the Ohio power system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sioshansi, Ramteen; Fagiani, Riccardo; Marano, Vincenzo

2010-01-01

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have been promoted as a potential technology that can reduce vehicles' fuel consumption, decreasing transportation-related emissions and dependence on imported oil. The net emission and cost impacts of PHEV use are intimately connected with the electricity generator mix used for PHEV charging, which will in turn depend on when during the day PHEVs are recharged. This paper analyzes the effects of a PHEV fleet in the state of Ohio. The analysis considers two different charging scenarios-a controlled and an uncontrolled scenario-which offer the grid operator different levels of control over the timing of PHEV charging. The analysis shows that PHEV use could result in major reductions in gasoline consumption of close to 70% per vehicle compared to a conventional vehicle (CV) under both charging scenarios. Moreover, despite the high penetrations of coal in the Ohio power system, net CO 2 emissions from a PHEV could be up to 24% lower than that of a CV in the uncontrolled case, however, CO 2 and NO x emissions would increase in both scenarios.

Impact and Cost Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Integration on Medium Voltage Distribution Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wu, Qiuwei; Cheng, Lin; Pineau, Ulysse

2013-01-01

This paper presents the analysis of the impact of electric vehicle (EV) integration on medium voltage (MV) distribution networks and the cost evaluation of replacing the overloaded grid components. A number of EV charging scenarios have been studied. A 10 kV grid from the Bornholm Island...... in the city area has been used to carry out case studies. The case study results show that the secondary transformers are the bottleneck of the MV distribution networks and the increase of EV penetration leads to the overloading of secondary transformers. The cost of the transformer replacement has been...

Vehicle-pedestrian collisions - Aspects regarding pedestrian kinematics, dynamics and biomechanics

Science.gov (United States)

Petrescu, L.; Petrescu, Al

2017-10-01

Vehicle-pedestrian collisions result in a substantial number of pedestrian fatalities and injuries worldwide. Concern continues to limit and reduce the tragic consequences suffered by pedestrians involved in road accidents, caused the vehicle-pedestrian accident reconstruction become an important area and distinctly outlined in the reconstruction of road incidents involving vehicle. This paper analyzes the dynamics of vehicle-pedestrian impact influence over pedestrian biomechanics, which is directly connected with the severity of injury after contact with the vehicle profile and with the place where the pedestrian is projected. The main goal of this paper is to highlight some features of reconstruction of road accidents involving pedestrian, looking at the kinematics and dynamics of pedestrian impact for a better understanding of the phenomena that occur. The study on the dynamics and biomechanics of the pedestrian hit by the vehicle is useful in order to understand how the injuries, including the lethal ones, are generated in the collision, what is essential in road accidents reconstruction.

Transportation Energy Futures Series: Non-Cost Barriers to Consumer Adoption of New Light-Duty Vehicle Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stephens, T.

2013-03-01

Consumer preferences are key to the adoption of new vehicle technologies. Barriers to consumer adoption include price and other obstacles, such as limited driving range and charging infrastructure; unfamiliarity with the technology and uncertainty about direct benefits; limited makes and models with the technology; reputation or perception of the technology; standardization issues; and regulations. For each of these non-cost barriers, this report estimates an effective cost and summarizes underlying influences on consumer preferences, approximate magnitude and relative severity, and assesses potential actions, based on a comprehensive literature review. While the report concludes that non-cost barriers are significant, effective cost and potential market share are very uncertain. Policies and programs including opportunities for drivers to test drive advanced vehicles, general public outreach and information programs, incentives for providing charging and fueling infrastructure, and development of technology standards were examined for their ability to address barriers, but little quantitative data exists on the effectiveness of these measures. This is one in a series of reports produced as a result of the Transportation Energy Futures project, a Department of Energy-sponsored multi-agency effort to pinpoint underexplored strategies for reducing GHGs and petroleum dependence related to transportation.

A prospective assessment of electric vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This document proposes a synthetic version of a cost-benefit analysis study of the development of electric vehicles (all-electric vehicles and hybrid-re-chargeable vehicles) by 2020. The authors have assessed the replacement of a conventional thermal engine vehicle by an electric vehicle. They comment the results obtained for the both types of electric vehicle. They outline that costs of ownership of electric vehicles are higher in 2010 but become competitive in 2020, and that environmental benefits are already present in 2010 but depend on the electricity production mode. They observe that some other environmental impacts are not taken into account, outline that a recharge station network has to be developed, and discuss the cost of this infrastructure

Hybrids - Best of both worlds. [liquid and solid propellants mated for safe reliable and low cost launch vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Goldberg, Ben E.; Wiley, Dan R.

1991-01-01

An overview is presented of hybrid rocket propulsion systems whereby combining solids and liquids for launch vehicles could produce a safe, reliable, and low-cost product. The primary subsystems of a hybrid system consist of the oxidizer tank and feed system, an injector system, a solid fuel grain enclosed in a pressure vessel case, a mixing chamber, and a nozzle. The hybrid rocket has an inert grain, which reduces costs of development, transportation, manufacturing, and launch by avoiding many safety measures that must be taken when operating with solids. Other than their use in launch vehicles, hybrids are excellent for simulating the exhaust of solid rocket motors for material development.

Motor Vehicle Safety (A Cup of Health with CDC)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2014-10-16

In our highly mobile society, travel in vehicles is an almost daily occurrence for most Americans. Every trip places us at risk for serious injury. In this podcast, Dr. Gwen discusses ways to avoid serious injuries in motor vehicles.  Created: 10/16/2014 by MMWR.   Date Released: 10/16/2014.

Concussion in Motor Vehicle Accidents: The Concussion Identification Index

Science.gov (United States)

2016-08-03

Motor Vehicle Accidents; TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury); Brain Contusion; Brain Injuries; Cortical Contusion; Concussion Mild; Cerebral Concussion; Brain Concussion; Accidents, Traffic; Traffic Accidents; Traumatic Brain Injury With Brief Loss of Consciousness; Traumatic Brain Injury With no Loss of Consciousness; Traumatic Brain Injury With Loss of Consciousness

Roof strength and injury risk in rollover crashes of passenger cars.

Science.gov (United States)

Brumbelow, Matthew L; Teoh, Eric R

2009-12-01

A 2009 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that midsize SUVs with stronger roofs, as measured in quasi-static tests, had lower risk of ejection and lower risk of injury for nonejected drivers. The objective of the present study was to determine whether a similar association exists for other vehicle groups. Twelve small passenger cars were evaluated according to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 216 test conditions. Crash databases in 14 states provided more than 20,000 single-vehicle rollover crashes involving these vehicles. Logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the effect of roof strength on the rate of driver injury while assessing and controlling for the effects of driver age, vehicle stability, state, and other factors where necessary. Small cars with stronger roofs had lower overall rates of serious injury, lower rates of ejection, and lower rates of injury for nonejected drivers. Although the effect on ejection was somewhat smaller for cars than for SUVs, the overall pattern of injury results was consistent. For roof strength-to-weight ratio measured within 5 in. (SWR(5)), a one-unit increase (e.g., from 2.0 to 3.0) was associated with a 22 percent reduction in risk of incapacitating or fatal driver injury in single-vehicle rollovers. This compares with a 24 percent reduction estimated for a similar change in roof strength among midsize SUVs. The association between vehicle roof strength and occupant injury risk in rollover crashes appears robust across different vehicle groups and across roof SWR(5) values, varying from just more than 1.5 to just less than 4.0. If roofs were to increase in strength by one SWR(5), a 20-25 percent reduction in risk of serious injury in rollovers would be expected. Still, even if all vehicle roofs were as strong as the strongest roof measured, many rollover injuries still would occur, indicating the need for additional research and countermeasures.

Vehicle path-planning in three dimensions using optics analogs for optimizing visibility and energy cost

Science.gov (United States)

Rowe, Neil C.; Lewis, David H.

1989-01-01

Path planning is an important issue for space robotics. Finding safe and energy-efficient paths in the presence of obstacles and other constraints can be complex although important. High-level (large-scale) path planning for robotic vehicles was investigated in three-dimensional space with obstacles, accounting for: (1) energy costs proportional to path length; (2) turn costs where paths change trajectory abruptly; and (3) safety costs for the danger associated with traversing a particular path due to visibility or invisibility from a fixed set of observers. Paths optimal with respect to these cost factors are found. Autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles were considered operating either in a space environment around satellites and space platforms, or aircraft, spacecraft, or smart missiles operating just above lunar and planetary surfaces. One class of applications concerns minimizing detection, as for example determining the best way to make complex modifications to a satellite without being observed by hostile sensors; another example is verifying there are no paths (holes) through a space defense system. Another class of applications concerns maximizing detection, as finding a good trajectory between mountain ranges of a planet while staying reasonably close to the surface, or finding paths for a flight between two locations that maximize the average number of triangulation points available at any time along the path.

Posterior Cruciate Ligament Injury

Science.gov (United States)

... your knee is bent also can cause this injury. Risk factors Being in a motor vehicle accident and participating in sports such as football and soccer are the most common risk factors for a PCL injury. Complications In ...

Pounds That Kill: The External Costs of Vehicle Weight

OpenAIRE

Michael L. Anderson; Maximilian Auffhammer

2014-01-01

Heavier vehicles are safer for their own occupants but more hazardous for the occupants of other vehicles. In this paper we estimate the increased probability of fatalities from being hit by a heavier vehicle in a collision. We show that, controlling for own-vehicle weight, being hit by a vehicle that is 1,000 pounds heavier results in a 47% increase in the baseline fatality probability. Estimation results further suggest that the fatality risk is even higher if the striking vehicle is a ligh...

Transportation Energy Futures Series. Non-Cost Barriers to Consumer Adoption of New Light-Duty Vehicle Technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stephens, Thomas [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2013-03-01

Consumer preferences are key to the adoption of new vehicle technologies. Barriers to consumer adoption include price and other obstacles, such as limited driving range and charging infrastructure; unfamiliarity with the technology and uncertainty about direct benefits; limited makes and models with the technology; reputation or perception of the technology; standardization issues; and regulations. For each of these non-cost barriers, this report estimates an effective cost and summarizes underlying influences on consumer preferences, approximate magnitude and relative severity, and assesses potential actions, based on a comprehensive literature review. While the report concludes that non-cost barriers are significant, effective cost and potential market share are very uncertain. Policies and programs including opportunities for drivers to test drive advanced vehicles, general public outreach and information programs, incentives for providing charging and fueling infrastructure, and development of technology standards were examined for their ability to address barriers, but little quantitative data exists on the effectiveness of these measures. This is one in a series of reports produced as a result of the Transportation Energy Futures project, a Department of Energy-sponsored multi-agency effort to pinpoint underexplored strategies for reducing GHGs and petroleum dependence related to transportation. View all reports on the TEF Web page, http://www.eere.energy.gov/analysis/transportationenergyfutures/index.html.

Assessing injury severity in bicyclists involved in traffic accidents to more effectively prevent fatal bicycle injuries in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomei, Sayaka; Hitosugi, Masahito; Ikegami, Keiichi; Tokudome, Shogo

2013-10-01

The objective of this study was to clarify the relationship between injury severity in bicyclists involved in traffic accidents and patient outcome or type of vehicle involved in order to propose effective measures to prevent fatal bicycle injuries. Hospital records were reviewed for all patients from 2007 to 2010 who had been involved in a traffic accident while riding a bicycle and were subsequently transferred to the Shock Trauma Center of Dokkyo Medical University Koshigaya Hospital. Patient outcomes and type of vehicle that caused the injury were examined. The mechanism of injury, Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score, and Injury Severity Score (ISS) of the patient were determined. A total of 115 patients' records were reviewed. The mean patient age was 47.1 ± 27.4 years. The average ISS was 23.9, with an average maximum AIS (MAIS) score of 3.7. The ISS, MAIS score, head AIS score, and chest AIS score were well correlated with patient outcome. The head AIS score was significantly higher in patients who had died (mean of 4.4); however, the ISS, MAIS score, and head AIS score did not differ significantly according to the type of vehicle involved in the accident. The mean head AIS scores were as high as 2.4 or more for accidents involving any type of vehicle. This study provides useful information for forensic pathologists who suspect head injuries in bicyclists involved in traffic accidents. To effectively reduce bicyclist fatalities from traffic accidents, helmet use should be required for all bicyclists.

Does obesity increase the risk of injury or mortality in motor vehicle crashes? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Desapriya, Ediriweera; Giulia, Scime; Subzwari, Sayed; Peiris, Dinithi C; Turcotte, Kate; Pike, Ian; Sasges, Deborah; Hewapathirane, D Sesath

2014-09-01

The objective of this review was to assess the risk of obesity in injuries and fatalities resulting from motor vehicle crash (MVC), as compared with individuals with a normal-range body mass index. A systematic review of the literature was conducted yielding 824 potential studies. Nine of these studies met our inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses examining obesity as a risk factor for various injury types and risk of fatality were conducted using data from these studies. Obesity was associated with higher fatality risk (odds ratio [OR] = 1.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.51-2.37, P = .0001; pooled estimate from 6 studies), and increased risk of lower extremity fractures (OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.18-1.65, P = .0001; pooled estimate from 2 studies). No significant differences were observed when considering abdominal injuries or pelvic fractures. Interestingly, for head injuries obesity was a protective factor (OR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.46-0.97, P = .0001; pooled data from 3 studies). Evidence strongly supports the association of obesity with higher fatality and fractures of the lower extremities in MVCs. Contrary to our hypothesis, 3 studies showed that obesity was a protective factor in reducing head injuries. Furthermore, the review shows that obesity was not a risk factor of MVC-related pelvic fractures and abdominal injuries. © 2011 APJPH.

Insomnia symptoms and risk for unintentional fatal injuries--the HUNT Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Laugsand, Lars Erik; Strand, Linn B; Vatten, Lars J; Janszky, Imre; Bjørngaard, Johan Håkon

2014-11-01

To assess the association between insomnia symptoms and risk of fatal unintentional injuries. Population-based prospective cohort study with a mean follow-up of 14 y, linking health survey data with information on insomnia symptoms to the National Cause of Death Registry. Nord-Trøndelag County, Norway. A total of 54,399 men and women 20-89 y of age who participated in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study between 1995 and 1997. N/A. There were 277 unintentional fatal injuries, including 57 fatal motor vehicle injuries during follow-up. There was a dose-dependent association between the number of insomnia symptoms and risk of unintentional fatal injuries (P for trend 0.001) and fatal motor vehicle injuries (P for trend 0.023), respectively. The proportion of unintentional fatal injuries cases that could have been prevented in the absence of difficulties initiating sleep, difficulties maintaining sleep, and having a feeling of nonrestorative sleep were 8%, 9%, and 8%, respectively. The corresponding estimates for motor vehicle injuries were 34%, 11%, and 10%. Insomnia is a major contributor to both unintentional fatal injuries in general as well as fatal motor vehicle injuries. Increasing public health awareness about insomnia and identifying persons with insomnia may be important in preventing unintentional fatal injuries.

U.S. Department of Energy Vehicle Technologies Program -- Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity -- Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kevin Morrow; Donald Darner; James Francfort

2008-11-01

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are under evaluation by various stake holders to better understand their capability and potential benefits. PHEVs could allow users to significantly improve fuel economy over a standard HEV and in some cases, depending on daily driving requirements and vehicle design, have the ability to eliminate fuel consumption entirely for daily vehicle trips. The cost associated with providing charge infrastructure for PHEVs, along with the additional costs for the on-board power electronics and added battery requirements associated with PHEV technology will be a key factor in the success of PHEVs. This report analyzes the infrastructure requirements for PHEVs in single family residential, multi-family residential and commercial situations. Costs associated with this infrastructure are tabulated, providing an estimate of the infrastructure costs associated with PHEV deployment.

Association Between NCAP Ratings and Real-World Rear Seat Occupant Risk of Injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Metzger, Kristina B; Gruschow, Siobhan; Durbin, Dennis R; Curry, Allison E

2015-01-01

Several studies have evaluated the correlation between U.S. or Euro New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) ratings and injury risk to front seat occupants, in particular driver injuries. Conversely, little is known about whether NCAP 5-star ratings predict real-world risk of injury to restrained rear seat occupants. The NHTSA has identified rear seat occupant protection as a specific area under consideration for improvements to its NCAP. In order to inform NHTSA's efforts, we examined how NCAP's current 5-star rating system predicts risk of moderate or greater injury among restrained rear seat occupants in real-world crashes. We identified crash-involved vehicles, model year 2004-2013, in NASS-CDS (2003-2012) with known make and model and nonmissing occupant information. We manually matched these vehicles to their NCAP star ratings using data on make, model, model year, body type, and other identifying information. The resultant linked NASS-CDS and NCAP database was analyzed to examine associations between vehicle ratings and rear seat occupant injury risk; risk to front seat occupants was also estimated for comparison. Data were limited to restrained occupants and occupant injuries were defined as any injury with a maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score of 2 or greater. We linked 95% of vehicles in NASS-CDS to a specific vehicle in NCAP. The 18,218 vehicles represented an estimated 6 million vehicles with over 9 million occupants. Rear seat passengers accounted for 12.4% of restrained occupants. The risk of injury in all crashes for restrained rear seat occupants was lower in vehicles with a 5-star driver rating in frontal impact tests (1.4%) than with 4 or fewer stars (2.6%, P =.015); results were similar for the frontal impact passenger rating (1.3% vs. 2.4%, P =.024). Conversely, side impact driver and passenger crash tests were not associated with rear seat occupant injury risk (driver test: 1.7% for 5-star vs. 1.8% for 1-4 stars; passenger test: 1.6% for 5

[Cost-benefit analysis of cranial computed tomography in mild traumatic brain injury--appropriate depiction within the G-DRG system?].

Science.gov (United States)

Garving, C; Weber, C D; Poßelt, S; Pishnamaz, M; Pape, H C; Dienstknecht, T

2014-06-01

The treatment of patients with mild head injury is related to a continuous lack of finances. The current investigation summarises radiological costs of patients from a level I trauma centre and discusses the indication for CT scanning within the G-DRG system. The study includes all patients who underwent a CCT scan in 2011. Diagnosis, length of stay and cost data were recorded for every patient. Finally, frequent diagnosis groups were summarised to clusters (Basis-DRG/MDC 21A). A total of 380 patients was treated. Within the largest group (G-DRG B80Z) the costs for a CCT already took up one quarter of the total proceedings. In combination with the high cost for monitoring patients with mild head injuries this causes an ongoing lack of finances. In spite of the often necessary CCT investigation in mild head injuries, the earnings do not cover the costs of the patients. To improve the situation clear guidelines for CCT scanning should be provided and the reimbursement in particular in the diagnosis group of the G-DRG B80Z has to be improved. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Is aggressive treatment of traumatic brain injury cost-effective?

Science.gov (United States)

Whitmore, Robert G; Thawani, Jayesh P; Grady, M Sean; Levine, Joshua M; Sanborn, Matthew R; Stein, Sherman C

2012-05-01

The object of this study was to determine whether aggressive treatment of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), including invasive intracranial monitoring and decompressive craniectomy, is cost-effective. A decision-analytical model was created to compare costs, outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of 3 strategies for treating a patient with severe TBI. The aggressive-care approach is compared with "routine care," in which Brain Trauma Foundation guidelines are not followed. A "comfort care" category, in which a single day in the ICU is followed by routine floor care, is included for comparison only. Probabilities of each treatment resulting in various Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) scores were obtained from the literature. The GOS scores were converted to quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), based on expected longevity and calculated quality of life associated with each GOS category. Estimated direct (acute and long-term medical care) and indirect (loss of productivity) costs were calculated from the perspective of society. Sensitivity analyses employed a 2D Monte Carlo simulation of 1000 trials, each with 1000 patients. The model was also used to estimate these values for patients 40, 60, and 80 years of age. For the average 20-year-old, aggressive care yields 11.7 (± 1.6 [SD]) QALYs, compared with routine care (10.0 ± 1.5 QALYs). This difference is highly significant (p care remains significantly better at all ages. When all costs are considered, aggressive care is also significantly less costly than routine care ($1,264,000 ± $118,000 vs $1,361,000 ± $107,000) for the average 20-year-old. Aggressive care remains significantly less costly until age 80, at which age it costs more than routine care. However, even in the 80-year-old, aggressive care is likely the more cost-effective approach. Comfort care is associated with poorer outcomes at all ages and with higher costs for all groups except 80-year-olds. When all the costs of severe TBI are considered, aggressive

Paediatric trauma on the Last Frontier: an 11-year review of injury mechanisms, high-risk injury patterns and outcomes in Alaskan children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher W. Snyder

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Paediatric trauma system development in Alaska is complicated by a vast geographic coverage area, wide regional variations in environment and culture, and a lack of available published data. Objective: To provide a detailed description of paediatric trauma mechanisms, high-risk injury patterns and outcomes in Alaska. Design: This retrospective study included all children aged 17 years or younger in the State of Alaska Trauma Registry database admitted with traumatic injury between 2001 and 2011. Each injury record was reviewed individually and assigned a mechanism based on Centers for Disease Control E-codes. Geographic definitions were based on existing Emergency Medical Services regions. Mechanisms were compared by geographic region, patient demographics, injury characteristics and outcome. Subgroup analysis of fatal injuries was performed to identify causes of death. Results: Of 5,547 patients meeting inclusion criteria, the most common mechanisms of injury were falls (39%, motor vehicle collisions (10% and all-terrain vehicle (ATV accidents (9%. The overall case fatality rate was 2%. Mechanisms with the greatest risk of death were gunshot wounds (21%, pedestrians struck by motorized vehicles (9% and motor vehicle collisions (5%. These 3 mechanisms accounted for 15% of injuries but 60% of deaths in the overall cohort. Injury patterns involving combined central nervous system (CNS and torso injuries were unusual but especially lethal, occurring in 3% of patients but carrying a case fatality rate of 18%. Although the distribution of mechanisms was generally similar for each geographic region, ATV and snowmobile injuries were significantly more common in remote areas (23% remote vs. 7% non-remote, p < 0.0001. Conclusions: Mechanisms of paediatric trauma in Alaska have widely varying impacts on outcome and show some variation by region. Highest-risk mechanisms include gunshot wounds and motorized vehicle-related accidents. Prevention

A drug cost model for injuries due to road traffic accidents.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riewpaiboon A

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: This study aimed to develop a drug cost model for injuries due to road traffic accidents for patients receiving treatment at a regional hospital in Thailand. Methods: The study was designed as a retrospective, descriptive analysis. The cases were all from road traffic accidents receiving treatment at a public regional hospital in the fiscal year 2004. Results: Three thousand seven hundred and twenty-three road accident patients were included in the study. The mean drug cost per case was USD18.20 (SD=73.49, median=2.36. The fitted drug cost model had an adjusted R2 of 0.449. The positive significant predictor variables of drug costs were prolonged length of stay, age over 30 years old, male, Universal Health Coverage Scheme, time of accident during 18:00-24:00 o’clock, and motorcycle comparing to bus. To forecast the drug budget for 2006, there were two approaches identified, the mean drug cost and the predicted average drug cost. The predicted average drug cost was calculated based on the forecasted values of statistically significant (p<0.05 predictor variables included in the fitted model; predicted total drug cost was USD44,334. Alternatively, based on the mean cost, predicted total drug cost in 2006 was USD63,408. This was 43% higher than the figure based on the predicted cost approach.Conclusions: The planned budget of drug cost based on the mean cost and predicted average cost were meaningfully different. The application of a predicted average cost model could result in a more accurate budget planning than that of a mean statistic approach.

Market penetration scenarios for fuel cell vehicles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomas, C.E.; James, B.D.; Lomax, F.D. Jr. [Directed Technologies, Inc., Arlington, VA (United States)

1997-12-31

Fuel cell vehicles may create the first mass market for hydrogen as an energy carrier. Directed Technologies, Inc., working with the US Department of Energy hydrogen systems analysis team, has developed a time-dependent computer market penetration model. This model estimates the number of fuel cell vehicles that would be purchased over time as a function of their cost and the cost of hydrogen relative to the costs of competing vehicles and fuels. The model then calculates the return on investment for fuel cell vehicle manufacturers and hydrogen fuel suppliers. The model also projects the benefit/cost ratio for government--the ratio of societal benefits such as reduced oil consumption, reduced urban air pollution and reduced greenhouse gas emissions to the government cost for assisting the development of hydrogen energy and fuel cell vehicle technologies. The purpose of this model is to assist industry and government in choosing the best investment strategies to achieve significant return on investment and to maximize benefit/cost ratios. The model can illustrate trends and highlight the sensitivity of market penetration to various parameters such as fuel cell efficiency, cost, weight, and hydrogen cost. It can also illustrate the potential benefits of successful R and D and early demonstration projects. Results will be shown comparing the market penetration and return on investment estimates for direct hydrogen fuel cell vehicles compared to fuel cell vehicles with onboard fuel processors including methanol steam reformers and gasoline partial oxidation systems. Other alternative fueled vehicles including natural gas hybrids, direct injection diesels and hydrogen-powered internal combustion hybrid vehicles will also be analyzed.

Elasticity of Vehicle Miles of Travel to Changes in the Price of Gasoline and the Cost of Driving in Texas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wenzel, Tom P.; Fujita, K. Sydny

2018-03-28

This report examines the sensitivity of annual vehicle miles of travel (VMT) of light-duty vehicles to the price of gasoline, commonly referred to as the elasticity of demand for VMT to the price of gasoline; the fuel-economy-related rebound effect is generally assumed to be of the same magnitude as the VMT elasticity of gas price or driving cost. We use detailed odometer readings from over 30 million vehicles in four urban areas of Texas, over a six-year period. We account for economic conditions over this period, as well as vehicle age. Following the literature we include fixed effects by vehicle make and individual vehicle, as well as the effect of adding an instrument to predict monthly gasoline price independent of any influences of demand for gasoline on its price.

Environmental and Financial Evaluation of Passenger Vehicle Technologies in Belgium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maarten Messagie

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Vehicles with alternative drive trains are regarded as a promising substitute for conventional cars, considering the growing concern about oil depletion and the environmental impact of our transportation system. However, “clean” technologies will only be viable when they are cost-efficient. In this paper, the environmental impacts and the financial costs of different vehicle technologies are calculated for an average Belgian driver. Environmentally friendly vehicles are compared with conventional petrol and diesel vehicles. The assessments are done from a life cycle perspective. The effect on human health, resources and ecosystems is considered when calculating the environmental impact. The total cost of ownership (TCO model includes the purchase price, registration and road taxes, insurance, fuel or electricity cost, maintenance, tires replacement, technical control, battery leasing and battery replacement. In the presented analysis different vehicle technologies and fuels are compared (petrol, diesel, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs, battery electric vehicles (BEVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs on their level of environmental impact and cost per kilometer. The analysis shows a lower environmental impact for electric vehicles. However, electric vehicles have a higher total cost of ownership compared to conventional vehicles, even though the fuel operating costs are significantly lower. The purchase cost of electric vehicles is highly linked to the size of the battery pack, and not to the size of the electric vehicle. This explains the relative high cost for the electric city cars and the comparable cost for the medium and premium cars.

Deceleration during 'real life' motor vehicle collisions – a sensitive predictor for the risk of sustaining a cervical spine injury?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hartwig Erich

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The predictive value of trauma impact for the severity of whiplash injuries has mainly been investigated in sled- and crash-test studies. However, very little data exist for real-life accidents. Therefore, the predictive value of the trauma impact as assessed by the change in velocity of the car due to the collision (ΔV for the resulting cervical spine injuries were investigated in 57 cases after real-life car accidents. Methods ΔV was determined for every car and clinical findings related to the cervical spine were assessed and classified according to the Quebec Task Force (QTF. Results In our study, 32 (56% subjects did not complain about symptoms and were therefore classified as QTF grade 0; 25 (44% patients complained of neck pain: 8 (14% were classified as QTF grade I, 6 (10% as QTF grade II, and 11 (19% as QTF grade IV. Only a slight correlation (r = 0.55 was found between the reported pain and ΔV. No relevant correlation was found between ΔV and the neck disability index (r = 0.46 and between ΔV and the QTF grade (r = 0.45 for any of the collision types. There was no ΔV threshold associated with acceptable sensitivity and specificity for the prognosis of a cervical spine injury. Conclusion The results of this study indicate that ΔV is not a conclusive predictor for cervical spine injury in real-life motor vehicle accidents. This is of importance for surgeons involved in medicolegal expertise jobs as well as patients who suffer from whiplash-associated disorders (WADs after motor vehicle accidents. Trial registration The study complied with applicable German law and with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration and was approved by the institutional ethics commission.

Cost Estimation of Road Traffic Injuries Among Iranian Motorcyclists Using the Willingness to Pay Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Ainy, Elaheh; Soori, Hamid; Ganjali, Mojtaba; Basirat, Behzad; Haddadi, Mashyaneh

2016-06-01

Motorcycle riders are amongst some of the most vulnerable road users. The burden of motorcycles injuries from low and middle income countries is under-reported. In this study, the cost of traffic injuries among motorcyclists was calculated using the willingness to pay (WTP) method in Iran in 2013. In a cross-sectional study, 143 motorcyclists were randomly selected. The research questionnaire was prepared based on the standard WTP method [stated preference (SP), contingent value (CV) and revealed preference (RP) models] taking into consideration perceived risks, especially those in Iran. Data were collected by a scenario for motorcyclists. The criteria for inclusion in the study consisted of having at least a high school education and being in the age range of 18 - 65 years. The final analysis of the WTP data was performed using the Weibull model. The mean WTP was 888,110 IRR (Iranian Rial) among motorcyclists. The statistical value of life was estimated according to 4694 death cases as 3,146,225,350,943 IRR, which was equivalent to USD 104,874,178 based on the dollar free market rate of 30,000 IRR (purchasing power parity). The cost of injury was 6,903,839,551,000 IRR, equivalent to USD 230,127,985 (based upon 73,325 injured motorcyclists in 2013, a daily traffic volume of 311, and a daily payment of 12,110 IRR for 250 working days). In total, injury and death cases came to 10,050,094,901,943 IRR, equivalent to USD 335,003,163. Willingness to pay had a significant relationship with having experienced an accident, the length of the daily trip (in km), and helmet use (P < 0.001). Willingness to pay can be affected by experiencing an accident, the distance of the daily trip, and helmet use. The cost of traffic injuries among motorcyclists shows that this rate is much higher than the global average. Thus, expenditure should be made on effective initiatives such as the safety of motorcyclists.

Silica nanoparticles as vehicles for therapy delivery in neurological injury

Science.gov (United States)

Schenk, Desiree

Acrolein, a very reactive aldehyde, is a culprit in the biochemical cascade after primary, mechanical spinal cord injury (SCI), which leads to the destruction of tissue initially unharmed, referred to as "secondary injury". Additionally, in models of multiple sclerosis (MS) and some clinical research, acrolein levels are significantly increased. This aldehyde overwhelms the natural anti-oxidant system, reacts freely with proteins, and releases during lipid peroxidation (LPO), effectively regenerating its self. Due to its ability to make more copies of itself in the presence of tissue via lipid peroxidation, researchers believe that acrolein plays a role in the increased destruction of the central nervous system in both SCI and MS. Hydralazine, an FDA-approved hypertension drug, has been shown to scavenge acrolein, but its side effects and short half life at the appropriate dose for acrolein scavenging must be improved for beneficial clinical translation. Due to the inefficient delivery of therapeutic drugs, nanoparticles have become a major field of exploration for medical applications. Based on their material properties, they can help treat disease by delivering drugs to specific tissues, enhancing detection methods, or a mixture of both. Nanoparticles made from silica provide distinct advantages. They form porous networks that can carry therapeutic molecules throughout the body. Therefore, a nanomedical approach has been designed using silica nanoparticles as a porous delivery vehicle hydralazine. The silica nanoparticles are formed in a one-step method that incorporates poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG), a stealth molecule, directly onto the nanoparticles. As an additional avenue for study, a natural product in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), has been explored for its ability to react with acrolein, disabling its reactive capabilities. Upon demonstration of attenuating acrolein, EGCG's delivery may also be improved using the nanomedical approach. The

Near-term hybrid vehicle program, phase 1. Appendix D: Sensitivity analysis resport

Science.gov (United States)

1979-01-01

Parametric analyses, using a hybrid vehicle synthesis and economics program (HYVELD) are described investigating the sensitivity of hybrid vehicle cost, fuel usage, utility, and marketability to changes in travel statistics, energy costs, vehicle lifetime and maintenance, owner use patterns, internal combustion engine (ICE) reference vehicle fuel economy, and drive-line component costs and type. The lowest initial cost of the hybrid vehicle would be $1200 to $1500 higher than that of the conventional vehicle. For nominal energy costs ($1.00/gal for gasoline and 4.2 cents/kWh for electricity), the ownership cost of the hybrid vehicle is projected to be 0.5 to 1.0 cents/mi less than the conventional ICE vehicle. To attain this ownership cost differential, the lifetime of the hybrid vehicle must be extended to 12 years and its maintenance cost reduced by 25 percent compared with the conventional vehicle. The ownership cost advantage of the hybrid vehicle increases rapidly as the price of fuel increases from $1 to $2/gal.

Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Vehicle Assembly Industry: An ENERGY STAR Guide for Energy and Plant Managers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Galitsky, Christina; Galitsky, Christina; Worrell, Ernst

2008-01-01

The motor vehicle industry in the U.S. spends about $3.6 billion on energy annually. In this report, we focus on auto assembly plants. In the U.S., over 70 assembly plants currently produce 13 million cars and trucks each year. In assembly plants, energy expenditures is a relatively small cost factor in the total production process. Still, as manufacturers face an increasingly competitive environment, energy efficiency improvements can provide a means to reduce costs without negatively affecting the yield or the quality of the product. In addition, reducing energy costs reduces the unpredictability associated with variable energy prices in today?s marketplace, which could negatively affect predictable earnings, an important element for publicly-traded companies such as those in the motor vehicle industry. In this report, we first present a summary of the motor vehicle assembly process and energy use. This is followed by a discussion of energy efficiency opportunities available for assembly plants. Where available, we provide specific primary energy savings for each energy efficiency measure based on case studies, as well as references to technical literature. If available, we have listed costs and typical payback periods. We include experiences of assembly plants worldwide with energy efficiency measures reviewed in the report. Our findings suggest that although most motor vehicle companies in the U.S. have energy management teams or programs, there are still opportunities available at individual plants to reduce energy consumption cost effectively. Further research on the economics of the measures for individual assembly plants, as part of an energy management program, is needed to assess the potential impact of selected technologies at these plants.

Volumetric calculation using low cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) approach

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, A. A. Ab; Maulud, K. N. Abdul; Mohd, F. A.; Jaafar, O.; Tahar, K. N.

2017-12-01

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) technology has evolved dramatically in the 21st century. It is used by both military and general public for recreational purposes and mapping work. Operating cost for UAV is much cheaper compared to that of normal aircraft and it does not require a large work space. The UAV systems have similar functions with the LIDAR and satellite images technologies. These systems require a huge cost, labour and time consumption to produce elevation and dimension data. Measurement of difficult objects such as water tank can also be done by using UAV. The purpose of this paper is to show the capability of UAV to compute the volume of water tank based on a different number of images and control points. The results were compared with the actual volume of the tank to validate the measurement. In this study, the image acquisition was done using Phantom 3 Professional, which is a low cost UAV. The analysis in this study is based on different volume computations using two and four control points with variety set of UAV images. The results show that more images will provide a better quality measurement. With 95 images and four GCP, the error percentage to the actual volume is about 5%. Four controls are enough to get good results but more images are needed, estimated about 115 until 220 images. All in all, it can be concluded that the low cost UAV has a potential to be used for volume of water and dimension measurement.

Symptomatic cervical disc herniation following a motor vehicle collision: return to work comparative study of workers' compensation versus personal injury insurance status.

Science.gov (United States)

Scuderi, Gaetano J; Sherman, Andrew L; Brusovanik, Georgiy V; Pahl, Michael A; Vaccaro, Alexander R

2005-01-01

Patients with approved workers' compensation injuries receive guaranteed compensation for the duration of their injury, whereas patients with personal injury claims are only compensated, if at all, at the time of a successful settlement or trial verdict at a time point distant from their injury. This study compares the financial impact and loss of work patterns due to a workers' compensation (WC) claim or personal injury in patients with a symptomatic cervical disc herniation resulting from a motor vehicle collision. A prospective study of patients who were seen by a single spine specialist between 1/2/96 and 9/1/01. A consecutive evaluation of 531 patients who were treated for a cervical pain syndrome caused by a motor vehicle collision. Mechanism of injury and insurance type, ie, workers' compensation or personal injury, was recorded for each patient as well as treatment response and return to work patterns. The data were analyzed using the two-way Z test. All patients were managed in a similar manner with noninvasive treatment initially, followed by injections, and finally surgical intervention in those who failed conservative measures. Return to work rates and work disability were determined at either final follow-up or at the last doctor's visit before loss to follow-up. 270 of 531 patients were diagnosed with a symptomatic one or two level disc herniation by a cervical magnetic resonance imaging scan. Fifty-four patients were insured through the workers' compensation board, and 216 reported their crash as a personal injury claim. In the WC group the work disability at 3 months follow-up revealed a cumulative 2,262 total lost days of work (average 37.1 days per person). At the point of maximal medical improvement (MMI) or 2-year follow-up, total days lost from work were 7,107 (average 131.6 days per person.) In the personal injury non-WC group, the 3-month follow-up of lost days of work was 1,093 days (average 5.1 days per person.) At 2 years follow-up, the

Cost of initial management of musculoskeletal injuries due to road traffic crashes: A register-based study from North-West India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhanu Awasthi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: There is a paucity of information on the actual costs incurred by the family as a result of musculoskeletal injuries due to road traffic crash from our part of India. This study was conducted with the objective to ascertain the costs of initial management of musculoskeletal injuries due to road traffic crashes. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was conducted as a register-based descriptive study in a tertiary care teaching hospital in a rural area (with a predominantly mountainous terrain of North-West India. All patients with nonfatal musculoskeletal injuries due to road traffic crashes, presenting between 2014 and 2015 and agreeing to participate in the study were included in the study. Results: Of 313 cases, 116 were managed conservatively, whereas in 189 cases, operative intervention was required. In 8 cases, both the modalities of management were required. The average cost of management was Rs. 20,386 in operative group. The average cost in the conservative group was Rs. 3726. Average cost calculated for patients in whom both modality of treatment was required was Rs. 24,000. It was observed that the indirect cost of management was proportionately higher in conservative group. Conclusions: The initial cost of management for patients managed conservatively is less than those managed by operative intervention. Importantly, however, the indirect cost of management is a major contributor to the total cost of management.

Integrated Vehicle Thermal Management - Combining Fluid Loops in Electric Drive Vehicles (Presentation)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rugh, J. P.

2013-07-01

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles have increased vehicle thermal management complexity, using separate coolant loop for advanced power electronics and electric motors. Additional thermal components result in higher costs. Multiple cooling loops lead to reduced range due to increased weight. Energy is required to meet thermal requirements. This presentation for the 2013 Annual Merit Review discusses integrated vehicle thermal management by combining fluid loops in electric drive vehicles.

Occupational Injury Prevention Research in NIOSH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongwei Hsiao

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This paper provided a brief summary of the current strategic goals, activities, and impacts of the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health occupational injury research program. Three primary drivers (injury database, stakeholder input, and staff capacity were used to define NIOSH research focuses to maximize relevance and impact of the NIOSH injury-prevention-research program. Injury data, strategic goals, program activities, and research impacts were presented with a focus on prevention of four leading causes of workplace injury and death in the US: motor vehicle incidents, falls, workplace violence, and machine and industrial vehicle incidents. This paper showcased selected priority goals, activities, and impacts of the NIOSH injury prevention program. The NIOSH contribution to the overall decrease in fatalities and injuries is reinforced by decreases in specific goal areas. There were also many intermediate outcomes that are on a direct path to preventing injuries, such as new safety regulations and standards, safer technology and products, and improved worker safety training. The outcomes serve as an excellent foundation to stimulate further research and worldwide partnership to address global workplace injury problems.

An Effective Terrain Aided Navigation for Low-Cost Autonomous Underwater Vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Ling; Cheng, Xianghong; Zhu, Yixian; Dai, Chenxi; Fu, Jinbo

2017-03-25

Terrain-aided navigation is a potentially powerful solution for obtaining submerged position fixes for autonomous underwater vehicles. The application of terrain-aided navigation with high-accuracy inertial navigation systems has demonstrated meter-level navigation accuracy in sea trials. However, available sensors may be limited depending on the type of the mission. Such limitations, especially for low-grade navigation sensors, not only degrade the accuracy of traditional navigation systems, but further impact the ability to successfully employ terrain-aided navigation. To address this problem, a tightly-coupled navigation is presented to successfully estimate the critical sensor errors by incorporating raw sensor data directly into an augmented navigation system. Furthermore, three-dimensional distance errors are calculated, providing measurement updates through the particle filter for absolute and bounded position error. The development of the terrain aided navigation system is elaborated for a vehicle equipped with a non-inertial-grade strapdown inertial navigation system, a 4-beam Doppler Velocity Log range sensor and a sonar altimeter. Using experimental data for navigation performance evaluation in areas with different terrain characteristics, the experiment results further show that the proposed method can be successfully applied to the low-cost AUVs and significantly improves navigation performance.

A comparison of hydrogen, methanol and gasoline as fuels for fuel cell vehicles: implications for vehicle design and infrastructure development

Science.gov (United States)

Ogden, Joan M.; Steinbugler, Margaret M.; Kreutz, Thomas G.

All fuel cells currently being developed for near term use in electric vehicles require hydrogen as a fuel. Hydrogen can be stored directly or produced onboard the vehicle by reforming methanol, or hydrocarbon fuels derived from crude oil (e.g., gasoline, diesel, or middle distillates). The vehicle design is simpler with direct hydrogen storage, but requires developing a more complex refueling infrastructure. In this paper, we present modeling results comparing three leading options for fuel storage onboard fuel cell vehicles: (a) compressed gas hydrogen storage, (b) onboard steam reforming of methanol, (c) onboard partial oxidation (POX) of hydrocarbon fuels derived from crude oil. We have developed a fuel cell vehicle model, including detailed models of onboard fuel processors. This allows us to compare the vehicle performance, fuel economy, weight, and cost for various vehicle parameters, fuel storage choices and driving cycles. The infrastructure requirements are also compared for gaseous hydrogen, methanol and gasoline, including the added costs of fuel production, storage, distribution and refueling stations. The delivered fuel cost, total lifecycle cost of transportation, and capital cost of infrastructure development are estimated for each alternative. Considering both vehicle and infrastructure issues, possible fuel strategies leading to the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles are discussed.

Public Health, Ethics, and Autonomous Vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleetwood, Janet

2017-04-01

With the potential to save nearly 30 000 lives per year in the United States, autonomous vehicles portend the most significant advance in auto safety history by shifting the focus from minimization of postcrash injury to collision prevention. I have delineated the important public health implications of autonomous vehicles and provided a brief analysis of a critically important ethical issue inherent in autonomous vehicle design. The broad expertise, ethical principles, and values of public health should be brought to bear on a wide range of issues pertaining to autonomous vehicles.

77 FR 801 - National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program: Revised Amount of the Average Cost of a Health...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-06

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Health Resources and Services Administration National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program: Revised Amount of the Average Cost of a Health Insurance Policy The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is publishing an updated monetary amount of the average cost of a health insurance policy as it...

Savings in acute care costs if all older adults treated for fall-related injuries completed matter of balance.

Science.gov (United States)

Howland, Jonathan; Shankar, Kalpana Narayan; Peterson, Elizabeth W; Taylor, Alyssa A

Falls among older adults are a common and serious public health problem. Evidence-based fall prevention programs delivered in community settings and targeting older adults living independently are increasingly deployed throughout the nation. These programs tend to be offered by public and private organizations that serve older adults, and recruitment usually occurs through direct marketing to the target population, rather than through referrals from healthcare providers. Matter of Balance , a program developed to reduce fear of falling and associated activity restriction in community-dwelling older adults, is currently being delivered in 38 of the 50 United States. In this study, we estimate the one-year medical care cost savings if older adults treated at Massachusetts hospitals for fall-related injuries were referred by healthcare providers to participate in Matter of Balance . Data from several sources were used for this study. We estimated annual cost savings in older adult falls recidivism for a hypothetical 100 patients presenting at an emergency department for a fall-related injury, assuming that all were referred to, and 50 % completed, Matter of Balance . This cost-saving estimate was subsequently expanded based on the actual number (43,931) of older adult patients presenting at, and discharged from Massachusetts emergency departments for all fall-related injuries in 2012. Cost savings were calculated for two additional participation rates: 25 % and 75 %. The return on investment (ROI), was calculated based on the percentage of return per each dollar invested. The calculated ROI for Matter of Balance was 144 %. Statewide savings ranged from $2.79 million assuming a 25 % participation rate to $8.37 million, assuming a 75 % participation rate. Referral to evidence-based falls prevention programs of older adult patients presenting at EDs with a fall-related injury could reduce subsequent falls and associated treatment costs.

The effect of fiscal incentives on market penetration of electric vehicles: A pairwise comparison of total cost of ownership

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lévay, Petra Zsuzsa; Drossinos, Yannis; Thiel, Christian

2017-01-01

An important barrier to electric vehicle (EV) sales is their high purchase price compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. We conducted total cost of ownership (TCO) calculations to study how costs and sales of EVs relate to each other and to examine the role of fiscal incentives in reducing TCO and increasing EV sales. We composed EV-ICE vehicle pairs that allowed cross-segment and cross-country comparison in eight European countries. Actual car prices were used to calculate the incentives for each model in each country. We found a negative TCO-sales relationship that differs across car segments. Compared to their ICE vehicle pair, big EVs have lower TCO, higher sales, and seem to be less price responsive than small EVs. Three country groups can be distinguished according to the level of fiscal incentives and their impact on TCO and EV sales. In Norway, incentives led to the lowest TCO for the EVs. In the Netherlands, France, and UK the TCO of EVs is close to the TCO of the ICE pairs. In the other countries the TCO of EVs exceeds that of the ICE vehicles. We found that exemptions from flat taxes favour big EVs, while lump-sum subsidies favour small EVs. - Highlights: • Pairwise comparison of EV and ICE vehicle TCO and sales in eight European countries. • In NO, EV TCO is lower than ICE TCO; in NL, FR, and UK, EV TCO is slightly higher. • Compared to ICE vehicles, big EVs have lower TCO and higher sales than small EVs. • Exemptions from flat taxes favour big EVs, lump-sum subsidies favour small EVs. • Most popular EV models: Tesla Model S, Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

Risk Factors of Poor Prognosis after Whiplash Injury

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samy Suissa

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Whiplash, a common injury following motor vehicle crashes, is associated with high costs and a prognosis that is variable and difficult to predict. In this paper, we review findings from the Quebec cohort epidemiological study on predictive factors of recovery from whiplash injury after a motor vehicle crash. We formed a population-based incident cohort of all 4,759 individuals who sustained a whiplash injury resulting from a motor vehicle crash in the province of Québec, Canada, in 1987, and followed these patients for up to seven years. The data were obtained from the universal automobile insurance plan (SAAQ that covers all seven million residents of the Province for all vehicular-related injuries. From this cohort, we formed the cohort of 3,014 for whom a police report was completed. For this cohort, we obtained data on crash-related factors directly from the police report. We also formed the cohort of 2,627 subjects who had strictly a whiplash injury, without associated injuries. For this cohort, the data on signs and symptoms were obtained from the medical charts kept by the SAAQ. For both cohorts, data on the outcome, the recovery time from whiplash, was obtained from the SAAQ databases. The crash-related cohort study found that socio-demographic factors associated with a longer recovery from whiplash include older age, female sex, having dependents and not being employed full time and that each decreases the rate of recovery by 14 to 16 per cent. Factors related to the crash conditions indicate that being in a truck or bus, with a decrease of 52% in the rate of recovery, being a passenger in the vehicle (15%, colliding with a moving vehicle (16%, and a side or frontal collision (15% all decrease the rate of recovery. We introduce a combined risk score that predicts longer recovery. In the cohort of subjects with signs and symptoms, the median recovery time was 32 days and 12% of subjects had still not recovered after 6 months. The signs

Robust human body model injury prediction in simulated side impact crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Golman, Adam J; Danelson, Kerry A; Stitzel, Joel D

2016-01-01

This study developed a parametric methodology to robustly predict occupant injuries sustained in real-world crashes using a finite element (FE) human body model (HBM). One hundred and twenty near-side impact motor vehicle crashes were simulated over a range of parameters using a Toyota RAV4 (bullet vehicle), Ford Taurus (struck vehicle) FE models and a validated human body model (HBM) Total HUman Model for Safety (THUMS). Three bullet vehicle crash parameters (speed, location and angle) and two occupant parameters (seat position and age) were varied using a Latin hypercube design of Experiments. Four injury metrics (head injury criterion, half deflection, thoracic trauma index and pelvic force) were used to calculate injury risk. Rib fracture prediction and lung strain metrics were also analysed. As hypothesized, bullet speed had the greatest effect on each injury measure. Injury risk was reduced when bullet location was further from the B-pillar or when the bullet angle was more oblique. Age had strong correlation to rib fractures frequency and lung strain severity. The injuries from a real-world crash were predicted using two different methods by (1) subsampling the injury predictors from the 12 best crush profile matching simulations and (2) using regression models. Both injury prediction methods successfully predicted the case occupant's low risk for pelvic injury, high risk for thoracic injury, rib fractures and high lung strains with tight confidence intervals. This parametric methodology was successfully used to explore crash parameter interactions and to robustly predict real-world injuries.

Differentiated sales and vehicles taxes. An assessment of instruments for the internalization of external costs of transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schol, E.

1995-12-01

The level of differentiation of the sales and annual vehicle taxes is based on the avoidance costs of noise and air pollution caused by transportation. The assessment is made on economic, ecological, technical and political criteria. The basic assumption of this report is that a system of differentiated sales and annual vehicle taxes for passenger cars will be an additional instrument to an energy/CO 2 tax (or levy). The reason is that due to the far reaching characteristics, the incentives for innovation and the fact that fuel taxes are relatively easy to implement, the core of any internalization strategy at an international level should consist of a taxation on fuel. In this report the discussion of instruments is at the European Community level. On the base of this preliminary research it can be concluded that differentiated sales and annual vehicle taxes have no strong negative impacts, but also have not many strong positive impacts. The instruments will not lead to strong positive impacts on the environment. One of the reasons is that both tax systems are related to vehicle ownership and not to vehicle use. There is a stronger relationship between vehicle use and emissions than between vehicle ownership and emissions. However, the instruments probably are technically as well as politically feasible and will give an incentive for the development and sale of cleaner and more quiet vehicles within the European Union. 1 figs., 9 tabs., 22 refs

Analysis of direct costs of decompressive craniectomy in victims of traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Badke, Guilherme Lellis; Araujo, João Luiz Vitorino; Miura, Flávio Key; Guirado, Vinicius Monteiro de Paula; Saade, Nelson; Paiva, Aline Lariessy Campos; Avelar, Tiago Marques; Pedrozo, Charles Alfred Grander; Veiga, José Carlos Esteves

2018-04-01

Decompressive craniectomy is a procedure required in some cases of traumatic brain injury (TBI). This manuscript evaluates the direct costs and outcomes of decompressive craniectomy for TBI in a developing country and describes the epidemiological profile. A retrospective study was performed using a five-year neurosurgical database, taking a sample of patients with TBI who underwent decompressive craniectomy. Several variables were considered and a formula was developed for calculating the total cost. Most patients had multiple brain lesions and the majority (69.0%) developed an infectious complication. The general mortality index was 68.8%. The total cost was R$ 2,116,960.22 (US$ 661,550.06) and the mean patient cost was R$ 66,155.00 (US$ 20,673.44). Decompressive craniectomy for TBI is an expensive procedure that is also associated with high morbidity and mortality. This was the first study performed in a developing country that aimed to evaluate the direct costs. Prevention measures should be a priority.

Evaluation of energy consumption, emissions and cost of plug-in hybrid vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Carla; Ross, Marc; Farias, Tiago

2009-01-01

Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) are gaining attention over the world due to their ability to reduce gasoline/diesel consumption by using electricity from the grid. Despite the efforts of Society of Automotive Engineers Recommended Practice SAE J1711, it has not yet been established a worldwide methodology for calculation of fuel consumption and emission factors when regarding emission standards, with distinct driving cycles. This paper intends to contribute to the creation of this broader methodology, based on SAE J1711, aiming a fair comparison among vehicle technologies, and giving insight on electric grid impact and on CO 2 life-cycle emissions. The methodology was applied to two simulated PHEVs exploring two different powertrain configurations: series and parallel; different driving cycles: CAFE, FTP75, NEDC and JC08; different driving distances (specially analyzing the average commuting daily distance of 20 km) and different user behaviours regarding battery recharging. CO 2 emissions were calculated for fuel consumption, electricity generation and cradle-to-grave. Electric grid power demand was estimated. Maintenance, manufacturer and use costs were discussed.

Merging mobility and energy vision with hybrid electric vehicles and vehicle infrastructure integration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Yiming; Chowdhury, Mashrur; Ma Yongchang; Pisu, Pierluigi

2012-01-01

As the U.S. federal government is seeking useful applications of Vehicle-Infrastructure Integration (VII) and encouraging a greener and more efficient automobile industry, this paper demonstrated a path to meet the national transportation goal via VII. An impact study was conducted in a midsize U.S. metropolitan area on the potential of utilizing VII communication in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) operations by simulating a VII-enabled vehicle framework for both conventional HEV and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV). The data collection and communication capability of the VII system allowed the prediction of speed profiles at the vehicle level with an average error rate of 13.2%. With the prediction, at the individual vehicle level, VII technology allowed PHEV and HEV to achieve additional benefits with an approximately 3% decrease in total energy consumption and emission. At the network level, the benefit–cost analysis indicated that the benefit–cost ratios for PHEV and HEV of the VII vehicle network exceed one at the fleet penetration rate of 20% and 30%, respectively. Our findings encourage to support public and private investments in VII infrastructure and its integration with HEV and PHEV in order to reap the increased energy savings from these vehicles. - Highlights: ► A VII-HEV/PHEV framework was simulated for a midsized U.S. metropolitan area. ► A VII-based prediction algorithm was developed for the framework. ► Significant improvement in energy efficiency and emission was achieved at single vehicle level. ► Network analysis was conducted to show cost-effectiveness of this framework.

"Can Vehicle-to-Grid Revenue Help Electric Vehicles on the Market?"

OpenAIRE

George R. Parsons; Michael K. Hidrue; Willett Kempton; Meryl P. Gardner

2011-01-01

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) electric vehicles can return power stored in their batteries back to the power grid and be programmed to do so at times when power prices are high. Since providing this service can lead to payments to owners of vehicles, it effectively reduces the cost of electric vehicles. Using data from a national stated preference survey (n = 3029), this paper presents the first study of the potential consumer demand for V2G electric vehicles. In our choice experiment, 3029 responden...

Frontier battery development for hybrid vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Heather; Park, Haram; Paolini, Maion

2012-04-23

Interest in hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) has recently spiked, partly due to an increasingly negative view toward the U.S. foreign oil dependency and environmental concerns. Though HEVs are becoming more common, they have a significant price premium over gasoline-powered vehicles. One of the primary drivers of this "hybrid premium" is the cost of the vehicles' batteries. This paper focuses on these batteries used in hybrid vehicles, examines the types of batteries used for transportation applications and addresses some of the technological, environmental and political drivers in battery development and the deployment of HEVs. This paper examines the claim, often voiced by HEV proponents, that by taking into account savings on gasoline and vehicle maintenance, hybrid cars are cheaper than traditional gasoline cars. This is done by a quantitative benefit-cost analysis, in addition to qualitative benefit-cost analysis from political, technological and environmental perspectives. The quantitative benefit-cost analysis shows that, taking account of all costs for the life of the vehicle, hybrid cars are in fact more expensive than gasoline-powered vehicles; however, after five years, HEVs will break even with gasoline cars. Our results show that it is likely that after 5 years, using hybrid vehicles should be cheaper in effect and yield a positive net benefit to society. There are a number of externalities that could significantly impact the total social cost of the car. These externalities can be divided into four categories: environmental, industrial, R&D and political. Despite short-term implications and hurdles, increased HEV usage forecasts a generally favorable long-term net benefit to society. Most notably, increasing HEV usage could decrease greenhouse gas emissions, while also decreasing U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Exploratory multinomial logit model-based driver injury severity analyses for teenage and adult drivers in intersection-related crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Qiong; Zhang, Guohui; Ci, Yusheng; Wu, Lina; Tarefder, Rafiqul A; Alcántara, Adélamar Dely

2016-05-18

Teenage drivers are more likely to be involved in severely incapacitating and fatal crashes compared to adult drivers. Moreover, because two thirds of urban vehicle miles traveled are on signal-controlled roadways, significant research efforts are needed to investigate intersection-related teenage driver injury severities and their contributing factors in terms of driver behavior, vehicle-infrastructure interactions, environmental characteristics, roadway geometric features, and traffic compositions. Therefore, this study aims to explore the characteristic differences between teenage and adult drivers in intersection-related crashes, identify the significant contributing attributes, and analyze their impacts on driver injury severities. Using crash data collected in New Mexico from 2010 to 2011, 2 multinomial logit regression models were developed to analyze injury severities for teenage and adult drivers, respectively. Elasticity analyses and transferability tests were conducted to better understand the quantitative impacts of these factors and the teenage driver injury severity model's generality. The results showed that although many of the same contributing factors were found to be significant in the both teenage and adult driver models, certain different attributes must be distinguished to specifically develop effective safety solutions for the 2 driver groups. The research findings are helpful to better understand teenage crash uniqueness and develop cost-effective solutions to reduce intersection-related teenage injury severities and facilitate driver injury mitigation research.

High-efficiency and low-cost permanent magnet guideway consideration for high-Tc superconducting Maglev vehicle practical application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng, Z; Wang, J; Zheng, J; Jing, H; Lu, Y; Ma, G; Liu, L; Liu, W; Zhang, Y; Wang, S

2008-01-01

In order to improve the cost performance of the present high-T c superconducting (HTS) Maglev vehicle system for practical application, the multi-pole permanent magnet guideway (PMG) concept was introduced. A well-known double-pole Halbach PMG was chosen as a representative of multi-pole PMGs to compare with traditional monopole PMGs from the point of view of levitation efficiency and cost. Experimental results show that YBCO bulks above the double-pole Halbach PMG can exhibit better load capability and guidance performance as well as dynamics stability at the applied working height between the bulk HTSC and the PMG due to a more reasonable magnetic field distribution at the working range of bulk HTSC. Furthermore, the double-pole PMG configuration can play a more important role in improving guidance performance due to the potential-well field configuration. By comparing with former 'century' PMGs, the double-pole Halbach PMG shows another remarkable advantage in reducing the cost of levitation. As another necessary issue, magnetic field homogeneity and the corresponding magnetic drag force of a double-pole Halbach PMG has been considered by experiment in spite of the above highlights. Synthetically, the multi-pole Halbach PMG design is concluded to be one important choice for future HTS Maglev vehicle applications because of its high efficiency and low cost.

Consumer Vehicle Choice Model Documentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Changzheng [ORNL; Greene, David L [ORNL

2012-08-01

In response to the Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions standards, automobile manufacturers will need to adopt new technologies to improve the fuel economy of their vehicles and to reduce the overall GHG emissions of their fleets. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed the Optimization Model for reducing GHGs from Automobiles (OMEGA) to estimate the costs and benefits of meeting GHG emission standards through different technology packages. However, the model does not simulate the impact that increased technology costs will have on vehicle sales or on consumer surplus. As the model documentation states, “While OMEGA incorporates functions which generally minimize the cost of meeting a specified carbon dioxide (CO2) target, it is not an economic simulation model which adjusts vehicle sales in response to the cost of the technology added to each vehicle.” Changes in the mix of vehicles sold, caused by the costs and benefits of added fuel economy technologies, could make it easier or more difficult for manufacturers to meet fuel economy and emissions standards, and impacts on consumer surplus could raise the costs or augment the benefits of the standards. Because the OMEGA model does not presently estimate such impacts, the EPA is investigating the feasibility of developing an adjunct to the OMEGA model to make such estimates. This project is an effort to develop and test a candidate model. The project statement of work spells out the key functional requirements for the new model.

Effectiveness of electronic stability control on single-vehicle accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyckegaard, Allan; Hels, Tove; Bernhoft, Inger Marie

2015-01-01

This study aims at evaluating the effectiveness of electronic stability control (ESC) on single-vehicle injury accidents while controlling for a number of confounders influencing the accident risk. Using police-registered injury accidents from 2004 to 2011 in Denmark with cars manufactured in the period 1998 to 2011 and the principle of induced exposure, 2 measures of the effectiveness of ESC were calculated: The crude odds ratio and the adjusted odds ratio, the latter by means of logistic regression. The logistic regression controlled for a number of confounding factors, of which the following were significant. For the driver: Age, gender, driving experience, valid driving license, and seat belt use. For the vehicle: Year of registration, weight, and ESC. For the accident surroundings: Visibility, light, and location. Finally, for the road: Speed limit, surface, and section characteristics. The present study calculated the crude odds ratio for ESC-equipped cars of getting in a single-vehicle injury accident as 0.40 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.34-0.47) and the adjusted odds ratio as 0.69 (95% CI, 0.54-0.88). No difference was found in the effectiveness of ESC across the injury severity categories (slight, severe, and fatal). In line with previous results, this study concludes that ESC reduces the risk for single-vehicle injury accidents by 31% when controlling for various confounding factors related to the driver, the car, and the accident surroundings. Furthermore, it is concluded that it is important to control for human factors (at a minimum age and gender) in analyses where evaluations of this type are performed.

Childhood agricultural injuries: an update for clinicians.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Suzanne; Marlenga, Barbara; Lee, Barbara C

2013-02-01

Every three days a child dies in an agriculture-related incident, and every day 45 children are injured in the United States. These tragedies should not be regarded as "accidents," as they often follow predictable and preventable patterns. Prevention is not only possible, but vital, since many of these injuries are almost immediately fatal. Major sources of fatal injuries are machinery, motor vehicles, and drowning. Tractor injuries alone account for one-third of all deaths. The leading sources of nonfatal injuries are structures and surfaces, animals (primarily horses), and vehicles (primarily all-terrain vehicles [ATVs]). Children living on farms are at a higher risk than hired workers, and are unprotected by child labor laws. Preschool children and older male youth are at the highest risk for fatal injury, while nonfatal injury was most common among boys aged 10-15 years. Multiple prevention strategies have been developed, yet economic and cultural barriers often impede their implementation. Educational campaigns alone are often ineffective, and must be coupled with re-engineering of machines and safety devices to reduce fatalities. Legislation has the potential to improve child safety, yet political and economic pressures often prohibit changes in child labor laws and mandated safety requirements. Clinicians play a pivotal role in injury prevention, and should actively address common rural risk-taking behaviors as part of the routine office visit in order to help prevent these tragedies. Copyright © 2013 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Economic balance sheet of a natural gas vehicle fleet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1996-01-01

Natural gas fuels for vehicles bear an important and variable additional cost which corresponds to the cost for compression. This short paper gives a cost-benefit comparative estimation of the m 3 of natural gas cost when the FUELMAKER and the CIRRUS compressors are used, respectively. A comparative economic estimation between petrol and natural gas for vehicles is given for two Renault vehicles. (J.S.)

Artificial intelligent decision support for low-cost launch vehicle integrated mission operations

Science.gov (United States)

Szatkowski, Gerard P.; Schultz, Roger

1988-01-01

The feasibility, benefits, and risks associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) Expert Systems applied to low cost space expendable launch vehicle systems are reviewed. This study is in support of the joint USAF/NASA effort to define the next generation of a heavy-lift Advanced Launch System (ALS) which will provide economical and routine access to space. The significant technical goals of the ALS program include: a 10 fold reduction in cost per pound to orbit, launch processing in under 3 weeks, and higher reliability and safety standards than current expendables. Knowledge-based system techniques are being explored for the purpose of automating decision support processes in onboard and ground systems for pre-launch checkout and in-flight operations. Issues such as: satisfying real-time requirements, providing safety validation, hardware and Data Base Management System (DBMS) interfacing, system synergistic effects, human interfaces, and ease of maintainability, have an effect on the viability of expert systems as a useful tool.

Nasal avulsion injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Denneny, J C

1987-11-01

The nose is the most frequently traumatized portion of the human face. High-speed motor vehicle accidents and interpersonal violence commonly produce bony pyramid and septal damage and occasional minor soft-tissue damage. Major soft-tissue injuries are much less commonly encountered. Avulsion injuries of this type may involve skin only or the bony and cartilaginous framework as well. The severity of these injuries can range from total avulsion to minor skin loss and anywhere within the spectrum between. My experience is reviewed, management guidelines and options are detailed, and selected cases are presented.

The health economics of ankle and foot sprains and fractures: A systematic review of English-language published papers. Part 2: The direct and indirect costs of injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Bielska, Iwona A; Wang, Xiang; Lee, Raymond; Johnson, Ana P

2017-07-20

Ankle and foot sprains and fractures are prevalent injuries, which may result in substantial physical and economic consequences for the patient and place a financial burden on the health care system. Therefore, the objectives of this paper are to examine the direct and indirect costs of treating ankle and foot injuries (sprains, dislocations, fractures), as well as to provide an overview of the outcomes of full economic analyses of different treatment strategies. A systematic review was carried out among seven databases to identify English language publications on the health economics of ankle and foot injury treatment published between 1980 and 2014. The direct and indirect costs were abstracted by two independent reviewers. All costs were adjusted for inflation and reported in 2016 US dollars (USD). Among 2047 identified studies, 32 were selected for analysis. The direct costs of ankle sprain management ranged from $292 to $2268 per patient (2016 USD), depending on the injury severity and treatment strategy. The direct costs of managing ankle fractures were higher ($1908-$19,555). Foot fracture treatment had similar direct costs ranging from $998 to $21,801. The economic evaluations were conducted from the societal or payer's perspectives. The costs of treating ankle and foot sprains and fractures varied among the studies, mostly due to differences in injury type and study characteristics, which impacted the ability of directly comparing the financial burden of treatment. Nonetheless, the review showed that the costs experienced by the patient and the health care system increased with injury complexity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Membrane-Based Air Composition Control for Light-Duty Diesel Vehicles: A Benefit and Cost Assessment; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

K. Stork; R. Poola

1998-01-01

This report presents the methodologies and results of a study conducted by Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) to assess the benefits and costs of several membrane-based technologies. The technologies evaluated will be used in automotive emissions-control and performance-enhancement systems incorporated into light-duty diesel vehicle engines. Such engines are among the technologies that are being considered to power vehicles developed under the government-industry Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO(sub x)) from diesel engines have long been considered a barrier to use of diesels in urban areas. Recently, particulate matter (PM) emissions have also become an area of increased concern because of new regulations regarding emissions of particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometers or less (PM(sub 2.5)). Particulates are of special concern for diesel engines in the PNGV program; the program has a research goal of 0.01 gram per mile (g/mi) of particulate matter emissions under the Federal Test Procedure (FTP) cycle. This extremely low level (one-fourth the level of the Tier II standard) could threaten the viability of using diesel engines as stand-alone powerplants or in hybrid-electric vehicles. The techniques analyzed in this study can reduce NO(sub x) and particulate emissions and even increase the power density of the diesel engines used in light-duty diesel vehicles

Analyzing injury severity of bus passengers with different movements.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Duo; Zhao, Yifei; Bai, Qiang; Zhou, Bei; Ling, Hongbiao

2017-07-04

Though public transport vehicles are rarely involved in mass casualty accidents, when they are, the number of injuries and fatalities is usually high due to the high passenger capacity. Of the few studies that have been conducted on bus safety, the majority focused on vehicle safety features, road environmental factors, as well as driver characteristics. Nevertheless, few studies have attempted to investigate the underlying risk factors related to bus occupants. This article presents an investigation aimed at identifying the risk factors affecting injury severity of bus passengers with different movements. Three different passenger movement types including standing, seated, and boarding/alighting were analyzed individually using classification and regression tree (CART) method based on publicly available accident database of Great Britain. According to the results of exploratory analyses, passenger age and vehicle maneuver are associated with passenger injury severity in all 3 types of accidents. Moreover, the variable "skidding and overturning" is associated with injury severity of seated passengers and driver age is correlated with injury severity of standing and boarding/alighting passengers. The CART method shows its ability to identify and easily explain the complicated patterns affecting passenger injury severity. Several countermeasures to reduce bus passenger injury severity are recommended.

How important is vehicle safety for older consumers in the vehicle purchase process?

Science.gov (United States)

Koppel, Sjaan; Clark, Belinda; Hoareau, Effie; Charlton, Judith L; Newstead, Stuart V

2013-01-01

and their family from a crash, their traffic infringement history, and whether they had children. These findings are consistent with previous research that suggests that, though older consumers highlight the importance of safety features (i.e., seat belts, air bags, braking), they often downplay the role of safety in their vehicle purchasing process and are more likely to equate vehicle safety with the presence of specific vehicle safety features or technologies rather than the vehicle's crash safety/test results or crashworthiness. The findings from this study provide a foundation to support further research in this area that can be used by policy makers, manufacturers, and other stakeholders to better target the promotion and publicity of vehicle safety features to particular consumer groups (such as older consumers). Better targeted campaigns may help to emphasize the value of safety features and their role in reducing the risk of injury/death. If older consumers are better informed of the benefits of safety features when purchasing a vehicle, a further reduction in injuries and deaths related to motor vehicle crashes may be realized.

Vehicle recovery and towing guideline

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-01-15

This guideline was developed to provide light and medium duty vehicles operators in the oil and gas industry with a set of best practices for avoiding injury and damage during the recovery of stuck vehicles. The aim of the guideline was to increase awareness of safety issues and promote the safe usage of the vehicles by personnel throughout the petroleum industry and to establish minimum standards of practice for vehicle recovery. The guideline included a step-by-step guide for pulling out a vehicle with a recovery strap as well as vehicle-mounted winch procedures. Pre-job checklists for both procedures were provided. Issues related to the strength rating of vehicle tow hooks and hitch receivers were discussed, as well as some of the hazards associated with steep terrains and heavy mud. The guideline also included recommendations for a vehicle recovery kit with instructions on vehicle recovery, a recovery strap, a recovery hitch and shackle, a collapsible shovel, traffic cones and reflector flares, and a heavy blanket and gloves. 7 refs., 2 tabs., 13 figs.

China’s electric vehicle subsidy scheme: Rationale and impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, Han; Ou, Xunmin; Du, Jiuyu; Wang, Hewu; Ouyang, Minggao

2014-01-01

To promote the market penetration of electric vehicles (EV), China launched the Electric Vehicle Subsidy Scheme (EVSS) in Jan 2009, followed by an update in Sep 2013, which we named phase I and phase II EVSS, respectively. In this paper, we presented the rationale of China’s two-phase EVSS and estimated their impacts on EV market penetration, with a focus on the ownership cost analysis of battery electric passenger vehicles (BEPV). Based on the ownership cost comparison of five defining BEPV models and their counterpart conventional passenger vehicle (CPV) models, we concluded that in the short term, especially before 2015, China’s EVSS is very necessary for BEPVs to be cost competitive compared with CPVs. The transition from phase I to phase II EVSS will generally reduce subsidy intensity, thus resulting in temporary rise of BEPV ownership cost. However, with the decrease of BEPV manufacturing cost, the ownership cost of BEPV is projected to decrease despite of the phase-out mechanism under phase II EVSS. In the mid term of around 2015–2020, BEPV could become less or not reliant on subsidy to maintain cost competitiveness. However, given the performance disadvantages of BEPV, especially the limited electric range, China’s current EVSS is not sufficient for the BEPV market to take off. Technology improvement associated with battery cost reduction has to play an essential role in starting up China’s BEPV market. - Highlights: • China’s phase I and phase II electric vehicle subsidy schemes were reviewed. • Major electric vehicle models in China’s vehicle market were reviewed. • The ownership costs of five defining electric passenger vehicle models were compared. • Policies to promote electric vehicle deployment in China were discussed

Frontier battery development for hybrid vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lewis Heather

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Interest in hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs has recently spiked, partly due to an increasingly negative view toward the U.S. foreign oil dependency and environmental concerns. Though HEVs are becoming more common, they have a significant price premium over gasoline-powered vehicles. One of the primary drivers of this “hybrid premium” is the cost of the vehicles’ batteries. This paper focuses on these batteries used in hybrid vehicles, examines the types of batteries used for transportation applications and addresses some of the technological, environmental and political drivers in battery development and the deployment of HEVs. Methods This paper examines the claim, often voiced by HEV proponents, that by taking into account savings on gasoline and vehicle maintenance, hybrid cars are cheaper than traditional gasoline cars. This is done by a quantitative benefit-cost analysis, in addition to qualitative benefit-cost analysis from political, technological and environmental perspectives. Results The quantitative benefit-cost analysis shows that, taking account of all costs for the life of the vehicle, hybrid cars are in fact more expensive than gasoline-powered vehicles; however, after five years, HEVs will break even with gasoline cars. Conclusions Our results show that it is likely that after 5 years, using hybrid vehicles should be cheaper in effect and yield a positive net benefit to society. There are a number of externalities that could significantly impact the total social cost of the car. These externalities can be divided into four categories: environmental, industrial, R&D and political. Despite short-term implications and hurdles, increased HEV usage forecasts a generally favorable long-term net benefit to society. Most notably, increasing HEV usage could decrease greenhouse gas emissions, while also decreasing U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Frontier battery development for hybrid vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Interest in hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) has recently spiked, partly due to an increasingly negative view toward the U.S. foreign oil dependency and environmental concerns. Though HEVs are becoming more common, they have a significant price premium over gasoline-powered vehicles. One of the primary drivers of this “hybrid premium” is the cost of the vehicles’ batteries. This paper focuses on these batteries used in hybrid vehicles, examines the types of batteries used for transportation applications and addresses some of the technological, environmental and political drivers in battery development and the deployment of HEVs. Methods This paper examines the claim, often voiced by HEV proponents, that by taking into account savings on gasoline and vehicle maintenance, hybrid cars are cheaper than traditional gasoline cars. This is done by a quantitative benefit-cost analysis, in addition to qualitative benefit-cost analysis from political, technological and environmental perspectives. Results The quantitative benefit-cost analysis shows that, taking account of all costs for the life of the vehicle, hybrid cars are in fact more expensive than gasoline-powered vehicles; however, after five years, HEVs will break even with gasoline cars. Conclusions Our results show that it is likely that after 5 years, using hybrid vehicles should be cheaper in effect and yield a positive net benefit to society. There are a number of externalities that could significantly impact the total social cost of the car. These externalities can be divided into four categories: environmental, industrial, R&D and political. Despite short-term implications and hurdles, increased HEV usage forecasts a generally favorable long-term net benefit to society. Most notably, increasing HEV usage could decrease greenhouse gas emissions, while also decreasing U.S. dependence on foreign oil. PMID:22540987

Congestion avoidance and break scheduling within vehicle routing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kok, A.L.

2010-01-01

Vehicle routing is a complex daily task for businesses such as logistic service providers and distribution firms. Planners have to assign many orders to many vehicles and, for each vehicle, assign a delivery sequence. The objective is to minimize total transport costs. These costs typically include

Cardiac Injury After All-Terrain Vehicle Accidents in 2 Children and a Review of the Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngo, Kimberly D; Pian, Phillip; Hanfland, Robert; Nichols, Christopher S; Merritt, Glenn R; Campbell, David; Ing, Richard J

2016-07-01

All-terrain vehicle (ATV) accidents leading to severe morbidity and mortality are common. At our institution, 2 children presented within weeks of each other after ATV accidents. Both children required cardiac valve surgery. The surgical management of these 2 children is discussed, and the literature is reviewed. On initial patient presentation, the diagnosis of a ruptured cardiac valve or ventricular septal defect (VSD) associated with these types of accidents is often delayed. We propose that patients presenting with evidence of high-energy blunt thoracic trauma after an ATV accident should undergo an electrocardiogram, cardiac enzyme assessment, and cardiac echocardiogram as part of the initial work-up to rule out significant myocardial injury.

Economic Analysis of Different Electric Vehicle Charging Scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Ying, Li; Haiming, Zhou; Xiufan, Ma; Hao, Wang

2017-05-01

Influence of electric vehicles (EV) to grid cannot be ignored. Research on the economy analysis of different charging scenarios is helpful to guide the user to charge or discharge orderly. EV charging models are built such as disordered charging, valley charging, intelligent charging, and V2G (Vehicle to Grid), by which changes of charging load in different scenarios can be seen to analyze the influence to initial load curve, and comparison can be done about user’s average cost. Monte Carlo method is used to simulate the electric vehicle charging behavior, cost in different charging scenarios are compared, social cost is introduced in V2G scene, and the relationship between user’s average cost and social cost is analyzed. By test, it is proved that user’s cost is the lowest in V2G scenario, and the larger the scale of vehicles is, the more the social cost can save.

Techno-economic assessment of fuel cell vehicles for India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manish S; Rangan Banerjee

2006-01-01

This paper compares four alternative vehicle technologies for a typical small family car in India (Maruti 800) - two conventional i) Petrol driven internal combustion (IC) engine, ii) Compressed natural gas (CNG) driven IC engine and two based on proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells with different storage iii) Compressed hydrogen storage and iv) Metal hydride (FeTi) storage. Each technology option is simulated in MATLAB using a backward facing algorithm to calculate the force and power requirement for the Indian urban drive cycle. The storage for the CNG and the fuel cell vehicles is designed to have driving range of 50% of the existing petrol vehicle. The simulation considers the part load efficiency vs. load characteristics for the computed ratings of the IC engine and the fuel cell. The analysis includes the transmission efficiency, motor efficiency and storage efficiencies. The comparison criteria used are the primary energy consumption (MJ/km), the cost (Rs./km) obtained by computing the annualized life cycle cost and dividing this by the annual vehicle travel and carbon dioxide emissions (g/km). For the primary energy analysis the energy required for extraction, processing of the fuel is also included. For the fuel cell vehicles, it is assumed that hydrogen is produced from natural gas through steam methane reforming. It is found that the fuel cell vehicles have the lowest primary energy consumption (1.3 MJ/km) as compared to the petrol and CNG vehicles (2.3 and 2.5 MJ/km respectively). The cost analysis is done based on existing prices in India and reveals that the CNG vehicle has the lowest cost (2.3 Rs./km) as compared to petrol (4.5 Rs./km). The fuel cell vehicles have a higher cost of 26 Rs./km mainly due to the higher fuel cell system cost (93% of the total cost). The CO 2 emissions are lowest for the fuel cell vehicle with compressed hydrogen storage (98 g/km) as compared to the petrol vehicle (162 g/km). If the incremental annual cost of the fuel

Surgical Treatment of Pressure Ulcers with a Fibrin Sealant in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury: A Cost-Consequence Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Velasco, Jose Manuel Arévalo; Lozano, Virginia; Oyagüez, Itziar; Casado, Miguel Angel

2015-11-01

A comparative study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness and costs of a fibrin sealant (Tissucol Duo [known as Tisseel in the United States], Baxter International, Deerfield, Illinois) to improve postoperative outcomes in patients with spinal cord injury undergoing surgical treatment for pressure ulcers (PrUs). Between January and June 2011, 27 patients underwent surgical treatment for PrUs with the direct application of Tissucol Duo sprayed before closure. The costs and outcomes obtained in this cohort were compared with those obtained in a previous retrospective study where 71 patients underwent conventional surgery. Lower rates of hematoma-seroma were observed in the study group (3.7% vs 33.8%; P costs. The application of Tissucol Duo during surgical treatment of PrUs in patients with spinal cord injury has been shown to be effective in reducing postoperative complications and in shortening the duration of the hospital stay with a consequent savings in costs.

Near-term hybrid vehicle program, phase 1

Science.gov (United States)

1979-01-01

The preliminary design of a hybrid vehicle which fully meets or exceeds the requirements set forth in the Near Term Hybrid Vehicle Program is documented. Topics addressed include the general layout and styling, the power train specifications with discussion of each major component, vehicle weight and weight breakdown, vehicle performance, measures of energy consumption, and initial cost and ownership cost. Alternative design options considered and their relationship to the design adopted, computer simulation used, and maintenance and reliability considerations are also discussed.

Visitor injuries in Hawai'i.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Hao Chih; Speck, Cora S R; Kumasaki, Jennifer

2009-12-01

Over seven million tourists visit the Hawaiian Islands each year. Popular visitor activities such as surfing, scuba diving, ocean kayaking, parasailing, bicycle tours and hiking each have risks of serious injury. This study reviews visitors' activities that led to serious injuries requiring treatment at the state's only trauma center while vacationing in Hawai'i. A retrospective electronic medical record review was conducted of all visitor and resident trauma patients admitted to The Queen's Medical Center (QMC) from January 2002-December 2006. Patient demographics, injury type and severity, mechanism of injury, and discharge status were collected and analyzed. A total of 8244 patients were admitted to QMC for major traumatic injuries over the five year study period. Of these, 466 (5.7%) were visitors. The most common mechanisms of visitor injuries were falls (23.6%), water-related injuries (22.8%), motor vehicle crashes (18.7%), motorcycle, moped, and recreational vehicle crashes (12.2%), assaults (7.3%), and bicycle crashes (4.0%). A disproportionate number of visitors sustained serious injuries while engaging in water-related activities: Visitors account for only 12.6% of the population on any given day, yet comprise 44.2% of the total admissions for Hawai'i's water-related injuries. Head and spine injuries make up over two-thirds (68.2%) of these water-related visitor injuries. As a general category, falls were responsible for the highest number of visitor trauma admissions. Of the recreational activities leading to high numbers of trauma admissions, water-related activities are the leading causes of serious injuries among visitors to Hawai'i. Water-related injury rates are significantly higher for Hawai'i's visitors than residents. Water safety education for visitors should be developed in multiple languages to educate and protect Hawai'i's visitors and visitor industry.

Emission Impacts of Electric Vehicles in the US Transportation Sector Following Optimistic Cost and Efficiency Projections.

Science.gov (United States)

Keshavarzmohammadian, Azadeh; Henze, Daven K; Milford, Jana B

2017-06-20

This study investigates emission impacts of introducing inexpensive and efficient electric vehicles into the US light duty vehicle (LDV) sector. Scenarios are explored using the ANSWER-MARKAL model with a modified version of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 9-region database. Modified cost and performance projections for LDV technologies are adapted from the National Research Council (2013) optimistic case. Under our optimistic scenario (OPT) we find 15% and 47% adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in 2030 and 2050, respectively. In contrast, gasoline vehicles (ICEVs) remain dominant through 2050 in the EPA reference case (BAU). Compared to BAU, OPT gives 16% and 36% reductions in LDV greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 2030 and 2050, respectively, corresponding to 5% and 9% reductions in economy-wide emissions. Total nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and SO 2 emissions are similar in the two scenarios due to intersectoral shifts. Moderate, economy-wide GHG fees have little effect on GHG emissions from the LDV sector but are more effective in the electricity sector. In the OPT scenario, estimated well-to-wheels GHG emissions from full-size BEVs with 100-mile range are 62 gCO 2 -e mi -1 in 2050, while those from full-size ICEVs are 121 gCO 2 -e mi -1 .

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Hybrid and Plug-In Electric Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

primary fuel or to improve the efficiency of conventional vehicle designs. Hybrid Electric Vehicles Icon cost and emissions with a conventional vehicle. Select Fuel/Technology Electric Hybrid Electric Plug-in Hybrid Electric Natural Gas (CNG) Flex Fuel (E85) Biodiesel (B20) Propane (LPG) Next Vehicle Cost

Injuries resulting from car surfing--United States, 1990-2008.

Science.gov (United States)

2008-10-17

"Car surfing" is a term introduced in the mid-1980s to describe a thrill-seeking activity that involves riding on the exterior of a moving motor vehicle while it is being driven by another person. Although reports of car-surfing injuries have been published in the United States, no study to date has analyzed these events from a national perspective. Because traditional public health datasets do not collect morbidity or mortality data on this practice, CDC searched U.S. newspaper reports to provide an initial characterization of car-surfing injuries on a national scale. That analysis identified 58 reports of car-surfing deaths and 41 reports of nonfatal injury from 1990 through August 2008. Most reports of car-surfing injuries came from newspapers in the Midwest and South (75%), and most of the injuries were among males (70%) and persons aged 15-19 years (69%). The first identified newspaper reports about car-surfing injuries were published in the early 1990s, and new reports have been published every year since then. Parents and teens should be aware of the potentially lethal consequences of car surfing, which can occur even at low vehicle speeds, sometimes resulting from unanticipated movements of the vehicle, such as swerving or braking.

Traumatic brain injuries in children: A hospital-based study in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David O Udoh

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Our previous studies showed a high frequency of motor vehicle accidents among neurosurgical patients. However, there is a dearth of data on head injuries in children in Nigeria. Aims: To determine the epidemiology of paediatric traumatic brain injuries. Setting and Design: This is a prospective analysis of paediatric head trauma at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, a major referral centre for all traumatic brain injuries in Nigeria between October 2006 and September 2011. Materials and Methods: We studied the demographic, clinical and radiological data and treatment outcomes. Data was analysed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS 16.0. Results: We managed 127 cases of paediatric head injuries, 65 boys and 62 girls representing 13% of all head injuries managed over the 5-year period. They were aged 3 months to 17 years. The mean age was 7.4 years (median 7 years with peak incidence occurring at 6-8 years i.e. 31 (24.4% cases. Motor vehicle accidents resulted in 67.7%, falls 14% and violence 7%. The most frequent computed tomography finding was intracerebral haemorrhage. Mean duration of hospitalization was 18 days (median 11 days. Eleven patients died, mortality correlating well with severity and the presence of intracerebral haematoma. Conclusion: Head injuries in children are due to motor vehicle and motor vehicle-related accidents. Hence, rational priorities for prevention of head injuries in children should include prevention of vehicular, especially pedestrian, accidents in developing countries.

Reversal of coagulopathy in critically ill patients with traumatic brain injury: recombinant factor VIIa is more cost-effective than plasma.

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Deborah M; Dutton, Richard P; Kramer, Mary E; Scalea, Thomas M

2009-01-01

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability after trauma. Coagulopathy is common in this patient population and requires rapid reversal to allow for safe neurosurgical intervention and prevent worsening of the primary injury. Typically reversal of coagulopathy is accomplished with the use of plasma. Recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa; NovoSeven, Novo Nordisk, Bagsvaerd, Denmark) has become increasingly used "off-label" in patients with neurosurgical emergencies to rapidly reverse coagulopathy. We hypothesized that the use of rFVIIa in this patient population would prove to be cost-effective as well as demonstrate clinical benefit. The trauma registry at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center was used to identify all coagulopatic trauma patients admitted between January 2002 and December 2007 with relatively isolated TBI (head Abbreviated Injury Scale score of >or=4). The medical records of patients were reviewed and demographics, injury-specific data, medications administered, laboratory values, blood product utilization, neurosurgical procedures, length of stay (LOS), discharge disposition, and outcome data were abstracted. Patients who received rFVIIa for reversal of coagulopathy were compared against those who did not receive rFVIIa. t Tests were used to compare differences between continuous variables, and chi2 analysis was used to compare categorical variables. A p value of percentage of patients with head Abbreviated Injury Scale score of 5 injuries, patients who underwent neurosurgical procedures and patients with preinjury warfarin use. There was no difference in total charges between these groups (mean US $63,403 in the conventionally treated group vs. $66,086). When patients who required admission to the intensive care unit were analyzed (n = 110, 50% received rFVIIa), total mean charges and costs were significantly lower in the group that received rFVIIa (mean US $108,900 vs. $77,907). Hospital LOS, days of mechanical

Lightweighting Impacts on Fuel Economy, Cost, and Component Losses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brooker, A. D.; Ward, J.; Wang, L.

2013-01-01

The Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator (FASTSim) is the U.S. Department of Energy's high-level vehicle powertrain model developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It uses a time versus speed drive cycle to estimate the powertrain forces required to meet the cycle. It simulates the major vehicle powertrain components and their losses. It includes a cost model based on component sizing and fuel prices. FASTSim simulated different levels of lightweighting for four different powertrains: a conventional gasoline engine vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), and a battery electric vehicle (EV). Weight reductions impacted the conventional vehicle's efficiency more than the HEV, PHEV and EV. Although lightweighting impacted the advanced vehicles' efficiency less, it reduced component cost and overall costs more. The PHEV and EV are less cost effective than the conventional vehicle and HEV using current battery costs. Assuming the DOE's battery cost target of $100/kWh, however, the PHEV attained similar cost and lightweighting benefits. Generally, lightweighting was cost effective when it costs less than $6/kg of mass eliminated.

An assessment of electric vehicles: technology, infrastructure requirements, greenhouse-gas emissions, petroleum use, material use, lifetime cost, consumer acceptance and policy initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Delucchi, M A; Yang, C; Burke, A F; Ogden, J M; Kurani, K; Kessler, J; Sperling, D

2014-01-13

Concerns about climate change, urban air pollution and dependence on unstable and expensive supplies of foreign oil have led policy-makers and researchers to investigate alternatives to conventional petroleum-fuelled internal-combustion-engine vehicles in transportation. Because vehicles that get some or all of their power from an electric drivetrain can have low or even zero emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and urban air pollutants, and can consume little or no petroleum, there is considerable interest in developing and evaluating advanced electric vehicles (EVs), including pure battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles. To help researchers and policy-makers assess the potential of EVs to mitigate climate change and reduce petroleum use, this paper discusses the technology of EVs, the infrastructure needed for their development, impacts on emissions of GHGs, petroleum use, materials use, lifetime costs, consumer acceptance and policy considerations.

Advances in fuel cell vehicle design

Science.gov (United States)

Bauman, Jennifer

Factors such as global warming, dwindling fossil fuel reserves, and energy security concerns combine to indicate that a replacement for the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle is needed. Fuel cell vehicles have the potential to address the problems surrounding the ICE vehicle without imposing any significant restrictions on vehicle performance, driving range, or refuelling time. Though there are currently some obstacles to overcome before attaining the widespread commercialization of fuel cell vehicles, such as improvements in fuel cell and battery durability, development of a hydrogen infrastructure, and reduction of high costs, the fundamental concept of the fuel cell vehicle is strong: it is efficient, emits zero harmful emissions, and the hydrogen fuel can be produced from various renewable sources. Therefore, research on fuel cell vehicle design is imperative in order to improve vehicle performance and durability, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. This thesis makes a number of key contributions to the advancement of fuel cell vehicle design within two main research areas: powertrain design and DC/DC converters. With regards to powertrain design, this research first analyzes various powertrain topologies and energy storage system types. Then, a novel fuel cell-battery-ultracapacitor topology is presented which shows reduced mass and cost, and increased efficiency, over other promising topologies found in the literature. A detailed vehicle simulator is created in MATLAB/Simulink in order to simulate and compare the novel topology with other fuel cell vehicle powertrain options. A parametric study is performed to optimize each powertrain and general conclusions for optimal topologies, as well as component types and sizes, for fuel cell vehicles are presented. Next, an analytical method to optimize the novel battery-ultracapacitor energy storage system based on maximizing efficiency, and minimizing cost and mass, is developed. This method can be applied

Fuel cell mining vehicles: design, performance and advantages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Betournay, M.C.; Miller, A.R.; Barnes, D.L.

2003-01-01

The potential for using fuel cell technology in underground mining equipment was discussed with reference to the risks associated with the operation of hydrogen vehicles, hydrogen production and hydrogen delivery systems. This paper presented some of the initiatives for mine locomotives and fuel cell stacks for underground environments. In particular, it presents the test results of the first applied industrial fuel cell vehicle in the world, a mining and tunneling locomotive. This study was part of an international initiative managed by the Fuel Cell Propulsion Institute which consists of several mining companies, mining equipment manufacturers, and fuel cell technology developers. Some of the obvious benefits of fuel cells for underground mining operations include no exhaust gases, lower electrical costs, significantly reduced maintenance, and lower ventilation costs. Another advantage is that the technology can be readily automated and computer-based for tele-remote operations. This study also quantified the cost and operational benefits associated with fuel cell vehicles compared to diesel vehicles. It is expected that higher vehicle productivity could render fuel cell underground vehicles cost-competitive. 6 refs., 1 tab

The incidence and economic burden of injuries in Jiangxi, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, X; Zeng, G; Linnan, H W; Jing, R; Zhu, X; Corso, P; Liu, P; Linnan, M

2016-09-01

This study estimated the incidence, direct medical and non-medical costs, and productivity losses due to morbidity and mortality across multiple strata for injuries that occurred in Jiangxi, China. Cross-sectional study. Data came from the Jiangxi injury survey, a provincially-representative, population-based sample of 100,010 households. The major economic costs of injuries were divided into direct costs and indirect costs. Direct costs encompass medical costs and direct non-medical costs. Indirect costs refer to the productivity losses due to injury-related morbidity and mortality. In 2005, about one of 18 residents in Jiangxi, China, experienced an injury. Overall, fall, animal bite, and road traffic crash (RTC) injuries accounted for more than 66% of all injuries, while fall, RTC, drowning, and self-harm injuries accounted for 80% of fatal injuries. Average cost per case for a fatal injury was 163,389 RMB ($20,171) for lost productivity and 2800 RMB ($346) in direct medical & non-medical costs. A non-fatal injury resulting in hospitalisation or permanent disability on average caused 5221 RMB ($643) in direct costs and 18,437 RMB ($2276) in lost productivity and, an additional loss of three school days. A non-hospitalised non-fatal injury on average caused 303 ($37) RMB in direct costs and 491 RMB ($61) in lost productivity and, an additional loss of 0.5 school days. The unequivocal evidence of the substantial health and financial burden of injuries indicates to Chinese policy makers that more research and efforts are needed to find efficacious and cost-effective interventions targeting injury. Copyright © 2016 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Injury Characteristics of Low-Energy Lisfranc Injuries Compared With High-Energy Injuries.

Science.gov (United States)

Renninger, Christopher H; Cochran, Grant; Tompane, Trevor; Bellamy, Joseph; Kuhn, Kevin

2017-09-01

Lisfranc injuries result from high- and low-energy mechanisms though the literature has been more focused on high-energy mechanisms. A comparison of high-energy (HE) and low-energy (LE) injury patterns is lacking. The objective of this study was to report injury patterns in LE Lisfranc joint injuries and compare them to HE injury patterns. Operative Lisfranc injuries were identified over a 5-year period. Patient demographics, mechanism of injury, injury pattern, associated injuries, missed diagnoses, clinical course, and imaging studies were reviewed and compared. HE mechanism was defined as motor vehicle crash, motorcycle crash, direct crush, and fall from greater than 4 feet and LE mechanism as athletic activity, ground level twisting, or fall from less than 4 feet. Thirty-two HE and 48 LE cases were identified with 19.3 months of average follow-up. There were no differences in demographics or missed diagnosis frequency (21% HE vs 18% LE). Time to seek care was not significantly different. HE injuries were more likely to have concomitant nonfoot fractures (37% vs 6%), concomitant foot fractures (78% vs 4%), cuboid fractures (31% vs 6%), metatarsal base fractures (84% vs 29%), displaced intra-articular fractures (59% vs 4%), and involvement of all 5 rays (23% vs 6%). LE injuries were more commonly ligamentous (68% vs 16%), with fewer rays involved (2.7 vs 4.1). LE mechanisms were a more common cause of Lisfranc joint injury in this cohort. These mechanisms generally resulted in an isolated, primarily ligamentous injury sparing the lateral column. Both types had high rates of missed injury that could result in delayed treatment. Differences in injury patterns could help direct future research to optimize treatment algorithms. Level III, comparative series.

Fuel and vehicle technology choices for passenger vehicles in achieving stringent CO2 targets: connections between transportation and other energy sectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Grahn, M; Azar, C; Williander, M I; Anderson, J E; Mueller, S A; Wallington, T J

2009-05-01

The regionalized Global Energy Transition (GET-R 6.0) model has been modified to include a detailed description of light-duty vehicle options and used to investigate the potential impact of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and concentrating solar power (CSP) on cost-effective fuel/vehicle technologies in a carbon-constrained world. Total CO2 emissions were constrained to achieve stabilization at 400-550 ppm, by 2100, at lowesttotal system cost The dominantfuel/vehicle technologies varied significantly depending on CO2 constraint future cost of vehicle technologies, and availability of CCS and CSP. For many cases, no one technology dominated on a global scale. CCS provides relatively inexpensive low-CO2 electricity and heatwhich prolongs the use of traditional ICEVs. CSP displaces fossil fuel derived electricity, prolongs the use of traditional ICEVs, and promotes electrification of passenger vehicles. In all cases considered, CCS and CSP availability had a major impact on the lowest cost fuel/vehicle technologies, and alternative fuels are needed in response to expected dwindling oil and natural gas supply potential by the end of the century.

Advanced Vehicle and Power Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-29

optimize vehicle operation, and capture vehicle kinetic energy during braking ( regenerative energy). As much as two-thirds of this imported oil comes... categories . Figure 4 provides a visual representation of many of the HEV and BEV options available on the 2010 GSA Schedule. Figure 4 - GSA...gallon • Renewable energy generated 24 • Vehicle miles driven by vehicle category • Implementation costs – Infrastructure modifications required

Life Cycle Cost Assessments for Military Transatmospheric Vehicles,

Science.gov (United States)

1997-01-01

earth orbit (GEO) that fall within the Titan-IV heavy launch vehicle (HLV) class are outside the practical design limits for a marketable RLV SSTO ...information is from the RAND-hosted TAV Workshop. Three SSTO concepts for X-33 were proposed during Phase I, all with either different takeoff or landing...1996 indicated some observed general differences in vehicles depending on the launch and landing modes:4 • Single stage to orbit ( SSTO ) TAVs for

Applied Robotics for Installations and Base Operations: User Perceptions of a Driverless Vehicle at Fort Bragg

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-03

injuries 1 Seats are uncomfortable, especially for those with injuries 1 Need seat beltsa 2 Need feedback from vehicle or signage to communicate vehicle...of the vehicle’s presence and capabilities through means such as signage , or audible alerts or warnings. Some examples included a verbal...appearance (e.g., bright color) to increase nonuser awareness 1 Include eye-catching signage of features onboard the vehicle 1 A communication system

Gastrointestinal Traumatic Injuries: Gastrointestinal Perforation.

Science.gov (United States)

Revell, Maria A; Pugh, Marcia A; McGhee, Melanie

2018-03-01

The abdomen is a big place even in a small person. Gastrointestinal trauma can result in injury to the stomach, small bowel, colon, or rectum. Traumatic causes include blunt or penetrating trauma, such as gunshot wounds, stabbings, motor vehicle collisions, and crush injuries. Nontraumatic causes include appendicitis, Crohn disease, cancer, diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, blockage of the bowel, and chemotherapy. The mechanism of injury will affect both the nature and severity of any resulting injuries. Treatment must address the critical and emergent nature of these injuries as well as issues that affect all trauma situations, which include management of hemodynamic instability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Injury risk functions for frontal oblique collisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Andricevic, Nino; Junge, Mirko; Krampe, Jonas

2018-03-09

The objective of this article was the construction of injury risk functions (IRFs) for front row occupants in oblique frontal crashes and a comparison to IRF of nonoblique frontal crashes from the same data set. Crashes of modern vehicles from GIDAS (German In-Depth Accident Study) were used as the basis for the construction of a logistic injury risk model. Static deformation, measured via displaced voxels on the postcrash vehicles, was used to calculate the energy dissipated in the crash. This measure of accident severity was termed objective equivalent speed (oEES) because it does not depend on the accident reconstruction and thus eliminates reconstruction biases like impact direction and vehicle model year. Imputation from property damage cases was used to describe underrepresented low-severity crashes-a known shortcoming of GIDAS. Binary logistic regression was used to relate the stimuli (oEES) to the binary outcome variable (injured or not injured). IRFs for the oblique frontal impact and nonoblique frontal impact were computed for the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) 2+ and 3+ levels for adults (18-64 years). For a given stimulus, the probability of injury for a belted driver was higher in oblique crashes than in nonoblique frontal crashes. For the 25% injury risk at MAIS 2+ level, the corresponding stimulus for oblique crashes was 40 km/h but it was 64 km/h for nonoblique frontal crashes. The risk of obtaining MAIS 2+ injuries is significantly higher in oblique crashes than in nonoblique crashes. In the real world, most MAIS 2+ injuries occur in an oEES range from 30 to 60 km/h.

Current costing models: are they suitable for allocating health resources? The example of fall injury prevention in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Moller, Jerry

2005-01-01

The example of fall injury among older people is used to define and illustrate how current Australian systems for allocation of health resources perform for funding emerging public health issues. While the examples are Australian, the allocation and priority setting methods are common in the health sector in all developed western nations. With an ageing population the number of falls injuries in Australia and the cost of treatment will rise dramatically over the next 20-50 years. Current methods of allocating funds within the health system are not well suited to meeting this coming epidemic. The information requirements for cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness measures cannot be met. Marginal approaches to health funding are likely to continue to fund already well-funded treatment or politically driven prevention processes and to miss the opportunity for new prevention initiatives in areas that do not have a high political profile. Fall injury is one of many emerging areas that struggle to make claims for funding because the critical mass of intervention and evidence of its impact is not available. The beneficiaries of allocation failure may be those who treat the disease burden that could have been easily prevented. Changes to allocation mechanisms, data systems and new initiative funding practices are required to ensure that preventative strategies are able to compete on an equal footing with treatment approaches for mainstream health funding.

Optimization of a simplified automobile finite element model using time varying injury metrics.