This study aimed to understand the behaviors of older adults in rural areas at all stages of active aging after participating in senior self-directed learning groups. This study adopted a qualitative research method and conducted one-on-one semi-structured interviews with six members of a senior learning center in a rural area. The themes…

This study sought to compare road safety of new drivers with low vision who have followed a specific pilot bioptic training program with other groups of drivers all matched for age and driving experience. A quasi-experimental design was used two years after drivers obtained their license. Drivers were classified in the experimental group (n = 10,…

Objective: To test whether children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), free of conduct disorder (CD) in childhood (mean = 8 years), have elevated risk-taking, accidents, and medical illnesses in adulthood (mean = 41 years); whether development of CD influences risk-taking during adulthood; and whether exposure to…

The number of automobile recalls in the U.S. has increased sharply in the last two decades, and the numbers of units involved are often counted in the millions. In 2010 alone, over 20 million vehicles were recalled in the United States, and the massive recalls of full model lines by Toyota have brought this issue to the front pages around the…

A reversal design was used to evaluate the effects of vocal and written prompts as well as reinforcement on safe behavior (dismounting and walking bicycles or motorcycles on a sidewalk) on a university campus. Results indicated that an intervention that consisted of vocal and written prompts and reinforcement delivered by security guards was…

Context: All-terrain vehicles' (ATVs) popularity and associated injuries among children are increasing in the United States. Currently, most known ATV use pattern data are obtained from injured youth and little documented data exist characterizing the typical ATV use patterns and safety practices among American children in general. Purpose: To…

Life continues to hold considerable risk for adolescents in the United States. In 2006, the teen death rate stood at 64 deaths per 100,000 teens (13,739 teens) (KIDS COUNT Data Center, 2009). Although it has declined by 4 percent since 2000, the rate of teen death in this country remains substantially higher than in many peer nations, based…

The centerpiece of the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) Sled Lab is "the impact sled," as it is called in the business. It's the business of conducting sled impact tests, perhaps better known as crash tests, on all types of wheelchairs and wheelchair seating systems as well as wheelchair tiedowns and…

Safe transportation for wheelchair users who do not transfer to the vehicle seat when traveling in motor vehicles requires after-market wheelchair tiedown and occupant restraint systems (WTORS) to secure the wheelchair and provide crashworthy restraint for the wheelchair-seated occupant. In the absence of adequate government safety standards,…

This is the first of a series of six articles on the topic of transportation safety for wheelchair-seated travelers and will highlight some of the basic issues and principles that have been considered in the development of voluntary standards for wheelchair tiedown and occupant restraints systems (WTORS) as well as for wheelchairs that are used as…

In 1980 recommendations were made to prevent child injuries. They addressed the following topics: (1) motor vehicle safety; (2) home and neighborhood safety; and (3) the development of a national data base from which policy can be formulated. There is evidence that progress has been made since the morbidity and mortality rates for accidents have…

This document presents witness' testimonies and supplemental materials from the congressional hearing called to examine the issue of automotive safety. In her opening statement, Chairwoman Patricia Schroeder briefly reviews statistics on traffic accidents and identifies the two major issues to be addressed in the hearing: failure to act by the…

Explains the variables involved when stopping a car on various types of pavement, braking schemes and additional concerns. (RT)

A hearing was held to examine the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) settlement of its imminent hazard enforcement case against the major manufacturers of all-terrain vehicles (ATV), a product causing, as of January, 1988, a total of 330,000 serious injuries and over 900 deaths, nearly half of these to children. Central to the Committee's…

The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), which became operational in 1975, contains data on a census of fatal traffic crashes within the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The General Estimates System (GES), which began in 1988, provides data from a nationally representative probability sample selected from all…