Accident Costs Research Articles

Designing orthopaedic seat cushion made of rattan using quality function deployment approach

Using ergonomic orthopaedic chairs can address spinal issues, particularly HNP, due to their flexible and elastic properties. By achieving optimal ergonomic design, various positive aspects can be achieved, such as increasing work quality productivity and reducing the cost of injuries or accidents. This research demonstrates diverse product design approaches to enhance posture health ergonomics, address specific musculoskeletal disorder issues, and consider local needs and available materials. Rattan is a tropical vine widely used in the furniture industry and predominantly found in wooded areas such as Indonesia. This research combines market research, morphology, ergonomic study, concept selection, QFD, HoQ, stiffness test, and prototype review. The QFD method was chosen in this study due to its excellence in connecting consumer desires with the product development process. Data of respondents consist of 51 % of respondents were male, 49 % were female, 88 % were aged between 18 and 34 years old, and 10 % were aged between 35 and 54 years old. The approach of 6 stages of product design as the primary framework for developing our product such as: planning, concept development (concept screening, product morphology, concept selection), system-level design, detailed design, testing, refinement and launching. Based on the calculations using the HOQ, it is identified that the primary focus in designing the rattan-based orthopaedic seating, lies in the orthopaedic design that provides maximum comfort for the spine. The comparison results indicate that the stiffness level of rattan weaving is nearly like latex, with a similarity percentage of 89 %. Data analysis using the QFD method indicates that the primary priority aspect is the orthopaedic design, followed by the selection of quality materials, cost-effectiveness, versatility, and appealing design aspects. Rattan's superior air circulation provides comfort by preventing excessive heat accumulation, excellence in strength and durability, ensuring ease of lightweight modelling, and providing more sustainable material.

Internalizing External Accident Costs in Safety Investment Evaluation Using Cost–Benefit Analysis

The primary objectives of transportation system development in European countries include improving transport efficiency, enhancing national economic competitiveness, and promoting sustainable mobility. A key aspect of achieving these goals is the evaluation of transport externalities, particularly external accident costs, which is critical for ensuring the economic and social sustainability of road transport development. This study comprehensively evaluates external road accident costs and proposes an innovative approach to internalizing these costs through a cost–benefit analysis (CBA). By integrating these external costs into CBA, policymakers can better understand the societal impact of road safety investments, allowing for more informed decisions regarding measures to reduce road accidents and fatalities. This paper also explores the role of specific safety investments, such as installing vehicle restrain systems (VRS), buffers, and terminals on the national road network, as well as installing speed cameras, in reducing accidents and mitigating external costs. The findings highlight road safety measures’ importance in enhancing economic efficiency and social well-being, providing a solid foundation for the sustainable and efficient development of transportation systems.

Household cost of road traffic accident-related injuries: A case study of St. Joseph Hospital, Koforidua in Ghana

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are a prominent contributor to both mortality and morbidity, particularly affecting individuals aged 5–29 years. Road traffic Injuries impose substantial physical and economic burden on individuals, households, and governments, particularly in African nations. Thus, our study focuses on assessing the economic cost of road traffic accidents within the context of St. Joseph Hospital, Koforidua.A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the Emergency Unit of the St. Joseph Hospital with a sample size of 291 patients. A patient perspective was used in costing the management of RTAs. Data was descriptively analyzed with Microsoft Excel with means and standard deviations estimated for direct, indirect, and intangible costs to the patient.Total direct and indirect cost of road traffic accidents were approximately GHS1,973,801.28 (US$164,483.44) and GHS520,309.46 (US$43,359.12) respectively which represents 79.1 % and 20.9 % of the total cost. The annual average economic cost for all cases was GHS8,570.83 (US$714.24). Intangible costs were also found to be high, with 54.2 % patients rating their RTA burden to be between mild to moderate, 10.8 % as moderate to severe and 1.4 % as severe.RTA cost burden is huge for all households. Uninsured patients bear significantly higher costs than insured patients. Intangible costs were also high, prompting the need to provide psychological care to RTA victims and their families. Concerted efforts should be directed at strict enforcement, training, improvement of road infrastructure and legislation to reduce or curb road traffic accidents in LMICs.

Predicting Safety Accident Costs in Construction Projects Using Ensemble Data-Driven Models

Predicting Safety Accident Costs in Construction Projects Using Ensemble Data-Driven Models

ENHANCING ROAD SAFETY FOR VULNERABLE ROAD USERS – THE ROLE OF AUTONOMOUS EMERGENCY BRAKING SYSTEMS

Vulnerable road users are the largest group of road accident victims in the world. At the same time, it should be noted that most road accidents are caused by the motor vehicle driver. An opportunity to increase the level of road safety is emergency braking systems installed in vehicles. Their task is to detect the risk of a collision with another object, issue a warning to the driver and, in the absence of reaction, perform emergency braking. The publication presents the results of research conducted by the Motor Transport Institute as part of the PEDICRASH project. As part of the work, a series of tests of the autonomous emergency braking system were carried out to check unusual but probable cases of events in which it should work. The tests were carried out in a closed area using a few selected models of popular passenger car brands. An additional data acquisition system and dummies imitating vulnerable road users: pedestrians and cyclists were used. The constructions represent the silhouette of an adult person and meet the requirements of the Euro NCAP AEB Protocol. The time of the collision at the time of issuing a warning to the driver was analyzed. Assuming that the vehicle was moving uniformly, the distance from the obstacle was calculated at the time of issuing the warning and after the driver's reaction time (0.7 s and 1 s were assumed) from this signal. The deceleration necessary to brake the vehicle was calculated and it was determined whether the driver would have a chance to brake the vehicle before a pedestrian or a cyclist in a given situation. For cases in which the driver would not be able to brake in time, the speed of the vehicle with which it would hit the vulnerable road users was calculated. Possible injuries and accident costs were then estimated.

Estimation of Road Traffic Accident Costs in 2022 – Personal and Property Damage Costs

Estimation of Road Traffic Accident Costs in 2022 – Personal and Property Damage Costs

Automatic Accident Avoidance System

Abstract: As much as road travel has improved lives for the better part it also has proposed many challenges. Along with taking lives of those if countless people it also has been an economic burden on the country, in India the cost of road travel accidents in 2019 was estimated to be 12 billion USD. Along with loss of lives, serious injuries, damage to public infrastructure and with huge financial burden on the tax payers it becomes a major in road block in the urbanization of developing countries, a lot of the steps have been taken by the government regarding this issue including awareness among the general public about using the safety features present in their respective automobile, avoiding driving under the influence of substances, regulating the manufacturing standards of automobiles so they can withstand the damage and keep the passengers safe. But these steps are primary based on the presumption on the reliable decision making of the human driver. A lot more could be achieved by devising methods for accident prevention that don’t rely on human intervention. In this project we have devised a system that works automatically using an ATmega328mp microcontroller paired with an ultrasonic distance sensor that can detect the obstacles facing the automobile and can make a decision to warn the driver and if ignored can override the control of the human driver.

Sustainable pathways for mitigating externalities in long-distance terrestrial transport

International agreements and European policies emphasise the necessity to reduce transport externalities, particularly by focusing on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This reduction should align with improved accessibility to major urban areas, which is a goal explicitly associated with the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). However, the correlation between these two objectives is not necessarily straightforward, as an increase in travel demand may contribute to the growth in transport externalities. This study economically evaluates the transport externalities generated along the Italian segment of the Brenner axis, which is the central part of the TEN-T Scandinavian–Mediterranean corridor. The aim of the analysis is twofold: (i) to ascertain whether the evolution of travel demand over the last decade aligns with European objectives on transport externalities; (ii) to project the expected effects to 2030 and 2040 under alternative scenarios. Existing data fail to reveal a clear trend, owing to fluctuating travel demands in recent years. Instead of indicating a generalised reduction in externalities, the data reflect a redistribution of costs among categories, with less effects from local pollutants and higher congestion and accident costs. The anticipated increase in travel demand is likely to exacerbate these externalities, thus further increasing road congestion and accident costs. This increase is not expected to be fully offset by the reduction in air and GHG emissions despite the enhanced efficiency of the vehicular fleet. The modal shift from road to rail, as well as the ongoing digitalisation processes, are imperative for effective road traffic management and reducing costs along the corridor.

Determinants of Road Traffic Crash Fatalities: A Case of Road Accidents in India, 2004–2018

The purpose of this study is to determine the factors that influence deaths in road accidents in India. The study uses panel econometric methodologies such as the fixed effects model, random effects model, and Hausman–Taylor instrumental variable technique to achieve this goal. Unobserved heterogeneity between states/union territories (UTs) and time is accounted for by time-fixed and state-fixed effects. Based on the panel data set from Indian states/UTs for the period 2004–2018, the study confirms previous results that motorisation, population, urbanisation and income level are all potential contributors to road accidents and fatalities. It also shows that spending on health care and law enforcement appears to help the Indian states minimise mortality in road traffic accidents. On the one hand, spending on health care facilities can provide health-related assistance to persons who have been involved in traffic accidents; on the other hand, spending on police increases the enforcement of rules, resulting in a reduction in traffic accidents. Thus, to lessen the economic and financial cost of road accidents in the country, the government should focus on boosting both per capita health expenditure and per capita police expenditure. JEL Codes: C23, C26, H51, I18, L92, O18, R41, R42

Cost Analysis and Prediction of Railroad Level Crossing Accidents for Indian Railways

With the tremendous increase in the number of vehicles, the dense traffic created can lead to accidents and fatalities. In a traffic system, the costs for accidents are immeasurable. Numerous studies have been carried out to predict the cost of fatal accidents but have provided the actual values. Therefore, in this study, a monkey-based modular neural system (MbMNS) is developed to identify accident cost. The accident cases and cost data were collected and preprocessed to remove the noise, and the required features were extracted using the spider monkey function. Based on the extracted features, the accidents and the costs were identified. For rail engineering, this will support evaluating the number of railroad crossing accidents with different time intervals. The impact of every accident was also measured with different cost analysis constraints, including insurance, medical, and legal and administrative costs. Therefore, the present study contributes to the field by collecting and organizing the present railroad level crossing accident data from crossing inventory dashboards. Then, the introduction of a novel MbMNS for the cost analysis is the primary contribution of this study to further enrich the railroad level crossing protection system. The third contribution is the tuning of the prediction layer of a modular neural network to the desired level to achieve the highest predictive exactness score. Hence, the designed MbMNS was tested in the Python environment, and the results were validated with regard to recall, accuracy, F-measure, precision, and error values; a comparative analysis was also conducted to confirm the improvement. The novel MbMNS recorded high accuracy of 96.29% for accident and cost analysis, which is better than that reported for other traditional methods.

Analysis of the Effect of Time and Cost Performance Risk of Toll Road Project Based on the Principle of Project Management Body of Knowledge

Toll road facilities are needed by the community to improve economic standards with adequate mobility. Toll Road Projects often have delays in the implementation schedule which results in increased project costs. This study aims to determine the effect of the risk of increasing costs on toll road projects caused by delays in project implementation time based on PMBOK guidelines. This research is based on the object of the Japek II Selatan Package III Toll Road project and studies journal literature, surveys, and questionnaires using the SEM Smart PLS program. The effect of risk on cost performance is variable due to the lack of project land readiness. Based on project data from the contract, it was supposed to be completed in December 2020 but was pushed back to mid-2024 estimates. The effect is due to an increase in costs, with a percentage of 2%; in this study, the factor of implementing K3 Projects is in the form of work accident costs. The analysis of SEM PLS shows the effect of time and cost performance on the Planning and Implementation of land readiness indicators, unit price increase, project K3 implementation, and risk management implementation. The study concludes that the risk of increasing costs includes poor planning, which is hampered by land readiness and results in delays in implementation time and year differences that cause changes in material unit prices, resulting in an increase in project costs. Risk Management, as stated in the PMBOK guidelines on Toll Road Projects, must be implemented to reduce the impact of the risk of increasing project costs.

Review of Road Traffic Accident Burdens in Transportation Sector of Ethiopia

The transportation sector has a very immense role in the economic development of a given country. Because human beings' day-to-day activities re highly depends on the transport service. But this sector has its own drawbacks, like road traffic crashes and environmental pollution. In Ethiopia, the road transport sector is poor in terms of quality and service delivery systems. Due to this, the frequent occurrence of road traffic crashes has been recorded in the country continuously. To that end, this paper was mainly intended to review road traffic accident burdens in the transportation sector of Ethiopia. In detail, reviewing the costs of road traffic accidents, the causing factors of road traffic accidents, the types of vehicles highly involved in road traffic accidents, and the victim groups of communities affected by road traffic accidents at the national level were the specific objectives of this paper. Meanwhile, all road traffic accident data found in Ethiopia from the federal police commission report papers, journal articles, and dissertation papers were used for analysis purposes. Besides, the collected data is presented in tables and figures. Furthermore, the data was analyzed and interpreted based on a descriptive research design. Finally, the result of this review shows that trends of road traffic accidents in Ethiopia have been increasing over time by killing, injuring people and damaging resources. Drivers’ bad behaviors, low know-how of road users, poor road infrastructure, old vehicle conditions, and environmental factors are aggravating the occurrence of road traffic accidents in the country. Thus, to tackle this problem, educating people, enforcing traffic laws, enhancing engineering measures, and giving emergency responses were the recommendations given in this paper.

Emergency materials management of petrochemical accidents considering the randomness and uncertainty base on stochastic programming

Petroleum is the pillar industry of the national economy, but safety accidents are frequent all over the world. The government attaches more importance to the safety production management of enterprises to reduce the occurrence of accidents that infringe on personal safety. The management of emergency supplies, which can effectively respond to the occurrence of safety production accidents, is a key measure for handling emergency accidents. Rapid response to accidents means reducing accident rescue costs and protecting personal and property safety. This paper proposes a material stochastic model with the randomness of accident demand for materials. The enterprise and the government can obtain the material management scheme and the quantitative evaluation standard of accident preventive measures from the model results respectively. The model covers as many accident scenarios as possible through multi-scenario modeling to reduce the impact of accident uncertainty. Finally, the feasibility is proved by an example of a petroleum enterprise in Zhoushan City. When the accident demand fluctuates randomly between 80% and 120%, the model proposes a material management scheme that the dispatching time of materials and the cost in rescue work do not exceed 31.33 min and 11.68 million CNY respectively. With the assistance of the model, the enterprise saves the cost of safe production and improves the efficiency of rescue. The government has strengthened the supervision and evaluation of enterprise safety production management. Finally, the mission of protecting the property and life safety of the people will be realized.

Traffic Accident Cost Analysis Using The Gross Output (Human Capital) Method Approach

Based on the Tangerang Police traffic accident data, there were 1,559 accidents that occurred in Tangerang Regency during the last 5 years and have increased every year. These problems need to be studied to determine the factors that cause accidents from the characteristics, and the amount of accident costs as an effort to improve traffic safety on the highway. The study used the EAN (Equivalent Accident Number) method to calculate accident rates and The Gross Output method to calculate accident costs. Based on the calculation of The Gross Output method, the total unit cost of accident victims is Rp. 2,084,725,349.34, - and the amount of accident victim costs is Rp. 9,817,644,067.75, -. The unit cost of an accident is Rp. 2,127,225,346.43, - and the amount of accident costs is Rp. 10,041,644,067.75.

Learning from different types of failure: evidence from non-severe and severe work accidents in SMEs

AbstractThis paper investigates the learning patterns of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from heterogeneous work accidents (i.e., minor and severe and fatal accidents). Work safety cannot be overlooked, and the focus of this study on learning from failure allows to understand how SMEs match safety problems with solutions generated by past experience with work accidents and knowledge acquisition; while acknowledging that accident heterogeneity influences SMEs’ learning. The analysis uses a sample of 108 Spanish SMEs during 2006–2009. The results show that SMEs learn to modify safety practices, and that experience with both minor and severe and fatal accidents impact learning outcomes—measured as changes in the unit accident cost—through different mechanisms. Cumulative experience with past work accidents supports exploitative learning, but this effect was found only for minor accidents. Although the adoption of safety-enhancing tools (i.e., OHSAS 18001) does not affect learning, the findings reveal the value of ambidextrous learning: SMEs adopting the OHSAS 18001 learn more from severe and fatal accidents than from minor accidents by triggering drastic modifications in their safety practices.

INVESTIGATING THE RISK FACTORS AFFECTING THE OCCURRENCE, FREQUENCY, AND SEVERITY OF LARGE TRUCK ACCIDENTS IN AL-NAJAF GOVERNORATE, IRAQ

In spite of the established literature-based evidence regarding the consequences of large truck accidents, limited body of research has been done on the characteristics and risk factors of such road accidents in Iraqi cities and governorates. According to national statistics, there has been a steady increase in the number of trucks and truck-related crashes over the past ten years. This paper aims to investigate the characteristics and risk factors associated with accidents involving large trucks in Al-Najaf governorate. A sample of 400 truck drivers were randomly selected and interviewed to collect the needed accident data. Four generalized linear models have been built; ordinal regression model for total injuries, binary logistic model for fatal accident occurrence, multinomial logit model for accident frequency, and ordinal regression model for accident cost. The analysis results revealed several influential predictors including truck driver age, education level, type of collision, truck speed, truck type, and street lighting condition. The obtained findings should be enlightening and helpful for government organizations looking to promote safety measures for sustainable freight truck transport.

Profile and costs of occupational accidents reported and treated at a university hospital in Pernambuco

Profile and costs of occupational accidents reported and treated at a university hospital in Pernambuco

Employer’s liability insurance and employee’s value added in Nigeria petroleum industry (2015-2023)

This study examines the effect employer’s liability insurance on Employee Value Added in the Nigerian petroleum industry. The human, social and economic costs of occupational accidents, injuries and diseases and major industrial disasters have long been cause for concern at all levels, from the individual workplace to the national and international. The secondary data gathered for the study covered the period from 2015 to 2023. These data were collected from the consolidated financial statement of the selected companies. Cross-sectional research design was employed in this study and pooled least squares regression technique was used in data analysis. The finding revealed that there is a joint effect of employer’s liability insurance claims payment, employee benefits expenses, retirement benefit compensation obligation on Employee Value Added in the Nigerian petroleum industry. Conclusion was that employer’s liability insurance has significant effect on employee’s value added in Nigeria petroleum industry (2015-2023) Recommendations were that employer’s liability insurance scheme should be properly funded, managed and sustained for more employee value added in the Nigerian petroleum industry. There is need for petroleum companies to increase share options granted to employees to complement employer’s liability insurance for more performance. There is need to increase the number of employees in the petroleum industry to enhanced employee value added.

Analysis of selected road traffic safety problems in Poland and Mazovia

In Poland, the risk of road safety is still one of the highest in the EU and, despite a 36% decrease in the number of fatalities, requires further intensive work to reduce the risk associated with travelling on the roads. In 2021, the National Road Safety Program for 2022-2030 was announced, which should be followed by regional programs. The article presents a set of information needed to diagnose traffic safety at the province level. Using the example of the Masovian Province, basic statistical data, road safety trends, basic risk indicators, the structure of accidents and fatalities from various perspectives were presented. In addition, the costs of accidents and collisions that occurred in the Masovian Province were shown. Based on the analyses conducted, the characteristic features and main road safety problems in the province were identified. The analyses and their results presented show that the annual costs of all road accidents in the Masovian Province, although decreasing, still significantly exceed the expenses planned in the province budget for a given year. Therefore, reducing the number of road incidents, especially accidents, and their consequences may bring significant savings to the province budget.

Ex-ante and ex-post regulation: Does the joint use improve on social welfare?

A principle-agent model is applied to discuss the relationship between ex-ante regulation (standards) and ex-post regulation (firm and worker fines). Accident risks (e.g. medical errors) are affected by decisions made both by the firm (hospital) itself and the employees of the firm (healthcare workers), the regulator observes the safety efforts of the firm and (a share of) the occurrences of accidents, while worker safety efforts are non-contractible. We find that standards and firm fines are substitutes since their joint use does not improve social welfare relatively to their exclusive use. However, standards and worker fines become complements (the joint use improves social welfare relative to their exclusive use) in the presence of firm-related accident costs.