Heavy Motor Vehicles Research Articles

Modelling vehicular interactions for heterogeneous traffic flow using cellular automata with position preference

This paper proposes and validates a modified cellular automata model for determining interaction rate (i.e. number of car-following/overtaking instances) using traffic flow data measured in the field. The proposed model considers lateral position preference by each vehicle type and introduces a position preference parameter β in the model which facilitates gradual drifting towards preferred position on road, even if the gap in front is sufficient. Additionally, the model also improves upon the conventional model by calculating safe front and back gap dynamically based on speed and deceleration properties of leader and follower vehicles. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to determine the effect of β on vehicular interactions and the model was calibrated and validated using interaction rates observed in the field. Paired tests were conducted to determine the validity of the model in determining interaction rates. Results of the simulations show that there is a parabolic relationship between area occupancy and interaction rate of different vehicle types. The model performed satisfactorily as the simulated interaction rate between different vehicle types were found to be statistically similar to those observed in field. Also, as expected, the interaction rate between light motor vehicles (LMVs) and heavy motor vehicles (HMVs) were found to be higher than that between LMVs and three wheelers because LMVs and HMVs share the same lane. This could not be done using conventional CA models as lateral movement rules were dictated by only speeds and gaps. So, in conventional models, the vehicles would end up in positions which are not realistic. The position preference parameter introduced in this model motivates vehicles to stay in their preferred positions. This study demonstrates the use of interaction rate as a measure to validate microscopic traffic flow models.

Rola Inspekcji Transportu Drogowego w ograniczeniu wypadków w ruchu drogowym w Polsce

W 2001 r. powołano jednostkę Inspekcji Transportu Drogowego (ITD), której celem jest zwiększenie bezpieczeństwa w ruchu drogowym. Celem artykułu jest odpowiedź na pytanie, na ile powołanie ITD przyczynia się do polepszenia bezpieczeństwa ruchu drogowego w Polsce. W artykule oprócz naświetlenia celów ITD, organizacji skali wypadków z udziałem ciężarowych pojazdów samochodowych, omawiamy stan ilościowy przeprowadzonych kontroli. Obserwacją obejmujemy lata 2005–2012. Artykuł pokazuje, że dzięki ostrym decyzjom administracyjnym i karnym stopniowo zmniejsza się liczba wypadków i ich skutków z udziałem ciężarowych pojazdów samochodowych.

Profile of Death due to Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) in Urban Region of Uttar Pradesh, India

Road Traffic Accident (RTA) is one of the leading causes of morbidity & mortality in modern world, especially in the developing countries like India. In India alone, over 1, 37, 572 persons died in road traffic crashes and 4, 94, 893 injured in about 4, 86, 476 registered RTA in 2013. This is an autopsy based study in Agra region to study the profile of fatal road traffic accident and to identify preventable causes. During study period of one year (February 2012 to January 2013); 450 cases with unambiguous cause of death due to RTA were studied in detail. The study shows that most of the victims of RTA were male (86.7%) and in the age group 21–30 years (26.9%). Most accidents occurred on highways (58.7%) and in the month of June (10.4%). Most accidents happened during morning and evening rush hours. Our study found the pedestrians to be the majority of victims (28.7%) and heavy motor vehicles as the leading offending vehicles (39.8%). Fatal head injuries were seen in 50.4% of death. 45.3% victims couldn`t avail any kind of medical aid, timely. This study emphasizes that interventions in RTA should include combined efforts from the community, private sector, governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Cyclists fatalities: Forensic remarks regarding 335 cases

A retrospective study was carried out on post-mortem examination data regarding 335 cyclists involved in fatal accidents along the period 1983–2012. The following variables were considered: temporal data (year, month, day of the week and hour of the day), circumstances of the accident, vehicles involved, victims' features (sex, age), pathological and toxicological findings, cause of death. Most victims were male (77.62%), with a mean age of 58 years. In most cases vehicles other than only bicycles were involved, more frequently cars, followed by heavy motor vehicles. Head was the most frequently body region involved in lethal injuries (65.37%); low extremities were the body district most frequently involved in non-lethal injuries (63.9%). This study confirmed the importance of using helmet; head protection should be a priority for bikers.

A novel mobile monitoring approach to characterize spatial and temporal variation in traffic-related air pollutants in an urban community

Air concentrations of traffic-related air pollutants (TRAPs) vary in space and time within urban communities, presenting challenges for estimating human exposure and potential health effects. Conventional stationary monitoring stations/networks cannot effectively capture spatial characteristics. Alternatively, mobile monitoring approaches became popular to measure TRAPs along roadways or roadsides. However, these linear mobile monitoring approaches cannot thoroughly distinguish spatial variability from temporal variations in monitored TRAP concentrations. In this study, we used a novel mobile monitoring approach to simultaneously characterize spatial/temporal variations in roadside concentrations of TRAPs in urban settings. We evaluated the effectiveness of this mobile monitoring approach by performing concurrent measurements along two parallel paths perpendicular to a major roadway and/or along heavily trafficked roads at very narrow scale (one block away each other) within short time period (<30 min) in an urban community. Based on traffic and particulate matter (PM) source information, we selected 4 neighborhoods to study. The sampling activities utilized real-time monitors, including battery-operated PM2.5 monitor (SidePak), condensation particle counter (CPC 3007), black carbon (BC) monitor (Micro-Aethalometer), carbon monoxide (CO) monitor (Langan T15), and portable temperature/humidity data logger (HOBO U12), and a GPS-based tracker (Trackstick). Sampling was conducted for ∼3 h in the morning (7:30–10:30) in 7 separate days in March/April and 6 days in May/June 2012. Two simultaneous samplings were made at 5 spatially-distributed locations on parallel roads, usually distant one block each other, in each neighborhood. The 5-min averaged BC concentrations (AVG ± SD, [range]) were 2.53 ± 2.47 [0.09–16.3] μg/m3, particle number concentrations (PNC) were 33,330 ± 23,451 [2512–159,130] particles/cm3, PM2.5 mass concentrations were 8.87 ± 7.65 [0.27–46.5] μg/m3, and CO concentrations were 1.22 ± 0.60 [0.22–6.29] ppm in the community. The traffic-related air pollutants, BC and PNC, but not PM2.5 or CO, varied spatially depending on proximity to local stationary/mobile sources. Seasonal differences were observed for all four TRAPs, significantly higher in colder months than in warmer months. The coefficients of variation (CVs) in concurrent measurements from two parallel routes were calculated around 0.21 ± 0.17, and variations were attributed by meteorological variation (25%), temporal variability (19%), concentration level (6%), and spatial variability (2%), respectively. Overall study findings suggest this mobile monitoring approach could effectively capture and distinguish spatial/temporal characteristics in TRAP concentrations for communities impacted by heavy motor vehicle traffic and mixed urban air pollution sources.

Sulphation Rate in Chandrapur Industrial Cluster, Central India

Sulphation rate in Chandrapur industrial cluster was carried out by using lead peroxide candle turbidimeteric method in December 2014-January 2015 (winter season). Sampling was carried out at four sampling locations; two sampling locations were in upwind direction whereas other two in downwind direction. Minimum sulphation rate in study area was 0.68 mg SO3/100 cm2/day at Tukum, whereas maximum at Ballarpur 1.41 mg SO3/100 cm2/day. Average sulphation rate in study area was 1.12±0.31 mg SO3/100 cm2/day. On comparison of sulphation rate at two road sides, it was observed that at Babupeath–which was adjacent to state highway–had sulphation rate 1.16 mg SO3/100 cm2/day whereas for Nakoda 1.23 mg SO3/100 cm2/day which was adjacent to local road. From the results it was evident that sulphation rate was more in upwind direction as compared with downwind direction may be due to presence of pulp and paper mill. Industrial activities in Chandrapur industrial cluster contributes significant sulphur emissions from pulp and paper mill, super thermal power station where coal is used, ore smelting, number of cement industries, emissions from diesel driven heavy and light motor vehicles along with domestic coal burning. As wind progresses from upwind to downwind direction sulphur concentration was reduced due to dilution, dispersion and transportation, which result into reduced sulphation rate in downwind direction.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTVolume-5, Issue-2, Mar-May 2016 Page :15-25

Multi Layer Perception Type Artificial Neural Network based Traffic Control

Real time traffic control is a main criteria of the urban traffic signal control system, and giving viable ongoing traffic signal control for a substantial complex traffic system is a testing issue. The objective of the work is to find and adjust the timing of signals based on the traffic density. Such a situation arises in a city where outbound vehicles during morning time and inbound vehicles during evening time is more while the vehicular movement in the opposite direction is less. To predict and adjust the timings of the signals on both sides of the road at the same time, Artificial Neural Network technique is used. A real time traffic survey of Light Motor Vehicle, Heavy Motor Vehicle, two and three wheeler vehicular movement in Thanjavur city is done. The number of vehicles (cars, auto, bikes, trucks and buses) and width of the road was given as a input and the output predicted was in terms of timing for the traffic signal at any particular place and for any particular width of the road. The width of the road is also taken into account which is essential in planning a city based traffic consisting of different road widths. Keywords: Artificial Neural Network, Timings for Traffic, Traffic Control, Width of the Road

Pattern of two wheeler road traffic accidents in rural setting: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND: Roads and vehicles which are for making life comfortable and faster, can result in miserable life when one meet a road traffic accident. By 2020 road traffic accident is projected to become the third leading contributor to the global burden of disease in the world and 6th place as a major cause of mortality worldwide. Motor cyclists are about 25 times more risk than passenger car occupants to die because of road traffic accidents. OBJECTIVEs of the study were, to study pattern of two wheeler road traffic accidents in rural setting. Methods: The present research is a retrospective analysis of all the two-wheeler accidents victim admitted in emergency, during the period ranging from September 2015 to February 2016. Results: Among the total 2,544 patient of RTA admitted within the study period; 1,257 patients (i.e.49.41%) were due to two-wheeler accidents. Next is pedestrian (n=516, 20.2%), light motor vehicle (n=464, 18.23%), and heavy motor vehicle accidents contribute (n=307, 12.06%). Conclusions: lack of road driving sense and lack of knowledge of traffic rules. Regarding the type of vehicles involved in these accidents, the maximum number of accidents was due to two wheeler vehicles (scooter/motorcycle). Keywords: Two wheeler RTA, Stray animals, Rural RTA

Temporal–spatial variations of the physicochemical characteristics of air pollution Particulate Matter (PM2.5–0.3) and toxicological effects in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B)

While the evidence for the health adverse effects of air pollution Particulate Matter (PM) has been growing, there is still uncertainty as to which constituents within PM are most harmful. Hence, to contribute to fulfill this gap of knowledge, some physicochemical characteristics and toxicological endpoints (i.e. cytotoxicity, oxidative damage, cytokine secretion) of PM2.5–0.3 samples produced during two different seasons (i.e. spring/summer or autumn/winter) in three different surroundings (i.e. rural, urban, or industrial) were studied, thereby expecting to differentiate their respective adverse effects in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B). Physicochemical characteristics were closely related to respective origins and seasons of the six PM2.5–0.3 samples, highlighting the respective contributions of industrial and heavy motor vehicle traffic sources. Space- and season-dependent differences in cytotoxicity of the six PM2.5–0.3 samples could only be supported by considering both the physicochemical properties and the variance in air PM concentrations. Whatever spaces and seasons, dose- and even time-dependent increases in oxidative damage and cytokine secretion were reported in PM2.5–0.3-exposed BEAS-2B cells. However, the relationship between the chemical composition of each of the six PM2.5–0.3 samples and their oxidative or inflammatory potentials seemed to be very complex. These results supported the role of inorganic, ionic and organic components as exogenous source of Reactive Oxygen Species and, thereafter, cytokine secretion. Nevertheless, one of the most striking observation was that some inorganic, ionic and organic chemical components were preferentially associated with early oxidative events whereas others in the later oxidative damage and/or cytokine secretion. Taken together, these results indicated that PM mass concentration alone might not be able to explain the health outcomes, because PM is chemically nonspecific, and supported growing evidence that PM-size, composition and emission source, together with sampling season, interact in a complex manner to produce PM2.5–0.3-induced human adverse health effects.

Abdomino-Pelvic Injuries in Case of Road Traffic Accidents" - an Autopsy Study

Blunt force injuries of the abdomen and pelvis are less common than head injuries, but they may be more difficult to detect initially. Blunt force when applied over abdomen may cause either only external wound, only internal wound or both. Due to soft and yielding nature of the abdominal wall application of even a heavy force may not cause only external wound on abdominal wall but the transmitted force may come serious internal wound. In abdominal and pelvic injuries, it is very crucial to accurately appraise the full extent of injury involving various organs/structures. The management and outcome of the case depends on the identification of the organ involved in the trauma cases. During this study period out of 200 Road Traffic accident deaths, 60(30%) cases were with abdomen and pelvic injuries. The maximum cases of road traffic accidents with abdominal and pelvic injuries were seen in the age group of 21–30 years (25%), followed by 31–40 years (21.66%). Males (52 cases) outnumbered females (8 cases) and male - female ratio is approximately 6.5: 1. The maximum number of victims were pedestrians i.e., 31(51.7%) cases, followed by motorcyclist in 24(40%) cases and the least were occupant of light motor vehicle and the most common offending vehicle is Heavy Motor Vehicles in 27 cases (45%), followed by motorcycle in 12 cases (20%) and others in 9 cases (15%). Liver was the common organ involved in majority of victims, i.e., 28(46.7%) cases, followed by spleen in 15(25%) cases and kidneys in 10(16.7%) cases. Pelvic bone injury is the most common skeletal injury in abdomino-pelvic region i.e., 6 (10%) cases, followed by injury to lumbar spinal column in 3 (5%) cases. Hence this study may help clinicians in diagnosing the case at the earliest stage

Validity of self-reported traffic intensity as a proxy for road traffic counts and noise

Objective road traffic data is sometimes unattainable. In these scenarios subjective rankings of road traffic are used as a proxy for both air pollutants and traffic noise. Although the validity of this construct has been tested with respect to air pollutants, it has not been challenged when it comes to traffic counts and noise. This study aimed at assessing the validity of self-reported traffic intensity (SRTI) as a proxy for road traffic counts and noise. A cross-sectional interview survey was carried out among 145 residents of 49 street segments in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Participants were asked about individual and psychoacoustical factors which were subsequently linked to road traffic data extracted from official sources — number of light (LMV/h) and heavy (HMV/h) motor vehicles per hour, and A-weighted equivalent sound levels (LAeq). ANOVAs were conducted to test the statistical significance of the mean difference of LMV/h, HMV/h and LAeq across levels of SRTI. Results suggested that LAeq was moderately correlated with SRTI (rs = 0.39, p < 0.001) and the mean differences were not statistically significant across all observed categories of SRTI. With respect to LMV/h (rs = 0.65, p < 0.001) and HMV/h (rs = 0.59, p < 0.001) all pairwise comparisons were statistically significant except for those between the lower two categories. Linear regressions revealed that SRTI was a better predictor (R2 = 0.31, p < 0.001) of noise annoyance than LMV/h + HMV/h (R2 = 0.13, p < 0.001) or LAeq (R2 = 0.09, p < 0.001). SRTI might be an acceptable proxy for road traffic counts and to a lesser extent for traffic noise. However, special care is needed in phrasing the SRTI question and studying a homogenous area is mandatory.

Power Engineering of Brake System of a Heavy Duty Agricultural Motor Vehicle

Thermal problems of brake system of a heavy duty engine are analyzed in the article. The agricultural motor vehicle is able to travel at 40 kph speed and its weight is 30000 kg. Owing to friction of brake discs, significant amount of heat is released when brake of this vehicle of large weight is applied. For the brake to operate in a reliable way, it is essential to prevent overheating.Design of brake system is described in the article. Description of experiments conducted for inspecting heating and evaluation of results are also included in it. After that, the heat released during brake application is determined. It is also discussed when the brake is operating in a thermally safe way under various conditions of cooling down. The article shows at which temperature damage of cooling oil occurs. This essay means further development of the results described in work [11]. The analysis constitutes part of the project aiming at optimization of wheel body.

Diabetes Mellitus in Drivers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Yazd, Iran, 2006 - 2009

Background: Diabetes complications such as retinopathy and diabetic foot are more important in drivers compared to general population. Objectives: This study was designed to determine the prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed patients with diabetes mellitus and glucose intolerant, as well as the effects of follow up in the commercial drivers in Yazd province, Iran. Materials and Methods: During three consecutive years, levels of blood sugars were checked in 1137 registered drivers working on heavy motor vehicles such as trucks and buses. After 3 years, data was collected and analyzed by SPSS version 16. One sample K-S, Mauchly’s test, and if appropriate, variance analysis test were performed to compare FBS levels differences between the three occasions. Results: The mean age of participants was 47.7 ± 28.7 (19 - 56) years old, and they were working on heavy vehicles for 15.3 ± 9.3 (26 - 47) years. The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes was 3.3% (n = 38), but the prevalence of FBS > 127 was 6.3%, and that of impaired glucose test was 4.9%. There was a significant reduction in the blood glucose levels from the first to the third occasions in drivers with type 2 diabetes. Conclusions: The prevalence of diabetes is considerable in drivers and is poorly controlled. Educations during the annual check-ups are helpful in reducing glucose levels and further complications.

An epidemiological study on pattern of thoraco-abdominal injuries sustained in fatal road traffic accidents of Bangalore: Autopsy-based study.

Background:The statistical profile reflects a global estimate of 5.1 million deaths in 2000, which was due to injuries that accounted for 10% of deaths due to all causes. Out of this, a quarter of injury-related deaths occurred in the South-East Asian region. Road Traffic Accident (RTA) is one among the top 5 causes of morbidity and mortality in South-East Asian countries. Most common cause of blunt abdominal trauma in India is road traffic accident followed by pedestrian accidents, abdominal blows, and fall from heights. Aims: To analyze the epidemiology and pattern of fatal thoraco-abdominal injuries in road traffic accidents.Materials and Methods:An autopsy-based cross-sectional study conducted. A purposive sampling technique was applied to select the study sample of 100 post-mortems of road traffic accident between November 2008 and May 2010 subjected to medico-legal autopsy at the department of Forensic Medicine, KIMS Hospital Bangalore.Results:The majority of the victims were aged 21 to 40 years, 50 (50.0%), most of the victims were male 92 (92.0%); and male/female ratio was 11.5:1. Commonest offending agents in heavy motor vehicles were 54 (54.0%). Bony cage sustained injuries were observed in 71; out of this, fractures of ribs were observed in 45 (63.3%) victims, clavicle in 14 (19.7%), sternum was 6 (8.4%), and vertebrae 6 (8.4%) of fatal road traffic accidents. Internal thoracic injuries were observed in 26 cases. Among internal thoracic injuries, lungs were the most commonly involved organ 24 (92.3%) followed by the heart 2 (7.6%). Lung sustained more lacerations 19 (79.1%) than contusions 5 (20.8%). Internal abdominal injuries were observed in 49 cases. In road traffic accidents, the most commonly injured abdominal organs were solid organs such as liver 16 (32.6%) followed by spleen 9 (18.3%).Conclusions:Majority of the times in road traffic accidents, young and productive males were injured or lost their life. This study may help the planners to take safety measures, to implement strict traffic rules, to risk stratification in the susceptible population to educate the people, and the study of nature of offending agent in RTA can help the authorities to plan better availability of health care on roads.

Vehicle Classification using Density based Multi-feature Approach in Support Vector Machine Classifier

A density based multi-feature combination approach to classify vehicles using support vector machine (SVM) classifier is proposed in this paper. Features like Haar, Gradient, RGB and Pyramidal histogram of oriented gradients are extracted from vehicle images and a kernel density approximation is performed. The results are compared with another set of multi-feature combination and effects of using kernel density estimators and various kernels like Gaussian, Polynomial and Histogram intersection in SVM are also studied. It is found that the above mentioned feature combination produces good results in comparison and effects of scaling, orientation and shadowing were properly compensated. A sample set of 9360 images were used with half of them used for training the classifier and the other half for testing. The vehicles were clustered into four categories, namely 2-wheeler, 3wheeler, light motor vehicle (LMV) and heavy motor vehicles (HMV) and an accuracy greater than 90% has been observed.

How to Have Sustainable Transportation without Making People Drive Less or Give Up Suburban Living

Motorized automobility and suburban living are not only highly valued but are also associated with a range of serious social problems, including deaths and injuries of motor-vehicle users and nonusers, roadway congestion, air pollution, dependence on insecure oil supplies, community fragmentation, and climate change. However, these problems, which make the present transportation and land-use system unsustainable, are not necessary consequences of automobility and suburban living per se, but rather are attributable mainly to the high kinetic energy of fast, heavy-motor vehicles (FHVs). Therefore, the challenge in creating a sustainable transportation and land-use system is to dramatically lower the kinetic energy of personal travel while retaining the advantages of personal motorized automobility and low-density development. The authors' approach is to redefine the technical artifact that is the conventional automobile and create two autonomous and universally accessible travel networks at a citywide scale: one for FHVs, the other for low-speed, low-mass modes including walking, cycling, and a new class of motor vehicles. In this paper, the authors motivate the need for this new urban-settlement and transportation-infrastructure scheme (USATIS), describe its design principles and features, review aspects of it in the literature and in the real world, present analyses covering a wide range of sustainability criteria—safety, mobility, congestion, environmental and energy-use impacts, urban aesthetics and community fragmentation, and economics—and discuss challenges for implementation and future research. The authors conclude that their USATIS does have the potential to support sustainable transportation without making people drive less or give up suburban living, but that before practical implementation plans can be considered, more research needs to be done on how people will adapt to the opportunities and constraints in the proposal.

Pattern of Accidental Deaths among Children: An Autopsy Study

A study of pattern of accidental deaths conducted at M.S. Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore, between October 2007 and September 2009 in the age group of 1-18 years with aims and objectives to study percentage of accidental deaths in children, age and sex distribution, various patterns, manner of death and other factors associated with accidental deaths. Detailed information regarding the circumstances of death was sought from the police, relatives and friends, visits to the scene of occurrence or deduced by the photograph of the scene of occurrence. Accidental deaths in children constituted 3.24% (57 cases) of the total autopsies conducted. Maximum number of child deaths occurred in the age group of 15-18 years in males and 5-9 years in females. Male outnumbered the females. Majority of the children were preschool and school going and from middle and lower socioeconomic status. Road traffic accident accounted for 53% of the cases. Most of the children were pedestrians. Heavy motor vehicle was involved in majority of the cases and most of the children died due to head injury. Drowning accounts for 32% of the cases. Most of the children died due to accidental drowning while playing. Pond was the commonest place of drowning followed by sump. Thermal deaths accounts for 6.34% of the cases followed by fall from height, which accounts for the 6.34% of the cases, and only one case was due scorpion sting. Language: en

Obesity is associated with the future risk of heavy truck crashes among newly recruited commercial drivers

This study estimates the dose–response relationship between body mass index (BMI) and crash risk in operators of heavy commercial motor vehicles. Intake data were collected during the first two weeks of instruction from 744 new truck drivers training for their commercial driver's licenses at a school operated by the cooperating trucking firm. Drivers were then followed prospectively on the job using the firm's operational data for two years, or until employment separation, whichever came first. Multivariate Poisson regression and Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the relationship between crash risk and BMI, controlling for demographic characteristics and for variations in the exposure to risks on the road. Results from the Poisson regression, which used cumulative miles driven as an exposure control, indicated that compared to normal BMI (18.5<BMI<25) the risk ratio (RR) for all crashes was significantly higher for drivers in the combined obesity Classes II and III: RR=1.55 (95% CI 1.24–1.94). Similarly, the multivariate Cox proportional hazard model (controlling for miles and job type on a week-by-week basis) showed that crash risk was significantly higher compared to normal BMI for the same combined obesity Classes II and III: RR=1.54 (95% CI 1.13–2.10). The results of this prospective study establish an association between obesity and crash risk and have important implications for driver health and public safety.

Analysis of fatal road traffic accidents in a coastal township of South India

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are important causes of mortality and morbidity due to the increasing number of vehicles, changes in lifestyle and the risk behaviours among general population. With the aim of exploring various epidemiological characteristics of RTAs, this retrospective analysis of medico-legal autopsies was conducted between January 2005 and December 2009 in the Department of Forensic Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal in Karnataka, South India. The information was collected from post-mortem registers and inquest documents received from the investigating police officers. The collected information was analysed using SPSS version 11.0. Out of the 879 autopsies conducted during the study period, 39% were due to RTAs. Among the victims, 89.8% were males and 10.2% were females. The mean age of victims was 38.7 years, which was slightly higher in females compared to males. Most of the male victims belonged to the age group 20–29 years. The head injuries were responsible for nearly 3/4th of deaths followed by abdominal injuries (6.7%). The mean duration of survival following road traffic accident was 6–7 days. Occupants of motorized two wheelers (43%) and pedestrians (33%) were the most common victims of RTAs followed by occupants of light motor vehicles (LMVs). The most common offending agents in road traffic accidents were heavy motor vehicles (35.2%) followed by light motor vehicles (31.7%). In view of the above finding, it is apt to conclude that RTAs are important public health hazards and should be addressed through strengthening of emergency healthcare, stricter enforcement of traffic laws and health education.

Pattern of craniofacial injuries and socio demographic distribution of road traffic accidents in Bangalore: Autopsy study

Background: Among all types of accidents, those caused by motor vehicles claim the largest toll of life and tend to be most serious, road traffic accidents (RTA) continues to be growing menace incurring heavy loss of valuable man –power, along with corresponding drain of potential economic growth of country. Objective: Present study was taken up with the aim to assess the Socio demographic distribution of road traffic accidents and the pattern of craniofacial injuries occurred in RTA. Materials and Methods: A Descriptive Cross sectional study was conducted on the post mortems of RTA cases. Convenient purposive sampling technique was applied to select the sample of 113 road traffic accident autopsies. Results: Majority of the victims aged between 21 to 40 years (50.44%), most of the victims were males 104 (92.0%), and Hindus 102 (90.27%). More crashes 42 (37.17%) took place between 6:00 PM to 12:00 PM on weekends 62 (54.87%) at city cross roads 62 (54.87%). Most of the accidents occurred by heavy motor vehicle 45(39.82%). Most of the times in road traffic accidents, productive age group males (21-40 years) were injured or lost their life. More than fifty per cent of the accidents were found to occur during the weekend evenings from 6:00PM to 12:00PM. Conclusion: Since the road traffic traumas are worsening each year, to minimise the severity of injury, man's interaction with the motor car may have been somewhat modified by crash protection devices, such as helmets, seat belts and air bags.