Benchmarks for retrospective automated driving system crash rate analysis using police-reported crash data.

Objectives: With fully automated driving systems (ADS; SAE level 4) ride-hailing services expanding in the U.S., we are now approaching an inflection point in the history of vehicle safety assessment.

Going to the Doctor: Rideshare as Nonemergency Medical Transportation.

Ridesharing apps have changed how people get around. Its use in nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) is nascent but possibly growing. The authors build on existing research on health care access to describe NEMT challenges that rideshare-based NEMT (RB-NEMT) may address for those who need NEMT by identifying rider and ride types most appropriate for RB-NEMT.

The Road to Zero: A Vision for Achieving Zero Roadway Deaths by 2050.

Imagine that, in 2050, not a single person in the United States dies in a traffic crash. This is the scenario described in this article, in which RAND researchers set forth a vision and strategy for achieving zero roadway deaths by 2050. The authors propose that a combination of three approaches can realize this scenario.

Cognitive Decline and Older Driver Crash Risk.

Objectives: To examine automobile crash risk associated with cognition in older drivers without dementia.

Design: Retrospective secondary analysis of longitudinal cohort study.

Setting: Our study used data from the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) Study merged with Washington State crash reports and licensure records.

Diagnosed dementia and the risk of motor vehicle crash among older drivers.

Older adults are an active and growing segment of drivers in the United States. We compared the risk of motor vehicle crash among older licensed drivers diagnosed with dementia to crash risk among older licensed drivers without diagnosis of dementia. This retrospective cohort study used data from Group Health (GH), a Washington State health maintenance organization.

Severe soft tissue injuries of the upper extremity in motor vehicle crashes involving partial ejection: the protective role of side curtain airbags.

Introduction: Partial ejection (PE) of the upper extremity (UE) can occur in a motor vehicle crash (MVC) resulting in complex and severe soft tissue injuries (SSTI). This study evaluated the relationship between partial ejection and UE injuries, notably SSTIs, in MVCs focusing on crash types and characteristics, and further examined the role of side curtain airbags (SCABs) in the prevention of partial ejection and reducing SSTI of the UE.

Methods: Weighted data was analyzed from the National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) from 1993 to 2012.

Relating Older Workers' Injuries to the Mismatch Between Physical Ability and Job Demands.

Objective: We examined the association between job demand and occupational injury among older workers.

Methods: Participants were workers aged 50+ enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study, 2010 to 2014. Participants reported physical ability within three domains: physical effort, stooping/kneeling/crouching, and lifting.

Evaluating the Potential Benefits of Advanced Automatic Crash Notification.

Objective: Advanced Automatic Collision Notification (AACN) services in passenger vehicles capture crash data during collisions that could be transferred to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers. This study explored how EMS response times and other crash factors impacted the odds of fatality. The goal was to determine if information transmitted by AACN could help decrease mortality by allowing EMS providers to be better prepared upon arrival at the scene of a collision.

Injury in the Americas: the relative burden and challenge.

Objectives: To present evidence to support a higher priority for injury prevention in initiatives, research, and budget allocations.

Methods: Recent data (2000) for deaths from injury, infectious disease, heart disease, and cancer from 11 countries in the Region of the Americas were analyzed. Analyses focused on: first, Potentially Productive Years of Life Lost (PPYLL, discounted) from deaths occurring from 0-64 years of age; second, Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL) from 1-64 years; and third, Years Lived with Disability (YLD).