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Biomedical subjects

A K Lund

Publications and source records attributed to A K Lund.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Effects of decisional control and work orientation on persistence in preventive health behavior.

Examined persistence in the daily use of fluoride mouthrinse among adolescents as a function of an induced-choice manipulation concerning self-management strategies and freedom to participate in the program. Seventh-grade boys and girls from urban and suburban schools were randomly assigned to a series of either high- or low-choice decisional control manipulations; their daily, home use of fluoride was monitored over a 20-week period. In order to ameliorate the relatively lower persistence rates found previously among suburban (vs. urban) students, all students were given self-management and action instructions as per previous studies. Although suburban students still declined in persistence relative to urban students, female students who received high choice persisted at a higher rate than girls who received low choice. Boys, for the most part, were unaffected by the manipulation. In addition, students' self-reported work orientation was also positively associated with persistence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Seat belt use in cars with air bags.

Seat belt use was observed in 1,628 cars with air bags and manual belts and 34,223 cars with manual seat belts only. Sixty-six percent of drivers in cars with air bags wore seat belts compared to 63 percent of drivers in cars with manual belts only. The study found no evidence for the speculation that drivers with air bags will reduce their seat belt use because they believe an air bag alone provides sufficient protection.

Automobiles↗
PubMed1990

Seat belt use on interstate highways.

More than 5,000 miles of limited-access highways in the eastern United States and Canada were traveled to observe seat belt use. Overall belt use was 58 percent in the United States and 79 percent in Canada. The data indicate that belt use in the United States follows a different pattern on interstate highways than on other streets and roads, with relatively high belt use rates (over 50 percent) appearing to be somewhat independent of belt use law provisions.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Observed use of automatic seat belts in 1987 cars.

Usage of the automatic belt systems supplied by six large-volume automobile manufacturers to meet the federal requirements for automatic restraints were observed in suburban Washington, D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. The different belt systems studied were: Ford and Toyota (motorized, nondetachable automatic shoulder belt), Nissan (motorized, detachable shoulder belt), VW and Chrysler (nonmotorized, detachable shoulder belt), and GM (nonmotorized detachable lap and shoulder belt). Use of automatic belts was significantly greater than manual belt use in otherwise comparable late-model cars for all manufacturers except Chrysler; in Chrysler cars, automatic belt use was significantly lower than manual belt use. The automatic shoulder belts provided by Ford, Nissan, Toyota, and VW increased use rates to about 90%. Because use rates were lower in Ford cars with manual belts, their increase was greater. GM cars had the smallest increase in use rates; however, lap belt use was highest in GM cars. The other manufacturers supply knee bolsters to supplement shoulder belt protection; all--except VW--also provide manual lap belts, which were used by about half of those who used the automatic shoulder belt. The results indicate that some manufacturers have been more successful than others in providing automatic belt systems that result in high use that, in turn, will mean fewer deaths and injuries in those cars.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMed1989

Comparative effects of driver improvement programs on crashes and violations.

Recent reviewers of well-controlled driver improvement program evaluations have suggested that some programs result in measurable reductions in violations but not crashes. A comprehensive review of 65 studies evaluating driver improvement activities was conducted to determine the generality of these findings and to explore possible explanations of the lack of correspondence between violation and crash effects. Nineteen studies evaluating 59 driver improvement activities were found to be methodologically adequate. The major findings of the review are: (1) that driver improvement activities generally do result in reductions in violations; (2) there is an unpredictable and sometimes undesirable effect on crashes even in the presence of desirable violation effects; and (3) the lack of correspondence between violation and crash effects is not explained by lack of statistical power or by the types of violations affected. Further examination of driver improvement interventions revealed no strong evidence for different effects related to characteristics such as direct vs. indirect participant contact and group vs. individual contact.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMed1989

The mortality consequences of raising the speed limit to 65 mph on rural interstates.

As of April 1987, states were permitted to raise the speed limit on rural interstates to 65 mph without incurring federal sanctions; 38 states elected to do so in 1987. Fatality data for the months when the new limit was in effect in 1987 were compared with fatalities in the same months of 1982-86 on rural interstates and other rural roads. Fatalities on rural interstates in the states with increased speed limits in 1987 were conservatively estimated to be 15 percent higher than they would have been if the states had retained the 55 mph limit (95% CI = 6, 24). Among states that retained the 55 mph limit, fatalities on rural interstates were 6 percent lower than expected (95% CI = -23, 13).

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1989

Fatal crash involvement and laws against alcohol-impaired driving.

It is estimated that in 1985 about 1,560 fewer drivers were involved in fatal crashes because of three types of drinking-driving laws. The laws studied were per se laws that define driving under the influence using blood alcohol concentration (BAC) thresholds; laws that provide for administrative license suspension or revocation prior to conviction for driving under the influence (often referred to as "administrative per se" laws); and laws that mandate jail or community service for first convictions of driving under the influence. It is estimated that if all 48 of the contiguous states adopted laws similar to those studied here, and if these new laws had effects comparable to those reported here, another 2,600 fatal driver involvements could be prevented each year. During hours when typically at least half of all fatally injured drivers have a BAC over 0.10 percent, administrative suspension/revocation is estimated to reduce the involvement of drivers in fatal crashes by about 9 percent; during the same hours, first offense mandatory jail/community service laws are estimated to have reduced driver involvement by about 6 percent. The effect of per se laws was estimated to be a 6 percent reduction during hours when fatal crashes typically are less likely to involve alcohol. These results are based on analyses of drivers involved in fatal crashes in the 48 contiguous states of the United States during the years 1978 to 1985.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1988

Belt use by high-risk drivers before and after New York's seat belt use law.

Belt use among drivers traveling on limited access highways was observed before and after New York's mandatory seat belt use law. The results showed that high-speed drivers had lower belt use rates before the law and increased their belt use less in response to the law. Belt use rates before the law were 25%, 29%, and 28% for the high-, medium-, and low-speed groups as compared with 51%, 64%, and 57%, respectively, after the law. High-speed drivers also had inferior previous driving records, confirming their higher risk of motor vehicle crash involvement.

Acceleration↗
PubMed1988

Drug use by tractor-trailer drivers.

Blood or urine samples or both were obtained from 317 of 359 randomly selected tractor-trailer drivers asked to participate in a driver health survey conducted at a truck weighing station on Interstate 40 in Tennessee. Altogether, 29% of the drivers had evidence of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, prescription or nonprescription stimulants, or some combination of these, in either blood or urine. Cannabinoids were found in 15% of the drivers' blood or urine; nonprescription stimulants such as phenylpropanolamine were found in 12%; prescription stimulants such as amphetamine were found in 5%; cocaine metabolites were found in 2%; and alcohol was found in less than 1%. These results provide the first objective information about the use of potentially abusive drugs by tractor-trailer drivers. The extent of driver impairment attributable to the observed drugs is uncertain because of the complex relationship between performance and drug concentrations.

Automobile Driving↗
PubMed1987

Preliminary estimates of the effects of mandatory seat belt use laws.

Analyses of motor vehicle fatality counts in New York and several comparison states for the years 1980 through 1985 indicate that New York's seat belt use law reduced fatalities by about nine percent during the first nine months of the law. This estimate is preliminary, and the estimated long-term effect of the law could change as more sophisticated analyses are applied to the data and as belt use changes (it had declined to less than 50 percent over most of the state by the end of the first year of the law). In addition, New York's law is one of the strongest in terms of enforceability, and the effect may be smaller in states with weaker laws. However, the estimated effect in New York is consistent with the experience of other countries with seat belt use laws.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1987

The effect of New York's seat belt use law on teenage drivers.

This study assessed the effects of New York State's recently adopted mandatory seat belt use law on teenage drivers. Teenage drivers were observed as they entered high school parking lots before the law was adopted, after it was adopted but before it was effective, one month after the effective date, and again five months after the effective date. The results showed that 14% of the teenage drivers were wearing either shoulder or lap belts or both prior to adoption of the law. This increased to 22% after adoption of the law, 60% one month after the effective date of the law, and 63% five months after the effective date. Teenagers using seat belts were more often female, were younger, had completed driver education and had a longer trip from home to school. Both before and after the law, teenage belt use was similar to, but typically lower than, belt use in the community in which the school was located.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Results of a seat belt use law enforcement and publicity campaign in Elmira, New York.

In New York and other states in which seat belt use laws went into effect in the mid-1980s, belt use rates surged initially, then declined. This pattern of belt use also occurred in Canadian provinces that enacted laws in the mid-1970s; special enforcement programs reversed this trend. In late 1985 a three-week enforcement and publicity program was conducted in Elmira, New York. Belt use rates in Elmira were 49 percent before the program, 77 percent right after, and 66 percent two months later. In Glens Falls, a comparison city without a program, belt use declined from 43 percent to 37 percent during this interval. In a telephone survey after the campaign, Elmira respondents were more likely to say the belt use law was being strictly enforced and were more favorable toward it, compared to Glens Falls respondents. These data indicate that enforcement/publicity programs are an important and feasible method for increasing compliance with belt use laws.

Humans↗
PubMed1987

Shoulder belt use in four states with belt use laws.

Shoulder belt use was observed before and after belt use laws went into effect in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Texas. There were large increases in belt use rates in each state in the first month the laws were enforced. In the three states in which post-law observations were made more than once, belt use declined from the levels seen in the first month; rates generally dropped to less than 50 percent. This pattern of decline from initial use rates has also been found in other jurisdictions around the world. Combined enforcement and publicity campaigns have been shown to be capable of reversing this trend and to increase use rates to 65 percent or more. Such campaigns will be needed to maximize the effect of seat belt use laws in the United States.

Humans↗
PubMed1987

Seat belt use law enforcement and publicity in Elmira, New York: a reminder campaign.

A three-week belt use law publicity and enforcement campaign in Elmira, New York, in November 1985, increased use from 49 per cent to 77 per cent; four months later belt use was 66 per cent. A reminder program, in April 1986, increased belt use to 80 per cent; use declined to 69 per cent four months later and to 60 per cent eight months later. Throughout these periods, belt use in Glens Falls, a comparison community, remained stable at just over 40 per cent.

Attitude↗
PubMed1986

Perceived risks and driving behavior.

Claims have been made that safer cars result in drivers who take more risks. However, there are two basic design changes that make cars safer: the first reduces the likelihood of a crash; the second reduces the chance of injury during a crash. Because design changes that reduce the likelihood of a crash also often provide direct and immediate feedback, drivers may change their behavior, although there is no evidence that the change offsets the benefits of the increased crash avoidance capability. Design changes that increase occupant protection usually provide no direct and immediate feedback and, therefore, should have no effect on driving behavior. The data are consistent with this hypothesis and contradict the hypothesis of risk compensation.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1986

Voluntary seat belt use among U.S. drivers: geographic, socioeconomic and demographic variation.

Although voluntary seat belt use rates are low, they are not uniform among different populations of U.S. drivers. In detailed analyses of 1982 data from 12 of the 19 cities in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's national seat belt survey and from three of the National Accident Sampling System regions, belt use rates varied greatly by geographic region, socioeconomic status and demographic group. These factors also moderated the effects of other factors such as car size and origin of manufacture. Nevertheless, all together, the factors included in the study explained less than 5% of the variation in voluntary seat belt use, and no subpopulation was identified in which seat belts were used by a majority of the members.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

High school driver education: further evaluation of the DeKalb County study.

The DeKalb County, Georgia, study is the largest experimental evaluation of high school driver education to date. Detailed reanalyses of data from that study reveal that students assigned to an enhanced driver education program (Safe Performance Curriculum) were more likely to obtain drivers licenses, to be in car crashes and to have traffic violations than control students not assigned to driver education. Students assigned to a minimal program of high school driver education (Pre-Driver Licensing Curriculum) were also more likely than control students to obtain licenses, but the difference was smaller than for the enhanced program and they were not significantly more likely to be in crashes or to have violations. Students in the more limited course were less likely than those in the enhanced course to complete the course in a timely manner, which suggests that exposure differences may explain differences between the two groups. The results confirm that greater availability of driver education causes students to become licensed sooner, although the DeKalb study probably underestimates the effect. Because of this greater exposure, crashes and violations are incurred at an earlier age.

Accidents, Traffic↗