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PubMed1995

Clinical disorders and pressure-pain threshold of the forearm and hand among automobile assembly line workers.

The prevalence of forearm and hand disorders was examined by questionnaire and clinical examination in 199 automobile assembly line workers and in 186 controls. The pressure-pain threshold, hand grip force and hand anthropometry were also studied. There was an increased prevalence of de Quervain's disease for male automobile assembly line workers, and of carpal tunnel syndrome in female workers. The prevalence of symptoms in the forearm and hand during the last 7 days were twice as high among automobile assembly line workers than controls for both men and women. The occurrence of symptoms in the last 7 days was associated with de Quervain's disease, carpal tunnel syndrome and sick-leave due to forearm or hand problems, and it also influenced activities of daily living. Hand grip strength and anthropometrics were not associated with findings in the clinical examination or the occurrence of symptoms in the last 7 days. Low pressure-pain threshold was not associated with findings in the clinical examination, except for reported occurrence of symptoms in the last 7 days for women. Pressure-pain threshold as an indicator of tissue damage is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Falling asleep while driving and automobile accidents among patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome.

Among 448 patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), 40 patients (8.9%) had been involved in one or more automobile accidents during the preceding 5 years. The main cause of these accidents was falling asleep while driving. Excessive sleepiness during driving was associated with an Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) score of > 11 and/or an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of > 15. The automobile accident rate among 182 patients with severe OSAHS (AHI > 30) was significantly higher than the rate among 106 simple snorers (AHI < 5). Although four of the simple snorers were involved in automobile accidents, their ESS scores were all very high (15 or more).

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1991

Psychological performance of accident-prone automobile drivers in China: a case-control study.

To evaluate the role of neurobehavioural factors in the aetiology of recurrent automobile accidents, we administered the Revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), and choice and simple reaction time tests to 31 accident-prone automobile drivers. These drivers who had caused three or more traffic accidents during the years 1980-1984, were selected from records of 2723 traffic accidents registered by Hefei Traffic Police Department during the years 1980-1984. The same tests were administered to an equal number of sex- and age-matched control drivers who had no reported involvement in automobile accidents. None of the subjects had suffered from any neuropsychiatric illness or head injury. Comparisons between the two groups indicated that for accident-prone drivers scores on picture completion and block design subtests of the WAIS-R were significantly lowered (p less than 0.05); scores for neurosis extrovert behaviour and psychosis (EPQ) were significantly higher (p less than 0.05); and the number of errors in the choice reaction time test was significantly higher (p less than 0.01). It is suggested that accident-prone drivers have lower psychological performance, poorer judgement and a higher tendency than safe drivers to be neurotic, extrovert and psychotic.

Accident Proneness↗
PubMed1999

Long distance driving and self-induced sleep deprivation among automobile drivers.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the sleep hygiene and prevalence of sleep deprivation among a large sample of automobile drivers. DESIGN: From the 15th of June to the 4th of August 1996, with the help of the French highway patrol, we randomly stopped automobile drivers at the toll booths of Bordeaux and Biarritz. All subjects completed a validated questionnaire on sleep/wake habits during the year. After answering the questionnaire, subjects completed a graphic travel and sleep log of the three days preceding the interview. PARTICIPANTS: We randomly stopped 2196 automobile drivers. Ninety-one percent of the sample (mean age 43 +/- 13 years) agreed to participate in the survey. RESULTS: Fifty percent of the drivers decreased their total sleep time in the 24 hours before the interview compared with their regular self-reported sleep time. 12.5% presented a sleep debt > 180 minutes, and 2.7% presented a sleep debt > 300 minutes. Being young, commuting to work, driving long distances, starting the trip at night, being an "evening" person, being a long sleeper during the week, and sleeping in on the week-end were risk factors significantly associated with sleep debt. CONCLUSION: The results of the study highlight variables (long-distance driving, youth, sleep restriction) that are frequently associated with sleep-related accidents.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2001

Suicidal hanging within an automobile.

Accidental asphyxia related to cars has been described in different reports, but suicidal hanging in an automobile is very unusual. Two cases of suicidal hanging inside an automobile are described, illustrating an unusual form of hanging. In one case, the deceased used his belt as a ligature, and the point of attachment was the window of the car. The second victim used the safety belt of the passenger seat. In both cases, the automobile engine was turned off, all the windows were closed, and the door locks were blocked. The medicolegal cause of hanging was based on the scene of the investigation, police and witness reports, social history, autopsy findings, and toxicologic examinations.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Traumatic spinal cord injuries due to automobile accidents.

Of the 1,164 patients with traumatic spinal cord injury admitted to the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research from February 1959 through December 1975, 389 were injured in automobile accidents. The patients with spinal cord injury were predominantly male, and the average age was in the late 20s. Two thirds of the accidents involved a single automobile and occurred less than 50 miles from the residence. The driver's seat was the most common seating position. Seat belts were not worn in over 90% of the cases; many of the other victims wore their seat belts improperly. Some of the patients were probably injured because of structural defects of the automobile.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2004

Fetal heart rate and uterine contraction during automobile driving.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to clarify the influence of automobile driving in the third trimester of pregnancy on fetal heart rate and uterine contraction. METHODS: Twenty-nine pregnant women with singleton pregnancies after 28 weeks of gestation were monitored using a portable cardiotocogram during driving, and the results obtained before and after driving were compared. RESULTS: Baseline fetal heart rate and its variability, as well as periodic fetal heart rate patterns, showed no abnormal patterns during car driving. Automobile driving in late pregnancy was not a reinforcement factor for uterine activity. Maternal systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate showed no specific characteristic or adverse change during driving. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that automobile driving in the third trimester of pregnancy has no adverse influences on either pregnant women or fetuses.

Automobile Driving↗
PubMed2000

Exposure of Paris taxi drivers to automobile air pollutants within their vehicles.

OBJECTIVES: To study the exposure of Parisian taxi drivers to automobile air pollutants during their professional activity. METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out from 27 January to 27 March 1997, with measurements performed in the vehicles of 29 randomly selected drivers. Carbon monoxide (CO) content was measured over an 8 hour period by a CO portable monitor. The fine suspended particles were measured according to the black smoke index (BS), with a flow controlled portable pump provided with a cellulose filter. The nitrogen oxides, NO and NO(2) were measured with a passive sampler. RESULTS: These drivers are exposed during their professional activity to relatively high concentrations of pollutants (mean, median (SD) 3.8, 2 (1.7) ppm for CO, 168, 164 (53) micrograms/m(3) for BS, 625, 598 (224) micrograms/m(3) for NO, and 139, 131 (43) micrograms/m(3) for NO(2).) For CO the concentrations were clearly lower than the threshold values recommended by the World Health Organisation. The situation is less satisfactory for the other pollutants, especially for the BS index. All concentrations of pollutants recorded were noticeably higher than concentrations in air recorded by the ambient Parisian air monitoring network and were close to, or slightly exceeded, the concentrations measured at the fixed stations close to automobile traffic. Pollutant concentrations were also influenced greatly by weather conditions. CONCLUSION: This first French study conducted in taxi drivers shows that they are highly exposed to automobile pollutants. The results would justify a medical follow up of this occupational group.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1998

[Reduction of automobile traffic: urgent health promotion policy].

During the last few decades, traffic injuries have become one of the leading causes of death and disability in the world. In urban areas, traffic congestion, noise, and emissions from motor vehicles produce subjective disturbances and detectable pathological effects. More than one billion people are exposed to harmful levels of environmental pollution. Because its combustion engine generates carbon dioxide (CO2), the automobile is one of the chief sources of the gases that are causing the greenhouse effect. The latter has already caused a rise in the average ambient temperature, and over the next decades it will predictable cause significant climatic changes whose consequences, though uncertain, are likely to be harmful and possibly catastrophic. Aside from the greenhouse effect, the relentless growth of parking zones, traffic, and the roadway infrastructure in urban and rural areas is currently one of the leading causes of environmental degradation. Urban development, which is nearly always "planned" around traffic instead of people, leads to a significant deterioration in the quality of life, while it also destroys the social fabric. Unlike the private automobile, public transportation, bicycles, and walking help reduce pollution, congestion, and traffic volume, as well as the morbidity and mortality resulting from injuries and ailments related to pollution. Non-automobile transportation also encourages physical activity--with its positive effect on general health--and helps reduce the greenhouse effect. The drop in traffic volume and the increased use of alternate means of transportation are thus an integrated health promotion policy which should become an inherent part of the movement for the promotion of healthy cities and of transportation policies and economic policy in general.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2004

A basic study on universal design of auditory signals in automobiles.

In this paper, the impression of various kinds of auditory signals currently used in automobiles and a comprehensive evaluation were measured by a semantic differential method. The desirable acoustic characteristic was examined for each type of auditory signal. Sharp sounds with dominant high-frequency components were not suitable for auditory signals in automobiles. This trend is expedient for the aged whose auditory sensitivity in the high frequency region is lower. When intermittent sounds were used, a longer OFF time was suitable. Generally, "dull (not sharp)" and "calm" sounds were appropriate for auditory signals. Furthermore, the comparison between the frequency spectrum of interior noise in automobiles and that of suitable sounds for various auditory signals indicates that the suitable sounds are not easily masked. The suitable auditory signals for various purposes is a good solution from the viewpoint of universal design.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

It's not just average faces that are attractive: computer-manipulated averageness makes birds, fish, and automobiles attractive.

Average faces are attractive. We sought to distinguish whether this preference is an adaptation for finding high-quality mates (the direct selection account) or whether it reflects more general information-processing mechanisms. In three experiments, we examined the attractiveness of birds, fish, and automobiles whose averageness had been manipulated using digital image manipulation techniques common in research on facial attractiveness. Both manipulated averageness and rated averageness were strongly associated with attractiveness in all three stimulus categories. In addition, for birds and fish, but not for automobiles, the correlation between subjective averageness and attractiveness remained significant when the effect of subjective familiarity was partialled out. The results suggest that at least two mechanisms contribute to the attractiveness of average exemplars. One is a general preference for familiar stimuli, which contributes to the appeal of averageness in all three categories. The other is a preference for averageness per se, which was found for birds and fish, but not for automobiles, and may reflect a preference for features signaling genetic quality in living organisms, including conspecifics.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Sleep apnea & automobile crashes.

BACKGROUND: As a group, patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are at increased risk of having automobile accidents. Previous studies using actual accident data have used only small numbers of subjects. OBJECTIVE: To determine the rate of automobile accidents in a large population of OSA patients using objective data from the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO). DESIGN: Retrospective study SETTING: Academic sleep disorders clinic and laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: All cases of OSA polygraphically confirmed between June 1990 and June 1994. INTERVENTIONS: Cases of OSA were a priori divided into groups based on apnea-hypopnea index (AHI): (OSA1 - AHI 10-25, OSA2 - AHI 26-40, OSA3 - AHI>40) and driving records were obtained from the MTO. Age and sex matched controls were selected at random from drivers in the MTO driver database who hold passenger vehicle licences. Analysis was restricted to drivers with the same licence class. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome measure was accidents in the five years preceding diagnosis. Secondary outcome was citations during the same period. RESULTS: There were 155 of 460 OSA patients with one or more accidents compared with 150 of 581 Controls for the same time period (x2=7.7,p<0.01). The rate of accidents/year, for the preceding five years, was 0.07+/-0.14 for Controls versus 0.09+/-0.14 for OSA (p <0.05). This difference could all be accounted for by increased accident rate in OSA patients with the highest AHI (OSA3) (MVA/yr: 0.11+/-0.15, 0.08+/-0.12, 0.06+/-0.14 for OSA groups 3,2,1 respectively) as there was no differences among Control, OSA1 and OSA2 accident rates. OSA patients had twice as many citations as Controls (1.74+/-2.13 vs 0.86+/-1.43 p<0.001) although the types of citation were the same. CONCLUSIONS: Increased automobile accidents in OSA may be restricted to cases with more severe apnea (AHI >40). Despite the large sample size (an order of magnitude greater than previous reports using accident data) further study is needed with even larger numbers, including more measures of disease severity and rigorously controlling for driving exposure.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2000

[A comprehensive evaluation on psychological quality among automobile drivers].

OBJECTIVE: To study the comprehensive evaluation on the indexes of psychological quality on automobile drivers. METHODS: A index system, consisted of seven psychological indexes (including relevant physiological indexes), was developed through Delphi method and mathematical statistics. Basic data of the seven psychological and physiological indexes including mean, standard deviation and percentile, were taken from more than 8,000 occupational licensed automobile drivers and more than 6,000 trainees who were randomly sampled from 5 cities across China. The weight coefficients of indexes were determined by analytical hierarchy process (AHP). RESULTS: Comprehensive evaluation equations of the occupational automobile drivers and the trainees were established respectively. The critical values of evaluation were divided into grades by the percentiles of evaluated values. Verified results showed that there was significant difference of the values under evaluation between drivers who had accidents and who did not (t = 14.68, P < 0.01; H = 73.61, P < 0.001). The test of consistence showed that the consistence was quite good (rate of consistence = 92.99%; kappa = 0.85). CONCLUSION: Results showed that the comprehensive equations for evaluation were reasonable and feasible for detecting the potential accident-proneness drivers.

Accident Proneness↗
PubMed1990

[Injuries caused by automobile dragging: a report of three cases].

Three cases of victims who were dragged a long distance by automobiles are reported. Injuries caused by such dragging are discussed. [Case 1] A 50-year-old man was found dead under an automobile after having been dragged for a distance of 530 m. Deep abrasions were found in the right temporal region, both scapular regions, the buttocks, and the heels. There were excoriations toward upper side in the right hypochondriac region along the rib arch, and multiple rib fractures with and without severe hemorrhaging. Alcohol levels were 3.54 mg/ml in the femoral venous blood, and 4.54 mg/ml in the urine. It seemed that the victim was drunk and had been lying on his back and that the automobile's underbody had caught him in his right hypochondriac region and had compressed the thoraco-abdominal regions. [Case 2] A 50-year-old drunken man, who had been lying on his back on the side of a road, was dragged by a car for a distance of 2 km. The victim showed marked and deep abrasions of the back, the buttocks, the lateral surface of both ankles, and on the ulnar surface of the left forearm. In the left forearm, the ulna and soft tissues had been rubbed flat and were blackened. The alcohol levels in the femoral venous blood and in the urine were 3.31 and 4.19 mg/ml, respectively. [Case 3] An 83-year-old woman was found dead on the side of a road. In the right temporal region, the skull had been rubbed flat and the right cerebral hemisphere was exposed and flattened. Severe abrasions were observed on both shoulders, the buttocks, and on the back surfaces of the lower extremities. Her sandals and a broken cane were found on the road 2 km from the scene. The offender has not yet been arrested. Injuries caused by the road surface in traffic accidents usually take the form of excoriations or abrasions, and the three victims of this report showed severe and characteristic injuries. Excoriations or abrasions develop into abrasive injuries, defects of the skin or soft tissue, and to the exposure of the internal organs from continuous, prolonged dragging. Some of these accumulated injuries might have been caused by frictional heat.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1976

The automobile and heat stress.

This study suggests that the thermal burden of poorly ventilated parked automobiles can be considerable, particularly when the automobiles are exposed to direct sunlight. Leaving the windows open two inches does not appear to be protective. The pratice of exposing infants and toddlers to such thermal risk appears to be common and the need for adequate ventilation unrecognized. Education measures stressing the use of carseats and other safety devices should include the potential hazards of high temperature in parked automobiles.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMed1988

US Preventive Services Task Force. Automobile injury--selected risk factors and prevention in the health care setting.

Every year, highway crashes cause tens of thousands of deaths and millions of nonfatal injuries, many of which can be prevented. Following a mandate from the US Preventive Services Task Force, in this article we describe the magnitude of the automobile injury problem, identify injury risk factors that might be reduced by clinically based preventive programs, and review reports of interventions by health professionals to promote the use of child restraint devices, the only area in which we found published evaluations. We conclude that despite the lack of experimental evidence of the long-term effectiveness of clinically based efforts to promote occupant restraint use, such efforts may be warranted because of the enormous social and economic costs of automobile injury. In addition, physicians and other health professionals are urged to consider promoting nonclinical automobile injury prevention measures.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2005

Methemoglobinemia induced by automobile exhaust fumes.

Although methemoglobinemia is an uncommon disorder, it should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of cyanosis. Major causes of acquired methemoglobinemia are nitrates, aniline, and analgesics, though rare cases have been reported to have been caused by automobile exhaust fumes. A 24-year-old man had inhaled a large amount of automobile exhaust fumes, intending to commit suicide. He had become unconscious, with dilated pupils and symptoms of cyanosis. Arterial hemoglobin oxygen saturation (Sp(O2)) was 86%, with a methemoglobin level of 44.3% and a carboxyhemoglobin level of 0%, while electrolytes, blood urea nitrogen, creatine, and glucose measurement results were normal. He was treated with methylene blue 250 mg (approximately 4 mg/kg) through a nasogastric tube. Four hours after the treatment, because the methemoglobin level was slightly above normal (2.2%), we added 180 mg of methylene blue. The results of final arterial blood gas analysis were a methemoglobin level of 0.4% and a carboxyhemoglobin level of 0.8%. He recovered uneventfully and returned home by himself the next day. To summarize, we successfully treated, with methylene blue given through a nasogastric tube, a young man who had developed severe methemoglobinemia from inhaling automobile exhaust fumes.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

A sixteen-factor personality test for predicting automobile driving accidents of young drivers.

The predictive value of the Cattell 16-factor personality test on the occurrence of automobile accidents among conscripts during their 11-month military service in a transportation section of Finnish Defense Forces was examined. Automobile driving experience before and during the follow-up as well as the occurrence of traffic accidents and penalties before and during the follow-up period were investigated. Complete data on personality, mileage, and traffic accidents plus penalties were obtained for 597 conscripts. In this population, altogether 91 automobile accidents were recorded for 82 conscripts. A logistic model showed that impulsivity and adventurousness (high score in factor H), naivete and excessive trustfulness (low score in factor L), and poor self-control (low score in factor Q3) predicted significantly, and guilt proneness and depression (high score in factor O) almost significantly the subsequent occurrence of motor vehicle accidents. Factors L and Q3 remained significant when only accidents of which the subject was found guilty were being predicted. All these personality factors are related to the control of emotions. The results indicate that the 16-factor personality test is valuable when selecting safe drivers in a population of young male adults with little previous driving experience.

Accidents, Traffic↗