A numerical investigation into the effect of CRS misuse on the injury potential of children in frontal and side impact crashes

This research focuses on an investigation into the head and neck injuries sustained by toddlers due to CRS misuse under frontal and side impact crashes. A fully deformable FE model incorporating a Hybrid III 3-year-old dummy was developed which has been previously validated for frontal impacts under CMVSS 208 and FMVSS 213 testing conditions. Furthermore, this model has also been validated under near-side impact conditions in accordance to crash tests carried out by NHTSA. In addition, numerical models incorporating a Q3/Q3s prototype child crash test dummies were developed. The objective of this research was to study the effect of seatbelt slack and the absence of the top tether strap on the head and neck injuries sustained by toddlers in a vehicle crash. Numerical simulations were conducted under full frontal and near side impact crash testing conditions in accordance with FMVSS 213 for the Hybrid III 3-year-old dummy and Q3/Q3s dummies in the absence and presence of slack in the seatbelt webbing, and in the absence and presence of the top tether strap. In addition, the effect of using a cross-shaped rigid ISOFIX system was also investigated. An analysis of the head and chest accelerations, neck loads and moments was completed to investigate the potential of injury due to CRS misuse. An increase in HIC₁₅ by approximately 30–40% for the frontal impact and 10–20% for the near-side impact respectively was observed for the Q3 child dummy due to both forms of CRS misuse. In the absence of the top tether strap the forward head excursions were observed to be increased by approximately 70% for the Hybrid III 3-year-old dummy and 40% for the Q3 dummy, respectively. Use of the cross-shaped rigid ISOFIX system illustrated a reduction in head and neck injury parameters, for both frontal and side impact conditions, in the absence and presence of CRS misuse. CRS misuse results in a significant increase in injury parameters and potential for contact related head injuries. Use of a rigid ISOFIX system to restrain a CRS provides better CRS and dummy confinement and reduced injury potential than a flexible ISOFIX system.     

Examining the relative effectiveness of different message framing strategies for child passenger safety: Recommendations for increased comprehension and compliance

Background

Age-appropriate child restraints and rear seating dramatically reduce injury in vehicle crashes. Yet parents and caregivers struggle to comply with child passenger safety (CPS) recommendations, and frequently make mistakes when choosing and installing restraints. The purpose of this research was to evaluate various methods of framing CPS recommendations, and to examine the relative effectiveness on parents’ knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions related to best practices and proper use of child restraints. Emphasis framing is a persuasion technique that involves placing focus on specific aspects of the content in order to encourage or discourage certain interpretations of the content.

Method

A 5 (flyer group) X 2 (time) randomized experiment was conducted in which 300 parent participants answered a pre-survey, viewed one of four flyer versions or a no-education control version, and completed a post-survey. Surveys measured CPS knowledge, attitudes, perceptions of efficacy and risk, and behavioral intentions. The four flyers compared in this study all communicated the same CPS recommendations, but several versions were tested which each employed a different emphasis frame: (1) recommendations organized by the natural progression of seat types; (2) recommendations which focused on avoiding premature graduation; (3) recommendations which explained the risk-reduction rationale behind the information given; or (4) recommendations which were organized by age. In a fifth no-education (control) condition, participants viewed marketing materials.

Results

Analyses of covariance and pairwise comparisons indicated the risk-reduction rationale flyer outperformed other flyers for many subscales, and significantly differed from no-education control for the most subscales, including restraint selection, back seat knowledge, rear-facing knowledge and attitudes, total efficacy, overall attitudes, and stated intentions.

Conclusions

This research provides insight for increasing caregiver understanding and compliance with CPS information. Recommendations for the field include communicating the rationale behind the information given, using behavior-based directives in headers, avoiding age-based headers, and incorporating back-seat positioning directives throughout.     

Case–control analysis in highway safety: Accounting for sites with multiple crashes

There is an increased interest in the use of epidemiological methods in highway safety analysis. The case–control and cohort methods are commonly used in the epidemiological field to identify risk factors and quantify the risk or odds of disease given certain characteristics and factors related to an individual. This same concept can be applied to highway safety where the entity of interest is a roadway segment or intersection (rather than a person) and the risk factors of interest are the operational and geometric characteristics of a given roadway. One criticism of the use of these methods in highway safety is that they have not accounted for the difference between sites with single and multiple crashes. In the medical field, a disease either occurs or it does not; multiple occurrences are generally not an issue. In the highway safety field, it is necessary to evaluate the safety of a given site while accounting for multiple crashes. Otherwise, the analysis may underestimate the safety effects of a given factor.     

灰色预测方法在铁路春运客流预测中的应用

文章通过对车站客流数据的分析，认为火车站作为一个系统，是本征性灰色的，故选择使用灰色预测方法，对春运客流量做出预测，并根据实际预测结果对基本模型进行了优化：选择优化参数a,采用残差预测模型，新陈代谢模型等方法，解决了预测精度和可信度的问题。实际数据表明，预测结果是可信的。     

Consumers’ attitudes toward information security threats against connected and autonomous vehicles

Connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and intelligent transport systems are transforming individual driving behavior and thus, the vehicle industry and transport sector. However, increasing vehicle connectivity makes CAVs more susceptible to cyber-attacks, which is a barrier to consumers’ CAV adoption. This study analyzes the types of information security threats consumers consider to be the most dangerous and consumer preference for the information security solution that protects their CAVs from such information security threats. We use stated preference data from a discrete choice experiment and a mixed logit model to reflect consumers’ heterogeneity on information security threats and solutions. Furthermore, we investigate the effects of experiencing privacy leakage on attitudes toward CAV information security threats by dividing respondents into two groups. The results show that consumers regard communication failure and the unauthorized collection of personal information as dangerous information security threats, which implies that confidentiality and availability are more essential to CAV security than other factors. Moreover, convenience of use, such as having automatic updates and a security dashboard, is also important when purchasing a CAV information security solution. We also find that respondents who have experienced privacy leakage have a higher preference for protecting CAVs from information security threats than those who have not.     

The playfulness of Facebook – Shaped by underlying psychological drivers and gender differences

Despite perceived playfulness being at the core of Facebookers’ experiences, research has yet to address this psychological phenomenon and its underlying drivers. Drawing theoretical insights from transportation theory, imagery literature, the arousal-as-information approach, and accounts of information processing and gender, this paper aims to fill the gap and examine the impact of imagery and arousal on perceived playfulness, and the moderating effect of gender. We develop a psychological model of playfulness formation and we test it empirically with a sample of 416 active users of Facebook. We validate the survey instrument and use a partial least squares (PLS) approach to examine the direct, mediating and moderating effects on perceived playfulness. The results provide support for the proposed model, which relates imagery to perceived playfulness, directly and through the path of transportation; considers the distinct roles of imagery elaboration and imagery representations; and includes the moderating influence of arousal. In addition, the results report that gender has a moderating effect on playfulness formation. The findings offer implications for marketing practitioners and information systems (IS) specialists alike.     

Methods,measures and indicators for evaluating benefits of transportation research

The purpose of this article is to provide updated information by identifying and discussing methods, measures and indicators for evaluating benefits appropriate for transportation-related research facilities/programmes. The information has been drawn from within and outside transportation research. The article discusses the sources driving the need for evaluating benefits and describes the challenges confronting the evaluation process. It reviews and compares qualitative and quantitative techniques and highlights previous published work, investigations and case studies. Many traditional challenges of determining benefits persist, contributing to the gap between the ability to identify non-technical benefits of research and the growing need to demonstrate such benefits. This article aims to stimulate dialogue and investigations to advance the development of an appropriate robust method to determine quantitative benefits stemming from specifically accelerated pavement testing (APT) type transportation research. The ultimate goal is to help better understand, demonstrate and communicate the benefits of APT research.     

露天矿运输的PSO-BP神经网络风险评估法

为对露天矿运输路线进行风险评估,提出一种基于PSO-BP模型的露天矿运输风险评估方法。以某露天矿内15条运输路线为例,选取17个主要因素作为风险指标体系的二级指标并进行定量化处理,构建了BP风险评估模型,利用PSO算法优化BP模型的权值和阈值,建立了PSO-BP风险评估模型。以模糊综合评判得出的风险分值为依据,分别对PSO-BP模型与BP模型的训练结果和测试结果进行对比分析。结果表明：PSO-BP模型的评估结果与现场实际情况基本相符,评估准确率明显高于BP模型。     

区域性综合交通枢纽城市的综合交通规划探析——以梧州市为例

梧州市作为区域性综合交通枢纽城市,交通发展受多种因素的影响,应协调经济、文化、资源,环境等因素,探索一种可持续发展的交通模式.梧州市综合交通规划立足交通发展现状,采用交通可持续发展理念,以及交通规划与土地利用规划相协调的理念,提出“九网合一”的交通模式,构建“一环七射三连”的高速公路网和“丰”字形铁路主骨架.     

交通建筑的地域性表达——以龙厦铁路南靖站为例

以新建龙岩至厦门铁路南靖站为例,分析火车站的功能、时代特征与地域、文化特质的结合方向,通过南靖站站房建筑对当地客家土楼文化的借鉴和传承,探索当代交通建筑的地域性设计思路。南靖站以当地标志性传统民居土楼中的圆楼为原型,分别从建筑造型及细部设计、平面布局与空间序列、场地与外部环境三个方面分析、提炼圆楼的建筑形式和文化内涵,并将其独特之处与火车站的功能相结合,赋予南靖站独具地域及传统文化特色的面貌和精神。