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Fatal Accidents (fatal + accident)
Selected AbstractsMedia Exposure, Perceived Similarity, and Counterfactual Thinking: Why Did the Public Grieve When Princess Diana Died?,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 10 2001David R. Pillow Judgments of perceived similarity to Princess Diana and counterfactual thinking, in conjunction with media exposure, were examined as competing explanations that might account for the public's affective responses to the fatal accident of Princess Diana. Shortly after the accident, 222 introductory psychology students were surveyed. Results indicate that each of these constructs contributed uniquely to predict negative affective responding. An interaction was found such that persons high in perceived similarity had high levels of counterfactual ruminations and negative responding, regardless of their media exposure, whereas media exposure largely predicted the responses of those low in perceived similarity. Possible causal sequences involving these constructs, social comparison theory, and work on media-related stress are discussed. [source] Driving speed changes and subjective estimates of time savings, accident risks and brakingAPPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2009Ola Svenson Participants made decisions between two road improvements to increase mean speed. Time saved when speed increased from a higher driving speed was overestimated in relation to time saved from increases from lower speeds. In Study 2, participants matched pairs of speed increases so that they would give the same time saving and repeated the bias. The increase in risk of an accident with person injury was underestimated and the increase in risk of a fatal accident grossly underestimated when speed increased. The increase of stopping distance when speed increased was systematically underestimated. In Study 3, the tasks and results of Study 2 were repeated with engineering students. When forming opinions about speed limits and traffic planning, drivers, the public, politicians and others who do not collect the proper facts are liable to the same biases as those demonstrated in the present study. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Testing for Offsetting Behavior and Adverse Recruitment Among Drivers of Airbag-Equipped VehiclesJOURNAL OF RISK AND INSURANCE, Issue 4 2003David W. Harless Earlier studies reported that an insurance industry index of personal-injury claims rose after automobiles adopted driver's side airbags and that drivers of airbag-equipped vehicles were more likely to be at fault in fatal multivehicle accidents. These findings can be explained by the offsetting behavior hypothesis or by at-risk drivers systematically selecting vehicles with airbags (i.e., adverse recruitment). We test for offsetting behavior and adverse recruitment after airbag adoption using a database containing information on fatal accidents including information on drivers' previous records and drivers' actions that contributed to the occurrence of the accident. Further, we reexamine the personal injury claims index data for newly airbag-equipped vehicles and show that the rise in the index after airbag adoption may be attributable to moral hazard and a new vehicle ownership pattern. Rental car drivers are much more likely to commit grievous acts than other drivers, and the proportion of new automobiles in daily rental service more than doubled during the period of airbag adoption. [source] Alcohol is the Main Factor in Excess Traffic Accident Fatalities in FranceALCOHOLISM, Issue 12 2002Michel Reynaud Background The aim of this study was to better evaluate the role of alcohol drinking in fatalities linked to road traffic accidents. Methods The data of accidents were collected by a French official agency from police records, including many variables, among which was a blood alcohol test. They were analyzed in a descriptive way and toward a logistic regression. This exhaustive database comprised all of the 500,961 accidents with casualties that involved less than three vehicles (28,506 fatal accidents) recorded in France during a 52 month period (September 1995 to December 1999). The results of the alcohol tests were known in 78.7 of the drivers. Results The blood alcohol concentration was over the legal limit (0.50 g/L in France) in 9.8% of the accidents with casualties overall. Considering only fatal accidents, the rate of positive alcohol test in drivers was approximately 31.5%. This rate varied depending on the period and the type of accident, raising up to 71.2% in single-vehicle accidents (loss of control) at night during the weekend. The percentage of positive alcohol tests also dramatically increased following the number of fatalities per accident (87.5% in single-vehicle accidents during weekend nights involving three or more killed). The logistic regression in single-vehicle accident shows that the higher odds ratios concern the positive blood alcohol test (OR = 4.19), clearly overwhelming the other precipitating factors of accidents (age of driver, meteorological conditions, time of day, and other factors). Conclusions Drinking alcohol before driving is a well known factor of accidents. We clearly demonstrate here that it is the main factor leading to deaths linked to road traffic accidents in France. The results are strengthened, and some analyses are allowed, by the exceptional features of our database. The authors emphasize the need for prevention measures. [source] ,Violent' deaths of children in England and Wales and the major developed countries 1974,2002: possible evidence of improving child protection?CHILD ABUSE REVIEW, Issue 5 2008Colin Pritchard Abstract Child protection services are criticised for failing to prevent abuse but demonstrating successful prevention is impossible as it is trying to prove a ,negative'. The alternative is to examine ,failures', i.e. the ,violent' deaths of children (0,14 years) to indicate whether matters are improving or deteriorating. This paper uses the latest World Health Organisation data to compare children's ,violent' deaths in England and Wales with those in other major developed countries. To account for possible ,hidden' under-reported abuse deaths, undetermined, i.e. ,other external causes of death' (OECD) and fatal accidents and adverse events (AAE), deaths are also analysed along with homicides, to compare all ,violence-related' deaths between 1974,76 and 2000,02. England and Wales infant (<1 year) homicide rates were annually 57 per million but fell to 17 per million, a 74% fall. Infant AAE deaths fell in every country with England and Wales falling from 341 per million to 71 per million, a 76% reduction. Both these results were significantly better than those of eight other major developed countries, although England and Wales infant OECD at 26 per million, were high compared to the major developed countries. In the 1970s, combined ,violent' deaths of all children (0,14 years) (homicide, OECD and AAE) in England and Wales were 203 per million, they are now 61 per million, a 70% decline with only Italy having lower rates. The worst rates were in the USA which had the highest combined ,violent' death rate. These overall results in the major reductions of ,violence-related' deaths in England and Wales can be a boost to the morale of front-line staff and provide the public with an indication of the progress being made. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||