Common Traffic Violations of Bus Drivers in Urban China: An Observational Study.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Wang Q
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4570791 | biostudies-other | 2015
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:BackgroundExposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is associated with increased incidence of several cardiopulmonary diseases. The elevated TRAP exposures of commuting environments can result in significant contributions to daily exposures.ObjectivesTo assess the personal TRAP exposures (UFPs, BC, PM2.5, and PM10) of the bus transit systems of Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver, Canada. Personal exposure models estimated the contribution of bus commuting to daily TRAP exposures. Associations between bus type and riding exposures and bus stop/station type and waiting exposures were estimated.ResultsBus commuting (4.6% of the day) contributed ~59%(SD = 15%), 60%(SD = 20%), and 57%(SD = 18%) of daily PM2.5-Ba and 70%(SD = 19%), 64%(SD = 15%), and 70%(SD = 15%) of daily PM2.5-Fe, in Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver, respectively. Enclosed bus stations were found to be hotspots of PM2.5 and BC. Buses with diesel particulate filters (DPFs) and hybrid diesel/electric propulsion were found to have significantly lower in-bus PM2.5, UFP, and BC relative to 1983-2003 diesel buses in each city with the exception of UFP in Vancouver.SignificancePersonal exposures for traffic-related air pollutants were assessed for three Canadian bus transit systems. In each system, bus commuting was estimated to contribute significantly toward daily exposures of fine-fraction Ba and Fe as well as BC. Exposures while riding were associated with bus type for several pollutants in each city. These associations suggest the use of hybrid diesel/electric buses equipped with diesel particulate filters have improved air quality for riders.
| S-EPMC8263338 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Summer extreme heat threatens the health of individuals, especially persons who are involved in outdoor activities. Ensuring the normal function of a city, bus drivers are among those who participate in outdoor physical activities and are exposed to excessive heat in hot summer weather. This qualitative study was performed to explore professional bus drivers' in-depth views of extreme heat risks to their health, and ultimately develop targeted advice and policy interventions for city bus drivers. An interview-based study was performed among professional bus drivers in Jinan, China, including four focus groups with professional bus drivers (n = 37) and three interviews with their managers (n = 14). Five central themes or categories from the bus driver interviews were found: concerns about summer heat; health effects related to extreme heat; adaptive measures; barriers in implementing these adaptive measures; and suggested interventions. The beneficial role of cooling facilities (particularly air-conditioning) during extreme heat are addressed. The barriers not only impede the implementation of behavioral adaptive measures but also enhance the negative attitudes of bus drivers towards their effectiveness. The responsibilities of managers in promoting preventive actions are addressed.
| S-EPMC3945551 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) represents an important occupational health concern in the transportation industry, affecting a substantial percentage of transportation operators. Our study aims to determine the frequency of individuals at high risk of obstructive sleep apnea, and excessive daytime sleepiness, as well as any potential association between these conditions and traffic accidents among a sample of Ecuadorian bus drivers.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study involving 340 commercial bus drivers from Ecuador. Descriptive statistics were used to determine frequency and proportions for demographic and clinical variables. A Kendall's tau-b was performed to ascertain the relationship between the STOP-Bang score towards the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score and the number of accidents and near accidents.ResultsIn general, 18.5% (n = 63) of participants were found to be at high-risk for OSA. There was a weak positive correlation between STOP-Bang score and ESS score (τb = 0.244, p = .000). We also found a statistically significant, although negligible, correlation between the STOP-Bang score and the number of accidents (τb = 0.096, p = .039) and near accidents (τb = 0.120, p = .008).ConclusionOur results suggest that a considerable proportion of Ecuadorian bus drivers were at high-risk for obstructive sleep apnea. Higher STOP-Bang scores were correlated with an increased number of accidents and near accidents. Additional studies are needed to determine whether additional interventions could increase road safety by taking care of undiagnosed and untreated OSA cases in a timely manner.
| S-EPMC8818532 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveOne-third of autistic individuals obtain a driver's license by age 21 years; however, prior studies suggest they may be at heightened risk for motor vehicle crashes. We compared objective rates of crashes, traffic violations, and license suspensions for newly licensed autistic and non-autistic adolescents.MethodThis retrospective cohort study included New Jersey residents born from 1987 through 2000 who were patients of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia health care network. Electronic health records were linked with statewide driver licensing and crash databases. Autism status was classified via International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnostic codes; individuals with intellectual disability were excluded. We compared rates among 486 autistic and 70,990 non-autistic licensed drivers over their first 48 months of driving. Furthermore, we examined the proportion of crashes attributed to specific driver actions and crash types.ResultsCompared with non-autistic drivers, autistic drivers were estimated to have lower average monthly rates of crash involvement (adjusted rate ratio (adjRR) = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.75-1.05), moving violations (adjRR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.48-0.67), and suspensions (adjRR = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.18-0.58). Among drivers involved in a crash, autistic drivers were half as likely to crash because of unsafe speed, but substantially more likely to crash because of their failure to yield to a vehicle/pedestrian and while making left-turns or U-turns.ConclusionNewly licensed autistic adolescent drivers have similar to lower estimated rates of adverse driving outcomes; the extent to which these can be attributed to different driving patterns is a critical point for future investigation. There were several notable differences in the characteristics of these crashes, which directly inform interventions to improve driving safety of autistic adolescent drivers.
| S-EPMC8918049 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionLittle is known about workplace health promotion for bus drivers. Bus drivers are at-risk of chronic disease because they are exposed to the risk factor combination of poor nutrition, low levels of physical activity, high levels of sedentary time and are often overweight or obese. The purpose of this paper is to situate the quantitative baseline data collected from bus drivers within qualitative findings about the socio-cultural context of the workplace.Materials and methodsBaseline data about physical activity, dietary intake and sedentary hours was collected from 58 drivers employed by a large bus company in southeast Queensland. Ten drivers and seven key workplace informants participated in interviews and discussion groups about driver health behaviours, workplace structure, culture, and resources.ResultsThe quantitative results of our study reveal bus drivers have a cluster of poor health behaviours-limited physical activity, lower than recommended consumption of fruit and vegetables and high levels of sitting time during working-hours-which contribute to a high prevalence of overweight and obesity and a heightened risk of chronic disease. The qualitative findings suggest there are individual and structural barriers to improving drivers' modifiable health behaviours. Individual barriers include ingrained poor habits and more pressing life concerns, while structural barriers in the context of the workplace include time constraints, shift work, long days, a lack of work amenities and a general disconnect of drivers with their workplace.ConclusionIn this workplace, health promotion strategies for bus drivers should be prioritised as a means of improving drivers' health. To maximise uptake and effectiveness, these strategies should make use of existing workplace resources and consider the context of workplace health behaviour change. Further research is warranted in a broader sample of Australian bus companies to explore the context of workplace health behavior change so targeted strategies to improve bus drivers' health can be developed.
| S-EPMC8321218 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundEvidence whether individuals with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for traffic violations/collisions is mixed. This study investigated the association between ADHD and traffic violations among youth and young adults; examined whether this association differed by age, sex, or comorbid mental or physical problems; and modelled factors associated with traffic violations among individuals with ADHD.MethodsData come from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health (CCHS-MH), a cross-sectional epidemiological study. The sample was restricted to youth and young adults aged 15 to 39 years and categorized into 3 groups: 15 to 19 years (n = 1886), 20 to 29 years (n = 3679), and 30 to 39 years (n = 3659). Lifetime ADHD and past-year contact with police for traffic violations were self-reported. Logistic regression models quantified the association between ADHD and traffic violations, stratified by age. Interactions were included to examine moderating effects.ResultsNo evidence suggested an association between ADHD and past-year traffic violations (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.64 to 1.79), age-specific estimates did not differ across age groups (P = 0.696), and no factors moderated the association. Three factors were found to increase odds for past-year traffic violations among individuals with ADHD: aged 20 to 29 years (OR, 3.84; 95% CI, 1.47 to 10.06), male sex (OR, 3.48; 95% CI, 1.39 to 8.59), and white ethnicity (OR, 5.62; 95% CI, 1.24 to 25.51).ConclusionsIndividuals with ADHD are not an at-risk group for traffic violations but instead share similar risk factors with individuals in the general population without ADHD-information useful for health professionals. Replication studies are needed to examine the robustness of these findings.
| S-EPMC6610566 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundMotorcycles are one of the important members of commercial transportation because of the convenient use during congested traffic conditions and the ease of parking in narrow streets. This study investigates the characteristics of crashes and traffic signal violations caused by motorcycle couriers.MethodsFrom the national compensation data, this study analyzed the traffic crashes caused by 671 motorcycle couriers.ResultsAmong 671 injured couriers, 50.6% were aged less than 40 years, 49.2% run in a small business of <5 employees, and 47.2% had work experience of <6 months. Motorcycle crashes occurred mainly due to "rider overturned alone" (67.5%), in the daytime (73.5%), or on cloudy or clear days (77.2%). However, the violation rate caused by motorcycle couriers was high in couriers in a small business of <5 employees (13.9%), with work experience of <6 months (13.9%), on cloudy or clear days (12.4%), on an intersection (29.8%), in the type of "crash with a vehicle" (31.2%), or in a death accident (35.7%).ConclusionThe findings of this study can be used as a baseline in devising policies for preventing crashes of motorcycle couriers.
| S-EPMC6598799 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Objectives: To study the change in the prevalence of bus drivers' health outcomes between 2010 and 2022 and their relationship with working conditions. Method: Unionized bus drivers completed a self-administered questionnaire in 2010, 2018, and 2022 on 13 health outcomes, sick leaves, and accidents and working conditions and their change during SARS-CoV-2 crisis. For outcomes which prevalence increased since 2010, we performed logistic regression models adjusted for covariates. Results: The study sample included 772 participants in 2010, 393 in 2018, and 916 in 2022. The most prevalent health problem (≥50%) was shoulder or neck muscle pain. The most tedious working conditions were working days over 10 h. Shoulder or neck pain, sleep disorders, sick leaves, and accidents increased since 2010 and were associated with working conditions, and co-morbidity. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic had additional negative consequences. Conclusion: Most bus drivers' working and health conditions worsened in the last 12 years. Given the study design, the results deserve a cautious interpretation and generalization. Cohort studies should confirm these results and inform interventions targeting the most tedious and harmful working conditions.
| S-EPMC10319994 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Accurate estimation of traffic emissions and analysis of spatio-temporal distribution on urban roads play a crucial role in the development of low-carbon transportation system. Traditionally, a region's emission characteristics have been studied using numerous emission models with GPS-based spatio-temporal data. Due to the heavy data processing needs of GPS-based data, emission characteristics for a large region have been studied by dividing the region into a limited number of smaller areas or units. Additionally, GPS data are based on a few vehicles in the traffic which does not fully reflect road conditions. This paper proposed an approach that can be used to study and calculate the spatio-temporal emission pattern of a region at a roadway section level by using Baidu's online traffic data and COPERT model. The proposed method can be used to estimate road-level emission patterns while avoiding the impact of redundant data in large datasets, making the dataset more reliable, applicable, and scalable. The proposed approach has been demonstrated through a study of spatio-temporal emission patterns in the Qiaoxi district within city of Shijiazhuang, China. Online data crawling technology was used to obtain data on urban road traffic speed and driving distance. The linear reference technology was used to construct a two-layer road network model to conduct the coupling and matching of traffic data with the road network data. The COPERT model was implemented to calculate the average traffic emissions on each road in the road network, and a traffic emission intensity index was proposed to quantify the CO, VOC, NOx and CO2 emissions on urban roads in the study area. The analysis results show that the traffic emission intensity of the expressway, trunk road, secondary road, and branch road is high during the morning peak (7 AM-9 AM) and evening peak (5 PM-7 PM). The sections with higher traffic emission intensity are mainly concentrated on the main roads and secondary roads such as Jiefang South Street, Shitong Road and Xinhua Road. Nearly one-third of 2nd Ring and 3rd Ring roads also have relatively high emission intensity. The research results provide new ideas for estimating traffic emissions in urban road networks and analyzing the spatio-temporal distribution of traffic emissions. The research results can also provide a decision-making basis for traffic management departments to formulate energy-saving and emission-reduction measures and promote the development of urban green and low-carbon transportation.
| S-EPMC10718443 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Pneumonia is a leading cause of childhood death. Few studies have investigated associations between residential ambient environmental exposures and pneumonia. In January⁻April 2015, we conducted a cross-sectional study in Shandong Province (China) and collected 9597 (response rate: 78.7%) parent-reported questionnaires for 3⁻6-year-old children from 69 urban kindergartens. We then selected 5640 children who had never changed residence since birth and examined associations between residential ambient traffic-related facilities and childhood pneumonia considering residential characteristics. Prevalence of doctor-diagnosed pneumonia during lifetime-ever was 25.9%. In the multivariate logistic regression analyses, residence close to a main traffic road (adjusted odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 1.23, 1.08⁻1.40) and automobile 4S shop (1.76, 1.16⁻2.67) within 200 m, residence close to a filling station within 100 m (1.71, 1.10⁻2.65; reference: >200 m), as well as having a ground car park in the residential community (1.24, 1.08⁻1.42) were significantly associated with childhood pneumonia. The cumulative numbers of these traffic-related facilities had a positive dose-response relationship with the increased odds of childhood pneumonia. These associations and dose-response relationships were stronger among boys and among children with worse bedroom ventilation status during the night. Associations of residence close to the main traffic road and ground car parks in the residential community with childhood pneumonia were stronger among children living in the 1st⁻3rd floors than those living on higher floors. Similar results were found in the two-level (kindergarten-child) logistic regression analyses. Our findings indicate that living near traffic-related facilities is likely a risk factor for childhood pneumonia among urban children. The child's sex, bedroom floor level, and bedroom ventilation could modify associations of ambient traffic-related facilities with childhood pneumonia.
| S-EPMC6025011 | biostudies-literature