Cara Hamann

On-road bicycle facilities and bicycle crashes in Iowa, 2007-2010

PURPOSE An average of 611 deaths and over 47,000 bicyclists are injured in traffic-related crashes in the United States each year. Efforts to increase bicycle safety are needed to reduce and prevent injuries and fatalities, especially as trends indicate that ridership is increasing rapidly. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of bicycle-specific roadway facilities (e.g., signage and bicycle lanes) in reducing bicycle crashes. METHODS We conducted a case site-control site study of 147 bicycle crash-sites identified from the Iowa Department of Transportation crash database from 2007 to 2010 and 147 matched non-crash sites. Control sites were randomly selected from intersections matched to case sites on neighborhood (census block group) and road classification (arterial, feeder, collector, etc.). We examined crash risk by any on-road bicycle facility present and by facility type (pavement markings--bicycle lanes and shared lane arrows, bicycle-specific signage, and the combination of markings and signage), controlling for bicycle volume, motor vehicle volume, street width, sidewalks, and traffic controls. RESULTS A total of 11.6% of case sites and 15.0% of controls had an on-road bicycle facility. Case intersections had higher bicycle volume (3.52 vs. 3.34 per 30 min) and motor vehicle volume (248.77 vs. 205.76 per 30 min) than controls. Our results are suggestive that the presence of an on-road bicycle facility decreases crash risk by as much as 60% with a bicycle lane or shared lane arrow (OR=0.40, 95% CI=0.09-1.82) and 38% with bicycle-specific signage (OR=0.62, 95% CI=0.15-2.58). CONCLUSIONS Investments in bicycle-specific pavement markings and signage have been shown to be beneficial to traffic flow, and our results suggest that they may also reduce the number of bicycle-motor vehicle crashes and subsequent injuries and fatalities. As a relatively low-cost traffic feature, community considerations for further implementation of these facilities are justified.

Factors affecting hospital charges and length of stay from teenage motor vehicle crash-related hospitalizations among United States teenagers, 2002-2007

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for all teenagers, and each year a far greater number of teens are hospitalized with non-fatal injuries. This retrospective cohort study used the National Inpatient Sample data to examine hospitalizations from the years 2002 to 2007 for 15-18-year-old teenagers who had been admitted due to a motor vehicle crash. More than 23,000 teens were hospitalized for motor vehicle-related crash injuries each year, for a total of 139,880 over the 6-year period. Total hospital charges exceeded

Burden of hospitalizations for bicycling injuries by motor vehicle involvement: United States, 2002 to 2009

1 billion almost every year, with a median hospital charge of more than

Smoke Alarm and Battery Function 42 Months After Installation A Randomized Trial

25,000. Older teens, boys, those with fractures, internal injuries or intracranial injuries, and Medicaid/Medicare as a payer were associated with higher hospital charges and longer lengths of stay. These high charges and hospitalization periods pose a significant burden on teens, their families, and the health care system.

Disaster Preparedness in Rural Families of Children With Special Health Care Needs.

BACKGROUND Bicycling and bicycling injuries have increased during the past decade in the United States, but research on the extent and outcomes of injuries has lagged behind. This study aimed to estimate the current burden of injury from bicycling injury hospitalizations by motor vehicle crash (MVC) and non-MVC in the United States. METHODS We included patients with primary or secondary diagnosis e-codes corresponding to MVC or non-MVC bicycle injury, drawn from the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2002–2009). Descriptive statistics, linear regression, and logistic regression were used to examine patient and hospital characteristics (length of stay, total charges, nonroutine discharges, and demographics) associated with hospitalizations for bicycling injuries by motor vehicle involvement. RESULTS On average, from 2002 to 2009, there were an annually estimated 6,877 MVC and 18,457 non-MVC bicycle injury hospitalizations nationwide. This translates to more than

Epidemiology of pedestrian–MVCs by road type in Cluj, Romania

1 billion of hospital charges overall,

Smoke alarm tests may not adequately indicate smoke alarm function

425 million for MVC and

Examination of adult and child bicyclist safety-relevant events using naturalistic bicycling methodology

588 million for non-MVC per year. After controlling for covariates, MVC bicycling injury hospitalizations had an average length of stay that was 2 days longer (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.8–2.3) and an average hospitalization charge of

School Bus Crash Rates on Routine and Nonroutine Routes

23,424 more (95% CI,

Parent and teen agreement on driving expectations prior to teen licensure

21,360–