Stéphane Messier

Exposure for different license categories through a phone survey: Validity and feasibility studies☆

This paper presents: (i) an operational definition of risk exposure, (ii) a questionnaire developed to measure exposure, (iii) validity studies of estimates of the distance traveled and time spent driving for different permit holder categories, and (iv) a feasibility study for a telephone survey on exposure. Results show that long-distance truck drivers from one company studied estimated accurately their distance driven on the last worked day; Montreal Urban Community Transport Commission bus drivers estimated well their time behind the wheel; while a convenience sample of private car drivers (coworkers and friends) estimated well their previous week distance and time on the road. Phone surveys appear to be an efficient and cost-effective method for risk exposure data collection.

Analysis of the Economic Impact of Medical and Optometric Driving Standards on Costs Incured by Trucking Firms and on the Social Costs of Traffic Accidents

Recent studies do not agree on the possible relationship between medical conditions and traffic safety; most of them do not control for exposure factors. In this study, we estimate the effect of different medical conditions (namely diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary disease and monocular vision) on the distribution of accidents of truck drivers. Our data and our model permit the simultaneous control for age, medical conditions and other characteristics of the truck drivers; exposure factors measured by hours, kilometers, and qualitative factors; and of the circumstances surrounding accidents described in police reports.

Health Care Workers’ Risk Perceptions of Personal and Work Activities and Willingness to Report for Work During an Influenza Pandemic

The ability and willingness of health care workers to report for work during a pandemic are essential to pandemic response. The main contribution of this article is to examine the relationship between risk perception of personal and work activities and willingness to report for work during an influenza pandemic. Data were collected through a quantitative Web-based survey sent to health care workers on the island of Montreal. Respondents were asked about their perception of various risks to obtain index measures of risk perception. A multinomial logit model was applied for the probability estimations, and a factor analysis was conducted to compute risk perception indexes (scores). Risk perception associated with personal and work activities is a significant predictor of intended presence at work during an influenza pandemic. The average predicted probability of being at work during the worst scenario of an influenza pandemic is 46% for all workers in the sample, 36% for those overestimating risk in personal and work activities (95% CI: 35%-37%), 53% for those underestimating risk in work activities (95% CI: 52%-54%), and 49% for those underestimating risk of personal activities (95% CI: 48%-50%). When given an opportunity to change their intentions, 45% of those who initially did not intend to report for work in the worst scenario would do so if the pandemic resulted in a severe manpower shortage. These results have not been previously reported in the literature. Many organizational variables are also significant.

An Evaluation of the Effects on Crashes of the 1991 Legislative Reform on New Licensees in Quebec

Any learning task, particularly a complex one such as driving an automobile, needs time and experience to arrive at a good performance.