I have often asserted that the single most effective preventive measure for reducing motor vehicle injuries is reducing speed. A report in USA Today describes a movement in the UK to this end. It seems appropriate that it comes from the UK because that was where I first found convincing evidence of how effective it could […]
Latest articles
Clinton exaggerates effect of assault weapon expiry?
There was a posting by Glen Kessler in the Washington Post in mid January in a column called “Fact Checker” which argued that Bill Clinton’s assertion about the effect of the expiry of the assault weapons ban was greatly exaggerated. Clinton is quoted as stating, “Half of all mass killings in the United States have […]
Learning from the experience of gun control in Australia
Simon Chapman points out that his 2006 paper in Injury Prevention “Australia’s 1996 gun law reforms: faster falls in firearm deaths, firearm suicides, and a decade without mass shootings,” was downloaded over 80,000 time in December 2012, presumably following the tragedy in Sandy Hook. The article usage statistics for this paper (as for all the papers we publish) […]
Seatbelts in the spotlight
A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examining self-reported seatbelt use in jurisdictions with primary versus secondary enforcement across the United States revealed that, whilst in general self-reported seatbelt use increased over the study period of 2002 to 2010, jurisdictions with primary enforcement laws had significantly higher seatbelt use than jurisdictions with […]
Auction your paper?
I am not suggesting you accept this suggestion, but it is amusing, intriguing, and somewhat sensible. Given that it comes from Richard Smith, former editor of the BMJ, it deserves consideration. In his words, “instead of submitting your paper to one journal you should auction it to the highest bidder. Today I did it.” Smith […]
“Bring it on” in the 2nd United Nations Global Road Safety Week (6th -12th May 2013)
The 2nd United Nations (UN) Global Road Safety Week is to be held from 6th to 12th May 2013. This week marks the beginning of the third year of a 10-year-long international initiative, “the Decade of Action for Road Safety.” The focus of this week is to raise awareness about pedestrian safety. This week has […]
Air pollution: Cans of air the solution?
In a story circulating the globe, it seems that an enterprising businessman has come up with an interesting approach to China’s air pollution woes: Fresh air in a can. China unfortunately is renowned as a country with chronic air pollution in it’s major cities, and this is problematic for the millions of people exposed to this […]
Children’s road safety TV adverts to be axed in UK
Rafael Consunji sent me the following clipping with this comment: “I am very sad for the children in the UK. To a man (and woman), everyone I met from the UK can recite the adverts that they saw as kids that encouraged them to be safer pedestrians.” I replied that I had no doubt that […]
Controversial safety trade-off under consideration: burns vs poisoning
According to a report in FairWarning, California is proposing to weaken its fire safety standards by dropping the requirement for the use of flame retardants in U.S. couches and other furniture. The current standard stipulates that foam used in cushions be able to withstand a 12-second exposure to a small, open flame. To meet this […]
A good sign (and some light relief!)
Plaque on towpath in Regents Park London advising bicylists and pedestrians how to live in harmony. […]