Papers by Arthur P Vulcan
This project aimed to examine any changes in helmet performance due to the amendment of the Austr... more This project aimed to examine any changes in helmet performance due to the amendment of the Australian Standard for bicycle helmets, which was made at essentially the same time as the introduction of the bicycle helmet wearing law in Victoria on I July 1990. There was concern that the deletion of the penetration test from the Standard may have resulted in reduced protection to the heads of cyclists involved in crashes. Forty helmets sustaining impacts in crashes were collected from cyclists who were killed or treated at selected Melbourne hospitals during 1991-92. These helmets were predominantly "foam-only" (a foam helmet often with a material cover), "micro-shell" (a foam helmet with a thin plastic shell), or light weight "hard-shell" (a foam helmet with a hard plastic shell) allowed under the amended Standard. The new helmets were tested, and information on the bicyclists' injuries obtained, so that comparison could be made with similar informati...
Annual proceedings / Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine. Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, 2003
This study sought to determine whether fitting a more aggressive seat belt reminder system to new... more This study sought to determine whether fitting a more aggressive seat belt reminder system to new vehicles would be cost-beneficial for Australia. While seat belt wearing rates have been observed around 95% in the front seat, non-wearing rates in casualty crashes are as high as 33% among persons killed and 19% among seriously injured occupants. Benefits were computed for three device options (simple, simple-2 and complex) and three introduction scenarios (driver-only, front seat occupants and all occupants). Four levels of effectiveness were assumed, from 10% to 40%, depending on the type of device fitted. Unit benefits were computed assuming a 5% discount rate and a 15yr fleet life. Various industry experts provided the costs. The findings showed that Benefit-Cost-Ratios ranged from 4.0:1 at best (simple device for the driver only) to 0.9:1 for all seating positions. These figures are conservative, given the assumptions made and the discounted human capital methods used.
Accident Analysis & Prevention, 1992
A study was undertaken recently for the Federal Office of Road Safety in Australia of 150 modern ... more A study was undertaken recently for the Federal Office of Road Safety in Australia of 150 modern vehicle crashes where at least one of the vehicle occupants was admitted to hospital. The types of injuries sustained by occupants of modern Australian passenger cars involved in road crashes (including points of contact within the vehicle) were assessed to provide direction for future improvements in occupant protection. Seat belt performance in all seating positions was of particular interest. While the limited number of cases did not permit a full and detailed statistical analysis of these data, the findings nevertheless show there is scope for improving occupant protection for drivers and passengers of modern passenger cars.
Accident Analysis & Prevention, 1994
On July 1, 1990, a law requiring wearing of an approved safety helmet by all bicyclists (unless e... more On July 1, 1990, a law requiring wearing of an approved safety helmet by all bicyclists (unless exempted) came into effect in Victoria, Australia. Some of the more important steps that paved the way for this important initiative (believed to be the first statewide legislation of its type in the world) are described, and the initiative's effects are analysed. There was an immediate increase in average helmet-wearing rates from 31% in March 1990 to 75% in March 1991, although teenagers continued to show lower rates than younger children and adults. The number of insurance claims from bicyclists killed or admitted to hospital after sustaining a head injury decreased by 48% and 70% in the first and second years after the law, respectively. Analysis of the injury data also showed a 23% and 28% reduction in the number of bicyclists killed or admitted to hospital who did not sustain head injuries in the first and second post-law years, respectively. For Melbourne, where regular annual surveys of helmet wearing have been conducted, it was possible to fit a logistic regression model that related the reduction in head injuries to increased helmet wearing. Surveys in Melbourne also indicated a 36% reduction in bicycle use by children during the first year of the law and an estimated increase in adult use of 44%.
… Conference (16-17 …, 1998
Previous research has shown that side impact crashes account for a substantial proportion of inju... more Previous research has shown that side impact crashes account for a substantial proportion of injuries and Harm to Australian passenger car occupants. Fildes, Lane, Lenard and Vulcan (1994) reported that 25% of serious casualties and 28% of fatalities to vehicle occupants ...
Accident Analysis & Prevention, 1994
This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of various promotional activities in attempting to a... more This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of various promotional activities in attempting to achieve a 10% or greater usage rate of public breath test machines by drivers with a BAC over .05 in licensed premises in Melbourne. The two levels of promotional activity undertaken were placement of posters and coasters in venues (Level A) and posters and coasters plus an inhouse promotional event and local media coverage (Level B). The cost (to the driver) of testing was 20 cents, $1 or $2. The results of the study suggest that reducing the cost of testing to 20 cents would be a more effective way of increasing the number of drivers with BAC>.05 who test themselves, rather than committing resources to promotion. The greatest benefit cost ratios are obtained by using twenty cent machines: the estimated BCR for installing 300 twenty cent machines in the 150 highest volume liquor establishments is 1.41 if the net machine cost per month is $120. All other combinations of cost of testing and net machine cost per month lead to BCRs which are not statistically greater than 1.00. In addition, there may be some smaller volume establishments with higher than average usage rates for which installation of twenty cent machines might result in a BCR significantly greater than one. To maximise the number of tests and thus the benefits in terms of road safety and commercial viability, there is a need to carefully target particular types of venues and locations for installation of BTMs.
August 1991[This document has been created through Optical Character Recognition by Glenda Cairns... more August 1991[This document has been created through Optical Character Recognition by Glenda Cairns. Every attempt has been made to correct any recognition errors, and we apologise if any have been missed.]
In Victoria, during the period 1989 to 1992 there was a reduction of 49% in fatalities and nearly... more In Victoria, during the period 1989 to 1992 there was a reduction of 49% in fatalities and nearly 40% in persons admitted to hospital. These reductions have generally been maintained through to 1995. The fatality rate in Victoria has averaged approximately 23% below that in South Australia since 1990, while during the previous 20 years, the South Australian rate was below the Victorian rate about half the time. Hence it is considered feasible for South Australia to further reduce road trauma, possibly by adapting to its own environment some of the measures which were found to be successful in Victoria. An analysis has shown that in addition to a downturn in the economy, the two factors which have contributed most to the reduction in road deaths and injuries in Victoria were increased enforcement supported by major publicity directed at drink-driving and excessive speeding. This study has examined current practice and future plans in South Australia in relation to drink-driving and speed enforcement to identify any aspects where adaptation of the Victorian experience may be appropriate to further reduce road trauma. Ten recommendations have been made, which if implemented are expected to result in further reductions in road trauma, with the benefits considerably greater than the implementation costs.
A number of recent studies in Victoria have evaluated the effects of countermeasures and other fa... more A number of recent studies in Victoria have evaluated the effects of countermeasures and other factors which appear to be responsible for the substantial reduction in road trauma since 1989. These include:
The Western Australian government decided to take a bold approach by developing a new road safety... more The Western Australian government decided to take a bold approach by developing a new road safety strategy in full accord with the principles of the Safe System. With the assistance of a mathematical model developed by the Monash University Accident Research Centre, comparisons were made of cumulative serious casualties potentially saved for various combinations of Safe System elements, namely safe roads and roadsides, safe speeds, safe vehicles and safe road use. An ambitious combination of these initiatives was established in order to deliver major reductions in serious road trauma throughout Western Australia . If adopted fully, annual serious casualties are estimated to fall to around 50 per cent of their 2006 levels by 2020. (a)
World Journal of Surgery, 1992
O 1992 by the Soci6~ lutertmtiotmle de Ckirurgic ... Mandatory Bicycle Helmet Use: Experience in ... more O 1992 by the Soci6~ lutertmtiotmle de Ckirurgic ... Mandatory Bicycle Helmet Use: Experience in Victoria, Australia ... A. Peter Vulcan, B.Mech.E., BA, MS, Ph.D., Maxwell H. Cameron, B.Sc., M.Sc., FSS, and Wendy L. Watson, BA, B.Sc., Dip.Ed. ... Accident Research Centle, ...
This project aimed to examine any changes in helmet performance due to the amendment of the Austr... more This project aimed to examine any changes in helmet performance due to the amendment of the Australian Standard for bicycle helmets, which was made at essentially the same time as the introduction of the bicycle helmet wearing law in Victoria on 1 July 1990. There was concern that the deletion of the penetration test from the Standard may have resulted in reduced protection to the heads of cyclists involved in crashes. Forty helmets sustaining impacts in crashes were collected from cyclists who were killed or treated at selected Melbourne hospitals during 1991-92. These helmets were predominantly "foam-only" (a foam helmet often with a material cover), "micro-shell" (a foam helmet with a thin plastic shell), or light weight "hard-shell" (a foam helmet with a hard plastic shell) allowed under the amended Standard. The new helmets were tested, and information on the bicyclists' injuries obtained, so that comparison could be made with similar information previously obtained for older-design, heavier hard-shell helmets. It was concluded that the new helmets transmit a lower level of peak acceleration to the cyclist's head inside the helmet, for a given severity of impact on the external surface of the helmet. There was no evidence of a real difference in protective performance between the older and new helmets so far as actual head injury risks are concerned. This may have been due to the absence of a difference or due to the relatively small number of helmets considered in the two helmet groups.
REPORT, 2001
Abstract: The Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) has a policy of allowing second-hand vehicle... more Abstract: The Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) has a policy of allowing second-hand vehicles to be imported into New Zealand. Current policy in this country requires airbags to be reinstalled when they have been deployed, following a crash or for some other reason if the vehicle was originally certified to comply with a frontal impact standard. Given the governments policy of" Safety at Reasonable Cost", it is important to demonstrate the likely benefits and costs associated with this policy. The Monash University Accident Research ...
On July 1, 1990, a law requiring wearing of an approved safety helmet by all bicyclists (unless e... more On July 1, 1990, a law requiring wearing of an approved safety helmet by all bicyclists (unless exempted) came into effect in Victoria, Australia. There was an immediate increase in average helmet wearing rates from 3 1% in March 1990 to 75% in March 1991, although teenagers continued to show lower rates than younger children and adults. The number of insurance claims from bicyclists killed or admitted to hospital after sustaining a head injury had decreased by 66% in Melbourne and 70% Victoria-wide two years after the law. Analysis of the injury data also showed a 16% and 23% reduction in the number of bicyclists killed or admitted to hospital who did not sustain head injuries two years after the law in metropolitan Melbourne and the whole of Victoria, respectively. The proportion of all injured cases with a head injury in 1992 was significantly less than that projected on the basis of continuing pre-Iaw trends. The mechanisms by which this reduction was achieved seem to be twofold: a reduction in the number of bicyclists involved in crashes resulting in severe injury and a reduction in the risk of head injury for bicyclists who were severely injured.
SAE Technical Paper Series, 1987
… Conference (16-17 …, 1998
Previous research has shown that side impact crashes account for a substantial proportion of inju... more Previous research has shown that side impact crashes account for a substantial proportion of injuries and Harm to Australian passenger car occupants. Fildes, Lane, Lenard and Vulcan (1994) reported that 25% of serious casualties and 28% of fatalities to vehicle occupants ...
This report describes the characteristics of a set of 127 fatal single-vehicle crashes which occu... more This report describes the characteristics of a set of 127 fatal single-vehicle crashes which occurred within 200 km of Melbourne during the period from 1 December 1995 to 30 November 1996. The crashes comprised the cases for the Case-control study of fatal single-vehicle crashes.
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Papers by Arthur P Vulcan