This cycling safety 'wheel' has a cardboard wheel with a cycle hlemet shaped perforation in it which turns to reveal six different graphical cycle safety tips.

Newsletter - reports on projects; Cycle Steering Committee; promotions. This year's promotion will focus on bike maintenance. Bike Week 2000.;Research commissioned regarding awareness and understanding of the Street-Skills brand, cycle safety messages, bike safety messages and cycling behaviour and use of the six Street-Skills.

Temporary tattoo with the words "Use the crossing" superimposed over pedestrian crossing markings.

This survey template has been designed to assess the level of an organisation's child and youth friendliness. It is stage one of a two part process.

Data from police accident reports involving pedestrians less than 20 years of age in Hartford, Conn during 1988 through 1990 were abstracted and entered into a geographic information system. Two high-frequency collision areas were identified and compared. Thre were 374 child pedestrians involved in collisions 9a reate of 28 per 10,000) Two high-occurrence areas accounted for 30% of collisions. Collisions in one of these areas were more likely to involved younger children and to occur in the late afternoon, and occurred closer to the child's residence, than collisions in the other area.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The number of recreational trampolines in Finnish households has increased. There also appears to be a drastic increase in trampoline-related injuries among paediatric patients. The aim of this study was to quantify and describe trampoline-related injuries in North Finnish paediatric patients. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of medical data was used in the study, covering children 16 years and younger treated for trampoline-related injuries at Oulu University Hospital over a five-month period of time from May 1 to September 30, 2005. Medical records were reviewed and additional details regarding the injuries were obtained by questionnaire. RESULTS: Altogether 76 patients were treated for trampoline-related injuries, which represented 13.4 % of all paediatric accidental trauma patients. In 57 accidents (86 %), there had been multiple jumpers on the trampoline. Twenty-five of the injuries (38 %) had occurred on the trampoline, in 25 cases (38 %) a child had fallen off, in 8 cases (12 %) there had been a collision with another jumper and the person had jumped onto a trampoline from a high platform in 5 incidents (8 %). Only 3 children (5 %) hurt themselves on the trampoline when jumping alone. Orthopaedic procedures requiring general anaesthesia were necessary in a total of 31 cases (41 %). CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that 50 % of traumas (falling off and collisions) could have been avoided by using a safety net and by jumping one at a time. The importance of following safety instructions and the need for a safety net should be emphasised to both the supervising adults and the children.

The aim of this study was to examine how crossing under time pressure influences the pedestrian behaviors of children and adults. METHODS : Using a highly immersive virtual reality system interfaced with a 3D movement measurement system, various indices of children's and adults' crossing behaviors were measured under time-pressure and no time-pressure conditions. RESULTS : Pedestrians engaged in riskier crossing behaviors on time-pressure trials as indicated by appraising traffic for a shorter period before initiating their crossing, selecting shorter more hazardous temporal gaps to cross into, and having the car come closer to them (less time to spare). There were no age or sex differences in how time pressure affected crossing behaviors. CONCLUSIONS : The current findings indicate that, at all ages, pedestrians experience greater exposure to traffic dangers when they cross under time pressure.

Two problems were addressed in this study. First, are daily injury diaries an effective means to gather information about children’s unintentional injuries? Second, what are the circumstances of children’s injuries as recorded through the diary method? Two studies were conducted with a total of 172 children to describe the ecology of children’s daily unintentional injuries. Families completed a daily diary for 14 days, describing the circumstances surrounding the injuries children experienced each day. Descriptive data is provided on the locations, causes, and types of injuries children incurred, as well as who was present when they were injured. Daily injury rate was modestly related to the number of major injuries children had incurred in their lifetimes. The diary methodology was an effective means to study the ecology of children’s daily injuries. Children’s injuries occur in a wide range of circumstances that can be quantified through diary techniques. Data obtained from daily injury diaries may be useful in a variety of areas, including study of the etiology of childhood injury, design of interventions to prevent injury, and engineering of toys and playground equipment for children.

Although the likelihood of fire-related death in homes with smoke alarms is about one-half that in homes without alarms, alarm effectiveness is limited by behavior. Only 16% of residents of homes with alarms have developed and practiced plans for escape when the alarm sounds. We reviewed literature to identify behavioral constructs that influence smoke alarm use. We then convened experts in the behavioral aspects of smoke alarms who reviewed the constructs and determined that the appropriate areas for behavioral focus were formulating, practicing, and implementing escape plans should an alarm sound. They subsequently identified important behaviors to be addressed by burn-prevention programs and incorporated the constructs into a behavioral model for use in such programs. Finally, we organized the available literature to support this model and make programmatic recommendations. Many gaps remain in behavioral research to improve fire escape planning and practice. Future research must select the target behavior, apply behavioral theories, and distinguish between initiation and maintenance of behaviors associated with planning, practicing, and implementing home fire escape plans.

Developing road safety interventions is an intensive and time-consuming activity and it is essential to develop interventions that work. This guide was commissioned to pull together advice in one place with a step-by-step process for the design and delivery of interventions using behaviour change techniques. [From website]

Computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) is a technique whereby traditional face-to-face or postal survey methods are replaced by surveys conducted over the telephone. Interview questions are stored in computer memory, recalled in programmable sequences, and displayed for the interviewer on a video display terminal. The computer memory, facilitating data collation and analysis. The CATI methodology has become an increasingly popular method of choice for many health surveys for reasons of cost, speed, flexibility and improved quality control. A project undertaken by NISU for the National CATI Technical Reference Group has looked at the ways in which CATI has been applied in Australia and suggested ways forward with applying the technique for injury surveillance. This article presents further information under the following headings: -Australian CATI health surveys -Risk factors for injury and the potential for CATI techniques -Current Australian risk factor research

The authors offer guidelines for injury prevention campaign development that are derived from communication theory and research. Four theoretical traditions of communication campaigns are outlined;the Health Belief model, the Extended Parallel Process model, Diffusion of Innovations and Situational theory.

A presentation focusing on the importance of data in supporting effective injury prevention programming and securing funding. Identifies easily accessible and reliable sources of data (in Canada). Also helps develop a detailed work plan to take back to the community for any given injury prevention program.

This booklet can be used "as a guide to locate potential danger zones and recognise safety problems before they cause injury." A useful checklist is provided as well as more specific guidelines for the different areas of the house- general living areas, kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms and laundries. A section is also provided which looks at electrical safety outdoors.

The Education Department of Tasmania established a health education program to assist all schools and colleges to develop health education currcula by 1991. From the outset, the program currucula incorporated a strong evaluation component, both to monitor program development and to enable participants at all levels to develop both formative and summative roles. This paper describes the approach designed to meet these purposes.

ISSUE ADDRESSED: New national and state preventive health investments have provided significant funding for local governments (LGs) to be involved in planning and implementing health promotion interventions. There is an expectation that this work is evidence based; however, inadequate support and systems exist for evidence-informed planning and decision making in LGs. Previous initiatives have aimed to build capacity and leadership in LG health promotion, but the training, support and infrastructure have been sporadic. METHODS: Across 2009-11 we implemented a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC)-funded university-LG research project to explore the feasibility, usefulness and outcomes of a knowledge translation (KT) intervention to increase the use of evidence in LGs. Within this exploratory cluster randomised controlled trial, one strategy being evaluated was workforce capacity building, during which group discussions revealed contextual challenges in delivering evidence-informed health promotion within the current funding context. Discussion was recorded. The group acknowledged the need to identify barriers and realistic practical solutions, and to communicate these more broadly. RESULTS: Barriers to sourcing and applying evidence to inform health promotion emerged from discussions with LG representatives. System-level contextual factors affecting decisions were also discussed, namely concerns about organisational capacity and 'culture' to plan, implement and evaluate effective initiatives in LGs. Possible solutions suggested included: systems for access to academic literature; processes that make it easier to use evidence; training in evidence-informed health promotion to build organisational culture and capacity; and research-practice partnerships and mentoring. CONCLUSIONS: Targeted strategies with individuals (LG staff) and organisations (leadership, systems) are needed to realise the potential of current health promotion investments. Research-practice partnerships are likely to be important. It seems obvious that it is impossible to be evidence informed without mechanisms to access and apply evidence. We invite other LGs to reflect upon their experiences in such initiatives, and to consider whether the strategies we propose may be useful. So what? The increased emphasis on health promotion and non-communicable disease prevention programs may be limited by the capacity, confidence and organisational culture to inform policies and programs with best-available evidence. We describe some of the current challenges and contextual factors as they are being experienced. There are opportunities for national and state governments, organisations representing local government (e.g. municipal associations) and research partners to provide targeted support to councils. This may assist in achieving effective health promotion at the community level.

“How can we ensure that services delivered to children and families are effective? This Policy Brief outlines a decision-making framework that recognises the importance of the relationship between service providers and clients, and the need for evidence-based interventions to be aligned with client needs, priorities and values.” Source: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (Australia)

This 'legislative' fact sheet on booster seats from the Center for Injury Research & Prevention at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia argues for the need for booster seats for smaller framed children over five years of age. It has sections on the 'Three steps to optimizing child-passenger safety laws'. It is suggested at their website that: "Advocates can download this four-color, double-sided quick-reference fact sheet to illustrate the importance of laws requiring use of child restraints (such as boosters) to age 8 and rear seat placement up to age 13, as well as seat belt laws that cover all seating positions in a vehicle. It's a handy tool to use in presentations or for state legislative hearings." Available from: http://stokes.chop.edu/programs/injury/educational_advocacy/fact_sheets.php

An expansion of Haddon's matrix aimed to facilitate its application in decision making as practitioners choose appropriate intervention strategies.

INTRODUCTION: Child restraint systems (car seats) reduce injury risk for young children involved in motor-vehicle crashes, but parents experience significant difficulty installing child restraints correctly. Installation by certified child passenger safety (CPS) technicians yields more accurate installation, but is impractical for broad distribution. A potential solution is use of interactive virtual presence via smartphone application (app), which permits "hands on" teaching through simultaneous and remote joint exposure to 3-dimensional images. METHOD: In two studies, we examined the efficacy of remote communication via interactive virtual presence to help parents install child restraints. Study 1 was conducted at existing car seat checkpoints and Study 2 at preschools/daycare centers. In both cases, existing installations were assessed by certified CPS technicians using an objective coding scheme. Participants then communicated with remotely-located certified CPS technicians via a smartphone app offering interactive virtual presence. Technicians instructed participants to install child restraints and then the installation was inspected by on-site technicians. Both before and after the remote interaction, participants completed questionnaires concerning perception of child restraints and child restraint installation, self-efficacy to install child restraints, and perceived risk of injury to children if they were in a crash. RESULTS: In both studies, accuracy of child restraint installations improved following the remote interaction between participants and certified CPS technicians. Together, the two samples achieved a weighted average of 90% correct installations across a multi-point inspection. Both samples reported increased self-efficacy to install child restraints and altered perceptions about the accuracy of the child restraint installations in their vehicles. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support use of interactive virtual presence as a strategy to realize accurate installation of child restraints. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Interactive virtual presence between certified CPS technicians and the public via smartphone app has potential to improve proper child restraint installations broadly, including to vulnerable and underserved rural populations.

The abstract states: "Bicycling at night is more dangerous than in the daytime and poor conspicuity is likely to be a contributing factor. The use of reflective markings on a pedestrian’s major joints to facilitate the perception of biological motion has been shown to greatly enhance pedestrian conspicuity at night, but few corresponding data exist for bicyclists. Twelve younger and twelve older participants drove around a closed-road circuit at night and indicated when they first saw a bicyclist who wore black clothing either alone, or together with a reflective bicycling vest, or a vest plus ankle and knee reflectors. The bicyclist pedalled in place on a bicycle that had either a static or flashing light, or no light on the handlebars. Bicyclist clothing significantly affected conspicuity; drivers responded to bicyclists wearing the vest plus ankle and knee reflectors at significantly longer distances than when the bicyclist wore the vest alone or black clothing without a vest. Older drivers responded to bicyclists less often and at shorter distances than younger drivers. The presence of a bicycle light, whether static or flashing, did not enhance the conspicuity of the bicyclist; this may result in bicyclists who use a bicycle light being overconfident of their own conspicuity at night. The implications of our findings are that ankle and knee markings are a simple and very effective approach for enhancing bicyclist conspicuity at night." DOI 10.1016/j.aap.2011.09.038

This poster was presented at the 'Safety 2012: 11th world conference on injury prevention and safety promotion' in Wellington which was attended by many members of the Safekids New Zealand team. It includes information under the headings: 'Background', 'Methods', 'Outcome' and 'Future challenges' and examines our use of social media such as Twitter, 'Coalition Update', 'Safekids News', 'KidsInfo Bulletin', Mysafekids video website content and the value of using an evidence-based approach. See also record # 9845 (Special Issue of 'Injury Prevention').

Short distance falls, such as from a bed, are often falsely reported scenarios in child abuse. In attempting to differentiate between abusive and nonabusive injury, knowledge of factors that affect injury risk in falls could prove useful. The objective of this study was to assess the biomechanics associated with simulated short-distance falls in children (one fall scenario, without attempting to maximize injury potential) and to investigate the effect of impact surface type on injury risk. repeatable fall experiments from bed height (0.68m) onto different surfaces were conducted using an instrumental side;lying Hybrid II 3-year-old test dummy. Biomechanical measures assessed in falls included head acceleration, pelvis acceleration, femur loading, and head injury criteria. Results showed that fall dynamics resulted in the pelvis or legs making first contact. Biomechanical measures assessed in simulated bed falls were below known head injury criteria and lower extremity injury thresholds. The impact surface type had a significant effect on head injury risk and lower extremity loading. Playground foam proved to have the lowest associated injury risk of all the tested surfaces. In conclusion, the biomechanics of a child falling from a short distance, such as from a bed, were investigated using an experimental laboratory mock-up and an instrumented test dummy. Despite the impact surface having an effect on injury risk, rolling from a 0.68m horizontal surface from a side-lying posture presented low risk of contact-type head injury and leg injury on all tested impact surfaces.

Few pedestrian injury prevention programs appear to articulate the theory upon which their design and evaluation are based. This article describes how theory was used to plan, develop, implement, and evaluate the educational component of a comprehensive child pedestrian intervention. Organizational and planning theories were used to guide the conceptual development, implementation, and evaluation of the program, while behavioral and child development theories were used to identify the content and strategies to address the pedestrian behavior of seven to nine year old children. The resultant program demonstrated improved road crossing and playing behaviors in the intervention group children compared to the comparison group. The systematic use of relevant theory in this program is likely to be associated with its positive impact on children’s pedestrian safety.

A single side factsheet outlining the possible dangers around the use of wheat bags and heating. A check list of do's and don'ts is provided around this topic. See: http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/productsafety/consumerinfo/index.html

This is a resource from the Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand for use and dissemination from chemists and pharmacies. It talks about administering medicines carefully and there is a section dedicated to 'safety with medicines'.

A4 flyer - Purchase checklist, assembly and maintenance guidelines. See: http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/productsafety/consumerinfo/index.html

The Australian Agricultural Health Unit provides agricultural industries and policy makers with farm injury information in an optimal format for use in injury prevention. Information is now more commonly presented as a hazard and risk profile associated with phases of agricultural production and work activities. To date there have been five industry-specific Hazard and Risk Profiles produced for the sheep, dairy, cotton, beef and horticulture industries.

This newly updated Samoan language rack card (2004) from Plunket provides information and safety advice about the use of booster seats and child safety harnesses. A booster seat can be used for a child from 14kg to 26kg. However, it is recommended that you use a child car seat for as long as possible. Never use a booster seat with a lap belt only. A child safety harness is an excellent option for restraining an older child in a car and can be used with or without a booster seat.

Problem: Devising a systematic method for analyzing and disseminating narrative descriptions of residential child injuries in Hong Kong. Method: Narrative descriptions of the injury events, sampled from a university teaching hospital, were categorized by three variables related to a residential child injury event. Four raters coded the descriptions. Results were tested on multirater reliability. Results: Satisfactory multirater kappa in coding ‘‘child’s action (CA)’’ and ‘‘object becoming hazard (OBH)’’ variables confirms stability within these categories. Low agreement in coding the ‘‘other human agent (OHA)’’ variable revealed the conceptual and technical complexity in the definition of appropriate child supervision. Impact on industry: This study presented a systematic method for the analysis and dissemination of narrative injury data on residential child injuries, offering empirically derived content for local injury prevention programs. Results from this study address the etiology of residential childhood injuries from a process analytic perspective and bring forth intervention that acknowledges the effect of a person’s environment interaction.

This study aimed to determine the validity of face to face, self reported responses to questions about the presence of safety devices and use of safety practices in the home aimed at preventing unintended injuries to preschool aged children. Results suggest the validity of self reports increases if parents respond to questionnaires while in their home. Validity may also improve if parents believe reporting problems will result in help solving those problems. This study did not detect significant differences in the accuracy of self reports among ethnic groups. Includes statistical tables.

Objective To measure the validity of safety behaviours, safety equipment use and hazards reported on a questionnaire by parents/carers with children aged under 5 years participating in a series of home safety case-control studies. Methods The questionnaire measured safety behaviours, safety equipment use and hazards being used as exposures in five case-control studies. Responses to questions were compared with observations made during a home visit. The researchers making observations were blind to questionnaire responses. Results In total, 162 families participated in the study. Overall agreement between reported and observed values of the safety practices ranged from 48.5% to 97.3%. Only 3 safety practices (stair gate at the top of stairs, stair gate at the bottom of stairs, stairs are carpeted) had substantial agreement based on the statistic (k=0.65, 0.72, 0.74, respectively). Sensitivity was high (=70%) for 19 of the 30 safety practices, and specificity was high (=70%) for 20 of the 30 practices. Overall for 24 safety practices, a higher proportion of respondents over-reported than under-reported safe practice (negative predictive value>positive predictive value). For six safety practices, a higher proportion of respondents under-reported than over-reported safe practice (negative predictive value

The objective of this study was to measure the validity of self reported safety practices from a questionnaire, completed by families participating in a home safety randomised controlled trial. The postal questionnaire was used to measure secondary outcomes in a randomised controlled trial. The answers to 26 questions that could be assessed by observation were checked by a home visit. Families were invited to take part in a “home safety check”; they were not told that the visit was part of a validation study. At the time of the visit the researcher was blind to the self reports in the questionnaires. Results showed that sixty four questionnaires were validated by visits to 64 households. Percentage agreement ranged from 58% to 100%. Sensitivity was high (68% or above) for most safety practices. The positive predictive value was also high for most safety practices (78% or above for 15 of the 16 practices). In conclusion, this study found a fairly high degree of consistency between self reported data and actual observations. The findings from this relatively small study need confirmation from larger studies.

The effectiveness of an empirically designed poison warning label and an educational program for three and four year old children was assessed in four groups of 39 such children, with one group serving as a control. The educational program appeared to improve intellectual (verbal) awareness of poisons, the label to improve visual discrimination, and the combination of the two to have the greatest overall impact.

The objective of this research was to establish ascertainment rates, validity, and the presence of bias within the Victorian Emergency Minimum Data set (VEMD). Experienced researchers conducted interviews using a paper-based instrument to collect injury details. These data were obtained in parallel with the routine electronic collection of injury data within four of the 25 VEMD hospitals. Data were matched using the unique date and time of presentation, as well as birth date. Interviews were conducted with 481 injured persons. Results showed that electronic and paper records were successfully matched in 382 cases. A high mean capture rate (82.5%) across hospitals was found when the interview data and VEMD data were compared. Data were mostly coded with some inaccuracy, 87% of cases had at least one error, yet when compared with interview descriptions, the coded injury and incident data were usually valid (83.9%). However, narrative data provided information beyond coded data for only 14.1% of cases. In conclusion, these results suggest that the VEMD is a reliable and valid computerised data set, but that the case narratives require attention.

The aim of the validation study was to assess and validate the Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) as a means of acquiring Level 2 injury surveillance data as defined by NDS-IS in public hospital emergency departments (EDs) in Queensland. Objectives: (1) To evaluate the completeness of ascertainment of cases, (2) To examine the completeness of data recorded for included cases, (3) To examine conditions which influence the completeness and the reliability of data, and (4) To assess the ED staff level of acceptance of the EDIS software.

The objective of this study was to examine the validity of self reported data on safety belt use and to consider the implications for reesearch on injury prevention behaviours. A comparison was made between self reported use via a telephone survey and actual observed rates of use.

The objective of this study was to examine the validity of self reported data on parents’ home safety practices of using smoke alarms and stair gates, and having syrup of ipecac. Families from a pediatric continuity clinic in a large, urban teaching hospital with infants from birth to 6 months were enrolled in the study. As part of a randomized controlled trial to promote home safety, parents’ responses to personal interviews were compared to observations made in the respondents’ homes two to four weeks after the interview. Positive and negative predictive values, sensitivity, and specificity were computed and compared between the intervention and control group families. Results showed that sensitivities were high among the four safety practices. Specificities were much lower and fell into a much wider range than sensitivities. The positive predictive values were low and the negative predictive values were high. No differences in these indicators of validity were found between intervention and control group families. In conclusions, if the main interest in an evaluation is on the relative difference between study groups, rather than the absolute value of the outcome measure, our results suggest that self reported data may be of acceptable validity. However, when assessing a patient’s risk, clinicians need to recognize the problem of over-reporting of safety practices.

This article explores two problems analysts face in determining how to estimate values for children's health and safety risk reductions. The first addresses the question: Do willingness-to-pay estimates for health risk changes differ across children and adults, and, if so, how? To answer this question, the article first examines the potential effects of age and risk preferences on willingness to pay. A summary of the literature reporting empirical evidence of differences between willingness to pay for adult health and safety risk reductions and willingness to pay for health and safety risk reductions in children is also provided. The second dimension of the problem is a more fundamental issue: Whose perspective is relevant when valuing children's health effects- society's, children's, adults-as-children, or parents'? Each perspective is considered, followed ultimately by the conclusion that adopting a parental perspective through an intrahousehold allocation model seems closest to meeting the needs of the estimation problem at hand. A policy example in which the choice of perspective affects the outcome of a regulatory benefit-cost analysis rounds out the article and emphasises the importance of perspective.

This is a short article which details the AAP policy paper "Swimming Programs for Infants and Toddlers (see rec # 5962). "Aquatic programs for infants and toddlers have not been shown to decrease the risk of drowning, and parents should not feel secure that their child is safe in water or safe from drowning after participating in such programs."

OBJECTIVES: To quantify and describe variation in cause-of-death certification of sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUIDs) among US medical examiners and coroners. METHODS: From January to November 2014, we conducted a nationally representative survey of US medical examiners and coroners who certify infant deaths. Two-stage unequal probability sampling with replacement was used. Medical examiners and coroners were asked to classify SUIDs based on hypothetical scenarios and to describe the evidence considered and investigative procedures used for cause-of-death determination. Frequencies and weighted percentages were calculated. RESULTS: Of the 801 surveys mailed, 60% were returned, and 377 were deemed eligible and complete. Medical examiners and coroners classification of infant deaths varied by scenario. For 3 scenarios portraying potential airway obstruction and negative autopsy findings, 61% to 69% classified the death as suffocation/asphyxia. In the last scenario, which portrayed a healthy infant in a safe sleep environment with negative autopsy findings, medical examiners and coroners classified the death as sudden infant death syndrome (38%) and SUID (30%). Reliance on investigative procedures to determine cause varied, but 94% indicated using death scene investigations, 88% full autopsy, 85% toxicology analyses, and 82% medical history review. CONCLUSIONS: US medical examiners and coroners apply variable practices to classify and investigate SUID, and thus, they certify the same deaths differently. This variability influences surveillance and research, impacts true understanding of infant mortality causes, and inhibits our ability to accurately monitor and ultimately prevent future deaths. FINDINGS may inform future strategies for promoting standardized practices for SUID classification.

Extract of section 2.4 from New Zealand Standard 4102:1996 Safer House Design which concerns vehicle access and driveway design.

Cars are designed to appeal to the buyer's self-image, many of them evoking an impression of speed and power. Such an impression con icts both with the aesthetic language of suburban architecture, and the needs of pedestrians. The research described in this report was conceived as a preliminary investigation of how member's of the public view the aesthetic impact of cars in the residential street environment, particularly from the pedestrian's point of view. The results suggested that people use two distinct sets of criteria when evaluating the motor car and the residential environment in visual terms. When asked to 'match' different models of car with different street scenes, respondents avoided referring to abstract visual qualities such as shape, colour and texture, but concentrated instead on the owners: the imagined driver and the imagined householder. The problem of visual harmony was reduced to one of social and cultural harmony. Could the imagined householder be expected to drive this or that car? However, SUVs were singled out as visually intrusive because they blocked the pedestrian's view. Members of one of the groups, boys aged 11–12, found it difficult to visualise the impact of cars on pedestrians at all, or even to question vehicle design from the pedestrian's point of view. They just wanted to be in the driving seat.

Victorian authorities cannot change vehicle design standards but the Committee can make recommendations about those standards. Therefore, the Committee examined vehicle design in light of research conducted both locally and overseas to ascertain what measures are available to protect pedestrians. The Committee also examined bullbars and school bus safety.

A study for the New South Wales Road and Traffic Authority examined 24 part-time school speed zones in both urban and rural settings. Zones showed a statisitcally significant reduction in speed for about half the sites. The author concludes that research into drivers' attitudes is required.

The objective of this study was to quantify the association between vehicle age and risk of car crash injury. Data from a population based case-control study conducted in the Auckland region in 1998/99 was used to examine the adjusted risk of car crash injury or death due to vehicle age, after controlling for a range of known confounders. Cases were all cars involved in crashes in which at least one occupant was hospitalized or killed anywhere in the Auckland region, and controls were randomly selected cars on Auckland roads. The drivers of the 571 case vehicles and 588 control vehicles completed a structured interview. The main outcome measure was hospitalisation or death of a vehicle occupant due to car crash injury. Results showed that vehicles constructed before 1984 had significantly greater chance of being involved in an injury crash than those constructed after 1994, after adjustment for potential confounders. There was also a trend for increasing crash risk with each one year increase in vehicle age after adjustment for potential confounders. In conclusion, this study quantifies the increased risk of car crash injury associated with older vehicle year and confirms this as an important public health issue.