• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.54-63
• /
• 2014

Traffic accident frequency and severity level in Korea are known to be very serious. Especially the number of pedestrian fatalities was much worse and 1.6 time higher than the OECD average. According to the National Police Agency, the flash signals are reported to have many safety benefits as well as travel time reduction, which is opposed to the foreign studies. With this background of expanding the flash signal, this research aims to investigate the overall impact of the flash signal operation on safety, investigating and comparing the accident occurrence on the flash signal and the full signal intersections. For doing this accident prediction models for both flash and full signal intersections were estimated using independent variables (geometric features and traffic volume) and 3-year (2011-2013) accident data collected in Seoul. Considering the rare and random nature of accident occurrence and overdispersion (variance > mean) of the data, the negative binomial regression model was applied. As a result, installing wider crosswalk and increasing the number of pedestrian push buttons seemed to increase the safety of the flash signal intersections. In addition, the result showed that the average accident occurrence at the flash signal intersections was higher than at the full signal-operated intersections, 9% higher with everything else the same.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.327-339
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study is to present the effective smoke control flow rate and mode for securing safety through quantitative risk assessment according to the smoke control flow rate and mode (supply or exhaust) of the platform when a train fire occurs at the subway platform. To this end, a fire outbreak scenario was created using a side platform with a central staircase as a model and fire analysis was performed for each scenario to compare and analyze fire propagation characteristics and ASET, evacuation analysis was performed to predict the number of deaths. In addition, a fire accident rate (F)/number of deaths (N) diagram (F/N diagram) was prepared for each scenario to compare and evaluate the risk according to the smoke control flow rate and mode. In the ASET analysis of harmful factors, carbon monoxide, temperature, and visible distance determined by performance-oriented design methods and standards for firefighting facilities, the effect of visible distance is the largest, In the case where the delay in entering the platform of the fire train was not taken into account, the ASET was analyzed to be about 800 seconds when the air flow rate was 4 × 833 m³/min. The estimated number of deaths varies greatly depending on the location of the vehicle of fire train, In the case of a fire occurring in a vehicle adjacent to the stairs, it is shown that the increase is up to three times that of the vehicle in the lead. In addition, when the smoke control flow rate increases, the number of fatalities decreases, and the reduction rate of the air supply method rather than the exhaust method increases. When the supply flow rate is 4 × 833 m³/min, the expected number of deaths is reduced to 13% compared to the case where ventilation is not performed. As a result of the risk assessment, it is found that the current social risk assessment criteria are satisfied when smoke control is performed, and the number of deaths is the flow rate 4 × 833 m³/min when smoke control is performed at 29.9 people in 10,000 year, It was analyzed that it decreased to 4.36 people.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.53-73
• /
• 2023

Although it is mandatory to wear a seat belt that can minimize human injury when traffic accident occurs, the number of traffic accident casualties not wearing seat belts still accounts for a significant proportion.The seat belt wearing detection system for all seats is a system that identifies whether all seat passengers wear a seat belt and encourages their usage, also it can be a useful technical countermeasure. Firstly, this study established the viability of system implementation by assessing the factors influencing the severity of injuries in traffic accidents through the development of an ordered probit model. Analysis results showed that the use of seat belts has statistically significant effects on the severity of traffic accidents, reducing the probability of death or serious injury by 0.054 times in the event of a traffic accident. Secondly, a meta-analysis was conducted based on prior research related to seat belts and injuries in traffic accidents to estimate the expected reduction in accident severity upon the implementation of the system.The analysis of the effect of accident severity reduction revealed that wearing seat belts would lead to a 63.3% decrease in fatal accidents, with the front seats showing a reduction of 75.7% and the rear seats showing a reduction of 58.1% in fatal accidents. Lastly, Using the results of the meta-analysis and traffic accident statistics, the expected decrease in the number of traffic accident casualties with the implementation of the system was derived to analyze the traffic safety effects of the proposed detection system. The analysis demonstrated that with an increase in the adoption rate of the system, the number of casualties in accidents where seat belts were not worn decreased. Specifically, at a system adoption rate of 60%, it is anticipated that the number of fatalities would decrease by more than three times compared to the current scenario. Based on the analysis results, operational strategies for the system were proposed to increase seat belt usage rates and reduce accident severity.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.15-21
• /
• 2012

Purpose: Toxic alcohols are responsible for accidental and suicide motivated poisonings, resulting in death or permanent sequelae for the afflicted patients. Major therapeutic modalities in these cases include treatment with alcohol dehydrogenase inhibitors and extracorporeal elimination. There have been a number of case reports of toxic alcohol intoxication in Korea. The purpose of this study was to review the clinical characteristics of patients suffering toxic alcohol intoxication. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who presented with toxic alcohol intoxication at 8 emergency departments (ED) from Jun 2005 to Nov 2011. Patients who ingested methanol, isopropyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, and other alcohols except ethanol, were included in this study. The clinical characteristics of these patients were analyzed to include anion and osmolar gap, and estimated concentration of alcohol in the body. Results: During the study period, 21 patients were identified who had ingested toxic alcohol (methanol; 12 patients, ethylene glycol; 9 patients). At ED arrival, the mean anion gap was $18.7{\pm}6.9$ and the osmolar gap was elevated in 13 patients. Oral and IV ethanol were administrated to 11 patients in order to inhibit alcohol dehydrogenase. Extracorporeal elimination procedures such as hemodialysis were performed in 9 patients. There were no fatalities, but the one patient suffered permanent blindness. Conclusion: This study found that ethylene glycol and methanol were the substances ingested which produced toxic alcohol intoxication. The patients presented with high anion gap metabolic acidosis and were typically treated with oral ethanol and hemodialysis.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
• /
• v.16 no.7
• /
• pp.2169-2190
• /
• 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of human life. The pandemic not only caused millions of fatalities and problems but also changed public sentiment and behavior. Owing to the magnitude of this pandemic, governments worldwide adopted full lockdown measures that attracted much discussion on social media platforms. To investigate the effects of these lockdown measures, this study performed sentiment analysis and latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling on textual data from Twitter published during the three lockdown waves in Malaysia between 2020 and 2021. Three lockdown measures were identified, the related data for the first two weeks of each lockdown were collected and analysed to understand the public sentiment. The changes between these lockdowns were identified, and the latent topics were highlighted. Most of the public sentiment focused on the first lockdown as reflected in the large number of latent topics generated during this period. The overall sentiment for each lockdown was mostly positive, followed by neutral and then negative. Topic modelling results identified staying at home, quarantine and lockdown as the main aspects of discussion for the first lockdown, whilst importance of health measures and government efforts were the main aspects for the second and third lockdowns. Governments may utilise these findings to understand public sentiment and to formulate precautionary measures that can assure the safety of their citizens and tend to their most pressing problems. These results also highlight the importance of positive messaging during difficult times, establishing digital interventions and formulating new policies to improve the reaction of the public to emergency situations.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.22-29
• /
• 2012

Robot related injuries in industrial accidents statistics during 2008~2010 have accounted for a total of 109 cases equivalent to 30~40 cases for each of those years. The number of injured compared to the dissemination of industrial robots(51,302 units/2004) can be regarded as quite low. However, the fatal injuries sustained by 7 (6.4%) out of 109 cases paints the stark reality of robot-related accident fatalities. It is a sad probability that as the automation process expands its use of industrial robots which have increased significantly in demand, the incidence of workplace accidents will also increase. Therefore, the incidence of accidents throughout the period of 2008~2010 has been analysed to prevent the injuries due to the increased use of industrial robots. In the analysis, the injuries occurred during the industrial robot operation accounted for 45.9% of the entire accidents. Thus, we examined the present status of the industrial robot operation to analyze the root cause of accidents occurred in our studied time period. We looked at a total of 469 workplaces. 456 workplaces responded in the year 2009 and survey studies were implemented at 13 of the 29 workplaces where work injuries were sustained in the year 2010. Even where protective measures and interlock devices were in place, our studies indicated that workers could access the robot area to perform the tasks in 188 sites(40.1%). Also, the 143 sites(30.5%) had control measures and equipment located in the safety fence. In addition, the robots found at 164 sites(35.0%) could be restarted without additional restarting operation. These three causes accounted for most of the workplace injuries during the industrial robot operations. Futhermore, we confirmed the fact that the protective measures of the current safety regulations were not strictly enforced. Based upon our studies and the investigation of the present status of the industrial robot operation, higher standards in training and supervision of workers in the robot operation must quickly be met in order to prevent these industrial injuries.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.47-60
• /
• 2021

Hydrogen is a next-generation energy source, and according to the roadmap for activating the hydrogen economy, it is expected that industries to stably produce, store, and transport of hydrogen as well as the supply of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will be made rapidly. Accordingly, safety measures for accidents of hydrogen vehicles in confined spaces such as tunnels are required. In this study, as part of a study to ensure the safety of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in road tunnels, a basic investigation and research on the risk of fire and explosion due to gas leakage and hydrogen tank rupture among various hazards caused by hydrogen fuel cell vehicle accidents in tunnels was conducted. The following results were obtained. In the event of hydrogen fuel cell vehicle accidents, the gas release rate depends on the orifice diameter of TPRD, and when the gas is ignited, the maximum heat release rate reaches 3.22~51.36 MW (orifice diameter: 1~4 mm) depending on the orifice diameter but the duration times are short. Therefore, it was analyzed that there was little increase in risk due to fire. As the overpressure of the gas explosion was calculated by the equivalent TNT method, in the case of yield of VCE of 0.2 is applied, the safety threshold distance is analyzed to be about 35 m, and number of the equivalent fatalities are conservatively predicted to reach tens of people.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.63-72
• /
• 2012

While the number of crashes and fatalities has decreased for the last few decades, the proportion of elderly-involved crashes has continuously increased from 19.5% in 2001 to 29.6% in 2008. This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of traffic safety education to seniors, which has been conducted for the purpose of providing more systematic knowledge such as safety regulations and making the elderly more aware of the risks of crashes, and eventually to reduce elderly-involved crashes. First, we investigated the levels of traffic safety knowledge of the elder people who attend senior community centers and social welfare centers in Seoul and provided traffic safety education. Then, the effectiveness of traffic safety education was evaluated by using the before-and-after analysis. We set up two different groups to improve the reliability of evaluation: one for control group and the other for comparison group. The results showed that the average scores of the control group after education were significantly improved at the 95% significance level compared to the average scores before education, whereas the comparison group did not show a significant differences in the average scores before and after education except for two questions. This indicates that the levels of traffic safety knowledge of the control group have been improved through education and therefore, the safety education seem to be effective to some extent.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.143-153
• /
• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze data from the Ministry of Health, Safety and Health and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the total number of deaths (disease + accidents) reached 2,020 in 2019 and the estimated economic loss was 27.6 trillion won. This is believed to be the time to present improvements to ensure that economic loss estimates are steadily increasing as in Table 1, and that government-level losses can be drastically reduced. Method: In this study, factors were selected through prior research, and reliability analysis, technical statistics and correlation analysis, and multi-term analysis were conducted through the Jamovi program for the analysis of results. Result: Multiple session analysis was conducted to verify the research theory indicated in this study, and the analysis showed that mechanical and management factors did not affect the fall death accident of the opening, and human factors, material and environmental factors had a static effect. In addition, mechanical and administrative factors do not affect the fall of the outer wall, and human and material and environmental factors have a static effect. Conclusion:: As a result of analyzing 450 falling deaths over the past 13 years among the data posted to the Korea Health and Safety Corporation, the most common causes of falling deaths were the openings and outer walls.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.161-171
• /
• 2023

It is largely agreed that elderly drivers (over 64 years) are more likely to cause fatal crashes than other age groups. According to national road crash statistics 2021, the number of road fatalities per 10,000 drivers over 64 years old was 1.77, while that of drivers in their 30s was 0.55. This indicates a 2.67 times higher probability of causing crashes among the former than the latter. The current study estimates how rear-end crashes may be reduced by installing Automatic Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS), particularly for elderly drivers. We analyzed data from Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. The results show that the Odds Ratio of rear-end crash occurrence between vehicles with AEBS and without AEBS is 0.75, implying there were lesser rear-end crashes in the vehicles installed with AEBS. The Odds Ratio of male drivers was determined to be 0.78, which was lesser than the 0.81 Odds Ratio obtained for female drivers. Elderly drivers who had installed AEBS in their vehicles showed an Odds Ratio of 0.76, implying crash reduction. In particular, the Odds Ratio of male elderly drivers was found to be the lowest at 0.49. We believe incentivizing by giving discounted insurance premiums to the elderly who drive vehicles installed with AEBS will help reduce rear-end crashes.