Not in Control,but Liable?Attributing Human Responsibility for Fully Automated Vehicle Accidents

Human agency has become increasingly limited in complex systems with increasingly automated decision-making capabilities.For instance,human occupants are passengers and do not have direct vehicle control in fully automated cars(i.e.,driverless cars).An interesting question is whether users are responsible for the accidents of these cars.Normative ethical and legal analyses frequently argue that individuals should not bear responsibility for harm beyond their control.Here,we consider human judgment of responsibility for accidents involving fully automated cars through three studies with seven experiments(N=2668).We compared the responsibility attributed to the occupants in three conditions:an owner in his private fully automated car,a passenger in a driverless robotaxi,and a passenger in a conventional taxi,where none of these three occupants have direct vehicle control over the involved vehicles that cause identical pedestrian injury.In contrast to normative analyses,we show that the occupants of driverless cars(private cars and robotaxis)are attributed more responsibility than conventional taxi passengers.This dilemma is robust across different contexts(e.g.,participants from China vs the Republic of Korea,participants with first-vs third-person perspectives,and occupant presence vs absence).Furthermore,we observe that this is not due to the perception that these occupants have greater control over driving but because they are more expected to foresee the potential consequences of using driverless cars.Our findings suggest that when driverless vehicles(private cars and taxis)cause harm,their users may face more social pressure,which public discourse and legal regulations should manage appropriately.

BRAIN INJURY BIOMECHANICS IN REAL WORLD VEHICLE ACCIDENT USING MATHEMATICAL MODELS

This paper aims at investigating brain injury mechanisms and predicting head injuries in real world accidents. For this purpose, a 3D human head finite element model （HBM-head） was developed based on head-brain anatomy. The HBM head model was validated with two experimental tests. Then the head finite element（FE） model and a multi-body system （MBS） model were used to carry out reconstructions of real world vehicle-pedestrian accidents and brain injuries. The MBS models were used for calculating the head impact conditions in vehicle impacts. The HBM-head model was used for calculating the injury related physical parameters, such as intracranial pressure, stress, and strain. The calculated intracranial pressure and strain distribution were correlated with the injury outcomes observed from accidents. It is shown that this model can predict the intracranial biomechanical response and calculate the injury related physical parameters. The head FE model has good biofidelity and will be a valuable tool for the study of injury mechanisms and the tolerance level of the brain.

Relationship between speed and traffic accident and speed limit on freeway

To develop an equation between discrete degree of speed and traffic accident on freeway in China and give reasonable suggestions of speed management, the relation model was established between speed standard deviation and accident rate per 100,000,000 vehicle kilometers by regression analysis. The model shows that the more discrete is the speed distribution, the higher is the accident rate, which provides theoretical gist for speed limit on freeway. It is suggested that speed limit should be set according to 85th percentile speed obtained by the relationship between 85th percentile speed and RCCs (curvature change rate of single circular curve), and different speed limits should be set for cars and trucks. Through analyzing spot speed data of eight freeways in China, regression models were established between 85th percentile speed and RCCs and 15th percentile speed and RCCs. Reasonable speed limit suggestion values are put forward through these models.

Effect of proximal femur nail anti-rotation on unstable intertrochanteric fractures: A prospective observational study

Objective:To assess the effect of proximal femur nail anti-rotation on the functional and radiological outcome of unstable intertrochanteric fractures.Methods:This prospective observational study was conducted in the orthopedic department of a tertiary care hospital.Altogether 86 patients with unstable intertrochanteric fractures treated with proximal femur nail anti-rotation between January 2010 and January 2015 were included.Patients were followed in the outpatient clinic at regular intervals after discharge to assess the radiological union of fractures and complications.The functional outcomes were evaluated after 2 years by Harris hip score.Results:All patients achieved a radiological union of fractures after a mean duration of 24.6 weeks.The follow up showed 23 complications(systemic and local).Eight patients developed urinary tract infections,and three patients developed chest infections,two patients had screw cut-out,one patient had knee stiffness,one patient developed superficial surgical site infection,and four patients developed varus collapse and shortening subsequently.The two year follow up showed that 69(80.2%)patients had an excellent and good functional outcome according to Harris hip score.Conclusions:With lower complication rates,proximal femur nail is a valid and reasonable option especially in treating unstable intertrochanteric fractures.

Epidemiology and Challenges of Neurotraumas Care in the Emergency Department of a Semi-Urban Hospital in Guinea, West Africa

Trauma is one of the most common surgical emergencies admitted in the acute care departments of hospitals in Guinea, West Africa. We carried a study to assess the epidemiological pattern and clinical care of neurotrauma in the emergency department of the Kindia regional hospital, a rural secondary hospital catering to the needs of western Guinea and nearby districts. Data were prospectively collected from December 2019 to March 2020 after receiving the required hospital authorization and informed consent from the patients or relatives. We recorded two hundred cases of neurotraumas (64.5% of traumatic brain injury cases and 14.5% of spinal cord injury). Neurotraumas represented 17.7% of all admitted patients in the department in the study period. The mean age was 25.34 ± 16.73, and the age range 16 to 30 was the most affected. The predominance was male, with a sex ratio of 3.43. Motor Vehicle Accident was the leading cause 68.5%, and 73.2% of them involved a motorcycle. Motorcycle-to-motorcycle collision was responsible for more than a third of neurotraumas. We classified the majority of the cases as mild and low risk neurotrauma representing 62.08%. All patients benefited from medical treatment, and 30.7% of patients received surgical treatment for associated abdominal, orthopedic, and minor procedures for scalp dilacerations. No patient was referred to a Neurosurgery department, and all living patients were discharged home during the study period with minimal disability. The mortality was 16.3%. Our results could be biased by the lack of interhospital networking and the fact that severe traumatic brain-injured patient dies before seeking medical attention.

Trends in Injury-related Incidence and Mortality Among Inpatients in Guangdong Province in 1997-2001

Objective Currently, China is in short of thorough and systemic data concerning the patterns and incidence of injuries and related deaths. Guangdong Province as one of the economically advanced areas in China is faced with a relatively serious injury problem, and investigation of this problem in this Province will provide valuable information for other provinces and areas in this Country, as well as scientific basis for policy making for injury prevention and control. Methods Analyses are based on the computerized hospital discharge data collected from 322 hospitals in Guangdong Province between 1997 and 2001. Diagnoses are coded according to the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). Results The total hospitalization rate related with injuries increased year by year from 1997 to 2001. The ratio of case-fatality has a decline trend for all injury inpatients, who were mainly caused by motor vehicle accidents, unintentional falls, puncture and cut by machine and others. The constituent ratio of death among patients caused by motor vehicle accidents accounted for 56.13% among the total deaths, which ranked as the first place. The direct medical cost also had an increased trend. Conclusions Data on injuries requiring hospitalization can be used to design and target more effective injury prevention programs. Injury prevention would decrease human sufferings, disability, and associated economic losses.

Influence of bus stop with left-turn lines between two adjacent signalized intersections

Based on the symmetric two-lane Nagel–Schreckenberg（STNS） model, a three-lane cellular automaton model between two intersections containing a bus stop with left-turning buses is established in which model the occurrences of vehicle accidents are taken into account. The characteristics of traffic flows with different ratios of left-turn lines are discussed via the simulation experiments. The results indicate that the left-turn lines have more negative effects on capacity,accident rate as well as delay if the stop is located close to the intersections, where the negative effect in a near-side stop is more severe than that in a far-side one. The range of appropriate position for a bus stop without the bottleneck effect becomes more and more narrow with the increase of the ratio of left-turn bus lines. When the inflow is small, a short signal cycle and a reasonable offset are beneficial. When the inflow reaches or exceeds the capacity, a longer signal cycle is helpful. But if the stop position is inappropriate, the increase of cycle fails in reducing the negative effect of left-turning buses and the effectiveness of offset is weakened.

A review of neck injury and protection in vehicle accidents

Neck injury is one of the most common types of injury in vehicle accidents.The mechanisms of neck injury remain controversial due to the complex structure of the cervical spine and various impact conditions.The aim of the present study is to provide a summary of recent research on neck injury mechanisms,neck injury criteria and neck injury prevention measures.The main types of neck injury resulting from vehicle accidents,including whiplash injury,cervical bone fractures and spinal cord injury,are introduced.Neck injury mechanisms are summarized according to load directions,test or simulation methods,and thresholds by means of impact intensity,load intensity and stress/strain conditions.Neck injury criteria are introduced,including NIC,N_(ij),N_(km) and LNL.Passive and active technologies for neck injury prevention are described and the challenge of neck injury prevention for future intelligent vehicles is discussed.