Pedestrian Fall Safety Assessments

This book examines pedestrian shoe-floor slip resistance from an engineering standpoint in order to better understand friction and wear behavior. This analysis includes an extensive investigation into the surface properties of shoes and flow, and the measurement of dynamic friction and other mechanical and physical aspects of shoe-floor tribology. Lastly, the book proposes a measurement concept for the identification and classification of operational floor surfaces under a range of different conditions. Novel techniques and methods are proposed that can improve the reliability of slip resistance assessments. The current state of knowledge is critically examined and discussed from a tribological perspective, including aspects like friction, wear, lubrication and the mechanical behavior of shoes, floors and their wider environment. Further, the book reports on extensive experimental investigations into the topographical characteristics of shoe and floor surfaces and how they affect slip resistance. Slips resulting in pedestrian falls are a major cause of injuries and deaths for all age groups. This important book provides essential insights for researchers, practicing engineers and public safety officials wishing to learn about how the risk of pedestrian slips can be assessed and understood.

This book explains how to improve the validity, reliability, and repeatability of slip resistance assessments amongst a range of shoes, floors, and environments from an engineering metrology viewpoint—covering theoretical and experimental aspects of slip resistance mechanics and mechanisms. Pedestrian falls resulting from slips or falls are one of the foremost causes of fatal and non-fatal injuries that limit people’s functionality. There have been prolonged efforts globally to identify and understand their main causes and reduce their frequency and severity. This book deals with large volumes of information on tribological characteristics such as friction and wear behaviours of the shoes and floors and their interactive impacts on slip resistance performances. Readers are introduced to theoretical concepts and models and collected evidence on slip resistance properties amongst a range of shoe and floor types and materials under various ambulatory settings. These approaches can be used to develop secure design strategies against fall incidents and provide a great step forward to build safer shoes, floors, and walking/working environments for industries and communities around the world. The book includes many case studies.

SAFETY AND HEALTH FOR ENGINEERS A comprehensive resource for making products, facilities, processes, and operations safe for workers, users, and the public Ensuring the health and safety of individuals in the workplace is vital on an interpersonal level but is also crucial to limiting the liability of companies in the event of an onsite injury. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported over 4,700 fatal work injuries in the United States in 2020, most frequently in transportation-related incidents. The same year, approximately 2.7 million workplace injuries and illnesses were reported by private industry employers. According to the National Safety Council, the cost in lost wages, productivity, medical and administrative costs is close to 1.2 trillion dollars in the US alone. It is imperative—by law and ethics—for engineers and safety and health professionals to drive down these statistics by creating a safe workplace and safe products, as well as maintaining a safe environment. Safety and Health for Engineers is considered the gold standard for engineers in all specialties, teaching an understanding of many components necessary to achieve safe workplaces, products, facilities, and methods to secure safety for workers, users, and the public. Each chapter offers information relevant to help safety professionals and engineers in the achievement of the first canon of professional ethics: to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. The textbook examines the fundamentals of safety, legal aspects, hazard recognition and control, the human element, and techniques to manage safety decisions. In doing so, it covers the primary safety essentials necessary for certification examinations for practitioners. Readers of the fourth edition of Safety and Health for Engineers readers will also find: Updates to all chapters, informed by research and references gathered since the last publication The most up-to-date information on current policy, certifications, regulations, agency standards, and the impact of new technologies, such as wearable technology, automation in transportation, and artificial intelligence New international information, including U.S. and foreign standards agencies, professional societies, and other organizations worldwide Expanded sections with real-world applications, exercises, and 164 case studies An extensive list of references to help readers find more detail on chapter contents A solution manual available to qualified instructors Safety and Health for Engineers is an ideal textbook for courses in safety engineering around the world in undergraduate or graduate studies, or in professional development learning. It also is a useful reference for professionals in engineering, safety, health, and associated fields who are preparing for credentialing examinations in safety and health.

A recent research report released by the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has stated that almost 175,000 pedestrians died on U.S roadways between 1975 and 2001. It was also noted in the report that 12% of all deaths related to motor vehicle crashes in the country are pedestrian fatalities. Most of the safety technology to date in vehicles has been applied to protect the occupants in the vehicle. What can vehicle manufacturers do to reduce pedestrian fatalities? With research being focused on two major fronts - methods to sense the presence of pedestrians and warn drivers of their location, and ways to design vehicles that can help not only adults of various age groups to survive an impact between them and a vehicle but also children that are smaller than most adults - the technical papers in this SAE Progress in Technology Series book explore ways the automobile can be designed to help reduce fatalities and injuries when a pedestrian and vehicle meet during an impact.

The book reports on a new methodology for optimization and evaluation of traffic safety, which simulates the processes involved in traffic conflicts on the basis of detailed dynamical, human, and technical models. The models incorporate the whole spectrum of human cognitive functions and responses, the responses of an active safety system and the interactions between the human and the system as they occur in a sample of relevant traffic contexts. Using the developed method, the author was able to assess the reduction in accidents and injuries as well as the possible side effects resulting from a preventive pedestrian-protection system. The book provides practical solutions in the area of active safety systems. It represents an interesting source of information for researchers and professionals as well as all stakeholders, including policy makers and consumer advocates, with the common goal of promoting the implementation and adoption of highly efficient systems for preventing accidents and injuries.