Report - Motor Vehicle Accidents - Applied Bioscience for Complex Conditions - Assessment Answer

Report Assignment

Assignment Task

Report on the number of MVA’s in Australia (include in your answer highest risk groups).

Describe in detail the Mechanism of Injury and potential injury in a MVA, examples include:

• Frontal collision
• Lateral T-Bone
• Rear Impacts
• Rotational Impacts
• Ejection
• Roll Over Crashes

Include in your answer the organ/s that could potentially be injured with the above mechanisms of injury.

Introduction

Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) serve as major causes of both internal and external wounds, death as the most common effect as well as trauma among the victims. Globally, 90 % of people die each day due to motor vehicle accidents as well as resulting to increased medical care costs. Countries such as the US account for the largest population of death rate resulting from motor vehicle accidents; however, Australia is no exception and also holds a significant percentage of deaths resulting from the accidents. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012), road accidents account for the largest number of deaths in the country with majority of the deaths being associated with motor vehicles in public roads. Additionally, motor vehicle accidents also account for the increased hospitalization with the trend growing over the years. According to research estimates, the number of people losing their lives from motor accidents will reach over 8 million by 2020 globally primarily in the developing world (Hammer, Pratt & Ross, 2014). In Australia, motor vehicle accidents account for the highest number of deaths creating the need to have optimal care for the injured patients as well as a coordinated approach to reduce the rate of accidents. MVA can be grouped in different types, which also impacts differently among the victims such as frontal collision, rollover crashes and rotational impacts among others providing a chance to determine the risk factors as well as establish ways to reduce the accidents.

Number of MVA's in Australia

According to data from theAustralian Bureau of Statistics (2012) statistics on transport related deaths collected from 2008 motor vehicles account for the largest percentages of the accidents while water transport has the lowest number of deaths. Since 1970s when the number of motor vehicle ownership increased, there was a corresponding rise in the number of MVAs, majority of which are influenced by high speeds. Over the last few years Australia has also recorded a rise in the number of fatalities such as 1205 deaths recorded in year 2015 by the Australian Road Deaths Databasewhile the number increased by 8.9 % in 2016 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012). The MVAs rates also vary by regions with the Northern Territory recording the highest rate of MVAs. However, compared to the earlier years such as 1970s the number of deaths from motor accidents is low per 100,000 people where the death rate is 4 down from 28% in the 1970s (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012). The reduction in current times is influenced by the presence of various road safety strategies licensing schemes and speed cameras among other aspects compared to 1970s when there were no strategies to address the accidents. In this regard, Australia has witnessed a reduction in the total yearly deaths by 24 percent across various areas such as Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales among others (Motor Accident Commission, 2015).

The risk of fatalities can further be understood based on the risk groups with the younger road users between the age of 15 and 29 having the highest percentage due to their inexperience. The risk level of the young road users may also be influenced by the likelihood of speeding while others lack the necessary skills to be on the road. On the other hand, the older population also have higher risk levels of MVAs due to their vulnerability to different health problems such as visual problems. The age group with the lowest risk levels among the drivers includes people between the age of 45-59 due to their experience and ability to follow rules and regulations (Murgatroyd et al., 2016). The second population with high risk levels includes the passengers with a similar age group as the driver holding the highest number of fatalities compared to the passengers between the age group of 45-59.Similarly, the pedestrians, motor cyclists and bicyclists risk levels vary by age with the younger people within the road users accounting for the highest fatalities (Fronsko, 2011).

Mechanism of Injury and Potential Injury in MVA

MVA injury level depends on the type of accident. Some of the common types of MVA includes

• Frontal Collision

They involve an accident where the occupants are unrestrained even after the vehicle comes to an abrupt stop and serves as one of the most common methods of accidents. The collision forces the vehicle occupant to an external environment such as the vehicle chassis or a stationary object when the victim is ejected from the car. In most situation, frontal collision has a greater impact to occupants who fail to use their safety belts. and may results severe injuries or even death (Myers, 2016). For example, the frontal impact may result to dislocations in various parts of the body and fractures. In a situation where the victims are thrown out of the vehicle due to the frontal collision, it may result to pelvic injuries or common ruptures; however, the ejection from the vehicle during such accidents results to a higher risks of severe or critical injury and in some situations it causes death. Reducing the impact of the frontal collision includes adhering to the safety belt guidelines, using vehicles that have good safety tools such as airbags. The type of accident may also impact motor cyclist more compared to vehicle occupants; however, the impact or level of fatality is influenced by the object with which the vehicle collides with such as another speeding vehicle. It also serves as the most common type of accident primarily among fast drivers (Gopinath et al., 2016).

• Lateral T-Bone

This represents a side collision where the car crashes into the side of another vehicle and mainly occurs at intersections in situations where a driver fails to use the traffic lights. Hence, a majority of t-bone accidents are preventable; however, more likely to develop severe impact to the vehicle occupants such as the driver and the passengers. Some of the common injuries associated with the type of accident includes brain injuries, legs and spinal fractures as well as broken arms. Additionally, there are higher risks of other problems such as trauma and is more likely to cause the vehicle to roll over such as situations where the care is on a sloping road. The impact of t-bone accident is also high due to the short distance between the two cars making the passengers have less protection from the impact (Murgatroyd, Harris, Tran, Cameron & Murgatroyd, 2016). In terms of severity, the type of accident are ranked second from the frontal collision and tends to be among the most common ones due to the drivers non compliance with traffic guidelines. T-bone accidents can happen when the car is making a left turn in front of another vehicle or in situations where drivers carelessly drivers into intersections without prior thinking of the dangers involved. In some situations the airbags may help; however when the force is high it results to case of death, organ damage and fractures among others. Addressing cases of negligence can help in reducing the occurrence of T-bone accidents such as driving while intoxicated or texting among others (Han, 2013).

• Rear Impacts

The accident is common and involves a situation when a car crashes at the car in the front and may be influenced by speed; hence, its severity depends on the speed or acceleration of the care. Rear impact may lead to neck injuries primarily in the soft tissues creating the need for vehicles to be properly tested for rear impact and headrests. In low speed, the impact is less compared to high speed which provides a chance to quantify the impact of the rear impacts among passengers and drivers (Jagnoor et al., 2014).

• Rotational Impacts

The involves the type of accident where the car hits an immobile object or rotates after contact which increases the chances of moving the vehicle of occupants in different parts of the car. The accident type is more likely to cause severe and immediate death or internal injuries to victims as they hit various parts of the car due to the impact of the rotation. Its ability to influence internal bleeding is high which leads to higher cases of death or internal organ damage. Car models with airbags in all sides have a higher chance of protecting the vehicle occupants compared with cars with front airbags only (Thompson, Berk, O’Donnell, Stafford & Nordfjaern, 2015).

• Ejection

Ejection is mainly influenced by frontal collision or when a car hits an object or another car head on and stops abruptly. In situations where the impact is severe, the care occupants are more likely to be ejected out of the care through the widescreen. The type of accident increases the risks of body fractures, internal bleeding and even death in severe cases. Like rear impact, ejection may be influenced by the acceleration rate of the car and the level of impact during the collision. The accident type can cause severe brain injuries which also influences high lenght of stay in hospitals (Bromfield & McGwin, 2014).

• Roll Over Crashes

Rollovers represents types of accidents that are violent of severe in nature causing them to roll over. Besides, they are common and can be influenced by environmental factors as well as technical factors such as the stability to the vehicles. Rollovers may also be influenced by a variety of factors such as speed of the vehicles since a majority of the accidents involve speeding cars (Kim et al., 2013). Additionally, alcohol, location and driving approaches can also influence the crashes. The accident type has a higher fatality compared by all other accident types discussed above. Additionally the accident type has higher risks of head injuries. However, the severity of the accidents depends on the type f vehicle and the safety features such as cars with roll cages that make them much safer (Murgatroyd, Lockwood, Garth & Cameron, 2015).

Conclusion

MVA's is a key problem not only in Australia but around the world accounting for a large percentage of death rates. Majority of the accidents are preventable since they are influenced by factors such as reckless driving, speed or negligence among others. As much as the death rates influenced by accidents is high in Australia, the rate represents a reduction compared to the accidents experienced in several years back. The common types of accidents identified includes frontal collision, rotational impact and rear impact among others. Addressing the rise in accidents rates is based on establishing good road safety strategies as well as raising awareness on the negative impact of speeding.