Reduced Road Injuries While Commuting Due to Heavy Snowfall and Ensuing Modal Shifts Among Junior High School Students in Japan
Background: Modal shifts in transport may reduce overall road injuries. Cyclist junior high school students are at a high risk of road injuries while commuting in Japan, and injuries among junior high school students could be reduced if the cyclists switch to other transport modes. Methods: We estim...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Japan Epidemiological Association
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of Epidemiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jea/32/9/32_JE20200504/_pdf |
| _version_ | 1798004531398705152 |
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| author | Haruhiko Inada Jun Tomio Masao Ichikawa Shinji Nakahara |
| author_facet | Haruhiko Inada Jun Tomio Masao Ichikawa Shinji Nakahara |
| author_sort | Haruhiko Inada |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Modal shifts in transport may reduce overall road injuries. Cyclist junior high school students are at a high risk of road injuries while commuting in Japan, and injuries among junior high school students could be reduced if the cyclists switch to other transport modes. Methods: We estimated the change in the incidence of road deaths and serious injuries while commuting in months with heavy snowfall, when cyclists are likely to switch to other transport modes. Using police data on the monthly number of road injuries while commuting among junior high school students in Japan between 2004 and 2013 and corresponding population statistics and snowfall data, we calculated the monthly injury rate (number of deaths and serious injuries divided by population) at the prefecture level. We conducted Poisson regression analysis to estimate the change in the rate in months with a snowfall of ≥100 cm, compared to months without snowfall. Results: A total of 3,164 deaths and serious injuries occurred during 2004 to 2013. The injury rate among cyclists was almost zero in months with a snowfall of ≥100 cm. That among cyclists and pedestrians in these months was reduced by 68% (95% confidence interval, 43–82%). Conclusion: In months with heavy snowfall, road injuries while commuting were reduced due to the near-elimination of cycling injuries among junior high school students in Japan. Switching from cycling to other transport modes would reduce overall road injuries among this population, and inducing modal shifts can be an important tool for road safety. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:25:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-be54dfefd78e4f3481e8af9ed0c75c48 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0917-5040 1349-9092 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:25:08Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Japan Epidemiological Association |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Epidemiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-be54dfefd78e4f3481e8af9ed0c75c482022-12-22T04:23:58ZengJapan Epidemiological AssociationJournal of Epidemiology0917-50401349-90922022-09-0132940841410.2188/jea.JE20200504Reduced Road Injuries While Commuting Due to Heavy Snowfall and Ensuing Modal Shifts Among Junior High School Students in JapanHaruhiko Inada0Jun Tomio1Masao Ichikawa2Shinji Nakahara3Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Maryland, United States of AmericaGraduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, JapanFaculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, JapanGraduate School of Health Innovation, Kanagawa University of Human Services, Kanagawa, JapanBackground: Modal shifts in transport may reduce overall road injuries. Cyclist junior high school students are at a high risk of road injuries while commuting in Japan, and injuries among junior high school students could be reduced if the cyclists switch to other transport modes. Methods: We estimated the change in the incidence of road deaths and serious injuries while commuting in months with heavy snowfall, when cyclists are likely to switch to other transport modes. Using police data on the monthly number of road injuries while commuting among junior high school students in Japan between 2004 and 2013 and corresponding population statistics and snowfall data, we calculated the monthly injury rate (number of deaths and serious injuries divided by population) at the prefecture level. We conducted Poisson regression analysis to estimate the change in the rate in months with a snowfall of ≥100 cm, compared to months without snowfall. Results: A total of 3,164 deaths and serious injuries occurred during 2004 to 2013. The injury rate among cyclists was almost zero in months with a snowfall of ≥100 cm. That among cyclists and pedestrians in these months was reduced by 68% (95% confidence interval, 43–82%). Conclusion: In months with heavy snowfall, road injuries while commuting were reduced due to the near-elimination of cycling injuries among junior high school students in Japan. Switching from cycling to other transport modes would reduce overall road injuries among this population, and inducing modal shifts can be an important tool for road safety.https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jea/32/9/32_JE20200504/_pdfepidemiologyinjuriestransportationadolescent |
| spellingShingle | Haruhiko Inada Jun Tomio Masao Ichikawa Shinji Nakahara Reduced Road Injuries While Commuting Due to Heavy Snowfall and Ensuing Modal Shifts Among Junior High School Students in Japan Journal of Epidemiology epidemiology injuries transportation adolescent |
| title | Reduced Road Injuries While Commuting Due to Heavy Snowfall and Ensuing Modal Shifts Among Junior High School Students in Japan |
| title_full | Reduced Road Injuries While Commuting Due to Heavy Snowfall and Ensuing Modal Shifts Among Junior High School Students in Japan |
| title_fullStr | Reduced Road Injuries While Commuting Due to Heavy Snowfall and Ensuing Modal Shifts Among Junior High School Students in Japan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reduced Road Injuries While Commuting Due to Heavy Snowfall and Ensuing Modal Shifts Among Junior High School Students in Japan |
| title_short | Reduced Road Injuries While Commuting Due to Heavy Snowfall and Ensuing Modal Shifts Among Junior High School Students in Japan |
| title_sort | reduced road injuries while commuting due to heavy snowfall and ensuing modal shifts among junior high school students in japan |
| topic | epidemiology injuries transportation adolescent |
| url | https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jea/32/9/32_JE20200504/_pdf |
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