Editorial: Worldwide Accidents: Trends, Investigation and Prevention

The industrial revolution aimed to ease the experience of life for human beings by reducing the manual efforts that life required and fulfilling the needs of a society with an increasing population. In a similar vein, the processing industry has grown enormously over the last century. Many hazards have arisen that are associated with technologies developed for this industry, which are related to all aspects of life. For the processing industry, these hazards are more severe; in the case of an abnormal scenario, the process can become out of control and the quantity of chemicals that are used in this industry can intensify the outcomes of the accident. The investigation of accidents serves many purposes: it helps to identify the contributing causes, the overarching trends in accidents in this industry and the shortcomings of the technologies in use, which have motivated researchers to propose solutions. All of the above-mentioned purposes of accident investigation are concentrated around a central objective, i.e., to avoid the recurrence of accidents. This research area is vast and there are still knowledge gaps in the research into the trends in accidents and the development of investigation and prevention strategies related to various technologies. This Special Issue is specifically targeted towards both industrial and traffic accidents and aims to share recent knowledge about accidents and related improvements. Sharing research findings is important for the commercialization of solutions that can be employed for the betterment of mankind, and this Special Issue intends to serve this purpose.

There are six original articles available in this Special Issue [1]. The first article by Seva et al. (Contribution 1) presents a study regarding the prediction of intoxication using the head movements of bike riders wearing alcohol intoxication goggles. They have highlighted that balance has not been studied as an indicator of intoxication in drunk motorcyclists. In this study, head movements, namely pitch and roll, have been investigated to predict drunk driving. Alcohol intoxication goggles and placebo goggles have been engaged to simulate a high blood alcohol content and to control the alcohol content, respectively. It is identified that both motorcycle-induced and drunken head movements such as pitch and roll are easily distinguishable from each other. With the development of algorithms for deep learning, drunk and non-drunk motorcycle drivers can be easily identified on the roads and prevention measures can be introduced to avoid road accidents.

The second contribution is a research article by Ricci et al. (Contribution 2) about the NaTech accidents triggered by heat waves. NaTech accidents occur due to some natural phenomena. These phenomena can be disasters such as flood, volcanic activity, etc. and when it encounters industrial installations, such as process plants, the situation becomes worse. Global warming is a prominent issue of world and besides many other negative effects it can trigger and worsen accidents related to industrial facilities. In this study, the authors have considered the role of heat wave-related natural phenomena in NaTech accidents. They performed an analysis of past accidents caused by global warming and identified the contributing elements for these accidents as well as the substances and equipment frequently observed in such accidents. Lastly, the lessons learnt from these accidents are discussed so that the likelihood of such accidents happening again in the future can be minimized.

Champahom et al. (Contribution 3) made the third contribution with a research article. This article is about road safety and accidents involving trucks. There is a high probability that truck-related accidents will result in a rear end crash; however, the authors have identified that this domain has not been explored. Therefore, they used Spatial Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial Regression (SZINB) to analyze rear end crashes involving trucks on different sections of the road. They identified that more rear crash accidents involving trucks occur on roads that are curvier. Therefore, they have proposed some suggestions regarding road designs in order to enhance the smooth running of traffic and minimize road accidents involving trucks.

The fourth research article is related to the use of line stickers with the aim of road safety enhancement and is by Phithak et al. (Contribution 4). This work presents a design for the creation of line application stickers to minimize accidents. The effect of line stickers is studied by asking respondents to fill out survey and the results reveal that safety and guidance messages promulgated through stickers lead to improved knowledge, attitudes and practices of the drivers, thus minimizing the number of accidents and the number of fatalities.

The next article is by Badia et al. (Contribution 5) and relates to the safety of hydrogen. Hydrogen is considered to be a fuel of the future and can be produced through many commercially available processes. In the future, it is expected that vehicles for transportation will be fueled via hydrogen and so traditional refueling stations must be replaced with hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs). These HRSs may pose new hazards in the future, resulting in accidents. For this purpose, previous accidents related to facilities that use hydrogen have been studied and both quantitative and qualitative studies of the risks have been performed. With this analysis, the key areas of concern for HRSs have been identified, which will be helpful in keeping these facilities safe.

The last research article is by Cruz-Jaramillo et al. (Contribution 6) and is also related to road safety, specifically considering the impact of rollover crashes on small children. The proposed model allows for damping movements in all directions with the aim of reducing the impact of car accidents resulting in a roll over. The system is not completely perfect as injuries cannot be eradicated completely; however, it is observed that the number and severity of injuries are considerably reduced compared to other safety systems and available guidelines. This study was carried out using a dummy of a six-year-old child.

In conclusion, the research articles presented in this Special Issue present the ongoing trends in various kind of accidents and investigate the factors contributing to these accidents. Innovative solutions have been presented for various accident scenarios with the aim of reducing the recurrence of accidents and minimizing losses in the case of accidents. This Issue serves as key source of latest findings and technologies developed to enhance the safety of the technologies that are serving mankind.