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This paper is concerned with anthropometric dimensions of young Koreans and their interrelationships for school furniture design. Ten anthropometric measurements were taken from 1248 subjects, age range 6-17. The study investigated sex differences in interrelationships between body dimensions, to provide suitable sizes of chair and desk for boys and girls. The results showed that stature had a high relationship to body dimensions for school furniture design, and that there were significant sex differences in relationships between stature and the body dimensions. In particular, boys above 126 cm in stature required higher desk and chair heights than girls of the same stature. On the other hand, girls above 120 cm in stature required a larger depth and breadth of chair than boys of the same stature.

BACKGROUND: Risk factors for motorcycle injuries are associated with rider-related factors and crash-related factors. OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the effects of age and violations on occupational accidents among motorcyclists performing food delivery. METHODS: This study analyzed 1,317 injured couriers regarding rider-related factors and crash-related factors according to rider's age or violations. RESULTS: Among injured riders, 67.4% were temporary workers, 76.1% worked in small companies with <5 employees, 58.7% in the nighttime, and 51.5% had a work experience of <1 month. However, among the injured teens, 93.5% were temporary workers, 87.0% in companies with <5 employees, 79.5% in nighttime, and 61.4% with work experience of <1 month. The proportion of novice with <1 month, of the temporary worker, of 'head/face/neck' injury, or of the 'concussion/hemorrhage' type of injury all decreased with age. However, the proportion of 'fracture,' 'rider alone,' or 'death or disability' accidents increased with age. Furthermore, the violation rate was high in teens (17.4%), at night (15.4%), or in type of 'crash with a car' (26.2%). The violation rate decreased with age. CONCLUSIONS: The results are expected to be useful for injury prevention policies and guidelines in the food delivery industries.

BackgroundHousehold waste collectors (HWCs) are exposed to hazardous conditions. This study investigates the patterns of workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs.MethodsThis study uses cases of workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs that occurred between 2010 and 2011. We analyzed 325 cases of injuries and 36 cases of illnesses according to the workers' age, length of employment, size of workplace, injured part of body, day and month of injury, type of accident, agency of accident, and collection process.ResultsThere were significant differences in the effect of workers' length of employment, injured part of body, type of accident, agency of accident, and collection process. Results show that most injuries occur in workers in their 50s and older. This study also shows that 51.4% of injuries occur at businesses with 49 employees or fewer. Injuries to waste collectors happen most often when workers are electrocuted after slipping on the ground. The second most prevalent form of injury is falling, which usually happens when workers hang from the rear of the truck during transportation or otherwise slip and fall from the truck. Work-related illnesses amongst waste collectors are mostly musculoskeletal conditions due to damaging postures.ConclusionThese findings will be instructive in devising policies and guidelines for preventing workplace injuries and work-related illnesses of HWCs.

BackgroundTruck driving is known as one of the occupations with the highest accident rate. This study investigates the characteristics of traffic collisions according to road types (expressway and rural road).MethodsClassifying 267 accidents into expressway and rural road, we analyzed them based on driver characteristics (age, working experience, size of employment), time characteristics (day of accident, time, weather), and accident characteristics (accident causes, accident locations, accident types, driving conditions).ResultsWhen we compared the accidents by road conditions, no differences were found between the driver characteristics. However, from the accident characteristics, the injured person distributions were different by the road conditions. In particular, driving while drowsy is shown to be highly related with the accident characteristics.ConclusionThis study can be used as a guideline and a base line to develop a plan of action to prevent traffic accidents. It can also help to prepare formal regulations about a truck driver's vehicle maintenance and driving attitude for a precaution on road accidents.