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June 3, 2011
News for transit users
A change in stance can reduce injury potential.
REBECA KUROPATWA
As those who have ever taken a bus or subway during rush hour are all too aware, keeping yourself upright can sometimes prove challenging. But, according to researchers at Simon Fraser University’s Injury Prevention and Mobility Laboratory, this may soon be a worry of the past.
Research being conducted by the SFU team has found evidence suggesting that transit users who don’t manage to get a seat need only to stand sideways to the vehicle’s line of movement with a shoulder-width stance, at a handrail that is shoulder height to stay securely standing.
“At first glance, it makes sense that this is the most efficient and effective way to ride the bus,” said SFU department of biomedical physiology and kinesiology professor Stephen Robinovitch, who conceived of and initiated this research project with graduate student Thiago Sarraf.
“My lab has a long history of research on mobility and the prevention of falls and fall-related injuries [such as hip fractures] in older adults,” said Robinovitch. “So, this is a bit of a side project for us.
“It started with ... examining some basic questions related to the biomechanics of balance maintenance through grasping. This led to more practical questions related to the manner in which people maintain balance while standing on buses and subways.”
Robinovitch said he thoroughly enjoys working at SFU, “with very talented and hard-working collaborators and trainees, including an international student body with graduate students from Brazil, China, Pakistan, Singapore, Korea, Belgium and Canada. A lot of my work involves student mentoring, which is extremely satisfying.”
One of the research goals is to understand how the construction of the handrail and the direction of the transit user’s stance affect the muscular effort involved in maintaining balance in the event of a sudden start or stop. Another goal is to understand more about how the body senses the acceleration and coordinates appropriate balance recovery responses.
In Vancouver last year, TransLink reported a rise in passenger injuries. Robinovitch said the potential for injury is a “major public health concern,” given the increasing use of public transit across Canada.
The research team measured the start and stop accelerations of buses and SkyTrains and recorded study participants’ body movements using high-tech sensor technology as the vehicles started and stopped.
“The lab setting allowed us to measure and compare the forces, hands and feet, and muscle-activation patterns across the different handrail and stance configurations,” said Robinovitch. “The project uses a device for vehicle acceleration simulation in our lab nicknamed ‘the Magic School Bus.’
“We know that about 50 percent of injuries related to public transportation are ‘non-collision’ injuries to passengers, and about half of these occur in standing passengers,” explained Robinovitch. “This suggests that about 25 percent of all injuries on buses and subways are due to falls in standing passengers, so it’s important we design safer vehicle environments and, if possible, limit the accelerations levels to prevent falls. This project can provide important information to transit authorities and vehicle manufacturers in this regard.
“Public transportation is of increasing importance in this ‘green age,’ and the research should be applicable worldwide. And, for seniors, in particular, we want to understand why people fall on the bus and how to stop this from happening.”
With the new evidence gleaned from Robinovitch and Sarraf’s research, showing that standing passengers would fare better with shoulder-height handrails (rather than overhead railings or handles), it is clear that the majority of buses in Canada are not currently designed for transit users to stand in the optimal position. Robinovitch said he hopes that this research will contribute to safer bus and subway design and that, as injuries to seniors from falls costs Canada about $3 billion a year, the sooner safer vehicles can be provided, the better.
In the meantime, Robinovitch said he would “strongly encourage people to use public transportation, and I don’t think it poses greater danger than other forms of transportation. People should adopt a riding behavior that’s comfortable for them. If they feel unsteady, they should politely request a seat.”
Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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