Analysis of Technical Condition of Cars in Western Poland: A Study Based on Selected Indicators

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear authors

I have read your paper about the data analysis of the technical conditions of cars in western Poland. The Language is clear and easy to understand. Unfortunately, it is hard to find a scientific note in this paper that can connect the influence of the analyzed data on traffic safety or the correlation with traffic accidents. It is not clear also if the examined vehicles represent the real situation in your region. The paper simply lacks a scientific approach and therefore it is suitable for publication in the form of a report describing the current technical conditions of the car fleet in western Poland.  I would also recommend removing the term Safety from the title of the report. 

Kind regards

Author Response

Dear Associate Editor and Reviewer,

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and the associate editor for their effort in reviewing the manuscript and for their valuable and constructive comments and fruitful observations, which helped in improving the quality of the manuscript to a publishable standard. The responses to the reviewers’ comments and suggestions are in the attached file. Reviewers’ questions and comments are in BLACK and the authors’ answers and comments are in RED.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper presents the results from the statistical analysis of technical inspection data acquired from a region in Western Poland. The paper is interesting and very comprehensive. The data are analysed properly.The paper is well written and the results are clear and well descripted. It can though be improved.

The methodology section (2) could be improved by providing more details about the statistical terms used in the results section. This would make the paper easier to be read by someone that is not familiar with them, especially since significant number of the references are not in English. This is a second point of improvement. More international papers could be included in the paper, not only Polish.

 

1. What is the main question addressed by the research?
The main question addressed by the authors is the assessment of the quality of cars circulating in Western Poland according to the data received by the National Technical Inspection performed systematically according to the national Polish law. Specific statistical tools as proposed in other research papers have been used.

2. Do you consider the topic original or relevant in the field? Does it address a specific gap in the field?
The topic can be considered original as a case study of a specific theoretical background. No new theory or approach is proposed but a significant case study of existing approaches.

3. What does it add to the subject area compared with other published material?
The added value of the paper is the realistic case study and the implementation of existing theoretical background to real data. Of course, such a study can always be improved by adding more vehicles or extend the time period of inspection but it is a starting point.

4. What specific improvements should the authors consider regarding the methodology? What further controls should be considered?
The methodology section (2) could be improved by providing more details about the statistical terms used in the results section. This would make the paper easier to be read by someone that is not familiar with them, especially since significant number of the references are not in English. The overall study is based on these statistical terms and the authors are advised to include them in the methodology section.

5. Are the conclusions consistent with the evidence and arguments presented and do they address the main question posed?
The conclusions as well as the results section are not detailed enough with respect to the research. A lot of tables and figures are used which are not described adequately. As they highlight the core part of the study they must be further analysed. Similarly, the discussion and conclusions section can focus more on the results provided. In other words, the paper must focus more on the results provided.

6. Are the references appropriate?
The references do not help a non Polish reader. More English written papers must be included in the references in order to better cover the international trends in the field.

7. Please include any additional comments on the tables and figures.
As mentioned before, they need to be further analysed. They are clear enough but they must be supported by the methodology section (statistical terms) and of course the corresponding analysis, i.e. which equation is used for the extraction of p, which data are used etc. Of course, more comments on the meaning of each table and graph.

In general, the paper is a significant case study but must be adequately supported.

Author Response

Dear Associate Editor and Reviewer,

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and the associate editor for their effort in reviewing the manuscript and for their valuable and constructive comments and fruitful observations, which helped in improving the quality of the manuscript to a publishable standard. The responses to the reviewers’ comments and suggestions are in the attached file. Reviewers’ questions and comments are in BLACK and the authors’ answers and comments are in RED.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper deals with the analysis of the technical condition and safety of cars in Poland. Although the paper’s title might not seem to be innovative, nonetheless, the analysis and its findings are interesting. First, the abstract section needs to be completely rewritten to better showcase the paper’s objectives and outcomes. The introduction section needs to better highlight the current research GAP. Section 2 needs to clarify the research methodology step-by-step. Various tables and figures provided must each be explained individually. At the moment they are all included one after another and it is difficult to understand each of these.  It is suggested that at least a paragraph or two of explanation be provided for each of these tables and figures. The conclusion section needs to be rewritten completely and focus on more of the research results. Finally, the reference list is way too few. Much more recent references need to be included.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Some editing and proof reading is required. 

Author Response

Dear Associate Editor and Reviewer,

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and the associate editor for their effort in reviewing the manuscript and for their valuable and constructive comments and fruitful observations, which helped in improving the quality of the manuscript to a publishable standard. The responses to the reviewers’ comments and suggestions are in the attached file. Reviewers’ questions and comments are in BLACK and the authors’ answers and comments are in RED.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Kind regards