SAFEST TO TRAVEL BY BICYCLE,CAR, OR BIG TRUCK?

This study compares highway crash incidence, injuries, and costs by vehicle type. Annual crash and injury incidence were estimated using Crashworthiness Data System (1988-1991), National Automotive Sampling System (1982-1986), General Estimates System (1992-1993), and Fatal Analysis Reporting System (1993) data. Costs were computed based on restraint use, body region, and threat-to-life severity of the injury. Costs were then allocated between vehicle types using three different methods in order to answer comparative safety questions. Motor vehicle and bicycle crash costs total $389 billion annually; 75% resulting from passenger vehicles. Motorcycles and bicycles have the highest costs per 1000 vehicle and passenger miles; costs per victim are highest for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists. Costs per vehicle mile for heavy trucks and passenger cars are comparable but exceed costs for light trucks. Passenger vehicle occupants are safest if a crash occurs. Light truck, other single truck, and bus occupants have the lowest cost per passenger mile, but higher costs than air and rail travelers. Motorcyclists face the greatest risks. Combination trucks may not impose an excess risk to other drivers, but their drivers face large risks.     

Review of the effects of in-stream pipeline crossing construction on aquatic ecosystems and examination of Canadian methodologies for impact assessment

Pipeline crossing construction alters river and stream channels, hence may have detrimental effects on aquatic ecosystems. This review examines the effects of crossing construction on fish and fish habitat in rivers and streams, and recommends an approach to monitoring and assessment of impacts associated with these activities. Pipeline crossing construction is shown to not only compromise the integrity of the physical and chemical nature of fish habitat, but also to affect biological habitat (e.g., benthic invertebrates and invertebrate drift), and fish behavior and physiology. Indicators of effect include: water quality (total suspended solids TSS), physical habitat (substrate particle size, channel morphology), benthic invertebrate community structure and drift (abundance, species composition, diversity, standing crop), and fish behavior and physiology (hierarchy, feeding, respiration rate, loss of equilibrium, blood hematocrit and leukocrit levels, heart rate and stroke volume). The Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) approach, which is often applied in Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM), is recommended as a basis for impact assessment, as is consideration of site-specific sensitivities, assessment of significance, and cumulative effects.     

干燥条件下高硫煤低温氧化特性研究

为进一步揭示不同环境条件下高硫煤的低温氧化特性,选取含硫量较低、自燃倾向性较高的褐煤,向其添加不同比例的FeS2,配制成含量分别为3%,5%,7%的混合高硫煤样,利用中国矿业大学自行研制的煤氧化模拟试验系统,测试分析干燥混合煤样在低温氧化过程中,交叉温度和指标气体CO产生量体积的变化。试验结果表明,在低温干燥的条件下,随着FeS2含量的增加,煤样的氧化特性受到抑制:交叉点温度升高;指标气体CO产生量在相同温度时体积降低。因此,在高硫煤层自燃火灾防治过程中,应尽量控制煤层周围环境的干燥度。     

Investigating the effectiveness of safety countermeasures at highway-rail at-grade crossings using a competing risk model

Introduction: Highway-rail at-grade crossings (HRGCs) are critical locations where a railway and a roadway intersect with one another. Crashes at those locations often result in fatalities and economic and social damages due to the impacts on both road and rail users. The main purpose of countermeasures at HRGCs is to permit safe and efficient rail and highway operations. Method: Countermeasures at highway-rail grade crossings (HRGCs) considered in this study include all traffic control devices and other warning and barrier devices at or on approaches to crossings. In general, active devices are commonly accepted as more effective countermeasures than passive devices. However, many of the previous effectiveness studies are either at the project level or were conducted without considering the before-improvement condition. This study focuses on the network-level marginal effectiveness of countermeasures on crash rate and severity levels during the 29-year study period from 1990 to 2018 by fully considering before-improvement control levels. A competing risk model (CRM) is able to accommodate the competing nature of crash severities as multiple outcomes from the same event of interest, which is crash occurrence in this study. Subsequently, CRM is used in this study as an integrated one-step estimation approach that investigates both crash frequency and severity likelihood over time. Results: The study findings indicate that adding audible devices to crossings already equipped with gates will result in a considerable annual decline in crash occurrence likelihood (0.25%). The same device installed at crossings already controlled by gates and flashing lights results in less reduction in crash occurrence likelihood of 0.14%. Moreover, adding a stop sign to the active crossing controls of gates, standard flashing lights, and audible devices will lead to a decrease in the probability of crash occurrence and severe crashes (injury and fatal). However, adding stop signs to crossings equipped only with crossbucks will increase the crash occurrence.     

含信号控制人行横道的街道峡谷污染物扩散三维数值模拟

耦合微观交通仿真和机动车尾气排放模型,分别对含信号控制人行横道和不含信号控制人行横道的街道峡谷污染物排放进行计算,并以此为排放源,采用k-ε两方程模型与组分输运方程对风向与街道垂直时的污染扩散情况进行了三维数值模拟.结果表明,k-ε两方程模型与组分输运方程可以较好地模拟风向与街道垂直时三维街道峡谷内的污染物扩散情况.峡...     

Effects of speed-control measures on the safety of unsignalized midblock street crossings in China

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different speed-control measures on the safety of unsignalized midblock street crossings.

Methods: In China, it is quite difficult to obtain traffic crash and conflict data for pedestrians using such crossings, mainly due to the lack of traffic data management and organizational issues. In light of this, the proposed method did not rely on such data, but considered vehicle speed, which is a leading contributing factor of pedestrian safety at mid blocks. To evaluate the speed reduction effects at different locations, the research team utilized the following methods in this study: (1) testing speed differences—on the basis of the collected data, statistical analysis is conducted to test the speed differences between upstream and crosswalk, upstream and downstream, and downstream and crosswalk; and (2) mean distribution deviation—this value is calculated by taking the difference in cumulative speed distributions for the two different samples just mentioned. In order to better understand the variation of speed reduction effects at different distances from speed-control facilities, data were collected from six types of speed-control measures with a visual range of 60 m.

Results: The results showed that speed humps, transverse rumble strips, and speed bumps were effective in reducing vehicle speeds. Among them speed humps performed the best, with reductions of 21.1% and 20.0% from upstream location (25.01 km/h) and downstream location (24.66 km/h) to pedestrian crosswalk (19.73 km/h), respectively. By contrast, the speed reduction effects were minimal for stop and yield signs, flashing yellow lights, and crossings without treatment.

Conclusions: Consequently, in order to reduce vehicle speeds and improve pedestrian safety at mid blocks, several speed-control measures such as speed humps, speed bumps, and transverse rumble strips are recommended to be deployed in the vicinity of pedestrian crosswalks.     

如何有效规避管道交叉点施工风险

采气一厂管辖各类管线6000余km,随着国家和地方基础设施建设不断完善,天然气管道安全范围内的各类施工逐年增多。由于施工队伍水平参差不齐,管线安全范围内的施工对气田已建集输管网构成较大的安全风险。总结了采气一厂近年来在管线交叉施工管理过程中摸索出的各类经验,同时对实施效果进行评价,旨在为同行提供参考和借鉴。     

平交道口冗余控制系统的建模及成本收益分析

将成本收益的分析方法应用在控制系统设计中。采用随机Petri网基于控制过程及系统可靠性对道口控制系统进行建模。在可靠性建模中,基于冗余系统的冷备及热备原理对控制系统的各个部件分别进行描述。基于统计数据确定非冗余控制系统Petri网模型参数。针对冷备及热备的冗余控制系统各部件的系统模型,通过仿真确定冗余系统相对非冗余系统所降低的道口事故率,继而计算出冗余控制的收益。将收益与增加设备的成本进行对比分析,结果表明,控制系统中不同部件的冷备及热备冗余都具有不同的成本收益。     

Gap-Crossing Decisions by the Red Squirrel, a Forest-Dependent Small Mammal

Abstract:  Forest-associated species in fragmented landscapes must traverse potentially inhospitable gaps to move between habitat patches. Although conservation biologists advocate connecting patches with corridors or improving the matrix to make it suitable for movement, little is known about the factors influencing gap-crossing decisions for most species. We investigated gap crossing by the red squirrel ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus ) in logged landscapes in southeastern Alaska, where the species avoids microhabitats associated with gaps created by clearcutting. We released individuals across clearcuts and determined the routes they took home with tracking spools and radio telemetry. Of 36 adult red squirrels translocated across six clearcuts, 14 crossed clearcuts to reach home. Squirrels were more likely to cross clearcuts if the detour efficiency (distance to home crossing gap divided by distance of forested detour) was low, indicating an ability to compare distances along alternate routes and travel costs or risks in different habitats. No other landscape metrics, such as gap size or crossing distance, predicted crossing behavior. Red squirrels of low body mass were more likely to cross clearcuts, where the probability of encountering conspecifics is low. Distance predicted route choice for squirrels detouring around clearcuts. Indirect evidence suggests that perceived predation risk, energetic costs, or both are higher in clearcuts. Detour efficiency reportedly influences the gap-crossing decisions of some forest-associated birds, but this is the first demonstration of its role in gap-crossing decisions by a mammal.