The effects of driver factors and sign design features on the comprehensibility of traffic signs

PROBLEM: This paper addresses the effects of driver factors and sign design features on the comprehensibility of traffic signs. METHODS: A survey was designed to capture subjects' personal particulars, ratings on sign features, and comprehension scores, and then administered to 109 Hong Kong full driving license holders. RESULTS: Years with driving license and education level were significant predictors of sign comprehensibility. Contrary to expectation, the driver factors of age group, years of active driving, hours of driving, last time driving, driving frequency, and non-local driving experience had no effect on comprehension performance. Sign familiarity was correlated with comprehension score for licensed drivers, whereas sign concreteness, simplicity, and meaningfulness were not. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The results of this study provide useful guidelines for designing more user-friendly traffic signs in the future. It identified particular driver groups who lacked good understanding of traffic signs, and this information may assist the relevant organizations to better allocate traffic training resources, and better target future studies of traffic sign comprehension.     

我国道路交通安全教育培训思考

统计数据显示,我国2007-2009年道路运输事故呈下降趋势。但道路运输事故造成的死亡人数远远高于煤炭事故造成的死亡人数,道路交通安全形势依然很严峻。交通安全形势严峻的主要原因之一就是人为因素,加强对交通参与者的相关教育培训,提高安全意识,规范安全行为,是改善交通安全形势的根本途径。本文系统分析了我国的安全教育环境、交通文化、交通安全法律法规及交通安全教育培训存在问题,提出了改善我国交通安全教育的措施及建议。     

Evaluating the effectiveness of a logger safety training program

INTRODUCTION: Logger safety training programs are rarely, if ever, evaluated as to their effectiveness in reducing injuries. METHOD: Workers' compensation claim rates were used to evaluate the effectiveness of a logger safety training program, the West Virginia Loggers' Safety Initiative (LSI). RESULTS: There was no claim rate decline detected in the majority (67%) of companies that participated in all 4 years of the LSI. Furthermore, their rate did not differ from the rest of the WV logging industry that did not participate in the LSI. Worker turnover was significantly related to claim rates; companies with higher turnover of employees had higher claim rates. Companies using feller bunchers to harvest trees at least part of the time had a significantly lower claim rate than companies not using them. Companies that had more inspections per year had lower claim rates. CONCLUSIONS: High injury rates persist even in companies that receive safety training; high employee turnover may affect the efficacy of training programs. The logging industry should be encouraged to facilitate the mechanization of logging tasks, to address barriers to employee retention, and to increase the number of in-the-field performance monitoring inspections. Impact on industry There are many states whose logger safety programs include only about 4-8 hours of safe work practices training. These states may look to West Virginia's expanded training program (the LSI) as a model for their own programs. However, the LSI training may not be reaching loggers due to the delay in administering training to new employees and high levels of employee turnover. Regardless of training status, loggers' claim rates decline significantly the longer they work for a company. It may be that high injury rates in the state of West Virginia would be best addressed by finding ways to encourage and facilitate companies to become more mechanized in their harvesting practices, and to increase employee tenure. Increasing the number of yearly performance inspections may also be a venue to reduce claim rates. Future research could investigate in better detail the working conditions of West Virginia loggers and identify barriers to job tenure, particularly for workers whose primary job task is chainsaw operation. A larger-scale study of the effect of performance monitoring inspections on claim rates is also warranted.     

英国城市交通安全管理的调查与思考

从科学管理的角度,总结分析了英国城市道路交通安全管理工作的经验:科学的道路规划网络,清晰的道路语言,完善的道路交通设施,前瞻的事故预防体系,健全的机动车管理制度,高效的停车管理措施,畅通的公路交通动脉,严格的执勤执法。在调查的基础上,结合我国道路交通状况及交通管理部门的工作实际,提出了加强我国城市道路交通科学管理的对策措施,为我国城市特别是中等以上城市治理交通拥堵、提高道路交通利用率提供了借鉴经验。     

基于仿真的高速公路紧急事件交通流特征研究

研究高速公路紧急事件下的交通流特征,对于减少高速公路拥挤、降低二次事故、提高通行能力有重要的作用。由于高速公路紧急事件具有偶然性、不可预测性的特点,在实际调研中往往难以及时捕捉到交通事件的相应信息,导致源数据不足进而影响研究的进行。本文通过微观仿真手段,结合实地调研获得紧急状态下车辆运行参数,在AIMSUN仿真环境下加载紧急事件,建立了高速公路微观路段的仿真模型。并将路段平均车速、密度、最大排队长度等作为指标,定昔计算紧急事件下各种交通参数的变化规律。最后与调研结果进行了对比,表明仿真结果与实际情况较为一致。     

Investigation on the role of traffic volume in accidents on urban highways

Introduction

Roadway safety is a major concern for the general public and public agencies, as roadway crashes claim many lives and cause substantial economic loss each year. In Iran, a large number of vehicles are involved in road accidents each year, which cause many deaths and extensive property damage; such accidents are among the major causes of death and disability in the country. Method: To reduce roadway accidents, the factors that affect the occurrence and severity of accidents should be scrutinized to prevent or reduce their effect. The method that many researchers have adopted to determine the effective parameters surrounding road accidents in recent years is through statistical modeling of accidents. In this article, the role of different kinds of vehicles in traffic flow are investigated separately in terms of the likelihood of crashes on urban highways, and the vehicles are divided into three groups: passenger cars, heavy vehicles, and light non-passenger car vehicles. Poisson and negative binomial (NB) regression models were applied to model the accidents in this research, which were categorized into two groups: no injury (property damage only) accidents and more severe (injury and fatal) accidents. Results: Ultimately, we conclude that light non-passenger car vehicles (i.e., taxis and motorcycles) play the largest role in the occurrence of crashes on urban highways for both types of accidents.     

Measuring the effectiveness of an industrial lift truck safety training program

A behavior (work) sampling approach was used to both develop and evaluate the effectiveness of an occupational safety training program for industrial lift truck operators. Two studies, each using different experimental designs and performed at two separate warehouses, were conducted, resulting in a total of 96 operators trained. Observations through several months of training program assessment indicated that: (a) occupational safety training, emphasizing modification of operationally defined unsafe work practices derived from task/hazard analysis, can be demonstrated to be effective and to endure beyond cessation of performance feedback; (b) the basis for endurance appears to be continued practice in the modified safe work procedures, coupled with a redefinition of group norms sustained through informal influences such as peer modeling of desired behaviors and continued management support of the program; and (c) a behavior sampling procedure, specifying performancebased criteria, can be used effectively in both the development and evaluation of an occupational-safety training program.     

安全工程专业教学方法改革与创新型人才培养

为了应对当今不断发展和进步的科技社会的调整与挑战,提高安全专业技术人才的综合素质,分析了安全工程专业特点及创新能力建设与安全工程专业的关系,提出了通过改革教学方法,提高安全工程技术人才的创新能力。教师在教学过程中应充分考虑安全工程专业学生的特点及各门课程的类型和特点,宜灵活采用多样化的课堂教学方法,如模块式分层案例教学、支架式教学、启发讨论式教学、多媒体教学及标准化实验教学等。教学方法的选择和优化对提高学生学习的积极性,激发学生的创造性,提升教学质量具有重要意义。     

Influence of light zones on drivers' visual fixation characteristics and traffic safety in extra-long tunnels

Objective: Special light zone is a new illumination technique that promises to improve the visual environment and improve traffic safety in extra-long tunnels. The purpose of this study is to identify how light zones affect the dynamic visual characteristics and information perception of drivers as they pass through extra-long tunnels on highways.

Methods: Thirty-two subjects were recruited for this study, and fixation data were recorded using eye movement tracking devices. A back-propagation artificial neural network was employed to predict and analyze the influence of special light zones on the variations in the fixation duration and pupil area of drivers. The analytic coordinates of focus points at different light zones were clustered to obtain different visual fixation regions using dynamic cluster theory.

Results: The findings of this study indicated that the special light zones had different influences on fixation duration and pupil area compared to other sections. Drivers gradually changed their fixation points from a scattered pattern to a narrow and zonal distribution that mainly focused on the main visual area at the center, the road just ahead, and the right side of the main visual area while approaching the special light zones. The results also showed that the variation in illumination and landscape in light zones was more important than driving experience to yield changes in visual cognition and driving behavior.

Conclusions: It can be concluded that the special light zones can help relieve drivers' vision fatigue to some extent and further develop certain visual stimulus that can enhance drivers' attention. The study would provide a scientific basis for safety measurement implementation in extra-long tunnels.     

The influence of alcohol on pedestrians: A different approach to the effectiveness of the new traffic safety law

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the effects of the new traffic safety law on pedestrian mortality by exploring hazardous behaviors of pedestrians in terms of alcohol use and blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

Methods: A retrospective autopsy study was performed, covering a 7-year period (from 2006 to 2012), including cases of fatally injured pedestrians who died at the scene of the incident. Blood samples obtained from the femoral vein during autopsy were analyzed for BAC. The entire sample was divided into 2 groups. The first included cases from 2006 to 2009, at which time the old traffic safety law was in force, and the second included cases from 2010 to 2012, under the new traffic safety law.

Results: A total of 247 cases were examined, covering a 7-year period. The average age was 57.5 ± 19.7 years (median 61.0 years) with a significant male predominance of 147 men to 100 women. This predominance also applied to alcohol use (54 vs. 13). The results show a significant decrease in the total annual number of fatally injured pedestrians, starting from 2009, compared to previous years, reaching a low in 2010, one year after implementation of the new traffic safety law. In contrast, the proportion of alcohol-intoxicated pedestrians showed no significant difference in the years preceding and following the new traffic safety law, nor did the annual distribution of BAC or mean BAC before and after application of the new law.

Conclusion: The present study indicates that the new traffic safety law has been quite effective in reducing pedestrian mortality. However, alcohol consumption and intoxication in pedestrians remains a fairly important factor in motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians, because the proportion of pedestrians positive for alcohol, the proportion of severely intoxicated pedestrians with BAC > 1 g/L, and annual mean BAC have remained unchanged.     

An examination of the characteristics and traffic risks of drivers suspended/revoked for different reasons

PROBLEM: Prior research has demonstrated that suspended/revoked drivers pose a significant traffic risk, but until now little has been known about whether, and if so how, this risk varies as a function of the reason for suspension/revocation. METHOD: This study classifies suspended/revoked drivers into subgroups based on their reason for suspension/revocation, and then develops demographic and driving record profiles for each group. Separate driving record profiles are developed for the following traffic safety indicators, measured 3 years prior to the suspension/revocation action: (a) total crashes, (b) fatal/injury crashes, (c) total traffic convictions, and (d) total incidents (crashes + convictions). RESULTS: The findings clearly show that: (a) suspended/revoked drivers are a heterogeneous group, both demographically and in their driving behavior; (b) some suspended drivers, such as those suspended/revoked for a non-driving offense, have low traffic risks that are not much higher than those of validly-licensed drivers, and; (c) all suspended groups have elevated crash and conviction rates, compared to validly-licensed drivers. DISCUSSION: The implications of these findings for current laws and policies targeting suspended/revoked drivers are discussed, and recommendations for improving these laws/policies are presented. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: None.     

Investigation of oil vapor emission and its evaluation methods

In oil operations such as storage, loading, and unloading, there are many chances for oil vapor to be emitted from tanks, tankers or truck tanks into the air. Oil vapor emission (OVE), having serious harmful effects on people and the environment, is always an important research topic for scientists, engineers or managers engaged in the fields of oil production and transportation, fire prevention, and environmental protection. As the second greatest oil consuming country in the world, China has particular interests in investigating ways to better methods to realize and then control the OVE. In this paper, three evaluation methods for the OVE are introduced and summed up. In particular, a set of self-founded OVE’s appraisement methods, which work by theoretical deduced equations integrated with both a software PELES-2.0 and a simple correction method, was systematically investigated. This appraisement system can conveniently and accurately be applied to evaluate the OVE, and further it can also provide base references and/or guides for the law makers, enterprise managers and equipment developers in controlling OVEs.     

Towards an evaluation of accident investigation methods in terms of their alignment with accident causation models

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on accident causation models and accident investigation methods. Theories on accident causation and the modelling of accident mechanisms, as well as a number of methods for accident investigation have been developed and described in the literature. The evolution of accident causation models over time shows a shift from the sequence of events to the representation of the whole system. Respectively, the evolution of accident investigation methods over time reveals a gradual shift from searching for a single immediate cause, to the recognition of multiple causes. In order to evaluate the accident investigation methods, specific plausible requirements were established in order to verify that a specific accident investigation method fulfils the principles of a specific accident causation model or give evidence to the degree of alignment between them. Since different models approach accident causation in different ways, methods linked to these models provide fragmentary information regarding the accident. It is therefore expected that using a combination of model-method pairs could provide a more reliable platform for accident analysis.     

Differences in urban and rural accident characteristics and medical service utilization for traffic fatalities in less-motorized societies

Introduction

Fatalities from traffic accidents in less-motorized societies are an important global issue. We aimed to characterize the geographic differences of fatalities in such societies to facilitate the development of targeted interventions.

Method

This study linked police reports, hospital data, and vital registration data from Taiwan with special reference to accident factors in pre-hospital deaths and medical care in hospital deaths.

Results

A higher percentage of pre-hospital deaths were observed following rural as compared to urban traffic accidents. The deaths due to rural accidents can be attributed to lower use of restraints (i.e., helmets or seat belts), lower percentage of motorcyclists, and more highway accidents. A higher percentage of victims in rural accidents were transported to distant medical centers rather than to local hospitals.

Conclusion

Specific interventions, such as intelligent emergency medical systems, campaigns for helmets and seat belt usage, enforcement of helmets and seat belt use, and speed control measures should be targeted to rural areas.

Impact on industry

Cooperation between the vehicle industry and emergency medical providers in rural traffic accident rescue teams may decrease the numbers of deaths in these regions.     

纺织品抗拒挥发性有机化合物沾染整理方法的研究

频繁接触挥发性有机化合物的工厂作业岗位上的工人,所穿着的服装容易粘附有害的有机物质分子,进而危害工人的健康。为解决这一问题,本文探索采用变化服装面料的织造工艺、面料织物与聚四氟乙烯微孔薄膜复合以及含氟织物整理剂整理等方法,制作具有一定抗挥发性有机化合物沾染性能的防护服面料。实验中对不同纤维原料的织物,在未经整理和进行覆膜或含氟织物整理剂整理后,分别剪取样品放置在充满有机气体的氛围中熏蒸24小时,用二硫化碳萃取布料上的有机物,并使用气相色谱分析仪分析这些物质的含量。经过比较,发现克重较低、与聚四氟乙烯膜复合以及经含氟织物整理剂整理的布料,其抗拒挥发性有机化学物质沾染的能力均有所增强。综合使用这些处理方法,有望制作出具有理想的抗有机化学物质沾染的防护工作服,用于经常接触这类物质的工厂工人的日常劳动防护。     

Understanding traffic crash under-reporting: Linking police and medical records to individual and crash characteristics

Objective: This study aligns to the body of research dedicated to estimating the underreporting of road crash injuries and adds the perspective of understanding individual and crash factors contributing to the decision to report a crash to the police, the hospital, or both.

Method: This study focuses on road crash injuries that occurred in the province of Funen, Denmark, between 2003 and 2007 and were registered in the police, the hospital, or both authorities. Underreporting rates are computed with the capture–recapture method, and the probability for road crash injuries in police records to appear in hospital records (and vice versa) is estimated with joint binary logit models.

Results: The capture–recapture analysis shows high underreporting rates of road crash injuries in Denmark and the growth of underreporting not only with the decrease in injury severity but also with the involvement of cyclists (reporting rates of about 14% for serious injuries and 7% for slight injuries) and motorcyclists (reporting rates of about 35% for serious injuries and 10% for slight injuries). Model estimates show that the likelihood of appearing in both data sets is positively related to helmet and seat belt use, number of motor vehicles involved, alcohol involvement, higher speed limit, and females being injured.

Conclusions: This study adds significantly to the literature about underreporting by recognizing that understanding the heterogeneity in the reporting rate of road crashes may lead to devising policy measures aimed at increasing the reporting rate by targeting specific road user groups (e.g., males, young road users) or specific situational factors (e.g., slight injuries, arm injuries, leg injuries, weekend).     

Investigation of the decomposition reaction and dust explosion characteristics of crystalline dicumyl peroxide

The dicumyl peroxide (DCP) is widely used as a polymerization initiator, catalyst and vulcanizing agent in the chemical industry. A number of accidents have been caused by its thermal instability in storage or manufacturing process. Thus, its hazard characteristics have to be clearly identified. First of all, the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) is used to measure the heat of decomposition reaction, which can contribute to understanding the reaction characteristics of DCP. The accelerating rate calorimeter (ARC) is used to measure the rates of temperature and pressure rises of decomposition reaction, and then the kinetics parameters are estimated. Furthermore, the MIKE 3 apparatus and the 20-l-Apparatus are used to measure and analyze the dust explosion characteristics of DCP at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Finally, Semenov's thermal explosion theory is applied to investigate the critical runaway condition and the stability criterion of decomposition reaction, and to build the relationship of critical temperature, convective heat transfer coefficient, heat transfer surface area and ambient temperature. These results contribute to improving the safety in the reaction, transportation and storage processes of DCP.     

Computer-based training for safety: comparing methods with older and younger workers

INTRODUCTION: Computer-based safety training is becoming more common and is being delivered to an increasingly aging workforce. Aging results in a number of changes that make it more difficult to learn from certain types of computer-based training. Instructional designs derived from cognitive learning theories may overcome some of these difficulties. METHODS: Three versions of computer-based respiratory safety training were shown to older and younger workers who then took a high and a low level learning test. RESULTS: Younger workers did better overall. Both older and younger workers did best with the version containing text with pictures and audio narration. DISCUSSION: Computer-based training with pictures and audio narration may be beneficial for workers over 45 years of age. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Computer-based safety training has advantages but workers of different ages may benefit differently. Computer-based safety programs should be designed and selected based on their ability to effectively train older as well as younger learners.     

Investigation on road traffic safety of the mountain areas in southwest China based on Wulong County, Chongqing Municipality

OBJECTIVE: To study the present situation, characteristics, and main problems of the traffic safety in the mountain areas of Southwest China. METHODS: A study was done on the traffic status of Wulong County, Chongqing Municipality, by means of document review, field investigation, and inquiry. RESULTS: The traffic crashes and deaths in Wulong County were increasing since 1999. From 1997 to 2001, there occurred 126 severe and very severe traffic crashes resulting in 175 deaths and 411 serious injuries, which accounted for 9.4% of total crashes, 96.1% of total deaths, and 48.4% of total serious injuries, respectively. The severe and very severe traffic crashes were highest in 2000. One part for 83 km in length accounting for 3.0% of No. 319 National Highway was responsible for 54.5% of very severe traffic crashes, which closely related to conditions of the road itself and its environment and defective execution of traffic laws. CONCLUSIONS: Wulong County, one of the mountain counties in Southwest China, is now facing a complex and serious road traffic situation and serious traffic safety, with a high incidence of severe and very severe road traffic crashes. The crashes closely relate to imperfect road design, defective execution of traffic laws, imperfect management, and environmental factors.