The effects of mobile speed camera introduction on road traffic crashes and casualties in a rural county of England

PROBLEM: This study assesses the impact of crash and casualty numbers in correspondence to the introduction of mobile speed cameras in the rural county of Norfolk, England. METHOD: Road traffic accident casualty and crash data were collected for two years before the introduction of cameras and two years subsequently. The casualties and crashes occurring at 29 camera sites were identified and separated from those occurring in the rest of the county. Trends in crashes and casualties, and their severity, were examined graphically and comparisons were made between before and after periods. The regression to the mean effect at individual sites was estimated. RESULTS: After the introduction of cameras, overall crashes declined by 1% and crashes involving fatalities or serious injuries declined by 9% on the roads without cameras. At the camera sites, crashes decreased by 19% and fatal and serious crashes by 44%. The reduction in total crashes was significantly greater than that expected from the effect of regression to the mean in 12 out of 20 sites tested. SUMMARY: The introduction of cameras appears to have resulted in real and measurable reductions in crash risk in this rural county. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Our results suggest the deployment of mobile speed cameras is an effective tool for organizations wishing to reduce road traffic casualties in areas where high crash rates have been associated with excessive vehicle speeds.     

Serving one another: Are shared and self‐leadership the keys to service sustainability?

Service has received increasing attention in the management literature, yet sustainability of service is often overlooked. In this Incubator we examine the potential for client involvement through shared and self‐leadership to foster empathy enhanced service and reduced costs, both of which may support a more sustainable service delivery process. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of Integrated Pedestrian Protection Systems with Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and Passive Safety Components

Objective: Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems fitted to cars for pedestrians have been predicted to offer substantial benefit. On this basis, consumer rating programs—for example, the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP)—are developing rating schemes to encourage fitment of these systems. One of the questions that needs to be answered to do this fully is how the assessment of the speed reduction offered by the AEB is integrated with the current assessment of the passive safety for mitigation of pedestrian injury. Ideally, this should be done on a benefit-related basis.

The objective of this research was to develop a benefit-based methodology for assessment of integrated pedestrian protection systems with AEB and passive safety components. The method should include weighting procedures to ensure that it represents injury patterns from accident data and replicates an independently estimated benefit of AEB.

Methods: A methodology has been developed to calculate the expected societal cost of pedestrian injuries, assuming that all pedestrians in the target population (i.e., pedestrians impacted by the front of a passenger car) are impacted by the car being assessed, taking into account the impact speed reduction offered by the car's AEB (if fitted) and the passive safety protection offered by the car's frontal structure. For rating purposes, the cost for the assessed car is normalized by comparing it to the cost calculated for a reference car.

The speed reductions measured in AEB tests are used to determine the speed at which each pedestrian in the target population will be impacted. Injury probabilities for each impact are then calculated using the results from Euro NCAP pedestrian impactor tests and injury risk curves. These injury probabilities are converted into cost using “harm”-type costs for the body regions tested. These costs are weighted and summed. Weighting factors were determined using accident data from Germany and Great Britain and an independently estimated AEB benefit. German and Great Britain versions of the methodology are available. The methodology was used to assess cars with good, average, and poor Euro NCAP pedestrian ratings, in combination with a current AEB system. The fitment of a hypothetical A-pillar airbag was also investigated.

Results: It was found that the decrease in casualty injury cost achieved by fitting an AEB system was approximately equivalent to that achieved by increasing the passive safety rating from poor to average. Because the assessment was influenced strongly by the level of head protection offered in the scuttle and windscreen area, a hypothetical A-pillar airbag showed high potential to reduce overall casualty cost.

Conclusions: A benefit-based methodology for assessment of integrated pedestrian protection systems with AEB has been developed and tested. It uses input from AEB tests and Euro NCAP passive safety tests to give an integrated assessment of the system performance, which includes consideration of effects such as the change in head impact location caused by the impact speed reduction given by the AEB.     

Importance of incorporation of personal communication devices in evacuation simulators

The importance of the incorporation of personal communication devices in emergency evacuation simulators will be discussed. Four case studies are examined to identify usage statistics and human behavior when using the devices in an emergency. The case studies are: 9/11 World Trade Center Attacks, London train bombings, Virginia Tech shooting and United Flight #93. The case studies’ findings are implemented into the Vacate evacuation simulator, which uses particle swarm optimization to mimic human pedestrian behavior. The physical actions of using a device, as well as the reaction to the information transmitted during usage, are examined. Findings show that the effects of the personal communication devices can affect individuals that are close to the user of the device, as well as those not in the local vicinity of the user. These effects, combined with the rapid mainstream acceptance of communication technologies, justify the implementation of personal communication devices into evacuation simulators.     

Characteristics of animal-related motor vehicle crashes in select National Park Service units—United States, 1990–2013

Objectives: Nationally, animal–motor vehicle crashes (AVCs) account for 4.4% of all types of motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). AVCs are a safety risk for drivers and animals and many National Park Service (NPS) units (e.g., national park, national monument, or national parkway) have known AVC risk factors, including rural locations and substantial animal densities. We sought to describe conditions and circumstances involving AVCs to guide traffic and wildlife management for prevention of AVCs in select NPS units.

Methods: We conducted an analysis using NPS law enforcement MVC data. An MVC is a collision involving an in-transit motor vehicle that occurred or began on a public roadway. An AVC is characterized as a collision between a motor vehicle and an animal. A non-AVC is a crash between a motor vehicle and any object other than an animal or noncollision event (e.g., rollover crash). The final data for analysis included 54,068 records from 51 NPS units during 1990–2013. Counts and proportions were calculated for categorical variables and medians and ranges were calculated for continuous variables. We used Pearson’s chi-square to compare circumstances of AVCs and non-AVCs. Data were compiled at the park regional level; NPS parks are assigned to 1 of 7 regions based on the park’s location.

Results: AVCs accounted for 10.4% (5,643 of 54,068) of all MVCs from 51 NPS units. The Northeast (2,021 of 5,643; 35.8%) and Intermountain (1,180 of 5,643; 20.9%) regions had the largest percentage of the total AVC burden. November was the peak month for AVCs across all regions (881 of 5,643; 15.6%); however, seasonality varied by park geographic regions. The highest counts of AVCs were reported during fall for the National Capital, Northeast/Southeast, and Northeast regions; winter for the Southeast region; and summer for Intermountain and Pacific West regions.

Conclusions: AVCs represent a public health and wildlife safety concern for NPS units. AVCs in select NPS units were approximately 2-fold higher than the national percentage for AVCs. The peak season for AVCs varied by NPS region. Knowledge of region-specific seasonality patterns for AVCs can help NPS staff develop mitigation strategies for use primarily during peak AVC months. Improving AVC data collection might provide NPS with a more complete understanding of risk factors and seasonal trends for specific NPS units. By collecting information concerning the animal species hit, park managers can better understand the impacts of AVC to wildlife population health.     

群体感应淬灭菌的分离及其膜污染控制性能

通过淬灭细菌的群体感应系统来抑制生物膜形成、防止膜生物污染的方法近年来受到广泛关注.本实验从实际运行污水处理厂活性污泥中分离出5株具有群体感应淬灭功能的菌株,其中菌株HG10对信号分子N-乙酰高丝氨酸环内酯(C6-HSL)分解能力最强.经16S rRNA基因序列比对,初步鉴定为蜡样芽孢杆菌(Bacillus cereus).用海藻酸钠将菌株HG10进行包埋固定,以探究其在膜过滤系统中对膜污染防治的效果.结果表明,经过8 d培养,添加细菌包埋珠(SA-HG10)的实验组B中膜通量为181.29 L·(m~2·h)~(-1),未投加包埋珠的对照组A膜通量为110.64 L·(m~2·h)~(-1),B组膜通量比A组高出63.86%;对微滤膜片上生物膜中EPS含量测定表明,实验组B中EPS多糖和蛋白质含量较对照组A分别减少了29%和48%,疏水性蛋白质含量的大量减少是造成膜污染减弱的主要原因;膜表面胞外聚合物(EPS)总含量减少了43%,表明投放SA-HG10细菌包埋珠对过滤膜片上生物膜形成具有明显抑制作用,改善了膜过滤性能.     

芦苇碳源-表面流人工湿地对农田退水脱氮的长期效能研究

针对农田退水NO₃^--N占比高、C/N低,氮污染难以去除的问题,将经济易得的芦苇(Phragmites australis)茎叶碎段装填在表面流人工湿地(packed surface flow construct wetland,PSFW)的表层作为外加碳源,以研究其长期运行情况下的脱氮效能。结果表明：第29~149天,外加芦苇茎叶碎段的PSFW的脱氮效能明显高于无芦苇茎叶碎段的空白PSFW₀;进水NO₃^--N和TN浓度分别为(16.4±1.0)和(17.7±2.0)mg/L,HRT按3、4和2 d运行时,HRT为4 d时脱氮效能最优,PSFW对NO₃^--N和TN去除率分别为(87.4±6.0)%和(74.1±6.0)%,PSFW₀去除率仅为(14.4±4.0)%和(14.4±3.0)%;第150~269天,PSFW的脱氮效能稍高于PSFW₀,在进水NO₃^--N和TN浓度分别为(10.4±1.0)和(10.8±1.0)mg/L,HRT按3、2和1 d运行时,HRT为3 d时脱氮效能最优,PSFW对NO₃^--N和TN的去除率分别为(91.9±7.0)%和(90.2±7.0)%,PSFW₀去除率分别为(91.3±5.0)%和(86.4±6.0)%。第270~334天,PSFW的脱氮效能稍低于PSFW₀;进水NO₃^--N和TN浓度分别为(5.7±0.4)和(7.2±0.8)mg/L,HRT为3 d时,PSFW对NO₃^--N和TN的去除率分别为(88.6±10.0)%和(82.5±7.0)%,PSFW₀去除率分别为(94.0±6.0)%和(87.8±3.0)%。