Driving Forces for the Marsh Wetland Degradation in the Honghe National Nature Reserve in Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China

In the study, we analyze and assess quantitatively the spatial pattern of vegetation and its ecological degradation information in the Honghe National Nature Reserve (HNNR), a Ramsar-designated site in Northeast China. Statistics from historical survey data are used to measure the degradation of marshes over time and changes in the hydrological regime. Long-term statistical data are also employed to analyze both natural and human impacts on these changes. Both the wetland degradation model and its mechanisms are discussed in this paper. The research finds that the loss of water and other types of degradation in the vegetation habitat caused by the rapid deterioration of the hydrological regime has threatened the status of HNNR as a “storage area of natural genes.” Scientifically constructed strategies are urgently required to ensure sustainable economic benefits that do not adversely affect this nature reserve.     

道路机动车活动水平调查及其污染物排放测算应用——上海案例研究

采用上海市车辆数据和机动车年检站实地调查方式获取车辆技术及分布,用GPS设备采集机动车行驶工况,通过交通流量录像的现场计数的方法获得道路车流分布。调查结果显示,在用汽车排放水平85％以上都达到或超过国Ⅱ标准;在低速、怠速工况区间内,社会车辆的比功率比例最低;道路轻型客车（含出租车）日平均车流量占总车流量的80％以上。机动车活动水平的详细调查将有助于上海实际道路机动车排放清单的精确计算,并获取主要的排放源及其影响因素。     

Predictability of clinical assessments for driving performance

PROBLEM: As the number of older drivers grows, it is increasingly important to accurately identify at-risk drivers. This study tested clinical assessments predictive of real-time driving performance. METHOD: Selected assessment tools considered important in the identification of at-risk older drivers represented the domains of vision, cognition, motor performance, and driving knowledge. Participants were administered the battery of assessments followed by an on-road test. A univariate analysis was conducted to identify significant factors (<.05) to be included in a multivariate regression model. RESULTS: Assessments identified as independently associated with driving performance in the regression model included: FACTTM Contrast sensitivity slide-B, Rapid Pace Walk, UFOV rating, and MMSE total score. DISCUSSION: The domains of vision, cognitive, and motor performance were represented in the predictive model. SUMMARY: Due to the dynamic nature of the driving task, it is not likely that a single assessment tool will identify at risk drivers. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: By standardizing the selection of clinical assessments used in driving evaluations, practitioners should be able to provide services more efficiently, more objectively, and more accurately to identify at-risk drivers.     

突出煤层掘进防突技术研究

针对焦作矿区单一煤层开采特点,分析煤巷掘进突出和瓦斯涌出规律,探讨防突措施的适应性,研究出严重突出危险掘进工作面中高压注水综合措施,即在巷道两侧布置长钻孔抽放工作面前方及两侧煤体瓦斯,向掘进工作面前方应力集中带内打短钻孔进行中高压注水。边掘边抽钻孔提前抽放瓦斯,增大煤体透水性,有利于煤层注水和较高的压力水压裂破坏煤体,增加煤体透气性,提高瓦斯抽放效果。通过在严重突出矿井试验,3115m巷道未发生一次突出,巷道掘进速度平均提高一倍以上,有效解除了突出危险,大幅度提高了掘进速度。研究与实践证明,中高压注水综合防突措施具有广泛的适用性、有效性和安全性特征。     

The older driver with dementia: an updated literature review

INTRODUCTION: At some point during their illness, drivers with dementia pose a public safety risk. METHOD: To address the issue of determining driving competence in drivers with dementia, the authors reviewed 11 studies. RESULTS: When comparing different driving assessments, the authors found that while road tests, simulators, and neuropsychological tests are important, each has limitations. CONCLUSION: Neuropsychological tests that highlighted visual spatial skills, attention, and reaction time provided the most meaningful correlations with driving performance. Furthermore, the authors recommend that patients with MMSE scores of 24 or less have a driving evaluation, and that driving evaluations be repeated at six month intervals or more frequently if a noticeable decline is observed. IMPACT: Because many older adults with dementia continue to drive, competence must be addressed.     

The relationship between perceived risk of being ticketed and self-reported seat belt use

PROBLEM: Twenty-nine percent of Americans failed to use their seat belts in 2000. Efforts to improve safety belt usage can be enhanced by identifying specific factors that motivate belt use. METHOD: Motorist survey data were used to examine the effect of Perceived Risk of being Ticketed (PRT) for a seat belt infraction on self-reported seat belt use. RESULTS: Analyses indicated that individuals and groups of individuals who have higher PRT typically report higher belt usage. Factorial analyses indicated that this perceived risk to belt use relationship holds both within groups with generally high (e.g., upper income) and generally low (e.g. young men) overall self-reported belt use. DISCUSSION: Applications of PRT to improve seat belt use are discussed. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Enforcement of existing laws, perhaps through selective traffic enforcement programs, and strengthening laws to create a higher perception of being ticketed by motorists should increase safety belt use thereby saving lives and reducing cost for individuals, government, and industry.     

On-road measures of pedestrians' estimates of their own nighttime conspicuity

PROBLEM: Most pedestrian fatalities occur at night. Although researchers have long understood that drivers have difficulty seeing pedestrians at night and that reflective clothing can dramatically enhance pedestrian conspicuity, the extent to which pedestrians understand these facts is unclear. This experiment quantified pedestrians' estimates of the ability of an approaching driver to recognize the presence of roadside pedestrians. METHOD: Ten younger and 10 older participants walked in place on the far shoulder of a closed-road circuit and pressed a button when they were confident that the approaching driver could first recognize that a pedestrian was present. RESULTS: Pedestrians overestimated their visibility and dramatically underestimated the benefit of conspicuity treatments. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that pedestrians fail to understand the magnitude of the nighttime conspicuity problem and the value of conspicuity treatments. Pedestrians may therefore unknowingly place themselves in danger at night. IMPACT: These results underscore the need to educate pedestrians about the dangers of interacting with traffic at night and about treatments that increase their safety.     

The effects of license plate-based driving restrictions on air quality: Theory and empirical evidence

A typical driving restriction prohibits drivers from using their vehicles on given weekdays, based on the last digits of their vehicles’ license plates. A number of cities in developing countries have used license plate-based driving restrictions as a policy for reducing urban air pollution and traffic congestion. This paper develops a theoretical model of the effects of license plate-based driving restrictions on air quality that combines an economic model with information about the sources and atmospheric chemistry of different air pollutants. We then draw upon suggestive empirical evidence from license plate-based driving restrictions implemented in Bogotá, Colombia. Consistent with our theory model, we find suggestive empirical evidence that under certain circumstances, due to substitution, the purchase of a second car, the use of alternative modes of transportation, and/or atmospheric chemistry, it is possible for license plate-based driving restrictions to increase air pollution. Also consistent with our theory, we find that license plate-based driving restrictions may have different effects on different air pollutants, reflecting heterogeneity in the sources and atmospheric chemistry of the pollutants. In particular, owing to atmospheric chemistry, it is possible for a license plate-based driving restriction to cause a significant decrease in NO and a significant increase in NO₂, NO_x, and O₃.     

Cannabis use and self-reported collisions in a representative sample of adult drivers

PROBLEM: This study examines the relationships between collision involvement and several measures of cannabis use, including driving after using cannabis, among drivers, based on a population survey of Ontario adults in 2002 and 2003. METHOD: Logistic regression analyses examined self-reported collision involvement in the last 12 months by lifetime use of cannabis, past year use of cannabis, and past year driving after using cannabis, while controlling for demographic characteristics. RESULTS: We found that the odds of reporting collision involvement was significantly higher among cannabis users, and among those who reported driving after cannabis use. Some evidence for a dose-response relationship was seen as well. DISCUSSION: Cannabis users and people who report driving after cannabis use are also more likely to report being involved in a collision in the past year. These observations suggest that collision prevention efforts could be aimed at these groups. Additional work to determine the causal pathways involved in the relationships observed here is needed. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: None.     

Modeling the contribution of speeding and impaired driving to insurance claim counts and costs when contributing factors are unknown

PROBLEM: There are no specific indicators for distinguishing insurance claims related to speeding and impaired driving in the information warehouse at the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia. Contributing factors are only recorded for that part of the claim data that is also reported by the police. Most published statistics on crashes that are related to alcohol or speeding are based on police-reported data, but this represents only a fraction of all incidents. METHOD: This paper proposes surrogate models to estimate the counts and the average costs associated with speeding and impaired driving to insurance claims when contributing factors are unknown. Using police-reported data, classification rules and logistic regression models are developed to form such estimates. One approach applies classification rules to categorize insurance claims into those related to speeding, impaired driving, and other factors. The counts and the costs of insurance claims for each of these strata and overall are then estimated. A second method models the probability that an insurance claim is related to speeding or impaired driving using logistic regression and uses this to estimate the overall counts and the average costs of the claims. The two methods are compared and evaluated using simulation studies. RESULTS: The logistic regression model was found to be superior to the classification model for predicting insurance claim counts by category, but less efficient at predicting average claim costs. IMPACT: Having estimates of counts and costs of insurance claims related to impaired driving or speeding for all reported crash events provides a more accurate basis for policy-makers to plan changes and benefits of road safety programs.