Administrative license suspension: Does length of suspension matter?

Objective: Administrative license revocation (ALR) laws, which provide that the license of a driver with a blood alcohol concentration at or over the illegal limit is subject to an immediate suspension by the state department of motor vehicles, are an example of a traffic law in which the sanction rapidly follows the offense. The power of ALR laws has been attributed to how swiftly the sanction is applied, but does the length of suspension matter? Our objectives were to (a) determine the relationship of the ALR suspension length to the prevalence of drinking drivers relative to sober drivers in fatal crashes and (b) estimate the extent to which the relationship is associated to the general deterrent effect compared to the specific deterrent effect of the law.

Methods: Data comparing the impact of ALR law implementation and ALR law suspension periods were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques on the ratio of drinking drivers to nondrinking drivers in fatal crashes from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Results: States with an ALR law with a short suspension period (1–30 days) had a significantly lower drinking driver ratio than states with no ALR law. States with a suspension period of 91–180 days had significantly lower ratios than states with shorter suspension periods, while the three states with suspension lengths of 181 days or longer had significantly lower ratios than states with shorter suspension periods.

Discussion: The implementation of any ALR law was associated with a 13.1% decrease in the drinking/nondrinking driver fatal crash ratio but only a 1.8% decrease in the intoxicated/nonintoxicated fatal crash ratio. The ALR laws and suspension lengths had a significant general deterrent effect, but no specific deterrent effect.

Practical Implications: States might want to keep (or adopt) ALR laws for their general deterrent effects and pursue alternatives for specific deterrent effects. States with short ALR suspension periods should consider lengthening them to 91 days or longer.     

Assessing Retrospective National Water Model Streamflow with Respect to Droughts and Low Flows in the Colorado River Basin

Streamflow monitoring in the Colorado River Basin (CRB) is essential to ensure diverse needs are met, especially during periods of drought or low flow. Existing stream gage networks, however, provide a limited record of past and current streamflow. Modeled streamflow products with more complete spatial and temporal coverage (including the National Water Model [NWM]), have primarily focused on flooding, rather than sustained drought or low flow conditions. Objectives of this study are to (1) evaluate historical performance of the NWM streamflow estimates (particularly with respect to droughts and seasonal low flows) and (2) identify characteristics relevant to model inputs and suitability for future applications. Comparisons of retrospective flows from the NWM to observed flows from the United States Geological Survey stream gage network over 22 years in the CRB reveal a tendency for underestimating low flow frequency, locations with low flows, and the number of years with low flows. We found model performance to be more accurate for the Upper CRB and at sites with higher precipitation, snow percent, baseflow index, and elevations. Underestimation of low flows and variable model performance has important implications for future applications: inaccurate evaluations of historical low flows and droughts, and less reliable performance outside of specific watershed/stream conditions. This highlights characteristics on which to focus future model development efforts.     

基于模糊综合评价-集值统计法的大型商场外因火灾风险性分析

大型商场火灾发生的原因多种多样,且易造成严重的后果和恶劣的社会影响。为了提高大型商场火灾风险性等级并且为其评价研究提供一种更加合理的评价方法,采用将2级模糊综合评价与集值统计法相结合的模型对大型商场外因火灾的风险性进行评价。根据相关法律法规并借鉴已有研究成果,充分考虑外因火灾的特点(主要从消防设施及能力因素、消防安全管理因素、人员应急疏散因素3个方面进行分析),建立针对大型商场外因火灾的评价指标体系,其中二级指标包括3个,三级指标包括12个。利用集值统计法将评价指标的描述表示为一段区间值,进而确定各评价指标的权重,并对得出的权重进行可靠性分析,采用加权平均模型确定火灾风险性总的相对隶属度,并求出模糊特征向量;最后根据总得分确定火灾的风险性等级。利用该方法对沈阳某大型商场外因火灾危险性进行了评价分析,并与传统的评价方法(层次分析法)相对比,其评价结果都为"二级(好)",表明该方法的评价结果合理。同时分析得到了大型商场火灾防控的薄弱环节,并提出了相应的有效改进措施。     

A data-driven allocation tool for in-kind resources distributed by a state health department

Objective: The objective of this study was to leverage a state health department's operational data to allocate in-kind resources (children's car seats) to counties, with the proposition that need-based allocation could ultimately improve public health outcomes.

Methods: This study used a retrospective analysis of administrative data on car seats distributed to counties statewide by the Georgia Department of Public Health and development of a need-based allocation tool (presented as interactive supplemental digital content, adaptable to other types of in-kind public health resources) that relies on current county-level injury and sociodemographic data.

Results: Car seat allocation using public health data and a need-based formula resulted in substantially different recommended allocations to individual counties compared to historic distribution.

Conclusions: Results indicate that making an in-kind public health resource like car seats universally available results in a less equitable distribution of that resource compared to deliberate allocation according to public health need. Public health agencies can use local data to allocate in-kind resources consistent with health objectives; that is, in a manner offering the greatest potential health impact. Future analysis can determine whether the change to a more equitable allocation of resources is also more efficient, resulting in measurably improved public health outcomes.     

污染减排全口径核算中有关统计问题的研究

随着污染减排工作的持续推进,经济和环境容量问题的行业基础统计数据变的越来越重要.以“十二五”污染减排核算细则中纺织业、污水处理厂全口径核算为依据,以泉州石狮市纺织业产品产量、废水排放量、区域GDP数据为基础,分析纺织业产品产量与污染物排放量之间的关系,从国家政策、各级行政统计部门、环保统计部门和企业四个不同的角度提出在统计行业产业基础数据时应注意的事项,为污染减排、环境统计和经济协调发展提供指导依据.     

Rating the Aggressivity of Australian Passenger Vehicles Towards Other Vehicle Occupants and Unprotected Road Users

Two measures of aggressivity of Australian passenger vehicles have been developed. The first measures the aggressivity to occupants of other cars. This type of aggressivity rating is based on two-car crashes between passenger vehicles and measures the injury risk each make/model in the collisions poses to the drivers of the other vehicles. The second measures aggressivity to unprotected road users. These aggressivity ratings reflect the threat of severe injury to pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists by die make/model of vehicle colliding with them. This analysis was based on nearly 102,000 drivers involved in tow-away crashes with the makes/models which were the focus of the study and on nearly 22,000 injured pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists. The results suggest that crasbworthiness and aggressivity are two different aspects of a vehicle's safety performance, with good performance on one dimension not necessarily being associated with good performance on the other.     

Getting From Here to Where? Flood Frequency Analysis and Climate1

Stedinger, Jery R. and Veronica W. Griffis, 2011. Getting From Here to Where? Flood Frequency Analysis and Climate. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(3):506‐513. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00545.x Abstract: Modeling variations in flood risk due to climate change and climate variability are a challenge to our profession. Flood‐risk computations by United States (U.S.) federal agencies follow guidelines in Bulletin 17 for which the latest update 17B was published in 1982. Efforts are underway to update that remarkable document. Additional guidance in the Bulletin as to how to address variation in flood risk over time would be welcome. Extensions of the log‐Pearson type 3 model to include changes in flood risk over time would be relatively easy mathematically. Here an example of the use of a sea surface temperature anomaly to anticipate changes in flood risk from year to year in the U.S. illustrates this opportunity. Efforts to project the trend in the Mississippi River flood series beg the question as to whether an observed trend will continue unabated, has reached its maximum, or is really nothing other than climate variability. We are challenged with the question raised by Milly and others: Is stationarity dead? Overall, we do not know the present flood risk at a site because of limited flood records. If we allow for historical climate variability and climate change, we know even less. But the issue is not whether stationarity is dead – the issue is how to use all the information available to reliably forecast flood risk in the future: “Where do we go from here?”     

西宁市浅层地下水化学特征及形成机制

地下水是西部干旱地区重要的供水水源，随着西部大开发战略的深入，工业化和城市化发展加大了西宁市对地下水资源量的需求，不合理的开发利用已引起地下水环境发生变化，探明地下水化学演化特征及形成机制，对防止其恶化，确保可持续利用至关重要.运用水化学和多元统计技术相结合的方法，分析了西宁市地下水化学特征，探讨了地下水的形成机制和不同因子的影响程度.结果表明，西宁市浅层地下水化学类型多达36种，以HCO₃-Ca(Mg)(占比60.00%)和HCO₃·SO₄-Ca(Mg)(占比11.81%)为主，草地、林地和裸地中地下水化学类型5～6种，建设用地和耕地中地下水化学类型复杂，多达21种，表明受到人类活动影响较强.研究区地下水化学演化过程主要受岩石风化溶滤、蒸发结晶和阳离子交换作用综合影响，主要控制因素分别是水-岩相互作用(贡献率为27.56%)、工业废水排放(贡献率为16.16%)、酸碱环境(贡献率为16.00%)、化肥、农药的过量施用(贡献率为13.11%)和生活污水(贡献率为8.82%).针对西宁市地下水化学特征及其人类活动影响，提出...     

ESTIMATION OF LONG-TERM DISCHARGE STATISTICS BY REGIONAL ADJUSTMENT1

ABSTRACT: A regional adjustment relationship was developed to estimate long-term (30-year) monthly median discharges from short term (three-year) records. This method differs from traditional approaches in that it is based on site-specific discharge data but does not require correlation of these data with discharges from a single hydrologically similar long-term gage. The method is shown to be statistically robust, and applicable to statistics other than the median.     

2015年5-6月国内环境事件

简要统计了2015年5-6月国内发生的各种环境事件118起,包括沙尘天气7起,污染事件14起,地震40起,山体滑坡和泥石流25起,旱灾2起以及其他自然灾害30起.