Objective: The objective of this study was to understand the social context and circumstances surrounding alcohol-impaired driving prior to fatal crash involvement for drivers with an illegal blood alcohol concentration (BAC ≥ 0.05 g/100 ml or 0.00 g/100 ml for restricted license holders).
Methods: Coroners' case reports investigating fatal crashes in South Australia over a 3-year period (2008–2010) were examined. The personal and crash characteristics of drivers with an illegal BAC were compared with those who had a legal BAC. For each driver with an illegal BAC, information was recorded including characteristics of last trip, location and social context of alcohol consumption, quantity and type of alcohol consumed, BAC level, presence of drugs, perceived alcohol intoxication, and alcohol dependence. Official traffic offense records were also obtained.
Results: Of the 284 fatal crashes included in the study, 34% (n = 95) involved a driver or rider with an illegal BAC. Prior to the crash, alcohol was most frequently consumed by drivers in rural areas, within private homes, and was part of normal social activities. Drivers recorded a high level of alcohol impairment, with a mean BAC of 0.173 g/100 ml and a level of alcohol dependence that was above the Australian national average (7.4 vs. 3.9%). In addition, 23% of drivers were known to be experiencing psychological stress at the time of the crash. The results also confirm that drink driving recidivism continues to be a significant problem, with 44% of drivers recording at least one prior alcohol driving offense.
Conclusions: Alcohol-impaired driving continues to be a leading cause of fatal crashes. The popularity of drinking at home, particularly in rural areas, has implications for police enforcement strategies and suggests that drink driving interventions that focus on community values and looking after friends might be beneficial. Importantly, the study highlights the need for a broader holistic approach to reduce the high levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence underlying drink driving behavior. 相似文献
Objective: The aim of this study was primarily to evaluate inebriated fatally injured drivers (FIDs) according to blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in a 10-year period (2004–2013) in Autonomous Province (AP) of Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia, to analyze the efficacy of alcohol polices in the new law on road traffic safety through changes in the number of inebriated FIDs before and after implementation of the law, as well as to identify factors that influence the occurrence of FIDs with BACs above the legal limit.
Methods: All data for this retrospective study were obtained from the Centre of Forensic Medicine, Toxicology and Molecular Genetics of Clinical Centre of Vojvodina, Novi Sad. Autopsy records for each case included age, gender, BAC, type of vehicle, and date of accident (year, month, and recalculated day of the week). BAC was determined by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. Statistical analysis was carried out by chi-square tests and Student's t test, with P < .05 as a statistical significance, and multiple binary logistic regression.
Results: Of the 354 inebriated FIDs (60% of all FIDs), the majority had BACs between of 0.031 and 0.3 mg/ml (28%), followed by those with BAC > 2.01 mg/ml (23%). The average BAC of those driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA) for the whole period was 1.235 ± 1.00 mg/ml and the average number of DUIA/year was 35. Among the total number of FIDs there were significantly more males (93.7%; P < .001) than females (6.3%), though the distribution of intoxicated men and women was not different (P > .05). There was a statistically significant difference in the distribution of sober and inebriated FIDs according to age (P < .001) with the predominance of inebriated FIDs between 21 and 30 years. Although gender and age were found to be significant predictors of BAC above legal limit in FIDs, the area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve showed that the model had poor discrimination (ROC = 0.673). Of all observed FIDs, 65 cases per year were attributed to the first 5-year period (2004–2009) and 49 to the second 5-year (2010–2013) period, which indicates that there was no statistically significant decrease in the number of FIDs after implementation of the new law.
Conclusion: The highest number of intoxicated FIDs during the period in AP Vojvodina were mildly and completely inebriated. In the 4-year post-policy period (2010–2013), the number of FIDs and average BAC levels of inebriated FIDs did not significantly change. The abolition of a permissible BAC should be considered. 相似文献
We report and analyze data on the PM10 fraction of airborne particles measured at five recording stations in the Brussels
region from October 2002 till September 2003. These stations are representative of the various activity sectors of the Brussels
urban area. The objective was the determination of the origin of the PM10 particles (particles up to 10 μm) that are recorded
in that region in order to follow the EU directives concerning tolerance level of airborne particles concentration. In order
to evaluate the impacts of local and external factors that inject solid particles in the atmosphere of Brussels we compared
concentration data from working and not working (holidays) periods. Moreover, we also compared concentrations from periods
of agricultural activity and rest in the Brabant provinces surrounding the Brussels region for various crop types. The results
lead to the conclusion that the impact or urban traffic is rather limited while that of the agricultural activities is important.
Moreover, there appears a clear-cut distinction between different types of crops. 相似文献
This study monitored atmospheric pollutants during high wind speed (> 7 m s−1) at two sampling sites: Taichung Harbor (TH) and Wuci traffic (WT) during March 2004 to January 2005 in central Taiwan. The
correlation coefficient (R2) between TSP, PM2.5, PM2.5−10 particle concentration vs. wind speed at the TH and WT sampling site during high wind speed (< 7 m s−1) were also displayed in this study. In addition, the correlation coefficients between TSP, PM2.5 and PM2.5−10 of ionic species vs. high wind speed were also observed. The results indicated that the correlation coefficient order was
TSP > PM2.5−10 > PM2.5 for particle at both sampling sites near Taiwan strait. In addition, the concentration of Cl−, NO3−, SO42−, NH4+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and Na+ were also analyzed in this study. 相似文献
Atmospheric aerosol particles and metallic concentrations, ionic species were monitored at the Experimental harbor of Taichung
sampling site in this study. This work attempted to characterize metallic elements and ionic species associated with meteorological
conditions variation on atmospheric particulate matter in TSP, PM2.5, PM2.5–10. The concentration distribution trend between TSP, PM2.5, PM2.5–10 particle concentration at the TH (Taichung harbor) sampling site were also displayed in this study. Besides, the meteorological
conditions variation of metallic elements (Fe, Mg, Cr, Cu, Zn, Mn and Pb) and ions species (Cl−, NO3−, SO42−, NH4+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and Na+) concentrations attached with those particulate were also analyzed in this study. On non-parametric (Spearman) correlation
analysis, the results indicated that the meteorological conditions have high correlation at largest particulate concentrations
for TSP at TH sampling site in this study. In addition, the temperature and relative humidity of meteorological conditions
that played a key role to affect particulate matter (PM) and have higher correlations then other meteorological conditions
such as wind speed and atmospheric pressure. The parameter temperature and relative humidity also have high correlations with
atmospheric pollutants compared with those of the other meteorological variables (wind speed, atmospheric pressure and prevalent
wind direction). In addition, relative statistical equations between pollutants and meteorological variables were also characterized
in this study. 相似文献