Motorcycle crashes potentially preventable by three crash avoidance technologies on passenger vehicles

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify and quantify the motorcycle crash population that would be potential beneficiaries of 3 crash avoidance technologies recently available on passenger vehicles.

Methods: Two-vehicle crashes between a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle that occurred in the United States during 2011–2015 were classified by type, with consideration of the functionality of 3 classes of passenger vehicle crash avoidance technologies: frontal crash prevention, lane maintenance, and blind spot detection. Results were expressed as the percentage of crashes potentially preventable by each type of technology, based on all known types of 2-vehicle crashes and based on all crashes involving motorcycles.

Results: Frontal crash prevention had the largest potential to prevent 2-vehicle motorcycle crashes with passenger vehicles. The 3 technologies in sum had the potential to prevent 10% of fatal 2-vehicle crashes and 23% of police-reported crashes. However, because 2-vehicle crashes with a passenger vehicle represent fewer than half of all motorcycle crashes, these technologies represent a potential to avoid 4% of all fatal motorcycle crashes and 10% of all police-reported motorcycle crashes.

Discussion: Refining the ability of passenger vehicle crash avoidance systems to detect motorcycles represents an opportunity to improve motorcycle safety. Expanding the capabilities of these technologies represents an even greater opportunity. However, even fully realizing these opportunities can affect only a minority of motorcycle crashes and does not change the need for other motorcycle safety countermeasures such as helmets, universal helmet laws, and antilock braking systems.     

Autonomous emergency braking systems adapted to snowy road conditions improve drivers' perceived safety and trust

Objective: This study investigated drivers' evaluation of a conventional autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system on high and reduced tire–road friction and compared these results to those of an AEB system adaptive to the reduced tire–road friction by earlier braking. Current automated systems such as the AEB do not adapt the vehicle control strategy to the road friction; for example, on snowy roads. Because winter precipitation is associated with a 19% increase in traffic crashes and a 13% increase in injuries compared to dry conditions, the potential of conventional AEB to prevent collisions could be significantly improved by including friction in the control algorithm. Whereas adaption is not legally required for a conventional AEB system, higher automated functions will have to adapt to the current tire–road friction because human drivers will not be required to monitor the driving environment at all times. For automated driving functions to be used, high levels of perceived safety and trust of occupants have to be reached with new systems. The application case of an AEB is used to investigate drivers' evaluation depending on the road condition in order to gain knowledge for the design of future driving functions.

Methods: In a driving simulator, the conventional, nonadaptive AEB was evaluated on dry roads with high friction (μ = 1) and on snowy roads with reduced friction (μ = 0.3). In addition, an AEB system adapted to road friction was designed for this study and compared with the conventional AEB on snowy roads with reduced friction. Ninety-six drivers (48 males, 48 females) assigned to 5 age groups (20–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, and 60–75 years) drove with AEB in the simulator. The drivers observed and evaluated the AEB's braking actions in response to an imminent rear-end collision at an intersection.

Results: The results show that drivers' safety and trust in the conventional AEB were significantly lower on snowy roads, and the nonadaptive autonomous braking strategy was considered less appropriate on snowy roads compared to dry roads. As expected, the adaptive AEB braking strategy was considered more appropriate for snowy roads than the nonadaptive strategy. In conditions of reduced friction, drivers' subjective safety and trust were significantly improved when driving with the adaptive AEB compared to the conventional AEB. Women felt less safe than men when AEB was braking. Differences between age groups were not of statistical significance.

Conclusions: Drivers notice the adaptation of the autonomous braking strategy on snowy roads with reduced friction. On snowy roads, they feel safer and trust the adaptive system more than the nonadaptive automation.     

农户对高产农业技术扩散的生态环境影响感知实证

农民生态环境感知对促进农民自觉环境保护行为和农村两型社会建设具有重要作用。通过对湖南省洞庭湖湿地水稻主产区6个乡镇的调查,将农户生态影响感知具体化为土壤、水源、身体健康和水稻4个方面的感知,借助定量分析建立了农户综合环境感知指数,研究农民对以化学农业为代表的高产农业技术扩散的生态环境影响感知,并运用Tobit模型探讨了影响农户生态影响感知的主要因素。结果表明:农民已经意识到以石化农业为代表的高产农业技术扩散带来的不利影响,尽管他们的意识还只限于一些看得见的因素如土壤肥力、捕鱼量和健康问题,对于看不见的影响的感知还很薄弱。以化学农业为代表的高产农业技术采用的水平和持续时间直接决定了人们对于不利影响的感知。提高收入水平与教育水平、强化农业技术推广能提升农民生态环境感知,而农田水利基础设施建设和土壤肥力对农户环境感知有复杂的影响关系。     

长江流域常量元素的分布特征

2003年4月到5月对长江干流及主要支流河水中常量元素（Ca ²⁺,K⁺,Na⁺,Mg²⁺,Cl^-,SO^2-₄及碱度）进行了测定,并对常量元素的含量及影响因素进行了研究。结果表明,长江阳离子以钙为主,占阳离子总量的40%~80%;而阴离子主要为HCO^-₃,占阴离子总量的60%~90%;阴阳离子含量顺序为HCO^-₃>SO^2-₄>Cl^-,Ca ²⁺>Na⁺ >Mg ²⁺>K⁺。长江干流及主要支流河水的常量离子主要来自于岩石的风化,主要受碳酸盐类溶解的控制,硅酸盐类的风化过程较弱。而大气沉降的影响很小,只有SO^2-₄受大气沉降影响较大。长江干流的Na⁺、Mg²⁺、Ca²⁺、HCO^-₃和Cl^-主要来自于上游,下游只是对上游的简单稀释,而没有额外来源。与世界上其它大河相比,长江的常量离子浓度处于较高的水平;温带地区的河流河水中常量离子的含量常处于较高的水平;热带地区的河流河水中常量离子的含量相对较低。     

饮用水源突发性苯胺污染应急处理技术研究

分别从水样浓度、pH、反应时间、药剂投加量以及两者联用时的投加顺序等方面研究了粉末活性炭、高锰酸钾以及两者联合使用时对苯胺的去除效果.结果表明,当污染发生时,高锰酸钾和粉末活性炭联用处理技术是可行的;先投加粉末活性炭再加高锰酸钾处理比先投加高锰酸钾再投加活性炭的去除效果好;当水样pH在中性条件下,粉末活性炭和高锰酸钾联用处理技术的去除效果好;应急处理的反应时间是30 min.     

化学沉淀法强化常规工艺应急去除水中的镉

在常规工艺基础上,通过投加氢氧化钠,实验进行了应急去除重金属镉的研究。实验结果表明,该方法能有效去除饮用水水源的镉,效果稳定,可进行应急处理。对pH、镉初始浓度和混凝剂投加量3个影响因素的灰色关联分析表明,3个因素对镉去除效果影响的大小排序为:滤后水pH>混凝剂投加量>镉初始浓度。在水源镉突发污染时,在原有常规水处理工艺基础上,通过控制滤后水pH可实现对重金属镉的去除,pH的控制值与水源水质有关。     

江苏省污染减排与空气质量变化相关性分析

利用2000—2007年大气污染物排放量数据和同期环境空气质量监测数据,分析了江苏省主要大气污染物减排与环境空气质量变化的相关性。结果表明,近年来江苏省SO2排放量与环境空气中SO2浓度存在正相关,而烟尘和粉尘排放总量与空气中可吸入颗粒物的浓度呈现出弱的负相关关系。对江苏省经济发展和环境关系的进一步分析揭示,江苏省环境库兹涅茨曲线呈现出倒U型关系,表明江苏省已经进入经济环境双赢区间,但近年来政策对经济环境关系的影响突出。该研究对中国十二五环境管理政策的制定有着重要的参考意义。     

水污染突发事件：演化模型与应急管理

概述了突发事件演化研究的现状,总结了现阶段中国水污染突发事件的典型案例,研究了事件的演化过程,提出把社会因素和全过程干预作为水污染突发事件演化动因的一个重要方面,并在此基础上分析了水污染突发事件演化的主要动力因素,运用灾害学、应急管理、环境科学等相关理论构建了事件演化的动力因素体系,最后从系统分析的角度构建了水污染突发事件演化模型。研究表明：社会因素和应急干预对水污染突发事件的演化具有推动作用;事件演化具有阶段性,不同阶段的动力因素存在差异;水污染突发事件应急管理具有多目标性,单一目标应急管理不能有效控制水污染突发事件演化。研究水污染突发事件演化机理可为政府有效地预警与事件初期的应急决策提供重要的理论依据。     

我国台风灾害救助应急响应的时空分布特征

基于2005 - 2010年历次台风灾害救助应急响应的启动和损失情况,在统计分析响应频次和响应灾情的基础上,研究分析了国家台风灾害救助应急响应的时空分布特征.结果表明,国家台风灾害救助应急响应的时空分布特征大致反映了我国重大台风灾害损失的时空分布特征和我国台风灾害救助工作的发展变化和新思路:①2005 - 2010年,国家共针对24次台风过程启动救助应急响应51次,平均每年8.5次,其中四级、三级响应分别为41次、10次,平均每年6.8次、2.5次,分别占80％和20％.②7-9月国家启动台风应急响应最多,10月、5月和4月偶有分布.③近年重大台风损失2005 - 2006年严重,2007 - 2010年则较轻;国家针对台风灾害启动响应从东南沿海向内陆和北方沿海省份递减.④紧急转移安置人口是启动响应依据最多的指标,且呈现明显的逐年下降趋势,反映了近年来国家对台风灾害救助工作的重视和以“预防为主”的应急管理新思路.     

省域粮食单产水平与波动状况研究

在我国宜耕耕地后备资源匮乏的背景下,保障国家粮食安全更多地依靠粮食单产水平的提升.分区域、分作物地研究粮食单产水平及其变化特征有助于把握粮食生产布局规律性,为科学地制定分区和分作物的产业指导政策提供依据.本研究通过"剔除趋势"模型,分析了我国主产省份各类粮食作物的单产水平、变化趋势和波动幅度.研究结果表明:我国粮食主产省份可划分为高产稳产区、中产稳产区、波动区和低产区四大类型,单产水平较高的地区主要分布在黄淮海地区、长江下游以及新疆,单产水平较低的地区主要分布在西部,东北主产区单产年际波动剧烈.为确保国家粮食安全,实现总量平衡和结构平衡,分区域产业指导政策宜分别实施稳定、优化、强基、提升四大战略;分作物产业指导政策方向是,水稻重点采取"南增北稳"战略,避免东北主产区水稻产量占全国比重过大造成风险加大的不利影响,小麦和玉米可重点培育新疆新兴产区能力建设.