Effect on fatality risk of changing from secondary to primary seat belt enforcement

BACKGROUND: Most seat belt use laws originally passed in the United States contained language restricting enforcement to drivers already stopped for some other reason. States that have since removed this secondary enforcement restriction have reported increased seat belt use. The purpose of the present study was to estimate the effect of these law changes on driver fatality rates. METHOD: Trends in passenger vehicle driver death rates per billion miles traveled were compared for 10 states that changed from secondary to primary seat belt enforcement and 14 states that remained with secondary enforcement. RESULTS: After accounting for possible economic effects and other general time trends, the change from secondary to primary enforcement was found to reduce annual passenger vehicle driver death rates by an estimated 7% (95% confidence limits 3.0-10.9). CONCLUSION: The majority of U.S. states still have secondary enforcement laws. If these remaining secondary laws were amended, an estimated 696 deaths per year could be prevented.     

Driving anger among motor vehicle drivers in China: A cross-sectional survey

Objective: Driving anger is a common emotion while driving and has been associated with traffic crashes. This study aimed to investigate situations that increase driving anger among Chinese drivers.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 3,101 drivers in southern China. The translated version of the 33-item Driving Anger Scale (DAS) was used to measure driving anger. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews between June 2016 and September 2016.

Results: Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the fit of the original 6-factor model (discourtesy, traffic obstacles, hostile gestures, slow driving, illegal driving, and police presence) was satisfactory, after removing 2 items and allowing 5 error pairs to covary. The model showed satisfactory fit: goodness of fit index (GFI) = 0.90, incremental fit index (IFI) = 0.90, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.06, 90% confidence interval (CI) = 0.061–0.064. Driving anger among Chinese drivers was lower than that in some Western countries. Compared to older and experienced drivers, younger and new drivers were more likely to report driving anger. There was no difference in total reported driving anger between males and females. Additionally, the higher the driver’s anger level was, the more likely he or she was to have had a traffic crash.

Conclusion: Driving anger is a common emotion among Chinese drivers and has a strong correlation with aggressive driving behavior and traffic crashes.     

沥青涂层对桩侧摩阻力影响的试验研究

采用改进直剪仪模拟桩与土之间的滑动摩擦,研究了沥青涂层对桩侧摩阻力的影响。试验结果表明,桩侧摩阻力与土的类型、法向应力有关,随着法向应力的增长,滑动摩阻力也相应增长,且增长近似呈线性关系;在一定的法向应力下,沥青涂层对减小滑动摩阻力有一定的作用,随着法向应力的增长,沥青涂层亦会导致滑动摩阻力增加。     

深井开采巷旁充填沿空留巷围岩活动规律研究

随着我国煤矿开采深度的逐年增加,瓦斯含量逐渐增大且赋存异常,回采工作面瓦斯超限问题严重威胁着煤矿的安全生产,而沿空留巷则是解决工作面瓦斯超限问题的最有效途径,但沿空留巷顶板稳定性控制问题则制约了沿空留巷技术在我国更广泛地推广应用。本文以顾桥矿1115(1)采煤工作面沿空留巷的成功案例为背景,全面研究分析了沿空留巷围岩活动的基本规律,对类似条件下的沿空留巷围岩控制具有重要的指导意义,使沿空留巷技术在我国得到更广泛的推广应用具有积极的现实意义。     

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.     

THOR dummy chest deflection response in oblique and lateral far-side sled tests

Abstract

Objective: The focus of this study is side impact. Though occupant injury assessment and protection in nearside impacts has received considerable attention and safety standards have been promulgated, field studies show that a majority of far-side occupant injuries are focused on the head and thorax. The 50th percentile male Test Device for Human Occupant Restraint (THOR) has been used in oblique and lateral far-side impact sled tests, and regional body accelerations and forces and moments recorded by load cells have been previously reported. The aim of this study is to evaluate the chestband-based deflection responses from these tests.

Methods: The 3-point belt–restrained 50th percentile male THOR dummy was seated upright in a buck consisting of a rigid flat seat, simulated center console, dashboard, far-side side door structure, and armrest. It was designed to conduct pure lateral and oblique impacts. The center console, dashboard, simulated door structure, and armrest were covered with energy-absorbing materials. A center-mounted airbag was mounted to the right side of the seat. Two 59-gage chestbands were routed on the circumference of the thorax, with the upper and lower chestbands at the level of the third and sixth ribs, respectively, following the rib geometry. Oblique and pure lateral far-side impact tests with and without airbags were conducted at 8.3 m/s. Maximum chest deflections were computed by processing temporal contours using custom software and 3 methods: Procedures paralleling human cadaver studies, using the actual anchor point location and actual alignment of the InfraRed Telescoping Rods for the Assessment of Chest Compression (IR-TRACC) in the dummy on each aspect—that is, right or left,—and using the same anchor location of the internal sensor but determining the location of the peak chest deflection on the contour confined to the aspect of the sensor; these were termed the SD, ID, and TD metrics, respectively.

Results: All deformation contours at the upper and lower thorax levels and associated peak deflections are given for all tests. Briefly, the ID metrics were the lowest in magnitude for both pure lateral and oblique modes, regardless of the presence or absence of an airbag. This was followed by the TD metric, and the SD metric produced the greatest deflections.

Conclusion: The chestbands provide a unique opportunity to compute peak deflections that parallel current IR-TRACC-type deflections and allow computation of peak deflections independent of the initial point of attachment to the rib. The differing locations of the peak deflection vectors along the rib contours for different test conditions suggest that a priori attachment is less effective. Further, varying magnitudes of the differences between ID and TD metrics underscore the difficulty in extrapolating ID outputs under different conditions: Pure lateral versus oblique, airbag presence, and thoracic levels. Deflection measurements should, therefore, not be limited to an instrument that can only track from a fixed point. For improved predictions, these results suggest the need to investigate alternative techniques, such as optical methods to improve chest deflection measurements for far-side occupant injury assessment and mitigation.     

Effectiveness of lowering the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for driving from 0.10 to 0.08 grams per deciliter in the United States

Objective: The current study evaluates of the effects of lowering the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit from 0.10 to 0.08?g/dL across all 50 states in the United States. Our objectives were to (1) estimate the effects of the 0.08?g/dL BAC limit on drinking driver fatal crash rates; (2) compare the effects from early-adopting states to the effects of late-adopting states; (3) determine the effects on drivers with low BACs (0.01–0.07?g/dL) and high BACs (0.08+ g/dL); and (4) estimate the lives saved since 1983 due to the adoption of 0.08?g/dL BAC laws.

Methods: Our study examined annual data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for each jurisdiction from 1982 through 2014. Our basic outcome measure was the ratio of drinking drivers (BAC ≥0.01?g/dL) to nondrinking drivers (BAC?=?0.00?g/dL). Covariates included 0.10 BAC laws, administrative license revocation (ALR) laws, seat belt laws, minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) laws, and unemployment rates. We utilized autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models for each state, where the implementation date of the law was modeled as a zero-order transfer function in the series, in addition to any extant trends that may have been occurring simultaneously. Before determining the specific impact of the implementation of 0.08?g/dL BAC laws, we conducted a time series analysis for each state. We tested for between-state mediating factors relating to our covariates.

Results: A total of 38 of the 51 jurisdictions showed that lowering the BAC limit was associated with reduced drinking driver fatal crash ratios, with 20 of those reductions being significant. The total effects showed a 10.4% reduction in annual drinking driver fatal crash rates, which is estimated to have saved an average of 1,736 lives each year between 1983 and 2014 and 24,868 lives in total. Implementing a BAC limit of 0.08?g/dL had significant impacts on both high- and low-BAC fatal crash ratios. Though early-adopting jurisdictions (1983–1999) demonstrated a larger decrease in fatal drinking driver crash ratios than did late-adopting jurisdictions (2000–2005), the results were not statistically significant (P?>?.05).

Conclusions: Our study of the effects of lowering the BAC from 0.10 to 0.08?g/dL in the United States from 1982 to 2014 showed an overall effect of 10.4% on annual drinking driver fatal crash rates, in line with other multistate studies. This research provides strong evidence of the relationship between lowering the BAC limit for driving and the general deterrent effect on impaired-driving fatal crash rates.     

电力需求侧管理与可持续发展战略

在探讨电力需求侧管理理论，方法以及电力经济结构和电力与环境问题的基础上，分析评价电力需求侧管理对可持续发展的作用贡献，电力需求侧管理是促进系统可持续发展的战备途径之一。     

长期侧流提取对EBPR系统除磷及其磷回收性能的影响

实验采用交替厌氧/好氧(An/O)运行模式的SBR反应器,考察310 d内分3个批次提取侧流比为0、1/4、1/3、1/2的厌氧放磷上清液后EBPR系统的脱氮除磷效果及相应的磷回收性能.结果表明,整个实验阶段系统对COD和氨氮的去除较为稳定,出水均能满足《城镇污水处理厂污染物综合排放标准》一级A标准,总氮去除因厌氧阶段反硝化不断增强有所提升,达标率由88.2%显著上升至98.6%.然而,随着厌氧上清液提取次数的增多,系统释磷能力整体下降,但前两个批次中系统除磷均稳定高效,去除率在90%以上,相应地出水磷达标率大于75%,仅第3批次实验中侧流比为1/2时系统除磷率出现大幅波动,最低降为54.2%,并贡献该批次出水磷不达标率的60%,说明长期提取1/2侧流比不利于主流工艺出水稳定维持.研究还发现,长期进行侧流磷回收实验有利于污泥减量,且对污泥沉降性能影响不大.因此,在EBPR系统内长期提取适当侧流比的厌氧上清液以进行磷回收与主流工艺同步高效脱氮除磷具有可行性.