Risky behavior of drivers of motorized two wheeled vehicles in India

INTRODUCTION: Motorized two-wheeled vehicles (MTV) account for a large proportion of road traffic in India and the riders of these vehicles have a high risk of road traffic injuries. We report on the availability of drivers licenses, use of a helmet, driver behavior, and condition of vehicles for MTV drivers in Hyderabad, a city in India METHODS: Drivers of a MTV aged >16 years were interviewed at petrol filling stations RESULTS: There were 4,183 MTV drivers who participated in the study. Four hundred sixty one (11%; 95% CI 9.7-12.3%) drivers had not obtained a drivers license and 798 (21.4%) had obtained a license without taking the mandatory driving test. Two thousand nine hundred twenty (69.8%; 95% CI 67.9-71.7%) drivers reported no/very occasional use of a helmet, the significant predictors of which included that those driving borrowed a MTV (odds ratio 7.90; 95% CI 3.40-18.40) or driving moped/scooterette/scooter as compared with motorcycle (3.32; 2.76-3.98), lower education (3.10; 2.66-3.61), age >45 years (2.41; 1.63-3.57), and males (1.57; 1.16-2.13). Two thousand five hundred and eight (59.9%) drivers reported committing a traffic law violation at least once within the last 3 months. Overall, 1,222 (29.2%) drivers reported ever being caught by traffic police for a traffic law violation with data on violations available for 1,205 of these drivers, of whom 680 (56.4%) paid a fine, 310 (25.7%) paid by bribe, and 215 (17.8%) made no payment. The proportion of those who did not make payment for committed violation was significantly higher among females (46.8%) than males (16.3%). Two thousand fifty two (49%) of all MTVs had no rearview mirror CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest the need to enact and enforce policy interventions for improving the drivers license system, mandatory use of a helmet, effective traffic law enforcement, and ensuring good vehicle condition to reduce the risk factors that potentially contribute to mortality and morbidity in road traffic crashes in MTV drivers in Indian cities.     

The Illinois .08 law. An evaluation

Lowering state blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits to 0.08, though controversial, has been supported by most evaluation studies to date. The Illinois .08 BAC law implemented in 1997 provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the effect of the law without the simultaneous passage of an administrative license revocation (ALR) law, which has clouded some previous evaluations of the .08 laws. The proportion of all drinking drivers in fatal crashes was compared before versus after implementing the .08 law using time-series analysis to evaluate 12 years of fatal crash data for Illinois and five bordering states. The results showed that the proportion of drinking drivers in fatal crashes decreased by 14% in Illinois and increased by 3% in bordering states. The proportion of drinking drivers in fatal crashes in Illinois, though increasing since 1995, was sharply reduced after passage of the .08 law in 1997, saving more than 100 lives in 1998 and 1999 than it would have without the .08 law.     

The provisional license: nighttime and passenger restrictions--a literature review

PROBLEM: Due to inexperience and inadequate driving skills, the road is a very risky place for young and beginning drivers, yet such experience and skills can only be built by increased driving and exposure to risks on the road. Graduated driver licensing (GDL) allows beginning drivers to get their initial driving experience under less risky conditions and gradually eases them into more complex driving situations. This paper reviews the literature exploring two key features of the intermediate licensing phase of GDL, nighttime driving restrictions and passenger restrictions. METHOD: Literature review. RESULTS: Nighttime driving restrictions have been shown to effectively reduce the number and rate of crash involvements on the part of teenage drivers. Data suggest that having passengers in the car increases the likelihood of a fatal injury in young drivers and that this risk increases with the number of passengers. Young drivers were more likely to cause a crash when accompanied by their peers. DISCUSSION: Nighttime driving and passenger restrictions are effective in decreasing injuries among teenage drivers and their passengers, especially in the context of a full GDL system. Several research questions remain to be answered in order to fully refine and optimize the impact of these provisional measures.     

灾害防御工程的费用和效益问题浅议

在分析现有的灾害防御工程费用效益计算方法的基础上，提出灾害防御工程应遵循从整个国家和社会的角度进行分析的原则，并对如何应用国民经济评价方法，以影子价格来衡量灾害防御工程项目对国民经济的真正影响作了初步的讨论。这对于正确评价和选择灾害防御工程方案有重要的理论和现实意义。     

A VESSEL LICENSING FEE AS AN ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL FOR A DEEP DRAFT WATERWAY USER CHARGE1

ABSTRACT: Congress, with the support of the Reagan Administration, is considering the imposition of a user fee on deep draft waterways and ports. Two major bills emerged in the 98th Congress and proposes a tax on import-export value while the other proposes a tax on import-export tonnage. This paper proposes and discusses another user fee alternative, a vessel licensing system. It outlines the advantages of such a fee system under a set of assumed objectives and discusses the range of possible license charge levels under a cost recovery target of $250 million.     

事故经济损失估算方法

说明了劳动安全卫生费用与事故费用的概念,事故费用中直接费用与间接费用的概念。重点讨论了事故给企业带来的经济损失的费用要素,以及这些要素的确定原则及其分类,同时说明了各费用要素的计算方法。     

Practicing for and performance on drivers license tests in relation to gender differences in crash involvement among novice drivers

PROBLEM: Young male novice drivers are overrepresented in injury motor-vehicle crashes compared to females in the same category. This difference in crash involvement is often assumed to include factors such as overestimation, risk acceptance, and sensation seeking, but it can also be related to acquisition of knowledge, skills, insight, and driving experience. Therefore, this study explored possible gender differences among 18-24-year-olds in Sweden regarding practicing as learners, outcome of the driver's tests, and crash involvement during the first year after licensure. METHOD: Data for 2005 from different sources (e.g., questionnaires, license test, and crash statistics) were examined. It was not possible to follow individual subjects through all stages or in all analyses. Nevertheless, the study design did enable scrutinization and discussion of gender differences between younger inexperienced drivers with respect to education and training, license test results, and initial period of licensure. RESULTS: Males and females assimilated tuition in different ways. Females studied more theory, pursued training in a more structured manner, practiced more elements of driving in several different environments, and participated more extensively in driving school instruction. National statistics showed that females did better on the written test but not on the driving test. Males were involved in 1.9 more injury crashes per 1,000 drivers than females during their first year of licensed driving. The proportional distribution of crash types was the same for both sexes during the first period as novice drivers, but the circumstances surrounding the accidents varied (e.g., males were involved in more night crashes). IMPACT ON TRAFFIC SAFETY: More structured training while learning appears to be one of the reasons why females initially do better than males as novice drivers. Therefore, in the future, driver education should focus not only on matters such as the amount of time spent on training and preconditioning, but also on the importance of the organization and content of the learning process.     

污染物治理成本测算方法及排污费征收标准调整方案研究——以南京市排污费征收标准调整为例

对于当前我国绝大多数省、市的排污费征收标准都远低于治理污染的成本,经济杠杆在环境管理工作中的作用大大降低的状况.认为提高排污费征收标准势在必行.排污费征收标准调整必须以污染物治理成本为依据,为探讨获得接近实际的污染物治理成本是排污费征收标准调整这一难点,以南京市排污费调整为例,提出污染物治理成本的调查方法,通过以此方法调查的结果为依据,提出南京提升排污费征收标准调整的方案,并预测调整后对企业经营和环境管理的影响.     

浅析排污许可证制度在总量控制中的作用

为使污染物总量控制工作逐步走向深入并真正收到实效,对“排污许可证制度“中有关核定单位的污染物排放量、排污行为的有效约束,企业排污权的转移与交易、区域污染物排放状况的调控,以及如何确立该制度在污染物总量控制工作中的作用进行了探讨.     

新增建设用地使用费的耕地保护绩效测算

论文以农用地转用环节征收数额较大、改革相对较早的新增建设用地土地有偿使用费为研究对象,应用2003-2008年省级面板数据,建立土地有偿使用费征收率与建设占用耕地面积间动态变化的计量经济函数,采用混合OLS模型加以估计,并在此基础上对土地有偿使用费政策的耕地保护绩效进行测算。研究结果表明:①2003-2008年间,土地有偿使用费征收率每提高1元/m²,每省每年约能减少耕地占用面积47.26 hm²;②2003-2008年土地有偿使用费政策实施累计抑制建设占用耕地面积152 410.00 hm²,其耕地保护绝对效果较为显著;③土地有偿使用费耕地保护相对效果随年份呈上升趋势,地域差异较大但未呈现规律性,其总体水平不高,耕地保护效应尚有提升空间与潜力。