Traffic climate and driver behaviors: The moderating role of driving skills in Turkey and China

Introduction: While road traffic accidents and fatalities are a worldwide problem, the rates of road traffic accidents and fatalities show differences among countries. Similarly, driver behaviors, traffic climate, and their relationships also show differences among countries. The aim of the current study is to investigate the moderating effect of driving skills on the relationship between traffic climate and driver behaviors by country. (Turkey and China). Method: There were 294 Turkish drivers and 292 Chinese drivers, and they completed the Traffic Climate Scale, the Driving Skills Inventory, and the Driver Behavior Questionnaire. The moderated moderation analyses were conducted with Hayes PROCESS tool on SPSS. Results: The results showed that safety skills moderated the relationship between internal requirements and violations both in Turkey and China. Safety skills also moderated the relationship between internal requirements and errors only in China and the relationship between functionality and violations in Turkey. Perceptual-motor skills moderated the relationships between external affective demands and errors, and also the relationship between internal requirements and positive driver behaviors in Turkey. It can be inferred that driving skills has different influences on traffic climate-driver behaviors relationship in different cultures and there might be cultural differences in the evaluation of drivers’ own driving skills. Practical Applications: Among driving skills, safety skills have a more critical role to increase road safety by decreasing number of violations. Interventions to increase safety skills of drivers might be promising for road safety.     

纵向通风对隧道竖井排烟影响的模拟研究

通过开展小尺寸实验以及FDS数值模拟实验,研究纵向通风对不同高度竖井的排烟影响并确定最佳通风风速。通过分析纵向通风风速、竖井高度对吸穿现象、边界层分离的影响规律,讨论了吸穿现象的临界条件。小尺寸实验中纵向通风风速考虑了0.096 m/s、0.226 m/s、0.356 m/s、0.485 m/s、0.629 m/s五种工况,竖井高度考虑了0.133 m、0.2 m、0.333 m、0.533 m四种工况。实验结果表明:当纵向通风风速为0.096 m/s、0.226 m/s、0.356 m/s(对应实际风速0.37 m/s、0.87 m/s、1.38 m/s)时,可抑制吸穿现象,但烟气边界层分离现象随着风速的增加而加剧。吸穿现象临界判据F_(critical)=1.5在本文所测试的纵向通风条件下不再适用,但Ri′_(critical)=1.5依然适用。数值模拟结果表明:当竖井高度为1 m、1.5 m、2 m时,排烟量随纵向通风的增加而降低,而当其为3 m、4 m、5 m时,排烟量先上升后降低,在测试风速为1.5 m/s时达到最高值。     

Road traffic injuries among riders of electric bike/electric moped in southern China

Objective: Electric bike/moped-related road traffic injuries have become a burgeoning public health problem in China. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence and potential risk factors of electric bike/moped-related road traffic injuries among electric bike/moped riders in southern China.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was used to interview 3,151 electric bike/moped riders in southern China. Electric bike/moped-related road traffic injuries that occurred from July 2014 to June 2015 were investigated. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews and analyzed between July 2015 and June 2017.

Results: The prevalence of electric bike/moped-related road traffic injuries among the investigated riders was 15.99%. Electric bike/moped-related road traffic injuries were significantly associated with category of electric bike (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–1.82), self-reported confusion (AOR = 1.77, 95% CI, 1.13–2.78), history of crashes (AOR = 6.14, 95% CI, 4.68–8.07), running red lights (AOR = 3.57, 95% CI, 2.42–5.25), carrying children while riding (AOR = 1.96, 95% CI, 1.37–2.85), carrying adults while riding (AOR = 1.68, 95% CI, 1.23–2.28), riding in the motor lane (AOR = 2.42, 95% CI, 1.05–3.93), and riding in the wrong traffic direction (AOR = 1.63, 95% CI, 1.13–2.35). In over 77.58% of electric bike/moped-related road traffic crashes, riders were determined by the police to be responsible for the crash. Major crash-causing factors included violating traffic signals or signs, careless riding, speeding, and riding in the wrong lane.

Conclusion: Traffic safety related to electric bikes/moped is becoming more problematic with growing popularity compared with other 2-wheeled vehicles. Programs need to be developed to prevent electric bike/moped-related road traffic injuries in this emerging country.     

Road deicing salt irreversibly disrupts osmoregulation of salamander egg clutches

It has been postulated that road deicing salts are sufficiently diluted by spring rains to ameliorate any physiological impacts to amphibians breeding in wetlands near roads. We tested this conjecture by exposing clutches of the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) to three chloride concentrations (1 mg/L, 145 mg/L, 945 mg/L) for nine days, then transferred clutches to control water for nine days, and measured change in mass at three-day intervals. We measured mass change because water uptake by clutches reduces risks to embryos associated with freezing, predation, and disease. Clutches in controls sequestered water asymptotically. Those in the moderate concentrations lost 18% mass initially and regained 14% after transfer to control water. Clutches in high concentration lost 33% mass and then lost an additional 8% after transfer. Our results suggest that spring rains do not ameliorate the effects of deicing salts in wetlands with extremely high chloride concentrations.     

绿色“一带一路”建设研究及建议

生态环保是"一带一路"建设的重要内容。在2017年5月14日召开的"一带一路"国际合作高峰论坛系列成果清单包括《关于推动绿色"一带一路"建设的指导意见》、《"一带一路"生态环境保护合作规划》、"一带一路"生态环保大数据服务平台建设、"一带一路"绿色发展国际联盟建立等四项。为更好地理解和推动执行,本文全面进行了分析,并提出下一步推动绿色"一带一路"工作需要解决的关键问题和建议。     

Committing driving violations: An observational study comparing city, town and village

Introduction

This article compares observed driving behavior in a city, a town, and a village.

Method

Unobtrusive observations were made at intersections in each residential type. Five violation types were observed: (a) not wearing a seat belt (seat belt violation); (b) not using a safety seat for a child (safety seat violation for children); (c) not using a speaker while speaking on the phone (on-phone violation); (d) failing to comply with a ‘give way’ sign (‘give way’ sign violation); and (e) stopping in an undesignated area (undesignated stop violation). It was expected that in accordance with the anonymity hypothesis that the bigger residential areas' rate of traffic violations would be higher. The effects of the residential type, drivers' gender, and age were assessed using the multiple regression model. The stepwise method of evaluation was employed. The model converged on step 3 (Adjusted R square = 0.039). Residential type and gender contributed significantly to the model. Results: Consistent with prior research, male drivers committed more violations than female drivers. Chi-square analyses were used to test the distribution of violations by the settlement types. Overall, more drivers committed violations in the two small residential areas than in the city, with 30% of city drivers, 43% of town drivers, and 51% of village drivers committing at least one violation (χ2 (2) = 37.65, p < 0.001). Moreover, in the town and the village, a combination of one or more violations was committed more often than in the city (χ2 (1) = 34.645, p < 0.001). Accordingly, more drivers committed violations in the two small settlements (48.4%) than in the city (30.6%). Possible explanations for the observed results were provided in the Discussion section.

Impact on Industry

The conclusions of this paper are that drivers in small villages tend to disobey traffic laws. Therefore, efforts have to be made in companies to take this issue in consideration while running fleets in companies located in small places far from the center.     

Effect of long-term changes in soil chemistry induced by road salt applications on N-transformations in roadside soils

Of several impacts of road salting on roadside soils, the potential disruption of the nitrogen cycle has been largely ignored. Therefore the fates of low-level ammonium-N and nitrate-N inputs to roadside soils impacted by salting over an extended period (decades) in the field have been studied. The use of road salts disrupts the proportional contributions of nitrate-N and ammonium-N to the mineral inorganic fraction of roadside soils. It is highly probable that the degree of salt exposure of the soil, in the longer term, controls the rates of key microbial N transformation processes, primarily by increasing soil pH. Additional influxes of ammonium-N to salt-impacted soils are rapidly nitrified therefore and, thereafter, increased leaching of nitrate-N to the local waterways occurs, which has particular relevance to the Water Framework Directive. The results reported are important when assessing the fate of inputs of ammonia to soils from atmospheric pollution.     

我国道路交通安全的国际比较研究

我国的道路交通事故是严重的。在对我国道路交通事故特点进行比较研究的基础上，分析了道路交通事故多发的原因，提出了提高道路交通系统安全性的建议。     

Validation of the propensity for angry driving scale

Problem: This study examined the validity of the Propensity for Angry Driving Scale (PADS; DePasquale, J. P., Geller, E. S., Clarke, S. W., and Littleton, L. C. (2001). Measuring road rage: Development of the Propensity for Angry Driving Scale. Journal of Safety Research, 32, 1–16) in predicting aggressive driving. Method: The PADS and the Driving Anger Scale (DAS; Deffenbacher, J. L., Oetting, E. R., and Lynch, R. S. (1994). Development of a driving anger scale. Psychological reports, 74, 83–91.) were administered to 232 college student volunteers with measures of aggressive and risky driving. Results: Convergent and discriminant validity of the PADS were supported through relationships among measures of similar constructs. The PADS significantly (p<.05) predicted moving tickets, minor accidents, aggressive driving, risky driving, and maladaptive driving anger expression, above and beyond gender, miles driven per week, and trait anger. Discussion: Findings suggest that the PADS is a useful predictor of aggressive driving and has some advantages over the DAS. Impact on Industry: The PADS is an effective predictor of aggressive driving that complements established measures like the DAS and provides researchers with another valuable tool for the assessment of aggressive driving.     

Assessment of older drivers: relationships among on-road errors, medical conditions and test outcome

PROBLEM: It is essential that driver licensing authorities have a valid and reliable system for evaluating older drivers' continuing competency; road tests are usually required as part of such a system. This study sought to find information about the nature of driving errors made during license review tests, and about relationships between error type and test outcome for older drivers. METHOD: Data from licensing authority files from 533 road tests during a 12-month period were analyzed; medical and other referral information was included. Average driver age was 76 years. Performance scores were generated for intersection negotiation, lane changing, low speed manoeuvres, positioning and speed control, safety margin, and car control. RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis showed that test outcome was well predicted by a subset of driving performance scores; adding driver age to the model explained very little variance. Age alone was strongly associated with outcome. Relationships between referral information and test outcome are also reported. IMPACT: Results highlight several factors relevant to the development of more valid and reliable road tests for older drivers.