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.     

Aggressive behavior while driving as predictor of self-reported car crashes

PROBLEM: In Greece, there is a lack of scientific evidence on the relationship between aggressive behavior while driving and young drivers' involvement in car crashes; this study examined this potential relationship. METHODS: The randomly selected samples of 356 young drivers (18-24 years old) were interviewed through a questionnaire of self-reported car crash involvement, which mainly focused on their behavior on the road and the number of car crashes in which they had been involved. RESULTS: The statistical methods used were principal components analysis (PCA) and multiple regression analysis. Two factors relevant to aggressive driving emerged: (a) driving violations and (b) irritability while driving. The multivariate model suggested that driving just for fun (joyriding) and irritability were predictors of young drivers' involvement in car crashes. It was found that younger age was negatively associated with young drivers' involvement in car crashes. IMPACT ON GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY: The findings of this study can contribute in the formation of public policies aiming to prevent young drivers' car crashes. These findings can also be the starting point of some health promotion interventions trying to reduce car crashes and casualties on the road. Finally, the insurance companies may be interested in applying these findings into their field of interest.     

公路隧道火灾事故调研与对策分析

通过调研国内外近60年来,有代表性的33起公路隧道火灾事故,对公路隧道火灾事故起因、特点及危害进行了详细分析,结合国外公路隧道火灾安全措施以及防火安全评估经验,提出几点降低公路隧道火灾事故风险,减少事故危害的对策与建议。以期为公路隧道规划、设计以及建设运营等工作提供有益的参考。     

隧道火灾拱顶附近烟气最高温度的研究

为了研究顶部开口的城市隧道在采用自然通风模式下的火灾特性,在已建成的隧道中设计并实施了全尺寸火灾试验,得到了隧道火灾自然通风模式下的拱顶附近烟气最高温度纵向变化数据。通过实验数据与理论预测结果对比的方法验证了H.Kurioka等人建立的隧道火羽流模型及其计算公式的可靠性,为市政公路隧道建设提供了科学依据,为隧道火灾的研究及其消防工作提供理论指导和有益借鉴。     

隧道排污量估算与治污效果预测

通过隧道排污量和排污效果的简单分析，指出了其排污治理过程中应注意的有关事项，如进 行人口控制，改善居民的生活方式，提高环境保护意识和治理技术等，所述分析方法可供其它类似 工程参考。     

隧道路段逆反射轮廓标设置技术研究

隧道是高速公路事故多发路段,为了提高隧道路段行车安全性,需为驾驶员提供与一般路段相近的视觉环境,以有效减少由隧道行车环境变化引起的驾驶员判断和操作失误,逆反射技术在提高隧道路段驾驶员视觉舒适性方面具有潜力.为了确定隧道路段轮廓标设计方案,利用Smart-Eye Pro 5.7型眼动仪,对隧道路段逆反射轮廓标设置技术进行试验,获得了不同逆反射轮廓标组合方案的驾驶员视觉数据.结果表明,小型车和大型车驾驶员对逆反射轮廓标设置高度的视觉差异性明显,设置高度约为0.4 m的逆反射轮廓标对小型车驾驶员的视觉环境改善效果最佳,相应地,大型车约为1.0m.从控制隧道内明暗变化的闪频出发,轮廓标间距以15 m左右为宜.为满足驾驶员视觉舒适性要求,应将驾驶员瞳孔直径变化率控制在0.396 ～ 1.302mm/s,据此确定小型车适用的轮廓标反光膜为超强级,大型车为工程级.研究成果在G65高速公路木冲隧道的应用使驾驶员瞳孔直径变化率控制在1.302 mm/s以内,并使同期事故减少了51.8％.     

改进经验公式法计算隧道人员疏散时间

为评估隧道发生火灾时人员疏散安全,有必要准确计算隧道人员疏散时间。传统经验公式法的假设条件过于简单,而现有仿真模拟方法不能准确地模拟人的复杂行为。建立改进的经验公式法,通过随机输入计算参数来模拟隧道人员疏散的动态随机过程,将疏散时间计算分解为多个阶段,并考虑车辆及人员的随机分布、火灾探测及人员反应时间的计算、大客车乘客下车时间、人行速度的随机输入、以及随人流密度变化的横洞门通行能力等,使计算所得疏散时间更贴近实际。与其余方法对比分析表明,采用改进的经验公式法得到的计算结果与传统经验公式计算方法相比,计算精度有较大提高。     

特长公路隧道火灾烟气沉降特性对人员疏散影响的研究*

为研究特长公路隧道火灾烟气沉降对人员疏散安全的影响,通过数值模拟方法,对0,1.0,1.5 m/s和临界风速值4种不同纵向通风风速下隧道火灾烟气沉降特征进行研究,并分析不同风速下烟气沉降对人员疏散的影响。研究结果表明:在无纵向风时,烟气沉降现象较为明显,烟气下沉造成的不均匀烟气温度、能见度分布,提前终止人员疏散的进行;随着纵向风速的增加,沉降现象仍存在,但沉降点后移,对人员疏散的影响减小;在1.5 m/s的纵向通风条件下,火源下游500 m范围内烟气基本不发生沉降且能维持分层,此时几乎不影响火灾下游人员疏散。在实际应用中,火灾初期可先以1.5 m/s的分层风速值进行通风,待下游人员疏散后,再施加临界风速加快烟气排出。研究结果可为特长公路隧道火灾防治和疏散救援提供参考。     

深埋水平岩层隧道开挖稳定性分析及控制*

针对深埋高地应力水平岩层掌子面开挖稳定性及支护结构失效问题,以大峡谷隧道为工程背景,通过现场测试、室内试验、数值模拟等方法,探究深埋高地应力水平岩层失稳机理及控制措施。研究结果表明:坚硬岩体被节理面切割后,在高地应力作用下容易发生挤压破碎,破碎岩体遇水发生软化,导致掌子面发生大范围塌方,初支和超前支护失效;隧道开挖后岩层发生不均匀沉降,浅部岩层最先发生弯折破坏,层内块体错动滑移,继而向上方岩层发展,并伴随层间分离和层内裂隙发育,最终形成宏观破裂面;提出的台阶法、2 m开挖进尺、砼喷层、双层小导管、提高初支强度的整体优化控制措施,可有效提高现场支护效果。     

Source identification, contamination status and health risk assessment of heavy metals from road dusts in Dhaka, Bangladesh

In this study, concentrations of Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb were determined in road dusts collected from different locations in Dhaka to assess source, contamination status and health risk. Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to determine Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb and their mean concentrations were 162.27 ± 29.46, 721.18 ± 180.14, 35.65 ± 12.55, 104.56 ± 128.33, 515.32 ± 321.90, BDL, and 342.82 ± 591.20 mg/kg, respectively. Among the heavy metals, highest concentrations of Cu, Zn and Pb were found at urban sites-7 (municipal waste dumping) and 8 (medical waste incineration). Highest concentration of Cr followed by Cu and Zn was found at site-5 (Tejgaon, urban). Principal component analysis revealed that anthropogenic activities are the potential sources for Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb while earth crust for Mn. Pollution index and pollution load index results suggested that all the sites were contaminated and/or degraded by Cr, Cu, Zn and Pb except sites-9 (urban), 10 (sub-urban), 11 (rural) while sites-7 and 8 (urban) were extremely degraded. For noncarcinogenic health risk, hazard quotient values for dermal were higher compared to that of inhalation/ingestion. Though hazard index values were less than 1 at all the sites, these were at least one order of magnitude higher for children group than that of adult group, thus the children group may face more noncarcinogenic health risk at sites-7 and 8. Values of incremental lifetime cancer risk were from 10⁻⁹ to 10⁻¹¹ showed no carcinogenic health risk by road dusts contaminated with the heavy metals.