Understanding the context of alcohol impaired driving for fatal crash–involved drivers: A descriptive case analysis

Objective: The objective of this study was to understand the social context and circumstances surrounding alcohol-impaired driving prior to fatal crash involvement for drivers with an illegal blood alcohol concentration (BAC ≥ 0.05 g/100 ml or 0.00 g/100 ml for restricted license holders).

Methods: Coroners' case reports investigating fatal crashes in South Australia over a 3-year period (2008–2010) were examined. The personal and crash characteristics of drivers with an illegal BAC were compared with those who had a legal BAC. For each driver with an illegal BAC, information was recorded including characteristics of last trip, location and social context of alcohol consumption, quantity and type of alcohol consumed, BAC level, presence of drugs, perceived alcohol intoxication, and alcohol dependence. Official traffic offense records were also obtained.

Results: Of the 284 fatal crashes included in the study, 34% (n = 95) involved a driver or rider with an illegal BAC. Prior to the crash, alcohol was most frequently consumed by drivers in rural areas, within private homes, and was part of normal social activities. Drivers recorded a high level of alcohol impairment, with a mean BAC of 0.173 g/100 ml and a level of alcohol dependence that was above the Australian national average (7.4 vs. 3.9%). In addition, 23% of drivers were known to be experiencing psychological stress at the time of the crash. The results also confirm that drink driving recidivism continues to be a significant problem, with 44% of drivers recording at least one prior alcohol driving offense.

Conclusions: Alcohol-impaired driving continues to be a leading cause of fatal crashes. The popularity of drinking at home, particularly in rural areas, has implications for police enforcement strategies and suggests that drink driving interventions that focus on community values and looking after friends might be beneficial. Importantly, the study highlights the need for a broader holistic approach to reduce the high levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence underlying drink driving behavior.     

TiO2表面沉积Ag粒子及其可见光下降解含盐废水中的苯酚

为了制备可见光激发下能高效降解含盐废水中有机物的光催化剂,首次以商用TiO_2光催化剂(P25)为载体,利用吸附相反应技术一步获得了Ag沉积的可见光响应复合光催化剂.同时,通过XPS、TEM、HRTEM及紫外可见漫反射光谱图,结合多种高含盐水体系中苯酚的光催化降解过程,研究了不同Ag沉积对催化剂可见光活性的影响.结果发现,吸附平衡后P25表面富含水的吸附层可作为反应和粒子的生成场所,生成量子尺寸的Ag粒子.另外,在吸附层中生成的Ag粒子均匀分布于P25表面并与之紧密结合,并在TiO_2晶格结构中引入晶格交错结构.Ag与TiO_2的表面等离子体共振效应和晶格交错结构共同提升了催化剂的可见光响应和电荷的分离效率,增强了催化剂对苯酚的可见光催化性能.在含盐废水体系中,盐离子数量越多,催化剂在可见光下降解苯酚过程受到的干扰越大.     

Blood alcohol concentration in fatally injured drivers and the efficacy of alcohol policies of the new law on road traffic safety: A retrospective 10-year study in autonomous province of Vojvodina,Republic of Serbia

Objective: The aim of this study was primarily to evaluate inebriated fatally injured drivers (FIDs) according to blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in a 10-year period (2004–2013) in Autonomous Province (AP) of Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia, to analyze the efficacy of alcohol polices in the new law on road traffic safety through changes in the number of inebriated FIDs before and after implementation of the law, as well as to identify factors that influence the occurrence of FIDs with BACs above the legal limit.

Methods: All data for this retrospective study were obtained from the Centre of Forensic Medicine, Toxicology and Molecular Genetics of Clinical Centre of Vojvodina, Novi Sad. Autopsy records for each case included age, gender, BAC, type of vehicle, and date of accident (year, month, and recalculated day of the week). BAC was determined by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. Statistical analysis was carried out by chi-square tests and Student's t test, with P < .05 as a statistical significance, and multiple binary logistic regression.

Results: Of the 354 inebriated FIDs (60% of all FIDs), the majority had BACs between of 0.031 and 0.3 mg/ml (28%), followed by those with BAC > 2.01 mg/ml (23%). The average BAC of those driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA) for the whole period was 1.235 ± 1.00 mg/ml and the average number of DUIA/year was 35. Among the total number of FIDs there were significantly more males (93.7%; P < .001) than females (6.3%), though the distribution of intoxicated men and women was not different (P > .05). There was a statistically significant difference in the distribution of sober and inebriated FIDs according to age (P < .001) with the predominance of inebriated FIDs between 21 and 30 years. Although gender and age were found to be significant predictors of BAC above legal limit in FIDs, the area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve showed that the model had poor discrimination (ROC = 0.673). Of all observed FIDs, 65 cases per year were attributed to the first 5-year period (2004–2009) and 49 to the second 5-year (2010–2013) period, which indicates that there was no statistically significant decrease in the number of FIDs after implementation of the new law.

Conclusion: The highest number of intoxicated FIDs during the period in AP Vojvodina were mildly and completely inebriated. In the 4-year post-policy period (2010–2013), the number of FIDs and average BAC levels of inebriated FIDs did not significantly change. The abolition of a permissible BAC should be considered.     

The influence of alcohol on pedestrians: A different approach to the effectiveness of the new traffic safety law

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the effects of the new traffic safety law on pedestrian mortality by exploring hazardous behaviors of pedestrians in terms of alcohol use and blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

Methods: A retrospective autopsy study was performed, covering a 7-year period (from 2006 to 2012), including cases of fatally injured pedestrians who died at the scene of the incident. Blood samples obtained from the femoral vein during autopsy were analyzed for BAC. The entire sample was divided into 2 groups. The first included cases from 2006 to 2009, at which time the old traffic safety law was in force, and the second included cases from 2010 to 2012, under the new traffic safety law.

Results: A total of 247 cases were examined, covering a 7-year period. The average age was 57.5 ± 19.7 years (median 61.0 years) with a significant male predominance of 147 men to 100 women. This predominance also applied to alcohol use (54 vs. 13). The results show a significant decrease in the total annual number of fatally injured pedestrians, starting from 2009, compared to previous years, reaching a low in 2010, one year after implementation of the new traffic safety law. In contrast, the proportion of alcohol-intoxicated pedestrians showed no significant difference in the years preceding and following the new traffic safety law, nor did the annual distribution of BAC or mean BAC before and after application of the new law.

Conclusion: The present study indicates that the new traffic safety law has been quite effective in reducing pedestrian mortality. However, alcohol consumption and intoxication in pedestrians remains a fairly important factor in motor vehicle accidents involving pedestrians, because the proportion of pedestrians positive for alcohol, the proportion of severely intoxicated pedestrians with BAC > 1 g/L, and annual mean BAC have remained unchanged.     

酒精废水消化液生物硝化和脱氮试验

酒精糟液厌氧消化液CODCr浓度为3500～4300mgL,BOD5浓度为1500～2100mgL,TN浓度为400～700mgL,NH3N浓度为300～600mgL。采用SBR反应器对该消化液进行生物脱氮试验,对反应器的有机负荷、氨氮负荷、脱氮效果、脱氮过程中氮形态的变化以及碳源提供等进行了研究分析。试验结果表明,当消化液碳源充足,SBR充水比λ=0.35,缺氧时间3h以及BOD5污泥负荷0.26～0.32kgkg·d条件下,SBR处理出水CODCr598～632mgL,BOD560～100mgL,氨氮6～9mgL,总氮200～216mgL,总氮去除率为60%左右。该处理系统中缺氧段反应时间仅为3h,却承担70%～75%的CODCr总去除负荷,显著提高了该系统的有机负荷和氨氮负荷。在消化液碳源不足的条件下,可投加乙酸钠作为生物脱氮的外碳源,投加量宜为500mgL。     

Driving under the influence of alcohol and the effects of alcohol prohibition—Case study in Serbia

Objective: The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the prevalence of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) according to day of the week, specific roads (urban/rural), daytime or nighttime, and vehicle category. In addition, this study examines how the prohibition of selling alcoholic drinks in shops and supermarkets (not in restaurants) after 10 p.m. has affected the prevalence of DUI.

Method: Breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) was collected from all drivers through police checkpoints at 54 locations in Serbia. In this study, 17,945 drivers were tested in urban areas and 19,507 in rural areas. The relationship between DUI during the prohibition on alcohol sales in Belgrade and other large cities in Serbia was determined using logistic regression.

Results: On average, every 100th driver in traffic in Serbia was DUI (0.99%). This study shows that the 0 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for motorcyclists does not have an influence on DUI. Moreover, motorcyclists represent the category with the highest share of DUI, with a statistically significantly larger difference compared to drivers of other vehicle categories. These results may be a consequence of the fact that a large number of drivers drive both motorcycles and other vehicle categories (cars or mopeds), so the different BAC limits for nonprofessional drivers may create confusion about the legal BAC limit.

Conclusions: This study suggests that the required legal BAC limit for nonprofessional drivers should be the same. The prohibition of selling alcoholic drinks in Belgrade after 10 p.m. does not decrease the prevalence of DUI.     

Effects of Dram Shop,Responsible Beverage Service Training,and State Alcohol Control Laws on Underage Drinking Driver Fatal Crash Ratios

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to determine whether three minimum legal drinking age 21 (MLDA-21) laws—dram shop liability, responsible beverage service (RBS) training, and state control of alcohol sales—have had an impact on underage drinking and driving fatal crashes using annual state-level data, and compared states with strong laws to those with weak laws to examine their effect on beer consumption and fatal crash ratios.

Methods: Using the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, we calculated the ratio of drinking to nondrinking drivers under age 21 involved in fatal crashes as our key outcome measure. We used structural equation modeling to evaluate the three MLDA-21 laws. We controlled for covariates known to impact fatal crashes including: 17 additional MLDA-21 laws; administrative license revocation; blood alcohol concentration limits of.08 and.10 for driving; seat belt laws; sobriety checkpoint frequency; unemployment rates; and vehicle miles traveled. Outcome variables, in addition to the fatal crash ratios of drinking to nondrinking drivers under age 21 included state per capita beer consumption.

Results: Dram shop liability laws were associated with a 2.4% total effect decrease (direct effects: β =.019, p =.018). Similarly, RBS training laws were associated with a 3.6% total effect decrease (direct effect: β =.048, p =.001) in the ratio of drinking to nondrinking drivers under age 21 involved in fatal crashes. There was a significant relationship between dram shop liability law strength and per capita beer consumption, F (4, 1528) = 24.32, p <.001, partial η² =.016, showing states with strong dram shop liability laws (Mean (M) = 1.276) averaging significantly lower per capita beer consumption than states with weak laws (M = 1.340).

Conclusions: Dram shop liability laws and RBS laws were both associated with significantly reduced per capita beer consumption and fatal crash ratios. In practical terms, this means that dram shop liability laws are currently associated with saving an estimated 64 lives in the 45 jurisdictions that currently have the law. If the remaining 6 states adopted the dram shop law, an additional 9 lives could potentially be saved annually. Similarly, RBS training laws are associated with saving an estimated 83 lives in the 37 jurisdictions that currently have the laws. If the remaining 14 states adopted these RBS training laws, we estimate that an additional 28 lives could potentially be saved.     

气相色谱法测定环境空气中异丙醇研究

建立了用气相色谱法测定环境空气中异丙醇的方法。环境空气中异丙醇以蒸馏水吸收,用(DB-624)弹性石英毛细管柱分离,直接进样分析,氢火焰离子化检测器检测。本方法以时间定性,峰面积定量,对实际样品进行分析,其异丙醇加标回收率为94.9%~104.5%,当采样体积为40 L,异丙醇最低检出质量浓度为0.05mg/m3。本方法前处理简便,分离度好干扰少,分析灵敏度高,不使用有机试剂以减少环境污染,满足环境分析要求。     

AJIC工艺处理木薯加工废水研究

采用AJIC工艺对木薯淀粉、变性淀粉、木薯酒精生产废水进行综合处理。结果表明:COD、BOD5和SS的去除率均高达99%,进水水质指标及水量处理后的废水水质可达到《农田灌溉水质标准》(GB 5084-2005)水作标准,符合国控重点污染源污染减排要求。此外,该工艺还同时实现对木薯废渣和污泥进行处理,可生产沼气595.2万立方米/年,有机肥400吨/年,实现直接经济效益422.9万元/年,具有较高的经济、环境和社会效益。     

C/N比对嗜酸细菌X-29产氢能力及其酶活性的影响

C/N比影响细菌的物质和能量代谢,为了提高产氢细菌的产氢效能,通过间歇产氢实验和酶活性分析方法,分析了在不同C/N比下嗜酸产氢细菌X-29的产氢能力以及氢化酶和乙醇脱氢酶的活性表达情况.研究结果表明,C/N比对产氢细菌的代谢及其相关酶的表达有显著的影响.虽然在不同C/N比下单位生物量的液相末端发酵产物差异不大,但是产氢能力存在显著的差异,当C/N比为14时产氢细菌X-29具有最大累积产氢量2 210.9mL/g.在不同C/N比下氢化酶的表达活性不同,氢化酶活性随着发酵的进行达到高峰后迅速降低,氢化酶的表达周期较短.乙醇脱氢酶活性随着代谢进程逐渐升高后而趋于平稳,不同C/N比时表达活性差异较小,表达周期较长.在C/N比为14时,氢化酶和乙醇脱氢酶的活性最高,分别为2.8μmol·(min·mg)^-1和33.2μmol·(min·mg)^-1.