Validity of police-reported alcohol involvement in fatal motor carrier crashes in the United States between 1982 and 2005

Objective

To examine the validity of police-reported alcohol data for drivers involved in fatal motor carrier crashes.

Material and Methods

We determined the availability of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and police-reported alcohol data on 157,702 drivers involved in fatal motor carrier crashes between 1982 - 2005 using Fatality Analysis and Reporting System (FARS) data. Drivers were categorized as motor carrier drivers if they operated a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of greater than 26,000 pounds. Otherwise, they were classified as non motor carrier drivers. The sensitivity and specificity of police-reported alcohol involvement were estimated for both driver types.

Results

Of the 157,702 drivers, 18% had no alcohol information, 15% had BAC results, 42% had police-reported alcohol data, and 25% had both. Alcohol information varied significantly by driver, crash, and vehicle characteristics. For example, motor carrier drivers were significantly more likely (51%) to have BAC testing results compared to non motor carrier drivers (31%) (p < 0.001). The sensitivity of police-reported alcohol involvement for a BAC level ≥ 0.08 was 83% (95% CI 79%, 86%) for motor carrier drivers and 90% (95% CI 89%, 90%) for non motor carrier drivers. The specificity rates were 96% (95% CI 95%, 96%) and 91% (95% CI 90%, 91%), respectively.

Conclusions

The sensitivity and specificity of police-reported alcohol involvement are reasonably high for drivers involved in fatal motor carrier crashes. Further research is needed to determine the extent to which the accuracy of police-reported alcohol involvement may be overestimated because of verification bias.

Impact on the Industry

Based on the results of this study, the federal government should continue to work with states to strengthen their strategies to increase chemical testing of all drivers involved in fatal crashes.     

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混合胺MEA＋DETA吸收CO2的影响因素

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络合萃取法处理2-萘酚生产废水

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环境因素对聚乙烯醇降解菌系降解效果的影响研究

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玉米酒精废水的处理工艺与设计

针对酒精废水的COD高、温度高、SS高、pH低特点,主要介绍了酒精废水处理工艺路线和主要设计参数。采用高效MIC厌氧反应器和卡鲁塞尔氧化沟3000型,MIC有机负荷可达15kg CODCr/m3.d,CODCr去除率为85%以上,卡鲁塞尔氧化沟有机负荷为0.6kg CODCr/m3.d,CODCr去除率为93%以上,出水COD<150mg/L。厌氧所产生的沼气的回收价值抵去整个系统运行费用,每年可盈余1 300余万元。     

Effect of the water–oil ratio on brine/surfactant/alcohol/oil systems optimized for soil remediation

The optimum middle-phase microemulsion used for remediation of oily contaminated soils is often obtained by mixing a certain amount of a surfactant/alcohol mixture with oil and adjusting the salinity concentrations at a constant water–oil ratio. Upon introduction to the subsurface, however, the system may not be in the optimum state throughout the remediation process owing to the change in the water–oil ratio. This research has attempted to investigate the effect of the water–oil ratio on the phase behavior of systems containing brine, anionic surfactant, alcohols, and different oils. By systematically changing the water–oil ratio, while keeping the others variables constant, the systems exhibited different phase behavior. The results revealed that the effect of the water–oil ratio on system behavior was significant, and analogous to that of salinity. Increasing the water–oil ratio led the system change from winsor I → winsor III → winsor II. The greater the water–oil ratio the lower the salinity required to produce the middle-phase microemulsion, but the narrower the salinity range of the three-phase region. An empirical correlation has been developed in order to predict the changes in phase behavior with the changes in water–oil ratio. This provides a useful tool for designing optimum formulations suitable for soil remediation. Received: October 5, 1999 / Accepted: March 27, 2000     

Visible light-assisted photocatalytic oxidation of organic pollutants using nitrogen-doped titania

An experimental research into the aqueous photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) of organic groundwater pollutants, methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), tert-butyl alcohol, phenol, humic substances, 2-ethoxy ethanol and ethylene glycol was undertaken using visible light-sensitive nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide photocatalysts. Nitrogen-doped titania proved to be an effective photocatalyst for MTBE with its action comparable to and even surpassing that of Degussa P25. In contrast, with the other substances the photocatalysts showed negligible activity. This difference was explained by the poor adsorption properties of N-doped catalysts. The predominance of different PCO mechanisms dependent of the surface properties of N-TiO₂ catalysts was elucidated.