Objective: The probability of crash occurrence on horizontal curves is 1.5 to 4 times higher than that on tangent sections. A majority of these crashes are associated with human errors. Therefore, human behavior in curves needs to be corrected.
Methodology: In this study, 2 different road marking treatments, optical circles and herringbone patterns, were used to influence driver behavior while entering a curve on a 2-lane rural road section. A driving simulator was used to perform the experiment. The simulated road sections are replicas of 2 real road sections in Flanders.
Results: Both treatments were found to reduce speed before entering the curve. However, speed reduction was more gradual when optical circles were used. A herringbone pattern had more influence on lateral position than optical circles by forcing drivers to maintain a safe distance from opposing traffic in the adjacent lane.
Conclusion: The study concluded that among other low-cost speed reduction methods, optical circles are effective tools to reduce speed and increase drivers’ attention. Moreover, a herringbone pattern can be used to reduce crashes on curves, mainly for head-on crashes where the main problem is inappropriate lateral position. 相似文献
The majority of wildfires in the Mediterranean Basin are caused directly or indirectly by human activity. Many biophysical and socioeconomic factors have been used in quantitative analyses of wildfire risk. However, the importance and effects of socioeconomic factors in spatial modelling have been given inadequate attention. In this paper, we use different approaches to spatially model our data to examine the influence of human activity on wildfire ignition in the south west of the Madrid region, central Spain. We examine the utility of choropleth and dasymetric mapping with both Euclidean and functional distance surfaces for two differently defined wildfire seasons. We use a method from Bayesian statistics, the Weights of Evidence model, and produce ten predictive maps of wildfire risk: (1) five maps for a two-month fire season combining datasets of evidence variables and (2) five maps for the four-month fire season using the same dataset combinations. We find that the models produced from a choropleth mapping approach with spatial variables using Euclidian and functional distance surfaces are the best of the ten models. Results indicate that spatial patterns of wildfire ignition are strongly associated with human access to the natural landscape. We suggest the methods and results presented will be useful to optimize wildfire prevention resources in areas where human activity and the urban-forest interface are important factors for wildfire ignition. 相似文献
The dechlorination of OCDD, OCDF and 1,2,3,4,7,8‐H6CDD is studies on an alumina support impregnated with activated carbon, copper chloride and potassium chloride. There is a high correlation between the isomer pattern found after dechlorination and molecular structure properties. We also found a substantial correlation between the isomer pattern and the Gibbs free energy of formation of the individual isomers. This suggests a thermodynamically controlled process. 相似文献
Wetlands, with their many values and important functions, are precious resources. They have, however, undergone great changes during economic development and population growth. Relying on recent advances in remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) techniques, this paper probes changes in wetland landscapes on Yinchuan Plain during 1978–2006. A series of remote sensing images was used to identify wetland landscape types. Landscape pattern indices, such as patch number, patch density, landscape shape, and Shannon's diversity, evenness, and contagion indices were calculated with GIS and landscape analysis software. Changes in wetland landscape patterns on Yinchuan Plain were analyzed. The analysis show that the total area of wetlands on Yinchuan Plain decreased from 391,540,239 m2 in 1978 to 267,979,957 m2 in 2006, a significant change over 28 years. The area of rivers and lakes has shrunk, and the area of paddies has increased consistently, with increasing wetland fragmentation and heterogeneity. The number of patches, patch density, and landscape shape index shows that wetland landscape patterns have undergone great changes. The landscape diversity, landscape evenness, and contagion indices indicate that wetland landscapes have become less heterogeneous. We discuss the causes of these changes and the sustainable development of wetland ecosystems. 相似文献