Choice of teenagers' vehicles and views on vehicle safety: survey of parents of novice teenage drivers

Objective

To examine parental decisions about vehicles driven by teenagers and parental knowledge of vehicle safety.

Methods

About 300 parents were interviewed during spring 2006 in Minnesota, North Carolina, and Rhode Island while teenagers took their first on-road driving tests.

Results

Fewer than half of parents surveyed said teenagers would be the primary drivers of the chosen vehicles. Parents most often cited safety, existing family vehicle, and reliability when explaining the choices for their teenagers’ vehicles. About half of the vehicles intended for teenagers were small/mini/sports cars, pickups, or SUVs — vehicles considered less safe for teenagers than midsize/large cars or minivans. A large majority of vehicles were 2001 models or earlier. Vehicles purchased in anticipation of adding a new driver to the family were more likely to be the sizes/types considered less safe than vehicles already owned. Few parents insisted on side airbags or electronic stability control, despite strong evidence of their safety benefits. Even when asked to identify ideal vehicles for their teenagers to drive, about half of parents identified less safe vehicle sizes/types. Most parents knew that midsize/large vehicles are safer than small vehicles, and at least half of parents said SUVs and pickups are not safe for teenage drivers, citing instability.

Conclusions

The majority of parents understood some of the important criteria for choosing safe vehicles for their teenagers. However, parents actually selected many vehicles for teenagers that provide inferior crash protection.

Impact on industry

Vehicle safety varies substantially by vehicle size, type, and safety features. Many teenagers are driving inferior vehicles in terms of crashworthiness and crash avoidance.     

Secondary analysis of time of day on simulated driving performance

PROBLEM: Age and gender are frequently controlled for in studies of driving performance, but the effects of time of day or circadian cycles on performance are often not considered. Previous research on time of day effects of simulated driving is contradictory and provides little guidance for understanding the impact of these variables on results. METHODS: Using driving simulator data from 79 subjects ages 18 to 65, this paper focuses on the impact of age, gender, and time of day on the simulated driving performance of subjects who self-selected the time of participation. RESULTS: Time of day effects were consistently evident for drivers' speed overall and across different simulated environments. Drivers in the late afternoon period consistently drove significantly slower than drivers in other time periods. Age and gender affected speed such that women and those participants 50 and older tended to drive more slowly. Time of day also had an effect on reaction time and on speed variability measures. Gender did not have significant effects on reaction time or variability measures, but age effects were present. SUMMARY: Taken together, the results suggest that time of day effects should be considered as part of simulated driving performance, and that interactions between time of day and other variables, notably age, should be controlled for as part of future research. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Implications of these findings on current efforts for older driver testing are discussed.     

基于熵权的改进密切值法在地面水水质评价中的应用

为了简化传统密切值法运算,更能全面客观地反映出各样本的优劣情况,尝试采用目标差值率法进行初始矩阵的规范化处理,引入熵权法确定各评价指标的权重,对传统密切值法进行了改进.通过将两种不同密切值法对某区域水体水质的评价结果进行对比表明: 两种密切值法评价水质得出了一致的水质优劣排序,但改进后的密切值法可以有效地消除各评价指标在量纲、数量级及指标优劣等方面的差异,计算更简便; 改进后的密切值法利用熵权法确定各评价指标的权重,更客观; 改进后的密切值法评价结果中各样本的差异性放大了,对比更为明显.     

Degradation of metabolites accumulated of benzo[a]pyrene by coupling Penicillium Chrysogenum with KMnO4

Several main metabolites of benzo[a]pyrene （BaP） formed by Penicillium chrysogenum, Benzo[a]pyrene-1,6-quinone （BP 1,6- quinone）, trans-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene （BP 7,8-diol）, 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene （3-OHBP）, were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）. The three metabolites were liable to be accumulated and were hardly further metabolized because of their toxicity to microorganisms. However, their further degradation was essential for the complete degradation of BaP. To enhance their degradation, two methods, degradation by coupling Penicillium chrysogenum with KMnO4 and degradation only by Penicillium chrysogenum, were compared; Meanwhile, the parameters of degradation in the superior method were optimized. The results showed that （1） the method of coupling Penicillium chrysogenum with KMnO4 was better and was the first method to be used in the degradation of BaP and its metabolites; （2） the metabolite, BP 1,6-quinone was the most liable to be accumulated in pure cultures; （3） the effect of degradation was the best when the concentration of KMnO4 in the cultures was 0.01% （w/v）, concentration of the three compounds was 5 mg/L and pH was 6.2. Based on the experimental results, a novel concept with regard to the bioremediation of BaP-contaminated environment was discussed, considering the influence on environmental toxicity of the accumulated metabolites.     

氯化镧改性黏土固化湖泊底泥中磷的研究

用氯化镧对14种黏土进行改性并研究了这些改性黏土固化磷的效果.研究了pH对改性高岭土磷吸附率和镧离子溶出的影响.结果表明,通过氯化镧改性,不同黏土的磷固定率由改性前的3%～14%提高到改性后的52%～95%.氯化镧改性高岭土在pH为5时,达到磷吸附率的最大值94.85%,并在pH值4～8范围内,保持较高的磷吸附率（>80%）.在pH>6.5的范围,La³⁺溶出浓度低于0.0178 mg/L.     

第二松花江中下游沉积物汞的时空变化规律

将1973、1976、1983、1991年和本次的研究结果进行对比分析,得出了第二松花江中下游表层沉积物汞含量的时间变化规律.1976年以前汞含量处于增加趋势;1976～1982年汞含量有所下降;1982年汞污染源被切断,汞含量骤降;随后,汞污染浓度处于缓慢净化时期.将本次采集的沉积物样品分为3个粒度等级,最后以63 μm粒级的沉积物汞含量为代表分析了汞的水平变化规律,总体趋势是,排污口处汞含量最高;哨口至朝阳桥断面汞含量增加;朝阳桥至五家站断面,汞含量骤降,在五家站断面汞含量达到最小值;五家站至泔水缸断面汞含量又略有增加.并给出了本次研究中各断面沉积物汞的垂直变化规律.     

沸石强化生化装置脱氮功能的效果及机理初探

针对石化工业废水开展沸石强化脱氮处理试验研究,通过比较沸石浓度25mg/L与空白,以及沸石浓度25 mg/L与50mg/L两阶段脱氮效果,探讨沸石促进脱氮功能的机理,结果表明,曝气池中投加沸石可明显提高氨氮和总氮的去除率,硝化细菌总数和硝化功能也得到增强。与空白对照组相比, 沸石浓度25mg/L的试验组运行稳定后,氨氮去除率提高约10%~13%,总氮去除率约提高13%,出水中NO3--N含量约提高100%,氨氮与总氮之比下降6%,内源硝化耗氧呼吸速率可提高138%,硝化细菌总数是空白对照组2.2folds。沸石浓度提高到50mg/L后,试验组的脱氮效果略有增加,但效果不明显。通过对试验结果的关联分析,认为沸石提高系统脱氮能力的原因一方面是因为沸石对NH4+及硝态氮的交换吸附,另一方面NH4+离子富集于沸石表面及内部、沸石颗粒独特的好氧-缺氧微环境,以及沸石离解出CO32- 或HCO3-增加碱度等条件,促进了硝化细菌和反硝化细菌的生长,从而提高了系统脱氮能力。     

阻止杭州湾海底输油管线穿孔、溢油的设想

对海底管线穿孔后如何阻止溢油、减少海上.油污染,提出了采用负压保护的可行性方案.     

浅析电子废弃物回收利用及危害解决办法

随着高科技的发展和人们需求的增长,电子产品不断推陈出新,电子废弃物成为世界上数量增长最快的垃圾."电子垃圾",主要包括各种使用后废弃的电脑、通信设备、电视机、电冰箱、洗衣机等电子电器产品.电子废弃物不规范回收处理易造成污染.电子废弃物中含有很多可回收再利用的有色金属、黑色金属、玻璃等物质.严格意义上讲,这些电子废弃物,不应称其为电子垃圾,而应称作电子旧货.伴随着电子工业的高速发展,电子废弃物污染不可避免地摆在了我们面前.电子废弃物具有危害性和可利用性.     

北京山区小流域治理措施综述

山区小流域综合治理,是中国治理水土流失的主要形式.近10年来,随着可持续发展概念的引入,山区小流域治理与经济开发、资源保护相结合的战略思想逐渐被人们认识和接受,实现流域的可持续发展,已成为当今小流域治理活动的准则.综述主要对北京山区小流域治理措施进行了总结,并指出小流域治理需要综合运用多种措施;小流域治理必须充分考虑流域特征,因地制宜,分类治理.