Synthesis of visibility detection systems.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-10-01

Visibility is a critical component to the task of driving on all types of roads. The visibility detection and warning systems provide real-time, automated detection as well as appropriate responses to counteract reduced visibility conditions due to f...

Shared Resources: Sharing Right-Of-Way For Telecommunications, Guidance On Legal And Institutional Issues

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-03-01

THE INVEHICLE SAFETY ADVISORY AND WARNING SYSTEM (IVSAWS) IS A FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION EFFORT TO DEVELOP A NATIONWIDE VEHICULAR INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES DRIVERS WITH ADVANCE, SUPPLEMENTAL NOTIFICATION OF DANGEROUS ROAD CONDITIONS USING...

Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry PhasedArray Warning ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Satellite Communications Terminal, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry PhasedArray Warning ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Electric Substation, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry PhasedArray Warning ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Microwave Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Detecting lane departures from steering wheel signal.

PubMed

Sandström, Max; Lampsijärvi, Eetu; Holmström, Axi; Maconi, Göran; Ahmadzai, Shabana; Meriläinen, Antti; Hæggström, Edward; Forsman, Pia

2017-02-01

Current lane departure warning systems are video-based and lose data when road- and weather conditions are bad. This study sought to develop a lane departure warning algorithm based on the signal drawn from the steering wheel. The rationale is that a car-based lane departure warning system should be robust regardless of road- and weather conditions. N=34 professional driver students drove in a high-fidelity driving simulator at 80km/h for 55min every third hour during 36h of sustained wakefulness. During each driving session we logged the steering wheel- and lane position signals at 60Hz. To derive the lane position signal, we quantified the transfer function of the simulated vehicle and used it to derive the absolute lane position signal from the steering wheel signal. The Pearson correlation between the derived- and actual lane position signals was r=0.48 (based on 12,000km). Next we designed an algorithm that alerted, up to three seconds before they occurred, about upcoming lane deviations that exceeded 0.2m. The sensitivity of the algorithm was 47% and the specificity was 71%. To our knowledge this exceeds the performance of the current video-based systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry PhasedArray Warning ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Civil Engineering Storage Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Pixel color feature enhancement for road signs detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Qieshi; Kamata, Sei-ichiro

2010-02-01

Road signs play an important role in our daily life which used to guide drivers to notice variety of road conditions and cautions. They provide important visual information that can help drivers operating their vehicles in a manner for enhancing traffic safety. The occurrence of some accidents can be reduced by using automatic road signs recognition system which can alert the drivers. This research attempts to develop a warning system to alert the drivers to notice the important road signs early enough to refrain road accidents from happening. For solving this, a non-linear weighted color enhancement method by pixels is presented. Due to the advantage of proposed method, different road signs can be detected from videos effectively. With suitably coefficients and operations, the experimental results have proved that the proposed method is robust, accurate and powerful in road signs detection.

Assessment of the Adequacy of U.S.-Canadian Infrastructure to Accommodate Trade through Eastern Border Crossings. Appendix 4. Niagara Frontier.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-03-01

THE INVEHICLE SAFETY ADVISORY AND WARNING SYSTEM (IVSAWS) IS A FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION EFFORT TO DEVELOP' A NATIONWIDE VEHICULAR INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES DRIVERS WITH ADVANCE, SUPPLEMENTAL NOTIFICATION OF DANGEROUS ROAD CONDITIONS USIN...

An intelligent IoT emergency vehicle warning system using RFID and Wi-Fi technologies for emergency medical services.

PubMed

Lai, Yeong-Lin; Chou, Yung-Hua; Chang, Li-Chih

2018-01-01

Collisions between emergency vehicles for emergency medical services (EMS) and public road users have been a serious problem, impacting on the safety of road users, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and the patients on board. The aim of this study is to develop a novel intelligent emergency vehicle warning system for EMS applications. The intelligent emergency vehicle warning system is developed by Internet of Things (IoT), radio-frequency identification (RFID), and Wi-Fi technologies. The system consists of three major parts: a system trigger tag, an RFID system in an emergency vehicle, and an RFID system at an intersection. The RFID system either in an emergency vehicle or at an intersection contains a controller, an ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID reader module, a Wi-Fi module, and a 2.4-GHz antenna. In addition, a UHF ID antenna is especially designed for the RFID system in an emergency vehicle. The IoT system provides real-time visual warning at an intersection and siren warning from an emergency vehicle in order to effectively inform road users about an emergency vehicle approaching. The developed intelligent IoT emergency vehicle warning system demonstrates the capabilities of real-time visual and siren warnings for EMS safety.

Robust range estimation with a monocular camera for vision-based forward collision warning system.

PubMed

Park, Ki-Yeong; Hwang, Sun-Young

2014-01-01

We propose a range estimation method for vision-based forward collision warning systems with a monocular camera. To solve the problem of variation of camera pitch angle due to vehicle motion and road inclination, the proposed method estimates virtual horizon from size and position of vehicles in captured image at run-time. The proposed method provides robust results even when road inclination varies continuously on hilly roads or lane markings are not seen on crowded roads. For experiments, a vision-based forward collision warning system has been implemented and the proposed method is evaluated with video clips recorded in highway and urban traffic environments. Virtual horizons estimated by the proposed method are compared with horizons manually identified, and estimated ranges are compared with measured ranges. Experimental results confirm that the proposed method provides robust results both in highway and in urban traffic environments.

Robust Range Estimation with a Monocular Camera for Vision-Based Forward Collision Warning System

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

We propose a range estimation method for vision-based forward collision warning systems with a monocular camera. To solve the problem of variation of camera pitch angle due to vehicle motion and road inclination, the proposed method estimates virtual horizon from size and position of vehicles in captured image at run-time. The proposed method provides robust results even when road inclination varies continuously on hilly roads or lane markings are not seen on crowded roads. For experiments, a vision-based forward collision warning system has been implemented and the proposed method is evaluated with video clips recorded in highway and urban traffic environments. Virtual horizons estimated by the proposed method are compared with horizons manually identified, and estimated ranges are compared with measured ranges. Experimental results confirm that the proposed method provides robust results both in highway and in urban traffic environments. PMID:24558344

Road Lane Detection Robust to Shadows Based on a Fuzzy System Using a Visible Light Camera Sensor.

PubMed

Hoang, Toan Minh; Baek, Na Rae; Cho, Se Woon; Kim, Ki Wan; Park, Kang Ryoung

2017-10-28

Recently, autonomous vehicles, particularly self-driving cars, have received significant attention owing to rapid advancements in sensor and computation technologies. In addition to traffic sign recognition, road lane detection is one of the most important factors used in lane departure warning systems and autonomous vehicles for maintaining the safety of semi-autonomous and fully autonomous systems. Unlike traffic signs, road lanes are easily damaged by both internal and external factors such as road quality, occlusion (traffic on the road), weather conditions, and illumination (shadows from objects such as cars, trees, and buildings). Obtaining clear road lane markings for recognition processing is a difficult challenge. Therefore, we propose a method to overcome various illumination problems, particularly severe shadows, by using fuzzy system and line segment detector algorithms to obtain better results for detecting road lanes by a visible light camera sensor. Experimental results from three open databases, Caltech dataset, Santiago Lanes dataset (SLD), and Road Marking dataset, showed that our method outperformed conventional lane detection methods.

Segmentation and classification of road markings using MLS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soilán, Mario; Riveiro, Belén; Martínez-Sánchez, Joaquín; Arias, Pedro

2017-01-01

Traffic signs are one of the most important safety elements in a road network. Particularly, road markings provide information about the limits and direction of each road lane, or warn the drivers about potential danger. The optimal condition of road markings contributes to a better road safety. Mobile Laser Scanning technology can be used for infrastructure inspection and specifically for traffic sign detection and inventory. This paper presents a methodology for the detection and semantic characterization of the most common road markings, namely pedestrian crossings and arrows. The 3D point cloud data acquired by a LYNX Mobile Mapper system is filtered in order to isolate reflective points in the road, and each single element is hierarchically classified using Neural Networks. State of the art results are obtained for the extraction and classification of the markings, with F-scores of 94% and 96% respectively. Finally, data from classified markings are exported to a GIS layer and maintenance criteria based on the aforementioned data are proposed.

33 CFR 334.500 - St. Johns River, Atlantic Ocean, Sherman Creek; restricted areas and danger zone, Naval Station...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... north by Perimeter Road, and on the east by Mayport Road. (5) Danger zone. The danger zone shall... hours a day, seven days a week. Warning signs notifying individuals of the restricted area boundary and... will be in place 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Warning signs notifying individuals of the...

Advanced driver assistance systems: Using multimodal redundant warnings to enhance road safety.

PubMed

Biondi, Francesco; Strayer, David L; Rossi, Riccardo; Gastaldi, Massimiliano; Mulatti, Claudio

2017-01-01

This study investigated whether multimodal redundant warnings presented by advanced assistance systems reduce brake response times. Warnings presented by assistance systems are designed to assist drivers by informing them that evasive driving maneuvers are needed in order to avoid a potential accident. If these warnings are poorly designed, they may distract drivers, slow their responses, and reduce road safety. In two experiments, participants drove a simulated vehicle equipped with a forward collision avoidance system. Auditory, vibrotactile, and multimodal warnings were presented when the time to collision was shorter than five seconds. The effects of these warnings were investigated with participants performing a concurrent cell phone conversation (Exp. 1) or driving in high-density traffic (Exp. 2). Braking times and subjective workload were measured. Multimodal redundant warnings elicited faster braking reaction times. These warnings were found to be effective even when talking on a cell phone (Exp. 1) or driving in dense traffic (Exp. 2). Multimodal warnings produced higher ratings of urgency, but ratings of frustration did not increase compared to other warnings. Findings obtained in these two experiments are important given that faster braking responses may reduce the potential for a collision. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of radar rainfall estimates and forecasts to prevent flash flood in real time by using a road inundation warning system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Versini, Pierre-Antoine

2012-01-01

SummaryImportant damages occur in small headwater catchments when they are hit by severe storms with complex spatio-temporal structure, sometimes resulting in flash floods. As these catchments are mostly not covered by sensor networks, it is difficult to forecast these floods. This is particularly true for road submersions, representing major concerns for flood event managers. The use of Quantitative Precipitation Estimates and Forecasts (QPE/QPF) especially based on radar measurements could particularly be adequate to evaluate rainfall-induced risks. Although their characteristic time and space scales would make them suitable for flash flood modelling, the impact of their uncertainties remain uncertain and have to be evaluated. The Gard region (France) has been chosen as case study. This area is frequently affected by severe flash floods, and an application devoted to the road network has also been recently developed for the North part of this region. This warning system combines distributed hydro-meteorological modelling and susceptibility analysis to provide warnings of road inundations. The warning system has been tested on the specific storm of the 29-30 September 2007. During this event, around 200 mm dropped on the South part of the Gard and many roads were submerged. Radar-based QPE and QPF have been used to forecast the exact location of road submersions and the results have been compared to the effective road submersions actually occurred during the event as listed by the emergency services. Used on an area it has not been calibrated, the results confirm that the road submersion warning system represents a promising tool for anticipating and quantifying the consequences of storm events at ground. It rates the submersion risk with an acceptable level of accuracy and demonstrates also the quality of high spatial and temporal resolution radar rainfall data in real time, and the possibility to use them despite their uncertainties. However because of the quality of rainfall forecasts falls drastically with time, it is not often sufficient to provide valuable information for lead times exceeding 1 h.

Electronic rumble strip

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stauffer, Donald R.; Lenz, James

1997-02-01

Single vehicle run-off-road accidents are responsible for significant numbers of injuries and fatalities, and significant property damage. This fact spurs interest in warning systems to alert drivers that vehicles are drifting towards the edge of the road, and that a run-off road accident is imminent. An early attempt at such a warning system is the use of machined grooves on the shoulder to create a rumble strip. Such a system only provides warning, however, as the vehicle actually leaves the traffic lane. More desirable is a system that warns in anticipation of such departure. Honeywell has under development a magnetic lateral guidance system that couples a sensitive magnetoresistive transducer with a magnetic traffic marking tape being developed by 3M. While this development was initially undertaken for use in automated highways, or for special tasks such as guiding snowplow owners, the system can provide an effective, all-weather warning system to provide alert of impending departure from the roadway. This electronic rumble strip is actually a simpler system than the baseline guidance system, and can monitor both distance from the traffic lane edge and the speed of approach to the edge with a low cost sensor.

Road Lane Detection Robust to Shadows Based on a Fuzzy System Using a Visible Light Camera Sensor

PubMed Central

Hoang, Toan Minh; Baek, Na Rae; Cho, Se Woon; Kim, Ki Wan; Park, Kang Ryoung

2017-01-01

Recently, autonomous vehicles, particularly self-driving cars, have received significant attention owing to rapid advancements in sensor and computation technologies. In addition to traffic sign recognition, road lane detection is one of the most important factors used in lane departure warning systems and autonomous vehicles for maintaining the safety of semi-autonomous and fully autonomous systems. Unlike traffic signs, road lanes are easily damaged by both internal and external factors such as road quality, occlusion (traffic on the road), weather conditions, and illumination (shadows from objects such as cars, trees, and buildings). Obtaining clear road lane markings for recognition processing is a difficult challenge. Therefore, we propose a method to overcome various illumination problems, particularly severe shadows, by using fuzzy system and line segment detector algorithms to obtain better results for detecting road lanes by a visible light camera sensor. Experimental results from three open databases, Caltech dataset, Santiago Lanes dataset (SLD), and Road Marking dataset, showed that our method outperformed conventional lane detection methods. PMID:29143764

30 CFR 46.11 - Site-specific hazard awareness training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... workers; (4) Customers, including commercial over-the-road truck drivers; (5) Construction workers or... training through the use of written hazard warnings, oral instruction, signs and posted warnings...

30 CFR 46.11 - Site-specific hazard awareness training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... workers; (4) Customers, including commercial over-the-road truck drivers; (5) Construction workers or... training through the use of written hazard warnings, oral instruction, signs and posted warnings...

30 CFR 46.11 - Site-specific hazard awareness training.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... workers; (4) Customers, including commercial over-the-road truck drivers; (5) Construction workers or... training through the use of written hazard warnings, oral instruction, signs and posted warnings...

Associating crash avoidance maneuvers with driver attributes and accident characteristics: a mixed logit model approach.

PubMed

Kaplan, Sigal; Prato, Carlo Giacomo

2012-01-01

The current study focuses on the propensity of drivers to engage in crash avoidance maneuvers in relation to driver attributes, critical events, crash characteristics, vehicles involved, road characteristics, and environmental conditions. The importance of avoidance maneuvers derives from the key role of proactive and state-aware road users within the concept of sustainable safety systems, as well as from the key role of effective corrective maneuvers in the success of automated in-vehicle warning and driver assistance systems. The analysis is conducted by means of a mixed logit model that represents the selection among 5 emergency lateral and speed control maneuvers (i.e., "no avoidance maneuvers," "braking," "steering," "braking and steering," and "other maneuvers) while accommodating correlations across maneuvers and heteroscedasticity. Data for the analysis were retrieved from the General Estimates System (GES) crash database for the year 2009 by considering drivers for which crash avoidance maneuvers are known. The results show that (1) the nature of the critical event that made the crash imminent greatly influences the choice of crash avoidance maneuvers, (2) women and elderly have a relatively lower propensity to conduct crash avoidance maneuvers, (3) drowsiness and fatigue have a greater negative marginal effect on the tendency to engage in crash avoidance maneuvers than alcohol and drug consumption, (4) difficult road conditions increase the propensity to perform crash avoidance maneuvers, and (5) visual obstruction and artificial illumination decrease the probability to carry out crash avoidance maneuvers. The results emphasize the need for public awareness campaigns to promote safe driving style for senior drivers and warning about the risks of driving under fatigue and distraction being comparable to the risks of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Moreover, the results suggest the need to educate drivers about hazard perception, designing a forgiving infrastructure within a sustainable safety systems, and rethinking in-vehicle collision warning systems. Future research should address the effectiveness of crash avoidance maneuvers and joint modeling of maneuver selection and crash severity.

Superposition of polarized waves at layered media: theoretical modeling and measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finkele, Rolf; Wanielik, Gerd

1997-12-01

The detection of ice layers on road surfaces is a crucial requirement for a system that is designed to warn vehicle drivers of hazardous road conditions. In the millimeter wave regime at 76 GHz the dielectric constant of ice and conventional road surface materials (i.e. asphalt, concrete) is found to be nearly similar. Thus, if the layer of ice is very thin and thus is of the same shape of roughness as the underlying road surface it cannot be securely detected using conventional algorithmic approaches. The method introduced in this paper extents and applies the theoretical work of Pancharatnam on the superposition of polarized waves. The projection of the Stokes vectors onto the Poincare sphere traces a circle due to the variation of the thickness of the ice layer. The paper presents a method that utilizes the concept of wave superposition to detect this trace even if it is corrupted by stochastic variation due to rough surface scattering. Measurement results taken under real traffic conditions prove the validity of the proposed algorithms. Classification results are presented and the results discussed.

Slope Failure Prediction and Early Warning Awareness Education for Reducing Landslides Casualty in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koay, S. P.; Tay, L. T.; Fukuoka, H.; Koyama, T.; Sakai, N.; Jamaludin, S. B.; Lateh, H.

2015-12-01

Northeast monsoon causes heavy rain in east coast of Peninsular Malaysia from November to March, every year. During this monsoon period, besides the happening of flood along east coast, landslides also causes millions of Malaysian Ringgit economical losses. Hence, it is essential to study the prediction of slope failure to prevent the casualty of landslides happening. In our study, we introduce prediction method of the accumulated rainfall affecting the stability of the slope. If the curve, in the graph, which is presented by rainfall intensity versus accumulated rainfall, crosses over the critical line, the condition of the slope is considered in high risk where the data are calculated and sent from rain gauge in the site via internet. If the possibility of slope failure is going high, the alert message will be sent out to the authorities for decision making on road block or setting the warning light at the road side. Besides road block and warning light, we propose to disseminate short message, to pre-registered mobile phone user, to notify the public for easing the traffic jam and avoiding unnecessary public panic. Prediction is not enough to prevent the casualty. Early warning awareness of the public is very important to reduce the casualty of landslides happening. IT technology does not only play a main role in disseminating information, early warning awareness education, by using IT technology, should be conducted, in schools, to give early warning awareness on natural hazard since childhood. Knowing the pass history on landslides occurrence will gain experience on the landslides happening. Landslides historical events with coordinate information are stored in database. The public can browse these historical events via internet. By referring to such historical landslides events, the public may know where did landslides happen before and the possibility of slope failure occurrence again is considered high. Simulation of rainfall induced slope failure mechanism and educational video on symptom before the occurrence of landslide may alert the public awareness, especially in the hilly area. The hazard map for the public provides information on where to take shelter, before, when and after natural disaster happened. A simple hazard map is recommended for the community in the aborigines villages in Malaysia.

View of the PAVE PAWS radar from approach along Spencer ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

View of the PAVE PAWS radar from approach along Spencer Paul Road, looking northwest - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Road Weather and Connected Vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pisano, P.; Boyce, B. C.

2015-12-01

On average, there are over 5.8 M vehicle crashes each year of which 23% are weather-related. Weather-related crashes are defined as those crashes that occur in adverse weather or on slick pavement. The vast majority of weather-related crashes happen on wet pavement (74%) and during rainfall (46%). Connected vehicle technologies hold the promise to transform road-weather management by providing improved road weather data in real time with greater temporal and geographic accuracy. This will dramatically expand the amount of data that can be used to assess, forecast, and address the impacts that weather has on roads, vehicles, and travelers. The use of vehicle-based measurements of the road and surrounding atmosphere with other, more traditional weather data sources, and create road and atmospheric hazard products for a variety of users. The broad availability of road weather data from mobile sources will vastly improve the ability to detect and forecast weather and road conditions, and will provide the capability to manage road-weather response on specific roadway links. The RWMP is currently demonstrating how weather, road conditions, and related vehicle data can be used for decision making through an innovative Integrated Mobile Observations project. FHWA is partnering with 3 DOTs (MN, MI, & NV) to pilot these applications. One is a mobile alerts application called the Motorists Advisories and Warnings (MAW) and a maintenance decision support application. These applications blend traditional weather information (e.g., radar, surface stations) with mobile vehicle data (e.g., temperature, brake status, wiper status) to determine current weather conditions. These weather conditions, and other road-travel-relevant information, are provided to users via web and phone applications. The MAW provides nowcasts and short-term forecasts out to 24 hours while the EMDSS application can provide forecasts up to 72 hours in advance. The three DOTs have placed readers and external road weather sensors on their maintenance fleet vehicles to collect vehicular and meteorological data. Data from all three states is sent to a processing system called the Pikalert® Vehicle Data Translator (VDT) that quality checks and uses the data to infer current and forecasted weather conditions.

Evaluation of NDOR's actuated advance warning systems.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-12-01

"Driver behavior within the dilemma zone can be a major safety concern at high-speed signalized intersections. The : Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) has developed and implemented an actuated advance warning (AAW) dilemma : zone protection system....

Application of snow models to snow removal operations on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fagre, Daniel B.; Klasner, Frederick L.

2000-01-01

Snow removal, and the attendant avalanche risk for road crews, is a major issue on mountain highways worldwide. The Going-to-the-Sun Road is the only road that crosses Glacier National Park, Montana. This 80-km highway ascends over 1200m along the wall of a glaciated basin and crosses the continental divide. The annual opening of the road is critical to the regional economy and there is public pressure to open the road as early as possible. Despite the 67-year history of snow removal activities, few stat on snow conditions at upper elevations were available to guide annual planning for the raod opening. We examined statistical relationships between the opening date and nearby SNOTEL data on snow water equivalence (WE) for 30 years. Early spring SWE (first Monday in April) accounted for only 33% of the variance in road opening dates. Because avalanche spotters, used to warn heavy equipment operators of danger, are ineffective during spring storms or low-visibility conditions, we incorporated the percentage of days with precipitation during plowing as a proxy for visibility. This improved the model's predictive power to 69%/ A mountain snow simulator (MTSNOW) was used to calculate the depth and density of snow at various points along the road and field data were collected for comparison. MTSNOW underestimated the observed snow conditions, in part because it does not yet account for wind redistribution of snow. The severe topography of the upper reaches of the road are subjected to extensive wind redistribution of snow as evidence by the formation of "The Big Drift" on the lee side of Logan Pass.

Uncertainty forecasts improve weather-related decisions and attenuate the effects of forecast error.

PubMed

Joslyn, Susan L; LeClerc, Jared E

2012-03-01

Although uncertainty is inherent in weather forecasts, explicit numeric uncertainty estimates are rarely included in public forecasts for fear that they will be misunderstood. Of particular concern are situations in which precautionary action is required at low probabilities, often the case with severe events. At present, a categorical weather warning system is used. The work reported here tested the relative benefits of several forecast formats, comparing decisions made with and without uncertainty forecasts. In three experiments, participants assumed the role of a manager of a road maintenance company in charge of deciding whether to pay to salt the roads and avoid a potential penalty associated with icy conditions. Participants used overnight low temperature forecasts accompanied in some conditions by uncertainty estimates and in others by decision advice comparable to categorical warnings. Results suggested that uncertainty information improved decision quality overall and increased trust in the forecast. Participants with uncertainty forecasts took appropriate precautionary action and withheld unnecessary action more often than did participants using deterministic forecasts. When error in the forecast increased, participants with conventional forecasts were reluctant to act. However, this effect was attenuated by uncertainty forecasts. Providing categorical decision advice alone did not improve decisions. However, combining decision advice with uncertainty estimates resulted in the best performance overall. The results reported here have important implications for the development of forecast formats to increase compliance with severe weather warnings as well as other domains in which one must act in the face of uncertainty. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

Effect of directional speech warnings on road hazard detection.

PubMed

Serrano, Jesús; Di Stasi, Leandro L; Megías, Alberto; Catena, Andrés

2011-12-01

In the last 2 decades, cognitive science and the transportation psychology field have dedicated a lot of effort to designing advanced driver support systems. Verbal warning systems are increasingly being implemented in modern automobiles in an effort to increase road safety. The study presented here investigated the impact of directional speech alert messages on the participants' speed to judge whether or not naturalistic road scenes depicted a situation of impending danger. Thirty-eight volunteers performed a computer-based key-press reaction time task. Findings indicated that semantic content of verbal warning signals can be used for increasing driving safety and improving hazard detection. Furthermore, the classical result regarding signal accuracy is confirmed: directional informative speech messages lead to faster hazard detection compared to drivers who received a high rate of false alarms. Notwithstanding some study limitations (lack of driver experience and low ecological validity), this evidence could provide important information for the specification of future Human-Machine-interaction (HMI) design guidelines.

Evaluation of deer warning reflectors in Virginia.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-01-01

A deer warning reflector consists of a red, double-sided reflector mounted on posts, similar to those used for roadside delineators along roadways. As vehicles approach and move through the road section, it is purported that the reflector reflects th...

Transportation research synthesis : effectiveness of traffic signs on local roads.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-01-01

There does not appear to be significant credible research demonstrating the outright ineffectiveness of particular : traffic warning signs. The research we identified provides support for opposing points of view: that traffic warning : signs have a m...

Evaluation of radar rainfall estimates and nowcasts to prevent flash flood in real time by using a road submersion warning tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Versini, Pierre-Antoine; Sempere-Torres, Daniel

2010-05-01

Important damages occur in small headwater catchments when they are hit by severe storms with complex spatio-temporal structure, sometimes resulting in flash floods. As these catchments are mostly not covered by sensor networks, it is difficult to forecast these floods. This is particularly true for road submersions. These are major concerns for flood event managers. The use of Quantitative Precipitation Estimates and Forecasts (QPE/QPF) especially based on radar measurements could particularly be adequate to evaluate rainfall-induced risks. Although their characteristic time and space scales would make them suitable for flash flood modelling, the impact of their uncertainties remain uncertain and have to be evaluated. The Gard region (France) has been chosen as case study. This area is frequently affected by severe flash floods and different kinds of rainfall observations are available in real time: radar rainfall estimates and nowcasts from METEO FRANCE and the CALAMAR system from SPC (state authority in charge of flood forecasting). An application devoted to the road network, has also been recently developed for this region. It combines distributed hydro-meteorological very short range forecasts and vulnerability analysis to provide warnings of road submersions. The first results demonstrate that it is technically possible to provide distributed short-term forecasts for a large number of sites. The study also demonstrates that a reliable estimation of the spatial distribution of rainfall is essential. For this reason, the road submersion warning system can be used to evaluate the quality of rainfall estimates and nowcasts. The warning system has been tested on the specific storm of the 29-30 September 2007. During this event, more than 300mm dropped on the South part of the Gard and many roads were submerged. Each of the mentioned rainfall datasets (i.e. estimates and nowcasts) was available in real time. They have been used to forecast the exact location of road submersions and the results have been compared to the effective road submersions actually occurred during the event as listed by the emergency services. The results confirm that the road submersion warning system represents a promising tool for anticipating and quantifying the consequences of storm events at ground. It rates the submersion risk with an acceptable level of accuracy and a reasonable false alarm ratio. It demonstrates also the quality of high spatial and temporal resolution radar rainfall data in real time, and the possibility to use them despite their uncertainties. However because of the quality of rainfall nowcasts falls drastically with time, it is not often sufficient to provide valuable information for lead times exceeding one hour.

Debris flow early warning systems in Norway: organization and tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleivane, I.; Colleuille, H.; Haugen, L. E.; Alve Glad, P.; Devoli, G.

2012-04-01

In Norway, shallow slides and debris flows occur as a combination of high-intensity precipitation, snowmelt, high groundwater level and saturated soil. Many events have occurred in the last decades and are often associated with (or related to) floods events, especially in the Southern of Norway, causing significant damages to roads, railway lines, buildings, and other infrastructures (i.e November 2000; August 2003; September 2005; November 2005; Mai 2008; June and Desember 2011). Since 1989 the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) has had an operational 24 hour flood forecasting system for the entire country. From 2009 NVE is also responsible to assist regions and municipalities in the prevention of disasters posed by landslides and snow avalanches. Besides assisting the municipalities through implementation of digital landslides inventories, susceptibility and hazard mapping, areal planning, preparation of guidelines, realization of mitigation measures and helping during emergencies, NVE is developing a regional scale debris flow warning system that use hydrological models that are already available in the flood warning systems. It is well known that the application of rainfall thresholds is not sufficient to evaluate the hazard for debris flows and shallow slides, and soil moisture conditions play a crucial role in the triggering conditions. The information on simulated soil and groundwater conditions and water supply (rain and snowmelt) based on weather forecast, have proved to be useful variables that indicate the potential occurrence of debris flows and shallow slides. Forecasts of runoff and freezing-thawing are also valuable information. The early warning system is using real-time measurements (Discharge; Groundwater level; Soil water content and soil temperature; Snow water equivalent; Meteorological data) and model simulations (a spatially distributed version of the HBV-model and an adapted version of 1-D soil water and energy balance model COUP). The data are presented in a web- and GIS-based system with daily nationwide maps showing the meteorological and hydrological conditions for the present and the near future from quantitative weather prognosis. In addition a division of the country in homogenous debris flow-prone regions is also under progress based on geomorfological, topographic parameters and loose quaternary deposits distribution. Threshold-levels are being investigated by using statistical analyses of historical debris flows events and measured hydro-meteorological parameters. The debris flow early warning system is currently being tested and is expected to be operational in 2013. Final products will be warning messages and a map showing the different hazard levels, from low to high, indicating the landslide probability and the type of expected damages in a certain area. Many activities are realized in strong collaboration with the road and railway authorities, the geological survey and private consultant companies.

Tyre contact length on dry and wet road surfaces measured by three-axial accelerometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matilainen, Mika; Tuononen, Ari

2015-02-01

We determined the tyre contact length on dry and wet roads by measuring the accelerations of the inner liner with a three-axial accelerometer. The influence of the tyre pressure, driving velocity, and tread depth on the contact length was studied in both types of road surface conditions. On dry asphalt the contact length was almost constant, regardless of the driving velocity. On wet asphalt the presence of water could be detected even at low driving velocities (e.g. 20 km/h for a worn tyre) as the contact length began to decrease from that found in the dry asphalt situation. In addition to improving the performance of active safety systems and driver warning systems, the contact length information could be beneficial for classifying and studying the aquaplaning behaviour of tyres.

Looking north Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Looking north - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Electric Substation, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

30 CFR 75.1403-10 - Criteria-Haulage; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) Warning lights or reflective signs or tapes should be installed along haulage roads at locations of abrupt... pulled by animals. (b) Cars on main haulage roads should not be pushed, except where necessary to push...

30 CFR 75.1403-10 - Criteria-Haulage; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...) Warning lights or reflective signs or tapes should be installed along haulage roads at locations of abrupt... pulled by animals. (b) Cars on main haulage roads should not be pushed, except where necessary to push...

30 CFR 75.1403-10 - Criteria-Haulage; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...) Warning lights or reflective signs or tapes should be installed along haulage roads at locations of abrupt... pulled by animals. (b) Cars on main haulage roads should not be pushed, except where necessary to push...

30 CFR 75.1403-10 - Criteria-Haulage; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) Warning lights or reflective signs or tapes should be installed along haulage roads at locations of abrupt... pulled by animals. (b) Cars on main haulage roads should not be pushed, except where necessary to push...

30 CFR 75.1403-10 - Criteria-Haulage; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...) Warning lights or reflective signs or tapes should be installed along haulage roads at locations of abrupt... pulled by animals. (b) Cars on main haulage roads should not be pushed, except where necessary to push...

Performance of advance warning systems in a coordinated system : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-09-01

The Advance Warning System (AWS), developed by the Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) has proven to be effective at improving traffic safety at isolated signalized intersections. However, the effectiveness of the system has not been analyzed at sign...

Interior, looking northeast Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Interior, looking northeast - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Microwave Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

All-terrain vehicle fatalities on paved roads, unpaved roads, and off-road: Evidence for informed roadway safety warnings and legislation.

PubMed

Denning, Gerene M; Jennissen, Charles A

2016-05-18

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are designed for off-highway use only, and many of their features create increased risk with roadway travel. Over half of all ATV-related fatalities occur on roadways, and nonfatal roadway crashes result in more serious injuries than those off the road. A number of jurisdictions have passed or have considered legislation allowing ATVs on public roadways, sometimes limiting them to those unpaved, arguing that they are safe for ATVs. However, no studies have determined the epidemiology of ATV-related fatalities on different road surface types. The objective of the study was to compare ATV-related deaths on paved versus unpaved roads and to contrast them with off-road fatalities. Retrospective descriptive and multivariable analyses were performed using U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission fatality data from 1982 through 2012. After 1998, ATV-related deaths increased at twice the rate on paved versus unpaved roads. Still, 42% of all roadway deaths during the study period occurred on unpaved surfaces. States varied considerably, ranging from 18% to 79% of their ATV-related roadway deaths occurring on unpaved roads. Paved road crashes were more likely than those on unpaved surfaces to involve males, adolescents and younger adults, passengers, and collisions with other vehicles. Both the pattern of other vehicles involved in collisions and which vehicle hit the other were different for the 2 road types. Alcohol use was higher, helmet use was lower, and head injuries were more likely in paved versus unpaved roadway crashes. However, head injuries still occurred in 76% of fatalities on unpaved roads. Helmets were associated with lower proportions of head injuries among riders, regardless of road surface type. Relative to off-road crashes, both paved and unpaved roads were more likely to involve collisions with another vehicle. The vast majority of roadway crashes, however, did not involve a traffic collision on either paved or unpaved roads. Although differences were observed between paved and unpaved roads, our results show that riding on either represented significantly greater dangers than riding off the road. Many vehicle warnings specifically mention the risks of paved but not unpaved roads, yet we found 23 states with half or more of their roadway deaths on unpaved surfaces. Safety warnings should explicitly state the dangers of roadway riding regardless of surface type. These data further support laws/ordinances greatly restricting ATV riding on all types of public roadways.

Road safety alerting system with radar and GPS cooperation in a VANET environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santamaria, Amilcare Francesco; Sottile, Cesare; De Rango, Floriano; Voznak, Miroslav

2014-05-01

New applications in wireless environments are increasing and keeping even more interests from the developer companies and researchers. In particular, in these last few years the government and institutional organization for road safety spent a lot of resources and money to promote Vehicular Ad-Hoc Network (VANET) technology, also car manufactures are giving a lot of contributions on this field as well. In our paper, we propose an innovative system to increase road safety, matching the requests of the market allowing a cooperation between on-board devices. The vehicles are equipped with On Board Unit (OBU) and On Board Radar Unit (OBRU), which can spread alerting messages around the network regarding warning and dangerous situations exploiting IEEE802.llp standard. Vehicles move along roads observing the environment, traffic and road conditions, and vehicles parameters as well. These information can be elaborated and shared between neighbors, Road Side Unit (RSU)s and, of course, with Internet, allowing inter-system communications exploiting an Road Traffic Manager (RTM). Radar systems task it the detection of the environment in order to increase the knowledge of current conditions of the roads, for example it is important to identify obstacles, road accidents, dangerous situations and so on. Once detected exploiting onboard devices, such as Global Position System (GPS) receiver it is possible to know the exact location of the caught event and after a data elaboration the information is spread along the network. Once the drivers are advised, they can make some precautionary actions such as reduction of traveling speed or modification of current road path. In this work the routing algorithms, which have the main goal to rapidly disseminate information, are also been investigated.

Evaluation of the Norridgewock intersection collision avoidance warning system on Route 201A, Norridgewock, Maine.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-11-01

Review of the Norridgewock Intersection Collision Avoidance Warning System : demonstrates that the system appears to effectively reduce the number of potential : crashes at the intersection of River Road, Sophie May Lane and Route 201A. : Results sho...

Signal evaluation environment: a new method for the design of peripheral in-vehicle warning signals.

PubMed

Werneke, Julia; Vollrath, Mark

2011-06-01

An evaluation method called the Signal Evaluation Environment (SEE) was developed for use in the early stages of the design process of peripheral warning signals while driving. Accident analyses have shown that with complex driving situations such as intersections, the visual scan strategies of the driver contribute to overlooking other road users who have the right of way. Salient peripheral warning signals could disrupt these strategies and direct drivers' attention towards these road users. To select effective warning signals, the SEE was developed as a laboratory task requiring visual-cognitive processes similar to those used at intersections. For validation of the SEE, four experiments were conducted using different stimulus characteristics (size, colour contrast, shape, flashing) that influence peripheral vision. The results confirm that the SEE is able to differentiate between the selected stimulus characteristics. The SEE is a useful initial tool for designing peripheral signals, allowing quick and efficient preselection of beneficial signals.

Temporal patterns in road crossing behaviour in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) at sites with wildlife warning reflectors

PubMed Central

Kämmerle, Jim-Lino; Kröschel, Max; Hagen, Robert; Storch, Ilse; Suchant, Rudi

2017-01-01

Every year, there are millions of documented vehicle collisions involving cervids across Europe and North America. While temporal patterns in collision occurrence are relatively well described, few studies have targeted deer behaviour as a critical component of collision prevention. In this study, we investigated weekly and daily patterns in road crossing behaviour in roe deer. Using road crossing events and movement data obtained from GPS telemetry, we employed mixed-effect models to explain frequency and timing of crossings at five road segments by a number of predictors including traffic volume, deer movement activity and the presence of wildlife warning reflectors. We analysed 13,689 road crossing events by 32 study animals. Individual variation in crossing frequency was high but daily patterns in crossing events were highly consistent among animals. Variation in the intensity of movement activity on a daily and seasonal scale was the main driver of road crossing behaviour. The seasonal variation in crossing frequency reflected differences in movement activity throughout the reproductive cycle, while daily variation in the probability to cross exhibited a clear nocturnal emphasis and reflected crepuscular activity peaks. The frequency of road crossings increased as a function of road density in the home-range, while traffic volume only exerted marginal effects. Movement activity of roe deer in our study coincided with commuter traffic mainly in the early morning and late afternoon during winter and during periods of high spatial activity such as the rut. Both timing and frequency of crossing events remained unchanged in the presence of reflectors. Our results emphasise the importance of behavioural studies for understanding roe deer vehicle-collision patterns and thus provide important information for collision prevention. We suggest that mitigation of collision risk should focus on strategic seasonal measures and animal warning systems targeting drivers. PMID:28953951

Measuring driver responses at railway level crossings.

PubMed

Tey, Li-Sian; Ferreira, Luis; Wallace, Angela

2011-11-01

Railway level crossings are amongst the most complex of road safety control systems, due to the conflicts between road vehicles and rail infrastructure, trains and train operations. Driver behaviour at railway crossings is the major collision factor. The main objective of the present paper was to evaluate the existing conventional warning devices in relation to driver behaviour. The common conventional warning devices in Australia are a stop sign (passive), flashing lights and a half boom-barrier with flashing lights (active). The data were collected using two approaches, namely: field video recordings at selected sites and a driving simulator in a laboratory. This paper describes and compares the driver response results from both the field survey and the driving simulator. The conclusion drawn is that different types of warning systems resulted in varying driver responses at crossings. The results showed that on average driver responses to passive crossings were poor when compared to active ones. The field results were consistent with the simulator results for the existing conventional warning devices and hence they may be used to calibrate the simulator for further evaluation of alternative warning systems. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Computer Maintenance Operations Center (CMOC), additional computer support equipment ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Computer Maintenance Operations Center (CMOC), additional computer support equipment - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Techinical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Potential occupant injury reduction in the U.S. vehicle fleet for lane departure warning-equipped vehicles in single-vehicle crashes.

PubMed

Kusano, Kristofer; Gorman, Thomas I; Sherony, Rini; Gabler, Hampton C

2014-01-01

Single-vehicle collisions involve only 10 percent of all occupants in crashes in the United States, yet these same crashes account for 31 percent of all fatalities. Along with other vehicle safety advancements, lane departure warning (LDW) systems are being introduced to mitigate the harmful effects of single-vehicle collisions. The objective of this study is to quantify the number of crashes and seriously injured drivers that could have been prevented in the United States in 2012 had all vehicles been equipped with LDW. In order to estimate the potential injury reduction benefits of LDW in the vehicle fleet, a comprehensive crash and injury simulation model was developed. The model's basis was 481 single-vehicle collisions extracted from the NASS-CDS for year 2012. Each crash was simulated in 2 conditions: (1) as it occurred and (2) as if the driver had an LDW system. By comparing the simulated vehicle's off-road trajectory before and after LDW, the reduction in the probability of a crash was determined. The probability of a seriously injured occupant (Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score [MAIS] 3+) given a crash was computed using injury risk curves with departure velocity and seat belt use as predictors. Each crash was simulated between 18 and 216 times to account for variable driver reaction, road, and vehicle conditions. Finally, the probability of a crash and seriously injured driver was summed over all simulations to determine the benefit of LDW. A majority of roads where departure crashes occurred had 2 lanes and were undivided. As a result, 58 percent of crashes had no shoulder. LDW will not be as effective on roads with no shoulder as on roads with large shoulders. LDW could potentially prevent 28.9 percent of all road departure crashes caused by the driver drifting out of his or her lane, resulting in a 24.3 percent reduction in the number of seriously injured drivers. The results of this study show that LDW, if widely adopted, could significantly mitigate a harmful crash type. Larger shoulder width and the presence of lane markings, determined by manual examination of scene photographs, increased the effectiveness of LDW. This result suggests that highway systems should be modified to maximize LDW effectiveness by expanding shoulders and regularly painting lane lines.

View of Face A and Face B Arrays, looking northeast ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

View of Face A and Face B Arrays, looking northeast - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Techinical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Computer Maintenance Operations Center (CMOC), showing duplexed cyber 170174 computers ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Computer Maintenance Operations Center (CMOC), showing duplexed cyber 170-174 computers - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Techinical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Integrated vehicle-based safety systems heavy-truck on-road test report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-08-01

This report presents results from a series of on-road verification tests performed to determine the readiness of a prototype : integrated warning system to advance to field testing, as well as to identify areas of system performance that should be im...

Integrated vehicle-based safety systems light-vehicle on-road test report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-08-01

This report presents results from a series of on-road verification tests performed to determine the readiness of a prototype : integrated warning system to advance to field testing, as well as to identify areas of system performance that should be im...

Detail of array panels, Face B, with active and terminated ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Detail of array panels, Face B, with active and terminated dipole elements - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Techinical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Aging road user, bicyclist, and pedestrian safety : effective bicycling signs and preventing left-turn crashes.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-09-01

Task 1 of this report drivers' knowledge of various bicycle warning signs and pavement markings were assessed. In general knowledge was high. Share the Road and Three Foot Minimum signs were generally more quickly understood and recognized in version...

Looking into Generator Room, showing electromagnetic pulse (EMP) filter boxes ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Looking into Generator Room, showing electromagnetic pulse (EMP) filter boxes mounted above door - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Power Plant, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Within compound, looking southeast Power Plant (Building 5761) to left, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Within compound, looking southeast Power Plant (Building 5761) to left, Satellite Communications Terminal (Building 5771), center - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Improving safety of vulnerable road users : effectiveness of environment and in-vehicle warning systems at intermodal interchanges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-01-01

In 2009, there were over 114,000 fatalities and injuries in the U.S. among vulnerable road users (VRUs; pedestrians and pedal cyclists; NHTSA, 2010). 4,092 pedestrians were killed in pedestrian-vehicle crashes. Pedestrian risk at intermodal interchan...

Maintenance of signs and sign supports : a guide for local highway and street maintenance personnel.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-01-01

Highway signs are the means by which the road agency communicates the rules, warnings, guidance and other highway information that drivers need to navigate their roads and streets. This guide, which is an update to the same titled guide published in ...

Looking northwest, Face B Array to left, Face C (rear) ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Looking northwest, Face B Array to left, Face C (rear) center, Power Plant (Building 5761), to right - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Techinical Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Within compound, looking northwest, Power Plant (Building 5761) and Guard ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Within compound, looking northwest, Power Plant (Building 5761) and Guard Tower (Building 5762) to left, Electrical Substation to right - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Detection of Road Markings Recorded in In-Vehicle Camera Images by Using Position-Dependent Classifiers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noda, Masafumi; Takahashi, Tomokazu; Deguchi, Daisuke; Ide, Ichiro; Murase, Hiroshi; Kojima, Yoshiko; Naito, Takashi

In this study, we propose a method for detecting road markings recorded in an image captured by an in-vehicle camera by using a position-dependent classifier. Road markings are symbols painted on the road surface that help in preventing traffic accidents and in ensuring traffic smooth. Therefore, driver support systems for detecting road markings, such as a system that provides warning in the case when traffic signs are overlooked, and supporting the stopping of a vehicle are required. It is difficult to detect road markings because their appearance changes with the actual traffic conditions, e. g. the shape and resolution change. The variation in these appearances depend on the positional relation between the vehicle and the road markings, and on the vehicle posture. Although these variations are quite large in an entire image, they are relatively small in a local area of the image. Therefore, we try to improve the detection performance by taking into account the local variations in these appearances. We propose a method in which a position-dependent classifier is used to detect road markings recorded in images captured by an in-vehicle camera. Further, to train the classifier efficiently, we propose a generative learning method that takes into consideration the positional relation between the vehicle and road markings, and also the vehicle posture. Experimental results showed that the detection performance when the proposed method was used was better than when a method involving a single classifier was used.

Wildlife Warning Signs: Public Assessment of Components, Placement and Designs to Optimise Driver Response.

PubMed

Bond, Amy R F; Jones, Darryl N

2013-12-17

Wildlife warning signs are the most commonly used and widespread form of road impact mitigation, aimed at reducing the incidence of wildlife-vehicle collisions. Evidence of the effectiveness of currently used signs is rare and often indicates minimal change in driver behaviour. Improving the design of these signs to increase the likelihood of appropriate driver response has the potential to reduce the incidence of wildlife-vehicle collisions. This study aimed to examine and assess the opinions of drivers on wildlife warning sign designs through a public opinion survey. Three currently used sign designs and five alternative sign designs were compared in the survey. A total of 134 drivers were surveyed. The presence of temporal specifications and an updated count of road-killed animals on wildlife warning signs were assessed, as well as the position of the sign. Drivers' responses to the eight signs were scaled separately at three speed limits and participants indicated the sign to which they were most likely to respond. Three signs consistently ranked high. The messages conveyed by these signs and their prominent features were explored. Animal-activated and vehicle speed-activated signs were ranked very highly by participants. Extensive field trials of various sign designs are needed to further this research into optimizing wildlife warning sign designs.

Hybrid and electric low-noise cars cause an increase in traffic accidents involving vulnerable road users in urban areas.

PubMed

Brand, Stephan; Petri, Maximilian; Haas, Philipp; Krettek, Christian; Haasper, Carl

2013-01-01

Due to resource scarcity, the number of low-noise and electric cars is expected to increase rapidly. The frequent use of these cars will lead to a significant reduction of traffic related noise and pollution. On the other hand, due to the adaption and conditioning of vulnerable road users the number of traffic accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists is postulated to increase as well. Children, older people with reduced eyesight and the blind are especially reliant on a combination of acoustic and visual warning signals with approaching or accelerating vehicles. This is even more evident in urban areas where the engine sound is the dominating sound up to 30 kph (kilometres per hour). Above this, tyre-road interaction is the main cause of traffic noise. With the missing typical engine sound a new sound design is necessary to prevent traffic accidents in urban areas. Drivers should not be able to switch the sound generator off.

30 CFR 77.1600 - Loading and haulage; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... permitted on haulage roads and at loading or dumping locations. (b) Traffic rules, signals, and warning signs shall be standardized at each mine and posted. (c) Where side or overhead clearances on any haulage road or at any loading or dumping location at the mine are hazardous to mine workers, such areas...

30 CFR 77.1600 - Loading and haulage; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... permitted on haulage roads and at loading or dumping locations. (b) Traffic rules, signals, and warning signs shall be standardized at each mine and posted. (c) Where side or overhead clearances on any haulage road or at any loading or dumping location at the mine are hazardous to mine workers, such areas...

30 CFR 77.1600 - Loading and haulage; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... permitted on haulage roads and at loading or dumping locations. (b) Traffic rules, signals, and warning signs shall be standardized at each mine and posted. (c) Where side or overhead clearances on any haulage road or at any loading or dumping location at the mine are hazardous to mine workers, such areas...

30 CFR 77.1600 - Loading and haulage; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... permitted on haulage roads and at loading or dumping locations. (b) Traffic rules, signals, and warning signs shall be standardized at each mine and posted. (c) Where side or overhead clearances on any haulage road or at any loading or dumping location at the mine are hazardous to mine workers, such areas...

30 CFR 77.1600 - Loading and haulage; general.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... permitted on haulage roads and at loading or dumping locations. (b) Traffic rules, signals, and warning signs shall be standardized at each mine and posted. (c) Where side or overhead clearances on any haulage road or at any loading or dumping location at the mine are hazardous to mine workers, such areas...

Exterior, looking west, Equipment Building to left, Tower at center, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Exterior, looking west, Equipment Building to left, Tower at center, Civil Engineering Storage Building (Building 5765) at left - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, Microwave Equipment Building, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Within compound, from Guard Tower, looking southeast, Power Plant (Building ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Within compound, from Guard Tower, looking southeast, Power Plant (Building 5761) to left, Satellite Communications Terminal (Building 5771) center, Supply Warehouse (Building 5768) to left - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

The effectiveness of lane departure warning systems-A reduction in real-world passenger car injury crashes.

PubMed

Sternlund, Simon; Strandroth, Johan; Rizzi, Matteo; Lie, Anders; Tingvall, Claes

2017-02-17

The objective of this study was to estimate the safety benefits of in vehicle lane departure warning (LDW) and lane keeping aid (LKA) systems in reducing relevant real-world passenger car injury crashes. The study used an induced exposure method, where LDW/LKA-sensitive and nonsensitive crashes were compared for Volvo passenger cars equipped with and without LDW/LKA systems. These crashes were matched by car make, model, model year, and technical equipment; that is, low-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB) called City Safety (CS). The data were extracted from the Swedish Traffic Accident Data Acquisition database (STRADA) and consisted of 1,853 driver injury crashes that involved 146 LDW-equipped cars, 11 LKA-equipped cars, and 1,696 cars without LDW/LKA systems. The analysis showed a positive effect of the LDW/LKA systems in reducing lane departure crashes. The LDW/LKA systems were estimated to reduce head-on and single-vehicle injury crashes on Swedish roads with speed limits between 70 and 120 km/h and with dry or wet road surfaces (i.e., not covered by ice or snow) by 53% with a lower limit of 11% (95% confidence interval [CI]). This reduction corresponded to a reduction of 30% with a lower limit of 6% (95% CI) for all head-on and single-vehicle driver injury crashes (including all speed limits and all road surface conditions). LDW/LKA systems were estimated to lower the driver injury risk in crash types that the systems are designed to prevent; that is, head-on and single-vehicle crashes. Though these are important findings, they were based on a small data set. Therefore, further research is desirable to evaluate the effectiveness of LDW/LKA systems under real-world conditions and to differentiate the effectiveness between technical solutions (i.e., LDW and LKA) proposed by different manufacturers.

[Heavy metals in environmental media around drinking water conservation area of Shanghai].

PubMed

Shi, Gui-Tao; Chen, Zhen-Lou; Zhang, Cui; Bi, Chun-Juan; Cheng, Chen; Teng, Ji-Yan; Shen, Jun; Wang, Dong-Qi; Xu, Shi-Yuan

2008-07-01

The levels of heavy metals in Shanghai drinking water conservation area were determined, and the spatial distributions and main sources of heavy metals were investigated. Moreover, the ecological risk assessment of heavy metals was conducted. Some conclusions can be drawn as follows: (1) The average concentrations of Cd, Hg, Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr and As in road dust were 0.80, 0.23, 148.45, 127.52, 380.57, 63.17, 250.38 and 10.37 mg x kg(-1) respectively. In terms of the pollution level, the values of soils were relatively lower, with the mean contents of 0.16 (Cd), 0.33 (Hg), 30.14 (Pb), 30.66 (Cu), 103.79 (Zn), 24.04 (Ni), 65.75 (Cr) and 6.31 mg x kg(-1) (As) severally; meanwhile the average levels of heavy metals in vegetables were 0.010 (Cd), 0.016 (Hg), 0.36 (Pb), 12.80 (Cu), 61.69 (Zn), 2.04 (Ni), 2.41 (Cr) and 0.039 mg x kg(-1) (As) respectively. (2) Semivariogram and multivariate analysis indicated that heavy metals pollution of soils was induced by anthropogenic activities mostly, and the pollutants produced by traffic were the major source of heavy metals in road dust. (3) The order for heavy metal enrichment coefficients of vegetables was as following: Zn (0.589) > Cu (0.412) > 0.102 (Ni) > Cd (0.059) > Cr (0.061) > Hg (0.056) > Pb (0.012) > As (0.007), and the results indicated that Cd and Zn in vegetables were mainly from the soils, and the other metals were probably from the pollutants in the atmosphere. (4) Sediments in drinking water conservation area were probably derived from soils around; however, there was no significant relationship between heavy metals contents of them. (5) The results of ecological risk assessment of heavy metals showed that heavy metals in soils were in no-warning to warning situation, and warning to light-warning situation for road dust and vegetables. The fuzzy synthesis judgment for all the environmental media around drinking water conservation area was warning to light-warning.

Within compound, from Guard Tower (Building 5762), looking southwest, Technical ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Within compound, from Guard Tower (Building 5762), looking southwest, Technical Equipment Building (Building 5760) to left, Microwave Tower (associated with Building 5769) and Civil Engineering Storage Building (Building 5766) to left - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Within compound, from Gate House, looking northwest, Power Plant (Building ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Within compound, from Gate House, looking northwest, Power Plant (Building 5761) to left, Electrical Substation (Building 5770) and Supply Warehouse (Building 5768) center, Satellite Communications Terminal (Building 5771) to far left - Beale Air Force Base, Perimeter Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased-Array Warning System, End of Spencer Paul Road, north of Warren Shingle Road (14th Street), Marysville, Yuba County, CA

Wildlife Warning Signs: Public Assessment of Components, Placement and Designs to Optimise Driver Response

PubMed Central

Bond, Amy R. F.; Jones, Darryl N.

2013-01-01

Simple Summary Wildlife warning signs are aimed at reducing wildlife–vehicle collisions but there is little evidence that they are effective. Improving these sign designs to increase driver response may reduce wildlife–vehicle collisions. We examined drivers’ responses to different wildlife warning sign designs through a public survey. The presences of some sign components and sign position were assessed. Drivers’ responses to eight graphically displayed signs and animal- and vehicle-activated signs were ranked and participants indicated the sign to which they were most likely to respond. Three signs ranked highly. Animal- and vehicle-activated signs were also ranked highly by participants. More research into optimising wildlife warning sign designs is needed. Abstract Wildlife warning signs are the most commonly used and widespread form of road impact mitigation, aimed at reducing the incidence of wildlife–vehicle collisions. Evidence of the effectiveness of currently used signs is rare and often indicates minimal change in driver behaviour. Improving the design of these signs to increase the likelihood of appropriate driver response has the potential to reduce the incidence of wildlife–vehicle collisions. This study aimed to examine and assess the opinions of drivers on wildlife warning sign designs through a public opinion survey. Three currently used sign designs and five alternative sign designs were compared in the survey. A total of 134 drivers were surveyed. The presence of temporal specifications and an updated count of road-killed animals on wildlife warning signs were assessed, as well as the position of the sign. Drivers’ responses to the eight signs were scaled separately at three speed limits and participants indicated the sign to which they were most likely to respond. Three signs consistently ranked high. The messages conveyed by these signs and their prominent features were explored. Animal-activated and vehicle speed-activated signs were ranked very highly by participants. Extensive field trials of various sign designs are needed to further this research into optimizing wildlife warning sign designs. PMID:26479756

Road Accident Prevention with Instant Emergency Warning Message Dissemination in Vehicular Ad-Hoc Network.

PubMed

Gokulakrishnan, P; Ganeshkumar, P

2015-01-01

A Road Accident Prevention (RAP) scheme based on Vehicular Backbone Network (VBN) structure is proposed in this paper for Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET). The RAP scheme attempts to prevent vehicles from highway road traffic accidents and thereby reduces death and injury rates. Once the possibility of an emergency situation (i.e. an accident) is predicted in advance, instantly RAP initiates a highway road traffic accident prevention scheme. The RAP scheme constitutes the following activities: (i) the Road Side Unit (RSU) constructs a Prediction Report (PR) based on the status of the vehicles and traffic in the highway roads, (ii) the RSU generates an Emergency Warning Message (EWM) based on an abnormal PR, (iii) the RSU forms a VBN structure and (iv) the RSU disseminates the EWM to the vehicles that holds the high Risk Factor (RF) and travels in High Risk Zone (HRZ). These vehicles might reside either within the RSU's coverage area or outside RSU's coverage area (reached using VBN structure). The RAP scheme improves the performance of EWM dissemination in terms of increase in notification and decrease in end-to-end delay. The RAP scheme also reduces infrastructure cost (number of RSUs) by formulating and deploying the VBN structure. The RAP scheme with VBN structure improves notification by 19 percent and end-to-end delay by 14.38 percent for a vehicle density of 160 vehicles. It is also proved from the simulation experiment that the performance of RAP scheme is promising in 4-lane highway roads.

Road Accident Prevention with Instant Emergency Warning Message Dissemination in Vehicular Ad-Hoc Network

PubMed Central

P, Gokulakrishnan; P, Ganeshkumar

2015-01-01

A Road Accident Prevention (RAP) scheme based on Vehicular Backbone Network (VBN) structure is proposed in this paper for Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET). The RAP scheme attempts to prevent vehicles from highway road traffic accidents and thereby reduces death and injury rates. Once the possibility of an emergency situation (i.e. an accident) is predicted in advance, instantly RAP initiates a highway road traffic accident prevention scheme. The RAP scheme constitutes the following activities: (i) the Road Side Unit (RSU) constructs a Prediction Report (PR) based on the status of the vehicles and traffic in the highway roads, (ii) the RSU generates an Emergency Warning Message (EWM) based on an abnormal PR, (iii) the RSU forms a VBN structure and (iv) the RSU disseminates the EWM to the vehicles that holds the high Risk Factor (RF) and travels in High Risk Zone (HRZ). These vehicles might reside either within the RSU’s coverage area or outside RSU’s coverage area (reached using VBN structure). The RAP scheme improves the performance of EWM dissemination in terms of increase in notification and decrease in end-to-end delay. The RAP scheme also reduces infrastructure cost (number of RSUs) by formulating and deploying the VBN structure. The RAP scheme with VBN structure improves notification by 19 percent and end-to-end delay by 14.38 percent for a vehicle density of 160 vehicles. It is also proved from the simulation experiment that the performance of RAP scheme is promising in 4-lane highway roads. PMID:26636576

32 CFR 537.8 - Investigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., for example, vehicle defects or improper maintenance, road design and absence of warning signs... furnish necessary information, it can usually be obtained by other means, for example, from an accident...

Advanced laser-based tracking device for motor vehicle lane position monitoring and steering assistance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bachalo, William D.; Inenaga, Andrew; Schuler, Carlos A.

1995-12-01

Aerometrics is developing an innovative laser-diode based device that provides a warning signal when a motor-vehicle deviates from the center of the lane. The device is based on a sensor that scans the roadway on either side of the vehicle and determines the lateral position relative to the existing painted lines marking the lane. No additional markings are required. A warning is used to alert the driver of excessive weaving or unanticipated departure from the center of the lane. The laser beams are at invisible wavelengths to that operation of the device does not pose a distraction to the driver or other motorists: When appropriate markers are not present on the road, the device is capable of detecting this condition and warn the driver. The sensor system is expected to work well irrespective of ambient light levels, fog and rain. This sensor has enormous commercial potential. It could be marketed as an instrument to warn drivers that they are weaving, used as a research tool to monitor driving patterns, be required equipment for those previously convicted of driving under the influence, or used as a backup sensor for vehicle lateral position control. It can also be used in storage plants to guide robotic delivery vehicles. In this paper, the principles of operation of the sensor, and the results of Aerometrics ongoing testing will be presented.

Road Lane Detection by Discriminating Dashed and Solid Road Lanes Using a Visible Light Camera Sensor.

PubMed

Hoang, Toan Minh; Hong, Hyung Gil; Vokhidov, Husan; Park, Kang Ryoung

2016-08-18

With the increasing need for road lane detection used in lane departure warning systems and autonomous vehicles, many studies have been conducted to turn road lane detection into a virtual assistant to improve driving safety and reduce car accidents. Most of the previous research approaches detect the central line of a road lane and not the accurate left and right boundaries of the lane. In addition, they do not discriminate between dashed and solid lanes when detecting the road lanes. However, this discrimination is necessary for the safety of autonomous vehicles and the safety of vehicles driven by human drivers. To overcome these problems, we propose a method for road lane detection that distinguishes between dashed and solid lanes. Experimental results with the Caltech open database showed that our method outperforms conventional methods.

Road Lane Detection by Discriminating Dashed and Solid Road Lanes Using a Visible Light Camera Sensor

PubMed Central

Hoang, Toan Minh; Hong, Hyung Gil; Vokhidov, Husan; Park, Kang Ryoung

2016-01-01

With the increasing need for road lane detection used in lane departure warning systems and autonomous vehicles, many studies have been conducted to turn road lane detection into a virtual assistant to improve driving safety and reduce car accidents. Most of the previous research approaches detect the central line of a road lane and not the accurate left and right boundaries of the lane. In addition, they do not discriminate between dashed and solid lanes when detecting the road lanes. However, this discrimination is necessary for the safety of autonomous vehicles and the safety of vehicles driven by human drivers. To overcome these problems, we propose a method for road lane detection that distinguishes between dashed and solid lanes. Experimental results with the Caltech open database showed that our method outperforms conventional methods. PMID:27548176

30 CFR 56.6130 - Explosive material storage facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... authorities for over-the-road use. Facilities other than magazines used to store blasting agents shall contain... appropriate warning signs that indicate the contents and are visible from each approach. ...

30 CFR 56.6130 - Explosive material storage facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... authorities for over-the-road use. Facilities other than magazines used to store blasting agents shall contain... appropriate warning signs that indicate the contents and are visible from each approach. ...

30 CFR 56.6130 - Explosive material storage facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... authorities for over-the-road use. Facilities other than magazines used to store blasting agents shall contain... appropriate warning signs that indicate the contents and are visible from each approach. ...

Performance evaluation of the national early warning system for shallow landslides in Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahl, Mads-Peter; Piciullo, Luca; Devoli, Graziella; Colleuille, Hervé; Calvello, Michele

2017-04-01

As a consequence of the increased number of rainfall-and snowmelt-induced landslides (debris flows, debris slides, debris avalanches and slush flows) occurring in Norway, a national landslide early warning system (EWS) has been developed for monitoring and forecasting the hydro-meteorological conditions potentially necessary of triggering slope failures. The system, operational since 2013, is managed by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) and has been designed in cooperation with the Norwegian Public Road Administration (SVV), the Norwegian National Rail Administration (JBV) and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET). Decision-making in the EWS is based upon hazard threshold levels, hydro-meteorological and real-time landslide observations as well as landslide inventory and susceptibility maps. Hazard threshold levels have been obtained through statistical analyses of historical landslides and modelled hydro-meteorological parameters. Daily hydro-meteorological conditions such as rainfall, snowmelt, runoff, soil saturation, groundwater level and frost depth have been derived from a distributed version of the hydrological HBV-model. Two different landslide susceptibility maps are used as supportive data in deciding daily warning levels. Daily alerts are issued throughout the country considering variable warning zones. Warnings are issued once per day for the following 3 days with an update possibility later during the day according to the information gathered by the monitoring variables. The performance of the EWS has been evaluated applying the EDuMaP method. In particular, the performance of warnings issued in Western Norway, in the period 2013-2014 has been evaluated using two different landslide datasets. The best performance is obtained for the smallest and more accurate dataset. Different performance results may be observed as a function of changing the landslide density criterion, Lden(k), (i.e., thresholds considered to differentiate among classes of landslide events) used as an input parameter within the EDuMaP method. To investigate this issue, a parametric analysis has been conducted; the results of the analysis show clear differences among computed performances when absolute or relative landslide density criteria are considered.

30 CFR 57.6130 - Explosive material storage facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... local authorities for over-the-road use. Facilities other than magazines used to store blasting agents... or other appropriate warning signs that indicate the contents and are visible from each approach. ...

30 CFR 57.6130 - Explosive material storage facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... local authorities for over-the-road use. Facilities other than magazines used to store blasting agents... or other appropriate warning signs that indicate the contents and are visible from each approach. ...

30 CFR 57.6130 - Explosive material storage facilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... local authorities for over-the-road use. Facilities other than magazines used to store blasting agents... or other appropriate warning signs that indicate the contents and are visible from each approach. ...

Driving in traffic: short-range sensing for urban collision avoidance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thorpe, Chuck E.; Duggins, David F.; Gowdy, Jay W.; MacLaughlin, Rob; Mertz, Christoph; Siegel, Mel; Suppe, Arne; Wang, Chieh-Chih; Yata, Teruko

2002-07-01

Intelligent vehicles are beginning to appear on the market, but so far their sensing and warning functions only work on the open road. Functions such as runoff-road warning or adaptive cruise control are designed for the uncluttered environments of open highways. We are working on the much more difficult problem of sensing and driver interfaces for driving in urban areas. We need to sense cars and pedestrians and curbs and fire plugs and bicycles and lamp posts; we need to predict the paths of our own vehicle and of other moving objects; and we need to decide when to issue alerts or warnings to both the driver of our own vehicle and (potentially) to nearby pedestrians. No single sensor is currently able to detect and track all relevant objects. We are working with radar, ladar, stereo vision, and a novel light-stripe range sensor. We have installed a subset of these sensors on a city bus, driving through the streets of Pittsburgh on its normal runs. We are using different kinds of data fusion for different subsets of sensors, plus a coordinating framework for mapping objects at an abstract level.

Road safety enhancement: an investigation on the visibility of on-road image projections using DMD-based pixel light systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizvi, Sadiq; Ley, Peer-Phillip; Knöchelmann, Marvin; Lachmayer, Roland

2018-02-01

Research reveals that visual information forms the major portion of the received data for driving. At night -owing to the, sometimes scarcity, sometime inhomogeneity of light- the human physiology and psychology experiences a dramatic alteration. It is found that although the likelihood of accident occurrence is higher during the day due to heavier traffic, the most fatal accidents still occur during night time. How can road safety be improved in limited lighting conditions using DMD-based high resolution headlamps? DMD-based pixel light systems, utilizing HID and LED light sources, are able to address hundreds of thousands of pixels individually. Using camera information, this capability allows 'glare-free' light distributions that perfectly adapt to the needs of all road users. What really enables these systems to stand out however, is their on-road image projection capability. This projection functionality may be used in co-operation with other driver assistance systems as an assist feature for the projection of navigation data, warning signs, car status information etc. Since contrast sensitivity constitutes a decisive measure of the human visual function, here is then a core question: what distributions of luminance in the projection space produce highly visible on-road image projections? This work seeks to address this question. Responses on sets of differently illuminated projections are collected from a group of participants and later interpreted using statistical data obtained using a luminance camera. Some aspects regarding the correlation between contrast ratio, symbol form and attention capture are also discussed.

78 FR 47205 - National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan; National Priorities List...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-05

... material, isolation and capping of non- hazardous materials, installation of fencing, posting of warning... on the site, No excavations causing erosion, No excavation below base material of the road bed (State...

Dilemma zone protection on high-speed arterials.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-12-01

Driver behavior within the dilemma zone can be a major safety concern at high-speed signalized intersections, especially : for heavy trucks. The Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) has developed and implemented an Actuated Advance : Warning (AAW) dil...

Requirements of a system to reduce car-to-vulnerable road user crashes in urban intersections.

PubMed

Habibovic, Azra; Davidsson, Johan

2011-07-01

Intersection crashes between cars and vulnerable road users (VRUs), such as pedestrians and bicyclists, often result in injuries and fatalities. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs) can prevent, or mitigate, these crashes. To derive functional requirements for such systems, an understanding of the underlying contributing factors and the context in which the crashes occur is essential. The aim of this study is to use microscopic and macroscopic crash data to explore the potential of information and warning providing ADASs, and then to derive functional sensor, collision detection, and human-machine interface (HMI) requirements. The microscopic data were obtained from the European project SafetyNet. Causation charts describing contributing factors for 60 car-to-VRU crashes had been compiled and were then also aggregated using the SafetyNet Accident Causation System (SNACS). The macroscopic data were obtained from the Swedish national crash database, STRADA. A total of 9702 crashes were analyzed. The results show that the most frequent contributing factor to the crashes was the drivers' failure to observe VRUs due to reduced visibility, reduced awareness, and/or insufficient comprehension. An ADAS should therefore help drivers to observe the VRUs in time and to enhance their ability to interpret the development of events in the near future. The system should include a combination of imminent and cautionary collision warnings, with additional support in the form of information about intersection geometry and traffic regulations. The warnings should be deployed via an in-vehicle HMI and according to the likelihood of crash risk. The system should be able to operate under a variety of weather and light conditions. It should have the capacity to support drivers when their view is obstructed by physical objects. To address problems that vehicle-based sensors may face in this regard, the use of cooperative systems is recommended. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The role of integrating natural and social science concepts for risk governance and the design of people-centred early warning systems. Case study from the German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System Project (GITEWS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gebert, Niklas; Post, Joachim

2010-05-01

The development of early warning systems are one of the key domains of adaptation to global environmental change and contribute very much to the development of societal reaction and adaptive capacities to deal with extreme events. Especially, Indonesia is highly exposed to tsunami. In average every three years small and medium size tsunamis occur in the region causing damage and death. In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004, the German and Indonesian government agreed on a joint cooperation to develop a People Centered End-to-End Early Warning System (GITEWS). The analysis of risk and vulnerability, as an important step in risk (and early warning) governance, is a precondition for the design of effective early warning structures by delivering the knowledge base for developing institutionalized quick response mechanisms of organizations involved in the issuing of a tsunami warning, and of populations exposed to react to warnings and to manage evacuation before the first tsunami wave hits. Thus, a special challenge for developing countries is the governance of complex cross-sectoral and cross-scale institutional, social and spatial processes and requirements for the conceptualization, implementation and optimization of a people centered tsunami early warning system. In support of this, the risk and vulnerability assessment of the case study aims at identifying those factors that constitute the causal structure of the (dis)functionality between the technological warning and the social response system causing loss of life during an emergency situation: Which social groups are likely to be less able to receive and respond to an early warning alert? And, are people able to evacuate in due time? Here, only an interdisciplinary research approach is capable to analyze the socio-spatial and environmental conditions of vulnerability and risk and to produce valuable results for decision makers and civil society to manage tsunami risk in the early warning context. This requires the integration of natural / spatial and social science concepts, methods and data: E.g. a scenario based approach for tsunami inundation modeling was developed to provide decision makers with options to decide up to what level they aim to protect their people and territory, on the contrary household surveys were conducted for the spatial analysis of the evacuation preparedness of the population as a function of place specific hazard, risk, warning and evacuation perception; remote sensing was applied for the spatial analysis (land-use) of the socio-physical conditions of a city and region for evacuation; and existing social / population statistics were combined with land-use data for the precise spatial mapping of the population exposed to tsunami risks. Only by utilizing such a comprehensive assessment approach valuable information for risk governance can be generated. The results are mapped using GIS and designed according to the specific needs of different end-users, such as public authorities involved in the design of warning dissemination strategies, land-use planners (shelter planning, road network configuration) and NGOs mandated to provide education for the general public on tsunami risk and evacuation behavior. The case study of the city of Padang (one of the pilot areas of GITEWS), Indonesia clearly show, that only by intersecting social (vulnerability) and natural hazards research a comprehensive picture on tsunami risk can be provided with which risk governance in the early warning context can be conducted in a comprehensive, systemic and sustainable manner.

Studying the response of drivers against different collision warning systems: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muzammel, M.; Yusoff, M. Zuki; Malik, A. Saeed; Mohamad Saad, M. Naufal; Meriaudeau, F.

2017-03-01

The number of vehicle accidents is rapidly increasing and causing significant economic losses in many countries. According to the World Health Organization, road accidents will become the fifth major cause of death by the year 2030. To minimize these accidents different types of collision warning systems have been proposed for motor vehicle drivers. These systems can early detect and warn the drivers about the potential danger, up to a certain accuracy. Many researchers study the effectiveness of these systems by using different methods, including Electroencephalography (EEG). From the literature review, it has been observed that, these systems increase the drivers' response and can help to minimize the accidents that may occur due to drivers unconsciousness. For these collision warning systems, tactile early warnings are found more effective as compared to the auditory and visual early warnings. This review also highlights the areas, where further research can be performed to fully analyze the collision warning system. For example, some contradictions are found among researchers, about these systems' performance for drivers within different age groups. Similarly, most of the EEG studies focus on the front collision warning systems and only give beep sound to alert the drivers. Therefore, EEG study can be performed for the rear end collision warning systems, against proper auditory warning messages which indicate the types of hazards. This EEG study will help to design more friendly collision warning system and may save many lives.

Urban planning and traffic safety at night

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ispas, N.; Trusca, D.

2016-08-01

Urban planning including traffic signs serve vital functions, providing road users with regulatory, warning and guidance information about the roadway and surrounding environment. There are a large number of signs and even more guidelines on how these signs should be designed, installed, and maintained in concordance with on road surface traffic signs. More requirements for signs are made for night urban traffic, including appearance (size, shape, colour), placement (height, lateral, and longitudinal), maintenance (visibility, position, damage) and signs light and retroreflective. In the night, traffic signs visibility can interact by on pedestrian visibility and diminish urban traffic safety. The main aim of this paper are the scientific determination of an urban specific zone visibility for evaluate at night real conditions in case of a traffic accident in the Braşov city area. The night visibility study was made using PC-Rect version 4.2. Other goal of the paper was to modify some urban planning solution in order to increase the urban safety in Brașov.

Visual warning system for worker safety on roadside work-zones.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-08-01

Growing traffic on US roadways and heavy construction machinery on road construction sites pose a critical safety : threat to construction workers. This report summarizes the design and development of a worker safety system using : Dedicated Short Ra...

Smart Roadside System for Driver Assistance and Safety Warnings: Framework and Applications

PubMed Central

Jang, Jeong Ah; Kim, Hyun Suk; Cho, Han Byeog

2011-01-01

The use of newly emerging sensor technologies in traditional roadway systems can provide real-time traffic services to drivers through Telematics and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITSs). This paper introduces a smart roadside system that utilizes various sensors for driver assistance and traffic safety warnings. This paper shows two road application models for a smart roadside system and sensors: a red-light violation warning system for signalized intersections, and a speed advisory system for highways. Evaluation results for the two services are then shown using a micro-simulation method. In the given real-time applications for drivers, the framework and certain algorithms produce a very efficient solution with respect to the roadway type features and sensor type use. PMID:22164025

Sinkhole monitoring and early warning: An experimental and successful GB-InSAR application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Intrieri, Emanuele; Gigli, Giovanni; Nocentini, Massimiliano; Lombardi, Luca; Mugnai, Francesco; Fidolini, Francesco; Casagli, Nicola

2015-07-01

Sinkholes represent a natural risk that may hit catastrophically without clearly detectible precursors. However, they are often overlooked by people and administrators. Therefore sinkhole monitoring and associated early warnings constitute important research topics but, currently, only a few papers about sinkhole prediction can be found. In this paper an experience of sinkhole monitoring and early warning with GB-InSAR is described. The latter is a highly precise instrument that is able to produce displacement maps with metric spatial resolution. The described activities were carried out on Elba Island (central Italy), where karstified limestone set off the occurrence of nine sinkholes since 2008, all within less than 3000 m2, causing major damage to an important road and many indirect losses. In 1 year of monitoring two deforming areas were detected, and the point where a sinkhole was about to propagate to the street level was predicted, thus permitting the preventive closure of the road. The deformation area was larger than the hole generated by the sinkhole, thus showing a subsidence that continued for a prolonged time even after the cavity was filled up. The occurrence of a 1.5-m-wide sinkhole, undetected by the GB-InSAR, also showed the lower detection limit of the instrument.

Risk Management and Physical Modelling for Mountainous Natural Hazards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehning, Michael; Wilhelm, Christian

Population growth and climate change cause rapid changes in mountainous regions resulting in increased risks of floods, avalanches, debris flows and other natural hazards. Xevents are of particular concern, since attempts to protect against them result in exponentially growing costs. In this contribution, we suggest an integral risk management approach to dealing with natural hazards that occur in mountainous areas. Using the example of a mountain pass road, which can be protected from the danger of an avalanche by engineering (galleries) and/or organisational (road closure) measures, we show the advantage of an optimal combination of both versus the traditional approach, which is to rely solely on engineering structures. Organisational measures become especially important for Xevents because engineering structures cannot be designed for those events. However, organisational measures need a reliable and objective forecast of the hazard. Therefore, we further suggest that such forecasts should be developed using physical numerical modelling. We present the status of current approaches to using physical modelling to predict snow cover stability for avalanche warnings and peak runoff from mountain catchments for flood warnings. While detailed physical models can already predict peak runoff reliably, they are only used to support avalanche warnings. With increased process knowledge and computer power, current developments should lead to a enhanced role for detailed physical models in natural mountain hazard prediction.

23 CFR 973.212 - Indian lands safety management system (SMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... HIGHWAYS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS PERTAINING TO THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS AND THE INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS... hardware including signs, guardrails, and lighting appurtenances (including terminals); and (iii) Traffic...-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and operational features where appropriate; (ii...

23 CFR 973.212 - Indian lands safety management system (SMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... HIGHWAYS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS PERTAINING TO THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS AND THE INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS... hardware including signs, guardrails, and lighting appurtenances (including terminals); and (iii) Traffic...-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and operational features where appropriate; (ii...

23 CFR 972.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... as signs, delineators, and guardrails (including terminals); (iii) Traffic information including...-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and operational features where appropriate; and...., data collection, analyses, and standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with...

23 CFR 972.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... as signs, delineators, and guardrails (including terminals); (iii) Traffic information including...-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and operational features where appropriate; and...., data collection, analyses, and standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with...

23 CFR 972.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... as signs, delineators, and guardrails (including terminals); (iii) Traffic information including...-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and operational features where appropriate; and...., data collection, analyses, and standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with...

23 CFR 973.212 - Indian lands safety management system (SMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... HIGHWAYS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS PERTAINING TO THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS AND THE INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS... hardware including signs, guardrails, and lighting appurtenances (including terminals); and (iii) Traffic...-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and operational features where appropriate; (ii...

23 CFR 972.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... as signs, delineators, and guardrails (including terminals); (iii) Traffic information including...-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and operational features where appropriate; and...., data collection, analyses, and standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with...

23 CFR 973.212 - Indian lands safety management system (SMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... HIGHWAYS MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS PERTAINING TO THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS AND THE INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS... hardware including signs, guardrails, and lighting appurtenances (including terminals); and (iii) Traffic...-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and operational features where appropriate; (ii...

An experimental study of the effects of electronic cigarette warnings on young adult nonsmokers' perceptions and behavioral intentions.

PubMed

Mays, Darren; Smith, Clayton; Johnson, Andrea C; Tercyak, Kenneth P; Niaura, Raymond S

2016-01-01

Electronic cigarette ("e-cigarette") manufacturers use warning labels on their advertising that vary widely in content and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning label requirement for e-cigarettes. There is limited data on the effects of these warnings on e-cigarette perceptions and other potential predictors of future tobacco use behavior in populations of interest to inform future regulatory requirements. This study examined the effects of e-cigarette warnings on perceptions of e-cigarettes and cigarettes and other cognitive precursors to tobacco use among young adult non-smokers. Non-smoking young adults ages 18 to 30 years (n = 436) were recruited through an internet-based crowdsourcing platform for an online experiment. Participants completed pre-exposure measures of demographics, tobacco use, and other relevant constructs and were randomized to view 1 of 9 e-cigarette stimuli in a 3 (Ad/Warning condition: Ad Only, Ad with Warning, Warning Only) x 3 (E-cigarette brand: Blu, MarkTen, Vuse) design. After viewing e-cigarette stimuli, participants reported perceptions of e-cigarettes and behavioral intentions to use e-cigarettes. Participants in the Ad Only and Ad with Warning conditions also completed a heat-mapping task assessing aspects of the ads that captured their attention. Then, participants were randomized to view cigarette ads from 1 of 3 major cigarette brands and reported perceptions of cigarettes and intentions to smoke cigarettes. Participants in the Warning Only condition reported significantly greater perceived harm and addictiveness of e-cigarettes and thoughts about not using e-cigarettes than the Ad Only and Ad with Warning conditions (p's < .05). The Ad Only and Ad with Warning conditions did not differ on these outcomes. Participants in the Warning Only condition also reported the harms of e-cigarettes were closer to those of cigarettes than the Ad Only condition (p < .05), but neither differed from the Ad with Warning condition. Visual inspection of heat-mapping task data indicate warnings drew few participants' attention. There were no significant differences across study conditions on perceptions of cigarettes or intentions to smoke. Text-based warning messages influenced young non-smokers' perceptions in a way that may dissuade e-cigarette use, but warnings appearing on advertisements had little impact.

Landslide Susceptibility Analysis along Li-Shing Mountain Road in Nantou County, Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeh, J. H.; Chan, H. C.; Chen, B. A.

2016-12-01

Slopeland hazards are frequently occurred during typhoon periods in the mountain areas of Taiwan. The Li-Shing Mountain Road was suffered from the landslide and erosion of road foundation due to its fragile geological structure, overuse of land, and heavy rainfall. Transportation of agricultural produce in Li-Shing areas was seriously affected while the Li-Shing Mountain Road was blocked by the landslides. To evaluate the landslide susceptibilities along the Li-Shing Mountain Road, this study collected the landslide inventories from Typhoon Mindulle in July, 2004 and Typhoon Kalmaegi in July, 2008. By combining the landslide inventories with hydrological and geological factors, such as rainfall, distance to river, geology, and land slope and aspect, the Instability Index Method was used to specify the landslide susceptibilities of the slopes along the Li-Shing Mountain Road. The accuracy of the present model was evaluated by comparison of the predicted and the typhoon triggered landslides. Finally, the high landslide potential slopes along the Li-Shing Mountain Road were identified. It is expected to provide the information for landslide warning system and engineering countermeasures planning along the Li-Shing Mountain Road. Keywords: Landslide, Instability Index Method, Li-Shing Mountain Road

Impact of Perceptual Speed Calming Curve Countermeasures on Drivers’ Anticipation and Mitigation Ability : A Driving Simulator Study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2018-02-01

Horizontal curves are unavoidable in rural roads and are a serious crash risk to vehicle occupants. This study investigates the impact and effectiveness of three curve-based perceptual speed-calming countermeasures (advance curve warning signs, chevr...

FAST DASH: Safety Technology Evaluation Project #1 – Blindspot Warning, 2012

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-01-01

The purpose of FMCSAs SmartPark initiative is to determine the feasibility of a technology for providing truck parking space availability in real time to truckers on the road. SmartPark consists of two phases. Phase I was a field operational test ...

23 CFR 970.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

...) An inventory of safety appurtenances such as signs, delineators, and guardrails (including terminals... upgrading safety appurtenances including highway-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and... standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with the functional classification of the...

23 CFR 970.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

...) An inventory of safety appurtenances such as signs, delineators, and guardrails (including terminals... upgrading safety appurtenances including highway-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and... standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with the functional classification of the...

23 CFR 970.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

...) An inventory of safety appurtenances such as signs, delineators, and guardrails (including terminals... upgrading safety appurtenances including highway-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and... standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with the functional classification of the...

23 CFR 970.212 - Federal lands safety management system (SMS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

...) An inventory of safety appurtenances such as signs, delineators, and guardrails (including terminals... upgrading safety appurtenances including highway-rail crossing warning devices, signs, highway elements, and... standards) for low volume roads may be tailored to be consistent with the functional classification of the...

In-Vehicle Dynamic Curve-Speed Warnings at High-Risk Rural Curves

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2018-03-01

Lane-departure crashes at horizontal curves represent a significant portion of fatal crashes on rural Minnesota roads. Because of this, solutions are needed to aid drivers in identifying upcoming curves and inform them of a safe speed at which they s...

Situation analysis for automotive pre-crash systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Böhning, Marcus A.; Ritter, Henning; Rohling, Herrman

2008-01-01

According to the "World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention" jointly issued by the World Health Organization and the World Bank about 1.2 million people are killed and up to 50 million people are injured in road traffic accidents worldwide each year. While passive safety systems like the airbag are already deployed successfully to reduce fatalities and injuries, active safety systems assist the driver by issuing a warning or by taking corrective actions to either avoid a collision completely or, if impossible, to mitigate collision consequences. Today's radar sensors have the ability to detect and track objects with a high accuracy in range and velocity, therefore a collision warning system may consist of a radar sensor, a data processing unit and a model to describe possible evasion maneuvers. This allows to analyze the probability of a collision and to calculate the danger potential of the current situation. In this paper, such a system is proposed and it is verified with synthetic as well as real sensor data.

The impact of climate change on winter road maintenance and traffic accidents in West Midlands, UK.

PubMed

Andersson, Anna K; Chapman, Lee

2011-01-01

Winter weather can be a significant cause of road traffic accidents. This paper uses UKCIP climate change scenarios and a temporal analogue to investigate the relationship between temperature and severe road accidents in the West Midlands, UK. This approach also allows quantification of the changes in the severity of the winter season over the next century in the region. It is demonstrated that the predicted reduction in the number of frost days should in turn reduce the number of road accidents caused due to slipperiness by approximately 50%. However, the paper concludes by warning against complacency in winter maintenance regimes. A warmer climate may result in budget cuts for highway maintenance which in turn may well reverse declining accident trends. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do prohibitive warnings improve road-crossing Safety for texting and non-texting pedestrians?

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-06-01

Pedestrian injuries and deaths caused by collisions with motor vehicles are a major health problem in the U.S. [1]. In 2013 alone, 4,735 pedestrians were killed and 66,000 were injured in traffic crashes. Both field observations and controlled experi...

Human factors study of driver assistance systems to reduce lane departures and side collision accidents.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-07-01

This study investigated the human factors issues related to the implementation of lane departure warning systems (LDWS) to reduce side collision and run-off-road crashes for heavy trucks. Lane departures can be either intentional (e.g., to pass anoth...

Warning! Slippery Road Ahead: Internet Access and District Liability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazur, Joan M.

1995-01-01

As schools merge onto the information highway, districts must address their liability associated with Internet access. Schools need a practical policy supporting high access to global educational resources while limiting district liability. USENET provides easy access to controversial and pornographic materials. This article outlines federal…

Human factors of vehicle-based lane departure warning systems : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-06-01

Run-off-road (ROR) crashes are a concern for two-lane rural and urban roadways throughout Minnesota due to the : frequency by which they contribute to fatal crashes (Minnesota Crash Facts, 2013). Mitigating the severity of the : ROR events is an on-g...

Prescription medicines and the risk of road traffic crashes: a French registry-based study.

PubMed

Orriols, Ludivine; Delorme, Bernard; Gadegbeku, Blandine; Tricotel, Aurore; Contrand, Benjamin; Laumon, Bernard; Salmi, Louis-Rachid; Lagarde, Emmanuel

2010-11-16

In recent decades, increased attention has been focused on the impact of disabilities and medicinal drug use on road safety. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between prescription medicines and the risk of road traffic crashes, and estimate the attributable fraction. We extracted and matched data from three French nationwide databases: the national health care insurance database, police reports, and the national police database of injurious crashes. Drivers identified by their national health care number involved in an injurious crash in France, between July 2005 and May 2008, were included in the study. Medicines were grouped according to the four risk levels of the French classification system (from 0 [no risk] to 3 [high risk]). We included 72,685 drivers involved in injurious crashes. Users of level 2 (odds ratio [OR]  = 1.31 [1.24-1.40]) and level 3 (OR  = 1.25 [1.12-1.40]) prescription medicines were at higher risk of being responsible for a crash. The association remained after adjustment for the presence of a long-term chronic disease. The fraction of road traffic crashes attributable to levels 2 and 3 medications was 3.3% [2.7%-3.9%]. A within-person case-crossover analysis showed that drivers were more likely to be exposed to level 3 medications on the crash day than on a control day, 30 days earlier (OR  = 1.15 [1.05-1.27]). The use of prescription medicines is associated with a substantial number of road traffic crashes in France. In light of the results, warning messages appear to be relevant for level 2 and 3 medications and questionable for level 1 medications. A follow-up study is needed to evaluate the impact of the warning labeling system on road traffic crash prevention.

Prescription Medicines and the Risk of Road Traffic Crashes: A French Registry-Based Study

PubMed Central

Orriols, Ludivine; Delorme, Bernard; Gadegbeku, Blandine; Tricotel, Aurore; Contrand, Benjamin; Laumon, Bernard; Salmi, Louis-Rachid; Lagarde, Emmanuel

2010-01-01

Background In recent decades, increased attention has been focused on the impact of disabilities and medicinal drug use on road safety. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between prescription medicines and the risk of road traffic crashes, and estimate the attributable fraction. Methods and Findings We extracted and matched data from three French nationwide databases: the national health care insurance database, police reports, and the national police database of injurious crashes. Drivers identified by their national health care number involved in an injurious crash in France, between July 2005 and May 2008, were included in the study. Medicines were grouped according to the four risk levels of the French classification system (from 0 [no risk] to 3 [high risk]). We included 72,685 drivers involved in injurious crashes. Users of level 2 (odds ratio [OR]  = 1.31 [1.24–1.40]) and level 3 (OR  = 1.25 [1.12–1.40]) prescription medicines were at higher risk of being responsible for a crash. The association remained after adjustment for the presence of a long-term chronic disease. The fraction of road traffic crashes attributable to levels 2 and 3 medications was 3.3% [2.7%–3.9%]. A within-person case-crossover analysis showed that drivers were more likely to be exposed to level 3 medications on the crash day than on a control day, 30 days earlier (OR  = 1.15 [1.05–1.27]). Conclusion The use of prescription medicines is associated with a substantial number of road traffic crashes in France. In light of the results, warning messages appear to be relevant for level 2 and 3 medications and questionable for level 1 medications. A follow-up study is needed to evaluate the impact of the warning labeling system on road traffic crash prevention. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary PMID:21125020

How does a collision warning system shape driver's brake response time? The influence of expectancy and automation complacency on real-life emergency braking.

PubMed

Ruscio, Daniele; Ciceri, Maria Rita; Biassoni, Federica

2015-04-01

Brake Reaction Time (BRT) is an important parameter for road safety. Previous research has shown that drivers' expectations can impact RT when facing hazardous situations, but driving with advanced driver assistance systems, can change the way BRT are considered. The interaction with a collision warning system can help faster more efficient responses, but at the same time can require a monitoring task and evaluation process that may lead to automation complacency. The aims of the present study are to test in a real-life setting whether automation compliancy can be generated by a collision warning system and what component of expectancy can impact the different tasks involved in an assisted BRT process. More specifically four component of expectancy were investigated: presence/absence of anticipatory information, previous direct experience, reliability of the device, and predictability of the hazard determined by repeated use of the warning system. Results supply indication on perception time and mental elaboration of the collision warning system alerts. In particular reliable warning quickened the decision making process, misleading warnings generated automation complacency slowing visual search for hazard detection, lack of directed experienced slowed the overall response while unexpected failure of the device lead to inattentional blindness and potential pseudo-accidents with surprise obstacle intrusion. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Eye movement and brake reactions to real world brake-capacity forward collision warnings--a naturalistic driving study.

PubMed

Wege, Claudia; Will, Sebastian; Victor, Trent

2013-09-01

The purpose of this field operational test study is to assess visual attention allocation and brake reactions in response to a brake-capacity forward collision warning (B-FCW), which is designed similarly to all forward collision warnings on the market for trucks. Truck drivers' reactions immediately after the warning (threat-period) as well as a few seconds after the warning (post-threat-recovery-period) are analyzed, both with and without taking into consideration the predictability of an event and driver distraction. A B-FCW system interface should immediately direct visual attention toward the threat and allow the driver to make a quick decision about whether or not to brake. To investigate eye movement reactions, we analyzed glances 30s before and 15s after 60 naturally occurring collision warning events. The B-FCW events were extracted from the Volvo euroFOT database, which contains data from 30 Volvo trucks driving for approximately 40000 h for four million kilometers. Statistical analyses show that a B-FCW leads to immediate attention allocation toward the roadway and drivers hit the brake. In addition to this intended effect during the threat-period, a rather unexpected effect within the post-threat-recovery-period was discovered in unpredictable events and events with distracted drivers. A few seconds after a warning is issued, eye movements are directed away from the road toward the warning source in the instrument cluster. This potentially indicates that the driver is seeking to understand the circumstances of the warning. Potential reasons for this are discussed: properties relating to the termination of the warning information, the position of the visual and/or audio warning, the conspicuity of the warning, the duration of the warning, and the modality of the warning. The present results are particularly valuable because all on-market collision warning systems in trucks (and almost all in cars) involve visual warnings positioned in the instrument cluster like the one in this study. Acknowledging the fact that human machine interface (HMI)-design is challenging, the conclusions lead the way toward HMI design recommendations for collision warning systems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Road Signs in Ethical Quicksand.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jerrell, S. Lee; Jerrell, Jeanette M.

1985-01-01

Some of the major moral and ethical dilemmas illustrated by authors in this special journal issue are highlighted. From an ethical viewpoint, the complexity of evaluation activities is likened to "quicksand" terrain in which directional or warning signs should be erected to aid personal choices when such issues are encountered.…

Red warning for air pollution in China: Exploring residents' perceptions of the first two red warnings in Beijing.

PubMed

Zhao, Hanping; Wang, Fangping; Niu, Chence; Wang, Han; Zhang, Xiaoxue

2018-02-01

Air pollution early warnings have been issued in China to mitigate the effects of high pollution days. Public perceptions and views about early warning signals can affect individual behaviors and play a major role in the public's response to air pollution risks. This study examined public attitudes and responses to the first two red warnings for air pollution in Beijing in 2015. An online survey was sent out, and 664 respondents (response rate = 90%) provided their perspectives on the red warnings. Descriptive statistics, sign tests and binary logit models were used to analyze the data. More than half of the respondents reported that their life and work were affected by the red warning in December 2015. In contrast to their perceptions about the second red warning period, the public thought that the first red warning should have been issued earlier and that the number of consecutive days of warnings should have been reduced. The respondents also recommended that instead of reducing the number of red warnings, the red warning emergency measures should be adjusted. Specifically, the public preferred the installation of air purifiers in schools rather than closing schools and strengthening road flushing and dust pollution controls over restrictions on driving. Data analyses were conducted to examine the affected groups and different groups' perceptions of the necessity of implementing emergency measures. The results indicated that men and more educated respondents were more likely to be affected by driving limitations, and men were less supportive of these limitations. The age and education of respondents were significantly negatively associated with the opinion that schools should be closed, whereas wealthier respondents were more supportive of school closings. The finding of a negative attitude among the public toward the first two red warnings may be used to help local governments modify protective measures and pollution mitigation initiatives to increase acceptance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of E-Cigarette Health Warnings and Modified Risk Ad Claims on Adolescent E-Cigarette Craving and Susceptibility.

PubMed

Andrews, J Craig; Mays, Darren; Netemeyer, Richard G; Burton, Scot; Kees, Jeremy

2018-04-16

A between-subjects experiment examines the effects of different warning types and modified risk e-cigarette ad claims on adolescent e-cigarette craving and future e-cigarette susceptibility for two different themes. One theme focuses on nicotine and addiction, and the other on the effects of potentially harmful constituents (e.g., flavored chemicals and lung disease). The effects of warning type (control, text-only, graphic health warning (GHW) and text) and modified risk e-cigarette ad claims (control, exposure reduction, risk reduction) are tested experimentally with two different arms (themes) for a sample of 1,011 adolescents who had tried either e-cigarettes or cigarettes. For addiction, the text-only warning led to significantly less e-cigarette susceptibility than the no warning control condition. As expected, there were no differences between the GHW + text condition and text-only or control conditions for e-cigarette craving. An interaction between warning type and modified risk claims revealed significantly fewer e-cigarette cravings and less susceptibility for the text-only warning and no claim (control) condition than for any other condition. For fatal lung disease, the GHW + text condition led to fewer e-cigarette cravings and less susceptibility than the text-only warning and no warning (control) conditions. Warning type effects can be very different under different themes (e.g., addiction, fatal lung disease). In general, our results point to the effectiveness of the text-only warning for addiction and GHW + text for fatal lung disease. Relative exposure and risk modification claims (e.g., less nicotine; less addicting) tend to undercut addiction warnings. More than one type of e-cigarette warning may be necessary as e-cigarette research evolves. Our results show different warning type effects (e.g., text-only; GHW + text) on e-cigarette craving and future susceptibility for adolescent experimenters depending on the risk theme (e.g., addiction; lung disease) and presence of ad claims (e.g., exposure and risk reduction). As research emerges on risks associated with e-cigarette use, it is important to first know what at-risk populations (e.g., adolescents) believe about such risks. Such research will aid our understanding of what types of warnings might be most effective, especially in the presence of ad claims.

a Novel Approach to Camera Calibration Method for Smart Phones Under Road Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Bijun; Zhou, Jian; Ye, Maosheng; Guo, Yuan

2016-06-01

Monocular vision-based lane departure warning system has been increasingly used in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). By the use of the lane mark detection and identification, we proposed an automatic and efficient camera calibration method for smart phones. At first, we can detect the lane marker feature in a perspective space and calculate edges of lane markers in image sequences. Second, because of the width of lane marker and road lane is fixed under the standard structural road environment, we can automatically build a transformation matrix between perspective space and 3D space and get a local map in vehicle coordinate system. In order to verify the validity of this method, we installed a smart phone in the `Tuzhi' self-driving car of Wuhan University and recorded more than 100km image data on the road in Wuhan. According to the result, we can calculate the positions of lane markers which are accurate enough for the self-driving car to run smoothly on the road.

Electrical Distribution System (EDS) and Caution and Warning System (CWS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcclung, T.

1975-01-01

An astronaut caution and warning system is described which monitors various life support system parameters and detects out-of-range parameter conditions. The warning system generates a warning tone and displays the malfunction condition to the astronaut along with the proper corrective procedures required.

Recognition Stage for a Speed Supervisor Based on Road Sign Detection

PubMed Central

Carrasco, Juan-Pablo; de la Escalera, Arturo; Armingol, José María

2012-01-01

Traffic accidents are still one of the main health problems in the World. A number of measures have been applied in order to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities in roads, i.e., implementation of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) based on image processing. In this paper, a real time speed supervisor based on road sign recognition that can work both in urban and non-urban environments is presented. The system is able to recognize 135 road signs, belonging to the danger, yield, prohibition obligation and indication types, and sends warning messages to the driver upon the combination of two pieces of information: the current speed of the car and the road sign symbol. The core of this paper is the comparison between the two main methods which have been traditionally used for detection and recognition of road signs: template matching (TM) and neural networks (NN). The advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches will be shown and commented. Additionally we will show how the use of well-known algorithms to avoid illumination issues reduces the amount of images needed to train a neural network.

3. CONSTRUCTION DETAIL WEST PORTAL SHOWING CONCRETE LINING. NOTE DRILL ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

3. CONSTRUCTION DETAIL WEST PORTAL SHOWING CONCRETE LINING. NOTE DRILL HOLES IN GRANITE AT RIGHT EDGE. US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BENCHMARK AT BOTTOM CORNER OF SIDEWALK - 4,621 FEET. SLOT IN FAR WALL FOR SEMAPHORE OF OBSOLETE CARBON MONOXIDE WARNING SYSTEM. - Wawona Tunnel, Wawona Road through Turtleback Dome, Yosemite Village, Mariposa County, CA

Integration and comparison of different acquisition techniques for landslide monitoring: Cancia landslide case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masiero, Andrea; Fissore, Francesca; Degetto, Massimo; Piermattei, Livia; Guarnieri, Alberto; Mezzomo, Rizieri; Gregoretti, Carlo; Piragnolo, Marco; Pirotti, Francesco; Vettore, Antonio

2017-04-01

Terrain instability, landslides and other phenomena mostly caused by hydrogeological risk, often cause damages to human infrastructures, roads and other transport lines: given the recent developments in surveying, electronics and mobile instrumentation, the quest for automated or semi-automated early warning systems is continuously increasing in order to provide reliable technological solutions to reduce risks for both human lives and human building and infrastructures. This work deals with the monitoring a specific area of interest, a landslide located in Cancia (Belluno, Italy). This case study is characterized by the presence of several roads close to the landslide area: in particular, one of them intersects with the landslide. The closeness between landslide and human used areas (e.g. roads) motivate the interest of public authorities in order to reduce risks related to the landslide. To this aim, "Provincia di Belluno, Servizio Difesa del Suolo" actively contributed to this work by providing aerial imagery data of the region of interest. Accessing a reliable reconstruction of certain landslides can be complex due to the difficulty for humans to reach certain areas: often only part of the area of interest can be acquired with highly accurate ground surveying (e.g. terrestrial laser scanning (TLS)), whereas other methods should be considered in order to obtain estimates of the remaining parts of the landslide. Recently, the spread of low cost drones is leading to a growing interest in the choice of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to acquire aerial imagery, hence enabling low cost photogrammetric reconstruction of the area. Despite being an attractive solution because of the clear convenience in terms of cost and acquisition time, its accuracy has typically not reached that of TLS surveying so far. This paper considers the possibility of comparing and integrating different acquisition techniques (TLS, aerial and close-range photogrammetry) in order to reach the best reconstruction accuracy, wherever is possible, and investigates the possibility of enabling the development of appropriate warning systems based on measurements provided by the above mentioned acquisition approaches (in particular, low cost reconstruction systems are considered in order to deal with the quick detection of risky conditions).

Designing feedback to mitigate teen distracted driving: A social norms approach.

PubMed

Merrikhpour, Maryam; Donmez, Birsen

2017-07-01

The purpose of this research is to investigate teens' perceived social norms and whether providing normative information can reduce distracted driving behaviors among them. Parents are among the most important social referents for teens; they have significant influences on teens' driving behaviors, including distracted driving which significantly contributes to teens' crash risks. Social norms interventions have been successfully applied in various domains including driving; however, this approach is yet to be explored for mitigating driver distraction among teens. Forty teens completed a driving simulator experiment while performing a self-paced visual-manual secondary task in four between-subject conditions: a) social norms feedback that provided a report at the end of each drive on teens' distracted driving behavior, comparing their distraction engagement to their parent's, b) post-drive feedback that provided just the report on teens' distracted driving behavior without information on their parents, c) real-time feedback in the form of auditory warnings based on eyes of road-time, and d) no feedback as control. Questionnaires were administered to collect data on these teens' and their parents' self-reported engagement in driver distractions and the associated social norms. Social norms and real-time feedback conditions resulted in significantly smaller average off-road glance duration, rate of long (>2s) off-road glances, and standard deviation of lane position compared to no feedback. Further, social norms feedback decreased brake response time and percentage of time not looking at the road compared to no feedback. No major effect was observed for post-drive feedback. Questionnaire results suggest that teens appeared to overestimate parental norms, but no effect of feedback was found on their perceptions. Feedback systems that leverage social norms can help mitigate driver distraction among teens. Overall, both social norms and real-time feedback induced positive driving behaviors, with social norms feedback outperforming real-time feedback. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

75 FR 48620 - Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing Company Model 737-100, -200, -200C, -300, -400, and -500...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-11

... operations. This proposed AD results from a design change in the cabin altitude warning system that would... warning system that would address the identified unsafe condition(s), and that once this design change was... altitude warning and takeoff configuration warning lights. The activation includes changing the wiring in...

Embedded Alcohol Messages in Television Series: The Interactive Effect of Warnings and Audience Connectedness on Viewers' Alcohol Beliefs*

PubMed Central

RUSSELL, DALE W.; RUSSELL, CRISTEL ANTONIA

2014-01-01

Objective This research investigates whether warning viewers about the presence of embedded messages in the content of a television episode affects viewers' drinking beliefs and whether audi ence connectedness moderates the warning's impact. Method Two hun dred fifty college students participated in a laboratory experiment approximating a real-life television viewing experience. They viewed an actual television series episode containing embedded alcohol messages, and their subsequent beliefs about alcohol consequences were measured. Experimental conditions differed based on a 2 (Connectedness Level: low vs high) × 2 (Timing of the Warning: before or after the episode) × 2 (Emphasis of Warning: advertising vs health message) design. Connectedness was measured, and the timing and emphasis of the warnings were manipulated. The design also included a control condition where there was no warning. Results The findings indicate that warning view ers about embedded messages in the content of a program can yield sig nificant differences in viewers' beliefs about alcohol. However, the warning's impact differs depending on the viewers' level of connectedness to the program. In particular, in comparison with the no-warning control condition, the advertising prewarning produced lower positive beliefs about alcohol and its consequences but only for the low-connected viewers. Highly connected viewers were not affected by a warning emphasizing advertising messages embedded in the program, but a warning emphasizing health produced significantly higher negative be liefs about drinking than in the control condition. Conclusions The presence of many positive portrayals of drinking and alcohol product placements in television series has led many to suggest ways to counter their influence. However, advocates of warnings should be conscious of their differential impact on high- and low-connected viewers. PMID:18432390

Using the decision ladder to understand road user decision making at actively controlled rail level crossings.

PubMed

Mulvihill, Christine M; Salmon, Paul M; Beanland, Vanessa; Lenné, Michael G; Read, Gemma J M; Walker, Guy H; Stanton, Neville A

2016-09-01

Rail level crossings (RLXs) represent a key strategic risk for railways worldwide. Despite enforcement and engineering countermeasures, user behaviour at RLXs can often confound expectations and erode safety. Research in this area is limited by a relative absence of insights into actual decision making processes and a focus on only a subset of road user types. One-hundred and sixty-six road users (drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians) completed a diary entry for each of 457 naturalistic encounters with RLXs when a train was approaching. The final eligible sample comprised 94 participants and 248 encounters at actively controlled crossings where a violation of the active warnings was possible. The diary incorporated Critical Decision Method probe questions, which enabled user responses to be mapped onto Rasmussen's decision ladder. Twelve percent of crossing events were non-compliant. The underlying decision making was compared to compliant events and a reference decision model to reveal important differences in the structure and type of decision making within and between road user groups. The findings show that engineering countermeasures intended to improve decision making (e.g. flashing lights), may have the opposite effect for some users because the system permits a high level of flexibility for circumvention. Non-motorised users were more likely to access information outside of the warning signals because of their ability to achieve greater proximity to the train tracks and the train itself. The major conundrum in resolving these issues is whether to restrict the amount of time and information available to users so that it cannot be used for circumventing the system or provide more information to help users make safe decisions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cigarette packaging and health warnings: the impact of plain packaging and message framing on young smokers

PubMed Central

Mays, Darren; Niaura, Raymond S.; Evans, W. Douglas; Hammond, David; Luta, George; Tercyak, Kenneth P.

2014-01-01

Objective This study examined the impact of pictorial cigarette warning labels, warning label message framing, and plain cigarette packaging on young adult smokers’ motivation to quit. Methods Smokers ages 18–30 (n=740) from a consumer research panel were randomized to one of four experimental conditions where they viewed online images of 4 cigarette packs with warnings about lung disease, cancer, stroke/heart disease, and death, respectively. Packs differed across conditions by warning message framing (gain versus loss) and packaging (branded versus plain). Measures captured demographics, smoking behavior, covariates, and motivation to quit in response to cigarette packs. Results Pictorial warnings about lung disease and cancer generated the strongest motivation to quit across conditions. Adjusting for pre-test motivation and covariates, a message framing by packaging interaction revealed gain-framed warnings on plain packs generated greater motivation to quit for lung disease, cancer, and mortality warnings (p < 0.05), compared with loss-framed warnings on plain packs. Conclusions Warnings combining pictorial depictions of smoking-related health risks with text-based messages about how quitting reduces risks may achieve better outcomes among young adults, especially in countries considering or implementing plain packaging regulations. PMID:24420310

The Influence of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Warnings

PubMed Central

VanEpps, Eric M.; Roberto, Christina A.

2017-01-01

Introduction California, New York, and the cities of San Francisco and Baltimore have introduced bills requiring health-related warning labels for sugar-sweetened beverages. This study measures the extent to which these warning labels influence adolescents’ beliefs and hypothetical choices. Design Participants completed an online survey in which they chose a beverage in a hypothetical vending machine task, rated perceptions of different beverages, and indicated interest in coupons for beverages. Data were collected and analyzed in 2015. Setting/participants A total of 2,202 demographically diverse adolescents aged 12–18 years completed the online survey. Intervention Participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions: (1) no warning label; (2) calorie label; (3–6) one of four text versions of a warning label (e.g., SAFETY WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay). Main outcome measures Hypothetical choices, perceptions of beverages, interest in coupons, and endorsement of warning label policies were assessed. Results Controlling for frequency of beverage purchases, significantly fewer adolescents chose a sugar-sweetened beverage in three of the four warning label conditions (65%, 63%, and 61%) than in the no label (77%) condition. Adolescents in the four warning label conditions chose fewer sugar-sweetened beverage coupons and believed that sugar-sweetened beverages were less likely to help them lead a healthy life and had more added sugar compared with the no label condition. Conclusions Health-related warning labels on sugar-sweetened beverages improved adolescents’ recognition of the sugar content of such beverages and reduced hypothetical choices to buy sugar-sweetened beverages. PMID:27617366

[LESSONS FROM PREPAREDNESS OF HOSPITALS TO SNOWSTORMS].

PubMed

Merin, Ofer; Goldberg, Sara; Peyser, Amos; Gros, Moshe; Weiss, Gali; Bitan, Aria; Zarka, Salman; Shapira, Kelin

2015-11-01

Snowstorms are not a usual scene in Israel, which normally enjoys relatively warm weather, even in the winter. In the last two years we faced three severe snowstorms that had a major impact on the routine daily life in Israel. Roads were blocked, people experienced long electricity power failures, and secondary to slippery conditions, there was more than a threefold increase of orthopedic injuries. These storms confronted hospitals with unique challenges, both medical and logistic. Hospitals must be prepared to cope with the challenge of maintaining continuation of care. We propose four phases of preparedness strategy: at the beginning of the winter, once there is a weather forecast warning, during the storm itself, and returning to norm. This manuscript deals with the lessons learned by two hospitals in Safed and Jerusalem dealing with snowstorms.

Probabilistic assessment of roadway departure risk in a curve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rey, G.; Clair, D.; Fogli, M.; Bernardin, F.

2011-10-01

Roadway departure while cornering constitutes a major part of car accidents and casualties in France. Even though drastic policy about overspeeding contributes to reduce accidents, there obviously exist other factors. This article presents the construction of a probabilistic strategy for the roadway departure risk assessment. A specific vehicle dynamic model is developed in which some parameters are modelled by random variables. These parameters are deduced from a sensitivity analysis to ensure an efficient representation of the inherent uncertainties of the system. Then, structural reliability methods are employed to assess the roadway departure risk in function of the initial conditions measured at the entrance of the curve. This study is conducted within the French national road safety project SARI that aims to implement a warning systems alerting the driver in case of dangerous situation.

The Road Less Traveled: Changing Schools from the Inside Out

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodwin, Bryan

2015-01-01

Roughly 30 years ago, American educators stood at a crossroads, with a decision to make about the future of education. With their ears ringing of warnings that they were facing a "rising tide of mediocrity" and recognizing unacceptable gaps in achievement between disadvantaged students and others, educators set off down a path of reform…

Road sign recognition with fuzzy adaptive pre-processing models.

PubMed

Lin, Chien-Chuan; Wang, Ming-Shi

2012-01-01

A road sign recognition system based on adaptive image pre-processing models using two fuzzy inference schemes has been proposed. The first fuzzy inference scheme is to check the changes of the light illumination and rich red color of a frame image by the checking areas. The other is to check the variance of vehicle's speed and angle of steering wheel to select an adaptive size and position of the detection area. The Adaboost classifier was employed to detect the road sign candidates from an image and the support vector machine technique was employed to recognize the content of the road sign candidates. The prohibitory and warning road traffic signs are the processing targets in this research. The detection rate in the detection phase is 97.42%. In the recognition phase, the recognition rate is 93.04%. The total accuracy rate of the system is 92.47%. For video sequences, the best accuracy rate is 90.54%, and the average accuracy rate is 80.17%. The average computing time is 51.86 milliseconds per frame. The proposed system can not only overcome low illumination and rich red color around the road sign problems but also offer high detection rates and high computing performance.

Road Sign Recognition with Fuzzy Adaptive Pre-Processing Models

PubMed Central

Lin, Chien-Chuan; Wang, Ming-Shi

2012-01-01

A road sign recognition system based on adaptive image pre-processing models using two fuzzy inference schemes has been proposed. The first fuzzy inference scheme is to check the changes of the light illumination and rich red color of a frame image by the checking areas. The other is to check the variance of vehicle's speed and angle of steering wheel to select an adaptive size and position of the detection area. The Adaboost classifier was employed to detect the road sign candidates from an image and the support vector machine technique was employed to recognize the content of the road sign candidates. The prohibitory and warning road traffic signs are the processing targets in this research. The detection rate in the detection phase is 97.42%. In the recognition phase, the recognition rate is 93.04%. The total accuracy rate of the system is 92.47%. For video sequences, the best accuracy rate is 90.54%, and the average accuracy rate is 80.17%. The average computing time is 51.86 milliseconds per frame. The proposed system can not only overcome low illumination and rich red color around the road sign problems but also offer high detection rates and high computing performance. PMID:22778650

Adapting ISA system warnings to enhance user acceptance.

PubMed

Jiménez, Felipe; Liang, Yingzhen; Aparicio, Francisco

2012-09-01

Inappropriate speed is a major cause of traffic accidents. Different measures have been considered to control traffic speed, and intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) systems are one of the alternatives. These systems know the speed limits and try to improve compliance with them. This paper deals with an informative ISA system that provides the driver with an advance warning before reaching a road section with singular characteristics that require a lower safe speed than the current speed. In spite of the extensive tests performed using ISA systems, few works show how warnings can be adapted to the driver. This paper describes a method to adapt warning parameters (safe speed on curves, zone of influence of a singular stretch, deceleration process and reaction time) to normal driving behavior. The method is based on a set of tests with and without the ISA system. This adjustment, as well as the analysis of driver acceptance before and after the adaptation and changes in driver behavior (changes in speed and path) resulting from the tested ISA regarding a driver's normal driving style, is shown in this paper. The main conclusion is that acceptance by drivers increased significantly after redefining the warning parameters, but the effect of speed homogenization was not reduced. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Influence of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Health Warning Labels on Parents' Choices.

PubMed

Roberto, Christina A; Wong, Diandra; Musicus, Aviva; Hammond, David

2016-02-01

US states have introduced bills requiring sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) to display health warning labels. This study examined how such labels may influence parents and which labels are most impactful. In this study, 2381 demographically and educationally diverse parents participated in an online survey. Parents were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 conditions: (1) no warning label (control); (2) calorie label; or (3-6) 1 of 4 text versions of a warning label (eg, Safety Warning: Drinking beverages with added sugar[s] contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay). Parents chose a beverage for their child in a vending machine choice task, rated perceptions of different beverages, and indicated interest in receiving beverage coupons. Regression analyses controlling for frequency of beverage purchases were used to compare the no warning label group, calorie label group, and all warning label groups combined. Significantly fewer parents chose an SSB for their child in the warning label condition (40%) versus the no label (60%) and calorie label conditions (53%). Parents in the warning label condition also chose significantly fewer SSB coupons, believed that SSBs were less healthy for their child, and were less likely to intend to purchase SSBs. All P values <.05 after correcting for multiple comparisons. There were no consistent differences among different versions of the warning labels. Health warning labels on SSBs improved parents' understanding of health harms associated with overconsumption of such beverages and may reduce parents' purchase of SSBs for their children. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Sensor performance and weather effects modeling for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Everson, Jeffrey H.; Kopala, Edward W.; Lazofson, Laurence E.; Choe, Howard C.; Pomerleau, Dean A.

1995-01-01

Optical sensors are used for several ITS applications, including lateral control of vehicles, traffic sign recognition, car following, autonomous vehicle navigation, and obstacle detection. This paper treats the performance assessment of a sensor/image processor used as part of an on-board countermeasure system to prevent single vehicle roadway departure crashes. Sufficient image contrast between objects of interest and backgrounds is an essential factor influencing overall system performance. Contrast is determined by material properties affecting reflected/radiated intensities, as well as weather and visibility conditions. This paper discusses the modeling of these parameters and characterizes the contrast performance effects due to reduced visibility. The analysis process first involves generation of inherent road/off- road contrasts, followed by weather effects as a contrast modification. The sensor is modeled as a charge coupled device (CCD), with variable parameters. The results of the sensor/weather modeling are used to predict the performance on an in-vehicle warning system under various levels of adverse weather. Software employed in this effort was previously developed for the U.S. Air Force Wright Laboratory to determine target/background detection and recognition ranges for different sensor systems operating under various mission scenarios.

The Impact of Health Warning Labels for Swedish Snus Advertisements on Young Adults' Snus Perceptions and Behavioral Intentions.

PubMed

Mays, Darren; Moran, Meghan B; Levy, David T; Niaura, Raymond S

2016-05-01

This study examined the impact of warning labels conveying the potential harms and addictiveness of Swedish snus and the potential-reduced harms of Swedish snus among young adult nonsmokers and smokers. A convenience sample of young adults aged 18-30 residing in the United States (n = 517, 56% male, 33% smokers) participated in an online experiment. Participants completed baseline measures and were randomized to 1 of 5 experimental conditions where they viewed a Swedish snus ad with warning labels that varied by condition: (1) Control-no warning; (2) Addiction-warning conveying the addictiveness of snus; (3) Harm-warning communicating the potential harms of snus; (4) Harm Reduction-warning conveying the potential-reduced harms of snus compared with cigarettes; (5) Harm Reduction Switch-warning communicating the potential-reduced harms of snus when switching completely from cigarettes to snus. Outcomes measured included perceived harms and addictiveness of snus, thoughts about not using snus, and intentions to use snus. Participants in the Harm Reduction and Harm Reduction Switch conditions perceived snus to be less harmful than cigarettes compared with the Control, Addiction, and Harm conditions. Nonsmokers in the Harm Reduction condition reported fewer thoughts about not using snus than nonsmokers in the Harm condition. Warnings conveying the potential-reduced harms of Swedish snus compared with cigarettes generate perceptions that snus is less harmful than cigarettes and produce fewer thoughts about not using snus among nonsmokers. Such perceptions have been associated with snus use in prior studies. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Real-Time (Vision-Based) Road Sign Recognition Using an Artificial Neural Network.

PubMed

Islam, Kh Tohidul; Raj, Ram Gopal

2017-04-13

Road sign recognition is a driver support function that can be used to notify and warn the driver by showing the restrictions that may be effective on the current stretch of road. Examples for such regulations are 'traffic light ahead' or 'pedestrian crossing' indications. The present investigation targets the recognition of Malaysian road and traffic signs in real-time. Real-time video is taken by a digital camera from a moving vehicle and real world road signs are then extracted using vision-only information. The system is based on two stages, one performs the detection and another one is for recognition. In the first stage, a hybrid color segmentation algorithm has been developed and tested. In the second stage, an introduced robust custom feature extraction method is used for the first time in a road sign recognition approach. Finally, a multilayer artificial neural network (ANN) has been created to recognize and interpret various road signs. It is robust because it has been tested on both standard and non-standard road signs with significant recognition accuracy. This proposed system achieved an average of 99.90% accuracy with 99.90% of sensitivity, 99.90% of specificity, 99.90% of f-measure, and 0.001 of false positive rate (FPR) with 0.3 s computational time. This low FPR can increase the system stability and dependability in real-time applications.

Real-Time (Vision-Based) Road Sign Recognition Using an Artificial Neural Network

PubMed Central

Islam, Kh Tohidul; Raj, Ram Gopal

2017-01-01

Road sign recognition is a driver support function that can be used to notify and warn the driver by showing the restrictions that may be effective on the current stretch of road. Examples for such regulations are ‘traffic light ahead’ or ‘pedestrian crossing’ indications. The present investigation targets the recognition of Malaysian road and traffic signs in real-time. Real-time video is taken by a digital camera from a moving vehicle and real world road signs are then extracted using vision-only information. The system is based on two stages, one performs the detection and another one is for recognition. In the first stage, a hybrid color segmentation algorithm has been developed and tested. In the second stage, an introduced robust custom feature extraction method is used for the first time in a road sign recognition approach. Finally, a multilayer artificial neural network (ANN) has been created to recognize and interpret various road signs. It is robust because it has been tested on both standard and non-standard road signs with significant recognition accuracy. This proposed system achieved an average of 99.90% accuracy with 99.90% of sensitivity, 99.90% of specificity, 99.90% of f-measure, and 0.001 of false positive rate (FPR) with 0.3 s computational time. This low FPR can increase the system stability and dependability in real-time applications. PMID:28406471

The Influence of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Warnings: A Randomized Trial of Adolescents' Choices and Beliefs.

PubMed

VanEpps, Eric M; Roberto, Christina A

2016-11-01

California, New York, and the cities of San Francisco and Baltimore have introduced bills requiring health-related warning labels for sugar-sweetened beverages. This study measures the extent to which these warning labels influence adolescents' beliefs and hypothetical choices. Participants completed an online survey in which they chose a beverage in a hypothetical vending machine task, rated perceptions of different beverages, and indicated interest in coupons for beverages. Data were collected and analyzed in 2015. A total of 2,202 demographically diverse adolescents aged 12-18 years completed the online survey. Participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions: (1) no warning label; (2) calorie label; (3-6) one of four text versions of a warning label (e.g. Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay). Hypothetical choices, perceptions of beverages, interest in coupons, and endorsement of warning label policies were assessed. Controlling for frequency of beverage purchases, significantly fewer adolescents chose a sugar-sweetened beverage in three of the four warning label conditions (65%, 63%, and 61%) than in the no label (77%) condition. Adolescents in the four warning label conditions chose fewer sugar-sweetened beverage coupons and believed that sugar-sweetened beverages were less likely to help them lead a healthy life and had more added sugar compared with the no label condition. Health-related warning labels on sugar-sweetened beverages improved adolescents' recognition of the sugar content of such beverages and reduced hypothetical choices to buy sugar-sweetened beverages. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Looming auditory collision warnings for driving.

PubMed

Gray, Rob

2011-02-01

A driving simulator was used to compare the effectiveness of increasing intensity (looming) auditory warning signals with other types of auditory warnings. Auditory warnings have been shown to speed driver reaction time in rear-end collision situations; however, it is not clear which type of signal is the most effective. Although verbal and symbolic (e.g., a car horn) warnings have faster response times than abstract warnings, they often lead to more response errors. Participants (N=20) experienced four nonlooming auditory warnings (constant intensity, pulsed, ramped, and car horn), three looming auditory warnings ("veridical," "early," and "late"), and a no-warning condition. In 80% of the trials, warnings were activated when a critical response was required, and in 20% of the trials, the warnings were false alarms. For the early (late) looming warnings, the rate of change of intensity signaled a time to collision (TTC) that was shorter (longer) than the actual TTC. Veridical looming and car horn warnings had significantly faster brake reaction times (BRT) compared with the other nonlooming warnings (by 80 to 160 ms). However, the number of braking responses in false alarm conditions was significantly greater for the car horn. BRT increased significantly and systematically as the TTC signaled by the looming warning was changed from early to veridical to late. Looming auditory warnings produce the best combination of response speed and accuracy. The results indicate that looming auditory warnings can be used to effectively warn a driver about an impending collision.

How Do People Use Lighthouses and Navigational Charts? A Marine Education Infusion Unit. Revised Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butzow, John W.; And Others

Activities concerning navigational charts and aids are presented to help fifth- through ninth-grade students learn about the shape of the sea, its coast, and contours, and about the road signs of the sea which warn against danger and help mariners locate their positions. Teacher background information includes information on marine charts,…

State of the World 1993

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCarthy, D.

1993-01-01

State of the World 1993 warns particularly about global decline in food production and rise in poverty. However, other aspects are more positive: governments responding quickly to global environmental concerns such as the ozone hole and CFCs; the Earth Summit at Rio; the possibility we are on the road to a sustainable society. The uncertainty surrounding the issue of global warming is also presented.

The Norwegian forecasting and warning service for rainfall- and snowmelt-induced landslides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krøgli, Ingeborg K.; Devoli, Graziella; Colleuille, Hervé; Boje, Søren; Sund, Monica; Engen, Inger Karin

2018-05-01

The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) have run a national flood forecasting and warning service since 1989. In 2009, the directorate was given the responsibility of also initiating a national forecasting service for rainfall-induced landslides. Both services are part of a political effort to improve flood and landslide risk prevention. The Landslide Forecasting and Warning Service was officially launched in 2013 and is developed as a joint initiative across public agencies between NVE, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET), the Norwegian Public Road Administration (NPRA) and the Norwegian Rail Administration (Bane NOR). The main goal of the service is to reduce economic and human losses caused by landslides. The service performs daily a national landslide hazard assessment describing the expected awareness level at a regional level (i.e. for a county and/or group of municipalities). The service is operative 7 days a week throughout the year. Assessments and updates are published at the warning portal http://www.varsom.no/ at least twice a day, for the three coming days. The service delivers continuous updates on the current situation and future development to national and regional stakeholders and to the general public. The service is run in close cooperation with the flood forecasting service. Both services are based on the five pillars: automatic hydrological and meteorological stations, landslide and flood historical database, hydro-meteorological forecasting models, thresholds or return periods, and a trained group of forecasters. The main components of the service are herein described. A recent evaluation, conducted on the 4 years of operation, shows a rate of over 95 % correct daily assessments. In addition positive feedbacks have been received from users through a questionnaire. The capability of the service to forecast landslides by following the hydro-meteorological conditions is illustrated by an example from autumn 2017. The case shows how the landslide service has developed into a well-functioning system providing useful information, effectively and on time.

Airlock caution and warning system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mayfield, W. J.; Cork, L. Z.; Malchow, R. G.; Hornback, G. L.

1972-01-01

Caution and warning system, used to monitor performance and warn of hazards or out-of-limit conditions on space vehicles, may have application to aircraft and railway transit systems. System consists of caution and warning subsystem and emergency subsystem.

PILOT RESULTS ON FORWARD COLLISION WARNING SYSTEM EFFECTIVENESS IN OLDER DRIVERS

PubMed Central

Lester, Benjamin D.; Sager, Lauren N.; Dawson, Jeffrey; Hacker, Sarah D.; Aksan, Nazan; Rizzo, Matthew; Kitazaki, Satoshi

2016-01-01

Summary Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) have largely been developed with a “one-size-fits-all” approach. This approach neglects the large inter-individual variability in perceptual and cognitive abilities that affect aging ADAS users. We investigated the effectiveness of a forward collision warning (FCW) with fixed response parameters in young and older drivers with differing levels of cognitive functioning. Drivers responded to a pedestrian stepping into the driver’s path on a simulated urban road. Behavioral metrics included response times (RT) for pedal controls and two indices of risk penetration (e.g., maximum deceleration and minimum time-to-collision (TTC)). Older drivers showed significantly slower responses at several time points compared to younger drivers. The FCW facilitated response times (RTs) for older and younger drivers. However, older drivers still showed smaller safety gains compared to younger drivers at accelerator pedal release and initial brake application when the FCW was active. No significant differences in risk metrics were observed within the condition studied. The results demonstrate older drivers likely differ from younger drivers using a FCW with a fixed parameter set. Finally, we briefly discuss how future research should examine predictive relationships between domains of cognitive functioning and ADAS responses to develop parameter sets to fit the individual. PMID:27135061

Cigarette packaging and health warnings: the impact of plain packaging and message framing on young smokers.

PubMed

Mays, Darren; Niaura, Raymond S; Evans, W Douglas; Hammond, David; Luta, George; Tercyak, Kenneth P

2015-03-01

This study examined the impact of pictorial cigarette-warning labels, warning-label message framing and plain cigarette packaging, on young adult smokers' motivation to quit. Smokers aged 18-30 years (n=740) from a consumer research panel were randomised to one of four experimental conditions where they viewed online images of four cigarette packs with warnings about lung disease, cancer, stroke/heart disease and death, respectively. Packs differed across conditions by warning-message framing (gain vs loss) and packaging (branded vs plain). Measures captured demographics, smoking behaviour, covariates and motivation to quit in response to cigarette packs. Pictorial warnings about lung disease and cancer generated the strongest motivation to quit across conditions. Adjusting for pretest motivation and covariates, a message framing by packaging interaction revealed gain-framed warnings on plain packs generated greater motivation to quit for lung disease, cancer and mortality warnings (p<0.05), compared with loss-framed warnings on plain packs. Warnings combining pictorial depictions of smoking-related health risks with text-based messages about how quitting reduces risks, may achieve better outcomes among young adults, especially in countries considering or implementing plain packaging regulations. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Early warning system for financially distressed hospitals via data mining application.

PubMed

Koyuncugil, Ali Serhan; Ozgulbas, Nermin

2012-08-01

The aim of this study is to develop a Financial Early Warning System (FEWS) for hospitals by using data mining. A data mining method, Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) decision tree algorithm, was used in the study for financial profiling and developing FEWS. The study was conducted in Turkish Ministry of Health's public hospitals which were in financial distress and in need of urgent solutions for financial issues. 839 hospitals were covered and financial data of the year 2008 was obtained from Ministry of Health. As a result of the study, it was determined that 28 hospitals (3.34%) had good financial performance, and 811 hospitals (96.66%) had poor financial performance. According to FEWS, the covered hospitals were categorized into 11 different financial risk profiles, and it was found that 6 variables affected financial risk of hospitals. According to the profiles of hospitals in financial distress, one early warning signal was detected and financial road map was developed for risk mitigation.

Fuzzy logic inference-based Pavement Friction Management and real-time slippery warning systems: A proof of concept study.

PubMed

Najafi, Shahriar; Flintsch, Gerardo W; Khaleghian, Seyedmeysam

2016-05-01

Minimizing roadway crashes and fatalities is one of the primary objectives of highway engineers, and can be achieved in part through appropriate maintenance practices. Maintaining an appropriate level of friction is a crucial maintenance practice, due to the effect it has on roadway safety. This paper presents a fuzzy logic inference system that predicts the rate of vehicle crashes based on traffic level, speed limit, and surface friction. Mamdani and Sugeno fuzzy controllers were used to develop the model. The application of the proposed fuzzy control system in a real-time slippery road warning system is demonstrated as a proof of concept. The results of this study provide a decision support model for highway agencies to monitor their network's friction and make appropriate judgments to correct deficiencies based on crash risk. Furthermore, this model can be implemented in the connected vehicle environment to warn drivers of potentially slippery locations. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Enhanced early warning system impact on nursing practice: A phenomenological study.

PubMed

Burns, Kathleen A; Reber, Tracey; Theodore, Karen; Welch, Brenda; Roy, Debra; Siedlecki, Sandra L

2018-05-01

To determine how an enhanced early warning system has an impact on nursing practice. Early warning systems score physiologic measures and alert nurses to subtle changes in patient condition. Critics of early warning systems have expressed concern that nurses would rely on a score rather than assessment skills and critical thinking to determine the need for intervention. Enhancing early warning systems with innovative technology is still in its infancy, so the impact of an enhanced early warning system on nursing behaviours or practice has not yet been studied. Phenomenological design. Scripted, semistructured interviews were conducted in September 2015 with 25 medical/surgical nurses who used the enhanced early warning system. Data were analysed using thematic analysis techniques (coding and bracketing). Emerging themes were examined for relationships and a model describing the enhanced early warning system experience was developed. Nurses identified awareness leading to investigation and ease of prioritization as the enhanced early warning system's most important impact on their nursing practice. There was also an impact on organizational culture, with nurses reporting improved communication, increased collaboration, increased accountability and proactive responses to early changes in patient condition. Rather than hinder critical thinking, as many early warning systems' critics claim, nurses in this study found that the enhanced early warning system increased their awareness of changes in a patient's condition, resulting in earlier response and reassessment times. It also had an impact on the organization by improving communication and collaboration and supporting a culture of proactive rather than reactive response to early signs of deterioration. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Identifying the Safety Factors over Traffic Signs in State Roads using a Panel Quantile Regression Approach.

PubMed

Šarić, Željko; Xu, Xuecai; Duan, Li; Babić, Darko

2018-06-20

This study intended to investigate the interactions between accident rate and traffic signs in state roads located in Croatia, and accommodate the heterogeneity attributed to unobserved factors. The data from 130 state roads between 2012 and 2016 were collected from Traffic Accident Database System maintained by the Republic of Croatia Ministry of the Interior. To address the heterogeneity, a panel quantile regression model was proposed, in which quantile regression model offers a more complete view and a highly comprehensive analysis of the relationship between accident rate and traffic signs, while the panel data model accommodates the heterogeneity attributed to unobserved factors. Results revealed that (1) low visibility of material damage (MD) and death or injured (DI) increased the accident rate; (2) the number of mandatory signs and the number of warning signs were more likely to reduce the accident rate; (3)average speed limit and the number of invalid traffic signs per km exhibited a high accident rate. To our knowledge, it's the first attempt to analyze the interactions between accident consequences and traffic signs by employing a panel quantile regression model; by involving the visibility, the present study demonstrates that the low visibility causes a relatively higher risk of MD and DI; It is noteworthy that average speed limit corresponds with accident rate positively; The number of mandatory signs and the number of warning signs are more likely to reduce the accident rate; The number of invalid traffic signs per km are significant for accident rate, thus regular maintenance should be kept for a safer roadway environment.

A psychophysiological evaluation of the perceived urgency of auditory warning signals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burt, J. L.; Bartolome, D. S.; Burdette, D. W.; Comstock, J. R. Jr

1995-01-01

One significant concern that pilots have about cockpit auditory warnings is that the signals presently used lack a sense of priority. The relationship between auditory warning sound parameters and perceived urgency is, therefore, an important topic of enquiry in aviation psychology. The present investigation examined the relationship among subjective assessments of urgency, reaction time, and brainwave activity with three auditory warning signals. Subjects performed a tracking task involving automated and manual conditions, and were presented with auditory warnings having various levels of perceived and situational urgency. Subjective assessments revealed that subjects were able to rank warnings on an urgency scale, but rankings were altered after warnings were mapped to a situational urgency scale. Reaction times differed between automated and manual tracking task conditions, and physiological data showed attentional differences in response to perceived and situational warning urgency levels. This study shows that the use of physiological measures sensitive to attention and arousal, in conjunction with behavioural and subjective measures, may lead to the design of auditory warnings that produce a sense of urgency in an operator that matches the urgency of the situation.

Paradoxical Effects of Warning in the Production of Children's False Memories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Del Prete, Francesco; Mirandola, Chiara; Konishi, Mahiko; Cornoldi, Cesare; Ghetti, Simona

2014-01-01

The effects of warning on false recognition and associated subjective experience of false recollection and familiarity were investigated in 7-to 13-year-old children and young adults (N = 259) using the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. Two warning conditions (warning with an example of a critical lure and warning without an example of a…

14 CFR 125.187 - Landing gear: Aural warning device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Landing gear: Aural warning device. 125.187... Requirements § 125.187 Landing gear: Aural warning device. (a) Except for airplanes that comply with the... aural warning device that functions continuously under the following conditions: (1) For airplanes with...

14 CFR 125.187 - Landing gear: Aural warning device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Landing gear: Aural warning device. 125.187... Requirements § 125.187 Landing gear: Aural warning device. (a) Except for airplanes that comply with the... aural warning device that functions continuously under the following conditions: (1) For airplanes with...

14 CFR 125.187 - Landing gear: Aural warning device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Landing gear: Aural warning device. 125.187... Requirements § 125.187 Landing gear: Aural warning device. (a) Except for airplanes that comply with the... aural warning device that functions continuously under the following conditions: (1) For airplanes with...

14 CFR 125.187 - Landing gear: Aural warning device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Landing gear: Aural warning device. 125.187... Requirements § 125.187 Landing gear: Aural warning device. (a) Except for airplanes that comply with the... aural warning device that functions continuously under the following conditions: (1) For airplanes with...

14 CFR 125.187 - Landing gear: Aural warning device.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Landing gear: Aural warning device. 125.187... Requirements § 125.187 Landing gear: Aural warning device. (a) Except for airplanes that comply with the... aural warning device that functions continuously under the following conditions: (1) For airplanes with...

Using road markings as a continuous cue for speed choice.

PubMed

Charlton, Samuel G; Starkey, Nicola J; Malhotra, Neha

2018-08-01

The potential for using road markings to indicate speed limits was investigated in a driving simulator over the course of two sessions. Two types of experimental road markings, an "Attentional" set designed to provide visually distinct cues to indicate speed limits of 60, 80 and 100 km/h, and a "Perceptual" set designed to also affect drivers' perception of speed, were compared to a standard undifferentiated set of markings. Participants (n = 20 per group) were assigned to one of four experimental groups (Attentional-Explicit, Attentional-Implicit, Perceptual-Explicit, Perceptual-Implicit) or a Control group (n = 22; standard road markings). The Explicit groups were instructed about the meaning of the road markings while those in the Implicit and Control groups did not receive any explanation. Participants drove five 10 km simulated roads containing three speed zones (60, 80 and 100 km/h) during the first session. The participants returned to the laboratory approximately 3 days later to drive five more trials including roads they had not seen before, a trial that included a secondary task, and a trial where speed signs were removed and only markings were present. The findings indicated that both types of road markings improved drivers' compliance with speed limits compared to the control group, but that explicit instruction as to the meaning of the markings was needed to realise their full benefit. Although previous research has indicated the benefit of road markings used as warnings to indicate speed reductions in advance of horizontal or vertical curves, the findings of the present experiment also suggest that systematically associating road markings with specific speed limits may be a useful way to improve speed limit compliance and increase speed homogeneity. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Criteria for evaluating the condition of a tropical cyclone warning system.

PubMed

Parker, D

1999-09-01

This paper evaluates the condition (i.e. health) of a tropical cyclone warning system (TCWS) during a 'quiet period' between infrequent intense cyclones. Capacity to make pre-disaster evaluations is important--disaster warning systems need to be in sound condition before, not after, disaster. The research--part of the UK's International Decade of Natural Disaster Reduction Flagship Programme--focuses upon an evaluatory method first used on flood warning systems. The Criteria-development Matrix comprises social, organisational and institutional criteria by which a TCWS may be assessed using a five-stage development scale. This method is used to evaluate Mauritius's TCWS using in-depth interview data. Ways to enhance the method and apply it to other disaster warning systems are discussed. The TCWS in Mauritius is a relatively sound one from which others can learn. Weaknesses requiring attention for Mauritius's TCWS to progress to an advanced level of development are identified.

Twenty-First-Century Aerial Mining

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-01

Journal | 132 Views later days of Operation Rolling Thunder, carrier aircraft were mining inland roads and waterways.11 Aircraft from the Coral Sea...head. In reality, one cannot count on timely intelligence and strategic warning, and the first wave of any amphibious assault will probably make it...but the follow-up waves . At Tarawa, had follow-on waves been successfully in- terdicted on the first day, the assault might have failed. At Omaha

Identification of damping in a bridge using a moving instrumented vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González, A.; OBrien, E. J.; McGetrick, P. J.

2012-08-01

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of bridges which are being instrumented and monitored on an ongoing basis. This is in part due to the introduction of bridge management systems designed to provide a high level of protection to the public and early warning if the bridge becomes unsafe. This paper investigates a novel alternative; a low-cost method consisting of the use of a vehicle fitted with accelerometers on its axles to monitor the dynamic behaviour of bridges. A simplified half-car vehicle-bridge interaction model is used in theoretical simulations to test the effectiveness of the approach in identifying the damping ratio of the bridge. The method is tested for a range of bridge spans and vehicle velocities using theoretical simulations and the influences of road roughness, initial vibratory condition of the vehicle, signal noise, modelling errors and frequency matching on the accuracy of the results are investigated.

Robust Lane Sensing and Departure Warning under Shadows and Occlusions

PubMed Central

Tapia-Espinoza, Rodolfo; Torres-Torriti, Miguel

2013-01-01

A prerequisite for any system that enhances drivers' awareness of road conditions and threatening situations is the correct sensing of the road geometry and the vehicle's relative pose with respect to the lane despite shadows and occlusions. In this paper we propose an approach for lane segmentation and tracking that is robust to varying shadows and occlusions. The approach involves color-based clustering, the use of MSAC for outlier removal and curvature estimation, and also the tracking of lane boundaries. Lane boundaries are modeled as planar curves residing in 3D-space using an inverse perspective mapping, instead of the traditional tracking of lanes in the image space, i.e., the segmented lane boundary points are 3D points in a coordinate frame fixed to the vehicle that have a depth component and belong to a plane tangent to the vehicle's wheels, rather than 2D points in the image space without depth information. The measurement noise and disturbances due to vehicle vibrations are reduced using an extended Kalman filter that involves a 6-DOF motion model for the vehicle, as well as measurements about the road's banking and slope angles. Additional contributions of the paper include: (i) the comparison of textural features obtained from a bank of Gabor filters and from a GMRF model; and (ii) the experimental validation of the quadratic and cubic approximations to the clothoid model for the lane boundaries. The results show that the proposed approach performs better than the traditional gradient-based approach under different levels of difficulty caused by shadows and occlusions. PMID:23478598

Repeatability of road pavement condition assessment based on three-dimensional analysis of linear accelerations of vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Staniek, Marcin

2018-05-01

The article provides a discussion concerning a tool used for road pavement condition assessment based on signals of linear accelerations recorded with high sampling frequency for typical vehicles traversing the road network under real-life road traffic conditions. Specific relationships have been established for the sake of road pavement condition assessment, including identification of road sections of poor technical condition. The data thus acquired have been verified with regard to repeatability of estimated road pavement assessment indices. The data make it possible to describe the road network status against an area in which users of the system being developed move. What proves to be crucial in the assessment process is the scope of the data set based on multiple transfers within the road network.

Distraction or cognitive overload? Using modulations of the autonomic nervous system to discriminate the possible negative effects of advanced assistance system.

PubMed

Ruscio, D; Bos, A J; Ciceri, M R

2017-06-01

The interaction with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems has several positive implications for road safety, but also some potential downsides such as mental workload and automation complacency. Malleable attentional resources allocation theory describes two possible processes that can generate workload in interaction with advanced assisting devices. The purpose of the present study is to determine if specific analysis of the different modalities of autonomic control of nervous system can be used to discriminate different potential workload processes generated during assisted-driving tasks and automation complacency situations. Thirty-five drivers were tested in a virtual scenario while using head-up advanced warning assistance system. Repeated MANOVA were used to examine changes in autonomic activity across a combination of different user interactions generated by the advanced assistance system: (1) expected take-over request without anticipatory warning; (2) expected take-over request with two-second anticipatory warning; (3) unexpected take-over request with misleading warning; (4) unexpected take-over request without warning. Results shows that analysis of autonomic modulations can discriminate two different resources allocation processes, related to different behavioral performances. The user's interaction that required divided attention under expected situations produced performance enhancement and reciprocally-coupled parasympathetic inhibition with sympathetic activity. At the same time, supervising interactions that generated automation complacency were described specifically by uncoupled sympathetic activation. Safety implications for automated assistance systems developments are considered. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study on Early-Warning System of Cotton Production in Hebei Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Runqing; Ma, Teng

Cotton production plays an important role in Hebei. It straightly influences cotton farmers’ life, agricultural production and national economic development as well. In recent years, due to cotton production frequently fluctuating, two situations, “difficult selling cotton” and “difficult buying cotton” have alternately occurred, and brought disadvantages to producers, businesses and national finance. Therefore, it is very crucial to research the early warning of cotton production for solving the problem of cotton production’s frequent fluctuation and ensuring the cotton industry’s sustainable development. This paper founds a signal lamp model of early warning through employing time-difference correlation analysis method to select early-warning indicators and statistical analysis method associated with empirical analysis to determine early-warning limits. Finally, it not only obtained warning conditions of cotton production from 1993 to 2006 and forecast 2007’s condition, but also put forward corresponding countermeasures to prevent cotton production from fluctuating. Furthermore, an early-warning software of cotton production is completed through computer programming on the basis of the early warning model above.

Exposure to graphic warning labels on cigarette packages: Effects on implicit and explicit attitudes towards smoking among young adults.

PubMed

Macy, Jonathan T; Chassin, Laurie; Presson, Clark C; Yeung, Ellen

2016-01-01

To test the effect of exposure to the US Food and Drug Administration's proposed graphic images with text warning statements for cigarette packages on implicit and explicit attitudes towards smoking. A two-session web-based study was conducted with 2192 young adults 18-25-years-old. During session one, demographics, smoking behaviour, and baseline implicit and explicit attitudes were assessed. Session two, completed on average 18 days later, contained random assignment to viewing one of three sets of cigarette packages, graphic images with text warnings, text warnings only, or current US Surgeon General's text warnings. Participants then completed post-exposure measures of implicit and explicit attitudes. ANCOVAs tested the effect of condition on the outcomes, controlling for baseline attitudes. Smokers who viewed packages with graphic images plus text warnings demonstrated more negative implicit attitudes compared to smokers in the other conditions (p = .004). For the entire sample, explicit attitudes were more negative for those who viewed graphic images plus text warnings compared to those who viewed current US Surgeon General's text warnings (p = .014), but there was no difference compared to those who viewed text-only warnings. Graphic health warnings on cigarette packages can influence young adult smokers' implicit attitudes towards smoking.

Critical slowing down as early warning for the onset of collapse in mutualistic communities.

PubMed

Dakos, Vasilis; Bascompte, Jordi

2014-12-09

Tipping points are crossed when small changes in external conditions cause abrupt unexpected responses in the current state of a system. In the case of ecological communities under stress, the risk of approaching a tipping point is unknown, but its stakes are high. Here, we test recently developed critical slowing-down indicators as early-warning signals for detecting the proximity to a potential tipping point in structurally complex ecological communities. We use the structure of 79 empirical mutualistic networks to simulate a scenario of gradual environmental change that leads to an abrupt first extinction event followed by a sequence of species losses until the point of complete community collapse. We find that critical slowing-down indicators derived from time series of biomasses measured at the species and community level signal the proximity to the onset of community collapse. In particular, we identify specialist species as likely the best-indicator species for monitoring the proximity of a community to collapse. In addition, trends in slowing-down indicators are strongly correlated to the timing of species extinctions. This correlation offers a promising way for mapping species resilience and ranking species risk to extinction in a given community. Our findings pave the road for combining theory on tipping points with patterns of network structure that might prove useful for the management of a broad class of ecological networks under global environmental change.

Design of overload vehicle monitoring and response system based on DSP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Yan; Liu, Yiheng; Zhao, Xuefeng

2014-03-01

The overload vehicles are making much more damage to the road surface than the regular ones. Many roads and bridges are equipped with structural health monitoring system (SHM) to provide early-warning to these damage and evaluate the safety of road and bridge. However, because of the complex nature of SHM system, it's expensive to manufacture, difficult to install and not well-suited for the regular bridges and roads. Based on this application background, this paper designs a compact structural health monitoring system based on DSP, which is highly integrated, low-power, easy to install and inexpensive to manufacture. The designed system is made up of sensor arrays, the charge amplifier module, the DSP processing unit, the alarm system for overload, and the estimate for damage of the road and bridge structure. The signals coming from sensor arrays go through the charge amplifier. DSP processing unit will receive the amplified signals, estimate whether it is an overload signal or not, and convert analog variables into digital ones so that they are compatible with the back-end digital circuit for further processing. The system will also restrict certain vehicles that are overweight, by taking image of the car brand, sending the alarm, and transferring the collected pressure data to remote data center for further monitoring analysis by rain-flow counting method.

What Are the Warning Signs of Stroke?

MedlinePlus

ANSWERS by heart Cardiovascular Conditions What Are the Warning Signs of Stroke? Brain tissue affected by blockage ... risk factors. • Reduce your risk factors. • Learn the warning signs of stroke. • Know what to do if ...

Modeling crash injury severity by road feature to improve safety.

PubMed

Penmetsa, Praveena; Pulugurtha, Srinivas S

2018-01-02

The objective of this research is 2-fold: to (a) model and identify critical road features (or locations) based on crash injury severity and compare it with crash frequency and (b) model and identify drivers who are more likely to contribute to crashes by road feature. Crash data from 2011 to 2013 were obtained from the Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) for the state of North Carolina. Twenty-three different road features were considered, analyzed, and compared with each other as well as no road feature. A multinomial logit (MNL) model was developed and odds ratios were estimated to investigate the effect of road features on crash injury severity. Among the many road features, underpass, end or beginning of a divided highway, and on-ramp terminal on crossroad are the top 3 critical road features. Intersection crashes are frequent but are not highly likely to result in severe injuries compared to critical road features. Roundabouts are least likely to result in both severe and moderate injuries. Female drivers are more likely to be involved in crashes at intersections (4-way and T) compared to male drivers. Adult drivers are more likely to be involved in crashes at underpasses. Older drivers are 1.6 times more likely to be involved in a crash at the end or beginning of a divided highway. The findings from this research help to identify critical road features that need to be given priority. As an example, additional advanced warning signs and providing enlarged or highly retroreflective signs that grab the attention of older drivers may help in making locations such as end or beginning of a divided highway much safer. Educating drivers about the necessary skill sets required at critical road features in addition to engineering solutions may further help them adopt safe driving behaviors on the road.

Pavement Condition Assessment Using IRI from Roadroid and Surface Distress Index Method on National Road in Sumenep Regency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arianto, T.; Suprapto, M.; Syafi’i

2018-03-01

The pavement condition will decrease due to the influence of traffic and environment, so that the maintenance effort is needed to maintain the road condition during the service period. In order to carry out road maintenance activities right on target, there needs to be a plan based on accurate pavement condition data. Road roughness is the most commonly used condition parameter in evaluating pavement conditions objectively because road roughness data is relatively easy to obtain, well correlated with vehicle operating costs and the most relevant parameter in road functional performance measurement. The Roadroid is an Android-based application that measures road roughness by using vibration sensors on a smartphone so it is possible to get an International Roughness Index (IRI) value as an indicator of pavement conditions more easily and efficiently. Besides based on road roughness, pavement condition evaluation can also be done visually by using Surface Distress Index (SDI) method that uses the total crack area parameters, average crack width, total number of potholes and the average depth of rutting. This study attempts to assess the condition of Jenderal Sudirman-Kalianget road by combining IRI Roadroid value and SDI value which will be used as the basis to determine the required road maintenance. This road segment is one of the national strategic road connecting the center of Sumenep regency with the Kalianget harbor. Based on IRI measurement and SDI calculation, the pavement condition of Jenderal Sudirman-Kalianget road can be described 4.2 kilometers (37.17%) were good and 2.3 kilometers (20.35%) were fair that need routine maintenance. While 2.1 kilometers (18.58%) were bad and 2.7 kilometers (23.89%) were poor that need periodical maintenance and reconstruction.

Cigarette Warning Label Policy Alternatives and Smoking-Related Health Disparities

PubMed Central

Thrasher, James F.; Carpenter, Matthew J.; Andrews, Jeannette O.; Gray, Kevin M.; Alberg, Anthony J.; Navarro, Ashley; Friedman, Daniela B.; Cummings, K. Michael

2012-01-01

Background Pictorial health warning labels on cigarette packaging have been proposed for the U.S., but their potential influences among populations that suffer tobacco-related health disparities are unknown. Purpose To evaluate pictorial health warning labels, including moderation of their influences by health literacy and race. Methods From July 2011 to January 2012, field experiments were conducted with 981 adult smokers who were randomized to control (i.e., text-only labels, n=207) and experimental conditions (i.e., pictorial labels, n=774). The experimental condition systematically varied health warning label stimuli by health topic and image type. Linear mixed effects (LME) models estimated the influence of health warning label characteristics and participant characteristics on label ratings. Data were analyzed from January 2012 to April 2012. Results Compared to text-only warning labels, pictorial warning labels were rated as more personally relevant (5.7 vs 6.8, p<0.001) and effective (5.4 vs 6.8, p<0.001), and as more credible, but only among participants with low health literacy (7.6 vs 8.2, p<0.001). Within the experimental condition, pictorial health warning labels with graphic imagery had significantly higher ratings of credibility, personal relevance, and effectiveness than imagery of human suffering and symbolic imagery. Significant interactions indicated that labels with graphic imagery produced minimal differences in ratings across racial groups and levels of health literacy, whereas other imagery produced greater group differences. Conclusions Pictorial health warning labels with graphic images have the most-pronounced short-term impacts on adult smokers, including smokers from groups that have in the past been hard to reach. PMID:23159254

Distinguishing the road conditions of dry, aquaplane, and frozen by using a three-color infrared camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tabuchi, Toru; Yamagata, Shigeki; Tamura, Tetsuo

2003-04-01

There are increasing demands for information to avoid accident in automobile traffic increase. We will discuss that an infrared camera can identify three conditions (dry, aquaplane, frozen) of the road surface. Principles of this method are; 1.We have found 3-color infrared camera can distinguish those conditions using proper data processing 2.The emissivity of the materials on the road surface (conclete, water, ice) differs in three wavelength regions. 3.The sky's temperature is lower than the road's. The emissivity of the road depends on the road surface conditions. Therefore, 3-color infrared camera measure the energy reflected from the sky on the road surface and self radiation of road surface. The road condition can be distinguished by processing the energy pattern measured in three wavelength regions. We were able to collect the experimental results that the emissivity of conclete is differ from water. The infrared camera whose NETD (Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference) at each 3-wavelength is 1.0C or less can distinguish the road conditions by using emissivity difference.

E-3A EMP Evaluation Program.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-01-01

34OGRAh~g"NT. PROJECT, TASI( AREA & YRIC UIT NUMBERS EG&G, Inc. 9733 Coors Road NW 67I/7Z~i Albuqueroue,_NM_87114 _____________ 11. CONTROLLING OFFICE...Report) III. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES III. KCy WORDS (Centingnpo r. everse wooe Ii noeew ayE ~Eeatly by’ b1euk nuabr) E- 3A Airborne Warning and Control ... CONTROL PROCEDURE ANALYSIS . 73 1 L -.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page SECTION V TEST ACTIVITIES .... .............. . 81 1. PRE-PULSE

Impact of Tobacco-Related Health Warning Labels across Socioeconomic, Race and Ethnic Groups: Results from a Randomized Web-Based Experiment

PubMed Central

Cantrell, Jennifer; Vallone, Donna M.; Thrasher, James F.; Nagler, Rebekah H.; Feirman, Shari P.; Muenz, Larry R.; He, David Y.; Viswanath, Kasisomayajula

2013-01-01

Background The U.S. Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 requires updating of the existing text-only health warning labels on tobacco packaging with nine new warning statements accompanied by pictorial images. Survey and experimental research in the U.S. and other countries supports the effectiveness of pictorial health warning labels compared with text-only warnings for informing smokers about the risks of smoking and encouraging cessation. Yet very little research has examined differences in reactions to warning labels by race/ethnicity, education or income despite evidence that population subgroups may differ in their ability to process health information. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the potential impact of pictorial warning labels compared with text-only labels among U.S. adult smokers from diverse racial/ethnic and socioeconomic subgroups. Methods/Findings Participants were adult smokers recruited from two online research panels (n = 3,371) into a web-based experimental study to view either the new pictorial warnings or text-only warnings. Participants viewed the labels and reported their reactions. Adjusted regression models demonstrated significantly stronger reactions for the pictorial condition for each outcome salience (b = 0.62, p<.001); perceived impact (b = 0.44, p<.001); credibility (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.22−1.62), and intention to quit (OR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.10−1.53). No significant results were found for interactions between condition and race/ethnicity, education, or income. The only exception concerned the intention to quit outcome, where the condition-by-education interaction was nearly significant (p = 0.057). Conclusions Findings suggest that the greater impact of the pictorial warning label compared to the text-only warning is consistent across diverse racial/ethnic and socioeconomic populations. Given their great reach, pictorial health warning labels may be one of the few tobacco control policies that have the potential to reduce communication inequalities across groups. Policies that establish strong pictorial warning labels on tobacco packaging may be instrumental in reducing the toll of the tobacco epidemic, particularly within vulnerable communities. PMID:23341895

Does Size Impact Attention and Recall of Graphic Health Warnings?

PubMed

Klein, Elizabeth G; Shoben, Abigail B; Krygowski, Sarah; Ferketich, Amy; Berman, Micah; Peters, Ellen; Rao, Unnava; Wewers, Mary Ellen

2015-07-01

To evaluate the attention paid to larger sizes of graphic health warnings (GHWs) embedded within cigarette advertisements so as to assess their impacts on rural smokers. Daily smokers (N = 298) were randomly assigned to view a cigarette advertisement with 3 conditions: 2 intervention conditions with GHW comprising 20% or 33% of the ad area, or a text-only control. Eye-tracking software measured attention in milliseconds. Binary outcome mediation was conducted. Intervention participants spent 24% of their time viewing the GHWs, compared to 10% for control (p < .01). The odds of GHW recall in the combined (20% and 33%) intervention group were 3.3 times higher than controls. Total dwell time mediated 33% of the effect of the graphic condition on any recall. GHWs in 20% of cigarette advertisement space attracted significantly more attention than text-only warnings; larger GHWs did not increase attention. Attention was significantly associated with warning recall; total time viewing mediated warning recall. Tobacco ads should include GHWs to attract the attention of smokers.

Exposure to Graphic Warning Labels on Cigarette Packages: Effects on Implicit and Explicit Attitudes toward Smoking among Young Adults

PubMed Central

Macy, Jonathan T.; Chassin, Laurie; Presson, Clark C.; Yeung, Ellen

2015-01-01

Objective Test the effect of exposure to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s proposed graphic images with text warning statements for cigarette packages on implicit and explicit attitudes toward smoking. Design and methods A two-session web-based study was conducted with 2192 young adults 18–25 years old. During session one, demographics, smoking behavior, and baseline implicit and explicit attitudes were assessed. Session two, completed on average 18 days later, contained random assignment to viewing one of three sets of cigarette packages, graphic images with text warnings, text warnings only, or current U.S Surgeon General’s text warnings. Participants then completed post-exposure measures of implicit and explicit attitudes. ANCOVAs tested the effect of condition on the outcomes, controlling for baseline attitudes. Results Smokers who viewed packages with graphic images plus text warnings demonstrated more negative implicit attitudes compared to smokers in the other conditions (p=.004). For the entire sample, explicit attitudes were more negative for those who viewed graphic images plus text warnings compared to those who viewed current U.S. Surgeon General’s text warnings (p=.014), but there was no difference compared to those who viewed text-only warnings. Conclusion Graphic health warnings on cigarette packages can influence young adult smokers’ implicit attitudes toward smoking. PMID:26442992

Cost of Crashes Related to Road Conditions, United States, 2006

PubMed Central

Zaloshnja, Eduard; Miller, Ted R.

2009-01-01

This is the first study to estimate the cost of crashes related to road conditions in the U.S. To model the probability that road conditions contributed to the involvement of a vehicle in the crash, we used 2000–03 Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) data, the only dataset that provides detailed information whether road conditions contributed to crash occurrence. We applied the logistic regression results to a costed national crash dataset in order to calculate the probability that road conditions contributed to the involvement of a vehicle in each crash. In crashes where someone was moderately to seriously injured (AIS-2-6) in a vehicle that harmfully impacted a large tree or medium or large non-breakaway pole, or if the first harmful event was collision with a bridge, we changed the calculated probability of being road-related to 1. We used the state distribution of costs of fatal crashes where road conditions contributed to crash occurrence or severity to estimate the respective state distribution of non-fatal crash costs. The estimated comprehensive cost of traffic crashes where road conditions contributed to crash occurrence or severity was $217.5 billion in 2006. This represented 43.6% of the total comprehensive crash cost. The large share of crash costs related to road design and conditions underlines the importance of these factors in highway safety. Road conditions are largely controllable. Road maintenance and upgrading can prevent crashes and reduce injury severity. PMID:20184840

Role of tobacco warning labels in informing smokers about risks of smoking among bus drivers in Mangalore, India.

PubMed

Mallikarjun, Sajjanshetty; Rao, Ashwini; Rajesh, Gururaghavendran; Shenoy, Ramya; Bh, Mithun Pai

2014-01-01

Smoking tobacco is considered as a leading cause of preventable death, mostly in developing countries like India. One of the primary goals of international tobacco control is to educate smokers about the risks associated with tobacco consumption. Tobacco warning labels (TWLs) on cigarette packages are one of the most common statutory means to communicate health risks of smoking to smokers, with the hope that once educated, they will be more likely to quit the habit. The present survey was conducted to assess the effectiveness of TWLs in communicating health risks of tobacco usage among 263 adult smokers working as bus drivers in Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Mangalore, India. Information was collected on demographic details, exposure and response to health warnings on tobacco products, intention to quit and nicotine dependency. The majority (79.5%) of the respondents revealed negative intentions towards quitting smoking. Nearly half of the participants had a 'low' nicotine dependency (47.5%) and 98.1% of the respondents had often noticed warning labels on tobacco packages. These health warnings made 71.5% of the respondents think about quitting smoking. Respondents who noticed advertisement or pictures about dangers of smoking had better knowledge, with respect to lung cancer and impotence as a consequence of tobacco. A higher exposure to warning labels was significantly associated with lower nicotine dependency levels of smokers among the present study population. A significantly higher number of respondents who noticed advertisement or pictures about the dangers of smoking thought about the risks of smoking and were more inclined to think about quitting smoking. As exposure increased, an increase in the knowledge and response of participants was also observed. Exposure to tobacco warning labels helps to educate smokers about health risks of tobacco smoking. It may be possible to promote oral health among bus drivers by developing strategies to educate them about these risk factors.

Implementing Obstetric Early Warning Systems.

PubMed

Friedman, Alexander M; Campbell, Mary L; Kline, Carolyn R; Wiesner, Suzanne; D'Alton, Mary E; Shields, Laurence E

2018-04-01

Severe maternal morbidity and mortality are often preventable and obstetric early warning systems that alert care providers of potential impending critical illness may improve maternal safety. While literature on outcomes and test characteristics of maternal early warning systems is evolving, there is limited guidance on implementation. Given current interest in early warning systems and their potential role in care, the 2017 Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) Annual Meeting dedicated a session to exploring early warning implementation across a wide range of hospital settings. This manuscript reports on key points from this session. While implementation experiences varied based on factors specific to individual sites, common themes relevant to all hospitals presenting were identified. Successful implementation of early warnings systems requires administrative and leadership support, dedication of resources, improved coordination between nurses, providers, and ancillary staff, optimization of information technology, effective education, evaluation of and change in hospital culture and practices, and support in provider decision-making. Evolving data on outcomes on early warning systems suggest that maternal risk may be reduced. To effectively reduce maternal, risk early warning systems that capture deterioration from a broad range of conditions may be required in addition to bundles tailored to specific conditions such as hemorrhage, thromboembolism, and hypertension.

Personal Cabin Pressure Monitor and Warning System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zysko, Jan A. (Inventor)

2002-01-01

A cabin pressure altitude monitor and warning system provides a warning when a detected cabin pressure altitude has reached a predetermined level. The system is preferably embodied in a portable, pager-sized device that can be carried or worn by an individual. A microprocessor calculates the pressure altitude from signals generated by a calibrated pressure transducer and a temperature sensor that compensates for temperature variations in the signals generated by the pressure transducer. The microprocessor is programmed to generate a warning or alarm if a cabin pressure altitude exceeding a predetermined threshold is detected. Preferably, the microprocessor generates two different types of warning or alarm outputs, a first early warning or alert when a first pressure altitude is exceeded. and a second more serious alarm condition when either a second. higher pressure altitude is exceeded, or when the first pressure altitude has been exceeded for a predetermined period of time. Multiple types of alarm condition indicators are preferably provided, including visual, audible and tactile. The system is also preferably designed to detect gas concentrations and other ambient conditions, and thus incorporates other sensors, such as oxygen, relative humidity, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and ammonia sensors, to provide a more complete characterization and monitoring of the local environment.

Personal Cabin Pressure Monitor and Warning System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zysko, Jan A.

2002-09-01

A cabin pressure altitude monitor and warning system provides a warning when a detected cabin pressure altitude has reached a predetermined level. The system is preferably embodied in a portable, pager-sized device that can be carried or worn by an individual. A microprocessor calculates the pressure altitude from signals generated by a calibrated pressure transducer and a temperature sensor that compensates for temperature variations in the signals generated by the pressure transducer. The microprocessor is programmed to generate a warning or alarm if a cabin pressure altitude exceeding a predetermined threshold is detected. Preferably, the microprocessor generates two different types of warning or alarm outputs, a first early warning or alert when a first pressure altitude is exceeded. and a second more serious alarm condition when either a second. higher pressure altitude is exceeded, or when the first pressure altitude has been exceeded for a predetermined period of time. Multiple types of alarm condition indicators are preferably provided, including visual, audible and tactile. The system is also preferably designed to detect gas concentrations and other ambient conditions, and thus incorporates other sensors, such as oxygen, relative humidity, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and ammonia sensors, to provide a more complete characterization and monitoring of the local environment.

Cigarette warning label policy alternatives and smoking-related health disparities.

PubMed

Thrasher, James F; Carpenter, Matthew J; Andrews, Jeannette O; Gray, Kevin M; Alberg, Anthony J; Navarro, Ashley; Friedman, Daniela B; Cummings, K Michael

2012-12-01

Pictorial health warning labels on cigarette packaging have been proposed for the U.S., but their potential influences among populations that suffer tobacco-related health disparities are unknown. To evaluate pictorial health warning labels, including moderation of their influences by health literacy and race. From July 2011 to January 2012, field experiments were conducted with 981 adult smokers who were randomized to control (i.e., text-only labels, n=207) and experimental conditions (i.e., pictorial labels, n=774). The experimental condition systematically varied health warning label stimuli by health topic and image type. Linear mixed effects (LME) models estimated the influence of health warning label characteristics and participant characteristics on label ratings. Data were analyzed from January 2012 to April 2012. Compared to text-only warning labels, pictorial warning labels were rated as more personally relevant (5.7 vs 6.8, p<0.001) and effective (5.4 vs 6.8, p<0.001), and as more credible, but only among participants with low health literacy (7.6 vs 8.2, p<0.001). Within the experimental condition, pictorial health warning labels with graphic imagery had significantly higher ratings of credibility, personal relevance, and effectiveness than imagery of human suffering and symbolic imagery. Significant interactions indicated that labels with graphic imagery produced minimal differences in ratings across racial groups and levels of health literacy, whereas other imagery produced greater group differences. Pictorial health warning labels with graphic images have the most-pronounced short-term impacts on adult smokers, including smokers from groups that have in the past been hard to reach. Copyright © 2012 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Graphic Warning Labels Elicit Affective and Thoughtful Responses from Smokers: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

PubMed

Evans, Abigail T; Peters, Ellen; Strasser, Andrew A; Emery, Lydia F; Sheerin, Kaitlin M; Romer, Daniel

2015-01-01

Observational research suggests that placing graphic images on cigarette warning labels can reduce smoking rates, but field studies lack experimental control. Our primary objective was to determine the psychological processes set in motion by naturalistic exposure to graphic vs. text-only warnings in a randomized clinical trial involving exposure to modified cigarette packs over a 4-week period. Theories of graphic-warning impact were tested by examining affect toward smoking, credibility of warning information, risk perceptions, quit intentions, warning label memory, and smoking risk knowledge. Adults who smoked between 5 and 40 cigarettes daily (N = 293; mean age = 33.7), did not have a contra-indicated medical condition, and did not intend to quit were recruited from Philadelphia, PA and Columbus, OH. Smokers were randomly assigned to receive their own brand of cigarettes for four weeks in one of three warning conditions: text only, graphic images plus text, or graphic images with elaborated text. Data from 244 participants who completed the trial were analyzed in structural-equation models. The presence of graphic images (compared to text-only) caused more negative affect toward smoking, a process that indirectly influenced risk perceptions and quit intentions (e.g., image->negative affect->risk perception->quit intention). Negative affect from graphic images also enhanced warning credibility including through increased scrutiny of the warnings, a process that also indirectly affected risk perceptions and quit intentions (e.g., image->negative affect->risk scrutiny->warning credibility->risk perception->quit intention). Unexpectedly, elaborated text reduced warning credibility. Finally, graphic warnings increased warning-information recall and indirectly increased smoking-risk knowledge at the end of the trial and one month later. In the first naturalistic clinical trial conducted, graphic warning labels are more effective than text-only warnings in encouraging smokers to consider quitting and in educating them about smoking's risks. Negative affective reactions to smoking, thinking about risks, and perceptions of credibility are mediators of their impact. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01782053.

Translations on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Number 302

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-06-01

were aged between 17 and 35. He said that between 1970 and last year, 379 Malaysians were arrested for drug offenses overseas. Datuk Haji Ngah said...drug processing centre at the Malaysian -Thai border. He warned that the country’s development would be affected and the people would suffer if the...Thai actor with three kilogrammes of No 3 heroin and a .38 revolver on Charoen Krung Road near the Capitol cinema . They were identified as Pol Cpl

Does Size Impact Attention and Recall of Graphic Health Warnings?

PubMed Central

Klein, Elizabeth G.; Shoben, Abigail B.; Krygowski, Sarah; Ferketich, Amy; Berman, Micah; Peters, Ellen; Rao, Unnava; Wewers, Mary Ellen

2015-01-01

Objective To evaluate the attention paid to larger sizes of graphic health warnings (GHWs) embedded within cigarette advertisements so as to assess their impacts on rural smokers. Methods Daily smokers (N = 298) were randomly assigned to view a cigarette advertisement with 3 conditions: 2 intervention conditions with GHW comprising 20% or 33% of the ad area, or a text-only control. Eye-tracking software measured attention in milliseconds. Binary outcome mediation was conducted. Results Intervention participants spent 24% of their time viewing the GHWs, compared to 10% for control (p < .01). The odds of GHW recall in the combined (20% and 33%) intervention group were 3.3 times higher than controls. Total dwell time mediated 33% of the effect of the graphic condition on any recall. Conclusions GHWs in 20% of cigarette advertisement space attracted significantly more attention than text-only warnings; larger GHWs did not increase attention. Attention was significantly associated with warning recall; total time viewing mediated warning recall. Tobacco ads should include GHWs to attract the attention of smokers. PMID:26550583

Impacts of Fog Characteristics, Forward Illumination, and Warning Beacon Intensity Distribution on Roadway Hazard Visibility

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Warning beacons are critical for the safety of transportation, construction, and utility workers. These devices need to produce sufficient luminous intensity to be visible without creating glare to drivers. Published standards for the photometric performance of warning beacons do not address their performance in conditions of reduced visibility such as fog. Under such conditions light emitted in directions other than toward approaching drivers can create scattered light that makes workers and other hazards less visible. Simulations of visibility of hazards under varying conditions of fog density, forward vehicle lighting, warning beacon luminous intensity, and intensity distribution were performed to assess their impacts on visual performance by drivers. Each of these factors can influence the ability of drivers to detect and identify workers and hazards along the roadway in work zones. Based on the results, it would be reasonable to specify maximum limits on the luminous intensity of warning beacons in directions that are unlikely to be seen by drivers along the roadway, limits which are not included in published performance specifications. PMID:27314058

An evaluation of outdoor school environments to promote physical activity in Delhi, India.

PubMed

Tarun, Samiksha; Arora, Monika; Rawal, Tina; Benjamin Neelon, Sara E

2017-01-05

Increasing physical activity in children is an important public health goal in India. Schools may be a target for physical activity promotion, but little is known about outdoor school environments. The purpose of this study was to describe characteristics of the surrounding outdoor school environments that may promote children's physical activity in Delhi, India. For this cross-sectional study, we conducted a structured observation of outdoor school environments in a random sample of 16 private schools in Delhi, India using the Sport, Physical activity and Eating behavior: Environmental Determinants in Young people (SPEEDY) audit tool. The SPEEDY school audit measured six categories, including (1) access to the school; (2) surrounding area; (3) school grounds; (4) aesthetics; (5) usage; and (6) overall environment. Six trained data collectors conducted the audit independently in the summer of 2012 while schools were in session. Of the 16 schools, one had cycle lanes separated from the road while two schools had cycle lanes on the road. Two schools had pavement on both sides of the road for pedestrians. One school had marked pedestrian crossings. No schools had school warning signs, road safety signs, or route signs for cyclists that would help calm vehicular traffic. Fifteen schools had playground equipment and nine had courts, an assault course (a sequence of equipment designed to be used together), and a quadrangle (an enclosed or semi-enclosed courtyard) for outdoor physical activity. The majority of schools were shielded from the surrounding area by hedges, trees, or fences (n = 13) and were well maintained (n = 10). One school had evidence of vandalism. Two schools had graffiti, seven had litter, and 15 had murals or art. The majority of schools did not have infrastructure to support physical activity, such as cycle lanes, marked pedestrian crossings, or traffic calming mechanisms such as school warning signs. However, most had playground equipment, courts, and outdoor play areas. Nearly all were free from vandalism and many had murals or art. These results provide preliminary data for future work examining outdoor school environments, active transport to school, and children's physical activity in India.

Cigarette Graphic Warning Labels Are Not Created Equal: They Can Increase or Decrease Smokers' Quit Intentions Relative to Text-Only Warnings.

PubMed

Evans, Abigail T; Peters, Ellen; Shoben, Abigail B; Meilleur, Louise R; Klein, Elizabeth G; Tompkins, Mary Kate; Romer, Daniel; Tusler, Martin

2017-10-01

Cigarette graphic-warning labels elicit negative emotion. Research suggests negative emotion drives greater risk perceptions and quit intentions through multiple processes. The present research compares text-only warning effectiveness to that of graphic warnings eliciting more or less negative emotion. Nationally representative online panels of 736 adult smokers and 469 teen smokers/vulnerable smokers were randomly assigned to view one of three warning types (text-only, text with low-emotion images, or text with high-emotion images) four times over 2 weeks. Participants recorded their emotional reaction to the warnings (measured as arousal), smoking risk perceptions, and quit intentions. Primary analyses used structural equation modeling. Participants in the high-emotion condition reported greater emotional reaction than text-only participants (bAdult = 0.21; bTeen = 0.27, p's < .004); those in the low-emotion condition reported lower emotional reaction than text-only participants (bAdult = -0.18; bTeen = -0.22, p's < .018). Stronger emotional reaction was associated with increased risk perceptions in both samples (bAdult = 0.66; bTeen = 0.85, p's < .001) and greater quit intentions among adults (bAdult = 1.00, p < .001). Compared to text-only warnings, low-emotion warnings were associated with reduced risk perceptions and quit intentions whereas high-emotion warnings were associated with increased risk perceptions and quit intentions. Warning labels with images that elicit more negative emotional reaction are associated with increased risk perceptions and quit intentions in adults and teens relative to text-only warnings. However, graphic warnings containing images which evoke little emotional reaction can backfire and reduce risk perceptions and quit intentions versus text-only warnings. This research is the first to directly manipulate two emotion levels in sets of nine cigarette graphic warning images and compare them with text-only warnings. Among adult and teen smokers, high-emotion graphic warnings were associated with increased risk perceptions and quit intentions versus text-only warnings. Low-emotion graphic warnings backfired and tended to reduce risk perceptions and quit intentions versus text-only warnings. Policy makers should be aware that merely placing images on cigarette packaging is insufficient to increase smokers' risk perceptions and quit intentions. Low-emotion graphic warnings will not necessarily produce desired population-level benefits relative to text-only or high-emotion warnings. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Comparison of proposed countermeasures for dilemma zone at signalized intersections based on cellular automata simulations.

PubMed

Wu, Yina; Abdel-Aty, Mohamed; Ding, Yaoxian; Jia, Bin; Shi, Qi; Yan, Xuedong

2018-07-01

The Type II dilemma zone describes the road segment to a signalized intersection where drivers have difficulties to decide either stop or go at the onset of yellow signal. Such phenomenon can result in an increased crash risk at signalized intersections. Different types of warning systems have been proposed to help drivers make decisions. Although the warning systems help to improve drivers' behavior, they also have several disadvantages such as increasing rear-end crashes or red-light running (RLR) violations. In this study, a new warning system called pavement marking with auxiliary countermeasure (PMAIC) is proposed to reduce the dilemma zone and enhance the traffic safety at signalized intersections. The proposed warning system integrates the pavement marking and flashing yellow system which can provide drivers with better suggestions about stop/go decisions based on their arriving time and speed. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed warning system, this paper presents a cellular automata (CA) simulation study. The CA simulations are conducted for four different scenarios in total, including the typical intersection without warning system, the intersection with flashing green countermeasure, the intersection with pavement marking, and the intersection with the PMAIC warning system. Before the specific CA simulation analysis, a logistic regression model is calibrated based on field video data to predict drivers' general stop/go decisions. Also, the rules of vehicle movements in the CA models under the influence by different warning systems are proposed. The proxy indicators of rear-end crash and potential RLR violations were estimated and used to evaluate safety levels for the different scenarios. The simulation results showed that the PMAIC countermeasure consistently offered best performance to reduce rear-end crash and RLR violation. Meanwhile, the results indicate that the flashing-green countermeasure could not effectively reduce either rear-end crash risk or RLR violations. Also, it is found that the pavement-marking countermeasure has positive effects on reducing the rear-end risk while it may increase the probability of RLR violation. Lastly, the implementation of the proposed warning system is discussed with the consideration of connected-vehicle technology. It is expected that the dilemma zone issues can be efficiently addressed if the proposed countermeasure can be employed within connected vehicle technology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of and attention to graphic warning labels on cigarette packages.

PubMed

Süssenbach, Philipp; Niemeier, Sarah; Glock, Sabine

2013-01-01

The present study investigates the effects of graphic cigarette warnings compared to text-only cigarette warnings on smokers' explicit (i.e. ratings of the packages, cognitions about smoking, perceived health risk, quit intentions) and implicit attitudes. In addition, participants' visual attention towards the graphic warnings was recorded using eye-tracking methodology. Sixty-three smokers participated in the present study and either viewed graphic cigarette warnings with aversive and non-aversive images or text-only warnings. Data were analysed using analysis of variance and correlation analysis. Especially, graphic cigarette warnings with aversive content drew attention and elicited high threat. However, whereas attention directed to the textual information of the graphic warnings predicted smokers' risk perceptions, attention directed to the images of the graphic warnings did not. Moreover, smokers' in the graphic warning condition reported more positive cognitions about smoking, thus revealing cognitive dissonance. Smokers employ defensive psychological mechanisms when confronted with threatening warnings. Although aversive images attract attention, they do not promote health knowledge. Implications for graphic health warnings and the importance of taking their content (i.e. aversive vs. non-aversive images) into account are discussed.

Health Warning Labels for Smokeless Tobacco: The Impact of Graphic Images on Attention, Recall, and Craving.

PubMed

Klein, Elizabeth G; Quisenberry, Amanda J; Shoben, Abigail B; Cooper, Sarah; Ferketich, Amy K; Berman, Micah; Peters, Ellen; Wewers, Mary Ellen

2017-10-01

Little research has examined the impacts of graphic health warnings on the users of smokeless tobacco products. A convenience sample of past-month, male smokeless tobacco users (n = 142; 100% male) was randomly assigned to view a smokeless tobacco advertisement with a graphic health warning (GHW) or a text-only warning. Eye-tracking equipment measured viewing time, or dwell time, in milliseconds. Following the advertisement exposure, participants self-reported smokeless tobacco craving and recalled any content in the health warning message (unaided recall). Linear and logistic regression analyses evaluated the proportion of time viewing the GHW, craving, and GHW recall. Participants who viewed a GHW spent a significantly greater proportion of their ad viewing time on GHWs (2.87 seconds or 30%), compared to those viewing a text-only warning (2.05 seconds or 24%). Although there were no significant differences by condition in total advertisement viewing duration, those participants viewing a GHW had increased recall of health warning messages compared to the text-only warning (76% had any warning message recall compared to 53%; p < .05). Self-reported craving after advertisement exposure was lower in the GHW compared to text-only condition, but the difference was not statistically significant (a rating of 4.4 vs. 5.3 on a 10-point scale; p = .08). GHWs attracted greater attention and greater recall of health warning messages compared to text-only warnings among rural male smokeless tobacco users. Among a sample of rural smokeless tobacco users, GHWs attracted more attention and recall of health warning messages compared to text-only warnings when viewed within smokeless tobacco advertising. These findings provide additional empirical support that GHWs are an effective tobacco control tool for all tobacco products and advertisements. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Historical Reconstruction of the Riverfront: Stillwater, Washington County, Minnesota. (Historic Archeological, Historic, and Architectural Resources),

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-07-01

franchise and land grant to complete the long-desired line from Stillwater to St. Paul. The new company, headed by St. Croix Valley men, warn called the...complete the line. The legislature gave a new franchise to St. Croix Valley to build a road from Stillwater to White Bear Lake to connect with the St...1985. Developers of the planned Dock Cafe may find part of the basement of the warehouse (#94) during construction. Since the planned Dock Cafe will

Aircraft Command in Emergency Situations (ACES). Phase 1: Concept Development

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-04-01

progresses through a sequence of four stages: incipient, smoldeang, flame, and heat ( ASHREA Handbook 1984 Systems, Chapter 38, Fire and Sino’.e Control...CARGO F FCARGO DETI DET 2 1D DET2 Figure 6-9. Synoptic Display Layout for Concept R SMOKE HEATt I I 110 T AFTCARGO ~HEAT VS TIME SMOKE VS TIME HEAVY 7II...Phosphate Road, Suite 110 , North Charleston, SC 29418. Reference 12 Senturia, S. D., "Fabrication and Evaluation of Polymeric Early-Warning Fire Alarm

81. THREE ADDITIONAL BLACK AND WHITE VIDEO MONITORS LOCATED IMMEDIATELY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

81. THREE ADDITIONAL BLACK AND WHITE VIDEO MONITORS LOCATED IMMEDIATELY WEST OF THOSE IN CA-133-1-A-80. COMPLEX SAFETY WARNING LIGHTS FOR SLC-3E (PAD 2) AND BLDG. 763 (LOB) LOCATED ABOVE MONITOR 3; GREEN LIGHTS ON BOTTOM OF EACH STACK ILLUMINATED. LEFT TO RIGHT BELOW MONITORS: ACCIDENT REPORTING EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM TELEPHONE, ATLAS H FUEL COUNTER, AND DIGITAL COUNTDOWN CLOCK. - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

Road condition reporting.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-01-01

This report documents the findings of the road condition reporting project where the feasibility of live reporting of the road : conditions with an Android camera and computer vision algorithms was tested. An app was developed that can collect videos...

Graphic Warning Labels Elicit Affective and Thoughtful Responses from Smokers: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial

PubMed Central

Evans, Abigail T.; Peters, Ellen; Strasser, Andrew A.; Emery, Lydia F.; Sheerin, Kaitlin M.; Romer, Daniel

2015-01-01

Objective Observational research suggests that placing graphic images on cigarette warning labels can reduce smoking rates, but field studies lack experimental control. Our primary objective was to determine the psychological processes set in motion by naturalistic exposure to graphic vs. text-only warnings in a randomized clinical trial involving exposure to modified cigarette packs over a 4-week period. Theories of graphic-warning impact were tested by examining affect toward smoking, credibility of warning information, risk perceptions, quit intentions, warning label memory, and smoking risk knowledge. Methods Adults who smoked between 5 and 40 cigarettes daily (N = 293; mean age = 33.7), did not have a contra-indicated medical condition, and did not intend to quit were recruited from Philadelphia, PA and Columbus, OH. Smokers were randomly assigned to receive their own brand of cigarettes for four weeks in one of three warning conditions: text only, graphic images plus text, or graphic images with elaborated text. Results Data from 244 participants who completed the trial were analyzed in structural-equation models. The presence of graphic images (compared to text-only) caused more negative affect toward smoking, a process that indirectly influenced risk perceptions and quit intentions (e.g., image->negative affect->risk perception->quit intention). Negative affect from graphic images also enhanced warning credibility including through increased scrutiny of the warnings, a process that also indirectly affected risk perceptions and quit intentions (e.g., image->negative affect->risk scrutiny->warning credibility->risk perception->quit intention). Unexpectedly, elaborated text reduced warning credibility. Finally, graphic warnings increased warning-information recall and indirectly increased smoking-risk knowledge at the end of the trial and one month later. Conclusions In the first naturalistic clinical trial conducted, graphic warning labels are more effective than text-only warnings in encouraging smokers to consider quitting and in educating them about smoking’s risks. Negative affective reactions to smoking, thinking about risks, and perceptions of credibility are mediators of their impact. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01782053 PMID:26672982

Contributing factors of crash injury severity at public highway-railroad grade crossings in the U.S.

PubMed

Haleem, Kirolos; Gan, Albert

2015-06-01

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) includes a separate program that supports safety improvements to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries at public highway-railroad grade crossings (HRGCs). This study identifies the significant factors affecting crash injury severity at public HRGCs in the United States. Crashes from 2009 through 2013 on 5,528 public HRGCs, extracted from the Federal Railroad Administration database, were used in the analysis. A comprehensive list of risk factors was explored. Examples include predictors related to geographic region of crash, geometry (e.g., area type and pavement marking type), railroad (e.g., warning device type and railroad class), traffic (e.g., train speed and vehicles annual average daily traffic "AADT"), highway user (e.g., driver age and gender), and environment (e.g., lighting and weather conditions). The study used the mixed logit model to better capture the complex highway user behavior at HRGCs. Female highway users were at higher risk of involvement in injuries and fatalities compared to males. Higher train speeds, very old drivers, open areas, concrete road surface types, and railroad equipment striking highway users before crash, were all found to increase the injury likelihood. On the other hand, young and middle-age drivers, non-passing of standing vehicles at HRGCs, industrial areas, and presence of warning bells were found to reduce injuries and fatalities. The mixed logit model succeeded in identifying contributing factors of crash severity at public HRGCs and potential countermeasures to reduce both fatalities and injuries are suggested. It is important to install warning bells at public HRGCs, especially at those with high number of injury and fatality crashes. Enforcement of traffic nearby HRGCs is necessary to prevent vehicles from overtaking of standing vehicles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. and National Safety Council. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Driving behaviour responses to a moose encounter, automatic speed camera, wildlife warning sign and radio message determined in a factorial simulator study.

PubMed

Jägerbrand, Annika K; Antonson, Hans

2016-01-01

In a driving simulator study, driving behaviour responses (speed and deceleration) to encountering a moose, automatic speed camera, wildlife warning sign and radio message, with or without a wildlife fence and in dense forest or open landscape, were analysed. The study consisted of a factorial experiment that examined responses to factors singly and in combination over 9-km road stretches driven eight times by 25 participants (10 men, 15 women). The aims were to: determine the most effective animal-vehicle collision (AVC) countermeasures in reducing vehicle speed and test whether these are more effective in combination for reducing vehicle speed; identify the most effective countermeasures on encountering moose; and determine whether the driving responses to AVC countermeasures are affected by the presence of wildlife fences and landscape characteristics. The AVC countermeasures that proved most effective in reducing vehicle speed were a wildlife warning sign and radio message, while automatic speed cameras had a speed-increasing effect. There were no statistically significant interactions between different countermeasures and moose encounters. However, there was a tendency for a stronger speed-reducing effect from the radio message warning and from a combination of a radio message and wildlife warning sign in velocity profiles covering longer driving distances than the statistical tests. Encountering a moose during the drive had the overall strongest speed-reducing effect and gave the strongest deceleration, indicating that moose decoys or moose artwork might be useful as speed-reducing countermeasures. Furthermore, drivers reduced speed earlier on encountering a moose in open landscape and had lower velocity when driving past it. The presence of a wildlife fence on encountering the moose resulted in smaller deceleration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Future Earth: Reducing Loss By Automating Response to Earthquake Shaking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, R. M.

2014-12-01

Earthquakes pose a significant threat to society in the U.S. and around the world. The risk is easily forgotten given the infrequent recurrence of major damaging events, yet the likelihood of a major earthquake in California in the next 30 years is greater than 99%. As our societal infrastructure becomes ever more interconnected, the potential impacts of these future events are difficult to predict. Yet, the same inter-connected infrastructure also allows us to rapidly detect earthquakes as they begin, and provide seconds, tens or seconds, or a few minutes warning. A demonstration earthquake early warning system is now operating in California and is being expanded to the west coast (www.ShakeAlert.org). In recent earthquakes in the Los Angeles region, alerts were generated that could have provided warning to the vast majority of Los Angelinos who experienced the shaking. Efforts are underway to build a public system. Smartphone technology will be used not only to issue that alerts, but could also be used to collect data, and improve the warnings. The MyShake project at UC Berkeley is currently testing an app that attempts to turn millions of smartphones into earthquake-detectors. As our development of the technology continues, we can anticipate ever-more automated response to earthquake alerts. Already, the BART system in the San Francisco Bay Area automatically stops trains based on the alerts. In the future, elevators will stop, machinery will pause, hazardous materials will be isolated, and self-driving cars will pull-over to the side of the road. In this presentation we will review the current status of the earthquake early warning system in the US. We will illustrate how smartphones can contribute to the system. Finally, we will review applications of the information to reduce future losses.

Application of a distributed hydrological model to the design of a road inundation warning system for flash flood prone areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Versini, P.-A.; Gaume, E.; Andrieu, H.

2010-04-01

This paper presents an initial prototype of a distributed hydrological model used to map possible road inundations in a region frequently exposed to severe flash floods: the Gard region (South of France). The prototype has been tested in a pseudo real-time mode on five recent flash flood events for which actual road inundations have been inventoried. The results are promising: close to 100% probability of detection of actual inundations, inundations detected before they were reported by the road management field teams with a false alarm ratios not exceeding 30%. This specific case study differs from the standard applications of rainfall-runoff models to produce flood forecasts, focussed on a single or a limited number of gauged river cross sections. It illustrates that, despite their lack of accuracy, hydro-meteorological forecasts based on rainfall-runoff models, especially distributed models, contain valuable information for flood event management. The possible consequences of landslides, debris flows and local erosion processes, sometimes associated with flash floods, were not considered at this stage of development of the prototype. They are limited in the Gard region but should be taken into account in future developments of the approach to implement it efficiently in other areas more exposed to these phenomena such as the Alpine area.

ForWarn Forest Disturbance Change Detection System Provides a Weekly Snapshot of US Forest Conditions to Aid Forest Managers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hargrove, W. W.; Spruce, J.; Kumar, J.; Hoffman, F. M.

2012-12-01

The Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center and Western Wildland Environmental Assessment Center of the USDA Forest Service have collaborated with NASA Stennis Space Center to develop ForWarn, a forest monitoring tool that uses MODIS satellite imagery to produce weekly snapshots of vegetation conditions across the lower 48 United States. Forest and natural resource managers can use ForWarn to rapidly detect, identify, and respond to unexpected changes in the nation's forests caused by insects, diseases, wildfires, severe weather, or other natural or human-caused events. ForWarn detects most types of forest disturbances, including insects, disease, wildfires, frost and ice damage, tornadoes, hurricanes, blowdowns, harvest, urbanization, and landslides. It also detects drought, flood, and temperature effects, and shows early and delayed seasonal vegetation development. Operating continuously since January 2010, results show ForWarn to be a robust and highly capable tool for detecting changes in forest conditions. To help forest and natural resource managers rapidly detect, identify, and respond to unexpected changes in the nation's forests, ForWarn produces sets of national maps showing potential forest disturbances at 231m resolution every 8 days, and posts the results to the web for examination. ForWarn compares current greenness with the "normal," historically seen greenness that would be expected for healthy vegetation for a specific location and time of the year, and then identifies areas appearing less green than expected to provide a strategic national overview of potential forest disturbances that can be used to direct ground and aircraft efforts. In addition to forests, ForWarn also tracks potential disturbances in rangeland vegetation and agriculural crops. ForWarn is the first national-scale system of its kind based on remote sensing developed specifically for forest disturbances. The ForWarn system had an official unveiling and rollout in March 2012, initiated by a joint NASA and USDA press release, and followed by a series of training webinars. Almost 60 early-adopter state and federal forest managers attended at least one of the ForWarn rollout webinars. The ForWarn home page has had 2,632 unique visitors since rollout in March 2012, with 39% returning visits. ForWarn was used to map tornado scars from the historic April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak, and detected timber damage within more than a dozen tornado tracks across northern Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. ForWarn is the result of an ongoing, substantive cooperation among four different government agencies: USDA, NASA, USGS, and DOE. Disturbance maps are available on the web through the ForWarn Change Assessment Viewer at http://forwarn.forestthreats.org/fcav.

Crash avoidance potential of four passenger vehicle technologies.

PubMed

Jermakian, Jessica S

2011-05-01

The objective was to update estimates of maximum potential crash reductions in the United States associated with each of four crash avoidance technologies: side view assist, forward collision warning/mitigation, lane departure warning/prevention, and adaptive headlights. Compared with previous estimates (Farmer, 2008), estimates in this study attempted to account for known limitations of current systems. Crash records were extracted from the 2004-08 files of the National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System (NASS GES) and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Crash descriptors such as vehicle damage location, road characteristics, time of day, and precrash maneuvers were reviewed to determine whether the information or action provided by each technology potentially could have prevented or mitigated the crash. Of the four crash avoidance technologies, forward collision warning/mitigation had the greatest potential for preventing crashes of any severity; the technology is potentially applicable to 1.2 million crashes in the United States each year, including 66,000 serious and moderate injury crashes and 879 fatal crashes. Lane departure warning/prevention systems appeared relevant to 179,000 crashes per year. Side view assist and adaptive headlights could prevent 395,000 and 142,000 crashes per year, respectively. Lane departure warning/prevention was relevant to the most fatal crashes, up to 7500 fatal crashes per year. A combination of all four current technologies potentially could prevent or mitigate (without double counting) up to 1,866,000 crashes each year, including 149,000 serious and moderate injury crashes and 10,238 fatal crashes. If forward collision warning were extended to detect objects, pedestrians, and bicyclists, it would be relevant to an additional 3868 unique fatal crashes. There is great potential effectiveness for vehicle-based crash avoidance systems. However, it is yet to be determined how drivers will interact with the systems. The actual effectiveness of these systems will not be known until sufficient real-world experience has been gained. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Towards spatially distributed flood forecasts in flash flood prone areas: application to the supervision of a road network in the South of France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naulin, Jean-Philippe; Payrastre, Olivier; Gaume, Eric; Delrieu, Guy

2013-04-01

Accurate flood forecasts are crucial for an efficient flood event management. Until now, hydro-meteorological forecasts have been mainly used for early-warnings in France (Meteorological and flood vigilance maps) or over the world (Flash-flood guidances). These forecasts are generally limited to the main streams covered by the flood forecasting services or to specific watersheds with particular assets like check dams which are in most cases well gauged river sections, leaving aside large parts of the territory. A distributed hydro-meteorological forecasting approach will be presented, able to take advantage of the high spatial and temporal resolution rainfall estimates that are now available to provide information at ungauged sites. The proposed system aiming at detecting road inundation risks had been initially developed and tested in areas of limited size. Its extension to a whole region (the Gard region in the South of France) will be presented, including over 2000 crossing points between rivers and roads and its validation against a large data set of actually reported road inundations observed during recent flash-flood events. These first validation results appear promising. Such a tool would provide the necessary information for flood event management services to identify the areas at risk and to take the appropriate safety and rescue measures: pre-positioning of rescue means, stopping of the traffic on exposed roads, determination of safe accesses or evacuation routes. Moreover, beyond the specific application to the supervision of a road network, this work provides also results concerning the performances of hydro-meteorological forecasts for ungauged headwaters.

Effects of weather conditions, light conditions, and road lighting on vehicle speed.

PubMed

Jägerbrand, Annika K; Sjöbergh, Jonas

2016-01-01

Light conditions are known to affect the number of vehicle accidents and fatalities but the relationship between light conditions and vehicle speed is not fully understood. This study examined whether vehicle speed on roads is higher in daylight and under road lighting than in darkness, and determined the combined effects of light conditions, posted speed limit and weather conditions on driving speed. The vehicle speed of passenger cars in different light conditions (daylight, twilight, darkness, artificial light) and different weather conditions (clear weather, rain, snow) was determined using traffic and weather data collected on an hourly basis for approximately 2 years (1 September 2012-31 May 2014) at 25 locations in Sweden (17 with road lighting and eight without). In total, the data included almost 60 million vehicle passes. The data were cleaned by removing June, July, and August, which have different traffic patterns than the rest of the year. Only data from the periods 10:00 A.M.-04:00 P.M. and 06:00 P.M.-10:00 P.M. were used, to remove traffic during rush hour and at night. Multivariate adaptive regression splines was used to evaluate the overall influence of independent variables on vehicle speed and nonparametric statistical testing was applied to test for speed differences between dark-daylight, dark-twilight, and twilight-daylight, on roads with and without road lighting. The results show that vehicle speed in general depends on several independent variables. Analyses of vehicle speed and speed differences between daylight, twilight and darkness, with and without road lighting, did not reveal any differences attributable to light conditions. However, vehicle speed decreased due to rain or snow and the decrease was higher on roads without road lighting than on roads with lighting. These results suggest that the strong association between traffic accidents and darkness or low light conditions could be explained by drivers failing to adjust their speed to the reduced visibility in dark conditions.

Influences of motorcycle rider and driver characteristics and road environment on red light running behavior at signalized intersections.

PubMed

Jensupakarn, Auearree; Kanitpong, Kunnawee

2018-04-01

In Thailand, red light running is considered as one of the most dangerous behaviors at intersection. Red light running (RLR) behavior is the failure to obey the traffic control signal. However, motorcycle riders and car drivers who are running through red lights could be influenced by human factors or road environment at intersection. RLR could be advertent or inadvertent behavior influenced by many factors. Little research study has been done to evaluate the contributing factors influencing the red-light violation behavior. This study aims to determine the factors influencing the red light running behavior including human characteristics, physical condition of intersection, traffic signal operation, and traffic condition. A total of 92 intersections were observed in Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Chonburi, the major provinces in each region of Thailand. In addition, the socio-economic characteristics of red light runners were obtained from self-reported questionnaire survey. The Binary Logistic Regression and the Multiple Linear Regression models were used to determine the characteristics of red light runners and the factors influencing rates of red light running respectively. The results from this study can help to understand the characteristics of red light runners and factors affecting them to run red lights. For motorcycle riders and car drivers, age, gender, occupation, driving license, helmet/seatbelt use, and the probability to be penalized when running the red light significantly affect RLR behavior. In addition, the results indicated that vehicle travelling direction, time of day, existence of turning lane, number of lanes, lane width, intersection sight distance, type of traffic signal pole, type of traffic signal operation, length of yellow time interval, approaching speed, distance from intersection warning sign to stop line, and pavement roughness significantly affect RLR rates. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recognition and Classification of Road Condition on the Basis of Friction Force by Using a Mobile Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Tatsuhito; Katsura, Seiichiro

A person operating a mobile robot in a remote environment receives realistic visual feedback about the condition of the road on which the robot is moving. The categorization of the road condition is necessary to evaluate the conditions for safe and comfortable driving. For this purpose, the mobile robot should be capable of recognizing and classifying the condition of the road surfaces. This paper proposes a method for recognizing the type of road surfaces on the basis of the friction between the mobile robot and the road surfaces. This friction is estimated by a disturbance observer, and a support vector machine is used to classify the surfaces. The support vector machine identifies the type of the road surface using feature vector, which is determined using the arithmetic average and variance derived from the torque values. Further, these feature vectors are mapped onto a higher dimensional space by using a kernel function. The validity of the proposed method is confirmed by experimental results.

Impact of Evidence Type and Judicial Warning on Juror Perceptions of Global and Specific Witness Evidence.

PubMed

Wheatcroft, Jacqueline M; Keogan, Hannah

2017-04-03

The Court of Appeal in England and Wales held (R. v. Sardar, 2012) there had been no exceptional circumstances that justified a jury retiring with a transcript of the complainant's interview. This paper reports an investigation into the impact multiple evidence forms and use of a judicial warning has on juror evaluations of a witness. The warning focuses juror attention on placing disproportionate weight on the evidence as opposed to their general impression of it. Sixty jury-eligible participants were presented with witness evidence in transcript, video, or transcript plus video format. Half the participants in each condition received the warning. All mock jurors completed a questionnaire which assessed perceptions of witness and task. Outcomes showed that transcript plus video evidence, when accompanied by a warning, did impact on mock jurors' global assessments of the witness. The warning made the task less clear for jurors and, in the video condition, led to higher ratings of how satisfactory and reliable the witness was. Findings support the provision of a judicial warning to jurors and show some initial support for judiciary opposition to the provision of an additional transcript only when jurors are asked to make the more usual global witness assessments.

Integration of Thermal Indoor Conditions into Operational Heat Health Warning Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koppe, C.; Becker, P.; Pfafferott, J.

2009-09-01

The 2003 heat wave in Western Europe with altogether 35,000 to 50,000 deaths in Europe, several thousands of which occurred in Germany, has clearly pointed out the danger arising from long periods with high heat load. As a consequence, Germany, as many other European countries, has started to implement a Heat Health Warning System (HHWS). The German HHWS is based on the ‘Perceived Temperature'. The 'Perceived Temperature' is determined through a heat budget model of the human organism which includes the main thermophysiologically relevant mechanisms of heat exchange with the atmosphere. The most important meteorological ambience parameters included in the model are air temperature, humidity, wind speed and radiation fluxes in the short-wave and long-wave ranges. In addition to using a heat budget model for the assessment of the thermal load, the German HHWS also takes into account that the human body reacts in different ways to its thermal environment due to physiological adaptation (short-term acclimatisation) and short-term behavioural adaptation. The restriction of such an approach, like the majority of approaches used to issue heat warnings, is that the threshold for a warning is generally derived from meteorological observations and that warnings are issued on the basis of weather forecasts. Both, the observed data and the weather forecasts are only available for outside conditions. The group of people who are most at risk of suffering from a heat wave, however, are the elderly and frail who mainly stay inside. The indoor situation, which varies largely from the conditions outside, is not taken into account by most of the warning systems. To overcome this limitation the DWD, in co-operation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, has developed a model which simulates the thermal conditions in the indoor environment. As air-conditioning in private housing in Germany is not very common, the thermal indoor conditions depend on the outside conditions, on the building characteristics, and on the inhabitants' behaviour. The thermal building simulation model estimates the indoor heat load based of the predicted meteorological outside conditions by calculating the operative indoor temperature. The building types prevailing in Germany are quite heterogeneous. It was therefore decided to use for the thermal simulation a so-called "realistic worst-case” building type. In addition, a differentiation is made between two types of user behaviour: the active user opens the windows during the cold hours of the day and uses shading devices whereas the passive user does nothing to keep the heat outside. Since 2007, the DWD has been using the simulation of the indoor thermal conditions as an additional source of information for heat warnings. The information on the indoor conditions has proved very valuable for the decision whether to issue a heat warning or not.

The new Euskalmet coastal-maritime warning system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaztelumendi, Santiago; Egaña, Joseba; Liria, Pedro; Gonzalez, Manuel; Aranda, José Antonio; Anitua, Pedro

2016-06-01

This work presents the main characteristics of the Basque Meteorology Agency (Euskalmet) maritime-coastal risk warning system, with special emphasis on the latest updates, including a clear differentiation on specific warning messages addressing sea conditions for navigation purposes in the first 2 nautical miles, and expected coastal impacts. Some details of the warning bulletin for maritime and coastal risk situations are also presented, together with other communication products and strategies used in coastal and maritime severe episodes at the Basque coast. Today, three different aspects are included in the coastal-maritime risk warning system in Basque Country, related to the main potential severe events that affecting coastal activities. - "Galerna" risk relates to a sudden wind reversal that can severely affect coastal navigation and recreational activities. - "Navigation" risk relates to severe sea state conditions for 0-2 miles, affecting different navigation activities. - "Coastal impact" risk relates to adverse wave characteristics and tidal surges that induce flooding events and different impacts in littoral areas.

Assessment of roadway surface conditions using onboard vehicle sensors : final report phase I.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-03-01

Real-time assessment of road surface conditions can be used to provide valuable safety information to travelers when roads are slippery (e.g., contaminated roads, heavy rain, black ice, etc.). Identification of these hazardous surface conditions usin...

Tsunami evacuation mathematical model for the city of Padang

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kusdiantara, R.; Hadianti, R.; Badri Kusuma, M. S.

2012-05-22

Tsunami is a series of wave trains which travels with high speed on the sea surface. This traveling wave is caused by the displacement of a large volume of water after the occurrence of an underwater earthquake or volcano eruptions. The speed of tsunami decreases when it reaches the sea shore along with the increase of its amplitudes. Two large tsunamis had occurred in the last decades in Indonesia with huge casualties and large damages. Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System has been installed along the west coast of Sumatra. This early warning system will give about 10-15 minutes to evacuatemore » people from high risk regions to the safe areas. Here in this paper, a mathematical model for Tsunami evacuation is presented with the city of Padang as a study case. In the model, the safe areas are chosen from the existing and selected high rise buildings, low risk region with relatively high altitude and (proposed to be built) a flyover ring road. Each gathering points are located in the radius of approximately 1 km from the ring road. The model is formulated as an optimization problem with the total normalized evacuation time as the objective function. The constraints consist of maximum allowable evacuation time in each route, maximum capacity of each safe area, and the number of people to be evacuated. The optimization problem is solved numerically using linear programming method with Matlab. Numerical results are shown for various evacuation scenarios for the city of Padang.« less

Effectiveness of light-reflecting devices: A systematic reanalysis of animal-vehicle collision data.

PubMed

Brieger, Falko; Hagen, Robert; Vetter, Daniela; Dormann, Carsten F; Storch, Ilse

2016-12-01

Every year, approximately 500 human fatalities occur due to animal-vehicle collisions in the United States and Europe. Especially heavy-bodied animals affect road safety. For more than 50 years, light-reflecting devices such as wildlife warning reflectors have been employed to alert animals to traffic when crossing roads during twilight and night. Numerous studies addressed the effectiveness of light-reflecting devices in reducing collisions with animals in past decades, but yielded contradictory results. In this study, we conducted a systematic literature review to investigate whether light-reflecting devices contribute to an effective prevention of animal-vehicle collisions. We reviewed 53 references and reanalyzed original data of animal-vehicle collisions with meta-analytical methods. We calculated an effect size based on the annual number of animal-vehicle collisions per kilometer of road to compare segments with and without the installation of light-reflecting devices for 185 roads in Europe and North America. Our results indicate that light-reflecting devices did not significantly reduce the number of animal-vehicle collisions. However, we observed considerable differences of effect sizes with respect to study duration, study design, and country. Our results suggest that length of the road segment studied, study duration, study design and public attitude (preconception) to the functioning of devices may affect whether the documented number of animal-vehicle collisions in- or decrease and might in turn influence whether results obtained were published. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impacts of road conditions on the energy consumption of electric vehicular flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Hong; Huang, Hai-Jun; Tang, Tie-Qiao

2017-04-01

In this paper, we use the electricity consumption model for electric vehicular flow [H. Xiao, H. J. Huang and T. Q. Tang, Mod. Phys. Lett. B 30 (2016) 1650325] to study the effects of road conditions on the electricity consumption of electric vehicular flow during the evolutions of shock, rarefaction wave and small perturbation. The numerical results indicate that road conditions have negative influences on the electricity consumption during the evolutions of shock and rarefaction wave (i.e. the electricity consumption increases when road conditions become better) and positive impacts on the electricity consumption during the evolution of small perturbation when the traffic flow is unstable (i.e. the electricity consumption produces oscillation, but its amplitude decreases when road conditions become better).

Overview and highlights of Early Warning and Crop Condition Assessment project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boatwright, G. O.; Whitehead, V. S.

1985-01-01

Work of the Early Warning and Crop Condition Assessment (EW/CCA) project, one of eight projects in the Agriculture and Resources Inventory Surveys Through Aerospace Remote Sensing (AgRISTARS), is reviewed. Its mission, to develop and test remote sensing techniques that enhance operational methodologies for crop condition assessment, was in response to initiatives issued by the Secretary of Agriculture. Meteorologically driven crop stress indicator models have been developed or modified for wheat, maize, grain sorghum, and soybeans. These models provide early warning alerts of potential or actual crop stresses due to water deficits, adverse temperatures, and water excess that could delay planting or harvesting operations. Recommendations are given for future research involving vegetative index numbers and the NOAA and Landsat satellites.

Road analysis: a tool for cost-effective rehabilitation measures for Finnish roads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roimela, Petri; Salmenkaita, Seppo; Maijala, Pekka; Saarenketo, Timo

2000-04-01

Public funding for road network maintenance has decreased 30% during the last few years in Finland. Reduced resources, together with the current rehabilitation strategies, will in the long term result in increasing deterioration of the Finnish road network. For this reason road rehabilitation funding should be focused more specifically on those roads and road sections requiring measures and these measures should be optimized to ensure that only the specific problem structure will be repaired. Roadscanners Oy, in cooperation with the Finnish National Road Administration (Finnra), has developed a new and effective Road Analysis technique to survey the condition of roads and road networks. Road Analysis is based on the integrated analysis of the measured data collected from the road under survey. The basic survey methods used in Road Analysis include Ground Penetrating Data (GPR), falling weight deflectometer (FWD), roughness and rutting measurements, pavement distress mapping and GPS-positioning, as well as reference drilling based on preliminary GPR data analysis. The collected road survey data is processed, interpreted, analyzed and classified using Road Doctor software, specifically developed for this purpose. GPR measurements in road analysis are carried out using a 400 MHz ground-coupled antenna and a 1.0 GHz horn antenna. Horn antenna data is used to measure the thickness of the pavement and base course layers, as well as to evaluate their quality based on their dielectric properties. The 400 MHz ground-coupled data is used to estimate the thickness of the pavement structure and embankment. Ground-coupled antenna data is used for subgrade quality estimations and in evaluating the causes of subgrade- related frost defects. GPR data also provides important location information about special structures, such as steel reinforcements, cables and pipelines. Road Analysis includes a classification of the critical elements affecting the lifetime of the road: (1) overall pavement condition, (2) condition assessment of the unbound pavement structure, (3) road fatigue related to subgrade frost-action, (4) drainage condition and (5) local damages, such as settlements of the surveyed road. The results of Road Analysis provide a better understanding of the causes of defects occurring on the road and allow more precise rehabilitation measures for problem layers.

The Effects of Varying Electronic Cigarette Warning Label Design Features On Attention, Recall, and Product Perceptions Among Young Adults.

PubMed

Mays, Darren; Villanti, Andrea; Niaura, Raymond S; Lindblom, Eric N; Strasser, Andrew A

2017-12-13

This study was a 3 (Brand: Blu, MarkTen, Vuse) by 3 (Warning Size: 20%, 30%, or 50% of advertisement surface) by 2 (Warning Background: White, Red) experimental investigation of the effects of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) warning label design features. Young adults aged 18-30 years (n = 544) were recruited online, completed demographic and tobacco use history measures, and randomized to view e-cigarette advertisements with warning labels that varied by the experimental conditions. Participants completed a task assessing self-reported visual attention to advertisements with a-priori regions of interest defined around warning labels. Warning message recall and perceived addictiveness of e-cigarettes were assessed post-exposure. Approximately half of participants reported attending to warning labels and reported attention was greater for warnings on red versus white backgrounds. Recall of the warning message content was also greater among those reporting attention to the warning label. Overall, those who viewed warnings on red backgrounds reported lower perceived addictiveness than those who viewed warnings on white backgrounds, and e-cigarette users reported lower perceived addictiveness than non-users. Among e-cigarette users, viewing warnings on white backgrounds produced perceptions more similar to non-users. Greater recall was significantly correlated with greater perceived addictiveness. This study provides some of the first evidence that e-cigarette warning label design features including size and coloring affect self-reported attention and content recall.

Evaluation of Software Simulation of Road Weather Information System.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-09-01

A road weather information system (RWIS) is a combination of technologies that collects, transmits, models, and disseminates weather and road condition information. Sensors measure a range of weatherrelated conditions, including pavement temperatur...

36 CFR 294.43 - Prohibition on road construction and reconstruction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... or identified recovery watershed, road construction will not diminish, over the long-term, conditions... recovery watershed, road construction will not diminish, over the long-term, conditions in the water... Roadless Area beyond that which was authorized by the terms and conditions of the lease at the time of...

36 CFR 294.43 - Prohibition on road construction and reconstruction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... or identified recovery watershed, road construction will not diminish, over the long-term, conditions... recovery watershed, road construction will not diminish, over the long-term, conditions in the water... Roadless Area beyond that which was authorized by the terms and conditions of the lease at the time of...

Towards a debris-flow warning system based on hydrological measurements of the triggering conditions. A study of El Rebaixader catchment (Central Pyrenees, Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abancó, Clàudia; Hürlimann, Marcel; Moya, José

2014-05-01

Debris flows represent a risk to the society due to their high destructive power. Rainfall is the main debris-flow triggering factor. Rainfall thresholds are generally used for warning of debris flow occurrence in susceptible catchments. However, the efficiency of such thresholds for real time hazard assessment is often conditioned by many factors, such as: the location and number of the rain gauges used (both to define the thresholds, and for setting off warnings); the temporal and spatial evolution of rainfall's convective cells or the effect of snow cover melting. These factors affect the length of the warning time, which is of crucial importance for issuing alert messages or alarms to the people and infrastructures at risk. The Rebaixader catchment (Central Pyrenees, Spain) is being monitored since 2009 by six stations recording information on initiation (4 stations) and flow detection and cinematic behaviour (2 stations). Until December 2013, 7 debris flows, 17 debris floods and 4 rockfalls have been recorded. The objectives of this work were: a) the definition of rainfall thresholds at two different rain gauges; b) the analysis of the infiltration patterns in order to define their potential use for warning systems and c) preliminary testing of rainfall thresholds' efficiency in terms of warning time, in this catchment. This last goal consisted in the comparison of the time elapsed between the rainfall threshold was exceeded and the event occurrence was detected by the stations at the channel area. The results suggest that the intensity-duration rainfall thresholds sometimes provide warning times which would be too short for an adequate reaction in the Rebaixader catchment (less than 10 minutes). The combination of such rainfall thresholds with infiltration measurements is useful to increase the warning time. This occurs especially in the events triggered in spring, when the snowmelt plays an important role in the event's triggering conditions. However, the effects of infiltration associated to the summer convective rainfalls are almost imperceptible; therefore their importance in warning systems decreases.

Spatially distributed flood forecasting in flash flood prone areas: Application to road network supervision in Southern France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naulin, J.-P.; Payrastre, O.; Gaume, E.

2013-04-01

SummaryAccurate flood forecasts are critical to an efficient flood event management strategy. Until now, hydro-meteorological forecasts have mainly been used to establish early-warnings in France (meteorological and flood vigilance maps) or over the world (flash-flood guidances). These forecasts are typically limited either to the main streams covered by the flood forecasting services or to watersheds with specific assets like check dams, which in most cases are well gauged river sections, thus leaving aside large parts of the territory. This paper presents a distributed hydro-meteorological forecasting approach, which makes use of the high spatial and temporal resolution rainfall estimates that are now available, to provide information at ungauged sites. The proposed system intended to detect road inundation risks had initially been developed and tested in areas of limited size. This paper presents the extension of such a system to an entire region (i.e. the Gard region in Southern France), including over 2000 crossing points between rivers and roads and its validation with respect to a large data set of actual reported road inundations observed during recent flash flood events. These initial validation results appear to be most promising. The eventual proposed tool would provide the necessary information for flood event management services to identify the areas at risk and adopt appropriate safety and rescue measures: i.e. pre-positioning of rescue equipment, interruption of the traffic on the exposed roads and determination of safe access or evacuation routes. Moreover, beyond the specific application to the supervision of a road network, the research undertaken herein also provides results for the performance of hydro-meteorological forecasts on ungauged headwaters.

An Approach Toward Understanding Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Litvaitis, John A.; Tash, Jeffrey P.

2008-10-01

Among the most conspicuous environmental effects of roads are vehicle-related mortalities of wildlife. Research to understand the factors that contribute to wildlife-vehicle collisions can be partitioned into several major themes, including (i) characteristics associated with roadkill hot spots, (ii) identification of road-density thresholds that limit wildlife populations, and (iii) species-specific models of vehicle collision rates that incorporate information on roads (e.g., proximity, width, and traffic volume) and animal movements. We suggest that collision models offer substantial opportunities to understand the effects of roads on a diverse suite of species. We conducted simulations using collision models and information on Blanding’s turtles ( Emydoidea blandingii), bobcats ( Lynx rufus), and moose ( Alces alces), species endemic to the northeastern United States that are of particular concern relative to collisions with vehicles. Results revealed important species-specific differences, with traffic volume and rate of movement by candidate species having the greatest influence on collision rates. We recommend that future efforts to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions be more proactive and suggest the following protocol. For species that pose hazards to drivers (e.g., ungulates), identify collision hot spots and implement suitable mitigation to redirect animal movements (e.g., underpasses, fencing, and habitat modification), reduce populations of problematic game species via hunting, or modify driver behavior (e.g., dynamic signage that warns drivers when animals are near roads). Next, identify those species that are likely to experience additive (as opposed to compensatory) mortality from vehicle collisions and rank them according to vulnerability to extirpation. Then combine information on the distribution of at-risk species with information on existing road networks to identify areas where immediate actions are warranted.

Site conditions related to erosion on logging roads

Treesearch

R. M. Rice; J. D. McCashion

1985-01-01

Synopsis - Data collected from 299 road segments in northwestern California were used to develop and test a procedure for estimating and managing road-related erosion. Site conditions and the design of each segment were described by 30 variables. Equations developed using 149 of the road segments were tested on the other 150. The best multiple regression equation...

Validation of Essential Acoustic Parameters for Highly Urgent In-Vehicle Collision Warnings.

PubMed

Lewis, Bridget A; Eisert, Jesse L; Baldwin, Carryl L

2018-03-01

Objective The aim of this study was to validate the importance of key acoustic criteria for use as in-vehicle forward collision warning (FCW) systems. Background Despite recent advances in vehicle safety, automobile crashes remain one of the leading causes of death. As automation allows for more control of noncritical functions by the vehicle, the potential for disengagement and distraction from the driving task also increases. It is, therefore, as important as ever that in-vehicle safety-critical interfaces are intuitive and unambiguous, promoting effective collision avoidance responses upon first exposure even under divided-attention conditions. Method The current study used a driving simulator to assess the effectiveness of two warnings, one that met all essential acoustic parameters, one that met only some essential parameters, and a no-warning control in the context of a lead vehicle-following task in conjunction with a cognitive distractor task and collision event. Results Participants receiving an FCW comprising five essential acoustic components had improved collision avoidance responses relative to a no-warning condition and an FCW missing essential elements on their first exposure. Responses to a consistently good warning (GMU Prime) improved with subsequent exposures, whereas continued exposure to the less optimal FCW (GMU Sub-Prime) resulted in poorer performance even relative to receiving no warning at all. Conclusions This study provides support for previous warning design studies and for the validity of five key acoustic parameters essential for the design of effective in-vehicle FCWs. Application Results from this study have implications for the design of auditory FCWs and in-vehicle display design.

Early warning of orographically induced floods and landslides in Western Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leine, Ann-Live; Wang, Thea; Boje, Søren

2017-04-01

In Western Norway, landslides and debris flows are commonly initiated by short-term orographic rainfall or intensity peaks during a prolonged rainfall event. In recent years, the flood warning service in Norway has evolved from being solely a flood forecasting service to also integrating landslides into its early warning systems. As both floods and landslides are closely related to the same hydrometeorological processes, particularly in small catchments, there is a natural synergy between monitoring flood and landslide risk. The Norwegian Flood and Landslide Hazard Forecasting and Warning Service issues regional landslide hazard warnings based on hydrological models, threshold values, observations and weather forecasts. Intense rainfall events and/or orographic precipitation that, under certain topographic conditions, significantly increase the risk of debris avalanches and debris floods are lately receiving more research focus from the Norwegian warning service. Orographic precipitation is a common feature in W-Norway, when moist and relatively mild air arrives from the Atlantic. Steep mountain slopes covered by glacial till makes the region prone to landslides, as well as flooding. The operational early warning system in Norway requires constant improvement, especially with the enhanced number of intense rainfall events that occur in a warming climate. Here, we examine different cases of intense rainfall events which have lead to landslides and debris flows, as well as increased runoff in fast responding small catchments. The main objective is to increase the understanding of the hydrometeorological conditions related to these events, in order to make priorities for the future development of the warning service.

Effect of additional warning sounds on pedestrians' detection of electric vehicles: An ecological approach.

PubMed

Fleury, Sylvain; Jamet, Éric; Roussarie, Vincent; Bosc, Laure; Chamard, Jean-Christophe

2016-12-01

Virtually silent electric vehicles (EVs) may pose a risk for pedestrians. This paper describes two studies that were conducted to assess the influence of different types of external sounds on EV detectability. In the first study, blindfolded participants had to detect an approaching EV with either no warning sounds at all or one of three types of sound we tested. In the second study, designed to replicate the results of the first one in an ecological setting, the EV was driven along a road and the experimenters counted the number of people who turned their heads in its direction. Results of the first study showed that adding external sounds improve EV detection, and modulating the frequency and increasing the pitch of these sounds makes them more effective. This improvement was confirmed in the ecological context. Consequently, pitch variation and frequency modulation should both be taken into account in future AVAS design. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of thermal biology on road mortality risk in snakes.

PubMed

Mccardle, Logan D; Fontenot, Clifford L

2016-02-01

Road mortality is a significant threat to terrestrial vertebrates in many areas, and the novel thermal environment of black-topped roads may represent ecological traps for some species and demographic groups. We investigated the relationship between ambient temperature and on-road detection in a snake assemblage in southeastern Louisiana by comparing observations of live snakes on a black-topped road, across measurements of air temperature and road temperature on survey days. Analyses indicated on-road detection of snakes was significantly influenced by ambient temperature conditions for five snake species. Additionally, road temperatures, and the difference between air and road temperatures, were strong drivers of on-road snake detections. Permutation analysis methods revealed that significant temperature related group (species or sex) structure exists in occurrences of snakes on the roadway, and that road temperature was the strongest driver of species differences. We also compared how air and road temperatures affected occurrence on the road between sexes in the colubrid snakes Nerodia fasciata, Nerodia cyclopion, Thamnophis proximus, and Pantherophis obsoletus. Males and females of the viviparous species N. fasciata, N. cyclopion, and T. proximus diverged significantly in temperature preferences, with females found under warmer conditions, while males and females of the oviparous species P. obsoletus did not. Road temperature was also the strongest driver of differences between sexes. Our results indicate that black-topped roads are an ecological trap that is heavily influenced by sex, reproductive condition, and species specific thermoregulatory requirements, particularly for viviparous species. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamic Speed Adaptation for Path Tracking Based on Curvature Information and Speed Limits.

PubMed

Gámez Serna, Citlalli; Ruichek, Yassine

2017-06-14

A critical concern of autonomous vehicles is safety. Different approaches have tried to enhance driving safety to reduce the number of fatal crashes and severe injuries. As an example, Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) systems warn the driver when the vehicle exceeds the recommended speed limit. However, these systems only take into account fixed speed limits without considering factors like road geometry. In this paper, we consider road curvature with speed limits to automatically adjust vehicle's speed with the ideal one through our proposed Dynamic Speed Adaptation (DSA) method. Furthermore, 'curve analysis extraction' and 'speed limits database creation' are also part of our contribution. An algorithm that analyzes GPS information off-line identifies high curvature segments and estimates the speed for each curve. The speed limit database contains information about the different speed limit zones for each traveled path. Our DSA senses speed limits and curves of the road using GPS information and ensures smooth speed transitions between current and ideal speeds. Through experimental simulations with different control algorithms on real and simulated datasets, we prove that our method is able to significantly reduce lateral errors on sharp curves, to respect speed limits and consequently increase safety and comfort for the passenger.

HRAS: a webserver for early warning of human health risk brought by aflatoxin.

PubMed

Hu, Ruifeng; Zeng, Xu; Gao, Weiwei; Wang, Qian; Liu, Zhihua

2013-02-01

Most people are aware that outdoor air pollution can damage their health, but many do not know that indoor air pollution can also exhibit significant negative health effects. Fungi parasitizing in air conditioning and ventilation systems can be one of indoor air pollution sources. Aflatoxin produced by Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) became a central focus of indoor air pollution, especially in farmer markets. Therefore we developed an early warning system, Health Risk Assessment System, to estimate the growth rate of A. flavus, predict the amount of aflatoxin and provide early warning information. Firstly, the growth of A. flavus and the production of aflatoxin under different conditions were widely obtained through a comprehensive literature review. Secondly, three mathematical models were established to predict the A. flavus colony growth rate, lag phase duration and aflatoxin content, as functions of temperature and water activity based on present studies. Finally, all the results were evaluated by the user-supplied data using PHP programming language. We utilized the web page to show the results and display warning information. The JpGraph library was used to create a dynamic line chart, refreshing the warning information dynamically in real-time. The HARS provides accurate information for early warning purposes to let us take timely steps to protect ourselves.

Rural roads and bridges : condition and status of roads

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-09-01

Report examines the conditions of roads and bridges maintained by local governments. It is based on 609 responses from towns and 1961 from counties to mailed survey questionnaires in country engineers and town/township governments in Fall 1994 and Sp...

Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) road condition reporting application for weather responsive traffic management.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-01-01

FHWAs Road Weather Management Program partnered with WYDOT to develop a new software application to improve the way maintenance personnel report road and weather conditions to their statewide Transportation Management Center (TMC), recommend varia...

A space-based concept for a collision warning sensor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Talent, David L.; Vilas, Faith

1990-01-01

This paper describes a concept for a space-based collision warning sensor experiment, the Debris Collision Warning Sensor (DCWS) experiment, in which the sensor will rely on passive sensing of debris in optical and IR passband. The DCWS experiment will be carried out under various conditions of solar phase angle and pass geometry; debris from 1.5 m to 1 mm diam will be observable. The mission characteristics include inclination in the 55-60 deg range and an altitude of about 500 km. The results of the DCWS experiment will be used to generate collision warning scenarios for the Space Station Freedom.

Behavior of road accidents: Structural time series approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junus, Noor Wahida Md; Ismail, Mohd Tahir; Arsad, Zainudin

2014-12-01

Road accidents become a major issue in contributing to the increasing number of deaths. Few researchers suggest that road accidents occur due to road structure and road condition. The road structure and condition may differ according to the area and volume of traffic of the location. Therefore, this paper attempts to look up the behavior of the road accidents in four main regions in Peninsular Malaysia by employing a structural time series (STS) approach. STS offers the possibility of modelling the unobserved component such as trends and seasonal component and it is allowed to vary over time. The results found that the number of road accidents is described by a different model. Perhaps, the results imply that the government, especially a policy maker should consider to implement a different approach in ways to overcome the increasing number of road accidents.

Evaluation of the National Weather Service Extreme Cold Warning Experiment in North Dakota

PubMed Central

Chiu, Cindy H.; Vagi, Sara J.; Wolkin, Amy F.; Martin, John Paul; Noe, Rebecca S.

2016-01-01

Dangerously cold weather threatens life and property. During periods of extreme cold due to wind chill, the National Weather Service (NWS) issues wind chill warnings to prompt the public to take action to mitigate risks. Wind chill warnings are based on ambient temperatures and wind speeds. Since 2010, NWS has piloted a new extreme cold warning issued for cold temperatures in wind and nonwind conditions. The North Dakota Department of Health, NWS, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated in conducting household surveys in Burleigh County, North Dakota, to evaluate this new warning. The objectives of the evaluation were to assess whether residents heard the new warning and to determine if protective behaviors were prompted by the warning. This was a cross-sectional survey design using the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) methodology to select a statistically representative sample of households from Burleigh County. From 10 to 11 April 2012, 188 door-to-door household interviews were completed. The CASPER methodology uses probability sampling with weighted analysis to estimate the number and percentage of households with a specific response within Burleigh County. The majority of households reported having heard both the extreme cold and wind chill warnings, and both warnings prompted protective behaviors. These results suggest this community heard the new warning and took protective actions after hearing the warning. PMID:27239260

Perceived effectiveness of text and pictorial health warnings for smokeless tobacco packages in Navi Mumbai, India, and Dhaka, Bangladesh: findings from an experimental study.

PubMed

Mutti, Seema; Reid, Jessica L; Gupta, Prakash C; Pednekar, Mangesh S; Dhumal, Gauri; Nargis, Nigar; Hussain, Akm Ghulam; Hammond, David

2016-07-01

To examine the perceived effectiveness of text and pictorial smokeless tobacco health warnings in India and Bangladesh, including different types of message content. An experimental study was conducted in Navi Mumbai, India (n=1002), and Dhaka, Bangladesh (n=1081). Face-to-face interviews were conducted on tablets with adult (≥19 years) smokeless tobacco users and youth (16-18 years) users and non-users. Respondents viewed warnings depicting five health effects, within one of the four randomly assigned warning label conditions (or message themes): (1) text-only, (2) symbolic pictorial, (3) graphic pictorial or (4) personal testimonial pictorial messages. Text-only warnings were perceived as less effective than all of the pictorial styles (p<0.001 for all). Graphic warnings were given higher effectiveness ratings than symbolic or testimonial warnings (p<0.001). No differences were observed in levels of agreement with negative attitudes and beliefs across message themes, after respondents had viewed warnings. Pictorial warnings are more effective than text-only messages. Pictorial warnings depicting graphic health effects may have the greatest impact, consistent with research from high-income countries on cigarette warnings. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Graphic Warning Labels in Cigarette Advertisements: Recall and Viewing Patterns

PubMed Central

Strasser, Andrew A.; Tang, Kathy Z.; Romer, Daniel; Jepson, Chris; Cappella, Joseph N.

2012-01-01

Background The Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) legal authority to mandate graphic warning labels on cigarette advertising and packaging. The FDA requires that these graphic warning labels be embedded into cigarette advertising and packaging by September 2012. Purpose The aim of this study was to examine differences in recall and viewing patterns of text-only versus graphic cigarette warning labels; and, the association between viewing patterns and recall. Methods Participants (current daily smokers; N=200) were randomized to view a cigarette advertisement with either text-only or graphic warning labels. Viewing patterns were measured using eye-tracking, and recall was later assessed. Sessions were conducted between November 2008 and November 2009. Data analysis was conducted between March 2011 and July 2011. Results There was a significant difference in percentage correct recall of the warning label between those in the text-only versus graphic warning label condition, 50% versus 83% (χ2 =23.74, p=0.0001). Time to first view of the graphic warning label text, and dwell time duration (i.e., time spent looking) on the graphic image were significantly associated with correct recall. Warning labels that drew attention more quickly and resulted in longer dwell times were associated with better recall. Conclusions Graphic warning labels improve smokers’ recall of warning and health risks; they do so by drawing and holding attention. PMID:22704744

Assessing the vulnerability of the evacuation emergency plan: the case of the El Hierro, Canary Island, Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marrero, J. M.; Garcia, A.; Llinares, A.; Lopez, P.; Ortinz, R.

2012-04-01

On July 17, 2011 an unrest was detected in the El Hierro island. A serretian submarine eruption started on October 10th in the southern area of the island, two miles away from La Restinga village. The analysis and interpretation of seismic and deformation data show a large volume of intruded magma. These data also show a high probability of a new vent opening. One of the most complex volcanic hazard scenarios is a new open vent in the El Golfo Valley, in the north slope of the island, where more than 5,000 people live. In this area there are only two possible terrestrial evacuation routes: 1) HI-1 road NE direction, the fastest but most vulnerable one, very near a 1,000 meters height cliff and through a 2 km tunnel with a structural deficiency that had to be closed during high energy periods of seismic activity; and 2) HI-1 road SW direction, a mountain road with many curves, frequent small landslides and fog. The Emergency Plan of the island takes into account the entire evacuation of El Golfo Valley in case of eruption. This process will be carried out by means of an assisted evacuation. The evacuees will be transported to a temporally regrouping shelter outside the valley to organize the transport to Tenerife Island. Only those people who have a second residence or relatives outside the affected area will be able to remain in the island. The evacuation time estimated by authorities for the entire evacuation of El Golfo Valley is of about 4 hours. This is extremely low considering: the complexity of the area; the number of evacuees; the lack of preparedness by the population; and adverse weather conditions. To evaluate the Evacuation Plan vulnerability, a series of evacuation scenarios have been simulated: self-evacuation; assisted evacuation; both terrestrial evacuation routes. The warning time, the response time by the population and the evacuation time have been taken into account.

Prediction of landslide activation at locations in Beskidy Mountains using standard and real-time monitoring methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bednarczyk, Z.

2012-04-01

The paper presents landslide monitoring methods used for prediction of landslide activity at locations in the Carpathian Mountains (SE Poland). Different types of monitoring methods included standard and real-time early warning measurement with use of hourly data transfer to the Internet were used. Project financed from the EU funds was carried out for the purpose of public road reconstruction. Landslides with low displacement rates (varying from few mm to over 5cm/year) had size of 0.4-2.2mln m3. Flysch layers involved in mass movements represented mixture of clayey soils and sandstones of high moisture content and plasticity. Core sampling and GPR scanning were used for recognition of landslide size and depths. Laboratory research included index, IL oedometer, triaxial and direct shear laboratory tests. GPS-RTK mapping was employed for actualization of landslide morphology. Instrumentation consisted of standard inclinometers, piezometers and pore pressure transducers. Measurements were carried 2006-2011, every month. In May 2010 the first in Poland real-time monitoring system was installed at landslide complex over the Szymark-Bystra public road. It included in-place uniaxial sensors and 3D continuous inclinometers installed to the depths of 12-16m with tilt sensors every 0.5m. Vibrating wire pore pressure and groundwater level transducers together with automatic meteorological station analyzed groundwater and weather conditions. Obtained monitoring and field investigations data provided parameters for LEM and FEM slope stability analysis. They enabled prediction and control of landslide behaviour before, during and after stabilization or partly stabilization works. In May 2010 after the maximum precipitation (100mm/3hours) the rates of observed displacements accelerated to over 11cm in a few days and damaged few standard inclinometer installations. However permanent control of the road area was possible by continuous inclinometer installations. Comprehensive monitoring and modelling methods before the landslide counteraction stage could lead to a safer and more economical recognition of landslide remediation possibilities.

Reported fatal and non-fatal incidents involving tourists in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, 1992-2002.

PubMed

Heggie, Travis W

2005-08-01

Objectives. To examine fatal and non-fatal incidents involving tourists in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Methods. Official press releases from the public relations office at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park were examined for reports of fatal and non-fatal incidents involving tourists. Results. Between 1992 and 2002 there were 65 press releases reporting 40 fatalities, 45 serious injuries, 53 minor injuries, and 25 no injury events. Severity information was unavailable for four additional tourists. Aircraft and backcountry incidents each accounted for 30% of all incidents followed by road incidents (22%) and frontcountry incidents (17%). Aircraft incidents reported 17 fatalities, backcountry incidents accounted for 10 fatalities, frontcountry incidents reported seven fatalities, and road incidents totaled six fatalities. One fatality was classified as a suicide. Backcountry (23) and road (10) incidents had the highest number of serious incidents. Male tourists (62) were more frequently involved in incidents than female tourists (41) and tourists aged 20-29 years and 40-49 years accounted for the highest number of fatalities and total incidents. Conclusions. Helicopter tours, hiking in areas with active lava flows, falls into steam vents and earthcracks, and driving unfamiliar rental cars in unfamiliar locations are the major activities resulting in death and serious injury. Additional factors such as tourists ignoring warning signs, wandering off-trail or hiking at night, tourists misinformed by guidebooks and other tourists, and tourists with pre-existing heart and asthma conditions are contributing causes in many incidents. The findings of this study provide information that allows prospective tourists, tourism managers, and travel health providers make informed decisions that promote safe tourism and can aid future efforts in developing preventative strategies at tourist destinations with similar environments and activities. However, in order for preventative strategies to be most effective, future research using medical or emergency response records and employing an injury epidemiology framework that identifies the cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries is recommended.

Effect of warning statements in e-cigarette advertisements: an experiment with young adults in the US

PubMed Central

Sanders-Jackson, Ashley; Schleicher, Nina C.; Fortmann, Stephen P.; Henriksen, Lisa

2016-01-01

Background and Aims This on-line experiment examined whether the addition of ingredient- or industry-themed warning statements in television advertisements for e-cigarettes would affect young adults’ craving for and risk perceptions of e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes, as well as intent to purchase e-cigarettes. Design Advertisements for two leading e-cigarette brands were edited to contain a warning statement about product ingredients or about the tobacco industry. Participants were assigned randomly to one of eight treatments or one of two brand-specific control conditions without any warning statement. Participants Young adults (n=900, ages 18–34 years) in a web panel were recruited from three groups: recent e-cigarette users, current smokers who used combustible cigarettes exclusively and non-users of either product. Measurements Craving and risk perceptions (addictiveness, harmful to health in general, harmful to others) were measured separately for e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes. The Juster scale measured intention to purchase e-cigarettes. Findings Exposure to both types of warnings was associated with lower craving for e-cigarettes among e-cigarette users and smokers who experienced any craving (P <0.01) and lower intention to purchase among all participants (P <0.001). Only exposure to ingredient-themed warnings was associated with lower craving for combustible cigarettes (P<0.05). Participants who saw industry-themed warnings reported greater perceptions of general harm (P<0.001), but also rated e-cigarettes as less addictive than the control conditions (P<0.05). Conclusion The addition of ingredient- or industry-themed warning statements to e-cigarette television advertising similarly reduces craving and purchase intent for e-cigarettes, but has inconsistent effects on perceived risks. PMID:25557128

Effect of warning statements in e-cigarette advertisements: an experiment with young adults in the United States.

PubMed

Sanders-Jackson, Ashley; Schleicher, Nina C; Fortmann, Stephen P; Henriksen, Lisa

2015-12-01

This on-line experiment examined whether the addition of ingredient- or industry-themed warning statements in television advertisements for e-cigarettes would affect young adults' craving for and risk perceptions of e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes, as well as intent to purchase e-cigarettes. Advertisements for two leading e-cigarette brands were edited to contain a warning statement about product ingredients or about the tobacco industry. Participants were assigned randomly to one of eight treatments or one of two brand-specific control conditions without any warning statement. Young adults (n=900, aged 18-34 years) in a web panel were recruited from three groups: recent e-cigarette users, current smokers who used combustible cigarettes exclusively and non-users of either product. Craving and risk perceptions (addictiveness, harmful to health in general, harmful to others) were measured separately for e-cigarettes and combustible cigarettes. The Juster scale measured intention to purchase e-cigarettes. Exposure to both types of warnings was associated with lower craving for e-cigarettes among e-cigarette users and smokers who experienced any craving (P<0.01) and lower intention to purchase among all participants (P<0.001). Only exposure to ingredient-themed warnings was associated with lower craving for combustible cigarettes (P<0.05). Participants who saw industry-themed warnings reported greater perceptions of general harm (P<0.001), but also rated e-cigarettes as less addictive than the control conditions (P<0.05). The addition of ingredient- or industry-themed warning statements to e-cigarette television advertising similarly reduces craving and purchase intent for e-cigarettes, but has inconsistent effects on perceived risks. © 2015 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Pictorial cigarette pack warnings: a meta-analysis of experimental studies

PubMed Central

Noar, Seth M; Hall, Marissa G; Francis, Diane B; Ribisl, Kurt M; Pepper, Jessica K; Brewer, Noel T

2016-01-01

Objective To inform international research and policy, we conducted a meta-analysis of the experimental literature on pictorial cigarette pack warnings. Data sources We systematically searched 7 computerised databases in April 2013 using several search terms. We also searched reference lists of relevant articles. Study selection We included studies that used an experimental protocol to test cigarette pack warnings and reported data on both pictorial and text-only conditions. 37 studies with data on 48 independent samples (N=33 613) met criteria. Data extraction and synthesis Two independent coders coded all study characteristics. Effect sizes were computed from data extracted from study reports and were combined using random effects meta-analytic procedures. Results Pictorial warnings were more effective than text-only warnings for 12 of 17 effectiveness outcomes (all p<0.05). Relative to text-only warnings, pictorial warnings (1) attracted and held attention better; (2) garnered stronger cognitive and emotional reactions; (3) elicited more negative pack attitudes and negative smoking attitudes and (4) more effectively increased intentions to not start smoking and to quit smoking. Participants also perceived pictorial warnings as being more effective than text-only warnings across all 8 perceived effectiveness outcomes. Conclusions The evidence from this international body of literature supports pictorial cigarette pack warnings as more effective than text-only warnings. Gaps in the literature include a lack of assessment of smoking behaviour and a dearth of theory-based research on how warnings exert their effects. PMID:25948713

Pavement type and wear condition classification from tire cavity acoustic measurements with artificial neural networks.

PubMed

Masino, Johannes; Foitzik, Michael-Jan; Frey, Michael; Gauterin, Frank

2017-06-01

Tire road noise is the major contributor to traffic noise, which leads to general annoyance, speech interference, and sleep disturbances. Standardized methods to measure tire road noise are expensive, sophisticated to use, and they cannot be applied comprehensively. This paper presents a method to automatically classify different types of pavement and the wear condition to identify noisy road surfaces. The methods are based on spectra of time series data of the tire cavity sound, acquired under normal vehicle operation. The classifier, an artificial neural network, correctly predicts three pavement types, whereas there are few bidirectional mis-classifications for two pavements, which have similar physical characteristics. The performance measures of the classifier to predict a new or worn out condition are over 94.6%. One could create a digital map with the output of the presented method. On the basis of these digital maps, road segments with a strong impact on tire road noise could be automatically identified. Furthermore, the method can estimate the road macro-texture, which has an impact on the tire road friction especially on wet conditions. Overall, this digital map would have a great benefit for civil engineering departments, road infrastructure operators, and for advanced driver assistance systems.

77 FR 73279 - Airworthiness Directives; Saab AB, Saab Aerosystems Airplanes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-10

... AD was prompted by reports of stall events during icing conditions where the natural stall warning (buffet) was not identified. This AD requires replacing the stall warning computer (SWC) with a new SWC, which provides an artificial stall [[Page 73280

Road Anomalies Detection System Evaluation.

PubMed

Silva, Nuno; Shah, Vaibhav; Soares, João; Rodrigues, Helena

2018-06-21

Anomalies on road pavement cause discomfort to drivers and passengers, and may cause mechanical failure or even accidents. Governments spend millions of Euros every year on road maintenance, often causing traffic jams and congestion on urban roads on a daily basis. This paper analyses the difference between the deployment of a road anomalies detection and identification system in a “conditioned” and a real world setup, where the system performed worse compared to the “conditioned” setup. It also presents a system performance analysis based on the analysis of the training data sets; on the analysis of the attributes complexity, through the application of PCA techniques; and on the analysis of the attributes in the context of each anomaly type, using acceleration standard deviation attributes to observe how different anomalies classes are distributed in the Cartesian coordinates system. Overall, in this paper, we describe the main insights on road anomalies detection challenges to support the design and deployment of a new iteration of our system towards the deployment of a road anomaly detection service to provide information about roads condition to drivers and government entities.

Bearing Capacity Assessment on low Volume Roads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zariņš, A.

2015-11-01

A large part of Latvian road network consists of low traffic volume roads and in particular of roads without hard pavement. Unbounded pavements shows serious problems in the form of rutting and other deformations, which finally lead to weak serviceability and damage of the road structure after intensive exploitation periods. Traditionally, these problems have been associated with heavy goods transport, overloaded vehicles and their impact. To find the specific damaging factors causing road pavement deformations and evaluate their prevention possibilities, and establish conditions that will allow doing it, the study was carried out. The tire pressure has been set as the main factor of load. Two different tire pressures have been used in tests and their impacts were compared. The comparison was done using deflection measurements with LWD together with dielectric constant measurements in a road structure using percometer. Measurements were taken in the upper pavement structure layers at different depths during full-scale loading and in different moisture/temperature conditions. Advisable load intensity and load factors for heavy traffic according to road conditions were set based on the study results.

Differences in glance behavior between drivers using a rearview camera, parking sensor system, both technologies, or no technology during low-speed parking maneuvers.

PubMed

Kidd, David G; McCartt, Anne T

2016-02-01

This study characterized the use of various fields of view during low-speed parking maneuvers by drivers with a rearview camera, a sensor system, a camera and sensor system combined, or neither technology. Participants performed four different low-speed parking maneuvers five times. Glances to different fields of view the second time through the four maneuvers were coded along with the glance locations at the onset of the audible warning from the sensor system and immediately after the warning for participants in the sensor and camera-plus-sensor conditions. Overall, the results suggest that information from cameras and/or sensor systems is used in place of mirrors and shoulder glances. Participants with a camera, sensor system, or both technologies looked over their shoulders significantly less than participants without technology. Participants with cameras (camera and camera-plus-sensor conditions) used their mirrors significantly less compared with participants without cameras (no-technology and sensor conditions). Participants in the camera-plus-sensor condition looked at the center console/camera display for a smaller percentage of the time during the low-speed maneuvers than participants in the camera condition and glanced more frequently to the center console/camera display immediately after the warning from the sensor system compared with the frequency of glances to this location at warning onset. Although this increase was not statistically significant, the pattern suggests that participants in the camera-plus-sensor condition may have used the warning as a cue to look at the camera display. The observed differences in glance behavior between study groups were illustrated by relating it to the visibility of a 12-15-month-old child-size object. These findings provide evidence that drivers adapt their glance behavior during low-speed parking maneuvers following extended use of rearview cameras and parking sensors, and suggest that other technologies which augment the driving task may do the same. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Method and system for monitoring and displaying engine performance parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbott, Terence S. (Inventor); Person, Jr., Lee H. (Inventor)

1991-01-01

The invention is a method and system for monitoring and directly displaying the actual thrust produced by a jet aircraft engine under determined operating conditions and the available thrust and predicted (commanded) thrust of a functional model of an ideal engine under the same determined operating conditions. A first set of actual value output signals representative of a plurality of actual performance parameters of the engine under the determined operating conditions is generated and compared with a second set of predicted value output signals representative of the predicted value of corresponding performance parameters of a functional model of the engine under the determined operating conditions to produce a third set of difference value output signals within a range of normal, caution, or warning limit values. A thrust indicator displays when any one of the actual value output signals is in the warning range while shaping function means shape each of the respective difference output signals as each approaches the limit of the respective normal, caution, and warning range limits.

Comparisons of Traffic Collisions between Expressways and Rural Roads in Truck Drivers.

PubMed

Lee, Sangbok; Jeong, Byung Yong

2016-03-01

Truck driving is known as one of the occupations with the highest accident rate. This study investigates the characteristics of traffic collisions according to road types (expressway and rural road). Classifying 267 accidents into expressway and rural road, we analyzed them based on driver characteristics (age, working experience, size of employment), time characteristics (day of accident, time, weather), and accident characteristics (accident causes, accident locations, accident types, driving conditions). When we compared the accidents by road conditions, no differences were found between the driver characteristics. However, from the accident characteristics, the injured person distributions were different by the road conditions. In particular, driving while drowsy is shown to be highly related with the accident characteristics. This study can be used as a guideline and a base line to develop a plan of action to prevent traffic accidents. It can also help to prepare formal regulations about a truck driver's vehicle maintenance and driving attitude for a precaution on road accidents.

Comparisons of Traffic Collisions between Expressways and Rural Roads in Truck Drivers

PubMed Central

Lee, Sangbok; Jeong, Byung Yong

2015-01-01

Background Truck driving is known as one of the occupations with the highest accident rate. This study investigates the characteristics of traffic collisions according to road types (expressway and rural road). Methods Classifying 267 accidents into expressway and rural road, we analyzed them based on driver characteristics (age, working experience, size of employment), time characteristics (day of accident, time, weather), and accident characteristics (accident causes, accident locations, accident types, driving conditions). Results When we compared the accidents by road conditions, no differences were found between the driver characteristics. However, from the accident characteristics, the injured person distributions were different by the road conditions. In particular, driving while drowsy is shown to be highly related with the accident characteristics. Conclusion This study can be used as a guideline and a base line to develop a plan of action to prevent traffic accidents. It can also help to prepare formal regulations about a truck driver's vehicle maintenance and driving attitude for a precaution on road accidents. PMID:27014489

Vehicle States Observer Using Adaptive Tire-Road Friction Estimator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwak, Byunghak; Park, Youngjin

Vehicle stability control system is a new idea which can enhance the vehicle stability and handling in the emergency situation. This system requires the information of the yaw rate, sideslip angle and road friction in order to control the traction and braking forces at the individual wheels. This paper proposes an observer for the vehicle stability control system. This observer consisted of the state observer for vehicle motion estimation and the road condition estimator for the identification of the coefficient of the road friction. The state observer uses 2 degrees-of-freedom bicycle model and estimates the system variables based on the Kalman filter. The road condition estimator uses the same vehicle model and identifies the coefficient of the tire-road friction based on the recursive least square method. Both estimators make use of each other information. We show the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed scheme under various road conditions through computer simulations of a fifteen degree-of-freedom non-linear vehicle model.

The impact of texting on driver behaviour at rail level crossings.

PubMed

Young, Kristie L; Lenné, Michael G; Salmon, Paul M; Stanton, Neville A

2018-05-21

A driver text messaging in the vicinity of a rail level crossing represents the merging of a high-risk, high-workload driving environment with a highly distracting secondary task. In this simulator study, we examined how texting impacts driver behaviour on approach to actively controlled urban rail level crossings. Twenty-eight participants drove a series of simulated urban routes containing rail level crossings, while sending text messages and while driving without performing a secondary task. At half of the crossings, drivers were required to respond to the crossing warnings as a train approached. Results revealed that texting on approach to rail level crossings had a detrimental impact on a range of driver behaviour measures. Specifically, texting more than doubled the amount of time spent with eyes off the forward roadway, resulting in drivers spending more than half of their approach time to rail level crossings looking away from the road. This lack of visual attention to the roadway was associated with a range of decrements in driving that may be indicative of a loss of situation awareness, including increased brake reaction time to the crossing warnings and a reduction in lateral position control. The findings have safety implications, not only for urban level crossings, but also for passive level crossings where no warnings are present to re-orient the distracted driver's attention toward an approaching train. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monitoring and Early Warning of the 2012 Preonzo Catastrophic Rockslope Failure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loew, Simon; Gschwind, Sophie; Keller-Signer, Alexandra; Valenti, Giorgio

2015-04-01

In this contribution we describe the accelerated creep stage and early warning system of a 210'000 m3 rock slope failure that occurred in May 2012 above the village of Preonzo (Swiss Alps). The very rapid failure occurred from a larger and retrogressive instability in high-grade metamorphic ortho-gneisses and amphibolites with a total volume of about 350'000 m3 located at an alpine meadow called Alpe di Roscioro. This instability showed clearly visible signs of movements since 1989 and accelerated creep with significant hydro-mechanical forcing since about 1999. Because the instability at Preonzo threatened a large industrial facility and important transport routes a cost-effective early warning system was installed in 2010. The alarm thresholds for pre-alarm, general public alarm and evacuation were derived from 10 years of continuous displacement monitoring with crack extensometers and an automated total station. These thresholds were successfully applied to evacuate the industrial facility and close important roads a few days before the catastrophic slope failure of May 15th, 2012. The rock slope failure occurred in two events, exposing a planar rupture plane dipping 42° and generating deposits in the mid-slope portion with a travel angle of 38°. Two hours after the second rockslide, the fresh colluvial deposits became reactivated in a devastating de-bris avalanche reaching the foot of the slope.

Facilitating pictorial comprehension with color highlighting.

PubMed

McDougald, Brannan R; Wogalter, Michael S

2014-09-01

Pictorials can aid in communicating warning information, but viewers may not always correctly comprehend them. Two experiments focused on whether the use of relevant highlighting could benefit pictorial comprehension. A set of warning-related pictorials were manipulated according to three-color highlighting conditions: highlighting areas more relevant to correct comprehension, highlighting areas less relevant to comprehension, and no highlighting. Participants were asked to describe the purpose and meaning of each pictorial presented to them. The findings from both experiments indicate that comprehension of warning pictorials is higher for the relevant highlighting condition than the other two conditions. The highlighting of less relevant areas reduced comprehension compared to no highlighting. Use of appropriately placed highlighting could benefit the design of a complex symbol by pointing out pertinent areas to aid in determining its intended conceptual meaning. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Appropriateness of different pedagogical approaches to road safety education for children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD).

PubMed

Purcell, C; Romijn, A R

2017-11-01

In 2016, 29% of pedestrians killed or seriously injured on the roads in Great Britain were under 15 years of age. Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), a chronic disorder affecting the acquisition and execution of motor skills, may be more vulnerable at the roadside than typically developing (TD) children. Current methods used to teach road safety are typically knowledge-based and do not necessarily improve behaviour in real traffic situations. Virtual reality road crossing tasks may be a viable alternative. The present study aimed to test the road crossing accuracy of children with and without DCD in virtual reality tasks that varied the viewpoint to simulate the teaching methods currently used in road safety educational programmes. Twenty-one children with DCD and twenty-one age and gender matched TD peers were required to locate the safest road crossing sites in two conditions: allocentric (aerial viewpoint) and egocentric (first-person viewpoint). All children completed both conditions and were required to navigate either themselves or an avatar across the road using the safest crossing route. The primary outcome was accuracy defined as the number of trials, out of 10, on which the child successfully identified and used the safest crossing route. Children with DCD performed equally poorly in both conditions, while TD children were significantly more accurate in the egocentric condition. This difference cannot be explained by self-reported prior road crossing education, practice or confidence. While TD children may benefit from the development of an egocentric virtual reality road crossing task, multimodal methods may be needed to effectively teach road safety to children with DCD. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A Study on the Influence of Speed on Road Roughness Sensing: The SmartRoadSense Case †

PubMed Central

Alessandroni, Giacomo; Carini, Alberto; Lattanzi, Emanuele; Freschi, Valerio; Bogliolo, Alessandro

2017-01-01

SmartRoadSense is a crowdsensing project aimed at monitoring the conditions of the road surface. Using the sensors of a smartphone, SmartRoadSense monitors the vertical accelerations inside a vehicle traveling the road and extracts a roughness index conveying information about the road conditions. The roughness index and the smartphone GPS data are periodically sent to a central server where they are processed, associated with the specific road, and aggregated with data measured by other smartphones. This paper studies how the smartphone vertical accelerations and the roughness index are related to the vehicle speed. It is shown that the dependence can be locally approximated with a gamma (power) law. Extensive experimental results using data extracted from SmartRoadSense database confirm the gamma law relationship between the roughness index and the vehicle speed. The gamma law is then used for improving the SmartRoadSense data aggregation accounting for the effect of vehicle speed. PMID:28178224

Early warning indicators for monitoring the process failure of anaerobic digestion system of food waste.

PubMed

Li, Lei; He, Qingming; Wei, Yunmei; He, Qin; Peng, Xuya

2014-11-01

To determine reliable state parameters which could be used as early warning indicators of process failure due to the acidification of anaerobic digestion of food waste, three mesophilic anaerobic digesters of food waste with different operation conditions were investigated. Such parameters as gas production, methane content, pH, concentrations of volatile fatty acid (VFA), alkalinity and their combined indicators were evaluated. Results revealed that operation conditions significantly affect the responses of parameters and thus the optimal early warning indicators of each reactor differ from each other. None of the single indicators was universally valid for all the systems. The universally valid indicators should combine several parameters to supply complementary information. A combination of total VFA, the ratio of VFA to total alkalinity (VFA/TA) and the ratio of bicarbonate alkalinity to total alkalinity (BA/TA) can reflect the metabolism of the digesting system and realize rapid and effective early warning. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Graphic warning labels in cigarette advertisements: recall and viewing patterns.

PubMed

Strasser, Andrew A; Tang, Kathy Z; Romer, Daniel; Jepson, Christopher; Cappella, Joseph N

2012-07-01

The Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) legal authority to mandate graphic warning labels on cigarette advertising and packaging. The FDA requires that these graphic warning labels be embedded into cigarette advertising and packaging by September 2012. The aim of this study was to examine differences in recall and viewing patterns of text-only versus graphic cigarette warning labels and the association between viewing patterns and recall. Participants (current daily smokers; N=200) were randomized to view a cigarette advertisement with either text-only or graphic warning labels. Viewing patterns were measured using eye-tracking, and recall was later assessed. Sessions were conducted between November 2008 and November 2009. Data analysis was conducted between March 2011 and July 2011. There was a significant difference in percentage correct recall of the warning label between those in the text-only versus graphic warning label condition, 50% vs 83% (χ(2)=23.74, p=0.0001). Time to first viewing of the graphic warning label text and dwell time duration (i.e., time spent looking) on the graphic image were significantly associated with correct recall. Warning labels that drew attention more quickly and resulted in longer dwell times were associated with better recall. Graphic warning labels improve smokers' recall of warning and health risks; these labels do so by drawing and holding attention. Copyright © 2012 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Warning Triggers in Environmental Hazards: Who Should Be Warned to Do What and When?

PubMed

Cova, Thomas J; Dennison, Philip E; Li, Dapeng; Drews, Frank A; Siebeneck, Laura K; Lindell, Michael K

2017-04-01

Determining the most effective public warnings to issue during a hazardous environmental event is a complex problem. Three primary questions need to be answered: Who should take protective action? What is the best action? and When should this action be initiated? Warning triggers provide a proactive means for emergency managers to simultaneously answer these questions by recommending that a target group take a specified protective action if a preset environmental trigger condition occurs (e.g., warn a community to evacuate if a wildfire crosses a proximal ridgeline). Triggers are used to warn the public across a wide variety of environmental hazards, and an improved understanding of their nature and role promises to: (1) advance protective action theory by unifying the natural, built, and social themes in hazards research into one framework, (2) reveal important information about emergency managers' risk perception, situational awareness, and threat assessment regarding threat behavior and public response, and (3) advance spatiotemporal models for representing the geography and timing of disaster warning and response (i.e., a coupled natural-built-social system). We provide an overview and research agenda designed to advance our understanding and modeling of warning triggers. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

Pictorial cigarette pack warnings: a meta-analysis of experimental studies.

PubMed

Noar, Seth M; Hall, Marissa G; Francis, Diane B; Ribisl, Kurt M; Pepper, Jessica K; Brewer, Noel T

2016-05-01

To inform international research and policy, we conducted a meta-analysis of the experimental literature on pictorial cigarette pack warnings. We systematically searched 7 computerised databases in April 2013 using several search terms. We also searched reference lists of relevant articles. We included studies that used an experimental protocol to test cigarette pack warnings and reported data on both pictorial and text-only conditions. 37 studies with data on 48 independent samples (N=33,613) met criteria. Two independent coders coded all study characteristics. Effect sizes were computed from data extracted from study reports and were combined using random effects meta-analytic procedures. Pictorial warnings were more effective than text-only warnings for 12 of 17 effectiveness outcomes (all p<0.05). Relative to text-only warnings, pictorial warnings (1) attracted and held attention better; (2) garnered stronger cognitive and emotional reactions; (3) elicited more negative pack attitudes and negative smoking attitudes and (4) more effectively increased intentions to not start smoking and to quit smoking. Participants also perceived pictorial warnings as being more effective than text-only warnings across all 8 perceived effectiveness outcomes. The evidence from this international body of literature supports pictorial cigarette pack warnings as more effective than text-only warnings. Gaps in the literature include a lack of assessment of smoking behaviour and a dearth of theory-based research on how warnings exert their effects. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Public attitudes toward larger cigarette pack warnings: Results from a nationally representative U.S. sample

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

A large body of evidence supports the effectiveness of larger health warnings on cigarette packages. However, there is limited research examining attitudes toward such warning labels, which has potential implications for implementation of larger warning labels. The purpose of the current study was to examine attitudes toward larger warning sizes on cigarette packages and examine variables associated with more favorable attitudes. In a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults (N = 5,014), participants were randomized to different warning size conditions, assessing attitude toward “a health warning that covered (25, 50, 75) % of a cigarette pack.” SAS logistic regression survey procedures were used to account for the complex survey design and sampling weights. Across experimental groups, nearly three-quarters (72%) of adults had attitudes supportive of larger warning labels on cigarette packs. Among the full sample and smokers only (N = 1,511), most adults had favorable attitudes toward labels that covered 25% (78.2% and 75.2%, respectively), 50% (70% and 58.4%, respectively), and 75% (67.9% and 61%, respectively) of a cigarette pack. Young adults, females, racial/ethnic minorities, and non-smokers were more likely to have favorable attitudes toward larger warning sizes. Among smokers only, females and those with higher quit intentions held more favorable attitudes toward larger warning sizes. Widespread support exists for larger warning labels on cigarette packages among U.S. adults, including among smokers. Our findings support the implementation of larger health warnings on cigarette packs in the U.S. as required by the 2009 Tobacco Control Act. PMID:28253257

Effects of road infrastructure and traffic complexity in speed adaptation behaviour of distracted drivers.

PubMed

Oviedo-Trespalacios, Oscar; Haque, Md Mazharul; King, Mark; Washington, Simon

2017-04-01

The use of mobile phones while driving remains a major human factors issue in the transport system. A significant safety concern is that driving while distracted by a mobile phone potentially modifies the driving speed leading to conflicts with other road users and consequently increases crash risk. However, the lack of systematic knowledge of the mechanisms involved in speed adaptation of distracted drivers constrains the explanation and modelling of the extent of this phenomenon. The objective of this study was to investigate speed adaptation of distracted drivers under varying road infrastructure and traffic complexity conditions. The CARRS-Q Advanced Driving Simulator was used to test participants on a simulated road with different traffic conditions, such as free flow traffic along straight roads, driving in urbanized areas, and driving in heavy traffic along suburban roads. Thirty-two licensed young drivers drove the simulator under three phone conditions: baseline (no phone conversation), hands-free and handheld phone conversations. To understand the relationships between distraction, road infrastructure and traffic complexity, speed adaptation calculated as the deviation of driving speed from the posted speed limit was modelled using a decision tree. The identified groups of road infrastructure and traffic characteristics from the decision tree were then modelled with a Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) with repeated measures to develop inferences about speed adaptation behaviour of distracted drivers. The GLMM also included driver characteristics and secondary task demands as predictors of speed adaptation. Results indicated that complex road environments like urbanization, car-following situations along suburban roads, and curved road alignment significantly influenced speed adaptation behaviour. Distracted drivers selected a lower speed while driving along a curved road or during car-following situations, but speed adaptation was negligible in the presence of high visual cutter, indicating the prioritization of the driving task over the secondary task. Additionally, drivers who scored high on self-reported safe attitudes towards mobile phone usage, and who reported prior involvement in a road traffic crash, selected a lower driving speed in the distracted condition than in the baseline. The results aid in understanding how driving task demands influence speed adaptation of distracted drivers under various road infrastructure and traffic complexity conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhanced road weather content for travel advisories : Clarus regional demonstrations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

Statewide transportation information systems need road weather and road condition forecasts to improve safety and mobility for transportation users. Under the Clarus Initiatives regional demonstrations enhanced road weather content was developed f...

36 CFR 251.114 - Criteria, terms and conditions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... required to construct new roads or reconstruct existing roads to bring the roads to a safe and adequate standard. A landowner also may be required to provide for the operation and maintenance of the road. This may be done by arranging for such road to be made part of the local public road system, or formation...

Depopulation of rural landscapes exacerbates fire activity in the western Amazon.

PubMed

Uriarte, María; Pinedo-Vasquez, Miquel; DeFries, Ruth S; Fernandes, Katia; Gutierrez-Velez, Victor; Baethgen, Walter E; Padoch, Christine

2012-12-26

Destructive fires in Amazonia have occurred in the past decade, leading to forest degradation, carbon emissions, impaired air quality, and property damage. Here, we couple climate, geospatial, and province-level census data, with farmer surveys to examine the climatic, demographic, and land use factors associated with fire frequency in the Peruvian Amazon from 2000 to 2010. Although our results corroborate previous findings elsewhere that drought and proximity to roads increase fire frequency, the province-scale analysis further identifies decreases in rural populations as an additional factor. Farmer survey data suggest that increased burn scar frequency and size reflect increased flammability of emptying rural landscapes and reduced capacity to control fire. With rural populations projected to decline, more frequent drought, and expansion of road infrastructure, fire risk is likely to increase in western Amazonia. Damage from fire can be reduced through warning systems that target high-risk locations, coordinated fire fighting efforts, and initiatives that provide options for people to remain in rural landscapes.

Depopulation of rural landscapes exacerbates fire activity in the western Amazon

PubMed Central

Uriarte, María; Pinedo-Vasquez, Miquel; DeFries, Ruth S.; Fernandes, Katia; Gutierrez-Velez, Victor; Baethgen, Walter E.; Padoch, Christine

2012-01-01

Destructive fires in Amazonia have occurred in the past decade, leading to forest degradation, carbon emissions, impaired air quality, and property damage. Here, we couple climate, geospatial, and province-level census data, with farmer surveys to examine the climatic, demographic, and land use factors associated with fire frequency in the Peruvian Amazon from 2000 to 2010. Although our results corroborate previous findings elsewhere that drought and proximity to roads increase fire frequency, the province-scale analysis further identifies decreases in rural populations as an additional factor. Farmer survey data suggest that increased burn scar frequency and size reflect increased flammability of emptying rural landscapes and reduced capacity to control fire. With rural populations projected to decline, more frequent drought, and expansion of road infrastructure, fire risk is likely to increase in western Amazonia. Damage from fire can be reduced through warning systems that target high-risk locations, coordinated fire fighting efforts, and initiatives that provide options for people to remain in rural landscapes. PMID:23236144

Human factors research problems in electronic voice warning system design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simpson, C. A.; Williams, D. H.

1975-01-01

The speech messages issued by voice warning systems must be carefully designed in accordance with general principles of human decision making processes, human speech comprehension, and the conditions in which the warnings can occur. The operator's effectiveness must not be degraded by messages that are either inappropriate or difficult to comprehend. Important experimental variables include message content, linguistic redundancy, signal/noise ratio, interference with concurrent tasks, and listener expectations generated by the pragmatic or real world context in which the messages are presented.

Experimental evaluation of fog warning system.

PubMed

Al-Ghamdi, Ali S

2007-11-01

Highway safety is a major concern to the public and to transportation professionals, so the number of crashes caused by poor visibility due to fog form an alarming statistic. Drivers respond to poor visibility conditions in different ways: some slow down; others do not. Many drivers simply follow the taillights of the vehicle ahead. Accordingly, hazardous conditions are created in which speeds are both too high for the prevailing conditions and highly variable. Findings are presented from a study of traffic crashes due to fog in the southern region of Saudi Arabia. The primary objective was to assess the effectiveness of fog detection and warning system on driver behavior regarding speed and headway. This warning system includes visibility sensors that automatically activate a variable message sign that posts an advisory speed when hazardous conditions due to fog occur. The system was installed on a 2 km section of a two-lane, rural highway. A data set of 36,013 observations from both experimental and control sections at two study sites was collected and analyzed. The data included vehicle speed, volume, and classification; time headway, time of day, and visibility distance. Although the warning system was ineffective in reducing speed variability, mean speed throughout the experimental sections was reduced by about 6.5 kph. This reduction indicates that the warning system appeared to have a positive effect on driver behavior in fog even though the observed mean speeds were still higher than the posted advisory speed. From relationships found in the literature between mean driving speed and number of crashes, a speed reduction of only 5 kph would yield a 15% decrease in the number of crashes.

23 CFR 660.517 - Maneuver area roads.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 23 Highways 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Maneuver area roads. 660.517 Section 660.517 Highways... PROGRAMS (DIRECT FEDERAL) Defense Access Roads § 660.517 Maneuver area roads. (a) Claims by a highway agency for costs incurred to restore, to their former condition, roads damaged by maneuvers involving a...

36 CFR 212.9 - Principles for sharing use of roads.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... minor amounts, will be conditioned upon improvement or supplemental construction of the road to safety... roads. 212.9 Section 212.9 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE... of roads. The use of roads under arrangements for sharing costs or performance shall be in accordance...

The Priority of Road Rehabilitation in Karanganyar Regency Using IRI Estimation from Roadroid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Achmadi, F.; Suprapto, M.; Setyawan, A.

2017-02-01

The IRI (International Roughness Index) is a road roughness index commonly obtained from measured longitudinal road profiles. This is one of the functional performance a surface of road pavement. Therefore, needs to be done evaluation and monitoring periodically to getting priority of road rehabilitation right on target. The IRI standard has commonly been used worldwide for evaluating road system. The Roadroid is an application to measure road quality with a website to view road quality. It is designed for Android smartphones, so we can easily measure and monitor the road and also use the camera for GPS-tagged photo. By using the built-in vibration sensor in smartphones, it is possible to collect IRI value which can be an indicator road conditions. This study attempts to explain the priority of road rehabilitation in Karanganyar Regency. The location of the study focused on a collector street (primary, secondary and locally road). The result of IRI estimation will be combined with other aspects that influences; land use, policy, the connectivity of road and traffic average daily. Based on IRI estimation using Roadroid, the road conditions in Karanganyar Regency can be described 59,60% were good (IRI<4,5) 21,30% fair (4,512).

Dynamic Speed Adaptation for Path Tracking Based on Curvature Information and Speed Limits †

PubMed Central

Gámez Serna, Citlalli; Ruichek, Yassine

2017-01-01

A critical concern of autonomous vehicles is safety. Different approaches have tried to enhance driving safety to reduce the number of fatal crashes and severe injuries. As an example, Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) systems warn the driver when the vehicle exceeds the recommended speed limit. However, these systems only take into account fixed speed limits without considering factors like road geometry. In this paper, we consider road curvature with speed limits to automatically adjust vehicle’s speed with the ideal one through our proposed Dynamic Speed Adaptation (DSA) method. Furthermore, ‘curve analysis extraction’ and ‘speed limits database creation’ are also part of our contribution. An algorithm that analyzes GPS information off-line identifies high curvature segments and estimates the speed for each curve. The speed limit database contains information about the different speed limit zones for each traveled path. Our DSA senses speed limits and curves of the road using GPS information and ensures smooth speed transitions between current and ideal speeds. Through experimental simulations with different control algorithms on real and simulated datasets, we prove that our method is able to significantly reduce lateral errors on sharp curves, to respect speed limits and consequently increase safety and comfort for the passenger. PMID:28613251

A Procedure for Determining Tire-Road Friction Characteristics Using a Modification of the Magic Formula Based on Experimental Results

PubMed Central

Pérez, Javier; Velasco, Juan M.; Guerra, Antonio J.; Hernández, Pedro

2018-01-01

Knowledge of tire-road friction characteristics is essential for the proper performance of most relevant vehicle active safety systems. Therefore, its determination is necessary to improve the effectiveness of these systems and to avoid or reduce the consequences of traffic accidents. For this reason, there is a great deal of literature concerning methods and devices for measuring and modeling tire-road friction. Most of these methods have focused on determining the road friction resistance, taking only road composition and making measurements in wet conditions into account. However, friction forces are also dependent on the tire type, since the contact is established between the tire and the road in real driving conditions. Thus, the type and characteristics of the tire have to be considered in the study of the interaction between the vehicle and the road. The aim of this work is to unify the study of the friction coefficient, taking into consideration the two existing bodies involved in the contact, i.e., the tire and road and the main factors that influence the forces in the contact. To this end, a modification of the Pacejka Magic Formula is proposed to include the effects of the main parameters that influence the contact, such as road composition and its state, tire type, vehicle speed, and slip between the tire and the road. To do so, real tests have been conducted on several roads and with different operating conditions. As a result, a more accurate tire-road friction model has been obtained. PMID:29562623

A Procedure for Determining Tire-Road Friction Characteristics Using a Modification of the Magic Formula Based on Experimental Results.

PubMed

Cabrera, Juan A; Castillo, Juan J; Pérez, Javier; Velasco, Juan M; Guerra, Antonio J; Hernández, Pedro

2018-03-17

Knowledge of tire-road friction characteristics is essential for the proper performance of most relevant vehicle active safety systems. Therefore, its determination is necessary to improve the effectiveness of these systems and to avoid or reduce the consequences of traffic accidents. For this reason, there is a great deal of literature concerning methods and devices for measuring and modeling tire-road friction. Most of these methods have focused on determining the road friction resistance, taking only road composition and making measurements in wet conditions into account. However, friction forces are also dependent on the tire type, since the contact is established between the tire and the road in real driving conditions. Thus, the type and characteristics of the tire have to be considered in the study of the interaction between the vehicle and the road. The aim of this work is to unify the study of the friction coefficient, taking into consideration the two existing bodies involved in the contact, i.e., the tire and road and the main factors that influence the forces in the contact. To this end, a modification of the Pacejka Magic Formula is proposed to include the effects of the main parameters that influence the contact, such as road composition and its state, tire type, vehicle speed, and slip between the tire and the road. To do so, real tests have been conducted on several roads and with different operating conditions. As a result, a more accurate tire-road friction model has been obtained.

Protection against fire in the mountainous forests of Greece case study: forest complex of W. Nestos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drosos, Vasileios C.; Giannoulas, Vasileios J.; Stergiadou, Anastasia; Karagiannis, Evaggelos; Doukas, Aristotelis-Kosmas G.

2014-08-01

Forest fires are an ancient phenomenon. Appear, however, with devastating frequency and intensity over the last 30 years. In our country, the climatic conditions in combination with the intense relief, favor their rapid spread. Considering the fact that environmental conditions provided for decades even worse (increased temperature, drought and vegetation), then the problem of forest fires in our country, is expected to become more intense. The work focuses on the optimization model of the opening up of the forest mountain areas taking into account the prevention and suppression of forest fires. Research area is the mountain forest complex of W. Nestos of Drama Prefecture. The percentage of forest protection area is examined under the light whether the total hose length corresponds to the actual operational capacity to reach a fire source. For this reason are decided to present a three case study concerning area of the forest being protected by fire extinguishing vehicles. The first one corresponds to a fire suppression bandwidth (buffer zone) with a capacity radius of 150m uphill and 250m downhill from the origin point where the fire extinguishing vehicle stands. The second one corresponds to a fire suppression capacity of 200m uphill and 400m downhill and the third one corresponds to a fire suppression capacity of 300m uphill and 500m downhill. The most important forest technical infrastructures to prevent fire are roads network (opening up) for fire protection and buffer zones. Patrols of small and agile 4 × 4 appropriately equipped (pipe length of 500 meters and putting pressure on uphill to 300 meters) for the first attack of the fire in the summer months coupled with early warning of fire observatories adequately cover the forest protection of W. Nestos complex. But spatial distribution needed improvements to a road density of the optimum economic Dec, both forest protection and for better management (skidding) of woody capital.

The Importance of Relevant Emotional Arousal in the Efficacy of Pictorial Health Warnings for Cigarettes.

PubMed

Shi, Zhenhao; Wang, An-Li; Emery, Lydia F; Sheerin, Kaitlin M; Romer, Daniel

2017-06-01

Warning labels for cigarettes proposed by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were rejected by the courts partly because they were thought to be emotionally evocative but have no educational value. To address this issue, we compared three types of smoking warnings: (1) FDA-proposed warnings with pictures illustrating the smoking hazards; (2) warnings with the same text information paired with equally aversive but smoking-irrelevant images; and (3) text-only warnings. Smokers recruited through Amazon's Mechanical Turk were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions. They reported how many cigarettes they smoked per day (CPD) during the past week and then viewed eight different warnings. After viewing each warning, they rated its believability and perceived ability to motivate quitting. One week later, 62.3% of participants again reported CPD during the past week, rated how the warnings they viewed the week before changed their feeling about smoking, rated their intention to quit in the next 30 days, and recalled as much as they could about each of the warnings they viewed. Compared to the irrelevant image and text-only warnings, FDA warnings were seen as more believable and able to motivate quitting and at the follow-up, produced lower CPD, worse feeling about smoking, and more memory for warning information, controlling for age and baseline CPD. Emotionally evocative warning images are not effective in communicating the risks of smoking, unless they pertain to smoking-related hazards. In future versions of warning labels, pictorial contents should be pretested for the ability to enhance the health-hazard message. Our study shows that contrary to court opinions, FDA-proposed pictorial warnings for cigarettes are more effective in communicating smoking-related hazards than warnings that merely contain emotionally aversive but smoking-irrelevant images. The suggestion that FDA's proposed warnings employed emotionally arousing pictures with no information value was not supported. Pictures that illustrate the risk carry information that enhances the persuasiveness of the warning. The congruence between pictures and text should be a criterion for selecting warning images in the future. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

75 FR 30747 - Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Curtis Creek, Baltimore, MD

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-02

... audio voice-warning device will announce bridge movement. The channel traffic lights will then... an audio voice-warning device will announce bridge movement. The channel traffic lights will then... shall provide and keep in good legible condition two board gauges painted white with black figures not...

Robust Road Condition Detection System Using In-Vehicle Standard Sensors.

PubMed

Castillo Aguilar, Juan Jesús; Cabrera Carrillo, Juan Antonio; Guerra Fernández, Antonio Jesús; Carabias Acosta, Enrique

2015-12-19

The appearance of active safety systems, such as Anti-lock Braking System, Traction Control System, Stability Control System, etc., represents a major evolution in road safety. In the automotive sector, the term vehicle active safety systems refers to those whose goal is to help avoid a crash or to reduce the risk of having an accident. These systems safeguard us, being in continuous evolution and incorporating new capabilities continuously. In order for these systems and vehicles to work adequately, they need to know some fundamental information: the road condition on which the vehicle is circulating. This early road detection is intended to allow vehicle control systems to act faster and more suitably, thus obtaining a substantial advantage. In this work, we try to detect the road condition the vehicle is being driven on, using the standard sensors installed in commercial vehicles. Vehicle models were programmed in on-board systems to perform real-time estimations of the forces of contact between the wheel and road and the speed of the vehicle. Subsequently, a fuzzy logic block is used to obtain an index representing the road condition. Finally, an artificial neural network was used to provide the optimal slip for each surface. Simulations and experiments verified the proposed method.

Robust Road Condition Detection System Using In-Vehicle Standard Sensors

PubMed Central

Castillo Aguilar, Juan Jesús; Cabrera Carrillo, Juan Antonio; Guerra Fernández, Antonio Jesús; Carabias Acosta, Enrique

2015-01-01

The appearance of active safety systems, such as Anti-lock Braking System, Traction Control System, Stability Control System, etc., represents a major evolution in road safety. In the automotive sector, the term vehicle active safety systems refers to those whose goal is to help avoid a crash or to reduce the risk of having an accident. These systems safeguard us, being in continuous evolution and incorporating new capabilities continuously. In order for these systems and vehicles to work adequately, they need to know some fundamental information: the road condition on which the vehicle is circulating. This early road detection is intended to allow vehicle control systems to act faster and more suitably, thus obtaining a substantial advantage. In this work, we try to detect the road condition the vehicle is being driven on, using the standard sensors installed in commercial vehicles. Vehicle models were programmed in on-board systems to perform real-time estimations of the forces of contact between the wheel and road and the speed of the vehicle. Subsequently, a fuzzy logic block is used to obtain an index representing the road condition. Finally, an artificial neural network was used to provide the optimal slip for each surface. Simulations and experiments verified the proposed method. PMID:26703605

GNSS/Electronic Compass/Road Segment Information Fusion for Vehicle-to-Vehicle Collision Avoidance Application

PubMed Central

Cheng, Qi; Xue, Dabin; Wang, Guanyu; Ochieng, Washington Yotto

2017-01-01

The increasing number of vehicles in modern cities brings the problem of increasing crashes. One of the applications or services of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) conceived to improve safety and reduce congestion is collision avoidance. This safety critical application requires sub-meter level vehicle state estimation accuracy with very high integrity, continuity and availability, to detect an impending collision and issue a warning or intervene in the case that the warning is not heeded. Because of the challenging city environment, to date there is no approved method capable of delivering this high level of performance in vehicle state estimation. In particular, the current Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based collision avoidance systems have the major limitation that the real-time accuracy of dynamic state estimation deteriorates during abrupt acceleration and deceleration situations, compromising the integrity of collision avoidance. Therefore, to provide the Required Navigation Performance (RNP) for collision avoidance, this paper proposes a novel Particle Filter (PF) based model for the integration or fusion of real-time kinematic (RTK) GNSS position solutions with electronic compass and road segment data used in conjunction with an Autoregressive (AR) motion model. The real-time vehicle state estimates are used together with distance based collision avoidance algorithms to predict potential collisions. The algorithms are tested by simulation and in the field representing a low density urban environment. The results show that the proposed algorithm meets the horizontal positioning accuracy requirement for collision avoidance and is superior to positioning accuracy of GNSS only, traditional Constant Velocity (CV) and Constant Acceleration (CA) based motion models, with a significant improvement in the prediction accuracy of potential collision. PMID:29186851

GNSS/Electronic Compass/Road Segment Information Fusion for Vehicle-to-Vehicle Collision Avoidance Application.

PubMed

Sun, Rui; Cheng, Qi; Xue, Dabin; Wang, Guanyu; Ochieng, Washington Yotto

2017-11-25

The increasing number of vehicles in modern cities brings the problem of increasing crashes. One of the applications or services of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) conceived to improve safety and reduce congestion is collision avoidance. This safety critical application requires sub-meter level vehicle state estimation accuracy with very high integrity, continuity and availability, to detect an impending collision and issue a warning or intervene in the case that the warning is not heeded. Because of the challenging city environment, to date there is no approved method capable of delivering this high level of performance in vehicle state estimation. In particular, the current Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based collision avoidance systems have the major limitation that the real-time accuracy of dynamic state estimation deteriorates during abrupt acceleration and deceleration situations, compromising the integrity of collision avoidance. Therefore, to provide the Required Navigation Performance (RNP) for collision avoidance, this paper proposes a novel Particle Filter (PF) based model for the integration or fusion of real-time kinematic (RTK) GNSS position solutions with electronic compass and road segment data used in conjunction with an Autoregressive (AR) motion model. The real-time vehicle state estimates are used together with distance based collision avoidance algorithms to predict potential collisions. The algorithms are tested by simulation and in the field representing a low density urban environment. The results show that the proposed algorithm meets the horizontal positioning accuracy requirement for collision avoidance and is superior to positioning accuracy of GNSS only, traditional Constant Velocity (CV) and Constant Acceleration (CA) based motion models, with a significant improvement in the prediction accuracy of potential collision.

Prediflood: A French research project aiming at developing a road submersion warning system for flash flood prone areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naulin, J. P.; Payrastre, O.; Gaume, E.; Delrieu, G.; Arnaud, P.; Lutoff, C.; Vincendon, B.

2010-09-01

Accurate flood forecasts are crucial for an efficient flood event management. Until now, hydro-meteorological forecasts have been mainly used for early-warnings in France (Meteorological and flood vigilance maps) or over the world (Flash-flood guidances). Forecasts are also often limited to the main streams or to specific watersheds with particular assets like hydropower dams, leaving aside large parts of the territory. Distributed hydro-meteorological forecasting models, able to take advantage of the now available high spatial and temporal resolution rainfall measurements, are promising tools for anticipating and quantifying the short term consequences of storm events all over a region. They would be very useful, especially in regions frequently affected by severe storms with complex spatio-temporal patterns. They would provide the necessary information for flood event management services to identify the areas at risk and to take the appropriate safety and rescue measures: prepositioning of rescue means, stopping of the traffic on exposed roads, determination of safe accesses or evacuation routes. Some preliminary tests conducted by the LCPC within the European project FLOODsite have shown encouraging results of a distributed hydro-meteorological forecasting model. It seems possible, despite the limits of the available rainfall measurements and the shortcomings of the rainfall-runoff models, to deliver distributed forecasts of possible local flood consequences - road submersion risk rating at about 5000 different locations over the Gard department in the tested case - with an acceptable level of accuracy. The PreDiFlood project (http://heberge.lcpc.fr/prediflood/) aims at consolidating and extending these first results with the objective to conduct pre-operational tests with possible end-users at the end of the project. Such a tool will not replace, but complement existing flood forecasting approaches in time and space domains that have not been covered until now (short term forecasting at a regional scale). It will produce a completely new type of forecasts and the usefulness of such data for the emergency services for their real-time decision making will be assessed within the project. Beyond the direct operational objectives, this project aims at demonstrating, on a specific application (the now-casting of road submersions), the possibilities and also the limits and hence the needed improvements of tools that are still underused: radar quantitative precipitation estimates but also precipitation now-castings, distributed rainfall-runoff models, and the recent knowledge acquired on flash-floods consequence evaluation as well as event management.

5 CFR 930.107 - Waiver of road test.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Waiver of road test. 930.107 Section 930....107 Waiver of road test. Under the following conditions, OPM or an agency head or his or her designated representative may waive the road test: (a) OPM waives the road test requirement for operators of...

A GIS tool to analyze forest road sediment production and stream impacts

Treesearch

Ajay Prasad; David G. Tarboton; Charles H. Luce; Thomas A. Black

2005-01-01

A set of GIS tools to analyze the impacts of forest roads on streams considering sediment production, mass wasting risk, and fish passage barriers, has been developed. Sediment production for each road segment is calculated from slope, length, road surface condition and road-side drain vegetation gathered by a GPS inventory and by overlaying the road path on a Digital...

Analysis of heat wave occurrences in the Carpathian basin using regional climate model simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartha, E. B.; Pongracz, R.; Bartholy, J.

2012-04-01

Human health is very likely affected by regional consequences of global warming. One of the most severe impacts is probably associated to temperature-related climatological extremes, such as heat waves. In the coming decades hot conditions in most regions of the world are very likely to occur more frequently and more intensely than in the recent decades. In order to develop adaptation and mitigation strategies on local scale, it is essential to analyze the projected changes related to warming climatic conditions including heat waves. In 2004, a Heat Health Watch Warning System was developed in Hungary on the basis of a retrospective analysis of mortality and meteorological data to anticipate heat waves that may result in a large excess of mortality. In the frame of this recently introduced Health Watch System, three levels of heat wave warning are applied. They are associated to the daily mean temperature values, and defined as follows: - Warning level 1 (advisory for internal use) is issued when the daily mean temperature exceeds 25 °C. - Warning level 2 (heat wave watch) is issued when the daily mean temperature for at least 3 consecutive days exceeds 25 °C. - Warning level 3 (heat wave alert) is issued when the daily mean temperature for at least 3 consecutive days exceeds 27 °C. In the present study, frequency of the above climatic conditions are analyzed using regional climate model (RCM) experiments are analyzed for the recent past and the coming decades (1961-2100) for the Carpathian basin. At the Dept. of Meteorology, Eotvos Lorand University two different RCMs have been adapted: RegCM (with 10 km horizontal resolution, originally developed by Giorgi et al., currently, available from the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, ICTP) and PRECIS (with 25 km horizontal resolution, developed at the UK Met Office, Hadley Centre). Their initial and lateral boundary conditions have been provided by global climate models ECHAM and HadCM3, respectively. For both RCMs A1B emission scenario was used. The climatic conditions of 1961-1990 (as a reference), and 2021-2050, 2071-2100 future periods are evaluated using bias corrected daily mean temperature outputs of both RegCM and PRECIS. Based on the results the following main conclusions can be drawn: (i) Heat waves are very likely to occur more frequently in the 21st century than in the reference period, 1961-1990. (ii) By the end of the 21st century heat warning level 3 is projected to occur with similar frequency as the heat warning level 1 in the reference period. (iii) By the end of the 21st century the average first occurrence of the heat warning days is simulated to shift earlier, and the average last occurrence later, than in the reference period - thus the length of the heat wave season is projected to become remarkably larger. (iv) For each time slices (both reference and future periods), PRECIS simulations suggest a more often occurrence of heat warning cases in the Carpathian basin than the RegCM experiments.

Flood and landslide warning based on rainfall thresholds and soil moisture indexes: the HEWS (Hydrohazards Early Warning System) for Sicily

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brigandì, Giuseppina; Tito Aronica, Giuseppe; Bonaccorso, Brunella; Gueli, Roberto; Basile, Giuseppe

2017-09-01

The main focus of the paper is to present a flood and landslide early warning system, named HEWS (Hydrohazards Early Warning System), specifically developed for the Civil Protection Department of Sicily, based on the combined use of rainfall thresholds, soil moisture modelling and quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF). The warning system is referred to 9 different Alert Zones in which Sicily has been divided into and based on a threshold system of three different increasing critical levels: ordinary, moderate and high. In this system, for early flood warning, a Soil Moisture Accounting (SMA) model provides daily soil moisture conditions, which allow to select a specific set of three rainfall thresholds, one for each critical level considered, to be used for issue the alert bulletin. Wetness indexes, representative of the soil moisture conditions of a catchment, are calculated using a simple, spatially-lumped rainfall-streamflow model, based on the SCS-CN method, and on the unit hydrograph approach, that require daily observed and/or predicted rainfall, and temperature data as input. For the calibration of this model daily continuous time series of rainfall, streamflow and air temperature data are used. An event based lumped rainfall-runoff model has been, instead, used for the derivation of the rainfall thresholds for each catchment in Sicily characterised by an area larger than 50 km2. In particular, a Kinematic Instantaneous Unit Hydrograph based lumped rainfall-runoff model with the SCS-CN routine for net rainfall was developed for this purpose. For rainfall-induced shallow landslide warning, empirical rainfall thresholds provided by Gariano et al. (2015) have been included in the system. They were derived on an empirical basis starting from a catalogue of 265 shallow landslides in Sicily in the period 2002-2012. Finally, Delft-FEWS operational forecasting platform has been applied to link input data, SMA model and rainfall threshold models to produce warning on a daily basis for the entire region.

Mapping asphalt pavement aging and condition using multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis in Beijing, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Yifan; Zhang, Xianfeng; Tian, Jie; Jin, Xu; Luo, Lun; Yang, Ke

2017-01-01

Asphalt road reflectance spectra change as pavement ages. This provides the possibility for remote sensing to be used to monitor a change in asphalt pavement conditions. However, the relatively narrow geometry of roads and the relatively coarse spatial resolution of remotely sensed imagery result in mixtures between pavement and adjacent landcovers (e.g., vegetation, buildings, and soil), increasing uncertainties in spectral analysis. To overcome this problem, multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA) was used to map the asphalt pavement condition using Worldview-2 satellite imagery in this study. Based on extensive field investigation and in situ measurements, aged asphalt pavements were categorized into four stages-preliminarily aged, moderately aged, heavily aged, and distressed. The spectral characteristics in the first three stages were further analyzed, and a MESMA unmixing analysis was conducted to map these three kinds of pavement conditions from the Worldview-2 image. The results showed that the road pavement conditions could be detected well and mapped with an overall accuracy of 81.71% and Kappa coefficient of 0.77. Finally, a quantitative assessment of the pavement conditions for each road segment in this study area was conducted to inform road maintenance management.

75 FR 62097 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-07

... understand the relationship between meteorological phenomena and road conditions, as well as public... phenomena, road conditions, and their combined impact on travel. Affected Public: Individuals or households...

Prototype road weather performance management (RW-PM) tool and Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) field evaluation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-01-01

FHWAs Road Weather Management Program developed a Prototype Road Weather Management (RW-PM) Tool to help DOTs maximize the effectiveness of their maintenance resources and efficiently adjust deployments dynamically, as road conditions and traffic ...

Infiltration, erosion, and vegetation recovery following road obliteration

Treesearch

R. B. Foltz; H. Rhee; K. A. Yanosek

2007-01-01

Forest roads are obliterated to lower the risks of surface erosion and mass failures. One purpose of the road obliteration is to return the compacted forest roads to productive pre-road conditions, i.e., a forest floor with high infiltration capacity, low interrill erodibility, and high vegetation ground cover. It is important to know how these characteristics recover...

Putting Safety First in the Sky

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

As a result of technology developed at NASA s Kennedy Space Center, pilots now have a hand-held personal safety device to warn them of potentially dangerous or deteriorating cabin pressure altitude conditions before hypoxia becomes a threat. The Personal Cabin Pressure Altitude Monitor and Warning System monitors cabin pressure to determine when supplemental oxygen should be used according to Federal Aviation Regulations. The device benefits both pressurized and nonpressurized aircraft operations - warning pressurized aircraft when the required safe cabin pressure altitude is compromised, and reminding nonpressurized aircraft when supplemental oxygen is needed.

103. View of transmitter building no. 102, missile warning operation ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

103. View of transmitter building no. 102, missile warning operation center, overall view of center in operation with staff at consoles. Note defcon (defense condition) display panel (upper right) showing "simulated status"activity level. Also note fiber optic display panel at upper right-center. Official photograph BMEWS Project by Hansen 30 September, 1976, clear as negative no. A-14568. - Clear Air Force Station, Ballistic Missile Early Warning System Site II, One mile west of mile marker 293.5 on Parks Highway, 5 miles southwest of Anderson, Anderson, Denali Borough, AK

Research on early-warning index of the spatial temperature field in concrete dams.

PubMed

Yang, Guang; Gu, Chongshi; Bao, Tengfei; Cui, Zhenming; Kan, Kan

2016-01-01

Warning indicators of the dam body's temperature are required for the real-time monitoring of the service conditions of concrete dams to ensure safety and normal operations. Warnings theories are traditionally targeted at a single point which have limitations, and the scientific warning theories on global behavior of the temperature field are non-existent. In this paper, first, in 3D space, the behavior of temperature field has regional dissimilarity. Through the Ward spatial clustering method, the temperature field was divided into regions. Second, the degree of order and degree of disorder of the temperature monitoring points were defined by the probability method. Third, the weight values of monitoring points of each regions were explored via projection pursuit. Forth, a temperature entropy expression that can describe degree of order of the spatial temperature field in concrete dams was established. Fifth, the early-warning index of temperature entropy was set up according to the calculated sequential value of temperature entropy. Finally, project cases verified the feasibility of the proposed theories. The early-warning index of temperature entropy is conducive to the improvement of early-warning ability and safety management levels during the operation of high concrete dams.

Non-invasive, home-based electroencephalography hypoglycaemia warning system for personal monitoring using skin surface electrodes: a single-case feasibility study.

PubMed

Clewett, Christopher J; Langley, Phillip; Bateson, Anthony D; Asghar, Aziz; Wilkinson, Antony J

2016-03-01

Hypoglycaemia unawareness is a common condition associated with increased risk of severe hypoglycaemia. The purpose of the authors' study was to develop a simple to use, home-based and non-invasive hypoglycaemia warning system based on electroencephalography (EEG), and to demonstrate its use in a single-case feasibility study. A participant with type 1 diabetes forms a single-person case study where blood sugar levels and EEG were recorded. EEG was recorded using skin surface electrodes placed behind the ear located within the T3 region by the participant in the home. EEG was analysed retrospectively to develop an algorithm which would trigger a warning if EEG changes associated with hypoglycaemia onset were detected. All hypoglycaemia events were detected by the EEG hypoglycaemia warning algorithm. Warnings were triggered with blood glucose concentration levels at or below 4.2 mmol/l in this participant and no warnings were issued when in euglycaemia. The feasibility of a non-invasive EEG-based hypoglycaemia warning system for personal monitoring in the home has been demonstrated in a single case study. The results suggest that further studies are warranted to evaluate the system prospectively in a larger group of participants.

Forward collision warning requirements project : refining the CAMP crash alert timing approach by examining "last second" braking and lane change maneuvers under various kinematic conditions

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-01-01

This final report describes a follow-on study to the previous Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP) human factors work addressing Forward Collision Warning (FCW) timing requirements. This research extends this work by gathering not only "last-se...

Real time forest fire warning and forest fire risk zoning: a Vietnamese case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, T.; Pham, D.; Phung, T.; Ha, A.; Paschke, M.

2016-12-01

Forest fire occurs seriously in Vietnam and has been considered as one of the major causes of forest lost and degradation. Several studies of forest fire risk warning were conducted using Modified Nesterov Index (MNI) but remaining shortcomings and inaccurate predictions that needs to be urgently improved. In our study, several important topographic and social factors such as aspect, slope, elevation, distance to residential areas and road system were considered as "permanent" factors while meteorological data were updated hourly using near-real-time (NRT) remotely sensed data (i.e. MODIS Terra/Aqua and TRMM) for the prediction and warning of fire. Due to the limited number of weather stations in Vietnam, data from all active stations (i.e. 178) were used with the satellite data to calibrate and upscale meteorological variables. These data with finer resolution were then used to generate MNI. The only significant "permanent" factors were selected as input variables based on the correlation coefficients that computed from multi-variable regression among true fire-burning (collected from 1/2007) and its spatial characteristics. These coefficients also used to suggest appropriate weight for computing forest fire risk (FR) model. Forest fire risk model was calculated from the MNI and the selected factors using fuzzy regression models (FRMs) and GIS based multi-criteria analysis. By this approach, the FR was slightly modified from MNI by the integrated use of various factors in our fire warning and prediction model. Multifactor-based maps of forest fire risk zone were generated from classifying FR into three potential danger levels. Fire risk maps were displayed using webgis technology that is easy for managing data and extracting reports. Reported fire-burnings thereafter have been used as true values for validating the forest fire risk. Fire probability has strong relationship with potential danger levels (varied from 5.3% to 53.8%) indicating that the higher potential risk, the more chance of fire happen. By adding spatial factors to continuous daily updated remote sensing based meteo-data, results are valuable for both mapping forest fire risk zones in short and long-term and real time fire warning in Vietnam. Key words: Near-real-time, forest fire warning, fuzzy regression model, remote sensing.

Optimal Maintenance Works for the Aborshada Road in the Western Region of Libya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Youssef, Medhat Abdelrahman; Elbasher, Abdelbary Altayb

2014-09-01

In this research, the condition of a road pavement was investigated for the Aborshada Road in the Gharian region of Libya to determine the optimal maintenance works. Previously, a simple engineering judgment was the only procedure followed by the Gharian municipal engineers for evaluating pavements and prioritizing maintenance. The surface condition of the Aborshada Road pavement was investigated using "the Pavement Condition Index (PCI)" visual technique. The pavement was inspected to survey the different distresses in each sample unit. Ninteen pavement distresses were classified according to the PCI standards (PCI for roads and parking lots became an ASTM standard in 2007 (D6433-07)). It was necessary to know the most common distresses of the Aborshada Road to provide assistance for the decision maker in his evaluation of the pavement and the optimum repair method to be selected. This study reveals the actual performance of the pavements and suggests the research required for dealing with the pavement maintenance problem in Libya, especially in the western region. The best maintenance alternative for Aborshada Road was Case No. 3 (Potholes, Long. & Trans. Cracking and Alligator Crack Maintenance). Also, the most common pavement distresses on the Aborshada Road were Distress Nos. 1, 3, 6, 7, 10 and 13 according to the ASTM - D6433-07 classification

Guidelines for disseminating road weather messages.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-06-01

The tremendous growth in the amount of available weather and road condition informationincluding devices that gather weather information, models and forecasting tools for predicting weather conditions, and electronic devices used by travelersha...

Travel Information, Transportation & Public Facilities, State of Alaska

Science.gov Websites

outside site Report Potholes Road Conditions (511) Road Maintenance Central Region Maintenance & ; Operations Northern Region Maintenance & Operations Southcoast Region Maintenance & Operations Road Weather Information System Street Sweeping - Anchorage & Eagle River Winter Road Maintenance Priority

75 FR 20034 - Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility Program Grants: Corrections

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-16

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Transit Administration Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility... ``Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility Program Grants,'' extends the application deadline, and allows... comply with the terms and conditions of the Special Warranty for the Over-the-Road Bus Accessibility...

Comparison of Expected Crash and Injury Reduction from Production Forward Collision and Lane Departure Warning Systems.

PubMed

Kusano, Kristofer D; Gabler, Hampton C

2015-01-01

The U.S. New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) now tests for forward collision warning (FCW) and lane departure warning (LDW). The design of these warnings differs greatly between vehicles and can result in different real-world field performance in preventing or mitigating the effects of collisions. The objective of this study was to compare the expected number of crashes and injured drivers that could be prevented if all vehicles in the fleet were equipped with the FCW and LDW systems tested under the U.S. NCAP. To predict the potential crashes and serious injury that could be prevented, our approach was to computationally model the U.S. crash population. The models simulated all rear-end and single-vehicle road departure collisions that occurred in a nationally representative crash database (NASS-CDS). A sample of 478 single-vehicle crashes from NASS-CDS 2012 was the basis for 24,822 simulations for LDW. A sample of 1,042 rear-end collisions from NASS-CDS years 1997-2013 was the basis for 7,616 simulations for FCW. For each crash, 2 simulations were performed: (1) without the system present and (2) with the system present. Models of each production safety system were based on 54 model year 2010-2014 vehicles that were evaluated under the NCAP confirmation procedure for LDW and/or FCW. NCAP performed 40 LDW and 45 FCW tests of these vehicles. The design of the FCW systems had a dramatic impact on their potential to prevent crashes and injuries. Between 0 and 67% of crashes and 2 and 69% of moderately to fatally injured drivers in rear-end impacts could have been prevented if all vehicles were equipped with the FCW systems. Earlier warning times resulted in increased benefits. The largest effect on benefits, however, was the lower operating speed threshold of the systems. Systems that only operated at speeds above 20 mph were less than half as effective as those that operated above 5 mph with similar warning times. The production LDW systems could have prevented between 11 and 23% of drift-out-of-lane crashes and 13 and 22% of seriously to fatally injured drivers. A majority of the tested LDW systems delivered warnings near the point when the vehicle first touched the lane line, leading to similar benefits. Minimum operating speed also greatly affected LDW effectiveness. The results of this study show that the expected field performance of FCW and LDW systems are highly dependent on the design and system limitations. Systems that delivered warnings earlier and operated at lower speeds may prevent far more crashes and injuries than systems that warn late and operate only at high speeds. These results suggest that future FCW and LDW evaluation should prioritize early warnings and full-speed range operation. A limitation of this study is that additional crash avoidance features that may also mitigate collisions-for example, brake assist, automated braking, or lane-keeping assistance-were not evaluated during the NCAP tests or in our benefits models. The potential additional mitigating effects of these systems were not quantified in this study.

Utility of High Temporal Resolution Observations for Heat Health Event Characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palecki, M. A.

2017-12-01

Many heat health watch systems produce a binary on/off warning when conditions are predicted to exceed a given threshold during a day. Days with warnings and their mortality/morbidity statistics are analyzed relative to days not warned to determine the impacts of the event on human health, the effectiveness of warnings, and other statistics. The climate analyses of the heat waves or extreme temperature events are often performed with hourly or daily observations of air temperature, humidity, and other measured or derived variables, especially the maxima and minima of these data. However, since the beginning of the century, 5-minute observations are readily available for many weather and climate stations in the United States. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) has been collecting 5-minute observations from the NOAA Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) stations since 2000, and from the U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) stations since 2005. This presentation will demonstrate the efficacy of utilizing 5-minute environmental observations to characterize heat waves by counting the length of time conditions exceed extreme thresholds based on individual and multiple variables and on derived variables such as the heat index. The length and depth of recovery periods between daytime heating periods will also be examined. The length of time under extreme conditions will influence health outcomes for those directly exposed. Longer periods of dangerous conditions also could increase the chances for poor health outcomes for those only exposed intermittently through cumulative impacts.

Awareness of smoking risks and attitudes towards graphic health warning labels on cigarette packs: a cross-cultural study of two populations in Singapore and Scotland.

PubMed

Ng, D H L; Roxburgh, S T D; Sanjay, S; Au Eong, K G

2010-05-01

Little is known about the level of awareness of blindness as a smoking-related condition, although the relationship has been well established. To compare the awareness of smoking risks and the impact of graphic health warning labels on cigarette packs in discouraging smoking among adults in Singapore and Scotland. A cross-sectional survey using a structured interview of adults in ophthalmic, general medical, and general surgical outpatient clinics in Singapore and Scotland. One hundred and fifteen out of 163 (70.6%) outpatients in Singapore and 105 out of 112 (93.8%) outpatients in Scotland responded to the study. In both samples, awareness levels for smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer, mouth and throat cancer, heart disease, and stroke were all greater than 85%. These were found to be significantly higher than the level of awareness of blindness as a smoking-related condition (chi (2)-test, P<0.001). Although the awareness of blindness as a smoking-related condition was greater in Singapore (36.5%) than in Scotland (30.5%), this difference was not statistically significant. More than half of the respondents indicated that graphic health warning labels would be effective in discouraging them from smoking. Graphic health warning labels reading 'Smoking causes blindness' printed on cigarette packs may be useful in raising public awareness of blindness as a smoking-related condition and discouraging the habit of smoking in Singapore and Scotland.

Effectiveness of a Coral-Derived Surfacing Material for Reducing Sediment Production on Unpaved Roads, Schoffield Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziegler, Alan D.; Sutherland, Ross A.

2006-01-01

This study evaluated the effectiveness of two application rates of a coral-derived surfacing material for both traffic and nontraffic road conditions using simulated rainfall (110-120 mm h-1 for 30-90 min) on 0.75-m (wide) × 5.0-m (long) plots of similar slope (roughly 0.1 m m-1). The coral is a locally available material that has been applied to unpaved roads surfaces on Schoffield Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii (USA), where this experiment was conducted. The simulations show that compared with a bare control plot, the coral-based surface application rates of 80 and 160 kg m-2 (equivalent to only 10- and 20-mm thicknesses) reduced road sediment production by 75% and 95%, respectively, for nontraffic conditions. However, after two passes of the research vehicle during wet conditions, sediment production rates for the two coral treatments were not significantly different from those on the bare road plots. The overall effectiveness of the coral-derived surfacing material is unsatisfactory, primarily because the on-road surface thickness associated with the application rates tested was too small. These rates were selected to bracket those applied to training roads in the study area. Furthermore, the composition of the coral-based material does not facilitate the development of a sealed, erosion-resistant surface. When applied at the low rates tested, the coral material breaks down under normal traffic conditions, thereby losing its ability to counter shearing forces exerted by overland flow on long hillslopes where erosion measures are most needed. These simulations, combined with observations on roads in the study area, indicate that this material is not an appropriate road surfacing material for the site—at least for the low application rates examined. These results are preliminary; extended testing of higher applications rates at the hillslope scale under natural climate and traffic conditions is needed to better judge the effectiveness of this material over time.

Effectiveness of a coral-derived surfacing material for reducing sediment production on unpaved roads, Schoffield barracks, Oahu, Hawaii.

PubMed

Ziegler, Alan D; Sutherland, Ross A

2006-01-01

This study evaluated the effectiveness of two application rates of a coral-derived surfacing material for both traffic and nontraffic road conditions using simulated rainfall (110-120 mm h(-1) for 30-90 min) on 0.75-m (wide) x 5.0-m (long) plots of similar slope (roughly 0.1 m m(-1)). The coral is a locally available material that has been applied to unpaved roads surfaces on Schoffield Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii (USA), where this experiment was conducted. The simulations show that compared with a bare control plot, the coral-based surface application rates of 80 and 160 kg m(-2) (equivalent to only 10- and 20-mm thicknesses) reduced road sediment production by 75% and 95%, respectively, for nontraffic conditions. However, after two passes of the research vehicle during wet conditions, sediment production rates for the two coral treatments were not significantly different from those on the bare road plots. The overall effectiveness of the coral-derived surfacing material is unsatisfactory, primarily because the on-road surface thickness associated with the application rates tested was too small. These rates were selected to bracket those applied to training roads in the study area. Furthermore, the composition of the coral-based material does not facilitate the development of a sealed, erosion-resistant surface. When applied at the low rates tested, the coral material breaks down under normal traffic conditions, thereby losing its ability to counter shearing forces exerted by overland flow on long hillslopes where erosion measures are most needed. These simulations, combined with observations on roads in the study area, indicate that this material is not an appropriate road surfacing material for the site-at least for the low application rates examined. These results are preliminary; extended testing of higher applications rates at the hillslope scale under natural climate and traffic conditions is needed to better judge the effectiveness of this material over time.

Lane detection using Randomized Hough Transform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mongkonyong, Peerawat; Nuthong, Chaiwat; Siddhichai, Supakorn; Yamakita, Masaki

2018-01-01

According to the report of the Royal Thai Police between 2006 and 2015, lane changing without consciousness is one of the most accident causes. To solve this problem, many methods are considered. Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS) is considered to be one of the potential solutions. LDWS is a mechanism designed to warn the driver when the vehicle begins to move out of its current lane. LDWS contains many parts including lane boundary detection, driver warning and lane marker tracking. This article focuses on the lane boundary detection part. The proposed lane boundary detection detects the lines of the image from the input video and selects the lane marker of the road surface from those lines. Standard Hough Transform (SHT) and Randomized Hough Transform (RHT) are considered in this article. They are used to extract lines of an image. SHT extracts the lines from all of the edge pixels. RHT extracts only the lines randomly picked by the point pairs from edge pixels. RHT algorithm reduces the time and memory usage when compared with SHT. The increase of the threshold value in RHT will increase the voted limit of the line that has a high possibility to be the lane marker, but it also consumes the time and memory. By comparison between SHT and RHT with the different threshold values, 500 frames of input video from the front car camera will be processed. The accuracy and the computational time of RHT are similar to those of SHT in the result of the comparison.

Transition to manual: Comparing simulator with on-road control transitions.

PubMed

Eriksson, A; Banks, V A; Stanton, N A

2017-05-01

Whilst previous research has explored how driver behaviour in simulators may transfer to the open road, there has been relatively little research showing the same transfer within the field of driving automation. As a consequence, most research into human-automation interaction has primarily been carried out in a research laboratory or on closed-circuit test tracks. The aim of this study was to assess whether research into non-critical control transactions in highly automated vehicles performed in driving simulators correlate with road driving conditions. Twenty six drivers drove a highway scenario using an automated driving mode in the simulator and twelve drivers drove on a public motorway in a Tesla Model S with the Autopilot activated. Drivers were asked to relinquish, or resume control from the automation when prompted by the vehicle interface in both the simulator and on road condition. Drivers were generally faster to resume control in the on-road driving condition. However, strong positive correlations were found between the simulator and on road driving conditions for drivers transferring control to and from automation. No significant differences were found with regard to workload, perceived usefulness and satisfaction between the simulator and on-road drives. The results indicate high levels of relative validity of driving simulators as a research tool for automated driving research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influencing factors on the visibility of surface distresses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smęt, Wojciech; Skakuj, Marek

2018-05-01

A systematic and future-oriented maintenance management requires quality-assured data regarding the condition of the roadway. An important characteristic for assessing the condition of the road surface are cracks [1]. Experience has proven that the road surface temperature and residual humidity can influence the visibility of cracks. To investigate and quantify these influencing factors in more detail, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure has implemented a comprehensive research project [2], during which several measurement campaigns were carried out at different seasons and at different temperatures and humidity degrees of the road surface. The visibility of the cracks was assessed using the German approach ZTV ZEB-StB [3]. After evaluating the cracks, the data was synchronized and the network allocation of the geo-referenced raw data was realized. The relevant condition performance indicators were calculated subsequently. For each evaluation section of 100 meters length, the mean road surface temperature was calculated and, if available, the type and year of construction of the surface course was determined. The evaluated data was visualized to establish correlations between the data and the influencing factors. For the statistical analysis of the results, a total of six comparative scenarios were defined in which the influencing factors of road surface temperature and residual humidity were assessed. This paper documents the results of the research project. In order to obtain a uniform and comparable picture of the condition of the road surface over the years and thus to be able to observe the aging process of the road surface, the measurement campaigns are to be carried out under defined conditions. The research project included proposals for defining and further specifying the measurement conditions.

Comparison of High and Low Density Airborne LIDAR Data for Forest Road Quality Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiss, K.; Malinen, J.; Tokola, T.

2016-06-01

Good quality forest roads are important for forest management. Airborne laser scanning data can help create automatized road quality detection, thus avoiding field visits. Two different pulse density datasets have been used to assess road quality: high-density airborne laser scanning data from Kiihtelysvaara and low-density data from Tuusniemi, Finland. The field inventory mainly focused on the surface wear condition, structural condition, flatness, road side vegetation and drying of the road. Observations were divided into poor, satisfactory and good categories based on the current Finnish quality standards used for forest roads. Digital Elevation Models were derived from the laser point cloud, and indices were calculated to determine road quality. The calculated indices assessed the topographic differences on the road surface and road sides. The topographic position index works well in flat terrain only, while the standardized elevation index described the road surface better if the differences are bigger. Both indices require at least a 1 metre resolution. High-density data is necessary for analysis of the road surface, and the indices relate mostly to the surface wear and flatness. The classification was more precise (31-92%) than on low-density data (25-40%). However, ditch detection and classification can be carried out using the sparse dataset as well (with a success rate of 69%). The use of airborne laser scanning data can provide quality information on forest roads.

Guidelines for disseminating road weather advisory & control information.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-06-01

The tremendous growth in the amount of available weather and road condition informationincluding devices that gather weather information, models and forecasting tools for predicting weather conditions, and electronic devices used by travelersha...

40 CFR 51.371 - On-road testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false On-road testing. 51.371 Section 51.371... PREPARATION, ADOPTION, AND SUBMITTAL OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Inspection/Maintenance Program Requirements § 51.371 On-road testing. On-road testing is defined as testing of vehicles for conditions impacting the...

30 CFR 56.9300 - Berms or guardrails.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... service or maintenance vehicles, berms or guardrails are not required when all of the following are met... shall include the width, slope and alignment of the road, the type of equipment using the road, the road material, and any hazardous conditions which may exist. (5) Road surface traction is not impaired by...

30 CFR 57.9300 - Berms or guardrails.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... service or maintenance vehicles, berms or guardrails are not required when all of the following are met... shall include the width, slope and alignment of the road, the type of equipment using the road, the road material, and any hazardous conditions which may exist. (5) Road surface traction is not impaired by...

36 CFR 228.47 - General terms and conditions of contracts and permits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... of improvements. (e) Use of existing National Forest development roads. The authorized officer may require purchasers and permittees to obtain appropriate road-use permits, make deposits for or perform their commensurate share of road maintenance, and comply with road-use rules contained in 36 CFR part...

36 CFR 223.41 - Payment when purchaser elects government road construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... government road construction. 223.41 Section 223.41 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE... Conditions and Provisions § 223.41 Payment when purchaser elects government road construction. Each contract having a provision for construction of specified roads with total estimated construction costs of $50,000...

36 CFR 223.47 - Date of completion of permanent road construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... permanent road construction. 223.47 Section 223.47 Parks, Forests, and Public Property FOREST SERVICE... Conditions and Provisions § 223.47 Date of completion of permanent road construction. (a) The date of completion of permanent road construction obligations as set forth in the Notice of Sale shall be...

36 CFR 223.38 - Standards for road design and construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Standards for road design and... PRODUCTS Timber Sale Contracts Contract Conditions and Provisions § 223.38 Standards for road design and construction. Road construction authorized under timber sale contracts, permits and other documents authorizing...

The Effects of Specifying Job Requirements and Using Explicit Warnings to Decrease Sex Discrimination in Employment Interviews.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siegfried, William D.

1982-01-01

To determine effectiveness of instructions designed to reduce sex discrimination in employment interviews, students were asked to rate resumes for a male and a female applicant under different instructional conditions. Results suggested that: legal warnings may bias ratings in favor of male applicants; and specifying job requirements reduces…

Comparative analysis of the performance of One-Way and Two-Way urban road networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gheorghe, Carmen

2017-10-01

The fact that the number of vehicles is increasing year after year represents a challenge in road traffic management because it is necessary to adjust the road traffic, in order to prevent any incidents, using mostly the same road infrastructure. At this moment one-way road network provides efficient traffic flow for vehicles but it is not ideal for pedestrians. Therefore, a proper solution must be found and applied when and where it is necessary. Replacing one-way road network with two-way road network may be a viable solution especially if in the area is high pedestrian traffic. The paper aims to highlight the influence of both, one-way and two-way urban road networks through an experimental research which was performed by using traffic data collected in the field. Each of the two scenarios analyzed were based on the same traffic data, the same geometrical conditions of the road (lane width, total road segment width, road slopes, total length of the road network) and also the same signaling conditions (signalised intersection or roundabout). The analysis which involves two-way scenario reveals changes in the performance parameters like delay average, stops average, delay stop average and vehicle speed average. Based on the values obtained, it was possible to perform a comparative analysis between the real, one-way, scenario and the theoretical, two-way, scenario.

Traffic accidents on expressways: new threat to China.

PubMed

Zhao, Jinbao; Deng, Wei

2012-01-01

As China is building one of the largest expressway systems in the world, expressway safety problems have become serious concerns to China. This article analyzed the trends in expressway accidents in China from 1995 to 2010 and examined the characteristics of these accidents. Expressway accident data were obtained from the Annual Report for Road Traffic Accidents published by the Ministry of Public Security of China. Expressway mileage data were obtained from the National Statistics Yearbook published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted based on these data. Expressway deaths increased by 10.2-fold from 616 persons in 1995 to 6300 persons in 2010, and the average annual increase was 17.9 percent over the past 15 years, and the overall other road traffic deaths was -0.33 percent. China's expressway mileage accounted for only 1.85 percent of highway mileage driven in 2010, but expressway deaths made up 13.54 percent of highway traffic deaths. The average annual accident lethality rate [accident deaths/(accident deaths + accident injuries)] for China's expressways was 27.76 percent during the period 1995 to 2010, which was 1.33 times higher than the accident lethality rate of highway traffic accidents. China's government should pay attention to expressway construction and safety interventions during the rapid development period of expressways. Related causes, such as geographic patterns, speeding, weather conditions, and traffic flow composition, need to be studied in the near future. An effective and scientific expressway safety management services system, composed of a speed monitoring system, warning system, and emergency rescue system, should be established in developed and underdeveloped provinces in China to improve safety on expressway.

Flood-inundation maps for the Suncook River in Epsom, Pembroke, Allenstown, and Chichester, New Hampshire

USGS Publications Warehouse

Flynn, Robert H.; Johnston, Craig M.; Hays, Laura

2012-01-01

Digital flood-inundation maps for a 16.5-mile reach of the Suncook River in Epsom, Pembroke, Allenstown, and Chichester, N.H., from the confluence with the Merrimack River to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Suncook River streamgage 01089500 at Depot Road in North Chichester, N.H., were created by the USGS in cooperation with the New Hampshire Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The inundation maps presented in this report depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to selected water levels (stages) at the USGS streamgage at Suncook River at North Chichester, N.H. (station 01089500). The current conditions at the USGS streamgage may be obtained on the Internet (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nh/nwis/uv/?site_no=01089500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060). The National Weather Service forecasts flood hydrographs at many places that are often collocated with USGS streamgages. Forecasted peak-stage information is available on the Internet at the National Weather Service (NWS) Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS) flood-warning system site (http://water.weather.gov/ahps/) and may be used in conjunction with the maps developed in this study to show predicted areas of flood inundation. These maps along with real-time stream stage data from the USGS Suncook River streamgage (station 01089500) and forecasted stream stage from the NWS will provide emergency management personnel and residents with information that is critical for flood-response activities, such as evacuations, road closures, disaster declarations, and post-flood recovery. The maps, along with current stream-stage data from the USGS Suncook River streamgage and forecasted stream-stage data from the NWS, can be accessed at the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site http://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/.

Chosen risk level during car-following in adverse weather conditions.

PubMed

Hjelkrem, Odd André; Ryeng, Eirin Olaussen

2016-10-01

This study examines how precipitation, light conditions and surface conditions affect the drivers' risk perception. An indicator CRI (Chosen Risk Index) is defined, which describes the chosen risk level for drivers in a car-following situation. The dataset contains about 70 000 observations of driver behaviour and weather status on a rural road. Based on the theory of risk homeostasis and an assumption that driving behaviour in situations with daylight, dry road and no precipitation reflects drivers' target level of risk, generalised linear models (GLM) were estimated for cars and trucks separately to reveal the effect of adverse weather conditions on risk perception. The analyses show that both car and truck drivers perceive the highest risk when driving on snow covered roads. For car drivers, a snow covered road in combination with moderate rain or light snow are the factors which lowers the CRI the most. For trucks, snow cover and partially covered roads significantly lowers the CRI, while precipitation did not seem to impose any higher risk. Interaction effects were found for car drivers only. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Autonomous emergency braking systems adapted to snowy road conditions improve drivers' perceived safety and trust.

PubMed

Koglbauer, Ioana; Holzinger, Jürgen; Eichberger, Arno; Lex, Cornelia

2018-04-03

This study investigated drivers' evaluation of a conventional autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system on high and reduced tire-road friction and compared these results to those of an AEB system adaptive to the reduced tire-road friction by earlier braking. Current automated systems such as the AEB do not adapt the vehicle control strategy to the road friction; for example, on snowy roads. Because winter precipitation is associated with a 19% increase in traffic crashes and a 13% increase in injuries compared to dry conditions, the potential of conventional AEB to prevent collisions could be significantly improved by including friction in the control algorithm. Whereas adaption is not legally required for a conventional AEB system, higher automated functions will have to adapt to the current tire-road friction because human drivers will not be required to monitor the driving environment at all times. For automated driving functions to be used, high levels of perceived safety and trust of occupants have to be reached with new systems. The application case of an AEB is used to investigate drivers' evaluation depending on the road condition in order to gain knowledge for the design of future driving functions. In a driving simulator, the conventional, nonadaptive AEB was evaluated on dry roads with high friction (μ = 1) and on snowy roads with reduced friction (μ = 0.3). In addition, an AEB system adapted to road friction was designed for this study and compared with the conventional AEB on snowy roads with reduced friction. Ninety-six drivers (48 males, 48 females) assigned to 5 age groups (20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and 60-75 years) drove with AEB in the simulator. The drivers observed and evaluated the AEB's braking actions in response to an imminent rear-end collision at an intersection. The results show that drivers' safety and trust in the conventional AEB were significantly lower on snowy roads, and the nonadaptive autonomous braking strategy was considered less appropriate on snowy roads compared to dry roads. As expected, the adaptive AEB braking strategy was considered more appropriate for snowy roads than the nonadaptive strategy. In conditions of reduced friction, drivers' subjective safety and trust were significantly improved when driving with the adaptive AEB compared to the conventional AEB. Women felt less safe than men when AEB was braking. Differences between age groups were not of statistical significance. Drivers notice the adaptation of the autonomous braking strategy on snowy roads with reduced friction. On snowy roads, they feel safer and trust the adaptive system more than the nonadaptive automation.

Effects of redundancy in the comparison of speech and pictorial displays in the cockpit environment.

PubMed

Byblow, W D

1990-06-01

Synthesised speech and pictorial displays were compared in a spatially compatible simulated cockpit environment. Messages of high or low levels of redundancy were presented to subjects in both modality conditions. Subjects responded to warnings presented in a warning-only condition and in a dual-task condition, in which a simulated flight task was performed with visual and manual input/output modalities. Because the amount of information presented in most real-world applications and experimental paradigms is quantifiably large with respect to present guidelines for the use of synthesised speech warnings, the low-redundancy condition was hypothesised to allow for better performance. Results showed that subjects respond quicker to messages of low redundancy in both modalities. It is suggested that speech messages with low-redundancy levels were effective in minimising message length and ensuring that messages did not overload the short-term memory required to process and maintain speech in memory. Manipulation of phrase structure was used to optimise message redundancy and enhance the conceptual compatibility of the message without increasing message length or imposing a perceptual cost or memory overload. The results also suggest that system response times were quicker when synthesised speech warnings were used. This result is consistent with predictions from multiple resource theory which states that the resources required for the perception of verbal warnings are different from those for the flight task. It is also suggested that the perception of a pictorial display requires the same resources used for the perception of the primary flight task. An alternative explanation is that pictorial displays impose a visual scanning cost which is responsible for decreased performance. Based on the findings reported here, it is suggested that speech displays be incorporated in a spatially compatible cockpit environment because they allow equal or better performance when compared with pictorial displays. More importantly, the amount of time that the operator must direct his vision away from information vital to the flight task is decreased.

Alcohol consumers' attention to warning labels and brand information on alcohol packaging: Findings from cross-sectional and experimental studies.

PubMed

Kersbergen, Inge; Field, Matt

2017-01-26

Alcohol warning labels have a limited effect on drinking behavior, potentially because people devote minimal attention to them. We report findings from two studies in which we measured the extent to which alcohol consumers attend to warning labels on alcohol packaging, and aimed to identify if increased attention to warning labels is associated with motivation to change drinking behavior. Study 1 (N = 60) was an exploratory cross-sectional study in which we used eye-tracking to measure visual attention to brand and health information on alcohol and soda containers. In study 2 (N = 120) we manipulated motivation to reduce drinking using an alcohol brief intervention (vs control intervention) and measured heavy drinkers' attention to branding and warning labels with the same eye-tracking paradigm as in study 1. Then, in a separate task we experimentally manipulated attention by drawing a brightly colored border around health (or brand) information before measuring participants' self-reported drinking intentions for the subsequent week. Study 1 showed that participants paid minimal attention to warning labels (7% of viewing time). Participants who were motivated to reduce drinking paid less attention to alcohol branding and alcohol warning labels. Results from study 2 showed that the alcohol brief intervention decreased attention to branding compared to the control condition, but it did not affect attention to warning labels. Furthermore, the experimental manipulation of attention to health or brand information did not influence drinking intentions for the subsequent week. Alcohol consumers allocate minimal attention to warning labels on alcohol packaging and even if their attention is directed to these warning labels, this has no impact on their drinking intentions. The lack of attention to warning labels, even among people who actively want to cut down, suggests that there is room for improvement in the content of health warnings on alcohol packaging.

On-Road Validation of a Simplified Model for Estimating Real-World Fuel Economy: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wood, Eric; Gonder, Jeff; Jehlik, Forrest

On-road fuel economy is known to vary significantly between individual trips in real-world driving conditions. This work introduces a methodology for rapidly simulating a specific vehicle's fuel economy over the wide range of real-world conditions experienced across the country. On-road test data collected using a highly instrumented vehicle is used to refine and validate this modeling approach. Model accuracy relative to on-road data collection is relevant to the estimation of 'off-cycle credits' that compensate for real-world fuel economy benefits that are not observed during certification testing on a chassis dynamometer.

On-Road Validation of a Simplified Model for Estimating Real-World Fuel Economy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wood, Eric; Gonder, Jeffrey; Jehlik, Forrest

On-road fuel economy is known to vary significantly between individual trips in real-world driving conditions. This work introduces a methodology for rapidly simulating a specific vehicle's fuel economy over the wide range of real-world conditions experienced across the country. On-road test data collected using a highly instrumented vehicle is used to refine and validate this modeling approach. Here, model accuracy relative to on-road data collection is relevant to the estimation of 'off-cycle credits' that compensate for real-world fuel economy benefits that are not observed during certification testing on a chassis dynamometer.

On-Road Validation of a Simplified Model for Estimating Real-World Fuel Economy

DOE PAGES

Wood, Eric; Gonder, Jeffrey; Jehlik, Forrest

2017-03-28

On-road fuel economy is known to vary significantly between individual trips in real-world driving conditions. This work introduces a methodology for rapidly simulating a specific vehicle's fuel economy over the wide range of real-world conditions experienced across the country. On-road test data collected using a highly instrumented vehicle is used to refine and validate this modeling approach. Here, model accuracy relative to on-road data collection is relevant to the estimation of 'off-cycle credits' that compensate for real-world fuel economy benefits that are not observed during certification testing on a chassis dynamometer.

Mobile machine hazardous working zone warning system

DOEpatents

Schiffbauer, William H.; Ganoe, Carl W.

1999-01-01

A warning system is provided for a mobile working machine to alert an individual of a potentially dangerous condition in the event the individual strays into a hazardous working zone of the machine. The warning system includes a transmitter mounted on the machine and operable to generate a uniform magnetic field projecting beyond an outer periphery of the machine in defining a hazardous working zone around the machine during operation thereof. A receiver, carried by the individual and activated by the magnetic field, provides an alarm signal to alert the individual when he enters the hazardous working zone of the machine.

Mobile machine hazardous working zone warning system

DOEpatents

Schiffbauer, W.H.; Ganoe, C.W.

1999-08-17

A warning system is provided for a mobile working machine to alert an individual of a potentially dangerous condition in the event the individual strays into a hazardous working zone of the machine. The warning system includes a transmitter mounted on the machine and operable to generate a uniform magnetic field projecting beyond an outer periphery of the machine in defining a hazardous working zone around the machine during operation. A receiver, carried by the individual and activated by the magnetic field, provides an alarm signal to alert the individual when he enters the hazardous working zone of the machine. 3 figs.

Asphalt surface treatment practice in southeastern United States.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-07-01

It costs less to maintain roads in good condition than in poor condition. Pavement preservation is a set of : activities to extend pavement life, improve safety, and meet road user expectations. Surface treatments are : pavement preservation treatmen...

Disclaimer labels on fashion magazine advertisements: effects on social comparison and body dissatisfaction.

PubMed

Tiggemann, Marika; Slater, Amy; Bury, Belinda; Hawkins, Kimberley; Firth, Bonny

2013-01-01

Recent proposals across a number of Western countries have suggested that idealised media images should carry some sort of disclaimer informing readers when these images have been digitally enhanced. The present studies aimed to experimentally investigate the impact on women's body dissatisfaction of the addition of such warning labels to fashion magazine advertisements. Participants were 120 and 114 female undergraduate students in Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 respectively. In both experiments, participants viewed fashion magazine advertisements with either no warning label, a generic warning label, or a specific more detailed warning label. In neither experiment was there a significant effect of type of label. However, state appearance comparison was found to predict change in body dissatisfaction irrespective of condition. Unexpectedly, trait appearance comparison moderated the effect of label on body dissatisfaction, such that for women high on trait appearance comparison, exposure to specific warning labels actually resulted in increased body dissatisfaction. In sum, the present results showed no benefit of warning labels in ameliorating the known negative effect of viewing thin-ideal media images, and even suggested that one form of warning (specific) might be harmful for some individuals. Accordingly, it was concluded that more extensive research is required to guide the most effective use of disclaimer labels. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MOBLAB: a mobile laboratory for testing real-time vision-based systems in path monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cumani, Aldo; Denasi, Sandra; Grattoni, Paolo; Guiducci, Antonio; Pettiti, Giuseppe; Quaglia, Giorgio

1995-01-01

In the framework of the EUREKA PROMETHEUS European Project, a Mobile Laboratory (MOBLAB) has been equipped for studying, implementing and testing real-time algorithms which monitor the path of a vehicle moving on roads. Its goal is the evaluation of systems suitable to map the position of the vehicle within the environment where it moves, to detect obstacles, to estimate motion, to plan the path and to warn the driver about unsafe conditions. MOBLAB has been built with the financial support of the National Research Council and will be shared with teams working in the PROMETHEUS Project. It consists of a van equipped with an autonomous power supply, a real-time image processing system, workstations and PCs, B/W and color TV cameras, and TV equipment. This paper describes the laboratory outline and presents the computer vision system and the strategies that have been studied and are being developed at I.E.N. `Galileo Ferraris'. The system is based on several tasks that cooperate to integrate information gathered from different processes and sources of knowledge. Some preliminary results are presented showing the performances of the system.

Aerometrics' laser-based lane-tracker sensor: engineering and on-the-road evaluation of advanced prototypes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuler, Carlos A.; Tapos, Francis M.; Alayleh, Mehyeddine M.; Bachalo, William D.

1997-02-01

Aerometrics initiated and continues on the development an innovative laser-diode based device that provides a warning signal when a motor-vehicle deviates from the center of the lane. The device is based on a sensor that scans the roadway on either side of the vehicle and determines the lateral position relative to the existing painted lines marking the lane. The principles of operation of the sensor, and the results of Aerometrics' early testing were presented last year in this forum. This paper presents Aerometrics' continuing efforts in bringing the technology to market. New prototypes have been developed and tested. Aerometrics' engineering efforts and the use of latest technologies have resulted in a 24-fold reduction in sensor volume when compared to their predecessors and similar reductions in weight. The current prototype measures less than 9 cm X 8 cm X 7 cm, and can be easily fit within the cavity of rear-view mirror holders used in most present-day vehicles. Also, advances in signal conditioning and processing have improved the reliability of the sensor. Results of continuing testing of the sensor will be presented.

43 CFR 8341.1 - Regulations governing use.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RECREATION PROGRAMS OFF-ROAD VEHICLES Conditions of Use § 8341.1 Regulations governing use. (a) The operation of off-road vehicles is permitted on those areas and trails designated as open to off-road vehicle use. (b) Any person operating an off-road vehicle on those areas and...

36 CFR 261.12 - National Forest System roads and trails.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... by a sign. (c) Damaging and leaving in a damaged condition any such road, trail, or segment thereof... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false National Forest System roads... AGRICULTURE PROHIBITIONS General Prohibitions § 261.12 National Forest System roads and trails. The following...

30 CFR 75.1403-8 - Criteria-Track haulage roads.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Criteria-Track haulage roads. 75.1403-8 Section... Criteria—Track haulage roads. (a) The speed at which haulage equipment is operated should be determined by... the type and condition of the haulage equipment. (b) Track haulage roads should have a continuous...

30 CFR 75.1403-8 - Criteria-Track haulage roads.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Criteria-Track haulage roads. 75.1403-8 Section... Criteria—Track haulage roads. (a) The speed at which haulage equipment is operated should be determined by... the type and condition of the haulage equipment. (b) Track haulage roads should have a continuous...

36 CFR 261.12 - National Forest System roads and trails.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... by a sign. (c) Damaging and leaving in a damaged condition any such road, trail, or segment thereof... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false National Forest System roads... AGRICULTURE PROHIBITIONS General Prohibitions § 261.12 National Forest System roads and trails. The following...

30 CFR 75.1403-8 - Criteria-Track haulage roads.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Criteria-Track haulage roads. 75.1403-8 Section... Criteria—Track haulage roads. (a) The speed at which haulage equipment is operated should be determined by... the type and condition of the haulage equipment. (b) Track haulage roads should have a continuous...

30 CFR 75.1403-8 - Criteria-Track haulage roads.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Criteria-Track haulage roads. 75.1403-8 Section... Criteria—Track haulage roads. (a) The speed at which haulage equipment is operated should be determined by... the type and condition of the haulage equipment. (b) Track haulage roads should have a continuous...

36 CFR 261.12 - National Forest System roads and trails.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... by a sign. (c) Damaging and leaving in a damaged condition any such road, trail, or segment thereof... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false National Forest System roads... AGRICULTURE PROHIBITIONS General Prohibitions § 261.12 National Forest System roads and trails. The following...

36 CFR 261.12 - National Forest System roads and trails.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... by a sign. (c) Damaging and leaving in a damaged condition any such road, trail, or segment thereof... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false National Forest System roads... AGRICULTURE PROHIBITIONS General Prohibitions § 261.12 National Forest System roads and trails. The following...

30 CFR 75.1403-8 - Criteria-Track haulage roads.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Criteria-Track haulage roads. 75.1403-8 Section... Criteria—Track haulage roads. (a) The speed at which haulage equipment is operated should be determined by... the type and condition of the haulage equipment. (b) Track haulage roads should have a continuous...

36 CFR 261.12 - National Forest System roads and trails.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... by a sign. (c) Damaging and leaving in a damaged condition any such road, trail, or segment thereof... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false National Forest System roads... AGRICULTURE PROHIBITIONS General Prohibitions § 261.12 National Forest System roads and trails. The following...

Influence of warning information changes on emergency response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heisterkamp, Tobias; Ulbrich, Uwe; Glade, Thomas; Tetzlaff, Gerd

2014-05-01

Mitigation and risk reduction of natural hazards is significantly related to the possibility of predicting the actual event. Some hazards can already be forecasted several days in advance. For these hazards, early warning systems have been developed, installed and improved over the years. The formation of winter storms for example can be recognized up to one week before they pass through Central Europe. This relative long early warning time has the advantage that forecasters can concretise the warnings over time. Therefore, warnings can even be adapted to alternating conditions within the process, the observation or changes in its modelling. Emergency managers are one group of warning recipients in the civil protection sector. They have to prepare or initiate prevention or response measures at a specific point of time, depending on the required lead time of the referring actions. At this point of time already, the forecast and its equivalent warning, has to be assumed as a stage of reality, hence the decision-makers have to come to a conclusion. These decisions are based on spatial and temporal knowledge of the forecasted event and the consequential situation of risk. With incoming warning updates, the detailed status of information is permanently being alternated. Consequently, decisions can be influenced by the development of the warning situation and the inherent tendency before a certain point of time. They can also be adapted to updates later on, according to the changing 'decision reality'. The influence of these dynamic hazard situations on operational planning and response by emergency managers is investigated in case studies on winter storms for Berlin, Germany. Therefore, the issued warnings by the weather service and data of operation of Berlin Fire Brigades are analysed and compared. This presentation shows and discusses first results.

Emergency Situation Prediction Mechanism: A Novel Approach for Intelligent Transportation System Using Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

PubMed Central

Gokulakrishnan, P.

2015-01-01

In Indian four-lane express highway, millions of vehicles are travelling every day. Accidents are unfortunate and frequently occurring in these highways causing deaths, increase in death toll, and damage to infrastructure. A mechanism is required to avoid such road accidents at the maximum to reduce the death toll. An Emergency Situation Prediction Mechanism, a novel and proactive approach, is proposed in this paper for achieving the best of Intelligent Transportation System using Vehicular Ad Hoc Network. ESPM intends to predict the possibility of occurrence of an accident in an Indian four-lane express highway. In ESPM, the emergency situation prediction is done by the Road Side Unit based on (i) the Status Report sent by the vehicles in the range of RSU and (ii) the road traffic flow analysis done by the RSU. Once the emergency situation or accident is predicted in advance, an Emergency Warning Message is constructed and disseminated to all vehicles in the area of RSU to alert and prevent the vehicles from accidents. ESPM performs well in emergency situation prediction in advance to the occurrence of an accident. ESPM predicts the emergency situation within 0.20 seconds which is comparatively less than the statistical value. The prediction accuracy of ESPM against vehicle density is found better in different traffic scenarios. PMID:26065014

Risk of injurious road traffic crash after prescription of antidepressants.

PubMed

Orriols, Ludivine; Queinec, Raphaëlle; Philip, Pierre; Gadegbeku, Blandine; Delorme, Bernard; Moore, Nicholas; Suissa, Samy; Lagarde, Emmanuel

2012-08-01

To estimate the risk of road traffic crash associated with prescription of antidepressants. Data were extracted and matched from 3 French national databases: the national health care insurance database, police reports, and the national police database of injurious crashes. A case-control analysis comparing 34,896 responsible versus 37,789 nonresponsible drivers was conducted. Case-crossover analysis was performed to investigate the acute effect of medicine exposure. 72,685 drivers, identified by their national health care number, involved in an injurious crash in France from July 2005 to May 2008 were included. 2,936 drivers (4.0%) were exposed to at least 1 antidepressant on the day of the crash. The results showed a significant association between the risk of being responsible for a crash and prescription of antidepressants (odds ratio [OR] = 1.34; 95% CI, 1.22-1.47). The case-crossover analysis showed no association with treatment prescription, but the risk of road traffic crash increased after an initiation of antidepressant treatment (OR = 1.49; 95% CI, 1.24-1.79) and after a change in antidepressant treatment (OR = 1.32; 95% CI, 1.09-1.60). Patients and prescribers should be warned about the risk of crash during periods of treatment with antidepressant medication and about particularly high vulnerability periods such as those when a treatment is initiated or modified. © Copyright 2012 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

On-Board Detection of Pedestrian Intentions

PubMed Central

Fang, Zhijie; Vázquez, David

2017-01-01

Avoiding vehicle-to-pedestrian crashes is a critical requirement for nowadays advanced driver assistant systems (ADAS) and future self-driving vehicles. Accordingly, detecting pedestrians from raw sensor data has a history of more than 15 years of research, with vision playing a central role. During the last years, deep learning has boosted the accuracy of image-based pedestrian detectors. However, detection is just the first step towards answering the core question, namely is the vehicle going to crash with a pedestrian provided preventive actions are not taken? Therefore, knowing as soon as possible if a detected pedestrian has the intention of crossing the road ahead of the vehicle is essential for performing safe and comfortable maneuvers that prevent a crash. However, compared to pedestrian detection, there is relatively little literature on detecting pedestrian intentions. This paper aims to contribute along this line by presenting a new vision-based approach which analyzes the pose of a pedestrian along several frames to determine if he or she is going to enter the road or not. We present experiments showing 750 ms of anticipation for pedestrians crossing the road, which at a typical urban driving speed of 50 km/h can provide 15 additional meters (compared to a pure pedestrian detector) for vehicle automatic reactions or to warn the driver. Moreover, in contrast with state-of-the-art methods, our approach is monocular, neither requiring stereo nor optical flow information. PMID:28946632

Road structural elements temperature trends diagnostics using sensory system of own design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dudak, Juraj; Gaspar, Gabriel; Sedivy, Stefan; Pepucha, Lubomir; Florkova, Zuzana

2017-09-01

A considerable funds is spent for the roads maintenance in large areas during the winter. The road maintenance is significantly affected by the temperature change of the road structure. In remote locations may occur a situation, when it is not clear whether the sanding is actually needed because the lack of information on road conditions. In these cases, the actual road conditions are investigated by a personal inspection or by sending out a gritting vehicle. Here, however, is a risk of unnecessary trip the sanding vehicle. This situation is economically and environmentally unfavorable. The proposed system solves the problem of measuring the temperature profile of the road and the utilization of the predictive model to determine the future development trend of temperature. The system was technically designed as a set of sensors to monitor environmental values such as the temperature of the road, ambient temperature, relative air humidity, solar radiation and atmospheric pressure at the measuring point. An important part of the proposal is prediction model which based on the inputs from sensors and historical measurements can, with some probability, predict temperature trends at the measuring point. The proposed system addresses the economic and environmental aspects of winter road maintenance.

A generalised model for traffic induced road dust emissions. Model description and evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berger, Janne; Denby, Bruce

2011-07-01

This paper concerns the development and evaluation of a new and generalised road dust emission model. Most of today's road dust emission models are based on local measurements and/or contain empirical emission factors that are specific for a given road environment. In this study, a more generalised road dust emission model is presented and evaluated. We have based the emissions on road, tyre and brake wear rates and used the mass balance concept to describe the build-up of road dust on the road surface and road shoulder. The model separates the emissions into a direct part and a resuspension part, and treats the road surface and road shoulder as two different sources. We tested the model under idealized conditions as well as on two datasets in and just outside of Oslo in Norway during the studded tyre season. We found that the model reproduced the observed increase in road dust emissions directly after drying of the road surface. The time scale for the build-up of road dust on the road surface is less than an hour for medium to heavy traffic density. The model performs well for temperatures above 0 °C and less well during colder periods. Since the model does not yet include salting as an additional mass source, underestimations are evident under dry periods with temperatures around 0 °C, under which salting occurs. The model overestimates the measured PM 10 (particulate matter less than 10 μm in diameter) concentrations under heavy precipitation events since the model does not take the amount of precipitation into account. There is a strong sensitivity of the modelled emissions to the road surface conditions and the current parameterisations of the effect of precipitation, runoff and evaporation seem inadequate.

Probability effects on stimulus evaluation and response processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gehring, W. J.; Gratton, G.; Coles, M. G.; Donchin, E.

1992-01-01

This study investigated the effects of probability information on response preparation and stimulus evaluation. Eight subjects responded with one hand to the target letter H and with the other to the target letter S. The target letter was surrounded by noise letters that were either the same as or different from the target letter. In 2 conditions, the targets were preceded by a warning stimulus unrelated to the target letter. In 2 other conditions, a warning letter predicted that the same letter or the opposite letter would appear as the imperative stimulus with .80 probability. Correct reaction times were faster and error rates were lower when imperative stimuli confirmed the predictions of the warning stimulus. Probability information affected (a) the preparation of motor responses during the foreperiod, (b) the development of expectancies for a particular target letter, and (c) a process sensitive to the identities of letter stimuli but not to their locations.

Using fear appeals in warning labels to promote responsible gambling among VLT players: the key role of depth of information processing.

PubMed

Munoz, Yaromir; Chebat, Jean-Charles; Suissa, Jacob Amnon

2010-12-01

Video lottery terminals (VLT) are a highly lucrative gambling format, but at the same time they are among the most hazardous. Previous research has shown that threatening warnings may be an appropriate approach for promoting protective behavior. The present study explores the potential benefits of threatening warnings in the fight against compulsive gambling. A 4 × 2 factorial design experiment was used to test our model based on both Elaboration Likelihood Model and Protection Motivation Theory. 258 VLT adult players (58% males, 42% females) with various degrees of problem gambling were exposed to three threat levels (plus a control condition) from two different sources (i.e., either a medical source or a source related to the provider of VLT's). Our results show that both higher threat warnings and the medical source of warnings enhance Depth of Information Processing. It was also found that Depth of Information Processing affects positively attitude change and compliance intentions. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Predictability of Road Traffic and Congestion in Urban Areas

PubMed Central

Wang, Jingyuan; Mao, Yu; Li, Jing; Xiong, Zhang; Wang, Wen-Xu

2015-01-01

Mitigating traffic congestion on urban roads, with paramount importance in urban development and reduction of energy consumption and air pollution, depends on our ability to foresee road usage and traffic conditions pertaining to the collective behavior of drivers, raising a significant question: to what degree is road traffic predictable in urban areas? Here we rely on the precise records of daily vehicle mobility based on GPS positioning device installed in taxis to uncover the potential daily predictability of urban traffic patterns. Using the mapping from the degree of congestion on roads into a time series of symbols and measuring its entropy, we find a relatively high daily predictability of traffic conditions despite the absence of any priori knowledge of drivers' origins and destinations and quite different travel patterns between weekdays and weekends. Moreover, we find a counterintuitive dependence of the predictability on travel speed: the road segment associated with intermediate average travel speed is most difficult to be predicted. We also explore the possibility of recovering the traffic condition of an inaccessible segment from its adjacent segments with respect to limited observability. The highly predictable traffic patterns in spite of the heterogeneity of drivers' behaviors and the variability of their origins and destinations enables development of accurate predictive models for eventually devising practical strategies to mitigate urban road congestion. PMID:25849534

Using TerraSAR-X satellite data to detect road age and degradation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Necsoiu, Marius; Longepe, Nicolas; Parra, Jorge O.; Walter, Gary R.

2017-05-01

Analysis of satellite-acquired synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data provides a way to rapidly survey road conditions over large areas. This capability could be useful for identifying road segments that potentially require repair or at least onsite inspection of their condition due to changes in vehicular traffic associated with change in land use. We conducted a feasibility study focused on urban roads near the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) campus in San Antonio, Texas. The roads near SwRI were affected by heavy truck traffic, they were easily inspected, and the age and construction of the pavement was known. TerraSAR-X (TSX) SpotLight (ST) satellite data were used to correlate radar backscattering response to pavement age and condition. Our preliminary results indicate that TSX radar imagery can be useful for detecting changes in pavement type, damage to pavement, such as cracking and scaling, and, occasionally, severe rutting. In addition, multitemporal interferometric analysis showed patches of settlement along two roads south of the SwRI campus. Further development of an automated approach to detect degradation of roads could allow transportation departments to prioritize inspection and repair efforts. The techniques also could be used to detect surreptitious heavy truck traffic in areas where direct inspection is not possible.

Autonomous Manoeuvring Systems for Collision Avoidance on Single Carriageway Roads

PubMed Central

Jiménez, Felipe; Naranjo, José Eugenio; Gómez, Óscar

2012-01-01

The accurate perception of the surroundings of a vehicle has been the subject of study of numerous automotive researchers for many years. Although several projects in this area have been successfully completed, very few prototypes have actually been industrialized and installed in mass produced cars. This indicates that these research efforts must continue in order to improve the present systems. Moreover, the trend to include communication systems in vehicles extends the potential of these perception systems transmitting their information via wireless to other vehicles that may be affected by the surveyed environment. In this paper we present a forward collision warning system based on a laser scanner that is able to detect several potential danger situations. Decision algorithms try to determine the most convenient manoeuvre when evaluating the obstacles’ positions and speeds, road geometry, etc. Once detected, the presented system can act on the actuators of the ego-vehicle as well as transmit this information to other vehicles circulating in the same area using vehicle-to-vehicle communications. The system has been tested for overtaking manoeuvres under different scenarios and the correct actions have been performed. PMID:23443391

Autonomous manoeuvring systems for collision avoidance on single carriageway roads.

PubMed

Jiménez, Felipe; Naranjo, José Eugenio; Gómez, Oscar

2012-11-29

The accurate perception of the surroundings of a vehicle has been the subject of study of numerous automotive researchers for many years. Although several projects in this area have been successfully completed, very few prototypes have actually been industrialized and installed in mass produced cars. This indicates that these research efforts must continue in order to improve the present systems. Moreover, the trend to include communication systems in vehicles extends the potential of these perception systems transmitting their information via wireless to other vehicles that may be affected by the surveyed environment. In this paper we present a forward collision warning system based on a laser scanner that is able to detect several potential danger situations. Decision algorithms try to determine the most convenient manoeuvre when evaluating the obstacles' positions and speeds, road geometry, etc. Once detected, the presented system can act on the actuators of the ego-vehicle as well as transmit this information to other vehicles circulating in the same area using vehicle-to-vehicle communications. The system has been tested for overtaking manoeuvres under different scenarios and the correct actions have been performed.

A numerical forecast model for road meteorology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Chunlei

2017-05-01

A fine-scale numerical model for road surface parameters prediction (BJ-ROME) is developed based on the Common Land Model. The model is validated using in situ observation data measured by the ROSA road weather stations of Vaisala Company, Finland. BJ-ROME not only takes into account road surface factors, such as imperviousness, relatively low albedo, high heat capacity, and high heat conductivity, but also considers the influence of urban anthropogenic heat, impervious surface evaporation, and urban land-use/land-cover changes. The forecast time span and the update interval of BJ-ROME in vocational operation are 24 and 3 h, respectively. The validation results indicate that BJ-ROME can successfully simulate the diurnal variation of road surface temperature both under clear-sky and rainfall conditions. BJ-ROME can simulate road water and snow depth well if the artificial removing was considered. Road surface energy balance in rainy days is quite different from that in clear-sky conditions. Road evaporation could not be neglected in road surface water cycle research. The results of sensitivity analysis show solar radiation correction coefficient, asphalt depth, and asphalt heat conductivity are important parameters in road interface temperatures simulation. The prediction results could be used as a reference of maintenance decision support system to mitigate the traffic jam and urban water logging especially in large cities.

Soil geohazard mapping for improved asset management of UK local roads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pritchard, O. G.; Hallett, S. H.; Farewell, T. S.

2015-09-01

Unclassified roads comprise 60 % of the road network in the United Kingdom (UK). The resilience of this locally important network is declining. It is considered by the Institution of Civil Engineers to be "at risk" and is ranked 26th in the world. Many factors contribute to the degradation and ultimate failure of particular road sections. However, several UK local authorities have identified that in drought conditions, road sections founded upon shrink-swell susceptible clay soils undergo significant deterioration compared with sections on non-susceptible soils. This arises from the local road network having little, if any, structural foundations. Consequently, droughts in East Anglia have resulted in millions of pounds of damage, leading authorities to seek emergency governmental funding. This paper assesses the use of soil-related geohazard assessments in providing soil-informed maintenance strategies for the asset management of the locally important road network of the UK. A case study draws upon the UK administrative county of Lincolnshire, where road assessment data have been analysed against mapped clay-subsidence risk. This reveals a statistically significant relationship between road condition and susceptible clay soils. Furthermore, incorporation of UKCP09 future climate projections within the geohazard models has highlighted roads likely to be at future risk of clay-related subsidence.

Soil geohazard mapping for improved asset management of UK local roads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pritchard, O. G.; Hallett, S. H.; Farewell, T. S.

2015-05-01

Unclassified roads comprise 60% of the road network in the United Kingdom (UK). The resilience of this locally important network is declining. It is considered by the Institution of Civil Engineers to be "at risk" and is ranked 26th in the world. Many factors contribute to the degradation and ultimate failure of particular road sections. However, several UK local authorities have identified that in drought conditions, road sections founded upon shrink/swell susceptible clay soils undergo significant deterioration compared with sections on non-susceptible soils. This arises from the local road network having little, if any structural foundations. Consequently, droughts in East Anglia have resulted in millions of pounds of damage, leading authorities to seek emergency governmental funding. This paper assesses the use of soil-related geohazard assessments in providing soil-informed maintenance strategies for the asset management of the locally important road network of the UK. A case study draws upon the UK administrative county of Lincolnshire, where road assessment data have been analysed against mapped clay-subsidence risk. This reveals a statistically significant relationship between road condition and susceptible clay soils. Furthermore, incorporation of UKCP09 future climate projections within the geohazard models has highlighted roads likely to be at future risk of clay-related subsidence.

Testing and Evaluation of Preliminary Design Guidelines for Disseminating Road Weather Advisory & Control Information

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-06-01

The tremendous growth in the amount of available weather and road condition informationincluding devices that gather weather information, models and forecasting tools for predicting weather conditions, and electronic devices used by travelersha...

Integrated Modeling for Road Condition Prediction (IMRCP)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2018-01-17

Intelligent transportation system deployments have enabled great advances in operational awareness and response based on the data they gather on the current state of the roadways. The next step in decision support is to forecast road conditions and b...

Alcohol Warning Label Awareness and Attention: A Multi-method Study.

PubMed

Pham, Cuong; Rundle-Thiele, Sharyn; Parkinson, Joy; Li, Shanshi

2018-01-01

Evaluation of alcohol warning labels requires careful consideration ensuring that research captures more than awareness given that labels may not be prominent enough to attract attention. This study investigates attention of current in market alcohol warning labels and examines whether attention can be enhanced through theoretically informed design. Attention scores obtained through self-report methods are compared to objective measures (eye-tracking). A multi-method experimental design was used delivering four conditions, namely control, colour, size and colour and size. The first study (n = 559) involved a self-report survey to measure attention. The second study (n = 87) utilized eye-tracking to measure fixation count and duration and time to first fixation. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was utilized. Eye-tracking identified that 60% of participants looked at the current in market alcohol warning label while 81% looked at the optimized design (larger and red). In line with observed attention self-reported attention increased for the optimized design. The current study casts doubt on dominant practices (largely self-report), which have been used to evaluate alcohol warning labels. Awareness cannot be used to assess warning label effectiveness in isolation in cases where attention does not occur 100% of the time. Mixed methods permit objective data collection methodologies to be triangulated with surveys to assess warning label effectiveness. Attention should be incorporated as a measure in warning label effectiveness evaluations. Colour and size changes to the existing Australian warning labels aided by theoretically informed design increased attention. © The Author 2017. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Pavement condition assessment to forecast maintenance program on JKR state roads in Petaling district

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamsan, R.; Hafiz, H.; Azlan, A.; Keprawi, M. F.; Malik, A. K. A.; Adamuddin, A.; Abdullah, A. H.; Shafie, A. M.

2018-02-01

This research allows local authorities to project road maintenance in term of activities and financial expenditure through pavement condition assessment and then Highway Development and Management (HDM-4) analysis. Current form of road maintenance carried out by local authority is on reactive manner where corrective actions were taken based on reports recorded. Some went unrecorded hence causing prolonged damages. This causes the local authority unable to project the required cost to maintain the roads. This affects the socio-economy of the surrounding routes. Hence, it is seen, as preventive maintenance of the roads will provide more feasible option in term of work force and finance to the local authority. To overcome this issue, a preventive model was introduced. This was done through pavement condition assessment (PCA) where analysis was done through HDM-4. Nondestructive test and destructive test were conducted in order to provide an indicator to the road's health. This were then analyzed in HDM-4 where the result was benchmarked with maintenance standard. The scope of this research is set to PCA where DT and NDT were performed on the routes of Petaling and the output is analyzed in HDM-4. The result of this research provides a 10 years forecast maintenance budget in maintaining the roads in Petaling. This allows the local authority to perform good practice in term of maintaining the roads while at the same time helps them in forecasting their budget for the upcoming years. This research will have a strong impact on the local socio-economy as well as local road user confidence towards the authority over good practices. This research can be further expanded to other type of roads as well as highway bridges.

Designing informative warning signals: Effects of indicator type, modality, and task demand on recognition speed and accuracy

PubMed Central

Stevens, Catherine J.; Brennan, David; Petocz, Agnes; Howell, Clare

2009-01-01

An experiment investigated the assumption that natural indicators which exploit existing learned associations between a signal and an event make more effective warnings than previously unlearned symbolic indicators. Signal modality (visual, auditory) and task demand (low, high) were also manipulated. Warning effectiveness was indexed by accuracy and reaction time (RT) recorded during training and dual task test phases. Thirty-six participants were trained to recognize 4 natural and 4 symbolic indicators, either visual or auditory, paired with critical incidents from an aviation context. As hypothesized, accuracy was greater and RT was faster in response to natural indicators during the training phase. This pattern of responding was upheld in test phase conditions with respect to accuracy but observed in RT only in test phase conditions involving high demand and the auditory modality. Using the experiment as a specific example, we argue for the importance of considering the cognitive contribution of the user (viz., prior learned associations) in the warning design process. Drawing on semiotics and cognitive psychology, we highlight the indexical nature of so-called auditory icons or natural indicators and argue that the cogniser is an indispensable element in the tripartite nature of signification. PMID:20523852

How long do the dead survive on the road? Carcass persistence probability and implications for road-kill monitoring surveys.

PubMed

Santos, Sara M; Carvalho, Filipe; Mira, António

2011-01-01

Road mortality is probably the best-known and visible impact of roads upon wildlife. Although several factors influence road-kill counts, carcass persistence time is considered the most important determinant underlying underestimates of road mortality. The present study aims to describe and model carcass persistence variability on the road for different taxonomic groups under different environmental conditions throughout the year; and also to assess the effect of sampling frequency on the relative variation in road-kill estimates registered within a survey. Daily surveys of road-killed vertebrates were conducted over one year along four road sections with different traffic volumes. Survival analysis was then used to i) describe carcass persistence timings for overall and for specific animal groups; ii) assess optimal sampling designs according to research objectives; and iii) model the influence of road, animal and weather factors on carcass persistence probabilities. Most animal carcasses persisted on the road for the first day only, with some groups disappearing at very high rates. The advisable periodicity of road monitoring that minimizes bias in road mortality estimates is daily monitoring for bats (in the morning) and lizards (in the afternoon), daily monitoring for toads, small birds, small mammals, snakes, salamanders, and lagomorphs; 1 day-interval (alternate days) for large birds, birds of prey, hedgehogs, and freshwater turtles; and 2 day-interval for carnivores. Multiple factors influenced the persistence probabilities of vertebrate carcasses on the road. Overall, the persistence was much lower for small animals, on roads with lower traffic volumes, for carcasses located on road lanes, and during humid conditions and high temperatures during the wet season and dry seasons, respectively. The guidance given here on monitoring frequencies is particularly relevant to provide conservation and transportation agencies with accurate numbers of road-kills, realistic mitigation measures, and detailed designs for road monitoring programs.

How Long Do the Dead Survive on the Road? Carcass Persistence Probability and Implications for Road-Kill Monitoring Surveys

PubMed Central

Santos, Sara M.; Carvalho, Filipe; Mira, António

2011-01-01

Background Road mortality is probably the best-known and visible impact of roads upon wildlife. Although several factors influence road-kill counts, carcass persistence time is considered the most important determinant underlying underestimates of road mortality. The present study aims to describe and model carcass persistence variability on the road for different taxonomic groups under different environmental conditions throughout the year; and also to assess the effect of sampling frequency on the relative variation in road-kill estimates registered within a survey. Methodology/Principal Findings Daily surveys of road-killed vertebrates were conducted over one year along four road sections with different traffic volumes. Survival analysis was then used to i) describe carcass persistence timings for overall and for specific animal groups; ii) assess optimal sampling designs according to research objectives; and iii) model the influence of road, animal and weather factors on carcass persistence probabilities. Most animal carcasses persisted on the road for the first day only, with some groups disappearing at very high rates. The advisable periodicity of road monitoring that minimizes bias in road mortality estimates is daily monitoring for bats (in the morning) and lizards (in the afternoon), daily monitoring for toads, small birds, small mammals, snakes, salamanders, and lagomorphs; 1 day-interval (alternate days) for large birds, birds of prey, hedgehogs, and freshwater turtles; and 2 day-interval for carnivores. Multiple factors influenced the persistence probabilities of vertebrate carcasses on the road. Overall, the persistence was much lower for small animals, on roads with lower traffic volumes, for carcasses located on road lanes, and during humid conditions and high temperatures during the wet season and dry seasons, respectively. Conclusion/Significance The guidance given here on monitoring frequencies is particularly relevant to provide conservation and transportation agencies with accurate numbers of road-kills, realistic mitigation measures, and detailed designs for road monitoring programs. PMID:21980437

Road Extraction from AVIRIS Using Spectral Mixture and Q-Tree Filter Techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Margaret E.; Roberts, Dar A.; Funk, Chris; Noronha, Val

2001-01-01

Accurate road location and condition information are of primary importance in road infrastructure management. Additionally, spatially accurate and up-to-date road networks are essential in ambulance and rescue dispatch in emergency situations. However, accurate road infrastructure databases do not exist for vast areas, particularly in areas with rapid expansion. Currently, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) extends great effort in field Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping and condition assessment to meet these informational needs. This methodology, though effective, is both time-consuming and costly, because every road within a DOT's jurisdiction must be field-visited to obtain accurate information. Therefore, the USDOT is interested in identifying new technologies that could help meet road infrastructure informational needs more effectively. Remote sensing provides one means by which large areas may be mapped with a high standard of accuracy and is a technology with great potential in infrastructure mapping. The goal of our research is to develop accurate road extraction techniques using high spatial resolution, fine spectral resolution imagery. Additionally, our research will explore the use of hyperspectral data in assessing road quality. Finally, this research aims to define the spatial and spectral requirements for remote sensing data to be used successfully for road feature extraction and road quality mapping. Our findings will facilitate the USDOT in assessing remote sensing as a new resource in infrastructure studies.

Estimation of Road Friction Coefficient in Different Road Conditions Based on Vehicle Braking Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, You-Qun; Li, Hai-Qing; Lin, Fen; Wang, Jian; Ji, Xue-Wu

2017-07-01

The accurate estimation of road friction coefficient in the active safety control system has become increasingly prominent. Most previous studies on road friction estimation have only used vehicle longitudinal or lateral dynamics and often ignored the load transfer, which tends to cause inaccurate of the actual road friction coefficient. A novel method considering load transfer of front and rear axles is proposed to estimate road friction coefficient based on braking dynamic model of two-wheeled vehicle. Sliding mode control technique is used to build the ideal braking torque controller, which control target is to control the actual wheel slip ratio of front and rear wheels tracking the ideal wheel slip ratio. In order to eliminate the chattering problem of the sliding mode controller, integral switching surface is used to design the sliding mode surface. A second order linear extended state observer is designed to observe road friction coefficient based on wheel speed and braking torque of front and rear wheels. The proposed road friction coefficient estimation schemes are evaluated by simulation in ADAMS/Car. The results show that the estimated values can well agree with the actual values in different road conditions. The observer can estimate road friction coefficient exactly in real-time and resist external disturbance. The proposed research provides a novel method to estimate road friction coefficient with strong robustness and more accurate.

A fMRI study on the impact of advertising for flavored e-cigarettes on susceptible college-age youth*

PubMed Central

Garrison, Kathleen A.; O'Malley, Stephanie S.; Gueorguieva, Ralitza; Krishnan-Sarin, Suchitra

2018-01-01

Background E-cigarettes are sold in flavors such as “Skittles,” “strawberrylicious,” and “juicy fruit,” and no restrictions are in place on marketing e-cigarettes to youth. Sweets/fruits depicted in e-cigarette advertisements may increase their appeal to youth and interfere with health warnings. This study tested a brain biomarker of product preference for sweet/fruit versus tobacco flavor e-cigarettes, and whether advertising for flavors interfered with warning labels. Methods Participants (N=26) were college-age youth who had tried an e-cigarette and were susceptible to future e-cigarette use. They viewed advertisements in fMRI for sweet/fruit and tobacco flavor e-cigarettes, menthol and regular cigarettes, and control images of fruits/sweets/mints with no tobacco product. Cue-reactivity was measured in the nucleus accumbens, a brain biomarker of product preference. Advertisements randomly contained warning labels, and recognition of health warnings was tested post-scan. Visual attention was measured using eye-tracking. Results There was a significant effect of e-cigarette condition (sweet/tobacco/control) on nucleus accumbens activity, that was not found for cigarette condition (menthol/regular/control). Nucleus accumbens activity was greater for sweet/fruit versus tobacco flavor e-cigarette advertisements and did not differ compared with control images of sweets and fruits. Greater nucleus accumbens activity was correlated with poorer memory for health warnings. Conclusions These and exploratory eye-tracking findings suggest that advertising for sweet/fruit flavors may increase positive associations with e-cigarettes and/or override negative associations with tobacco, and interfere with health warnings, suggesting that one way to reduce the appeal of e-cigarettes to youth and educate youth about e-cigarette health risks is to regulate advertising for flavors. PMID:29626776

A fMRI study on the impact of advertising for flavored e-cigarettes on susceptible young adults.

PubMed

Garrison, Kathleen A; O'Malley, Stephanie S; Gueorguieva, Ralitza; Krishnan-Sarin, Suchitra

2018-05-01

E-cigarettes are sold in flavors such as "skittles," "strawberrylicious," and "juicy fruit," and no restrictions are in place on marketing e-cigarettes to youth. Sweets/fruits depicted in e-cigarette advertisements may increase their appeal to youth and interfere with health warnings. This study tested a brain biomarker of product preference for sweet/fruit versus tobacco flavor e-cigarettes, and whether advertising for flavors interfered with warning labels. Participants (N = 26) were college-age young adults who had tried an e-cigarette and were susceptible to future e-cigarette use. They viewed advertisements in fMRI for sweet/fruit and tobacco flavor e-cigarettes, menthol and regular cigarettes, and control images of sweets/fruits/mints with no tobacco product. Cue-reactivity was measured in the nucleus accumbens, a brain biomarker of product preference. Advertisements randomly contained warning labels, and recognition of health warnings was tested post-scan. Visual attention was measured using eye-tracking. There was a significant effect of e-cigarette condition (sweet/tobacco/control) on nucleus accumbens activity, that was not found for cigarette condition (menthol/regular/control). Nucleus accumbens activity was greater for sweet/fruit versus tobacco flavor e-cigarette advertisements and did not differ compared with control images of sweets and fruits. Greater nucleus accumbens activity was correlated with poorer memory for health warnings. These and exploratory eye-tracking findings suggest that advertising for sweet/fruit flavors may increase positive associations with e-cigarettes and/or override negative associations with tobacco, and interfere with health warnings, suggesting that one way to reduce the appeal of e-cigarettes to youth and educate youth about e-cigarette health risks is to regulate advertising for flavors. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Systems and Sensors for Debris-flow Monitoring and Warning

PubMed Central

Arattano, Massimo; Marchi, Lorenzo

2008-01-01

Debris flows are a type of mass movement that occurs in mountain torrents. They consist of a high concentration of solid material in water that flows as a wave with a steep front. Debris flows can be considered a phenomenon intermediate between landslides and water floods. They are amongst the most hazardous natural processes in mountainous regions and may occur under different climatic conditions. Their destructiveness is due to different factors: their capability of transporting and depositing huge amounts of solid materials, which may also reach large sizes (boulders of several cubic meters are commonly transported by debris flows), their steep fronts, which may reach several meters of height and also their high velocities. The implementation of both structural and non-structural control measures is often required when debris flows endanger routes, urban areas and other infrastructures. Sensor networks for debris-flow monitoring and warning play an important role amongst non-structural measures intended to reduce debris-flow risk. In particular, debris flow warning systems can be subdivided into two main classes: advance warning and event warning systems. These two classes employ different types of sensors. Advance warning systems are based on monitoring causative hydrometeorological processes (typically rainfall) and aim to issue a warning before a possible debris flow is triggered. Event warning systems are based on detecting debris flows when these processes are in progress. They have a much smaller lead time than advance warning ones but are also less prone to false alarms. Advance warning for debris flows employs sensors and techniques typical of meteorology and hydrology, including measuring rainfall by means of rain gauges and weather radar and monitoring water discharge in headwater streams. Event warning systems use different types of sensors, encompassing ultrasonic or radar gauges, ground vibration sensors, videocameras, avalanche pendulums, photocells, trip wires etc. Event warning systems for debris flows have a strong linkage with debris-flow monitoring that is carried out for research purposes: the same sensors are often used for both monitoring and warning, although warning systems have higher requirements of robustness than monitoring systems. The paper presents a description of the sensors employed for debris-flow monitoring and event warning systems, with attention given to advantages and drawbacks of different types of sensors. PMID:27879828

Crash avoidance potential of four large truck technologies.

PubMed

Jermakian, Jessica S

2012-11-01

The objective of this paper was to estimate the maximum potential large truck crash reductions in the United States associated with each of four crash avoidance technologies: side view assist, forward collision warning/mitigation, lane departure warning/prevention, and vehicle stability control. Estimates accounted for limitations of current systems. Crash records were extracted from the 2004-08 files of the National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System (NASS GES) and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Crash descriptors such as location of damage on the vehicle, road characteristics, time of day, and precrash maneuvers were reviewed to determine whether the information or action provided by each technology potentially could have prevented the crash. Of the four technologies, side view assist had the greatest potential for preventing large truck crashes of any severity; the technology is potentially applicable to 39,000 crashes in the United States each year, including 2000 serious and moderate injury crashes and 79 fatal crashes. Vehicle stability control is another promising technology, with the potential to prevent or mitigate up to 31,000 crashes per year including more serious crashes--up to 7000 moderate-to-serious injury crashes and 439 fatal crashes per year. Vehicle stability control could prevent or mitigate up to 20 and 11 percent of moderate-to-serious injury and fatal large truck crashes, respectively. Forward collision warning has the potential to prevent as many as 31,000 crashes per year, including 3000 serious and moderate injury crashes and 115 fatal crashes. Finally, 10,000 large truck crashes annually were relevant to lane departure warning/prevention systems. Of these, 1000 involved serious and moderate injuries and 247 involved fatal injuries. There is great potential effectiveness for truck-based crash avoidance systems. However, it is yet to be determined how drivers will interact with the systems. Actual effectiveness of crash avoidance systems will not be known until sufficient real-world experience has been gained. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Forecasts, warnings and social response to flash floods: Is temporality a major problem? The case of the September 2005 flash flood in the Gard region (France)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lutoff, C.; Anquetin, S.; Ruin, I.; Chassande, M.

2009-09-01

Flash floods are complex phenomena. The atmospheric and hydrological generating mechanisms of the phenomenon are not completely understood, leading to highly uncertain forecasts of and warnings for these events. On the other hand warning and crisis response to such violent and fast events is not a straightforward process. In both the social and physical aspect of the problem, space and time scales involved either in hydrometeorology, human behavior and social organizations sciences are of crucial importance. Forecasters, emergency managers, mayors, school superintendents, school transportation managers, first responders and road users, all have different time and space frameworks that they use to take emergency decision for themselves, their group or community. The integration of space and time scales of both the phenomenon and human activities is therefore a necessity to better deal with questions as forecasting lead-time and warning efficiency. The aim of this oral presentation is to focus on the spatio-temporal aspects of flash floods to improve our understanding of the event dynamic compared to the different scales of the social response. The authors propose a framework of analysis to compare the temporality of: i) the forecasts (from Méteo-France and from EFAS (Thielen et al., 2008)), ii) the meteorological and hydrological parameters, iii) the social response at different scales. The September 2005 event is particularly interesting for such analysis. The rainfall episode lasted nearly a week with two distinct phases separated by low intensity precipitations. Therefore the Méteo-France vigilance bulletin where somehow disconnected from the local flood’s impacts. Our analysis focuses on the timings of different types of local response, including the delicate issue of school transportation, in regard to the forecasts and the actual dynamic of the event.

25 CFR 247.20 - What are the road and trail prohibitions?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What are the road and trail prohibitions? 247.20 Section... RIVER TREATY FISHING ACCESS SITES § 247.20 What are the road and trail prohibitions? (a) You cannot damage or leave in a damaged condition any road, trail, or segment thereof. (b) You cannot block...

Science You Can Use Bulletin: Road scholars for the western states: Protecting natural areas by improving road management research

Treesearch

Brian Cooke; Charlie Luce; Tom Black; David Tarboton

2016-01-01

A poorly placed or unsuitably designed road can result in landslides, flooding, gullies, stream damage, and wildlife habitat destruction. Particularly in natural areas, benefits of roads, such as accessibility and convenience, must be weighed against potential water quality degradation, scenic and wildlife habitat destruction, and hazardous driving conditions...

Simplified methods for evaluating road prism stability

Treesearch

William J. Elliot; Mark Ballerini; David Hall

2003-01-01

Mass failure is one of the most common failures of low-volume roads in mountainous terrain. Current methods for evaluating stability of these roads require a geotechnical specialist. A stability analysis program, XSTABL, was used to estimate the stability of 3,696 combinations of road geometry, soil, and groundwater conditions. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to...

Road Weather Management Program : connected vehicle-infrastructure research. Final Report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-04-30

This report provides insight into how existing vehicle sensor data (e.g., location, heading, road surface and atmospheric conditions) can be utilized by the CVI environment to support transportation safety through road-weather applications. Of specia...

Novel Straight Road Driving Control of Power Assisted Wheelchair Based on Disturbance Estimation of Right and Left Wheels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seki, Hirokazu; Sugimoto, Takeaki; Tadakuma, Susumu

This paper describes a novel straight road driving control scheme of power assisted wheelchair. Power assisted wheelchair which assists the driving force by electric motors is expected to be widely used as a mobility support system for elderly people and disabled people. The straight driving can be prevented by the road conditions such as branches, grass and carpets because the right and left wheels drive independently. This paper proposes a straight road driving control system based on the disturbance torque estimation. The proposed system estimates the difference of the driving torque by disturbance torque observer and compensates to one side of the wheels. Some practical driving experiments on various road conditions show the effectiveness of the proposed control system.

Comprehensive tire-road friction coefficient estimation based on signal fusion method under complex maneuvering operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, L.; Yang, K.; Jia, G.; Ran, X.; Song, J.; Han, Z.-Q.

2015-05-01

The accurate estimation of the tire-road friction coefficient plays a significant role in the vehicle dynamics control. The estimation method should be timely and reliable for the controlling requirements, which means the contact friction characteristics between the tire and the road should be recognized before the interference to ensure the safety of the driver and passengers from drifting and losing control. In addition, the estimation method should be stable and feasible for complex maneuvering operations to guarantee the control performance as well. A signal fusion method combining the available signals to estimate the road friction is suggested in this paper on the basis of the estimated ones of braking, driving and steering conditions individually. Through the input characteristics and the states of the vehicle and tires from sensors the maneuvering condition may be recognized, by which the certainty factors of the friction of the three conditions mentioned above may be obtained correspondingly, and then the comprehensive road friction may be calculated. Experimental vehicle tests validate the effectiveness of the proposed method through complex maneuvering operations; the estimated road friction coefficient based on the signal fusion method is relatively timely and accurate to satisfy the control demands.

Food product health warnings promote dietary self-control through reductions in neural signals indexing food cue reactivity.

PubMed

Rosenblatt, Daniel H; Summerell, Patrick; Ng, Alyssa; Dixon, Helen; Murawski, Carsten; Wakefield, Melanie; Bode, Stefan

2018-01-01

Modern societies are replete with palatable food cues. A growing body of evidence suggests that food cue exposure activates conditioned appetitive physiological and psychological responses that may override current metabolic needs and existing eating goals, such as the desire to maintain a healthy diet. This conditioned response results in unhealthy dietary choices and is a contributing factor in the current obesity epidemic. Prime based obesity prevention measures such as health warnings at point-of-sale or on product packaging may have the potential to counteract the influence of the obesogenic environment at the crucial moment when people make food purchasing or consumption decisions. Existing research into the efficacy of these intervention strategies has predominantly employed self-report and population level measures, and little evidence exists to support the contention that these measures counteract food cue reactivity at the time of decision making. Using a dietary self-control priming paradigm, we demonstrated that brief exposure to food product health warnings enhanced dietary self-control. Further, we analysed electroencephalographic correlates of selective attention and food cue evoked craving (N1, P3, LPP) to show that health warning exposure reduced the automatic appetitive response towards palatable food cues. These findings contribute to existing evidence that exogenous information can successfully prime latent goals, and substantiate the notion that food product health warnings may provide a new avenue through which to curb excessive energy intake and reduce rising obesity rates.

Feedback interventions and driving speed: A parametric and comparative analysis

PubMed Central

Houten, Ron Van; Nau, Paul A.

1983-01-01

Five experiments were conducted to assess the effects of several variables on the efficacy of feedback in reducing driving speed. Experiment 1 systematically varied the criterion used to define speeding, and results showed that the use of a lenient criterion (20 km/hr over the speed limit), which allowed for the posting of high percentages of drivers not speeding, was more effective in reducing speeding than the use of a stringent criterion (10 km/hr over the speed limit). In Experiment 2 an analysis revealed that posting feedback reduced speeding on a limited access highway and the effects persisted to some degree up to 6 km. Experiments 3 and 4 compared the effectiveness of an unmanned parked police vehicle (Experiment 3) and a police air patrol speeding program (Experiment 4) with the feedback sign and determined whether the presence of either of these enforcement variables could potentiate the efficacy of the sign. The results of both experiments demonstrated that although the two enforcement programs initially produced larger effects than the feedback sign, the magnitude of their effect attenuated over time. Experiment 5 compared the effectiveness of a traditional enforcement program with a warning program which included handing out a flier providing feedback on the number and types of accidents occuring on the road during the past year. This experiment demonstrated that the warning program produced a marked reduction in speeding and the traditional enforcement program did not. Furthermore, the warning program and a feedback sign together produced an even greater reduction in speeding than either alone. PMID:16795666

Research on intelligent scenic security early warning platform based on high resolution image: real scene linkage and real-time LBS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Baishou; Huang, Yu; Lan, Guangquan; Li, Tingting; Lu, Ting; Yao, Mingxing; Luo, Yuandan; Li, Boxiang; Qian, Yongyou; Gao, Yujiu

2015-12-01

This paper design and implement security monitor system within a scenic spot for tourists, the scenic spot staff can be automatic real time for visitors to perception and monitoring, and visitors can also know about themselves location in the scenic, real-time and obtain the 3D imaging conditions of scenic area. Through early warning can realize "parent-child relation", preventing the old man and child lost and wandering. Research results to the further development of virtual reality to provide effective security early warning platform of the theoretical basis and practical reference.

Perceptions and Expected Immediate Reactions to Severe Storm Displays.

PubMed

Jon, Ihnji; Huang, Shih-Kai; Lindell, Michael K

2017-11-09

The National Weather Service has adopted warning polygons that more specifically indicate the risk area than its previous county-wide warnings. However, these polygons are not defined in terms of numerical strike probabilities (p s ). To better understand people's interpretations of warning polygons, 167 participants were shown 23 hypothetical scenarios in one of three information conditions-polygon-only (Condition A), polygon + tornadic storm cell (Condition B), and polygon + tornadic storm cell + flanking nontornadic storm cells (Condition C). Participants judged each polygon's p s and reported the likelihood of taking nine different response actions. The polygon-only condition replicated the results of previous studies; p s was highest at the polygon's centroid and declined in all directions from there. The two conditions displaying storm cells differed from the polygon-only condition only in having p s just as high at the polygon's edge nearest the storm cell as at its centroid. Overall, p s values were positively correlated with expectations of continuing normal activities, seeking information from social sources, seeking shelter, and evacuating by car. These results indicate that participants make more appropriate p s judgments when polygons are presented in their natural context of radar displays than when they are presented in isolation. However, the fact that p s judgments had moderately positive correlations with both sheltering (a generally appropriate response) and evacuation (a generally inappropriate response) suggests that experiment participants experience the same ambivalence about these two protective actions as people threatened by actual tornadoes. © 2017 Society for Risk Analysis.

Vehicular road influence areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huertas, María E.; Huertas, José I.; Valencia, Alexander

2017-02-01

Vehicle operation over paved and unpaved roads is an emission source that significantly contributes to air pollution. Emissions are derived from vehicle exhaust pipes and re-suspension of particulate matter generated by wind erosion and tire to road surface interactions. Environmental authorities require a methodology to evaluate road impact areas, which enable managers to initiate counter-measures, particularly under circumstances where historic meteorological and/or air quality data is unavailable. The present study describes an analytical and experimental work developed to establish a simplified methodology to estimate the area influenced by vehicular roads. AERMOD was chosen to model pollutant dispersion generated by two roads of common attributes (straight road over flat terrain) under the effects of several arbitrary chosen weather conditions. The resulting pollutant concentration vs. Distance curves collapsed into a single curve when concentration and distance were expressed as dimensionless numbers and this curve can be described by a beta distribution function. This result implied that average concentration at a given distance was proportional to emission intensity and that it showed minor sensitivity to meteorological conditions. Therefore, road influence was defined by the area adjacent to the road limited by distance at which the beta distribution function equaled the limiting value specified by the national air quality standard for the pollutant under consideration.

Slippery Road Conditions and Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes in the Northeastern United States, 1998–2002

PubMed Central

Marmor, Michael; Marmor, Nicholas E.

2006-01-01

Objectives. We investigated risk factors for fatal motor vehicle crashes on slippery roads in the Northeastern United States, 1998–2002. Methods. We analyzed data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Results. Rates of crashes on slippery roads, and ratios of crashes on slippery roads to crashes on dry roads, were greatest among the youngest drivers. Among those aged 16 to 19 years, logistic regression analysis showed significant, independent risks associated with excessive speed for conditions (odds ratio [OR]=1.38), time of day (OR=1.80 for 5:00 to 9:00 am vs 10:00 am to 2:00 pm), time of year (OR=6.17 for January vs July), type of road (OR=1.27 for rural vs urban roads ), and age (OR=1.19 for those aged 16 to 17 years vs those aged 18 to 19 years). Licensure from states with graduated licensing programs was protective against crashes attributed to swerving on slippery roads (adjusted OR = 0.63). Risk factors among drivers older than 19 years were similar but peaked at different times of day and included increased risks for women compared with men. Conclusions. Driver training programs need to better address hazards presented by slippery roads. PMID:16507735

Erosion on logging roads in northwestern California: How much is avoidable?

Treesearch

John D. McCashion; Raymond M. Rice

1983-01-01

Abstract - A study was made on 344 miles of logging roads in northwestern California to assess sources of erosion and the extent to which road-related erosion is avoidable. At most, about 24 percent of the erosion measured on the logging roads could have been prevented by conventional engineering methods. The remaining 76 percent was caused by site conditions and...

Willingness to use mobile application for smartphone for improving road safety.

PubMed

Cardamone, Angelo Stephen; Eboli, Laura; Forciniti, Carmen; Mazzulla, Gabriella

2016-01-01

In the last few years mobile devices have reached a large amount of consumers in both developed and high-growth world economies. In 2013, 97% of the Italian population owns a mobile phone, and 62% owns a smartphone. Application software for mobile devices is largely proposed to consumers, and several mobile applications were oriented toward the improvement of road safety and road accident risk reduction. In this paper, we describe the results of a survey oriented to preventively investigate on the willingness to receive and/or to give information about road condition by means of mobile devices. Road users were informed about the characteristics of a mobile application, and then they were invited to complete a questionnaire. Experimental data were used for capturing road user attitudes toward the use of the smartphone to improve road safety, and to establish the preferences for the different features of the proposed mobile application. To this end, we choose to use the ordered probit model methodology. We demonstrate that the adopted methodology accounts for the differential impacts of the willingness to receive and/or to give information about road conditions on the overall willingness to receive and/or to give information through an application software for mobile devices.

Can nutritional information modify purchase of ultra-processed products? Results from a simulated online shopping experiment.

PubMed

Machín, Leandro; Arrúa, Alejandra; Giménez, Ana; Curutchet, María Rosa; Martínez, Joseline; Ares, Gastón

2018-01-01

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the influence of two front-of-pack nutrition information schemes (traffic-light system and Chilean warning system) on consumer purchase of ultra-processed foods in a simulated online grocery store. Following a between-subjects design, participants completed a simulated weekly food purchase in an online grocery store under one of three experimental conditions: (i) a control condition with no nutrition information, (ii) a traffic-light system and (iii) the Chilean warning system. Information about energy (calories), sugar, saturated fats and salt content was included in the nutrition information schemes. Participants were recruited from a consumer database and a Facebook advertisement. People from Montevideo (Uruguay), aged 18-77 years (n 437; 75 % female), participated in the study. All participants were in charge of food purchase in the household, at least occasionally. No significant differences between experimental conditions were found in the mean share of ultra-processed foods purchased by participants, both in terms of number of products and expenditure, or in the mean energy, sugar, saturated fat and salt content of the purchased items. However, the Chilean warning system decreased intended purchase of sweets and desserts. Results from this online simulation provided little evidence to suggest that the traffic-light system or the Chilean warning system in isolation could be effective in reducing purchase of ultra-processed foods or improving the nutritional composition of the purchased products.

Optimal usage of de-icing chemicals when scraping ice.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-11-01

One of the challenges that faces the winter maintainer is how much chemical to : apply to the road under given conditions. Insufficient chemical can lead to the road : surface becoming slick, and the road thus becoming unsafe. In all likelihood, addi...

Pikalert(R) System Vehicle Data Translator (VDT) Utilizing Integrated Mobile Observations Pikalert VDT Enhancements, Operations, & Maintenance

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-03-24

The Pikalert System provides high precision road weather guidance. It assesses current weather and road conditions based on observations from connected vehicles, road weather information stations, radar, and weather model analysis fields. It also for...

76 FR 53021 - Public Hearing and Commission Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-24

... Water Supply System, Halls Cross Roads District, Harford County, Md. Modification to conditions of the... Baltimore. Project Facility: Maryland Water Supply System, Halls Cross Roads District, Harford County, Md... Facility: Maryland Water Supply System, Halls Cross Roads District, Harford County, Md. Modification to...

Amphibian and reptile road-kills on tertiary roads in relation to landscape structure: using a citizen science approach with open-access land cover data.

PubMed

Heigl, Florian; Horvath, Kathrin; Laaha, Gregor; Zaller, Johann G

2017-06-26

Amphibians and reptiles are among the most endangered vertebrate species worldwide. However, little is known how they are affected by road-kills on tertiary roads and whether the surrounding landscape structure can explain road-kill patterns. The aim of our study was to examine the applicability of open-access remote sensing data for a large-scale citizen science approach to describe spatial patterns of road-killed amphibians and reptiles on tertiary roads. Using a citizen science app we monitored road-kills of amphibians and reptiles along 97.5 km of tertiary roads covering agricultural, municipal and interurban roads as well as cycling paths in eastern Austria over two seasons. Surrounding landscape was assessed using open access land cover classes for the region (Coordination of Information on the Environment, CORINE). Hotspot analysis was performed using kernel density estimation (KDE+). Relations between land cover classes and amphibian and reptile road-kills were analysed with conditional probabilities and general linear models (GLM). We also estimated the potential cost-efficiency of a large scale citizen science monitoring project. We recorded 180 amphibian and 72 reptile road-kills comprising eight species mainly occurring on agricultural roads. KDE+ analyses revealed a significant clustering of road-killed amphibians and reptiles, which is an important information for authorities aiming to mitigate road-kills. Overall, hotspots of amphibian and reptile road-kills were next to the land cover classes arable land, suburban areas and vineyards. Conditional probabilities and GLMs identified road-kills especially next to preferred habitats of green toad, common toad and grass snake, the most often found road-killed species. A citizen science approach appeared to be more cost-efficient than monitoring by professional researchers only when more than 400 km of road are monitored. Our findings showed that freely available remote sensing data in combination with a citizen science approach would be a cost-efficient method aiming to identify and monitor road-kill hotspots of amphibians and reptiles on a larger scale.

ForWarn: A Cross-Cutting Forest Resource Management and Decision Support System Providing the Capacity to Identify and Track Forest Disturbances Nationally

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hargrove, W. W.; Spruce, J.; Norman, S.; Christie, W.; Hoffman, F. M.

2012-12-01

The Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center and Western Wildland Environmental Assessment Center of the USDA Forest Service have collaborated with NASA Stennis Space Center to develop ForWarn, a forest monitoring tool that uses MODIS satellite imagery to produce weekly snapshots of vegetation conditions across the lower 48 United States. Forest and natural resource managers can use ForWarn to rapidly detect, identify, and respond to unexpected changes in the nation's forests caused by insects, diseases, wildfires, severe weather, or other natural or human-caused events. ForWarn detects most types of forest disturbances, including insects, disease, wildfires, frost and ice damage, tornadoes, hurricanes, blowdowns, harvest, urbanization, and landslides. It also detects drought, flood, and temperature effects, and shows early and delayed seasonal vegetation development. Operating continuously since January 2010, results show ForWarn to be a robust and highly capable tool for detecting changes in forest conditions. ForWarn is the first national-scale system of its kind based on remote sensing developed specifically for forest disturbances. It has operated as a prototype since January 2010 and has provided useful information about the location and extent of disturbances detected during the 2011 growing season, including tornadoes, wildfires, and extreme drought. The ForWarn system had an official unveiling and rollout in March 2012, initiated by a joint NASA and USDA press release. The ForWarn home page has had 2,632 unique visitors since rollout in March 2012, with 39% returning visits. ForWarn was used to map tornado scars from the historic April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak, and detected timber damage within more than a dozen tornado tracks across northern Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. ForWarn is the result of an ongoing, substantive cooperation among four different government agencies: USDA, NASA, USGS, and DOE. Disturbance maps are available on the web through the ForWarn Change Assessment Viewer at http://forwarn.forestthreats.org/fcav. No user id or password is required, and there is no cost. The Assessment Viewer operates within any popular web browser using nearly any type of computer. It lets users pan, zoom, and scroll around within ForWarn maps, and also contains an up-to-date library of co-registered, near real-time ancillary maps from diverse sources that allows users to assess the nature of particular forest disturbances and ascribe their most-likely causes. Users can check the current week's U.S. Drought Monitor, USGS VegDRI maps, FHM Historical Aerial Disturbance Surveys, MODIS Cumulative Current Year Fire Detections, and many others. A "Share this map" feature lets users save the current map view and extent into a web URL, so that users can easily share what they are looking at inside the Assessment Viewer with others via an email, a document, or a web page. The ForWarn Rapid National Assessment Team examined more than 60 ForWarn forest disturbance events in 2011-2012, and issued over 30 alerts. We hope to automate forest disturbance alerts and supply them through various subscription services. Forest owners and managers would only be alerted to disturbances occurring near their own forest resources.

A hybrid hydrologically complemented warning model for shallow landslides induced by extreme rainfall in Korean Mountain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh Pradhan, Ananta Man; Kang, Hyo-Sub; Kim, Yun-Tae

2016-04-01

This study uses a physically based approach to evaluate the factor of safety of the hillslope for different hydrological conditions, in Mt Umyeon, south of Seoul. The hydrological conditions were determined using intensity and duration of whole Korea of known landslide inventory data. Quantile regression statistical method was used to ascertain different probability warning levels on the basis of rainfall thresholds. Physically based models are easily interpreted and have high predictive capabilities but rely on spatially explicit and accurate parameterization, which is commonly not possible. Statistical probabilistic methods can include other causative factors which influence the slope stability such as forest, soil and geology, but rely on good landslide inventories of the site. In this study a hybrid approach has described that combines the physically-based landslide susceptibility for different hydrological conditions. A presence-only based maximum entropy model was used to hybrid and analyze relation of landslide with conditioning factors. About 80% of the landslides were listed among the unstable sites identified in the proposed model, thereby presenting its effectiveness and accuracy in determining unstable areas and areas that require evacuation. These cumulative rainfall thresholds provide a valuable reference to guide disaster prevention authorities in the issuance of warning levels with the ability to reduce losses and save lives.

PRESSCA: A regional operative Early Warning System for landslides risk scenario assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponziani, Francesco; Stelluti, Marco; Berni, Nicola; Brocca, Luca; Moramarco, Tommaso

2013-04-01

The Italian national alert system for the hydraulic and hydrogeological risk is ensured by the National Civil Protection Department, through the "Functional Centres" Network, together with scientific/technical Support Centres, named "Competence Centres". The role of the Functional Centres is to alert regional/national civil protection network, to manage the prediction and the monitoring phases, thus ensuring the flow of data for the management of the emergency. The Umbria regional alerting procedure is based on three increasing warning levels of criticality for 6 sub-areas (~1200 km²). Specifically, for each duration (from 1 to 48 hours), three criticality levels are assigned to the rainfall values corresponding to a recurrence interval of 2, 5, and 10 years. In order to improve confidence on the daily work for hydrogeological risk assessment and management, a simple and operational early warning system for the prediction of shallow landslide triggering on regional scale was implemented. The system is primarily based on rainfall thresholds, which represent the main element of evaluation for the early-warning procedures of the Italian Civil Protection system. Following previous studies highlighting that soil moisture conditions play a key role on landslide triggering, a continuous physically-based soil water balance model was implemented for the estimation of soil moisture conditions over the whole regional territory. In fact, a decreasing trend between the cumulated rainfall values over 24, 36 and 48 hours and the soil moisture conditions prior to past landslide events was observed. This trend provides an easy-to-use tool to dynamically adjust the operational rainfall thresholds with the soil moisture conditions simulated by the soil water balance model prior to rainfall events. The application of this procedure allowed decreasing the uncertainties tied to the application of the rainfall thresholds only. The system is actually operational in real-time and it was recently coupled with quantitative rainfall and temperature forecasts (given by the COSMO ME local scale models for Umbria) to extend the prediction up to 72 hours forecast. The main output is constituted by four spatially distributed early warning indicators (normal, caution, warning, alarm), in compliance with national and regional law, based on the comparison between the observed (forecasted) rainfall and the dynamic thresholds. The early warning indicators, calculated over the whole regional territory, are combined with susceptibility and vulnerability layers using a WEB-GIS platform, in order to build a near real time risk scenario. The main outcome of the system is a spatially distributed landslide hazard map with the highlight of areas where local risk situations may arise due to landslides induced by the interaction between meteorological forcing and the presence of vulnerability elements. The System is inclusive of specific sections dedicated to areas with specific risks (as debris flows prone areas), with specific thresholds. The main purpose of this study is firstly to describe the operational early warning system. Then, the integration of near real-time soil moisture data obtained through the satellite sensor ASCAT (Advanced SCATterometer) within the system is shown. This could allow enhancing the reliability of the modelled soil moisture data over the regional territory. The recent rainfall event of 11-14 November 2012 is used as case study. Reported triggered landslides are studied and used in order to check/refine the early warning system.

Security warning method and system for worker safety during live-line working

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Chilong; Zou, Dehua; Long, Chenhai; Yang, Miao; Zhang, Zhanlong; Mei, Daojun

2017-09-01

Live-line working is an essential part in the operations in an electric power system. Live-line workers are required to wear shielding clothing. Shielding clothing, however, acts as a closed environment for the human body. Working in a closed environment for a long time can change the physiological responses of the body and even endanger personal safety. According to the typical conditions of live-line working, this study synthesizes environmental factors related to shielding clothing and the physiological factors of the body to establish the heart rate variability index RMSSD and the comprehensive security warning index SWI. On the basis of both indices, this paper proposes a security warning method and system for the safety live-line workers. The system can monitor the real-time status of workers during live-line working to provide security warning and facilitate the effective safety supervision by the live operation center during actual live-line working.

The impact of structural packaging design on young adult smokers' perceptions of tobacco products.

PubMed

Borland, Ron; Savvas, Steven; Sharkie, Fiona; Moore, Karen

2013-03-01

To examine the extent that novel cigarette pack shapes and openings have on smokers' perceptions of those packs and the cigarettes contained within. Using a web-based survey, 160 young adult ever-smokers (18-29 years) were shown computer images of plain packaged cigarette packs in five different shapes. This was followed by packs illustrating five different methods of opening. Brand (prestige or budget) and size of the health warnings (30% or 70% warning size) were between-subject conditions. Respondents ranked packs on attractiveness, perceived quality of the cigarettes contained within and extent that the pack distracted from health warnings. Ratings of attractiveness and perceived quality were significantly associated in both substudies, but tendency to distract from warnings was more independent. Significant differences were found between the pack shapes on attractiveness, perceived quality and distraction from warnings. Standard, 2×10 and 4×5 packs were ranked less attractive than Bevelled and Rounded packs. 2×10 and 4×5 packs were also perceived as lower quality than Bevelled and Rounded packs. The Standard pack was less distracting to health warnings than all other shapes except the 2×10 pack. Pack openings were perceived as different on quality of cigarettes contained and extent of distraction to warnings. The Standard Flip-top was rated significantly lower in distracting from warnings than all other openings. Pack shape and pack opening affect ever-smokers' perceptions of the packs and the cigarettes they contain. This means that they have the potential to create appeal and differentiate products and thus should be regulated.

Standardised (plain) cigarette packaging increases attention to both text-based and graphical health warnings: experimental evidence.

PubMed

Shankleman, M; Sykes, C; Mandeville, K L; Di Costa, S; Yarrow, K

2015-01-01

To investigate whether standardised cigarette packaging increases the time spent looking at health warnings, regardless of the format of those warnings. A factorial (two pack styles x three warning types) within-subject experiment, with participants randomised to different orders of conditions, completed at a university in London, UK. Mock-ups of cigarette packets were presented to participants with their branded portion in either standardised (plain) or manufacturer-designed (branded) format. Health warnings were present on all packets, representing all three types currently in use in the UK: black & white text, colour text, or colour images with accompanying text. Gaze position was recorded using a specialised eye tracker, providing the main outcome measure, which was the mean proportion of a five-second viewing period spent gazing at the warning-label region of the packet. An opportunity sample of 30 (six male, mean age = 23) young adults met the following inclusion criteria: 1) not currently a smoker; 2) <100 lifetime cigarettes smoked; 3) gaze position successfully tracked for > 50% viewing time. These participants spent a greater proportion of the available time gazing at the warning-label region when the branded section of the pack was standardised (following current Australian guidelines) rather than containing the manufacturer's preferred design (mean difference in proportions = 0.078, 95% confidence interval 0.049 to 0.106, p < 0.001). There was no evidence that this effect varied based on the type of warning label (black & white text vs. colour text vs. colour image & text; interaction p = 0.295). During incidental viewing of cigarette packets, young adult never-smokers are likely to spend more time looking at health warnings if manufacturers are compelled to use standardised packaging, regardless of the warning design. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Design of a reliable and operational landslide early warning system at regional scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calvello, Michele; Piciullo, Luca; Gariano, Stefano Luigi; Melillo, Massimo; Brunetti, Maria Teresa; Peruccacci, Silvia; Guzzetti, Fausto

2017-04-01

Landslide early warning systems at regional scale are used to warn authorities, civil protection personnel and the population about the occurrence of rainfall-induced landslides over wide areas, typically through the prediction and measurement of meteorological variables. A warning model for these systems must include a regional correlation law and a decision algorithm. A regional correlation law can be defined as a functional relationship between rainfall and landslides; it is typically based on thresholds of rainfall indicators (e.g., cumulated rainfall, rainfall duration) related to different exceedance probabilities of landslide occurrence. A decision algorithm can be defined as a set of assumptions and procedures linking rainfall thresholds to warning levels. The design and the employment of an operational and reliable early warning system for rainfall-induced landslides at regional scale depend on the identification of a reliable correlation law as well as on the definition of a suitable decision algorithm. Herein, a five-step process chain addressing both issues and based on rainfall thresholds is proposed; the procedure is tested in a landslide-prone area of the Campania region in southern Italy. To this purpose, a database of 96 shallow landslides triggered by rainfall in the period 2003-2010 and rainfall data gathered from 58 rain gauges are used. First, a set of rainfall thresholds are defined applying a frequentist method to reconstructed rainfall conditions triggering landslides in the test area. In the second step, several thresholds at different exceedance probabilities are evaluated, and different percentile combinations are selected for the activation of three warning levels. Subsequently, within steps three and four, the issuing of warning levels is based on the comparison, over time and for each combination, between the measured rainfall and the pre-defined warning level thresholds. Finally, the optimal percentile combination to be employed in the regional early warning system is selected evaluating the model performance in terms of success and error indicators by means of the "event, duration matrix, performance" (EDuMaP) method.

Adapting the EDuMaP method to test the performance of the Norwegian early warning system for weather-induced landslides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piciullo, Luca; Dahl, Mads-Peter; Devoli, Graziella; Colleuille, Hervé; Calvello, Michele

2017-06-01

The Norwegian national landslide early warning system (LEWS), operational since 2013, is managed by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate and was designed for monitoring and forecasting the hydrometeorological conditions potentially triggering slope failures. Decision-making in the LEWS is based upon rainfall thresholds, hydrometeorological and real-time landslide observations as well as on landslide inventory and susceptibility maps. Daily alerts are issued throughout the country considering variable size warning zones. Warnings are issued once per day for the following 3 days and can be updated according to weather forecasts and information gathered by the monitoring network. The performance of the LEWS operational in Norway has been evaluated applying the EDuMaP method, which is based on the computation of a duration matrix relating number of landslides and warning levels issued in a warning zone. In the past, this method has been exclusively employed to analyse the performance of regional early warning models considering fixed warning zones. Herein, an original approach is proposed for the computation of the elements of the duration matrix in the case of early warning models issuing alerts on variable size areas. The approach has been used to evaluate the warnings issued in Western Norway, in the period 2013-2014, considering two datasets of landslides. The results indicate that the landslide datasets do not significantly influence the performance evaluation, although a slightly better performance is registered for the smallest dataset. Different performance results are observed as a function of the values adopted for one of the most important input parameters of EDuMaP, the landslide density criterion (i.e. setting the thresholds to differentiate among classes of landslide events). To investigate this issue, a parametric analysis has been conducted; the results of the analysis show significant differences among computed performances when absolute or relative landslide density criteria are considered.

Rock bolt overload warning device

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Unrug, K.F.

1983-10-18

A washer is described which is used in the construction of the support for the roof of a mine. The washer is fabricated such that finger like projections rupture in stages as the tension on bolts and pressure in the strata of the roof of the mine increases beyond structurely safe limits. The rupturing of the washer emits audible warning signals and also provides a visual indication of an unsafe condition.

Potentiation of the early visual response to learned danger signals in adults and adolescents

PubMed Central

Howsley, Philippa; Jordan, Jeff; Johnston, Pat

2015-01-01

The reinforcing effects of aversive outcomes on avoidance behaviour are well established. However, their influence on perceptual processes is less well explored, especially during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Using electroencephalography, we examined whether learning to actively or passively avoid harm can modulate early visual responses in adolescents and adults. The task included two avoidance conditions, active and passive, where two different warning stimuli predicted the imminent, but avoidable, presentation of an aversive tone. To avoid the aversive outcome, participants had to learn to emit an action (active avoidance) for one of the warning stimuli and omit an action for the other (passive avoidance). Both adults and adolescents performed the task with a high degree of accuracy. For both adolescents and adults, increased N170 event-related potential amplitudes were found for both the active and the passive warning stimuli compared with control conditions. Moreover, the potentiation of the N170 to the warning stimuli was stable and long lasting. Developmental differences were also observed; adolescents showed greater potentiation of the N170 component to danger signals. These findings demonstrate, for the first time, that learned danger signals in an instrumental avoidance task can influence early visual sensory processes in both adults and adolescents. PMID:24652856

36 CFR 212.2 - Forest transportation program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... transportation atlas may be updated to reflect new information on the existence and condition of roads, trails... of temporary roads, which are tracked by the project or activity authorizing the temporary road. The content and maintenance requirements for a forest transportation atlas are identified in the Forest...

Automated vehicle location, data recording, friction measurement and applicator control for winter road maintenance.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-02-01

The first part of this project conducted a detailed evaluation of the ability of a new friction measurement system to : provide an accurate measure of road conditions. A system that records friction coefficient as a function of road : location was de...

Clarus multi-state regional demonstrations, evaluation of use case #5 : enhanced road weather content for traveler advisories.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-05-11

This evaluation report presents an assessment of the benefits of a new road condition forecast tool that offers road weather information to travelers. The tool has been developed by Meridian Environmental Technology, Inc. and has been demonstrated in...

43 CFR 8343.1 - Standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... OF THE INTERIOR RECREATION PROGRAMS OFF-ROAD VEHICLES Vehicle Operations § 8343.1 Standards. (a) No off-road vehicle may be operated on public lands unless equipped with brakes in good working condition. (b) No off-road vehicle equipped with a muffler cutout, bypass, or similar device, or producing...

43 CFR 8343.1 - Standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... OF THE INTERIOR RECREATION PROGRAMS OFF-ROAD VEHICLES Vehicle Operations § 8343.1 Standards. (a) No off-road vehicle may be operated on public lands unless equipped with brakes in good working condition. (b) No off-road vehicle equipped with a muffler cutout, bypass, or similar device, or producing...

43 CFR 8343.1 - Standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... OF THE INTERIOR RECREATION PROGRAMS OFF-ROAD VEHICLES Vehicle Operations § 8343.1 Standards. (a) No off-road vehicle may be operated on public lands unless equipped with brakes in good working condition. (b) No off-road vehicle equipped with a muffler cutout, bypass, or similar device, or producing...

Effects of experimentally elevated traffic noise on nestling white-crowned sparrow stress physiology, immune function and life history.

PubMed

Crino, Ondi L; Johnson, Erin E; Blickley, Jessica L; Patricelli, Gail L; Breuner, Creagh W

2013-06-01

Roads have been associated with behavioral and physiological changes in wildlife. In birds, roads decrease reproductive success and biodiversity and increase physiological stress. Although the consequences of roads on individuals and communities have been well described, the mechanisms through which roads affect birds remain largely unexplored. Here, we examine one mechanism through which roads could affect birds: traffic noise. We exposed nestling mountain white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) to experimentally elevated traffic noise for 5 days during the nestling period. Following exposure to traffic noise we measured nestling stress physiology, immune function, body size, condition and survival. Based on prior studies, we expected the traffic noise treatment to result in elevated stress hormones (glucocorticoids), and declines in immune function, body size, condition and survival. Surprisingly, nestlings exposed to traffic noise had lower glucocorticoid levels and improved condition relative to control nests. These results indicate that traffic noise does affect physiology and development in white-crowned sparrows, but not at all as predicted. Therefore, when evaluating the mechanisms through which roads affect avian populations, other factors (e.g. edge effects, pollution and mechanical vibration) may be more important than traffic noise in explaining elevated nestling stress responses in this species.

Superior Inhibitory Control and Resistance to Mental Fatigue in Professional Road Cyclists.

PubMed

Martin, Kristy; Staiano, Walter; Menaspà, Paolo; Hennessey, Tom; Marcora, Samuele; Keegan, Richard; Thompson, Kevin G; Martin, David; Halson, Shona; Rattray, Ben

2016-01-01

Given the important role of the brain in regulating endurance performance, this comparative study sought to determine whether professional road cyclists have superior inhibitory control and resistance to mental fatigue compared to recreational road cyclists. After preliminary testing and familiarization, eleven professional and nine recreational road cyclists visited the lab on two occasions to complete a modified incongruent colour-word Stroop task (a cognitive task requiring inhibitory control) for 30 min (mental exertion condition), or an easy cognitive task for 10 min (control condition) in a randomized, counterbalanced cross-over order. After each cognitive task, participants completed a 20-min time trial on a cycle ergometer. During the time trial, heart rate, blood lactate concentration, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded. The professional cyclists completed more correct responses during the Stroop task than the recreational cyclists (705±68 vs 576±74, p = 0.001). During the time trial, the recreational cyclists produced a lower mean power output in the mental exertion condition compared to the control condition (216±33 vs 226±25 W, p = 0.014). There was no difference between conditions for the professional cyclists (323±42 vs 326±35 W, p = 0.502). Heart rate, blood lactate concentration, and RPE were not significantly different between the mental exertion and control conditions in both groups. The professional cyclists exhibited superior performance during the Stroop task which is indicative of stronger inhibitory control than the recreational cyclists. The professional cyclists also displayed a greater resistance to the negative effects of mental fatigue as demonstrated by no significant differences in perception of effort and time trial performance between the mental exertion and control conditions. These findings suggest that inhibitory control and resistance to mental fatigue may contribute to successful road cycling performance. These psychobiological characteristics may be either genetic and/or developed through the training and lifestyle of professional road cyclists.

Psychosocial and demographic predictors of adherence and non-adherence to health advice accompanying air quality warning systems: a systematic review.

PubMed

D'Antoni, Donatella; Smith, Louise; Auyeung, Vivian; Weinman, John

2017-09-22

Although evidence shows that poor air quality can harm human health, we have a limited understanding about the behavioural impact of air quality forecasts. Our aim was to understand to what extent air quality warning systems influence protective behaviours in the general public, and to identify the demographic and psychosocial factors associated with adherence and non-adherence to the health advice accompanying these warnings. In August 2016 literature was systematically reviewed to find studies assessing intended or actual adherence to health advice accompanying air quality warning systems, and encouraging people to reduce exposure to air pollution. Predictors of adherence to the health advice and/or self-reported reasons for adherence or non-adherence were also systematically reviewed. Studies were included only if they involved participants who were using or were aware of these warning systems. Studies investigating only protective behaviours due to subjective perception of bad air quality alone were excluded. The results were narratively synthesised and discussed within the COM-B theoretical framework. Twenty-one studies were included in the review: seventeen investigated actual adherence; three investigated intended adherence; one assessed both. Actual adherence to the advice to reduce or reschedule outdoor activities during poor air quality episodes ranged from 9.7% to 57% (Median = 31%), whereas adherence to a wider range of protective behaviours (e.g. avoiding busy roads, taking preventative medication) ranged from 17.7% to 98.1% (Median = 46%). Demographic factors did not consistently predict adherence. However, several psychosocial facilitators of adherence were identified. These include knowledge on where to check air quality indices, beliefs that one's symptoms were due to air pollution, perceived severity of air pollution, and receiving advice from health care professionals. Barriers to adherence included: lack of understanding of the indices, being exposed to health messages that reduced both concern about air pollution and perceived susceptibility, as well as perceived lack of self-efficacy/locus of control, reliance on sensory cues and lack of time. We found frequent suboptimal adherence rates to health advice accompanying air quality alerts. Several psychosocial facilitators and barriers of adherence were identified. To maximise their health effects, health advice needs to target these specific psychosocial factors.

ARC-2007-ACD07-0140-001

NASA Image and Video Library

2007-07-31

David L. Iverson of NASA Ames Research center, Moffett Field, California, led development of computer software to monitor the conditions of the gyroscopes that keep the International Space Station (ISS) properly oriented in space as the ISS orbits Earth. The gyroscopes are flywheels that control the station's attitude without the use of propellant fuel. NASA computer scientists designed the new software, the Inductive Monitoring System, to detect warning signs that precede a gyroscope's failure. According to NASA officials, engineers will add the new software tool to a group of existing tools to identify and track problems related to the gyroscopes. If the software detects warning signs, it will quickly warn the space station's mission control center.

Using C-Band Dual-Polarization Radar Signatures to Improve Convective Wind Forecasting at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and NASA Kennedy Space Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amiot, Corey G.; Carey, Lawrence D.; Roeder, William P.; McNamara, Todd M.; Blakeslee, Richard J.

2017-01-01

The United States Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron (45WS) is the organization responsible for monitoring atmospheric conditions at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and NASA Kennedy Space Center (CCAFS/KSC) and issuing warnings for hazardous weather conditions when the need arises. One such warning is issued for convective wind events, for which lead times of 30 and 60 minutes are desired for events with peak wind gusts of 35 knots or greater (i.e., Threshold-1) and 50 knots or greater (i.e., Threshold-2), respectively (Roeder et al. 2014).

New optimization strategies of pavement maintenance: A case study for national road network in Indonesia using integrated road management system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamdi, Hadiwardoyo, Sigit P.; Correia, A. Gomes; Pereira, Paulo

2017-06-01

A road network requires timely maintenance to keep the road surface in good condition onward better services to improve accessibility and mobility. Strategies and maintenance techniques must be chosen in order to maximize road service level through cost-effective interventions. This approach requires an updated database, which the road network in Indonesia is supported by a manual and visual survey, also using NAASRA profiler. Furthermore, in this paper, the deterministic model of deterioration was used. This optimization model uses life cycle cost analysis (LCCA), applied in an integrated manner, using IRI indicator, and allows determining the priority of treatment, type of treatment and its relation to the cost. The purpose of this paper was focussed on the aspects of road maintenance management, i.e., maintenance optimization models for different levels of traffic and various initial of road distress conditions on the national road network in Indonesia. The implementation of Integrated Road Management System (IRMS) can provide a solution to the problem of cost constraints in the maintenance of the national road network. The results from this study found that as the lowest as agency cost, it will affect the increasing of user cost. With the achievement of the target plan scenario Pl000 with initial value IRI 2, it was found that the routine management throughout the year and in early reconstruction and periodic maintenance with a 30 mm thick overlay, will simultaneously provide a higher net benefit value and has the lowest total cost of transportation.

Road traffic crash risk associated with benzodiazepine and z‐hypnotic use after implementation of a colour‐graded pictogram: a responsibility study

PubMed Central

Luxcey, Audrey; Contrand, Benjamin; Gadegbeku, Blandine; Delorme, Bernard; Tricotel, Aurore; Moore, Nicholas; Salmi, Louis‐Rachid; Lagarde, Emmanuel

2016-01-01

Aims To assess potential change in medicine exposure and association with the risk of road traffic crash across a time period that started before the implementation of a grading system warning of the effect of medicine on driving performance. Methods Data from three French national databases were extracted and matched: the national health care insurance database, police reports and the national police database of injurious crashes. Drivers involved in such crashes in France, from July 2005 to December 2011 and identified by their national identifier, were included. Association with the risk of crash was estimated using a case–control analysis comparing benzodiazepine and z‐hypnotic use among drivers responsible or not responsible for the crash. Results Totals of 69 353 responsible and 73 410 non‐responsible drivers involved in an injurious crash were included. Exposure to benzodiazepine anxiolytics was associated with an increased risk of being responsible for a road traffic crash during the pre‐intervention period (OR = 1.42 [1.24–1.62]). The association disappeared in the post‐intervention period, but became significant again thereafter. The risk of being responsible for a crash increased in users of z‐hypnotics across the study period. Conclusions Our results question the efficacy of the measures implemented to promote awareness about the effects of medicines on driving abilities. Prevention policies relating to the general driving population, but also to healthcare professionals, should be reviewed. PMID:27544927

Geogrid reinforced road subgrade influence on the pavement evenness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šiukščius, A.; Vorobjovas, V.; Vaitkus, A.

2018-05-01

As a result of increasing geogrid reinforcement applications in the road subgrade, there are number of projects where geogrid reinforcement is used to control road pavement evenness when there are small layers of peat or mud deeper under road construction. For this task geogrid reinforcement application is not documented but widely used in Lithuania for over a decade. This paper evaluates the long term influence of the geogrid reinforced soil influence on the road surface evenness, when the organic soils stratify in the deeper layers of the subgrade. The geological conditions of the investigated sections are reviewed. The experiment methodology and test results are described, which leads to the conclusions and insights how the pavement evenness depend on the geological conditions and its enhancement. The question is raised about the need for including this geogrid application to the normative documentation. Explanation of the problems that are encountered and the need for further research is given.

Road Nail: Experimental Solar Powered Intelligent Road Marking System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samardžija, Dragan; Teslić, Nikola; Todorović, Branislav M.; Kovač, Erne; Isailović, Đorđe; Miladinović, Bojan

2012-03-01

Driving in low visibility conditions (night time, fog or heavy precipitation) is particularly challenging task with an increased probability of traffic accidents and possible injuries. Road Nail is a solar powered intelligent road marking system of wirelessly networked signaling devices that improve driver safety in low visibility conditions along hazardous roadways. Nails or signaling devices are autonomous nodes with capability to accumulate energy, exchange wireless messages, detect approaching vehicles and emit signalization light. We have built an experimental test-bed that consists of 20 nodes and a cellular gateway. Implementation details of the above system, including extensive measurements and performance evaluations in realistic field deployments are presented. A novel distributed network topology discovery scheme is proposed which integrates both sensor and wireless communication aspects, where nodes act autonomously. Finally, integration of the Road Nail system with the cellular network and the Internet is described.

Trend analysis of regional heat wave warning using RegCM simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pongracz, R.; Bartholy, J.; Bartha, E. B.; Torek, O.; Torma, Cs.

2010-09-01

Heat wave events are important temperature-related climatological extremes due to their impacts on human health. In the future, they are very likely to occur more frequently and more intensely not only in the Carpathian Basin, but in most regions of the world because of global warming. In order to develop adaptation and mitigation strategies on local scale, it is essential to analyze the projected changes related to heat waves. In Hungary, three categories of heat wave warning are applied. They are associated to the daily mean temperature values. (i) Warning category 1 is issued when the daily mean temperature is larger than 25 °C. (ii) Warning category 2 is issued when the daily mean temperature for at least 3 consecutive days is larger than 25 °C. (iii) Warning category 3 is issued when the daily mean temperature for at least 3 consecutive days is larger than 27 °C. In this poster, frequency of these conditions are analyzed using regional climate model experiments of model RegCM with 10-km horizontal resolution adapted at the Department of Meteorology, Eotvos Lorand University in the frame of the CECILIA EU-project. The model RegCM is a 3-dimensional, sigma-coordinate, primitive equation model, and it was originally developed by Giorgi et al. Currently, it is available from the ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics). The initial and lateral boundary conditions of the fine-resolution experiments have been provided by the global climate model ECHAM for the A1B emission scenario for three different time slices (1961-1990, 2021-2050, and 2071-2100).

Evaluation of Resident Evacuations in Urban Rainstorm Waterlogging Disasters Based on Scenario Simulation: Daoli District (Harbin, China) as an Example

PubMed Central

Chen, Peng; Zhang, Jiquan; Zhang, Lifeng; Sun, Yingyue

2014-01-01

With the acceleration of urbanization, waterlogging has become an increasingly serious issue. Road waterlogging has a great influence on residents’ travel and traffic safety. Thus, evaluation of residents’ travel difficulties caused by rainstorm waterlogging disasters is of great significance for their travel safety and emergency shelter needs. This study investigated urban rainstorm waterlogging disasters, evaluating the impact of the evolution of such disasters’ evolution on residents’ evacuation, using Daoli District (Harbin, China) as the research demonstration area to perform empirical research using a combination of scenario simulations, questionnaires, GIS spatial technology analysis and a hydrodynamics method to establish an urban rainstorm waterlogging numerical simulation model. The results show that under the conditions of a 10-year frequency rainstorm, there are three street sections in the study area with a high difficulty index, five street sections with medium difficulty index and the index is low at other districts, while under the conditions of a 50-year frequency rainstorm, there are five street sections with a high difficulty index, nine street sections with a medium difficulty index and the other districts all have a low index. These research results can help set the foundation for further small-scale urban rainstorm waterlogging disaster scenario simulations and emergency shelter planning as well as forecasting and warning, and provide a brand-new thought and research method for research on residents’ safe travel. PMID:25264676

Traffic condition with road upgrading during construction and operation stages based on level-of-service (LOS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tay, A. C.; Lee, H. H.

2018-04-01

In this study, traffic survey was done at signalized intersection of both ends of an upgrading road during morning and afternoon peak hours throughout construction period. The intersections of Tudan Road located at Miri City in Sarawak State, Malaysia were chosen as study sites. The aim of this research was to investigate the traffic condition for the signalized intersections of a R3 secondary road that being upgrading to standard U5 dual carriageway during peak hours for construction and operation stages. Data collected from these sites were analyzed according to Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) 2010. From the results, the level-of-services (LOS) of Kuala Baram By Pass Road intersection improved from Level F to Level E at operation stage for weekday during peak hours in the morning. LOS of Lutong-Kuala Baram Road intersection at construction stage were Level C during peak hours in the morning and Level D during peak hours in the afternoon for weekends. However, the LOS during both peak hours for weekends were projected to improve to Level B at the operation stage. It proved that the road construction has affected LOS, and this temporary issue can be solved after the upgraded road is in operation.

75 FR 25198 - Intermountain Region, Boise National Forest, Emmett Ranger District; Idaho Scriver Creek...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-07

... commercial and noncommercial vegetation management and road system modifications and maintenance. DATES... stands and old forest habitat; (2) improve watershed conditions and reduce road- related impacts to... commercial timber harvest on about 3,265 acres utilizing tractor/off-road jammer (1,124 acres), skyline (926...

78 FR 4377 - Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District, Shoshone County, ID...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-22

... organisms, and improve the longevity of road conditions by reducing maintenance costs and providing for long... storage, road reconstruction and maintenance, site preparation, reforestation, and fuel break development...); prescribed burning not associated with timber harvest; and watershed restoration (decommissioning roads...

36 CFR 7.89 - New River Gorge National River.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

.... (ii) Comply with the hunting seasons, harvest limits, and any other conditions established by the... is allowed: (i) On park roads and in parking areas; and (ii) On administrative roads and trails authorized for bicycle use as listed in the following table. Administrative Roads and Trails Authorized for...

38 CFR 39.61 - Site planning standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... roads shall be generally 24 feet wide. (4) Pavement design. The pavement section of all roads, service areas, and parking areas shall be designed for the maximum anticipated traffic loads and existing soil conditions and in accordance with local and State design criteria. (5) Curbs. Bituminous roads may be...

38 CFR 39.61 - Site planning standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... roads shall be generally 24 feet wide. (4) Pavement design. The pavement section of all roads, service areas, and parking areas shall be designed for the maximum anticipated traffic loads and existing soil conditions and in accordance with local and State design criteria. (5) Curbs. Bituminous roads may be...

38 CFR 39.61 - Site planning standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... roads shall be generally 24 feet wide. (4) Pavement design. The pavement section of all roads, service areas, and parking areas shall be designed for the maximum anticipated traffic loads and existing soil conditions and in accordance with local and State design criteria. (5) Curbs. Bituminous roads may be...

38 CFR 39.61 - Site planning standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... roads shall be generally 24 feet wide. (4) Pavement design. The pavement section of all roads, service areas, and parking areas shall be designed for the maximum anticipated traffic loads and existing soil conditions and in accordance with local and State design criteria. (5) Curbs. Bituminous roads may be...

49 CFR 222.51 - Under what conditions will quiet zone status be terminated?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... agency responsible for grade crossing safety, and the State agency responsible for highway and road... agency responsible for grade crossing safety, the State agency responsible for highway and road safety... State agency responsible for grade crossing safety, the State agency responsible for highway and road...

49 CFR 222.51 - Under what conditions will quiet zone status be terminated?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... agency responsible for grade crossing safety, and the State agency responsible for highway and road... agency responsible for grade crossing safety, the State agency responsible for highway and road safety... State agency responsible for grade crossing safety, the State agency responsible for highway and road...

36 CFR 1004.22 - Unsafe operation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Section 1004.22 Parks, Forests, and Public Property PRESIDIO TRUST VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC SAFETY § 1004.22..., traffic, weather, road and light conditions and road character. (2) Operating a motor vehicle in a manner which unnecessarily causes its tires to squeal, skid or break free of the road surface. (3) Failing to...

32 CFR 636.22 - Speed regulations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... operate their vehicles at a reasonable and prudent speed based on traffic and road conditions, regardless... obey posted speed limits; however, drivers will not exceed 40 miles per hour on paved roads and 25 miles per hour on unpaved roads and tank trails. Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicles (CUCV's) are tactical...

Priority of road maintenance management based on halda reading range on NAASRA method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Surbakti, M.; Doan, A.

2018-02-01

The road pavement, constantly experiencing stress-strain due to traffic load through it, can cause damage to the pavement. Therefore, early detection and repair of the damage will be able to prevent more severe damage that can develop into pavement failure. A road condition survey is one of the earliest attempts to detect the initial damage of a pavement. In this case the driving comfort is the most important part for the driver in assessing road conditions that are affected by the level of road surface roughness. To determine the level of roughness of the road, one of the methods developed is the measurement using the NAASRA method. In this method the roughness of the road is an accumulation of the average unevenness of the road, with the general setting on halda of 100 m. However, with this 100-meter setting, in some places the final value of the roughness value is too large or too small so that it will result in the priority of the road maintenance. This is what underlies roughness research by comparing halda settings at 50 m and 200 m different from the general settings above.This study uses the International Roughness Index (IRI) method in determining the level of road stability concerning driving discomfort. IRI score obtained from direct survey in field by using Roughometer-NAASRA.The final result shows that there is a significant difference between the reading of halda which is set at 100 m reading with halda set with 50 and 200 meter readings. This may lead to differences in handling priorities, which may impact on the sustainability of road network maintenance management (Sustainaible Road Management)

Comparison of particle mass and solid particle number (SPN) emissions from a heavy-duty diesel vehicle under on-road driving conditions and a standard testing cycle.

PubMed

Zheng, Zhongqing; Durbin, Thomas D; Xue, Jian; Johnson, Kent C; Li, Yang; Hu, Shaohua; Huai, Tao; Ayala, Alberto; Kittelson, David B; Jung, Heejung S

2014-01-01

It is important to understand the differences between emissions from standard laboratory testing cycles and those from actual on-road driving conditions, especially for solid particle number (SPN) emissions now being regulated in Europe. This study compared particle mass and SPN emissions from a heavy-duty diesel vehicle operating over the urban dynamometer driving schedule (UDDS) and actual on-road driving conditions. Particle mass emissions were calculated using the integrated particle size distribution (IPSD) method and called MIPSD. The MIPSD emissions for the UDDS and on-road tests were more than 6 times lower than the U.S. 2007 heavy-duty particulate matter (PM) mass standard. The MIPSD emissions for the UDDS fell between those for the on-road uphill and downhill driving. SPN and MIPSD measurements were dominated by nucleation particles for the UDDS and uphill driving and by accumulation mode particles for cruise and downhill driving. The SPN emissions were ∼ 3 times lower than the Euro 6 heavy-duty SPN limit for the UDDS and downhill driving and ∼ 4-5 times higher than the Euro 6 SPN limit for the more aggressive uphill driving; however, it is likely that most of the "solid" particles measured under these conditions were associated with a combination release of stored sulfates and enhanced sulfate formation associated with high exhaust temperatures, leading to growth of volatile particles into the solid particle counting range above 23 nm. Except for these conditions, a linear relationship was found between SPN and accumulation mode MIPSD. The coefficient of variation (COV) of SPN emissions of particles >23 nm ranged from 8 to 26% for the UDDS and on-road tests.

Health Warning Labels Correct Parents' Misperceptions About Sugary Drink Options.

PubMed

Moran, Alyssa J; Roberto, Christina A

2018-06-11

Noncarbonated sugar-sweetened beverages, such as fruit drinks, sports drinks, and sweetened teas are increasingly promoted to and consumed by youth. These beverages may be perceived as healthier options than soda. To educate consumers about beverages high in added sugar, several cities and states have proposed policies mandating health warning labels on sugar-sweetened beverages. In 2015, a total of 2,381 parents were randomized to a no label, calorie label, or warning label condition. An online survey asked about the healthfulness of different beverages, and asked parents to select a beverage for their child in a choice task. Regressions compared the warning and calorie label groups to the control group and measured mediating effects of health beliefs on beverage choice. Data were analyzed in 2016. Parents viewed fruit drinks, sports drinks, and sweetened teas as healthier and less likely to cause disease than soda. Compared with no label, warning labels significantly increased parents' risk perceptions for all beverages except soda. Warning labels significantly reduced the odds of selecting fruit drinks for the child (OR=0.42, 95% CI=0.32, 0.56), and this effect was mediated by changes in health beliefs and risk perceptions. Fruit drinks, sports drinks, and sweetened teas are increasingly promoted to youth. Parents believe these beverages are healthier and less likely to cause disease than soda, and warning labels may correct these misperceptions. Copyright © 2018 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Early warning signals of regime shifts in coupled human–environment systems

PubMed Central

Bauch, Chris T.; Sigdel, Ram; Pharaon, Joe; Anand, Madhur

2016-01-01

In complex systems, a critical transition is a shift in a system’s dynamical regime from its current state to a strongly contrasting state as external conditions move beyond a tipping point. These transitions are often preceded by characteristic early warning signals such as increased system variability. However, early warning signals in complex, coupled human–environment systems (HESs) remain little studied. Here, we compare critical transitions and their early warning signals in a coupled HES model to an equivalent environment model uncoupled from the human system. We parameterize the HES model, using social and ecological data from old-growth forests in Oregon. We find that the coupled HES exhibits a richer variety of dynamics and regime shifts than the uncoupled environment system. Moreover, the early warning signals in the coupled HES can be ambiguous, heralding either an era of ecosystem conservationism or collapse of both forest ecosystems and conservationism. The presence of human feedback in the coupled HES can also mitigate the early warning signal, making it more difficult to detect the oncoming regime shift. We furthermore show how the coupled HES can be “doomed to criticality”: Strategic human interactions cause the system to remain perpetually in the vicinity of a collapse threshold, as humans become complacent when the resource seems protected but respond rapidly when it is under immediate threat. We conclude that the opportunities, benefits, and challenges of modeling regime shifts and early warning signals in coupled HESs merit further research. PMID:27815533

Experiences in regional landslide forecasting from Piemonte region (North-western Italy) and South-Eastern Norway between the 15th and the 23rd of May 2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiranti, Davide; Boje, Søren; Cremonini, Roberto; Devoli, Graziella; Sund, Monica

2017-04-01

Although Italy and Norway belongs to different climates, they can be influenced by the same large low pressure systems. On May 2013, ARPA in Piemonte region and NVE in Norway issued warning for flood and landslides due to the arriving of a deep and large low pressure (known as Vb-tief). This type of weather is well known to produce the largest floods in Europe. Recent studies in Norway confirm that similar systems are also responsible of triggering landslide events. In this contribution we present how the existing forecasting systems in Piemonte region and in Norway react and we summarize our experiences. Regional early warning systems (EWS) are operational both in Piemonte region (Italy) and nationally in Norway to forecast shallow landslides, debris flows and debris avalanches. Both EWSs provides daily landslide hazard assessments based on quantitative thresholds and daily rainfall forecasts coupled with qualitative expert analysis. The ARPA Piemonte warning system has been operational since 1994 while the NVE one since 2013: daily bulletins are published respectively by http://www.arpa.piemonte.gov.it/rischinaturali and www.varsom.no. From 15th May to 19nd June 2013, ARPA Piemonte rain gauges recorded more that 200mm in Piemonte and 60-90cm fresh snow over the Alps above 2000m asl. Several rivers were flooded and diffuse landslides were occurred over all the region. In Norway the same weather type lasts a bit longer from 15th May to 2nd June 2013. South-Eastern Norway received a lot of rain distributed in 2 major events, the 15th - 16th of May and between the 22nd and 23rd of May. In addition, high temperatures produced intense snow melting over a large area. Snow depth was less than normal but the snow melted within two weeks while the frost in the area was deeper than normal. From 21st to 23rd May heavy rainfall, over 70 mm in a few hours, fell over the Glomma river basin, especially over Gudbrandsdalen, causing extensive flood along Glomma river and hundreds of landslides. The large floods and landslides caused extensive damages to roads and railways as well as buildings and other infrastructure in both countries. In Norway, the Oppland and Hedmark counties suffered most of the damages, as well as railway lines and road line estimated at over 175000 Euro.

The Evaluation of Screening Process and Local Bureaucracy in Determining the Priority of Urban Roads Maintenance and Rehabilitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendhratmoyo, Andri; Syafi'i; Pungky Pramesti, Florentina

2017-11-01

Due to the limited budget of urban roads maintenance and rehabilitation, its prioritizationis inevitable. Many models have been developed to solve these problems. That is the reason why the purpose of this study was to evaluate the screening process in the decision making of the urban roads maintenance and rehabilitation priority. The prioritization that have to be taken into account on the effect of important criteria are road condition, traffic volume, budget processing and land use. 30 stakeholders were asked to fill in the questionnaires. The object of this case study are 188 urban roads sections at Ponorogo in order to examine the priorities. The researchers collected the data from Surface Distress Index (SDI), traffic volume, budget processing and land use of these road sections. Based on analysis, the weights of the criteria were: road condition (W1) = 0,411; traffic volume (W2) = 0,122; budget processing (W3) = 0,363 and land use (W4) = 0,105. The result of this study by the comparison of the index values of the alternatives priorities, Nyi Ageng Serang Street, was revealed to have the highest priority over the other streets regarding of maintenance and rehabilitation activities.

The effects of peer influence on adolescent pedestrian road-crossing decisions.

PubMed

Pfeffer, K; Hunter, E

2013-01-01

Adolescence is a high-risk period for pedestrian injury. It is also a time of heightened susceptibility to peer influence. The aim of this research was to examine the effects of peer influence on the pedestrian road-crossing decisions of adolescents. Using 10 videos of road-crossing sites, 80 16- to 18-year-olds were asked to make pedestrian road-crossing decisions. Participants were assigned to one of 4 experimental conditions: negative peer (influencing unsafe decisions), positive peer (influencing cautious decisions), silent peer (who observed but did not comment), and no peer (the participant completed the task alone). Peers from the adolescent's own friendship group were recruited to influence either an unsafe or a cautious decision. Statistically significant differences were found between peer conditions. Participants least often identified safe road-crossing sites when accompanied by a negative peer and more frequently identified dangerous road-crossing sites when accompanied by a positive peer. Both cautious and unsafe comments from a peer influenced adolescent pedestrians' decisions. These findings showed that road-crossing decisions of adolescents were influenced by both unsafe and cautious comments from their peers. The discussion highlighted the role that peers can play in both increasing and reducing adolescent risk-taking.

A combined road weather forecast system to prevent road ice formation in the Adige Valley (Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Napoli, Claudia; Piazza, Andrea; Antonacci, Gianluca; Todeschini, Ilaria; Apolloni, Roberto; Pretto, Ilaria

2016-04-01

Road ice is a dangerous meteorological hazard to a nation's transportation system and economy. By reducing the pavement friction with vehicle tyres, ice formation on pavements increases accident risk and delays travelling times thus posing a serious threat to road users' safety and the running of economic activities. Keeping roads clear and open is therefore essential, especially in mountainous areas where ice is likely to form during the winter period. Winter road maintenance helps to restore road efficiency and security, and its benefits are up to 8 times the costs sustained for anti-icing strategies [1]. However, the optimization of maintenance costs and the reduction of the environmental damage from over-salting demand further improvements. These can be achieved by reliable road weather forecasts, and in particular by the prediction of road surface temperatures (RSTs). RST is one of the most important parameters in determining road surface conditions. It is well known from literature that ice forms on pavements in high-humidity conditions when RSTs are below 0°C. We have therefore implemented an automatic forecast system to predict critical RSTs on a test route along the Adige Valley complex terrain, in the Italian Alps. The system considers two physical models, each computing heat and energy fluxes between the road and the atmosphere. One is Reuter's radiative cooling model, which predicts RSTs at sunrise as a function of surface temperatures at sunset and the time passed since then [2]. One is METRo (Model of the Environment and Temperature of Roads), a road weather forecast software which also considers heat conduction through road material [3]. We have applied the forecast system to a network of road weather stations (road weather information system, RWIS) installed on the test route [4]. Road and atmospheric observations from RWIS have been used as initial conditions for both METRo and Reuter's model. In METRo observations have also been coupled to meteorological forecasts from ECMWF numerical prediction model. Overnight RST minima have then been estimated automatically in nowcast mode. In this presentation we show and discuss results and performances for the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 winter seasons. Using evaluation indexes we demonstrate that combining METRo and Reuter's models into one single forecast system improves bias and accuracy by about 0.5°C. This study is supported by the LIFE11 ENV/IT/000002 CLEAN-ROADS project. The project aims to assess the environmental impact of salt de-icers in Trentino mountain region by supporting winter road management operations with meteorological information. [1] Thornes J.E. and Stephenson D.B., Meteorological Applications, 8:307 (2001) [2] Reuter H., Tellus, 3:141 (1951) [3] Crevier L.P. and Delage Y., Journal of applied meteorology, 40:2026 (2001) [4] Pretto I. et al., SIRWEC 2014 conference proceedings, ID:0019 (2014)

Does front-of-pack nutrition information improve consumer ability to make healthful choices? Performance of warnings and the traffic light system in a simulated shopping experiment.

PubMed

Machín, Leandro; Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Curutchet, María Rosa; Giménez, Ana; Ares, Gastón

2018-02-01

The inclusion of more attention-grabbing and easily interpretable front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition information is one of the public policies that can be implemented to empower consumers to identify unhealthful food products and to make more informed food choices. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the influence of two FOP nutrition labelling schemes - the traffic light labelling and the warning scheme - on consumer food purchases when facing a health goal. The study was conducted with 1182 people from Montevideo (Uruguay), recruited using a Facebook advertisement. Participants were randomly allocated to one of three between-subjects experimental conditions: (i) a control condition with no FOP nutrition information, (ii) FOP nutrition information using a modified version of the traffic light system including information about calorie, saturated fat, sugars and sodium content per portion, and (iii) FOP nutrition information using the Chilean warning system including separate signs for high calorie, saturated fat, sugars and sodium content. Respondents were asked to imagine that they had to purchase food in order to prepare a healthy dinner for themselves and their family, using the website of an online grocery store. Results showed that FOP nutrition information effectively improved the average healthfulness of participants' choices compared to the control condition, both in terms of the average nutritional composition of the purchased products and expenditure in specific product categories. No relevant differences between the effect of the traffic light and the warning system were found. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the Deployment and Noise Filtering of Vehicular Radar Application for Detection Enhancement in Roads and Tunnels.

PubMed

Kim, Young-Duk; Son, Guk-Jin; Song, Chan-Ho; Kim, Hee-Kang

2018-03-11

Recently, radar technology has attracted attention for the realization of an intelligent transportation system (ITS) to monitor, track, and manage vehicle traffic on the roads as well as adaptive cruise control (ACC) and automatic emergency braking (AEB) for driving assistance of vehicles. However, when radar is installed on roads or in tunnels, the detection performance is significantly dependent on the deployment conditions and environment around the radar. In particular, in the case of tunnels, the detection accuracy for a moving vehicle drops sharply owing to the diffuse reflection of radio frequency (RF) signals. In this paper, we propose an optimal deployment condition based on height and tilt angle as well as a noise-filtering scheme for RF signals so that the performance of vehicle detection can be robust against external conditions on roads and in tunnels. To this end, first, we gather and analyze the misrecognition patterns of the radar by tracking a number of randomly selected vehicles on real roads. In order to overcome the limitations, we implement a novel road watch module (RWM) that is easily integrated into a conventional radar system such as Delphi ESR. The proposed system is able to perform real-time distributed data processing of the target vehicles by providing independent queues for each object of information that is incoming from the radar RF. Based on experiments with real roads and tunnels, the proposed scheme shows better performance than the conventional method with respect to the detection accuracy and delay time. The implemented system also provides a user-friendly interface to monitor and manage all traffic on roads and in tunnels. This will accelerate the popularization of future ITS services.

On the Deployment and Noise Filtering of Vehicular Radar Application for Detection Enhancement in Roads and Tunnels

PubMed Central

Kim, Young-Duk; Son, Guk-Jin; Song, Chan-Ho

2018-01-01

Recently, radar technology has attracted attention for the realization of an intelligent transportation system (ITS) to monitor, track, and manage vehicle traffic on the roads as well as adaptive cruise control (ACC) and automatic emergency braking (AEB) for driving assistance of vehicles. However, when radar is installed on roads or in tunnels, the detection performance is significantly dependent on the deployment conditions and environment around the radar. In particular, in the case of tunnels, the detection accuracy for a moving vehicle drops sharply owing to the diffuse reflection of radio frequency (RF) signals. In this paper, we propose an optimal deployment condition based on height and tilt angle as well as a noise-filtering scheme for RF signals so that the performance of vehicle detection can be robust against external conditions on roads and in tunnels. To this end, first, we gather and analyze the misrecognition patterns of the radar by tracking a number of randomly selected vehicles on real roads. In order to overcome the limitations, we implement a novel road watch module (RWM) that is easily integrated into a conventional radar system such as Delphi ESR. The proposed system is able to perform real-time distributed data processing of the target vehicles by providing independent queues for each object of information that is incoming from the radar RF. Based on experiments with real roads and tunnels, the proposed scheme shows better performance than the conventional method with respect to the detection accuracy and delay time. The implemented system also provides a user-friendly interface to monitor and manage all traffic on roads and in tunnels. This will accelerate the popularization of future ITS services. PMID:29534483

A fundamental conflict of care: Nurses' accounts of balancing patients' sleep with taking vital sign observations at night.

PubMed

Hope, Joanna; Recio-Saucedo, Alejandra; Fogg, Carole; Griffiths, Peter; Smith, Gary B; Westwood, Greta; Schmidt, Paul E

2017-12-21

To explore why adherence to vital sign observations scheduled by an early warning score protocol reduces at night. Regular vital sign observations can reduce avoidable deterioration in hospital. early warning score protocols set the frequency of these observations by the severity of a patient's condition. Vital sign observations are taken less frequently at night, even with an early warning score in place, but no literature has explored why. A qualitative interpretative design informed this study. Seventeen semi-structured interviews with nursing staff working on wards with varying levels of adherence to scheduled vital sign observations. A thematic analysis approach was used. At night, nursing teams found it difficult to balance the competing care goals of supporting sleep with taking vital sign observations. The night-time frequency of these observations was determined by clinical judgement, ward-level expectations of observation timing and the risk of disturbing other patients. Patients with COPD or dementia could be under-monitored, while patients nearing the end of life could be over-monitored. In this study, we found an early warning score algorithm focused on deterioration prevention did not account for long-term management or palliative care trajectories. Nurses were therefore less inclined to wake such patients to take vital sign observations at night. However, the perception of widespread exceptions and lack of evidence regarding optimum frequency risks delegitimising the early warning score approach. This may pose a risk to patient safety, particularly patients with dementia or chronic conditions. Nurses should document exceptions and discuss these with the wider team. Hospitals should monitor why vital sign observations are missed at night, identify which groups are under-monitored and provide guidance on prioritising competing expectations. early warning score protocols should take account of different care trajectories. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Nursing Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Use of Energy Efficient Sensor Networks to Enhance Dynamic Data Gathering Systems: A Comparative Study between Bluetooth and ZigBee.

PubMed

Gheorghiu, Razvan Andrei; Iordache, Valentin

2018-06-03

As road traffic conditions worsen due to the constantly increasing number of cars, traffic management systems are struggling to provide a suitable environment, by gathering all the relevant information from the road network. However, in most cases these are obtained via traffic detectors placed near road junctions, thus providing no information on the conditions in between. A large-scale sensor network using detectors on the majority of vehicles would certainly be capable of providing useful data, but has two major impediments: the equipment installed on the vehicles should be cheap enough (assuming the willingness of private car owners to be a part of the network) and be capable of transferring the required amount of data in due time, as the vehicle passes by the road side unit that acts as interface with the traffic management system. These restrictions reduce the number of technologies that can be used. In this article a series of comprehensive tests have been performed to evaluate the Bluetooth and ZigBee protocols for this purpose from many points of view: handshake time, static and dynamic data transfer (in laboratory conditions and in real traffic conditions). An assessment of the environmental conditions (during tests and probable to be encountered in real conditions) was also provided.

The role of negative affect and message credibility in perceived effectiveness of smokeless tobacco health warning labels in Navi Mumbai, India and Dhaka, Bangladesh: A moderated-mediation analysis.

PubMed

Mutti-Packer, Seema; Reid, Jessica L; Thrasher, James F; Romer, Daniel; Fong, Geoffrey T; Gupta, Prakash C; Pednekar, Mangesh S; Nargis, Nigar; Hammond, David

2017-10-01

There is strong evidence showing that pictorial health warnings are more effective than text-only warnings. However, much of this evidence comes from high-income countries and is limited to cigarette packaging. Moreover, few studies have identified mechanisms that might explain the impact of warnings. The current study examined the potential mediating role of negative affect and the moderating influence of message credibility in perceived effectiveness of smokeless tobacco warnings in two low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Field interviews were conducted in India and Bangladesh, with adult (19+ years) smokeless tobacco users (n=1053), and youth (16-18years) users (n=304) and non-users (n=687). Respondents were randomly assigned to view warnings in one of four conditions: (1) Text-only, (2) pictorial with symbolic imagery, (3) pictorial with graphic images of health effects, or (4) pictorial with personalized graphic images plus a personal testimonial. The findings provide support for the mediating influence of negative affect in perceived effectiveness, for adult and youth smokeless tobacco users who viewed pictorial warnings (vs. text-only), and graphic health warnings (vs. personal testimonials). Among adults, message credibility moderated the indirect effect; the association was stronger when credibility was high and weaker when it was low. Among youth users and non-users, message credibility did not moderate the indirect effect. Consistent with research from high-income countries, these findings highlight the importance of selecting imagery that will elicit negative emotional reactions and be perceived as credible. Differential effects among adults and youth highlight the importance of pre-testing images. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Why we need small-ICBM options

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herbst, R. F.

1984-01-01

A small ICBM (SICBM) offers the multiple projectile structures (MPS) of which the various MX ICBM basing modes proposed to date are examples several important advantages over a large missile. Smaller shelters and transporters are inherently less expensive, and allow the MPS system to employ more primitive roads which already exist in Minuteman ICBM fields. A dash-on-warning system has been suggested which involves the SICBM's transportation aboard VTOL aircraft that could be operated from several hundred small bases. Program management reforms are suggested in order to preclude the dismissal of weapon system alternatives (as the SICBM was) in the future. The use of several competing engineering organizations during the system definition phase may prove an effective measure toward this end.

33. VIEW OF FOUR OF SEVEN MONITORS SUSPENDED FROM CEILING ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

33. VIEW OF FOUR OF SEVEN MONITORS SUSPENDED FROM CEILING OF SLC-3W CONTROL ROOM NEAR NORTH WALL. LEFT TO RIGHT ABOVE THE MONITORS: DIGITAL GREENWICH MEAN TIME CLOCK, COMPLEX SAFETY WARNING LIGHTS FOR SLC-3W (PAD-2) AND LOB (THE GREEN LIGHT ON THE BOTTOM OF EACH STACK IS ILLUMINATED), AND DIGITAL COUNTDOWN AND HOLD CLOCKS. LEFT TO RIGHT BELOW THE MONITORS: INDICATOR LIGHTS SHOWING WHICH PAD OR VEHICLE FACILITIES ARE RECEIVING POWER FROM POWER PLANT 4 ON SOUTH VAFB, LIGHTS TO INDICATE IF POWER PLANT 4 IS ON OR OFF LINE, DIGITAL COUNTDOWN CLOCK, AND MILITARY-TIME CLOCK. - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

Credit PSR. The flammable waste materials shed appears as seen ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Credit PSR. The flammable waste materials shed appears as seen when looking south (186°) from South Liquid Loop Road. Note the catch basin for retaining accidentally spilled substances. Wastes are stored in drums and other safety containers until disposal by burning at the Incinerator (4249/E-50) or by other means. Note the nearby sign warning of corrosive, flammable materials, and calling attention to a fire extinguisher; a telephone is provided to call for assistance in the event of an emergency. This structure is isolated to prevent the spread of fire, and it is lightly built so damage from a fire will be inexpensive to repair - Jet Propulsion Laboratory Edwards Facility, Waste Flammable Storage Building, Edwards Air Force Base, Boron, Kern County, CA

78 FR 45260 - Federal Property Suitable as Facilities To Assist the Homeless

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-26

...; 162 sf., storage; 79 yrs. poor conditions Indiana Tract 85-107 910 Wilson Road Beverly Shores IN 46301... deterioration; contact interior for more info. Tract 40-177 Koehnemann House 1464 N Veden Road Chesterton IN... 39-103 Benson House 1485 Pottawatomie Road Chesterton IN 46304 Landholding Agency: Interior Property...

Introduction of the Mobile Platform for the Meteorological Observations in Seoul Metropolitan City of Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baek, K. T.; Lee, S.; Kang, M.; Lee, G.

2016-12-01

Traffic accidents due to adverse weather such as fog, heavy rainfall, flooding and road surface freezing have been increasing in Korea. To reduce damages caused by the severe weather on the road, a forecast service of combined real-time road-wise weather and the traffic situation is required. Conventional stationary meteorological observations in sparse location system are limited to observe the detailed road environment. For this reason, a mobile meteorological observation platform has been coupled in Weather Information Service Engine (WISE) which is the prototype of urban-scale high resolution weather prediction system in Seoul metropolitan area of Korea in early August 2016. The instruments onboard are designed to measure 15 meteorological parameters; pressure, temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, up/down net radiation, up/down longwave radiation, up/down shortwave radiation, road surface condition, friction coefficient, water depth, wind direction and speed. The observations from mobile platform show a distinctive advantage of data collection in need for road conditions and inputs for the numerical forecast model. In this study, we introduce and examine the feasibility of mobile observations in urban weather prediction and applications.

Study on road sign recognition in LabVIEW

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panoiu, M.; Rat, C. L.; Panoiu, C.

2016-02-01

Road and traffic sign identification is a field of study that can be used to aid the development of in-car advisory systems. It uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to extract the road signs from outdoor images acquired by a camera in uncontrolled lighting conditions where they may be occluded by other objects, or may suffer from problems such as color fading, disorientation, variations in shape and size, etc. An automatic means of identifying traffic signs, in these conditions, can make a significant contribution to develop an Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) that continuously monitors the driver, the vehicle, and the road. Road and traffic signs are characterized by a number of features which make them recognizable from the environment. Road signs are located in standard positions and have standard shapes, standard colors, and known pictograms. These characteristics make them suitable for image identification. Traffic sign identification covers two problems: traffic sign detection and traffic sign recognition. Traffic sign detection is meant for the accurate localization of traffic signs in the image space, while traffic sign recognition handles the labeling of such detections into specific traffic sign types or subcategories [1].

Choice of scale for integrating land use in malaria risk monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spangler, K. R.; Zaitchik, B. F.; Pan, W.; Vittor, A.; Patz, J.

2011-12-01

There were nearly 37,000 reported cases of malaria in Peru in 2009 alone. With over 30% of the population identified as being at "high risk" for exposure, detailed risk mapping, along with early detection and warning systems, are in critical need. While there is evidence that the increased formation of puddles arising from deforestation increases the breeding of the rainforest's primary malaria vector, Anopheles darlingi, neither the spatial structure of land uses/land cover changes (LUCC) nor the area of influence of LUCC on mosquito density has been systematically addressed. The radius of influence that LUCC - particularly areas of deforested land and other regions likely to see increases in stagnant water formation - has on mosquito presence is of particular importance, both for the design of warning systems and to inform future malaria transmission studies. Here, we present the results of satellite-based analysis of land use patterns and mosquito density along the Iquitos-Nauta road in the Peruvian Amazon. Comparing supervised classifications of Landsat images of the Iquitos region from 1996 and 2001 , land cover features around each of 832 mosquito sites were tabulated by percent at six different radii: 250m, 500m, 1000m, 2000m, 3000m, and 5000m. These results were then used as inputs in a mosquito prediction model that determined the most pertinent spatial scale necessary to predict both adult and larvae Anopheles mosquitoes (darlingi, benerocchi, oswaldoi, mattogrossenis, and rangeli). The application of this study is to provide a systematic means of determining which areas are at the highest risk of malaria infection in order to inform design of warning systems and future studies of land use and malaria in the Amazonian frontier.

Investigating the road surface effect to the fatigue life of an automotive coil spring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putra, T. E.; Husaini

2018-05-01

This work aims to estimate the life of a coil spring considering road surface profiles. Strain signals were measured by installing a strain gage at the highest stress location of the coil spring and then driving the vehicle on country and village roads. The village road gave high amplitudes containing spikes when the tire touched a curb, bump or pothole. These conditions contributed to a higher loading rate to the car component, contributing to shorter useful fatigue life, which was only 140 reversals of blocks. Driving on the village road resulted in a 6-times decrease in the useful fatigue life of the component in comparison to the country road. In conclusion, the village road caused stronger vibrations to the component because it has a rough surface; meanwhile, the country road provided lower vibrations because the road was smooth.

Climatic Characteristics of Slovakia in the Years 1971 to 2011 from the Aspect of Pavement Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Decky, Martin; Remisova, Eva; Kovalcik, Lubomír; Dibdiakova, Jana; Hajek, Matej

2017-12-01

Contribution follows the previous work of authors in the field of implementation of objectified results of climate change in the design of roads, especially their pavement [1] to [3]. Climate conditions are besides traffic load, one of the permanent external factors adversely affecting the physical and mechanical properties of the construction layers. For designing concrete pavements is used in SR conditions average annual air temperature Tm and frost index for design of asphalt and concrete pavements. As part of the research activities carried out at the workplace, the authors statistically evaluated average daily temperatures of SR meteorological stations covering most of the SR territory with altitude from 115 to 695 m above sea level in the years 1971 to 2011. Act No. 135/1961 Coll. (Road Act) states that the design of road pavements is performed according to valid Slovak technical standards, technical regulations and objectively identified results of research and development for road infrastructure. On the basis of the presented correlations, it can be stated that the presented research results can be used immediately for SR conditions in the design of road pavements.

Soldier detection using unattended acoustic and seismic sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naz, P.; Hengy, S.; Hamery, P.

2012-06-01

During recent military conflicts, as well as for security interventions, the urban zone has taken a preponderant place. Studies have been initiated in national and in international programs to stimulate the technical innovations for these specific scenarios. For example joint field experiments have been organized by the NATO group SET-142 to evaluate the capability for the detection and localization of snipers, mortars or artillery guns using acoustic devices. Another important operational need corresponds to the protection of military sites or buildings. In this context, unattended acoustic and seismic sensors are envisaged to contribute to the survey of specific points by the detection of approaching enemy soldiers. This paper describes some measurements done in an anechoic chamber and in free field to characterize typical sounds generated by the soldier activities (walking, crawling, weapon handling, radio communication, clothing noises...). Footstep, speech and some specific impulsive sounds are detectable at various distances from the source. Such detection algorithms may be easily merged with the existing weapon firing detection algorithms to provide a more generic "battlefield acoustic" early warning system. Results obtained in various conditions (grassy terrain, gravel path, road, forest) will be presented. A method to extrapolate the distances of detection has been developed, based on an acoustic propagation model and applied to the laboratory measurements.

Development of driver’s assistant system of additional visual information of blind areas for Gazelle Next

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makarov, V.; Korelin, O.; Koblyakov, D.; Kostin, S.; Komandirov, A.

2018-02-01

The article is devoted to the development of the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for the GAZelle NEXT car. This project is aimed at developing a visual information system for the driver integrated into the windshield racks. The developed system implements the following functions: assistance in maneuvering and parking; Recognition of road signs; Warning the driver about the possibility of a frontal collision; Control of "blind" zones; "Transparent" vision in the windshield racks, widening the field of view, behind them; Visual and sound information about the traffic situation; Control and descent from the lane of the vehicle; Monitoring of the driver’s condition; navigation system; All-round review. The scheme of action of sensors of the developed system of visual information of the driver is provided. The moments of systems on a prototype of a vehicle are considered. Possible changes in the interior and dashboard of the car are given. The results of the implementation are aimed at the implementation of the system - improved informing of the driver about the environment and the development of an ergonomic interior for this system within the new Functional Salon of the Gazelle Next vehicle equipped with a visual information system for the driver.

77 FR 62491 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-15

... understand the relationship between meteorological phenomena and road conditions, as well as public.... Additionally, the project will shed light upon the interrelationship between meteorological phenomena, road...

Mitigating road impacts on animals through learning principles.

PubMed

Proppe, D S; McMillan, N; Congdon, J V; Sturdy, C B

2017-01-01

Roads are a nearly ubiquitous feature of the developed world, but their presence does not come without consequences. Many mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians suffer high rates of mortality through collision with motor vehicles, while other species treat roads as barriers that reduce gene flow between populations. Road effects extend beyond the pavement, where traffic noise is altering communities of songbirds, insects, and some mammals. Traditional methods of mitigation along roads include the creation of quieter pavement and tires and the construction of physical barriers to reduce sound transmission and movement. While effective, these forms of mitigation are costly and time-consuming. One alternative is the use of learning principles to create or extinguish aversive behaviors in animals living near roads. Classical and operant conditioning are well-documented techniques for altering behavior in response to novel cues and signals. Behavioral ecologists have used conditioning techniques to mitigate human-wildlife conflict challenges, alter predator-prey interactions, and facilitate reintroduction efforts. Yet, these principles have rarely been applied in the context of roads. We suggest that the field of road ecology is ripe with opportunity for experimentation with learning principles. We present tangible ways that learning techniques could be utilized to mitigate negative roadside behaviors, address the importance of evaluating fitness within these contexts, and evaluate the longevity of learned behaviors. This review serves as an invitation for empirical studies that test the effectiveness of learning paradigms as a mitigation tool in the context of roads.

Development of structural health monitoring and early warning system for reinforced concrete system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Iranata, Data, E-mail: iranata-data@yahoo.com, E-mail: data@ce.its.ac.id; Wahyuni, Endah; Murtiadi, Suryawan

Many buildings have been damaged due to earthquakes that occurred recently in Indonesia. The main cause of the damage is the large deformation of the building structural component cannot accommodate properly. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the Structural Health Monitoring System (SHMS) to measure precisely the deformation of the building structural component in the real time conditions. This paper presents the development of SHMS for reinforced concrete structural system. This monitoring system is based on deformation component such as strain of reinforcement bar, concrete strain, and displacement of reinforced concrete component. Since the deformation component has exceeded the limitmore » value, the warning message can be sent to the building occupies. This warning message has also can be performed as early warning system of the reinforced concrete structural system. The warning message can also be sent via Short Message Service (SMS) through the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network. Hence, the SHMS should be integrated with internet modem to connect with GSM network. Additionally, the SHMS program is verified with experimental study of simply supported reinforced concrete beam. Verification results show that the SHMS has good agreement with experimental results.« less

An Automated Road Roughness Detection from Mobile Laser Scanning Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, P.; Angelats, E.

2017-05-01

Rough roads influence the safety of the road users as accident rate increases with increasing unevenness of the road surface. Road roughness regions are required to be efficiently detected and located in order to ensure their maintenance. Mobile Laser Scanning (MLS) systems provide a rapid and cost-effective alternative by providing accurate and dense point cloud data along route corridor. In this paper, an automated algorithm is presented for detecting road roughness from MLS data. The presented algorithm is based on interpolating smooth intensity raster surface from LiDAR point cloud data using point thinning process. The interpolated surface is further processed using morphological and multi-level Otsu thresholding operations to identify candidate road roughness regions. The candidate regions are finally filtered based on spatial density and standard deviation of elevation criteria to detect the roughness along the road surface. The test results of road roughness detection algorithm on two road sections are presented. The developed approach can be used to provide comprehensive information to road authorities in order to schedule maintenance and ensure maximum safety conditions for road users.