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D F Preusser

Publications and source records attributed to D F Preusser.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Sales of alcohol to underage purchasers in three New York counties and Washington, D.C.

A study was conducted in which young males, under the legal alcohol purchase age of 21, attempted to purchase beer at grocery stores and other retail outlets. Underage purchases were attempted at a sample of stores in Washington, D.C.; Westchester County, New York: and Albany and Schenectady counties, New York. Beer was sold to the underage purchasers at 97 percent of the Washington, D.C. stores, 80 percent of the Westchester County stores, and 44 percent of the Albany and Schenectady stores, despite the fact that such sales are illegal. Beer was more likely to be sold to the underage purchasers at smaller neighborhood stores in urban areas. Sales were least likely in Albany, which experienced recent police enforcement of the alcohol purchase age laws. Vigorous enforcement of the minimum purchase age laws is needed to reverse the current national trend toward more alcohol-related highway fatalities among youth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Long hours and fatigue: a survey of tractor-trailer drivers.

Fatigue and long driving hours have been implicated as risk factors in truck crashes. Under federal regulations, commercial drivers are permitted to drive no more than 10 hours before having an 8-hour break and cannot work more than 70 hours over an 8-day period. Several studies have suggested that violations of these rules are common. A survey of long haul tractor-trailer drivers was conducted to estimate what proportion of drivers report that they regularly violate the hours-of-service rules and to identify the drivers most likely to commit hours-of-service violations. During December 1990 through April 1991, a total of 1,249 drivers were interviewed at truck safety inspection stations, truck stops, and agricultural inspection stations in Connecticut, Florida, Oklahoma, and Oregon. In each state, interviews were conducted during varying periods of the day over the course of seven days at inspection stations. Overall, 89 percent of eligible drivers asked for interviews participated in the survey. According to self-reports, almost three-fourths of the respondents violate hours-of-service rules. About two-thirds of the drivers reported that they routinely drive or work more than the weekly maximum. A primary impetus for violating rules appears to be economic factors, including tight delivery schedules and low payment rates. Many other driver, job, and vehicle characteristics were significantly associated with being an hours-of-service violator. The high prevalence of hours-of-service violations among tractor-trailer drivers is a problem in need of urgent attention. Potential measures to reduce the prevalence of rules violations include more enforcement directed toward carriers, wider use of electronic recorders, and increasing the number of rest areas.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1991

Characteristics of belted and unbelted drivers.

Drivers who had been observed wearing or not wearing shoulder belts were compared using vehicle registration data, driver records, and telephone interviews. The observations were made on the New York Thruway during a special seat belt publicity and enforcement program, which achieved a 75% overall belt use. The results showed that those drivers who still did not wear a shoulder belt despite New York law and the special Thruway program were more likely to be male, to be driving older vehicles, to have more prior traffic convictions, to have more prior injury crash involvements, and to say they are more likely to take risks than others. Although drivers reported that assessing points against the drivers license for belt law violations could increase belt use, citations for belt use law violations were very rare, and enforcement would probably have to increase before any new penalty could be effective.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1990

City curfew ordinances and teenage motor vehicle injury.

Several U.S. cities have curfew ordinances that limit the late night activities of minor teenagers in public places including highways. Detroit, Cleveland, and Columbus, which have curfew ordinances, were compared to Cincinnati, which does not have such an ordinance. The curfew ordinances were associated with a 23% reduction in motor vehicle related injury for 13- to 17-year-olds as passengers, drivers, pedestrians, or bicyclists during the curfew hours. It was concluded that city curfew ordinances, like the statewide driving curfews studied in other states, can reduce motor vehicle injury to teenagers during the particularly hazardous late night hours.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1988

Belt use by high-risk drivers before and after New York's seat belt use law.

Belt use among drivers traveling on limited access highways was observed before and after New York's mandatory seat belt use law. The results showed that high-speed drivers had lower belt use rates before the law and increased their belt use less in response to the law. Belt use rates before the law were 25%, 29%, and 28% for the high-, medium-, and low-speed groups as compared with 51%, 64%, and 57%, respectively, after the law. High-speed drivers also had inferior previous driving records, confirming their higher risk of motor vehicle crash involvement.

Acceleration↗
PubMed1988

Drug use by tractor-trailer drivers.

Blood or urine samples or both were obtained from 317 of 359 randomly selected tractor-trailer drivers asked to participate in a driver health survey conducted at a truck weighing station on Interstate 40 in Tennessee. Altogether, 29% of the drivers had evidence of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, prescription or nonprescription stimulants, or some combination of these, in either blood or urine. Cannabinoids were found in 15% of the drivers' blood or urine; nonprescription stimulants such as phenylpropanolamine were found in 12%; prescription stimulants such as amphetamine were found in 5%; cocaine metabolites were found in 2%; and alcohol was found in less than 1%. These results provide the first objective information about the use of potentially abusive drugs by tractor-trailer drivers. The extent of driver impairment attributable to the observed drugs is uncertain because of the complex relationship between performance and drug concentrations.

Automobile Driving↗
PubMed1987

The effect of New York's seat belt use law on teenage drivers.

This study assessed the effects of New York State's recently adopted mandatory seat belt use law on teenage drivers. Teenage drivers were observed as they entered high school parking lots before the law was adopted, after it was adopted but before it was effective, one month after the effective date, and again five months after the effective date. The results showed that 14% of the teenage drivers were wearing either shoulder or lap belts or both prior to adoption of the law. This increased to 22% after adoption of the law, 60% one month after the effective date of the law, and 63% five months after the effective date. Teenagers using seat belts were more often female, were younger, had completed driver education and had a longer trip from home to school. Both before and after the law, teenage belt use was similar to, but typically lower than, belt use in the community in which the school was located.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Results of a seat belt use law enforcement and publicity campaign in Elmira, New York.

In New York and other states in which seat belt use laws went into effect in the mid-1980s, belt use rates surged initially, then declined. This pattern of belt use also occurred in Canadian provinces that enacted laws in the mid-1970s; special enforcement programs reversed this trend. In late 1985 a three-week enforcement and publicity program was conducted in Elmira, New York. Belt use rates in Elmira were 49 percent before the program, 77 percent right after, and 66 percent two months later. In Glens Falls, a comparison city without a program, belt use declined from 43 percent to 37 percent during this interval. In a telephone survey after the campaign, Elmira respondents were more likely to say the belt use law was being strictly enforced and were more favorable toward it, compared to Glens Falls respondents. These data indicate that enforcement/publicity programs are an important and feasible method for increasing compliance with belt use laws.

Humans↗
PubMed1987

Seat belt use law enforcement and publicity in Elmira, New York: a reminder campaign.

A three-week belt use law publicity and enforcement campaign in Elmira, New York, in November 1985, increased use from 49 per cent to 77 per cent; four months later belt use was 66 per cent. A reminder program, in April 1986, increased belt use to 80 per cent; use declined to 69 per cent four months later and to 60 per cent eight months later. Throughout these periods, belt use in Glens Falls, a comparison community, remained stable at just over 40 per cent.

Attitude↗
PubMed1986

Drinking and driving among high school students.

A questionnaire survey of high school students conducted in 1983 provided information on their self-reported drinking and driving practices. By age 15 the majority reported drinking alcoholic beverages. By age 17 half or more of the males and one-third of the females reported driving after drinking at least once in the past month. About one-quarter of the students estimated that six or more cans of beer would be required to make someone an unsafe driver. Reported frequency of driving after drinking was associated with less time spent on homework and poorer academic performance, working part time, greater participation in social activities, less perceived parental influence regarding their travel, owning a car, driving high mileage, speeding, and having crashes and violations.

Achievement↗
PubMed1985

Teenage driver licensing in relation to state laws.

Previous studies have shown that delaying licensure reduces motor vehicle injuries. This study examined the relationship between licensing laws and the timing of obtaining drivers licenses. The states studied have various laws, including minimum licensing ages of 15, 16 and 17; minimum learners permit ages of 15 and 16; and teenage night driving curfews. A questionnaire survey of 52,304 students was conducted in 75 high schools during the spring of 1983. The schools were selected from Orange County, California; rural Colorado; and most or all of Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey and New York. The results indicated that the minimum age of licensure has obvious strong effects in delaying licensure. Setting the learners permit age later also apparently delays licensure. The night driving curfew in New York State (9 p.m.-5 a.m.) is seen by students as a factor in their decisions to delay obtaining licenses; Louisiana's 11 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew has a much smaller effect, if any.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1985

Night driving curfews in New York and Louisiana: results of a questionnaire survey.

New York and Louisiana, two states having night driving curfews, were included in a questionnaire survey of high school students conducted in 1983. Most students in these states knew about their curfew law. In both states the majority of licensed drivers said they had violated the curfew, but the majority claimed to have violated the curfew no more than twice. Students do not believe that the police enforce curfew restrictions vigorously, but many parents require their children to obey the law. New York students were more knowledgeable than Louisiana students about the restrictions, and there was more evidence in New York than Louisiana of reduced driving resulting from the curfew. These findings are consistent with results of an earlier study that found curfews in both of these states reduced crashes but estimated crash reductions during curfew hours were greater in New York than in Louisiana.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1985

Driver licensing age and lifestyles of 16 year olds.

The relationship of driver licensure rate differences to 16 year old lifestyles was assessed by surveying 15 and 16 year olds in New York, Michigan, and New Jersey. Michigan 16 year olds reported the highest rates of licensure (56 per cent), whereas New York (14 per cent licensed) and New Jersey (2 per cent licensed) had much lower rates. Teenagers in Michigan reported greater decreases in use of bicycles and reliance on parents and relatives for transportation but, for the most part, the differences in 16 year old licensure and mobility were not reflected in lifestyle differences.

Adolescent↗