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PubMedDate not supplied

Urban commuter exposure to particle matter and carbon monoxide inside an automobile.

In-vehicle exposures to different sizes of particles and carbon monoxide (CO) were determined while driving along a standardized route under a variety of traffic conditions in Kuopio, Finland during the 12-month period from January to December 1995. Arithmetic means of in-vehicle exposures during the morning rush hours were 5.7 parts per million (ppm) (geometric mean, GM = 3.1 ppm, geometric standard deviation, GSD = 1.7) for CO, 107 #/cm3 (GM = 75 #/cm3, GSD = 1.9) for fine particles (optical equivalent particle size range 0.3-1 micron) and 0.9 #/cm3 (GM = 0.6 #/cm3, GSD = 2.1) for coarse particles (optical equivalent particle size range 1-10 microns). Fine particles and CO behaved similarly in different weather and traffic conditions, while the behavior of coarse particles was usually different, and often opposite. The driving conditions that affected the passengers' exposures to CO and fine particles were the time of day (morning vs. afternoon) and average speed (decreasing). The meteorological parameters that affected the passengers' exposures to CO and fine particles were wind speed (decreasing) and relative humidity (increasing). Wind speed, relative humidity and driving speed all had opposite effects on the exposure levels to fine vs. coarse particles. Added exposures (due to commuting on top of the background levels) to CO and fine particles were considerably higher in the morning vs. the afternoon runs and also higher in the slower vs. the faster runs.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed2006

Proximity of schools in Detroit, Michigan to automobile and truck traffic.

Exposure to traffic-related air pollutants, which has been associated with a range of adverse health effects, often is represented using indirect proxies or surrogate exposure measures, most commonly, the proximity to busy roads. This study examines the proximity of grade K-12 schools to high traffic roads in Wayne County, Michigan, an area including the industrialized city of Detroit as well as outlying urban and suburban communities. Unlike earlier studies, commercial and non-commercial traffic is distinguished, and effects of school type (public, charter, private), socio-economic variables, demographic factors, and mapping errors are evaluated. We find that total traffic flow, as measured by annual average daily traffic (AADT), does not reflect the substantial differences between trucking and commuting routes. Thus, AADT alone may inadequately capture traffic-related exposures, especially given the large differences between diesel and gasoline emissions. Based on close proximity (school-road distance < or = 150 m) to heavy traffic (AADT > or = 50,000), 4.9% of the 845 Wayne County schools are traffic exposed at school. In the urban core area, 7.2% of schools and 7.6% of students are traffic exposed at school. A larger proportion of grade 7-12 students in public schools are exposed than K-6 students. Considering truck emissions, 2.8% of the schools are within 150 m of roads with 5000 or more trucks per day. In Wayne County, students attending schools near high traffic roads are more likely to be Black or Hispanic, to be enrolled in a meal program, and to reside in a poor area. Many of these results are driven by the large minority population in the densely populated core area of Detroit. The findings show that a large fraction of children have high exposures to traffic-related pollutants, especially in Detroit, and the need for exposure measures that account for both the composition and volume of traffic.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Simple reaction time, duration of driving and sleep deprivation in young versus old automobile drivers.

Car accidents are one of the major causes of death in modern society and sleepiness is identified as one major risk factor. The purposes of the present study were: (1) to relate the sleep loss and driving time to a performance indicator and (2) to identify risk factors of performance decrement. We investigated 294 drivers (age < 30 years, n = 100; age > or = 30 years, n = 194) who drove into a rest stop area. All were asked to fill out a questionnaire about the drive and previous sleep/wake pattern, and to carry out a 10 min, simple reaction time (RT) test. The level of performance is identified by the 10% slowest RTs. Multiple regression analysis, with the mean of the 10% Slowest RTs as the dependent variable, showed that age, duration of drive, and duration (shortness) of previous breaks were the main predictors. Our study suggests that public awareness may need to be raised with respect excessive length of driving, especially in young drivers.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[Congenital nystagmus in the ophthalmologic automobile driving fitness verdict].

BACKGROUND: A driver with congenital nystagmus (CN) is supposed to have a certain minimum visual acuity and a minimum velocity of reading, with the head directed straight ahead or 10 degrees laterally. The ability to perform different oculomotor tasks depends, however, on individual properties of nystagmus and compensatory mechanisms, as is demonstrated in 4 cases. METHODS: Detailed electrooculographic (EOG) recordings were performed in 4 CN patients, in addition to the examination of visual functions. RESULTS: The visual acuity of patient 1 is sufficient (0.6 on both eyes), yet his retinal image is intermittently destabilized by a periodic alternating nystagmus. Case 2 with high myopic astigmatism and severely reduced visual acuity (right eye: finger counting; left eye: 0.2) compensates for his vertical pendular nystagmus by head nodding and for his manifest-latent horizontal nystagmus by a head turn. The optimal visual acuity of patient 3 (horizontal pendular nystagmus) is 0.3, with an oblique head position and convergence. In other head and gaze positions he has a coarse jerk nystagmus beating in the direction of gaze. Patient 4, with a high myopic astigmatism, microstrabism and manifest-latent fixational nystagmus, has a visual acuity between 0.2 and 0.3 in both eyes. He had been a licensed professional car driver, in spite of contradicting national and international criteria: but his license was refused later. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with CN, the influence of head and gaze position, monocular fixation, convergence and self or object motion on nystagmus intensity and wave forms could be important for driving, because it might influence visual acuity and motion perception. The latter hypothesis still has to be proven in further studies, performed under conditions relevant for traffic.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Visual compromise of automobile drivers by frontal photo-flash in mesoptic conditions].

The time for recovery of recognition of an optotype presented at a distance of 40 m subsequent to exposure to a flash gun (Eso company, Tettnang; flash energy 200 Ws, duration 1/1000 s; distance 10 m) was studied on 97 subjects aged 20 to 83 years. A Landolt-ring (contrast 1:5, diameter 29 cm), mounted on a disk (diameter 58 cm) which could be rotated in steps of 45 degrees served as a test target. The flash gun could be dimmed down by a red filter (Schott RG 665). The tests were performed at night without additional illumination except the low beam of the car. The flash gun was foveally fixated. After a white flash, a period of 93.1 s +/- 48.6 s (MEAN +/- SD) passed before the optotype could be recognized correctly again. By adding the red filter in front of the flash gun the recovery time could be shortened significantly (p < 0.0001; Wilcoxon signed-rank test) to 4.9 s +/- 1.7 s. "Time for re-adaptation" after dazzling by red flash is comparatively short and therefore strongly influenced by many variables (e.g. time for recognition and for verbalization). Because of that a final evaluation of dazzling by red flash seems to be impossible with this method. Subjects of advanced age and opacities of the ocular media showed an increase in the "time for re-adaptation" for the white as well as the red flash. In conclusion, a speed control using white flash guns at night can be considered as critical.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[The Freiburg Stereotest. On assessment of stereovision in automobile driver examination].

BACKGROUND: The "Freiburg Stereotest" is a new instrument where disparate pictures are generated by a computer and displayed on one single high resolution video monitor. In the present work, the Freiburg Stereotest was used to check the stereo qualification for certain categories of driver's licence. For this purpose, a determination of the smallest detectable disparity is not reasonable. Rather, it should be checked whether or not a certain disparity, usually well above threshold, is recognized with a sufficient reliability. We have chosen a disparity of 100 arcsec; this value is considered to be an acceptable requirement for certain categories of driver's licence. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 6 strabismic subjects were examined binocularly and 10 normal subjects were examined both binocularly and monocularly. Two targets ("busses"), side by side and different in depth by a disparity of 100 arcsec, were presented 78 times and, in a two-alternative forced-choice procedure, a minimum of 66 hits was required to pass the test. Monocular cues were excluded by a systematic variation of the lateral distance between the two targets. RESULTS: The strabismic subjects and the monocularly occluded normal subjects reached random scores only. With both eyes open, 8 of the 10 normal subjects reached scores near 100%, while 2 of them passed the test only when the lateral distance between the two targets was 15 minarc or less. For a lateral distance between the two targets of more than 15 minarc, these 2 subjects showed a learning effect. CONCLUSIONS: The Freiburg Stereotest allows to determine with statistical significance whether or not a proband can recognize a certain disparity which may be required for a driver's licence.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

The risk of dying in alcohol-related automobile crashes among habitual drunk drivers.

BACKGROUND: Reports suggest that people who drive while intoxicated by alcohol may do so repeatedly. We hypothesized that persons arrested for driving while impaired might be at increased risk for death in an alcohol-related motor vehicle crash. To evaluate this possibility, we studied the deaths of drivers in alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents in North Carolina over a 10-year period. METHODS: We compared drivers who died in motor vehicle crashes from 1980 through 1989 and who had blood alcohol concentrations of at least 20 mg per deciliter (4.3 mmol per liter), referred to as the case drivers, with those who died in crashes but had blood alcohol concentrations below 20 mg per deciliter, referred to as the control drivers. We identified case drivers and control drivers through the state Medical Examiner System. We then searched North Carolina driver-history files for the five years before each death to identify arrests for driving while impaired. RESULTS: We linked a total of 1646 case drivers and 1474 control drivers to their driver-history files. Case drivers were more likely than control drivers to have been arrested for driving while impaired (26 percent vs. 3 percent). After we controlled for potential confounding variables, case drivers 21 to 34 years of age were 4.3 times more likely (95 percent confidence interval, 2.7 to 6.8) than control drivers to have been arrested for driving while impaired; case drivers 35 years of age or older were 11.7 times more likely (95 percent confidence interval, 6.8 to 20.1). The strength of the association appeared to increase with the number of prior arrests. Case drivers were also more likely than the general population of currently licensed drivers to have been arrested. CONCLUSIONS: Arrests for driving while impaired substantially increase the risk of eventual death in an alcohol-related crash. Aggressive intervention in the cases of people arrested for driving while impaired may decrease the likelihood of a future fatal alcohol-related crash.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2005

Accumulation of the precious metals platinum, palladium and rhodium from automobile catalytic converters in Paratenuisentis ambiguus as compared with its fish host, Anguilla anguilla.

The platinum group metals (PGM) Pt, Pd and Rh are emitted into the environment mainly by catalytic exhaust gas converters of cars. As PGM accumulate in sediments of aquatic ecosystems, the study was focused on the uptake of the noble metals by European eels, Anguilla anguilla infected with the acanthocephalan Paratenuisentis ambiguus. Eels were exposed to ground catalytic converter material for six weeks. After exposure Pt and Pd were detected in the liver and kidney of the eels and in the parasites. Palladium was also found in fish muscle and intestine. No Rh uptake by the eel tissues and the parasites occurred. Paratenuisentis ambiguus contained the highest levels of both metals with 40 times higher Pt concentrations and four times higher Pd concentrations than the liver of its host. Due to its accumulation capacity for PGM, P. ambiguus can be applied as a sensitive accumulation indicator in field studies to assess the degree of environmental PGM contamination in aquatic ecosystems.

Acanthocephala↗