Safer Vehicles For People And The Planet
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Safer Vehicles For People And The Planet
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Author :
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2008
Safer Vehicles For People And The Planet written by and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2008 with categories.
Motor vehicles contribute to climate change and petroleum dependence. Improving their fuel economy by making them lighter need not compromise safety. The cars and trucks plying America's roads and highways generate roughly 20 percent of the nation's total emissions of carbon dioxide, a pollutant that is, of course, of increasing concern because of its influence on climate. Motor vehicles also account for most of our country's dependence on imported petroleum, the price of which has recently skyrocketed to near-record levels. So policymakers would welcome the many benefits that would accrue from lessening the amount of fuel consumed in this way. Yet lawmakers have not significantly tightened new vehicle fuel-economy standards since they were first enacted three decades ago. Since then, manufacturers have, for the most part, used advances in automotive technology, ones that could have diminished fuel consumption, to boost performance and increase vehicle weight. In addition, the growth in popularity of pickups, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and minivans--and the large amounts of gas they typically guzzle--has resulted in the average vehicle using the same amount of fuel per mile as it did 20 years ago. One of the historical impediments to imposing tougher fuel-economy standards has been the long-standing worry that reducing the mass of a car or truck to help meet these requirements would make it more dangerous to its occupants in a crash. People often justify this concern in terms of 'simple physics', noting, for example, that, all else being equal, in a head-on collision, the lighter vehicle is the more strongly decelerated, an argument that continues to sway regulators, legislators and many in the general public. We have spent the past several years examining the research underlying this position--and some recent work challenging it. We have also conducted our own analyses and come to the conclusion that the claim that lighter vehicles are inherently dangerous to those riding in them is flawed. For starters, all else is never equal; other aspects of vehicle design appear to control what really happens in a crash, as reflected in the safety record of different kinds of vehicles. What's more, the use of high-strength steel, light-weight metals such as aluminum and magnesium, and fiber-reinforced plastics now offers automotive engineers the means to fashion vehicles that are simultaneously safer and less massive than their predecessors, and such designs would, of course, enjoy the better fuel economy that shedding pounds brings.
Safer Vehicles For People And The Planet
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Author :
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2008
Safer Vehicles For People And The Planet written by and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2008 with categories.
Letter to the Editors from Leonard Evans, Bloomfield Hills, MI: Single-vehicle crashes, which account for half of occupant fatalities, are not mentioned in 'Safer Vehicles for People and the Planet', by Thomas P. Wenzel and Marc Ross (March-April). Simple physics shows that in such crashes risk declines as vehicle mass increases. The authors write 'driving imported luxury cars carries extremely low risk, for reasons that are not obvious'. The reasons are obvious--the cars are purchased by low-risk drivers. If they swapped vehicles with drivers of sports cars (which have high risk), the risks would stick with the drivers, not the vehicles. The article reflects the American belief that death on our roads can be substantially reduced by making vehicles in which it is safer to crash. From 1979 through 2002, Great Britain, Canada and Australia reduced fatalities by an average of 49 percent, compared with 16 percent in the U.S. Accumulating the differences over this time shows that by merely matching the safety performance of these other countries, about 200,000 fewer Americans would have died. These trends continue. In 2006 the U.S. recorded 42,642 traffic deaths, a modest 22 percent decline from our all-time high. Sweden recorded 445, a reduction of 66 percent from their all-time high. The obsessive focus on vehicles rather than on countermeasures that scientific research shows substantially reduce risk is at the core of our dramatic safety failure. The only way to substantially reduce deaths is to reduce the risk of crashing, not to make it safer to crash. The response from Drs. Wenzel and Ross: Of course Dr. Evans is correct in stating that driver behavior influences crash risk. In our article we made clear that our estimates of risk include how well a vehicle/driver combination avoids a crash, as well as how crash-worthy a vehicle (and robust a driver) is once a crash occurs. We also analyzed two variables that can account for driver behavior: the fraction of all driver fatalities that are young men, and a 'bad driver' rating that combines information about the current crash (drug or alcohol involvement, driving without a license, or reckless driving) as well as the operator's driving record for the previous three years. For example, the high risks of sports cars, and the low risks of minivans, are clearly influenced by who drives these types of vehicles (36 percent young males and 0.77 bad driver rating for sports cars, vs. 4 percent and 0.21 for minivans; the average values for all types of cars are 20 percent and 0.50). On the other hand, we were surprised to find that the imported luxury cars, with the lowest risks, have only average drivers (21 percent young males, 0.57 bad driver rating). That is the basis for our conclusion that the design of imported luxury vehicles, or at least specific safety features on them, overcome risky behavior taken by their drivers. The safety of vehicles has greatly improved over the years. In our studies we have found several examples of models that greatly reduced their risks over time; for example, the Ford Focus has a much better risk to its drivers (118) than the Ford Escort it replaced (148). Our data indicate that more young males drive the Focus (21 percent) than the Escort (15 percent), and that Focus drivers are perhaps slightly more risky (0.50 vs. 0.44 bad driver rating). Clearly vehicle design does not play as small a role in vehicle safety as Dr. Evans suggests. Dr. Evans asserts that we ignore single-vehicle crashes and that simple physics dictates that vehicle mass provides safety in single-vehicle crashes. By itself, additional vehicle mass does provide some protection from rapid deceleration in crashes with a movable object, particularly for an unbelted occupant. However, when it comes to vehicle safety, our research by vehicle model indicates that there is essentially no relationship between car mass and risk, even in frontal crashes. In his own papers, Dr. Evans appears to admit that it is not clear whether mass, or size (specifically crush space) is inherent to vehicle safety. Additional research indicates that it is not size per se that protects in two-vehicle crashes, but how well the stiff structures on the vehicles are aligned. The auto manufacturing industry has voluntarily made design changes to their pickup trucks to increase the likelihood that truck and car bumpers will interact in a frontal crash, reducing the aggressivity of pickup trucks in recent years. Regarding the differences in experiences between the U.S. and other countries, it is important to keep in mind that the U.S. vehicle fleet is fairly unique; about half of U.S. vehicles are light duty trucks (pickups, SUVs and minivans), which many studies have shown are dangerous to other road users.
Physics And The Environment
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Author : Kyle Forinash
language : en
Publisher: Morgan & Claypool Publishers
Release Date : 2017-07-05
Physics And The Environment written by Kyle Forinash and has been published by Morgan & Claypool Publishers this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2017-07-05 with Technology & Engineering categories.
Physics and the Environment directly connects the physical world to environmental issues that the world is facing today and will face in the future. It shows how the first and second laws of thermodynamics limit the efficiencies of fossil fuel energy conversions to less than 100%, while also discussing how clever technologies can enhance overall performance. It also extensively discusses renewable forms of energy, their physical constraints and how we must use science and engineering as tools to solve problems instead of opinion and politics. Dr. Kyle Forinash takes you on a journey of understanding our mature and well developed technologies for using fossil fuel resources and how we are unlikely to see huge gains in their efficiency as well as why their role in climate change ought to be an argument for their replacement sooner rather than later. He also discusses the newest technologies in employing renewable resources and how it is important to understand their physical constrains in order to make a smooth transition to them. An entire chapter is dedicated to energy storage, a core question in renewable energy as well as another chapter on the technical issues of nuclear energy. The book ends with a discussion on how no environmental solution, no matter how clever from a technical aspect, will succeed if there are cheaper alternative, even if those alternatives have undesirable features associated with them.
Intermediate Microeconomics With Microsoft Excel
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Author : Humberto Barreto
language : en
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Release Date : 2009-06-15
Intermediate Microeconomics With Microsoft Excel written by Humberto Barreto and has been published by Cambridge University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2009-06-15 with Business & Economics categories.
This unique text uses Microsoft Excel® workbooks to instruct students. In addition to explaining fundamental concepts in microeconomic theory, readers acquire a great deal of sophisticated Excel skills and gain the practical mathematics needed to succeed in advanced courses. In addition to the innovative pedagogical approach, the book features explicitly repeated use of a single central methodology, the economic approach. Students learn how economists think and how to think like an economist. With concrete, numerical examples and novel, engaging applications, interest for readers remains high as live graphs and data respond to manipulation by the user. Finally, clear writing and active learning are features sure to appeal to modern practitioners and their students. The website accompanying the text is found at www.depauw.edu/learn/microexcel.
Global Status Report On Road Safety 2023
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Author : World Health Organization
language : en
Publisher: World Health Organization
Release Date : 2023-12-12
Global Status Report On Road Safety 2023 written by World Health Organization and has been published by World Health Organization this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2023-12-12 with Health & Fitness categories.
The Global status report on road safety 2023 shows that the number of annual road traffic deaths has fallen slightly to 1.19 million. The report shows that efforts to improve road safety are having an impact, and that significant reductions in road traffic deaths can be made if proven measures are applied. Despite this, the price paid for mobility remains too high. Road traffic injuries remain the leading killer of children and young people aged 5-29 years. More than half of fatalities occur among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, in particular those living in low and middle-income countries. Urgent action is needed if the global goal of at least halving road traffic deaths and injuries by the year 2030 is to be achieved.
European Status Report On Road Safety
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Author : Francesco Zambon
language : en
Publisher: WHO Regional Office Europe
Release Date : 2009
European Status Report On Road Safety written by Francesco Zambon and has been published by WHO Regional Office Europe this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2009 with Business & Economics categories.
This report presents the status of road safety in the WHO European Region and provides a baseline assessment of how far 49 countries have come in implementing the recommendations of the World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention. In the Region, road crashes result annually in 120,000 deaths, 2.4 million injuries and a great economic burden, which may be up to 3% of a country's gross domestic product. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among people 5-29 years old. Vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and users of motorized two-wheelers constitute 39% of all road traffic injury fatalities, with pedestrians being more at risk in the eastern part of the Region. Countries differ greatly in mortality rates for road traffic injuries; the average in low- and middle-income countries is twice that in high-income countries. Countries policy responses in providing road safety for their citizens have differed. This report proposes the following areas of action: narrow the gap between countries with the lowest and highest mortality rates; provide better protection for vulnerable road users; develop a well-resourced multisectoral road safety strategy in each country; design and enforce comprehensive legislation; and develop and implement healthier transport policies. In addition, country profiles on the current status of road safety are presented for the 49 participating countries.
Driverless
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Author : Hod Lipson
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2016
Driverless written by Hod Lipson and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016 with Business & Economics categories.
When human drivers let intelligent software take the wheel: the beginning of a new era in personal mobility. "Smart, wide-ranging, [and] nontechnical." --Los Angeles Times "Anyone who wants to understand what''s coming must read this fascinating book." --Martin Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Robots In the year 2014, Google fired a shot heard all the way to Detroit. Google''s newest driverless car had no steering wheel and no brakes. The message was clear: cars of the future will be born fully autonomous, with no human driver needed. In the coming decade, self-driving cars will hit the streets, rearranging established industries and reshaping cities, giving us new choices in where we live and how we work and play. In this book, Hod Lipson and Melba Kurman offer readers insight into the risks and benefits of driverless cars and a lucid and engaging explanation of the enabling technology. Recent advances in software and robotics are toppling long-standing technological barriers that for decades have confined self-driving cars to the realm of fantasy. A new kind of artificial intelligence software called deep learning gives cars rapid and accurate visual perception. Human drivers can relax and take their eyes off the road. When human drivers let intelligent software take the wheel, driverless cars will offer billions of people all over the world a safer, cleaner, and more convenient mode of transportation. Although the technology is nearly ready, car companies and policy makers may not be. The authors make a compelling case for why government, industry, and consumers need to work together to make the development of driverless cars our society''s next "Apollo moment." s to the realm of fantasy. A new kind of artificial intelligence software called deep learning gives cars rapid and accurate visual perception. Human drivers can relax and take their eyes off the road. When human drivers let intelligent software take the wheel, driverless cars will offer billions of people all over the world a safer, cleaner, and more convenient mode of transportation. Although the technology is nearly ready, car companies and policy makers may not be. The authors make a compelling case for why government, industry, and consumers need to work together to make the development of driverless cars our society''s next "Apollo moment." s to the realm of fantasy. A new kind of artificial intelligence software called deep learning gives cars rapid and accurate visual perception. Human drivers can relax and take their eyes off the road. When human drivers let intelligent software take the wheel, driverless cars will offer billions of people all over the world a safer, cleaner, and more convenient mode of transportation. Although the technology is nearly ready, car companies and policy makers may not be. The authors make a compelling case for why government, industry, and consumers need to work together to make the development of driverless cars our society''s next "Apollo moment." s to the realm of fantasy. A new kind of artificial intelligence software called deep learning gives cars rapid and accurate visual perception. Human drivers can relax and take their eyes off the road. When human drivers let intelligent software take the wheel, driverless cars will offer billions of people all over the world a safer, cleaner, and more convenient mode of transportation. Although the technology is nearly ready, car companies and policy makers may not be. The authors make a compelling case for why government, industry, and consumers need to work together to make the development of driverless cars our society''s next "Apollo moment." the world a safer, cleaner, and more convenient mode of transportation. Although the technology is nearly ready, car companies and policy makers may not be. The authors make a compelling case for why government, industry, and consumers need to work together to make the development of driverless cars our society''s next "Apollo moment."
Foundations Of Environmental Physics
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Author : Kyle Forinash
language : en
Publisher: Island Press
Release Date : 2010-06-30
Foundations Of Environmental Physics written by Kyle Forinash and has been published by Island Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2010-06-30 with Science categories.
Foundations of Environmental Physics is designed to focus students on the current energy and environmental problems facing society, and to give them the critical thinking and computational skills needed to sort out potential solutions. From its pedagogical approach, students learn that a simple calculation based on first principles can often reveal the plausibility (or implausibility) of a proposed solution or new technology. Throughout its chapters, the text asks students to apply key concepts to current data (which they are required to locate using the Internet and other sources) to get a clearer picture of the most pressing issues in environmental science. The text begins by exploring how changes in world population impact all aspects of the environment, particularly with respect to energy use. It then discusses what the first and second laws of thermodynamics tell us about renewable and nonrenewable energy; how current energy use is changing the global climate; and how alternative technologies can be evaluated through scientific risk assessment. In approaching real-world problems, students come to understand the physical principles that underlie scientific findings. This informative and engaging textbook offers what prospective scientists, managers, and policymakers need most: the knowledge to understand environmental threats and the skills to find solutions.
Addicted To Energy
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Author : Elton B. Sherwin
language : en
Publisher: 329
Release Date : 2010
Addicted To Energy written by Elton B. Sherwin and has been published by 329 this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2010 with Business & Economics categories.
In his new book, Addicted to Energy, Elton Sherwin, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist offers pragmatic and innovative solutions to the climate crisis.Addicted to Energy is written as a guidebook to a fictional governor, with advice on how to manage both the climate and energy crises. The book outlines practical steps that governments, businesses, and individuals can take to lower their energy consumption. Heavily researched, the book presents complex topics in simple, understandable, and sometimes amusing ways. Short and to the point, the author makes over fifty recommendations; most are shorter than three pages. The book contains many charts and graphs, as well as practical tips for homeowners, businesses, and local governments.
World Report On Road Traffic Injury Prevention
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Author : Organisation mondiale de la santé
language : en
Publisher: World Health Organization
Release Date : 2004-03-23
World Report On Road Traffic Injury Prevention written by Organisation mondiale de la santé and has been published by World Health Organization this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2004-03-23 with Business & Economics categories.
Every day, thousands of people are killed and injured on roads around the world, with the costs of this growing, but largely preventable, public health concern disproportionately affecting vulnerable social groups and developing countries. In order to address these issues, the World Health Organization and the World Bank have produced this joint report on road traffic injury prevention, based on the collaborative contributions of experts and institutions, from all continents and different sectors, including transport, engineering, health, police, education and civil society. It presents a comprehensive overview of the magnitude, risk factors and impact of road traffic injuries, and about ways to prevent and lessen the impact of road crashes.