United States Climate Change Law

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Gerrard
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Endangered Species ◽  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
The United States ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
National Highway Traffic Safety

This chapter presents an overview of climate change law in the United States, given the global impact of its domestic and international climate change policies. It traces the evolution of US climate change policy under different presidents, and discusses emerging programs under the Clean Air Act (CAA). Under the CAA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues emissions standards, and under the Energy Policy Conservation Act, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issues Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The chapter also describes the protection of endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA directs the Fish and Wildlife Service to designate certain species as endangered or threatened; for marine species that task falls to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Ambulance safety in the United States

2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Maguire, MSA, EMT-P
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Traffic Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Emergency Vehicle ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
National Highway Traffic Safety ◽  
Vehicle Collisions ◽  
Safety Testing ◽  
Safety Procedures ◽  
Communication Equipment

This paper reviews the dangers associated with ambulances in the United States. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data, vehicle collisions involving ambulances result in twice as many injuries as the national average.Other dangers include: the safety of the vehicle itself; the lack of sufficient occupant protection in the ambulance patient compartment; distractions of the ambulance operator associated with operating lights, sirens, and communication equipment during emergency responses; drowsiness of the ambulance operator associated with extended work hours; and the lack of standardized or test- ed emergency vehicle operator training.Recommendations for improvement include: safety testing for vehicle crashworthiness, testing of diesel fume exposure among emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, and improved safety procedures for EMS personnel. Every effort must be made to make ambulances the safest vehicles on the roads of the United States.

scholarly journals Connected Vehicle Technology: An All Too Convenient Solution to Roadway Problems in the United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-115
Author(s):  
Victor Kustra
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Traffic Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Department ◽  
Connected Vehicle ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
National Highway Traffic Safety ◽  
Automobile Accidents ◽  
Connected Vehicle Technology ◽  
Vehicle Technology

Automobile accidents and roadway infrastructure problems are increasing in the United States.  Specifically, 5.7 million automobile accidents were reported in 2013.  The number of automobile accidents caused by lane drifting has increased over the past fifteen years, given the increased number of drivers on the road.   The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) have developed a cumulative solution to these problems. Connected Vehicle  technology is part of the USDOT’s “Intelligent Transportation Systems” (ITS) initiative.  The ITS initiative targets automobile crash avoidance and better traffic flow through the use of automated technologies.[1] Id. at v. 

When Consumers Oppose Consumer Protection: The Politics of Regulatory Backlash

1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Vogel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
Social Regulation ◽  
Artificial Sweetener ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
National Highway Traffic Safety ◽  
Gay Community

ABSTRACTThis article examines a neglected phenomenon in the existing literature on social regulation, namely political opposition to regulation that comes not from business but from consumers. It examines four cases of successful grass-roots consumer opposition to government health and safety regulations in the United States. Two involve rules issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a 1974 requirement that all new automobiles be equipped with an engine-interlock system, and a 1967 rule that denied federal highway funds to states that did not require motorcyclists to wear a helmet. In 1977, Congress overturned the Food and Drug Administration's ban on the artificial sweetener, saccharin. Beginning in 1987, the FDA began to yield to pressures from the gay community by agreeing to streamline its procedures for the testing and approval of new drugs designed to fight AIDS and other fatal diseases. The article identifies what these regulations have in common and examines their significance for our understanding the politics of social regulation in the United States and other industrial nations.

scholarly journals Synthesis of Climate Change Policy in Judicial, Executive, and Legislative Branches of U.S. Government

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Brinkmann ◽  
Sandra Jo Garren
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Court System ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
The U.S

In recent years, the United States has struggled to develop a comprehensive policy for climate change and concomitant greenhouse gas emissions that addresses the current scientific thinking on the topic. The absence of any clear legislative or executive approach dominated national discussions and the court system was used to litigate a variety of issues associated with global warming. This paper synthesizes actions taken in the three branches of government prior to and immediately following the Obama election. In the Judicial branch, several branches of law have been used to force government and private parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Based on the historic greenhouse gas lawsuit, Massachusetts et al. v. the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), and under the direction of the Obama administration, the U.S. EPA has taken significant action to regulate greenhouse gases. In the legislative branch, a comprehensive energy and climate bill passed the House of Representatives and comparable and alternate energy and climate bills were debated in the Senate indicating hope for legislation in the 111th Congress. However, these bills proved to be unsuccessful, therefore leaving the U.S. EPA and the courts the only options for national climate policy in the near future.

scholarly journals Characteristics of Winter-Precipitation-Related Transportation Fatalities in the United States

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan W. Black ◽  
Thomas L. Mote
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
The United States ◽  
Winter Precipitation ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
Winter Weather ◽  
National Highway Traffic Safety ◽  
Temporal Characteristics ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Characteristics

Abstract Winter precipitation can be very disruptive to travel by aircraft and by motor vehicles. Vehicle fatalities due to winter precipitation are considered “indirect” and are not counted in Storm Data, the publication commonly used to evaluate losses from meteorological hazards. The goal of this study is to examine the spatial and temporal characteristics of these indirect transportation fatalities that involve winter precipitation for the period 1975–2011. Motor vehicle fatalities were gathered from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) database, while aviation fatalities were collected from the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) Aviation Accident database. Statistical analysis and geographic information systems (GIS) were used to assess the spatial and temporal characteristics of these deaths. Most winter-precipitation-related motor vehicle fatalities occur during the daylight hours. Fatal motor vehicle accident rates are higher than expected in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions, while winter-precipitation-related aviation fatalities are most common in the western United States. Vehicle fatality counts due to winter weather are compared to fatality counts for various hazards from Storm Data to highlight the differences between the datasets. Because of the exclusion of vehicle fatalities, Storm Data underestimates by an order of magnitude the number of fatalities that involve winter weather each year. It is hoped that a better understanding of winter precipitation mortality can be applied in order to reduce fatalities in the future.

scholarly journals Automated Vehicles Are Probably Legal in the United States

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryant Walker Smith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Geneva Convention ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
National Highway Traffic Safety ◽  
Short Answer ◽  
Comprehensive Discussion

This article provides the most comprehensive discussion to date of whether so-called automated, autonomous, self-driving, or driverless vehicles can be lawfully sold and used on public roads in the United States. The short answer is that the computer direction of a motor vehicle’s steering, braking, and accelerating without real-time human input is probably legal. The long answer, which follows, provides a foundation for tailoring regulations and understanding liability issues related to these vehicles. The article’s largely descriptive analysis, which begins with the principle that everything is permitted unless prohibited, covers three key legal regimes: the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, regulations enacted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the vehicle codes of all fifty U.S. states.

A Commented Synopsis of the Report of the Committee for the National Tire Efficiency Study4

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-93
Author(s):  
Marion G. Pottinger ◽  
Joseph D. Walter ◽  
John D. Eagleburger
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Rolling Resistance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Final Report ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Scrap Tire ◽  
National Highway Traffic Safety ◽  
Fuel Savings ◽  
Time Required

Abstract The Congress of the United States petitioned the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences to study replacement passenger car tire rolling resistance in 2005 with funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The study was initiated to assess the potential for reduction in replacement tire rolling resistance to yield fuel savings. The time required to realize these savings is less than the time required for automotive and light truck fleet replacement. Congress recognized that other factors besides fuel savings had to be considered if the committee’s advice was to be a reasonable guide for public policy. Therefore, the study simultaneously considered the effect of potential rolling resistance reductions in replacement tires on fuel consumption, wear life, scrap tire generation, traffic safety, and consumer spending for tires and fuel. This paper summarizes the committee’s report issued in 2006. The authors, who were members of the multidisciplinary committee, also provide comments regarding technical difficulties encountered in the committee’s work and ideas for alleviating these difficulties in further studies of this kind. The authors’ comments are clearly differentiated so that these comments will not be confused with findings, conclusions, and recommendations developed by the committee and contained in its final report.

Cervical Spine Tolerance to Catastrophic Injury in Rollover Crash Environments

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald S. Burke ◽  
Martha W. Bidez ◽  
Kathryn Mergl
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fatality Rate ◽  
Passenger Vehicle ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
National Highway Traffic Safety ◽  
Catastrophic Injury ◽  
National Highway ◽  
Serious Injuries ◽  
Rollover Crash

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rollovers have a higher fatality rate than all other kinds of crash modes. Of the 6,159,287 police reported crashes in 2005 in the United States, only 4.1% involved a rollover. Yet, rollovers accounted for 34.4% (10,816) of all passenger vehicle fatalities and another 149,406 individuals sustained serious injuries in rollover crashes in 2005 [5].

Influence of Vehicle Restraint System Design on the Kinematics and Neck Forces of a Rear Seat Small Occupant

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald S. Burke ◽  
Martha W. Bidez ◽  
Kathryn M. Mergl
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Seat Belt ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rear Seat ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
Motor Vehicle Collisions ◽  
National Highway Traffic Safety ◽  
Vehicle Collisions

In 2008, motor vehicle collisions resulted in 968 child occupant fatalities and 193,000 seriously injured children, ages 14 years old and younger, according to the most recent data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) [1]. In fact, motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death for all children ages 3 to 14 years old living in the United States [1]. As children grow older they require size-appropriate restraint types to fit their body at each developmental level. For older children, booster seats are not a total solution for child safety as they are often dependent on the design of the vehicle seat belt system (2). Additionally, there is no federal standard that requires vehicle manufacturers to dynamically test the performance of child seats of any type in their vehicles.

Designing for Rollover Impacts With Narrow Objects

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian R. Herbst ◽  
Steven E. Meyer ◽  
Arin A. Oliver ◽  
Lauren D. Bell ◽  
Stephen M. Forrest
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
High Speed ◽  
The United States ◽  
Tilt Test ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
Test Device ◽  
National Highway Traffic Safety ◽  
Roof Structure ◽  
Occupant Injury ◽  
Roof Strength

While some debate has existed in the literature regarding the relationship between roof crush and occupant injury, the United States (U.S.) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has identified an increased safety benefit in improving roof strength and has mandated new higher roof crush resistance requirements. Frequently, roof impacts occur in rollover crashes when a vehicle travels off the lanes of the roadway and impacts various types of narrow objects along the roadway edge such as light poles, utility poles and/or trees. A previously reported tilt-test device and methodology is presented along with a new pendulum-test device and methodology, both of which allow for dynamic, repeatable impact evaluation of vehicle roof structures with narrow objects. The data collected includes not only residual crush, but also dynamic vehicle instrumentation and high speed video analysis. Two series of full vehicle tests are reported which represent each of the methodologies. The testing conditions for each series was determined based upon analysis of a real-world narrow object rollover impact. Each testing series allows for analysis of the damage resulting from the narrow object impact to the roof structure for a production vehicle as well as one that has been structurally reinforced. Results demonstrate that the reinforced roof structure significantly reduced the roof deformation compared to that of the production roof structure. The input energy of each test and resulting damage patterns can be used as both a reconstruction tool and structural assessment test.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document