Analysis of Train Collision Risk in the United States: 2001 to 2015

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tejashree Turla ◽  
Xiang Liu ◽  
Zhipeng Zhang ◽  
Zheyong Bian
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Collision Frequency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Substantial Contribution ◽  
Collision Risk ◽  
Human Errors ◽  
Transportation Risk ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
Grade Crossing ◽  
Major Factors

Railways have a substantial contribution to the economy of the United States. However, a train accident can result in casualties and extensive damages to infrastructure and the environment. Most of the prior research focused on derailments or grade-crossing accidents rather than the study of train collisions. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) identifies over 300 causes for all types of accidents, among which we aim to recognize the major factors that cause train collisions. Evaluating how collision frequency and severity vary with the accident cause is the key part of this research, in order to identify, evaluate and mitigate transportation risk. This paper presents a statistical analysis of passenger and freight train collisions in the United States from 2001 to 2015 to statistically analyze train collision frequency, severity, accident cause, and safety risk. The analysis finds that human errors and signal failures are among the most common causes of train collisions in U.S. in the 15-year study period. There is a significant decline in the overall train collision frequency by year. By observing these trends with respect to train collisions, possible accident prevention strategies could be developed and implemented accordingly.

scholarly journals Challenges in Bridge Health Monitoring: A Review

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (13) ◽  
pp. 4336
Author(s):  
Piervincenzo Rizzo ◽  
Alireza Enshaeian
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
Highway Bridges ◽  
The United States ◽  
Anomalous Behavior ◽  
Existing Structures ◽  
Bridge Health Monitoring ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Many ◽  
Major Factors

Bridge health monitoring is increasingly relevant for the maintenance of existing structures or new structures with innovative concepts that require validation of design predictions. In the United States there are more than 600,000 highway bridges. Nearly half of them (46.4%) are rated as fair while about 1 out of 13 (7.6%) is rated in poor condition. As such, the United States is one of those countries in which bridge health monitoring systems are installed in order to complement conventional periodic nondestructive inspections. This paper reviews the challenges associated with bridge health monitoring related to the detection of specific bridge characteristics that may be indicators of anomalous behavior. The methods used to detect loss of stiffness, time-dependent and temperature-dependent deformations, fatigue, corrosion, and scour are discussed. Owing to the extent of the existing scientific literature, this review focuses on systems installed in U.S. bridges over the last 20 years. These are all major factors that contribute to long-term degradation of bridges. Issues related to wireless sensor drifts are discussed as well. The scope of the paper is to help newcomers, practitioners, and researchers at navigating the many methodologies that have been proposed and developed in order to identify damage using data collected from sensors installed in real structures.

The Global Shift in Attitudes toward Homosexuality

2018 ◽  
pp. 209-228
Author(s):  
Jeremiah J. Garretson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Attitude Change ◽  
Gay Rights ◽  
The United States ◽  
Attitudes Toward Homosexuality ◽  
Media System ◽  
European Values ◽  
Act Up ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Free Media

This chapter broadens the scope of the book outside the United States and shows that advances in support for gay rights have been broader than previously thought. Using the World and European Values Survey, which have surveyed attitudes involving homosexuality since the 1980s, the chapter shows that on nearly every continent, there are countries whose attitudes have changed similarly to the United States. The chapter then shows that the major factors which divide countries that have seen change from those than have not are GDP and the size and freedom of each country’s media system. Countries with free and pervasive media, which allowed for the success of ACT-UP, saw attitude change. Those without free media or with little media infrastructure still harbour pervasive anti-gay attitudes. Tentative results on how political party systems effect gay rights support are also presented.

scholarly journals Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Accidents - The Problems

1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert T. Hintersteiner
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
General Public ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Public ◽  
Railroad Tracks ◽  
Pedestrian Traffic ◽  
Grade Crossing ◽  
Grade Separation ◽  
The Cost

The Paper Will Address The Crisis Of Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Accidents In The United States. A Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Is Where A Public Or Private Roadway Crosses Railroad Tracks. Over The Years, There Have Been Many Studies And Programs To Warn The General Public Of The Hazards Of Crossing Railroad Tracks. However, The Same Types Of Railroad-Highway Crossing Accidents Continue To Occur, Despite Attempts To Educate The Public. As Will Be Discussed, Communication Between Transportation Professionals And Coordination Of Railroad And Highway Operations Also Contributes To The Crisis. The Most Effective Way To Eliminate Grade Crossing Accidents Is To Provide Grade Separation Of The Railroad From Vehicle And Pedestrian Traffic. This Has Been Completed At 39,68 1 Locations. It Is A Very Expensive Proposition. Therefore, It Has Been Done Only In Urban Areas, And Along Limited Access Highways And Arterials. The Cost Of Constructing A Grade Separated Crossing Is Estimated To Be Five Million Dollars Per Location.

scholarly journals Persistent and extreme outliers in causes of death by state, 1999-2013

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis P Boscoe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
National Rate ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
Specific Mortality

In the United States, state-specific mortality rates that are high relative to national rates can result from legitimate reasons or from variability in coding practices. This paper identifies instances of state-specific mortality rates that were at least twice the national rate in each of three consecutive five-year periods (termed persistent outliers), along with rates that were at least five times the national rate in at least one five-year period (termed extreme outliers). The resulting set of 71 outliers, 12 of which appeared on both lists, illuminates mortality variations within the country, including some that are amenable to improvement either because they represent preventable causes of death or highlight weaknesses in coding techniques. Because the approach used here is based on relative rather than absolute mortality, it is not dominated by the most common causes of death such as heart disease and cancer.

The Panama Canal

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Donoghue
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Panama Canal ◽  
High Status ◽  
Canal Zone ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
The U.S

The United States’ construction and operation of the Panama Canal began as an idea and developed into a reality after prolonged diplomatic machinations to acquire the rights to build the waterway. Once the canal was excavated, a century-long struggle ensued to hold it in the face of Panamanian nationalism. Washington used considerable negotiation and finally gunboat diplomacy to achieve its acquisition of the Canal. The construction of the channel proved a titanic effort with large regional, global, and cultural ramifications. The importance of the Canal as a geostrategic and economic asset was magnified during the two world wars. But rising Panamanian frustration over the U.S. creation of a state-within-a-state via the Canal Zone, one with a discriminatory racial structure, fomented a local movement to wrest control of the Canal from the Americans. The explosion of the 1964 anti-American uprising drove this process forward toward the 1977 Carter-Torrijos treaties that established a blueprint for eventual U.S. retreat and transfer of the channel to Panama at the century’s end. But before that historic handover, the Noriega crisis and the 1989 U.S. invasion nearly upended the projected transition of U.S. retreat from the management and control of the Canal. Early historians emphasized high politics, economics, and military considerations in the U.S. acquisition of the Canal. They concentrated on high-status actors, economic indices, and major political contingencies in establishing the U.S. colonial order on the isthmus. Panamanian scholars brought a legalistic and nationalist critique, stressing that Washington did not create Panama and that local voices in the historical debate have largely been ignored in the grand narrative of the Canal as a great act of progressive civilization. More recent U.S. scholarship has focused on American imperialism in Panama, on the role of race, culture, labor, and gender as major factors that shaped the U.S. presence, the structure of the Canal Zone, as well as Panamanian resistance to its occupation. The role of historical memory, of globalization, representation, and how the Canal fits into notions of U.S. empire have also figured more prominently in recent scholarly examination of this relationship. Contemporary research on the Panama Canal has been supported by numerous archives in the United States and Panama, as well as a variety of newspapers, magazines, novels, and films.

Dementia

2014 ◽  
pp. 951-962
Author(s):  
Andrew E. Budson ◽  
Aleksandra C. Stark
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
The United States ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Common Causes

Dementia is a decline of cognitive function that eventually impairs the ability to carry out everyday activities. Dementia affects approximately 4–5 million people in the United States to varying degrees. Only approximately 1 in 100 individuals 〈65 years are thought to be affected by dementia, but this proportion reaches as many as one in three individuals age 〉85 years. There are a number common causes of cognitive impairment that are reviewed in this chapter (see table 91.1).

Analysis of freight train collision risk in the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 233 (8) ◽  
pp. 817-830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tejashree Turla ◽  
Xiang Liu ◽  
Zhipeng Zhang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Value At Risk ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Conditional Value At Risk ◽  
Collision Risk ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Freight Train ◽  
The Us ◽  
Traffic Exposure

Rail transportation is pivotal for the national economy. Despite being rare, a train accident can potentially result in severe consequences, such as infrastructure damage costs, casualties, and environmental impacts. An understanding of accident frequency, severity, and risk is important for rail safety management. In the United States, extensive prior research has focused on risk analyses of train derailments and highway–rail grade crossing accidents. Relatively less work has been conducted regarding train collision risk. The US Federal Railroad Administration identifies various accident causes, among which the authors of this study have analyzed the major collision causes. For each major accident cause, the authors have analyzed its resultant collision frequency, severity (in terms of damage cost or casualties), and correspondingly the risk, which is the combination of the frequency and severity. The analysis was based on train collision data in the United States from 2001 to 2015. This analysis focuses on freight trains in the United States, due to their immense traffic exposure. On the temporal scale, collision rate (the number of collisions normalized by traffic exposure) has an approximately 5% annual reduction. In terms of collision cause, failures to obey signals, overspeeds, and violations of mainline operating rules accounted for more collisions than other causes. Two alternative risk measures, namely the expected consequence and conditional value at risk, were used to evaluate the freight train collision risk on main tracks, accounting for both the average and worst-case scenarios. This collision risk analysis methodology may provide the US Department of Transportation and railroad industry with information and decision support for identifying, evaluating, and implementing cost-effective risk mitigation strategies.

A Nationwide Epidemiological Analysis of Finger Infections Presenting to Emergency Departments in the United States From 2012 to 2016

Hand ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 155894472091561
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Lemme ◽  
Neill Y. Li ◽  
Edward J. Testa ◽  
Alexander S. Kuczmarski ◽  
Jacob Modest ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Emergency Departments ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Common Mechanism ◽  
Injury Surveillance System ◽  
Old Patients ◽  
Common Diagnosis ◽  
Common Causes ◽  
Old Men

Background: There is a paucity of literature exploring the epidemiology of finger infections presenting to emergency departments (EDs) on a national scale. The purpose of this study was to determine the national incidence of and risk factors for finger infections. Methods: Finger infections presenting to EDs between 2012 and 2016 were identified in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database. Finger infections were characterized by mechanism and type, with subanalyses for sex, race, and age. Results: Over this 5-year period, finger infections accounted for 80 519 visits to EDs in the United States. The annual incidence increased significantly from 4.4 per 100 000 person-years in 2012 to 6.2 in 2016. The 3 most common causes of finger infections were nail manicuring tools, knives, and doors. The most common diagnosis was finger cellulitis (46.3%). Significantly more men developed finger infections than women (relative risk of 1.4). The highest overall incidence was observed in 40- to 59-year-old men (7.8 per 100 000 person-years). Tenosynovitis resulted in the largest proportion of admissions (25%). Conclusions: We have demonstrated a rising incidence of finger infections presenting to EDs, with 40- to 59-year-old patients most at risk. The most common mechanism was the use of nail manicuring tools, such as nail clippers. Patient education may decrease finger infection incidence from these activities, and early detection of finger infections may be crucial to minimizing hospital admissions and invasive treatments.

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