Effect of different breath alcohol concentrations on driving performance in horizontal curves

Driving under the influence of alcohol on curved roadway segments has a higher risk than driving on straight segments. To explore the effect of different breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) levels on driving performance in roadway curves, a driving simulation experiment was designed to collect 25 participants’ driving performance parameters (i.e., speed and lane position) under the influence of 4 BrAC levels (0.00%, 0.03%, 0.06% and 0.09%) on 6 types of roadway curves (3 radii × 2 turning directions). Driving performance data for 22 participants were collected successfully. Then the average and standard deviation of the two parameters were analyzed, considering the entire curve and different sections of the curve, respectively.     

The effects of a new traffic safety law in the Republic of Serbia on driving under the influence of alcohol

The aim of the study presented here has been to see what the effects of the new traffic safety law are, 2 years into its initial implementation, on driving under the influence of alcohol. Until the end of 2009, the legal limit for blood concentration for drivers in Serbia was 0.5 g/l; however, the new traffic safety law stipulates the new limit to be 0.3 g/l. A retrospective autopsy study was performed over a 6-year period (from 2006 to 2011) whose sample covered cases of fatally injured drivers who had died at the scene of the incident, before being admitted to hospital. A total of 161 fatally injured drivers were examined for their blood alcohol concentration. The average age for these drivers was 40.2 ± 15.4 years, with a significant male predominance of 152 men to 9 women (χ² = 152.000, p < 0.001). This study has shown no decrease in the ratio of drivers under the influence of alcohol vs. all drivers (Pearson χ² = 4.415, df = 5, p = 0.491), nor in the number of drivers under the influence of alcohol (Pearson χ² = 6.629, df = 5, p = 0.250), nor a decrease in the mean blood alcohol concentration in drivers (1.72 ± 0.87 vs. 1.68 ± 0.95 g/l, t = 0.177, df = 80, p = 0.860). The conclusion of this study is that the new law has had a limited effect on driving under the influence of alcohol, which still remains one of the major human factors, responsible for road-traffic crashes in Serbia.     

Technology and growth in Spain (1950–1960): An evidence of Schumpeterian pattern of innovation based on patents

The analysis of the structural changes in the Spanish economy (1950–1960) has been undertaken using Schumpeterian models of innovation. As patent information plays an important role in technological development, this study has been based on the availability of a newly released data from the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. This analysis has been specified by means of the development of indicators relating to the degree of concentration of innovative activity, the innovation size of companies, the level of instability, the technological growth rate, and the presence of foreign innovators. The results highlight the existence of typical technological factors intrinsic to the sectors of economic activity and invariants between countries.