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A severe accidental fire with 'explosion' resulting from spraying colored corn flour powder occurred at a water fun park in Taiwan. The possible fire scenarios were studied in this paper using flame acceleration simulator (FLACS). Environmental conditions including wind action and solid boundary conditions were deduced based on government fire investigation and video records, and were used as the input parameters in simulation. Simulation results indicate that upon ignition of the sprayed powder, the maximum overpressure in the open space was only 0.03 bar gauge, with a dust flash fire generated without having an explosion. These environmental conditions or parameters and the simulation results together would give a fire scene that agrees with the accident observed, indicating that appropriate environmental parameters had been identified. Therefore, CFD simulation with carefully selected parameters can be used to reproduce explosion scenarios and to identify key factors in supporting accident investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-vehicle crash data for 2000 from Taiwan’s Road Accident Investigation & Reporting System were employed to compare fatality risk factors between non-motorcycle drivers and motorcyclists. On average, motorcyclists had approximately a three times higher fatality risk than non-motorcycle drivers after adjusting for the driving mileage. Two respective logistic regression models for these two categories of drivers indicated that some common features, such as being male, a higher age, and crashes occurring between the hours of 2200 and 0600 revealed a greater likelihood of fatality. On the other hand, the risk discrepancies between these two drivers included the restraint-use effect, speeding, and impairment as the main crash cause, roadway class, and vehicle type. To reduce the high risk of fatality sustained by these two classes of drivers, enhancing the driver’s seatbelt-use rate, the management of running speed, the rider’s risk perceptions, and the road quality and facilities of the lowest roadway class are particularly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]