Driven to Failure: An Empirical Analysis of Driver’s License Suspension in North Carolina

A person’s interest in a driver’s license is “substantial,” and as the U.S. Supreme Court has observed, the suspension of a license by the state can result in “inconvenience and economic hardship suffered,” including because a license may be “essential in the pursuit of a livelihood.” However, forty-four U.S. states currently require indefinite suspension of driver’s licenses for non-driving-related reasons, such as failure to appear in court or pay fines for traffic infractions. There are no systematic, peer-reviewed analyses of individual-level or county-level data regarding such suspensions. This study describes North Carolina’s population of suspended drivers and assesses how driver’s license suspension statutes operate relative to geography, race, and poverty level. First, it analyzes four decades of active-suspension data in North Carolina and finds over 1,225,000 active suspensions for failures to appear or pay traffic fines, amounting to one in seven adult drivers in the state. Second, it compares these data to county-population data; county-level traffic-stop data, collected as required by statute in North Carolina; and county-level data on the volume and composition of traffic court dockets. This study reveals that driver’s license suspensions are not associated with either the volume of traffic stops or the size of the traffic court docket. In contrast, we find that black and Latinx people are overrepresented relative to the population. Linear mixed-level modeling regression analyses demonstrate that the population of white people below the poverty line and black people above the poverty line are most strongly associated with more suspensions. Finally, this Article explores implications of these results for efforts to reconsider the imposition of driver’s license suspensions for non-driving-related reasons. These patterns raise constitutional concerns and practical challenges for policy efforts to undo such large-scale suspension of driving privileges

PREVENTION AND REHABILITATION OF NON-CONTACT ACL INJURY: NEW INFORMATION IN RECENT STUDIES

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is one of the most common injuries in sports. Tremendous efforts have been made to prevent this devastating injury. Recent studies provided new information understanding ACL injury and the prevention and rehabilitation of the injury. Anterior translation of the tibia is the primary mechanism of the injury. Small knee flexion angle in landing tasks is a primary risk factor of the injury. Gender differences in movement patterns are likely due to differences in training and skill levels. New prevention programs need to be developed to improve compliance to prevention programs. Movement patterns may need to be evaluated in actual game conditions

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY AND MAXIMAL STRAINS OF HAMSTRING MUSCLE-TENDON UNITS IN SPRINTING: INDICATION TO HAMSTRING STRAIN INJURY

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between hamstring flexibility and maximal strain in sprinting. Ten male and 10 female reactional athletes participated this study. Hamstring flexibility, isokinetic strength data, three-dimensional kinematic data in a hamstring isokinetic test, and kinematic data in a sprinting test were collected for each participant. The optimal hamstring muscle lengths and maximal strains of hamstring muscle-tendon units in sprinting were determined for each participant. Maximal strains of hamstring muscle-tendon units were negatively correlated to hamstring flexibility. Maximal strains of biceps long head and semitendinosus muscle-tendon units were significantly greater than that of semimembranosus. Hamstring flexibility is a factor that significantly affect maximal strain of hamstring muscle-tendon units in sprinting

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OPTIMAL KNEE FLEXION ANGLE AND HAMST RING FLEXIBILITY: INDICATION FOR HAMSTRING STRAIN INJURY

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships among hamstring flexibility, optimal knee flexion angle for maximal knee flexion moment, maximal knee flexion moment. Ten male and 10 female reactional athletes were tested for hamstring flexibility and isokinetic strength. The maximal knee flexion moment and the knee flexion angle corresponding to the maximal knee flexion moment were determined for each participant. Optimal knee flexion angle was a function of hamstring flexibility score and gender, but not of the hamstring strength. Optimal knee flexion angle and hamstring strength were not correlated. These results indicate that hamstring muscle optimal length is correlated to its flexibility, but not to its strength. Increased hamstring flexibility is correlated with increased muscle optimal length. Hamstring flexibility may be a risk factor for hamstring strain injury

THE POTENTIAL PHASE FOR HAMSTRING MUSCLE STRAIN INJURIES DURING OVERGROUND SPRINTING

The purpose of this study was to examine the potential for hamstring injury during overground sprinting by investigating hamstring muscle strain. Twenty males and 20 females with sprint training experience participated this study. Isokinetic strength data, three-dimensional kinematic data in a hamstring isokinetic test, and kinematic and ground reaction forces data in a sprinting test were collected for each participant. The muscle strains and muscle elongation velocity of hamstring, lower extremity joint torques and power were determined. Hamstring muscle strains reach peaks during the late swing phase (89.2% - 90.6% gait cycle). The peak muscle strains of biceps long head and semitendinosus were greater than that of semimembranosus (p = 0.002 and p = 0.029). The potential for hamstring muscle strain injury may occur during late swing phase of overground sprinting. Biceps long head and semitendinosus may be at higher risk for muscle strain injury compared to semimembranosus

Analysis of Negative Revisions to Natural Gas Reserves in Texas

The role of negative revisions in the large-scale decline in natural gas reserves in Texas during the late 1960s and through the 1970s was examined. Analysis of the factors that contributed to the negative revisions determined that no single element was responsible. However, (1) continued high levels of production, (2) original optimistic estimates of gas in place and recovery factors, (3) market-related factors that encouraged overestimation of reserves, and (4) unusually high reserves-to-production ratios (> 15) that obscured the underlying weakness in reserves combined in the Texas Gulf Coast to drastically reduce booked reserves of natural gas. Negative revisions totaling more than 20 trillion cubic feet during the period were found to have resulted mainly from ambiguities in the degree of reservoir heterogeneity, in calculation of water saturations, and in drive mechanism, along with the overestimation of reserves due to optimism encouraged by market-related incentives. The much-reduced reserves-to-production ratios that now exist, along with continued closer monitoring of technical, economic, and regulatory factors that affect gas reserves, indicate that a return of extensive negative revisions over the next 10 to 20 years is avoidable.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Quantification of the Impact of Photon Distinguishability on Measurement-Device- Independent Quantum Key Distribution

Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution (MDI-QKD) is a two-photon protocol devised to eliminate eavesdropping attacks that interrogate or control the detector in realized quantum key distribution systems. In MDI-QKD, the measurements are carried out by an untrusted third party, and the measurement results are announced openly. Knowledge or control of the measurement results gives the third party no information about the secret key. Error-free implementation of the MDI-QKD protocol requires the crypto-communicating parties, Alice and Bob, to independently prepare and transmit single photons that are physically indistinguishable, with the possible exception of their polarization states. In this paper, we apply the formalism of quantum optics and Monte Carlo simulations to quantify the impact of small errors in wavelength, bandwidth, polarization and timing between Alice’s photons and Bob’s photons on the MDI-QKD quantum bit error rate (QBER). Using published single-photon source characteristics from two-photon interference experiments as a test case, our simulations predict that the finite tolerances of these sources contribute (4.04±20/√Nsifted )% to the QBER in an MDI-QKD implementation generating an Nsifted-bit sifted key