Nordic Road and Transport Research 2-2004

No 2 • 2004 News from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden

N R & T R

Glass in Roads?page 4

2 NORDIC ROAD & TRANSPORT RESEARCH NO. 2 2004

Volyme 16 • No. 2 • september 2004

Editorial notesNordic Road & Transport Research is ajoint publication of six public road andtransport research organisations in theNordic countries, Denmark, Finland,Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Themain objective of the publication is todisseminate research results and newsfrom the institutions, especially toresearchers and decision makers. Eachinstitution is responsible for the selec-tion and presentation of the materialfrom its own scope of activities.

Nordic Road & Transport Research ispublished three times a year. It is regu-larly sent out, free of charge, to recipi-ents selected by the six joint publis-hers. Free sample copies are also sentout on special request.

Reproduction and quotation of thetexts are allowed if reference is madeto the author and source. However,legislation regulates and restricts theright to reproduce the illustrations.Please contact the respective publis-hing institution for information.

Advertising is not accepted.Correspondence about the contents

of the publication:Please write to the author or to the

respective publishing organisation.Requests for back issues, and notifi-

cation of address changes:Readers outside the Nordic coun-

tries: please write to the Editor-in-chief at the VTI in Sweden.

Readers in the Nordic countries:please contact the publishing institu-tion of your country.

Addresses: see back cover.

The Editorial Board consists of the following representatives of the publishing institutions

Editor-in-ChiefTarja Magnusson, Swedish NationalRoad and Transport Research Institute

DenmarkHelen Hasz-Singh, Danish Road Institute

FinlandKari Mäkelä, Technical Research Centreof Finland, Building and Transport

IcelandHreinn Haraldsson, Public RoadsAdministration

NorwayThorbjørn Chr. Risan, Norwegian Public Roads Administration

Harald Aas, Institute of TransportEconomics

Production: Johnny Dahlgren GrafiskProduktion ABPlace of publication: Linköping, SwedenIssue: 3,500ISSN 1101-5179

Cover photo: Lise Bjulf, Danish Road Institute

Danish Road Directorate (DRD)Danish Road Institute (DRI)The Road Directorate, which is a part of The Ministry ofTransport, Denmark, is responsible for development andmanagement of the national highways and for servicing andfacilitating traffic on the network. As part of this responsibility,the Directorate conducts R&D, the aim of which is to contri-bute to efficient road management and to the safe use of thenetwork. The materials research component is carried out bythe Danish Road Institute.

Technical Research Centre of Finland(VTT), Building and TransportVTT Building and Transport, employing a staff of 530, is oneof the eight research units of the Technical Research Centre ofFinland (VTT), with a total staff of 3,000. VTT Building andTransport covers all fields of transport and road engineering.The unit is active in international research and has a prominentrole on the national level.

Public Roads Administration (PRA),IcelandThe duty of PRA is to provide society with a road system according to its needs and to offer service aiming at safe, unobstructed traffic. The number of employees is about 340. Applied research concerning road construction, maintenanceand traffic and safety is to some extent performed or directedby the PRA. The authority with its Research and Developmentdivision is responsible for road research in Iceland.

Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA)The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is one of the administrative agencies under the Ministry of Transport andCommunications in Norway. The NPRA is responsible for thedevelopment and management of public roads and road traffic, as well as the Vehicle Department. This responsibility includes research and development of all areas related to roadtransport, and the application of R&D products.

Institute of Transport Economics (TØI),NorwayThe Institute of Transport Economics is the national institu-tion for transport research and development in Norway. Themain objectives of the Institute are to carry out applied researchand promote the application and use of results through con-sultative assistance to public authorities, the transport industryand others. The Institute is an independent research foundationemploying about one hundred persons.

The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)is responsible for research and development in road construc-tion, maintenance, road traffic and transport, railroads, railtransport, vehicles, road user behaviour, traffic safety and theenvironment. The Institute is state-owned and has a total of180 employees.

N R & T R

3NORDIC ROAD & TRANSPORT RESEARCH NO. 2 2004

CONTENTS

Glass in Roads? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Danish Road Directorate (DRD)

Danish-Dutch Co-Operation on Road Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Danish Road Directorate (DRD)

New Research in Noise Reducing Pavements . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Danish Road Directorate (DRD)

The Handbook of Traffic Safety Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Institute of Transport Economics (TØI)

Sleepiness behind the Wheel – Knowledge and Action . . .12Institute of Transport Economics (TØI)

Crash Tests with Heavy Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Swedish Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)

New Driving Simulator in the Service of Traffic Safety . . . .16Swedish Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)

Increasing Intelligence in Supply Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT), Building and Transport

Annotated reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

4

DANISH ROAD DIRECTORATE (DRD)

NORDIC ROAD & TRANSPORT RESEARCH NO. 2 2004

Today more coloured glass waste is col-lected than is possible to reuse in theproduction of new glass in Denmark.The Danish Road Institute has partici-pated in a project financed by theDanish Environmental ProtectionAgency, with the aim of examiningvarious alternative uses of glass waste.Even though it may not be expectedthat broken glass can be used as a roadconstruction material, it is in fact pos-sible, if the pieces are crushed suffici-ently. The glass can be used as asphaltaggregate, material for base layers, fil-ter gravel or filling.

In connection with Danish waste collec-tion schemes, an excess of some 15,000tonnes of glass arises each year whichcannot be recycled by melting down forthe production of new glass. This excessconsists mainly of coloured glass.

The situation is similar to that in othernorth European countries, where therealso is an excess of collected, colouredglass (especially due to import of wine).It is not environmentally and economi-cally viable to export the glass to e.g.South European countries.

There is therefore a need to find alter-native uses for the collected glass. Thepurpose of the project “Reuse of colou-red glass fragments for the manufactureof concrete, tiles and for road construc-tion” was to establish the possibilities ofusing the coloured glass (glass cullet) asbuilding material.

This article describes possible uses inroad construction, but it should be men-tioned that the focus was put on otherinteresting uses for crushed glass duringthe course of the project. The most pro-mising were as filler material for concre-

te production and as an addition agentwhen producing tiles. In both cases theglass has to be cleaned first and thencrushed/ground finely and the cost andtechnical properties must be compared tothe traditionally used natural materials.

Mapping

In the first phase of the project, a literatu-re study has been carried out of currentexperiences in using crushed glass in thebuilding material industry.

Reuse of glass cullet for road con-struction started in the late sixties in theUnited States. Two major uses have beenfound, namely as asphalt aggregate andas unbound material in base layers andfill. Mixing into asphalt is obviously themost tested and “high-class” form ofreuse. In USA and UK several asphaltcompanies sell a product calledGlasphalt, i.e. a base layer material wherepart of the aggregate is substituted withfinely ground glass sand.

Experience points towards the fact thatin unbound bearing layers up to 20 per

cent crushed glass can be used without achange of technical properties comparedto the use of 100 per cent natural material.The glass must be crushed to a maximumparticle size of 5–10 mm. Crushed glasscan also be used as fill material, eithermixed with natural aggregate or by use asnon-bearing fill in pure form.

When sufficiently crushed (less than4–8 mm), the glass can be handled withoutrisk of cutting oneself, since the propor-tion of flat, sharp particles will becomevery small and the sharp edges areground away.

The biggest problem in connectionwith reuse of glass is presumably the fac-tor of steady supply, i.e. it may be diffi-cult to obtain a constant delivery of uni-form glass material.

Pilot tests

The next phase of the project was to carryout a number of laboratory tests to deter-mine some technical properties of glasscullet from Danish collection schemes.The results could be largely compared to

Glass in Roads?Article specially written for NordicRoad & Transport Research by SeniorResearcher Finn Thøgersen, who canbe contacted at [email protected] or +45 4630 70 00.

PHO

TO:

LIS

E B

JULF

, D

RI



and confirmed by foreign results, sinceDanish glass waste should not differ fromglass in other countries.

The Danish Road Institute received200 kg of glass for testing, which wascrushed to max. 16 mm, but otherwiseuntreated, i.e. neither sorted nor washed.A number of traditional tests were carriedout on this material to characterise thematerial for use in road construction, i.e.sieving analysis, compaction, wearingtests etc. The tests were carried out ingeneral on two different fractions: 0–4mm and 0–16 mm.

The particle size distribution forcrushed glass is the most important para-meter, since this has influence on mostother technical properties. Figure 1shows the particle size distribution forthe two fractions examined compared toexamples of sieving curves for crushedglass from the United States. It applies toboth Danish fractions that the particlesize distribution corresponds well to theAmerican curves, at least when the diffe-rences in maximum sizes are taken intoaccount. The curves also show that thematerial is relatively equigranular (steepgrain size curve) with a filler content lessthan 2 per cent.

The bearing capacity of the glass cul-let was examined by means of CBR tests.Values around 5 per cent were found for

both fractions, indicating poor bearingcapacity. The low results are undoubtedlydue to the equigranular nature. Used in itspure form, glass is not stable for trafficking.

Potential

The laboratory testing concentrated onuses in unbound layers, since use asasphalt aggregate was ruled out from thebeginning as not being economicallyviable in Denmark. Use in asphalt pre-supposes stable deliveries of uniformquality at a competitive price. It isdoubtful, whether the asphalt companiesare interested in handling yet anotheradditional raw material.

Based on the laboratory tests carriedout, it seems that crushed glass, whensufficiently crushed, can fulfil the Danishrequirements for subbase material. Thepoor stability of the crushed glass can bethe greatest hindrance of its use in pureform.

Use as non-bearing fill material is eva-luated as not causing technical problems.When sufficiently crushed, glass can beplaced and compacted sufficiently evenas 100 per cent aggregate. As fill, wherea certain bearing capacity is required, thelow CBR value can create a problem.Mixing with other types of aggregate canundoubtedly improve the situation.

A possible use for crushed glass couldbe as filter gravel, which is used arounddrainage pipes, etc. The glass is expectedto be extremely well suited as drainingmaterial, due to its equigranular structurewith low fines content. In literature,many references are found to the gooddraining properties of glass cullet. Thesieving curves for the two glass fractionsdo however not absolutely fulfil thelimits for filter gravel stated in theDanish Road Standards.

The annual amount of excess glass inDenmark is approx. 15,000 tonnes andthis is a relatively small quantity compa-red to the large amounts used in road con-struction. This could be an advantage,since it would be relatively easy to makeuse of the entire amount in road construc-tion or as fill material. On the other hand,a small amount could be a disadvantage,since it is hardly worthwhile to make upsystems for various general uses for amaterial of such limited volume.

Reports (Danish with English sum-mary) for the two project phasescan be downloaded from thehomepage of the DanishEnvironmental Protection Agencywww.mst.dk (Miljøprojekt no. 819and 889).

Figure 1: Grain size distributions for crushed glass.

6



The Danish Road Directorate, theDanish Road Institute, is starting athree-year long co-operation with theDutch Road and Hydraulic EngineeringInstitute of the Directorate General ofPublic Works andWater Management(DWW ) on researchfor millions in thefield of noise reducingpavements. The artic-le gives an overviewof the technical con-tent of the project.

The Danish RoadDirectorate (DRD) hasdecided to focus onroad traffic noise,which is considered anincreasing problem byneighbours to the roadnetwork. On the stateroad network, the DRDwill reconsider its sur-face strategy and give a higher priority tothe noise properties of road surfaces inorder to contribute to a continued reduc-tion of the nuisance of noise along thestate road network. The DRD is also pre-pared to contribute in a reduction of noisefrom road traffic in the remainder of theroad sector.

On the basis of this, the Danish RoadInstitute (DRI) has started a number ofresearch and development projects tosupport this strategy. It is the aim of theDRI that pavements cause as little noiseas possible for the sake of the neighboursand yet are safe to use for the road users.

This means that the surface of the roadsshould be constructed in such a way thatas little noise as possible is generated andthe road pavements at the same time areeven, with good drainage and sufficientfriction all the year round.

Strategic co-operation

DRI’s initiatives have also been directedtowards new methods to describe andmeasure the noise properties of a road. In

from road pavements, tires and car motorsas well as noise screening. The project,Noise Innovation Program (IPG) is beingcarried out by the Dutch Road Laboratory,Directoraat – Generaal Rijswaterstaat(DWW). The program, which is expectedto cost 55 million. Euro, should be comp-leted by 2007 and the Dutch governmenthas already set aside 200 million Euro toimplement the results of the project.

The DRI has made an agreement withDWW to carry out joint research on noise

reducing pavementsfor 1.2 million Euroduring the next threeyears. The amountwill be financed insuch a way that DWWpays DRI up to 85 percent, and the DRIfinances the remainder.This article gives anoverview of the con-tent of the IPG pro-gramme and of theDanish-Dutch co-ope-ration programme.

The DutchProgramme

The aim of the Dutchprogramme (IPG) is toreduce road traffic

noise on all fronts. Figure 1 shows howthe research and development program-me is organised based on how it is expec-ted to reduce noise. The programme doesnot start from scratch, but is based onexisting knowledge in the different areas.

The programme is expected to resultin a considerable reduction in road trafficnoise for the main road network inHolland. Aims have been set for thereduction of noise from road pavementsand tires and aims to improve noise bar-rier efficency both on short term and onwhat the Dutch call medium term. Figure

Danish-Dutch Co-Operation onRoad Noise

Figure 1: Overview of the Dutch IPG research program for road traffic noise.

this connection, the noise properties ofroad pavements should be measured onthe most common types of road pave-ments on the Danish State road network.By means of a strategic co-operation withasphalt contractors, road owners and theEnvironmental Protection Agency it isthe aim to develop new noise reducingpavements and to establish a classifica-tion system for the noise properties ofroad pavements.

In Holland there is corresponding focuson road traffic noise. In September 2003,an extensive research and developmentproject was started, which includes noise

Article specially written for Nordic Road& Transport Research by Hans JørgenErtman Larsen, Head of Asphalt Depart-ment, [email protected] or +45 46 30 70 00.



2 states the aims, which are based on anaverage composition of traffic, consis-ting of 80 per cent light vehicles and 20per cent heavy vehicles with speed of110 and 85 km/h, respectively. Thereduction is defined relatively in relationto the present situation with the existingtire/vehicle population and a road surfa-ce consisting of a dense asphalt wearingcourse of medium age. The effect fromnoise barriers is measured on the basis ofa conventional noise barrier. Short termis defined as the status after four yearsafter the start of the IPG programme, whe-reas medium term is defined as five to tenyears after commencement of the project.

Simultaneously with the start of thisR&D programme, DWW is in the situa-tion that its working force must be redu-ced by approx. 20 per cent within thenext few years. This has resulted in thefact that DWW has requested a co-opera-tion with colleagues within the Forum ofEuropean Highway Research Laboratories(FEHRL), who are also focussing onnoise. The DRD, DRI is therefore thefirst to have signed a co-operation agree-ment with DWW. Figure 3 shows thesituation, where director Luuk Bosch,DWW, and the Head of the InstituteJørgen Christensen, DRI, sign the agree-ment, while DWW project leader RuudNijland watches. The co-operation pro-gramme has been given the name “DRI-DWW Noise Abatement Programme”.

DRI-DWW Noise Abatement Programme

The purpose of the co-operation is tomake it possible to support research anddevelopment activities on road trafficnoise of common interest to the two par-ties. It is the intention that the partners

should carry out R&D activities togetherand exchange results. The two parties areconvinced that this will result in mutualbenefit in the fields of:• reduction of road traffic noise in

Denmark and Holland• knowledge sharing between FEHRL’s

member countries• optimum use of expertise and facilities• benchmarking.

Importance is placed on making use ofeach others’ expertise and special equip-ment. The following specialities at DWWcan be noted:• CPX measurements – measurement of

road traffic noise with a specially con-structed trailer

• two layer drainage asphalt used onmotorways

• detailed knowledge of ravelling.DRI’s specialised abilities in connec-

tion with the co-operation are:• microscopy of thin and plane sections

of asphalt • test sections with thin noise reducing

pavements• acoustic knowledge on clogging of

drainage asphalt.27 February 2004 was the day when

the final co-operation agreement wassigned. In the agreement it is stated thatbefore 15 June, detailed plans for theDRI-DWW Noise Abatement Programmeshould be prepared. The programme will

Figure 2: Goals for the noise reduction. Short term corresponds to year 2007, and medium long term to 2008-2013.

Signing the DRI-DWW Noise Abatement Programme: head of DRI Jörgen Christensen, directorof DWW Luuk Bosch, and IPG projekt manager Rud Nijland.

8



consist of the following seven projects,which all will be carried out under DRIproject management:

• RavellingA major part of this project will be todetermine the causes of why ravellingoccurs. One of the main questions in thisconnection is to determine where the fai-lure in the pavement occurs, i.e. whetherit is the bitumen which is the cause orwhether it is an adhesion failure and the-refore caused by the aggregates or whet-her there are possible other causes.Microscopy of thin and plane sections ofpavements with ravelling are expected togive an answer. Based on the results it isaimed to be able to produce new asphaltpavements, which have an increaseddurability.

• CloggingThe purpose of this project is to find ans-wers to the acoustic consequences ofclogging of porous asphalt. The acousticeffect should be measured on actual roadpavements, test pavements and samples inthe laboratory. Also here it is expectedthat thin and plane section techniques willbe able to clarify, how drainage asphaltclogs. The result is expected to be that theacoustic lifetime of porous asphalts canbe increased by developing a modifiedprocess for cleaning of the surface.

• Thin noise reducing long-lifepavements

In both countries it is necessary to deve-lop an alternative to porous asphalt in theform of thin, noise-reducing, long-lifepavements. In Denmark such test pave-ments have been constructed (for ex.

SILVIA project). Based on noise measu-rements and durability testing in the labo-ratory it is the aim to further develop thin,noise-reducing, long-life pavements.

• Modified bitumenDRI’s knowledge and experience shouldgive a basis to study the influence ofusing a modified binder on the durabilityof porous pavements. The structural pro-perties of a pavement should be compa-red to the acoustic effect. Based on a lite-rature study and laboratory tests, fullscale tests should be carried out onexisting roads.

• CPX measurementsAs a first phase, DWW will during 2004send the noise trailer to Denmark to mea-sure Danish standard pavements and testpavements – porous asphalt as well asthin, noise-reducing pavements. DRI willprepare a list of stretches to be measuredin co-operation with the asphalt industryin Denmark. DRI will be in charge of thedata treatment of these measurementsand for corresponding measurements tobe carried out in Holland and Germany.

• Cost-benefitThe DRD has carried out a road trafficnoise analysis in connection with theforthcoming Ring Motorway M3, whichincludes a cost-benefit analysis. Theresult of this analysis will be put at thedisposal of DWW at a later point in time.DWW is planning to carry out a cost-benefit analysis on Dutch test stretcheswith noise-reducing pavements, porousasphalt as well as thin, noise-reducingpavements. The analysis should also inclu-de a comparison with other noise-reducing

initiatives, such as noise barriers and façadeinsulation.

• Knowledge sharing between DRI-DWW and other FEHRL membercountries

In co-operation with DRI and DWW, ithas been arranged that a continuousknowledge sharing within this R&D areawill take place. Furthermore, otherFEHRL member countries are invited togive advice and criticism to the DRI-DWW Noise Abatement Programme.FEHRL member countries should alsobenefit from the results of theDanish/Dutch co-operation.

Perspective

Seen with Danish eyes, the co-operationcomes at a good time in relation to thepresent Government’s road traffic noisestrategy, where several points includenoise reducing pavements. Furthermore,the knowledge, which will be generatedby the co-operation, should be useful toensure the best possible use of the 100million DKK which the partners in thepolitical Traffic Agreement recently haveset aside for noise reduction along theState road network. A part of this amountshould be used for development and tes-ting of noise reducing pavements.

As mentioned in the article, it is the aimof the DRD that Danish road pavementscause as little noise as possible for the sakeof the neighbours of the road and alsoensure that it is safe for traffic users. It isthe aim of the DRI to demonstrate that it isthe leading Danish knowledge centre inthe area of noise reducing pavements.

N R & T R

Visit our web site:www.vti.se/nordic

PHO

TO:

JOH

NN

NY

DAH

LGR

EN


The new Danish research programmeon developing thin open layers as noisereducing pavements is presented in thisarticle. It is a part of the EU projectcalled SILVIA. The pavement types,project hypotheses and measurementprogramme are highlighted.

There is a great need to develop effectivenoise reducing tools that are durable, safeand cost-effective. The noise can be redu-ced either at source, under propagation orat the receiver. An effective way to redu-ce noise and avoid annoyance is to redu-ce the emission at source. The rollingnoise is generated when the tires are rol-ling on the pavements. The type and

structure of the road pavement is veryimportant for the determination of levelof the noise emitted.

Different types of porous pavementsare used as noise reducing pavements [1].In relation to noise, twin-layer porouspavements seem so far to be a promisingtool to reduce noise on urban roads. Astudy has shown that twin-layer porouspavements are a very cost effective toolto reduce noise, but this type of pavementis more costly to construct and maintainthan ordinary pavements (which do notreduce noise). Therefore, there is a needto develop and test other cheaper types ofnoise reducing pavements that can beapplied on urban roads (as well as onhighways). Pavements that in construc-tion and maintenance cost are competiti-ve to “ordinary” pavement types, and atthe same time have a noise reducingcapacity, even though they might not beas good as twin-lay porous pavements.

The European SILVIA project

In August 2002, the European SILVIA

project was started. The title of the pro-ject is “Sustainable Road Surfaces forTraffic Noise Control”. One of the objec-tives of SILVIA is to evaluate and speci-fy road construction and maintenancetechniques that would achieve satisfacto-ry durability of acoustic performances ofnoise reducing road surfaces while comp-lying with other requirements of sustai-nability i.e., safety, pollution, fuel con-sumption, structural durability and costs.The SILVIA project is partly financed byEU and partly by national sources.Fifteen partners from research institutes,universities, public institutions and priva-te companies from eleven Europeancountries including Denmark, Norwayand Sweden are working together in thiscomprehensive three year project.

SILVIA.DK

The research in work package 4 of theSILVIA project is focused on investiga-tion on existing and testing of new noisereducing pavement materials, technolo-gies and maintenance methods to produ-

Article specially written for NordicRoad & Transport Research by SeniorResearcher Hans Bendtsen and SeniorResearcher Bent Andersen, DanishRoad Directorate, Danish RoadInstitute. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected], phone: +45 46 30 70 00.

Test sections with thin open layers in Copenhagen.

New Research in Noise ReducingPavements

10



ce guidelines on how to design, build andmaintain sustainable noise reducing roadsurfaces that retain their good acousticperformance over time. As a part of SIL-VIA, it have been decided to carry out asubproject in Denmark, where the goal isto develop and test open thin layers asnoise reducing pavements under Nordicconditions (without studded tires). As anickname this Danish project is called“SILVIA.DK”. In order to carry out SIL-VIA.DK, a Danish project group hasbeen established. Experts from researchinstitutes, public institutions as well asthe road pavement industry have beeninvited to be part of the working group.The municipalities of Copenhagen,Randers and Aarhus participate in theproject. They provide test roads for theproject and finance the construction ofthe test pavements.

Pavement design

The noise reducing effect of porous pave-ments comes basically from a reductionof the noise generated by air pumping.When fine graded porous pavements witha smooth surface are used, this also redu-ces the noise generated by vibration ofthe tires. Porous pavements are open inthe entire thickness of the layer with con-nected cavities. As a contrast to this, openpavements are open only in the upperpart of the pavement with cavities havinga depth of less than the maximum size ofthe aggregate used for the pavement. Thebasic concept of using open pavementsfor noise reduction is to create a pave-ment structure, with as big cavities at thesurface of the pavement as possible, inorder to reduce to some extent the noisegenerated from the air pumping effect,and at the same time ensuring a smoothsurface by using small aggregate with amaximum size of 6 mm, so the noisegenerated by the vibrations of the tireswill not be increased. Such a noise redu-cing open pavement can be thin, as themechanisms determining the noise gene-ration are only dependent on the surfacestructure of the pavement. Reference pave-ments constructed as dense asphalt concre-te (AC) with 8 and 11 mm aggregate areused. Three different types of thin openpavements are included in the project:• open graded asphalt concrete (AC-

open) with a (built-in) Marshall airvoid of approx. 8–14 per cent

• Split Mastics Asphalt (SMA) with a(built-in) Marshall air void of approx.4–8 per cent

• a thin layer constructed as a combina-tion pavement (TP k ). On the existingroad surface a thick layer of polymermodified bitumen emulsion is laid out.On top of this, a very open pavement(like porous asphalt) with a (built-in)Marshall air void of approx. 14 per centor even more is applied. The bitumenlayer “boils up” in the air voids of thepavement leaving only the upper partof the structure open. This reduces thebuilt-in air void of the pavement becau-se the pores of the pavement are filledwith bitumen.

Hypotheses

The project is designed in order to test thefollowing hypotheses for urban roads:• open thin layers have a noise reducing

capacity compared to dense asphaltconcrete

• the noise reducing capacity of openthin layers is less than the noise redu-cing capacity of twin-layer porouspavements

• the open thin layers with the most opensurface structure have the best noisereducing capacity

• open thin layers keep the noise redu-cing effect over the structural lifetimeof the pavements

• open thin layers have the same structurallifetime as ordinary dense pavements

• roads in urban areas with open thin lay-ers have the same traffic safety level asdense asphalt concrete

• there are no special problems with win-ter maintenance on open thin layerscompared to dense asphalt concrete

• the rolling resistance and by that theenergy consumption of the vehicles isthe same on open thin layers as ondense asphalt concrete. Detailed investigations and a measure-

ment programme will be designed inorder to be able to test these hypotheses.The SILVIA project only lasts for 3 years.This determines that it will only be pos-sible to test these hypotheses over aperiod covering the first two years of thelifetime of the test pavements. If the

results are positive it is the hope of theproject group, that it will be possible tofind economic resources to continue theproject, in principle over the whole lifeti-me of the pavements tested.

Measurement programme

The measurement programme has beendeveloped in order to obtain results thatcan highlight the hypotheses and in theend confirm or reject the hypotheses. Theprogramme has a comprehensive app-roach and is planned to cover:• noise• structural behaviour of the pavements

including laser measurements of texture• durability• traffic safety• energy consumption.

The first noise measurements wereperformed in the winter 2003/2004. Thepreliminary results indicate that when thethin open pavements were six monthsold, a noise reduction of 2–3 dB has beenmeasured for passenger cars in relation tothe dense AC11 reference surface with areference speed of 60 km/h for the traffic.

References1. Bendtsen, Hans; Larsen, LarsEllebjerg; Greibe Poul. Udviklingaf støjreducerende vejbelægning-er til bygader. Statusrapport efter3 års målinger. (Development ofnoise reducing road surfaces forurban roads. Status report afterthree years of measurements. InDanish with extensive Englishsummary. Report 4, 2002. DanishTransport Research Institute.www.dtf.dk.2. Dutch experience with thin lay-ers as noise reducing pavements.Notes from a study tour. SILVIA-DTF.ATKINS-004-01-WP4-07.05.03-Notes study tour Netherlands.

Further information can be foundon the SILVIA The SILVIA homepa-ge: www.trl.co.uk/silvia/ and in theproject description for the SIL-VIA.DK project: Thin Layer TestPavements in Denmark -ProjectDescription. SILVIA-DTF-ATKINS-005-03-WP4-01.10.03- Thin LayerTest in Denmark.


INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORT ECONOMICS (TØI)

The Handbook of Road Safety Measures

Road safety can be improved. This book tellsyou how to do it. It is a catalogue of more than100 road safety measures whose effect havebeen evaluated and quantified in studies madeall over the world. The results of more than1,700 road safety evaluation studies are summa-rised in this book. It covers the whole spectrumof road safety measures, ranging from highwayengineering and traffic control, through vehicledesign, driver training, public information cam-paigns and police enforcement.

Audience

Managers, decision makers and researchersinvolved in road safety. Those working in relatedfields, eg epidemiology, evaluations research,methodology and cost benefit analysis.

Contents

PART I Introduction. Background and Guide toReaders, Literature Survey and Meta-analysis,Factors Contributing to Road Accidents, BasicConcepts of Road Safety Research, Assessingthe Quality of Evaluation studies, TheContribution of Research to Road SafetyPolicy-Making. PART II General-PurposePolicy Instruments. PART III Specific TrafficSafety Measures. Road Design and RoadFurniture, Road Maintenance, Traffic Control,Vehicle Design and Protective Devices, Vehicleand Garage Inspection, Driver Training andRegulation of Professional Drivers, PublicEducation and Information, Police Enforcementand Sanctions. PART IV Vocabulary and Index.

The Handbook of Road Safety Measures

The results of more than 1,700 roadsafety evaluation studies are summarisedin this book.

Bibliographic & ordering information

Edited by Rune Elvik, Institute of TransportEconomics, and Truls Vaa, Institute of TransportEconomicsHardbound, ISBN: 0-08-044091-6, 700 pages,publication date: 2004Imprint: ELSEVIER

Price: USD 155, EUR 155

Buy online with a credit card in the ElsevierScience & Technology Bookstore: http://books.elsevier.com/elsevier/?isbn=0080440916

12



Driver fatigue or falling asleep is recog-nized to be among the most importantcausative factors in road crashes, nextto alcohol, speeding and inattention. ANorwegian survey among private andprofessional drivers indicate that dri-vers in general have a good knowledgeof the risk of falling asleep at the wheel,and the most important measure toprevent it: To stop the car and take anap. In spite of all their knowledge,most of the drivers continue drivingwhen recognizing sleepiness while dri-ving. The professional drivers arguethat time schedules and pressure fromthe management are important factorsfor ignoring their sleepiness.

A campaign to increase drivers’ knowled-ge about this issue was launched in thespring 2004 by the Norwegian PublicRoads Administration. In order to evalua-te drivers’ knowledge on fatigue and fal-ling asleep at the wheel before the cam-paign, a survey was conducted bothamong private drivers and professionaldrivers in the autumn of 2003.

Background

For drivers to take the necessary measu-res (both beforehand and while driving)to prevent oneself from falling asleepwhile driving, it is important that theyhave knowledge of what measures thatare effective. In addition, it is importantfor drivers to know what factors that maycause fatigue and sleepiness while dri-ving, so they can take the necessary pre-cautions before (especially before a long-

er car trip) and during driving. The pro-ject distinguishes between factors that areselfinflicted or personal (such as too littlesleep and medication) and factors concer-ning the road and traffic environment(such as monotonous road environment,darkness and heavy traffic).

Research questions

This study has examined the follo-wing questions regarding drivers’experience, knowledge and conductin relation to sleepiness and fallingasleep behind the wheel (when notnoted, the questions comprise bothprivate and professional drivers):

- to what extent have drivers expe-rienced falling asleep while driving?What are the contributing factors tofalling asleep behind the wheel?

- what are the drivers’ knowledgeof measures both before and during atrip which are effective to preventthemselves from falling asleep?

- what are the drivers’ understan-ding of the problem with sleepinessand falling asleep while driving?

- are the drivers aware of the fac-tors that contribute to sleepinessbehind the wheel? Do the driversknow the risk of driving after takingcertain medicinal drugs?

- are the drivers acquainted withthe general legislation that regulatedriving when feeling tired or fatigued?How well do the professional driversthat are submitted to the regulationsof hours of service, know these regu-lations?

- do the drivers act according totheir knowledge? And if not, whatare the reasons for acting differently?

- two separate questionnaire sur-veys were carried out among privatedrivers and professional drivers inthe autumn of 2003

- 2,783 private drivers were ran-domly selected from a sample baseconsisting of pre-recruited personshaving volunteered for future inter-net surveys. 54 per cent completedthe questionnaire

- the professional drivers wererecruited from the member registerof the Norwegian Transport Workers'Union. A total of 2,854 memberswere selected, 72 per cent were busdrivers and 28 per cent were truckdrivers. 1,169 drivers completed thequestionnaire (yielding a responserate of 41 %).

Falling asleep – experience

The study indicates that sleepiness andfalling asleep is a widespread phenome-non. Among the private drivers, 44,8 percent have experienced falling asleepwhile driving one time or another and11,1 per cent experienced this during thelast year. As previous research also hasshown, there are among private driversfar more men than women who haveexperienced falling asleep. This is largelyto be explained by difference in drivingdistance. It is a well-known fact that menin general drive more than women.

When it comes to predictors of fallingasleep, age has a small, but significanteffect. The probability of falling asleep issignificantly higher for the youngest andoldest age categories. 14,5 per cent of thedrivers between 18 and 25 years and 12,5per cent between 56 and 61 years haveexperienced falling asleep during the lastyear. Furthermore, the probability of fal-

Sleepiness behind the Wheel –Knowledge and Action

Author: Susanne Nordbakke



ling asleep increases with higher workload and with work at irregular hours(afternoon/evening/night work).

Somewhat surprising is the result thatindicates that professional drivers to alesser degree have experienced fallingasleep some time (36 %) behind thewheel than private drivers (44,8 %).Considering the total length of driving(professional drivers tend to drive morethan private drivers), one should expectthe opposite.

One explanation of this is that theremight have been a certain degree ofselfselection in the survey among privatedrivers, which, in turn, may have causeda larger share that have experienced fal-ling asleep among private drivers in thesample than in the population as a whole.Thus, comparing the shares that have

experienced falling asleep during the lastyear, may give a more accurate picture ofthe differences between private driversand professional drivers when it comes tofalling asleep when driving. These resultsindicate that the probability to fall asleepis somewhat higher among both the pro-fessional drivers in general (13,2 %) andamong truck drivers alone (15,9 %) thanamong private drivers (11 %), though it isonly the difference between truck driversand private drivers that is significant.

The probability to fall asleep amongprofessional drivers decreases with higherage and with more work experience(when considering the experience withfalling asleep while driving during lastyear), a result that indicates that drivingexperience and, most likely, experiencewith sleepiness or/and falling asleep

while driving improves the professionaldrivers’ conduct (i.e. taking the rightmeasures to prevent sleep) regardingsleepiness and fatigue behind the wheel.

Understanding of the risk and theconsequences

When it comes to knowledge of the riskof falling asleep, the drivers wereconfronted with several statements con-cerning characteristics of drivers who fallasleep (age, sex, physical condition,sleeping problems) in addition to a state-ment that falling asleep can happen toanyone. Based on the drivers’ evaluationof these statements, it seems to be a gene-ral agreement among them, both privateand professionals, that falling asleep canhappen to anyone. In addition, they seem

Among the private drivers in Norway, 44,8 percent have experienced falling asleep while driving one time or another and 11,1 percent experiencedthis during the last year.

14



to have good knowledge of the actual riskof falling asleep while driving. The priva-te drivers and the professional driversrespectively assume that an average of 40and 36 drivers out of a hundred drivershave experienced falling asleep whiledriving. Calculated in per cent thesenumbers make up shares that are close tothe actual proportions found in this study.Hence, the knowledge of the actual riskof falling asleep among drivers seems tobe quite good.

Even though the drivers seem toacknowledge falling asleep as an impor-tant cause in road accidents, few driversseem aware of the severity of sleep-rela-ted accidents. It is a fact that sleep-relatedaccidents are more severe than otheraccidents. Even though the knowledgeabout this is somewhat better among theprofessional drivers than the private dri-vers (30 % of the private drivers and 50 %of the professional drivers agree withthis), their knowledge is far from suffici-ent. Lack of this knowledge may preventthe drivers from taking sleepiness andfatigue while driving seriously, but consi-dering their knowledge of the risk of fal-ling asleep and assuming that drivers areaware that falling asleep might havesome sort of consequence independent ofseverity, one should anyhow expect themto try to avoid falling asleep while dri-ving by some kind of action.

Measures – knowledge and conduct

The most common cause of sleepiness isinsufficient sleep, and most of the driversseem aware of the significance of sleep ingeneral. Not enough sleep over a periodof time (3–4 days) and too much wake-fulness are the main personal factors thatdrivers consider to increase the probabili-ty to fall asleep while driving. In addi-tion, most drivers agree with the fact that“24 hours without sleep equals a bloodalcohol level of 0.1 per cent when itcomes to driving capabilities”. The dri-vers consider a good night’s sleep beforea longer car trip to be somewhat lessimportant than sufficient sleep over alonger period, though research has pro-ven that a good night’s sleep is of consi-derable importance in regard to a per-son’s condition the next day. This mightbe one factor in the explanation of why

few drivers actually get enough sleep thenight before a longer drive. More know-ledge about this among drivers seemsimportant.

As for the use of medicines that mayinfluence driving skills (marked with ared warning triangle), this seems to repre-sent only a minor problem as few driversuse such medication. In addition, there isa general agreement among the drivers,both private and professional, that the useof medicines with a warning increasesthe risk of falling asleep while driving. Itis, however, somewhat disturbing that asmall part (25 %) of the few that use suchmedication, also use it when driving.

In spite of the drivers’ general know-ledge about the significance of sleep, fewdrivers act in accordance with this know-ledge. Few drivers do actually get sufficientsleep for a longer period of time before alonger drive, and only few drivers stop totake a nap when feeling tired and fatigu-ed while driving. Taking a nap is provento be the only effective measure whenfeeling tired to prevent oneself from fal-ling asleep while driving, and is also bythe drivers (both private and professio-nal) considered to be one of the mosteffective measures. More often the dri-vers take measures (when feeling tiredwhile driving) that they consider to beless effective, like different measurestaken in the car (opening up the window,putting on music, singing/talking tothemselves etc.) without stopping. Theonly measure which is taken that corre-sponds with their knowledge or opinionof what is effective is to stop and get outof the car. Quite a few have reported thiskind of conduct when feeling tired whiledriving. This measure, however, seems tohave only a temporary effect on sleepi-ness.

In spite of all the drivers’ knowledgeof the risk and of the significance ofsleep/taking a nap, most of the driverscontinue driving when recognising slee-piness while driving. The professionaldrivers argue that time schedules andpressure from the management areimportant factors for ignoring symptomsof fatigue and sleepiness while driving.Social factors have a contributing role forthe private drivers as well, who oftenargue that appointments and the wish tocome home at a reasonable hour are the

Title: Driver fatigue and fallingasleep - experience, knowledgeand action among private driversand professional driversAuthors: Susanne NordbakkeSeries: Report no 706/2004Language: Norwegian English summary available at:http://www.toi.no/program/pro-gram.asp?id=531094

reasons for continuing driving while fati-gue or sleepy. Additional argumentsamong the private drivers are related tothe distance of driving – either if it is ashort drive or a short distance left to thepoint of arrival. Such arguments are ofless importance among the professionals.

In sum, there seems to be little corre-spondence between knowledge andaction when it comes to measures to pre-vent sleepiness and falling asleep, bothbefore and during driving. It must bepointed out that, in general, the professio-nals to a larger degree take action whenfeeling tired behind the wheel comparedto the private drivers – both in regard tomeasures before the drive (gettingenough sleep the night before a longerdrive) and in regard to measures during adrive (continue driving or not and/or takea nap or not). That the professionals aresubjected to the regulation of hours ofservice might be one explanation of this.The fact that professional drivers aremore aware of the consequences relatedto sleep-related accidents than privatedrivers, might be another.

Conclusion

In spite of the drivers’ knowledge of therisk of falling asleep and of the effectivecountermeasures, most of them continuedriving when recognising sleepinesswhile behind the wheel. This might indi-cate that driver fatigue and sleepiness isnot taken seriously enough and that thedrivers overestimate their own capabili-ties, but it might also be a matter of lackof knowledge of when to act on theirsleepiness behind the wheel. But diffe-rent social factors also have an effect onhow drivers act upon their sleepiness –which in turn might represent anotherexplanation of why drivers do not act inaccordance with their knowledge.


SWEDISH NATIONAL ROAD AND TRANSPORT RESEARCH INSTITUTE (VTI)

For more information contact:Håkan Andersson,[email protected] Wenäll, [email protected] Pettersson,[email protected]

upgrades regarding speed and weight ofvehicle.

The electronic guidance system willensure that the vehicle follows a controlcable, if needed it is also possible togenerate minor corrections of vehiclecourse. A security system will detect andcontrol the vehicle’s brakes in case ofmalfunction and also handle vehicle afterimpact.

A unique system

The propulsion system is the only of itskind in the Nordic countries, and in mostof Europe. It will certainly position VTIas one of the leading roadside safety fea-tures test facilities, adding an extradimension to the knowledge gained from

more than 170 successful crash tests ofsimilar roadside safety features over thepast 10 years.

Two independent propulsions systemsalso raise interesting thoughts aboutarranging car to car crashes with bothcars running. This, together with the pre-vious facilities outdoors and indoors,aims towards a busy but interesting futu-re for the Crash Safety Laboratory ofVTI.

Crash Tests with Heavy VehiclesDuring the past year, the VTI CrashSafety Laboratory has been aiming fora possibility to expand its accreditedtest facility with the availability to per-form crash tests involving heavy vehicles.

Besides being a general technical achie-vement for the laboratory, the primarytarget is to be able to perform approvaltests of guardrails and bridge parapetsaccording to EN1317-2 for containmentclasses H1 and H2, i.e. vehicles up to13,000 kg at speeds up to 70 km/h. Forbridge constructions, a concrete beam 54meters long, 1 meter of height and 0,6meters wide has been cast below ground.Attached to this are prefabricated concre-te beams representing the actual bridgeconstruction. Although still under instal-lation, the first commercial tests are sche-duled to begin October 2004.

The equipment

The new pulling hydraulic equipment,which is now under construction, has atraction force of about 45 kN. It isbasically a hydraulic marine winch, towhich a medium sized hydraulic pumpwith hydraulic accumulators has beenattached to gain the necessary speed. Thecurrent capacity is to accelerate a13,000 kg vehicle to 70 km/h over adistance of 120 meters. Accuracy isexpected to be in the range of ±0,5 km/h.The construction is planned for future

The propulsion system at the VTI crashtesting facility is unparallelled.

The new driving simulator of VTI,Simulator III, was inaugurated inApril 2004 after intensive developmentwork extending over several years. Thefeatures that make the driving simula-tor unique are its rapid accelerationand its sophisticated linear movementfacility. Below the cab there is a dedi-cated vibrating table to simulate irre-gularities in the carriageway, and thisgives driving an even more realisticfeel. As regards the facilities offered bytoday’s technology, the vehicle dynamicsare in the front line.

Simulator III is constructed around a realvehicle cab and features an advancedmoving base system. The surroundingsare simulated and displayed to the driveron three main screens and three rear viewmirrors. The aggregate technical systemgives a very realistic driving experience.

Its modular construction enables thevarious subsystems to be adapted to theneeds of each individual test. Through acab exchange system, the driving simula-tor can be used for both cars and trucks.In future it will also be possible for it tobe used to simulate rail traffic. SimulatorIII is an independent resource and is avai-lable to all researchers.

A test facility for everything – frombehaviour to vehicle technology

The driving simulator has a broad field ofapplication, ranging from studies of dri-ver behaviour, man-machine interface,the effects of fatigue and alcohol andactive safety systems, to projects dealingwith environmental issues, road andlandscape design and tunnel design.Drivers with functional impairments,new subsystems in vehicles, and theeffects of noise, vibration and climate onfatigue and driving performance, are

other examples of what can be studied inthe simulator. One area of great topicalinterest is the way new technology, forinstance the use of mobile phones andcollision warning systems, affects dri-ving. VTI has carried out this type of testin a simulator - for reasons of safety, itcould not have been performed in a realtraffic environment. The VTI simulatorshave also been used in designing theNorth and South Link Roads inStockholm to determine the siting of roadsigns and the aesthetic design of the road.

History of simulators

The concept of a driving simulator wasconsidered as early as the 1970s.Extensive safety research was in progressat that time, with the focus on vehicledynamics, where stability issues wereimportant. A simulator that was correctfrom the standpoint of vehicle dynamicscould be used to study how the different

16 NORDIC ROAD & TRANSPORT RESEARCH NO. 2 2004

New Driving Simulator in theService of Traffic Safety

vehicle parameters affected stability. Atthat time, simulators were mainly used inaviation, primarily in training pilots touse the cockpit instruments. In a drivingsimulator, the driver does not depend onthe instruments to the same extent. Here,the surroundings and the dynamic forcesare more important. It was therefore soonrealised that the driving simulator requi-red advanced motion simulation, a detai-led model of vehicle dynamics and adetailed visual description of the roadenvironment. The first driving simulatorof VTI which was launched in 1984 was atrail blazer of its type. However, the tech-nology available at that time, judged bytoday’s standards, was quite limited.Now, 20 years later, VTI has commencedoperations with its third driving simulator.

Studies on scientific grounds

In scientific studies concerning driverbehaviour, a number of test subjects must

be exposed to equivalent situations. Thisis difficult to achieve in a real trafficenvironment, since weather, light andtraffic vary all the time. In the drivingsimulator, the traffic situation to be stu-died can be recreated as often as required,in an effective, risk free and cost effecti-ve way. One scenario may involve dri-ving through the countryside and beingsuddenly confronted by a large animalrunning out in front of the car. Anotherscenario may take place in an urban envi-ronment with dense traffic, with carsunexpectedly crossing the carriageway. Acertain scenario can also be recreatedunder different conditions, for instancehow being pressed for time affects driving.

Better performance and greaterflexibility

The new driving simulator has a sophisti-cated motion system that provides consi-derably higher performance than previo-

us generations. A newly developed sys-tem for linear motion creates less frictionand enables both higher accelerations andsmoother movements. The top section ofthe simulator which carries the chassisand the screens can be turned 90 degrees.In this way, the linear motion can simula-te both lateral and longitudinal forcesrelative to the direction of travel of thevehicle. In experiments where the lateralposition of the vehicle is an importantvariable, the linear motion can be used tosimulate lateral forces and to provide thedriver with better feedback. In experi-ments comprising numerous accelerationand braking manoeuvres, the linearmotion can instead be used to improvethe way in which these are transmitted tothe driver.


PHOTO: STAFFAN GUSTAVSSON/REDAKTA

For more information contactStaffan Nordmark, [email protected]

18

TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND (VTT)


Increasing Intelligence in Supply Chains

New business opportunities can becreated by integrating active, commu-nicative packages with the logisticchain. An intelligent package is a pack-age that monitors its own condition,makes intelligent conclusions and com-municates wirelessly in the supply chain.

The original function of packaging wasto protect the product. Today, however,packages have to meet increasingly rigo-rous requirements. Due to the require-ments of the authorities and consumers,packages need to contain precise productand safety information. In the future,packages will become an increasinglyimportant medium of communication.Manufacturers will also want to tracetheir products more accurately and packshorter series (or smaller quantities) fordifferent user groups, language areas, etc.Future packages will thus be much moremultifunctional, informative and demand-driven than they are at present.

VTT launched a project named“Active, communicative packaging sys-tems” at the beginning of the year 2002.The main purpose is to develop andintegrate Active, CommunicativePackaging with an effective logisticalsystem for sensitive, demanding pro-ducts. VTT’s competitive edge is thecombination of wireless technology, sen-sor knowhow and supply chain know-how. Intelligent coding, wireless commu-nications and data networks are the tech-nologies applied.

Objective

The overall objective is the developmentand integration of an intelligent measure-ment and control system for the transportsupply chain. The system is based on anactive package and automated and inter-

active communication. The developed sys-tem is able to monitor the location of thepackage and to indicate its condition suchas temperature, humidity, acceleration orelectric discharge (EMI/ESD). The intelli-gent package enables better control of thelogistics, management of exceptions, ana-lysis of information and automation.

The basic part of the system is thepackage, which contains the measuringsystem, processor, memory and wirelesscommunication. The package (such aspallet or roller cage) is able to performmeasurements, transmit the data, operateindependently and manage the sensors.

In addition to the package, a transportunit or warehouse module is needed. Thismodule transmits and saves data and alsokeeps a record of the packages. The pack-age communicates with Bluetooth at thetransport unit or warehouse level. Thetransport unit communicates with GSM/GPRS technology to a control centre. Thepackage sends a message to the controlcentre if alarm limits (e.g. temperature isnot within given limits) are exceeded.

The transport unit does not necessarilyhave a constant GSM connection avai-

lable. Because of this, processing capaci-ty and memory capacity are required forboth the package and the transport unit.This guarantees that the information isstored until the communication link isonce again available and the data is trans-mitted (Figure 1).

Benefits

The system enables better control of thesupply chain because the location of thepackage is better known and in the diffe-ring conditions one can quickly interve-ne. In case of problems the responsibili-ties can be identified more clearly. Thesystem makes it possible that the commo-dities can be monitored at a totally newlevel and produces significant costsavings due to reduced human labour andincreased control.

Telematics architecture for packageand supply chain

The vision for freight transport telematicsarchitecture describes the freight trans-port target that should be reached afterthe issues defined in the architecture have

Figure 1. Layout of the system and interfaces.

Article specially written for Nordic Road& Transport Research by Antti Permala.


TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND (VTT)

been accounted for• real time information about the loca-

tion, contents and conditions of identi-fied shipments, goods items, parcelsand transport vehicles can be collectedin a controlled manner.

• the collected information can be combi-ned with planning information and refi-ned appropriately to be used duringvarious parts of the process and distri-buted efficiently and and in good timeto actors.

• by collecting, refining and distributinginformation efficiently organisationscan boost their goods transport logis-tics processes, lower their operationalcosts and improve their portfolio oflogistics services.

Logistics process from the package’spoint of view

The intelligent package can be used tocontrol the process, for example informa-tion about the arriving package into a ter-minal (ETA estimated time of arrival) andto manage the deviations. Central parts ofthe logistics concepts are:• vehicle information systems which are

based on the CAN bus and differentconnected "boxes". The focus is thecontrol of the information of the truck(consumption, the driven distance etc.)

• fleet management which culminates intransport control systems and big trans-port companies

• control of the freight; the supply chainand the viewpoints of the delivery sen-der and receiver.

Electronics industry

The intelligent logistics outline that isdeveloped in the project is adapted bystudying the product deliveries of thecompanies that operate in the value net-work of the electronics industry.Different logistic chains have beenexamined with a pilot-device – for poten-tial ESD risks, among others. Thefunctionality of the new materials andpacking concepts has also been examinedwith the companies developing and deli-vering packing materials and solutions.

Food industry

In the transport of foods different small

units such as roller cages, plastic boxes(Transbox, bread boxes etc. producer-specific boxes), pallets and other boxesare used. The acute target for develop-ment is the automatic identification of theunits and products based either on a bar-code or on the RFID techniques.

In food transport the monitoring ofconditions is needed for example for thefollow-up of temperature and humidity.Furthermore, the traceability of productsin the supply chain is important if thereare mistakes in production or transportconditions which necessitate manufactu-rers to withdraw their products.

The concept is seen as a possibility butis not suitable as a general solution for alltransport but rather for special cases. Thesame thoughts which hold true for ser-vices and track&trace also hold true forthe intelligent package. So long as nothingexceptional takes place no real-timereporting is needed.

Demo/Pilot device

The first demo equipment was built con-sisting of the following parts; the iPAQpocket PC which simulates the packagedevice, Laptop PC as a vehicle device andDesktop PC as a device for transport con-trol. The connection between iPAQ andLaptop is carried out in Bluetooth and bet-ween Laptop and Desktop with GPRS.

BlueTooth is a short distance radio linkthat has been originally designed to repla-ce the cables between the devices.Furthermore, there is a plan for a connec-tion to the Web from the system controller.

The starting point in the planning thespecification has been good tolerance ofenvironments, simple structure, lowpower consumption and cheap price.

Demo has the following features:• the start is manually performed• the user can choose the continuing or

an alarm follow-up• the program depicts the results as

graphs• simulated temperature and accelera-

tion, furthermore simulated locationinformation with GPS

• if there is no connection, usage is ofthe Datalogger type.Figure 2 gives an example of a test

measurement. The graph gives the tem-perature, humidity and ESD values forthe transport chain of circuits.

Next steps

Next steps include a prototype device andattachment of real sensors into the proto-type and improvement of concept anddevice together with end users and integ-rators. For the year 2005 a pilot project isplanned with electronics or food indust-ries, including logistics service provides.

Figure 2. Example of desired output. Kiihtyvyys=Acceleration, Kosteus=Humidity, Kosteus keskiarvo=Humidity average.

The Evenness of the Danish State Roads and the Speed of Cars

Annotated reports from

20 NORDIC ROAD & TRANSPORT RESEACH NO. 2 2004

Noise Reducing Pavements on Copenhagen Ringroad 3 – A Technical andEconomical Analysis A technical and economical analysis ofthe noise reducing pavements onCopenhagen Ringroad 3 has been carriedout. The technical analysis summarisesand describes the knowledge on bothknown and new noise reducing pave-ments available or under development onthe European market. The technical ana-lysis is the basis for the estimate of theadditional expenditure for constructionand operation of noise reducing pave-ments and their life expectancy. In turn,this estimate is the basis for an economi-

cal assessment/comparison of dense,noise reducing pavements that do notrequire special winter service and noisereducing open pavements (porousasphalt) in which the expenses for specialwinter service have been included. Onthe basis of the technical and economicalanalyses it is considered that the greatesteconomical advantage with the least riskcan be achieved by choosing a dense,noise reducing pavement with a noisereduction of 2 dB.

The evenness of the Danish state roads isgenerally good, so the drivers experiencethe roads as comfortable and safe to driveon at the permissible speeds. The interac-tions between evenness, the vehicle andspeed are important factors in the analy-sis of the road users' comfort and safetyon a road network and must become apart of the analytical tools which are usedin connection with measurements of theevenness of roads.

It is especially important that theseparameters are included in an analysis ofthe road users' comfort, if the permittedspeeds are increased for certain vehicleclasses or certain road stretches. Since

the evenness of roads changes with time,it is important to check whether the set ofrules which form the basis of thedemands and specifications for the even-ness of roads, to a sufficient degree takethese changes into account. It is also ofgreat importance that the equipment usedto measure the surface of the roads makesit possible to carry out the necessary ana-lyses.

During the last 10 to 15 years, equip-ment for measurement of the surface ofroad pavements has gone through anenormous development. The use of opti-cal measurement equipment has replacedmechanical equipment used previously

and thus given new possibilities to analy-se the condition of a road surface betterthan before.

In the Danish Road Standards it hasbeen stated for several decades that mea-surements from a Viagraph and aBumpmeter should decide the evennessof roads. Even in the most recent revisionof Tender & Construction Precepts forhot-mix asphalt the viagraph number isused, whereas in the revision of the RoadStandards for construction and mainte-nance of roads and paths the InternationalRoughness Index (IRI) is introduced asan aim for evenness. Since these measu-ring methods which are used in Denmarkto determine the evenness of road pave-ments have been used for many years, itis natural to ask whether they are reallyrepresentative for what the driver experi-ences.

This External Note 18 describes thepresent methods of analysing the even-ness of road pavements and the factorswhich affect the comfort of the driver inrelation to the type and speed of thevehicle.

Title: Noise Reducing Pavementson Copenhagen Ringroad 3. ATechnical and Economical Analysis Author: Carsten B. Nielsen,[email protected]: External report 19Language: Danish

Title: The Evenness of the DanishState Roads and the Speed of CarsAuthor: Bjarne Schmidt, [email protected]: External Note 18Language: Danish

Annotated reports from Danish Road Directorate (DRD)

The Potential for Traffic Enforcement in Finland

Annotated reports from Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT), Building and Transport

21NORDIC ROAD & TRANSPORT RESEACH NO. 2 2004

About 400 persons are killed in trafficaccidents in Finland annually. A trafficsafety goal of not more than 250 fatalitieshas been set for 2010. Among otherthings, achievement of this goal alsorequires intensification of traffic enforce-ment. The way the volume of trafficenforcement, selectivity, methods andtechnology should be developed duringthis decade was estimated in a researchproject at VTT.

According to the results of the study,the most effective way to reduce trafficfatalities in Finland by enforcement is todevelop and intensify the use of speedcameras. There is a potential for decrea-sing annual road traffic fatalities by35–65 (9–16 %). Intensifying enforce-ment of the use of safety belts and enfor-cement of drunken driving regulationscould each drop the incidence by over 10(3%) fatalities annually. It has to be noti-ced that drunken driving regulations are

already intensively enforced in Finland.The number of annual breath tests isequal to about 40 per cent of the driverpopulation. There is more potential forintensifying the enforcement of seat beltuse. It should be enforced especially inpassenger cars.

The development of the methods andtechnology of traffic enforcement was alsoexamined in the project. The use of machi-ne vision and wireless data transmission isbecoming more widespread among techni-cal surveillance equipment. Manufacturersprovide a solution for practically all con-ventional enforcement needs such asenforcement of red light violations, speedenforcement, turning violations, use of buslanes and monitoring of stolen vehicles bymeans of automatic license plate identifi-cation. However, we noticed that the useof open systems that would allow severalproviders access to the speed/surveillancecamera data, would definitely lower the

costs of surveillance and thus allow amuch higher number of surveillance poststo be used.

The recording and the notification ofviolations should be automated as far aspossible. It is advisable to use image pat-tern recognition in speed enforcement.The computer shoud be able to transsmitthe recorded speed violation data autma-tically to the office system.

Freezing Used to Support a Railway Tunnel on Bothnia Line, Sweden

The railway tunnel on the SwedishBothnia Line, on the western shore of theGulf of Bothnia, was the largest artificial-ly frozen structure in the Nordic coun-tries. The tunnel that was completed in2003 was temporarily strengthened byfreezing. Although a challenging andunconventional construction method,freezing turned out to be the best app-roach for this particular site from a tech-nical and economical point of view.

The preliminary design for biddingwas carried out by Golder Associates Ltdon the order of Banverket (SwedishNational Railway Administration).Construction planning for the freezing ofthe Stranneberg tunnel, located five kilo-metres from Örnsköldsvik towards Umea,was started in November 2001. Freezingtook place in the summer of 2002, andtunnel blasting in the autumn of the sameyear. The tunnel (100 metres long, 10metres high and 10 metres wide) requiredmore than 5,000 cubic metres of soft soiland weak rock mass to be frozen.Freezing work on the tunnel line was star-

ted in early 2002 with the drilling of free-zing holes, and the tunnel broke throughthe frozen stretch in December 2002.

Lemcon Ltd carried overall responsi-bility for the tunnelling, and VTT wasresponsible for ground freezing design.The final lining of the tunnel was comp-leted in the spring of 2003, after whichthe soil was allowed to melt.

In the planning phase, the progress offreezing was evaluated, stability and dis-placement analyses were made, measure-ments for monitoring tunnel constructionwere designed, the locations of the pipe-lines for freezing were planned, andmonitoring results were checked. Designcalculations were carried out using soft-ware Temp/W for thermal and softwarePLAXIS for geotechnical analysis. Thestrength and deformation characteristicsof frozen soils, besides preliminary tes-ting by the Technical University of Lulea,were also determined. Laboratory testsfor the design were carried out in the frostlaboratory at VTT.

The railway tunnel was constructed at

a depth of 20 metres in the soft ground oforganic clay at Stranneberg. Open exca-vation was not accepted for the tunnelconstruction, because the deposition ofexcavated soil might have caused envi-ronmental problems. Owing to the largedimensions of the cross section,strengthening the tunnel soil by freezingwas considered to be the technically bestand safest approach.

VTT Building and TransportSenior Research Scientist, Dr.Seppo SaarelainenPhone: +358 9 456 4895, +358 40 060 5492E-mail: [email protected]

LEMCON Ltd Construction ManagerJouko ViitalaPhone: +358 9 1599 645,+358 40 538 1768E-mail: [email protected]

Title: Assessment of the potentialfor enhancement police enforce-mentAuthors: Rita Rathmayer,Veli.Pekka Kallberg, KatriKoskinen, Tapani Mäkinen, JoukoViitanenSeries: Publications 49/2004Language: Finnish with Englishabstractwww.mintc.fi



Transport Telematics and the Protection of Privacy

Transport telematics is assumed to contri-bute to goal achievement in the transportsector in Norway. The actual implemen-tation depends on acceptance in the gene-ral public and the legal framework,notably the Personal Data Act of 2000.This report concludes that the public isnot very concerned with the protection ofprivacy in general. Increased efficiencyin the transport sector is highly valued.Telematics that might curb the freedom toact - like speed cameras - have minimalacceptance and arguments like "the sur-veillance society" are put forward.

Commercial use of telematics is oftenregulated by contracts between the par-ties. The condition for processing infor-mation in accordance with the PersonalData Act is hereby fulfilled. The resultmight be extensive processing of infor-mation. It is the responsibility of govern-ment to evaluate the total amount and itseffects. The transport authorities shouldtherefore develop codes of conduct forimplementing transport telematics andinformatics taking the protection of pri-vacy into account.

Interchange in Public Transport

It is neither possible nor rational to deve-lop a public transport service wherebyeveryone can travel from door to doorwithout having to change buses duringtheir journey. Such a service would offerlow frequency and a large number ofparallel routes. Individual public trans-port users must therefore be prepared tochange buses. Thus it is necessary todevelop good interchanges in order toproduce the best possible levels of fre-quency and cost effectiveness.

The resistance to changing buses inthe Oslo region is relatively high. Thedisadvantage for having to change buseswithout having to wait (direct change) isvalued at NOK 3.65 per journey (approx0,5 Euro). Waiting 10 minutes betweentwo buses is regarded as a disadvantagecorresponding to about NOK 17 ( 2,3Euro). If the waiting time is reduced to 5minutes, the disadvantage is reduced toaround NOK 10.

Title: Transport Telematics and theProtection of PrivacyAuthor: Inger-Anne RavlumReport no: 703/2004Language: NorwegianEnglish Summary:http://www.toi.no/program/pro-gram.asp?id=516673

Title: Interchange in Public trans-port in the OsloregionAuthor: Åse NossumReport no: 707/2004Language: NorwegianEnglish sumary:http://www.toi.no/program/pro-gram.asp?id=614702 The resistance to changing buses in the Oslo region is relatively high among the passengers.

Annotated reports from Annotated reports from Annotated reports from Institute of Transport Economics (TØI)


Annotated reports from Annotated reports from Annotated reports from Institute of Transport Economics (TØI)

2003 Norwegian Air Travel Survey

This report gives results from the 2003Norwegian Air Travel Survey.Information from 110,064 passengers ondomestic and international scheduledflights, and international charter flights,were collected and analysed. Resultsshow that approximately 1.7 millionNorwegians made one or more domesticflights in 2003, and some 1.1 millionpeople made at least one journey abroad

by air. Leisure travel constitutes almosthalf (48 per cent) of domestic travel, and56 per cent of international scheduled airtravel. The corresponding figures in 1998were 39 and 40 per cent respectively.These changes are caused by a strongincrease in the number of leisure tripsowing to price reductions, and a decreasein the number of business trips.

Safe Public Transport

The extent of feeling unsafe when usingpublic transport is relatively high.Around 50 per cent of public transportusers have felt unsafe in connection witha journey by public transport. Eventhough the vast majority have only expe-rienced a lack of safety from time to time,this can lead people to use public transportless than they would wish to, and theythen either go by car or limit their travels.In order to reduce the extent of feelingunsafe on journeys by public transport itmay be necessary to implement measu-

res. The measures should be in a "wholejourney" perspective. Public transportusers experience feeling unsafe both onthe way to and from the bus stop, at thebus stop, and on the vehicle itself. It istherefore necessary that the different aut-horities, departments and companieswhich are responsible for the differentelements of the journey should worktogether so that public transport users canfeel that their journey is safe from start tofinish.

Title: 2003 Norwegian Air TravelSurveyAuthors: Jon Martin Denstadli,Arne Rideng og Sverre StrandReport no: 713/2004Language: NorwegianEnglish summary:http://www.toi.no/program/pro-gram.asp?id=607398

Title: Safe public transport. Publictransport users’ experiences ofusing public transport and measu-res to increase safety. SummaryreportAuthor: Ingunn StangebyReport no: 704/2004Language: SwedishEnglish summary:http://www.toi.no/program/pro-gram.asp?id=570999

Annotated reports from Annotated reports from Annotated reports from the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI

Traffic Management for a Sustainable Environment

Road traffic is the most important sourceof many air pollutants in Sweden.Environmental Quality Standards whichprescribe acceptable air quality havebeen, or will be, introduced within thecurrent decade. Due to the environmentalinfluence of road traffic there is a signifi-cant possibility to use traffic manage-ment measures in order to reduce thenegative environmental effects of traffic.Efficient design of such measuresdemands models and methods for estima-tion of the resulting air quality.

This report presents the state of the artin environmentally based traffic manage-ment. The work includes a description of

the environmental consequences of roadtraffic and coming air quality standards.Furthermore, models for estimation ofthe environmental impact of traffic arepresented along with examples of pos-sible traffic management measures for asustainable environment.

Today’s air quality estimation systemsare used mostly in pollution level controlapplications. Air quality based trafficmanagement may need a more detaileddescription of traffic related pollutants.Moreover, it is not clear what opportuni-ties there are for achieving a lower nega-tive environmental impact through trafficmanagement in Sweden. Finally, the

question of how to choose between a pos-sible improvement of the environmentand other costs needs further investiga-tion.

Title: Traffic management for asustainable environmentAuthor: Andreas TapaniSeries: VTI meddelande 954Language: Swedish with EnglishsummaryThe report is also available as apdf file on vti.se under Reports.



Mobile Phone Use while Driving

The purpose of these studies was to givea picture of drivers’ use of mobile phoneswhile driving and more specifically theirattitudes to the use of mobile phoneswhile driving and the types of routinesand behaviour practised when usingmobile phones. In addition, the purposewas to get some idea of the number oftraffic accidents, along with injuries anddeaths, which were caused by driversusing their mobile phones.

The number of mobile phone users hasincreased heavily and has accelerated inthe last ten years. This increase is reflec-ted in drivers’ use of mobile phones whiledriving. Results from the Swedish TrafficSafety Survey show that 73 per cent of alldrivers had access to a mobile phone in2001. These drivers accounted for 85 percent of all yearly mileage. Of the mobilephones, 75 per cent were hand-held with-out any extra add-on equipment. Hand-held mobile phones were most commonamong younger and older drivers. 30 percent of all drivers with mobile phonesused them daily while driving.

The average number of drivers’ inco-ming or outgoing calls while driving

was, according to results from the ques-tionnaire survey, 1.1 per day. A signifi-cant number of drivers reported that theyoften or almost always stopped their carwhen they were going to use their mobi-le phone. As a rule, the driver generallytook some kind of safety precaution inconjunction with a mobile phone call.Women stated that they used safety mea-sures more often than men and older dri-vers more often than younger drivers.

The use of mobile phones affected dri-ving in different ways. Drivers missedexits, failed to observe traffic signals, andforgot to adjust their speed to the speedlimit. Incidents or near collisions withother vehicles or objects, or driving offthe road, were not unusual when mobilephones were used while driving.

The respondents considered hands-freeequipment to be significantly less risky touse than hand-held mobile phones. A thirdof the respondents favoured a law againstuse of mobile phones while driving,regardless of the type of mobile phoneequipment. Half of all respondentsthought that use of hand-held mobile pho-nes should be forbidden during driving.

The common answer was that the potenti-al accident risk rate associated with use ofhand-held mobile phones was much hig-her than that for hands-free equipment.

The dominant reason for the driver tohave a mobile phone in the car was thesecurity of always being able to contactor be contacted by someone else.According to our estimates, 100,000 dri-vers each year use the mobile phones tocontact the police or call an ambulanceafter an accident. According to our theo-retical estimates, approximately 10–20people die in traffic accidents each yearas a consequence of drivers’ use of mobi-le phones while driving.

Title: Mobile phone use while dri-ving. Conclusions from four inve-stigationsAuthors: Hans Thulin and SusanneGustafssonSeries: VTI rapport 490ALanguage: EnglishThe report is also available as apdf file on vti.se under Reports.

Title: Historical LandscapeVisualisation Method.Development of a tool to describethe historical visual dimension intoday’s cultural environmentAuthor: Hans AntonsonSeries: VTI meddelande 925Language: Swedish with EnglishsummaryThe report is also available as apdf file on vti.se under Reports.

Annotated reports from Annotated reports from Annotated reports from Annotated reports from Annotated reports from the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI

The visual qualities of the landscape areoften used as a preservation argument incommunity planning and their considera-tion is prescribed in several Acts. Thevisual qualities of the landscape aremainly considered from an aestheticstandpoint, however. The present studyemphasises the importance of taking intoaccount the historical dimension also.

The aim of this study has been todevelop a method that can describe thehistorical visual dimension in the culturalenvironment of today. The method is cal-led the Historical Landscape Visualisa-tion Method.

The method is partly based on othermethods that describe the landscape.Such methods often include the compari-son of information from historical mapsor photographs with the current situation.These methods have some limitations,

however. The maps for instance give abird’s eye view of the landscape, and thephotographs are often of limited age.

What is new in the HistoricalLandscape Visualisation Method is that ituses not only photographs but also pain-tings produced before the advent of pho-tography, and tests the credibility of thepaintings. In order to investigate thevalue of paintings as historical sources,

Historical Landscape Visualisation Method

the information they give has been com-pared with historical maps which are rea-sonably contemporaneous with the pain-ting. If the landscape painting is conside-red to be of good historical value, an ana-lysis is carried out based upon a compari-son between the painting and the currentlandscape viewed from the exact locationas of the painter.

PHO

TO:

HAN

S A

NTO

NS

ON

/VTI


Annotated reports from Annotated reports from Annotated reports from the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI

Elastohydrodynamic Aspects of the Tyre-Pavement Contact while Aquaplanning

The objective of the work presentedin this report has been to develop anumerical method for the investiga-tion of water-lubricated soft elasto-hydrodynamic (EHD) situations as itrelates to the problem of car tyreaquaplaning.

Aquaplaning occurs when a vehic-le rides on the water and completelyloses contact with the road, puttingdrivers in immediate danger of slidingoff the road. The factors that mostcontribute to aquaplaning are vehiclespeed, vehicle weight, water depth, tyresize, tread depth, tread pattern, andwater composition.

The tyre used in the calculation is aP.I.A.R.C. test tyre. An outline of thesmooth P.I.A.R.C. tyre was taken from aconstruction drawing. Due to the non-availability of precise information on thistyre the theoretical model is that of ageneric radial ply tyre with the correctdimensions.

Two different elastic material modelsof the car tyre were considered, with anincreasing degree of complexity.Numerical results were produced for 20,40, 60, 120, and 200 km/h. No fluid filmsseparating the surfaces were detected in

the range of the above velocities. In therange of velocities from 20 to 200 km/hthe contact shapes and pressures werealmost exactly identical with dry staticcontact. As a matter of fact, the velocityhas to be around 1.6 103 m/s for the firstfull film regime to be achieved. Thisconclusion is valid for both elasticmodels. Prediction of the EHD fluid layerthickness by the classical theory of lubri-cation also shows that the effects of vis-cous flow are very small, even though thefilm thickness for the isoviscous andincompressible case is somewhat over-estimated.

The physics of water films is comp-letely different from the physics offilms formed by lubricating oils. Dueto its dense molecular structure, waterundergoes no or very little compres-sion even under extreme pressures.Pure water is a very bad lubricant andis indeed very rarely used in highlyloaded concentrated situations. This isbelieved to be the major reason why noseparating fluid films were detected inthe pure viscous water aquaplaning.

Another mechanism that can contributeto loss of grip already on a slightly wetroad can be described as boundary lubri-cation. Boundary lubrication is a field ofknowledge that combines tribology, che-mistry and material science.

Titel: Elastohydrodynamic aspectsof the tyre-pavement contactwhile aquaplaningAuthors: Peter Andrén and AlexeiJolkinSeries: VTI rapport 483ALanguage: EnglishThe report is also available as apdf file on vti.se under Reports.

Traffic Safety Measures and Observance of the Law

The effect on traffic safety of full obser-vance of the laws concerning existingspeed limits, the use of seat belt and dri-ver sobriety has been estimated.

The observance of the law regardingthe three measures varies. The observan-ce of the speed limits is low and theobservance of sobriety is high. Reducedobservance of the speed limits results inlittle change for the worse in the trafficsafety situation, but driving while intox-icated causes a dramatic increase in risk.

The law observance of the speed limitsis the largest problem which results in150–200 fatalities annually. The othertwo observance problems concern50–100 fatalities annually. The reportdoes not show how the observance of the

laws can be increased. There exist, howe-ver, interlock systems for the measures asa complement to increased surveillanceby the police and/or increased sanctions.

The risk of being killed is more thandoubled through the lack of observance.

A very high observance of the threelaws reduces the number of fatalities intraffic by at least 50 per cent. What isinteresting is that the observance of thelaw is not randomly distributed over thethree measures. Both drivers who obser-ve all three laws and drivers who do notobserve any of the laws are over-repre-sented in traffic.

It is also important that decreasedspeeds strengthen the other two trafficsafety measures. The estimation of the

effect of alcohol on safety is very uncer-tain as the alcohol limit is different in dif-ferent countries.

Title: Traffic safety measures andobservance of the law. Speedadaptation, usage of seat belt andsober driversAuthor: Göran NilssonSeries: VTI meddelande 951Language: Swedish with EnglishsummaryThe report is also available as apdf file on vti.se under Reports.

Example of the complete finite element model.Stress distribution in the refined section.



Annotated reports from Annotated reports from Annotated reports from Annotated reports from

The track infrastructureinstallations of the railwaytransport system are attimes subjected to stresseswhich give rise to suchserious faults or damagesthat traffic must be stop-ped, or cause such seriousdisturbances that trainsmust be cancelled.Examples are falls ofoverhead contact lines,fire in interlocking sys-tems or flooding of thetrack bed. It is obviouslyimpossible to create a sys-tem where such situations never occur,but an attempt can be made to allocateoperational and maintenance work insuch a way that the probability of suchoccurrences is reduced to a minimum onthose track installations where the impactin the form of comprehensive traffic dis-turbances is greatest.

Extensive damage to the interlockingsystem of the rail transport system causescomprehensive disturbances. Oneexample of such damage which gave riseto serious consequences is when theinterlocking system at Järna station bur-ned down in 2000. A microsimulation

tool for rail traffic, RailSys, which hadbeen developed in Germany, was used tosimulate the consequences of the fire.Simulations were also made for rail traf-fic flows both higher and lower thanthose that applied after the fire.

Lowering of the highest permittedspeed through a track infrastructureinstallation is one example of the reduc-tion in potential capacity. The delayswhich then occur can in some situationsbe recouped through somewhat higherspeeds on other parts of the system.Sometimes this is not possible, but thedelays which nevertheless occur may be

so small that all plannedtrain movements can becarried out. In a lot ofcircumstances, however,delays are so extensive thatrolling stock assignment isaffected and trains must becancelled. Alternatively,the potential capacity maybecome so low that allplanned train movementscannot be carried out.

When faults or damagesoccur to the signalling sys-tem, the highest permittedspeed is sometimes redu-

ced to 40 km/h. This may also occurwhen the bearing strength of the perma-nent way is reduced or when the track isin a bad condition.

Annotated reports from the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI

Serious Breakdowns in the Track Infrastructure – Calculation of Effects on Rail Traffic

Title: Serious breakdowns in thetrack infrastructure – Calculationof effects on rail trafficAuthor: Mats WiklundSeries: VTI meddelande 959Language: Swedish with EnglishsummaryThe report is also available as apdf file on vti.se under Reports.

Title: Towards marginal cost pri-cing of maritime transportAuthor: Carl Magnus Berglundand Robert EricssonSeries: VTI meddelande 956Language: Swedish with EnglishsummaryThe report is also available as apdf file on vti.se under Reports.

Pricing based on marginal costs for mari-time transports has been intensively dis-cussed and investigated lately, but havenot to any larger extent brought the pro-blems of implementation in themselvescloser to a solution. One reason for this isthe lack of data necessary for marginalcost estimations. The report deals withmarginal cost pricing in theory and empi-rical research and reviews how availabili-ty of data and institutional conditionsaffect the possibilities for implementa-tion of marginal cost based pricing. Besides the open sea, ports, fairways,pilot services and ice-breaking are themain maritime infrastructure compo-

nents. Marginal costs of maritime trans-port can be divided into the followinggroups: emissions to water and air, acci-dents, and costs related to infrastructureusage. The first marginal cost type is theoccurrence of negative external effects tothird-men outside the transport system.The marginal costs from infrastructureuse are related to the parts that invest,maintain, and provide the services inthemselves as well as to the users. Thelatter part is affected by restrictions incapacity, which can affect the user costsof the services. This report considers allthese marginal cost components, exceptemission to air.

Towards Marginal Cost Pricing of Maritime Transport

PHO

TO:

ÅKE

KAR

LSS

ON

, G

ÖTE

BO

RG

Annotated reports from the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI


Evaluation of the Moose Dummy Mooses II with a View to Consumer Guidance

Four out of five who die after collidingwith game in Sweden have hit a moose.The moose appears suddenly and unex-pectedly, the driver has little chance toswerve or even break. The long legs ofthe moose catch the bumper and knockthe heavy animal over the bonnet andinto the windscreen. What happens nextdepends mainly on the make of the carand the impact speed. The driver choosesthe speed but there is no consumer gui-dance that gives advice on the “moosesafety” of a car model.

The typical moose accident wheresomeone dies or is seriously injuredoccurs at a public road with the speedlimit 90 km/h. The driver is more oftenthan in other accidents sober but has littleor no time to react. Primarily the head,neck, chest and arms get injured, both bythe moose and intruding parts from theroof and windscreen. A cloud of shatteredglass both from the windscreen and side-windows hits the car occupants. Since themoose often penetrates well into thecoupe and in addition crushes the roofand windshield towards the occupants,seat belt and airbag make only a marginalimprovement, if any. The important fac-tors for the outcome of the accident are

the strength and design of the front of thevehicle above the bonnet.

To be able to evaluate the “moosesafety” of different car models, VTI hasdeveloped a full scale moose dummy.The dummy is made of rubber and has, incontradiction to its precursors, legs thatgive the dummy a realistic movementduring the crash. A number of crash testshave been made to evaluate the qualitiesof the dummy. It is concluded in thereport that the dummy not only behavesas expected but also is very sturdy andwithstands repeated impacts at high

speed. The results are reproducible underequivalent conditions, which is a veryimportant aspect in all types of crashtesting.

The purpose of these test series hasbeen to test the moose dummy rather thanthe vehicles. In despite of this a method isdeveloped to measure and calculate the“survival space” based on the staticdeformation after the collision. Throughthat it is concluded that there are majordifferences between different makes of acar. The choice of car seems to be just asimportant as reducing speed on roadswhere moose can be expected. At a speedjust above 70 km/h some car models stillhave plenty of space for the occupantswhereas others are considerably comp-ressed.

Child Safety in Cars – Socio-Economic Differences

The aim of the study was to identify rela-tionships between no use/misuse of safe-ty belt or child restraints and socio-eco-nomic aspects. The conclusions from thestudy will provide a basis for the futuredevelopment of information and campa-igns to increase the correct use ofrestraints.

In general, the results showed that thelevel of misuse among young childrenwas lower than among older children.Approximately 90 per cent of the childrenin the youngest age group always usedthe safety belt, while only 74 per cent ofchildren aged 4–9 years did so. The mostcommon circumstance, when the safetybelts were not used by older children,was when the travel distance was short.Overall, the parents who regularly or

occasionally neglected to use the safetybelts themselves were more likely toallow their children to travel withoutsafety belts. Furthermore, parents whowere more liberal concerning traffic vio-lations were also more likely to allowtheir children to travel without using asafety belt.

When all age groups were examined,the results did not indicate relationshipsbetween the children’s usage of safetybelts and any of the following variables:number of inhabitants, highest level ofeducation in the household, householdannual gross income, household numberof children younger than 10, choice ofchild’s placement in the car, number ofseats in the family car, age of the familycar, driver’s sex, marital status, informa-

tion received by the parents, parentalknowledge about rules and recommenda-tions, and acceptance regarding trafficviolations.

Title. Evaluation of the MooseDummy Mooses II with a View toConsumer GuidanceAuthor: Ylva MatstomsSeries: VTI meddelande 955Language: Swedish with EnglishsummaryThe report is also available as apdf file on vti.se under Reports.

Title: Child safety in cars –Socioeconomic differences.Literature review and questionnai-re surveyAuthors: Anna Anund, ÅsaForsman, Gunilla Sörensen andSusanne GustafssonSeries: VTI rapport 496Language: Swedish with EnglishsummaryThe report is also available as apdf file on vti.se under Reports.

PHO

TO:

JAN

WEN

ÄLL/

VTI

Denmark

Norway

Finland

Norway

Iceland

Sweden

Helen Hasz-SinghDanish Road InstituteP.O. Box 235DK-4000 RoskildePhone: +45 46 30 70 00Fax: +45 46 30 71 05E-mail: [email protected] site: www.vd.dk

Harald AasInstitute of Transport Economics(TØI)P.O. Box 6110 EtterstadN-0602 OsloPhone: +47 22 57 38 00Fax: +47 22 57 02 90E-mail: [email protected] site: www.toi.no

Kari MäkeläVTT Building and TransportP.O. Box 1800FIN-02044 VTTPhone: +358 9 45 64 586Fax: +358 9 46 48 50E-mail: [email protected] site: www.vtt.fi/rte/indexe.html

Hreinn HaraldssonPublic Road AdministrationBorgartún 7IS-105 ReykjavikPhone: +354 563 1400Fax: +354 562 2332E-mail: [email protected] site: www.vegagerdin.is

Thorbjørn Chr. RisanNorwegian Public RoadsAdministrationP.O. Box 8142 DepN-0033 OsloPhone: +47 73 95 46 48Fax: +47 73 95 46 31E-mail: [email protected] site: www.vegvesen.no

Tarja MagnussonSwedish National Road andTransport Research Institute (VTI)SE-581 95 LinköpingPhone: +46 13 20 42 15Fax: +46 13 14 14 36E-mail: [email protected] site: www.vti.se

Questions concerning the content of the articles, or orders for the publications referred to, should be directed to the publishing institution, see addresses below.

REQUEST FOR BACK ISSUES, AND NOTIFICATION OF ADDRESS CHANGES.Readers outside the Nordic countries: see Swedish address.

Readers in the Nordic countries: see addresses below.

Web site: www.vti.se/nordic

Documents

Nordic Road and Transport Research 2-2004