Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
A joint publication with the latest research findings of six public research organisations in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Citation preview
NORDICROAD AND TRANSPORT RESEARCH | NO.3 | 2009 WWW.NORDICROADS.COM
Public Transport
Transportationfor Everyone
2 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 3www.nordicroads.com
News from Contents
Swedish National Road andTransport Research Institute (VTI)
VTI is an independent, internationally establishedresearch institute which is engaged in the transportsector. Our work covers all modes, and our core com-petence is in the fields of safety, economy, environ-ment, traffic and transport analysis, public transport,behaviour and the man-vehicle-transport system inte-raction, and in road design, operation and maintenan-ce. VTI is a world leader in several areas, for instancein simulator technology.
Danish Road Directorate (DRD)Danish Road Institute (DRI)
The Road Directorate, which is a part of TheMinistry of Transport, Denmark, is responsible fordevelopment and management of the nationalhighways and for servicing and facilitating traffic onthe network. As part of this responsibility, theDirectorate conducts R&D, the aim of which is tocontribute to efficient road management and to thesafe use of the network. The materials researchcomponent is carried out by the Danish RoadInstitute.
Technical Research Centreof Finland (VTT)
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is a con-tract research organisation with a staff of 2,800. Inthis joint publication, the VTT expertise areas coverresearch and development of transportation, logis-tics and road structures. The work is carried out infive research groups employing a staff of 60.
Icelandic RoadAdministration (ICERA)The ICERA's mission is to provide the
Icelandic society with a road system in accordancewith its needs and to provide a service with the aimof smooth and safe traffic. The number of employe-es is about 340. Applied research and developmentand to some extent also basic research concerningroad construction, maintenance, traffic and safety isperformed or directed by the ICERA. Developmentdivision is responsible for road research in Iceland.
Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA)
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is oneof the administrative agencies under the Ministry ofTransport and Communications in Norway. TheNPRA is responsible for the development and mana-gement of public roads and road traffic, as well as theVehicle Department. This responsibility includesresearch and development of all areas related to roadtransport and the implementation of R&D results.
Institute of Transport Economics (TØI),
NorwayThe Institute of Transport Economics
is the national institution for transport researchand development in Norway. The main objectives ofthe Institute are to carry out applied research andpromote the application and use of results throughconsultative assistance to public authorities, thetransport industry and others. The Institute is anindependent research foundation employing aboutone hundred persons.
Editorial notesNordic Road & Transport Research is a joint publi-cation of six public road and transport researchorganisations in the Nordic countries, Denmark,Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The mainobjective of the publication is to disseminate re-search results and news from the institutions, espe-cially to researchers and decision makers. Each insti-tution is responsible for the selection and presenta-tion of the material from its own scope of activities.
Nordic Road & Transport Research is publishedthree times a year. It is regularly sent out, free ofcharge, to recipients selected by the six jointpublishers. Free sample copies are also sent out onspecial request.
Reproduction and quotation of the texts are allow-ed if reference is made to the author and source.However, legislation regulates and restricts the rightto reproduce the illustrations. Please contact therespective publishing institution for information.
Advertising is not accepted.Correspondence about the contents of the publi-
cation:
Please write to the author or to the respectivepublishing organisation.
Requests for back issues, and notification of add-ress changes:
Readers outside the Nordic countries: please writeto the Editor-in-chief at the VTI in Sweden.
Readers in the Nordic countries: please contactthe publishing institution of your country.
Addresses: see back cover.
The Editorial Board consists of the following representatives of the publishing institutions
Editor-in-Chief, SwedenMagdalena Green, [email protected]
DenmarkHelen Hasz-Singh, [email protected]
FinlandKari Mäkelä, [email protected]
IcelandG. Pétur Matthiasson, [email protected]
NorwayThorbjørn Chr. Risan, [email protected] Aas, TØI [email protected]
Graphic DesignJohnny Dahlgren Grafisk produktion AB,
Linköping, Sweden
Issue 3,900
ISSN 1101-5179
CoverPhotos.com
What’s up? | p4
In Brief | p5
Smart Card Ticketing in Trondheim Delivers Substantial Benefits to Society | p6
Safe School Transportation in New EU project | p7
Technology Improves School Transport | p8
New Forms of Payment for the Provision of Public Transport | p10
Pedestrians in Danger | p11
The AKTA Project: Facilitates Everyday Life for Visually Impaired Persons | p12
Road Pavements and Fuel Consumption | p14
Child Pedestrians’ Quality Needs | p16
Østre Tangent – Connecting Bjørvika to the Inner City | p17
The ITS Scheme for Low Emission Zone in Norway | p18
Safety Effects of Intelligent In-vehicle Systems | p19
Road Pavement Ageing and Traffic Noise Levels | p20
Worn Windscreens – a Road Safety Problem | p21
Myths and Facts about Congestion Charging | p22
Self-explaining Roads | p23
2 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 3www.nordicroads.com
News from Contents
Swedish National Road andTransport Research Institute (VTI)
VTI is an independent, internationally establishedresearch institute which is engaged in the transportsector. Our work covers all modes, and our core com-petence is in the fields of safety, economy, environ-ment, traffic and transport analysis, public transport,behaviour and the man-vehicle-transport system inte-raction, and in road design, operation and maintenan-ce. VTI is a world leader in several areas, for instancein simulator technology.
Danish Road Directorate (DRD)Danish Road Institute (DRI)
The Road Directorate, which is a part of TheMinistry of Transport, Denmark, is responsible fordevelopment and management of the nationalhighways and for servicing and facilitating traffic onthe network. As part of this responsibility, theDirectorate conducts R&D, the aim of which is tocontribute to efficient road management and to thesafe use of the network. The materials researchcomponent is carried out by the Danish RoadInstitute.
Technical Research Centreof Finland (VTT)
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is a con-tract research organisation with a staff of 2,800. Inthis joint publication, the VTT expertise areas coverresearch and development of transportation, logis-tics and road structures. The work is carried out infive research groups employing a staff of 60.
Icelandic RoadAdministration (ICERA)The ICERA's mission is to provide the
Icelandic society with a road system in accordancewith its needs and to provide a service with the aimof smooth and safe traffic. The number of employe-es is about 340. Applied research and developmentand to some extent also basic research concerningroad construction, maintenance, traffic and safety isperformed or directed by the ICERA. Developmentdivision is responsible for road research in Iceland.
Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA)
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is oneof the administrative agencies under the Ministry ofTransport and Communications in Norway. TheNPRA is responsible for the development and mana-gement of public roads and road traffic, as well as theVehicle Department. This responsibility includesresearch and development of all areas related to roadtransport and the implementation of R&D results.
Institute of Transport Economics (TØI),
NorwayThe Institute of Transport Economics
is the national institution for transport researchand development in Norway. The main objectives ofthe Institute are to carry out applied research andpromote the application and use of results throughconsultative assistance to public authorities, thetransport industry and others. The Institute is anindependent research foundation employing aboutone hundred persons.
Editorial notesNordic Road & Transport Research is a joint publi-cation of six public road and transport researchorganisations in the Nordic countries, Denmark,Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The mainobjective of the publication is to disseminate re-search results and news from the institutions, espe-cially to researchers and decision makers. Each insti-tution is responsible for the selection and presenta-tion of the material from its own scope of activities.
Nordic Road & Transport Research is publishedthree times a year. It is regularly sent out, free ofcharge, to recipients selected by the six jointpublishers. Free sample copies are also sent out onspecial request.
Reproduction and quotation of the texts are allow-ed if reference is made to the author and source.However, legislation regulates and restricts the rightto reproduce the illustrations. Please contact therespective publishing institution for information.
Advertising is not accepted.Correspondence about the contents of the publi-
cation:
Please write to the author or to the respectivepublishing organisation.
Requests for back issues, and notification of add-ress changes:
Readers outside the Nordic countries: please writeto the Editor-in-chief at the VTI in Sweden.
Readers in the Nordic countries: please contactthe publishing institution of your country.
Addresses: see back cover.
The Editorial Board consists of the following representatives of the publishing institutions
Editor-in-Chief, SwedenMagdalena Green, [email protected]
DenmarkHelen Hasz-Singh, [email protected]
FinlandKari Mäkelä, [email protected]
IcelandG. Pétur Matthiasson, [email protected]
NorwayThorbjørn Chr. Risan, [email protected] Aas, TØI [email protected]
Graphic DesignJohnny Dahlgren Grafisk produktion AB,
Linköping, Sweden
Issue 3,900
ISSN 1101-5179
CoverPhotos.com
What’s up? | p4
In Brief | p5
Smart Card Ticketing in Trondheim Delivers Substantial Benefits to Society | p6
Safe School Transportation in New EU project | p7
Technology Improves School Transport | p8
New Forms of Payment for the Provision of Public Transport | p10
Pedestrians in Danger | p11
The AKTA Project: Facilitates Everyday Life for Visually Impaired Persons | p12
Road Pavements and Fuel Consumption | p14
Child Pedestrians’ Quality Needs | p16
Østre Tangent – Connecting Bjørvika to the Inner City | p17
The ITS Scheme for Low Emission Zone in Norway | p18
Safety Effects of Intelligent In-vehicle Systems | p19
Road Pavement Ageing and Traffic Noise Levels | p20
Worn Windscreens – a Road Safety Problem | p21
Myths and Facts about Congestion Charging | p22
Self-explaining Roads | p23
WHAT’S UP?
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 54 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
Read more: www.hmat-ws.eu
Contact: [email protected],
Magnus Hjälmdahl, VTI,
HMAT Workshop 2010Human Modelling in Assisted TransportaionJune 30–July 2 2010, Lake Maggiore, Italy
As co ordinators of the European project ITERATE, VTI has thepleasure to invite you to the HMAT (Human Modelling in AssistedTransportation) Workshop. HMAT is a three day Workshop spon-sored by the European projects ISi-PADAS, ITERATE andHUMAN, which belong to the Seventh Framework Programmeand are partially funded by the European Commission.
In modern society, the human being is considered the centralelement of the design process, as well as the major source andcontributor to accidents. Therefore, the human error modellinghas to be implemented into design processes and in safety assess-ments of innovative technologies to ensure the appropriate con-sideration of human factors in highly assisted systems.
To this end, the projects ISi-PADAS, ITERATE and HUMANwill provide, in different domains, an overall model of the jointcognitive systems, represented by the human in control, thegoverned machine and the working environment. This model willbe able to provide an improved understanding of the human fac-
tor and to predict performance and behaviour of the human andinteraction with innovative technologies in normal and emergen-cy situations, for all the surface transport modes and for cockpitenvironments. Moreover, the implementation of the model ofhuman error in a design perspective can be integrated in risk-based approaches that enable to assess the consequences of erro-neous behaviour and to develop appropriate countermeasures.
The objective of this Workshop is to confront models, methodsand tools developed within the projects with the ongoing rese-arch worldwide and to provide an environment for fruitfulexchange of ideas.
Read more: www.vti.se/RS4C
Contact: Kent Gustafson, VTI,
Contact: Krishna Prapoorna Biligiri, VTI,
Together with the United Arab Emirates National TransportAuthority we have the pleasure of inviting you to the 15thInternational Conference “Road Safety on Four Continents” inAbu Dhabi.
The conference is organized by the Swedish National Roadand Transport Research Institute (VTI), together with theNational Transport Authority of UAE. The conference is suppor-ted by GRSP (Global Road Safety Partnership), FERSI (Forum ofEuropean Road Safety Research Institutes), TRB (TransportationResearch Board) and ECTRI (European Conference of TransportResearch Institutes).
The main objective of the conference is to explore emergingresearch and development in the area of Road Safety. Otherobjectives are furthering the application of research results andinvolving developing countries and countries in transition to joinin both as conference presenters and delegates. A special empha-
sis will be towards road safety challenges and problems in theregion, i.e. in and around the United Arab Emirates.
The conference topics and themes will attract the internatio-nal research community, national safety experts, decision makers,road safety engineers and planners, traffic law enforcement offi-cials and many others with an interest in road safety development.
Main themes of the conference are:• Exchange of new findings on road safety• Transfer of road safety knowledge• Exchange of evaluated good practises.
RS4C 2010Road Safety on Four Continents22–24 March 2010, Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates
Through the magazine we wish continuously to supply you withthe latest results of the Nordic transport research. Now wewould greatly appreciate if you could help us to define the bestcurrent way to do it by filling this Reader Survey.
This year it is exactly twenty years since Nordic Road &Transport Research was published for the first time. A lot ofresearch done in the Nordic countries in the field of transportduring these years has, through the magazine, reached out toreaders all over the world.
As you know, the magazine is published as a paper issue aswell as on the website nordicroads.com. We now wish that youcould let us know which way of publishing you value most byanswering the reader survey you will find on the website
nordicroads.com.
Please, take some minute or two and let us know your opinion!Thank you!
The editorial board of the Nordic Road & Transport Research
FirstHMAT
2010
Krishna Biligiri started as a guest resear-cher at VTI in the beginning of October. Hewill, in collaboration with other VTI resear-chers, work on a European Union directiveproject PERSUADE (Poroelastic RoadSurface: an Innovation to Avoid Damages tothe Environment). Krishna Biligiri will assistVTI in the development of poroelastic roadsurfaces by implementing and conductingmechanical and durability test procedures inorder to optimize the composition and theoverall performance of the poroelastic roadsurface materials. He will also work on cha-racterizing pavement noise of these materi-als. Apart from the aforementioned tasks, hewill act as a VTI team member and contribu-te to any needed work within his expertise.
What did you do before you came to VTI?Since January 2009, I have been working
as a Research Scientist at Arizona StateUniversity (ASU) in the United States ofAmerica. Over the last five years, I haveworked on several asphalt pavement modi-fication projects including asphalt rubberand fiber-reinforced asphalt concrete. I aman active committee member of severalprofessional organizations such as theTransportation Research Board, AmericanSociety of Testing and Materials, andRubber Pavements Association. SinceNovember 2008, I have been an ExecutiveFellow and lifetime member of theInternational Road Federation.
What education do you have?I gained a Ph.D. degree in civil and environ-mental engineering from ASU with the emp-hasis on advanced pavement material cha-racterization and tire/pavement noise. I also
have a Master’sdegree in civil andenvironmentalengineering fromASU and a Bachelor’s degree in civil engi-neering from Visvesvaraya TechnologicalUniversity, India.
What are your thoughts about your new job?It is a privilege and lifetime opportunity towork at VTI! I am very grateful to those atVTI whose untiring efforts have broughtme to this place. The VTI facilities are stu-pendous and world class and the peoplehere are friendly, smart and competent.
DearSubscriberof the NordicRoad &TransportResearch
Dr. Krishna Prapoorna Biligiri – guest researcher at VTI from the United States
WHAT’S UP?
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 54 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
Read more: www.hmat-ws.eu
Contact: [email protected],
Magnus Hjälmdahl, VTI,
HMAT Workshop 2010Human Modelling in Assisted TransportaionJune 30–July 2 2010, Lake Maggiore, Italy
As co ordinators of the European project ITERATE, VTI has thepleasure to invite you to the HMAT (Human Modelling in AssistedTransportation) Workshop. HMAT is a three day Workshop spon-sored by the European projects ISi-PADAS, ITERATE andHUMAN, which belong to the Seventh Framework Programmeand are partially funded by the European Commission.
In modern society, the human being is considered the centralelement of the design process, as well as the major source andcontributor to accidents. Therefore, the human error modellinghas to be implemented into design processes and in safety assess-ments of innovative technologies to ensure the appropriate con-sideration of human factors in highly assisted systems.
To this end, the projects ISi-PADAS, ITERATE and HUMANwill provide, in different domains, an overall model of the jointcognitive systems, represented by the human in control, thegoverned machine and the working environment. This model willbe able to provide an improved understanding of the human fac-
tor and to predict performance and behaviour of the human andinteraction with innovative technologies in normal and emergen-cy situations, for all the surface transport modes and for cockpitenvironments. Moreover, the implementation of the model ofhuman error in a design perspective can be integrated in risk-based approaches that enable to assess the consequences of erro-neous behaviour and to develop appropriate countermeasures.
The objective of this Workshop is to confront models, methodsand tools developed within the projects with the ongoing rese-arch worldwide and to provide an environment for fruitfulexchange of ideas.
Read more: www.vti.se/RS4C
Contact: Kent Gustafson, VTI,
Contact: Krishna Prapoorna Biligiri, VTI,
Together with the United Arab Emirates National TransportAuthority we have the pleasure of inviting you to the 15thInternational Conference “Road Safety on Four Continents” inAbu Dhabi.
The conference is organized by the Swedish National Roadand Transport Research Institute (VTI), together with theNational Transport Authority of UAE. The conference is suppor-ted by GRSP (Global Road Safety Partnership), FERSI (Forum ofEuropean Road Safety Research Institutes), TRB (TransportationResearch Board) and ECTRI (European Conference of TransportResearch Institutes).
The main objective of the conference is to explore emergingresearch and development in the area of Road Safety. Otherobjectives are furthering the application of research results andinvolving developing countries and countries in transition to joinin both as conference presenters and delegates. A special empha-
sis will be towards road safety challenges and problems in theregion, i.e. in and around the United Arab Emirates.
The conference topics and themes will attract the internatio-nal research community, national safety experts, decision makers,road safety engineers and planners, traffic law enforcement offi-cials and many others with an interest in road safety development.
Main themes of the conference are:• Exchange of new findings on road safety• Transfer of road safety knowledge• Exchange of evaluated good practises.
RS4C 2010Road Safety on Four Continents22–24 March 2010, Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates
Through the magazine we wish continuously to supply you withthe latest results of the Nordic transport research. Now wewould greatly appreciate if you could help us to define the bestcurrent way to do it by filling this Reader Survey.
This year it is exactly twenty years since Nordic Road &Transport Research was published for the first time. A lot ofresearch done in the Nordic countries in the field of transportduring these years has, through the magazine, reached out toreaders all over the world.
As you know, the magazine is published as a paper issue aswell as on the website nordicroads.com. We now wish that youcould let us know which way of publishing you value most byanswering the reader survey you will find on the website
nordicroads.com.
Please, take some minute or two and let us know your opinion!Thank you!
The editorial board of the Nordic Road & Transport Research
FirstHMAT
2010
Krishna Biligiri started as a guest resear-cher at VTI in the beginning of October. Hewill, in collaboration with other VTI resear-chers, work on a European Union directiveproject PERSUADE (Poroelastic RoadSurface: an Innovation to Avoid Damages tothe Environment). Krishna Biligiri will assistVTI in the development of poroelastic roadsurfaces by implementing and conductingmechanical and durability test procedures inorder to optimize the composition and theoverall performance of the poroelastic roadsurface materials. He will also work on cha-racterizing pavement noise of these materi-als. Apart from the aforementioned tasks, hewill act as a VTI team member and contribu-te to any needed work within his expertise.
What did you do before you came to VTI?Since January 2009, I have been working
as a Research Scientist at Arizona StateUniversity (ASU) in the United States ofAmerica. Over the last five years, I haveworked on several asphalt pavement modi-fication projects including asphalt rubberand fiber-reinforced asphalt concrete. I aman active committee member of severalprofessional organizations such as theTransportation Research Board, AmericanSociety of Testing and Materials, andRubber Pavements Association. SinceNovember 2008, I have been an ExecutiveFellow and lifetime member of theInternational Road Federation.
What education do you have?I gained a Ph.D. degree in civil and environ-mental engineering from ASU with the emp-hasis on advanced pavement material cha-racterization and tire/pavement noise. I also
have a Master’sdegree in civil andenvironmentalengineering fromASU and a Bachelor’s degree in civil engi-neering from Visvesvaraya TechnologicalUniversity, India.
What are your thoughts about your new job?It is a privilege and lifetime opportunity towork at VTI! I am very grateful to those atVTI whose untiring efforts have broughtme to this place. The VTI facilities are stu-pendous and world class and the peoplehere are friendly, smart and competent.
DearSubscriberof the NordicRoad &TransportResearch
Dr. Krishna Prapoorna Biligiri – guest researcher at VTI from the United States
6 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 7
Electronic ticketing on public transportbased on smart cards is gaining
momentum worldwide. The implementa-tion of smart card systems is, however, acomplex process that includes legal, econo-mical and technological issues. It is widelyrecognised that smart cards can deliverbenefits for public transport operators, butdue to its complexness implementationcan come at considerable cost. Therefore,it is more than likely that a commercialappraisal from the perspective of thepublic transport operator will reveal costshigher than benefits and hence economicnon-viability.
However, very few, if any, investments inpublic transport are profitable from a purecommercial perspective. Investments aremotivated by the positive externalitiesgenerated by the service, the potential foruser scale economics (often referred to asthe Mohring effect) and the alleged publicgood characteristics of public transport.When deciding whether or not to imple-
Smart Card Ticketing in TrondheimDelivers Substantial Benefits to Society
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Morten Welde, NPRA,Norway
ment smart card ticketing systems weshould hence evaluate the investment froma social perspective, that is, quantify costsand benefits to society as a whole followingthe principles of social cost benefit analysis.
The Norwegian city of Trondheim hasrecently implemented a fully interoperableelectronic ticketing scheme (t:kortet).After one year of operations, the NPRA hascarried out a cost benefit analysis of thescheme focusing on net overall benefitsderiving from effects on passengers, buscompany, local transport authority and therest of society. The main benefit for buspassengers from smart cards is time savingsfrom time saved boarding buses and payingfor tickets. Although a small time saving forthe individual, all passengers already onthe bus will save time at every stop whenpassengers pay using smart cards so totaltime savings for passengers are significantand constitute 60% of estimated total bene-fits. This is an example of user scale econo-mics. Further passenger benefits includeincreased time table reliability and redu-ced need for cash. The bus company isbenefits from reduced delays and increa-sed reliability because of less time is spent
at bus stops. This could allow the bus com-pany to reduce the number of buses orincrease the service level to passengers.
The analysis of NPRA shows that thesmart card ticketing system in Trondheimdelivers a positive net present value of 90million Norwegian crowns or a benefit costratio of 1.05, meaning that 1 Norwegiancrown invested in the smart card systemwill deliver a benefit to society equal to2.05. This is higher than what is usuallyprovided through traditional transportexpenditure and reassuring to those thathave questioned the success of the systemafter some start up problems. Since wehave applied conservative estimatesthroughout and a predicted lifespan ofonly ten years it is likely that our analysiserrs on the pessimistic side and that the netbenefit is likely to be higher.
Systematic evaluations of smart card ticketing systems for publictransport are few and far between. A cost benefit analysis of arecently implemented smart card system in Trondheim reveals anet present value in excess of what traditional road projects nor-mally deliver. Intelligent transport systems such as smart cardscan deliver huge benefits to society and often at a fraction of thecosts of other transport investments.
Contact: Morten Welde, NPRA. E-mail:
Read more (only in Norwegian): Welde, M. (2009):
Samfunnsøkonomisk nytte av elektroniske betalings-
og billetteringssystemer. Statens vegvesen
Vegdirektoratet, Teknologiavdelingen.
Teknologirapport nr. 2568.
For more information:Anna Anund, VTI, coordinator for Safeway2school,
Read more: www.saferider-eu.org/safeway2school
SAFEWAY2SCHOOL includes optimalroute planning and rerouting for
school buses to maximize safety, on-boardsafety applications (i.e. for speed controland seat belts), “intelligent” bus stops,effective warning and information systemsfor bus drivers, children, parents and thesurrounding traffic; as well as trainingschemes for all actors.
Between 1994 and 2001, 361 childrenwere injured or killed during transporta-tion to/from their school in Sweden, whe-reas 455 were killed or injured in Austriaonly in 2007, and 97 were killed in Italy in2005.
In a single school bus accident inGreece in 2003, 20 children lost their lives.Different as the above numbers may be,they all tell us one thing: Crashes involvingschool buses and crashes involving child-ren travelling to and from school are farfrom negligible and require further effortsto be drastically reduced.
The project’s innovative systems, ser-vices and training schemes will be tested in
Helena Sederström, VTI,Sweden
four sites in Europe, including northen(Sweden), the central (Austria), the south(Italy) and the eastern (Poland) Europeconcerning the evaluation of usability, effi-ciency, user acceptance and market viabili-ty at the same time taking into account thevery different ways to transport children toand from across the different Europeanregions as well as key cultural and socio-economic aspects.
To visualize parts of the system and thebasic idea behind a pre-pilotstudy using anonboard system for navigation, route gui-dance, information about children andcommunication between the bus, bus stopand child has been done in Sweden.
SAFEWAY2SCHOOL is an EU project within the 7th frameworkprogramme. The project started in September 2009 and is scheduled to end in August 2012. The aims are to design, develop, integrate and evaluate technologies for providing a holistic and safe transportation service for children, from theirhome door to the school door and vice versa, encompassingtools, services and training for all key actors in the relevanttransportation chain.
Safe School Transportation in NewEU project
PHOTO:ANNE MARI NORHEIM, NPRA, NORWAY
PHO
TO:
VTI/
HEJ
DLÖ
SA
BIL
DER
6 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 7
Electronic ticketing on public transportbased on smart cards is gaining
momentum worldwide. The implementa-tion of smart card systems is, however, acomplex process that includes legal, econo-mical and technological issues. It is widelyrecognised that smart cards can deliverbenefits for public transport operators, butdue to its complexness implementationcan come at considerable cost. Therefore,it is more than likely that a commercialappraisal from the perspective of thepublic transport operator will reveal costshigher than benefits and hence economicnon-viability.
However, very few, if any, investments inpublic transport are profitable from a purecommercial perspective. Investments aremotivated by the positive externalitiesgenerated by the service, the potential foruser scale economics (often referred to asthe Mohring effect) and the alleged publicgood characteristics of public transport.When deciding whether or not to imple-
Smart Card Ticketing in TrondheimDelivers Substantial Benefits to Society
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Morten Welde, NPRA,Norway
ment smart card ticketing systems weshould hence evaluate the investment froma social perspective, that is, quantify costsand benefits to society as a whole followingthe principles of social cost benefit analysis.
The Norwegian city of Trondheim hasrecently implemented a fully interoperableelectronic ticketing scheme (t:kortet).After one year of operations, the NPRA hascarried out a cost benefit analysis of thescheme focusing on net overall benefitsderiving from effects on passengers, buscompany, local transport authority and therest of society. The main benefit for buspassengers from smart cards is time savingsfrom time saved boarding buses and payingfor tickets. Although a small time saving forthe individual, all passengers already onthe bus will save time at every stop whenpassengers pay using smart cards so totaltime savings for passengers are significantand constitute 60% of estimated total bene-fits. This is an example of user scale econo-mics. Further passenger benefits includeincreased time table reliability and redu-ced need for cash. The bus company isbenefits from reduced delays and increa-sed reliability because of less time is spent
at bus stops. This could allow the bus com-pany to reduce the number of buses orincrease the service level to passengers.
The analysis of NPRA shows that thesmart card ticketing system in Trondheimdelivers a positive net present value of 90million Norwegian crowns or a benefit costratio of 1.05, meaning that 1 Norwegiancrown invested in the smart card systemwill deliver a benefit to society equal to2.05. This is higher than what is usuallyprovided through traditional transportexpenditure and reassuring to those thathave questioned the success of the systemafter some start up problems. Since wehave applied conservative estimatesthroughout and a predicted lifespan ofonly ten years it is likely that our analysiserrs on the pessimistic side and that the netbenefit is likely to be higher.
Systematic evaluations of smart card ticketing systems for publictransport are few and far between. A cost benefit analysis of arecently implemented smart card system in Trondheim reveals anet present value in excess of what traditional road projects nor-mally deliver. Intelligent transport systems such as smart cardscan deliver huge benefits to society and often at a fraction of thecosts of other transport investments.
Contact: Morten Welde, NPRA. E-mail:
Read more (only in Norwegian): Welde, M. (2009):
Samfunnsøkonomisk nytte av elektroniske betalings-
og billetteringssystemer. Statens vegvesen
Vegdirektoratet, Teknologiavdelingen.
Teknologirapport nr. 2568.
For more information:Anna Anund, VTI, coordinator for Safeway2school,
Read more: www.saferider-eu.org/safeway2school
SAFEWAY2SCHOOL includes optimalroute planning and rerouting for
school buses to maximize safety, on-boardsafety applications (i.e. for speed controland seat belts), “intelligent” bus stops,effective warning and information systemsfor bus drivers, children, parents and thesurrounding traffic; as well as trainingschemes for all actors.
Between 1994 and 2001, 361 childrenwere injured or killed during transporta-tion to/from their school in Sweden, whe-reas 455 were killed or injured in Austriaonly in 2007, and 97 were killed in Italy in2005.
In a single school bus accident inGreece in 2003, 20 children lost their lives.Different as the above numbers may be,they all tell us one thing: Crashes involvingschool buses and crashes involving child-ren travelling to and from school are farfrom negligible and require further effortsto be drastically reduced.
The project’s innovative systems, ser-vices and training schemes will be tested in
Helena Sederström, VTI,Sweden
four sites in Europe, including northen(Sweden), the central (Austria), the south(Italy) and the eastern (Poland) Europeconcerning the evaluation of usability, effi-ciency, user acceptance and market viabili-ty at the same time taking into account thevery different ways to transport children toand from across the different Europeanregions as well as key cultural and socio-economic aspects.
To visualize parts of the system and thebasic idea behind a pre-pilotstudy using anonboard system for navigation, route gui-dance, information about children andcommunication between the bus, bus stopand child has been done in Sweden.
SAFEWAY2SCHOOL is an EU project within the 7th frameworkprogramme. The project started in September 2009 and is scheduled to end in August 2012. The aims are to design, develop, integrate and evaluate technologies for providing a holistic and safe transportation service for children, from theirhome door to the school door and vice versa, encompassingtools, services and training for all key actors in the relevanttransportation chain.
Safe School Transportation in NewEU project
PHOTO:ANNE MARI NORHEIM, NPRA, NORWAY
PHO
TO:
VTI/
HEJ
DLÖ
SA
BIL
DER
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 98 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
In Sweden Every day, about 400,000 child-ren travel to school with the school trans-
port service. Crash statistics show that,generally speaking, safety is good in spite ofthe fact that one or two children are killedevery year in conjunction with school trans-port. The most risky situation is when thechildren are outside the bus. One contribu-tory reason may be the lack of routine. Inthe project Smart, safe school transport,existing technology is used to increase thedegree of routine and to make it easier toimprove the safety and security of schooltransport journeys for the children.
Driver support systemsIn the project, a driver support system hasbeen developed which increases the deg-ree of routine, makes it easier for the driverto detect dangerous situations and to com-municate with the children during thejourney. The system is made up of alreadyexisting technology; it is only new ways ofusing these that have been found.
The technical support system is desig-
Technology Improves School Transport
Contact: Anna Anund, VTI, [email protected]
Read more: Smart Safe School Bus, a pilot study
in Kristianstad, VTI publication R649
ned with reference to a “door to door”journey perspective, i.e. a holistic app-roach. The system comprises navigationalong the school transport routes, informa-tion about the children, and the names ofchildren who will join and leave the bus atdifferent stops. The buses have also beenfitted with technical equipment “tag” toestablish communication between thechildren and the bus/bus stop, but also tomake sure that safety belts are used and toincrease facilities for keeping an eye on thechildren inside and outside the bus.
With the focus on the whole journeyperspective and the situations when thechildren are vulnerable road users, twoworkshops were arranged. At one of these,there were discussions with firms in theschool transport branch in order to devisethe best possible functions for this type ofdriver support system. The other was atten-ded by experts in the field and resulted ina selection of components to be includedin the driver support system.
The system is based on a vehicle compu-ter with a vehicle mounted navigation sys-tem and a communications network betwe-en the children, the bus and the bus stop.The network consists of three components;
an "electronic reflector-tag" which thechildren wear, a communication sensor inthe buses and a newly developed warningsystem at the bus stops.
Tests on the systemTwo buses were fitted with the new systemand two bus stops were equipped with flas-hing lights. The journeys and the bus stopsof a total of 130 children were loaded intothe system. The children were given trans-mitters, “tags”, to enable communicationbetween child and bus, and also betweenthe children and the bus stops. The twobuses used in the test were driven normallyby two regular drivers, and also systemati-cally by five relief drivers.
The system was in operation in the townof Kristianstad in 2008 and was then eva-luated in the form of discussions with focusgroups and interviews with the childrenand the drivers, as well as diary studiesmade together with the drivers. Speedswere also measured before and after theinstallation of the flashing lights at the bus-stops.
The perceptions of the drivers regar-ding the use of the driver support systemshowed that the technical systems included
Existing technology is used to improve routines for childrenduring travel on school transport and to make it easier for thebus drivers to detect dangerous situations and prepare themselves for these.
in the experiment were used and found use-ful, and increased the degree of routine, andthat the technical solutions had given thedrivers a greater opportunity to detect dang-erous situations and to prepare themselvesfor these. The descriptions by the childrenalso confirm that the system had increasedtheir feeling of security. Speed measure-ments showed that flashing lights at the bus-stops significantly reduced the speed.
The objective of the project has been
achieved, but several matters remain to besolved. What is probably most important isthat a single solution is not sufficient, but aholistic approach must be adopted. A dri-ver support system, however good it is, willnot provide its full benefit unless the dri-vers, children, parents and municipal staffare trained at the same time in order toenhance their awareness of road safety, andgive them a greater understanding of theneeds and conditions of children.
Magdalena Green,VTI, Sweden
PHOTO: AMPARI SOLUTIONS
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 98 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
In Sweden Every day, about 400,000 child-ren travel to school with the school trans-
port service. Crash statistics show that,generally speaking, safety is good in spite ofthe fact that one or two children are killedevery year in conjunction with school trans-port. The most risky situation is when thechildren are outside the bus. One contribu-tory reason may be the lack of routine. Inthe project Smart, safe school transport,existing technology is used to increase thedegree of routine and to make it easier toimprove the safety and security of schooltransport journeys for the children.
Driver support systemsIn the project, a driver support system hasbeen developed which increases the deg-ree of routine, makes it easier for the driverto detect dangerous situations and to com-municate with the children during thejourney. The system is made up of alreadyexisting technology; it is only new ways ofusing these that have been found.
The technical support system is desig-
Technology Improves School Transport
Contact: Anna Anund, VTI, [email protected]
Read more: Smart Safe School Bus, a pilot study
in Kristianstad, VTI publication R649
ned with reference to a “door to door”journey perspective, i.e. a holistic app-roach. The system comprises navigationalong the school transport routes, informa-tion about the children, and the names ofchildren who will join and leave the bus atdifferent stops. The buses have also beenfitted with technical equipment “tag” toestablish communication between thechildren and the bus/bus stop, but also tomake sure that safety belts are used and toincrease facilities for keeping an eye on thechildren inside and outside the bus.
With the focus on the whole journeyperspective and the situations when thechildren are vulnerable road users, twoworkshops were arranged. At one of these,there were discussions with firms in theschool transport branch in order to devisethe best possible functions for this type ofdriver support system. The other was atten-ded by experts in the field and resulted ina selection of components to be includedin the driver support system.
The system is based on a vehicle compu-ter with a vehicle mounted navigation sys-tem and a communications network betwe-en the children, the bus and the bus stop.The network consists of three components;
an "electronic reflector-tag" which thechildren wear, a communication sensor inthe buses and a newly developed warningsystem at the bus stops.
Tests on the systemTwo buses were fitted with the new systemand two bus stops were equipped with flas-hing lights. The journeys and the bus stopsof a total of 130 children were loaded intothe system. The children were given trans-mitters, “tags”, to enable communicationbetween child and bus, and also betweenthe children and the bus stops. The twobuses used in the test were driven normallyby two regular drivers, and also systemati-cally by five relief drivers.
The system was in operation in the townof Kristianstad in 2008 and was then eva-luated in the form of discussions with focusgroups and interviews with the childrenand the drivers, as well as diary studiesmade together with the drivers. Speedswere also measured before and after theinstallation of the flashing lights at the bus-stops.
The perceptions of the drivers regar-ding the use of the driver support systemshowed that the technical systems included
Existing technology is used to improve routines for childrenduring travel on school transport and to make it easier for thebus drivers to detect dangerous situations and prepare themselves for these.
in the experiment were used and found use-ful, and increased the degree of routine, andthat the technical solutions had given thedrivers a greater opportunity to detect dang-erous situations and to prepare themselvesfor these. The descriptions by the childrenalso confirm that the system had increasedtheir feeling of security. Speed measure-ments showed that flashing lights at the bus-stops significantly reduced the speed.
The objective of the project has been
achieved, but several matters remain to besolved. What is probably most important isthat a single solution is not sufficient, but aholistic approach must be adopted. A dri-ver support system, however good it is, willnot provide its full benefit unless the dri-vers, children, parents and municipal staffare trained at the same time in order toenhance their awareness of road safety, andgive them a greater understanding of theneeds and conditions of children.
Magdalena Green,VTI, Sweden
PHOTO: AMPARI SOLUTIONS
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 1110 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
New Forms of Payment for the Provision of Public Transport
One way of designing such an agree-ment is to give the operator, within a
"net agreement" framework, freedom ofaction within specified limits to set pricesand to design the service with respect toroute, time table, etc.
– We believe that a net agreement,depending on how it is formulated and onthe undertakings made by the public trans-port authority, can provide a driving forcefor such a development, says RogerPyddoke of VTI.
– The term net agreement refers to acontract where the operator retains theticket revenue and possibly receives a certa-in additional grant to operate the traffic.The operator therefore submits a tender
corresponding to the grant or to the totalcosts of providing a certain service, less theticket revenue.
If costs exceed revenue, the operatorthus submits a bid corresponding to thecost required to make ends meet. A grossagreement, on the other hand, is an agree-ment where the ticket revenue is transfer-red to the principal and where the bidrepresents the total cost of providing a cer-tain service, i.e. the gross cost.
Using data for the 1997–2005 period,VTI compared bus transport in 18 mid-sized Swedish towns. The analysis demon-strated that in towns with net contracts,ticket prices were on average higher andthe number of trips was smaller than intowns with gross contracts. Both total costsand subsidies were, however, lower in townswith net contracts than in towns with grosscontracts. In addition, a regular user sur-
vey, Kollektivtrafikbarometern, indicatedthat users were more satisfied by the ser-vices in towns with net cost contracts.
The research does therefore not corro-borate the hypothesis that net cost con-tracts provide stronger incentives to achie-ving public transport authority objectives.The empirical support for drawing policyconclusions is, however, weak with respectto the number of observations and thenumber of parameters which can not becontrolled in the analysis. The project hastherefore also suggested a framework forimplementing a trial for testing these issu-es in a systematic way.
Roger Pyddoke, VTI,Sweden
A starting point for a recent project regarding the forms of con-tracting for the provision of public transport was to examine theconditions for a trial on increased delegation of the pricing andplanning of public transport. The hypothesis was that an agree-ment that provided greater freedom of action would provideincentives for the operators to promote a development towards ahigher degree of goal attainment.
Contact: Gudrun Öberg, VTI, [email protected]
Contact: Roger Pyddoke, VTI, [email protected]
Jan-Eric Nilsson, VTI, [email protected]
Read more: New contract forms in public trans-
port, VTI publication R625
New Forms of Payment for the Provision of Public Transport
Pedestrians in Danger
The public is encouraged to use public transport since this has apositive influence on both the environment and road safety. Butthe route to reach public transport may be full of risks. Almost30,000 pedestrians were injured and reported by hospitals to anational database between 2003 and 2008.
In order to safeguard the "whole-journeyperspective", it is important that the road
user should be able to reach public trans-port in a safe and convenient way, whetheron foot or by bicycle. Many factors influen-ce the choice of the road user whether towalk or cycle, and whether the transportwill be safe.
The standard of the road surface hasgreat importance for the choice to walk orto cycle the whole journey or parts of this.
A large proportion of the injuries reportedcan be attributed to insufficient mainte-nance, such as slippery conditions or pot-holes in the road. VTI has therefore initia-ted a project which studies the risk of inju-ries to pedestrians, with the focus on theimportance of maintenance. The projectwill study the 30,000 injured pedestriansregistered over the period 2003–2008 inSTRADA, the database in which the policeand hospitals register accidents.
Statistics show a clear difference betwe-en men and women regarding injuredpedestrians; as many as two thirds of thoseinjured are women. The cause of this diffe-
rence has not yet been investigated. Oneexplanation may be that women walk morethan men, but it is not part of the project toexamine exposure data.
The project will continue during thewhole of 2010.
Magdalena Green,VTI, Sweden
PHOTO: VTI/HEJDLÖSA BILDER
PHOTO: VTI/KATJA KIRCHER
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 1110 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
New Forms of Payment for the Provision of Public Transport
One way of designing such an agree-ment is to give the operator, within a
"net agreement" framework, freedom ofaction within specified limits to set pricesand to design the service with respect toroute, time table, etc.
– We believe that a net agreement,depending on how it is formulated and onthe undertakings made by the public trans-port authority, can provide a driving forcefor such a development, says RogerPyddoke of VTI.
– The term net agreement refers to acontract where the operator retains theticket revenue and possibly receives a certa-in additional grant to operate the traffic.The operator therefore submits a tender
corresponding to the grant or to the totalcosts of providing a certain service, less theticket revenue.
If costs exceed revenue, the operatorthus submits a bid corresponding to thecost required to make ends meet. A grossagreement, on the other hand, is an agree-ment where the ticket revenue is transfer-red to the principal and where the bidrepresents the total cost of providing a cer-tain service, i.e. the gross cost.
Using data for the 1997–2005 period,VTI compared bus transport in 18 mid-sized Swedish towns. The analysis demon-strated that in towns with net contracts,ticket prices were on average higher andthe number of trips was smaller than intowns with gross contracts. Both total costsand subsidies were, however, lower in townswith net contracts than in towns with grosscontracts. In addition, a regular user sur-
vey, Kollektivtrafikbarometern, indicatedthat users were more satisfied by the ser-vices in towns with net cost contracts.
The research does therefore not corro-borate the hypothesis that net cost con-tracts provide stronger incentives to achie-ving public transport authority objectives.The empirical support for drawing policyconclusions is, however, weak with respectto the number of observations and thenumber of parameters which can not becontrolled in the analysis. The project hastherefore also suggested a framework forimplementing a trial for testing these issu-es in a systematic way.
Roger Pyddoke, VTI,Sweden
A starting point for a recent project regarding the forms of con-tracting for the provision of public transport was to examine theconditions for a trial on increased delegation of the pricing andplanning of public transport. The hypothesis was that an agree-ment that provided greater freedom of action would provideincentives for the operators to promote a development towards ahigher degree of goal attainment.
Contact: Gudrun Öberg, VTI, [email protected]
Contact: Roger Pyddoke, VTI, [email protected]
Jan-Eric Nilsson, VTI, [email protected]
Read more: New contract forms in public trans-
port, VTI publication R625
New Forms of Payment for the Provision of Public Transport
Pedestrians in Danger
The public is encouraged to use public transport since this has apositive influence on both the environment and road safety. Butthe route to reach public transport may be full of risks. Almost30,000 pedestrians were injured and reported by hospitals to anational database between 2003 and 2008.
In order to safeguard the "whole-journeyperspective", it is important that the road
user should be able to reach public trans-port in a safe and convenient way, whetheron foot or by bicycle. Many factors influen-ce the choice of the road user whether towalk or cycle, and whether the transportwill be safe.
The standard of the road surface hasgreat importance for the choice to walk orto cycle the whole journey or parts of this.
A large proportion of the injuries reportedcan be attributed to insufficient mainte-nance, such as slippery conditions or pot-holes in the road. VTI has therefore initia-ted a project which studies the risk of inju-ries to pedestrians, with the focus on theimportance of maintenance. The projectwill study the 30,000 injured pedestriansregistered over the period 2003–2008 inSTRADA, the database in which the policeand hospitals register accidents.
Statistics show a clear difference betwe-en men and women regarding injuredpedestrians; as many as two thirds of thoseinjured are women. The cause of this diffe-
rence has not yet been investigated. Oneexplanation may be that women walk morethan men, but it is not part of the project toexamine exposure data.
The project will continue during thewhole of 2010.
Magdalena Green,VTI, Sweden
PHOTO: VTI/HEJDLÖSA BILDER
PHOTO: VTI/KATJA KIRCHER
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 1312 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The AKTA Project: Facilitates EverydayLife for Visually Impaired Persons
On the express bus in the county of Møre og Romsdal, northwestern part of Norway, a project called AKTA has been conduc-ted. The main objective of the project was to make it easier forvisually impaired persons to travel with public transport. By theuse of a real time system for buses and mobile telephonesamong the users, the visually impaired persons are ensured toget on board on the correct bus departure and off at the rightbus stop.
AKTA is in Norwegian an abbreviationfor “Attraktiv Kollektiv Transport for
Alle” (English: Attractive PublicTransportation for All). Phase 1 of the pro-ject, which was conducted in 2007, hasbeen a joint venture project between theNorwegian Association of the Blind andPartially Sighted, NPRA, the County ofMøre og Romsdal, the Traffic InformationAgency in Møre og Romsdal, SINTEF, ABThoreb and Nettbuss AS. The ResearchCouncil of Norway has heavily contributedby funding the project. The project wasdivided into a phase 1 with the pilot instal-lation in the county of Møre og Romsdaland a phase 2 with a recommendation foradjustment for urban traffic.
Surely everybody travelling with publictransportation waiting for the bus has beenwondering when the bus will arrive or if ithas already passed. Real time informationon monitors at the bus stop and messageson the mobile phone will communicate the
demand for information. But what aboutthe blind and weak-sighted? How shall theyget hold of this information and how shallthey manage to stop the right bus at thebusstop?
The AKTA project aimed for solving thisproblem. The starting point was a real timeservice which had been available on theexpress buses in the county of Møre ogRomsdal since 2006 where 12 buses, with areal time information system delivered byAB Thoreb, were operating the 200 kmlong distance between the cities of Volda,Ålesund, Molde and Kristiansund.
This is how the system works:1. The traveller gives a message by the web
or SMS to the real time system about awanted trip with the express bus from aparticular bus stop at a certain time ofdeparture, and how many minutes befo-re (i.e. 10 minutes) arrival the real timeinformation is wanted.
2. When the bus is approaching the busstop, the real time information will besent to the traveller’s mobile phone inaccordance with the order.
3. Additionally the passenger who has
required assistance gets a SMS forinstance two minutes before the busarrives. At the same time the real timesystem sends a message to the driver ofthe bus that a person in need for assis-tance will enter the bus at the relevantstop.
4. As an additional service AKTA can senda SMS to the passenger two minutesprior to the arrival at the destination.
5. The bus driver will also receive a messa-ge two minutes before a person whowants assistance is going to leave thebus.In phase 2 of the project SINTEF has
looked closer into details about what infor-mation is relevant to communicate, howthe information should be presented andtime of transmission based on the need ofdifferent users when the AKTA functionali-ty for use in town areas is introduced.
Also in this phase of the project therehas been a close co-operation with theorganizations of the disabled. One of therecommendations is that need for assistan-ce messages to the driver can, by misuse,constitute a vulnerable part of the concept.
Steinar Simonsen, NPRA,Norway
Contact: Steinar Simonsen, NPRA.
E-mail: [email protected]
More information (only in Norwegian):SINTEF- rapport, arkivkode 50350303. AKTA-
evaluering av demonstrator
SINTEF- notat, prosjektnummer 50350307.
AKTA – sluttføring av assistansemeldinger
This is, at the same time, very importantfor some user groups. And so one shouldconsider the establishment of a databasewhere a person must be registered as user(simply with the mobile telephone num-ber) before the system executes a reserva-tion for assistance message. The system canalso be useful for other users than the visu-ally impaired.
The AKTA test in the county of Møre ogRomsdal gave the visually impaired thenecessary safety to get on the correct bus.In particular this aspect will be importantby the transfer of the project to urban traf-fic where many bus routes are using thesame stop. In the delivery of real timeinformation and traffic signal priority forthe public transport, which will be introdu-ced during 2010, a demand for this functio-nality is included.
The test person makes the reservation.
Message to the driverabout traveller in needfor assistance.
Message about bus arrivalon the mobile phone.
Contact established between theweak-sighted and the driver.PH
OTO
:
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 1312 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The AKTA Project: Facilitates EverydayLife for Visually Impaired Persons
On the express bus in the county of Møre og Romsdal, northwestern part of Norway, a project called AKTA has been conduc-ted. The main objective of the project was to make it easier forvisually impaired persons to travel with public transport. By theuse of a real time system for buses and mobile telephonesamong the users, the visually impaired persons are ensured toget on board on the correct bus departure and off at the rightbus stop.
AKTA is in Norwegian an abbreviationfor “Attraktiv Kollektiv Transport for
Alle” (English: Attractive PublicTransportation for All). Phase 1 of the pro-ject, which was conducted in 2007, hasbeen a joint venture project between theNorwegian Association of the Blind andPartially Sighted, NPRA, the County ofMøre og Romsdal, the Traffic InformationAgency in Møre og Romsdal, SINTEF, ABThoreb and Nettbuss AS. The ResearchCouncil of Norway has heavily contributedby funding the project. The project wasdivided into a phase 1 with the pilot instal-lation in the county of Møre og Romsdaland a phase 2 with a recommendation foradjustment for urban traffic.
Surely everybody travelling with publictransportation waiting for the bus has beenwondering when the bus will arrive or if ithas already passed. Real time informationon monitors at the bus stop and messageson the mobile phone will communicate the
demand for information. But what aboutthe blind and weak-sighted? How shall theyget hold of this information and how shallthey manage to stop the right bus at thebusstop?
The AKTA project aimed for solving thisproblem. The starting point was a real timeservice which had been available on theexpress buses in the county of Møre ogRomsdal since 2006 where 12 buses, with areal time information system delivered byAB Thoreb, were operating the 200 kmlong distance between the cities of Volda,Ålesund, Molde and Kristiansund.
This is how the system works:1. The traveller gives a message by the web
or SMS to the real time system about awanted trip with the express bus from aparticular bus stop at a certain time ofdeparture, and how many minutes befo-re (i.e. 10 minutes) arrival the real timeinformation is wanted.
2. When the bus is approaching the busstop, the real time information will besent to the traveller’s mobile phone inaccordance with the order.
3. Additionally the passenger who has
required assistance gets a SMS forinstance two minutes before the busarrives. At the same time the real timesystem sends a message to the driver ofthe bus that a person in need for assis-tance will enter the bus at the relevantstop.
4. As an additional service AKTA can senda SMS to the passenger two minutesprior to the arrival at the destination.
5. The bus driver will also receive a messa-ge two minutes before a person whowants assistance is going to leave thebus.In phase 2 of the project SINTEF has
looked closer into details about what infor-mation is relevant to communicate, howthe information should be presented andtime of transmission based on the need ofdifferent users when the AKTA functionali-ty for use in town areas is introduced.
Also in this phase of the project therehas been a close co-operation with theorganizations of the disabled. One of therecommendations is that need for assistan-ce messages to the driver can, by misuse,constitute a vulnerable part of the concept.
Steinar Simonsen, NPRA,Norway
Contact: Steinar Simonsen, NPRA.
E-mail: [email protected]
More information (only in Norwegian):SINTEF- rapport, arkivkode 50350303. AKTA-
evaluering av demonstrator
SINTEF- notat, prosjektnummer 50350307.
AKTA – sluttføring av assistansemeldinger
This is, at the same time, very importantfor some user groups. And so one shouldconsider the establishment of a databasewhere a person must be registered as user(simply with the mobile telephone num-ber) before the system executes a reserva-tion for assistance message. The system canalso be useful for other users than the visu-ally impaired.
The AKTA test in the county of Møre ogRomsdal gave the visually impaired thenecessary safety to get on the correct bus.In particular this aspect will be importantby the transfer of the project to urban traf-fic where many bus routes are using thesame stop. In the delivery of real timeinformation and traffic signal priority forthe public transport, which will be introdu-ced during 2010, a demand for this functio-nality is included.
The test person makes the reservation.
Message to the driverabout traveller in needfor assistance.
Message about bus arrivalon the mobile phone.
Contact established between theweak-sighted and the driver.PH
OTO
:
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 1514 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
By Bjarne Schmidt Danish Road Institute,Per Ullidtz, Dynatest International,Birgitte Eilskov Jensen NCC Roads
The energy consumption to move vehic-les forward is basically used to overco-
me the internal friction of a vehicle, itsaerodynamic resistance and rolling resi-stance. Of the three major components toovercome, rolling resistance consumes asignificant amount of energy.
If one looks at the components thatcause rolling resistance, deformations inthe tyre carcass, tread and side walls, defor-mations in the tire material from the pave-ment surface and finally deformations inthe road pavement itself are the parame-ters that need to be investigated.
The different components’ contribu-tion to the total rolling resistance dependon numerous things such as the tire con-struction and the materials used, the roadpavement’s evenness and texture asregards functional requirements and thestiffness of the road construction asregards structural requirements etc. Thereis no doubt that both evenness and texturehave a significant influence on the rollingresistance. Several investigations haveshown that an optimisation of these para-meters will contribute to a reduction inCO2 emissions for the road transport.
Road Pavements and Fuel Consumption
With the increasing focus on energy consumption and thereforeon CO2 emissions, NCC Roads, The Danish Road Institute andDynatest International have cooperated on finding possibilities toreduce energy consumption from road transport, this has beendone by looking at pavement technology, new material types, mixdesigns, paving techniques and new requirements for functionaland structural properties.
However, the influence of structuralproperties on rolling resistance is a conti-nuing subject for discussion, and the ques-tion whether a stiff concrete pavement willprovide a significantly lower rolling resi-stance than a softer and more flexibleasphalt pavement needs to be investigated.
In the study, the influence of differentparameters on rolling resistance was inve-stigated. Special tests using a FallingWeight Deflectometer (FWD) were perfor-med by NCC Roads, Dynatest Internationaland The Danish Road Institute on a newlyconstructed motorway in order to analysethe influence of pavement stiffness on rol-ling resistance. The FWD tests were carriedout in such a way that the complete loadingand deformation cycle in the centre of the
loading plate was recorded as shown infigure 1.
The energy loss may be determined byplotting the force against the deformationas shown in figure 2. The area of the hyste-resis between the loading and unloadingphase of the test determines the energyloss from that particular pavement.
The energy loss determined from a FWDtest is not directly comparable with rollingresistance. The real rolling resistance isbelieved to be approximately 70 – 80% ofthe maximum energy loss determined bythe FWD test. Under a rolling wheel, thepavement is already deformed in front ofthe wheel. In order to investigate the pos-sible influence of different structural pro-perties and pavement materials on the
energy loss and hence rolling resistance,several FWD test were carried out on pave-ment sections on a freeway in Denmark inlate summer 2009. The pavements includeda normal asphalt pavement structure, a so-called high modulus pavement and a pave-ment with a cement stabilised bearing layer.
Figure 1
The conclusion of the tests is that thepart of the rolling resistance influenced bythe deformation in the pavement seems tobe very limited and therefore the effect onenergy consumption which can be obtai-ned by using stiffer pavements is also verylimited. The test showed that even if the
Figure 2; Hysteresiscurve
contribution from the deformation on rol-ling resistance was completely eliminated,the maximum reduction on the completerolling resistance would be less than 4% fortrucks and a significantly lesser contribu-tion when looking at passenger cars.
For pavements with very low structuralcapacities, it is anticipated that a larger pro-portion of the rolling resistance can berelated to the pavement structure and per-haps add up to 20%. The partners in theproject therefore believe that the primaryeffort to reduce rolling resistance andhence CO2 emission and energy consump-tion shall be targeted towards the functio-nal properties of the pavement such asevenness and texture.
Within a few months, the three partnersin the project will publish a report on theresults obtained.
PHOTO: PHOTOS.COM
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 1514 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
By Bjarne Schmidt Danish Road Institute,Per Ullidtz, Dynatest International,Birgitte Eilskov Jensen NCC Roads
The energy consumption to move vehic-les forward is basically used to overco-
me the internal friction of a vehicle, itsaerodynamic resistance and rolling resi-stance. Of the three major components toovercome, rolling resistance consumes asignificant amount of energy.
If one looks at the components thatcause rolling resistance, deformations inthe tyre carcass, tread and side walls, defor-mations in the tire material from the pave-ment surface and finally deformations inthe road pavement itself are the parame-ters that need to be investigated.
The different components’ contribu-tion to the total rolling resistance dependon numerous things such as the tire con-struction and the materials used, the roadpavement’s evenness and texture asregards functional requirements and thestiffness of the road construction asregards structural requirements etc. Thereis no doubt that both evenness and texturehave a significant influence on the rollingresistance. Several investigations haveshown that an optimisation of these para-meters will contribute to a reduction inCO2 emissions for the road transport.
Road Pavements and Fuel Consumption
With the increasing focus on energy consumption and thereforeon CO2 emissions, NCC Roads, The Danish Road Institute andDynatest International have cooperated on finding possibilities toreduce energy consumption from road transport, this has beendone by looking at pavement technology, new material types, mixdesigns, paving techniques and new requirements for functionaland structural properties.
However, the influence of structuralproperties on rolling resistance is a conti-nuing subject for discussion, and the ques-tion whether a stiff concrete pavement willprovide a significantly lower rolling resi-stance than a softer and more flexibleasphalt pavement needs to be investigated.
In the study, the influence of differentparameters on rolling resistance was inve-stigated. Special tests using a FallingWeight Deflectometer (FWD) were perfor-med by NCC Roads, Dynatest Internationaland The Danish Road Institute on a newlyconstructed motorway in order to analysethe influence of pavement stiffness on rol-ling resistance. The FWD tests were carriedout in such a way that the complete loadingand deformation cycle in the centre of the
loading plate was recorded as shown infigure 1.
The energy loss may be determined byplotting the force against the deformationas shown in figure 2. The area of the hyste-resis between the loading and unloadingphase of the test determines the energyloss from that particular pavement.
The energy loss determined from a FWDtest is not directly comparable with rollingresistance. The real rolling resistance isbelieved to be approximately 70 – 80% ofthe maximum energy loss determined bythe FWD test. Under a rolling wheel, thepavement is already deformed in front ofthe wheel. In order to investigate the pos-sible influence of different structural pro-perties and pavement materials on the
energy loss and hence rolling resistance,several FWD test were carried out on pave-ment sections on a freeway in Denmark inlate summer 2009. The pavements includeda normal asphalt pavement structure, a so-called high modulus pavement and a pave-ment with a cement stabilised bearing layer.
Figure 1
The conclusion of the tests is that thepart of the rolling resistance influenced bythe deformation in the pavement seems tobe very limited and therefore the effect onenergy consumption which can be obtai-ned by using stiffer pavements is also verylimited. The test showed that even if the
Figure 2; Hysteresiscurve
contribution from the deformation on rol-ling resistance was completely eliminated,the maximum reduction on the completerolling resistance would be less than 4% fortrucks and a significantly lesser contribu-tion when looking at passenger cars.
For pavements with very low structuralcapacities, it is anticipated that a larger pro-portion of the rolling resistance can berelated to the pavement structure and per-haps add up to 20%. The partners in theproject therefore believe that the primaryeffort to reduce rolling resistance andhence CO2 emission and energy consump-tion shall be targeted towards the functio-nal properties of the pavement such asevenness and texture.
Within a few months, the three partnersin the project will publish a report on theresults obtained.
PHOTO: PHOTOS.COM
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 1716 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
Child Pedestrians’ Quality NeedsCost 358 is to present a handbook on Pedestrians’ QualityNeeds in 2010 for all age groups. The main objective is to provi-de knowledge of pedestrians’ quality needs and how these needsrelate to structural and functional interventions, policy makingand regulation to support walking conditions across the EU andother interested countries. The framework for child pedestrians’quality needs is summarised below.
Charlotta Johansson, LTU, SwedenLars Leden, VTT, Finland
Contact: Johanne Solheim.
E-mail: [email protected]
More information at:http://www.vegvesen.no/Vegprosjekter/Bjorvika/In+
English
Source:http://www.ltu.se/forskning/1.16009?l=en&pureId=
2135427&pureFamily=dk.atira.pure.families.publica-
tion.shared.model.Publication
and http://www.walkeurope.org/
Contact: Charlotta Johansson,
Lars Leden, [email protected].
The quality needs of children are strong-ly linked to their age. Toddlers are at
risk on driveways and in other relativelyprotected areas, since they are drawn tomoving vehicles rather than avoiding them(Schieber and Thompson, 1996). Childrenfrom the age of 18 months have the abilityto fantasise and the physical ability to esca-pe from their surroundings.
It is widely accepted that pre-schoolchildren cannot experience a viewpoint orattitude other than their own. If childrencan see someone else, such as a car or dri-ver, they tend to think that the other per-son can see them even though they may bestanding between parked cars. Midtland(1995) and Schieber and Thompson(1996) argue for a break point at 6 or 7years. The difference between that agegroup or younger compared with older
cars is less safe for crossing the street(Demetre and Gaffin, 1994).
In the early eighties Von Hofsten sugges-ted that children’s development as roadusers depends on their absorbing moreinformation about their environment overtime, so that the information flow gives gui-dance about what is required as a road user.Moreover, young children lack experienceof crossing streets and therefore cannot doso safely, since they do not know what towatch out for in traffic (Foot et al, 1999).
The ability of children to cross a quietstreet, cross a street with parked cars, andcross a street at an intersection improvedafter training (Rothengatter, 1984, VanSchagen 1988). However, research hasshown that training children is not clearlylinked to their true behaviour in real traf-fic, nor what behaviour can be consideredto be safe, or regarded as undesirable, intraffic. Training children to be in trafficcan give them better knowledge about howto cross a street safely, for example, but
does not mean that their behaviour willimprove in terms of acting more safely. Norcan it be established that training leads to ablind faith in the person’s ability and thusto new dangers. An alternative possibilitymay be that it is important to train childrenin safe road behaviour. It is suggested thatwhat children need is practical knowledgeinstead of descriptive knowledge.
Car drivers bear the responsibility forchild safety in traffic, along with the child-ren’s parents. It is motorists’ inadequateknowledge and anticipation of how child-ren can react that constitutes the threat tochild safety, so it is the drivers who shouldapply strategies for driving safely on roadswhere there are children. With the rightarrangements, education of children canbe seen as a component in preparing themfor traffic, but that does not mean that wecan trust the results of the training. Thetraffic environment should be designedand regulated so that motorists can takegreater responsibility. Pre-school children
should not encounter cars in their playingand walking areas. In exceptional cases,they can interact with vehicles travelling ata maximum speed of walking pace.Children aged 7–12 years should not crossat locations where vehicle speeds exceed15–20 km/h. For older children the sameprinciples apply as for adult unprotectedroad users: they should not cross at loca-tions where vehicle speeds exceed 30km/h. This applies to routes to school, tothe homes of friends and to other leisureactivities. However, measures other thanlow speed are needed to fully meet theneeds of children.
children is considerable in terms of [safe]road-user behaviour. The difference is assu-med to depend largely on deficiencies inattention and cognitive abilities, ratherthan on inadequate perception. There canbe significant differences between thebehaviour of children when they cross astreet at a pedestrian crossing (MacGregor,et al, 1999).
The next stage lies between age 7 andthe teens (Schieber and Thompson, 1996,Connely et al, 1998 and Arnold et al, 1990).At this age, children examine the environ-ment logically and grow accustomed to for-ming hypotheses about it. Such skills can beused to recognise dangerous situations, butchildren’s behaviour becomes inconsistentbecause they are still learning how the traf-fic environment works. In their teens, peop-le become able to think in abstract termsand understand events even though theythemselves have not experienced them. Itthen becomes possible to consider a vehic-le’s speed and distance simultaneously.Cognitively, crossing the street is a difficulttask, and children have not developed thenecessary capabilities before the age of 11or 12. Children under 12 have difficultyestimating the direction, speed, and distan-ce of vehicles in motion (Piaget 1969, vonHofsten, 1980 and 1983, Leden, 1989, Footet al, 1999, and MacGregor et al, 1999). Asearly as 1969 Piagets suggested theories thatchildren make decisions that lead to dang-erous road-user behaviour because of theirinability to understand the connection bet-ween time, speed and distance. Therefore,the tendency of children to run out in frontof cars can make sense in the child’s con-
ceptual world (Cross, 1988).Younger children accept the same distance
gaps when crossing a street in front of cars tra-velling towards them irrespective of the speedof the cars (Connely, et al, 1998), i.e. childrenassume shorter time intervals when the vehic-le speeds are higher, and longer time intervalswhen the speed is lower. Most children make‘safe’ assessments when vehicle speed is low,but not when the speed is high. One conclu-sion is that children younger than nine can-not make safe assessments of time intervals tovehicles in traffic. Similar results were produ-ced by Demetre and Lee (1992), with child-ren choosing shorter time intervals thanadults; however, children also missed moresafe time intervals, so that in some cases child-ren were more careful than adults.
Already during their earliest years children develop themotor skills that enable them to run and jump.
A 5th grade pupil thinks it is dangerous to use thepedestrian crossing at the intersection because “Youfeel all dizzy.”
PHO
TO L
LED
EN.
PHO
TO L
LED
EN.
Children’s ability to choose safe ways tocross a street, i.e. their assessment of saferoutes or places to cross a street, also increa-ses with age (Ampofo-Boatang et al, 1993,Lee et al, 1984). Younger children do notunderstand, either, that an obscured view of
Østre Tangent – Connecting Bjørvikato the Inner City
When a harbour area occupied with traffic and container-ports isto be transformed to a vibrant new neighbourhood, with 5,000new living-spaces, 20,000 new work-spaces, the main library andsome of the city’s largest tourist-destinations, new routes androads are needed to serve the neighbourhood’s new transportneeds. One of those, the Eastern Tangent, will span over thetrack-area east of Oslo’s central station.
The Eastern Tangent (directly translatedfrom the Norwegian, Østre Tangent) is
a steel-truss bridge which will span 158 met-res over the track-area east of Oslo’s centralstation. The bridge will connect the newBjørvika with the inner city and contributeto traffic reductions in the new Bjørvika.
The Eastern Tangent will be built usingelements which are to be launched out ontwo permanent and two temporary founda-tions in the track-area. In order to disturbthe train traffic as little as possible, this willgo on at night. The elements are currentlyunder production in the Netherlands, andwill be transported to Bjørvika by sea in theearly months of 2010.
When completed, both the permanentfoundations and the steel-truss elementswill support the traffic load. This solutionwas chosen to minimise the need for foun-dations and construction work in the busyrail grounds. A reinforced concrete con-struction would have needed four founda-tions in the track-area, whilst a steel-trussconstruction only needs two.
The bridge has two individual parts. Tothe east there is a lane for pedestrians andcyclists, to the west a three lane road forregular traffic. The highest point of thesteel construction will be 35 metres aboveground.
The project is modelled using 3-D tech-
nology, a first for the Norwegian PublicRoads Administration. When the bridge iscompleted there will also be a 3-D, “as-built” model to look back upon.
The bridge will open by the end of2010, and come as an addition to anexisting bridge over the track-area, and apedestrian bridge that is currently underconstruction.
Johanne Solheim, NPRA,Norway
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 1716 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
Child Pedestrians’ Quality NeedsCost 358 is to present a handbook on Pedestrians’ QualityNeeds in 2010 for all age groups. The main objective is to provi-de knowledge of pedestrians’ quality needs and how these needsrelate to structural and functional interventions, policy makingand regulation to support walking conditions across the EU andother interested countries. The framework for child pedestrians’quality needs is summarised below.
Charlotta Johansson, LTU, SwedenLars Leden, VTT, Finland
Contact: Johanne Solheim.
E-mail: [email protected]
More information at:http://www.vegvesen.no/Vegprosjekter/Bjorvika/In+
English
Source:http://www.ltu.se/forskning/1.16009?l=en&pureId=
2135427&pureFamily=dk.atira.pure.families.publica-
tion.shared.model.Publication
and http://www.walkeurope.org/
Contact: Charlotta Johansson,
Lars Leden, [email protected].
The quality needs of children are strong-ly linked to their age. Toddlers are at
risk on driveways and in other relativelyprotected areas, since they are drawn tomoving vehicles rather than avoiding them(Schieber and Thompson, 1996). Childrenfrom the age of 18 months have the abilityto fantasise and the physical ability to esca-pe from their surroundings.
It is widely accepted that pre-schoolchildren cannot experience a viewpoint orattitude other than their own. If childrencan see someone else, such as a car or dri-ver, they tend to think that the other per-son can see them even though they may bestanding between parked cars. Midtland(1995) and Schieber and Thompson(1996) argue for a break point at 6 or 7years. The difference between that agegroup or younger compared with older
cars is less safe for crossing the street(Demetre and Gaffin, 1994).
In the early eighties Von Hofsten sugges-ted that children’s development as roadusers depends on their absorbing moreinformation about their environment overtime, so that the information flow gives gui-dance about what is required as a road user.Moreover, young children lack experienceof crossing streets and therefore cannot doso safely, since they do not know what towatch out for in traffic (Foot et al, 1999).
The ability of children to cross a quietstreet, cross a street with parked cars, andcross a street at an intersection improvedafter training (Rothengatter, 1984, VanSchagen 1988). However, research hasshown that training children is not clearlylinked to their true behaviour in real traf-fic, nor what behaviour can be consideredto be safe, or regarded as undesirable, intraffic. Training children to be in trafficcan give them better knowledge about howto cross a street safely, for example, but
does not mean that their behaviour willimprove in terms of acting more safely. Norcan it be established that training leads to ablind faith in the person’s ability and thusto new dangers. An alternative possibilitymay be that it is important to train childrenin safe road behaviour. It is suggested thatwhat children need is practical knowledgeinstead of descriptive knowledge.
Car drivers bear the responsibility forchild safety in traffic, along with the child-ren’s parents. It is motorists’ inadequateknowledge and anticipation of how child-ren can react that constitutes the threat tochild safety, so it is the drivers who shouldapply strategies for driving safely on roadswhere there are children. With the rightarrangements, education of children canbe seen as a component in preparing themfor traffic, but that does not mean that wecan trust the results of the training. Thetraffic environment should be designedand regulated so that motorists can takegreater responsibility. Pre-school children
should not encounter cars in their playingand walking areas. In exceptional cases,they can interact with vehicles travelling ata maximum speed of walking pace.Children aged 7–12 years should not crossat locations where vehicle speeds exceed15–20 km/h. For older children the sameprinciples apply as for adult unprotectedroad users: they should not cross at loca-tions where vehicle speeds exceed 30km/h. This applies to routes to school, tothe homes of friends and to other leisureactivities. However, measures other thanlow speed are needed to fully meet theneeds of children.
children is considerable in terms of [safe]road-user behaviour. The difference is assu-med to depend largely on deficiencies inattention and cognitive abilities, ratherthan on inadequate perception. There canbe significant differences between thebehaviour of children when they cross astreet at a pedestrian crossing (MacGregor,et al, 1999).
The next stage lies between age 7 andthe teens (Schieber and Thompson, 1996,Connely et al, 1998 and Arnold et al, 1990).At this age, children examine the environ-ment logically and grow accustomed to for-ming hypotheses about it. Such skills can beused to recognise dangerous situations, butchildren’s behaviour becomes inconsistentbecause they are still learning how the traf-fic environment works. In their teens, peop-le become able to think in abstract termsand understand events even though theythemselves have not experienced them. Itthen becomes possible to consider a vehic-le’s speed and distance simultaneously.Cognitively, crossing the street is a difficulttask, and children have not developed thenecessary capabilities before the age of 11or 12. Children under 12 have difficultyestimating the direction, speed, and distan-ce of vehicles in motion (Piaget 1969, vonHofsten, 1980 and 1983, Leden, 1989, Footet al, 1999, and MacGregor et al, 1999). Asearly as 1969 Piagets suggested theories thatchildren make decisions that lead to dang-erous road-user behaviour because of theirinability to understand the connection bet-ween time, speed and distance. Therefore,the tendency of children to run out in frontof cars can make sense in the child’s con-
ceptual world (Cross, 1988).Younger children accept the same distance
gaps when crossing a street in front of cars tra-velling towards them irrespective of the speedof the cars (Connely, et al, 1998), i.e. childrenassume shorter time intervals when the vehic-le speeds are higher, and longer time intervalswhen the speed is lower. Most children make‘safe’ assessments when vehicle speed is low,but not when the speed is high. One conclu-sion is that children younger than nine can-not make safe assessments of time intervals tovehicles in traffic. Similar results were produ-ced by Demetre and Lee (1992), with child-ren choosing shorter time intervals thanadults; however, children also missed moresafe time intervals, so that in some cases child-ren were more careful than adults.
Already during their earliest years children develop themotor skills that enable them to run and jump.
A 5th grade pupil thinks it is dangerous to use thepedestrian crossing at the intersection because “Youfeel all dizzy.”
PHO
TO L
LED
EN.
PHO
TO L
LED
EN.
Children’s ability to choose safe ways tocross a street, i.e. their assessment of saferoutes or places to cross a street, also increa-ses with age (Ampofo-Boatang et al, 1993,Lee et al, 1984). Younger children do notunderstand, either, that an obscured view of
Østre Tangent – Connecting Bjørvikato the Inner City
When a harbour area occupied with traffic and container-ports isto be transformed to a vibrant new neighbourhood, with 5,000new living-spaces, 20,000 new work-spaces, the main library andsome of the city’s largest tourist-destinations, new routes androads are needed to serve the neighbourhood’s new transportneeds. One of those, the Eastern Tangent, will span over thetrack-area east of Oslo’s central station.
The Eastern Tangent (directly translatedfrom the Norwegian, Østre Tangent) is
a steel-truss bridge which will span 158 met-res over the track-area east of Oslo’s centralstation. The bridge will connect the newBjørvika with the inner city and contributeto traffic reductions in the new Bjørvika.
The Eastern Tangent will be built usingelements which are to be launched out ontwo permanent and two temporary founda-tions in the track-area. In order to disturbthe train traffic as little as possible, this willgo on at night. The elements are currentlyunder production in the Netherlands, andwill be transported to Bjørvika by sea in theearly months of 2010.
When completed, both the permanentfoundations and the steel-truss elementswill support the traffic load. This solutionwas chosen to minimise the need for foun-dations and construction work in the busyrail grounds. A reinforced concrete con-struction would have needed four founda-tions in the track-area, whilst a steel-trussconstruction only needs two.
The bridge has two individual parts. Tothe east there is a lane for pedestrians andcyclists, to the west a three lane road forregular traffic. The highest point of thesteel construction will be 35 metres aboveground.
The project is modelled using 3-D tech-
nology, a first for the Norwegian PublicRoads Administration. When the bridge iscompleted there will also be a 3-D, “as-built” model to look back upon.
The bridge will open by the end of2010, and come as an addition to anexisting bridge over the track-area, and apedestrian bridge that is currently underconstruction.
Johanne Solheim, NPRA,Norway
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 1918 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
Safety Effects of Intelligent In-vehicleSystems
Safety impacts of intelligent vehicle systems have been assessedwith an advanced tool that was designed to cover the impacts in astructured and systematic way. The systems showed significantpotential to reduce fatalities and injuries in the transport system.
In the EU's sixth framework programme,safety impacts of intelligent vehicle sys-
tems (IVS) were assessed. The aim was toprovide estimates for safety impacts of aselection of IVS for target years (2010,2020 and 2030) and penetration scenarios.
A systematic approach to cover theimpactsThe method developed for the safetyimpact assessments was based on previousunderstanding of the impact mechanismsof intelligent transport systems. The threemain dimensions of road safety – exposure,accident risk and severity of consequences– were covered by nine behavioural mecha-nisms: (1) direct in-car modification of thedriving task; (2) direct influence by roadsi-de systems; (3) indirect modification ofuser behaviour; (4) indirect modificationof non-user behaviour; (5) modification ofinteraction between users and non-users;(6) modification of road user exposure;(7) modification of modal choice; (8)modification of route choice; and (9)modification of accident consequences.The power of the assessment tool was to sys-tematically take into account the assessedeffectiveness of the IVS to prevent the tar-geted fatalities and injuries, the share ofrelevant accidents, the assumed fleet pene-tration of the systems, and the assumedaccident trend.
Considerable potential to improve trafficsafetyThe IVS have considerable potential todecrease fatalities and injuries in road traf-fic. Specifically, the potential to preventfatalities was highest for the electronic sta-bility control (ESC), followed by the lanekeeping support system, the warning sys-
tem for exceeding the speed limit, andaccident-prone sites (MAPS&ADAS). Theeffects of ESC and MAPS&ADAS were sub-stantial also in estimates for 2020. Becauseof low penetration levels of many systems,however, the estimated effects for 2020were in general substantially lower in com-parison with the potential.
The most prominent systems showedconsiderable potential to contribute to asafer transport system. Even some individu-al systems showed considerable savings, e.g.ESC in the assumed high penetration in2020 would contribute to avoid 2,900 fatali-ties and 50,000 injuries. Overall, the studiesprovided concrete, unified estimates oftraffic and safety effects, and provided acentral input for the cost-benefit calcula-tions which estimated monetary value forthese benefits. In the future, when moreaccurate data is likely to be available, thesafety estimates can be further improved.
The results provided perspectives on themarket introduction of IVS, and can beused to provide guidance in their deploy-ment. The results support decision making
Contact: Pirkko Rämä, VTT [email protected]
Read more: Kulmala, R., Leviäkangas, P., Sihvola,
N., Rämä, P., Francsics, J., Hardman, E., Ball, S.,
Smith, B., McCrae, I., Barlow, T. & Stevens A.
2008. Co-operative systems Deployment Impact
Assessment, Final study report. CODIA Deliverable 5.
http://www.eimpact.info/
http://www.preventip.org/en/prevent_subprojects/
horizontal_activities/preval/
for research programmes in terms of focusand funding, as well as awareness, promo-tion and deployment activities at the EU,national and regional levels. These outco-mes could also be used by policymakers,road operators, and driver clubs as a basisfor terms of investment, promotion anddeployment decisions. Industry and insu-rance organisations may be able to use thisresearch for developing product and inno-vation strategies.
The results are based on studies carried outin eIMPACT, PReVAL and CODIA projects.The research was funded by the EU(Information Society Technologies andMedia), VTT and other participating partners.
Pirkko Rämä, VTTFinland -18% -16% -14% -12% -10% -8% -6% -4% -2% 0%
Electronic stability control, ESC
Lane keeping support
MAPS&ADAS
Dynamic speed adaptation due to weather conditions, obstacles or
congestion
Emergency braking
SASPENCE - Safe speed and safe following
eCall
Driver drowsiness monitoring and warning
Local danger warning
Cooperative intersection collision warning
Night vision warning
Lane change assistant and warning
Pre-crash protection of vulnerable road users
Full speed range ACC
Post crash warning
Reversible lanes due to traffic flow
potential year 2020 high penetration rate
Estimated safety impacts on fatalities (%) of 16 IVS. “Potential” assumed 100% fleet penetration of systems;“Year 2020 high penetration rate” assumed a promoted penetration in 2020.
In order to legally drive a heavy vehicleregistered as a Euro class 4 or lower, char-
ge must be paid in a Low Emission Zone(LEZ). The electronic devices that are andwill be used in Norwegian urban toll ringshave to be used by all buses and heavyvehicles in the Norwegian LEZ. The vehic-les will be controlled electronically fromfixed and outpatient control stations.Those who violate the provisions are requi-red to pay a penalty. The solution is app-ropriate for the cities Bergen, Oslo andTrondheim. In any case, the charge paidfor one zone is also valid for another zonein Norway.
The Norwegian scheme is quite diffe-rent from others in Europe. It’s indepen-dent of vehicle technology, but strictly con-nected to the weight classes and the emis-sion standard described as Euro classes.The charge is fairly high and it is progressi-ve depended on the classes. The highest
The ITS Scheme for Low EmissionZone in Norway
Norwegian Public Roads Administration has created a bill and aproposal for a Low Emission Zone scheme for Norwegian cities.The limit given by EU for legal pollution related to the annualnitrogen dioxide, are exceeded in several Norwegian cities.
fee is app 5,000 a year, and regards busesand trucks over 12 tonnes in the Euro class1 or lower. A heavy vehicle under 12 tonnesin the Euro class 2 or above has to pay app.1,200 a year. It is possible to pay for one dayor a month. As cities in Norway today havetolling systems based on automatic numberplate recognition (ANPR) and an electiveelectronic unit onboard the vehicles(OBU), the LEZ scheme will be based onthis charging system. Meanwhile theNorwegian LEZ scheme will claim OBUand prepayment. Vehicles owners mustensure that the vehicle has mounted legalOBU, and that fee is paid before the execu-tion of the zone.
In order to drive legally on Norwegianroads annual fee and responsibility insu-rance must be paid in advance. A similarprinciple, we believe also to apply for law-ful driving inside a LEZ. The control sys-tem can then be limited to the control sys-tem based on a spot test; something that isimportant to ensure privacy. Moreover, thesystem will be easier to manage since theowner of the vehicle is given the responsi-
bility and the burden to run legally insidethe zone. When the control system detectsthat everything seems to be in order, thecomputing system will delete the data ofthe passage. In any case 20 percent ofvehicles will be photographed and auto-matic number plate recognized. If someo-ne chooses to cheat, it is 20 percent risk ofbeing detected each time he runs the zone.
The Norwegian LEZ system will notapply to light vehicles. These should there-fore not be verified. To ensure that thisdoes not occur, the control station will beequipped with sensors that collect newsabout if the vehicle is heavy or light. Wehave yet to find methods that enable theuse of cars in the LEZ without causingserious interference with privacy.
The alternative to a charging system isthe prohibition of the most polluting vehic-les. A prohibition is less smooth and cannot be used against vehicles that are in themid-range, that neither pollute most orleast. These constitute the majority of thetruck fleet, and is thus for the majority ofthe air pollution.
A progressive tax will increasingly affectvehicle owners to choose the options to paythis fee. The options are to use the bestvehicles in the zone the other outside, orreplace the truck, or run less in the zone. Itis most economically advantageous to buy anew vehicle than to pay fees in many years.
Contact: Pål Rosland, NPRA,
Pål Rosland, NPRA,Norway
AutoPASS
OK: Checking out
Lorry with device
Checking out with sensorCar
Foto +ANPR Webdatabase
PenaltyControl
authority
OK: Checking out
Central vehicleregistries
ITS scheme for the Norwegian low emission zone. When you pre-pay, enter the correct vehicle so you get thecorrect fee. Data on your vehicle is transferred from central vehicle registries. The control system performs ran-dom checks to see if everything is OK.
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 1918 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
Safety Effects of Intelligent In-vehicleSystems
Safety impacts of intelligent vehicle systems have been assessedwith an advanced tool that was designed to cover the impacts in astructured and systematic way. The systems showed significantpotential to reduce fatalities and injuries in the transport system.
In the EU's sixth framework programme,safety impacts of intelligent vehicle sys-
tems (IVS) were assessed. The aim was toprovide estimates for safety impacts of aselection of IVS for target years (2010,2020 and 2030) and penetration scenarios.
A systematic approach to cover theimpactsThe method developed for the safetyimpact assessments was based on previousunderstanding of the impact mechanismsof intelligent transport systems. The threemain dimensions of road safety – exposure,accident risk and severity of consequences– were covered by nine behavioural mecha-nisms: (1) direct in-car modification of thedriving task; (2) direct influence by roadsi-de systems; (3) indirect modification ofuser behaviour; (4) indirect modificationof non-user behaviour; (5) modification ofinteraction between users and non-users;(6) modification of road user exposure;(7) modification of modal choice; (8)modification of route choice; and (9)modification of accident consequences.The power of the assessment tool was to sys-tematically take into account the assessedeffectiveness of the IVS to prevent the tar-geted fatalities and injuries, the share ofrelevant accidents, the assumed fleet pene-tration of the systems, and the assumedaccident trend.
Considerable potential to improve trafficsafetyThe IVS have considerable potential todecrease fatalities and injuries in road traf-fic. Specifically, the potential to preventfatalities was highest for the electronic sta-bility control (ESC), followed by the lanekeeping support system, the warning sys-
tem for exceeding the speed limit, andaccident-prone sites (MAPS&ADAS). Theeffects of ESC and MAPS&ADAS were sub-stantial also in estimates for 2020. Becauseof low penetration levels of many systems,however, the estimated effects for 2020were in general substantially lower in com-parison with the potential.
The most prominent systems showedconsiderable potential to contribute to asafer transport system. Even some individu-al systems showed considerable savings, e.g.ESC in the assumed high penetration in2020 would contribute to avoid 2,900 fatali-ties and 50,000 injuries. Overall, the studiesprovided concrete, unified estimates oftraffic and safety effects, and provided acentral input for the cost-benefit calcula-tions which estimated monetary value forthese benefits. In the future, when moreaccurate data is likely to be available, thesafety estimates can be further improved.
The results provided perspectives on themarket introduction of IVS, and can beused to provide guidance in their deploy-ment. The results support decision making
Contact: Pirkko Rämä, VTT [email protected]
Read more: Kulmala, R., Leviäkangas, P., Sihvola,
N., Rämä, P., Francsics, J., Hardman, E., Ball, S.,
Smith, B., McCrae, I., Barlow, T. & Stevens A.
2008. Co-operative systems Deployment Impact
Assessment, Final study report. CODIA Deliverable 5.
http://www.eimpact.info/
http://www.preventip.org/en/prevent_subprojects/
horizontal_activities/preval/
for research programmes in terms of focusand funding, as well as awareness, promo-tion and deployment activities at the EU,national and regional levels. These outco-mes could also be used by policymakers,road operators, and driver clubs as a basisfor terms of investment, promotion anddeployment decisions. Industry and insu-rance organisations may be able to use thisresearch for developing product and inno-vation strategies.
The results are based on studies carried outin eIMPACT, PReVAL and CODIA projects.The research was funded by the EU(Information Society Technologies andMedia), VTT and other participating partners.
Pirkko Rämä, VTTFinland -18% -16% -14% -12% -10% -8% -6% -4% -2% 0%
Electronic stability control, ESC
Lane keeping support
MAPS&ADAS
Dynamic speed adaptation due to weather conditions, obstacles or
congestion
Emergency braking
SASPENCE - Safe speed and safe following
eCall
Driver drowsiness monitoring and warning
Local danger warning
Cooperative intersection collision warning
Night vision warning
Lane change assistant and warning
Pre-crash protection of vulnerable road users
Full speed range ACC
Post crash warning
Reversible lanes due to traffic flow
potential year 2020 high penetration rate
Estimated safety impacts on fatalities (%) of 16 IVS. “Potential” assumed 100% fleet penetration of systems;“Year 2020 high penetration rate” assumed a promoted penetration in 2020.
In order to legally drive a heavy vehicleregistered as a Euro class 4 or lower, char-
ge must be paid in a Low Emission Zone(LEZ). The electronic devices that are andwill be used in Norwegian urban toll ringshave to be used by all buses and heavyvehicles in the Norwegian LEZ. The vehic-les will be controlled electronically fromfixed and outpatient control stations.Those who violate the provisions are requi-red to pay a penalty. The solution is app-ropriate for the cities Bergen, Oslo andTrondheim. In any case, the charge paidfor one zone is also valid for another zonein Norway.
The Norwegian scheme is quite diffe-rent from others in Europe. It’s indepen-dent of vehicle technology, but strictly con-nected to the weight classes and the emis-sion standard described as Euro classes.The charge is fairly high and it is progressi-ve depended on the classes. The highest
The ITS Scheme for Low EmissionZone in Norway
Norwegian Public Roads Administration has created a bill and aproposal for a Low Emission Zone scheme for Norwegian cities.The limit given by EU for legal pollution related to the annualnitrogen dioxide, are exceeded in several Norwegian cities.
fee is app 5,000 a year, and regards busesand trucks over 12 tonnes in the Euro class1 or lower. A heavy vehicle under 12 tonnesin the Euro class 2 or above has to pay app.1,200 a year. It is possible to pay for one dayor a month. As cities in Norway today havetolling systems based on automatic numberplate recognition (ANPR) and an electiveelectronic unit onboard the vehicles(OBU), the LEZ scheme will be based onthis charging system. Meanwhile theNorwegian LEZ scheme will claim OBUand prepayment. Vehicles owners mustensure that the vehicle has mounted legalOBU, and that fee is paid before the execu-tion of the zone.
In order to drive legally on Norwegianroads annual fee and responsibility insu-rance must be paid in advance. A similarprinciple, we believe also to apply for law-ful driving inside a LEZ. The control sys-tem can then be limited to the control sys-tem based on a spot test; something that isimportant to ensure privacy. Moreover, thesystem will be easier to manage since theowner of the vehicle is given the responsi-
bility and the burden to run legally insidethe zone. When the control system detectsthat everything seems to be in order, thecomputing system will delete the data ofthe passage. In any case 20 percent ofvehicles will be photographed and auto-matic number plate recognized. If someo-ne chooses to cheat, it is 20 percent risk ofbeing detected each time he runs the zone.
The Norwegian LEZ system will notapply to light vehicles. These should there-fore not be verified. To ensure that thisdoes not occur, the control station will beequipped with sensors that collect newsabout if the vehicle is heavy or light. Wehave yet to find methods that enable theuse of cars in the LEZ without causingserious interference with privacy.
The alternative to a charging system isthe prohibition of the most polluting vehic-les. A prohibition is less smooth and cannot be used against vehicles that are in themid-range, that neither pollute most orleast. These constitute the majority of thetruck fleet, and is thus for the majority ofthe air pollution.
A progressive tax will increasingly affectvehicle owners to choose the options to paythis fee. The options are to use the bestvehicles in the zone the other outside, orreplace the truck, or run less in the zone. Itis most economically advantageous to buy anew vehicle than to pay fees in many years.
Contact: Pål Rosland, NPRA,
Pål Rosland, NPRA,Norway
AutoPASS
OK: Checking out
Lorry with device
Checking out with sensorCar
Foto +ANPR Webdatabase
PenaltyControl
authority
OK: Checking out
Central vehicleregistries
ITS scheme for the Norwegian low emission zone. When you pre-pay, enter the correct vehicle so you get thecorrect fee. Data on your vehicle is transferred from central vehicle registries. The control system performs ran-dom checks to see if everything is OK.
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 2120 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
Road Pavement Ageing and TrafficNoise Levels
Traffic noise emission is known to increase as the pavementgets older. SILENCE was an EU research project on transporta-tion noise in the 6th framework program, including a task to pro-vide models for the effect of pavement ageing on the noise redu-cing effect of road pavements. This task was carried out by theDanish Road Institute/Danish Road Directorate. Existing measu-rement data on long-time noise performance of pavements wascollected from partners in the SILENCE project from Belgium,Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden,and United Kingdom. A series of data from a Californian noisestudy was also included.
The results were analyzed with the focuson the increase in traffic noise levels
per year of service life for different types ofpavements. The scatter of the results waslarge. No indication could be found thatany model for the relation between pave-ment age and noise emission (polynomial,logarithmic or exponential) would yield abetter fit to the data than a simple linearrelation between vehicle noise level andpavement age. This may be due to theobserved scatter in measurement results.
Reference: 1. Road Surfacings - Noise reduction
time history. Jørgen Kragh. Road Directorate/Danish
Road Institute, DRI report 161, 2008. See:
www.roadinstitute.dk
Worn Windscreens – a Road SafetyProblem
Visibility is one of the most important factors for driving safely. Aworn windscreen increases the risk of the driver being blinded bythe sun or the lights of oncoming traffic in the dark. This road safe-ty problem has been noted in various studies, and VTI has now stu-died the effect of driving with worn windscreens on driver behaviour.
Aworn windscreen increases the risk ofglare, which may have the result that
the driver does not see objects or personson or near the road in time. This may, inturn, mean that there is less chance of pre-venting an accident.
Simulator studyIn a simulator study, VTI has examined thebehaviour of drivers when they were affec-ted by glare from windscreens with diffe-rent degrees of wear. Three windscreenswere used in the study – a new one, onewith a mileage of 150,000 km and one witha mileage of 350,000 km.
A study was made in which glare causedby simulated sunlight affects both the dri-ving behaviour and sight distance of thedriver. The variables which have an effecton driving safety are first registered. Theprimary objective of measuring the sightdistance is to make it possible to make com-parisons with previous studies. A total of 24test subjects drove the same loop threetimes, once with each windscreen. The dri-vers had to pass two obstacles on each run.Glare was created in the simulator bymounting a lamp in front of the windscre-en of the simulator. The lamp simulatedthe sun when low down in the sky.
The test persons said that they regarded
both the simulated environment and thedriving tasks in the simulator as relativelyrealistic.
Worn windscreens increase the risk ofaccidentsParticles in the air subject windscreens togreat stresses and give rise to a sand blas-ting effect on the glass. Windscreens arealso exposed to considerable mechanicaldamage, mainly from the windscreenwipers. The result of this is that light isrefrected incorrectly and sight deteriora-tes, for example when the sun is low in thesky or when meeting oncoming traffic inthe dark.
The effect of glare varies depending onhow worn the windscreen is. In the test thesight distance was measured. The resultsshowed that the sight distance was reducedwhen the worn windscreens were used. Thedifference in detection distance betweenthe best and worst windscreen was ca 130m. This is a reduction, on average, by ca 65per cent.
– When we investigated what happenedwhen the drivers had to take evasive actionto avoid obstacles on the road, we saw thatthey managed this less well when they weredriving with a windscreen that was worn,says Anne Bollng who worked in the study.Drivers detected the obstacle later, brakedharder and their manoeuvre was more sud-den, in spite of the fact that they had lowe-red their average speed by ca 15 km/hour.
Contact: Anne Bolling, [email protected]
Read more: Worn windscreens, Simulator study, a
VTI publication R657A
Therefore, a simple linear model was selec-ted. This study did not include an analysisof traffic noise level frequency spectra inrelation to ageing.
The table summarizes the average valueof slopes to be expected for linear time his-tories of vehicle noise levels. For both lightand heavy vehicles, the slope to be expec-ted for dense asphalt pavements is in theorder of 0.1 dB per year of pavement ser-vice time. This applies to high speed as wellas low speed roads. For porous or open gra-ded asphalt pavements, the time historyslope for light vehicles can be expected tobe in the order of 0.4 dB per year on highspeed roads, and 0.9 dB per year on citystreets with low traffic speed. Heavy vehiclenoise levels can be expected to increase 0.2dB per year on high speed roads withopen/porous pavements. Data was notavailable for heavy vehicles on low speedporous/open pavements.
These results indicate a driving behaviourthat is more risky or, in other words, haslower road safety.
Some drivers did not manage at all toavoid the obstacle but drove over it. Noneof the passages with obstacles, when drivingwith the new windscreen, resulted in a col-lison, while four per cent of the passageswith the second most worn windscreen,and eight per cent of the passages with themost worn windscreen, resulted in a colli-sion. When one considers that in real traf-fic this may have caused a road accident,the results indicate that there is a largeaccident risk in driving with a wornwindscreen in difficult conditions such asoncoming lights.
Even though this is a study in a simula-tor environment, with its limitations, it canbe stated that driving behaviour is adverse-ly affected when the driver faces the lightsof oncoming traffic with a worn windscreen.In real traffic there are several other factorsthat may influence sight and glare, such asdirt and rain on the windscreen. There istherefore a risk that, in real traffic, theeffect on driving behaviour may be muchgreater than what could be measured inthis study.
Jørgen Kragh and Hans Bendtsen, Danish Road Institute/Road Directorate
Surface type Light vehicles Heavy vehicles
High speed Low speed High speed Low Speed[dB/Year] [dB/Year] [dB/Year] [dB/Year]
Dense asphalt (DGAC) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Porous / Open graded asphalt (PAC/OGAC) 0.4 0.9 0.2 -
Magdalena Green,VTI, Sweden
PHOTO: VTI
PHO
TO:
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 2120 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
Road Pavement Ageing and TrafficNoise Levels
Traffic noise emission is known to increase as the pavementgets older. SILENCE was an EU research project on transporta-tion noise in the 6th framework program, including a task to pro-vide models for the effect of pavement ageing on the noise redu-cing effect of road pavements. This task was carried out by theDanish Road Institute/Danish Road Directorate. Existing measu-rement data on long-time noise performance of pavements wascollected from partners in the SILENCE project from Belgium,Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden,and United Kingdom. A series of data from a Californian noisestudy was also included.
The results were analyzed with the focuson the increase in traffic noise levels
per year of service life for different types ofpavements. The scatter of the results waslarge. No indication could be found thatany model for the relation between pave-ment age and noise emission (polynomial,logarithmic or exponential) would yield abetter fit to the data than a simple linearrelation between vehicle noise level andpavement age. This may be due to theobserved scatter in measurement results.
Reference: 1. Road Surfacings - Noise reduction
time history. Jørgen Kragh. Road Directorate/Danish
Road Institute, DRI report 161, 2008. See:
www.roadinstitute.dk
Worn Windscreens – a Road SafetyProblem
Visibility is one of the most important factors for driving safely. Aworn windscreen increases the risk of the driver being blinded bythe sun or the lights of oncoming traffic in the dark. This road safe-ty problem has been noted in various studies, and VTI has now stu-died the effect of driving with worn windscreens on driver behaviour.
Aworn windscreen increases the risk ofglare, which may have the result that
the driver does not see objects or personson or near the road in time. This may, inturn, mean that there is less chance of pre-venting an accident.
Simulator studyIn a simulator study, VTI has examined thebehaviour of drivers when they were affec-ted by glare from windscreens with diffe-rent degrees of wear. Three windscreenswere used in the study – a new one, onewith a mileage of 150,000 km and one witha mileage of 350,000 km.
A study was made in which glare causedby simulated sunlight affects both the dri-ving behaviour and sight distance of thedriver. The variables which have an effecton driving safety are first registered. Theprimary objective of measuring the sightdistance is to make it possible to make com-parisons with previous studies. A total of 24test subjects drove the same loop threetimes, once with each windscreen. The dri-vers had to pass two obstacles on each run.Glare was created in the simulator bymounting a lamp in front of the windscre-en of the simulator. The lamp simulatedthe sun when low down in the sky.
The test persons said that they regarded
both the simulated environment and thedriving tasks in the simulator as relativelyrealistic.
Worn windscreens increase the risk ofaccidentsParticles in the air subject windscreens togreat stresses and give rise to a sand blas-ting effect on the glass. Windscreens arealso exposed to considerable mechanicaldamage, mainly from the windscreenwipers. The result of this is that light isrefrected incorrectly and sight deteriora-tes, for example when the sun is low in thesky or when meeting oncoming traffic inthe dark.
The effect of glare varies depending onhow worn the windscreen is. In the test thesight distance was measured. The resultsshowed that the sight distance was reducedwhen the worn windscreens were used. Thedifference in detection distance betweenthe best and worst windscreen was ca 130m. This is a reduction, on average, by ca 65per cent.
– When we investigated what happenedwhen the drivers had to take evasive actionto avoid obstacles on the road, we saw thatthey managed this less well when they weredriving with a windscreen that was worn,says Anne Bollng who worked in the study.Drivers detected the obstacle later, brakedharder and their manoeuvre was more sud-den, in spite of the fact that they had lowe-red their average speed by ca 15 km/hour.
Contact: Anne Bolling, [email protected]
Read more: Worn windscreens, Simulator study, a
VTI publication R657A
Therefore, a simple linear model was selec-ted. This study did not include an analysisof traffic noise level frequency spectra inrelation to ageing.
The table summarizes the average valueof slopes to be expected for linear time his-tories of vehicle noise levels. For both lightand heavy vehicles, the slope to be expec-ted for dense asphalt pavements is in theorder of 0.1 dB per year of pavement ser-vice time. This applies to high speed as wellas low speed roads. For porous or open gra-ded asphalt pavements, the time historyslope for light vehicles can be expected tobe in the order of 0.4 dB per year on highspeed roads, and 0.9 dB per year on citystreets with low traffic speed. Heavy vehiclenoise levels can be expected to increase 0.2dB per year on high speed roads withopen/porous pavements. Data was notavailable for heavy vehicles on low speedporous/open pavements.
These results indicate a driving behaviourthat is more risky or, in other words, haslower road safety.
Some drivers did not manage at all toavoid the obstacle but drove over it. Noneof the passages with obstacles, when drivingwith the new windscreen, resulted in a col-lison, while four per cent of the passageswith the second most worn windscreen,and eight per cent of the passages with themost worn windscreen, resulted in a colli-sion. When one considers that in real traf-fic this may have caused a road accident,the results indicate that there is a largeaccident risk in driving with a wornwindscreen in difficult conditions such asoncoming lights.
Even though this is a study in a simula-tor environment, with its limitations, it canbe stated that driving behaviour is adverse-ly affected when the driver faces the lightsof oncoming traffic with a worn windscreen.In real traffic there are several other factorsthat may influence sight and glare, such asdirt and rain on the windscreen. There istherefore a risk that, in real traffic, theeffect on driving behaviour may be muchgreater than what could be measured inthis study.
Jørgen Kragh and Hans Bendtsen, Danish Road Institute/Road Directorate
Surface type Light vehicles Heavy vehicles
High speed Low speed High speed Low Speed[dB/Year] [dB/Year] [dB/Year] [dB/Year]
Dense asphalt (DGAC) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Porous / Open graded asphalt (PAC/OGAC) 0.4 0.9 0.2 -
Magdalena Green,VTI, Sweden
PHOTO: VTI
PHO
TO:
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 2322 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
There are several myths and confusions about what congestioncharging is and what it is not. Such myths may have led to thereluctance of the general public and decision makers to acceptcongestion charging in Norwegian cities. This paper clarifiesseveral of those myths as part of a study being conducted by theNPRA to increase the understanding of the benefits of congestioncharging.
James Odeck, NPRA,Norway
Contact: James Odeck.
E-mail: [email protected]
More information (only in Norwegian):• Fordelingsvirkninger av køprising
http://www.urbanet.no/publisering/nytt-notat-forde-
lingsvirkninger-av-kprising
• Myter og fakta om køprising
http://www.toi.no/getfile.php/Publikasjoner/T%D8I
%20rapporter/2009/1010-2009/1010-2009-
nett.pdf
Congestion charging is a system of char-ging road users during peak hours and
its main objective is to reduce travel delaysand greenhouse gas emissions, while at thesame time improving public transit sys-tems. The toll charges are set to reducecongestion to an acceptable level and,hence they vary by time of the day. Tollrates are significantly higher during peakhours. When there is no congestion, forexample at night, the rates can be set equalto zero.
Quadruple benefits and good supportCongestions charging give quadruplebenefits: (1) congestion reduction, (2) pol-lution and noise reduction , (3) revenuegeneration which can be used to improvepublic transport and, (4) reduction orpostponement of costs of building newroads. Reduced congestion implies redu-ced travel time and reduced pollution andnoise translates into improved quality oflife for citizens. Revenues used to improvepublic transport imply a reduction of subsi-dies to the public transport. Congestioncharging also leads to better utilization ofthe existing road capacity. Hence, it cansave or postpone the cost of building newroads. In Norway where there are cordontolls, congestion charging does not comeas an addition, but as a replacement.
Studies in Norway show that, if given thechoice between cordon tolls and conges-tion charging the public prefer the latter.
The transport industry also acknowledgesthe benefits of congestion charging. As onetransport industry executive recentlyexpressed “we go for congestion chargingbecause it will increase accessibility andreliability for commercial transport. For us,time is money”.
The use of revenues To gain support for congestion charging,the revenues should be used to improvepublic transport to ensure that that thosetolled-off from roads get an adequatemeans of transport. The Norwegian parlia-ment (Stortinget) has already sanctioned,as a rule of thumb, that revenues from anycongestion charging scheme should bedivided 50–50% between the central andthe local governments and should be usedfor transportation purposes, like theimprovement of public transport.
Congestion charging is a success inStockholmThe aim of the Stockholm congestion char-ging scheme was to reduce the traffic level byabout 10–15%, especially during peak hours.The public transport system was upgradedhalf a year before its implementation. Afterthe congestion charging was implemented,the traffic was reduced by about 22% andthe local air pollution was reduced by10–14%. Later, in a referendum, the majori-ty voted in favour because of its positiveimpacts. Implementation in Norway will,however, be cheaper since an effective tech-nology for toll collection is already in placeas is evident in the cordon toll systems.
Demystifying the myths of congestionchargingThe NPRA has the goal of objectively toinform the public of what congestion isand what it is not. The Institute ofTransport Economics (TØI) and UrbanetAnalyse AS, were engaged to demystify themyths. Some of the results are listed below.
Myth: Congestion charging is somet-hing different from ordinary road tolls.
Correct: For the road user, road tolls area flat rate independent on when they drive,while congestion charges vary by time ofday and space.
Myth: Congestion charging is not aneffective means for reducing congestion.
Wrong: Results from Stockholm show a22% reduction in traffic volume in the citycentre while London achieved a reductionof 21%.
Myth: No one else than those caught upin congestion suffer from it.
Wrong: If you are caught up in conges-tion you delay others and more noise andlocal pollution is created, which are a haz-ard to others.
Myth: The use of revenues to improvepublic transport does not benefit thosewho pay the congestion charge.
Wrong: The larger the number of publictransport users, the better the road space.The worse the public transport system is,the worse the conditions for road usersbecome because more people will use cars.Congestion becomes comparatively worseif the revenues are not used to improvepublic transport.
Myth: Congestion charging will hurt the
Myths and Facts about CongestionCharging
transport industry as it means increasedcost of transport.
Wrong: The transport industry has a hig-her value of time. The reduction of conges-tion implies the reduction of time costs.
Myth: Congestion charging will hurtfamilies with small children because suchfamilies must drive in rush-hours to deliverchildren to schools and kindergartens.
Wrong: Congestion charging imply lesstraffic so that families will save invaluabletime and save children from pollution dueto congestion.
Self-explaining RoadsEdge lines, rumble strips and the width of the road are examplesof self-explaining road design. But what effect do they have onroad safety and how can responsible for road design select thecorrect measure?
Asignificant reduction in casualties canonly be achieved by taking action on
all three elements of the safe road system:driver, vehicle and road. Improving roadinfrastructure safety can be achieved bymaking roads forgiving and self-explaining.Self-explaining roads reduce crash likeli-hood and forgiving roads mitigate the seve-rity of the outcome of a crash.
A self-explaining road indirectly makesit clear to the road user how to behave, forexample making it clear that overtaking isunwise by “explaining” the preferred speedthrough the design of the road markings orby applying rumble strips. In Europe thereare a large number of solutions for crea-ting self-explaining roads, a knowledgewhich will now be collected and evaluatedin the view of road safety.
The project SPACESPACE, Speed Adaptation Control by SelfExplaining Roads will identify solutionsthat offer the greatest potential safety gainsthrough a state of the art review, internatio-nal expert panel review, interactive visualtools and driving simulator experiment.This will lead to tools that can identifyunsafe or non-explaining areas of the net-work and that are able to estimate the
potential safety benefits of the road safetymeasure. These tools will register changein driving behaviour and also explain whythis or these changes occur. The developedtools will be used for evaluation of differentmeasures aiming to find a self-explainingroad. Other aims are to determine thespeed adaption and situational awarenessbenefits of different self-explaining designmeasures. A comparison will be done ofdifferent approaches leading to recom-mended common strategies.
The work will be focused on rural roadsand having Vision Zero and transnationalbenefits of the projects outcome in mind.Other considerations and limitations will beto look on effects of combination of measu-res, different road types and conditions, aswell as different road user categories.
Contact: Leif Sjögren, VTI, [email protected]
Read more: www.transport-era.net
The results will be presented as guidan-ce in technical notes and more compre-hensively in a project report. Findings willbe made available to road authorities, rese-archers and practitioners across Europe.
Successful cooperationThe ERA-NET programme was introducedin the sixth EU framework programme withthe aim of improving European cooperationin research and development. Eleven natio-nal road administrations in Europe havecombined to form ERA-NET Road and pro-vided funds for a number of research pro-grammes with a total budget of 1.5 millionEuro.
In the spring of 2009 a call was made forsuch a research programme in the field ofroad safety, under the name Safety at theHeart of Road Design. In consequence ofthis call, FEHRL, Forum of EuropeanNational Highway Research Laboratories,initiated a meeting of its members with theaim of coordinating a proposal. Aroundten countries were represented, and themeeting resulted in six proposals, in seve-ral of which VTI was involved. The propo-sal Space was accepted by ERA-NET Road.A total of 18 project-proposals were submit-ted and five of these were approved by theprogramme committee.
Magdalena Green,VTI, Sweden
PHO
TO:
PHO
TOS
.CO
M
NORDIC NO. 3 2009 | 2322 | NORDIC NO. 3 2009 www.nordicroads.com
There are several myths and confusions about what congestioncharging is and what it is not. Such myths may have led to thereluctance of the general public and decision makers to acceptcongestion charging in Norwegian cities. This paper clarifiesseveral of those myths as part of a study being conducted by theNPRA to increase the understanding of the benefits of congestioncharging.
James Odeck, NPRA,Norway
Contact: James Odeck.
E-mail: [email protected]
More information (only in Norwegian):• Fordelingsvirkninger av køprising
http://www.urbanet.no/publisering/nytt-notat-forde-
lingsvirkninger-av-kprising
• Myter og fakta om køprising
http://www.toi.no/getfile.php/Publikasjoner/T%D8I
%20rapporter/2009/1010-2009/1010-2009-
nett.pdf
Congestion charging is a system of char-ging road users during peak hours and
its main objective is to reduce travel delaysand greenhouse gas emissions, while at thesame time improving public transit sys-tems. The toll charges are set to reducecongestion to an acceptable level and,hence they vary by time of the day. Tollrates are significantly higher during peakhours. When there is no congestion, forexample at night, the rates can be set equalto zero.
Quadruple benefits and good supportCongestions charging give quadruplebenefits: (1) congestion reduction, (2) pol-lution and noise reduction , (3) revenuegeneration which can be used to improvepublic transport and, (4) reduction orpostponement of costs of building newroads. Reduced congestion implies redu-ced travel time and reduced pollution andnoise translates into improved quality oflife for citizens. Revenues used to improvepublic transport imply a reduction of subsi-dies to the public transport. Congestioncharging also leads to better utilization ofthe existing road capacity. Hence, it cansave or postpone the cost of building newroads. In Norway where there are cordontolls, congestion charging does not comeas an addition, but as a replacement.
Studies in Norway show that, if given thechoice between cordon tolls and conges-tion charging the public prefer the latter.
The transport industry also acknowledgesthe benefits of congestion charging. As onetransport industry executive recentlyexpressed “we go for congestion chargingbecause it will increase accessibility andreliability for commercial transport. For us,time is money”.
The use of revenues To gain support for congestion charging,the revenues should be used to improvepublic transport to ensure that that thosetolled-off from roads get an adequatemeans of transport. The Norwegian parlia-ment (Stortinget) has already sanctioned,as a rule of thumb, that revenues from anycongestion charging scheme should bedivided 50–50% between the central andthe local governments and should be usedfor transportation purposes, like theimprovement of public transport.
Congestion charging is a success inStockholmThe aim of the Stockholm congestion char-ging scheme was to reduce the traffic level byabout 10–15%, especially during peak hours.The public transport system was upgradedhalf a year before its implementation. Afterthe congestion charging was implemented,the traffic was reduced by about 22% andthe local air pollution was reduced by10–14%. Later, in a referendum, the majori-ty voted in favour because of its positiveimpacts. Implementation in Norway will,however, be cheaper since an effective tech-nology for toll collection is already in placeas is evident in the cordon toll systems.
Demystifying the myths of congestionchargingThe NPRA has the goal of objectively toinform the public of what congestion isand what it is not. The Institute ofTransport Economics (TØI) and UrbanetAnalyse AS, were engaged to demystify themyths. Some of the results are listed below.
Myth: Congestion charging is somet-hing different from ordinary road tolls.
Correct: For the road user, road tolls area flat rate independent on when they drive,while congestion charges vary by time ofday and space.
Myth: Congestion charging is not aneffective means for reducing congestion.
Wrong: Results from Stockholm show a22% reduction in traffic volume in the citycentre while London achieved a reductionof 21%.
Myth: No one else than those caught upin congestion suffer from it.
Wrong: If you are caught up in conges-tion you delay others and more noise andlocal pollution is created, which are a haz-ard to others.
Myth: The use of revenues to improvepublic transport does not benefit thosewho pay the congestion charge.
Wrong: The larger the number of publictransport users, the better the road space.The worse the public transport system is,the worse the conditions for road usersbecome because more people will use cars.Congestion becomes comparatively worseif the revenues are not used to improvepublic transport.
Myth: Congestion charging will hurt the
Myths and Facts about CongestionCharging
transport industry as it means increasedcost of transport.
Wrong: The transport industry has a hig-her value of time. The reduction of conges-tion implies the reduction of time costs.
Myth: Congestion charging will hurtfamilies with small children because suchfamilies must drive in rush-hours to deliverchildren to schools and kindergartens.
Wrong: Congestion charging imply lesstraffic so that families will save invaluabletime and save children from pollution dueto congestion.
Self-explaining RoadsEdge lines, rumble strips and the width of the road are examplesof self-explaining road design. But what effect do they have onroad safety and how can responsible for road design select thecorrect measure?
Asignificant reduction in casualties canonly be achieved by taking action on
all three elements of the safe road system:driver, vehicle and road. Improving roadinfrastructure safety can be achieved bymaking roads forgiving and self-explaining.Self-explaining roads reduce crash likeli-hood and forgiving roads mitigate the seve-rity of the outcome of a crash.
A self-explaining road indirectly makesit clear to the road user how to behave, forexample making it clear that overtaking isunwise by “explaining” the preferred speedthrough the design of the road markings orby applying rumble strips. In Europe thereare a large number of solutions for crea-ting self-explaining roads, a knowledgewhich will now be collected and evaluatedin the view of road safety.
The project SPACESPACE, Speed Adaptation Control by SelfExplaining Roads will identify solutionsthat offer the greatest potential safety gainsthrough a state of the art review, internatio-nal expert panel review, interactive visualtools and driving simulator experiment.This will lead to tools that can identifyunsafe or non-explaining areas of the net-work and that are able to estimate the
potential safety benefits of the road safetymeasure. These tools will register changein driving behaviour and also explain whythis or these changes occur. The developedtools will be used for evaluation of differentmeasures aiming to find a self-explainingroad. Other aims are to determine thespeed adaption and situational awarenessbenefits of different self-explaining designmeasures. A comparison will be done ofdifferent approaches leading to recom-mended common strategies.
The work will be focused on rural roadsand having Vision Zero and transnationalbenefits of the projects outcome in mind.Other considerations and limitations will beto look on effects of combination of measu-res, different road types and conditions, aswell as different road user categories.
Contact: Leif Sjögren, VTI, [email protected]
Read more: www.transport-era.net
The results will be presented as guidan-ce in technical notes and more compre-hensively in a project report. Findings willbe made available to road authorities, rese-archers and practitioners across Europe.
Successful cooperationThe ERA-NET programme was introducedin the sixth EU framework programme withthe aim of improving European cooperationin research and development. Eleven natio-nal road administrations in Europe havecombined to form ERA-NET Road and pro-vided funds for a number of research pro-grammes with a total budget of 1.5 millionEuro.
In the spring of 2009 a call was made forsuch a research programme in the field ofroad safety, under the name Safety at theHeart of Road Design. In consequence ofthis call, FEHRL, Forum of EuropeanNational Highway Research Laboratories,initiated a meeting of its members with theaim of coordinating a proposal. Aroundten countries were represented, and themeeting resulted in six proposals, in seve-ral of which VTI was involved. The propo-sal Space was accepted by ERA-NET Road.A total of 18 project-proposals were submit-ted and five of these were approved by theprogramme committee.
Magdalena Green,VTI, Sweden
PHO
TO:
PHO
TOS
.CO
M
Danish Road Institute Helen Hasz-SinghGuldalderen 12DK-2640 HedehusenePhone +45 72 44 70 00Email [email protected] www.roaddirectorate.dk
NORDICDENMARK
VTT Technical Research Centreof FinlandKari MäkeläP.O.Box 1000FI-02044 VTTPhone +358 20 722 4586Email [email protected] www.vtt.fi
FINLAND
Icelandic Road AdministrationG. Pétur MatthiassonBorgartún 7IS-105 ReykjavikPhone +354 522 1000Email [email protected] www.vegagerdin.is
ICELANDInstitute of Transport EconomicsHarald AasGaustadalléen 21NO-0349 OsloPhone +47 22 57 38 00Email [email protected] www.toi.no
NORWAYNorwegian Public RoadsAdministrationThorbjørn Chr. RisanP.O. Box 8142 DepNO-0033 OsloPhone +47 915 02030Email [email protected] www.vegvesen.no
NORWAY
VTIMagdalena GreenSE-581 95 LinköpingPhone +46 13 20 42 26Orderphone +46 13 20 42 69Email [email protected] www.vti.se
SWEDEN
Questionsconcerning the content ofthe articles, or orders forthe publications referred to,should be directed to thepublishing institution, seeaddressed above.
Requestsfor back issues, and notifi-cation of address changes.Readers outside the Nordiccountries: see Swedishaddress. Readers in theNordic countries: seeadresses above.
Web www.nordicroads.com
Subscribewww.nordicroads.com/[email protected]
