scholarly journals Solar-Powered Active Road Studs and Highway Infrastructure: Effect on Vehicle Speeds

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (21) ◽  
pp. 7209
Author(s):  
Richard Llewellyn ◽  
Jonathan Cowie ◽  
Grigorios Fountas

Vehicle speeds have a direct relationship with the severity of road crashes and may influence their probability of occurrence. Solar-powered active road studs have been shown to have a positive effect on driver confidence, but their impact on vehicle speed in conjunction with other road features is little understood. This study aims to address this gap in knowledge through a case study of a 20 km section of a strategic major road featuring a variety of highway infrastructure features. Before-and-after surveys were undertaken at 21 locations along the route using manual radar speed measurement. Analysis of nearly 10,000 speed measurements showed no statistically significant change in mean speeds following the implementation of the road studs. Linear regression models are proposed for two different posted speed limits, associating road features with expected vehicle speed. The models suggest that vehicle speeds are chiefly influenced by merges, curves, gradients, and ambient light conditions. The findings of this study should provide confidence that active road studs may be implemented without a negative impact on speed-related safety. The work also provides further expansion of the evidence base describing the effect of highway infrastructure features on vehicle speeds.

2014 ◽  
Vol 931-932 ◽  
pp. 536-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wichuda Satiennam ◽  
Thaned Satiennam ◽  
Pornsiri Urapa ◽  
Tussawan Phacharoen

In developed countries, the use of speed humps and bumps have evolved from extensive research and testing which been properly designed and standardized. On the contrary in developing countries, no systematic and scientific studies have been carried out on that environment, especially the study on the effects that the motorcyclists response to the humps and bumps. This study therefore reveals the riders behavior when negotiating their speed to the devices. A case study was conducted in the provincial cities of Thailand where the motorcycle was a major mode of transportation. Six locations with speed humps and bumps were selected. Vehicles passing times were simultaneously recorded at 12 points along each traffic calmed link. From these data, a speed profile for each individual vehicle and for a link could be derived. It is found that speed humps and bumps have critically different impacts on motorcycle rider and passenger car driver. The smaller size speed bumps could effectively control the rider speed but have diverse impacts on the driver. These speed differences could post more safety deficiency to the site. The effect of the device on riders behavior, however, is restricted to a short spatial range (about 20-30 m before and after the device). For the speed humps, the motorcycle speeds are quite varied depending mainly on the road terrain. It is found that the motorcyclists have significant lower acceleration rate on the upgrade terrain when compared to the passenger car. Therefore, it is important to take all these rider characteristics into considerations when design the road humps to control vehicle speed in the developing countries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 11958
Author(s):  
Soo-Min Choi ◽  
Hyo Choi

Multiple statistical prediction modeling of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 at Gangneung city, Korea, was performed in association with local meteorological parameters (air temperature, wind speed and relative humidity) and PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations of an upwind site in Beijing, China, in the transport route of Chinese yellow dusts which originated from the Gobi Desert and passed through Beijing to the city from 18 March to 27 March 2015. Before and after the dust periods, the PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 concentrations showed as being very high at 09:00 LST (the morning rush hour) by the increasing emitted pollutants from vehicles and flying dust from the road and their maxima occurred at 20:00 to 22:00 LST (the evening departure time) from the additional pollutants from resident heating boilers. During the dust period, these peak trends were not found due to the persistent accumulation of dust in the city from the Gobi Desert through Beijing, China, as shown in real-time COMS-AI satellite images. Multiple correlation coefficients among PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 at Gangneung were in the range of 0.916 to 0.998. Multiple statistical models were devised to predict each PM concentration, and the significant levels through multi-regression analyses were p < 0.001, showing all the coefficients to be significant. The observed and calculated PM concentrations were compared, and new linear regression models were sequentially suggested to reproduce the original observed PM values with improved correlation coefficients, to some extent.


2013 ◽  
Vol 393 ◽  
pp. 982-987
Author(s):  
N.M. Hanif Zamakhshari ◽  
Ahmad Khushairy Makhtar ◽  
M. Hanif Ramli

ntelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) is a system that constantly monitors vehicle speed, local speed limit on a road and implements an action such as giving warning or discourages the drivers when the vehicle is detected to be exceeding the speed limit. A GPS connected to digital speed map allows Intelligent Speed Adaptation technology to continuously update the vehicle speed limit to the road speed limit. The main purpose of this project is to study the speed profile and effect on drivers psychology on Intelligent Speed Adaptation to bus drivers before and after the intervention of ISA technology. An experiment was conducted on GPS-ISA instrument involving about 20 respondents of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam Campus bus drivers from various backgrounds. The instrument used to collect data is GPS-ISA device. The data gained from GPS-ISA device is speed profile to specify the speeding and speed variation. To evaluate drivers psychology, a set of questionnaire was designed. The data gained from questionnaire are attention level, stress level, and ISA acceptance level. The result of total differences for all 20 respondents between the average speed before and after the intervention for Zone 1 to Zone 5 was-8.95 km/h. For drivers psychology results, most of the respondents are willing to use ISA system if given a chance. Majority of respondents did not felt any stress and distraction while driving by using ISA system. For conclusion, the ISA system proved to be efficiently reduced speed of busses in UiTM Shah Alam campus zone and can be used as an initiative in order to assist bus drivers to reduce speed of vehicles especially in campus zone.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Fuquan Pan ◽  
Yongzheng Yang ◽  
Lixia Zhang ◽  
Changxi Ma ◽  
Jinshun Yang ◽  
...  

In recent years, there are more and more applications of traffic violation monitoring in some countries. The present work aims to analyze the vehicle speeds nearby road traffic violation monitoring area on urban main roads and find out the impact of road traffic violation monitoring on the vehicle speeds. A representative urban main road section was selected and the traffic flow was recorded by camera method. The vehicle speeds before, within, and after the road traffic violation monitoring area were obtained by the calculation method. The speed data was classified and processed by SPSS software and mathematical method to establish the vehicle speed probability density models before, within, and after the road traffic violation monitoring area. The results show that the average speed and maximum speed within the traffic violation monitoring area are significantly slower than those before and after the traffic violation monitoring area. 70.1% of the vehicles before the road traffic violation monitoring area were speeding, and 80.2% of the vehicles after the road traffic violation monitoring area were speeding, while within the road traffic violation monitoring area, the speeding vehicles were reduced to 15.9%. When vehicles pass through the road traffic violation monitoring area, the vehicle speeds tend to first decrease and subsequently increase. In its active area, road traffic violation monitoring can effectively regulate driving behaviors and reduce speeding, but this effect is limited to the vicinity of the traffic violation monitoring. The distribution of vehicle speeds can be calculated from vehicle speed probability density models.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 4645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee ◽  
Kim

To provide safe and comfortable walking environments on narrow streets without sidewalks, the Seoul city government has implemented the Pedestrian Priority Street (PPS) projects. Based on Monderman’s “shared space” concept, the PPS involves applying diverse paving design techniques, particularly stamped asphalt pavement of various colors and patterns. This study investigated the effectiveness of the PPS for pedestrian safety. Data sources were; (1) video recordings of the nine concurrent PPS in 2014 before and after the projects were completed; and (2) a cross-sectional survey at the nine streets. Two groups of multiple regression models analyzed the objective safety, by using the variables, mean vehicle speed and change in mean speed, which were then compared with subjective safety through a questionnaire analysis. The results found that the design strategies reduced the vehicle speed and increased perceptions of pedestrian safety. These suggest that the PPS principles are practical and feasible ways to tackle the safety problems of narrow streets without sidewalks. Further, vehicle speeds increased on streets where the pedestrian zone was clearly distinguishable from the vehicular zone, by applying PPS techniques only at the roadside. Thus, clearly separating pedestrians from vehicular zones, which is neither the original principle, nor the intent of the PPS, should be avoided.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-130
Author(s):  
Raúl Rojas ◽  
Farzan Irani

Purpose This exploratory study examined the language skills and the type and frequency of disfluencies in the spoken narrative production of Spanish–English bilingual children who do not stutter. Method A cross-sectional sample of 29 bilingual students (16 boys and 13 girls) enrolled in grades prekindergarten through Grade 4 produced a total of 58 narrative retell language samples in English and Spanish. Key outcome measures in each language included the percentage of normal (%ND) and stuttering-like (%SLD) disfluencies, percentage of words in mazes (%MzWds), number of total words, number of different words, and mean length of utterance in words. Results Cross-linguistic, pairwise comparisons revealed significant differences with medium effect sizes for %ND and %MzWds (both lower for English) as well as for number of different words (lower for Spanish). On average, the total percentage of mazed words was higher than 10% in both languages, a pattern driven primarily by %ND; %SLDs were below 1% in both languages. Multiple linear regression models for %ND and %SLD in each language indicated that %MzWds was the primary predictor across languages beyond other language measures and demographic variables. Conclusions The findings extend the evidence base with regard to the frequency and type of disfluencies that can be expected in bilingual children who do not stutter in grades prekindergarten to Grade 4. The data indicate that %MzWds and %ND can similarly index the normal disfluencies of bilingual children during narrative production. The potential clinical implications of the findings from this study are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara Contreary ◽  
Todd Honeycutt

BACKGROUND: The U.S. government has implemented several programs to reduce federal expenditures on Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) and help beneficiaries return to work, but the limited success of these efforts has raised interest in approaches that help workers with disabilities remain in the workforce. OBJECTIVE: This paper provides information on individuals at risk of applying for DI benefits to help build the evidence base for policies that provide workers with disabilities support to eliminate the need to apply for and receive DI benefits. METHODS: Using three panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation matched to SSA administrative data, we describe the employment characteristics of seven groups at risk of applying for DI benefits before and after application, as well as the outcomes of their DI applications. RESULTS: New private disability insurance recipients were more likely to apply for and receive DI than members of other at-risk groups. However, individuals with high healthcare expenditures made up the largest proportion of successful applicants across the at-risk groups considered here. CONCLUSION: While it seems plausible that individuals within an at-risk group who are likely to apply for DI benefits can be identified and provided supports to help them maintain employment, focusing on a specific group to promote employment over DI benefits may have a limited effect on the DI program because applicants come from multiple groups.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-60
Author(s):  
Fitri Wulandari ◽  
Nirwana Puspasari ◽  
Noviyanthy Handayani

Jalan Temanggung Tilung is a 2/2 UD type road (two undirected two-way lanes) with a road width of 5.5 meters, which is a connecting road between two major roads, namely the RTA road. Milono and the path of G. Obos. Over time, the volume of traffic through these roads increases every year, plus roadside activities that also increase cause congestion at several points of the way. To overcome this problem, the local government carried out road widening to increase the capacity and level of road services. The study was conducted to determine the amount of traffic volume, performance, service level of the Temanggung Tilung road section at peak traffic hours before and after road widening. Data retrieval is done by the direct survey to the field to obtain primary data in the form of geometric road data, two-way traffic volume data, and side obstacle data. Performance analysis refers to the 1997 Indonesian Road Capacity Manual (MKJI) for urban roads. From the results of data processing, before increasing the road (Type 2/2 UD), the traffic volume that passes through the path is 842 pcs/hour and after road widening (Type 4/2 UD) the traffic volume for two directions is 973 pcs/hour, with route A equaling 528 pcs/hour and direction B equaling 445 pcs/hour. Based on the analysis of road performance before road enhancement, the capacity = 2551 pcs/hour, saturation degree = 0.331, and the service level of the two-way road are level B. Based on the analysis of the performance of the way after increasing the way, the direction capacity A = 2686 pcs/hour and direction B = 2674 pcs /hour, saturation degree for direction A = 0.196 and direction B = 0.166, service level for road direction A and direction B increase to level A


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Jeky El Boru

Abstract: This research aims to analyze the impact of Janti Flyover Construction toward the growth of layout at Janti Urban Area, including structured space, open space, and linkage. Method used for data collecting are observation, air photograph monitoring, and interview, whereas the analysis method is qualitative description, which is the superimposed method of two layers, that are the layout condition before and after flyover construction. The result shows that the impact of Janti Flyover construction can be seen on building mass (solid), the increasing number of open spaces, including the road network, parking place, and park, whereas the relation between spaces, visually and structurally, can be seen on the growth of buildings which have new shapes and styles, therefore the performance of the overall building does not have a proportional shape. Considering Janti Street at the collective relation, its role is getting stronger as the main frame road network.Keywords: Flyover construction, layout changing, Janti AreaAbstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh pembangunan Jalan Layang Janti terhadap perkembangan tata ruang Kawasan Janti, meliputi ruang terbangun, ruang terbuka, serta hubungan antar ruang (“linkage”). Metode pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui observasi, pengamatan foto udara, dan wawancara; sedangkan metode analisis melalui deskripsi secara kualitatif yang berupa “superimposed method” dari dua lapisan kondisi lahan, yakni kondisi tata ruang sebelum dan sesudah pembangunan jalan layang. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pengaruh pembangunan Jalan Layang Janti terdapat pada massa bangunan (“solid”), pertambahan ruang terbuka yang berupa jaringan jalan, parkir, dan taman; sedangkan pada hubungan antar ruang ̶ secara visual dan struktural ̶ yakni tumbuhnya bangunan dengan bentuk dan gaya baru, sehingga bentuk tampilan bangunan secara keseluruhan tidak proporsional. Pada hubungan kolektif, Jalan Janti semakin kuat perannya sebagai kerangka utama jaringan jalan.Kata kunci : Pembangunan jalan layang, tata ruang, Kawasan Janti


Author(s):  
Elizaveta Derevenets ◽  
Elizaveta Derevenets

Gelendzhik is the resort town, there aren't a lot of industrial enterprises here. The main pollutant is transport. The work purpose is the assessment of a condition of the artificial landings of a pine located along the Federal highway "Don" and landings, which is nearly the sea coast. Researches were conducted to a standard technique of the General vital state (A. S. Bogolyubov). The assessment of a condition of pines was carried out during 6 years: from 2010 to 2015. For carrying out research we used 6 experimental grounds on the Markotkhsky spine and 2 control grounds within the town. We investigated 24 trees on each platform, middle age of the trees were 30 - 40 years. Results. 1. The condition of trees in the pine forests located in immediate proximity with the Federal highway "Don" (No. 1, 2, 3) is unsatisfactory. As even weak influences of the majority of atmospheric gaseous pollutants (sulphurous gas, nitrogen oxides, etc.) give effect of a necrosis and hloroz of pine needles, the condition of pines is connected with technogenic pollution. So near the Federal highway "Don" the air environment is strongly polluted by exhaust gases. Information of 2012 confirm that negative influence of the route on Markotkh's vegetation decreases at reduction of load of the route. 2. On the sites located above on a slope (No. 4,5,6) thanks to remoteness and the wind mode intensity of influence of pollutants is lower and a condition of pines the quite satisfactory. 3. Trees on the sites located near the sea (No. 7,8) are in a good shape. Small deterioration of a state is noted in very droughty years. Conclusion. Results of six years' research show that the condition of the plantings which are in close proximity with the road worsens. It is explained by increase in intensity of the movement on the road, especially during a resort season. Gelendzhik is the city with a good ecological shape, but the damage to environment is already caused. If not to take measures, we can lose a unique part of the nature in the future, recreate it will be impossible. Measures of reduction of negative impact of exhaust gases were offered. Results of researches are transferred to ecological department of the City administration of Gelendzhik.


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