Rail vehicles,environment, safety and security

This paper starts with a discussion on typical vehicles. The concepts and the usual practice for rail wagon design, both freight and passengers are presented. A discussion on rail and the environment comes next followed by Truck-Trains. Accident theories, metaphors and investigation methods are widely discussed; Hazard – Barrier – Target Model, Swiss Cheese Model, Bow-Tie Model, Fault Tree Analysis and Event Tree Analysis are explained. This paper concludes with a technical discussion on safety and security of rail vehicles, standards for safety and measures against terrorist attacks.     

Oil spill contingency plans and policies in Norway and the United Kingdom

Abstract

Tankers and offshore exploration and production facilities are the main sources of marine oil spills in the North Sea. Both Norway and the United Kingdom conduct vigorous programs to improve oil spill response, including systematic research and testing of oil spill cleanup technology, regional stockpiling of oil spill response equipment, training of response personnel, and conducting periodic in‐water oil spill “war games.”; The United Kingdom relies on chemical dispersants, while Norway prefers the use of mechanical containment and recovery devices. Norway also requires its offshore operators to demonstrate that their oil spill response equipment and contingency plans meet specific performance standards.     

A comparison of accuracy and cost of attribute data in analysis of transit service areas using GIS

User oriented transit service is designed to meet the particular needs of a selected group of travelers. Transit Routes are located to provide convenient linkages between user's origin and destination in such a way that out-of-vehicle time, such as access and transfer time, is minimized. Planning transit routes requires understanding demographics, land use and travel patterns in an area. The dynamic nature of these systems necessitates regular review and analysis to insure that the transit system continues to meet the needs of the area it serves. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide a flexible framework for planning and analyzing transit routes and stops. Socioeconomic, demographic, housing, land use, and traffic data may be modeled in a GIS to identify efficient and effective corridors to locate routes. Part of the route location and analysis problem requires estimating population within the service area of a route. A route's service area is defined using walking distance or travel time. The problem of identifying service areas for park and ride or auto/bus users is not considered here, but assumed analogous to walk/bus trips. This paper investigates the accuracy and costs associated with the use of different attribute data bases to perform service area analysis for transit routes using GIS. A case study is performed for Logan, Utah, where a new fixed route service is operated. The case study illustrates the use of census data, postal data, data collected from aerial photographs, and data collected during a field survey using the network area analysis technique for transit service area analysis. This comparison allows us to describe the amount of error introduced by various spatial modeling techniques of data bases representing a variety of aggregation levels.     

The insurance institute for highway safety: research arm of the US insurers and servant of the public

Smeed and Haddon were among the first to recognize that deaths and injuries from motor vehicle crashes were amenable to scientific study and systematic control. In the United States, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety undertakes research on ways to reduce motor vehicle crash losses on the principles developed by these early pioneers. It communicates the scientific findings to a wide audience. Recent Institute research has shown that raising the licensing age and imposing night‐time driving curfews on the youngest drivers can substantially reduce crashes. Institute research has also been influential in leading to a law penalizing states that fail to enact a minimum purchase age of 21 for alcohol. Other Institute work demonstrating that a single, central, high‐mounted brake‐light can greatly reduce the frequency of rear‐end crashes has resulted in federal regulations requiring these lights on all new cars. Field tests of anti‐lacerative windshields have led to changes in federal regulations. Surveys of seat‐belt use under recently passed state laws show that use increases with the laws though to not nearly as high levels as in Great Britain. Long supported by Institute research, air bags are beginning to reappear in the market‐place. Insurance industry support for such activities follows a long tradition of support for loss reduction measures in many fields.     

Ground-truthing social vulnerability indices of Alaska fishing communities

Abstract

Community vulnerability is increasingly evaluated through quantitative social indices, typically developed using secondary data sources rather than primary data collection. It is necessary to understand the validity of these indices if they will be used to inform policy and decision making. This paper presents a ground-truthing effort to validate quantitative indices that characterize the well-being of Alaska fishing communities. We utilized ethnographic data collected from 13 representative communities and a capital assets framework to ground-truth the indices, in which qualitative ranks of vulnerability were compared against quantitative indices. The majority (73.8%) of ranks were in complete or moderate agreement and the results indicate that most of the indices are representative of community vulnerability; yet some variables utilized to create the indices could be modified to better reflect realities in Alaska. Indices of commercial fishery engagement and reliance appeared to be more reliable than socio-economic indicators, particularly for smaller fishing communities. We also confirmed that the indices do not capture political, or ecological factors that affect levels of community vulnerability. We conclude that quantitative indices of community vulnerability are useful rapid assessment tools; however, they should be validated, and complemented with ethnographic data prior to their implementation as policy making and management tools.     

The role of public authorities

Advances in information technology and telecommunications are opening up the possibility of transforming the capture, application and dissemination of information on transport operations and road traffic, at the same time as growing congestion makes accurate and timely information more valuable than ever to users and managers. Because of open access to road networks, public authorities are bound to intervene in the field of travel information: in the provision of infrastructure, the handling of the information, the licensing of services, and the regulation of users affecting safety or social well-being. The paper discusses these rôles and the levels at which they may be exercised, with particular reference to standardisation issues in Europe and internationally.