Updating predictive accident models of modern rural single carriageway A-roads

Abstract

Reliable predictive accident models (PAMs) are essential to design and maintain safe road networks, and yet the models most commonly used in the UK were derived using data collected 20 to 30 years ago. Given that the national personal injury accident total fell by some 30% in the last 25 years, while road traffic increased by over 60%, significant errors in scheme appraisal and evaluation based on the models currently in use seem inevitable. In this paper, the temporal transferability of PAMs for modern rural single carriageway A-roads is investigated, and their predictive performance is evaluated against a recent data set. Despite the age of these models, the PAMs for predicting the total accidents provide a remarkably good fit to recent data and these are more accurate than models where accidents are disaggregated by type. The performance of the models can be improved by calibrating them against recent data.     

Manual vs. adaptive cruise control – Can driver’s expectation be matched?

The role of the driver in the longitudinal car following control task will change from operator to supervisor with most of manual control replaced by automation as adaptive cruise control (ACC) technologies become commonplace. The extent to which manual control can be replaced by ACC will be determined by many factors. An important issue is the compatibility between ACC performance and the driver’s expectations.This paper describes the results of a simulation study of the performance of ACC relative to driver expectation. Driver’s expectation is quantitatively defined as the expected deceleration rate for several time-to-collision (TTC) levels, and an absolute minimum TTC that drivers tried to avoid in all cases. A two-level ACC algorithm was used to simulate the performance of an ACC equipped vehicle in various scenarios, and the result was compared to the driver’s expectations. The investigation has focused on scenarios which ACC is able to manage technically, but where driver expectations might be breached.By systematically changing variables such as the parameters of the ACC algorithms, traffic scenarios and time-headway settings, a large number of situations have been tested. The results have revealed that whilst appropriate ACC settings can be found which will meet the driver’s expectations, the ACC settings that are most capable in a range of traffic conditions are not necessarily the most user-friendly. A discussion on the implications of the findings is also presented.     

Error and uncertainty in travel surveys

Transportation study home interview surveys normally underestimate the amount of trip-making by residents of a study area, and the data has to be adjusted subsequently to compensate for this effect. One important reason for the shortfall appears to be the incomplete recall and reporting of travel information by respondents. The paper examines the influence of the survey instrument on recall by comparing reported travel behaviour in two surveys conducted in the same town, one using a conventional travel diary and the other an activity diary. The latter format appears to encourage a more complete response, giving rise to significantly higher reported trip rates and travel times. The paper discusses some research and policy implications of this finding and concludes with tentative suggestions for improved travel survey instruments.     

有利于行人头保护的风挡玻璃下横梁结构优化设计与试验验证

基于某车型的风挡玻璃下横梁结构,针对提高行人头保护性能进行了优化设计.结果表明,优化后的风挡玻璃下横梁可以提供更大的变形吸能空间,降低加速度峰值和HIC值,提高行人保护性能,为车型行人保护性能评价和开发改进提供借鉴.     

事故数据存储器

你有没有遇到过这样的客户,这种人在车出现问题时并不如实地反映在此之前他是如何开车的?如果没有遇到过,那么请读这篇有关事故数据记录器的文章。     

驾驶员身心条件安全可靠性综合评价

针对影响驾驶员身心条件安全可靠性的相关因素,对6个城市78万名机动车驾驶员进行了调查测试;通过对22项指标主因子分析,从中筛选出10项代表性指标分别进行分级划分,并基于感知—判断—动作可靠性模型理论,建立了驾驶员安全可靠性综合评价体系。通过对驾驶员身心条件可靠性分布以及驾驶员事故组与非事故组安全可靠性分级分布进行比较分析,研究结果表明:安全可靠度Ⅰ级占25%,Ⅱ级占64%,Ⅲ级占6%,Ⅳ级占2.5%,Ⅴ级占1.5%;而事故主要分布在Ⅲ级、Ⅳ级、Ⅴ级。     

汽车可视系统

现代汽车中应用了越来越多复杂的电子装置，其中包括具有驾驶员操纵便利和安全特性的各种系统。相信，这些电子装置将会在未来几年里引起汽车维修行业的广泛关注。[编者按]     

Algorithms for logit-based stochastic user equilibrium assignment

The paper proposes an efficient algorithm for determining the stochastic user equilibrium solution for logit-based loading. The commonly used Method of Successive Averages typically has a very slow convergence rate. The new algorithm described here uses Williams’ result [ Williams, (1977) On the formation of travel demand models and economic evaluation measures of user benefit. Environment and Planning 9A(3), 285–344] which enables the expected value of the perceived travel costs S_rs to be readily calculated for any flow vector x. This enables the value of the Sheffi and Powell, 1982 objective function [Sheffi, Y. and Powell, W. B. (1982) An algorithm for the equilibrium assignment problem with random link times. Networks 12(2), 191–207], and its gradient in any specified search direction, to be calculated. It is then shown how, at each iteration, an optimal step length along the search direction can be easily estimated, rather than using the pre-set step lengths, thus giving much faster convergence. The basic algorithm uses the standard search direction (towards the auxiliary solution). In addition the performance of two further versions of the algorithm are investigated, both of which use an optimal step length but alternative search directions, based on the Davidon–Fletcher–Powell function minimisation method. The first is an unconstrained and the second a constrained version. Comparisons are made of all three versions of the algorithm, using a number of test networks ranging from a simple three-link network to one with almost 3000 links. It is found that for all but the smallest network the version using the standard search direction gives the fastest rate of convergence. Extensions to allow for multiple user classes and elastic demand are also possible.     

Integrated smartcard solutions: do people want one card for all their services?

Smartcard technologies offer the potential for bringing transport and citizen services onto a single smartcard platform – referred to henceforth as an integrated ‘Transport-Citizen’ (TranCit) card. One question never fully addressed thus far is whether the general public see the integration of services onto a single card as desirable. Based upon research undertaken through the Yorcard project trials, this paper presents the analysis of a series of three focus groups and responses to a public questionnaire which investigated the general desire for multi-application, integrated smartcards. Our findings suggest there is potential for an integrated TranCit card, facilitating easier access to services and travel options across boundaries, even at the international level. A number of operational, technical and data security issues exist which need to be resolved before there would be a greater acceptance of an integrated TranCit card, from both the traveller and the service provider perspective.     

A splitting rate model of traffic re-routeing and traffic control

The paper presents an idealised dynamical model of day-to-day or within-day re-routeing using splitting rates at nodes, or node-exit flows, rather than route-flows. It is shown that under certain conditions the dynamical model gives rise to a sequence of link flow vectors which converges to a set of approximate Wardrop equilibria. A special dynamical signal green-time re-allocation model is added; the combination is also shown (in outline) to converge to the set of approximate consistent equilibria under certain conditions. Finally the paper uses model network results to illustrate a method of designing fixed time signal timings to meet different scenarios.