Search results for: traffic accidents
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1540

Search results for: traffic accidents

1240 Activating Psychological Resources of DUI (Drivers under the Influence of Alcohol) Using the Traffic Psychology Intervention (IFT Course), Germany

Authors: Parichehr Sharifi, Konrad Reschke, Hans-Liudger Dienel

Abstract:

Psychological intervention generally targets changes in attitudes and behavior. Working with DUIs is part of traffic psychologists’ work. The primary goal of this field is to reduce the probability of re-conspicuous of the delinquent driver. One of these measurements in Germany is IFT courses for DUI s. The IFT course was designed by the Institute for Therapy Research. Participants are drivers who have fallen several times or once with a blood alcohol concentration of 1.6 per mill and who have completed a medical-psychological assessment (MPU) with the result of the course recommendation. The course covers four sessions of 3.5 hours each (1 hour / 60 m) and in a period of 3 to 4 weeks in the group discussion. This work analyzes interventions for the rehabilitation of DUI (Drunk Drivers offenders) offenders in groups under the aspect of activating psychological resources. From the aspect of sustainability, they should also have long-term consequences for the maintenance of unproblematic driving behavior in terms of the activation of resources. It is also addressing a selected consistency-theory-based intervention effect, activating psychological resources. So far, this has only been considered in the psychotherapeutic field but never in the field of traffic psychology. The methodology of this survey is one qualitative and three quantitative. In four sub-studies, it will be examined which measurements can determine the resources and how traffic psychological interventions can strengthen resources. The results of the studies have the following implications for traffic psychology research and practice: (1) In the field of traffic psychology intervention for the restoration of driving fitness, it can be stated that aspects of resource activation in this work have been investigated for the first time by qualitative and quantitative methods. (2) The resource activation could be confirmed based on the determined results as an effective factor of traffic psychological intervention. (3) Two sub-studies show a range of resources and resource activation options that must be given greater emphasis in traffic psychology interventions: - Social resource activation - improvement of the life skills of participants - Reactivation of existing social support options - Re-experiencing self-esteem, self-assurance, and acceptance of traffic-related behaviors. (4) In revising the IFT-§70 course, as well as other courses on recreating aptitude for DUI, new traffic-specific resource-enabling interventions against alcohol abuse should be developed to further enhance the courses through motivational, cognitive, and behavioral effects of resource activation, Resource-activating interventions can not only be integrated into behavioral group interventions but can also be applied in psychodynamic, psychodynamic (individual psychological) and other contexts of individual traffic psychology. The results are indicative but clearly show that personal resources can be strengthened through traffic psychology interventions. In the research, practice, training, and further education of traffic psychology, the aspect of primary resource activation (Grawe, 1999), therefore, always deserves the greatest attention for the rehabilitation of DUIs and Traffic safety.

Keywords: traffic safety, psychological resources, activating of resources, intervention programs for alcohol offenders, empowerment

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1239 Algorithm Research on Traffic Sign Detection Based on Improved EfficientDet

Authors: Ma Lei-Lei, Zhou You

Abstract:

Aiming at the problems of low detection accuracy of deep learning algorithm in traffic sign detection, this paper proposes improved EfficientDet based traffic sign detection algorithm. Multi-head self-attention is introduced in the minimum resolution layer of the backbone of EfficientDet to achieve effective aggregation of local and global depth information, and this study proposes an improved feature fusion pyramid with increased vertical cross-layer connections, which improves the performance of the model while introducing a small amount of complexity, the Balanced L1 Loss is introduced to replace the original regression loss function Smooth L1 Loss, which solves the problem of balance in the loss function. Experimental results show, the algorithm proposed in this study is suitable for the task of traffic sign detection. Compared with other models, the improved EfficientDet has the best detection accuracy. Although the test speed is not completely dominant, it still meets the real-time requirement.

Keywords: convolutional neural network, transformer, feature pyramid networks, loss function

Procedia PDF Downloads 97
1238 Communication Infrastructure Required for a Driver Behaviour Monitoring System, ‘SiaMOTO’ IT Platform

Authors: Dogaru-Ulieru Valentin, Sălișteanu Ioan Corneliu, Ardeleanu Mihăiță Nicolae, Broscăreanu Ștefan, Sălișteanu Bogdan, Mihai Mihail

Abstract:

The SiaMOTO system is a communications and data processing platform for vehicle traffic. The human factor is the most important factor in the generation of this data, as the driver is the one who dictates the trajectory of the vehicle. Like any trajectory, specific parameters refer to position, speed and acceleration. Constant knowledge of these parameters allows complex analyses. Roadways allow many vehicles to travel through their confined space, and the overlapping trajectories of several vehicles increase the likelihood of collision events, known as road accidents. Any such event has causes that lead to its occurrence, so the conditions for its occurrence are known. The human factor is predominant in deciding the trajectory parameters of the vehicle on the road, so monitoring it by knowing the events reported by the DiaMOTO device over time, will generate a guide to target any potentially high-risk driving behavior and reward those who control the driving phenomenon well. In this paper, we have focused on detailing the communication infrastructure of the DiaMOTO device with the traffic data collection server, the infrastructure through which the database that will be used for complex AI/DLM analysis is built. The central element of this description is the data string in CODEC-8 format sent by the DiaMOTO device to the SiaMOTO collection server database. The data presented are specific to a functional infrastructure implemented in an experimental model stage, by installing on a number of 50 vehicles DiaMOTO unique code devices, integrating ADAS and GPS functions, through which vehicle trajectories can be monitored 24 hours a day.

Keywords: DiaMOTO, Codec-8, ADAS, GPS, driver monitoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 78
1237 Injury Characteristics and Outcome of Road Traffic Accident among Victims at Adult Emergency Department of Tikur Anbesa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Authors: Mohammed Seid, Aklilu Azazh, Fikre Enquselassie, Engida Yisma

Abstract:

Background: Road traffic injuries are the eighth leading cause of death globally, and the leading cause of death for young people. More than a million people die each year on the world’s roads, and the risk of dying as a result of a road traffic injury is highest in the Africa. Methods: A prospective hospital-based study was undertaken to assess injury characteristics and outcome of road traffic accident among victims at Adult Emergency Department of Tikur Anbesa specialized hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A structured pre-tested questionnaire was used to gather the required data. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Results: A total of 230 road traffic accident victims were studied. The majority of the study subjects were men 165 (71.7%) and the male/female ratio was 2.6:1. The victims’ ages ranged from 14 to 80 years with the mean and standard deviations of 32.15 and ± 14.38 years respectively. Daily laborers (95 (41.3%)) and students (28 (12.2%)) were the majority of road traffic accident victims. Long-distance travelling Minibus (16.5%) was responsible for the majority of road traffic crash followed by followed by Taxi (14.8%) and pedestrians (62.6%) accounted for the majority of road traffic accident. Head (50.4%) and musculoskeletal (extremities) (47.0%) were the most common body region injured. Fractures (78.0%) and open wounds (56.5%) were the most common type of injuries sustained. Treatment of fracture was the most common procedure performed in 57.7 % of the victims. The overall length of hospital stay (LOS) ranged from 1 day to 61 days with mean (± standard deviation) of 7.12 ± 10.5 days and the mortality rate was 7.4 %. A significant higher proportion of victims aged 14-55 years were had less likelihood of death compared to those victims aged more than 55 years of age [Adjusted OR = 0.1 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.82)]. Conclusions: This study showed diverse injury characteristics and high morbidity and mortality among the victims attending Adult Emergency Department of Tikur Anbesa specialized hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The findings reflect that road traffic accident is a major public health problem. Urgent road traffic accident preventive measures and prompt treatment of the victims are warranted in order to reduce morbidity and mortality among the victims.

Keywords: road traffic accident, injury characteristics, outcome, Tikur Anbesa specialized hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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1236 A Study on the Optimum Shoulder Width in the Tunnel Considering Driving Safety

Authors: Somyoung Shin, Donghun Jeong, Yeoil Yun

Abstract:

South Korea continuously installed tunnels in consideration of the safety and operation efficiency, and the number of installed tunnels has doubled over the past ten years. The tunnel section is designed based on the guidelines, but the tunnel entrance becomes narrow due to dark adaptation and pressure. In fact, around 13% of traffic in expressways of Japan happens at the entrance, leading to congestion and rear-ends collision accidents. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the stability from the expansion of the shoulder width in the tunnel entrance by applying a virtual reality driving simulator in order to reduce the accidents that happen in the tunnel entrance. To compare the driving stability based on the changes in the width of the right shoulder under the same condition, a virtual reality driving simulator is used to conduct an experiment on 30 subjects in their 20s to 60s and to provide a more practical virtual reality driving environment, and an experiment map is designed based on actual roads as the background to conduct the experiment. The right shoulder is classified into 2.5m and 3.0m based on the design guidelines of the expressways and the road structure installation regulations. The experimenters' experiment order is decided randomly. As a result of analyzing the average speed, it was displayed as 100.73km/h when the shoulder width was 2.5m and 101.69km/h when the shoulder width was 3.0m and as a result of conducting t-test analysis, the p-value appeared as more than 0.05 in the significance level of 95%, so it was statistically insignificant. Also, as a result of analyzing the speed deviation between the average driving speed of the analyzed interval and the average driving speed upon entering the tunnel, it was displayed as 3.06km/h when the shoulder width was 2.5m and 1.87km/h when the shoulder width was 3.0m and as a result of conducting t-test analysis, the p-value appeared as less than 0.05 in the significance level of 95%, so it was statistically significant. This means that when the shoulder width is 3.0m, there is stability in terms of the driving stability compared to when it is 2.5m. Therefore, it is considered that when new roads are constructed in Korea, the right shoulder width should be installed as 3.0m to enhance the driving stability.

Keywords: driving stability, shoulder width, tunnel, virtual reality driving simulator

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1235 Storage Tank Overfill Protection in Compliance with Functional Safety Standard: IEC 61511

Authors: Hassan Alsada

Abstract:

Tank overfill accidents are major concerns for industries handling large volumes of hydrocarbons. Buncefield, Jaipur, Puerto Rico, and West Virginia are just a few accidents with catastrophic consequences. Thus, it is very important for any industry to take the right safety measures for overfill prevention. Moreover, one of the main causative factors in the overfill accidents was inadequate risk analysis and, subsequently, inadequate design. This study aims to provide a full assessment in accordance with the Functional safety standard: “IEC 615 11 – Safety instrumented systems for the process industry” to the tank overfill scenario according to the standard’s Safety Life Cycle (SLC), which includes: the analysis phase, the implementation phase, and the operation phase. The paper discusses in depth the tank overfills Independent Protection Layers (IPLs) with systematic analysis to avoid the safety risks of under-design and the financial risk of facility overdesign. The result shows a clear and systematic assessment in compliance with the standards that can help to assist existing tank overfilling setup or a guide to support designing new storage facilities overfill protection.

Keywords: IEC 61511, PHA, LOPA, process safety, safety, health, environment, safety instrumented systems, safety instrumented function, functional safety, safety life cycle

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1234 Information Requirements for Vessel Traffic Service Operations

Authors: Fan Li, Chun-Hsien Chen, Li Pheng Khoo

Abstract:

Operators of vessel traffic service (VTS) center provides three different types of services; namely information service, navigational assistance and traffic organization to vessels. To provide these services, operators monitor vessel traffic through computer interface and provide navigational advice based on the information integrated from multiple sources, including automatic identification system (AIS), radar system, and closed circuit television (CCTV) system. Therefore, this information is crucial in VTS operation. However, what information the VTS operator actually need to efficiently and properly offer services is unclear. The aim of this study is to investigate into information requirements for VTS operation. To achieve this aim, field observation was carried out to elicit the information requirements for VTS operation. The study revealed that the most frequent and important tasks were handling arrival vessel report, potential conflict control and abeam vessel report. Current location and vessel name were used in all tasks. Hazard cargo information was particularly required when operators handle arrival vessel report. The speed, the course, and the distance of two or several vessels were only used in potential conflict control. The information requirements identified in this study can be utilized in designing a human-computer interface that takes into consideration what and when information should be displayed, and might be further used to build the foundation of a decision support system for VTS.

Keywords: vessel traffic service, information requirements, hierarchy task analysis, field observation

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1233 Measured versus Default Interstate Traffic Data in New Mexico, USA

Authors: M. A. Hasan, M. R. Islam, R. A. Tarefder

Abstract:

This study investigates how the site specific traffic data differs from the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Software default values. Two Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) stations were installed in Interstate-40 (I-40) and Interstate-25 (I-25) to developed site specific data. A computer program named WIM Data Analysis Software (WIMDAS) was developed using Microsoft C-Sharp (.Net) for quality checking and processing of raw WIM data. A complete year data from November 2013 to October 2014 was analyzed using the developed WIM Data Analysis Program. After that, the vehicle class distribution, directional distribution, lane distribution, monthly adjustment factor, hourly distribution, axle load spectra, average number of axle per vehicle, axle spacing, lateral wander distribution, and wheelbase distribution were calculated. Then a comparative study was done between measured data and AASHTOWare default values. It was found that the measured general traffic inputs for I-40 and I-25 significantly differ from the default values.

Keywords: AASHTOWare, traffic, weigh-in-motion, axle load distribution

Procedia PDF Downloads 342
1232 Modification of Working Conditions Based on Participatory Ergonomics to Improve Occupational Health and Safety (K3) and Welding Worker Productivity

Authors: Tri Wisudawati, Radita Dwi Putera

Abstract:

The role of human resources is the basic capital in determining the purpose of a business place. Without the role of human resources, activities in the company will not run smoothly. Every business place always has a risk of accidents. The magnitude of the risk that occurs depends on the type of industry, technology, and risk control efforts made. Work-related accidents are accidents that occur due to work or while carrying out work. Welding MSMEs have a fairly high risk to health, safety and the environment both from the side of workers who can cause accidents and from the side of the work environment, which has the potential to become a hazard and risk. Participatory ergonomic intervention can be a feasible and effective approach to reducing exposure to work-related risk factors in developing country industries. Complaints about occupational health and safety experienced by workers in the welding workshop industry should be able to be overcome by implementing an ergonomic intervention approach. The analysis process includes HIRARC analysis, participatory ergonomics analysis, and SEM-PLS analysis. Hierarch analysis is carried out by assessing the level of severity and likelihood, as well as risk control. At the participatory ergonomics analysis stage, it is obtained from the organizational culture and organizational stakeholders. At the SEM-PLS stage, an analysis is carried out to see whether there is a strong relationship between the research variables in order to produce occupational health and safety (K3) and worker productivity in the welding shop better and in accordance with welding safety standards. So that the output of this study is how participatory ergonomics interventions affect working conditions to improve occupational health and safety and the productivity of welding workers.

Keywords: ergonomic partisipatory, health and safety, welding workers, welding safety

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1231 Characteristics of Speed Dispersion in Urban Expressway

Authors: Fujian Wang, Shubin Ruan, Meiwei Dai

Abstract:

Speed dispersion has tight relation to traffic safety. In this paper, several kinds of indicating parameters (the standard speed deviation, the coefficient of variation, the deviation of V85 and V15, the mean speed deviations, and the difference between adjacent car speeds) are applied to investigate the characteristics of speed dispersion, where V85 and V15 are 85th and 15th percentile speed, respectively. Their relationships are into full investigations and the results show that: there exists a positive relation (linear) between mean speed and the deviation of V85 and V15; while a negative relation (quadratic) between traffic flow and standard speed deviation. The mean speed deviation grows exponentially with mean speed while the absolute speed deviation between adjacent cars grows linearly with the headway. The results provide some basic information for traffic management.

Keywords: headway, indicating parameters, speed dispersion, urban expressway

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1230 Localized Variabilities in Traffic-related Air Pollutant Concentrations Revealed Using Compact Sensor Networks

Authors: Eric A. Morris, Xia Liu, Yee Ka Wong, Greg J. Evans, Jeff R. Brook

Abstract:

Air quality monitoring stations tend to be widely distributed and are often located far from major roadways, thus, determining where, when, and which traffic-related air pollutants (TRAPs) have the greatest impact on public health becomes a matter of extrapolation. Compact, multipollutant sensor systems are an effective solution as they enable several TRAPs to be monitored in a geospatially dense network, thus filling in the gaps between conventional monitoring stations. This work describes two applications of one such system named AirSENCE for gathering actionable air quality data relevant to smart city infrastructures. In the first application, four AirSENCE devices were co-located with traffic monitors around the perimeter of a city block in Oshawa, Ontario. This study, which coincided with the COVID-19 outbreak of 2020 and subsequent lockdown measures, demonstrated a direct relationship between decreased traffic volumes and TRAP concentrations. Conversely, road construction was observed to cause elevated TRAP levels while reducing traffic volumes, illustrating that conventional smart city sensors such as traffic counters provide inadequate data for inferring air quality conditions. The second application used two AirSENCE sensors on opposite sides of a major 2-way commuter road in Toronto. Clear correlations of TRAP concentrations with wind direction were observed, which shows that impacted areas are not necessarily static and may exhibit high day-to-day variability in air quality conditions despite consistent traffic volumes. Both of these applications provide compelling evidence favouring the inclusion of air quality sensors in current and future smart city infrastructure planning. Such sensors provide direct measurements that are useful for public health alerting as well as decision-making for projects involving traffic mitigation, heavy construction, and urban renewal efforts.

Keywords: distributed sensor network, continuous ambient air quality monitoring, Smart city sensors, Internet of Things, traffic-related air pollutants

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1229 Leveraging the Power of Dual Spatial-Temporal Data Scheme for Traffic Prediction

Authors: Yang Zhou, Heli Sun, Jianbin Huang, Jizhong Zhao, Shaojie Qiao

Abstract:

Traffic prediction is a fundamental problem in urban environment, facilitating the smart management of various businesses, such as taxi dispatching, bike relocation, and stampede alert. Most earlier methods rely on identifying the intrinsic spatial-temporal correlation to forecast. However, the complex nature of this problem entails a more sophisticated solution that can simultaneously capture the mutual influence of both adjacent and far-flung areas, with the information of time-dimension also incorporated seamlessly. To tackle this difficulty, we propose a new multi-phase architecture, DSTDS (Dual Spatial-Temporal Data Scheme for traffic prediction), that aims to reveal the underlying relationship that determines future traffic trend. First, a graph-based neural network with an attention mechanism is devised to obtain the static features of the road network. Then, a multi-granularity recurrent neural network is built in conjunction with the knowledge from a grid-based model. Subsequently, the preceding output is fed into a spatial-temporal super-resolution module. With this 3-phase structure, we carry out extensive experiments on several real-world datasets to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, which surpasses several state-of-the-art methods.

Keywords: traffic prediction, spatial-temporal, recurrent neural network, dual data scheme

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1228 Video Based Automatic License Plate Recognition System

Authors: Ali Ganoun, Wesam Algablawi, Wasim BenAnaif

Abstract:

Video based traffic surveillance based on License Plate Recognition (LPR) system is an essential part for any intelligent traffic management system. The LPR system utilizes computer vision and pattern recognition technologies to obtain traffic and road information by detecting and recognizing vehicles based on their license plates. Generally, the video based LPR system is a challenging area of research due to the variety of environmental conditions. The LPR systems used in a wide range of commercial applications such as collision warning systems, finding stolen cars, controlling access to car parks and automatic congestion charge systems. This paper presents an automatic LPR system of Libyan license plate. The performance of the proposed system is evaluated with three video sequences.

Keywords: license plate recognition, localization, segmentation, recognition

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1227 Analysis and Evaluation of the Public Responses to Traffic Congestion Pricing Schemes in Urban Streets

Authors: Saeed Sayyad Hagh Shomar

Abstract:

Traffic congestion pricing in urban streets is one of the most suitable options for solving the traffic problems and environment pollutions in the cities of the country. Unlike its acceptable outcomes, there are problems concerning the necessity to pay by the mass. Regarding the fact that public response in order to succeed in this strategy is so influential, studying their response and behavior to get the feedback and improve the strategies is of great importance. In this study, a questionnaire was used to examine the public reactions to the traffic congestion pricing schemes at the center of Tehran metropolis and the factors involved in people’s decision making in accepting or rejecting the congestion pricing schemes were assessed based on the data obtained from the questionnaire as well as the international experiences. Then, by analyzing and comparing the schemes, guidelines to reduce public objections to them are discussed. The results of reviewing and evaluating the public reactions show that all the pros and cons must be considered to guarantee the success of these projects. Consequently, with targeted public education and consciousness-raising advertisements, prior to initiating a scheme and ensuring the mechanism of the implementation after the start of the project, the initial opposition is reduced and, with the gradual emergence of the real and tangible benefits of its implementation, users’ satisfaction will increase.

Keywords: demand management, international experiences, traffic congestion pricing, public acceptance, public reactions, public objection

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1226 Identifying and Quantifying Factors Affecting Traffic Crash Severity under Heterogeneous Traffic Flow

Authors: Praveen Vayalamkuzhi, Veeraragavan Amirthalingam

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Studies on safety on highways are becoming the need of the hour as over 400 lives are lost every day in India due to road crashes. In order to evaluate the factors that lead to different levels of crash severity, it is necessary to investigate the level of safety of highways and their relation to crashes. In the present study, an attempt is made to identify the factors that contribute to road crashes and to quantify their effect on the severity of road crashes. The study was carried out on a four-lane divided rural highway in India. The variables considered in the analysis includes components of horizontal alignment of highway, viz., straight or curve section; time of day, driveway density, presence of median; median opening; gradient; operating speed; and annual average daily traffic. These variables were considered after a preliminary analysis. The major complexities in the study are the heterogeneous traffic and the speed variation between different classes of vehicles along the highway. To quantify the impact of each of these factors, statistical analyses were carried out using Logit model and also negative binomial regression. The output from the statistical models proved that the variables viz., horizontal components of the highway alignment; driveway density; time of day; operating speed as well as annual average daily traffic show significant relation with the severity of crashes viz., fatal as well as injury crashes. Further, the annual average daily traffic has significant effect on the severity compared to other variables. The contribution of highway horizontal components on crash severity is also significant. Logit models can predict crashes better than the negative binomial regression models. The results of the study will help the transport planners to look into these aspects at the planning stage itself in the case of highways operated under heterogeneous traffic flow condition.

Keywords: geometric design, heterogeneous traffic, road crash, statistical analysis, level of safety

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1225 Perception of Safety of Workers with Different Job Levels at Construction Sites

Authors: Muhammad Dawood Idrees, Arsalan Ansari

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Construction industry is considered as one of the most dangerous industry because workers' safety is always a major concern due to extensive number of accidents, injuries, and casualties at worksites. There are various causes of accidents at construction sites, several factors are influencing on the perception of safety of workers and psychological factors are one of them. Perception of safety varies from region to region and it also varies by demographics of workers, such as gender, age, education, job level, etc. However, research on different level of workers, such as labor and managerial staff to evaluate the impact of psychological factor is limited. Objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of psychological factors with different job level of workers. An extensive literature review was conducted to find the casual relationship between psychological factors and perception of safety, and a hypothetical structure model was developed based upon literature review. A survey instrument based upon psychological factors was developed and data was obtained from several construction sites. Structure Equation Modeling (SEM) technique was adopted in order to examine the effect of psychological factors on the perception of safety of workers with different job levels of workers. The results of this analysis reveal that job security and organizational relationships are most affecting factors in labor staff, therefore job satisfaction, mental stress, and workload are dominant in managerial staff.

Keywords: accidents, job level of workers, perception of safety, structural equation modeling

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1224 Distribution of Traffic Volume at Fuel Station during Peak Hour Period on Arterial Road

Authors: Surachai Ampawasuvan, Supornchai Utainarumol

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Most of fuel station’ customers, who drive on the major arterial road wants to use the stations to fill fuel to their vehicle during their journey to destinations. According to the survey of traffic volume of the vehicle using fuel stations by video cameras, automatic counting tools, or questionnaires, it was found that most users prefer to use fuel stations on holiday rather than on working day. They also prefer to use fuel stations in the morning rather than in the evening. When comparing the ratio of the distribution pattern of traffic volume of the vehicle using fuel stations by video cameras, automatic counting tools, there is no significant difference. However, when comparing the ratio of peak hour (peak hour rate) of the results from questionnaires at 13 to 14 percent with the results obtained by using the methods of the Institute of Transportation Engineering (ITE), it is found that the value is similar. However, it is different from a survey by video camera and automatic traffic counting at 6 to 7 percent of about half. So, this study suggests that in order to forecast trip generation of vehicle using fuel stations on major arterial road which is mostly characterized by Though Traffic, it is recommended to use the value of half of peak hour rate, which would make the forecast for trips generation to be more precise and accurate and compatible to surrounding environment.

Keywords: peak rate, trips generation, fuel station, arterial road

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1223 Fuzzy Decision Support System for Human-Realistic Overtaking in Railway Traffic Simulations

Authors: Tomáš Vyčítal

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In a simulation model of a railway system it is important, besides other crucial algorithms, to have correct behaviour of train overtaking in stochastic conditions. This problem is being addressed in many simulation tools focused on railway traffic, however these are not very human-realistic. The goal of this paper is to create a more human-realistic overtaking decision support system for the use in railway traffic simulations. A fuzzy system has been chosen for this task as fuzzy systems are well-suited for human-like decision making. The fuzzy system designed takes into account timetables, train positions, delays and buffer times as inputs and provides an instruction to overtake or not overtake.

Keywords: decision-making support, fuzzy systems, simulation, railway, transport

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1222 General Principles of Accident Prevention in Built Environment Rehabilitation

Authors: Alfredo Soeiro

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Rehabilitation in construction or built environment is a particular type of operations when concerning prevention of accidents. In fact, it is also a different type of task in construction itself. Therefore, due to the complex characteristics of construction rehabilitation tasks and due to the intrinsic difficulty of preventing accidents in construction, a major challenge faces the responsibility for implementing adequate safety levels in this type of safety management. This paper addresses a set of proposed generic measures to face the unknown characteristics of built environment in terms of stability, materials and actual performance of buildings or other constructions. It is also addressed the necessary adaptation of preventive guidelines to this type of delicate refurbishing and renovating of existing facilities. Training, observation and reflective approaches are necessary to perform this safety management in the rehabilitation of built environment.

Keywords: built environment, rehabilitation, construction safety, accident prevention, safety plan

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1221 A Temporal Analysis on the Legal Status of the Turkish Straits in the Scope of National and International Legislation

Authors: Gizem Kodak, Birsen Koldemir

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The Turkish Straits are at the crossroads of Europe and Asia continents and are unique waterways connecting the Black Sea countries to the rest of the world. Because of the geostrategic value of the location, passage of trade and war ships through the Turkish Straits has become a vital attraction and importance for the great powers and the riparian states throughout the history. This study contains a temporal analysis of the legal measures implemented in the Turkish Straits System. In this context, the historical alternation of the Turkish Straits has been examined, taking into account the relevant national and international regulations. In other words, relevant national and international regulations have been examined in this study according to historical time schedules. Parallel to the main concept mentioned above, the first chapter focuses on international regulations. These arrangements are organized according to date order and in three subheadings: Sèvres Treaty (1920), Lausanne Treaty (1923) and Montreux Convention (1936). Another topic, the national regulations, has been examined under five subheadings. These; (1982), Port Regulations of Canakkale (1982), Marine Traffic Regulations of the Turkish Straits and Marmara Region (1994) and Maritime Traffic Regulations for the Turkish Straits (1998). In doing so, the aim was to identify the differences in legal arrangements throughout the time regarding the navigation through the Turkish Straits. The current situation of the Turkish Straits has been presented in detail in the last part of the work, taking Montreux Convention into consideration. In this context, the articles of the Convention which regulate the passage of trade vessels have been examined from two perspectives; Peace time and war time. As for the measures that can be implemented in time of war, three options put forward depending on Turkey's stance: ‘Turkey not being belligerent’, ‘Turkey being belligerent’ and ‘situation in which Turkey considers herself threatened with imminent danger of war’.

Keywords: temporal analysis, maritime law, Turkish straits, maritime accidents

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1220 A Concept for Design of Road Super-Elevation Based on Horizontal Radius, Vertical Gradient and Accident Rate

Authors: U. Chattaraj, D. Meena

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Growth of traffic brings various negative effects, such as road accidents. To avoid such problems, a model is developed for the purpose of highway safety. In such areas, fuzzy logic is the most well-known simulation in the larger field. A model is accomplished for hilly and steep terrain based on Fuzzy Inference System (FIS), for which output is super elevation and input data is horizontal radius, vertical gradient, accident rate (AR). This result shows that the system can be efficaciously applied as for highway safety tool distinguishing hazards components correlated to the characteristics of the highway and has a great influence to the making of decision for accident precaution in transportation models. From this model, a positive relationship between geometric elements, accident rate, and super elevation is also identified.

Keywords: accident rate, fuzzy inference system, fuzzy logic, gradient, radius, super elevation

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1219 The Tendon Reflexes on the Performance of Flanker Task in the Subjects of Cerebrovascular Accidents

Authors: Harshdeep Singh, Kuljeet Singh Anand

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Background: Cerebrovascular Accidents (CVA) cause abnormal or asymmetrical tendon reflexes contributing to motor impairments. Since the tendon reflexes are mediated by the spinal cord, their effects on cognitive performances are overlooked. This study aims to find the contributions of tendon reflexes on the performance of the Flanker task. Methods: A total population of 46 mixed subjects with movement disorders were recruited for the study. Deep tendon reflexes (DTR) of the biceps, triceps and brachioradialis were assessed for both upper extremities. Later, the Flanker task was performed on all the subjects, and the mean Reaction Time (RT) along with both the congruent and incongruent stimuli were evaluated. For the final analysis, the Kruskal Wallis test was performed to see the difference between the DTR and the performance of the Flanker Task. Results: The Kruskal Wallis test results showed a significant difference between the DTR scores, X²(2) = 11.328, p= 0.023 with the mean RT of the flanker task and X²(2) = 9.531, p= 0.049 with mean RT of the Incongruent Stimuli. Whereas the result found a non-significant difference in the mean RT of the Congruent Stimuli. Conclusion: Each DTR score is distributed differently with the mean RT of the flanker task and for the incongruent stimuli as well. Therefore, the tendon reflexes in PD may be contributing to the performance of the Flanker Task and may be an indicator of abnormal cognitive performance. Further research is needed to evaluate how the RTs are distributed with each DTR score.

Keywords: cerebrovascular accidents, deep tendon reflexes, flanker task, reaction time, congruent stimuli, incongruent stimuli

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1218 Building Energy Modeling for Networks of Data Centers

Authors: Eric Kumar, Erica Cochran, Zhiang Zhang, Wei Liang, Ronak Mody

Abstract:

The objective of this article was to create a modelling framework that exposes the marginal costs of shifting workloads across geographically distributed data-centers. Geographical distribution of internet services helps to optimize their performance for localized end users with lowered communications times and increased availability. However, due to the geographical and temporal effects, the physical embodiments of a service's data center infrastructure can vary greatly. In this work, we first identify that the sources of variances in the physical infrastructure primarily stem from local weather conditions, specific user traffic profiles, energy sources, and the types of IT hardware available at the time of deployment. Second, we create a traffic simulator that indicates the IT load at each data-center in the set as an approximator for user traffic profiles. Third, we implement a framework that quantifies the global level energy demands using building energy models and the traffic profiles. The results of the model provide a time series of energy demands that can be used for further life cycle analysis of internet services.

Keywords: data-centers, energy, life cycle, network simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 147
1217 Optical Flow Based System for Cross Traffic Alert

Authors: Giuseppe Spampinato, Salvatore Curti, Ivana Guarneri, Arcangelo Bruna

Abstract:

This document describes an advanced system and methodology for Cross Traffic Alert (CTA), able to detect vehicles that move into the vehicle driving path from the left or right side. The camera is supposed to be not only on a vehicle still, e.g. at a traffic light or at an intersection, but also moving slowly, e.g. in a car park. In all of the aforementioned conditions, a driver’s short loss of concentration or distraction can easily lead to a serious accident. A valid support to avoid these kinds of car crashes is represented by the proposed system. It is an extension of our previous work, related to a clustering system, which only works on fixed cameras. Just a vanish point calculation and simple optical flow filtering, to eliminate motion vectors due to the car relative movement, is performed to let the system achieve high performances with different scenarios, cameras and resolutions. The proposed system just uses as input the optical flow, which is hardware implemented in the proposed platform and since the elaboration of the whole system is really speed and power consumption, it is inserted directly in the camera framework, allowing to execute all the processing in real-time.

Keywords: clustering, cross traffic alert, optical flow, real time, vanishing point

Procedia PDF Downloads 203
1216 A QoE-driven Cross-layer Resource Allocation Scheme for High Traffic Service over Open Wireless Network Downlink

Authors: Liya Shan, Qing Liao, Qinyue Hu, Shantao Jiang, Tao Wang

Abstract:

In this paper, a Quality of Experience (QoE)-driven cross-layer resource allocation scheme for high traffic service over Open Wireless Network (OWN) downlink is proposed, and the related problem about the users in the whole cell including the users in overlap region of different cells has been solved.A method, in which assess models of the BestEffort service and the no-reference assess algorithm for video service are adopted, to calculate the Mean Opinion Score (MOS) value for high traffic service has been introduced. The cross-layer architecture considers the parameters in application layer, media access control layer and physical layer jointly. Based on this architecture and the MOS value, the Binary Constrained Particle Swarm Optimization (B_CPSO) algorithm is used to solve the cross-layer resource allocation problem. In addition,simulationresults show that the proposed scheme significantly outperforms other schemes in terms of maximizing average users’ MOS value for the whole system as well as maintaining fairness among users.

Keywords: high traffic service, cross-layer resource allocation, QoE, B_CPSO, OWN

Procedia PDF Downloads 541
1215 Developing Pavement Structural Deterioration Curves

Authors: Gregory Kelly, Gary Chai, Sittampalam Manoharan, Deborah Delaney

Abstract:

A Structural Number (SN) can be calculated for a road pavement from the properties and thicknesses of the surface, base course, sub-base, and subgrade. Historically, the cost of collecting structural data has been very high. Data were initially collected using Benkelman Beams and now by Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD). The structural strength of pavements weakens over time due to environmental and traffic loading factors, but due to a lack of data, no structural deterioration curve for pavements has been implemented in a Pavement Management System (PMS). International Roughness Index (IRI) is a measure of the road longitudinal profile and has been used as a proxy for a pavement’s structural integrity. This paper offers two conceptual methods to develop Pavement Structural Deterioration Curves (PSDC). Firstly, structural data are grouped in sets by design Equivalent Standard Axles (ESA). An ‘Initial’ SN (ISN), Intermediate SN’s (SNI) and a Terminal SN (TSN), are used to develop the curves. Using FWD data, the ISN is the SN after the pavement is rehabilitated (Financial Accounting ‘Modern Equivalent’). Intermediate SNIs, are SNs other than the ISN and TSN. The TSN was defined as the SN of the pavement when it was approved for pavement rehabilitation. The second method is to use Traffic Speed Deflectometer data (TSD). The road network already divided into road blocks, is grouped by traffic loading. For each traffic loading group, road blocks that have had a recent pavement rehabilitation, are used to calculate the ISN and those planned for pavement rehabilitation to calculate the TSN. The remaining SNs are used to complete the age-based or if available, historical traffic loading-based SNI’s.

Keywords: conceptual, pavement structural number, pavement structural deterioration curve, pavement management system

Procedia PDF Downloads 543
1214 Long-Term Modal Changes in International Traffic - Example of the Polish Eastern Border

Authors: Tomasz Komornicki

Abstract:

The possibilities of cross-border traffic depend on the degree of permeability of a given border as well as the state of the existing transport infrastructure. The aim of this paper is to identify the impact of economic transformation, EU accession, and infrastructure development on modal shifts in border traffic through the Polish eastern boundary. In the 1980s railway was still the main mode of cross-border transport in Poland. At the beginning of the 1990s, the role of the road and rail transborder passenger traffic was similar, but since 1993, the role of rail was decreasing. The general decline in rail infrastructure in Poland continued uninterruptedly until accession to the European Union. The slow opposite trend can be observed later as a result of the inflow of European funds. In the countries neighbouring Poland from the east, these processes took place with some delay, and the loss of railway position was not so drastic. Therefore, cross-border railway connections have been maintained for quite a long time since the break-up of the USSR. However, finally, cross-border rail transport proved to be completely inflexible in relation to both economic, geopolitical, and transport transformations. It has been shown that the current modal split of the passenger border traffic was shaped by the following factors: a) closure of many transborder railway lines, especially local ones; b) the signing of an agreement on minor border traffic with Ukraine; c) rapidly growing number of citizens of Ukraine working in Poland (unofficial transportation of workers by car directly to their workplaces in Poland); d) the emergence of low-cost air connections between Ukraine and Poland and the growing role of air transport in the Russia-Poland relationship. The summary points to the possibility of a renewed increase in the importance of rail transport on the eastern border of the European Union.

Keywords: modal change, border, rail transport, Poland

Procedia PDF Downloads 200
1213 An Intelligent Traffic Management System Based on the WiFi and Bluetooth Sensing

Authors: Hamed Hossein Afshari, Shahrzad Jalali, Amir Hossein Ghods, Bijan Raahemi

Abstract:

This paper introduces an automated clustering solution that applies to WiFi/Bluetooth sensing data and is later used for traffic management applications. The paper initially summarizes a number of clustering approaches and thereafter shows their performance for noise removal. In this context, clustering is used to recognize WiFi and Bluetooth MAC addresses that belong to passengers traveling by a public urban transit bus. The main objective is to build an intelligent system that automatically filters out MAC addresses that belong to persons located outside the bus for different routes in the city of Ottawa. The proposed intelligent system alleviates the need for defining restrictive thresholds that however reduces the accuracy as well as the range of applicability of the solution for different routes. This paper moreover discusses the performance benefits of the presented clustering approaches in terms of the accuracy, time and space complexity, and the ease of use. Note that results of clustering can further be used for the purpose of the origin-destination estimation of individual passengers, predicting the traffic load, and intelligent management of urban bus schedules.

Keywords: WiFi-Bluetooth sensing, cluster analysis, artificial intelligence, traffic management

Procedia PDF Downloads 241
1212 Disaster and Crisis Management Using Geographical Information System (GIS) during the Operation and Maintenance Stages of the Hyderabad Metro Rail in India

Authors: Sai Rajeev Reddy, Ishita Roy, M. Anji Reddy

Abstract:

The paper describes the importance of preventive measures and immediate Emergency logistics during accidents and unfortunate Disasters for the Hyderabad Metro Rails in their various stages of construction. This is the need of the modern generation where accidents, explosions, attacks and sudden crisis are frequent casualties which take huge tolls of life in the present world. The paper utilizes the workflow and application of Geographical information System (GIS) to provide information about problems and crisis structures for efficient Metro Transportation in the city. The study analyzes the difficulties and problems which cause accidents during operation and maintenance stages of the Metro Rail. The paper focuses upon the intermediate and firsthand information of Crisis with the help of GIS technology to share Disaster data for effective measures by the Cyber Police stations, Emergency Responders, Hospitals and First Aid Centre to act immediately and save lives. The results and conclusions have nevertheless proved very informative and useful for the safety board authorities of the Hyderabad Metro Rail. The operation and Maintenance are integral stages in the development of any Multipurpose transportation Projects and are usually prone to various Disasters and tragedies. Hence, the GIS technologies help in distribution of information among the masses with the web Technologies and advanced software developed to prevent and manage crisis widely and in a cost-benefits manner.

Keywords: Geographical Information System, emergency assessment, accident zones, surveillance

Procedia PDF Downloads 566
1211 Exploring the Charm of Chongqing City based on the Regional Characteristics of Mountain Walking Space: A Case Study of Yuzhong Peninsula

Authors: Liu Danping

Abstract:

Walking space has very important historical and cultural value in ancient and even modern urban development. As far as the footpath itself is concerned, it reflects the spatial organization mode and traditional architectural construction characteristics of mountain cities. In terms of the spatial nature of streets, traditional streets contain the history of urban development and the most primitive urban life. The slow walking speed allows people to carefully perceive the space and scenery along the way. The real city life in the streets often makes people feel the cultural connotation and unique charm of the city. According to the regional characteristics of pedestrian traffic in the main urban area of Chongqing, the charm of chongqing is discussed. Based on the study of chongqing characteristic walking space elements, this paper summarizes the characteristics of Chongqing urban walking traffic, analyzes the existing problems of mountain city walking traffic, and takes Yuzhong Peninsula as an example to analyze the charm promotion strategy of urban walking traffic.

Keywords: mountain city, walking space, urban charm, urban renewal, regional culture

Procedia PDF Downloads 93