Analysis of the Location of Service and Rest Areas and their facilities in Spanish paying motorways

Abstract

Abstract A service area can be defined as the area next to the road designed for providing services to road users such as, petrol stations, hotels, restaurants, etc. Rest areas are places next to the road with a parking area and facilities that are used by motorists to have rest in their travels, like toilets and picnic areas. These areas are usual in all type of roads, but are especially necessary in high capacity roads, such as motorways (paying or not) or multi-lane highways, which generally serve long distance traffic. When travelling long distances, mainly in holiday periods, service and rest areas provide the essential services like toilets, petrol stations or restaurants and assure a place for the necessary relaxing time after a two-hour period, as it is usually recommended in long travels. In paying motorways, if a vehicle exits in an intermediate point and returns to it, a higher quantity must be paid than if all the distance is completed without exiting. Consequently, due to the special configuration of paying motorways, service and rest areas located in the route are the only accessible place where motorists can rest or access to services. Therefore, facilities provided in these areas and distances between them are a vital issue for road safety. The aim of this paper is to analyze the facilities offered in service and rest areas and the distances between consecutive rest areas in Spanish paying motorways. A total network of more than 2.800 km is evaluated and observed deficiencies are indicated