Abstract
This paper presents a preliminary assessment of road tunnel safety issues among respondents—specifically, real and potential users of road tunnels. We recruited a group of respondents to study their knowledge of evacuation procedures and awareness of safety issues in road tunnels. We conducted surveys with 504 participants, 12.7% of whom had previously participated in real-scale evacuation experiments in a road tunnel. Analysis of respondents’ answers reveals that their knowledge of safety procedures is unfortunately not sufficient. On average, the respondents selected the most recommended answer for approximately 5.35 out of 15 questions. Only 16% of respondents correctly answered more than 50% of the survey questions; moreover, no respondent provided the correct answers for 12 or more questions. Interestingly, most respondents were convinced that they had a better knowledge of road tunnel safety issues than was actually the case. The results of the survey demonstrate a significant educational role of evacuation exercises. Individuals who have participated in an evacuation have better knowledge, allowing them to apply the correct rules of road tunnel safety procedures. Various aspects addressed in this paper can be taken into consideration in an information campaign regarding safety in road tunnels during a fire.
Highlights
Road tunnels constitute an important element of road infrastructure
We found that 16% of respondents answered more than 50% of the survey questions by selecting the most recommended answers
We found that 38.4% of the respondents had no evacuation experience, 0.4% had been involved in an actual incident in a road tunnel, 12.7% had participated in evacuation exercises in a road tunnel, 8.2% had been involved in an actual incident in a different type of structure, and 52.5% had participated in evacuation exercises in a different type of structure
Summary
Road tunnels constitute an important element of road infrastructure. Due to their specific construction (consisting of a partially confined space) one can identify a number of risks associated with the use of tunnels. The level of education of road users is an important factor influencing the accident rate [3]. This is the case with road tunnels, as proven by the tragic consequences of tunnel fires, e.g., in the Mont Blanc tunnel in 1999, where people involved in the situation did not evacuate immediately due to being oblivious to the threat and safety procedures [4]. Many such accidents have been reported, for instance, the fire in Taojiakuang Tunnel in Weihai in China, 2017 (12 fatalities); the fire in Yanhou tunnel in China that occurred in 2014 and resulted in 40 fatalities; the fire in Eiksund tunnel in Norway in 2009 (five fatalities); and the fire in Viamala tunnel in Switzerland in 2006, which resulted in nine fatalities
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