International Road Federation Research Articles

Development of a regional-based predictive model of incidence of traumatic spinal cord injury using machine learning algorithms

ObjectiveTo develop a predictive model of incidence of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI). MethodsThe data for training the model included both the incidence data and the covariates. The incidence data were extracted from systematic reviews and the covariates were extracted from data available in the international road federation database. Then the feature processing measures were taken. First we defined a hyper-parameter, missing-value threshold, in order to eliminate features that exceed this threshold. To tackle the problem of overfitting of model we determined the Pearson correlation of features and excluded those with more than 0.7 correlation. After feature selection three different models including simple linear regression, support vector regression, and multi-layer perceptron were examined to fit the purposes of this study. Finally, we evaluated the model based on three standard metrics: Mean Absolute Error, Root Mean Square Error, and R2. ResultsOur machine-learning based model could predict the incidence rate of TSCI with the mean absolute error of 4.66. Our model found “Vehicles in use, Total vehicles/Km of roads”, “Injury accidents/100 Million Veh-Km”, “Vehicles in use, Vans, Pick-ups, Lorries, Road Tractors”, “Inland surface Passengers Transport (Mio Passenger-Km), Rail”, and "% paved” as top predictors of transport-related TSCI (TRTSCI). ConclusionsOur model is proved to have a high accuracy to predict the incidence rate of TSCI for countries, especially where the main etiology of TSCI is related to road traffic injuries. Using this model, we can help the policymakers for resource allocation and evaluation of preventive measures.

IMPROVING ROAD SAFETY ON THE NATIONAL ROAD NETWORK IN ROMANIA THROUGH PILOT SOLUTIONS

In recognition of outstanding work in the field of road safety, especially for the implementation of road safety pilot projects, N.C.R.I.A.-S.A. was declared the winner. The road safety pilot projects that have attracted the attention of the IRF, being a model to follow for all road administrations are: Roller Barriers; Impact attenuators; Road sector 2+1; Cable Road barriers; Illumination of dangerous sectors with light assemblies; Projects to increase road safety by creating elevated road crossings. The International Road Federation (IRF) encourages all companies and organizations in the road development sector to get involved in the awards program it grants, because by promoting innovative ideas a positive and motivating influence can be created. The National Company for Road Infrastructure Administration S.A, Traffic Safety Service participated in the "Find a Way Global Road Safety Award" organized by IRF. In this article, the road safety projects are presented, with their results and the road safety measures implemented by the national roads and highways administrator in Romania, so that other road administrations to be encouraged to implement as many road safety measures as possible.

10th Malaysian Road Conference & Exhibition 2018

PrefaceThe Malaysian Road Conference & Exhibition 2018, currently tenth in its series, was held from 29th to 31st October 2018 at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre in the city of Petaling Jaya, located in the suburbs of Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The conference was jointly organised by the Ministry of Works Malaysia, Public Works Department of Malaysia, Malaysian Highway Authority, World Road Association (PIARC) and the Road Engineering Association of Malaysia in collaboration with the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia, International Road Federation Global and Road Engineering Association of Asia and Australasia. A World Road Association (PIARC) International Seminar on Asset Management was simultaneously hosted.Revolve around the main theme of Global Approaches to Advance Road Asset Management, 61 technical papers from local and international participants were presented, concerning new indicators and directions relating to the research, development, cutting-edge technologies, construction, management and maintenance of road, highway and related infrastructure assets. The conference has benefited those in the road industry, be they road concessionaires, expressway regulators, related government authorities, consultants, contractors, project managers and engineers from public and corporate sector organisations.Technical papers have undergone a rigorous peer-review process, based on initial Editors’ screening, anonymous refereeing by independent expert referees, and consequent revision by the article author(s) when required. Editors would like to thank the author(s) who have contributed to the Conference Proceedings, and also to all delegates for their support towards the successful organization of the conference. Our special thanks go to the Technical Program Committee for their devoted assistance and expertise towards the preparation of the conference proceedings. Also, the Editors would like to extend gratitude to the other Committee members as well as all the individual whom are directly and indirectly involved to make the conference possible.

Estimation of Carbon Footprints of Bituminous Road Construction Process

Carbon footprint is a term used to describe the total amount of carbon dioxide and other green house gas (GHG) emissions for which an individual/process/organization/activity is responsible. The challenge of global climate change has motivated state transportation agencies involved in the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure to investigate strategies that reduce the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the construction and rehabilitation of highway infrastructure. The road sector is coming under pressure to review current practice and the potential to reduce carbon emissions. To reduce GHG emission, different approaches are adopted for road construction and maintenance such as Warm Mix and Cold Mix Technologies. Warm mix asphalt is produced at temperatures 20 to 40oC lower than hot mix asphalt (HMA). Cold Mix Asphalt is produced and paved at ambient temperature using bitumen emulsion. The immediate benefit of producing and placing asphalt mixes at a lower temperature is the reduction in energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, fumes, and odours generated at the plant and the paving site. The life cycle approach has been accepted as a robust method of measuring carbon footprint. Tools and data-sets have been developed to facilitate the measurement. Among them is the Calculator for Harmonised Assessment and Normalisation of Greenhouse-gas Emissions for Roads (CHANGER) developed by International Road Federation (IRF). This paper outlines the common methodology of road carbon foot printing, application of results in sustainable construction assessment schemes and resources available to undertake such analysis. Case studies of using CHANGER are provided in India for different technologies. The CO2 output of these projects is compared.

Estimating national road crash fatalities using aggregate data

Injuries and fatalities from road traffic crashes have emerged a major public health challenge in Pakistan. Reliable estimates of road crash fatalities (RCF) of a country, is a vital element needed for identification and control of key risk factors, road-safety improvement efforts and prioritizing national health. Reliability of current annual RCF estimates for Pakistan becomes highly questionable due to serious underreporting. This study aimed to predict annual RCF for Pakistan using data from World Health Organization and International Road Federation sources. An ordinary least square (OLS) regression model that relates fatality rate with different explanatory variables was developed. RCF were predicted for Pakistan for year 2012 and 2013, and results were compared with national police reported estimates. Study results indicated that there is serious underreporting of RCF in Pakistan and immediate measures are needed to improve the existing road crash recording and reporting system at the national and subnational levels.

Measuring the carbon footprint of road construction using CHANGER

The road sector is coming under pressure to review current practice and the potential to reduce carbon emissions. The life cycle approach has been accepted as a robust method of measuring carbon footprint. Tools and data-sets have been developed to facilitate the measurement. Among them is the Calculator for Harmonised Assessment and Normalisation of Greenhouse-gas Emissions for Roads (CHANGER) developed by International Road Federation (IRF) and aimed to measure and benchmark the carbon footprint of road construction worldwide. This paper outlines the common methodology of road carbon footprinting, application of results in sustainable construction assessment schemes and resources available to undertake such analysis. Case studies of using CHANGER are provided for a UK trunk road widening, a public–private partnership highway construction in the United Arab Emirates and strategic highway upgrades in India. The CO2 output of these projects is compared, and an investigation is made to seek the causes of any differences. Finally, advice is provided on carbon measurement of roads and improvements of the IRF's tool.

Factors Affecting Highway Safety, Health Care Services, and Motorization—An Exploratory Empirical Analysis using Aggregate Data

This paper uses aggregate data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Road Federation (IRF) to identify the relationship between aggregate levels of road traffic safety, health service levels, motorization level, and associated factors. Two alternative modeling specifications are used to estimate the national fatality rate, number of hospital beds, and the number of registered vehicles per capita. The first specification is a system of seemingly unrelated regression equations (SURE) while the second is a set of regression models. The results suggest that a number of socio-economic explanatory factors, government laws and policies and their enforcement levels, and traffic and geographic characteristics, are significantly related to the three response variables. The paper shows that the SURE model is statistically superior to the separately-estimated regression models. The model findings are exploratory, but can still offer preliminary insights to planners to identify the extent to which traffic and motorization levels, regional and geographic characteristics, and most importantly, existing traffic laws and policies can influence traffic fatalities.

The problems in determining international road mortality

We examined road traffic crash (RTC) fatality rate data for the year 2002 with the object of determining which data source offered the most reliable estimates for international comparison work. Data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) (supplied by national health authorities) and the International Road Federation (IRF) (supplied by national transport authorities) was compared. There were large discrepancies between the rates reported. Discrepancies may be partially explained by the under-reporting of fatalities and by different definitions of road fatality. Two methodologies to adjust for these factors in the IRF database were examined. Neither brought consensus with the WHO RTC fatality rate for all nations. While the WHO provide RTC fatality rates for a wider socio-economic and geographical range of nations than the IRF, the methodology used by the WHO to produce estimates for the least economically developed nations may lead to over-estimation of RTC fatality rate. WHO RTC fatality rates were more strongly associated with variables that are thought to explain RTC fatality rate. We suggest that WHO data may be more suitable than the IRF data for international comparison studies. However, it is advisable that data for the least developed nations be excluded from such work.

Planning and Policy of Public Transportation Systems in Asia

Public transportation is a sustainable form of urban transportation (World Bank 1996), and serves as a promising solution to the problem of transportation demand in most urban cities around the world (Schmocker et al. 2003). Recent methodological advances have been made to model public transportation systems and facilitate their assessment (Wong & Lam 2001), which provides useful tools for the effective design and efficient operation of public transportation systems in practice (Lam & Wong 2001). However, planning philosophy and policy formulation are also vital for the development of public transportation systems, and the promotion of usage and acceptability by road users. This is particularly important for highly populated countries in Asia, because poor levels of service on public transportation may lead to the vicious cycle in which the transportation system is shifted to automobile-biased motorization. The idea for this special issue grew out of the organization of the Advanced Study Institute (ASI), which was sponsored by the Croucher Foundation (http://www.croucher.org.hk/) for the dissemination of knowledge and the formation of international scientific contacts on advances in the policy, planning, management, and operation of public transportation systems. A number of papers from different administrations in Asia were presented at the workshop and were of particular interest to researchers and practicing engineers involved in the planning and policy of public transportation systems. These papers are worthy of further elaboration and expansion, and of being shared with a wider audience. Hence, this special issue focuses on the planning philosophies and policy formulations of public transportation systems in Asia. Although Asia only constitutes around half of the population and a quarter of the gross domestic product of the world, as much as 85% of its inland surface passenger transportation (in terms of millions of kilometers) is conducted by public transportation (including railway), which is almost double the world standard of around 45% (International Road Federation 2002). Therefore, the visions, statistics, challenges, and critical issues of the development of public transportation

"Push" and "Pull" Factors in Technology Transfer: Moving American-Style Highway Engineering to Europe, 1945-1965

This essay examines efforts by highway engineers and others in the United States to promote the movement of American-style highway and traffic engineering to Europe—specifically Norway and Sweden—in the years after World War II. After examining the general context that added impetus to this transfer program, the essay focuses on three key actors in the U.S. that assisted in the diffusion of American approaches to traffic engineering: highway engineers at the federal government's Bureau of Public Roads, experts at Yale University's Bureau of Street Traffic Research, and members of the International Road Federation. The success of these transfer activities was enhanced significantly by European eagerness to encourage diffusion, as the three accompanying articles in this issue of CTTS demonstrate.

Transferring Technology--Shaping Ideology: American Traffic Engineering and Commercial Interests in the Establishment of a Swedish Car Society, 1945-1965

The objective of this article is to discuss the actors involved, and the arguments used, in the process leading to the implementation of The Road Plan for Sweden. The Road Plan, a 20-year program to improve and modernize Sweden, aimed to rebuild and adapt the country's network of roads to suit the needs of mass motorization. It marked a breakthrough as a new kind of far-reaching societal planning, with the car as the point of departure. This article analyzes the means by which technical ideas and planning approaches developed elsewhere found their way into the plan. The Swedish road system was connected to the European road network, but the technical ideas of traffic engineeringon which the plan rested derived from an even wider base that reached all the way to the United States. This article investigates and explains the influence of the international road and car lobby—specifically the International Road Federation and its "local branch" the Swedish Road Federation—in encouraging the adoption of American-based traffic engineering ideals in the Swedish Road Plan.

Economic development and traffic accident mortality in the industrialized world, 1962-1990.

We examined the association between prosperity and traffic accident mortality in the industrialized world in a long-term perspective. We calculated traffic accident mortality, traffic mobility and the fatal injury rate of 21 industrialized countries from 1962 until 1990. We used mortality and population data of the World Health Organization (WHO), and figures on motor vehicle ownership of the International Road Federation (IRF). We examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of these traffic-related variables with the prosperity level per country, derived from data of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). We found a reversal from a positive relation between prosperity and traffic accident mortality in the 1960s to a negative association currently. At a certain level of prosperity, the growth rate of traffic mobility decelerates and the fatal injury rate continues to decline at a similar rate to earlier phases. In a long-term perspective, the relation between prosperity and traffic accident mortality appears to be non-linear: economic development first leads to a growing number of traffic-related deaths, but later becomes protective. Prosperity growth is not only associated with growing numbers of motor vehicles in the population, but also seems to stimulate adaptation mechanisms, such as improvements in the traffic infrastructure and trauma care.

Organization of American States

In the period from June 4 through November 19, 1952, the Council of the Organization of American States held ten meetings. The General Secretariat was authorized to use supplementary credit to carry out resolution VIII of the Fourth Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs which concerned strengthening internal security. The budgets of the Pan American Institute on Geography and History and the American Institute for the Protection of Childhood were examined by the Council. On two occasions, members were urged to pay their quotas of contributions for maintaining the Pan American Union and OAS specialized agencies. Among other decisions taken by the Council in relation to other inter-American organizations were approval of the reports on the Inter-American Telecommunications Conference, the Inter-American Radio Office, the Pan American Highway Congress, and the eighth assembly of the Inter-American Commission of Women. A report containing provisions on a draft revised constitution of the Pan American Sanitary Organization was approved by the Council following study by the Committee on Inter-American Organizations. It was further decided to establish cooperative relations with the International Road Federation.