Major Roads Research Articles

ПРОЄКТУВАННЯ АВТОМАГІСТРАЛЕЙ КОНТИНЕНТАЛЬНОГО, СУБКОНТИНЕНТАЛЬНОГО ТА ТРАНСРЕГІОНАЛЬНОГО СПОЛУЧЕННЯ В РОЗРІЗІ ПОЛОЖЕНЬ ЗАКОНОДАВЧИХ АКТІВ ЄС

Introduction. The introduction to the paper highlights the importance of the design and construction of highways of various link functions levels as a key factor in modern integration processes and also emphasizes the role of highways for substantial increasing of the road network safety. Problem statement. The issues of the paper concern aspects of highways design based on the experience of European colleagues in the context of the provisions of the relevant legislative acts of EU. Purpose. The goal of the paper is to analyze the main provisions for the design of continental, subcontinental and transregional highways considering, within the format of the publication, the design features of the highways elements which are universal for various design systems. Results. The highways categorization regarding their link functions levels and with this categorization linked classification by design classes were reviewed which accept the highways jurisdiction and the build-up areas related location and also the corresponding restrictions on vehicle speed limits. The highways characteristics were defined allowing the determination of highways as a separate category of motor roads in the world-wide practice of the road building industry.

Development of Composite Pedestrian Level of Service Model in Urban Milieu at Midblock Sections

The pedestrian mode is gaining recognition as a basic building block in urban system design. Increasing attention is being given to developing vehicle-free zones to reduce urban pollution and return the inner city to its former role as a place for personal interaction. Attempts are being made to improve the walking experience, to make it more safe, convenient, and attractive especially in urban milieu to promote sustainable development. To provide the best pedestrian environment, it is necessary to understand pedestrian level of service. Conventional techniques of LOS determination consider the basic mobility characteristics of the pedestrian. The objective of this study is to develop a more accurate method of estimating level of service of pedestrians by developing composite indicators that integrate both qualitative and quantitative factors affecting both pedestrian and roadway conditions in the pedestrian movement. The relative importance of these multifaceted factors is assessed using Saaty scale and an Analytic Hierarchy Process is applied to determine the level of service. Field investigations include road network characterization and inventory studies, vehicular / pedestrian traffic characterization studies, pedestrian opinion surveys, expert opinion surveys. The approach has been applied to a major arterial road in Hyderabad city, Telangana, India in Mehdipatnam zone where pedestrian interactions are relatively high due to the commercial activity along the corridors. The stretches considered in the study exhibited Level of service "B" and "C" which implied necessary improvements to promote a good level of service.

Application of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System in Identification of Urban Growth nodes: A Case of Surat City, India

With the passage of time, the city's growth behavior will not change unless and until the government intervenes, and thus its identity will shift from monocentric to polycentric to meet the needs of citizens. As a result, this study is being conducted to identify emerging growth nodes within a selected area of Surat City, as well as their growth drivers over a 30-year period. Quantified built-up area within a patch size of 1km x 1km was used to compute patch density at five-year intervals from 1991 to 2021. In addition, the spatial changes that occurred within patches over the same time period were examined. Both analyses aid in determining the emerging growth nodes over a 30-year period. From 1991 to 2021, the city was driven by socioeconomic criteria such as land price, availability of good health and educational facilities, water and sewerage networks, fire stations, proximity factors such as proximity to major roads, bridges, bus stations, metro, railway stations, airport, environmental factors such as the development of riverfront and linear park, bio-diversity park, and government interventions in terms of Town Planning Schemes. This study thus aids urban planners and decision-makers in selecting which growth nodes to plan for new development and type of development, what to connect, and what to protect in the years to come.

Pancreatic Trauma; Surgical Management, 4 Cases Reported

Pancreatic traumas are rare, but particularly serious. Its management involves diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties. The mechanism of injury generally corresponds to crush injuries or direct trauma during public road accidents. They most often occur during polytrauma and the associated lesions then determine the prognosis and treatment methods. In stable patients, an imaging assessment using CT, magnetic resonance imaging, or even endoscopic retrograde pancreatography determines the type and topography of pancreatic lesions and specifies the damage of the main pancreatic duct, which accounts for the seriousness of the pancreatic trauma. The treatment of pancreatic trauma essentially depends on the integrity or not of the Wirsung duct. Treatment can be solely medical, but above all surgical and endoscopic when canal is damaged. There is report of 4 patient observations who were treated in the surgical emergency department at Annaba Algeria University Hospital during the year 2023 for isolated trauma of the pancreas. There are diagnostic circumstances and description of therapeutic conduct and the surgical consequences.

Analisis Kinerja Keuangan Retribusi Pelayanan Parkir di Tepi Jalan Umum pada Pemerintah Kabupaten Sumedang Tahun Anggaran 2018-2022

Local Own-Source Revenue (PAD) is vital in the government's implementation in meeting its needs and services to society. One of the components of PAD is Local Retribution. Sumedang Regency has various local retributions, which various authorized agencies manage, and one of them is the parking retribution on the side of the public road. This research aims to determine and describe the financial performance of parking retribution on the side of the public road. This research uses descriptive research methods, with data collection techniques through documentation studies and interviews. The research results show that the average effectiveness ratio of parking retribution on the side of the public road in 2018-2022 is 64.23%, classified as ineffective. Meanwhile, the contribution made to PAD is only 0.17%, which is categorized as very low. However, the analysis of income growth from retribution is dominated by positive growth. In 2021 and 2022, revenue growth could reach 650% and 66%. There is a positive impact from the implementation of subscription parking.

Accounting for Traffic Dynamics in Pavement Maintenance Scheduling

Effective maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction (MR&R) of road pavements is crucial for ensuring a safe and efficient transportation network. Existing research has proposed various models to aid decision-making in MR&R planning. However, these models often overlook the impact of traffic dynamics, such as shockwaves and queue spillovers caused by reduced capacity during maintenance activities. To bridge this gap, we present a novel methodology that incorporates traffic dynamics into the selection and sequencing of MR&R activities over a planning horizon. Our approach combines numerical evaluation of traffic flow theory using the link transmission model (LTM) with a deterioration model, considering travel time cost, fuel cost, and agency cost, to assess the optimal sequence of MR&R activities. To solve this multi-objective problem, we employ a genetic algorithm (GA) to minimize the objective function. Through a numerical example, we demonstrate the methodology’s effectiveness and sensitivity to pavement deterioration. The results clearly indicate the effectiveness of using the proposed methodology over the widely used Bureau of Public Roads (BPR)-function-based methods for pavement maintenance scheduling problems.

Spatial distribution of PM2.5 concentration around high-rise residential buildings during peak traffic hours in autumn and winter seasons

This research aimed to investigate the spatial distribution of PM2.5 in residential areas near major urban roads during the autumn and winter seasons. A traffic pollution distribution model was developed using ENVI-met software to predict the distribution of pollution in and around the residential area. The experimental results indicated that during peak hours, the concentration of PM2.5 inside the residential area exceeded 140 μg/m3. The simulations indicated a horizontal diffusion range of traffic pollution up to 300 m, with the most significant effects observed within a radius of 20 m where the pollutant concentration decreased from 131.6 μg/m3 to 93.5 μg/m3. The vertical diffusion of traffic pollution extended to approximately 100 m, with the highest impact observed within a distance of 22.5 m (7 floors). Furthermore, pollution diffused up to a height of 47.5 m near major urban roads, resulting in a decrease in the concentration of PM2.5 from 140 μg/m3 to 70 μg/m3. Quantitative comparisons showed that street pollution was higher in autumn than in winter, whereas pollution outside buildings near the street was higher in winter compared to autumn. Simultaneously, the impact of pollutants on human health was evaluated using the decrease in life expectancy (DLE) index. The results revealed a DLE of 13.16 years in areas with the highest pollution levels, while most residential areas had a DLE ranging between 3.2 and 3.88 years. These findings are significant in terms of raising awareness and providing valuable references for the development and planning of urban health initiatives.

Control principles of individual traction electric drive of a front loader

Background. The operation of technological machines is associated with constant slipping of driving wheels, which can lead to increased tire wear and soil damage. This determines the relevance of works aimed at research and reduction of slip.
 The aim of the work is to analyze the considered control strategies of individual traction electric drive of front loader from the point of view of driving wheels slipping.
 Methods. The paper considers three control strategies of individual traction electric drive of a front loader - initial, with equal degrees of utilization of electric motors of wheels (strategy 1), simulation of blocked drive (strategy 2), as well as a variant of organization of traction control system (strategy 3). Using a simulation computer model of dynamics, the working process of the front loader was investigated during bulldozing operations, as well as during acceleration.
 Results. It was obtained that when bulldozing, the application of strategy 2 allows to provide almost the same slip coefficient of the driving wheels, which potentially allows to reduce tire wear and fuel consumption (compared to strategy 1). The application of strategy 3 in such conditions turned out to be inexpedient, as the slip limitation in this case will limit the speed of the operation. The simulation of the front loader acceleration process showed some advantage of strategy 3 over the others in terms of energy consumed.
 Conclusion. According to the results of the study, it was determined that when the front loader performs heavy technological operations such as bulldozing, it is rational to use control strategy 2, which simulates a locked transmission. In the case of the acceleration process, which is typical for transportation operations and driving on public roads, it is effective to use strategy 3.

Investigating the impact of influential factors on crash types for autonomous vehicles at intersections

Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are being promoted as an emerging technology with the potential to improve traffic efficiency and safety. However, the scarcity of publicly available AV crash data contributes to a limited understanding of safety issues for deploying AVs. To gain a deeper understanding of the factors contributing to AV crashes, this study created a unique dataset by combining 445 intersection AV crashes from the California Department of Motor Vehicles with detailed roadway geometric and traffic characteristic data. To address the issue of imbalanced data, the Borderline synthetic minority oversampling technique (BL-SMOTE) was utilized in this study. A framework for analyzing AV crash types at intersections was also developed using the Categorical gradient boosting (Catboost) and Bayesian networks (BNs) models. The results show that inappropriate vehicle maneuvers, such as sudden lane changes or speed control, can increase the likelihood of an AV being involved in a sideswipe crash. Additionally, in scenarios where the AADT of the major road is lower, AVs are more prone to rear-end crashes when proceeding. These findings can provide valuable insights for creating safety management strategies in different situations and improve the development of innovative car warning technologies, such as rear-end collision warnings.

ESTABLISHMENT OF HD MAPS VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION PROCEDURE WITH OPENDRIVE AND AUTOWARE (LANELET2) FORMATS

Abstract. Mobile mapping technologies, for example multi-sensor integration and multi-platform mapping technology, have developed and improved over recent decades, various applications such as conventional mapping scenarios, rapid disaster response, smart city, and autonomous vehicle application arise synchronously. Especially, autonomous driving vehicles have made enormous progress. High-definition (HD) maps are key for autonomous driving because of their high accuracy and rich information of road scenes. However, how to make sure that HD maps are suitable for autonomous vehicle requirement is an important topic. The HD maps guidelines and standards in Taiwan are released since 2018 and mainly focus on point cloud and shape file format. In this paper, a procedure for the verification and validation of HD maps for OpenDRIVE and Autoware (Lanelet2) is proposed. It discusses about the verification strategies, suggestion review item, recommendation tools, and process. As shown by our preliminary results, the proposed process can conform not only in closed area but also public road. These issues can help reducing HD maps production costs. When the foundation of HD maps accomplishes, the autonomous driving techniques can naturally complement. The vision of full automation vehicle will come true rapidly in the future.

A Bayesian extreme value theory modelling framework to assess corridor-wide pedestrian safety using autonomous vehicle sensor data

Pedestrians are a vulnerable road user group, and their crashes are generally spread across the network rather than in a concentrated location. As such, understanding and modelling pedestrian crash risk at a corridor level becomes paramount. Studies on pedestrian crash risks, particularly with the traffic conflict data, are limited to single or multiple but scattered intersections. A lack of proper modelling techniques and the difficulties in capturing pedestrian interaction at the network or corridor level are two main challenges in this regard. With autonomous vehicles trialled on public roads generating massive (and unprecedented) datasets, utilising such rich information for corridor-wide safety analysis is somewhat limited where it appears to be most relevant. This study proposes an extreme value theory modelling framework to estimate corridor-wide pedestrian crash risk using autonomous vehicle sensor/probe data. Two types of models were developed in the Bayesian framework, including the block maxima sampling-based model corresponding to Generalised Extreme Value distribution and the peak over threshold sampling-based model corresponding to Generalised Pareto distribution. The proposed framework was applied to autonomous vehicle data from Argoverse—a Ford Motors subsidiary. This autonomous vehicle fleet of Agro AI (owner of Argoverse dataset) is equipped with two 64 beams synchronised LiDAR sensors, a cluster of seven high-resolution cameras, and a pair of stereo-vison high-resolution cameras to capture surrounding road users’ information within a range of 200 meters. A subset of the Argoverse dataset, focussing on an arterial corridor in Miami, USA, was used to extract pedestrian and vehicle trajectories. From these trajectories, vehicle–pedestrian conflicts were identified and measured using post encroachment time. The non-stationarity of extremes was captured by vehicle volume, pedestrian volume, average vehicle speed, and average pedestrian speed in the extreme value model. Both block maxima and peak over threshold sampling-based models were found to provide a reasonable estimate of historical pedestrian crash frequencies. Notably, the block maxima sampling-based model was more accurate than the peak over threshold sampling-based model based on mean crash estimates and confidence intervals. This study demonstrates the potential of using autonomous vehicle sensor data for network-level safety, enabling an efficient identification of pedestrian crash risk zones in a transport network.

ALGORITMO PARA A DETECÇÃO DE ÁRVORES URBANAS A PARTIR DE IMAGENS 360

Trees are indispensable to human life, they absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, protect ecosystems, reduce erosion and help to reduce the environment temperature. The manual identification of trees on public roads requires expense and time for recording and managing the data collected, since urban regions can be very large. We developed in this paper a method for the trees detection in urban areas from a 360 video. A YOLO neural network was trained to detect the trees from frames of the equirectangular video (360 images). We used Computer Vision techniques with the OpenCV library to develop algorithms to segment the regions that fit the detected trees in the rectilinear field of view (gnomonic projection), in order to verify if the trees are on the sidewalks. The results obtained showed around 80% success in detecting trees using YOLO, and an accuracy of 71% in the algorithm that checks if the trees are on the sidewalk.

Traffic safety versus accessibility: Investigating resistance against speed limit reductions

For traffic safety reasons, Sweden has lowered speed limits on major roads that lack directional separation of traffic. For some of these roads, regional authorities, municipalities, and other local stakeholders have sent appeals to the government opposing the implemented speed limit reductions. The appeals have mainly referred to negative effects on regional development and have suggested that the speed limit reductions be abandoned. This paper identifies the characteristics of roads where appeals against speed limit reductions have been filed and where local stakeholders claim that speed limit reductions are a threat to accessibility and regional development. The results of logistic regression modelling show that appeals are more likely for speed limit reductions on long road sections, on European roads, and in areas with a state university, and less likely in areas with high population density and areas defined as vulnerable by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth. We investigated these policy conflicts using frame theory. In this paper, we identify two policy frames: speed limits for traffic safety and speed limits for regional development. These two policy frames are related to different views on how to best strive towards regional accessibility and safety goals in remote areas. The different views are likely not easily aligned by more information or facts since they concern deeper questions, such as what constitutes basic accessibility of good quality and how large risks are acceptable on the road network. This study thus uncovers not only a policy disagreement but a policy controversy in the Swedish context.

Characteristics of Rear-End Collisions: A Comparison between Automated Driving System-Involved Crashes and Advanced Driving Assistance System-Involved Crashes

With the increasing number of vehicles equipped with automated driving systems (ADS) being tested on public roads and the expanding market share of vehicles equipped with advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS), the number of ADS- or ADAS-involved crashes increases. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the distribution of ADS- and ADAS-involved crashes and the factors leading to them. The rear-end collision has been found to dominate ADS-involved crashes. However, no research has explored the conditions when ADS-involved rear-end collisions are more likely to happen and no research has investigated ADAS-involved rear-end crashes. Based on 130 ADS-involved crashes and 84 ADAS-involved crashes extracted from a dataset collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) between July 2021 and May 2022, this study explored the crash patterns, especially rear-end crashes, of ADS- and ADAS-controlled vehicles. Results show that rear-end collisions dominate both ADS- and ADAS-involved crashes, especially ADAS-involved crashes. The type of both ADS-involved and ADAS-involved crashes was affected by the speed of the ego-vehicle relative to the posted speed limit. Further, the type of ADS-involved crash was affected by the pre-crash movement of the crash partner, while the type of ADAS-involved crash was further associated with the road type. The findings can provide insights into the design of ADAS and ADS control algorithms, the external human-machine interface design of the vehicles with ADS or ADAS, and the training program of human road users to improve traffic safety in mixed traffic.

INVESTIGATION OF THE ATTITUDES OF USERS OF SPORTS TOURISM ON MOUNTAIN GOČ

In this paper, the authors analyze and investigate the relevant facts of the organization and management of sports and recreational tourism in the Goč valley. Today's tourists expect a lot from tourist destinations. So today's tourists are ready to pay more. For this reason, the marketing role must be crucial for sports tourism. Mount Goč in the context of sports tourism explores the potential of Mount Goč as a destination for sports tourism. Goč mountain, located in Serbia, offers a variety of natural beauties and sports opportunities that attract lovers of active vacations. The paper analyzes the geographical location of the mountain and its accessibility, and highlights the proximity of major cities and roads as key advantages for the development of sports tourism based on the opinions of users. The mountain offers various terrains for sports activities, including hiking, cycling, skiing and snowboarding, as well as opportunities for adventure sports such as paragliding and mountain biking. Also, the paper explores the existing sports infrastructure on Goč, including tracks, sports fields and accommodation facilities. The importance of further infrastructure development for attracting sports enthusiasts and tourists is emphasized. Then the competition and demand for sports activities on Mount Goč are analyzed, including a comparison with other mountain destinations in the region. Marketing strategies and promotion of the mountain as a destination for sports tourism are also discussed. Based on all of the above, the paper concludes that Mount Goč has significant potential for the development of sports tourism, but that it is necessary to continuously invest in infrastructure and promotion in order to attract sports fans and tourists and stimulate the economic sustainability of tourism. region through this type of tourism.

Rules for the construction of firebreaks along public roads in selected European countries

Abstract Firebreaks are one of the protective measures used to safeguard forests in case of fire. Their purpose is to limit the possibility of fire spreading. This article describes how these protective measures are implemented along public roads in selected European countries. Based on the information gathered, it was found that there is a wide variety of approaches to firebreaks’ construction, mostly due to different climatic and geomorphological conditions that influence the overall risk of forest fires. The forms of firebreaks used in Europe along public roads are either a mineralised belt (without vegetation) or a cleared belt of materials that are particularly susceptible to ignition and fire spread. Methods combining both are also used. In Poland, there is a Type A belt, that is, a 30-m-wide belt at the border of a roadway or a facility that is free of dead trees, lying branches and felled or broken trees. In the absence of pan-European rules on preventive measures to protect forests from road fires, it might be helpful to establish a set of best practices that could assist in the revision of guidelines in individual countries.

EXAMINATION OF ROMANIA’S ROAD NETWORK IN THE LAST 5 YEARS

The development of transport can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The plants and manufactories involved in the production of products mainly satisfied local needs. Later, however, with the increase in production volume and the saturation of local needs, the production manufactories sought new markets for themselves. In the beginning, the merchants themselves carried out the delivery of the goods, but the work of the merchants was constantly expanding, and thus it became necessary to use transport companies. In our article, we examine the current situation of road transport in Romania in the last 5 years regarding public roads and highways. We examined the length of the roads in Romania and what place it occupies within the European Union.

A data mining approach for traffic accidents, pattern extraction and test scenario generation for autonomous vehicles

To effectively fight against traffic accidents, it is of great importance to analyse and understand the conditions that are linked with accidents. Such an analysis can serve as the basis to (i) develop reactive measures by finding the links between the pre-accident conditions (ii) devise proactive strategies that will prevent the occurrence of accidents by making the vehicles safer. This paper contributes to advancement of both approaches. For (i), one needs to identify the patterns in accidents. For (ii), introduction of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) is a promising solution. However CAVs need to be tested under numerous traffic scenarios to prove their safety before their deployment on public roads. This necessitates a great demand for high quality test scenarios for CAVs. This paper achieves two goals. First, it analyses the past traffic accidents (UK’s STATS19 database) to identify trends in the heterogeneous accident data and unravel the relationships between pre-accident conditions. This is done using a clustering algorithm (ROCK). Seven distinct large clusters emerge as a result. Each of these clusters are then further analysed for their meaning using the frequency analysis and geometric analysis. Secondly the paper underpins the proactive route (ii) by systematically developing, using the information in each cluster, test-case scenarios for CAVs which reflect the risk-prone conditions of the respective clusters. This is done using a data mining method (Market Basket algorithm) and further geometric interpretation of clusters. This way explicit scenarios are developed carrying the characteristics of the clusters that they come from.

Analisis Efisiensi, Efektivitas dan Kontribusi Penerimaan Parkir Terhadap Penerimaan Pajak Daerah dan Retribusi Daerah Di Kabupaten Tanah Laut

This study aims to compare the efficiency, effectiveness, and contribution of parking revenue to the local tax revenue and levies of Tanah Laut Regency. This study uses quantitative descriptive methods. The data type used is data from the secretariat data collection techniques by documentation from the Tanah Laut Regency Regional Revenue Agency. The results of this study show the efficient rate of parking revenue for Tanah Laut Regency in 2017-2021 for an average parking tax of 20,54%, the levy on parking service at the edge of the road public transportation is 25,03%, parking special space levy is 25,66%. The effectiveness of Tanah Laut Regency parking revenue for parking tax is an average of 106,259%, the levy on public road parking services is 133,146%, and the parking special space levy is 115,547%. The contribution rate of parking tax to local tax revenue in Tanah Laut Regency has an average of 0,0321%. The contribution rate of the parking levy to the revenue of the local levies of Tanah Laut Regency for parking service levies on public roads is 0,37%, and 4,088% is for levies on special parking spaces.

Sustainable Prioritization of Public Asphalt Paved Road Maintenance

The development of transportation infrastructure is crucial for a country's progress as it enables access to social and economic amenities and acts as a vital link between production and consumption. This is particularly significant for landlocked nations like Zambia, which heavily rely on a wide network of public highways, including both paved and unsurfaced roads. Regardless of their quality and construction, all road surfaces degrade over time due to the combined effects of traffic load and environmental factors. If not properly managed, this can lead to costly repairs and rehabilitation efforts. Government organizations face a dilemma when deciding which public roads to prioritize for maintenance. This follows that the inherent hurdle is competing needs within limited finances for infrastructure development. However, the challenge of road maintenance prioritization can be addressed by adopting a multi-criteria approach. This study aims to address the issue of sustainability and provides insights into which public roads should be given priority for maintenance. The research proposes a comprehensive set of criteria focusing on sustainability and assigns relative importance to them, with emphasis on state of deterioration, emergency function, climate resilience, environment, strategic importance, social considerations, economic factors, and political importance. It suggests that road maintenance decision-making should prioritize sustainability, resilience, and societal well-being, challenging traditional assumptions.