Search results for "Transport engineering"
showing 10 items of 196 documents
Toward an urban transport sustainability index: an European comparison
2011
Introduction The aim of paper is to cluster policies of sustainable mobility in order to define an essential set of specific Transport Performance Indicators (TPI). TPIs are standardized measures suitable for analysis in order to appraise the feasibility of a transport policy or an infrastructural project. Data collection of TPIs is a crucial phase, but data detection and monitoring are not standardized at the city level. Thus, there is no a standard for data collection and storing, this aspect makes much difficult to compare different city contexts. This issue is critical and bounds the analysis of built scenarios. A standardized set of transport performance indicators becomes, hence, esse…
Viability of new road infrastructure with heterogeneous users
2011
This paper explores the importance of heterogeneity in value of time and route choice when assessing the viability of new road infrastructure to alleviate congestion problems. The model incorporates strategic interaction between road operators in a cost-benefit framework and several competitive regimes are considered. It is then employed to establish the financial and socio-economic viability of a congestion pricing demonstration entering Madrid city centre, where road users have to choose between a free but highly congested road and a priced free-flowing road (semi-private regime). A logit estimation is undertaken with information from a questionnaire among road users in the Eastern Madrid…
Acceptance of truck platooning by professional drivers on German highways. A mixed methods approach.
2020
Abstract Truck platoon driving is a current branch of automated driving, which has the potential to radically change the work routine of professional drivers. In a platoon system, one truck (semi-)automatically follows a lead truck with a reduced distance, which produces significant savings in fuel and enables better traffic flow. In a current application of truck platoon driving, the following vehicle operates at level-2 automation. Thus, the driver of the following truck merely has to supervise the semi-automated system, which takes over steering and speed control when engaged. Level-2 truck platoon driving had not been tested with professional drivers in real traffic before. We hypothesi…
On-Road Study of Fatigue Management Strategies in Long-Haul Truck Drivers
2014
The current study investigated what strategies long-haul truck drivers use to mitigate fatigue at the wheel. A group of 52 truck drivers participated in the study in which drivers’ fatigue at the wheel was measured by a well-validated self-rating scale (the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale) and the use of fatigue countermeasures by a diary for a period of two consecutive workweeks including day and night-time trips. Results showed that the drivers more frequently used fatigue countermeasures while fatigued at the wheel but most of these countermeasures, with the exception of caffeine, can be regarded as inefficient (e.g., opening a window). The results indicate that long-haul truck drivers resp…
The Constraints of Vehicle Range and Congestion for the Use of Electric Vehicles for Urban Freight in France
2015
The 9th International Conference on City Logistics, Tenerife, Espagne, 17-/06/2015 - 19/06/2015; Electric vehicle is a solution to reduce pollutant emissions from road urban freight. This paper assesses the potential CO2 reduction by transferring urban freight from diesel to electric vehicles while simultaneously looking at the two main technical constraints: electric vehicle range and the impact on congestion linked to change diesel heavy duty vehicles (with a load up to 25 tons) to much smaller electric vehicles. The data used has been computed from a survey (ECHO) that describes in details a very large sample of French shipments. Two scenarios were set up, which differ mainly by the type…
Smart vs conventional motorways: environmental impact assessment under realistic traffic conditions
2020
Abstract This research aims at assessing the environmental impacts exerted by a smart motorway compared to those of a traditional motorway. The study has global policy implications: it takes into account the impacts due to the construction and maintenance of the infrastructure and the environmental effects produced by the traffic emissions, taking into account smart technologies and truck platooning regulation. Through a classical LCA approach, 1 km-long smart motorway with 2 m-high embankment was assumed as the functional unit for the analysis. A realistic traffic condition has been considered. A comparison between environmental effects produced by the use of virgin material and by Reclaim…
An Autonomic System for Intelligent Truck Parking
2014
Traffic and road transport conditions are strongly influenced by the decisions of drivers. The more information they receive, the better decisions may be taken about their behavior. This is especially important in the transport of goods, since drivers are subject to traffic laws about maximum driving time and minimum time rest. In this paper a multi-agent system for negotiated management of parking spaces in road rest areas is presented. This system dynamically adapts itself to the preferences and needs of the drivers of goods about parking requests. The system is shown to be robust to incidents regarding the closure of road rest areas and an increased volume of freight traffic. The results…
A Framework to Evaluate Autonomic Behaviours for Intelligent Truck Parking
2016
This paper presents a multi-agent platform to evaluate different strategies to manage the negotiated management of parking spaces in road rest areas. The system dynamically adapts itself to the preferences and needs of the drivers of goods about parking requests. The system is shown to be robust to incidents regarding the closure of road rest areas and allows a conversational interaction of new parking requests through an Android based mobile application.
Driving Through Neoliberalism : Finnish Truck Drivers Constructing Respectable Male Worker Subjectivities
2017
This chapter analyses how Finnish male truck drivers (re)produce themselves as respectable male workers in the face of the recent economic, technological and institutional transformations impacting the European haulage sector. The investigation is based on ethnographic data which are produced by riding along on assignments with ten male Finnish truck drivers in the period 2012–2016. The analysis shows how truck drivers’ independence and value in the work process has become challenged and how truckers experience being occupationally stigmatized. The study argues, however, that while economic restructuring undermines some components of traditional forms of working-class masculinity, masculine…
Public acceptance of semi-automated truck platoon driving. A comparison between Germany and California
2020
Abstract Platooning technology aims at achieving fuel savings by reducing the distance between two or more electronically coupled vehicles. This technology has recently been tested on public highways with heavy trucks in Germany and California. The objective of this study is to assess the level of acceptance among other road users as well as influencing factors of acceptance. An online questionnaire was administered in Germany and California with a total of N = 536 participants. They received information about truck platoon driving (level-1 and level-2 automation) and answered questions about their attitudes towards the technology as well as their behavioral intention to cooperate with the …