Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Transpo 1st Exam
Transpo 1st Exam
Transpo 1st Exam
Example:
• In the U.S., highway transportation is responsible for roughly 60 % of all petroleum
consumption (12 million barrels of oil a day).
• In terms of emission impacts, highway transportation is responsible for 25% of U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions.
Transportation mode refers to different ways by which goods or people are transported from
one place to the other through land, air or sea.
These most common five modes of transport are: railways, roadways, airways,
waterways and pipelines.
Of the available urban transportation modes, private vehicles offer an unequaled level of
mobility.
, Over this same period, the single-occupant private vehicle has been such a dominant choice
that travelers have been willing to pay substantial capital and operating costs.
In the last 50 years, the percentage of trips taken in private vehicles has risen from slightly
less than 70 percent to over 90 percent.
the average private-vehicle occupancy has dropped from 1.22 to 1.09 persons per vehicle.
Traffic congestion that has arisen as a result of extensive private-vehicle use and low-vehicle
occupancy presents a perplexing problem.
such programs have the adverse effect of directing people toward travel modes that
inherently provide lower levels of mobility because no other mode offers the departure-time
and destination-choice flexibility provided by private, single-occupant vehicles.
TRANSPORTATION AS A SYSTEM
the term “transportation system” is used to refer to the equipment and logistics of
transporting passengers and goods. transport systems are composed of infrastructures, modes,
and terminals.
Infrastructures
The physical underpinning of a country that support activities and transportation, such as roads,
railways, electrical systems, and so on.
It is the direction that we will use in the transportation system.
Modes
transport modes are designed to either carry passengers or freight, but most modes can carry a
combination of both.
Terminal
Any location where freight and passengers either originate, terminate, or are handled in the
transportation process.
Basically, it is the start and the end of the transportation system.
They enable individuals, institutions, corporations, regions, and nations to interact and assume
economic, social, cultural, or political activities.
Transportation system really help us in our daily life.
For example, many air, rail, water and pipeline freight movements involve highway transportation at
some point for their initial collection and final distribution.
Demographics are statistical data that researchers use to study groups of humans. Mostly
large companies conduct demographic research to determine how to market their product or
service and best market to their target audience. It makes a certain generalization of a group.
Travelers’ commuting patterns (which lead to traffic congestion) are tied with such
socioeconomic characteristics as age, income, household size, education, and job type, as well
as the distribution of residential, commercial, and industrial developments within the region.
Transportation and demographic go hand in hand. To further elaborate this and show you
how these trends change from time to time and how it correlates with transportation, I will be
discussing three points which are the LOCATION, AGE, and GENDER. These three are all
variables of demographic.
LOCATION
Population shift from the central cities to the suburbs has been made possible by the
increased mobility provided by the major highway projects.
This mobility enabled people to improve their quality of life by gaining access to affordable
housing and land, while still being able to get to jobs in the central city with acceptable travel
times.
However, when the traffic congestion grew in the metro, people realize that it’d be better to
reside on the metro to save time spent on traffic or opt for public transportation. And here
comes the emergence of another trend in which, Employment centers have developed in
the suburbs.
So there’s now the suburb-to-suburb only commute, which is way more convenient than
commuting from the suburb-to-city.
Ongoing demographic trends also present engineers with an evermoving target that further
complicates the problem of providing mobility and safety.
Of course, people will always opt for what is convenient. Thus, the trend continues until people
are satisfied with their way of living making it also more challenging for engineers to ensure that
both mobility, quality, and safety are met in every shift of trends.
One common example of this, although it’s not yet seen and felt, is the Davao-Samal Bridge
project. Maybe a lot of people are not that interested to reside or buy properties in Samal before
since the mode of transportation is limited, but when the news of this proposed project broke
out, people might have considered buying properties since there are now only few and very
costly lands left. And from then onwards, especially if the project is finished, maybe there’d be
a rapid growth in population in Samal and who knows what kind of trend would emerge from
then.
AGE
The rising age of the U.S. population that has resulted from population group (of baby
boomers) and advances in medical technology that prolong life. There are now so many
elderlies that engineers are putting them into consideration by changing highway designs
that would accommodate them and ensure their safety.
GENDER
The cities are not designed to be gender-neutral, even so transportation, that is highly
dominated by men. This results to insecurity and fear of physical or sexual violence in public
spaces and when using public transportation that limit the everyday movement of women.
Fortunately, in some cities around the globe, women now are being represented and are
taken into account in urban and transportation planning.
The greatest impact on transport demand arises from population growth, the increase in number
of households and their location and associated levels of economic activity. A key challenge is
to predict likely changes in living and mobility patterns by looking into the demographic trends.
Effects of highway related projects and policies on the individual highway modes of travel
• Distribution of travel among modes will strongly influence overall
highwaysystem performance. o Traffic o Safety
Important Considerations
• Demographic Trend
- Relating to the population o Socioeconomic characteristics
Age
Job
Income
• Highway safety o Taking into account the highway design and operation
so that it will not lead to:
Loss of life
Injuries
Property damage
What can we do to avoid/lessen these accidents?
Improve highway design
Vehicle occupant protection
• safety belts
• padded dashboards
• collapsible steering columns driver
• passenger-side airbags
• improved bumper design
HIGHWAY SAFETY
Highway safety or road traffic safety are the measures and methods used to reduce or prevent
road users from being killed or injured. Highway safety improvement gathers the nearest accurate
data to address crash factors and select counter measures that is cost-effective.
List of Causes Leading to Road Accident: World Health Organization (2018) 1-Unsafe Road
Infrastructure:
The design of roads can have a considerable impact on their safety. Ideally, roads should be
designed keeping in mind the safety of all road users. This would mean making sure that there are
adequate facilities for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Measures such as footpaths, cycling
lanes, safe crossing points, and other traffic calming measures can be critical to reducing the risk
of injury among these road users.
• -Too steep, inadequate road lights, inadequate road signage, pat holes, slick roads,
intersection blindspot, unsafe turning roads
3- Speeding
An increase in average speed is directly related both to the likelihood of a crash occurring and to
the severity of the consequences of the crash. For example, every 1% increase in mean speed
produces a 4% increase in the fatal crash risk and a 3% increase in the serious crash risk. The
death risk for pedestrians hit by car fronts rises rapidly (4.5 times from 50 km/h to 65 km/h). In car-
to-car side impacts the fatality risk for car occupants is 85% at 65 km/h.
4- Unsafe vehicles
• Safe vehicles play a critical role in averting crashes and reducing the likelihood of serious
injury.
• Most people buy vehicle based on style and function but now consider the safety feature
guaranteed by vehicle model 5-Under influence of alcohol/ Drugs
• Drinking and driving increases the risk being prone accident as it increases aggressiveness
of drivers.
6-Fatigue
• Over fatigue can lead to loss on focus and become sleepy leading to accident
7-Distracted Driving
• There are many types of distractions that can lead to impaired drivingDrivers using mobile
phones are approximately 4 times more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers not using
a mobile phone. Using a phone while driving slows reaction times (notably braking reaction
time, but also reaction to traffic signals), and makes it difficult to keep in the correct lane, and
to keep the correct following distances.
INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGIES
o The average costs of urban and rural freeways/highways were around $5.4 million per
lane kilometer.
o The average costs of rural arterials were around $3.8 million per lane kilometer.
VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES
evolved slowly and often in response to mild trends in the vehicle market as
opposed to an underlying trend toward technological development.
- as per the word “vehicle technologies” we can already picture out something
from it, like the evolution of our vehicles from the past to the present or even the
future
3 Factors that began the cycle of unparalleled advances in vehicle technology
1. Government regulations on air quality, fuel efficiency, and vehicleoccupant safety.
2. Energy shortages and fuel-price increases.
“over-spinning”) when driving on slippery surfaces. Its basic purpose is to detect when a
tire loses grip, causing the wheel to spin, and then work to stop or slow down the rate of spin.
If the ABS sensors detect that a wheel is spinning, the vehicle’s on-board computer will
momentarily cut the engine’s output to allow the wheel to slow and, ideally, regain traction. iv.
electronic stability control - helps prevent a vehicle from skidding – and the driver from losing
control of his or her vehicle – when turning a corner, braking sharply, or making a sudden
maneuver. ESC technology automatically activates the brakes to help steer the vehicle in the
right direction.
v. a host of other applications of new technologies to improve the safety and comfort in
highway vehicles o So, it is undeniable that the combination of consumer demand and intense
competition in the vehicle industry will continue to spur vehicle technological innovations.
o Evolving vehicle technologies play a critical role in the highway system. Such
technologies directly influence highway design and traffic operations and are critical
considerations in providing high levels of mobility and safety.
o It is essential that highway engineers understand how vehicle design and
technology are interrelated with highway design and operation.
• Traffic accidents are one of the major reasons behind unnatural deaths in all around the
world.
• A Transport vehicle is always at a risk, once it moves out from the office.
• Any misshapen on the road is harmful for driver, vehicle, company and customer all. It
badly affects all of them physically, financially and mentally.
Indicators
Mechanical turning signals were developed earlier, and before those, hand signals were used to
indicate your intentions to other drivers.
Lap Seatbelt
The lap seatbelt is also referred to as a “two-point” seatbelt, as it extended across the waist from
one side of a person to the other. The concept is similar to the modern-day aircraft seatbelt. This
design was invented in the early 1900s.
Three-pointed seatbelt
The three-point seatbelt is just that: a belt that is, in appearance, a combination of the lap belt
combined with a diagonal ‘sash’ belt. The three-point seat belt standard is in most vehicles today.
It was introduced in 1959
Road sign
Around 1908, the city realised the sheer volume of people driving around with no experience and
no boundaries.
Traffic lights
Traffic police would control the flow of traffic until 1914 when the first set of red and green traffic
lights were successfully installed in Cleveland, Ohio. The first three-colour traffic light was invented
by police officer William Potts in Detroit, Michigan in 1920.
Air bags
The idea was first conceived in 1941, and a decade later, American John W Getrick patented the
first airbag use. In the US, all cars produced after 1998 require airbags. Since, then, an average of
2000 lives a year are saved by airbags.
Reverse Cameras
Rear-facing technology is a great tool for those of us who rely on a little more help when reversing
and parking.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth technology lets us answer calls and change the music without looking away from the
road or taking our hands off the wheel.