ROAD AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

ARBA MINCH UNIVERSITY

ARBA MINCH INISTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTEMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

PROGRAM: MSc IN ROAD AND TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

COURSE NAME:ADVANCED GEOMETRIC DESIGN

Article Revision on: Impacts of Road-Trains on the Geometric Design of Highways

BY: Fikedu Rage Faye __________________________ID No: PRAMIT1921/10

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. RAJU RAMESH REDDY, PROFESSOR

SUBMITTED ON: DEC/2017 G.C

ArbaMinch, Ethiopi

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General about Article

Authors
1. Natacha E. Thomas, Corresponding Author, Associate Professor, Department of
Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Rhode Island, Bliss Hall, 1
Lippitt Road, Room 203, Kingston, RI 02881, (401) 874-9353 (Ph), (401) 874
2786 (Fax), Email: thomas@egr.uri.edu.
2. Francisco J. Martinez-Perez, Research-Assistant, Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, MS Program, University of Rhode Island, 1 Lippitt
Road, Room 203, Kingston, RI 02881, Email: fmartinez@my.uri.edu.

Paper Submitted on 08/01/2013

Paper revised TRB 2014 Annual Meeting

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Summary
To facilitate efficiency and Sustainability of transportation systems, It should depend up on
technological aspect of transportation systems like Intelligent transportation system
(ITS).Now days Planners, researchers and Engineers are working to improve efficiency of
transportation systems through reduction of consumed gases, vehicle emission, traffic
congestion, better road utilization, improvement of safety and comfort for users and drivers
and decreasing collision damages between vehicles. Without improvement the improvement
of the road technological enhancement are built on the lanes or in the vehicles to improve
transportation efficiency.

Interaction between human factors and technological achievements has direct impact on
existing traditional Guidelines of Geometric design of the road. Road-trains on
freeway(Expressway) has its own guidelines which dictates some design parameters like
design speed, sight distances ,curve length and all design elements of freeway. This paper
tried to answer the following three hypothetical questions. 1) Does Existing freeway can
accommodate road-train? 2) Is it road-train design are different from those current? 3) Does
the road-train operation have significant role to change speed of vehicles? After serious
investigation the article forwarded that road-train promote both longer and shorter available
sight distances, Minimizes curve length required, Increase design and speed greater changes
in vertical curves reasonable.

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Background of the Article

Two basic things which are the core in design and engineers must abide are Efficiency and
sustainability .Good efficiency maximizes the ratio of output to input. Sustainability is means
making least impact on environment and flexible with time .Since resource are limited and
human needs is unlimited studying efficiency and sustainability is more important in
transportation sector. A newer system can be applied for various communications,
control, electronics, computer hardware and software for detecting all kinds of traffic
and transportation problems in order to improve safety, efficiency, and service and
traffic situations through transmitting real time information. With the help of Sensor
and other digital devices the occurrence of any event can be known before head .It
helps continuous exchange of information necessary to coordinate vehicles and harmonize
flow, reducing speed fluctuations and traffic shock waves while maximizing the highway
capacity, the passengers’ safety and minimizing gas consumption and exhaust pollution .

This Paper specifically addresses 1) the understanding of the adequacy of existing freeways
for road-train operation, 2) the direct impacts of this operation on guidelines for geometric
design of freeways and on 3) the maximum speeds achievable, or changes in design speeds,
given freeways designed to AASHTO’s (2) minimum guidelines. The lane width systems utilized
for lateral guidance by autonomous road-trains may decrease lane width by 0.6 m to 0.9 m
below the standard design width of 3.7m according to ASHTO.

Having technological enhancements built into the vehicles and the existing freeways remain
adequate, Still, the human factors and the new operational mode may directly impact
freeway design. Forth coming freeways, whether rehabilitated or built anew, could satisfy
guidelines derived specifically for road-trains. The sections that follow present the relevant
literature, the methodology, result, the conclusions and the future studies. The methodology
drafts varied road-train scenarios analysis whether experimental or other are conducted
separately.

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Problem Definition
Transportation system is a combination of various elements of transportation like
fixed facilities, Locomotives and driver to vital operation. Fixed facilities like roads
needs proper design to maximize efficiency of system through reduction consumption
of gases, least environmental impacts, minimize congestion and less accident
occurrence. The Major problems in transportation emanates from improper
geometrical Design of road, poor operational strategies, road users and driver and
environmental condition. Due to mentioned factors collision between two vehicles
will be occurred, drivers will be fatigued and long distance moving between two
places, congestion or crowded traffic flow along the route, consumes high energy,
environment is polluted due to emission of combusted gases, noises are common
problems. To overcome or minimize aforementioned problems modification on
geometrical design elements of High way, improvement of operational strategies,
introducing road-train vehicles which a group of vehicles are moved by leading
vehicle, Interacting human factor and technological innovation in transportation
system. Still, the interactions between the human factors, or lack thereof, and the new
technologies may directly impact the traditional guidelines for freeway design. Over time, the
dedicated freeways of the future, whether rehabilitated or built anew, could satisfy
guidelines derived specifically for road-trains. Further, freeways built to current guidelines
may accommodate travel speeds higher than those originally anticipated per design. It
remains to understand why 1) existing freeways can accommodate road-trains, 2) whether
design guidelines for road-trains are significantly different from those current, and 3) whether
road-train operation results in significant a posteriori design speed increases.

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Approach to the Problem

In solving transportation system problems building newer and wider roads to improve
traffic flow and decrease emissions is no longer an option since it need efficiency with
sustainability. The basic approach to take transportation problems, specifically
Impact of road-train on existing freeway geometric alignment problem to solution
interaction of human factors with technological innovation. This article presents these
potential changes in previous design guidelines achieved for accommodating road
trains, comparing geometric design elements forwarded by AASHTO and current
geometrical elements of freeways due to adoption of road-train and anticipated speed
changes due various operational scenarios.

The systematic way minimizing transportation problems is connecting human skill with
technology and improving operational strategies will result efficient transportation.
Experimental and developmental of experimental result method employed this study.
A sample of group of vehicle with certain operational techniques for an experiment
and later development of result occurred during test. The design variables used for
road train are Perception reaction time (PRT), Deceleration rate (a), Driver height
(h1), Obstacle height (h2), and Headlight Mounting height (h3).Depending up on
leading vehicle, vision and driving system various scenario can be developed. Only
five scenarios are selected for study due to the importance respect to others.

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Methodology/Research Design
The methodology employed in this paper can be summarized as follow as:

a. Observing experimental and project result prior to study as well as referring

guidelines(AASHTO)
 PATH (Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways) experiment
 SARTRE(Safe Road-trains for the Environment) Project
 KONVOI
 PROMOTE CHAUFFEUR I and II
b. Taking small sample and conduct pilot survey
c. Considering result of pilot survey classifying design variables of road-train which have
direct impact on existing geometrical elements (Vertical and Horizontal alignment) of
the road. Used design variables are:
 Perception reaction time( PRT)
 Deceleration rate (a)
 Driver height(h1)
 Obstacle height (h2)
 Headlight Mounting height (h3)
d. Preparing outline by combining various operational strategies i.e. developing
Scenarios. Pilots constitute the basis for two of the scenarios
 PATH Scenario
 SARTRE Scenario
Depending up on their lead-vehicle, their vision and driving systems, taking
samples and various combinations of operational strategies can be developed.
By choosing of 2 lead-vehicles,2 driving and 2 vision systems, Thus, 8 ordered
combinations need be considered, PHH, PHM, PMH, PMM,
THH, THM, TMH, and TMM, given letters representing lead-vehicle, driving
system and vision. For this study 5 scenario that are involved namely;
 Do-Nothing Scenario (S.0)
 2 SARTRE-like Road-Train Scenario (S.1 or THH) and with Obstacle
Warning System (S.2 or THM)
 2 PATH -like Scenario (S.3 or PMM) and (S.3 or PMM)

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e. Calculating elements in vertical and horizontal alignment of road-train with respective

of scenario developed. For the given design variables for each scenario the following
road-train design elements are computed;
 Sight distances in both vertical and horizontal curve
 Minimum length of sag and Crest vertical curve
 Minimum design radius
 Design Speed
 Minimum deflection angle
f. Comparing computed geometric elements with existing guidelines .By comparing
computed values with existing guidelines (AASHTO) increase or decrease of design
elements like speed, sight distances etc in percentage can calculated and then
judgment can be developed based figures obtained.

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Data Collection
Quantitative Data (Measured and expressed in Number);

 Perception reaction time of driver for each Scenario

 Deceleration rate Scenario
 Driver height both leading and following Vehicles
 Minimum Obstacle height that can be Passed or stopped without collision
 Maximum Headlight Mounting height

Qualitative Data (Categorical and ordinal Data);

 Experimental result obtained by previous study like SARTRE,PATH<KONVOI and

CHAUFFEUR I and II


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Data Analysis
a. Sight Distance Recalculations for all Scenarios
2
SSD=0.278 VPRT +0.039 V /α
Where PRT=Perception Reaction Time
α=Deceleration rate
b. Recalculations of Curve Design elements
Crest Vertical Curve
When S is less then

And

When S is greater than

Sag Vertical Curve

When S is less than

L
When S is greater than L

Horizontal Alignment
HSO=R ¿

c. Design Speed Back-Calculations

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Road-Train Benefits
 Fuel Consumption Reduction
 Traffic congestion reduction
 Improvement in traffic and road safety
 Greater driver comfort
 No further road infrastructure needed
 reduction in the design cost of roadway alignment

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Recommendation

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Strengths

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Limitations of the Article

 Article does not further investigate the exact magnitude of

cost reductions

 It is challenging to think of a world where humans are not

allowed to drive their own vehicles anymore.

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The way to apply the lessons to Ethiopian conditions

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