ACTEURS - Improving the relation between tunnels, operators and users to increase safety
Overview
Background & policy context:
The aspect of safety in tunnels has been regulated in France since 2000 with an Inter-ministerial Circular and at European level with Directive 2004/54/EC. Despite these regulative provisions and advancements in available tools and technologies, driver behaviour does not always meet the desired optimum in terms of tunnel safety. In order to face this issue, Autoroutes Alpines, bringing together the companies Autoroutes Rhône-Alpes (AREA), Autoroutes et Tunnel du Mont Blanc (ATMB) and the Société Française du Tunnel Routier du Fréjus (SFTRF) and the Daedalus company, started the project ACTEURS in December 2002. The project was developed in two phases.
Objectives:
The project investigated the issue of road safety in tunnels with the aim of better understanding users’ interaction and their behaviour in relation to different situations they may encounter and also to derive suggestions and proposal for the construction of new tunnel infrastructures or for more efficient operations. When considering highly-equipped infrastructures, enabling drivers to be self-conscious of risks they may encounter and reducing their aggressive behaviour and their sense of anxiety are two crucial issues that might increase the general level of security on the whole road network in the future.
Methodology:
ACTEURS was structured in many specific studies dedicated to a better comprehension of the users’ reaction towards both normal and critical situations. Users are distinguished in cars and heavy vehicles’ drivers and also tunnels are classified in short and highway tunnels or long tunnels. This segmentation allows to suggest proper solutions to drivers enabling them to be actors of their own safety and security.
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