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(1) Calabuig, Jordi; Monserrat, Jose F; Gozalvez, David; Klemp, Oliver.
SAFETY ON THE ROADS.
IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine (1556-6072) 2014; 9; 4; 61 - 70.
Universitat Politècnica de València; Tech Univ Carolo Wilhelmina Braunschweig; BMW Grp Res & Dev

(2) Perez de Villar, Pablo; Vassallo Magro, Jose Manuel.
Optimal safety incentives in road concession contracts.
European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research (1567-7133) 2014; 14; 4; 394 - 411.
TRANSyT; Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Changes in the roles of the government and the private sector in the provision of public services along with budget constraints are resulting in an increasing use of the concession approach for financing and managing roads. In the last few years, many of these contracts set up incentives linked to bonuses to encourage the concessionaire to render a better service to the users. Road safety is one the aspects on the basis of which concessionaires can be rewarded according to their performance. The goal of this paper is to evaluate whether road safety incentives are being defined in the right way nowadays in different European countries and also identify what incentives would need to be implemented to achieve a socially optimal road safety level. To that end, we develop a specific incentive for road concession contracts that encourages companies to achieve the optimal level. We apply this methodology to three case studies of concessions recently awarded in order to determine to what extend the incentives they set up are closer or farther to the optimum.

(3) Riba, Jordi Roger; Garcia, Antoni; Romeral, Luis.
A computer experiment to simulate the dynamic behaviour of electric vehicles driven by switched reluctance motors.
Actas urol. esp (0210-4806) 2014; 51; 4; 368 - 382.
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

The study of the dynamic behaviour of electric vehicles is being incorporated in the syllabuses of an increasing number of graduate and undergraduate courses. This paper analyses the basic mechanical and electric concepts of electric traction applied to automobiles. For this purpose, in this work the switched reluctance motor is analysed. A model based on MATLAB/Simulink to simulate the behaviour of both the electric motor and the vehicle dynamics is described. It allows students to gain a better understanding of the fundamental mechanical and electrical concepts by simulating the system behavior in an interactive and flexible manner.

(4) Robinson, Nicole R; Gin, Julia; Kamath Jha, Shilpa; Infantes, Michel; Hernandez, Ricardo; Alberg Seberich, Michael; Suri, Devika; Perez Escamilla, Rafael.
Driving social impact with common global indicators for healthy lifestyle programs: Lessons learned.
Food and Nutrition Bulletin (EI 1564-8) 2014; 35; 3; S163 - S168.
Mondelez Int; Mondelez Int; Mondelez Int; Mondelez Int; Forum Act Philanthropy; Nevin Scrimshaw Int Nutr Fdn; Yale University

Background: Partnerships between corporate entities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in delivering community focused health and well-being programs are becoming increasingly valuable especially in the context of promoting healthy lifestyles around the globe. The Mondelez International Foundation (MIF) has funded healthy lifestyles community based programs targeting children and youth through partnership with seven global NGOs. To assess collective impact of these programs, it is crucial to identify best practices and common impact indicators that can be measured across programs. MIF therefore organized the Healthy Lifestyles Evaluation Workshop to explore these pertinent questions. Objective: Share best practices and identify common impact indicators to measure the success of current and future MIF funded healthy lifestyles programs. Methods: Analysis of the Program Impact Pathways (PIPs) and measured output of each of the seven programs. Results: Individual and combined analysis of PIPs of the seven NGO programs led to identification of three critical impact indicators: nutrition knowledge, physical activity, and healthier eating, and also enabled NGOs to identify pathways to improve program delivery among the target population. Conclusions: This workshop enabled MIF and partner NGOs to came together to align on metrics and future engagement approaches for promoting and evaluating community based healthy lifestyles programs.

(5) Rey, MD; Font, R; Aracil, I.
PCDD/F emissions from light-duty diesel vehicles operated under highway conditions and a diesel-engine based power generator.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS (0304-3894) 2014; 278; 116 - 123.
Universitat d'Alacant

PCDD/F emissions from three light-duty diesel vehicles - two vans and a passenger car - have been measured in on-road conditions. We propose a new methodology for small vehicles: a sample of exhaust gas is collected by means of equipment based on United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) method 23A for stationary stack emissions. The concentrations of O-2, CO, CO2, NO, NO2 and SO2 have also been measured. Six tests were carried out at 90-100 km/h on a route 100 km long. Two additional tests were done during the first 10 min and the following 60 mm of the run to assess the effect of the engine temperature on PCDD/F emissions. The emission factors obtained for the vans varied from 1800 to 8400 pg I-TEQ/Nm(3) for a 2004 model year van and 490-580 pg I-TEQ/Nm(3) for a 2006 model year van. Regarding the passenger car, one run was done in the presence of a catalyst and another without, obtaining emission factors (330-880 pg I-TEQ/Nm(3)) comparable to those of the modern van. Two other tests were carried out on a power generator leading to emission factors ranging from 31 to 78 pg I-TEQ/Nm(3). All the results are discussed and compared with literature. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

(6) Villarino, Alberto; Riveiro, Belen; Martinez Sanchez, Joaquin; Gonzalez Aguilera, Diego.
Successful Applications of Geotechnologies for the Evaluation of Road Infrastructures.
Remote Sensing (2072-4292) 2014; 6; 8; 7800 - 7818.
Universidad de Salamanca; Universidad de Vigo

This work reports the results obtained over several years of research into the application of different geomatic techniques in the field of civil engineering and, in particular, in their application to the management of road systems and associated structures. Among the main advances obtained are the quantification of parameters during the inventorying and inspection of infrastructures, the metric ... + ver más

(7) dell'Olio, Luigi; Ibeas Portilla, Angel; Bordagaray, Maria; Dios Ortuzar, Juan de.
Modeling the Effects of Pro Bicycle Infrastructure and Policies Toward Sustainable Urban Mobility.
Journal of Urban Planning and Development (0733-9488) 2014; 140; 2; 0 - 0.
Universidad de Cantabria; Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

This paper aims to determine the potential of the bicycle as a sustainable mode of transport in a medium-sized Spanish city (Santander, in northern Spain) with strong inclines and relatively inclement weather. For this purpose, a general methodology has been designed that could serve as an example for other areas. First, potential bicycle users in the city are characterized and identified through a household survey, which included a complete travel diary. Then they were asked to participate in a stated preference survey designed to find out the relative importance of certain key variables, previously identified, associated with making bicycle journeys. These data were used to estimate mixed logit models allowing to correctly treat the pseudopanel nature of the data. The results indicate that the most important variables among potential users are the cost and the climate, followed by the availability of infrastructure such as cycle paths and an extensive network of both public and private bicycle docking stations. Finally, the willingness to change from traditional modes of transport, such as car and bus, to bicycle has been examined according to various policies designed to encourage more sustainable mobility (such as bicycle and bus lanes and a city center congestion charge for private cars). The main finding of this research has been the identification of the conditions under which the bicycle could increase its market share from its current 0.30% up to 5.52% in a city with the characteristics of Santander (i.e.,not in principle conducive to expect high bicycle use).

(8) Castillo, Enrique; Nogal, Maria; Calvino, Aida.
Two Applications of Statistics to Traffic Models.
Communications in Statistics - Theory and Methods (0361-0926) 2014; 43; 10-12; 2118 - 2134.
Universidad de Cantabria

Two statistical applications for estimation and prediction of flows in traffic networks are presented. In the first, the number of route users are assumed to be independent -shifted gamma (, (0)) random variables denoted H(, , (0)), with common (0). As a consequence, the link, OD (origin-destination) and node flows are also H(, , (0)) variables. We assume that the main source of information is plate scanning, which permits us to identify, totally or partially, the vehicle route, OD and link flows by scanning their corresponding plate numbers at an adequately selected subset of links. A Bayesian approach using conjugate families is proposed that allows us to estimate different traffic flows. In the second application, a stochastic demand dynamic traffic model to predict some traffic variables and their time evolution in real networks is presented. The Bayesian network model considers that the variables are generalized Beta variables such that when marginally transformed to standard normal become multivariate normal. The model is able to provide a point estimate, a confidence interval or the density of the variable being predicted. Finally, the models are illustrated by their application to the Nguyen Dupuis network and the Vermont-State example. The resulting traffic predictions seem to be promising for real traffic networks and can be done in real time.

(9) Kammoun, Habib M; Kallel, Ilhem; Casillas, Jorge; Abraham, Ajith; Alimi, Adel M.
Adapt-Traf: An adaptive multiagent road traffic management system based on hybrid ant-hierarchical fuzzy model.
Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies (0968-090X) 2014; 42; 147 - 167.
Université de Sfax; Universidad de Granada; MIR Labs; Technical University of Ostrava

Usually, road networks are characterized by their great dynamics including different entities in interactions. This leads to more complex road traffic management. This paper proposes an adaptive multiagent system based on the ant colony behavior and the hierarchical fuzzy model. This system allows adjusting efficiently the road traffic according to the real-time changes in road networks by the integration of an adaptive vehicle route guidance system. The proposed system is implemented and simulated under a multiagent platform in order to discuss the improvement of the global road traffic quality in terms of time, fluidity and adaptivity. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

(10) Paz, Alexander; Nordland, Andrew; Veeramisti, Naveen; Khan, Alauddin; Sanchez Medina, Javier.
Assessment of Economic Impacts of Vehicle Miles Traveled Fee for Passenger Vehicles in Nevada.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD (0361-1981) 2014; 2450; 26 - 35.
University of Nevada; Nevada Dept Transportat; Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

This study evaluated the effectiveness and equity of a fee for vehicle miles traveled (VMT) for passenger vehicles in Nevada. In the evaluation of the fee´s effectiveness, the collection capabilities, as well as the fee´s impact on the number of miles users drove, were considered. Equity was evaluated by considering the impact of the VMT fee on various population groups on the basis of socioeconomics, demographics, household type, location, and ownership of fuel-efficient vehicles. To estimate the impacts on various VMT fees, a linear regression model was developed with the use of data from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey, which provided a mechanism to estimate VMT in Nevada as a function of the cost to drive, among other characteristics. The effectiveness and the equity of two alternative VMT fees were compared with the existing fuel tax system. These fees were calculated on the basis of the average fuel efficiency of vehicles in Nevada and the historical revenue from the state fuel tax. In general, a VMT fee of 3.3 cents per mile seemed to be more effective than both the existing fuel tax and a VMT fee of 2.91 cents per mile. Although the 33 cents per mile fee had a slightly greater impact on various population groups, its equitable distribution of the tax burden among 71.1% of households created a small average cost increase of just 0.37% per household. Thus, a 3.3 cents per mile fee would provide the necessary revenue without significantly affecting Nevada households.

(11) Lopez, Griselda; Abellan, Joaquin; Montella, Alfonso; Ona Lopez, Juan De.
Patterns of Single-Vehicle Crashes on Two-Lane Rural Highways in Granada Province, Spain: In-Depth Analysis Through Decision Rules.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD (0361-1981) 2014; 2432; 133 - 141.
Universidad de Granada; Università di Napoli Federico II

In Spain, 74% of injury crashes occur on rural two-lane highways. Therefore, one of the strategic priorities detailed in highway safety plans is the specific study of these highways. This study aimed at investigating crash patterns and contributory factors on rural two-lane highways so as to propose specific road safety countermeasures. The analysis method consisted in identifying decision rules extracted from decision trees (DTs). As the traditional method of rule extraction is limited by a DT´s structure, some important relationships between variables may not be identified. For this problem to be overcome, an in-depth method for extracting rules from DTs was used. Because the implementation of any corrective road safety measure is constrained by the available resources, the strongest patterns that describe the road safety issue must be extracted. For identification of the strongest rules, a new criterion, lift increase criterion, was defined. Single-vehicle crashes on two-lane rural highways in the province of Granada in Spain were analyzed. Crash data were relative to the 7-year period 2003 to 2009. Rules were obtained by using both gain information and the information gain ratio as splitting criterion. The rules obtained by application of both criteria were consistent and complementary; therefore, the authors recommend the use of both methods to build DTs. Results of the study highlighted several patterns contributing to severe crashes and potentially effective countermeasures. Main patterns were pedestrian crashes, run-off-the-road crashes, run-off-the-road crashes involving powered two-wheelers, crashes involving powered two-wheelers, and crashes at night without illumination.

(12) Garcia Pozuelo, D; Diaz Lopez, Vicente; Lopez Boada, Maria Jesus.
Improving Vehicle Safety: A New Methodology for Vehicle Steering System Inspection by Means of Forces Measure.
Advances in Mechanical Engineering (1687-8132) 2014; 0 - 0.
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Some mechanical systems, such as steering, brakes, and suspension, critically affect the safety of the vehicle. These systems are subject to wear through use and time, changing their status throughout the lifetime of a vehicle. It is, therefore, essential to develop adequate components and procedures of inspection that ensure the correct operation of these systems. Moreover, the steering inspection must guarantee certain requirements, such as, being able to test any vehicle steering system and being low priced. In addition, one of the most important requirements for any inspection procedure is to provide the measurements in a short time. This fact conditions the measurement process and sensors to be employed. The current steering system that measures the steering angles is time consuming. The aim of this research is to introduce a steering system inspection based on forces measured by means of a dynamometer plate. The main features of the proposed system ensure minimum testing time, and simple operation and avoid manipulation of the vehicle. In addition, precise and objective limits for acceptance and rejection have been established. Therefore, the proposed procedure meets all the requirements for the periodic motor vehicle inspection (PMVI).

(13) Delgadillo, Rodrigo; Wahr, Carlos; Garcia, Gabriel; Osorio, Luis; Salfate, Osiel.
Generating Hourly Climatic Data for Pavement Design from Available Weather Information.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD (0361-1981) 2014; 2433; 48 - 57.
Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María

This study addressed the need for more detailed weather information in the context of pavement design with the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide from weather information available for Chile. An initial database was developed with the available hourly data in the country, and the sensitivity of distress predictions for Chilean weather was studied. Because of the limited availability of hourly climatic data, different methods were proposed for completing the missing data. As their inputs, the developed models used weather information that was more generally available. A sinusoidal-exponential model was used for the minimum and maximum daily temperature. An exponential model for hourly humidity based on maximum and minimum daily humidity was also used. Linear interpolation between the available hours with data for wind speed and cloud cover was sufficient to complete the hourly information for these variables. The precision of the distress predictions with these models proved to be accurate compared with the predictions with actual hourly weather data. The models are being successfully used to expand the number of available weather stations for pavement design in Chile. The models are also useful for validating the existing weather stations and detecting inaccuracies and errors in the recorded hourly data.

(14) Felipe Guzman, Andres; Manuel Vassallo, Jose.
Impact of Introducing Longer and Heavier Vehicles on Regional Consumer Price Index and Spanish Road Freight Transport System.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD (0361-1981) 2014; 2410; 39 - 49.
Escuela Colombiana Ingn Julio Garavito; Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

This paper applies an integrated modeling approach to the case of Spain; the approach is based on a random utility-based multiregional input-output model and a road transport network model for assessing the effect of introducing longer and heavier vehicles (LHVs) on the regional consumer price index (CPI) and on the transportation system. The approach strongly supports the concept that changes in transport costs derived from the LHV allowance as well as the economic structure of regions have direct and indirect effects on the economy and on the transportation system. Results show that the introduction of LHVs might reduce prices paid by consumers for a representative basket of goods and services in the regions of Spain and would also lead to a reduction in the regional CPL In addition, the magnitude and extent of changes in the transportation system are estimated by using the commodity-based structure of the approach to identify the effect of traffic changes on traffic flows and on pollutant emissions over the whole network.

(15) Ferrer, Sheila; Ruiz, Tomas.
Factors Influencing the Travel Scheduling of Driving Trips of Habitual Car Users.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD (0361-1981) 2014; 2412; 100 - 108.
Universitat Politècnica de València

The paper presents an analysis of scheduling and rescheduling decisions that are associated with driving trips of habitual car users and that employs a new data set for processing of activity travel schedules collected in Valencia, Spain, in 2010. A bivariate probit model with sample selection is used to accommodate the influence of planning on the decision to execute a trip as planned or not. The explicative variables included in the model are socioeconomic characteristics of respondents, travel characteristics, and facets of the activity at origin and the activity executed at destination, including the scheduling process decisions associated with them. The results demonstrate that a significant correlation exists between the choice of planning and rescheduling a driving trip. Other findings suggest that characteristics of the activity at destination, including the scheduling process decisions, have a greater influence on the choice of planning or executing spontaneously than the characteristics of the activity at origin. In contrast, characteristics and scheduling of the activity at origin have significantly more influence on the decision of rescheduling or not rescheduling a planned driving trip than attributes of the activity at destination.

(16) Miralbes, R.
Design of motorcycle rider protection systems using numerical techniques.
Environmental Science and Technology (0013-936X) 2013; 59; 94 - 108.
Universidad de Zaragoza

The goal of this paper is the development of a design methodology, based on the use of finite elements numerical tools and dummies in order to study the damages and injuries that appear during a motorcyclist collision against a motorcyclist protection system (MPS). According to the existing regulation, a Hybrid III dummy FEM model has been used as a starting point and some modifications have been included. For instance a new finite element helmet model has been developed and later added to the dummy model. Moreover, some structural elements affecting the simulation results such as the connecting bolts or the ground have been adequately modeled. Finally there have been analyzed diverse types of current motorcyclists protection systems, for which it has been made a comparative numerical-experiment analysis to validate the numerical results and the methodology used. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

(17) Albalate del Sol, Daniel; Fernandez, Laura; Yarygina, Anastasiya.
The road against fatalities: Infrastructure spending vs. regulation??.
Journal of the Electrochemical Society (0013-4651) 2013; 59; 227 - 239.
Universitat de Barcelona

The road safety literature is typified by a high degree of compartmentalization between studies that focus on infrastructure and traffic conditions and those devoted to the evaluation of public policies and regulations. As a result, few studies adopt a unified empirical framework in their attempts at evaluating the road safety performance of public interventions, thus limiting our understanding of successful strategies in this regard. This paper considers both types of determinants in an analysis of a European country that has enjoyed considerable success in reducing road fatalities. After constructing a panel data set with road safety outcomes for all Spanish provinces between 1990 and 2009, we evaluate the role of the technical characteristics of infrastructure and recent infrastructure spending together with the main regulatory changes introduced. Our results show the importance of considering both types of determinants in a unified framework. Moreover, we highlight the importance of maintenance spending given its effectiveness in reducing fatalities and casualties in the current economic context of austerity that is having such a marked impact on investment efforts in Spain. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

(18) Pio, Casimiro; Mirante, Fatima; Oliveira, Cesar; Matos, Manuel; Caseiro, Alexandre; Oliveira, Cristina; Querol, Xavier; Alves, Celia; Martins, Natercia; Cerqueira, Mario; Camoes, Filomena; Silva, Hugo; Plana, Feliciano.
Size-segregated chemical composition of aerosol emissions in an urban road tunnel in Portugal.
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT (1352-2310) 2013; 71; 15 - 25.
University of Aveiro; University of Minho; Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa; University of Lisboa; Instituto de Diagnóstico Ambiental y Estudios del Agua (CSIC)

An atmospheric aerosol study was performed in 2008 inside an urban road tunnel, in Lisbon, Portugal. Using a high volume impactor, the aerosol was collected into four size fractions (PM0.5, PM0.5-1, PM1-2.5 and PM2.5-10) and analysed for particle mass (PM), organic and elemental carbon (OC and EC), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), soluble inorganic ions and elemental composition. Three main groups of compounds were discriminated in the tunnel aerosol: carbonaceous, soil component and vehicle mechanical wear. Measurements indicate that Cu can be a good tracer for wear emissions of road traffic. Cu levels correlate strongly with Fe, Mn, Sn and Cr, showing a highly linear constant ratio in all size ranges, suggesting a unique origin through sizes. Ratios of Cu with other elements can be used to source apportion the trace elements present in urban atmospheres, mainly on what concerns coarse aerosol particles. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

(19) Lima Serrano, M; Saez Bueno, A; Caceres Rodriguez, B; Lima Rodriguez, JS.
Design and validation of scales to measure adolescent attitudes toward sexuality, addictive substances and road safety. Are they related to behaviour?.
Anales del Sistema Sanitario De Navarra (1137-6627) 2013; 36; 2; 203 - 215.
Universidad de Sevilla

Background. To validate scales to measure adolescent attitudes toward sexuality (EAS), toward addictive substances (EASA) and toward vial security (EASV), and to examine their correlations with behaviour on these areas. Methods. We designed the scales by literature review; we validated their content using a Delphi-on-line panel with 18 experts, and a pre-test with a sample of 21 fourth-grade high-school students (similar to 10th in US) in Seville, Spain. The scales were administered to 188 fourth-grade high-school students in order to test their construct validity (exploratory factor analysis), their reliability (Alpha Cronbach test), and to determinate their correlations with age, gender, experience of sexual intercourse, substance use and road behaviour. Results. EAS-10 obtained alpha=0.73, EASA-12 obtained alpha=0.80, EASV-12 obtained alpha=0.79. They showed evidence of one-dimensional interpretation after factor analysis, a) all items achieved weights r>0.30 in the first factor, which explained a significant proportion of variance before rotations, and b) total variance explained by the main factors extracted was greater than 50%. We found correlations between EASA-12 and tobacco use (r=-0.43, p<0.001), alcohol use (r=-0.30, p<0.001), age of alcohol initiation (r=0.32, p=0.003), and substance use (r=-0.55, p<0.001), and between EASV-12 and safe road behaviour (r=0.41, p<0.001), tobacco use (r=-0.23, p=0.003), alcohol use (r=-0,22, p=0,003), age of first experience of drunkenness (r=0.22, p=0.003), and substance use (r=-0.27, p=0.013). Conclusions. The scales showed their reliability and validity. They could be employed for assessing adolescent attitudes to these priority intervention areas, for carrying out studies on their mediating role on adopting behaviour, and for designing and evaluating health programs.

(20) Riener, A; Zia, K; Ferscha, A; Ruiz Beltran, C; Minguez Rubio, JJ.
Traffic flow harmonization in expressway merging.
Personal and Ubiquitous Computing (1617-4909) 2013; 17; 3; 519 - 532.
JKU Linz; SICE

Steering a vehicle is a task increasingly challenging the driver in terms of mental resources. Reasons for this include the increasing volume of road traffic and a rising quantity of road signs, traffic lights, and other distractions at the roadside (such as billboards), to name a few. The application of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, in particular if taking advantage of Ambient Intelligence (AmI) technology, can help to increase the perceptivity of a driver, leading as a direct consequence to more relaxed mental stress of the same. One situation where we see potential in the application of such a system are merging areas on the expressway where two or more varying traffic streams converge into a single one. In order to reduce cognitive liabilities (in this work expressed as panic or anger), drivers are exposed to while merging, we have developed two behavioral rules. The first ("increased range of perception") enables drivers to change early upstream into a spare lane, allowing the merging traffic to join into mainline traffic at reduced conflicts, the second ("inter-car distance management" in the broader area of merging) provide drivers with recommendations of when and how to change lanes at the best. From a technical point of view, the "VibraSeat" a in-house developed car seat with integrated tactile actuators, is used for delivering information about perception range and inter-car distances to the driver in a way that does not stress his/her mental capabilities. To figure out possible improvements in its application in real traffic and at a meaningful scale, cellular automaton-based simulation of a specific section of Madrid expressway M30 was performed. Results from the data-driven simulation experiments on the true to scale model indicate that AmI technology has the potential to increase road throughput or average driving speed and furthermore to decrease the panic of drivers while merging into an upper (the main) lane.

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