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Integrating Automated Vehicle Safety into Highway Geometric Design: Novel Challenges and Criteria for Minimal Risk Conditions

Date and Time: Tuesday, July 11, 2023: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

Alfredo Garcia 

Professor of Highway Engineering, HERG-Universitat Politècnica de València
@alfgargar2000

Presentation Description

- The concept of MRC is crucial for the safe operation of CAVs, and there is a need to identify safe locations that are easily accessible for CAVs. This requires a reconsideration of the geometric design of main carriageways and, especially, of road junctions, particularly interchanges, to support smart and safe mobility.
- Hard shoulders are the most accessible and commonly available locations for MRC, but safe harbors located outside the main carriageway, taking advantage of ramps or inner areas within interchanges, are expected to be safer and more effective alternatives.
- Safe harbors offer more space, are further separated from active lanes, and are less likely to be obstructed by obstacles, making them a more desirable type of MRC. Extended Emergency Refuge Lanes (EERL), on the other hand, may be more accessible than safe harbors but will be closer to active traffic. The EERL will be safer than stopping on the shoulders, mainly if they are extended with greater length and therefore greater capacity.
- The provision of sufficient holding areas, especially during peak traffic periods and severe weather, is essential to minimize the risk of collisions and improve traffic flow during high demand periods.
- New criteria for geometric design, including the provision of dedicated extended emergency refuge lanes and safe harbors for MRCs, their spacing, as well as the use of technology such as sensors and signage to guide CAVs to the nearest safe harbor, can facilitate the design and location of MRCs.

The significance of these findings is that they provide guidance on how to implement automated road transportation systems safely and efficiently. The proposed solutions and criteria for geometric design can help CAVs reach an MRC safely and efficiently, minimizing risk to other road users and improving the overall safety and efficiency of our road network. The findings also highlight the need to update road infrastructure and provide sufficient holding areas, especially during peak traffic periods and severe weather, to support the implementation of automated road transportation systems.

Speaker Biography

Professor of Highway Engineering since 2002 and Director of Transport and Territory Research Institute and Director of TORRESCAMARA Business Chair, Universitat Politècnica de València. His areas of expertise are road geometric design, road safety, traffic engineering, vulnerable users, connected and automated vehicles and traffic calming. He has more than 37 years of research experience, having been principal investigator of multiple research and technological development projects, and accumulating more than 350 publications.
He has published more than 85 papers in scientific journals and presented 215 papers in conferences; he has published 20 books and has 2 patents.
He was awarded the National Road Safety Award in 2010, the National Engineering Innovation Award in 2011 and the VI International Road Innovation Award "Juan Antonio Fernández del Campo" in 2016, as well as the Honorable Mention of the same Award in the 2022 edition.
In addition, he has taught at multiple universities in: USA, Italy, Greece, Poland, China, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Israel, Morocco, Lebanon, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan.

Presentation File