Trajectory Perturbation in Surrogate Safety Indicators

Abstract Traffic conflicts based surrogate safety indicators have been applied extensively on real trajectories and in simulation. Such indicators can be useful to assess the safety of a given scenario without the need to use real crash data (which in many cases may be unavailable). Unfortunately, all traffic conflict indicators that are commonly used have a structural limitation: they are not able to consider potential conflicts with roadside obstacles or barriers and conflicts between vehicles which are travelling on non-conflicting trajectories. This limitation is a serious limitation since crash data analy sis shows that at least 40% of fatal crashes are originated by single vehicle accidents against a fixed object or by vehicles travelling in opposite directions. This paper is intended as a concept paper that presents an alternative view on conflict safety indicators showing that new indicators can be generated by the perturbation of vehicle trajectories overcoming the above indicated limitations

mobile systems applied to traffic management and safety a state of the art

Abstract Mobile systems applied to traffic management and control and traffic safety have the potential to shape the future of road transportation. The following innovations, that will be deployed on a large scale, could reshape road traffic management practices: – the implementation of connected vehicles with global navigation satellite (GNSS) system receivers; – the autonomous car revolution; – the spreading of smartphone-based systems and the development of Mobile Cooperative Web 2.0 which is laying the base for future development of systems that will also incorporate connected and autonomous vehicles; – an increasing need for sustainability of transportation in terms of energy efficiency, traffic safety and environmental issues. This paper intends to provide a state of the art on current systems and an anticipation of how mobile systems applied to traffic management and safety could lead to a completely new transportation system in which safety and congestion issues are finally properly addressed

A Review of the use of traffic simulation for the evaluation of traffic safety levels: can we use simulation to predict crashes?

Abstract This paper presents a literature review on the application of traffic simulation for the evaluation of traffic safety levels. The main aim is to identify, through the implementation of a multi-step methodology current research-trends, main gaps in the literature and possible future challenges. First, a bibliometric analysis is carried out to obtain a broad overview of the topic of interest. Subsequently, the most influential contributions are analysed in-depth, with specific attention to specific issues

The use of a Blockchain-based System in Traffic Operations to promote Cooperation among Connected Vehicles

Abstract This paper intends to present some ideas for the implementation of cooperative ITS systems based on the Blockchain Technology (BT) concept. Blockchain technology has been recently introduced and, in this paper, we discuss a system that is based on a dedicated blockchain, able to involve both drivers and city administrations in the adoption of promising and innovative technologies that will create cooperation among connected vehicles. The proposed blockchain-based system can allow city administrators to reward drivers when they are willing to share travel data. The system manages in a special way the creation of new coins which are assigned to drivers and institutions participating actively in the system. Moreover, the system allows keeping a complete track of all transactions and interactions between drivers and city management on a completely open and shared platform. The main idea is to combine connected vehicles with BT to promote Cooperative ITS use and a better use of infrastructures

A Review of Blockchain-Based Systems in Transportation

This paper presents a literature review about the application of blockchain-based systems in transportation. The main aim was to identify, through the implementation of a multi-step methodology: current research-trends, main gaps in the literature, and possible future challenges. First, a bibliometric analysis was carried out to obtain a broad overview of the topic of interest. Subsequently, the most influential contributions were analysed in depth, with reference to the following two areas: supply chain and logistics; road traffic management and smart cities. The most important result is that the blockchain technology is still in an early stage, but appears extremely promising, given its possible applications within multiple fields, such as food track and trace, regulatory compliance, smart vehicles' security, and supply-demand matching. Much effort is still necessary for reaching the maturation stage because several models have been theorized in recent years, but very few have been implemented within real contexts. Moreover, the link blockchain-sustainability was explored, showing that this technology could be the trigger for limiting food waste, reducing exhaust gas emissions, favouring correct urban development, and, in general, improving quality of life

The Computer System Architecture of our first real-time real-world experiment of adaptive traffic signals with "connected" vehicles

Abstract Connected vehicles can transmit real-time information to traffic control management systems. Despite the recent technical advances of telecommunication networks and mobile computing there have been no real-time adaptive traffic signal control experiments with connected vehicles. Most of the research in this field has been carried out only with simulations. In this work we present the computer system that was adopted to regulate traffic signals in real-time with "smartphone-connected" vehicles as the only source of information. We introduce the description of the computer system architecture that was deployed in an experiment of a Floating Car Data (FCD)-based adaptive traffic signal in which a traffic signal has been regulated in real-time with 100% "smartphone-connected" vehicles. The description of the system based on commonly-used technologies could help others to develop and deploy new traffic signal management systems in new "connected" intersections

A review of traffic signal control methods and experiments based on Floating Car Data (FCD)

Abstract This paper intends to give a short review of the state of the art on the use of floating car data concerning the management of traffic flow at signalized intersections. New technologies such as connected and autonomous vehicles and Co-operative Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS) are going to change the future of traffic control and management. Traffic signal control systems can be reorganized by using Floating Car Data (FCD), yet the concept of floating car data (FCD) has been mainly studied to gain traffic information and/or signal information. Only recent works have been focalizing on the potential application of FCD for traffic signal real-time control. This paper aims to evidence the most important concepts that can be extracted from the literature on this important topic

A Cooperative Intelligent Transportation System for Traffic Light Regulation Based on Mobile Devices as Floating Car Data (FCD)

This paper carries on an analysis in a simulation framework to establish numerically what would happen at the launch of the system and when the subscriber base increases. It shows that after around 35% of subscribers would have joined, the system would operate more democratically and very efficiently in traffic regulation by estimating the position of all vehicles in the network using the subscriber base as a sample for the whole population of cars. An algorithm is proposed for the optimization of an isolated traffic light and for an isolated corridor. Micro-simulation has been used to make confrontations and estimation, in the analyzed scenarios, between the proposed system (using active mobile phone as sensors) and fixed time signal settings based on standard Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) procedure.Numerical results are obtained that assess the proposed system from the point of view of both subscriber advantages and overall network travel time reduction depending on different subscriber rates in the driver population. Results have shown a great convenience of the system for low traffic flows and intersections not perfectly regulated. The proposed optimization algorithm can be extended to a whole network.This paper presents and analyzes a new Cooperative Intelligent Transportation System based on a simple concept: the use of information coming from the network of internet connected mobile devices to regulate traffic light systems. The new idea explored in this paper is a traffic light system with green cycles actuated by the information coming from mobile phone vehicle probes that would allow:1)       regulating traffic lights or offering information to drivers taking advantage of Floating Car Data (FCD);2)       convincing drivers to accept this system as beneficial and adopt it promptly and voluntarily becoming part of a successful cooperative system.The idea presented in this paper is conceptually very simple: drivers interested in the service would install a mobile phone application on mobile devices with GNSS capabilities (such as GPS or Galileo system). This would allow the traffic light regulation system to know the position of subscribers and regulate traffic lights according to this. The fast and successful launch of the system would be guaranteed by the fact that, in the launch phase, the first drivers using the system would be given green priority on other drivers

mobile for emergencies m4em a cooperative software tool for emergency management operations

Abstract In serious emergencies, as in the case of floods and extreme weather conditions, where a substantial number of people are involved and over vast areas which may also involve different provinces, currently civil protection planning carries on emergency management operations within rigid schemes. A procedure that would be capable of handling events acquiring data continuously and developing real time solutions in a highly flexible manner has not yet been proposed. This research focuses on how the systematization of information systems and communication processes can improve the management of emergencies caused by extreme weather and climate events. The objectives of improved service, levels of safety and sustainability of the intervention in emergencies would be obtained through a centralized decision support system. The system and tools that are presented in this paper aim to respond to emergency issues dynamically responding to the dynamics of the events by taking advantage of an information system capable of sharing data, notifications, service orders, appeals for help, information on the status of the transport network and any other information. The system would provide decision support by acquiring information from smartphones and other nomadic devices; it would so provide exchange of information in real time on one or more virtual platforms among stakeholders and between them and the citizens. Substantially, the system is based on smartphone applications coupled with a central management emergency Decision Support System specifically built to make best use of the possibilities offered by the latest telematics systems and cooperative web and phone-based tools

the use of smartphones to assess the feasibility of a cooperative intelligent transportation safety system based on surrogate measures of safety

Abstract The future of road transportation is going to be shaped by connectivity and autonomous driving. Connected and autonomous vehicles are expected to increase safety and reduce traffic congestion. Once all the vehicles are connected and geo-localized there might still be a need to integrate a different level of autonomous vehicles on the road: from the human driven vehicle to the fully autonomous vehicle. While surrogate safety measures have been extensively considered to estimate the risk of accidents due to improper driving, there has been no attempt to use them to help drivers achieve a better driving style. This paper presents an experimentation on the idea to warn drivers when they are driving in such a way (owing to their interactions with other vehicles) that could potentially lead to an accident. In the proposed system the driver is warned of the risk of collision by the combined use of localization (GPS) gathered information and the application of road safety indicators such as Deceleration Rate to Avoid a Crash, Time To Collision and others. The experimentation involving car-following vehicles showed the feasibility, with existing technologies, of using surrogate measures of safety to assist the driver in keeping a better driving trajectory. Once connected vehicles are introduced on the market, the presented results can be a base to develop commercial smartphone applications that will allow users of "not connected" old vehicles to also take advantage of real time driving assistance for a safer use of the road