The analysis of heavy metal pollutants emitted by railway transport

Recently, concern for a rapid increase in heavy metal pollutants released by railway transport has been expressed. Most of pollutant emissions from combustion processes are related to fuel consumption in the internal combustion engines of traction rolling stock. The main pollutants released into the environment cover particulate matter, volatile non-methane organic compounds, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. In this way, it is likely that the biggest polluters of the environment are traction units with internal combustion engines. However, other types of pollution are possible, where polluters can be not only traction rolling stock with the internal combustion engines, but also electric locomotive. For example, when due to friction of metals and deterioration of rolling stock wheels, heavy metals such as aerosols are released into the atmosphere, soil, surface and ground water, etc. and severely pollute the railway environment. Along with an increase in the electrification of railways, local environmental pollution is likely to be increased in the future. High pollution by heavy metals can also occur near the track storing creosote-impregnated wooden railway sleepers. Having analysed railway transport intensity and in order to assess pollution level, the stations of three major cities of Lithuania (Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda) were selected to investigate heavy metal pollutants (lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn)) acting as the most toxic and widespread elements. The highest concentrations of Pb (up to 50 mg/kg) were found at a distance of 5.0 m from railway sleepers in the upper (up to 10 cm) soil layer at Vilnius Railway Station. A comparison of the results of the investigated soil across the tested stations showed that Klaipėda Railway Station was the area most polluted with Cd. The highest concentrations of Cd (up to 1.5…1.8 mg/kg) were established at a varying distance of 5…10 m from the sleepers in the upper (up to 10 cm) soil layer of light loam. Among the investigated stations, the lowest pollution by heavy metals, including Zn, was found at Kaunas Railway Station where sandy loam dominated. A comparison of heavy metal pollutants deposited on the intact used and rotten wooden railway sleepers disclosed that the latter were more heavily contaminated with heavy metals and made from 8 to 13 mg/kg for Pb, from 0.3 to 1.2 mg/kg for Cd, from 13.8 to 66 mg/kg for Zn

Assessment of special plans and technical designs with regard to traffic safety

Traffic safety situation in Lithuania, despite the progress made in 2008, is still not good enough compared to the other European Union countries. Therefore, Lithuania implements the traffic safety improvement measures affecting all the elements of the traffic safety system “Road user‐road‐vehicle”. In 2008 Lithuania started implementing the road safety audit procedure which substantially contributes to the improvement of safety situation on Lithuanian roads. This article gives the analysis of road safety audits of special plans and technical designs for road construction and reconstruction in Lithuania, makes the analysis of the main deficiencies of plans and designs and gives recommendations for their elimination. Santrauka Eismo saugumo situacija Lietuvoje, nepaisant 2008 m. pasiektos pažangos, vis dar yra nepakankamai gera, palyginti su kitomis Europos Sąjungos šalimis. Atsižvelgiant į tai, Lietuvoje įgyvendinamos eismo saugumo gerinimo priemonės, darančios įtaką visiems eismo saugumo sistemos „Eismo dalyvis–kelias–transporto priemonė“ elementams. Lietuvoje 2008 m. buvo pradėta taikyti kelių saugumo audito procedūra, kuri prisideda prie eismo saugumo gerinimo Lietuvos automobilių keliuose. Straipsnyje pateikta Lietuvoje atliktų specialiųjų planų ir automobilių kelių tiesimo bei rekonstrukcijos techninių projektų kelių saugumo auditų analizė, išanalizuoti pagrindiniai planų ir projektų trūkumai, pateiktos rekomendacijos jiems šalinti. First Published Online: 15 Oct 2010 Reikšminiai žodžiai: eismo saugumas keliuose, eismo įvykiai, kelių saugumo auditas

Traffic Calming Measures: An Evaluation of the Effect on Driving Speed

Road accidents are one of the leading causes of death in the world, particularly among young people. Excessive speed is one of the main risk factors in road traffic safety, increasing accident probability and affecting accident severity. Experimental research of the traffic calming measures allocation effect on the driving speed is presented in this paper. The research has been carried out on two aspects. The first one with respect to the mean speed and the second one regarding instantaneous speed. However, the paper is not only restricted by the above research. Standardized survey interview and questioning, a survey of public opinion, was carried out to find out the road users’ opinions about the need for traffic calming measures and speed control measures. Finally, the authors presented their insights and recommendations for the installation of speed humps and gateways and their optimum spacing.</p

Road Accident Prediction Model for the Roads of National Significance of Lithuania

Disertacijoje nagrinėjamos kelių infrastruktūros saugumo valdymo procedūros ir jų įgyvendinimo galimybės Lietuvos valstybinės reikšmės automobilių keliuose. Pagrindinis tyrimo objektas – eismo įvykių skaičiaus prognozavimas, eismo saugumo lygių nustatymas kelių tinkle. Pagrindinis disertacijos tikslas – panaudojant užsienio šalių patirtį, sudaryti ir įdiegti eismo įvykių prognozavimo modelį Lietuvos valstybinės reikšmės automobilių keliams. Disertacijoje išspręsti šie pagrindiniai uždaviniai: atlikta eismo įvykių prognozavimo metodų analizė, sudarytas eismo įvykių prognozavimo algoritmas Lietuvos automobilių keliams, sudaryti matematiniai eismo įvykių prognozavimo modeliai homogeninėms kelių ir sankryžų grupėms, nustatyti eismo saugumo lygiai kelių tinkle bei išskirti potencialiai pavojingi kelių ruožai, realizuotas eismo įvykių prognozavimo modelis kompiuterinėje programoje, atlikti kompiuterinės programos bandomieji skaičiavimai. Disertaciją sudaro įvadas, keturi skyriai, rezultatų apibendrinimas, naudotos literatūros ir autoriaus publikacijų disertacijos tema sąrašai ir 6 priedai. Įvadiniame skyriuje aptariama tiriamoji problema, darbo aktualumas, aprašomas tyrimų objektas, formuluojamas darbo tikslas bei uždaviniai, aprašoma tyrimų metodika, darbo mokslinis naujumas, darbo rezultatų praktinė reikšmė, ginamieji teiginiai. Įvado pabaigoje pristatomos disertacijos tema autoriaus paskelbtos publikacijos ir pranešimai konferencijose bei disertacijos struktūra. Pirmajame skyriuje atlikta kelių infrastruktūros saugumo valdymo procedūrų ir jų įgyvendinimo analizė. Skyriaus pabaigoje formuluojamos išvados ir tikslinami disertacijos uždaviniai. Antrajame skyriuje pateikta eismo įvykių prognozavimo modelių apžvalga ir jų sudarymo principai. Trečiajame skyriuje sudarytas eismo įvykių prognozavimo algoritmas Lietuvos valstybinės reikšmės automobilių keliams, sudaryti matematiniai eismo įvykių prognozavimo modeliai homogeninėms kelių ir sankryžų grupėms, nustatyti eismo saugumo lygiai kelių tinkle ir išskirti potencialiai pavojingi eismo saugumo požiūriu kelių ruožai. Ketvirtajame skyriuje aprašytas programinės įrangos, skirtos įdiegti sudarytą eismo įvykių prognozavimo algoritmą, testavimas ir analizė. Disertacijos tema paskelbti penki straipsniai: trys – periodiniame mokslo žurnale, įtrauktame į Thomson ISI Web of Science sąrašą, du – recenzuojamose tarptautinių konferencijų medžiagose. Disertacijos tema perskaityti 5 pranešimai tarptautinėse konferencijose

Analysis of Older Pedestrian Accidents: A Case Study of Lithuania

However, for several decades, Europe has been witnessing demographic ageing. As a result of these changes, a more significant number of elderly road users will be involved in future traffic, and therefore safe mobility management of the older will become an increasingly important issue. Various physical, sensory, and cognitive constraints affecting elderly road users lead to a rise in the likelihood of an accident, which, due to the increased physical vulnerability, cause more serious consequences of road accidents. The findings reported by the authors of an in-depth analysis of accidents for four years have demonstrated that the risk of road fatalities for elderly road users is by one fifth more significant than the average of all age groups, and the pedestrian plays the most critical role in road traffic. To adequately compensate for the observed age-related physiological changes, the authors discuss actions and road safety measures to ensure appropriate conditions for older pedestrians on the streets

Road Safety Assessment Considering the Expected Fatal Accident Density

Network-wide road safety assessment throughout the whole network is one of the four road infrastructure safety management procedures regulated by Directive 2019/1936/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 Аmending Directive 2008/96/EC on Road Infrastructure Safety Management and one of the methods for determining the direction of investment in road safety. So far, the implementation of the procedure has been lightly regulated and adapted using various road safety indicators. The paper describes the evaluation of road accident data that is one of the criteria for conducting a network-wide road safety assessment. Taking into consideration that networkwide road safety assessment is a proactive road safety activity, the paper proposes to conduct road safety assessment considering the expected fatal accident density. Such assessment makes it possible to assess the severity of accidents, and the use of the predicted road accident data on calculating the introduced road accident rate contributing to the prevention of accidents. The paper describes both the empirical Bayes method for predicting road accidents and the application of one of the road safety indicators – the expected fatal accident density – to determine five road safety categories across the road network. The paper demonstrates the application of the proposals submitted to Lithuanian highways using road accident and traffic data for the period 2014–2018

Impact of E-Scooters on Road Safety: A Case Study in Lithuania

The rapidly growing popularity of electric scooters in recent years has allowed the road user to choose another alternative mode of transportation. On the one hand, it is an ecological means of transportation in the city, allowing you to quickly reach your destination; on the other hand, it is a vehicle that causes risk to road safety. Although this is a fairly new mode of transport, it is already of great concern for road safety authorities. E-scooter accidents are recorded with all road users – pedestrians, bicyclists, motor vehicles, other e-scooter riders, or even alone. In this article, the analysis made according to the accident data of 2019–2020 showed that the highest number of accidents occurred between e-scooters and vehicles. Most e-scooter accidents with motor vehicles occur in the intersection zone or during a vehicle turning manoeuvre to (or from) side streets and exit lanes. A descriptive statistical analysis showed that the proportions of the distribution of road accidents between accident participants changed significantly during the analysis period – the number of road accidents between e-scooters and bicycles increased, while the number of accidents between e-scooters and pedestrians decreased. The road accidents between e-scooters and other vulnerable road users are usually caused by sudden, unexpected manoeuvring of road users. Identification of accident schemes and locations is an additional tool for traffic organisation specialists and road safety professionals to prevent accidents, injuries, and fatalities

Road Accident Prediction Model for the Roads of National Significance of Lithuania

This summary of the author’s PhD thesis defended on 20 December 2012 at the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. The thesis is written in Lithuanian and is available from the author upon request. Chapter 1 describes the analysis of road infrastructure safety management procedures and their implementation. Chapter 2 gives the overview of accident prediction models and the principles of their development. Chapter 3 presents the designed accident prediction algorithm for the roads of national significance of Lithuania, the developed mathematical accident prediction models for homogenous groups of roads and junctions, the implemented network safety ranking and the determined road sections with a potentially high accident concentration. Chapter 4 describes the testing and analysis of software intended for the implementation of accident prediction algorithm

The Analysis of Implementation Possibilities of Sectorial Automated Vehicle Speed Control Systems on the Roads of Lithuania

Excess speed is one of the largest road safety problems causing the increased risk of road crashes. A wide range of safety improvement measures, both educational and engineering, are being implemented to solve this problem. The main objective of those measures is to force vehicle drivers to observe the speed limit requirements and to ensure enforcement of speed requirements. This paper gives an overview of the impact of vehicle speeds on road safety and the effect of safety improvement measures. Possibilities for the implementation of sectorial vehicle speed enforcement system on the roads of national significance of Lithuania are presented. The paper contains criteria for the selection of road sections of Lithuania where the sectorial vehicle speed enforcement system could be installed. The amount of investments is also given necessary for the installation of sectorial vehicle speed enforcement system on the selected road sections as well as their one-year maintenance. Taking into consideration the damage incurred by the country due the people killed on roads a pay-back period of the sectorial vehicle speed enforcement system is determined