Marcin Budzyński

Selected Problems of Transport in Port Towns – Tri-City as an Example

Abstract Port towns are strategic places from the point of view of transport systems. They form integration junctions for various transport branches , apart from the traditional - road and railway ones , also for water( sea) transport which is active there. Moreover, air transport comes also into consideration , whose efficient functioning must be connected with good accessibility, that concerns sea transport as well. Efficient and safe servicing the ports is crucial for their functioning. Problems associated with the overloading of lorries, which leads to degradation of road surface structure , observed in Gdynia, are discussed as an example in this paper. Problems of road traffic safety (RTS) are presented in this paper on the example of Gdańsk. The two issues: the road traffic safety and road surface degradation constitute only some transport problems of port towns , but they are very important, from the point of view of their specificity, for integration junctions of all the transport branches for people and goods. However, in discussing selected aspects of transport in port towns it is necessary to refer to the managing of integrated transport system with taking into account its traffic safety aspects.

Studying the Behaviour of Pedestrians and Drivers Within Pedestrian Crossings

Every third road accident in Poland involves a pedestrian as a participant or, most of the time, a casualty. Pedestrian accidents are usually the result of complex situations and the outcome of a number of factors related to driver and pedestrian behaviour and road infrastructure. Safety depends largely on how well the traffic condition is perceived and on visibility in traffic. The relations between pedestrians and motorists and the resulting hazards should researched to ensure that pedestrians are provided with the right conditions for walking.

Road safety inspection as a tool for road safety management – the polish experience

Abstract In Poland, road inspections were implemented in June 2014 on all national roads. Previous traffic surveys mainly looked at the technical condition of roads, signs and markings; other safety issues were overlooked. The main problem of the inspections is that the qualitative assessment is subjective which affects the classification of the sources of hazard on the road. The paper presents an analysis of the variability of the qualitative assessments of road defects when they are assessed by different teams of inspectors. On this basis, guidelines were developed for the classification of risks based on the relationship between sources of road hazard and the personal and economic losses involved in road accidents. These relationships are quantified using mathematical models to simulate the effect of hazard variability on the consequences of selected road accident causes on sections of the road network.

Road Infrastructure Safety Management in Poland

The objective of road safety infrastructure management is to ensure that when roads are planned, designed, built and used road risks can be identified, assessed and mitigated. Road transport safety is significantly less developed than that of rail, water and air transport. The average individual risk of being a fatality in relation to the distance covered is thirty times higher in road transport that in the other modes. This is mainly because the different modes have a different approach to safety management and to the use of risk management methods and tools. In recent years Poland has had one of the European Unions highest road death numbers. In 2016 there were 3026 fatalities on Polish roads with 40,766 injuries. Protecting road users from the risk of injury and death should be given top priority. While Polands national and regional road safety programmes address this problem and are instrumental in systematically reducing the number of casualties, the effects are far from the expectations. Modern approaches to safety focus on three integrated elements: infrastructure measures, safety management and safety culture. Due to its complexity, the process of road safety management requires modern tools to help with identifying road user risks, assess and evaluate the safety of road infrastructure and select effective measures to improve road safety. One possible tool for tackling this problem is the risk-based method for road infrastructure safety management. European Union Directive 2008/96/EC regulates and proposes a list of tools for managing road infrastructure safety. Road safety tools look at two criteria: the life cycle of a road structure and the process of risk management. Risk can be minimized through the application of the proposed interventions during design process as reasonable. The proposed methods of risk management bring together two stages: risk assessment and risk response occurring within the analyzed road structure (road network, road stretch, road section, junction, etc.). The objective of the methods is to help road authorities to take rational decisions in the area of road safety and road infrastructure safety and understand the consequences occurring in the particular phases of road life cycle. To help with assessing the impact of a road project on the safety of related roads, a method was developed for long-term forecasts of accidents and accident cost estimation as well as a risk classification to identify risks that are not acceptable risks. With regard to road safety audits and road safety inspection, a set of principles was developed to identify risks and the basic classification of mistakes and omissions. This work has added to the Polish experience of preparing and implementing such tools within the competent road authorities.

Effect of the Road Environment on Road Safety in Poland

Run-off-road accidents tend to be very severe because when a vehicle leaves the road, it will often crash into a solid obstacle (tree, pole, supports, front wall of a culvert, barrier). A statistical analysis of the data shows that Polands main roadside hazard is trees and the severity of vehicles striking a tree in a run-off-road crash. The risks are particularly high in north-west Poland with many of the roads lined up with trees. Because of the existing rural road cross-sections, i.e. having trees directly on road edge followed immediately by drainage ditches, vulnerable road users are prevented from using shoulders and made to use the roadway. With no legal definition of the road safety zone in Polish regulations, attempts to remove roadside trees lead to major conflicts with environmental stakeholders. This is why a compromise should be sought between the safety of road users and protection of the natural environment and the aesthetics of the road experience. Rather than just cut the trees, other road safety measures should be used where possible to treat the hazardous spots by securing trees and obstacles and through speed management. Accidents that are directly related to the road environment fall into the following categories: hitting a tree, hitting a barrier, hitting a utility pole or sign, vehicle rollover on the shoulder, vehicle rollover on slopes or in ditch. The main consequence of a roadside hazard is not the likelihood of an accident itself but of its severity. Polands roadside accident severity is primarily the result of poor design or operation of road infrastructure. This comes as a consequence of a lack of regulations or poorly defined regulations and failure to comply with road safety standards. The new analytical model was designed as a combination of the different factors and one that will serve as a comprehensive model. It was assumed that it will describe the effect of the roadside on the number of accidents and their consequences. The design of the model was based on recommendations from analysing other models. The assumptions were the following: the model will be used to calculate risk factors and accident severity, the indicators will depend on number of vehicle kilometres travelled or traffic volumes, analyses will be based on accident data: striking a tree, hitting a barrier, hitting a utility pole or sign. Additional data will include roadside information and casualty density measures will be used – killed and injured.

Curb-to-Barrier Face Distance Variation an a TB51 Bridge Barrier Crash Test Simulation

Abstract This paper addresses the problem of road safety regarding barrier placement as relative to the curb. A short summary of existing regulations is presented. Numerical simulations using the explicit finite element system Ls-Dyna are shown. In the analysis, variable distance between the barrier and the curb is assumed. The obtained result reveals that the distance has little impact on the working width of the barrier.