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PRODID:-//Memento EPFL//
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SUMMARY:Reliability of motorway operation
DTSTART:20130314T121500
DTEND:20130314T131500
DTSTAMP:20260609T230244Z
UID:9d53441fd8a0382a4c69f9f7fa596938c71db2f1680b31347234297a
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Werner Brilon\nTraditionally\, traffic on highways is pl
 anned and operated with respect to the objectives safety\, efficiency\, ec
 ology\, and cost effectiveness. Meanwhile\, however\, the target of reliab
 ility is turning out as a dominating aspect of traffic performance.\nRelia
 bility is the probability that a highway facility can be used with a suffi
 cient performance which reasonably can be expected as a minimum by road us
 ers. Times of congestion with significantly lower speeds constitute a brea
 kdown of traffic flow. Breakdowns due to excessive traffic demand can be a
 nalysed using theoretical approaches obtained from lifetime statistics. Th
 e probability of traffic volumes which cause a breakdown can be described 
 by a Weibull-distribution.\nIn addition to temporary overload\, delays to 
 traffic are also caused by work-zones and accidents/incidents. These occas
 ional events are the source of major economic losses.\nTo investigate the 
 consequences of unreliability of traffic operation on motorways it seems t
 o be necessary to study the occurrence of congestion over longer periods\,
  e.g. for a whole year (whole year analysis\, WYA). This method makes it p
 ossible to analyse the combined effects from traffic engineering therapy a
 nd organisational treatments. WYA can also include effects of weather\, ac
 cidents\, and incidents on traffic performance. This approach to modern tr
 affic engineering by reliability is receiving increased attention in sever
 al countries worldwide.\nTo increase reliability of motorway traffic a bun
 dle of actions might be taken which go far beyond the traditional approach
  of traffic engineering. Some solutions as examples for technical approach
 es can be: traffic adaptive speed control\, ramp metering\, overtaking res
 trictions for trucks\, etc.  However\, in many cases organizational appro
 aches become far more efficient than technical solutions. Examples are: de
 mand management\, intelligent workzone scheduling\, variable tolls\, chang
 es of rules for the police to clear places of accidents and incidents\, pe
 nalties for drivers or vehicles owners who block the road by incidents or 
 accidents\, and others. Moreover\, education of drivers towards smooth tra
 ffic behaviour may improve the reliability under traffic demand levels nea
 r capacity. Also everything which helps to avoid accidents supports reliab
 ility since an accident is always a major source of impediments to traffic
  flow.\nBio: Prof. Brilon graduated from Karlsruhe University Germany\, wh
 ere he also got his phd. He started his career as an official with the sta
 te highway administration in Germany where he finally worked at the state 
 ministry of transportation in Stuttgart\, Germany. He got his professorshi
 p at the Ruhr-University Bochum in 1983. He teached traffic engineering an
 d transportation planning until 2009. During his university career he was 
 conducting many research projects\, mainly on topics of\nmotorway traffic 
 analysis\, unsignalized and signalized intersections and other areas. He w
 as and is still involved in several technical committees in Germany and in
  the US. Among others\, he was member of the scientific advisory board to 
 the federal minister of transport. At the moment he is still chairman of t
 he committee for the development of the next German Highway Capacity Manua
 l.
LOCATION:GC C330
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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