RAINVISION
| RAINVISION | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type: Field operational test | |
| Tested system/service: Infrastructure | |
| Countries: Belgium, France, Germany, UK, Austria | ? test users |
| 5 partners | ? vehicles |
| Active from 2012/01/01 to 2014 | |
| Contact | |
| http://www.rainvision.eu | |
| Konstandinos Diamandouros | |
| k.diamandouros@erf.be | |
| ERF Europe | |
| Catalogue entries | |
| Data catalogue | Tools catalogue |
| Data sets used in this FOT: No data set is |
The following tools were used in this FOT: No tool is linked |
Road markings are an essential component of a modern road infrastructure, providing valuable guidance to vehicles on the road and, thus improving safety and driver comfort. While previous research has confirmed the correlation between road safety and road markings during dry night-time conditions, there has been little focus on wet and wet and rainy conditions.
RAINVISION aims to fill the gap by studying the influence of road marking on driver behaviour, by mainly analysing how different age groups (young vs middle vs old) and different gender groups (male vs female) adapt their driving behaviour on the basis of the visibility and retroflectivity of road markings under all weather conditions, (i.e. dry, wet, wet and rainy) during night time driving.
To undertake this task, the RAINVISION consortium, comprising five partners from five European countries, will deploy a three level innovative approach that will entail, first a simulation phase, second an off-road test track and finally, an on-site field operational test.
The results of the various trials will be transposed into a recommendations handbook aimed at road authorities and operators that will be presented once the RAINVISION project concludes its operations at the end of 2013. RAINVISION will deploy an innovative three level approach that will involve:
A simulation phase which will entail the use of computer simulation technology, to perform a series of tests to study driver behaviour in relationship to different road conditions that will facilitate the determination of the performance levels of the materials used for the track test.
A track test phase whereby, on the basis of the findings of the simulation studies, volunteer drivers will perform runs on track tests that will designed to correspond to different scenarios.
An on road test, which will entail the application of different types of road markings materials on rural roads in the United Kingdom and monitor their impact on driver behaviour over a specific time frame.
A road test under real driving conditions will be conducted in the United Kingdom. In cooperation with local authorities, a total of 20 locations will be identifiied in order to provide a robust statistical base for analysis. They will be identified on the basis of a accident data collected over the previous calendar year. Once the suitable 'black spots' are identified, they will be split into two sets of 10 locations; following the collection of baseline speed data, road marking materials with 2 different levels of wet night performance will be installed, one type at each set of locations. Accident and driver speed data will then be collected over a full climatic cycle, before a detailed analysis is undertaken in order to evaluate the impact of the enhanced markings on accident levels and driver behaviour in terms of speeding. A driver interaction campaign will be undertaken within each local authority area to evaluate a range of responses from drivers in relation to the impact of the markings.
The three stages of the on road test can be summarised as follows:
Stage 1 - Site identification and initial data collection i)Identification of high risk sites suitable for application of high performance materials ii)Initial data collation of accident statistics over previous 12 month period. iii)Establishment of baseline driver speed data on all selected sites with up to 6 weeks data collected on each site.
Stage 2 - On Road Test
i) Installation of high performance wet night visibility products to all identified sites - 10 sites with Wet night visibility performance product - 10 sites with Enhanced Wet night visibility performance product
ii)Discrete monitoring of driver speed on each site over the duration of the climatic cycle (10 mobile cameras for 20 sites) iii)Collation of accident statistics for period of one climatic cycle following initial installation iv)Driver interaction programme via internet and regional radio
Stage 3 – Detailed statistical analysis of speed and accident data i)Analysis of available speed data per site and across all sites ii)Analysis of available accident data per site and across all sites iii)Preparation and submission of On Road Test report
Details of Field Operational Test
Start date and duration of FOT execution
September/October 2012 – 1 year
Geographical Coverage
Europe. Field Operational Test: United Kingdom
Objectives
RAINVISION aims to study the influence of road marking on driver behaviour, by mainly analysing how different age groups (young vs middle vs old) and different gender groups (male vs female) adapt their driving behaviour on the basis of the visibility and retroflectivity of road markings under all weather conditions, (i.e. dry, wet, wet and rainy) during night time driving. The basic questions that will be addressed are:
- Does better visibility of pavement markings during wet and rainy nights contribute
to better driving comfort and road safety?
- How does the impact of increased visibility vary according to age?
Other things being equal, do men and women show different reactions?
Results
Lessons learned
Main events
Financing
Summary, type of funding and budget
Overall
~ € 785,000
Public
€ 392,500
Private
€ 392,500
Cooperation partners and contact persons
ERF (Belgium) Aximum (France) 3M (Germany) Road Safety Markings Association (UK) Test and Training International (Austria)
