Human factors and road tunnel safety regarding users

This report aims to improve the understanding of user behaviour in road tunnels in both normal and critical situations and to provide recommendations for tunnel design and operation. After an introduction of the human decision process, the report presents observations of the behaviour of tunnel users in normal and critical situations. Facing these different situations, the minimum measures required by the European Union directive of April 2006 are discussed and additional measures are recommended. [...]

Urban road tunnels - Recommendations to managers and operating bodies for design, management, operation and maintenance

Urban road tunnels are unique in terms of traffic characteristics (high volume, congestion during commuter periods, wide variety of vehicles, high percentage of buses, etc.), infrastructural design, difficulty of closing and urban environment. Recommendations are presented to managers and operating bodies not only for the operation of existing tunnels but also for the design, management, operation and maintenance of urban road tunnels. The recommendations for existing tunnels are aimed at traffic [...]

Road tunnels: an assessment of fixed fire fighting systems

The report reviews: the previous studies on this topic carried out by PIARC and the recent developments since the release of the PIARC report on this subject in 1999; the lessons drawn from the past fires and holistic approach to fixed fire fighting systems (FFFS); consideration of FFFS in the general framework of tunnel safety and study of their interaction with ventilation, requirements related to FFFS. In addition, the report contains many bibliographical references, a description [...]

Road tunnels: a guide to optimising the air quality impact upon the environment

Air quality has become a topic of concern in the planning, design and operation process of road tunnels. This is a state-of-the-art report on the knowledge and regulations in the field of road traffic impact on air quality. It also provides a detailed description of air quality optimization at tunnel portals, pollution dispersion from air tunnels, chimneys and openings. A diagnosis is made on the type and performance of the various measures and technologies to reduce the level of pollutant emissions [...]

Management of the operator - Emergency teams interface in road tunnels

The purpose of this report is to assist the owners, operators of tunnels and emergency services to coordinate their operations in order to improve the level of safety for users, staff members and emergency teams during serious tunnel fires and tunnel incidents. The first part presents the most relevant lessons learned from the more serious tunnel fires of the last decades. It explains the development of lorry fires and emphasizes the utmost importance of reducing the duration of all the precursor [...]