Road traffic accidents in Singapore expressway tunnels

Abstract In rapidly growing economies with limited land space, underground road tunnels are becoming more prevalent. Before the implementation of large-scale underground road systems, it is necessary to garner more knowledge on their implications and impacts. This study examined 608 road traffic accidents (RTAs) that occurred in the three Singapore expressway tunnels, over 2009–2011. Each road tunnel was divided into three zones and RTA characteristics were analysed for each zone. The analyses reveal that RTA rates are higher in the transition zones compared to the interior zones, being mostly attributed to multivehicle crashes. However, mean casualty per RTA was found to be higher in the interior zones. Upon disaggregation by travel direction, it was found that RTAs are more likely to occur when entering the tunnel than exiting. The implications of the findings are discussed.

[1]  Pierre Bélanger,et al.  Underground landscape: The urbanism and infrastructure of Toronto’s downtown pedestrian network , 2007 .

[2]  Per Olof Sahlström.  USING TUNNELS FOR ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE: A SOLUTION TO STOCKHOLM'S TRAFFIC DILEMMA , 1990 .

[3]  Daniel Alvear,et al.  Decision support system for emergency management: Road tunnels , 2013 .

[4]  Sheng-rui Zhang,et al.  Characteristics of traffic accidents in Chinese freeway tunnels , 2009 .

[5]  Aine Kusumawati,et al.  Traffic safety at road junctions , 2008 .

[6]  Jorge Curiel-Esparza,et al.  Assessing governance issues of urban utility tunnels , 2013 .

[7]  Liping Li,et al.  A study of an optimal smoke control strategy for an Urban Traffic Link Tunnel fire , 2011 .

[8]  Paola Russo,et al.  Numerical simulation of different HGV fire scenarios in curved bi-directional road tunnels and safety evaluation , 2012 .

[9]  Chandrasekar Palanisamy,et al.  Accident characteristics by road types on Singapore roads , 2010 .

[10]  Paola Russo,et al.  Simulation of fire scenarios due to different vehicle types with and without traffic in a bi-directional road tunnel , 2013 .

[11]  Nussbaumer Cornelia,et al.  COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SAFETY IN TUNNELS , 2007 .

[12]  F. H. Amundsen,et al.  Studies on traffic accidents in Norwegian road tunnels , 2000 .

[13]  Frank van der Hoeven.  A review of the impact of the RingRing study for multifunctional motorway tunnels in the Netherlands and beyond , 2011 .

[14]  Kari Rauhala,et al.  Underground space in land-use planning , 1998 .

[15]  Jorge Curiel-Esparza,et al.  Analysing utility tunnels and highway networks coordination dilemma , 2009 .

[16]  Michael A. P. Taylor,et al.  Underground pedestrian systems development in cities: Influencing factors and implications , 2013 .

[17]  A. R. Nilsen,et al.  Automatic fire detection in road traffic tunnels , 2009 .

[18]  Gong Yan-feng,et al.  Full-scale experimental study on smoke flow in natural ventilation road tunnel fires with shafts , 2009 .

[19]  Sebastiano Pelizza,et al.  Criteria for technical and environmental design of tunnel portals , 1997 .

[20]  Fei Ye,et al.  Landscape design of mountain highway tunnel portals in China , 2012 .

[21]  Mostafa Sharifzadeh,et al.  Geotechnical, structural and geodetic measurements for conventional tunnelling hazards in urban areas – The case of Niayesh road tunnel project , 2012 .

[22]  Kerstin Lemke,et al.  Road Safety in Tunnels , 2000 .

[23]  Ta-Yin Hu,et al.  Simulation studies of traffic management strategies for a long tunnel , 2012 .

[24]  Enrico Ronchi,et al.  The evaluation of different evacuation models for assessing road tunnel safety analysis , 2012 .

[25]  Iwan Soemarjo Halim..  Accident studies at road junctions , 2004 .

[26]  Haukur Ingason,et al.  Model of ventilation flows during large tunnel fires , 2012 .

[27]  Alan N. Beard.  Tunnel safety, risk assessment and decision-making , 2010 .

[28]  Raymond L. Sterling,et al.  Underground technologies for livable cities , 1997 .