Rail Safety And Reliability: A Human Factors/Ergonomics Approach. Recent rail crashes have focussed rail operators and the public on issues of rail safety and reliabilty. The project is a major initiative that will assist the development of safer and more reliable rail operations through the application of human factors and ergonomics methods to the design of train control and management devices and systems.
Safety in the Heavy Vehicle Industry: A Collaborative Response. The management and regulation of heavy vehicles, particularly in relation to safety, is recognised as an urgent issue at all levels of government across Australia. In the absence of research that identifies the key determinants of heavy vehicle crashes, countermeasures will continue to be based on anecdote. The proposed study will determine the role key risk factors, namely scheduling and sleep-related factors, play in heavy vehicl ....Safety in the Heavy Vehicle Industry: A Collaborative Response. The management and regulation of heavy vehicles, particularly in relation to safety, is recognised as an urgent issue at all levels of government across Australia. In the absence of research that identifies the key determinants of heavy vehicle crashes, countermeasures will continue to be based on anecdote. The proposed study will determine the role key risk factors, namely scheduling and sleep-related factors, play in heavy vehicle crashes and will identify cost-effective strategies to reduce the growing economic burden associated with these crashes.Read moreRead less
Modelling the Environmental Impacts of Commercial Vehicle Tours and Freight Management Policies in Urban Areas. Commercial vehicle flows have a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of millions of pedestrians and urban dwellers. Commercial vehicles' environmental costs per kilometre are about four times higher the corresponding environmental costs of a private car. However, the amount and level of these impacts are highly dependent on the population density and its proximity to freight flo ....Modelling the Environmental Impacts of Commercial Vehicle Tours and Freight Management Policies in Urban Areas. Commercial vehicle flows have a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of millions of pedestrians and urban dwellers. Commercial vehicles' environmental costs per kilometre are about four times higher the corresponding environmental costs of a private car. However, the amount and level of these impacts are highly dependent on the population density and its proximity to freight flows. Existing methods to assess environmental impacts such as air quality or noise tend to focus on the production source of the pollutant not the impacts, without providing the necessary framework and methodology to evaluate freight management policies in urban areas.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of train driver work culture and environment for improving railway safety. This innovative research intersects the fields of neurosciences, computer science and engineering, leading to application of new knowledge for developing intelligent train driver systems for improving transport safety. Such research will place Australia at the forefront of this area. Reducing train related accidents will positively impact on the socio economic fabric of society by reducing the emotional and fin ....Evaluation of train driver work culture and environment for improving railway safety. This innovative research intersects the fields of neurosciences, computer science and engineering, leading to application of new knowledge for developing intelligent train driver systems for improving transport safety. Such research will place Australia at the forefront of this area. Reducing train related accidents will positively impact on the socio economic fabric of society by reducing the emotional and financial burden to the community. The research has the potential to lead to substantial revenue generation in Australia in the future. The data obtained will provide new knowledge and information to transport and Government authorities.Read moreRead less
Best Fit Interventions in Fleet Safety. Work related vehicle crashes account for 20% of workplace fatalities and 13% of the national road toll. Industry often, unsuccessfully, initiates single intervention strategies to address all fleet related road safety issues. However, road safety research suggests that approaches need to be multi-dimensional. CARRS-Q (a leading centre in road safety research) in conjunction with Telstra (who operate Australia's largest national vehicle fleet) intend t ....Best Fit Interventions in Fleet Safety. Work related vehicle crashes account for 20% of workplace fatalities and 13% of the national road toll. Industry often, unsuccessfully, initiates single intervention strategies to address all fleet related road safety issues. However, road safety research suggests that approaches need to be multi-dimensional. CARRS-Q (a leading centre in road safety research) in conjunction with Telstra (who operate Australia's largest national vehicle fleet) intend to develop a multi-dimensional approach to improving fleet safety and establish the true industry costs of fleet related crashes. This research will enable industry to reduce work place death and injury resulting in socio/economic advantage to Australia. Read moreRead less
IMPACTS OF TRANSIT LED DEVELOPMENT IN A NEW RAIL CORRIDOR. Impacts of transit-oriented development (TOD) in precincts adjoining the new Perth-Mandurah railway will be addressed by longitudinal survey. Results of a revealed preference questionnaire about actual trips will be combined with a stated choice questionnaire. Aims are to quantify the effects of TOD on rail and car use and on daily activities, new railway services on the travel behaviour of households near new station precincts, differin ....IMPACTS OF TRANSIT LED DEVELOPMENT IN A NEW RAIL CORRIDOR. Impacts of transit-oriented development (TOD) in precincts adjoining the new Perth-Mandurah railway will be addressed by longitudinal survey. Results of a revealed preference questionnaire about actual trips will be combined with a stated choice questionnaire. Aims are to quantify the effects of TOD on rail and car use and on daily activities, new railway services on the travel behaviour of households near new station precincts, differing accessibility of station precincts on household travel patterns, improved accessibility on economic activity and employment. Replacement of car-trips by walking and cycling, changes in shopping & leisure activities & the effect of trip-chaining on number of trips are of particular interest.Read moreRead less
Work related road safety countermeasures in a large fleet (QFleet). Despite accounting for more than 20% of the road crashes, relatively little research has been conducted on fleet safety in Australia. This research will develop guidelines for current best practice and design, implement and evaluate several new countermeasures. More importantly, it will develop a comprehensive model for future design, implementation and evaluation of fleet safety that will extend the frontier of knowledge in cra ....Work related road safety countermeasures in a large fleet (QFleet). Despite accounting for more than 20% of the road crashes, relatively little research has been conducted on fleet safety in Australia. This research will develop guidelines for current best practice and design, implement and evaluate several new countermeasures. More importantly, it will develop a comprehensive model for future design, implementation and evaluation of fleet safety that will extend the frontier of knowledge in crash analysis and prevention. By working closely with QFleet, current fleet safety thinking will be advanced to reduce the frequency and severity of road crashes thereby reducing road trauma and increasing business effectiveness.Read moreRead less
DEVELOPING SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR THE RAPID DETECTION SYSTEM OF DIESEL VEHICLES WITH HIGH LEVEL OF EXHAUST EMISSIONS. Diesel vehicle exhaust is a significant source of air pollution leading to major human health problems. However, only a small fraction of vehicles with high exhaust emissions cause the majority of this pollution. Initially, this research will develop a model of dispersion of pollutants into the environment immediately after emission. This model will be the scientific foundation for ....DEVELOPING SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR THE RAPID DETECTION SYSTEM OF DIESEL VEHICLES WITH HIGH LEVEL OF EXHAUST EMISSIONS. Diesel vehicle exhaust is a significant source of air pollution leading to major human health problems. However, only a small fraction of vehicles with high exhaust emissions cause the majority of this pollution. Initially, this research will develop a model of dispersion of pollutants into the environment immediately after emission. This model will be the scientific foundation for the development of an efficient and economical rapid detection system for those vehicles with high exhaust emissions. The major outcome is to improve air quality and lower the occurrence/severity of airborne pollution induced health effects.Read moreRead less
Heavy vehicle peaks in the pattern of night-time road traffic noise: Human health and management of urban freight movement. The Australian road freight industry is a significant economic activity and is growing at an unprecedented rate. Also growing is community reaction to the health effects of truck noise, to the extent that it is recognised as a major constraint to future transport operations, particularly night-time movements in metropolitan areas and in rural towns. This research will benef ....Heavy vehicle peaks in the pattern of night-time road traffic noise: Human health and management of urban freight movement. The Australian road freight industry is a significant economic activity and is growing at an unprecedented rate. Also growing is community reaction to the health effects of truck noise, to the extent that it is recognised as a major constraint to future transport operations, particularly night-time movements in metropolitan areas and in rural towns. This research will benefit the community as well as transportation and environmental authorities at all levels of government that are grappling with the challenge of managing constraints to the growth of this important industry but at the same time protecting human health and well-being.Read moreRead less
Improving Road Safety and Driver Security: The Case of High Risk Fleet (Taxi) Drivers in Australia. Road crashes constitute a major cause of death and injury in Australia and taxis have a 22 times higher crash rate compared to private passenger vehicles. In addition to their high crash risks, 1/3 of all taxi drivers have experienced physical assaults. This innovative study will examine the circumstances that contribute toward taxi crashes and assaults on drivers and more importantly, it will des ....Improving Road Safety and Driver Security: The Case of High Risk Fleet (Taxi) Drivers in Australia. Road crashes constitute a major cause of death and injury in Australia and taxis have a 22 times higher crash rate compared to private passenger vehicles. In addition to their high crash risks, 1/3 of all taxi drivers have experienced physical assaults. This innovative study will examine the circumstances that contribute toward taxi crashes and assaults on drivers and more importantly, it will design, implement and evaluate a program of countermeasures to improve the safety and security of taxi drivers, which will contribute significantly toward reducing the truma related to road crashes in Australia and assaults on public transport drivers.Read moreRead less