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
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.
Hybrid Job Shop Techniques for Dynamic Train Scheduling. The job shop approach to dynamic train scheduling promises considerable benefits over existing approaches, and allows problems of large size and complexity to be solved with great accuracy. The application of research results in Australia has the potential to:
- reduce train delays and costs by better planning of train schedules of railway systems;
- reduce transport costs to rail customers and increase rail's market share of freight ....Hybrid Job Shop Techniques for Dynamic Train Scheduling. The job shop approach to dynamic train scheduling promises considerable benefits over existing approaches, and allows problems of large size and complexity to be solved with great accuracy. The application of research results in Australia has the potential to:
- reduce train delays and costs by better planning of train schedules of railway systems;
- reduce transport costs to rail customers and increase rail's market share of freight movements;
- enhance the ability of operators to control operations in an efficient manner and minimise conflicts;
- to increase efficiency of Australian Railway System, leading to lower operating and capital costs;
- optimise the energy consumed.
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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
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
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
A Human Factors Approach to the Design of Visual Information in the Highway Environment. Visual information in the highway environment affects drivers' perception, behaviour, and accident propensity. Using a range of methods and approaches, issues of key importance in road design will be addressed, e.g. (1) how increasing visual clutter in the road environment affects accident-producing behaviour, (2) how certain road situations create particular problems for the increasing number of older drive ....A Human Factors Approach to the Design of Visual Information in the Highway Environment. Visual information in the highway environment affects drivers' perception, behaviour, and accident propensity. Using a range of methods and approaches, issues of key importance in road design will be addressed, e.g. (1) how increasing visual clutter in the road environment affects accident-producing behaviour, (2) how certain road situations create particular problems for the increasing number of older drivers, and (3) how the road environment can be redesigned to reduce fundamental perceptual errors made by drivers. The proposal will generate new guidelines for how future road design can be optimised to minimise crash rates.Read moreRead less
Exploring Behavioural Responses of Motorists to Exposure-Based Charging Mechanisms. Our continued reliance on cars is estimated to cost the Australian economy around $50 billion per year in accidents, congestion and air pollution. This project delivers a new approach to reduce these externalities, in which charges are levied on drivers based on their accident history, the kilometres driven and the circumstances under which these kilometres are driven. In addition to the safety and congestion ben ....Exploring Behavioural Responses of Motorists to Exposure-Based Charging Mechanisms. Our continued reliance on cars is estimated to cost the Australian economy around $50 billion per year in accidents, congestion and air pollution. This project delivers a new approach to reduce these externalities, in which charges are levied on drivers based on their accident history, the kilometres driven and the circumstances under which these kilometres are driven. In addition to the safety and congestion benefits, the outcomes of the project will be of importance to those charged with raising revenue to support infrastructure maintenance and development, and the insurance industry as a basis for reducing risks in driving and making premiums more equitable.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
Occupant Protection in Far-side Crashes. Regulations and interventions to protect far-side occupants in side impact crashes do not currently exist, even though far-side occupants account for up to 40% of harm in real world side impact crashes. Through a comprehensive test schedule this research will develop an understanding of occupant biomechanics and injury mechanisms during far-side collisions. Current dummy bio-fidelity can then be assessed and improved, appropriate far-side test measures d ....Occupant Protection in Far-side Crashes. Regulations and interventions to protect far-side occupants in side impact crashes do not currently exist, even though far-side occupants account for up to 40% of harm in real world side impact crashes. Through a comprehensive test schedule this research will develop an understanding of occupant biomechanics and injury mechanisms during far-side collisions. Current dummy bio-fidelity can then be assessed and improved, appropriate far-side test measures developed, and recommendation for regulations made. It is anticipated that application of these test procedures will allow the development of innovative and world-leading far-side countermeasures that will ultimately improve vehicle occupant safety.Read moreRead less