We evaluated the influence of a landscape dominated by agriculture and an extensive road network on fine-scale movements of black bears (Ursus americanus) in south-central Florida. The objectives of this study were to (1) define landscape functionality including corridor use by the directionality and speed of bear movements, (2) to develop a model reflecting selected habitat characteristics during movements, (3) to identify habitat characteristics selected by bears at road-crossing locations, and (3) to develop and evaluate a predictive model for road-crossing locations based on habitat characteristics. We assessed models using GPS data from 20 adult black bears (9 F, 11 M), including 382 unique road-crossing events by 16 individuals. Directionality of bear movements were influenced by the density of cover and proximity to human infrastructure, and movement speed was influenced by density of cover and proximity to paved roads. We used the Brownian bridge movement model to assess road-crossing behavior. Landscape-level factors like density of cover and density of roads appeared more influential than roadside factors, vegetative or otherwise. Model validation procedures suggested strong predictive ability for the selected road-crossing model. These findings will allow managers to prioritize and implement sound strategies to promote connectivity and reduce road collisions.

Kentucky, USA, is the site of recent natural recolonization by the American black bear (Ursus americanus); however, bears are rarely observed outside the Cumberland Mountains along the state‘s southeastern border. I examined the influence of roads in constraining the distribution of this population by altering animal space use and movement. I identified patterns of road avoidance and road crossing using data from Global Positioning System collars worn by 28 adult bears (16M, 12F), and described road mortality trends using 27 roadkill events. Bears avoided roads at the home range and landscape scale, primarily crossed low-traffic roads, and crossed in sites that minimized detection by humans. Males displayed more evidence of road avoidance than females, but females crossed roads more selectively than males. Bears were most often killed on high to moderate traffic roads, and in areas less forested than expected. Roadkill and road crossing sites bore different attributes. The results of my study support previous findings that space use near roads and road crossing reflect a tradeoff between the risks of road mortality and human harassment, and the benefits of access to habitat, mates, and anthropogenic food. Road-mediated restriction of black bear space use and movement is indicated.

The objectives of this research were to explore ways to assess the safety performance of (predominantly two-lane) rural highways in New Zealand (NZ) and in particular identify driver/road/environmental factors affecting crashes on rural curves. Following a wide-ranging literature review, the Interactive Highway Safety Design Model (IHSDM) was identified as worthy of further investigation for adaptation to use in NZ. To help with this investigation, a comprehensive database was developed of road, traffic, crash and environmental data for all NZ State Highways, divided into variable-length road elements. A number of tasks were identified and undertaken to adapt IHSDM for general use here, including calibrating the Crash Prediction Module (CPM), developing a Design Policy file based on local agency standards, and developing an importing routine for NZ highway geometry and crash data. To assess the effectiveness of IHSDM for predicting the relative safety of rural road alignments, a series of tests were undertaken to confirm its appropriateness for use in NZ. These included “before and after” design consistency checks of a bridge replacement, a “before and after” crash comparison of a major highway realignment, and checks of actual versus predicted crash numbers along longer lengths of highway in varying terrain. These initial investigations have shown that IHSDM is a promising tool for safety and operational assessment of highway alignments (both existing and proposed) in NZ. Incorporating crash history data generally improves IHSDM’s accuracy in crash numbers, and appears to provide a better level of “local calibration” than by using sub-national (e.g. regional or terrain-specific) calibration parameters. Reported fatal/injury crash data generally provide more robust and precise measures than non-injury crashes. Correct specification of the extreme attributes of sub-standard elements (e.g. minimum radius, maximum roadside hazard) appears to be crucial to getting suitably accurate crash estimates on existing alignments. However, IHSDM’s current lack of consideration for bridges and inconsistent adjacent elements are notable omissions that limit the ability of the CPM to assess sub-standard existing routes with as much accuracy as well-designed newer alignments.

The aim of this study was to explore how psychosocial lived experiences of taxi drivers explain accident involvement in Uganda. Face to face in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with six male taxi drivers who survived accidents while driving and still served as taxi drivers. The sample was identified with purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Ethical considerations were observed during data collection through transcription, analysis to the final compilation. Interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) was employed to each participant’s discernment of the specific and general accounts of accident narratives in a bid to make "sense" of their lived worlds as drivers and accident involvement. Three superordinate themes illuminating accidents emerged out of the data: typical routines of taxi drivers; the socio-cultural context; and the taxi drivers’ community. These were discussed based on relevant theories and previous studies as well as pertinent concepts. Considering the study results, typical routines of taxi drivers, driver community factors and social/cultural factors affect each other, these together leave driver-accident involvement inevitable. Categorically such factors include; age, formal education, driving training, driver health status, domestic concerns, significant others, competitive driving / worse-worse, other road users, Impulsive pick and drop-off of passengers, theft, driver stress, state of the road, state of the vehicle among others. Thus behavioural and cognitive remedies are herein suggested towards ameliorative and/or transformative processes of the accident endemic.

The ability to acquire accurate information of the surrounding road environment is crucial for autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance systems. A method to estimate the shape of the road has been developed and evaluated. The estimate is based on fusion of data from a road marking detector, a radar tracker, map data, GPS, and inertial sensors. The method is intended for highway use and focus has been on increasing the availability of a sufficiently accurate road shape estimate in the event of sensor failures. To make use of past sensor measurements, an extended Kalman filter has been used together with dynamical models for the road and the ego vehicle. Results from a performance evaluation show that the road shape estimate clearly benefits from being based on a fusion of sensor data. The different sensors have also proven to be of various importance to the different parameters that describe the road shape. / Fordon som kan köra autonomt, det vill säga utan förare, är ett mål för fordonsindustrin och en dröm för många bilägare. Det skulle möjliggöra för förare att använda tiden till annat och minska personalkostnader för transportbolag. Säkerheten på våra vägar skulle även kunna förbättras eftersom att ett sådant system har möjlighet att reagera snabbare än någon människa och drabbas inte av trötthet eller störs av andra passagerare. Förmåga att kunna inhämta och tolka information om den omkringliggande trafiksituationen är ytterst nödvändigt för att kunna utveckla autonoma fordon och behövs även för mer avancerade moderna säkerhetssytem, som till exempel kollissionsvarningssystem. En viktig del i detta är att kunna uppfatta hur formen på vägen ser ut. Målet med detta examensarbete är att utveckla en algoritm som estimerar vägens form baserat på ett antal sensorer monterade på ett fordon och information från en kartdatabas. Den största vikten har legat på att algoritmen alltid ska kunna leverera en tillräckligt bra skattning, även i perioder när sensormätningar inte finns tillgängliga på grund av att sensorer fallerar. Den tänkta miljön är motorvägskörning, främst därför att det innebär en hel del förenklingar i jämförelse med andra typer av vägar. Det stora problemet för sådana algoritmer ligger ofta i att sensorer lider av olika typer av nackdelar. De mäter bara en viss specifik sak, kan ha stora mätfel, är känsliga för olika förhållanden och har begränsingar i räckvidd. För att uttnyttja sensorernas olika styrkor och mildra effekten av deras brister har ett flertal sensorer använts tillsammans. Examensarbetet har utförts på Scania och testats på deras lastbilar. De typer av sensorer som har använts är redan, eller är på god väg att bli, standardutrustning i deras lastbilar och i många andra moderna fordon. Algoritmen använder sig av mätningar från en vägmarkeringsdetektor, som tillhandahåller formen på de två närmaste väglinjerna, en radar, som ger position och rörelse hos framförvarande bilar, en kartdatabas, som tillsammans med en GPS ger tidigare uppmätt kurvatur vid fordonets position, och interna sensorer som mäter det egna fordonets rörelser. För att kunna fortsätta ge en skattning när mätningar inte finns tillgängliga och för att göra algoritmen robustare mot dålig data, har en metod använts som uttnyttjar informationen i tidigare mätvärden, ett så kallat Extended Kalman filter. Denna metod kräver en matematisk beskrivning av hur formen på vägen framför fordonet förväntas förändras över tid, baserat på hur fordonet rör sig. De olika typerna av mätvärden från sensorerna kombineras i metoden och viktas olika beroende på hur tillförlitliga man anser att sensorerna är. Algoritmen har utvärderats på mätningar från allmänna motorvägar utanför Södertälje. Resultatet från denna utvärdering visar att det är väldigt fördelaktigt att kombinera flera olika typer av sensorer för att kunna leverera en bra skattning så ofta som möjligt. Det visar sig även att de olika typerna av sensorer är av olika stor betydelse för olika vägformsparametrar.

There is an expansive network of roads in Algonquin Provincial Park (APP) to facilitate forestry resource extraction. This leaves a research need for examining how the logging road network in APP affects the large mammals, and what local-level and landscape-level variables influence that use. Local-level data was collected directly at observation points, and landscape-level data was produced from ArcGIS for 40km2, 80km2, and 130km2 buffer areas. The objective of my study was to look at the use of primary and branch logging roads by five large mammal species in APP, and determine if landscape-level variables had an influence on the level of movement and utilization. The five species included moose, white-tailed deer, American black bear, eastern wolf and coyote. My null hypothesis (H0) states that there will be no difference in large mammal use between the primary and branch logging roads within APP and that local- and landscape-level variables will have no influence on them; my alternative hypothesis (H1) states that there will be less large mammal activity on the primary logging roads, more large mammal movement on the branch logging roads and local- and landscape-level variables will influence this use. Tracking was done by vehicle on six transects across the park for three repeated surveys where species identification and local-level variables were recorded. Landscape-level variables were acquired through GIS analysis in the lab. Based on the results from the local-level data, branch and primary logging road use differed in composition, though no significance was found between the use by large mammals for these two types of road. Through generalized linear models, specific combinations of landscape-level variables did influence large mammal movement on the primary and branch logging roads within three habitat range scales (130km2, 80km2, and 40km2). The most significance was seen at the buffer of 40km2 on the branch logging roads, with the variables road density (p < 0.01), percent forest cover (p = 0.04) and topographic ruggedness (p < 0.01) all having a strong impact on large mammal movement. The only significant findings for primary logging roads were also at the 40km2 scale with percent forest cover (p = 0.03) and percent water cover (p = 0.02) having an impact on large mammal movement. Overall, the landscape variables had greater influence on branch logging roads that may be explained by the quality of the surrounding habitat, as well as greater influence at smaller buffer scales. Further research and monitoring of the large mammals in APP is recommended to expand on this preliminary study. Greater understanding of the local- and landscape-level variables at differing habitat ranges will assist in understanding these large mammal movements and provide data to base logging road management on. As large mammals are wide-ranging species, my study informs APP that their logging road network does not seem to hinder the movements of this group of animals. Overall, the large mammals in APP did not have any significant difference in their use of primary and branch logging roads of APP. Further research has the potential to give greater understanding of the impacts of the logging road network on the five large mammal species studied in APP. There is also the potential for useful management strategies to emerge for large mammals in this park, and how to incorporate human activities within their habitat while maintaining sustainable populations.

Ferrochrome slag is a by-product from the production of ferrochrome, an essential component in stainless steel. World wide it is known that ferrochrome slags are been used mainly in the road and civil construction industries, and in producing refractories. Slag management at ferrochrome producing companies has been influenced by the limited space available and financial cost implications of the siag dumps. In South Africa, according to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's minimum requirements, (DWAF, 1998), ferrochrome slag due to its quantity or volume on the disposal sites has been classified as hazardous, as it leaches Manganese (Mn) (33%) above the DWAF minimum environmental requirements acceptable levels. This rating of the slag has therefore put limitations on the use of slag commercially. This paper investigates the various slag uses proposed which can impact positively on the management of the slag i.e. that would reduce its dumping loads and consequently its impact on the surrounding environment. The uses proposed for are brick and concrete making and road building. The paper provides results for the proposed slag uses leaching potential, performs a risk assessment to determine its potential effect on the environment and human health as weli as discusses the method used to delist the slag through the South African delisting process. Comments on the process from the DEAT are also provided. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

To evaluate the impact of reduced truck tire pressure on strain response of low volume spring-restricted roads, research was conducted on two instrumented pavement sections in Manitoba, Canada. Tire pressure control systems tests were carried out at the sections in spring and fall 2009. Measured maximum tensile strain at the bottom of asphalt layer decreased by 15-20% when tire pressure was reduced by 50%. Measured strain at the bottom of asphalt layer in fall is about 50% less than in spring. The effects of gauge orientation, truck speed, and tire offset from the strain gauge were also analyzed. A finite element model with static load was developed and verified. The bearing capacity is lower in spring than in normal condition for flexible pavements subject to deep frost action. Reduced tire pressure is effective to reduce bottom up failure of the pavement, and is less effective to prevent rutting.

Ferrochrome slag is a by-product from the production of ferrochrome, an essential component in stainless steel. World wide it is known that ferrochrome slags are been used mainly in the road and civil construction industries, and in producing refractories. Slag management at ferrochrome producing companies has been influenced by the limited space available and financial cost implications of the siag dumps. In South Africa, according to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry's minimum requirements, (DWAF, 1998), ferrochrome slag due to its quantity or volume on the disposal sites has been classified as hazardous, as it leaches Manganese (Mn) (33%) above the DWAF minimum environmental requirements acceptable levels. This rating of the slag has therefore put limitations on the use of slag commercially. This paper investigates the various slag uses proposed which can impact positively on the management of the slag i.e. that would reduce its dumping loads and consequently its impact on the surrounding environment. The uses proposed for are brick and concrete making and road building. The paper provides results for the proposed slag uses leaching potential, performs a risk assessment to determine its potential effect on the environment and human health as weli as discusses the method used to delist the slag through the South African delisting process. Comments on the process from the DEAT are also provided. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This thesis revisits the concept of ground vehicles active suspensions system from a power harvesting perspective. I introduce the two dimensions of freedom quarter vehicle model for calculations of vehicle dynamics as well as a road profile model based on PSD classifications based on International Organization for Standardization’s technical document, ISO 8608 “Mechanical vibration -- Road surface profiles -- Reporting of measured data”. I report the power harvesting potential of the conventional viscous fluid dampers for an extensive range of road profile roughness indices and vehicle speeds. I explain the problem of additional power harvesting from the regenerative electric damper operating in the "dead-zone" and introduce Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) DC-DC converter as a solution. I analyze the efficiency of this system by circuit level simulations in PSpice. / Graduate / 0540 / 0544 / farhang@uvic.ca