Highway traffic control systems have been deployed to provide emergency vehicle preemption (EVP) at signalized intersections. Industry and transportation researchers have worked to develop analytical methods to establish the degree of benefit of emergency vehicle preemption to the emergency vehicle (EV) community and the impact on other road user groups. This thesis report illustrates the use of an analytical method to evaluate the potential impacts of EVP related to EV safety, and the potential delay to EVs and vehicles on the side street. The method uses EV-specific conflict point and delay analysis with video and other data collected in a field study conducted in Northern Virginia at the intersection of Southgate Drive and U.S. 1. EV related conflict points are characterized in terms of the EV/auto interaction geometry, the signal display, and the severity of potential crashes. EV related delay is characterized in terms of the EV/auto interaction geometry, the signal display, the level of service and the amount of delay to the EV. The EV/auto interaction, the queue length and the signal display characterize increase in delay to vehicles on the side street. The analysis indicates that the severity of EV-specific conflict points is significantly reduced with EVP. The delay to EV does not change significantly and the delay to the vehicles on the side street auto traffic increases. / Master of Science

The number of accidents over the past decade involving emergency vehicles is a major concern for emergency service providers. This study assessed the effectiveness of adding a driving simulator to a traditional training program. Potential relationships with students' learning styles using Gregorc Mind Style Delineator were also examined. The general research design consisted of a quantitative portion (quasi-experimental) and a qualitative portion (phenomenological). The sample population consisted of Emergency Medical Technician students attending the National EMS Academy in Lafayette, LA. The didactic session was conducted first with 102 participants in attendance. The driving portion was conducted over five days. The group self-scheduled which day they would attend the driving portion of the class. This resulted in 52 participants in the control group and 50 participants in the treatment group. The treatment group used a driving simulator prior to driving on the competency course. The results indicated that the treatment group took significantly less time to drive through the competency course on the first run (t=3.74, p=0.0003), acquired significantly fewer penalty points on the first run (t=2.41, p=0.0178), and required significantly fewer runs to complete the course (t=3.53, p=0.0006). Participants with Abstract Random learning styles performed significantly better on a written, knowledge test than those with Abstract Random/Concrete Random learning styles and Abstract Sequential learning styles. When examining the participants' performance on the competency course in relationship to their learning styles, those with a sequential learning style took less total time to drive the competency course on the first run than those with random learning styles. A t-test was significant, t=2.13, p=0.0357. A simulator improves the individual's ability to drive an ambulance on the required competency course. The use of a driving simulator has potential savings for the emergency service industry and increases the safety of training drivers. In addition, the qualitative portion of the study found all participants had a favorable attitude toward using a simulator to learn to drive an emergency vehicle as part of the training program.

Emergency vehicle traffic signal priority systems allow emergency vehicles such as fire and emergency medical vehicles to request and receive a green traffic signal indication when approaching an intersection. Such systems have been around for a number of years, however, there is little understanding of the costs and benefits of such systems once they are deployed. This research develops an improved method to assess the travel time impacts of emergency vehicle traffic signal priority systems for transportation planning analyses. The research investigates the current state of available methodologies used in assessing the costs and benefits of emergency vehicle traffic signal priority systems. The ITS Deployment Analysis System (IDAS) software is identified as a recently developed transportation planning tool with cost and benefit assessment capabilities for emergency vehicle traffic signal priority systems. The IDAS emergency vehicle traffic signal priority methodology is reviewed and recommendations are made to incorporate the estimation of non-emergency vehicle travel time impacts into the current methodology. To develop these improvements, a simulation analysis was performed to model an emergency vehicle traffic signal priority system under a variety of conditions. The simulation analysis was implemented using the CORSIM traffic simulation software as the tool. Results from the simulation analysis were used to make recommendations for enhancements to the IDAS emergency vehicle traffic signal priority methodology. These enhancements include the addition of non-emergency vehicle travel time impacts as a function of traffic volume on the transportation network. These impacts were relatively small and ranged from a 1.1% to 3.3% travel time increase for a one-hour analysis period to a 0.6% to 1.7% travel time increase for a two-hour analysis period. The enhanced methodology and a sample application of the methodology are presented as the results of this research. In addition, future research activities are identified to further improve assessment capabilities for emergency vehicle traffic signal priority systems. / Ph. D.

Preferential treatments are employed to provide preemption for emergency vehicles (EV) and conditional priority for transit vehicles at signalized intersections. EV preemption employs technologies and signal control strategies seeking to reduce emergency vehicle crash potential and response times. Transit priority employs the same technologies with signal control strategies seeking to reduce travel time and travel time variability. Where both preemption and transit technologies are deployed, operational strategies deconflict simultaneous requests. Thus far, researchers have developed separate evaluation frameworks for preemption and priority. This research addresses the issue of preemption and priority signal control strategies in breadth and depth. In breadth, this research introduces a framework that reveals planning interdependence and operational interaction between preemption and priority from the controlling strategy down to roadway hardware operation under the inclusive title: preferential treatment. This fulfills a current gap in evaluation. In depth, this research focuses on evaluation of EV preemption. There are two major analytical contributions resulting from this research. The first is a method to evaluate the safety benefits of preemption based on conflict analysis. The second is an algorithm, suitable for use in future traffic simulation models, that incorporates the impact of auto driver behavior into the determination of travel time savings for emergency vehicles operating on signalized arterial roadways. These two analytical methods are a foundation for future research that seeks to overcome the principal weakness of current EV preemption evaluation. Current methods, which rely on modeling and simulation tools, do not consider the unique auto driver behaviors observed when emergency vehicles are present. This research capitalizes on data collected during a field operational test in Northern Virginia, which included field observations of emergency vehicles traversing signalized intersections under a wide variety of geometric, traffic flow, and signal operating conditions. The methods provide a means to quantify the role of EV preemption in reducing the number and severity of conflict points and the delay experienced at signalized intersections. This forms a critical basis for developing deployment and operational guidelines, and eventually, warrants. / Ph. D.

Various theories have been proposed to describe vehicular traffic flow in cities on an aggregate level. This dissertation work shows that a number of MFDs exist in an urban network. The number of MFDs basically indicate the existence of different levels of service on different network routes. It also demonstrate that the modification of control strategy can optimize the signal timing plan for the links with high congestion and spillbacks. With the proposed control strategy, the location of points are shifted from lower MFDs to upper MFDs which means the congestion are reduced and the overall network traffic flow operation is improved. In this thesis, the emergency vehicle preemption (EVP) operation is also evaluated by using the MFDs. The concept of MFD can help to illustrate the effect on various types of roads due to EVP operation. The results show that the volume of links along the emergency route is increased and the volume of other links closed to the emergency route is decreased due to preemption. The researchers and practitioners can apply the proposed approach to identify the affected links and minimize the total network delay during EVP. / Master of Science

Traditional methods for constructing simulation models can involve severalsteps that require manual pre-processing of large data sets. This process maybe time-consuming and prone to human errors, while also leading to modelsthat are inconvenient to customize for varying simulation scenarios. In thisthesis, we propose an alternate data preparation methodology in emergencyvehicle transport simulation, which aims to eliminate parts of the manualpre-processing. Our research is based on a previous case study using datafrom Sweden’s Southern Healthcare Region. The methodology we propose isinstantiated through a proof-of-concept software module that replacespreviously used static input sets by introducing dynamic runtime calculationsof ambulance travel times. This was done in two steps where we first evaluatedseveral routing engines according to needs extracted from the studied case.Secondly, we implemented and integrated the chosen routing engine into thepreviously mentioned module. Testing of the module showed feasible andconsistent performance, demonstrating the potential usage of our proposedmethodology in emergency vehicle transport simulation.

Emergency vehicles are at increased traffic risk due to legal exemptions like speeding or running red lights during emergencies. These exemptions can cause delays and complications in their response. The study explored if warning messages to passenger car drivers, particularly the EVA (Emergency Vehicle Approaching) message, with or without ambient lighting, could improve safety and response. A driving simulator experiment with 60 participants tested the impact of different levels of warning, including the EVA message and augmented ambient lighting (AEL). Participants also completed pre- and post-experiment questionnaires. The test involved a rural road scenario with background music to challenge emergency vehicle detection. Results showed significant behavioural differences between drivers receiving no warning and those receiving either form of warning, but no significant difference between the two warned groups. While attitudes towards this technology were positive, further research on the effectiveness of ambient lighting is needed. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>

The aim of the thesis was to investigate if geofence instructions communicated via an in-vehicle human-machine interface (HMI) can have a positive impact on driver behavior when interacting with emergency vehicles. A total of n = 64 study participants were tested in a driving simulator on two different use cases without or with applied geofence instructions. The use cases were situated on an off-ramp and at an intersection. The results of the experiment demonstrated a statistically significant effect of the use of geofencing on the correct and timely reactions of drivers prior to the interaction with emergency vehicles. Furthermore, the use of geofencing indicated a potential to decrease collision risks and driving time of emergency vehicles. Although the HMI design needs to be improved for real-world geofence application, the study participants were positive about receiving the geofence instructions when interacting with emergency vehicles in their own vehicles in the future. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>

This thesis deals with the evaluation of the causes of traffic accidents of the Fire and Rescue Service vehicles of the South Moravian Region in 2001-2012. Based on the data and information traffic accidents are comprehensively evaluated and measures are proposed to reduce accidents. The processed material can serve to provide expert services in solving the analysis of traffic accidents.

Kraven på säkerhet och effektivitet ökar ständigt inom fordonsindustrin. För att uppfylla dessa strävar fordonstillverkare efter att uppnå en högre grad av autonomi, detta innebär dock att många problem måste lösas. Denna rapport behandlar ett av dessa, autonoma fordons möjlighet att identifiera utryckningsfordon. Målet är att presentera ett förslag på vilken teknik som anses mest lämpad för autonoma fordon att kommunicera med utryckningsfordon. Arbetet grundade sig i en förstudie där standarden ITS G5, IEEE 802.11g, ZigBee samt mobilnät analyserades utifrån deras tekniska specifikationer. Utifrån analysen presenterades tre situationer där de olika teknikernas användning ansågs begränsade, i tunnlar, i tät trafik samt på långa avstånd vid höga hastigheter. Dessa situationer ställde krav på teknikerna inom bland annat svarstid, räckvidd, överföringsförmåga samt möjlighet till direktkommunikation mellan fordonen. Utifrån dessa krav ställdes en jämförelsematris upp där de olika teknikernas prestanda jämfördes. Resultatet visar att ITS G5 och ZigBee har bäst prestanda på egen hand medan en kombination av mobilnät och ITS G5 uppnår högst prestanda. / The demand for safety and effectivity continuously increases within the automotive industry. One way to meet these demands is to achieve a higher level of autonomy, but to achieve the highest levels of autonomy there is a few problems to be solved along the way. This report treats one of these, an autonomous vehicle’s ability to identify emergency vehicles. The report, based on a pilot study, analyses the ITS G5 standard, IEEE 802.11g, Zigbee and mobile networks based on their technological specifications. From the analysis three situations are identified where the technologies are considered limited. These limitations are, but not limited to, reach, latency, data rates and ability to communicate vehicle to vehicle (V2V). The four technologies are then compared by these limitations in a matrix. The result shows that ITS G5 and ZigBee has the best performance by its own but the combination of mobile networks and ITS G5 shows the highest possible performance.