A new version of the DG QRAM software (Quantitative Risk Assessment Model for the Transport of Dangerous Goods in Road Tunnels) has just been published. This PIARC software is currently under development and a new update has been released, and more updates will come.
A road tunnel represents the worst danger potential when it comes to heavy vehicle fires. Recent work from the Université de Lausanne by the honorary professor Jean Claud Martin focuses on this danger and the main causes of such fires.
Heavy vehicles are overrepresented in the statistics of fire in Norwegian road tunnels, and this is especially true for tunnels with a steep climb. Technical problems was a more than twice as frequent cause of fires and instances of fires in heavy vehicles, than in light vehicles says the Institute of transport economics, Norwegian Centre of Transport Research. 40% of the fires in tunnels happens in tunnels with higher gradient than 5%.
A road is a unique linear infrastructure generally in open terrain and sometimes in closed environment like tunnels. It´s important to have a uniform approach to the infrastructure safety management outside and inside tunnels. This is the conclusions the European Commission received from the research and development project ECOROADS.
There is strong political support in the European union to take action on serious injury. In 2010 the Council of the European Union underlined the urgent need to address serious injuries, supporting the development of a common definition and agreeing to the principle of a specific quantitative target.
Global news about road tunnels and technology in an operational perspective.
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