Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering

TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING CIVL5502

INTRODUCTION TO ROAD TRANSPORT

COMPONENTS OF A TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Transport demand
!

Passenger

Freight

Transport supply
!

Vehicle

Infrastructure

Information/control system

TRANSPORT MODES

Road

Passenger and freight vehicles on a road

Variable message board on a freeway

Vehicles on a free-flow freeway

Traffic management system of a road network

Bicycles as a passenger transport mode

Bicycles as a cargo transport mode

Rail

A freight train

A fast-speed passenger train

Rail signals

Rail signal control system

Shipping

An oceangoing container ship

An oceangoing bulk ship

An inland waterway barge

A canal bridge over a river

Maritime navigation sign

Lighthouse

Aviation

A Qantas passenger airplane

A full cargo airplane

Instrument Landing System (ILS)

Air traffic control tower

Pipeline

A pipeline transporting natural gas

Pipelines transporting liquids

ROAD TRANSPORT AND SOCIETIES

Roles of roads
Roads play an important role in the society:
!

Movement of people

Movement of freight

A significant feature of the role is that demand for road transport (same as the other
transport modes, such as air, rail and shipping) is derived from other human needs and
economic activities:
Unrestricted mobility

Unlimited access to resources and activities (accessibility)

Road transport and economy

Transport makes a contribution to the economy in a nation. In Australia transport
contributes about 3% of national GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to the economy, of which
over 50% are made by road transport.
20 000

1200 000
Road
Air and space

1000 000

16 000

Rail, pipeline and other transport

14 000

Gross Domestic Product (right axis)

800 000

$million

12 000
10 000

600 000

8 000
400 000

6 000
4 000

200 000

2 000

-0
7

-0
5

20
06

-0
3

20
04

-0
1

20
02

-9
9

20
00

-9
7

19
98

-9
5

19
96

-9
3

19
94

-9
1

19
92

-8
9

19
90

-8
7

19
88

-8
5

19
86

-8
3

19
84

-8
1

19
82

-7
9

19
80

19
78

19
76

-7
7

-7
5

Transport GDP in Australia (1974-75 to 2007-08)

Source: ABS (2008a), Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (ABS cat. no. 5206.0).

GDP $million

18 000

19
74

Road transport tasks

Australia has a large fleet of motor vehicles, which includes a wide range of cars, utility
vehicles and trucks. Large trucks, such as road trains, play an important role in long
distance road transport.

Vehicle types on Australian roads

The ownership of motor vehicles in Australia is on average 0.79 motor vehicles per person,
with the lowest of 0.59 motor vehicles per person in Northern Territory and the highest of
0.88 motor vehicles per person in Western Australia. New South Wales has the largest fleet
of 4.361 million motor vehicles in 2007 and Northern Territory the smallest of 0.118
million motor vehicles in the same year.
5000
4500

VIC

QLD

SA

WA

4000

TAS

NT

ACT

NSW

3500
thousand vehicles

3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

Stock of registered motor vehicles in Australia

Source: ABS (2007), Motor Vehicle Census, Australia (ABS cat. no. 9309.0).

The transport tasks carried out by roads include intra-city and inter-city freight and
passenger movements.

250

Road

200

Rail

billion kilometres

Coastal shipping
150

100

50

19
70
-7
19 1
72
-7
19 3
74
-7
19 5
76
-7
19 7
78
-7
19 9
80
-8
19 1
82
-8
19 3
84
-8
19 5
86
-8
19 7
88
-8
19 9
90
-9
19 1
92
-9
19 3
94
-9
19 5
96
-9
19 7
98
-9
20 9
00
-0
20 1
02
-0
20 3
04
-0
20 5
06
-0
7

Total bulk and non-bulk domestic freight by transport mode in Australia

Source: ARA (2008), Australian Rail Industry Report, BTRE (2006b), Freight Measurement and Modelling in Australia (Report 112),
BITRE estimates and BITRE (2008i), Domestic sea freight database.

Passenger cars on roads are the most important passenger transport mode in Australia.
60

300
Buses
Rail
Air
Other (1)

50

250

7
-0

06
20

-0

-0

04
20

02
20

-0

-9

00
20

98
19

-9

-9

96
19

3
19

94

-9

-9

92
19

-8

90
19

19

88

-8

-8

86
19

19

84

-8

-8

82
19

19

80

-7

-7

78
19

19

76

-7

-7

74
19

72

-7

19

70
19

Total passenger travel by transport mode in Australia

Source: BTRE (2007), Estimating urban traffic and congestion cost trends for Australian cities and BITRE estimates.

billion passenger kilometres

50

10

100

20

150

30

200

40

billion passenger kilometres

Passenger cars (right axis)

14
12

140
120

-0
06

-0

20

-0

04
20

02

-0

20

-9

00
20

98

-9

19

-9

96
19

94

-9

19

-9

92
19

90

-8

19

-8

88
19

86

-8

19

-8

84
19

82

-8

19

80

-7

19

-7

19

76
19

20

40

60

80

100

10

78

billion passenger kilometres

160

Commercial vehicles
Motor cycles
Rail
Light rail
Bus
Ferry
Passenger cars (right axis)

billion passenger kilometres

16

Total metropolitan passenger travel by Australian capital city

Source: BTRE (2007), Estimating urban traffic and congestion cost trends for Australian cities and BITRE estimates.

Road inventory and funding

Australia has about 815,000 plus kilometers of roads in 2007 that are open to general use.
Details of the network and its geographical distribution are shown diagram and table
below.

Map of Auslink national road network and recently completed projects

Source: Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government.

300 000

250 000

NSW

VIC

SA

WA

TAS

NT

ACT

QLD

kilometres

200 000

150 000

100 000

50 000

1971

1975

1979

1983

1987

1991

1995

1999

2003

2007

Total road length by state/territory in Australia

Source: BITRE survey and ABS (2005), Year Book Australia (ABS cat. no. 1301.0).

The provision of roads is expensive and its funding in Australia has been mainly from
governments at commonwealth, state and local levels, with the private sector being
involved in some toll roads, such as CityLink Expressway in Melbourne.
The expenditure on road infrastructure includes:
!

Construction

Maintenance

Rehabilitation

CityLink Expressway in Melbourne

Source: Google Earth.

4500
4000

NSW

VIC

QLD

SA

WA

TAS

NT

ACT

3500

$million

3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500

-0
06

20

-0
05

20

-0
04

20

-0
03

20

-0
02

20

-0
01

20

-0
00

20

-0
99

19

-9
98

19

-9
97

19

-9
96

19

-9
95

19

-9
94

19

-9
93

19

-9
92

19

-9
91

19

-9
90

19

-9
89

19

-8
88

19

-8
87

19

-8

-8
85

19

19

86

Road expenditure (all levels of government, 2006-07 prices) in Australia

Source: BITRE (2009), Public road related expenditure and revenue in Australia.

Road accidents
Roads has had a significant toll of:
!

Loss of life

Injuries

Property damage

Reduced productivity as a result of vehicle accidents

In Australia fatalities on roads have been the highest among various modes, though the
number of fatalities has in general declined over years.
!

100

4 000
Rail

90

Marine

Aviation

Road (right axis)

3 500

80
3 000
70

50

2 000

40

Fatalities

2 500

60
Fatalities

1 500

30
1 000
20
500

10

20
07

20
05

20
03

20
01

19
99

19
97

19
95

19
93

19
91

19
89

19
87

19
85

19
83

19
81

19
79

19
77

19
75

0
19
73

0
19
71

Number of fatality accidents by transport mode in Australia

Source: ATSB (2004, 2006, 2008a, 2008b), Infrastructure (2008c), National Maritime Safety of Road Safety (1984), Road traffic
accident data and rates.

0.60

30
Aviation

Road (right axis)

07

05

20

03

20

20

01

99

20

19

97

95

19

93

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

19

91

89

0.00

87

85

0.10

83

10

81

0.20

79

15

77

0.30

75

20

73

0.40

deaths per 100,000 population

Marine

25

71

deaths per 100,000 population

Rail
0.50

Fatality rate by transport mode in Australia

Source: ABS (2008i), Regional population growth, Australia (ABS cat. no. 3218.0), ATSB (2004, 2006, 2008a, 2008b), Infrastructure
(2008c), National Maritime Safety Committee (2008), Office of Road Safety (1984), Road traffic accident data and rates.

The challenge facing both road and vehicle engineers is to use all possible technologies to
design safe roads and vehicles in order to reduce accidents on roads, while maintaining
high level of mobility.
In addition, attention needs to be paid to the behaviour of drivers and general public with
respect to road safety:
Increasing levels of aggressive driving

Increasing levels of disrespect for traffic control devices

In-vehicle driving distractions

Poor driving skills

Greenhouse gas emissions from road transport

In Australia domestic transport contributes 13.5% of national total of greenhouse gas
emissions, measured in CO2 equivalent, of which nearly 85% came from road transport in
2006-07.
90 000

Rail (incl electric)

8 000

80 000

Maritime
Aviation

7 000

70 000

Motor Vehicles (right axis)

6 000

60 000

5 000

50 000

4 000

40 000

3 000

30 000

2 000

20 000

1 000

10 000

-0
7

20
06

-0
5

20
04

-0
3

20
02

-0
1

20
00

-9
9

-9
7

19
98

19
96

-9
5

-9
3

19
94

-9
1

19
92

-8
9

19
90

-8
7

19
88

-8
5

19
86

19
84

-8
3

19
82

-8
1

19
80

-7
9

19
78

19
76

19
74

-7
7

-7
5

gigagrams of CO2 equivalent

9 000

gigagrams of CO2 equivalent

Transport direct greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions in Australia

Source: BTRE (2006c), Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Australian Transport: Base Case Projections to 2020, BITRE estimates.

10

Breakdown of greenhouse gas emissions from Australian transport

Disciplines/areas related to road transport

!

Engineering

Economics

Planning

Environment science

Sciences related to safety

Parties/stakeholders involving in road transport

!

Government

Provision of infrastructure and associated control devices

Regulation

Private sector

Provision of some infrastructure and associated control devices

Provision of transport services

Non-profit organisations

Community reference groups

Interest associations

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TECHNOLOGY
Four elements are involved in provision of road transport (the same as other transport modes):
infrastructure, vehicles, traffic control and users. To provide efficient and safe road transport,
technologies of infrastructure, vehicles and control devices are important and need due
treatment, and human factors are worth studying.

Infrastructure technologies
!

Survey and design

Aerial photography and digital survey equipment

Computer-aided design

12

13

Construction

All sorts of construction machines

Advance digital devices for controlling construction quality

Source: http://www.leica-geosystems.com/en/Leica-PaveSmart-3D-for-Asphalt-Pavers_4683.htm

Maintenance and rehabilitation

Advanced survey/test equipment

Assess pavement by 1) Benkelman Beam

2) Falling Weight Deflectometer

Measure pavement longitudinal and transverse profiles by Laser Profiling

Measure friction by 1) Friction Tester

14

2) Mobile Friction Test Vehicle

Computer software for data management and optimising maintenance/rehabilitation

measures and sequences

Vehicle technologies
Advances have made in vehicle technologies with respect to: vehicle/pedestrian safety, fuel
efficiency and exhaust emissions, due to government regulations, energy shortages and
market competition.
!

Safety equipment

Seat belts
A mandatory safety belt use law for cars has been in force in many countries. It has
contributed significantly to the reduction of injuries. The most common occupant
protection system today is the three-point safety belt, which holds the occupant in
his or her seat and prevents the body from being subjected to uncontrolled
movements and forces. Supplementary systems are increasingly being offered, for
example, pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioner, belt force limiter and, above all,
airbags.
The safety belt pretensioners are actuated by a gas generator triggered by the
airbag control unit. The pretensioners have a lower deployment threshold than the
front airbags so that they may deploy in a collision that is not enough to deploy the
front airbags. When activated, the pretensioner tightens the webbing. Because the
webbing is now tighter across the body, occupants participate earlier in the vehicle
ride down and loadings on the body are distributed more uniformly over the entire
restraint sequence, the risk of injury declines.

Source: audi.com.au/glossary/s/safety_belt.html

Source: www.volvocars.com.au/experience/safety.htm

15

Airbags (front, side and curtain)

Airbags reduce the risk of severe head and chest (thorax) injuries in a certain
collisions. If the crash sensors on the car detect an impact that exceeds the value
needed to trigger the airbags, the airbag control unit ignites the gas generator.
This inflates the airbags in the steering wheel and the instrument panel in front of
the front-seat passenger (the front airbags) within 30 to 40 milliseconds. When
inflated, these airbags absorb energy from the forward movement of the head and
upper body and distribute the resulting loads over a much greater area. After only
120 milliseconds, the gas escapes and the airbag collapses. Reducing the amount of
relative movement between the head and neck helps to reduce injuries, but optimum
protection can only be achieved if all occupants are properly wearing their safety
belts - the safety belt pretensioner and the airbags are part of a finely tuned safety
system.

Source: audi.com.au/glossary/a/airbag.html

Side airbags (also called thorax airbags) deploy in the space between the upper
torso and the door trim in certain side impacts. Together with a properly worn
three point safety belt they reduce the load on the thorax and pelvic areas.

Source: audi.com.au/glossary/s/side_airbag.html

16

In certain side impacts, the SIDEGUARD head airbag system (curtain airbag) is an
effective supplement to the cars side airbags and the properly worn three point
safety belt for the protection of the head area of the front and rear vehicle
occupants. SIDEGUARD softens head impact with interior components or with
objects outside the car. In addition, less pronounced head movement reduces
loadings on the neck.

Source: audi.com.au/glossary/s/sideguard.html

Anti-lock braking system (ABS)

The anti-lock braking system (ABS) prevents the wheels from locking up during
braking. Even under strong braking, the car remains steerable and controllable.
This can help the driver avoid an obstacle without having to release the brakes
first. When ABS is activated, the driver will notice a slight pulsation of the brake
pedal. The anti-lock brake system is optimised with electronic brake-force
distribution (EBD).

17

Source: audi.com.au/glossary/a/abs.html

Traction control (ASR)

For todays typical high-torque engines, a form of wheelslip regulation or traction
control (ASR) can increase both comfort and safety, particularly on surfaces with
differing coefficients of friction or on slippery roads. It makes smooth starts and
acceleration possible through all speed ranges without wheel-spin or fishtailing.
ASR only operates in conjunction with the electronic accelerator (E gas) and uses
components of the anti-lock braking system (ABS). If one wheel suddenly begins to
rotate faster than the others (slip), ASR intervenes in the engine management
system and reduces power until the wheel stops spinning. ASR improves traction
and can help the driver maintain control even if the limit of adhesion is
inadvertently reached while cornering. In addition, it reduces tire wear.

Source: audi.com.au/glossary/t/traction_control.html

Fuel/engine technologies

Gasoline engine

Diesel engine more powerful and 30-35% fuel-efficient than similar-sized

gasoline engines

Hybrid engine
Hybrid-electric vehicles combine the benefits of gasoline engines and electric
motors to provide improved fuel economy. The engine provides most of the vehicle's
power, and the electric motor provides additional power when needed, such as for
accelerating and passing. This allows a smaller, more-efficient engine to be used.
The electric power for the motor is generated from regenerative braking and from

18

the gasoline engine, so hybrids don't have to be "plugged in" to an electrical outlet
to recharge.
Starting When the vehicle is started,
the gasoline engine "warms up." If
necessary, the electric motor acts as a
generator, converting energy from the
engine into electricity and storing it in
the battery.

Cruising The gasoline engine powers

the vehicle at cruising speeds and, if
needed, provides power to the battery
for later use.

Passing During heavy accelerating

or when additional power is needed,
the gasoline engine and electric motor
are both used to propel the vehicle.
Additional power from the battery is
used to power the electric motor as
needed.

Braking (part 1) Regenerative

braking converts otherwise wasted
energy from braking into electricity
and stores it in the battery. In
regenerative braking, the electric
motor is reversed so that, instead of
using electricity to turn the wheels, the
rotating wheels turn the motor and
create electricity. Using energy from
the wheels to turn the motor slows the vehicle down.
Braking (part 2) If additional
stopping power is needed, conventional
friction brakes (e.g., disc brakes) are
also applied automatically.

19

Stopped When the vehicle is stopped,

such as at a red light, the gasoline
engine and electric motor shut off
automatically so that energy is not
wasted in idling. The battery continues
to power auxillary systems, such as
the air conditioning and dashboard
displays.
Source: www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybridAnimation/hybrid/hybridoverview.html

Emission control technologies

Exhaust emission control

The exhaust emission control system converts the pollutants created during the
combustion process into substances more compatible with the environment. The
central element in the cars exhaust emission control system is the catalytic
converter. An oxygen sensor or lambda probe measures the residual oxygen in the
exhaust gas and adjusts the engines fuel-air mixture to the correct ratio. Powerful
engines often have up to four pre-converters and two main converters. For diesel
cars, a soot filter may also be a part of the emission control system.
Source: audi.com.au/glossary/e/exhaust_emission_control.html

EU emission control standards (a)

Effective
from
EURO1 (b)
EURO2 (c)
EURO3 (d)
EURO4 (d)
EURO5 (d) (e)
Note:

1992
1995
1999
2005
2008

Car
NOx
8.0
7.0

PM
0.36
0.15

Diesel car
NOx
PM

Petrol car
NOx
PM

0.50
0.25
0.20

0.15
0.08
0.06

0.050
0.025
0.005

0.005

Heavy vehicle
NOx
PM

5.0
3.5
2.0

0.10
0.02
0.02

(a) NOx nitrogen oxide; PM particulate matter, aerosols or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid (a smoke) or
liquid (an aerosol) suspended in a gas.
(b) Emission unit: g/kWh
(c) Emission unit: g/km
(d) Emission unit: Diesel & petrol cars g/km; heavy vehicle g/kWh
(e) For diesel and petrol cars, the emission values are recently suggested.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_1

Traffic control technologies

!

Intersection traffic signals trading off between mobility and safety

SCATS (Sydney Co-ordinated Adaptive Traffic System) is an intersection traffic
control system, invented by Road and Traffic Authority (RTA) in New South Wales. It
monitors in real-time volumes of traffic to coordinate adjacent traffic signals to ease
traffic congestion and improve traffic flow. It is probably one of the most advanced
intersection traffic control systems in the world and has widely been used in Australia
and overseas.

20

Source: elmore.ie/ListItems.asp?CatID=5&SubCatID=15

ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) refers to the application of computer and

communications technologies to transport problems. It offers the potential to reduce
traffic congestion and improve safety on roads. It has many versions, depending on the
scope and technologies used.

Source: www.etsi.org

HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

Practice of provision of road transport infrastructure

!

People tend to tolerate more and more traffic congestion to use private cars.

The practice of forecasting and constructing

The practice of traffic management

Dominance of single-occupant private vehicles

!

The attractiveness of single-occupant private vehicles

The average vehicle occupancy in Perth is about 1.12.

Incentives for multiple-occupant vehicles: carpooling, public transport

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