Underground Transportation Systems in Europe

FHWA-PL-06-016

The United States has limited guidelines, standards, and specifications related to safety, operations, and emergency response in underground transportation systems. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored a scanning study of equipment, systems, and procedures used in tunnels in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The scan team learned that Europeans are conducting research to develop innovative design and emergency management plans that consider how people react in tunnel emergencies. Because motorist behavior is unpredictable in tunnel incidents, Europeans make instructions for drivers, passengers, and tunnel operators as straightforward as possible to reduce required decisionmaking.

The team's recommendations for U.S. implementation include conducting research on tunnel emergency management that includes human factors, developing tunnel design criteria that promote optimal driver performance during incidents, developing more effective visual, audible, and tactile signs for escape routes, and using a risk-management approach to tunnel safety inspection and maintenance.

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