Analysis of Reaction and Escape Behaviour in Road Tunnels Under Consideration of Group Effects
Road tunnels in Europe provide a high level of safety. A substantial amount is invested in technical equipment and fire protection measures. However, if a major fire does occur in exceptional cases, smoke extraction and fire protection systems as well as properly signposted escape routes protect the lives of the affected road users. Of course, the ‘correct’ behaviour of people is also important. But how do they actually behave in such an extreme event?
Regulations such as RE-ING [1], the EU Directive [3] and EABT [2] have so far been based on assumptions about average reaction times and walking speeds, as little research has been carried out into individual human behaviour in the event of a tunnel fire. There is hardly any knowledge of the group dynamic effects occurring among the people affected in a shared hazardous situation. This is precisely what the STUVA is trying to find out on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) and the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) together with research partners CSS...
