Traffic incident management in the presence of hazards

Abstract

Traffic incidents can result in different kinds of hazards (e.g., plumes) that influence the status of road networks, therefore there is a great need for incident management in the presence of the hazards. When incidents occur, the created hazards not only affect the normal road users (make them detour or blocked), but also influence the movement of first responders. Traffic managers, who are responsible for maintaining the road safety and traffic stability, should carry out quick and effective measures to manage the incidents. In this paper, we present four issues to help people better understand the situations that could occur in the management of incidents with hazards: 1). Evacuation in the presence of hazards; 2). 3D incident management; 3). Navigation support for first responders; 4). Navigation support for road users. To address these issues, we propose a solution which combines agent technology, geo-database, hazard simulation, and traffic simulation. Further research would be needed to investigate the potentials of the proposed solution in real applications.