Improving road-side surveys for a better knowledge of road freight transport

The focus of this paper is to enhance the authors' observation and knowledge of interurban road freight transport. It explores some possibilities for improving roadside freight surveys, usually used to gather origin-destination data. To achieve this, new questions are added to a standard roadside survey form, and the enhanced survey form is tested through two surveys. The new questions relate to currently unobserved variables: the vehicle volume occupied by freight; the method of organization (double crew, relays) used by the carriers; the existence of specific logistical imperatives; and drivers' compulsory breaks. The questions on volume constraint and carrier organization prove to be the most informative. These two questions are thus two promising areas for improvement in roadside freight surveys. The questions about specific logistical imperatives and driver breaks prove less fruitful. The paper concludes that it is possible, through minor modifications in data collection protocols, to significantly enhance observation quality in road freight transport activity.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1007/s12544-012-0083-8
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/18668887
• Supplemental Notes:
  • © 2013 François Combes and Fabien Leurent
• Authors:
  • Combes, François
  • Leurent, Fabien
• Publication Date: 2013-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 41-51
• Serial:
  • European Transport Research Review
  • Volume: 5
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Springer Publishing
  • ISSN: 1866-8887
  • EISSN: 1867-0717
  • Serial URL: http://link.springer.com/journal/12544
• Publication flags:

  Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crew size; Data collection; Intercity transportation; Roadside; Surveys; Trucks
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Research; I70: Traffic and Transport;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01487726
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 23 2013 11:01AM