EVALUATION OF FREEWAY EMERGENCY SERVICE SYSTEMS USING A SIMULATION MODEL

THE CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENCE OF EVENTS PERFORMED BY THE MAJOR COMPONENTS (POLICE, MECHANICAL, AND COMMUNICATION SERVICE) OF AN EMERGENCY SERVICE SYSTEM IN RESPONDING TO FREEWAY INCIDENTS HAS BEEN REPRESENTED IN A SIMULATION MODEL SO THAT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SYSTEM CAN BE ANALYZED SYSTEMATICALLY. THIRTY SELECTED CANDIDATE SYSTEMS, BASED ON POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS OF MAJOR DETECTION AND SERVICE SUBSYSTEMS, WERE SIMULATED ON THE SAN FRANCISCO-OAKLAND BAY BRIDGE BY USING A SET OF HISTORICAL INCIDENT DATA. THE PERFORMANCE OF ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS WAS EVALUATED SEPARATELY BY A COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS AND A TOTAL SYSTEM COST PROCEDURE. THE COST MEASURE WAS EXPRESSED IN DOLLARS. THE MERIT OF VARIOUS EFFECTIVENESS MEASURES WAS DISCUSSED, AND THEIR CORRELATIONS WERE SHOWN. THE TOTAL DELAY TO ALL MOTORISTS AFFECTED BY THE INCIDENT WAS SELECTED AS THE REPRESENTATIVE EFFECTIVENESS MEASURE FOR THE EVALUATION. TOTAL SYSTEM COSTS FOR DIFFERENT VALUES OF TIME RANGING FROM $0/HOUR TO $5/HOUR WERE PRESENTED. AT A VALUE OF TIME OF $3/HOUR, BOTH ANALYSES RESUSLTED IN THE SAME BEST 5 SYSTEMS IN THE SAME ORDER. THE MOST PROMISING SYSTEM OF THE 30 SYSTEMS TESTED WAS THE ONE WITH CALL-BOX UNITS SPACED AT 1/4-MILE INTERVALS, 2 STATIONARY POLICE UNITS, AND 3 STATIONARY MECHANICAL SERVICE UNITS. THE MODEL HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE EXTENDED TO INCLUDE OTHER SYSTEM COMPONENTS, SUCH AS MEDICAL SERVICE, AND CAN BE APPLIED TO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. /AUTHOR/

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  • Supplemental Notes:
    • Sponsored by Committee on Motorist Services and presented at the 50th Annual Meeting. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
  • Authors:
    • Sakashita, Masami
    • Lu, Chyi Kang
    • May, Adolf D
  • Discussers:
    • Estep, A C
    • Orne, Donald E
    • Frey, C F
  • Publication Date: 1971

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: pp 26-45
  • Monograph Title: Communications and emergency services
  • Serial:

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Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00226145
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 0309019737
  • Report/Paper Numbers: HS-011 999
  • Files: TRIS, TRB
  • Created Date: Mar 7 1972 12:00AM