Managing the Change of Vehicle Power Sources and Fuels in London’s Road Tunnels
In June 2017 the highly publicised “crash” of an electric supercar in Switzerland during the filming of a TV show made headlines in the UK, if not the world. Days later, details emerged that the car continued to burn after the crash for 5 days. During October 2017 firefighters from Landeck (Austria) responded to an electric vehicle that ignited against a vehicle restrain barrier on the approach to a road tunnel portal. In June 2018, an electric vehicle caught fire in central Los Angeles (USA) whilst in traffic, whilst another in Florida reignited twice following a collision. These particular incidents have provoked consideration and debate for Transport for London (TfL), where we are delivering a transport strategy to significantly improve air quality for Londoners and consider EVs and other alternative fuels key components to ensuring the success of our commitment. Nationally the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 (AEV) introduces improvements in availability and compatibility of EV charge points across the UK, encouraging drivers to switch from petrol‐diesel engines whilst preparing insurers to deal with the increasing autonomy of vehicles. Alternative fuelled and the variety of hybrid powered vehicles has presented specific concerns, particularly for a road tunnel environment. Policing of restrictions, the response of fire‐fighters, the containment and disposal of escaping or escaped fuels and knowledge of the constituent materials of vehicle components and their associated hazards are some of the many considerations that influence the outcome of incidents in these constrained domains. The unplanned closure for emergency resurfacing of part of the A13 Canning Town Flyover, in the immediate vicinity of the A102 Blackwall tunnels, during December 2016, was quickly felt across London, with congestion reported on the approach to Heathrow Airport. Clearly TfL and London can not tolerate an extended closure of a road tunnel for up to 5 days to move a vehicle that had been on fire: solutions were imperative. This paper discusses how, in London, TfL, partner agencies and private sector are exploring the transformation and variety of available and emerging vehicle energy forms, how people can anticipate the change in risk to enable pragmatic management of that risk to support an effective response and recovery from future incidents, support the responsible development of the infrastructure that underpins this evolution of movement that drives our economy and keep our customers, employees and first‐responder safe in our road tunnels environment.
- Record URL:
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Supplemental Notes:
- Abstract reprinted with permission of the World Road Association – PIARC.
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Corporate Authors:
World Road Association (PIARC)
La Grande Arche, Paroi Nord, Niveau 5
F-92055 La Defense Cedex, France -
Authors:
- Nicholas, John
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Conference:
- 26th World Road Congress
- Location: Abu Dhabi , United Arab Emirates
- Date: 2019-10-6 to 2019-10-10
- Publication Date: 2019
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 19p
- Monograph Title: Proceedings of the 26th World Road Congress - Abu Dhabi - 2019: Connecting Cultures - Enabling Economies
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Crashes; Disaster preparedness; Economics; Electric batteries; Electric vehicles; Fuels; Highway safety; Hybrid vehicles; Infrastructure; Public private partnerships; Risk management; Tunnels
- Geographic Terms: London (England)
- Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Energy; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01763319
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Feb 3 2021 3:00PM