Weastflows case study: 03
Co-operative driving apps
Traffic on the A67 in the Netherlands
More than 3.8 billion tonne-kilometres of freight is moved through
Making co-operative driving possible in practice, individual drivers
Europe annually and this is increasing year-on-year (Eurostat 2012),
were provided with real-time traffic information and specific driving
with road transport having a market share of more than 75%.
notifications that were relevant to their journey. This included
In the Netherlands, road congestion costs the economy around
advice on:
€1 billion every year. Innovative in-vehicle solutions could help
• accelerating or reducing speed
make better use of the existing road capacity by optimising traffic
• following distance between vehicles
flows, solving congestion problems, improving safety and reducing
• optimum lane changing
environmental impact.
• route guidance • merging lane and collision avoidance.
Beter Bereikbaar Zuidoost-Brabant (BBZOB), a project organisation of 24 local and regional authorities, and Mobycon, a research
Traffic alerts were also integrated into the apps to help drivers find
consultancy, trialled a combination of three existing online
out if there were accidents or slowing traffic ahead on their journey,
driving apps (ZOOF, Smoover and BlikR) for smartphones in the
so they could plan alternative routes.
Netherlands to help improve road safety and traffic movement. The apps were downloaded by 2,600 separate users and were
The technology used existing cloud data from road side systems,
trialled by approximately 130 car and truck drivers every day
such as traffic cameras and overhead signs, and data from
between September and December 2014 on the A67 motorway,
in-car sensors. The driving apps also used vehicle detection loops,
which connects Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. A major
electromagnetic communication systems that can detect vehicles
transport bottleneck, the A67 is one of the busiest motorways in
passing or arriving at a certain point (for example, approaching a
North West Europe (NWE), with freight movement representing
traffic light or in motorway traffic), and ‘floating car’ data, which picks
up to 40% of the motorway’s traffic.
up drivers’ locations from their mobile phones, to help determine the traffic speed on the road network.
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Co-operative driving apps
Top and above: Traffic on the A67
Traffic alert on an app
Speed notification on an app
Based on these different data sources,
Lessons and recommendations
tailor-made advice was calculated in real
The pilot’s implementation of driving
time and provided to the car and truck users
apps in traffic has generated interest from
via their smartphones. Smart and complex
policymakers, because cooperative mobility
algorithms were used to predict potential
offers potential for preventing congestion
traffic problems and determine
and accidents by making traffic systems
tailor-made driving advice to prevent
smarter. It also offers the ability to explore
them from happening or to alert drivers to
possibilities for alternatives to road capacity
real-time situations. Having access to wider
expansion.
data on so many individual drivers and vehicles allowed for the most optimal traffic
During the pilot, a major accident occurred
flow possibility. This is a new and innovative
when a truck hit the tail of a traffic queue
step towards full co-operative mobility,
on the A67. As a result, the motorway
with the aim to have all drivers using these
was closed for most of the day. The truck
systems.
driver was not using one of the pilot apps. However, from analysing other drivers’
Transnational engagement
reactions to the alerts they received a few
BBZOB and Mobycon worked in a close
hundred meters before the traffic jam, the
partnership with LAGIS, the National
use of the apps might have prevented the
Research Centre and University of Lille’s joint
driver from hitting the traffic jam tail.
research unit in France. LAGIS has significant experience in the fields of diagnosis,
The next steps will focus on scaling up the
reliability, process engineering, sustainable
use of the driving apps. Initially they will be
transportation and logistics systems. It
made available on other Dutch motorways.
undertook an analysis and inventory of all
Future development could include using
available ICT applications to help choose the
the apps in other countries across Europe,
best solutions to optimise traffic congestion
applying real time information for specific
and driving on the A67.
situation using available data sources.
Benefits and results The evaluation of the pilots is still ongoing and the final results will follow in spring 2015. It is anticipated that trial outcomes will include improved traffic safety, eased
Weastflows (west and east freight flows) – an INTERREG IVB North West Europe (NWE) project funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) – aimed to improve and enhance freight logistics across a west-east axis in the NWE region. The project brought together experts from all sectors of the freight transport industry to work towards connecting supply chains in the region with the wider freight network across the rest of Europe and Asia. Through a combination of freight mapping, innovative technology and a drive to promote sustainable logistics, Weastflows has worked to generate a step-change in the industry. This helps deliver economic, social and environmental benefits to both communities and businesses across the region. Lead partners • CRITT Transport et Logistique (FR) • Institute for Sustainability (UK) Partners • Agence d’Urbanisme de la Région du Havre et de l’Estuaire de la Seine (AURH) (FR) • Beter Bereikbaar Zuidoost-Brabant (BBZOB) (NL) • Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM) (NL) • Centre for Quantitative Methods (CQM) (NL) • Communication and Tracking Services (CTS) (FR) • InforIT (NL) • Institut du Droit International des Transports (IDIT) (FR) • Intermodality (UK) • Irish Exporters Association (IEA) (IE) • Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) (IE) • Liverpool John Moores University (LOOM) (UK) • Logistique Seine-Normandie (LSN) (FR) • Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) (LU) • Mobycon (NL) • Portsmouth International Port (UK) • South East Scotland Transport Partnership (SEStran) (UK) • Transports Terrestres Promotion Northern France (i-Trans) (FR) • Universität Duisburg-Essen (UNI-DUE) (DE) • University of Science and Technology of Lille (USTL-LAGIS) (FR) • Verband Region Rhein-Neckar (VRRN) (DE)
congestion and a reduced number of accidents.
For further information, please contact: Institute for Sustainability 49-51 East Road, London N1 6AH, UK T: +44 (0) 20 7517 1830 E: info@instituteforsustainability.org.uk www.weastflows.eu
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