Toward Trustworthy Decision-Making for Autonomous Vehicles:A Robust Reinforcement Learning Approach with Safety Guarantees

While autonomous vehicles are vital components of intelligent transportation systems,ensuring the trustworthiness of decision-making remains a substantial challenge in realizing autonomous driving.Therefore,we present a novel robust reinforcement learning approach with safety guarantees to attain trustworthy decision-making for autonomous vehicles.The proposed technique ensures decision trustworthiness in terms of policy robustness and collision safety.Specifically,an adversary model is learned online to simulate the worst-case uncertainty by approximating the optimal adversarial perturbations on the observed states and environmental dynamics.In addition,an adversarial robust actor-critic algorithm is developed to enable the agent to learn robust policies against perturbations in observations and dynamics.Moreover,we devise a safety mask to guarantee the collision safety of the autonomous driving agent during both the training and testing processes using an interpretable knowledge model known as the Responsibility-Sensitive Safety Model.Finally,the proposed approach is evaluated through both simulations and experiments.These results indicate that the autonomous driving agent can make trustworthy decisions and drastically reduce the number of collisions through robust safety policies.

Analysis of the Impact of Road Traffic Safety Facilities on Traffic Safety

The development of the national economy is closely tied to infrastructure construction.In recent years,China has seen a significant increase in the number and scale of road construction projects,aimed at facilitating the flow of goods and enabling convenient travel for the masses.However,this surge in road construction also raises concerns about road traffic safety.Road traffic safety facilities play a crucial role in warning and protecting against traffic accidents.To ensure their effective implementation,this paper analyzes the essence of road traffic facilities and their impact on traffic safety.By identifying challenges in the application of traffic safety facilities and adhering to safety facility application principles,suggestions are proposed to enhance traffic safety management.

Summarizing vehicle driving decision-making methods on vulnerable road user collision avoidance

With the development of intelligent vehicles and autonomous driving technology,the safety of vulnerable road user(VRU)in traffic has been more guaranteed,and many research achievements have been made in the key area of collision avoidance decision-making methods.In this paper,the knowledge mapping method is used to mine the available literature in depth,and it is found that the research focus has shifted from the traditional accident cause analysis to emerging deep learning and virtual reality technology.This paper summarizes research on the three core dimensions of environmental perception,behavior cognition and collision avoidance decision-making in intelligent vehicle systems.In terms of perception,accurate identification of pedestrians and cyclists in complex environments is a major demand for VRU perception;in terms of behavior cognition,the coupling of VRU intention identification and motion trajectory prediction and other multiple factors needs further research;in terms of decision-making,the intention identification and trajectory prediction of collision objects are not included in the risk assessment model,and there is a lack of exploration specifically for cyclists'collision risk.On this basis,this paper provides guidance for the improvement of traffic safety of contemporary VRU under the conditions of intelligent and connected transportation.

Problems in Ecological Landscape and Traffic Safety of Urban Roads

This study mainly analyzed problems in ecological landscape and traffic safety of urban roads, and in view of these problems, proposed the design concepts, principles and focuses of urban road eco-landscape ensuring traffic safety.

基于DNV SAFETI Route模型的危险货物道路运输风险模拟

DNV SAFETI Route运输路线模型是专业的运输活动风险评估模型,根据所有可能发生事故的地点分布潜在事故的总频率,计算出沿线的总体风险水平。选择事故场景为大孔泄漏,对发生泄漏情景引发的火灾、爆炸和毒性物质扩散事故后果进行预测。根据后果预测结果,进而可以得到周边防护目标所承受的个人风险和社会风险曲线。

Road Safety Performance Function Analysis With Visual Feature Importance of Deep Neural Nets

Road safety performance function(SPF) analysis using data-driven and nonparametric methods, especially recent developed deep learning approaches, has gained increasing achievements. However, due to the learning mechanisms are hidden in a"black box" in deep learning, traffic features extraction and intelligent importance analysis are still unsolved and hard to generate.This paper focuses on this problem using a deciphered version of deep neural networks(DNN), one of the most popular deep learning models. This approach builds on visualization, feature importance and sensitivity analysis, can evaluate the contributions of input variables on model's "black box" feature learning process and output decision. Firstly, a visual feature importance(Vi FI) method that describes the importance of input features is proposed by adopting diagram and numerical-analysis. Secondly,by observing the change of weights using Vi FI on unsupervised training and fine-tuning of DNN, the final contributions of input features are calculated according to importance equations for both steps that we proposed. Sequentially, a case study based on a road SPF analysis is demonstrated, using data collected from a major Canadian highway, Highway 401. The proposed method allows effective deciphering of the model's inner workings and allows the significant features to be identified and the bad features to be eliminated. Finally, the revised dataset is used in crash modeling and vehicle collision prediction, and the testing result verifies that the deciphered and revised model achieves state-of-theart performance.

High-Risk Rural Road Safety Study and Determining the Crash-Reduction Factors for High-Risk Rural-Road Usage

More than 32,000 motorists are killed on U.S. roads and streets annually, and approximately 54% of the accidents occur on rural roads. In an attempt to address and reduce these fatalities, the current transportation act, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equality Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETY-LU), elevated the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) to a core program and included a $90,000,000 High-Risk Rural Road Program (HRRRP) to address and significantly reduce traffic fatalities and incapacitating injuries on rural major or minor collectors, and/or rural local roads. While there were many challenges to properly implement the HRRRP in counties, this study provided important information that was needed to identify the predominant crash types on HRRRP-eligible roads and compiled a list of countermeasures for the predominant crash types that were identified on Kansas’ high-risk rural roads. For the gathered countermeasures, crash reduction factors (CRFs) were also provided from the literature review, and their values were validated by conducting interviews with Kansas county engineers/officials. This study provided valuable information for the county engineers and local government officials while they worked on improving the safety of high-risk rural roads using HRRRP funds.

Application of UAV in Road Safety in Intelligent Areas

With the continuous development of remote sensing(RS)technology,the surface information can be collected conveniently and quickly by using the popular unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV).The application of UAV low altitude RS technology in road safety in intelligent area has certain practical significance.It can provide safety warning for most drivers,and provide auxiliary decision-making for the road supervision department.Through the collection,processing,calculation and analysis of the road image,the UAV can find out the road obstacles with potential safety hazards,identify the road pit,calculate the radius and depth of the road pit through the digital mapping system,predict the accident risk according to different speed and provide scientific basis for the road safety monitoring.At the same time,UAV can provide repair scheme for damaged roads,estimate the quantity of materials needed for repair,and achieve the target of resource saving and efficiency improvement.The experimental results show that the UAV can not only provide scientific prediction information for driving safety,but also provide relatively accurate material consumption for road repair.

Assessment &Improvement of Children Road Safety: A Pyramid &Honeycomb Structure Approach

In this research, a 4 hierarchical pyramid structure approach is proposed to assess children road safety. The first is referred to as the road safety pyramid representing children road safety components and levels including root, at accident and post accident levels and factors. The second, referred to as the children road safety assessment pyramid, includes 3 cornerstones that are required to represent a detailed methodological children road safety diagnostics. These 3 cornerstones include children safety culture, safety indicators and accident data analysis. The third pyramid, referred to as the children road safety indicators, shows the levels and types of indicators that when computed can be used for in depth analysis and historical comparison of children road safety. The core of the paper is the development of a conceptual model of factors affecting the road behavior of children including traffic exposure and experience, cognitive skills and abilities, perceptual skills, knowledge and attitude. Towards this end, the paper presents the fourth pyramid, referred to as the children road safety behavior pyramid. This includes a 7-level hierarchal structure starting from exposure leading to experience and then skills/abilities, to knowledge to perception to attitudes and eventually culminating into children road safety behavior. The paper concludes by developing a generic integrated children road safety package of policies, measures, initiatives. The package is composed of 18 fields of action. In pursuing such integrated safety package this research also enhanced the classical 3Es concept (Engineering—Education—Enforcement) and introduced instead the 14Es honeycomb structure including (Engineer-ing—Education—Environment—Enforcement—Egalitarianism—Exposure—Ethics—Emergency—Ergonomics—Encouragement—Empowerment—Enabling—Economics—Evaluation). All in all this is meant to act as a generic benchmark guide/checklist for countries in compiling and tailoring children road safety programmes.

Evaluating Contractors’ Safety Record and Its Influence on Performance of Road Infrastructural Projects

A number of studies conducted in Kenya and internationally indicated that most of the construction firms and contractors do not seem to strictly observe safety administration in construction industry, hence compromised performance at implementation stage of projects and even later in the post implementation or post-delivery stage. The study aimed to examine the influence of contractors’ safety record on road performance. This is to create better understanding of how the safety record of contractors could either positively or negatively influence performance of roads during post-delivery stage. The study used both descriptive survey research design and correlation design based on a pragmatic mixed method approach. Through stratified sampling and proportionate sampling, a sample of 210 was drawn from a population of 460 comprising of registered contractors and Public Service Vehicles (PSV) drivers within Nairobi County in Kenya. Questionnaires were distributed using simple random sampling. The questionnaires returned were 153 in total representing 72.8% of all questionnaires distributed to the respondents. Data was descriptively analyzed using percentages, frequencies, means and standard deviations for measuring central tendency and variability. Inferential analysis was done by use of correlation and regression. The descriptive analysis revealed that safety policy management system, insurance policy, and adequacy of standards in addressing safety outcome are to some extent practiced and adhered to. However, compliance behavior to safety procedures is still weak and requires improvement. The null hypothesis was tested and the results obtained from a simple linear regression indicated that, R = 0.657, R2 = 0.431, B = 0.359, t = 10.703, F (1,151) = 114.558, p = 0.000 < 0.05. This means that contractors’ safety record has a strong positive and significant relationship with road performance and that 43.1% of variation in performance is explained by safety record. This study recommends that contractors’ safety record should be part, and parcel of the evaluation criteria used in selection of a suitable road contractor to ensure road performance is achieved even after construction is completed. The study is significant in that it contributes to the body of knowledge by providing empirical data on the need for safety procedures in urban road construction and beyond.

Evaluation of the Safety of Mine Road Based on Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process

Generally, mine roads are located in the mountain areas, as its complex topography, mostly along the river near the cliffs, steep bend anxious, the mine road design has to adopt lower technical standards relatively and usually is lack of traffic safety facilities. Especially, there are mainly medium-sized vehicles on mine road, under the heavy traffic vehicles affect repeatedly, high frequency of traffic accidents more easily happen in mine road area and cause serious effects on life or property. Combining with the particularity of mine road safety environment, this paper studies the basic theory of safety evaluation, analyses the factors of traffic safety design and special mine terrain conditions, and then establishes mine road safety index system and evaluation model based on the principles such as systematicness, independent indexes, qualitative and quantitative analysis, feasibility, scientificity and reliability. At last, the paper successfully evaluates the safety of road in Huang Mailing phosphate rock area with fuzzy AHP method based on engineering project.

Modular Design Using Sustainable Luminescent Materials in Energy-Saving Reflective Cat’s Eyes for Public Road Safety Planning

Recently,there has been a global movement toward environmental protection and energy conservation through the design and development of new products in accordance with sustainable utilisation.In this study,rare earth luminescent materials were used owing to their active light emission and reusability.Additionally,solar lightemitting diode lights and car-light reflection were utilised to increase the recognition and reliability of reflective cat eyes.Along with carbon reduction,this can save energy and enhance road safety.This study considered the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving and a literature review to analyse the issues in existing products.Then,expert interviews were conducted to screen projects and develop product design policies.Finally,the ratio of light-storage materials was experimentally determined and the prototypes implemented.This cat’s eye addresses the shortcomings identified in previous analyses of existing products.We applied energy storage environmental protection materials,together with material proportioning(which balanced warning efficiency against cost-effectiveness)to develop diversified modular kits;these were flexible in terms of quantity and easily assembled.This study achieved four key objectives:(1)reducing the research and development costs of the manufacturer;(2)offering buyers a diverse suite of products;(3)responding to a need to improve diverse road user safety;and(4)reducing government procurement costs for safety warning products.The results provide a reference for the creative modular design of energy-saving products for public road safety planning in various industries.

Order Exponential Evaluation Model for Road Traffic Safety in City Clusters

This study presents an order exponential model for estimating road traffic safety in city clusters.The proposed model introduces the traffic flow intrinsic properties and uses the characteristics and regular patterns of traffic development to identify road traffic safety levels in city clusters.Additionally,an evaluation index system of city cluster road traffic safety was constructed based on the spatial and temporal distribution.Then Order Exponential Evaluation Model(OEEM),a comprehensive model using order exponent function for road traffic safety evaluation,was put forward,which considers the main characteristics and the generation process of traffic accidents.The model effectively controlled the unsafe behavior of the traffic system.It could define the levels of city cluster road traffic safety and dynamically detect road safety risk.The proposed model was verified with statistical data from three Chinese city clusters by comparing the common model for road traffic safety with an ideal model.The results indicate that the order exponent approach undertaken in this study can be extended and applied to other research topics and fields.

Investigating Road Safety Management Systems in the European Countries: Patterns and Particularities

A road safety management (RSM) system can be defined as “a complex institutional structure that involves cooperating and interacting bodies which support the tasks and processes necessary for the prevention and reduction of road traffic injuries”. RSM should promote the road safety progress of the country. However, the details of this relationship are generally lacking. This study explored the RSM systems in European countries based on the information collected through interviews with experts and officials, in each country, and using a “good practice” criteria questionnaire. The dataset included 14 countries with fifty items related to five RSM areas: institutional organization;policy formulation and adoption;policy implementation and funding;monitoring and evaluation;scientific support, information and capacity building. Cluster analyses and correlations were used to identify country groups with similar RSM components, to recognize typical RSM structures if available and to examine the relationship between RSM and road safety performance of the countries. The findings showed that all the countries are different when RSM systems are considered as a whole, making it impossible to identify typical RSM structures or a single best working model at a national level. However, it is possible to compare countries when the RSM areas are considered separately, where the clusters of countries recognized by the study present the patterns common for those European countries. Across the analyses, a number of countries with a consistently higher and lower availability of the RSM components were identified, enabling a final countries’ ranking into a number of groups. The latter actually reflects the level of RSM in the country, in terms of its correspondence to the “good practice” criteria. A further analysis indicated a positive correlation between the higher level of the RSM system and better safety performance of the countries.

Communication on Road Safety in Cameroon: Representation in the Press and Government Strategy

Road safety is a major concern in Cameroon, due to the multiplicity of road accidents resulting in the loss of human lives and the deterioration of road infrastructures. In 2019, the year marking the end of the United Nations decade of actions for road safety, the number of deaths on Cameroonian roads was 937. In this article, we have selected to examine the theme of road safety in the Cameroonian press and to look at awareness-raising strategies on the same subject. Our objective is to highlight the importance of communication in solving road safety problems. We therefore asked ourselves the following questions: How is the topic of road safety dealt with in the media? In combination with awareness campaigns, are the representations conveyed through the press sufficient to contribute to a change in road users behaviour? The option of studying both the representations of road safety that we have chosen has enabled us to show how the co-production of this public problem can be explained through the interrelations between the media and institutional fields. We initially postulated that communication achieves its objective in road safety campaigns when it integrates mixed strategies including campaigns aimed at road users, information for the general public through the press and social marketing campaigns aimed at changing behaviour. After a content analysis of articles published on road safety in three newspapers and an analysis of the messages disseminated in the posters and flyers produced during awareness campaigns, we found that awareness-raising through the media is not enough on its own. We therefore conclude that it is important to combine marketing techniques, citizen education and awareness raising aimed at changing user behaviour in road safety communication strategies. The target strategy is also important because each road safety message is addressed to a specific target group that plays a specific role

Political and Economic Analysis of the South Silk Road： from a Transportation Safety Perspective

With a long history, the South Silk Road has been and will continue to be an important corridor of economic, political, cultural and religious exchange between Southwest China and Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, West Asia and Europe. The transportation corridor established by the South Silk Road has both important strategic significance and value for China's transportation safety, and the potential to bring huge political and economic benefits to our country. However, all kinds of challenges and threats need to be dealt with in order for it to achieve strategic value and play the role of a transportation corridor, thereby ensuring China's strategic security.

Safety Management of Non-urban Roads in Israel： An Application of Empirical Bayes Evaluation

A safety management system was established to provide for continuously improved safety levels of the non-urban roads in Israel. One of the main functions of the system lies in the identification and treatment of HL （hazardous locations） on existing roads. In line with the state-of-the art in road safety, the HL identification is based on an empirical Bayes evaluation, where an HL is recognized using a high positive difference between the number of accidents expected at the site and that predicted for similar sites. The latter is estimated using safety performance functions that were developed for local conditions, including single- and dual-carriageway road sections, and various types of intersections： signalized/non-signalized, three- and four-legged. The procedure of HL identification is applied annually, serving as a basis for the working programs on road infrastructure improvements. Positive safety effects of such improvements were recently reported in the country. These activities comply with the Road Infrastructure Safety Directive that was recently introduced in the European Union.

The Design of Urban Road Manhole Covers Based on the Function of Safety and Identification

This study combed the development process of urban road manhole cover at home and abroad,and pointed out the existing problems in the domestic manhole cover.From the perspective of safety and identification function,it put forward innovative design ideas of urban road manhole covers to improve the safety and identification function of road manhole covers,and enhance the ornamental of manhole covers.

Communication’s Role in Safety Management and Performance for the Road Safety Practices

Communication among organizations could play an important role in increasing road safety.To get in-depth knowledge of its role,this study measured managers’and employees’perceptions of the communication’s role on six safety management and performance criteria for road safety practices by conducting a survey using a questionnaire among 165 employees and 135 managers.Path analysis using AMOS-19 software shows that some of the safety management road safety practices have high correlation with the safety performance,namely,from the six antecedents,only the safety training and safety promotion,closely correlate with the safety motivation,and only safety commitment,safety communication and feedback have close relations with the safety knowledge and safety behavior compliance,and only safety feedback has effective relations with the safety participation.Safety feedback is identified as the most important safety management issue to road safety practices and it would predict the level of safety knowledge,safety motivation,safety compliance and safety participation.The results of this study would help the concerned agencies/orgaizations in improving their ability to assess the road safety indicators and to the future development of the safety performance management for road safety practices in these agencies.