Assessment of the Direct Sun-Light on Rural Road Network through Solar Radiation Analysis Using GIS

Abstract

The movement of vehicles on the roads, during summer, can sometimes hide risks involved in direct sunlight. In places where the relief is complicated, road network usually consists of a road complexity. This complexity in conjunction with the motion of a vehicle on a road and the position of the sun at the same time may result in the loss of vision in some sections of the road. This paper describes a GIS-based methodology of the spatiotemporal analysis of this phenomenon. Thus, for a given study area, in this case of Milos Island, Greece, the geometry of the road network, the terrain morphology and the solar radiation (in specific time intervals during summer) have been analyzed. The result of this procedure is a map illustrating the sections of the road where direct sunlight includes a serious amount of risk for the drivers. Applying this methodology for long periods of time may lead to prevention policies adoption related to accidents of direct exposure to sunlight. Moreover, this methodology could be an additional module in car navigation systems.

Towards linking climate and weather phenomena to road safety outcomes Part 1 of 3: The collective involvement of weather manifestations

“…Similar work by Choi & Singh (2005), focusing on safety performance in sun glare, found older drivers were more prone to crashes when glare (from headlamps and sunlight) obstructed their vision. Chalkias, Faka, & Kalogeropoulos (2013) found the combination of complex terrain, vehicle motion, and position of the sun could cause a loss of vision in some sections of road.…”

Identification of optimal landforms to reduce impacts on the landscape using LiDAR for hosting a new highway

“…11 and Fig. 12), screening plantation areas can also be planned in a realistic way according to the visual intrusion of the new project in the surroundings and by improving road lane legibility and avoiding glare for drivers (see Chalkias et al, 2013). Herb species can be selected for hydro-seeding based on the microconditions of each embankment using slope or wet ground indexes to estimate soil moisture or potential erosion (Jelaska, 2009).…”

Detection of Direct Sun Glare on Drivers from Point Clouds

“…They noticed that the solar illumination in the afternoon periods of the winter and summer solstice showed a greater effect than during the morning period, while the opposite was found in the autumnal and spring equinoxes. A similar procedure was carried out in rural road networks [22]. They proposed a method to analyze the incidence of direct sunlight in the summer season on a specific route, based on a geographic information system (GIS).…”