What Is the Knowledge of Evacuation Procedures in Road Tunnels? Survey Results of Users in Poland

Abstract

This paper presents a preliminary assessment of road tunnel safety issues among respondents—specifically, real and potential users of road tunnels. We recruited a group of respondents to study their knowledge of evacuation procedures and awareness of safety issues in road tunnels. We conducted surveys with 504 participants, 12.7% of whom had previously participated in real-scale evacuation experiments in a road tunnel. Analysis of respondents’ answers reveals that their knowledge of safety procedures is unfortunately not sufficient. On average, the respondents selected the most recommended answer for approximately 5.35 out of 15 questions. Only 16% of respondents correctly answered more than 50% of the survey questions; moreover, no respondent provided the correct answers for 12 or more questions. Interestingly, most respondents were convinced that they had a better knowledge of road tunnel safety issues than was actually the case. The results of the survey demonstrate a significant educational role of evacuation exercises. Individuals who have participated in an evacuation have better knowledge, allowing them to apply the correct rules of road tunnel safety procedures. Various aspects addressed in this paper can be taken into consideration in an information campaign regarding safety in road tunnels during a fire.

Evaluating Tunnel Users’ Literacy on Expressway Tunnel Fire Safety: Questionnaire Analysis and Policy Decisions

“…The above studies mostly focused on temperature distributions, firecausing mechanisms, evacuation rules, tunnel fire risk assessments, and other engineering problems. Real-case analyses, experimental studies, and numerical simulations are usually applied to related studies [34].…”

“…We suggest that tunnel operators should strengthen tunnel management and enhance tunnel users' training. Regular emergency drills in tunnels should be organized with the participation of public security traffic polices, expressway management, fire rescues, tunnel operators, and medical services [34]. During the tunnel renovation phase, visitors should be invited to view tunnel escape facilities, and animation videos about tunnel fire safety knowledge should be played for the community.…”

Subjective individuals’ perception during evacuation in road tunnels: Post-experiment survey results

“…To improve safety in road tunnels various methodologies are used. One can point to studies based on real-case analyses [ 17 , 18 ], experimental studies [ 19 – 25 ], surveys and computer simulation studies [ 26 , 27 ]. It should be stressed that the behavioral aspects of the evacuation process have become an increasingly more important subject of research over the past few years [ 22 , 17 , 28 – 30 ].…”