ADVANCED TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN EUROPE

This paper considers various aspects of advanced traffic management activities in Europe. First, it discusses the possible objectives, and considers some important conflicts between them, for example, between what is best for individual users and for the community, and between road safety and minimising journey times. It then briefly reviews the current status of European urban and inter-urban traffic control systems. It is mainly devoted to a review of work in the European DRIVE I, DRIVE II and PROMETHEUS projects. The areas of major operational interest in DRIVE II are: (1) demand management; (2) information systems; (3) integrated urban traffic management; (4) integrated inter-urban traffic management; (5) driver assistance & cooperative driving; (6) freight and fleet management; and (7) public transport management. Maps show the location of DRIVE II projects in urban areas, and field trials in inter-urban areas. The major research topics in PROMETHEUS are: (1) vision enhancement; (2) proper vehicle operation; (3) collision avoidance; (4) continuous vehicle- infrastructure information exchange; (5) autonomous intelligent cruise; (6) emergency systems; (7) commercial fleet management; (8) dual mode route guidance; and (9) travel information services. The paper finally discusses some important concepts, relevant to the development of advanced road traffic management systems. For the covering abstract see IRRD 867146.