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This contribution introduces a number of psychological methods of analysis that are based on the practice-oriented collection of information directly at the site of an accident and that allow for an analysis and coding of the accident causes. Investigation examples and examples of the data combinations with basic medical and technical data are outlined. Objective of the collection is the inter-disciplinary investigation of human factors in the causes of accidents ("human-factor-analysis"). The psychological data are incorporated according to an integrative model for accident causes based on empiric algorithms in the data base of the accident research, where the clustered evaluation potential of comprehensive factors of the accident development can be illustrated. The central theoretical concept for the basic model of the progress of the accident from a psychological point of view comprises psychological indicators for the evaluation of the site of the accident for the analysis of the perception conditions as well as a classification of the gleaned data into the accident progress model according to chronological and local criteria. Perception conditions, action intentions and executions as well as conditions limiting perception and actions are acquired, using a questionnaire for persons involved in an accident, and are also integrated into the data structure concerning weighted feature characteristics as well as combined with other relevant features. Suitable systematization tools for the collection and coding of psychological accident development parameters have to be provided, which require primarily a model image of the corresponding processes from the persons involved in the accident (perceptions, expectations, decisions, actions). The interactive accident model contains components of the models by KÜTING 1990, MC DONALD 1972, SURREY 1969 and RASMUSSEN 1980. Based on the inter-action of the three partial systems "person", "vehicle" and "environment", the first step is the assessment of the situation by the persons involved in the accident. This is dependent on the personal attitudes and motives, on experiences and expectations concerning the progress of the situation. Subsequently, data concerning the manner of the coping with the ambiguous state as well as with the instable state (emergency reaction immediately before the accident occurs) are collected. The factors relating to the persons involved in the accident are gathered on several levels using corresponding questionnaires. The coding of the found and collected characteristics is conducted in a multidimensional evaluation relating to the technical results of the accident reconstruction and of the psychological classification, which are subsequently integrated in coded form into the data base of the accident research. The result of this analysis is a description of the development of the accident depicted on a chronological vector from a perception and decision theoretical perspective. This is explained in detail using exemplary cases.
Detailed investigations and reconstructions of real accidents involving vulnerable road users
(2005)
The aim of this research is to improve knowledge about vulnerable road users accidents and more specifically pedestrians or cyclists. This work has been based on a complete analysis of real accidents. From accidents chosen from an in-depth multidisciplinary investigation (psychology, technical, medical), we have tried to identify the configuration of the impact: car speed, pedestrian or cyclist orientations. Then, we have made a numerical modelling of the same configuration with a multibody software. In particular, we have reproduced the anthropometry of the victim and the front shape of the car. A first simulation has been performed on this starting configuration. Next, effects of some parameters such as car velocity or victim position at impact have been numerically studied in order to find the best correlations with all indications produced by the in-depth analysis. Finally, the retained configuration was close to the presumed real accident conditions because it reproduces in particular the same impact points on the car, the same injuries, and is according to the driver statement. This double approach associating an in-depth accident analysis and a numerical simulation has been applied on pedestrian-to-car and bicyclist-tocar accidents. It has allowed us to better understand the real kinematics of such impacts. Even if this method is based on a case to case study, it underlines which parameters are relevant on a vulnerable road user accident investigation and reconstruction.
Because of actual developments and the continuous increase in the field of drive assistant systems, representative and detailed investigations of accident databases are necessary. This lecture describes the possibility to estimate the potential of primary and secondary safety measures by means of a computerized case by case analysis. Single primary or secondary safety measures as well as a combination of both are presented. The method is exemplarily shown for the primary safety measure "Brake Assist" in pedestrian accidents. Regarding accident prevention only the primary safety measure is determined.
Data concerning accidents involving personal injury which have been collected in the context of in-depth investigations on scene in the Hannover area since 1973 and in the Dresden area since 1999 represent an important basis for empirical traffic safety research. At national and international level various analyses and comparisons are carried out on the basis of "in-depth data" from the above mentioned investigations. In-depth data play a decisive role e.g. within the validation of EuroNCAP results on secondary safety (crashworthiness) of individual passenger car models. Thus, statistically sound methods of data analysis and population parameter estimation are of high importance. Since the 1st of August 1984 the "in-depth investigations on scene" in the Hannover area have been carried out according to a sampling plan developed by HAUTZINGER in the context of a research project on behalf of BASt. In the meantime a second region of in-depth investigation on scene was added with surveys in Dresden and the surrounding area. Internationally, the acronym GIDAS (German In-Depth Accident Study) is commonly used for the two above mentioned surveys. The objective of a current research project (topic of this contribution) is, among other things, to examine and adjust the previous weighting and expansion method for the two regional accident investigations to the current general conditions.
In-depth road traffic accident research in Spain is a fairly recent activity. In the past, only accident data that had been retrospectively processed by the national and regional traffic police forces was available. In 1999 Applus+IDIADA set up a permanent accident research unit to carry out indepth analysis of road accidents in Spain. Since then accidents involving cars, motorcycles, coaches and vulnerable road users have been thoroughly studied. The Applus+IDIADA accident research team has carried out work for the various traffic polices in Spain and it is currently involved in several research projects in which accidentology is one of the main tasks. The working methodology of the team is presented in the first part of the paper. In the framework of the European research project "Rollover" (GRD2-2001-50086), Applus+IDIADA has collected data, inspected scenarios and performed virtual reconstructions of twenty-six of the total seventy-six rollover accidents studied. The second half of the paper describes how these accident investigations were used to develop a test procedure for identifying possible improvements to the vehicle structure which augment occupant protection in a rollover scenario. In particular, a proposal for a new drop test for rollover assessment is presented. The cases were analysed for severity, in terms of injury to the occupants and damage to the vehicle, and taking into account whether a seatbelt was worn or not. The worst possible cases were identified as those that had severe occupant injuries and sizable damage to the occupant compartment when seatbelts had been worn. The most severe cases were then analysed further for impact position (roll and pitch angles) and the impact velocity. With these parameters taken into account, the most representative combinations could be found. This resulted in a series of configurations for possible drop tests. The results of the tests indicate where passenger vehicle structures need to be improved in order to increase occupant safety in the event of a rollover crash.
Interaction of road environment, vehicle and human factors in the causation of pedestrian accidents
(2005)
The UK On-the-Spot project (OTS) completed over 1500 in-depth investigations of road accidents during 2000-2003 and is continuing for a further 3 years. Cases were sampled from two regions of England using rotating shifts to cover all days of the week and all hours of the day and night. Research teams were dispatched to accidents notified to police during the shifts; arrival time to the scene of the accident was generally less than 20 minutes. The methodology of OTS includes sophisticated systems for describing accident causation and the interaction of road, vehicle and human factors. The purpose of this paper is to describe and illustrate these systems by reference to pedestrian accidents. This type of analysis is intended to provide an insight into how and why pedestrian accidents occur in order to assist the development of effective road, vehicle and behavioural countermeasures.
76 severe traffic accidents had been investigated in depth in an ongoing Volkswagen-Tongji University joint accident research project in JiaDing district, Shanghai, PR China since June 2005. With a methodology similar to German accident research units in Dresden and Hannover, a research team proceeds to the scene immediately after the incident to investigate and collect various data on environment, accident occurrence, vehicle state and deformations as well as injuries. The data combined with the results of accident reconstruction will be stored in a database for further statistical and casuistic analysis. The first outcome of the project supports the hypothesis that a main causation for the large number of traffic accidents in China is the lacking of risk awareness in Chinese driver behaviour. Low seat-belt use and the high proportion of vulnerable and poorly protected two-wheelers in traffic are reasons for the high injury and fatality rate in China. The research work shows that accident research in China is feasible and able to give support to tackle one of the urging problems in Chinese development.
The "Seven Steps Method" is an analysis and classification system, which describes the human participation factors and their causes in the temporal sequence (from the perceptibility to concrete action errors) taking into consideration the logical sequence of individual basic functions. By means of the "seven steps" it is possible to describe the relevant human causes of accidents from persons involved in the accident in an economic way with a sufficient degree of exactitude, because the causes can be further differentiated in their value (e.g. diversion as external diversion with regard to impact due to surroundings) and their sub values (e.g. external diversion with regard to impact due to surroundings in the shape of a "capture" of the perception by a prominent object of the traffic environment). Theoretically it is possible that one or more causing moments can be assigned to a person involved in an accident in each of the "seven steps"; however it is also possible to sufficiently clarify the cause in only one level (examples for this are described). In the practice of accident investigation at the site of the accident, the sequence chart is also relevant. With its assistance the questioning of the people involved in an accident can be accomplished in a structured way by assigning a set of questions to each step.
The European Union has set a target to reduce all road fatalities (over 40,000) with 50% in 2010. This target percentage remained unchanged with the introduction of the ten new member states within the EU as by May 1st, 2004. According to Eurostat, 34% of all fatalities in 1998 in the, then, fifteen states of the European Union were the result of single vehicle collisions. This represents over 14,000 lives lost each year of which many can likely be saved through better roadside infrastructure design. The challenge for road safety professionals is to find methods and design strategies that help to reduce these casualties. Procedures for full-scale vehicle crash testing of guard rails were first published in the US in 1962. Present European regulation is mainly based on these procedures and later developments. Since then the vehicle fleet has changed considerably. Due to the complexity of the actual safety problem the numerical simulation approach offers a good opportunity to evaluate the different parameters involved in road safety, such as infrastructure properties, vehicle type, vehicle occupants and injuries. The ideal situation would be that simulation tools are coupled or integrated and all involved effects would be related. At the moment this is not the case yet, but initiatives are taken and a new virtual era has started. This paper offers a method looking at two components that encompass the driving environment: the car and the guardrail. As part of the EC-funded project, RISER (Roadside Infrastructure for Safer European Roads) a multi body simulation program study is carried out to determine sensitivities of some parameters in car to guardrail collisions and gives insides in performance of the car with passive safety equipment, the guardrail and the interaction of these objects with each other. By offering a set of methods that includes these two aspects and their intertwining relations, more confidence can be gained in actually reducing fatalities due to single vehicle collisions with, or due to, roadside furniture. Reducing the number of fatalities of single vehicle crashes would contribute greatly to the stated goal of reducing casualties altogether.
Due to recent years accident avoidance and crashworthiness on Austrian roads were mostly developed on national statistics and on-scene investigation respectively. Identification and elimination of black spots were main targets. In fact many fatal accidents do not occur on such black spots and black-spot investigation has reached a limit. New methods are required and therefore the Austrian Road Safety Programme was introduced by the Austrian Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology. The primary objective is the reduction of fatalities and severe injuries. Graz University of Technology initiated the project ZEDATU (Zentrale Datenbank tödlicher Unfälle) with the goal to identify similarities in different accident configurations. A matrix was established which categorizes risk and key factors of participating parties. Based on this information countermeasures were worked out.
NASS: the glass is half full
(2007)
The National Accident Sampling System (NASS) was born in the late 1970s. It was based on a substantial amount of experience and analysis of what was needed in the United States to understand the safety challenges of our highways. This work also showed how to collect high quality and useful crash data efficiently. Unfortunately, when Ronald Reagan - a President who believed in limited government - was elected, any hope of full funding for NASS was lost. The concept of 75 teams investigating about 18,000 serious crashes in detail annually was never realized. The system got up to 50 teams, then was cut to 36, and finally to 24 teams investigating fewer than a quarter of the originally anticipated number of crashes per year. Despite this, the NASS investigations provide a rich source of data, collected according to a sophisticated statistical sampling system to facilitate detailed national estimates of road casualties on our nation- highways and their causes. In addition, changes have been made in recent years to increase the number of more serious crashes of recent model vehicles to make the results more relevant to improving vehicle safety. A recent, detailed examination of hundreds of rollovers has provided considerable insight into rollover casualties and into what can be done to reduce them. Some of these results will be presented that show the value of the NASS system. Our experience with NASS and the Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) suggests a number of improvements that could be made in the United States" crash data systems. It also provides justification for a doubling or tripling of our national expenditures on crash data collection.
This study aimed to identify the occurrence, type and mechanisms of the traumatic injuries of the vulnerable road users in vehicle collisions, and to determine the effects of human, engineering, and environment factors on traffic accidents and injuries. The pedestrian accident cases were collected in the years 2000 to 2005 from Changsha Wujing hospital China and Accident Research Unit at Medical University Hannover in Germany. A statistic analysis was carried out using the collected accident data. The results from analysis of Changsha data were compared with results from analysis of GIDAS data Hannover. The injury severities were determined using AIS code and ISS values. The results were presented in terms of cause of injuries, injury distributions, injury patterns, injury severity. The factors influenced the injury outcomes were proposed and discussed for the vehicle transport environment and road users. The results were discussed with regard to accident data collection, accident sampling and injury distributions etc. In the urban area of Changsha, motorcycles and passenger cars are most frequently involved in vehicle pedestrian accidents. Head and lower extremities injuries are the predominant types of pedestrian injuries. The pedestrian accidents were identified as vital issue in urban traffic safety and therefore a high priority should be given to this road user group in research of safe urban transportation. In Hannover area, cars are most frequently involved in traffic accidents, injured pedestrians are involved in road traffic of Germany in 13% of all causalities only in 2005 and have nearly the same number as motorcyclists, but the half of bicyclists.
In recent years the boundaries between active and passive safety blurred more and more. Passive safety in the traditional term includes all safety aspects to prevent occupants to be injured or at least injury severity should be reduced. Passive Safety starts with the collision (first vehicle contact) and ends with rescue (open vehicle doors). Within this phase the occupant has to be protected by the passenger compartment whereby no intrusion should occur. Active safety on the other side was developed to interact prior to the collision whereby the goal is to prevent accidents. The extensive interaction between active and passive safety led to the terminologies "Primary" and "Secondary" safety whereas the expression Integrated Safety Concept was generated. Within this study the most well documented single vehicle accidents with cars not equipped with ESP were identified from the PENDANT database and reconstructed. Additional cases were found in the database ZEDATU of TU Graz. In comparison each case was simulated with the assumption that the cars were equipped with ESP. The differences regarding accident avoidance or crash severity as well as reduction of injury risk were analysed.
There is a need for detecting characteristics of pedestrian movement before car-pedestrian collisions to trigger a fully reversible pedestrian protection system. For this purpose, a pedestrian sensor system has been developed. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the sensor system, the in-depth knowledge of car-pedestrian impact scenarios is needed. This study aims at the evaluation of the sensor system. The accident data are selected from the STRADA database. The accident scenarios available in this database were evaluated and the knowledge of the most common scenarios was developed in terms of the pedestrian trajectory, the pedestrian speed, the car trajectory, the car velocity, etc. A mathematical model was then established to evaluate the sensor system with different detective angles. It was found that in order to detect all the pedestrians in the most common scenarios on time the sensor detective angle must be kept larger than 60 degrees.
Since 2005 the German In-Depth Accident Study (GIDAS) also records aspects of active vehicle safety. This is done because vehicles are fitted with an increasing number of active safety devices which have undoubtedly an influence on the number, severity and course of accidents. Accident researchers expect that collecting active safety data will facilitate to assess and quantify the impact of these and future devices. It is the aim of this paper to outline benefits and limitations associated with the recording of active safety aspects within indepth studies. An overview about possible areas where active safety data can be useful will be given. For that purpose single safety or comfort systems will be selected to estimate the effects of an accident database which includes variables associated with these systems. Questions with regard to the limitations of collecting active safety data will be addressed. Possible items are for example the usability of the data recorded, the real accident cause, the small number of relevant accidents, the time span needed to gather a sufficient dataset, the small share of vehicles equipped with a certain system or different functionalities of systems that are supposed to fall in the same category. As a result user needs for a reasonable data collection of active safety elements will be elaborated.
Description of road traffic related knee injuries in published investigations is very heterogeneous. The purpose of this study was to estimate the risk of knee injuries in real world car impacts in Germany focusing vulnerable road users (pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists) and restrained car drivers. The accident research unit analyses technical and medical data collected shortly after the accident at scene. Two different periods (years 1985-1993 and 1995-2003) were compared focusing on knee injuries (Abbreviated Injury Scale (AISKnee) 2/3). In order to determine the influences type of collision, direction and speed as well as the injury pattern and different injury scores (AIS, MAIS, ISS) were examined. 1.794 pedestrians, 742 motorcyclists, 2.728 bicyclists and 1.116 car drivers were extracted. 2% had serious ligamentous or bony injuries in relation to all injured. The risk of injury is higher for twowheelers than for pedestrians, but knee injury severity is higher for the latter group. Overall the current knee injury risk is low and significant reduced comparing both time periods (27%, p<0,0001). Severe injuries (AISKnee 2/3) were below 1%). Improved aerodynamic design of car fronts reduced the risk for severe knee injuries significantly (p=0,0015). Highest risk of injury is for motorcycle followed by pedestrians, respectively. Knee protectors could prevent injuries by reducing local forces. The classically described dashboard injury was rarely identified. The overall injury risk for knee injuries in road traffic is lower than estimated and reduced comparing both periods. The aerodynamic shape of current cars compared to older types reduced the incidence and severity of knee injuries. Further modification and optimization of the interior and exterior design could be a proper measurement. Classic described injury mechanisms were rarely identified. It seems that the AIS is still underestimating extremity injuries and their long term results.
The present report is a compilation of the evaluation results obtained by the end of 2009 in respect of the experimental novice driver training models "Voluntary further training seminars for novice drivers" (here: "VFT" model"). The models were initially introduced by the legislator on a trial basis in 2003 and 2005 respectively, and were to be evaluated and tested with regard to their road safety effectiveness prior to making a decision on the permanent integration into the driver licensing system. Alongside the question of road safety effectiveness (summative evaluation), the evaluation studies also analysed the experience gained from practical implementation of the individual concepts (process/formative evaluation). Whereas the safety impact is of direct significance for the decision on permanent adoption of the models, the results of the process evaluation are important independently of this decision for considerations of the possibilities for concept optimisation. The evaluation studies conducted by the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) were spread over a total of six sub-projects; complete and conclusive results are available for five of these sub-projects. The evaluation of the VFT model was unable to confirm the road safety effectiveness of this approach. It is especially disturbing to learn that participants in the VFT model display a significantly greater risk of accident involvement and traffic offences compared to novice drivers of the same age and with similar driving experience who have not attended a VFT seminar. Possible causes, insofar as a directly causal effect of the VFT participation is excluded, can most reasonably be assumed to lie in the curtailed effectiveness of the probationary licence rules in the case of VFT participants (participation is honoured with a shortening of the probationary period by up to one year) and self-selection effects in conjunction with VFT participation (model may attract above all those novice drivers with a tendency to conspicuous driving behaviour, as a means to achieve a shortening of the probationary period). In view of the significantly poorer driving behaviour of the VFT participants, and against the background of the aforementioned plausibility considerations regarding the underlying causes, however, it seems expedient to already now remove the incentive of a shorter probationary period in case of VFT participation. The evaluation of practical implementation of the VFT model revealed the need for further development of several points. This refers to the quality of the active, attitude-building training forms to be applied by the seminar leaders and moderators, as well as questions concerning optimised seminar organisation in the interest of training quality. It is here recommended that the seminar concept be subjected to a thorough review, and that the conditions for concept-adequate implementation be improved.
Die vom Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung (BMVBS) beauftragte Studie zu den Auswirkungen neuartiger Lastzugkombinationen auf die Infrastruktur, den Verkehrsablauf und die Verkehrssicherheit liegt jetzt vor. Die Untersuchungen der Arbeitsgruppe der Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen (BASt) konzentrieren sich ausschließlich auf die technischen Fragestellungen. Die wesentlichen Ergebnisse: - Eine erhöhte Straßenschädigung ist wegen der zugrunde gelegten neuen Fahrzeugtypen mit acht Achsen nicht zu erwarten. Infolge der prognostizierten allgemeinen Transportleistungssteigerung ist dieser Effekt jedoch von begrenzter Dauer. - Die Beanspruchung der Brücken wird durch 60-Tonnen-Lastzugkombinationen deutlich erhöht, was Ersatz oder Verstärkungen erforderlich machen wird. - Für die Tunnel der Bundesfernstraßen können sich wegen des deutlich größeren Ladevolumens höhere Brandlasten ergeben, mit der Folge erhöhter Anforderungen an die Sicherheitsausstattung. - Probleme bei der Befahrbarkeit von Kreisverkehren, Straßenkreuzungen und -einmündungen sowie Parkplätzen auf Rastanlagen werden sich infolge der größeren Fahrzeuglängen ergeben. Durch zusätzliche fahrzeugtechnische Einrichtungen - wie Lenkachse oder zusätzliche Gelenke - können diese gemindert werden. - Nach den vorliegenden Erfahrungen aus dem Ausland sind für ausreichend motorisierte und mit zuverlässigen Bremsanlagen ausgerüstete Transportfahrzeuge keine gravierenden Probleme hinsichtlich des Verkehrsablaufs und der Verkehrssicherheit auf Autobahnen zu erwarten. Im nachgeordneten Straßennetz (insbesondere Landes-, Kreis- und Gemeindestraßen) ist mit negativen Auswirkungen der Lastzugkombinationen sowohl auf die Verkehrssicherheit als auch auf die Leistungsfähigkeit der Straßen zu rechnen. So muss beispielsweise mit längeren Überholwegen und längeren Räumzeiten - etwa beim Abbiegen und an Bahnübergängen - gerechnet werden. - Die derzeitigen Schutz- und Rückhaltesysteme sind nicht für 60-Tonnen-Lastzugkombinationen ausgelegt. Derartige Rückhaltesysteme müssten erst entwickelt werden. Aufgrund der höheren Fahrzeuggewichte könnte die Unfallschwere bei Auffahrunfällen deutlich zunehmen. Moderne Fahrerassistenzsysteme (Spurhalteassistent sowie Bremsassistent mit Abstandsradar) könnten jedoch grundsätzlich dazu beitragen, sowohl Unfallrisiko als auch Unfallschwere zu verringern.
In Deutschland werden jährlich über 300.000 Unfälle mit Personenschaden und weitere knapp 2 Mio. Unfälle mit Sachschaden von der Polizei registriert. Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung der Verkehrssicherheit und damit zur Unfallprävention sowie zur Verringerung der Unfallfolgen werden auf unterschiedlichen Aktivitätsfeldern und unterschiedlichen administrativen Ebenen umgesetzt. Bezüglich der Straßeninfrastruktur zielen Verbesserungsmaßnahmen darauf ab, Sicherheitsdefizite der Straße zu erkennen und zu beheben. Die Anstrengungen der vergangenen Jahre und Jahrzehnte galten und gelten der Entwicklung von Verfahren, um dies auf alle Phasen des Lebenszyklus einer Straße zu übertragen, sowohl auf die Planung, den Entwurf, den Bau sowie den Betrieb von Straßen. Um den Verwaltungen für die Sicherheitsanalyse von Straßennetzen ein Instrument an die Hand zu geben, wurden die Empfehlungen für die Sicherheitsanalysen von Straßennetzen (ESN) entwickelt und im Jahre 2003 veröffentlicht. Das Verfahren beruht auf der Analyse des Unfallgeschehens im betrachteten Straßennetz. Die Berechnung von Sicherheitspotenzialen nach den ESN wird von der BASt für das Netz der Bundesautobahnen seit 2004 regelmäßig durchgeführt. In dem hier durchgeführten Projekt wurde die Machbarkeit einer ESN-Anwendung auf dem Netz der Bundesstraßen auf Grundlage der Daten der amtlichen Unfallstatistik und der Abschnittsbildung nach der Netzstruktur untersucht. Insgesamt gesehen kann das Verfahren nach ESN auffällige Bereiche im Straßennetz identifizieren, auf denen sicherheitsverbessernde Maßnahmen die größte Wirksamkeit erwarten lassen. Damit steht ein Werkzeug zur Verfügung, das die bereits etablierte örtliche Unfallanalyse ergänzt. Die Anwendung auf dem Bundesstraßennetz zeigt, dass für eine flächendeckende Anwendung des Verfahrens sowohl bei den notwendigen Datengrundlagen als auch bei Fragen der Methodik Verbesserungsbedarf besteht.
Transportable Schutzeinrichtungen werden in Deutschland im Bereich von Autobahnbaustellen eingesetzt, um entgegengesetzt gerichtete Verkehrsströme zu trennen und Arbeitsstellen gegenüber dem laufenden Verkehr zu sichern. Bei schweren Unfällen kann es erforderlich werden, dass Schutzeinrichtungen geöffnet werden müssen, um den Rettungskräften den Zugang zur Unfallstelle zu erleichtern. Die deutschen Regelwerke sehen bislang keinen Einsatz von Notöffnungsmöglichkeiten in transportablen Schutzeinrichtungen vor. Ziel des Projektes war es, zu ermitteln, ob und wo durch die Verwendung von Öffnungsmöglichkeiten die Zugänglichkeit zum Unfallort erleichtert werden kann. Im zweiten Schritt sollten Vorgaben für eine einheitliche Gestaltung von Notöffnungen erarbeitet werden, die mit den marktgängigen Schutzeinrichtungen umsetzbar sind, und die es den Einsatzkräften ermöglichen, ohne Vorkenntnisse und ohne Werkzeuge die Öffnungen schnell und einfach zu bedienen. Dazu sollten sowohl Verschlussmechanismen wie auch eine visuelle Kennzeichnung betrachtet werden. Die Untersuchungen haben gezeigt, dass Notöffnungen mit sehr vielen marktgängigen Schutzeinrichtungen realisiert werden können. Das größte Problem bei der Umsetzung stellt für die meisten Systeme das hohe Eigengewicht der Elemente dar. Von einer grundsätzlichen Verwendung von Notöffnungen an Arbeitsstellen auf Autobahnen ist abzuraten. Jedoch können unter bestimmten Voraussetzungen, die in einem Kriterienkatalog zusammengefasst wurden, durch den Einsatz von Notöffnungen die Zugriffsmöglichkeiten bei Unfällen verbessert werden. Aus Gründen der Verkehrssicherheit empfiehlt es sich, Notöffnungen jeweils am Beginn und am Ende einer Baustelle zu platzieren. Sind zusätzliche Öffnungspunkte dazwischen erforderlich, muss sehr gut abgewägt werden zwischen dem Faktor Zeitgewinn und dem erhöhten Risiko für Einsatzkräfte und den nachfolgenden Verkehr.