Safety Impact of Introducing Automated Road Debris Removal System in South Korea

Abstract

Road debris should be removed quickly because it can cause road damage and traffic accidents. An automated road debris removal system—called ROBOS—was developed in South Korea to remove road debris automatically and quickly. It can be mounted and used on vehicles over 3.5 tons. The effects of ROBOS on the traffic flow need to be studied before it can be used on actual roads. In this study, these effects were investigated by performing driving and microscopic traffic simulations. The former can be used to analyze drivers’ reactions to new road equipment and driving behavior when detecting road debris. Driving behavior results that met the research purpose were employed in the microscopic traffic simulation to imitate reality. Finally, the number of conflicts and the conflict rate were compared between manual and ROBOS vehicle road debris removal scenarios to analyze traffic safety. The results showed that the overall traffic safety was low when road debris was present in curved sections, where it was generally difficult for the driver to easily detect it, and in the first lane and third lane, where lane changes were limited. Assuming that a ROBOS vehicle was used in these sections, the number of conflicts and the conflict rate can be significantly reduced. This study evaluated traffic safety after the use of a ROBOS vehicle input and obtained basic information needed for decision-making in future road debris removal work, such as the priority of input when choosing between manual removal and removal by a ROBOS vehicle.