OECD Road Transport and Intermodal Linkage Research Programme Reports 2001-2005     Performance-based Standards for the Road Sector This report focuses on arrangements and approaches to the regulation of road transport. Traditionally, heavy vehicles have been regulated by tightly defined prescriptive limits (such as mass and dimension/size limits), which provide little scope for innovation and lead to "one size fits all" outcomes. However, there are significant variations in road and traffic characteristics across road networks, and between urban and inter-city or inter-region routes. Many existing vehicle regulations only indirectly ensure that vehicles are able to operate in a safe manner and control the amount of road and bridge wear they cause. The report examines existing regulatory approaches and then explores how performance standards might be used to improve regulatory outcomes. Under a performance-based approach to regulation, this level of performance is to be achieved. More flexible performance-based regulations provide for increased innovation and more rapid adoption of new technologies. The report explores the regulatory reform processes in some countries that have led to more direct, outcome-oriented approaches to regulating road transport vehicles Paris, November 2005 Free         Economic Evaluation of Long-Life Pavements. Phase I In many nations with mature road networks, new road construction typically accounts for around 50% of the road budget. Much of the remainder of national road budgets is spent on maintenance and rehabilitation of existing roads. Current road construction methods and materials contribute to this outcome. The report assesses the economic and technical feasibility of innovative wearing courses for long-life road pavements. While having higher initial costs, such wearing courses have the potential to dramatically reduce recurrent road maintenance requirements and user costs and could also reduce overall costs significantly, under circumstances outlined in the report. Paris, March 2005 Free           Keeping Children Safe in Traffic In many OECD countries, road-related crashes are the number one killer of children under the age of 15. Tragically, one child out of every 2 100 will die before their fifteenth birthday in a road-related incident, and a considerably higher number will suffer severe injuries or lifelong disabilities. Since the last OECD report on children's transport safety was published in 1983, an estimated 100 000 children perished in road related crashes - which is not acceptable. Considerable advances have been made in most OECD countries since 1984 which have halved the number of children killed per annum on their roads. More fatalities could still be avoided if all OECD countries adopted practices known to be effective in improving children's road safety. This book outlines the progress that has been made in the last twenty years, as well as the need for ongoing change. It provides the latest statistics on children's injuries, fatalities and trends in transport. It examines the most effective current strategies, identifies areas for improvement and makes a series of policy-related recommendations for improving children's road safety. 130 pages; Paris, June 2004 Free           Can Cars Come Clean?  Strategies for Low-Emission Vehicles This report identifies policy options and makes recommendations on market-oriented actions to promote the purchase of the most environmentally friendly vehicles. It assesses the impact of a wider use of low-emission vehicles, drawing on experience to date, research results and the responses to a survey from 18 OECD countries. The main section - Policy Options - presents in non-technical language, the current and expected performance of conventional and innovative technologies. 208 pages; Paris, March 2004 Free           Road Safety: Impact of New Technologies Every day, thousands are injured and almost 350 people are killed on the roads of OECD countries. Although new technologies -- including intelligent speed adaptation and collision avoidance systems -- are being developed and could significantly reduce this toll by as much as 40%, considerable challenges need to be overcome in order to achieve these benefits. Billions of dollars are currently being spent to develop new technologies which are not related to safety, and many of these may have a negative impact on road safety if action is not taken to ensure their compatibility with current road systems. This report evaluates the global impact of new technologies on road safety and provides recommendations to governments and industry to ensure that fatalities and injuries in road traffic are reduced. 100 pages; Paris, October 2003 Free           Delivering the Goods.  21st Century Challenges to Urban Goods Transport Although delivery of goods is vitally important for residents and industries in urban areas, the presence and operations of goods transport vehicles in urban areas are often regarded more as a nuisance than an essential service. Relatively little has been done by governments to facilitate the essential flows of goods in urban areas and to reduce the adverse impacts of urban goods transport on the communities being served. This has resulted in increasing problems associated with goods delivery including competition with passenger transport for access to road infrastructure and space for parking/delivery facilities. How should OECD countries deal with the difficult challenges they face in this area? This report analyses measures taken in many cities in the OECD area and provides recommendations for dealing with these challenges. 160 pages; Paris, July 2003 Free           Transport Logistics.  Shared Solutions to Common Challenges Globalisation and advances in information and communication technologies are reshaping the world's trading patterns. Today's internationally competitive businesses work through strategic, integrated global networks designed to deliver efficient and high-quality response to demands from anywhere in the world. This trend has given rise to the terms "global logistics" or "supply-chain management". In addition, growing environmental concerns require that logistics should not only be efficient; they should also contribute to sustainable development. How do governments understand the current state of logistics systems? Do we share a vision of desired global logistics networks towards which governments can work? What are the barriers to achieving efficient and sustainable logistics networks? The OECD TRILOG project aimed to provide insights into these key issues through an exchange of experiences relating to freight transport logistics in the Asia-Pacific, Europe and North American regions. This report attempts to identify constraints and address issues common to the three regions, and suggest possible solutions and approaches that could facilitate the development of policies to promote efficient and sustainable international logistics. 52 pages; Paris, August 2002 Free           Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Road Transport Road transport accounts for approximately 80% of CO2 emissions emanating from transport, which corresponds to more than 20% of total emissions. This clearly has enormous implications for global climate change. With the continued growth forecast in car ownership and distance travelled, what are the expected trends in CO2 emissions and their consequences for the potential achievement of the Kyoto Protocol? What models are available to predict the level of CO2 emissions? Are they useful? This report, which has been prepared by an OECD Working Group, uses a number of illustrative and pragmatic cases to provide important insights into these major questions. 67 pages; Paris, July 2002 Free           Impact of Transport Infrastructure Investment on Regional Development Road transport accounts for approximately 80% of CO2 emissions emanating from transport, which corresponds to more than 20% of total emissions. This clearly has enormous implications for global climate change. With the continued growth forecast in car ownership and distance travelled, what are the expected trends in CO2 emissions and their consequences for the potential achievement of the Kyoto Protocol? What models are available to predict the level of CO2 emissions? Are they useful? This report, which has been prepared by an OECD Working Group, uses a number of illustrative and pragmatic cases to provide important insights into these major questions. 153 pages; Paris, June 2002 Free         Road Travel Demand. Meeting the Challenge While man conquered outer space in the 20th century, surface transportation congestion remains a vexing challenge for OECD metropolitan cities in the new millennium. What strategies, programmes and services have recently been implemented to reduce travel demand and improve traffic conditions? This report provides case studies and examples that demonstrate successful approaches to grappling with gridlock around the globe. 195 pages; Paris, May 2002 Free           Benchmarking Intermodal Freight Transport What is efficient intermodal freight transport? How are "best practices" to be found? What measures are being developed in OECD countries for assessing the relative efficiency of modes and modal combinations? What opportunities exist to improve complex intermodal transport chains? How are such opportunities identified and assessed? Today's highly competitive global market calls for intermodal transport systems that meet industry's expectations in efficiency and reliability as well as government's sustainability expectations. While benchmarking is a tool for achieving such objectives, how are these benchmarking exercises best implemented? This report analyses illustrative benchmarking exercises to provide insights into these important questions. 148 pages; Paris, April 2002 Free           Safety on Roads.  What's the Vision? Approximately 125 000 people die every year on the roads of OECD countries. In other words, one road crash victim dies every four minutes. The real tragedy is that, to a large extent, these crashes and the resultant deaths and injuries could be prevented. The argument for road safety investment is not simply an emotional one. Road crashes represent a serious economic burden: their cost is estimated to represent up to 4% of GDP in some countries. Fatalities across OECD countries could be halved if all governments were fully committed to improving road safety by implementing and enforcing best practice measures. This report identifies and assesses "best practices" among road safety programmes in OECD countries. Emphasis is splaced on those programmes that have been evaluated. In addition, the underlying criteria that influence the success or failure of these "best practices" are identified to facilitate the development of effective road safety policies in member countries. 125 pages; Paris, February 2002 Free           Safety in Tunnels.  Transport of Dangerous Goods through Road Tunnels A serious incident involving dangerous goods in a tunnel can be extremely costly in terms of loss of human lives, environmental degradation, tunnel damage and transport disruption. On the other hand, needlessly banning dangerous goods from tunnels may create unjustified economic costs. Moreover, such a ban might force operators to use more dangerous routes, such as densely populated areas, and thus increase the overall risk. This report proposes regulations and procedures to increase the safety and efficiency of transporting dangerous goods through road tunnels. It introduces two models, developed as part of the study: the first quantifies the risks involved in transporting dangerous goods through tunnels and by road; the second, a decision-support model, assists in the determination of the restrictions which need to be applied to the transport of dangerous goods through tunnels. Finally, measures to reduce both the risks and the consequences of incidents in tunnels are examined in detail. 90 pages; Paris, October 2001 Free         Performance Indicators for the Road Sector.  Summary of the Field Tests How can road administrations lift their performance in managing the road network? How does that management contribute to the development of efficient transport systems ? What are some common indicators/criteria that could be developed for OECD countries ? What are the data needs and the information network required to support these indicators? The analysis of performance using key indicators provides road administrations with a basis for redefining their activities. This report does not define a vision for adoption in all countries. Rather, the results should serve as a framework for evaluating the role and performance of road administrations in OECD Countries. 88 pages; Paris, July 2001 Free         Asset Management for the Road Sector What is asset management? How do road administrations achieve an integrated approach to asset management? How does this differ from the management of individual assets? What are the implications for data collection and management? What does it mean for road administrations and road sector policy? This report examines the requirements of asset management systems, the integration of existing component systems into a comprehensive approach to asset management, the incorporation of business-like approach, performance monitoring and the implementation of such systems. 81 pages; Paris, July 2001 Free