The nightmare lurks deep inside the tunnel. What should I do now? The semi-trailer in front of me is on fire.
Situated in the middle of the 5.3 km Frøya subsea tunnel, I am suspicious and uncertain of the situation. The mist in front of my vehicle is neither dust nor exhaust. The grey haze in front of me is the smoke from a fire.
In the grey haze I can barely see an emergency phone. Slowly and with caution I drive towards the phone, just to realize that it is an information sign about a climbing lane ahead.
Suddenly I look straight into a nightmare. Flames are flaring up and licking the roof above the semi-trailer. The semi-trailer has crashed with a small vehicle. Darker and darker clouds of smoke burst out as the tyres catch fire.
Is there clean air on the other side of the vehicle? Is there room to pass, I dear not try. What if I get stuck? Backing up is neither an alternative I dear try.
In the thick smoke the sight behind me is already obscured. I do not know if I can manage to turn. Should I leave the car? And escape by foot?
Paralysis wins, I stay put. I remain sitting in my car. Until I hear a voice through the open window. By this time you might have been dead. You can be glad this was a simulated drive.
Realistic nightmare
Off course I am relieved. The nightmare is created by computer graphics. The drive took place indoors in SINTEF/NTNU's driving simulator. I have been driving in an artificial but realistic ful-scale animation of an existing subsea tunnel, where traffic scientists have collected important knowledge.
In the simulator trials they have seen that rehearsal of a few rules of thumb can be the difference between life and death. Information alone does not work for everybody. Visit www.sintef.no
In the specially designed advanced laboratory I sit behind the wheel of a brand new Renault. Five video projectors are mounted above the vehicle. They are connected to input from the steering wheel, pedals and can recreate everything from city streets to road tunnels, projected on big screens in front of and behind the vehicle. Click here.
I am approaching an exact copy of the Frøya subsea tunnel on the coast of Norway. Behind me the behavioural scientist, Gunnar D. Jenssen, monitors my driving on a PC.
Fourty-two professional drivers and eight civilians have driven in the simulator before me, as part of the research project UPTUN, a major EU target on safety in tunnels. Prior to the trials half of the participants were invited to read safety advice for tunnel driving, a folder the EU has made for the member states and EFTA. The other participants were given no tunnel information. Visit
www.uptun.netThe drivers who received safety advice differed from the rest on one important aspect of tunnel driving. Of all the drivers who stopped before the fire they stopped further away and at a safer distance than non informed drivers. According to the project leader, Gunnar D. Jenssen, such behaviour can stop tunnel fires from spreading from vehicle to vehicle.
The traffic researcher refers to the tunnel disasters in continental Europe where it seems likely that the people got aware too late of the risk. In the Mont Blanc tunnel fire, all the 39 car drivers were found dead in their cars. Keeping distance to the vehicle in front in tunnels is the most important generic advice from Jenssen. This will reduce the number of head-to-tail collisions, reduce the risk of fire spreading from vehicle to vehicle, and it will be easier to make a U-turn if this is safe based on the direction of the traffic in the tunnel.
DiscouragingThose reading the information folder prior to the simulator drive were more observant before discovering the fire. They noticed fire extinguishers and emergency lay-bys to a greater extent than the others. Jenssen states that these trials indicate that information is a help for some, but for the majority it has minor effect. According to him, the results were discouraging for the informed group. Only 20% stopped before the fire, 17% stopped beside the fire, 14% passed the fire at speed between 3-49 km/h, and 5% crashed into the burning vehicle.
Research in other countries has neither been uplifting. Safety information given before a trial in a real tunnel had minor effect when the subjects were presented to a fire scenario inside the tunnel. 40% left the car with the engine on. A spoken message through loud speakers was necessary to get the people to leave the car.
Jenssen says the main conclusion is ready. To get safe behaviour in tunnels the drivers need more information than an EU leaflet. Tunnel fire will be a part of the education of truck drivers. When a incident like a tunnel fire occurs, professional drivers are most likely to take responsibility. Statens vegvesen, the Norwegian public roads administration, will be carefull with giving information to "normal" drivers, because it might frighten the majority of the drivers. They will wait for the results from UPTUN before any information is given to the drivers. The UPTUN publication is not official yet and should be released within 2007. Road haulage companies are concerned about the lack of knowledge among young truck drivers regarding driving heavy vehicles. Young drivers are not aware of the risk of driving in steep tunnels with heavy loads. Another problem is driving heavy vehicles loaded with hazardous goods without being approved for such.
Kristen Opstad of SINTEF is worried about the fans in the tunnels. You never know which direction they will blow. Statens vegvesen's directorate for civil protection and emergency planning is aware that this has been a problem, and states that the recommendations are without doubt that the orientation of the fans should be predetermined and set beforehand. But of course, not all the tunnels in Norway are perfect. There is room for improvements.
A problem is that some drivers have little respect for red warning lights in front of the tunnels. This could lead to dangerous situations.
This article is mainly the translation from Norwegian of Svein Tønseth's article published in Gemini magazine. Thanks to Marianne Flø for the translation and Gunnar D. Jenssen of SINTEF.
