Kazys Petkevičius , Birutė Petkevičienė

Principles of Ensuring Appropriate Driving Conditions on Motor Roads

View full text in PDF format

Abstract

Under conditions of increasing traffic volume and the growing percentage of heavy vehicles, it is necessary to ensure safe, fast and comfortable transportation of passengers as well as safe and fast transportation of cargo. Striving for assurance of such conditions, properties of motor roads, their road pavement and road pavement constructions (RPC) have to be sufficiently good: RP roughness, RPC strength, its state, etc. The roads and roadside zones have to be esthetical, interesting and attractive for travelling and to have a sufficient number of traffic service facilities: rest areas with hotels, restaurants, gas stations and other service objects, road signs and information posters, safety fences for pets and others. This article focuses on evaluation of motor roads considering driving conditions, esthetical, landscape formation, ecological aspects and need of establishment of service objects and their distribution. Following the results of the research conducted by the authors and other researchers, suggestions regarding rational distribution of service and rest objects in the roadside zones on the basis of evaluation of local conditions are provided. The dependence of RP roughness and RPC strength depend on the level of RPC disintegration. The authors point out how to reduce the level of RPC disintegration to ensure appropriate level of comfortable driving and safety of traffic.

Keywords: motor roads; motor vehicle (MV); driving conditions; functional use; road pavement (RP); road pavement construction (RPC); RP roughness; RPC strength; RPC disintegration level; service and rest objects; rational distribution; AC; SL.