Ontario Ministry of Transportation

About: Ontario Ministry of Transportation is a government organization based out in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Poison control & Asphalt. The organization has 4652 authors who have published 3882 publications receiving 59011 citations.

Pedestrian exposure and the risk of child pedestrian injury

Abstract: The authors used data from the New Zealand Household Travel Survey to examine the extent to which children's pedestrian exposure varies with age, sex and household income. Pedestrian injury morbidity data were combined with pedestrian exposure data to examine age-specific pedestrian injury risk. The annual number of road crossings for girls was greater than that for boys. Pedestrian exposure increased with increasing age. Children aged 5-9 years in the lowest household income bracket crossed approximately 50% more roads than those in the middle and upper income brackets. However, for children aged 10-14 years there was little variation with household income. Sex differences in pedestrian injury rates cannot be explained by differences in exposure although increased exposure may partly explain the increased injury rates for children in lower socio-economic groups. Prevention strategies might aim to reduce pedestrian exposure for alternatively to reduce pedestrian injury risk per unit of exposure by making safer urban living environments. Language: en

Bragg scattering of water waves by multiply composite artificial bars

Abstract: A numerical model is developed to investigate the Bragg scattering of water waves by multiply composite artificial bars. Zhang et al.'s hyperbolic equation (1999) is recast into an Evolution Equation for the Mild-Slope Equation (EEMSE). It has the advantage to economize computing time for practical application to a large coastal area. The characteristics of both normal and oblique incident waves on the Bragg scattering are investigated. Numerical computations are compared fairly with laboratory experiments. Numerical examples indicate that the performance of the Bragg resonance for multiply composite artificial bars can be greatly improved by increasing both the relative bar height and the number of bars with different intervals. The resulting higher-order harmonic components of the Bragg resonance are shown to be significant, and increase the bandwidth of high performance. The present results can provide an appropriate selection of a multiply composite artificial bar field to a practical design.

Evaluating Networkwide Effects of Variable Message Signs in the Netherlands

Abstract: The use of variable message signs (VMSs) is generally considered to be a powerful tool to influence route choice so as to increase safety and comfort during driving and improve network performance and to make optimum use of available capacity. Assessing whether such effects actually occur when VMSs are installed is a difficult task. This paper summarizes an extensive evaluation study carried out on the installation of 14 new VMSs on the Amsterdam orbital motorway. The study involves a number of issues. First, a networkwide analysis of aggregate performance indicators, such as traffic performance, severity of congestion, and travel time delay, is included. Second, the relation between the messages displayed on the VMS and the travel times experienced by drivers is analyzed. Finally, a stimulus-response analysis to find out how drivers actually respond to the messages is described. The study showed that the use of VMSs has a positive impact on network performance in the Amsterdam freeway system. Total congestion has decreased, and traffic performance has increased. Variation in congestion has decreased as well as variation in average travel speed. This finding implies that travel time has become more reliable and that the traffic flow is more homogeneous. The technical assessment showed that the displayed queue lengths, if interpreted correctly by drivers, are a good measure for expected delay. User response analysis showed that information has a significant effect on route choice. In general, the VMSs were found to improve the efficiency and reliability of the freeway system.