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SCIENCE, SOCIETY AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES SERIES
RESEARCH FOR INNOVATIVE TRANSPORTS SET

Volume 4

Traffic Safety

Edited by
George Yannis and Simon Cohen
Traffic Safety
Research for Innovative Transports Set
coordinated by
Bernard Jacob

Volume 4

Traffic Safety

Edited by
George Yannis
Simon Cohen
First published 2016 in Great Britain and the United States by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as
permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced,
stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers,
or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the
CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the
undermentioned address:

ISTE Ltd John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

27-37 St George’s Road 111 River Street
London SW19 4EU Hoboken, NJ 07030
UK USA

www.iste.co.uk www.wiley.com

© ISTE Ltd 2016

The rights of George Yannis and Simon Cohen to be identified as the authors of this work have been
asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016936178

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-78630-030-0
 Contents

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii
George YANNIS and Simon COHEN

Part 1. Road Safety Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 1. Analysis of Road Safety

Management Systems in Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Nicole MUHLRAD, Gilles VALLET, Ilona BUTLER,
Victoria GITELMAN, Etti DOVEH, Emmanuelle DUPONT,
Heike MARTENSEN, Pete THOMAS, Rachel TALBOT,
Eleonora PAPADIMITRIOU, George YANNIS, Luca PERSIA,
Gabriele GIUSTINIANI, Klaus MACHATA and Charlotte BAX
1.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2. Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.1. Road safety management investigation model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.2. Data collection and handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3. Qualitative analyses of road safety
management systems in Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3.1. Road safety management profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3.2. Summary of country analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4. Quantitative analyses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
vi Traffic Safety

1.4.1. Clustering of countries on the basis of road

safety management components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4.2. Statistical models linking road safety
management with road safety performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.6. Key messages and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.7. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.8. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Chapter 2. Conceptualizing Road Safety

Management through a Territorialized Complex
System: Context and Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Thierry SAINT-GÉRAND, Mohand MEDJKANE, Abdelkrim BENSAID,
Dominique FLEURY, Jean-François PEYTAVIN, Eliane PROPECK-ZIMMERMANN and Maroua
BOUZID
2.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.2. Methodological challenge: integration of different
road safety concepts into territorial complex system modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.3. A practical example: ZIVAG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.4. Conclusion and followings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.5. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Chapter 3. Development of the European Road

Safety Knowledge System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
George YANNIS, Pete THOMAS, Nicole MUHLRAD,
Heike MARTENSEN, Emmanuelle DUPONT, Letty AARTS,
Petros EVGENIKOS and Eleonora PAPADIMITRIOU
3.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.2. Data/knowledge collecting and processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2.1. Assembly of road safety data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2.2. Assembly of road safety knowledge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.3. Key road safety analyses and summaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.3.1. Annual Statistical Report and Basic
Road Safety Fact Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.3.2. Country overviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.3.3. Road safety management profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.3.4. Forecast fact sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.3.5. Summaries on key road safety issues/web-texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.3.6. Integrated road safety knowledge system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.4. Conclusion and next steps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.5. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.6. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
 Contents vii

Part 2. Accident Analysis and Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Chapter 4. Structural Time Series Modeling

of the Number of Fatalities in Poland in Relation
to Economic Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Ruth BERGEL-HAYAT and Joanna ZUKOWSKA
4.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.1.1. Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.1.2. Research question and objective of the study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4.2. Current state of knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.3. Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.4. The data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.4.1. Mortality and economic indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4.4.2. Weather for explaining the outliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.4.3. Graphical analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.5. Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
4.6. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
4.7. Conclusion and outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
4.8. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Chapter 5. Risk of Road Traffic Injuries for

Pedestrians, Cyclists, Car Occupants and
Powered Two-Wheel Users, based on a Road
Trauma Registry and Travel Surveys, Rhône, France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Stéphanie BLAIZOT, Francis PAPON, Mohamed
MOULOUD HADDAK and Emmanuelle AMOROS
5.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5.2. Material and methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
5.2.1. Hospital-based crash data: the Rhône
road trauma registry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
5.2.2. The regional travel survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.2.3. Seasonality correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.2.4. Location: dense and non-dense areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
5.2.5. Injury rates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
5.2.6. Trends of injury rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
5.3. Results and interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.3.1. Seasonality ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.3.2. Injury rates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.3.3. Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
5.4. Discussion and conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
5.4.1. Study limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
5.4.2. Study strengths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
viii Traffic Safety

5.4.3. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
5.5. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
5.6. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Chapter 6. Development of Safety Performance

Functions for Two-Lane Rural First-Class
Main Roads in Hungary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Attila BORSOS, John N. IVAN and Gyula OROSZ
6.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
6.2. Literature review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
6.3. General overview of first-class main roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6.3.1. Design characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6.3.1. Accident statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
6.4. Data collection and segmentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
6.5. Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
6.5.1. Regression technique and goodness of fit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
6.5.2. Modeling results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
6.6. Discussion and conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
6.7. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
6.8. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Part 3. Vulnerable Road Users’ Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Chapter 7. Mobility and Safety of Powered

Two-Wheelers in OECD Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Pierre VAN ELSLANDE, Veronique FEYPELL-DE LA BEAUMELLE,
James HOLGATE, Kris REDANT, Hélène DE SOLÈRE, Dimitris MARGARITIS,
George YANNIS, Eleonora PAPADIMITRIOU, Saskia DE CRAEN,
Lars INGE HASLIE, Juan MUGUIRO and Per-Olov GRUMMAS GRANSTRÖM
7.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
7.2. Mobility and safety figures of PTWs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
7.2.1. PTW mobility and use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
7.2.2. Safety development over time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
7.2.3. Crash characteristics and scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
7.3. Contributory factors of PTW crashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
7.4. Toward an integrated road safety strategy for PTW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
7.4.1. The safe systems approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
7.4.2. PTWs in the safe system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
7.5. Measures for PTW safety improvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
7.5.1. Licensing, training and education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
7.5.2. Enforcement and communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
7.5.3. Infrastructure and traffic management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
7.5.4. Vehicles, ITS and protective devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
 Contents ix

7.6. Key messages and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

7.7. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Chapter 8. Comparison of Car Drivers’ and Motorcyclists’

Drink Driving in 19 Countries: Results from
the SARTRE 4 Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Julien CESTAC, Cécile BARBIER, Gian-Marco SARDI,
Richard FREEMAN, Sami KRAÏEM and Jean-Pascal ASSAILLY
8.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
8.2. Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
8.2.1. The SARTRE surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
8.2.2. Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
8.2.3. Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
8.2.4. Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
8.3. Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
8.4. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
8.5. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
8.6. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Chapter 9. Trajectories of Multiple People

in Crowds Using Laser Range Scanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Ladji ADIAVIAKOYE, Patrick PLAINCHAULT,
Marc BOURCERIE and Jean-Michel AUBERLET
9.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
9.2. Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
9.2.1. Measurement system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
9.2.2. Data fusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
9.2.3. Background subtraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
9.2.4. Control points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
9.2.5. Image registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
9.3. Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
9.4. Multiple tracking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
9.5. Experimental results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
9.6. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
9.7. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Chapter 10. Safety of Urban Cycling: A Study

on Perceived and Actual Dangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Anita GRASER, Michael ALEKSA, Markus STRAUB,
Peter SALEH, Stephan WITTMANN and Gernot LENZ
10.1. State of urban cycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
10.2. Perceived safety of urban cycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
x Traffic Safety

10.3. The Austrian accident database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

10.4. Comparison of perceived safety
and recorded accidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
10.4.1. Regional aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
10.4.2. Location characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
10.5. Conclusion and outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
10.6. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
10.7. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Part 4. Road Infrastructure Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Chapter 11. Speed Distribution and

Traffic Safety Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Anna VADEBY and Åsa FORSMAN
11.1. Introduction and aim of the study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
11.2. Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
11.2.1. Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
11.2.2. Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
11.2.3. The Power model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
11.3. Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
11.3.1. Speed distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
11.3.2. Speed measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
11.3.3. Relative risks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
11.4. Discussion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
11.5. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
11.6. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Chapter 12. Ex-ante Assessment of a Speed

Limit Reducing Operation – A Data-driven Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Maurice ARON, Régine SEIDOWSKY and Simon COHEN
12.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
12.2. Method for predicting the injury or
fatality accident count . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
12.2.1. Accident analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
12.2.2. Empirical speed analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
12.2.3. Traffic conditions prediction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
12.2.4. Calibration of the average speed–accident
and density–accident relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
12.3. The part of the ALLEGRO motorway network
concerned with speed limit reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
12.4. Ex-ante assessment results of the speed decrease
in the ALLEGRO motorway network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
 Contents xi

12.4.1. FDs on the ALLEGRO network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

12.4.2. Splitting the accidents into three
types and predictions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
12.5. The threefold validation of the approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
12.5.1. Validation of the models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
12.5.2. Validation of the calibrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
12.5.3. Verification/validation of the use of the models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
12.6. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
12.7. Appendix: relationships between injury accidents
and traffic conditions estimated from the Marius network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
12.7.1. The Marius network of urban motorways near Marseille . . . . . . . . . 193
12.7.2. The Power and Exponential models, logit form. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
12.7.3. Values of the coefficients of significant
relationships (single vehicle accidents, daytime) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
12.7.4. Values of the coefficients of significant
relationships (multiple vehicles crashes, daytime) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
12.7.5. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
12.8. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Chapter 13. Development of a Guideline for

the Selection of Vehicle Restraint Systems –
Identification of the Key Selection Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Francesca La TORRE, Ceki ERGINBAS, Robert THOMSON,
Giuseppina AMATO, Bine PENGAL, Peter SALEH,
Chris BRITTON and Kris REDANT
13.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
13.2. Objectives of the first work package of
the SAVeRS project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
13.3. Collation and examination of national
guidelines and standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
13.3.1. Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
13.3.2. Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
13.4. Collation and examination of published literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
13.4.1. Aim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
13.4.2. Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
13.4.3. Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
13.5. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
13.6. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
13.7. Follow-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
13.8. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
xii Traffic Safety

Chapter 14. For the Vision of “Zero Accidents at

Intersections”: A Challenge between
Road Safety and Capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Jean Emmanuel BAKABA and Jörg ORTLEPP
14.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
14.2. Traffic turning left at signal-controlled intersections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
14.2.1. Non-conflicting and conflicting flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
14.2.2. Traffic turning left as conflicting streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
14.2.3. Traffic turning left as partially conflicting streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
14.2.4. Selecting cases for investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
14.2.5. Initial conditions for the calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
14.2.6. Results of the simulation calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
14.3. Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
14.4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
14.5. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Chapter 15. Safety Inspection and Management

of the Road Network in Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Salvatore CAFISO, Alessandro DI GRAZIANO, Grazia LA CAVA
and Giuseppina PAPPALARDO
15.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
15.2. Road safety inspection tools in Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
15.2.1. Tool for SI in Austria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
15.2.2. Tool for SI in Norway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
15.2.3. Tool for SI in Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
15.3. Design of new software tools for road inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
15.3.1. IASP procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
15.3.2. Hardware and software tools for in-office inspection . . . . . . . . . . . 240
15.3.3. Data Analysis Module for in office review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
15.3.4. Optimization tool, SAFOPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
15.4. Case study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
15.5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
15.6. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Part 5. ITS and Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Chapter 16. Improving Safety and Mobility of

Vulnerable Road Users Through ITS Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Johan SCHOLLIERS, Daniel BELL, Andrew MORRIS,
Alejandra Beatriz GARCÍA MELÉNDEZ and Oscar Martin PEREZ
16.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
16.2. Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
 Contents xiii

16.3. Accident data analysis and identification

of critical scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
16.3.1. Pedestrians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
16.3.2. Cyclists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
16.3.3. PTWs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
16.4. User needs analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
16.5. ITS applications for the critical scenarios
and user needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
16.6. Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
16.7. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
16.8. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
16.9. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Chapter 17. Experimentation with the

PRESERVE VSS and the Score@F System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Rim MOALLA, Brigitte LONC, Gerard SEGARRA,
Marcello LAGUNA, Panagiotis PAPADIMITRATOS,
Jonathan PETIT and Houda LABIOD
17.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
17.2. Test methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
17.3. Performance indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
17.4. Test environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
17.4.1. Score@F applications and platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
17.4.2. PRESERVE system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
17.4.3. Test site description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
17.5. Test case description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
17.5.1. Functional tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
17.5.2. Attack tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
17.6. Test results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
17.7. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
17.8. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
17.9. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Chapter 18. Safety Bus Routing for the

Transportation of Pupils to School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Eleni CHALKIA, Josep Maria SALANOVA GRAU, Evangelos BEKIARIS,
Georgia AYFANDOPOULOU, Chiara FERARINI and Evangelos MITSAKIS
18.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
18.2. The school bus routing problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
18.3. Methodology for solving the SBRP in
SAFEWAY2SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
18.3.1. SAFE MAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
xiv Traffic Safety

18.3.2. Safety criteria used in the

presented methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
18.3.3. Pedestrian routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
18.3.4. School bus routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
18.4. Application to Thessaloniki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
18.5. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
18.6. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
18.7. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Chapter 19. Spreading Awareness of Traffic Safety

through Web Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Miha AMBROŽ, Jernej KORINŠEK and Ivan PREBIL
19.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
19.2. Current state of traffic accident data in Slovenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
19.2.1. The Traffic Accident Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
19.2.2. Infrastructure data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
19.2.3. System problems with the current dataset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
19.3. Identification of conflict points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
19.4. Application structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
19.4.1. Server components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
19.4.2. User interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
19.5. Use of the web application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
19.5.1. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
19.6. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
19.7. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
19.8. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Part 6. Railway Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

Chapter 20. Overview of Freight Train Derailments

in the EU: Causes, Impacts, Prevention
and Mitigation Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Cristian ULIANOV, François DEFOSSEZ, Gordana VASIû FRANKLIN
and Mark ROBINSON
20.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
20.2. Research methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
20.3. Results and discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
20.3.1. Derailment trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
20.3.2. Analysis of derailment causes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
20.3.3. Impact analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
20.3.4. Overview of prevention and monitoring systems
for reducing the occurrence of derailments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
 Contents xv

20.3.5. Assessment of existing prevention

and monitoring systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
20.3.6. Gap analysis and overview
of emerging technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
20.4. Conclusions and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
20.5. Acknowledgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
20.6. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Chapter 21. A Risk Assessment Tool for

Public Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Andrea SOEHNCHEN and Mihai BARCANESCU
21.1. Security – a growing concern for
Public Transport operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
21.2. The risk assessment procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
21.2.1. A tool developed to mitigate security risks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
21.2.2. Definition and terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
21.2.3. Preliminary steps in conducting risk assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
21.2.4. Risk identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
21.2.5. Risk analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
21.2.6. Risk evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
21.2.7. Risk mitigation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
21.2.8. Support tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
21.3. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
21.4. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
21.5. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346

Chapter 22. The GETAWAY Project – Improving

Passenger Evacuation Techniques in Railway
Stations (and Other Transport Hubs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Paul BRYANT and Christos GIACHRITSIS
22.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
22.2. External factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
22.3. Objectives of the GETAWAY project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
22.4. The GETAWAY system concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
22.5. The GETAWAY-IADSS development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
22.6. The Active Dynamic Signage System (ADSS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
22.7. Fire Detection System (FDS) development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
22.8. CCTV Analysis Engine (CAE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
22.9. Decision Engine (DE) and Evacuation
Simulation Engine (ESE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
22.10. The level of IADSS application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
22.11. Evaluation of the GETAWAY system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
xvi Traffic Safety

22.12. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

22.13. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
22.14. Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

Chapter 23. Interpretive Structural Modeling

of Security Systems for Better Security
Management in Railways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Anoop SRIVASTAVA, Sanjeev SWAMI and Devender BANWET
23.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
23.2. Complexity of railway systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
23.3. Nominal Group Technique (NGT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
23.4. Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370
23.4.1. Interpretive Structural Modeling for
Indian Railway Security System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
23.5. Policy implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
23.6. Conclusions and avenues for future research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
23.7. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
23.8. Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

List of Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
 Acknowledgments

The European Commission, DG MOVE and RTD, the Conference of European

Road Directors (CEDR), the European Road Transport Research Advisory Council
(ERTRAC), the European Rail Research Advisory Council (ERRAC) the European
technology platform WATERBORNE-TP are acknowledged for their support and
active contribution to the Programme Committee of the TRA2014, in charge of
reviewing and selecting the papers presented at the conference, which forms the
main input of this volume.

The French Institute for science and technology for transport, development and
network (Ifsttar) is aknowledged for the successful organisaation organization of the
conference TRA2014, in which 600 high quality papers were presented.

Joëlle Labarrère, former secretary of the Programme Committee of TRA2014,

and executive assitant of the department COSYS with Ifsttar, is aknowledged for her
valuable help to the editors and for this volume making.
 Preface

The transport sector is very much concerned about environmental adaptation and
mitigation issues. Most of these are related to the objective of curbing GHG
emission by 20% by 2020, alternative energy and energy savings, sustainable
mobility and infrastructures, safety and security, etc. These objectives require the
implementation of advanced research work to develop new policies, and to adjust
education and industrial innovations.

The theme and slogan of the Transport Research Arena held in Paris (TRA2014)
were respectively: “Transport Solutions: From Research to Deployment” and
“Innovate Mobility, Mobilise Innovation”. Top researchers and engineers, as well as
private and public policy and decision-makers, were mobilized to identify and take
the relevant steps to implement innovative solutions in transport. All surface modes
were included, including walking and cycling, as well as cross modal aspects.

Policies, technologies and behaviors must be continually adapted to new

constraints, such as climate change, the diminishing supply of fossil fuels, the
economic crisis, the increased demand for mobility, safety and security, i.e. all the
societal issues of the 21st Century. Transport infrastructures and materials, modal
share, co-modality, urban planning, public transportation and mobility, safety and
security, freight, logistics, ITS, energy and environment issues are the subject of
extensive studies, research work and industrial innovations that are reported in this
series of books.

This book is a part of a set of six volumes called the Research for Innovative
Transports set. This collection presents an update of the latest academic and applied
research, case studies, best practices and user perspectives on transport carried out in
Europe and worldwide. The presentations made during TRA2014 reflect on them.
The TRAs are supported by the European Commission (DG-MOVE and DG-RTD),
xx Traffic Safety

the Conference of European Road Directors (CEDR) and the modal European
platforms, ERRAC (rail), ERTRAC (road), WATERBORNE, and ALICE (freight),
and also by the European Construction Technology Platform (ECTP) and the
European Transport Research Alliance (ETRA).

The volumes are made up of a selection of the best papers presented at the
TRA2014. All papers were peer reviewed before being accepted at the conference,
and they were then selected by the editors for the purpose of the present collection.
Each volume contains complementary academic and applied inputs provided by
highly qualified researchers, experts and professionals from all around the world.

Each volume of the series covers a strategic theme of TRA2014.

Volume 1, Energy and Environment, presents recent research work around the
triptych “transports, energy and environment” that demonstrate that vehicle
technologies and fuels can still improve, but it is necessary to prepare their
implementation (electromobility), think about new services and involve enterprises.
Mitigation strategies and policies are examined under different prospective
scenarios, to develop and promote alternative fuels and technologies, multi-modality
and services, and optimized transport chains while preserving climate and the
environment. Evaluation and certification methodologies are key elements for
assessing air pollution, noise and vibration from road, rail and maritime transports,
and their impacts on the environment. Different depollution technologies and
mitigation strategies are also presented.

Volume 2, Towards Innovative Freight and Logistics, analyzes how to optimize

freight movements and logistics; it introduces new vehicle concepts, points out the
governance and organization issues, and proposes an assessment framework.

Volumes 3 and 4 are complementary books covering the topic of traffic

management and safety.

Volume 3, Traffic Management, starts with a survey of data collection processes

and policies and then shows how traffic modeling and simulation may resolve major
problems. Traffic management, monitoring and routing tools and experience are
reported and the role of traffic information is highlighted. Impact assessments are
presented.

Volume 4, Traffic Safety, describes the main road safety policies, accident
analysis and modeling. Special focus is placed on the safety of vulnerable road
users. The roles of infrastructure and ITS in safety are analyzed. Finally railway
safety is focused upon.
 Preface xxi

Volume 5, Materials and Infrastructures, is split into two sub-volumes,

investigating geotechnical issues and pavement materials’ characterization,
innovative materials, technologies and processes and introducing new techniques
and approaches for auscultation and monitoring. Solutions to increase the durability
of infrastructures and to improve maintenance and repair are presented, for recycling
as well as for ensuring the sustainability of the infrastructures. Specific railways and
inland navigation issues are addressed. A focus is put on climate resilient roads.

Volume 6, Urban Mobility and Public Transport, highlights possible innovations

in order to improve transports and the quality of life in urban areas. Buses and two-
wheelers could be a viable alternative in cities if they are safe and reliable. New
methodologies are needed to assess urban mobility through new survey protocols, a
better knowledge of user behavior or taking into account the value of travel for
public transport. The interactions between urban transport and land planning are a
key issue. However, these interactions have to be better assessed in order to propose
scenarios for new policies.

Bernard JACOB, Chair of the TRA2014 Programme Committee

Jean-Bernard KOVARIK, Chair of the TRA2014 Management Committee
March 2016
 Introduction

Advances in telecommunications and information technologies are changing the

practices used in both everyday life and in professional life. The transport world,
sensitive to innovation, does not escape this movement.

Our daily environment demonstrates successful mutations. New equipment is

deployed along the roads or on board vehicles. Variable message signs display real-
time travel times. Cameras detect incidents and trigger alerts. Information terminals
provide service schedules and waiting times for buses or trains. Other technologies
facilitate the management of daily travel, making it more reliable, safer and more
comfortable.

These developments highlight various aspects of advanced traffic management

as well as transport safety. Behind, there is transport research. Its role is to imagine,
assess and support the emergence of new approaches and innovative systems. Multi-
disciplinary by essence, transport research is well adapted to deal with these issues.
This is the purpose of this volume resulting from the international TRA2014
Conference, held in Paris in April 2014. The Conference was organized under the
sign of the transition from Research to deployment in Transport solutions.

The topic of traffic is organized in two separate but complementary volumes:

Volume 3 on Traffic Management and Volume 4 on Traffic Safety; both presenting
a selection of papers in the aforementioned fields. As a major event on transport in
Europe, the conference covered a broad range of issues linked to Traffic
Management and Safety. Naturally, the shortlist presented in these two volumes
does not cover the wide spectrum of these areas. It aims to highlight its diversity
through a choice of updated papers from the conference. Selection is primarily based

Introduction written by George YANNIS and Simon COHEN.

Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
a little dust at its expense. On this dust there will spring into being
certain strange and hardy plants, those white or yellow patches,
those vegetable incrustations, calculated to live on the surface of
stone and known as lichens. These lichens fasten themselves to the
lava, gnaw it still more, and in dying leave a little mold formed from
their decaying remains. On this precious mold, lodged in some cavity
of the lava, there is now a growth of mosses which perish in their
turn and increase the quantity [19]of fertilizing material. Next come
ferns, which require a richer soil, and after that a few tufts of grass;
then some brambles, some meager shrubs; and thus with each
succeeding year the fertile soil is added to from the new remnants of
lava and mold left by the preceding generation of plants that have
gone to decay. It is in this way that gradually a lava-bed finally
becomes covered with a forest.

“Our own arable land had a similar origin. Sterile rocks, hard as they
are, contributed the mineral part by being reduced to dust through
the combined action of water, air, and frost; and the successive
generations of plant-life, beginning with the simplest, furnished the
mold.

“Notice how admirably, in the processes of nature, the smallest of

created beings perform their part and contribute as best they can to
the general harmony. To produce fertile soil there is needed
something more than the frosts and thaws that crumble the hardest
rock: there is need of plants hardy enough to live on this sterile soil,
such as tough grasses, mosses, lichens, which gnaw the stone. It is
through the medium of these rudimentary plants, so pitiful in
appearance and yet so hardy, that the dust of the rocks is enriched
with mold and converted into a soil capable of bearing other and
more delicate plants.
“It is not in cultivated fields that you will find those thick carpets of
mosses and lichens, valiant disintegrators of stone; it is on the
mountain-tops that they can be seen at their work of crusting over
[20]the smooth rock in order to convert it into fertile soil. It is from
these heights that this fertile soil has descended, little by little,
washed down by the rain, until it has fertilized the valleys. This work
is going on all the time; in hilly regions plants of the lowest order are
constantly adding to the extent of arable land. The little threads of
rain-water that furrow these regions carry away with them some of
this humus and bear it to the plains below.

“What a worthy subject for our thoughtful study is this formation of

arable soil by these legions of inferior plants, obscure workers
indefatigably crumbling the rock! What immense results obtained by
the simplest means!” [21]
[Contents]
CHAPTER IV
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF SOIL
“Four substances, mingled in very variable proportions, enter into
the composition of fertile soil, or arable land, namely: sand or silica,
clay, limestone, and humus, or vegetable mold. Each one of these
ingredients separately would make but very poor soil, quite unsuited
for agriculture; but united, mixed together, they fulfill the conditions
necessary to fertility. Arable land generally contains all four, with the
predominance sometimes of one, sometimes of another. The soil
takes the name of its most abundant constituent. Thus have arisen
the names, silicious soil, argillaceous soil, calcareous soil, and
humous soil, to designate the fertile lands dominated respectively by
sand, clay, limestone, and humus. Compound terms are also used.
For example, when it is said of a certain soil that it is argillo-
calcareous, it is meant that clay and limestone are its chief
constituents.

“Sand consists of particles, more or less minute, of very hard rock,

sometimes opaque, sometimes as transparent as glass, and always
easily recognizable by its property of emitting sparks when struck
with steel. Flint and white pebbles belong to this kind of rock, which
is called silex, silica, or quartz. [22]These three expressions mean
about the same. Sandy soils have little consistency, are easily
permeated by water, and freely absorb the sun’s heat, which makes
them very subject to drought.

“The name of granite is given to a rock composed chiefly of silica

and which forms whole mountains, as in central France and in
Brittany. The soil formed by the gradual disintegration of this rock is
sometimes called granite soil. It is not very good for agriculture.
Chestnut trees prosper in it, as well as certain wild plants
characteristic of this kind of land. The principal ones are the various
species of heather and the purple digitalis. Heather, with its dainty
little pink blossoms, carpets in richest abundance the poorest of
sandy soils. The purple digitalis is a large-leaved plant whose
flowers, red on the outside, striped with purple and white inside, are
arranged in a long and magnificent distaff reaching almost to the
height of a man. The flowers are in the shape of long tun-bellied
bells or, rather, glove-fingers; hence the plant is sometimes called
foxglove, sometimes lady’s fingers.

“The soil composed of substances thrown up by volcanoes is also

sandy, and is called volcanic soil. It is generally black and sometimes
very fertile.

“Sandy-clay soil is found in the valleys of great rivers. It is the most

fruitful and the easiest to cultivate. Such are the soils of the Rhone
valley, the valley of the Loire, and that of the Seine. It is still more
fertile if it is flooded by the stream at high water. Then the river
deposits a rich slime [23]composed of clay and organic matter
washed down by the current.

“The soil of heathy or shrubby land is composed of fine sand and of

humus from the decayed leaves of heather and other plants. It is
only used for flower gardens, and furnishes an example of what
might be called sand-and-humus soil.

“Clay is a soil which, when moistened with water and thoroughly

kneaded, becomes a soft and tenacious dough, suitable for molding
into any desired shape. When perfectly pure it is white, and is
known as kaolin, a rare substance of which porcelain is made. Plastic
clays are those that are unctuous to the touch, forming with water a
yielding mass that hardens with firing. They are used in making
pottery. Smectite, or fuller’s earth, is a clay of very different
character, not pliable when moistened, but very absorbent of grease
and hence used by fullers for cleansing cloth of the oil left on it in
weaving. Ochres are clays colored either red or yellow by iron-rust.
They are used in coarse painting. Red chalk belongs to this class of
clays. Marl is a mixture in variable proportions of clay and limestone.
According to which constituent predominates, it is called argillaceous
or calcareous. Subjected to the action of air and moisture, marl
becomes flaky and crumbles to dust. Marl is used in agriculture to
improve the soil.

“A clay soil is quite the opposite of a sandy soil: water makes it swell
and converts it into a sticky paste which clings tenaciously to
farming implements. [24]Once wet, it is cold, that is to say it dries
very slowly. A spade can only divide it into dense clods slow to
crumble in the air and not fit for receiving seed. The farmer must be
careful to drain off the water and break up the ground by working it
before and during frosts. It is improved by mixing with it sand, coal-
ashes, and lime. Wheat flourishes better in a clayey soil than in any
other kind.

“Clayey soils are recognized by their vegetation. The wild plants

peculiar to this kind of soil are colt’s-foot and danewort. Colt’s-foot is
also called horse-foot from the shape of its leaves, the outline of
which reminds one of a horse’s hoof. The leaves are white
underneath. The flowers are yellow like little marigolds, and they
appear at the beginning of spring before the leaves. Danewort is a
kind of herbaceous elder of about half the height of a man. Its small
white flowers are succeeded by berries full of a violet-red juice.” [25]
[Contents]
CHAPTER V
DIFFERENT KINDS OF SOIL
 (Continued)
“Limestone is the rock from which lime is obtained. It is composed of
carbonic acid and lime. To obtain the latter, the limestone is
subjected to intense heat in a furnace or lime-kiln. The carbonic acid
escapes, is dissipated in the air, and only the lime remains. In arable
land limestone is found rather often in smaller or larger pieces, but
more frequently as a fine powder which the eye can scarcely
distinguish from the other constituents, especially clay. The water of
rivers and other streams almost always contains a small proportion
of dissolved limestone. Thence comes the thin layer of stone that
accumulates little by little on the inner surface of bottles, coating the
glass. Some waters contain enough of this dissolved limestone to
deposit a mineral crust on objects immersed in them, as mosses and
aquatic plants, and to obstruct their aqueducts. The clearest water,
in which no foreign substance can be seen, absolutely none,
nevertheless contains dissolved limestone, just as sweetened water
contains invisible sugar. In drinking a glass of water we drink a little
stone at the same time. Our body, in order to grow strong and
increase in size, [26]needs considerable calcareous matter for the
formation of bones, which are to us what its solid framework is to a
building. This material, so necessary to us, is not created by us; we
obtain it from our food and drink. Water plays its part in furnishing
this limestone, which it furnishes also to plants; they all contain a
greater or less proportion of this mineral matter.

“Calcareous soils are whitish from their chief constituent, chalk.

Entirely sterile when the proportion of limestone is excessive, they
are tolerably productive when clay is added. They are especially
suitable for vineyards and for raising lucerne, sainfoin, and clover.
Champagne and the south of France offer examples of this kind of
soil. Its principal varieties are chalky soil, which is nearly sterile,
containing as much as ninety-five per cent of chalk, and marly soil
which is composed of clay and chalk.

“The plant-life characteristic of calcareous soils comprises the box-

tree, whose compact and fine-grained wood is so esteemed by
turners; the wild cornel, whose red, olive-shaped fruit is one of the
best-liked autumn products that nature offers us; and the alkekengi,
or winter cherry, whose yellow berries are used for coloring butter.
These berries are encased in a large, gorgeously red membranous
bag.

“Wood, leaves, herbage, left a long time in contact with air and
moisture, undergo a slow combustion; in other words, they rot. The
result of this decomposition [27]is a brown substance called humus or
vegetable mold. The heart of old hollow willows is converted into
humus; it is the same with leaves that fall from the trees and rot on
the ground. Humus from the remains of earlier generations of plant-
life nourishes the plant-life of to-day, and this in turn will become
mold from which future plants will spring. It is in this way that
vegetation is maintained in places not cultivated by man. Humus,
then, is nature’s manure. Where it is allowed to form freely,
vegetation never loses its vigor, using over and over again the same
material, which takes alternately the two forms of plant and humus.
But hay from the field is stored in the hay-loft, and the annual
harvest of wheat is taken to the granary. Thus the land is robbed of
the mold that would be formed naturally by the rotting of this hay
and wheat; therefore we must give back to it, under some form or
other, this mold that has been taken away, since otherwise the soil
will become less and less productive until finally it is quite sterile.
This restitution is made in the form of animal manure, which is a
sort of humus produced by digestive processes instead of by natural
decay.
“Humus plays a twofold part in the soil. First, it mellows the land, or
in other words makes it more easily permeable by air and water.
Secondly, by the slow combustion taking place in the humus there is
constantly being liberated a small quantity of carbonic acid gas,
which is taken up by the adjacent roots. Agriculture can succeed
only in so far as the [28]soil contains humus. Wheat requires nearly
eight per cent, oats and rye only two per cent. In poor, sandy soils,
to increase the amount of vegetable mold, it is customary to plow
certain green crops under, as the farmers express it; that is, the
surface soil is turned over and the growing crop intended for
manuring purposes is buried and left to decay in the ground. That is
what is done when the plowman turns under a field of growing grass
or a stretch of clover. When it is proposed to improve a piece of land
by this process, it is the practice to begin by raising a crop (which
will later be turned under) that derives the greater part of its
nourishment from the air, since the soil in this instance cannot of
itself furnish this nourishment. Among the plants satisfying these
conditions are buckwheat, clover, lupine, beans, vetches, lucerne,
and sainfoin.

“Soils rich in humus have for their chief constituent the brown
substance that results from the decaying of leaves and other
vegetable matter. Turf land stands first as rich in humus. Turf is a
dark, spongy substance that forms in moist lowlands from the
accumulation of vegetable refuse, especially mosses. Turf, or peat,
as it is also called, is used for fuel. To turn such a soil to account, it
must first be made wholesome by drainage, it must be mellowed by
paring and burning and by the addition of sand and marl, and a
proportion of lime must be mixed in to hasten the decomposition of
all vegetable matter. Turf lands are recognized by their sphagnei,
[29]great mosses that grow with their roots in the water; and by their
flax-like sedges, from the tops of which hang beautiful tufts of down
having the softness and whiteness of the finest silk.” [30]
[Contents]
CHAPTER VI
 POTASH AND PHOSPHORUS
“Let us burn a plant, no matter what kind. The first effect of the
heat is to produce carbon, which, mixed with other substances,
constituted the plant. If combustion continues, this carbon is
dissipated in the air in the form of carbonic acid gas, and there
remains an earthy residue which we call ashes. Here then are two
kinds of material, carbon and ashes, which without exception enter
into all plant-life. The plant did not create them, did not make them
out of nothing, since it is impossible to obtain something from
nothing. It must, then, have derived them from some source. We
shall take up before long the subject of coal and its origin, and shall
find that it comes chiefly from the atmosphere, whence the leaves
obtain carbonic acid gas, which they decompose under the action of
the sun’s rays, retaining the carbon and throwing off the air in a
condition fit for breathing. The vegetation of the entire earth thus
finds its principal nutriment in the atmosphere, an inexhaustible and
increasingly abundant reservoir, because the respiration of animals,
putrefaction, and combustion are continually giving forth as much
carbonic acid gas as the combined plant-life of the earth can
consume. To maintain [31]the fertility of his fields, therefore, the
farmer need not give a thought to the subject of carbon; with no
assistance from him his growing crops find in the air all the carbonic
acid gas they require. There remains for our consideration, then, the
residue left after combustion, the ashes in fact, a mixture of various
substances of which we will now examine the most important.

“Let us put a few handfuls of ashes to boil in a pot of water. After

boiling a little while we will let the contents cool. The ashes settle to
the bottom and the liquid at the top becomes clear. Well, we shall
find this liquid emitting a peculiar odor, exactly like that which comes
from the lye obtained by passing water through a barrel of ashes.
We shall also find that it has an acrid, almost burning taste. This
smell of lye, this acrid taste were not in the water at first; they come
from the ashes, which have yielded a certain constituent to the
water.

“Hence we see that ashes must contain at least two substances of

different kinds, of which the principal one cannot dissolve in water,
but settles at the bottom as an earthy deposit, while the other,
forming but a very small part of the whole, dissolves easily in water
and gives it its properties, especially its odor and its acrid taste.

“If we wish to obtain this latter element by itself, we can very easily
do so. All that is necessary is to put the clear liquid into a pot over
the fire and boil it until all the water has evaporated. There will be
left a very small quantity of whitish matter resembling [32]table salt.
But despite its appearance it is not table salt by any means; far from
it, as we shall quickly discover from its unbearable taste. It is known
as potash, and it is what makes lye so good for cleaning linen.
Furthermore, of the various components of ashes it is the one most
essential to vegetation. Every tree, every shrub, every plant, even to
the smallest blade of grass, contains a certain proportion of it,
sometimes larger, sometimes smaller, according to the kind of plant-
life, and therefore must find it in the soil in order to thrive. Let us
add that in growing plants potash is not as the action of fire leaves it
after the plants have been reduced to ashes. In nature it is
combined with other substances which free it from that burning
acridity. In the same way carbon, when combined with other
elements, loses its blackness and hardness; in fact, it is no longer
common coal.

“What else is there in ashes? A short account of the matter will tell
us. In 1669 there lived in Hamburg, Germany, a learned old man
named Brandt, whose head was a little turned and who sought to
turn common metals into gold. From old iron, rusty nails, and worn-
out kettles, he hoped to produce the precious metal. But he did not
succeed in his endeavors, nor was it destined that he should
succeed, for the simple reason that the thing is impossible. Never is
one metal changed into another. When he was about at the end of
his resources he took it into his head to conceive a crowning
absurdity. He imagined that in urine would be found the ingredient
[33]capable of turning all metals into gold. Behold him, then, boiling
urine, evaporating it, and cooking the disgusting sediment, first with
this, then with that, until at last one evening he saw something
shining in his phials. It was not gold, but something more useful: it
was phosphorus, which to-day gives us fire. Don’t make fun of old
Brandt and his foolish cooking: in seeking the impossible he made
one of the most important discoveries. To him we owe the sulphur
match, that precious source of light and fire so easily and quickly
used.

“If you examine a sulphur match you will see that the inflammable
tip contains two substances: sulphur, laid on to the wood, and
another substance added to the sulphur. This last is phosphorus,
colored with a blue, red, or brown powder, according to the caprice
of the manufacturer. Phosphorus by itself is slightly yellow in color
and translucent like wax. Its name means ‘light-bearer.’ When
rubbed gently between the fingers in the dark, it does indeed give
out a pale gleam. At the same time there is a smell of garlic; it is the
odor of phosphorus. This substance is excessively inflammable: with
very little heat or with slight friction against a hard surface, it
catches fire. Hence its use in the manufacture of matches.

“Phosphorus is a horribly poisonous substance. By melting a little of

it in grease a poison can be obtained that will destroy rats and mice.
Crusts of bread are smeared with this composition and exposed in
places frequented by these animals. A nibble is [34]enough to ensure
speedy death. Hence you perceive that because of their poisonous
nature matches are to be handled with extreme care. Contact with
food might produce the gravest consequences.” [35]
[Contents]
CHAPTER VII
 PHOSPHATES AND NITROGEN
“Phosphorus, which is a dangerous poison, as we have seen, is
nevertheless found in abundance in the bodies of all animals. It
occurs in the urine, whence Brandt was the first to extract it; it is
found still more plentifully in the bones, and from thence it is now
obtained. There is some in meat, in milk, and in cheese; also in
plants, notably cereals; hence flour and bread contain it. But do not
be alarmed: we shall not die of poison like the rats that have nibbled
crusts smeared with grease and phosphorus.”

“But why not,” asked Emile, “if we eat it as the rats do?”

“I will try to explain,” replied his uncle. “When two or more

substances are mixed together, they lose their original properties,
while the new substance obtained by their combination is found to
possess new properties having nothing in common with the old
ones. Thus carbon, when combined with the air that we breathe,
becomes an invisible gas, subtle, and unfit for breathing. In like
manner lime, burning to the taste, is converted by union with
carbonic acid gas into chalk, a calcareous stone void of taste.
Furthermore, poisonous substances, deadly in a very [36]small dose,
may become harmless and even enter into the composition of our
food when they are combined with other substances. Thus it is with
phosphorus. What, then, is united with phosphorus in the form in
which it ceases to be poisonous and enters into the composition of
meat and flour? That is what we will now consider.

“When phosphorus is burned it produces a thick white smoke, of

which you can get some idea by striking a number of matches all at
once. This white smoke with the slightest trace of humidity is
reducible to an extraordinarily acid liquid called phosphoric acid.
Since this compound results from the combustion of phosphorus,
just as carbonic acid is the result of the combustion of carbon, it
must and in fact does contain the air without which no combustion
can take place. Phosphoric acid is no longer inflammable, however
much it may be heated; being itself the product of combustion, it
cannot burn again. But if there is no danger of its catching fire,
phosphoric acid is nevertheless dangerous on account of its intense
acidity, which makes it violently corrosive in its action on flesh. If
mixed with lime, however, this formidable compound loses its
injurious properties and is changed into a white substance without
the least taste or the slightest poisonous effect. This substance is
called phosphate of lime. Burnt phosphorus and lime, thus united,
furnish the greater part of the mineral matter found in bones. Put a
bone into the fire: the grease and juices that permeate its substance
will be burnt up and the bone will [37]lose a part of its weight and
become friable and perfectly white. Well, this bone, calcined in the
fire for a long time, is composed chiefly of phosphate of lime. It
contains phosphorus, the most combustible of substances, and yet is
itself absolutely incombustible; it contains one of the most poisonous
substances, and yet is itself quite harmless; into its composition
there has entered an ingredient possessing atrocious acidity, and yet
the compound itself has no taste. Similarly combined and equally
harmless, phosphorus is found in meat, milk, cereals, in flour and
bread.

“A cow can furnish each week about 70 liters of milk containing 460
grams of phosphate. This phosphate comes from hay, which obtains
it from the soil. But as the soil contains only a moderate quantity of
it, and the hay continually takes it away, the supply will at last
become exhausted and the milk will become poorer and less
abundant. If a kilogram of powdered bones, containing about the
same quantity of phosphate as the 70 liters of milk, is spread over
the pasture, it will make good the weekly loss in phosphate that the
soil undergoes in the production of the cow’s milk. Hence the
efficacy of powdered bones on exhausted pasture land.

“Phosphoric acid combined with other substances is found in all our

agricultural products, and hence the phosphate from bones has a
very marked effect on our crops. Harvests have been doubled as if
by magic through the use of powdered bones. A kilogram of this
powder contains enough phosphoric [38]acid for the growth of a
hundred kilograms of wheat. Despite their great value as a fertilizer
bones will never be thus used except to a limited extent, because
they are not abundant enough and also because they are much in
demand in various arts and manufactures. Fortunately in some
localities phosphate of lime is found in certain coarse pebbles called
nodules or coprolites. These precious stones are carefully collected
and ground to powder in a mill. Then, in order to make the
substance more soluble in damp soil, and thus better fitted for the
nutrition of plants, it is sprayed with an extremely corrosive liquid
called sulphuric acid or, more commonly, oil of vitriol. In this way is
obtained the superphosphate of lime which manufacture gives to
agriculture as one of the most powerful of fertilizers, especially for
the raising of grain.

“We were wondering a little while ago what substances could be

contained in the ashes of a burnt plant, and we have now found
potash to be one of them. Moreover, since all vegetation must have
phosphate in order to thrive, this also ought to be found in the
ashes, phosphate being indestructible by heat. And, in fact, after the
incineration of any vegetable matter whatever, as a bundle of hay or
a handful of grain, the delicate processes of science can always
recover this compound of phosphorus; and they further find lime,
iron in the form of rust, the silicious component of pebbles, and
divers other substances of less interest. [39]
“To finish this difficult but very important subject of the nutrition of
plants, I must say a few words about ammonia. This word does not
tell you anything since it is a new word to you. But I will make its
meaning clear to you by a familiar illustration.

“You must have noticed the strong, penetrating odor prevalent in ill-
kept water-closets; and you have also perceived the same odor
when soiled garments are cleaned with a certain liquid that looks like
clear water. Well, this odor, so pungent that it almost produces the
effect of fine needles thrust up into the nostrils and brings tears to
the eyes, is the odor of ammonia.

“Ammonia is an invisible gas capable of being taken up in large

quantities by water, the mixture being known as aqua ammoniæ, or
water of ammonia. Combined with other substances ammonia loses
its pungent odor and forms compounds which are among the most
effective fertilizers. These compounds furnish vegetation with one of
its essential ingredients called nitrogen. By itself nitrogen is an
odorless and colorless gas. In this state it forms four-fifths of the
volume of ordinary air, the air we breathe. The other fifth is
composed of a second gas called oxygen, also colorless and
odorless. It is oxygen that our lungs demand when we breathe, and
it is oxygen that is necessary when we wish to burn anything. It is
this alone that plays its invaluable part in the combustion of certain
substances in our blood and in the generation of natural heat; it is
this that [40]in the process of combustion releases carbon,
phosphorus, sulphur, and other combustibles, to combine with them
and produce a compound known as carbonic acid gas in the case of
burnt carbon, phosphoric acid in the case of phosphorus. In fact, to
it belong the properties that we have until now attributed to the
atmosphere as a whole. As for nitrogen, it has no other purpose in
the atmosphere than to moderate by its presence the too violent
energies of oxygen; it plays there the part of the water that we put
into too strong wine.

“All vegetation requires nitrogen. Wheat, for example, must have it

to develop the grain in the ear; peas, beans, lentils demand it in
order to fill out their pods; the pasture and the hay-field need it if
they are to furnish the nutriment that the sheep and the cow will
transform into milk. But plants cannot take this nitrogen from the air,
where it is so abundant; it must be served up to them after a certain
necessary preparation. We ourselves need phosphorus, since it
enters into the composition of our bones; we need carbon still more,
the principal fuel used in maintaining the heat of the body. But are
we to eat the charcoal that the charcoal-burner manufactures in his
furnace, and the phosphorus used in the making of matches?
Certainly not. The first would be a frightful mouthful, the second an
atrocious poison. We must have them prepared in a suitable way,
such as they are found in bread, milk, meat, fruits, vegetables. In
the same manner plant-life requires nitrogen, not as it occurs in the
[41]atmosphere, but as it exists in certain combinations, of which the
most notable are the compounds of ammonia. This explains to us
the highly beneficial effect of manure on our crops. Manure is
composed of the bedding used in stables and the animal excrement
with which it has become mixed and impregnated. Now this
excrementitious matter, especially urine, yields ammonia in
decomposing, as is proved by the odor arising from latrines in hot
weather and so powerfully affecting the eyes and nose. Thus
manure may be said to hold ammonia compounds in storage, and
from them plants derive their nitrogen, as also many other
ingredients.

“Let us summarize these details. In the nutrition of plants four

substances are of prime importance. First, carbonic acid gas, which
yields carbon, the most widely diffused of all the elements (but
which we need not dwell upon here), since plants take it chiefly from
the atmosphere, to which it is supplied unceasingly. After carbonic
acid come potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen, all of which the
roots extract from the soil, where it occurs in some compound or
other. These are the ingredients that the soil, if it is to remain fertile,
must have given back to it as fast as they are exhausted by the
crops. Such is the part played by fertilizers, without which the soil
becomes exhausted and ceases to produce.” [42]
[Contents]
CHAPTER VIII
 VEGETATION AND THE ATMOSPHERE
“The carbonic acid gas produced simply by the breathing of the
great human family amounts every year to about 160,000,000,000
cubic meters, which represents 86,270,000,000 kilograms of burnt
carbon. Piled up, this carbon would form a mountain one league
round at its base and between four hundred and five hundred
meters high. So much carbon is required by man to maintain his
natural heat. All of us together eat this mountain of carbon in our
food and in the course of the year dissipate it all in the air, a
breathful at a time; after which we immediately begin the dissipation
of another mountain of carbon. How many mountains of carbon,
then, since the world was created, must mankind have exhaled into
the atmosphere!

“We must take account, too, of the animals, which, collectively,

those of the land and those of the sea, use up a big mountain of
combustible matter. They are much more numerous than we; they
inhabit the entire globe, both continents and seas. What a quantity
of carbon it must take to sustain the life of our planet! And to think
that it all goes forth into the air, as a deadly gas, of which a few
breaths would cause death!

“Nor is that all. Fermentation, as in grape-juice [43]and rising dough,

and putrefaction, as in decaying manure, produce carbonic acid gas.
And it needs only a light layer of manure to cause a cultivated field
to give forth between one hundred and two hundred cubic meters of
carbonic acid gas per day for each hectare.

“The wood, coal, and charcoal burnt in our houses, and especially
the quantities consumed in the great furnaces of factories—are not