Device for creating a so-called emergency lane on a motorway or road congested by vehicles or similar, with structurally separated traffic lanes in each direction and device for variable speed control on these roads

Abstract

A facility for forming a so-called emergency lane on a motorway or road with structurally separated traffic lanes in each direction that is congested by vehicles or similar, whereby emergency pillars on the roadside of motorways and expressways are used, repurposed and extended for this facility. by equipping the emergency columns with one or more warning signs / traffic signs that are integrated into or connected to these emergency columns or only connected to their wiring network, where the warning signs are designed as electrical or electronic alternating signs with various warning and / or prohibition and / or mandatory signs, where these signs are a mandatory sign “emergency lane” and a sign “no entry”, where the signs are activated as a specific sign when required, enabling emergency vehicles to reach an incident location on a section of road that is located ahead of a traffic jam in the opposite direction of travel on the same carriageway where the traffic jam is taking place, by maintaining the emptiness of this section of the route through the driving ban for regular traffic, until it is reopened, i.e. usually until the end of the operation.

Description

[0001] In the event of an accident or similar incident on a motorway, expressway or other road, it is often necessary for emergency vehicles from the fire brigade, ambulance service, emergency doctor, THW (Federal Agency for Technical Relief), towing companies or the police, etc., to reach the immediate scene of the accident very quickly.

[0002] Due to an accident or another event, e.g. a landslide or a fallen tree, a traffic jam forms when there is a certain volume of traffic, because on such a road the lanes are separated and it is not possible to swerve across the opposite lane or to turn around and drive back.

[0003] Due to the often very heavy traffic, this closure causes a large traffic jam, often stretching for kilometers, especially on highways.

[0004] This traffic jam means that emergency vehicles cannot drive directly and quickly to the scene of the incident in the designated lane. Instead, they have to laboriously make their way through the often haphazardly parked vehicles by honking, flashing lights, and other means. Often, the vehicles' engines are switched off, or drivers or other occupants may have exited the vehicles, meaning that the road blockage cannot be immediately cleared when emergency vehicles need to pass.

[0005] The roads, especially motorways and expressways, are often blocked in all lanes of one direction of travel; the hard shoulder is often not present or is often unavailable because it too is not clear.

[0006] Radio broadcasts, public television programs, notices, advertisements, brochures in print media and so-called social media, among other things, promote the idea that a so-called emergency lane must always remain clear in the event of a traffic jam, so that emergency vehicles can reach the scene of the incident without delay.

[0007] This obligation to keep an emergency lane clear and thus not obstruct emergency vehicles is now subject to a fine if violated.

[0008] The question of whether an emergency lane is necessary in a specific case of a traffic jam and therefore must be kept clear is not as obvious and easy to resolve in practice as it is portrayed in these advertisements and media: The vast majority of traffic jams and obstructions are not caused by accidents, certainly not by accidents that require or even urgently require the use of an emergency vehicle, but rather the vast majority of traffic jams are simply caused by the sheer volume of traffic, by a large number of vehicles that come to a standstill due to an obstacle of some kind, e.g. a narrowing of the road, or even by themselves, e.g. due to a backup caused by driving too fast and the associated braking.

[0009] In some sections of the highways and expressways, traffic jams stretching for kilometers regularly form, caused solely by the sheer volume of traffic. Traffic reports about these jams can be heard daily. Severe congestion also frequently occurs at junctions with busy access roads, particularly around large cities or at major intersections.

[0010] In addition to these almost normal and usual traffic jams, there are also, and varying, bottlenecks, such as construction sites with a reduction in the permitted driving speed or a reduction in the number of lanes from two to one or from three to two, or even just a narrowing of the lanes themselves.

[0011] Of course, in a "normal, usual" traffic jam at a known location, which in itself does not require an emergency lane, an accident can also occur that requires the use of rescue vehicles and thus an emergency lane.

[0012] In practice, this means that a traffic jam does not necessarily mean the need for an emergency lane for other road users, but rather patience for oneself.

[0013] And the driver stuck in traffic cannot tell whether the cause of the traffic jam is simply high traffic volume, the junction of another road, a bottleneck, a broken-down vehicle, or an accident.

[0014] And even if it is an accident: The fact of an accident does not immediately imply the need for a rescue operation. Hindsight is 20 / 20. In hindsight, you know.

[0015] However, in practice, in almost all cases of traffic jams, it is not necessary to keep an emergency lane clear for objective reasons.

[0016] And in the area of ​​a construction site or in the area of ​​narrowed roads, keeping an emergency lane clear is not possible anyway - in the event of a rescue operation, the only solution would be to make one lane completely clear for a rescue operation or, since this is hardly possible in the case of an existing traffic jam, to leave one lane clear from the outset.

[0017] And constantly driving on the far left or right edge of your lane, or even beyond it, during a long traffic jam also requires increased attention, especially for wide or very wide vehicles.

[0018] This constant requirement of unnecessarily heightened attention is in itself inappropriate, and it can lead to an excessive decrease in attention after the traffic jam has ended, thus later causing an increased risk of accidents.

[0019] The state of the art regarding the problem described can be found in the patent applications DE 42 27 337 A1, DE 41 16 786 A1 and DE 10 2012 110 949 A1.

[0020] This impossibility of being stuck in traffic, i.e., being part of the queue, to correctly assess the situation, and the necessity of intervening in a regulatory and steering manner in the flow of traffic under special traffic or road conditions, led to the development of this "device for forming a so-called emergency lane on a motorway or road with structurally separated traffic lanes in each direction that is blocked by vehicles or similar" with various variants: I. This “device for forming a so-called emergency lane on a motorway or road with structurally separated traffic lanes for each direction of travel that is congested by vehicles or similar” has three variants, each consisting of several components; each variant and each individual component can also be used individually. The use of these three variants with their respective components naturally also depends on the actual local conditions, especially on how far the deployment location is from a (normal) exit and / or from an exit only permitted for emergency vehicles, and in which direction (towards the traffic or against the traffic) this exit is located.

[0021] 1. One option is to reach the deployment site from behind, towards the traffic jam, and then through the traffic jam in the direction of travel: a. One component is the use, repurposing, and expansion of emergency columns on the roadside of motorways and expressways.

[0022] Emergency call boxes are located along highways and possibly expressways at intervals of approximately one to two kilometers. These emergency call boxes are directly connected to a traffic control center, highway patrol, etc., or can be connected to one.

[0023] The repurposing and expansion of the emergency columns consists of equipping the emergency columns with one or more warning signs / traffic signs that are integrated into these emergency columns, connected to them, or only connected to their wiring network.

[0024] These warning signs are designed as electrical or electronic variable message signs with various warning and / or prohibition and / or mandatory signs.

[0025] The new mandatory sign “Emergency Lane” (drawings sheet 1) or the warning sign “Attention” with the addition “Emergency Lane” or the pure written sign “Emergency Lane” or another specific sign requires that the emergency lane be kept clear, i.e., that vehicles up to the width of a truck be allowed to pass unhindered between stationary vehicles in the direction of travel between the far left and the second-left lane on multi-lane roads.

[0026] Other signs include, for example, specific speed limits, no overtaking, no through traffic, oncoming traffic, lane change, accident.

[0027] The symbols are activated as needed as a concrete symbol; as long as no activation is triggered, the board remains silent.

[0028] When activated, one or more characters can be displayed as a continuous image, or it can be displayed as a flashing image.

[0029] Since and as long as these warning signs are only located on one side of the motorway, the warning symbols on these signs should be larger than usual.

[0030] Installing additional warning signs on this side of the road is easily possible if needed, as the technical infrastructure is already in place. Installing additional warning signs on the other side of the road (i.e., in the center of the road, the median strip) is certainly possible without much effort in new construction projects.

[0031] If an accident is reported to a traffic control center (this can happen directly via the emergency call box, or through reports from authorized bodies such as the police or rescue service or police traffic monitoring, or through forwarding to authorized bodies such as the fire department or police emergency call, or also through reports from other road users via mobile phone or another information system), then this traffic control center, after checking the necessity and / or the reporting authorization, activates the corresponding warning signs in the area that affects the accident or incident site, or, if the traffic jam or danger covers a larger area.

[0032] The activation on the individual warning signs concerns specific warning symbols; the selection of these symbols and the period of the respective activation is carried out and documented by authorized persons.

[0033] A notification can also be automated if the relevant information systems have reached a corresponding level of development (e.g., sensors and / or cameras on the motorway that automatically transmit the constantly collected data to a traffic control center).

[0034] The emergency call boxes can then be activated manually or automatically. The selection of these signals and the activation period are carried out and documented by authorized personnel.

[0035] For fully automated activation, sophisticated technical programs are required. Documentation is then also fully automated.

[0036] b. The second component is the use, repurposing, and expansion of all information signs above the lanes and along the roadside of motorways and expressways. Component 1a is a part of component 1b.

[0037] c. The third component is the use of radio or internet radio or another receiver, including a smartphone or tablet, using, for example, a so-called emergency lane app, through current acoustic, visual or other sensory displays depending on the location of the individual vehicle in the road area where an emergency lane must be formed; the current location of the vehicle must be recorded by GPS or similar means.

[0038] For example, traffic reports include information on traffic jams and urgent alerts for hazardous situations. When it becomes necessary to form an emergency lane, these reports are supplemented with instructions to keep the emergency lane clear in that specific situation, on that particular stretch of road, with specific kilometer markers indicating the distance to the emergency lane in a particular direction. Using GPS to determine a vehicle's location, this message can be broadcast by appropriate programs in such a way that it only reaches vehicles that are in or approaching that specific section of the highway.

[0039] The proper activation of this message is carried out as described in point 1a. d.

[0040] The fourth component is the use of the vehicle's navigation system with up-to-date warnings. The navigation system – whether permanently installed in the vehicle or a portable device – must determine the vehicle's current location via GPS or similar technology.

[0041] Depending on the model, the navigation device also provides up-to-date traffic jam information and may even offer alternative routes.

[0042] These possible messages are expanded to include messages for keeping an emergency lane clear, as shown under 1c.

[0043] Based on GPS tracking of a vehicle's location, this message, like the highly detailed traffic jam reports, is broadcast in such a differentiated manner that it only reaches vehicles that are located in or approaching a corresponding area of ​​the highway.

[0044] 2. The second option is to reach the deployment site from the front, traveling in the opposite direction to the traffic jam on the same roadway where the traffic jam is taking place: In a traffic jam caused by an accident, the roadway behind the accident (viewed in the direction of travel) is empty: because the accident has cut off the following traffic; the cars are stuck in the traffic jam.

[0045] Depending on the location of the accident, it may therefore be advisable to approach the accident with emergency vehicles from this "empty" side.

[0046] However, it must be 100% ensured that the "emptiness" of this section of the route, i.e. the driving ban for regular traffic, is maintained until it is reopened, which is usually until the end of the operation.

[0047] The activation of components 1a and 1b, the use and repurposing and the expansion of the emergency pillars on the roadside of motorways and expressways and the information signs above and at the edge of the road are primarily intended for this purpose, as well as possibly additional warning signs and the use of components radio 1c and navigation device 1d.

[0048] 3. The third option is to reach the deployment site from the front, traveling in the opposite direction to the traffic jam on the oncoming traffic lane: For this purpose, the opposite lane must be secured and blocked to such an extent that emergency services and their equipment can safely cross the crosswalk. The activation of components 1a and 1b, the use, repurposing, and expansion of the emergency pillars at the roadside of highways and expressways, and the information signs above and at the edge of the road are primarily intended for this purpose, as well as possibly additional warning signs and the use of components radio (1c) and navigation device (1d).

[0049] In such cases, the rescue vehicles must carry appropriate additional rescue equipment: suitable stairs, ladders, bridges, and mobile cranes, among other things, for very quickly overcoming the transverse strip in its various designs. This opposite lane can be kept clear for through traffic with appropriate safety barriers, possibly with one lane open.

[0050] II. The “device for variable speed control on these roads” uses variant 1 and its components 1a and 1b as described in No. I.

[0051] Emergency pillars are located along highways and possibly expressways at intervals of approximately one to two kilometers. The conversion and expansion of these emergency pillars for this purpose involves equipping them with one or more warning panels / traffic signs, either integrated into the pillars, connected to them, or simply connected to their wiring.

[0052] These warning signs or traffic signs are designed as electrical or electronic variable message signs with various warning and / or prohibition and / or mandatory signs.

[0053] These signs (e.g., specific speed limit, no overtaking, no through traffic, oncoming traffic, lane change or lane restriction, accident, black ice, rain, storm and other possible representations) are activated as specific signs when needed; as long as no activation is triggered, the sign remains silent.

[0054] When activated, one or more characters can be displayed as a continuous image, or it can be displayed as a flashing image.

[0055] The activation then consists of activating a single warning sign, or even more likely in the network of several warning signs over several kilometers; the activation consists of activating one or more warning signs (specific speed limit, no overtaking, black ice, lane change or lane closure, etc.).

[0056] Since and as long as these warning signs are only located on one side of the motorway, the warning symbols on these signs should be larger than usual. Additional warning signs can be installed on this side of the road without much effort if required.

[0057] If a traffic control center receives a report of very high traffic volume, bad weather conditions, or any other obstructing event (this can be done directly via the emergency call box, or by reports from authorized bodies such as the police or rescue service, or police traffic monitoring, or by forwarding to authorized bodies such as the fire department or police emergency call center, or also by reports from other road users via mobile phone or another information system), then this traffic control center activates the corresponding warning signs in the area of ​​the motorway affected by the problem, or, if the traffic jam, the volume of traffic, or the danger covers a larger area.

[0058] The activation process and the notification procedure for activation correspond to the description under number I.

Claims

[1] A facility for forming a so-called emergency lane on a motorway or road with structurally separated traffic lanes in each direction that is congested with vehicles or similar, whereby emergency columns on the roadside of motorways and expressways are used, repurposed and extended for this facility, by equipping the emergency columns with one or more warning signs / traffic signs that are integrated into or connected to these emergency columns or only connected to their wiring network, where the warning signs are designed as electrical or electronic alternating signs with various warning and / or prohibition and / or mandatory signs, where these signs are a mandatory sign “emergency lane” and a sign “no entry”, where the signs are activated as a specific sign when required, whereby emergency vehicles reach an incident location on a section of road that is located ahead in the opposite direction of travel of a traffic jam on the same carriageway where the traffic jam is taking place, by maintaining the emptiness of this section of the route through the driving ban for regular traffic until it is reopened, i.e., usually until the end of the operation. [2] Device according to claim 1, characterized by , that the notification for activation and the activation itself of the individual warning signs occurs manually or automatically, if the relevant information systems have a corresponding level of development, e.g. sensors and / or cameras on the motorway that automatically transmit the constantly acquired data to a traffic control center. [3] Device according to claim 1, characterized by, that all information signs above the lanes and at the roadside of motorways and expressways are used, repurposed and expanded for this facility. [4] Device according to claim 1, characterized by , that for this facility the radio or internet radio or another receiver, including a so-called smartphone or tablet, is used there by, for example, a so-called emergency lane app, etc., by extension to include messages about the emergency lane. [5] Device according to claim 1, characterized by , that for this facility the navigation device installed in the vehicle or a mobile navigation device is used, by adding messages about the emergency lane.

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