Controlling the distance between vehicles in tunnels.

As knowledge of some recent catastrophic accidents in road tunnels spread in the general public, it became more and more important to be able to address the problem of inter-distance between vehicles, in traffic and when stopped. This paper first focuses on the theoretical problem of accident prevention through inter-distance, both in traffic and when stopped. A review of the means provided by the traditional array of traffic operation methods is given; it shows that none of them meets, by far, the practical requirements set by the new inter-distance regulations. In a second part, the author describes a system specially derived from his experience in traffic, to be fitted into tunnel infrastructure. This system is based on a set of individual luminous 'conveyors' to which each driver would intuitively set his pace through interactivity represented by changes in colour according to the semiology of the crossing lights. For the covering abstract see ITRD E209471.