During the period 15 November 2005 through 15 May 2006, the Rijkswaterstaat (Directorate General of Public Works and Water Management, abbreviation: RWS) carried out a trial of accelerated vehicle recovery in the road network around Utrecht. The objective of accelerated vehicle recovery is to reduce the inconvenience caused by truck incidents to the trunk road network. This report addresses the evaluation of this process. The process was evaluated using an analysis of the evaluation forms and by holding interviews with the parties involved. This concerned interviews with Rijkswaterstaat road inspectors, Rijkswaterstaat IVDs1, the KLPD (National Police Services Agency ), a vehicle recovery employee, STI functionaries and the supervisors of the project from Verkeers Centrum Nederland (VCNL - the Netherlands traffic centre). The objectives of the pilot were formulated as follows: · To obtain insight into the additional costs caused by a more focused application of accelerated or delayed vehicle recovery and the benefits society gains from improved traffic flow. · To gain insight into the measures that are (possibly) necessary to speed up the handling of truck incidents. The evaluation of the process does not address the beneficial factors for society. Results of the evaluation The preparations for and implementation of this pilot have led to improved cooperation between the parties involved. This improved cooperation means that there are fewer discussions at the street level. This results in a reduction in the time required to handle an incident. Monitoring the cooperation between the parties is the most important point to consider with respect to the accelerated vehicle recovery process, but also with respect to Incident Management in general. The forms show that the most important reason to use accelerated vehicle recovery (towing away) was the impact the incident had on traffic flow. This was certainly the case if, due to safety reasons, it was necessary to close off a traffic lane. If this was the case, the decision was rapidly taken, if technically feasible, to tow away the vehicle. The evaluation forms also show that a combination of accelerated vehicle recovery and an accelerated report to CMV are the factors that result in the most time gained when dealing with a situation of a breakdown on the hard shoulder. On the other hand, the truck drivers' lack of familiarity with Incident Management can result in the most delay when dealing with an incident. Furthermore, communication difficulties with foreign drivers proved to cause delay when dealing with incidents. The evaluation also shows that there is little insight into the additional costs that this pilot caused. The main reason for this is that during the pilot there were no incidents that resulted in large additional costs or damage. (Author/publisher)
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