Papers by Florentina-Alina Burlacu
Although Romania joined the European Union (EU) in 2007 and adopted EU road safety regulations, r... more Although Romania joined the European Union (EU) in 2007 and adopted EU road safety regulations, road safety legislation was lacking and disparate. Prior to 2016, Romania was one of few EU countries that did not have a National Road Safety Strategy, and a National Law mandating Road Safety Audits in 2008 for road infrastructure was ineffective. This road safety management policy gap resulted in Romania having one of the worst road fatality rates in the EU. This presentation outlines the consequences of such a gap and legislative changes made to improve road safety management to precipitate reductions in road fatalities. Background The European Parliament and Council adopted on the 19th of November 2008 directive 2008/98/CE regarding road safety management, thus emphasising the increasing importance of road safety in that jurisdiction. The United Nations also, through the resolution adopted on the 2nd of March 2010, recognised the gravity of the road safety problem by declaring the de...
Road safety has an increasing importance, especially after UN proclaiming 2011-2020 the Decade of... more Road safety has an increasing importance, especially after UN proclaiming 2011-2020 the Decade of Action for Road Safety. As many factors contribute to producing traffic accidents, infrastructure has its own part in this. Studies related to road surface are very important, especially due to the fact that the quality of the tyre-road surface contact could influence the occurrence of road accidents. Aspects like skid-resistance, permeability, and evenness are the main properties that should be taken into consideration for a road surface. The present research paper has the aim to correlate the characteristics of materials used in the wearing layer with the risk of producing road accidents, by calculating the braking distance, as a sub-component of stopping sight distance. The results of the laboratory tests undertaken on aggregates will show that only by varying the source of materials, stopping sight distance can differ with up to 20 meters. Siguranța rutieră are o importanță crescută...
Improving road safety has been the key objective for road authorities worldwide for the last year... more Improving road safety has been the key objective for road authorities worldwide for the last years. Lately, many concepts were adopted to reduce the number of fatalities, concepts like self-explaining roads, low cost measures or forgiving roads. As new research findings are published, differing theories evolve and road safety visions change. Nowadays, around 30% of accidents on the entire European Union (EU) road network are caused by inadequate infrastructure. The way roads are laid out and designed can reduce the exposure to traffic of vulnerable road users, reduce the probability that crash and injury occur when these users are exposed and reduce the severity of injury if it occurs. Substantial and sustainable casualty reductions can be achieved in relatively short time and at relatively short cost by identifying and treating high risk infrastructure sites, creating safer and forgiving roads. The aim of this paper is to improve traffic safety by increasing the awareness of road a...
Although most road accidents involve numerous factors, detailed studies on this issue have shown ... more Although most road accidents involve numerous factors, detailed studies on this issue have shown a strong link between road events and the characteristics or conditions of the roadway surface, such as the quality of tire-road contact. So, since there was not yet established any scientific relationship between accidents cause and the road surface, there is a clear need for extensive research in this direction of road safety, in order for engineers to develop effective solutions to potentially dangerous situations. Thus, this paper will highlight through laboratory research the correlation between the polished stone value of aggregates in the wearing course and braking distance. Basically, through elaborated scientific research, this paper presents how the quality of the asphalt aggregates can influence the happening of a car accident, by direct calculation of the braking distance for different values of friction coefficients calculated for different samples, depending on the degree o...
Journal of Road Safety, 2020
This article outlines a capacity review of Romania’s national road infrastructure and road safety... more This article outlines a capacity review of Romania’s national road infrastructure and road safety in general. Romania’s road fatality rate per 100,000 population has improved overall from a 2008 high of around 15 to the current 2019 value of 9.6. However, the rate has flat-lined with no real improvement for the last decade, stalling at around 9.7 over the period 2011- 2019 and around double the EU rate. Moreover, Romania’s total annual number of road deaths has remained at an average of around 1900 fatalities per annum over this period. Romania has been the worst performing country in the European Union (EU) in recent years, and one of the worst performing countries compared to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations in terms of road safety. The review performed in 2016 found inadequate political leadership and commitment to effective actions to reduce road fatalities, fragmented government road safety activities across a number of regulatory entities, ...
Road and Rail Infrastructure V, May 17, 2018
Journal of the Croatian Association of Civil Engineers, 2018
Prevencija pojave akvaplaninga primjenom tehničkih mjera Do pojave akvaplaninga, kod cestovnih vo... more Prevencija pojave akvaplaninga primjenom tehničkih mjera Do pojave akvaplaninga, kod cestovnih vozila, dolazi kada se između pneumatika vozila i površine kolnika pojavi sloj vode. Akvaplaning uzrokuje gubitak prionjivosti pneumatika što za posljedicu ima smanjenu upravljivost vozilom. Učinkovitost tehničkih rješenja koja se primjenjuju na uobičajenim cestama analizirana je pomoću specijaliziranog računalnog programa Pavement Surface Runoff Model. U radu je pokazana važnost kvalitete izvedbe habajućeg sloja kolničke konstrukcije, njen utjecaj na sigurnost odvijanja prometa te korelacija između geometrijskih karakteristika elemenata ceste i pojave akvaplaninga.
Romanian Journal of Transport Infrastructure, 2016
This report’s main aim is to propose a methodology for assessing state-budget-funded projects bas... more This report’s main aim is to propose a methodology for assessing state-budget-funded projects based on a rigorous selection model, including clear and effective prioritization criteria. This report first argues that project prioritization and selection should be optimized against four dimensions: absorption, impact, legitimacy, and capacity. Second, it provides a diagnostic of the National Program for Local Development (PNDL), managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration (MRDPA), as the most significant source of state-budget funding for local infrastructure projects. The PNDL’s current design and implementation leaves room for improvement, as reflected by the lack of strategic direction in allocating funds and the continued rise in the number of projects that get started without a feasible timeline for their completion. Further, this report makes recommendations for improvement of project evaluation and selection procedures for local infrastructure deve...
Sustainable Civil Infrastructures
This report aims at providing key recommendations toward the use of innovative designs in small i... more This report aims at providing key recommendations toward the use of innovative designs in small infrastructure in Romania. The overall aim is to compare Romanian and international practices in design, construction, and maintenance of roads, water and wastewater infrastructure, and social infrastructure. The objective is to assess how innovative designs and technologies can contribute to better quality, cost efficient, and sustainable infrastructure projects. In this endeavor, this report includes a complete assessment of the current designs and technologies deployed for a set of public infrastructure investments in Romania. In addition, it presents a set of global best practices potentially recommended for the Romanian context. This Report also includes an assessment of non-technical issues with direct impact on design, construction, and maintenance practices. This report provides a complete overview of the current key issues related to project design in Romania. It also serves as b...
This report aims at providing key recommendations toward the use of innovative designs in small i... more This report aims at providing key recommendations toward the use of innovative designs in small infrastructure in Romania. The overall aim is to compare Romanian and international practices in design, construction, and maintenance of roads, water and wastewater infrastructure, and social infrastructure. The objective is to assess how innovative designs and technologies can contribute to better quality, cost efficient, and sustainable infrastructure projects. In this endeavor, this report includes a complete assessment of the current designs and technologies deployed for a set of public infrastructure investments in Romania. In addition, it presents a set of global best practices potentially recommended for the Romanian context. This Report also includes an assessment of non-technical issues with direct impact on design, construction, and maintenance practices. This report provides a complete overview of the current key issues related to project design in Romania. It also serves as b...
In the context of Romania’s push toward sustainable and inclusive development, the government has... more In the context of Romania’s push toward sustainable and inclusive development, the government has asked the World Bank to support the harmonization of public investments financed by the European Union and the state budget. The current report describes the national program for local development (PNDL’s) framework and project cycle and provides an overview of the program’s project portfolio in 2014. It also draws a number of preliminary observations and presents some potential policy measures, based on a review of 289 technical-economic documentations (in most cases feasibility studies) for new investments proposed for PNDL financing in 2014. The aim is to understand gaps and opportunities in the PNDL’s programming and implementation, and also to help develop the MRDPA’s capacity for assessing received proposals. This report seeks to contribute to the overall objective of improving the design and implementation of state-budget-funded investment programs under the Ministry of Regional ...
This report corresponds to the deliverable "Final Report on Evaluation of the Portfolio of Region... more This report corresponds to the deliverable "Final Report on Evaluation of the Portfolio of Regional Development Investment Projects" under component 2 "Advisory services related to the existing portfolio of investment projects in MRDPA" of the Advisory Services Agreement on "Harmonizing State and EU Funded Projects in Regions" between the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, signed on May 27, 2014.
Research shows that vehicle speed affects the severity of all road crashes. Higher speed crashes ... more Research shows that vehicle speed affects the severity of all road crashes. Higher speed crashes involve more kinetic energy: the more energy that is dispersed in a crash, the more severe that crash will be. Speed also affects the likelihood of a crash occurring in the first place. The likelihood of a serious or fatal crash increases significantly even with small increases in vehicle speed. Field studies demonstrate that a one percent increase in mean average speeds results in a roughly two percent increase in the frequency of crashes involving injury, a three percent increase in severe crashes, and a four percent increase in deaths. The safety of infrastructure is heavily influenced by traffic speed, to the extent that without a detailed understanding of speed limits and vehicle operating speeds, it is difficult to assess the safety performance of infrastructure at a given location. This report seeks to highlight the central role of speed management in the Safe System approach and ...
Journal of Road Safety, 31(3), 85-97, 2020
This article outlines a capacity review of Romania’s national road infrastructure and road safety... more This article outlines a capacity review of Romania’s national road infrastructure and road safety in general. Romania’s road fatality rate per 100,000 population has improved overall from a 2008 high of around 15 to the current 2019 value of 9.6. However, the rate has flat-lined with no real improvement for the last decade, stalling at around 9.7 over the period 2011- 2019 and around double the EU rate. Moreover, Romania’s total annual number of road deaths has remained at an average of around 1900 fatalities per annum over this period. Romania has been the worst performing country in the European Union (EU) in recent years, and one of the worst performing countries compared to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations in terms of road safety. The review performed in 2016 found inadequate political leadership and commitment to effective actions to reduce road fatalities, fragmented government road safety activities across a number
of regulatory entities, speed limits set at levels that exceed internationally accepted survivable limits, weak traffic law enforcement including a lack of speed enforcement cameras resulting in a failure of drivers to comply with speed limits, and a lack of structured programs to implement human error tolerant road infrastructure constructed according to Safe System principles. A series of recommendations from the capacity review were adopted (as described here) since 2016, although much remains to improve road safety in Romania.
GRAĐEVINAR, 2018
The aquaplaning of a road vehicle occurs when a layer of water appears between the wheels of the ... more The aquaplaning of a road vehicle occurs when a layer of water appears between the wheels of the vehicle and the road surface. The aquaplaning causes loss of wheel adherence, and results in a reduced vehicle control capability. The efficiency of technical solutions applied on standard roads is analysed using a dedicated computer software called the Pavement Surface Runoff Model. The paper places emphasis on the significance of constructing a good quality pavement-structure wearing course, its influence on traffic safety, and the correlation between geometric properties of road elements and the aquaplaning phenomenon.
CETRA 2018, 5th International Conference on Road and Rail Infrastructure, 17-19 May, Croatia, 2018
Although Romania joined the European Union in 2007 and adhered to its regulations regarding road ... more Although Romania joined the European Union in 2007 and adhered to its regulations regarding road safety, until 2016 there was a lack and disparity in the legislation on this field. Romania was one of the fewest countries in EU without an assumed National Road Safety Strategy, and even though a National Law on Road Safety Audit was adopted in 2008, it was hardly applied. Thus, the results of the policy gap can be clearly noticed in road safety statistics. Romania is one of the worst performing countries in EU on road safety, but hopefully, after previous years actions, this will change. The end of 2015 brought Romania a new government, with an intermediary and non-politic status, a technocrat government with specialists from all fields of interests. One of the priorities of this executive was road safety, especially with the two main topics: National Road Safety Strategy, and its Action Plan (which were in a draft status since 2010 and were never adopted by the Romanian Government); Law no. 265/2008 on road infrastructure safety management, which regulates Road Safety Audits and Inspections (a law with many flaws, which needed to be corrected in order to be properly applied).
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Papers by Florentina-Alina Burlacu
of regulatory entities, speed limits set at levels that exceed internationally accepted survivable limits, weak traffic law enforcement including a lack of speed enforcement cameras resulting in a failure of drivers to comply with speed limits, and a lack of structured programs to implement human error tolerant road infrastructure constructed according to Safe System principles. A series of recommendations from the capacity review were adopted (as described here) since 2016, although much remains to improve road safety in Romania.
of regulatory entities, speed limits set at levels that exceed internationally accepted survivable limits, weak traffic law enforcement including a lack of speed enforcement cameras resulting in a failure of drivers to comply with speed limits, and a lack of structured programs to implement human error tolerant road infrastructure constructed according to Safe System principles. A series of recommendations from the capacity review were adopted (as described here) since 2016, although much remains to improve road safety in Romania.