A Technique for Escape Ramp Location Determination in China's Mountain Area Expressway

During road design, rational location of the escape ramp is one of the most effective measures to guarantee passengers safety and reduce road accident losses on long continuous downgrade road sections. It attracts considerable attention, and has been widely applied in China; however, the effectiveness of escape ramp mainly relies on the appropriateness of the location. Currently, the configuration of an escape ramp is mainly based on vehicle performance on long downgrade section, and construction constraints and costs are the major considerations in China; whereas, lack of considerations on drivers' safety and psychological factors, and poor management result in low functioning escape ramps. In this paper, an integrated technique of escape ramp configuration which covers speed management measures, brake drum temperature, emergency stopping demand as well as rest area configuration, are discussed based on the Hebei-Shanxi Expressway. The technique will hopefully be a good guideline for safety facility design on long continuous downgrade road sections in the future.