Regulating the Road Transport of Dangerous Goods: A Framework for a Dynamic Monitoring System

In recent years, more than 300 accidents related to the road transport of dangerous goods (RTDG) occurred in China, arousing the attention of the government. There are various causes of accidents: transport vehicles, dangerous cargo, weather, and road infrastructure (such as bridges/tunnels). Therefore, a monitoring system is needed to dynamically examine potential hazards and to regulate the RTDG. In this paper, according to the data resources for road and transportation in China, a three-layer framework for a monitoring system is proposed to dynamically regulate the RTDG. The three layers are information collection, network, and application. Highway infrastructure and information sharing system databases, constructed by the China Transport Department, also provide necessary information. Unlike the monitoring types that only use GPS, the proposed framework involves more information, and full use of databases resources, making it more suitable for dynamically monitoring RTDG in China.