Transport Engineering & Safety

A Department of Transport Engineering & Safety at CIST has been established as a joint effort of CIST and the Institute of Transport Engineering and Safety Balkans as a specialised research laboratory the field of traffic theory, traffic technology and their implementation in practice.

Its aim is to decrease the economic losses, betterment of the environment and limit the cases of accidents – some of the major problem for contemporary civilization.

The Department has inherited the experience and achievements of the Laboratory for Traffic Safety under the Ministry of Interior which was established in 1970 and was closed down as a result of structural reforms in 1990. There are some good links of cooperation, including one individual membership, with the Institute for Transportation Engineers of the USA.

There is some good record of research and development activities related to Transport Engineering and Safety, such as:

    In science applied aspect:
  • Research and study of dangerous areas of the road;
  • Introduction of the method of the average squared equation (the noise from the acceleration) for a comprehensive research into the disturbances (dangers) in the traffic;
  • Mapping of the transit routes within the cities;
  • Development of schemes and projects for traffic signaling;
  • Introduction of systems for management and control of the traffic;
  • Organization and evaluation of the work of traffic police;
  • Analysis of severe traffic accidents; heavy accidents;
  • Research of the efficiency of giving advantage to pedestrians on the pedestrians paths and suggestions in this direction.
    Methodologies:
  • Measurement of the parameters of the traffic flow;
  • Standardization of the speed of the traffic;
  • Measurement of the coefficient of friction – three methods;
  • Dynamic measurement of the geometric elements of the road;
  • Measurement of the length of the automobile in a state of non-stationary movement.
    Information Technology and Equipment:
    The Department relies on a team of professionals from CIST, as well as from the Laboratory for Safety – Ministry of Interior; The Technical Institute – Ministry of Interior; Technical University – Sofia; The Institute for Special Equipment – Sofia University; Bulgarian Civil Aviation – Balkan and the Institute for Transport Cybernetics and Robotics – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and the Technical Department of the Bulgarian National Television, funded by the Science Committee at the Council of Ministers to around $ 5 million, developed and introduced:
  • Traffic Laboratory for measuring the parameters of the traffic flow;
  • Dynamic laboratory for study of dangerous areas, measurement of the geometric elements of the road, etc.;
  • Fifth wheel for measurement of: distance, duration; linear speed, acceleration and noise from the acceleration;
    Experimental Studies:
  • More than 100 studies of parts of roads and entire roads with a great number of accidents had been conducted and the introduction of the developed products in these areas led to a quick improvement of the condition of the roads, the traffic process and decrease in the number of accidents: Sliven – Burgas, Plovdiv – Pazardjik, Plovdiv – Smolian, Vratsa – Krivodol and many others.