Evaluation of the Effects of Road Conditions And Driving Behaviors on Fuel Consumption

Abstract

Vehicular fuel consumption and emissions are two increasingly important measures of effectiveness of sustainable transportation systems, particularly considering that mobile sources in the world account for the largest consumption of energy and generation of air pollution. Cities in the world have faced many challenges like carbon emissions, air pollution and traffic congestion. Pavement condition and driving behavior has a large impact on vehicle fuel consumption. Dedicated study on effects of road condition and driving behavior on fuel consumption can contribute to decrease the energy cost of transportation and the development of the behavior assessment technology for the transportation system. So, it is vital to evaluate these effects and relationship in order to develop more ecological driving assistance systems and improve vehicle fuel economy. Thus, discovering the precise effect and relationship between pavement condition and driving behavior with fuel consumption, in order to reduce vehicle emissions and increase fuel efficiency, has become an important studying area and the motivation of this study. Therefore, the general objective of the study is to evaluate the effects of road conditions and driving behaviors on vehicles fuel consumption especially its economic cost & Environmental impact in the North-South Road section of Addis Ababa. To achieve this objective, descriptive and explanatory research design with both qualitative and quantitative approach was used in the study. Field test and observation was conducted and existing data was used from Addis Ababa City Roads & Addis Ababa city traffic management office. In order to evaluate the effects of the road condition (traffic congestion, slope & International roughness index) and driver’s driving behavior (slow driving, moderate driving and aggressive driving) Travel Time Approach (TTA) was applied and SPSS was utilized to develop the model equation which relates the above factors with fuel consumption. From the study Regression Model for Surface Condition Vs Fuel Consumption, Slope Vs. fuel consumption and Driver Behavior or Slope Vs Fuel Consumption were analyzed by using IBM SPSS statistic 20 and modeled as Fc=37+1/2SR Correlation analysis with 96.81% (i.e., strong positive relationship), Fc=57.1+7.76S Correlation analysis with 98.6% (i.e., strong positive relationship) and Fc=75.1+5.7V Correlation analysis as 90.6% (i.e., strong positive relationship) respectively. Afterward, extra fuel wasted cost and its environmental impact due to congestion, rough surface, high grade & aggressive drivers is calculated. Results showed that all the above factors: congestion, road grade, surface condition and driver behavior impact fuel consumption rates significant and the total wasted fuel and environmental cost due to congestion, aggressive driving mode, rough surface and high slope is approximated to 312 million birr/year. Finally improving current road capacity & traffic management and use carbon- free transport option reduced the fuel consumption and carbon emission.