01123235

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2137-04

http://scholar.google.com...Burd&publication_year=2009

It may be possible to use nonhuman biological entities for empirical study of pedestrian crowds under emergency conditions. A literature review is used to examine how the study of mass movement of organisms might enhance the safety of pedestrians during emergency egress. Recent findings from experiments with panicking ants are presented as examples, with two scenarios, of how such experiments can be used as a basis for the design of solutions to ensure safe egress of pedestrians in emergencies. Although the experiments are still in progress and it is too early to draw definitive conclusions with statistical significance, some preliminary results show promise in using ants to test models for pedestrian traffic in emergency conditions. Because of the lack of complementary data during emergency or panic-inducing situations, experiments such as these with ants provide alternate empirical ways to test whether designs developed by means of mathematical models may actually be efficacious and improve the safety of pedestrians.

01149179

09-1398

English

pp 31-37

2009

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309142700

Print

Figures (4) ; Photos (4) ; References (46) ; Tables (1)

Behavior; Crowds; Disaster preparedness; Disasters and emergency operations; Emergency management; Evacuation; Pedestrian safety; Pedestrians

Ants; Biological models

Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 30 2009 5:39PM

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