Driving simulator experiment on vehicular evacuation in case of tsunami

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26560173
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Social systems engineering/Safety system
• Research Institution: Chiba University
• Principal Investigator: Maruyama Yoshihisa 千葉大学, 工学(系)研究科(研究院), 准教授 (70397024)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): SHOJI Gaku 筑波大学, システム情報工学研究科, 准教授 (60282836)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: ドライビングシミュレータ / 津波避難実験 / ハザードマップ / 東北地方太平洋沖地震

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The government of Japan had generally recommended evacuation on foot in the case of a tsunami because of the possible traffic congestion, accidents, and entrapment of vehicles by fallen objects and collapsed houses during evacuation by vehicle. In the case of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, however, 57% of the evacuees used automobiles. Since the population is rapidly aging in Japan, vehicular evacuation must be enhanced in any future event. Based on this background, the aim of this study was to develop a driving simulator with a tsunami inundation scenario. To achieve the objective, a numerical simulation of tsunami propagation was performed assuming an earthquake and tsunami in Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, of the scale of the 1498 Meio earthquake. Further, a series of driving simulator experiments were performed to verify the safety of vehicular evacuation in the case of a tsunami.

Free Research Field

都市安全工学