Abstract
Road tunnel safety concerns the management of systems and activities to keep road tunnels in a safe state. A number of social and technological systems are involved in both the design and operation of tunnels. Therefore, effective means of communication are needed between system actors. To understand the effect of communicating efforts, it is essential to uncover the knowledge and theories behind objects that are designed to create stimuli for a behavioural response among system actors. Hence, the following question was outlined as the major issue in this thesis: How is knowledge developed and applied to create change, confirmation or comprehension of current practice? The management policy for road tunnel safety is rooted in the Vision Zero philosophy (the ethical principle, scientific knowledge and shared responsibility) and the Tunnel Safety Regulations. Norway has more than 1200 tunnels with different designs and standards. There is an average of 27 tunnel fires per year in Norway. Although it is a rare event, experience from previous accidents has shown that a major tunnel fire represents a threat to the life and health of road users. For example, the fires in the Mont Blanc Tunnel (France/Italy 1999, 39 fatalities), the Gotthard Tunnel (Switzerland 2001, 11 fatalities), the Oslofjord tunnel (Norway 2011, 34 people trapped in smoke, some seriously injured due to inhalation of toxic gases), and the Gudvanga tunnel (Norway 2013, 67 people trapped in smoke and inhaled toxic gases, 23 seriously injured and five with acute life-threatening injuries). Current expectations to evacuation is based on the self-rescue principle. For many tunnel designs, there are large uncertainties related to evacuation in the event of a fire. Four research questions were developed to explore the major issue. The research questions were associated with: (1) understanding current tunnel safety management practices in light of the Vision Zero philosophy, (2) elaborating social construction as a scientific perspective in search for a set a rules to conceptualise an approach to the concept of risk, (3) exploring and understanding the use of virtual reality technology in training and research, (4) understanding mechanisms that are vital to promote learning effects of structured risk communication. The research is based on a holistic perspective on learning and systems safety, and takes an interdisciplinary approach in search for a more comprehensive understanding of the major issue. The research is presented in seven papers, concerning: 1) A discussion on how tunnel safety designs are communicated by national agencies with governmental tasks from a systems theory perspective applied to Vision Zero principles. 2) A comparison of theoretical perspectives related to risk acceptance in light of the Vision Zero philosophy and road tunnel safety, to identify the dominant mindset in the Norwegian approach. 3) An elaboration of social construction as a scientific perspective, showing that expressions of risk can be understood as causal, constitutive and pragmatic social constructions. An example from tunnel safety research is used to discuss five distinct risk concepts. 4) A tool to assess learning is applied to peer-reviewed literature to understand how and what knowledge is developed by using virtual reality technology in fire evacuation training. 5) A scoping review from a design science perspective is used to identify peer-reviewed literature documenting learning effects of using virtual reality in training and educational activities. 6) A randomized controlled experiment with 80 participants, using a virtual reality driving simulator to test stimuli-response effects of structured risk communication. The national information campaign “Safe behaviour in case of road tunnel incidents” is designed as structured risk communication and applied in the experiment as stimuli in the test-group. 7) A longitudinal study based on telephone interviews with participants from the experiment. Two interviews (total 125) were conducted over a two year period. The transcribed interviews constitute the empirical data for the longitudinal study, and are used to identify long-term learning effects of structured risk communication aimed at safe behaviour in road tunnels. The research in this thesis has identified several aspects that promote or inhibit communication and learning in road tunnel safety management. One aspect concerns the meaning of Vision Zero as a philosophy for road tunnel safety. From a systems perspective on road tunnel safety, the Vision Zero values are inadequately communicated by national agencies with governmental tasks. The lack of constrains means that that the responsibility for interpreting the meaning of the concept of Vision Zero is transferred to lower level actors. This implies that the Development and application of objects, are based on lower levels understanding of road tunnel safety. An example is related to the self-rescue principle. Until recently, the self-rescue principle has been inadequately communicated to road users. This means that contemporary road users lack emergency preparedness competence in the event of a road tunnel fire. Another aspect is the concept of risk. Risk is not a universal concept that can be isolated from the context, but hold different ontological, epistemological and methodological presumptions. This means that risk is defined in very different ways and can be understood as causal, constitutive and pragmatic social constructions. The lack of constraints implies that the concept of risk hold formal and informal power structures. Therefore it is necessary to develop norms to ensure a knowledge-based methodological approach to risk analysis and management. Virtual reality technologies are objects that are often designed and applied as tools in behavioural studies and emergency preparedness training across a wide range of disciplines. While ‘virtual reality’ can come close to ‘real reality’, they are socially constructed objects that are applied in knowledge development. This means that a holistic perspective on learning is crucial in the development and application of the technology to ensure quality in knowledge development. The research shows limited documented learning effects of applying virtual reality technology in educational activities, but also that this artefact can be designed and applied in different ways as a method for knowledge development. In 2019, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration launched the national information campaign “Safe behaviour in case of road tunnel incidents” on social media. The campaign consisted of six videos developed to increase public knowledge about road tunnel safety. The campaign can be understood as structured risk communication, that is, an object designed to create stimuli for a desired behavioural response among relevant actors in the context of uncertainty. A randomized controlled trial, consisting of 80 participants, was designed to test the effect of structured risk communication. A virtual reality driving simulator was used as a method to collect quantitative data. Qualitative data was collected through three questionnaires, as well as observation of participants during the experiment. The statistical results showed strong positive effects of structured risk communication. Safe behaviour in road tunnels implies a latent emergency preparedness competence among road users. This involves learning that persists over time. A longitudinal study was designed to identify features of long-term learning. Two telephone interviews (125 in total) with participants from the experiment were conducted over a two-year period. The interview guides were based on a holistic perspective on learning and created stimuli for the expression of competence. The analysis showed a change over time in the respondents’ expression of competence, from quite fragmented to a consistent level of high competence. Emotional commitment to the context and reflection on decision-making and action (response) were identified as essential features of long-term learning. The analysis also showed that the design of the interview guides were vital as structured risk communication, and that participation in the social context was essential to create stimuli for long-term learning. The research in this thesis has documented that emotional commitment to the context and reflection are important features to create long-term learning effects of structured risk communication. The KATS project has been vital in order to explore the major issue. This provided a context for participation, cooperation, and learning. The mixed method approach enabled interdisciplinary research to develop a more comprehensive understanding of cause-effect relationships. Road tunnel safety cannot be meaningfully understood without a more comprehensive understanding of the effect of communicating efforts, and how concepts and artefacts are developed and applied to assess, evaluate and communicate knowledge. This includes the understanding that objects can be designed to communicate road tunnel safety and create stimuli for change, confirmation and/or comprehension of current practices. The design of structured risk communication targeting safe behaviour in road tunnels needs further empirical testing. Road tunnel safety involves a socio-technical system of actors interacting at different hierarchical levels and who have a shared responsibility for safety. To control road tunnel safety, knowledge about the system is an important element among the actors. Competence requirements should therefore be emphasized as a further step in the management of road tunnel safety.