Effects of structured risk communication on road users’ evacuation behaviour in the event of a tunnel fire – Results from a virtual reality simulation experiment

• Evacuation skills among road users are a neglected area in tunnel safety work. • A holistic view on evacuation behaviour is addressed. • Multiple data sources provide a deeper understanding of road user behaviour. • Road users’ evacuation behaviour can be influenced by targeted learning measures. Current expectations regarding tunnel fire evacuation behaviour are mainly based on the self-rescue principle, meaning that road users are responsible for their own rescue. For many tunnel designs, there are large uncertainties related to human behaviour in the case of fire. Safety management systems are insufficient, the basic training of road users does not emphasize self-rescue concerns, and the tunnel fire response procedures of the fire and rescue departments contradict self-rescue. To increase public knowledge about safe behaviour during tunnel incidents, in December 2019, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration launched a national information campaign consisting of six different videos with instructions on what to do in emergencies. The videos were adapted for social media to reach the youngest drivers, adult drivers and truck drivers. The aim of the study reported in this article is to measure the learning effects of structured risk communication in which the campaign videos are designed to create stimuli for a desired behavioural response among road users. The article presents the results from a randomized controlled trial, where a virtual reality driving simulator was used to collect data on the effect of structured risk communication. The empirical basis of the study consists of qualitative and quantitative data from the experiment. The results show strong positive learning effects of structured risk communication. This indicates that structured risk communication can be designed to make road users aware of tunnel fire risks and provide knowledge about safe behaviour in case of road tunnel incidents.