Any type of accident is terrible to experience, whether you're in it or anxiously awaiting news of a loved one involved. However, it's exponentially worse if this emergency happens inside a tunnel, simply because access is terribly restricted.
The individual characteristics of a given tunnel will cause different types of access difficulties, but a system like this concept called Tunnel Keeper seems to be able to handle most of them. Industrial designer Syu Wei Chen, who is credited with creating this vehicle and winning the Student Notable Transportation Award, Syu Wei Chen also designed a complete strategy and process for how the Tunnel Keeper would be used in the event of a emergency.
The Tunnel Keeper is not just an electric motorcycle: rather, it is a complete system, designed for optimal efficiency in a tunnel in the event of an emergency. Syu Wei Chen envisions a Tunnel Keeper station, where operators stand ready to board their vehicles and quickly dispatch to handle an emergency inside the tunnel where they are positioned. Vehicles recharge at the station and wait patiently until needed.
Equipped with a water mist system, a compressed air foam system and a “smoke evacuation system” to disperse the smoke as it progresses, the electric concept bike will be able to connect to fire hydrants on scene and transport injured people on the removable stretcher.
Throughout the tunnel, fire hoses are placed along the walls. Tunnel Keeper motorcycles are equipped with fittings for these hoses, so an operator can instantly attach the hose to the motorcycle and then spray out any fire occurring in the tunnel. A separate firefighting foam tank and nozzle setup is located on the rear of the Tunnel Keeper if required.
Other features include a smoke dissipator that helps circulate air in the tunnel as the Tunnel Keeper heads to the emergency room. It also sprays a fine mist to help capture particles in the air and bring them back to the ground, so they pose fewer breathing and vision problems for everyone in the tunnel. There's also a stretcher that looks like a futuristic sidecar, so a Tunnel Keeper operator can place an injured person on it and quickly get them out of the tunnel where they can receive appropriate medical attention.
