Abstract: In order to study the pedestrian behavior and evacuation capacity of vertical slide in road tunnel, the field tests were used to analyze the effect of gender differences and organizational order of personnel on the process of sliding. The results showed that the time to pass through a slide ranged from 1 s to 3 s and decreased during an orderly evacuation. A few participants were intimidated by the vertical slides, and it is recommended that instructions on the safe use of the slides and precautions are installed to alleviate people's fear. In single?slide evacuation, the average sliding speed of males was always greater than that of females, regardless of the order in which people were organized. In orderly evacuation, the average sliding speed of both males and females increased. Females were better positioned than males, especially when it comes to ladies first. Multi?slide evacuation and orderly evacuation both increased the sliding speed. For females, the sliding speed increased to a greater extent during orderly evacuation. But it was not safe to slide too fast, excessive speed could be hazardous, and it is recommended that some cushioning measures are taken at the exit of the slide to ensure the safety of personnel. The evacuation capacity of vertical slide ranged from 24.3 persons/min to 30.9 persons/min, with an average evacuation capacity of 27.63 persons/min.

Key words: road tunnel, vertical slide, evacuation behavior, evacuation capacity, gender differences, buffer measures