In India, traffic flow on roads is highly mixed in nature with wide variations in the static and dynamic characteristics of vehicles. At unsignalized intersections, vehicles generally do not follow lane discipline and...In India, traffic flow on roads is highly mixed in nature with wide variations in the static and dynamic characteristics of vehicles. At unsignalized intersections, vehicles generally do not follow lane discipline and ignore the rules of priority. Drivers generally become more aggressive and tend to cross the uncontrolled intersections without considering the conflicting traffic. All these conditions cause a very complex traffic situation at unsignal- ized intersections which have a great impact on the capacity and performance of traffic intersections. A new method called additive conflict flow （ACF） method is suitable to determine the capacity of unsignalized inter- sections in non-lane-based mixed traffic conditions as prevailing in India. Occupation time is the key parameter for ACF method, which is defined as the time spent by a vehicle in the conflict area at the intersection. Data for this study were collected at two three-legged unsignalized intersections （one is uncontrolled and other one is semi- controlled） in Mangalore city, India using video-graphic technique during peak periods on three consecutive week days. The occupation time of vehicles at these intersections were studied and compared. The data on conflicting traffic volume and occupation time by each subject vehicle at the conflict area were extracted from the videos using image processing software. The subject vehicles were divided into three categories： two wheelers,cars, and auto-rickshaws. Mathematical relationships were developed to relate the occupation time of different cate- gories of vehicles with the conflicting flow of vehicles for various movements at both the intersections. It was found that occupation time increases with the increasing con- flicting traffic and observed to be higher at the uncontrolled intersection compared to the semicontrolled intersec- tion. The segregated turning movements and the presence of mini roundabout at the semicontrolled intersection reduces the conflicts of vehicular movements, which ulti- mately reduces the occupation time. The proposed methodology will be useful to determine the occupation time for various movements at unsignalized intersections. The models developed in the study can be used by practitioners and traffic engineers to estimate the capacity of unsignalized intersections in non-lane-based discipline and mixed traffic conditions.展开更多
文摘In India, traffic flow on roads is highly mixed in nature with wide variations in the static and dynamic characteristics of vehicles. At unsignalized intersections, vehicles generally do not follow lane discipline and ignore the rules of priority. Drivers generally become more aggressive and tend to cross the uncontrolled intersections without considering the conflicting traffic. All these conditions cause a very complex traffic situation at unsignal- ized intersections which have a great impact on the capacity and performance of traffic intersections. A new method called additive conflict flow （ACF） method is suitable to determine the capacity of unsignalized inter- sections in non-lane-based mixed traffic conditions as prevailing in India. Occupation time is the key parameter for ACF method, which is defined as the time spent by a vehicle in the conflict area at the intersection. Data for this study were collected at two three-legged unsignalized intersections （one is uncontrolled and other one is semi- controlled） in Mangalore city, India using video-graphic technique during peak periods on three consecutive week days. The occupation time of vehicles at these intersections were studied and compared. The data on conflicting traffic volume and occupation time by each subject vehicle at the conflict area were extracted from the videos using image processing software. The subject vehicles were divided into three categories： two wheelers,cars, and auto-rickshaws. Mathematical relationships were developed to relate the occupation time of different cate- gories of vehicles with the conflicting flow of vehicles for various movements at both the intersections. It was found that occupation time increases with the increasing con- flicting traffic and observed to be higher at the uncontrolled intersection compared to the semicontrolled intersec- tion. The segregated turning movements and the presence of mini roundabout at the semicontrolled intersection reduces the conflicts of vehicular movements, which ulti- mately reduces the occupation time. The proposed methodology will be useful to determine the occupation time for various movements at unsignalized intersections. The models developed in the study can be used by practitioners and traffic engineers to estimate the capacity of unsignalized intersections in non-lane-based discipline and mixed traffic conditions.
