Set methods of left-turn waiting zone at signalized intersection

To maximize the number of vehicles passing by the stop-line in a cycle and improve the operation efficiency of intersection in China,the settlement of left-turn lane waiting-zone is becoming prevailing. Based on conflicting-point method,the internal mechanism of left-turn flow after stopping line was analyzed through taking postposition left-turn lane waiting-zone intersection for instance. The relationship between the first left-turn vehicle and the last vehicle of previous phase passing the conflicting point was expounded. According to the time of successive arriving of two vehicle flows at conflicting-point,the reasonable layout for waiting area of left-turn vehicles was researched when the clearance index was less than 0. The results suggest that the appropriate layout for waiting area of left-turning vehicles can improve the operation efficiency of intersections.

Analysis of opposing left-turn conflicts based on traffic conflict technology

The relationship between the opposing left-turn conflict and the traffic participants was analyzed in this study. Based on the traffic conflict technology, the image data were collected in a real traffic situation. The relationship was investigated under two different conditions. The number of opposing left-turn conflicts was positively correlated with the number of left-turn vehicles while the ratio of left-turn vehicles to opposing vehicles was less than 1, and showed a positive correlation with the number of opposing-through vehicles when the ratio of left-turn vehicles to opposing vehi- cles was more than 1. In other words, the opposing left-turn risk was positively correlated with the number of the minor traffic participants, which had a negative effect on the whole traffic system op- eration.

Assessing the Effects of Indirect Left Turn on a Signalized Intersection Performance: A Case Study for the Tehran Metropolitan Area

Many signalized intersections are characterized with frequent left-turn moves. Vehicles waiting for a protected left turn may form long queues, which will increase the intersection delay and negatively impact the network performance. Researchers and practitioners across various countries underline that access management leads to a smoother traffic flow. One way of access management at intersections is to eliminate the direct left-turn maneuver. This study aims to evaluate how the traffic conditions will be affected from replacing the direct left turn with the right-turn U-turn maneuver at intersections. In case of the right-turn U-turn maneuver, a vehicle turns right instead of making the left turn and travels either to the median opening or to the next intersection to make a U-turn. Two simulation models are built using the Synchro Studio and Aimsun simulation software packages based on the data, collected from one of the busiest intersections in Tehran (Iran), to quantify the effects of replacing the direct left turn with the right-turn U-turn maneuver on the intersection and network performance. Results of a comprehensive simulation analysis indicate that the proposed access management treatment not only significantly reduces the total vehicle queue length and the total delay at the considered intersection, but also decreases the total network delay and the total travel time. Furthermore, elimination of the direct left turn increases the number of vehicles entering the network.

Influence of bus stop with left-turn lines between two adjacent signalized intersections

Based on the symmetric two-lane Nagel–Schreckenberg（STNS） model, a three-lane cellular automaton model between two intersections containing a bus stop with left-turning buses is established in which model the occurrences of vehicle accidents are taken into account. The characteristics of traffic flows with different ratios of left-turn lines are discussed via the simulation experiments. The results indicate that the left-turn lines have more negative effects on capacity,accident rate as well as delay if the stop is located close to the intersections, where the negative effect in a near-side stop is more severe than that in a far-side one. The range of appropriate position for a bus stop without the bottleneck effect becomes more and more narrow with the increase of the ratio of left-turn bus lines. When the inflow is small, a short signal cycle and a reasonable offset are beneficial. When the inflow reaches or exceeds the capacity, a longer signal cycle is helpful. But if the stop position is inappropriate, the increase of cycle fails in reducing the negative effect of left-turning buses and the effectiveness of offset is weakened.

Impact of Pedestrian Traffic on Saturation Rate of Protected Left-Turn at Urban Intersections

Heavily congested intersections in metropolitan areas in China are facing unique problems due to high travel demand and a high degree of traffic law violations. Based on a study conducted by the authors of this paper, 93% of left-turn vehicles turning left in these areas were slowed in order to avoid conflict with pedestrians. Intertwined pedestrian and vehicular flows can significantly reduce the capacity of exclusive left-turn lane group through reducing saturation flow rate, which increases the congestion at intersections. This paper investigates how the saturation flow rate of exclusive left-turn lane group is affected by the characteristics of pedestrian flow. By analyzing the imagery data collected by video cameras installed at intersections, the research team is able to obtain the characteristics of both vehicular and pedestrian flows, such as speed and spatial locations. The average operating speed at the saturation flow rate with and without pedestrian traffic is used as a direct measurement to evaluate the effect of pedestrians. Based on the statistical analysis, the paper concludes that saturation flow rate is mainly affected by the position of pedestrian in the crosswalk (inside or outside of left-turn vehicle’s trajectory), and the distance between the vehicle and pedestrians. In general, when the distance is less than four meters, the smaller the distance between vehicle and pedestrians, the larger the impact. However, there is no significant impact when the distance is larger than four meters. To accurately quantify the effect, the degree of pedestrian-vehicle impact is defined in four levels. The results show that the difference in the saturation flow rate between the best and the worst level could be 15.7%, which clearly indicates how important it is to enforce pedestrian crossing behavior.

Developing Framework to Test Driving Performance at Left-Turn Movement with In-Vehicle Advance Collision Warning Message

Left-turning traffic without a protected left-turn signal is one of the major safety concerns at urban intersections. Though an average of only l0% - 15% of all approaching traffic turns left, significantly a large proportion of left-turn crashes occur involving 21% of all intersection fatal crashes. Where traditional safety countermeasures of signal timing-phasing and use of flashing yellow light have reportedly failed to significantly reduce the rate of crashes, an in-vehicle advance collision warning message can be helpful to reduce left-turn collisions at intersections. In this study, an in-vehicle audio warning application has been designed by providing two safety warning messages (Advance Warning Message and Safe Left-turn Maneuver Message) under the vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication system, which is triggered based on the acceptable gaps of oncoming opposing vehicles for a safe left-turn. A driving simulator test has been conducted with 30 participants to investigate the impacts of warning messages on performance measures such as speed and acceleration profiles, collision records, brake reaction distance, and intersection clearance time. Statistical results showed that with the help of these messages, all participants were able to reduce speeds and accelerations and chose suitable gaps without potential conflicts. Moreover, the results of questionnaire analysis provide a positive acceptability especially for the Safe Left-turn Maneuver Message. Based on the performance measurements, this type of safety warning messages can be recommended for possible real-road tests for practical applications.

Drivers’ Reaction of Warning Messages in Work Zone Termination Areas with Left Turn

Work-zone crashes have always drawn public attention. A number of fatalities are recorded every year nationwide within work zone areas. Most existing countermeasures have been dedicated more to the advance warning areas, transition areas, and activity areas of work zone, than the termination areas, where drivers might play less attention to safety threats. In this study, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication based left turn warning system was applied at a work zone termination area, which is immediately followed by a T-intersection. The work-zone is located on the minor road side, while left turn vehicles will be appearing from the major street through the said T-intersection. A smart phone application was designed using Android coding system to provide several types of warning messages to drivers. Corresponding scenarios were designed in a driving simulator, and 20 subjects were recruited to participate in the simulation test followed by a questionnaire survey. The subjects received a warning message when driving to the termination area of a work zone on the coming left turn vehicles. Twenty test drivers’ driving speed, acceleration rates, and break reaction distance to the warning messages were studied in four different scenarios. Results show that the smartphone application has a great impact on driving behaviors, especially the female voice and the beep tone warning, which are recommended for possible field tests. Besides, the developed smartphone applications can be further updated for practical applications of similar needs.

信控交叉口借道左转设计的延误优化研究

为准确分析交叉口借道左转设计的左转延误,针对现有的延误模型的不足,建立一个合适的延误优化模型,并提升其设置的科学性。先对逆向车道长度进行优化;再通过分析左转车辆的累计到达驶离曲线,以左转总延误最小为优化目标,建立一种新的考虑预信号延误的优化模型;最后,以长沙市芙蓉中路一个交叉口为实例,进行验证,分析左转到达流率对借道左转设计延误的影响及逆向车道长度对左转车均延误的影响。研究结果表明:左转流率越大,越能充分发挥借道左转设计的优势,该模型的左转延误下降可达59.21%;当左转流量偏低时,预信号位置的延误占比较大,随着左转流量的增大,传统车道和逆向车道的延误占比逐步增加。该研究可以准确评价借道左转设计的实用性和优劣程度,对借道左转设计的推广与应用具有重要意义。

基于模拟驾驶的借道左转驾驶人视觉特性研究

借道左转是一种缓解左转车流压力的新型交通组织方法,通过信号灯时空调配借用对向车道为左转待行区,提高相位内左转车辆通行能力。笔者运用驾驶模拟平台,建立城市道路交叉口借道左转仿真场景;结合眼动追踪系统,获取驾驶人借道左转过程中视觉特性参数的变化;通过瞳孔变化和眼动行为,分析驾驶人心理紧张程度及其与行车风险的关联。结果表明:识读借道左转标识及分隔带开口、到达分隔带开口和到达借用车道停车线几个位置,是驾驶人瞳孔面积变化和持续注视时间、注视兴趣区域变化以及扫视频率骤增的集中点,反映出相应位置驾驶人风险感知强、心理负荷大;借道左转短期注视行为较多,注视时长差距较大,表明该过程驾驶人关注目标多、摄取信息密集且处理难度悬殊,需要进行高强度的信息处理;累计扫视时间占比高于普通左转,且以5°以下小角度扫视为主,反映出借道左转过程环境信息复杂、行车风险较大,驾驶人搜索、对比分析的需求更高,扫视主要是为了捕捉关注目标和补充注视信息。

A Workable Solution for Reducing the Large Number of Vehicle and Pedestrian Accidents Occurring on a Yellow Light

Traffic intersections are incredibly dangerous for drivers and pedestrians. Statistics from both Canada and the U.S. show a high number of fatalities and serious injuries related to crashes at intersections. In Canada, during 2019, the National Collision Database shows that 28% of traffic fatalities and 42% of serious injuries occurred at intersections. Likewise, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) found that about 40% of the estimated 5,811,000 accidents in the U.S. during the year studied were intersection-related crashes. In fact, a major survey by the car insurance industry found that nearly 85% of drivers could not identify the correct action to take when approaching a yellow traffic light at an intersection. One major reason for these accidents is the “yellow light dilemma,” the ambiguous situation where a driver should stop or proceed forward when unexpectedly faced with a yellow light. This situation is even further exacerbated by the tendency of aggressive drivers to inappropriately speed up on the yellow just to get through the traffic light. A survey of Canadian drivers conducted by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation found that 9% of drivers admitted to speeding up to get through a traffic light. Another reason for these accidents is the increased danger of making a left-hand turn on yellow. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), left turns occur in approximately 22.2% of collisions—as opposed to just 1.2% for right turns. Moreover, a study by CNN found left turns are three times as likely to kill pedestrians than right turns. The reason left turns are so much more likely to cause an accident is because they take a driver against traffic and in the path of oncoming cars. Additionally, most of these left turns occur at the driver’s discretion—as opposed to the distressingly brief left-hand arrow at busy intersections. Drive Safe Now proposes a workable solution for reducing the number of accidents occurring during a yellow light at intersections. We believe this fairly simple solution will save lives, prevent injuries, reduce damage to public and private property, and decrease insurance costs.

基于多目标配时优化模型和交通设计的城市交叉口协同优化研究

文章基于多目标配时优化模型和交通设计,旨在缓解城市道路交通拥堵。通过分析城市道路交叉口交通流特性和问题,关注交叉口车流流向、车流交织点以及配时合理性。在交通设计方面,提出将左转车道右置的渠化设计方案。在配时优化方面,建立了多目标优化模型,以延误、通行能力和停车次数为优化目标,以各相位有效绿灯时间、交叉口饱和度及周期时长为约束条件。通过遗传算法对模型进行求解,并用SUMO仿真软件评价求解结果。研究结果表明,交叉口的时空资源得到更有效的利用,明显缓解了交通压力,为城市道路交叉口的运行、管理和规划提供了参考。

信号交叉口借道左转设计方法研究

借道左转作为一种提高交叉口通行能力的交通管理措施,应用广泛。为了使借道左转的使用效果最优,总结借道左转的适用条件和实际运行的4个阶段,提出通过确定左转预信号相位和借道左转车道长度的方法,进行借道左转方案设计。首先,以单位时间借道左转的车辆数为评价标准,分析车道长度变化对借道左转实施效果的影响;其次,归纳出不同参数间的数学关系,得出最优借道左转车道长度与其他变量的转换方法,并推导出合适的左转预信号相位方案;最后,通过VISSIM软件仿真模型进行验证,证明设计方法的有效性。

基于车辆行驶特征的左弯待转区精细化研究

针对左弯待转区存在许多施划不合理的情况,为研究合理的施划方法,首先借助Tracker运动软件提取车辆轨迹坐标和车速,然后分析左转车辆的行驶特征,拟合出典型转弯半径和典型车速,经验证拟合结果处在规范合理区间。根据拟合结果对交叉口左弯待转区进行优化,根据优化前后对比证明优化后的轨迹更合理。

菱形立交桥下十字平交口左转车辆行驶轨迹对桥梁跨径影响研究

近年来一级干线公路与地方道路菱形立交的情况越来越多,常规设计中往往对菱形立交桥下平交口行驶轨迹分析不到位,主线跨线桥布置多考虑被交路的建筑限界要求而忽略了转弯行驶的需要,导致设计缺陷。模拟对向左转弯车辆临界相切轨迹,得到中央分隔带宽度、两对向左转车道停止线之间的净距和转弯半径关系方程。计算分析表明:满足左转通行要求的轨迹曲线半径及跨线桥梁跨径由中分带宽度B、道路夹角α来确定。桥下十字型平面交叉口设计需先行计算对向左转弯车辆切点间最小净距L,据此合理确定上部桥梁跨径,如此才可保证桥下平交口的安全运行。

考虑左转汇入的干线协调控制与速度引导优化

考虑到相交道路左转汇入车流对干线协调效率的影响,本文以绿波带宽最大为目标提出了干线协调控制下直行车辆及左转汇入车辆的速度引导模型.首先,在干线绿波控制(Maxband)模型的基础上确定干线直行车辆的可通行时间,引导干线直行车辆在绿波时间段内到达交叉口;然后,加入控制左转汇入车辆的通行时间方程,引导左转汇入车辆在不影响干线协调控制的时间内通过交叉口,与干线直行车辆实现时间上的分离;最后,基于VISSIM和MATLAB进行仿真实验,结果表明本文提出的优化模型可以有效提高干线交叉口的通行效率.

设置移位左转车道的不对称交通流信号交叉口设计及优化

常规的交通组织与信号控制处理不对称车流的效果不理想,会造成时间、道路资源的浪费。针对不对称交通流的特性,提出设置移位左转车道的不对称交通流交叉口信号控制优化方案。以直行车辆与左转车辆车均延误最小为目标,建立移位左转交叉口时空资源优化模型与车辆延误计算模型。通过研究交通流不对称程度与移位左转车道长度对左转车辆延误的影响,分析不对称交通流移位左转车道的适应性,并运用VISSIM软件对优化方案进行仿真。仿真结果表明:与交叉口现状相比,方案2中车辆的平均延误降低27.2%,平均排队长度降低29.7%,说明移位左转车道信号控制方案能极大改善不对称交通流交叉口车辆的行驶情况,减少车均延误时间,使车流运行更加顺畅。

On a Non-Definite Sturm-Liouville Problem in the Two-Turning Point Case—Analysis and Numerical Results

In this paper, we study the non-definite Sturm-Liouville problem comprising of a regular Sturm-Liouville equation and Dirichlet boundary conditions on a closed interval. We consider the case in which the weight function changes sign twice in the given interval of definition. We give detailed numerical results on the spectrum of the problem, from which we verify various results on general non definite Sturm-Liouville problems. We also present some theoretical results which support the numerical results. Some numerical results seem to be in contrast with the results that are so far obtained in the case where the weight function changes sign once. This leads to more open questions for future studies in this particular area.

城市道路应急车辆借道通行与信号协同优化模型

考虑单一的信号优先策略无法保证应急车辆不停车通过交叉口,因此,本文提出应急车辆借用逆向左转车道与交叉口信号协同优化模型。首先,在路段上通过应急车辆速度引导与逆向左转车道预信号配时的协同控制,优化应急车辆路段行驶速度,实现借用逆向左转车道通行;其次,增设应急相位保证应急车辆优先通过交叉口,以社会车辆出行总时间最小为目标,相位开启时间和绿灯持续时间为决策变量,考虑交叉口相位间的冲突、预信号开启和持续时间等约束条件,建立混合整数线性规划模型;并通过AMPL(A Mathematical Programming Language)编译并调用求解器求解,最后,以主干道和次干道相交的交叉口为例,对所提模型进行验证。结果表明:与绿灯延长模型相比,协同优化模型能显著降低应急车辆在交叉口区域的出行时间,减少社会车辆出行总时间。通过对流量和车道长度等参数的敏感性分析发现,随着流量和车道长度的增加,协同优化模型具有更好的优化效果。

一种环形交叉口“左转两步”信号控制的新方法

为避免环形交叉口各车流发生冲突,首先以“左转两步”控制原理及“双环”相位相序为基础,分析了不同相位环道信号灯的运行关系。其次提出了二次左转车辆储存时长概念,并设计了基于左转车流储存时长的环道周期计算方法(取环道不同相位实际左转车流最大储存时长作为环道周期)。在相位衔接上,结合实际左转流量给出了左转车流潜在冲突判断,对进口道左转绿灯启亮时间进行了优化。同时根据二次左转车辆运行特征和左转流量给出了环道绿灯优化时长。最后以车均延误、平均最大排队长度为指标设计了总流量增减试验、左转比例增减试验、不同环形交叉口直径试验,验证不同配时方法的适用性。总流量增减试验表明,总流量约为2200~6500veh/h时,新方法车均延误相较于Yang方法减少12%,相较于Cakici方法减少20%。左转比例增减试验表明,新方法适用于左转车流比例小于35%;Yang方法适用于左转车流比例35%~50%;不同环形交叉口直径试验表明,Cakici方法适用于直径不小于80m的环形交叉口。

两相位信号交叉口直左机动车冲突特性研究

为更好研究交叉口冲突特性,以两相位信号控制交叉口发生冲突频率较高的直左冲突为研究对象,对长春市典型的两相位交叉口进行数据的采集和定量分析,以冲突率和冲突数为指标表征冲突特性,建立直左冲突中左转车占比与冲突率模型和左转车辆数、对向直行车辆数与冲突数模型。结论表明,左转车和对向直行车对冲突数有明显影响,左转车辆数越多,产生冲突的数量越多。研究结果可为两相位交叉口的渠化与信号配时优化提供参考。