A review of stochastic modelling of delay and capacity at unsignalized priority intersections

Abstract

Priority intersections are road junctions where at least one stream of vehicles must yield absolutely to another stream of vehicles. Knowledge of the delay and queueing processes of minor road vehicles at such intersections is important for the decision making of traffic planners. Stochastic models of the processes at these types of intersections have been progressing incrementally, taking more realistic and complex interactions into account. Renewal-reward and Markov chain models have been used extensively in these models. Time dependency of traffic flow has also been taken into consideration, through discrete approximations and other simplifications. Although some field data verifications of the models have been performed, more intensive field data collection and analysis could prove useful in defining and extending the range of usefulness of these models.