Abstract
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 unsignalized 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 intersections 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 semicontrolled) 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 categories 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 conflicting traffic and observed to be higher at the uncontrolled intersection compared to the semicontrolled intersection. The segregated turning movements and the presence of mini roundabout at the semicontrolled intersection reduces the conflicts of vehicular movements, which ultimately 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.
Highlights
In developing countries, traffic is characterized by a wide mix of vehicle types that differ considerably in their dimensions and performance capabilities
A new method called additive conflict flow (ACF) method is suitable to determine the capacity of unsignalized intersections in non-lane-based mixed traffic conditions as prevailing in India
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
Summary
Traffic is characterized by a wide mix of vehicle types that differ considerably in their dimensions and performance capabilities. If conflicting movements have significant volumes, unsignalized intersections become inefficient, causing large delays to the minor movements. The overall objective of this research work is to analyze the occupation time of vehicles with the conflicting flow of vehicles at unsignalized intersections with the following specific objectives:. To develop mathematical relations for occupation time of vehicles with the conflicting flow of traffic at an uncontrolled intersection and a semicontrolled intersection. To develop a mathematical model for estimating occupation time of vehicles at an uncontrolled intersection and a semicontrolled intersection under mixed traffic conditions.
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