Abstract
Explicit traffic control measures are absent in uncontrolled intersections which make them susceptible to frequent conflicts and resulting collisions between vehicles. In developing countries like India, drivers at such intersections do not yield to higher priority movements which cause more crashes between vehicles. The objective of this study is to analyze and model the gap acceptance behavior of minor street drivers at uncontrolled T-intersections considering their aggressive nature. Three intersections in the northeast region of India have been selected as the case study area. Preliminary analysis of the data revealed that drivers behave aggressively, not because they have to wait for a long time at the stop line, but because of their lack of respect for traffic rules. Binary logit models are developed for minor road right turning vehicles which show that gap acceptance behavior is influenced by gap duration, clearing time and aggressive nature of drivers. The equations obtained were used to estimate the critical gaps for aggressive and non-aggressive drivers. Critical gaps are also calculated using an existing method called clearing behavior approach. It is also shown that the estimation of critical gap is more realistic if clearing time and aggressive behavior of drivers are considered.
Highlights
Binary logit models are developed for minor road right turning vehicles which show that gap acceptance behavior is influenced by gap duration, clearing time and aggressive nature of drivers
Intersections can be broadly classified into two categories based on traffic control measures—(1) signalized intersections and (2) unsignalized intersections; the latter are again classified into (a) uncontrolled intersections, (b) stop sign controlled intersections, (c) yield sign controlled intersection and (d) roundabout
The results suggest that the clearing behavior approach gives higher values of critical gap than the logit method if the aggressive behavior is not taken into consideration
Summary
Intersections can be broadly classified into two categories based on traffic control measures—(1) signalized intersections (intersections controlled by traffic signals) and (2) unsignalized intersections; the latter are again classified into (a) uncontrolled intersections, (b) stop sign controlled intersections, (c) yield sign controlled intersection and (d) roundabout. The combined effect of all these issues makes it tough to estimate the critical gap These situations necessitate a re-look into the factors that influence the gap acceptance behavior at uncontrolled intersections where priority rules are often neglected. The response variable is the gap acceptance or rejection of a right turning vehicle from a minor road (left-hand drive rule followed in India), and the independent variables considered are gap duration, type of interval accepted by the minor street vehicle’s driver (gap or lag), forced entry of the minor street vehicles and clearing time (CT). Traffic characteristics under mixed traffic situation vary widely regarding speed, maneuverability, effective dimensions and response to the presence of other vehicles in the traffic stream Vehicles such as two-wheelers often squeeze through the minimum possible gap and try to clear the intersection in a zigzag manner.
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