Traffic Regulation Research Articles

Level of Service Evaluation Methods: Possible Adaptation for Lithuania

Level of Service is a quantitative measure to characterize operational conditions within a traffic stream. There is a set of factors affecting the Level of Service. These factors describe geometric parameters of the road, traffic conditions, traffic regulation conditions and base conditions. In this article, the Level of Service as a criterion for operational quality is described. Level of Service factors and performance measures are described on the basis of Highway Capacity Manual considering verifications done by countries for their own road conditions. German Highway Capacity Manual (HBS) and Highway Capacity Manual are compared for the purpose of possible adaptation for Lithuania.

Geometric road design factors affecting the risk of urban run-off crashes. A case-control study.

ObjectiveSingle vehicle run-off crashes in urban areas constitute a growing problem that deserves more attention from authorities and researchers. This study aims to detect geometric road design risk factors characterizing places where urban run-off crashes might happen.MethodsA case-control study was performed in the urban area of Valladolid (Spain) with data corresponding to a four-year period. Logistic regression models were used to analyze data, considering different variables related to design parameters in the models: type of intersection, radius of curvature, width of the pavement, width of the traffic lane, number of lanes for traffic in the same direction, direction of the traffic, length of the previous straight section, distance to the previous traffic light, slope, and finally, priority regulation. Two different scenarios were investigated: intersections and curves.ResultsThe Adjusted Odds-Ratio of a run-off crash was five times higher in double direction roads with median strip than in one-way urban roads, for both curves and intersections, and almost nine times higher on road sections with previous straight lengths greater than 500 meters. Specific risk factors for intersections are “number of lanes for traffic in the same direction” (the odds of a run-off crash are more than five times higher on a road with two or more lanes), “length of preceding straight section” (the odds on road sections with lengths greater than 500 meters are more than nine times that of road sections with a length of less than 150 meters). For curves, specific factors are “width of the traffic lane” (the odds of a run-off crash on curves with lanes wider than 3.75m are more than six times higher) and “priority regulation” (the odds of a run-off crash increases more than twelve times on road sections with traffic light regulation over those without any regulation).ConclusionsThe current study identifies urban road configurations that might require redesigning with the aim of decreasing the odds of a run-off crash, or the implementation of passive protective systems to mitigate their consequences. Specifically, intersections in two direction roads with median strip, more than two lanes per direction and a long preceding straight section, as well as curves with wide lanes and traffic light regulation, are the places that require attention.

The Relationship between Norms and Risky Driving Behavior: A Systematic Review

Road accident statistics has been seen increasing over the years despite numerous efforts made by the authorities. Human factors have contributed 90% of accident occurrence with risky driving behavior being one of the significant human factors that can be further explained through norms. This review paper aimed to investigate the relationship between norms and drivers' risky driving behavior. A systematic review process was conducted through four academic databases namely Scopus, Wiley Online Library, Emerald and Web of Science of no limitation for date. Overall, 3443 titles were identified and after several screening and reviewing processes, only 27 studies were included. The results of the review demonstrated mixed findings between subjective norm and risky driving behavior, whereas the relationship between group norm, moral norm, injunctive norm, descriptive norm and risky driving behavior were observed significant. Appropriate educational awareness is required to educate the society in practicing good norms for mutual benefit of the society. Parents also need to set a good example for their children by abiding the traffic rules and regulation.

Research and Application of Fine Intelligent Injection Technology of Cable Type in Dagang Oilfield

Dagang oilfield belongs to typical multi-layer system, heterogeneity of complex fault block reservoir, reservoir and the large difference of physical property of crude oil, water, etc, the longitudinal permeability difference is obvious, separate injection interval is not detailed, The existing bridge eccentric note, bridge concentric injection technology can’t meet the needs of the fine water injection, real-time measurement and control because of drift, well depth, pressure and other factors, and there is poor adaptability, measuring problem of long time and low efficiency. Cable type fine intelligent water injection technology in underground intelligent water distributor, the ground controller as the core tools, cable as transmission medium, the computer network communication technology, intelligent control technology combined with oil field water injection demand, developed a new and reliable water injection system, realized the layered injection allocation under different deviation, full automatic control and monitoring data, and direct reading test. The technology in the implementation of 5 Wells in dagang oilfield, the implementation of maximum deviation 80 °, the maximum depth of 3661.52 m, the highest water flooding pressure 25 mpa, construction success rate reaches 100%, downhole test times 5 Wells, inspection accuracy of 100%. The results show that the cable type intelligent water flooding technology can not only realize downhole data real-time monitoring, real-time traffic regulation, and can complete the packer direct reading test, and the measurement process is reliable and efficient, at the same time solve the high Angle well, horizontal well can’t test the technical problem, provides the high Angle well, horizontal well fine water injection technology support.

Cooperative Data Scheduling in Software Defined Vehicular Ad-Hoc Network (SDVAN)

Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET) is the form of mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) in which the movement of vehicle is restricted by direction of road and traffic regulation. Real-world applications of vehicular communications are restricted due to rigidity in the deployment of protocol. To cover up this limitation in VANET, Software Defined Network (SDN) should be used for better utilization of channels and wireless resources. Due to dynamic nature of vehicles, finding and maintaining data dissemination is essential. Various applications uses different data from different sources, but for short period, high speed vehicles lives in the locality of road side unit (RSU) which results in latency issue. Therefore, to reduce delay scheduling of data is important so that it can serve as much requests as possible. The paper aims to implement SDN architecture along with flow management and Cooperative Data Dissemination (CDD) algorithm which will increase the speed of data dissemination. The performance of proposed algorithm is analyzed on the basic of parameters such as service ratio, service delay and gain of scalability. System performance is improved by improving CDD with peer to peer network.

Vehicle accident risk assessment in mines

The problem of ensuring the safety of modern production is one of the most important. An increase in mineral production and the development of technology lead to an increase in the number of mechanized equipment used in mining enterprises. Transport, in turn, is one of the main factors leading to industrial accidents. The article analyzes the risk of such accidents at large mining enterprises. The share of accidents related to the use of vehicles increases every year and makes up about 25 % of the total number. A mine with annual production of more than 5 million tons of ore was selected as a research model. The risk probability of vehicle accidents in the absence of traffic control was determined. A technique that allows you to take into account the available statistical data on the frequencies and probabilities of possible adverse events, which may be the cause of accidents with vehicles, was chosen to assess risks. Cases of transportation of both ordinary and dangerous goods are considered. The authors determined the probability of accidents for various scenarios and types of vehicles when transporting conventional and dangerous goods, taking into account the lack of traffic light regulation at the interfaces of mining operations. In each case, several possible scenarios for the occurrence of accidents are analyzed. The results of calculations of vehicle accident risks in case of fire and explosion of dangerous cargo are presented. The probability of a collision between one vehicle and another, as well as the probability of a collision when traffic flows on the interfaces, has been established. As a result of the calculation, it was found that the risk of accidents in all cases was acceptable even taking into account deviations from the requirements of the Federal norms and rules in the field of industrial safety. The effectiveness of traffic control to reduce the risk of accidents is planned to be evaluated in further studies. This method allows us to assess the risks of accidents when justifying the safety of mines.

Regulatory and Road Engineering Interventions for Preventing Road Traffic Injuries and Fatalities Among Vulnerable Road Users in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Low- and middle-income countries have the highest proportions of road accident fatalities among vulnerable road users. This review established the effectiveness of road engineering and enforcement of traffic laws and regulation interventions to prevent injury (fatal and non-fatal) to vulnerable road users from low- and middle-income countries. We searched the following databases up to Jan 04, 2018: PubMed; OvidSP Medline, OvidSP Embase, OvidSP Transport, Cochrane Injuries Group Specialised Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Proquest ERIC database. In addition, road safety organizations’ databases and conference proceedings were hand searched to Jan 2018. Twenty-eight studies were matched to the study inclusion criteria of which we did not analyze six studies assessed as C grade for risk-of-bias. We estimated the effect-size of eighteen studies. Four of the studies presented a unique outcome or a study design; it was not possible to calculate a standardized effect-size. The risk-of-bias rating of the studies included for effect-size analysis ranged between A and B grade. There was no evidence that road engineering interventions were effective for road traffic death counts, the number of injuries, and road accident casualty outcomes. While the enforcement of mandatory helmet law was ineffective in reducing road traffic death counts, intervention efforts proved effective in decreasing injuries. Enforcement of mandatory helmet law, automated-enforcement-system (camera), and pedestrian signal interventions were effective in increasing road users’ compliance with road safety laws. Daytime running-headlight intervention reduced the number of road accident casualties. The quality of evidence for outcomes was ranked very low. Further research is needed to examine the effects of road engineering interventions on injury severity outcomes. Even though the evidence was of very low quality, traffic laws, and regulation interventions when combined with enforcement initiatives or with, other approaches proved effective in changing drivers’ behaviors. Research on road engineering interventions combined with automated-enforcement-systems must be explored in an LMIC setting. The review found evidence gaps on the effects of segregation of vulnerable road users from motorized vehicles, changes in intersections, and bicycle infrastructure interventions.

The potential impacts of different traffic management strategies on air pollution and public health for a more sustainable city: A modelling case study from Dublin, Ireland

Traffic management strategies not only affects public safety and convenience, but also can affect air quality significantly and thus may affect public health, as traffic is one of the most important air pollution sources in urban areas. In this study, based on the traffic conditions of 2013 in Dublin, Ireland, the impact of a change in transport infrastructure, a traffic regulation change, speed limit changes and fleet composition changes on air quality and air pollution related public health were assessed. Two pollutants are considered in this study: NO2 and PM2.5. A traffic model, emissions model, dispersion model and a health impact model were adopted. The construction of new infrastructure and changes in traffic management were predicted to have contrasting effects on different parts of the city, bringing little benefit to the city as a whole. The mortality incidence change brought about by changes in NO2 concentration due to reductions in speed limits were predicted to be an increase of 22.4 deaths in 2013. A fleet composition change from diesel to petrol vehicles was predicted to reduce the PM2.5 and NO2 concentration and relevant mortality incidence for the whole city. The study highlighted the importance of the consideration of all possible affected areas within a city. It also highlighted the balance of the safety issues and the environmental health impact, when assessing the impact of traffic management strategies.

Approach for Short-Term Traffic Flow Prediction Based on Empirical Mode Decomposition and Combination Model Fusion

Accurate prediction of the traffic state can help to address the issue of traffic congestion, providing guiding advices for people's travel and traffic regulation. In this paper, we propose a novel short-term traffic flow prediction approach based on empirical mode decomposition and combination model fusion. First, we explore the amplitude-frequency characteristics of short-term traffic flow series, and use empirical mode decomposition to decompose traffic flow to several components with different frequency. Second, based on the results of self-similarity analysis of each component, improved extreme learning machine, seasonal auto regressive integrated moving average and auto regressive moving average are selected to predict different components. Meanwhile, an improved fruit fly optimization algorithm is proposed to optimize the weight coefficient of the combination model. Third, the prediction results of each prediction model are multiplied by their respective weight coefficient to get the final prediction results. We evaluate our prediction approach by doing thorough experiment on a real traffic data set. Moreover, experimental results show that the proposed approach has superior performance than state-of-the-art prediction methods or models in short-term traffic flow prediction.

Spatial Distributions of Attitudes and Preferences towards Autonomous Vehicles

Prior research on attitudes towards autonomous vehicles (AVs) shows variation across a set of demographic and socio-economic factors, but few consider spatial patterns. We investigate the spatial distributions of attitudes and preferences towards AVs from a U.S. nationally representative on-line panel. We examine 1) four attitudinal dimensions established by an exploratory factor analysis – technology acceptance, driving enjoyment, risk-taking, and traffic regulation – and their spatial variations; and 2) public viewpoints and preferences in purchasing, sharing, and using privately-owned and shared AVs. Findings suggest that the northeastern US is more receptive to AVs, compared to other parts of the country.

A multiscale model for traffic regulation via autonomous vehicles

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) allow new ways of regulating the traffic flow on road networks. Most of available results in this direction are based on microscopic approaches, where ODEs describe the evolution of regular cars and AVs. In this paper, we propose a multiscale approach, based on recently developed models for moving bottlenecks. Our main result is the proof of existence of solutions for time-varying bottleneck speed, which corresponds to open-loop controls with bounded variation.

Simulation modeling in GPSS for optimizing the traffic lights cycle of adjustable crossroads

The problem of traffic management, especially in big cities is particularly actual. Due to unavoidable motorization increase in number of vehicles has resulted in congestion, traffic jams, difficulty of the movement of pedestrians, increasing the number of accidents. Traffic jams are undesirable because of higher fuel consumption, increased pollution due to exhaust gases as well as noise, etc. The only way to avoid harmful consequences is to optimize the operation of the traffic lights cycle. The purpose of the work is creation the simulation model in GPSS for determining the optimal traffic lights cycle at adjustable crossroads when managing vehicle flows with specified intensities. The mathematical model of adjustable crossroads can be presented as a queuing system. Development of the simulation model includes several stages: programming in GPSS, verification and assessment of the adequacy. The algorithm for optimizing the traffic lights cycle and diagrams are used to find the optimal value of the cycle. The minimum intersection travel time (including time of queuing) is selected as the optimal criterion. The object of study is the traffic lights cycle regulation of the intersection Sovietskaya St. – Rogachevskaya St. – Telman St. in Gomel, Belarus. The existing traffic lights cycle regulation at the intersection Sovietskaya str. – Rogachevskaya str. – Telman str. has been studied. Simulation modeling of the intersection has been created in GPSS and traffic light cycle optimization algorithm has been developed. According to a worked out algorithm the traffic lights cycle at research intersection during saturation flux has been improved. Transport delays both at the existing and optimized crossings have been estimated. Optimization of the traffic lights cycle will increase the traffic capacity of the intersection, reduce the volume of toxic emissions and decrease the accident risk. The developed simulation model can be modified for other types of intersections and used as the basis for a decision support system based on low-level simulation.

An intelligent long-lived TCP based on real-time traffic regulation

Transmission control protocol (TCP) transaction is one of the chief protocols of Internet protocols. It is divided into two categories of data flow. (1) A small fraction of the TCP connections carried a small portion of the traffic called short-lived TCP. (2) A small fraction of the remaining TCP connections carried a large portion of the traffic called long-lived TCP. The main problem here is the transmission time; other data usually harm its flows, such as User Datagram Protocol (UDP) or short-lived TCP, and cause the unfairness in the network. In this paper, a novel framework is proposed to improve network throughput and to reduce the impact of long-lived TCP to other data flows. In this framework, each TCP connection passed by an edge network device and it will be observed for determining the long-lived TCP flows. Then, the detected long-lived TCP flow will be regulated based on predicting real-time traffic levels. Moreover, to highlight the benefits of the proposed framework, an analytical model is proposed to compare the proposed framework with the conventional TCP in terms of network performance. Experiments are conducted using the ns-2 benchmark in order to verify the results of the analytical model. The results showed that the analytical outcomes are promising and matched well with the outcomes of the ns-2 experiments. In the case of a high error rate, the proposed framework achieves higher reliability and reveals lower resource consumption.

Neighbourhood disadvantage and child behaviour in Montevideo, Uruguay: a mixed methods study

BackgroundThe neighbourhood context is important for child development, but little evidence exists on neighbourhood-based challenges and resources in South American cities. We used a mixed methods approach to quantify the effect of neighbourhood disadvantage on child behaviour and to empower parents to explain life in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Montevideo, Uruguay. MethodsA study within the Salud Ambiental Montevideo (SAM) longitudinal cohort yielded a cross-sectional sample of 225 (63% of total) children aged 6–8 years with complete data. Teacher ratings of child behaviour were collected using the Connors' Teacher Rating Scale—Revised (CTRS-R) and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). Five indicators of neighbourhood disadvantage were collected from Montevideo census data, and combined into to a single neighbourhood disadvantage factor. In the analyses of the relation between neighbourhood disadvantage and child behaviour scores we controlled for individual-level socioeconomic indicators, child IQ, and concentrations of lead in blood. In a nested study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with ten caregivers of SAM children in low-income neighbourhoods. Parents discussed what neighbourhood means to them and what they liked and disliked about their neighbourhood, perceptions of community services, and raising children in their neighbourhood. Parents were also asked to photograph their neighbourhoods and to discuss the meaning of at least four of their photographs during the interview. FindingsOne SD increase in neighbourhood disadvantage was related to a 1% increase in prevalence ratio on scores of oppositional behaviour (p=0·048) and a 4% increase in prevalence ratio on emotional control problem ratings (p=0·006). Neighbourhood disadvantage was unrelated to hyperactive behaviours and inhibitory control scores. From the interviews, common themes emerged on the importance of playgrounds, neighbourhood disorder, fears over crime, and lack of infrastructure. Many interviewees perceived that their neighbourhoods had been safer in the past. Suggestions for improving neighbourhoods included: better waste management, increased policing, traffic regulation, and improved local clinics. InterpretationNeighbourhood disadvantage is related to child behaviour beyond the influences of individual-level socioeconomic factors. Low-income neighbourhoods in Montevideo face challenges related to local infrastructure and services. Parents advocated for improved infrastructure, health services, transportation, and safety. Future studies should test specific mechanisms behind the effects of neighbourhood disadvantage and child behaviour in Montevideo. FundingUS National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and Fogarty International (FI) Institute under grant number R21ES16523, and by NIEHS grant R21ES019949.

Innovative low-cost air quality stations as a supporting means for road traffic regulations in urban areas

Air pollution is currently one of main issues affecting urbanized areas worldwide. Industrial activities, road traffic and heating systems are main emission sources significantly increasing the levels of atmospheric pollutants as particulate matter, ozone, and nitrogen oxides. Local administrations monitor these harmful gases by means of reference monitoring stations provided by regional/national environmental protection agencies. These stations, however, have limitations due to the little presence over the whole municipality, low time-frequency, and high costs. In this framework, CNR-IBE, University of Florence – Department of Agriculture, food, environment, and forestry (DAGRI), Tuscany Region Environmental Protection Agency (ARPAT) and epidemiologists of the Pisa University agreed an initiative to create an environmental “living lab” aimed at assessing the impacts due to anthropogenic activities on air quality and thus on population exposure. Two study areas located in the Tuscany region (Italy) were chosen: the rural town of Capannori, and the city of Florence. The town of Capannori was selected since it lies within a critical area both affected by a variety of emission sources and winter weather conditions unfavourable to pollutant dispersion. The city of Florence was chosen for assessing air quality in urban areas following a possible traffic reduction due to creation of new urban tramway lines. The air quality analysis was carried out by means of a monitoring network comprising innovative low-cost stations (named AIRQino). PM concentrations were mainly considered for providing indicative air quality measurements. The preliminary results indicated that: i) low-cost stations, after calibration and validation against more than one-year observations from a reference air quality station, confirmed their reliability in measuring air quality data; ii) AIRQino data can supplement air quality information from reference stations and may be used to help traffic regulation actions at urban scale.

PRIORITY ACTION PROGRAMS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE CITY IN INDONESIA

Public transportation in Indonesia experiences a number of challenges, for example, low density of road network, increased number of vehicles annually, paratransit domination in the city, limited number of MRT available, poor traffic regulation adherence, and poor land-use arrangement. Based on the conditions, sustainable transportation as a part of a sustainable city cannot be reached soon. The study aims are to determine priority action programs of sustainable public transportation in developing a sustainable city in Indonesia. A number of case studies regarding many public transportation modes i.e. Padalarang-BandungCicalengka electric train, bus public transportation in Yogyakarta, Pekanbaru, and Bandung, and ITS implementation in Bandung. More than 800 respondents involved in these case studies. A number of methods including UCL Method, Important Performance Analysis, Quadrant Analysis, hetero-hedastisity, multi-colinearity, validity, normality, reliability, and multiple regression used in analyzing a large number of field data. Results studies are priority action programs of sustainable public transportation in developing sustainable city in Indonesia i.e. developing: safe, secure, comfortable, and cheap public transportation, car free-day, car-pooling, cycling, walking, ride-sharing, integrated public transportation modes, good land use management, and good maintenance and improvement of ATCS as a part of ITS.

Study and Simulation Analysis of Vehicle Rear-End Collision Model considering Driver Types

The reasonable distance between adjacent cars is very crucial for roadway traffic safety. For different types of drivers or different driving environments, the required safety distance is different. However, most of the existing rear-end collision models do not fully consider the subjective factor such as the driver. Firstly, the factors affecting driving drivers’ characteristics, such as driver age, gender, and driving experience are analyzed. Then, on the basis of this, drivers are classified according to reaction time. Secondly, three main factors affecting driving safety are analyzed by using fuzzy theory, and the new calculation method of the reaction time is obtained. Finally, the improved car-following safety model is established based on different reaction time. The experimental results have shown that our proposed model obtained more accurate vehicle safety distance with varied traffic kinematic conditions (i.e., different traffic states, varied driver types, etc.). The findings can help traffic regulation departments issue early warnings to avoid potential traffic accidents on roads.

Mathematical modeling of air pollution in city tunnels and evaluating mitigation strategies

A mаthemаtical model has been developed that is able to describe the environment of the city tunnels being affected by the road traffic, natural and forced air convective flows. The mathematical model describes the peculiarities of the traffic flows on one-lane roads with a satisfactory accuracy. The model well matches experimental data on traffic flows. Multidimensional calculations of the influence of cars on the airflow in tunnels are performed. The numerical model for simulating exhaust gas emissions by automobiles and their accumulation in a tunnel and evolution with traffic induced air flow was developed. The results of numerical investigations make it possible providing recommendations for transport researchers and policy-makers. In particular, it was shown that in the presence of long tunnels on automobile roads it is necessary to choose the traffic arrangement avoiding the necessity for vehicles to come to a full stop and then accelerate in tunnels. This could happen in the presence of traffic lights or other type of traffic regulation near the exit of the tunnel. Thus it is necessary in arranging traffic regulation avoiding placing traffic lights in the proximity of tunnel exit for the waiting cars line to be shorter than the distance from the tunnel exit. In venting the tunnel, the direction of the wind should coincide with the direction of traffic flow. Attempts to arrange venting in the opposite direction for high blockage ratio of a tunnel by vehicles could result in bringing to a worse situation with air pollution.

Effectiveness of Implementing Traffic Rules and Regulations Regarding Republic Act 10586 in Cabanatuan City

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has an ADDA provision which is known as the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013 or R.A 10586. This is where the part of the service standards and regulations of LTO came from. Anti-Drunk and drugged driving act of 2013 is an Act penalizing person’s driving under the influence of alcohol, dangerous drugs, and other similar substances. And for other purposes, it means that this republic act aims to reduce and prevent vehicular accident, loss of life and damage to property and this study also aims to determine the effectiveness of Implementation of Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013 of how does it affects the driver and the society.
 After conducting the research procedure, the researcher found out that in Implemented Rules and Regulation, the Motorist/Drivers and the LTO Enforcers described it as being often obey and well performed of their duties and responsibilities regarding R.A 10586, but there is significance difference between the response of both respondents.
 However, the findings of this study have led the researcher in determining the effectiveness of implementing traffic rules and regulation and awareness of the Motorist/Drivers in driving of the said Implemented Rules and Regulations.

Modular design for an urban signalized intersections network using synchronized timed Petri nets and responsive control

Abstract Traffic flow at urban intersections fluctuates randomly throughout the day. It depends on several dynamic factors and requires adequate regulation and adaptable control strategies in particular for traffic signals regulation. This paper deals with this problem, and our proposal focuses on the adaptive management of traffic lights within urban intersections. To do so, Timed Synchronized Petri Nets (TSPNs) models are first developed to model and study the system behaviour. Then a real-time adaptive control strategy is proposed for traffic regulation within urban signalized intersections. The control logic is shared between two communicating components of the system. The slaves (TSPNs sub-models) control the traffic signals displays, phases transitions, and traffic flow fluctuations. The master (controller) decides and selects the next phase that should be serviced and determines its green light duration. Due to the used modularity approach, the developed models decrease the modelling complexity, and more importantly, they can be adapted easily to a cluster of intersections. Furthermore, various traffic signal control strategies could be implemented using these models. Moreover, some simulations are performed, and the obtained results are analysed and discussed. Our control strategy is validated through these simulation results.