Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Influence of driver and vehicle attributes on operational characteristics of U-turning vehicles


Affiliations
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad 826 004, India
 

Mid-block median openings (MBMOs) are provided to take a U-turn, which is a complex process. To make this movement a vehicle has to stop at the MBMO to find a suitable gap in the approaching through traffic stream. Two parameters, namely, service delay (SD) and occupancy time (OT) are crucial operational cha­racteristics of an MBMO, which significantly affect traffic operation. The present study examines the influence of driver behaviour and vehicle attributes on SD and OT at six-lane and four-lane divided roads. From statistical analysis, SD was observed to be less at low approaching through traffic volume (ATTV) compared to high ATTV, whereas OT was observed to be high at low ATTV, and it decreased with increase in ATTV. Male drivers showed aggressive driving behaviour compared to female drivers, and the same was validated using a two-tailed t-test. Moreover, personal vehi­cles were found to behave defensively compared to commercial vehicles. Also, loaded vehicles were obser­ved to turn their steering slowly being concerned about the safety of their passengers and goods compared to empty vehicles. The findings of this study will be beneficial in validating simulation results, defining level of service, etc. for planners in regulating the traffic efficiently.

Keywords

Approaching through traffic volume, driver behaviour, heterogeneous traffic, mid-block median opening, vehicle attributes.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Abdelwahab, H. T., Traffic micro-simulation model for design and operational analysis of barrier toll stations. Ain Shams Eng. J., 2017, 8(4), 507–513.

  • Mondal, S. and Gupta, A., Assessment of vehicles headway during queue dissipation at signal-controlled intersection under mixed traffic. Curr. Sci., 2019, 116(3), 437–444.

  • Aldian, A. and Taylor, M. A. P., Selecting priority junction traffic models to determine U-turn capacity at median opening. J. East. Asia Soc. Transp. Stud., 2001, 3(2), 101–113.

  • Sil, G., Mohapatra, S. S., Dey, P. P. and Chandra, S., Service delay and merging time evaluation at median openings. European Transport, 2019, 71, 1–13.

  • Amin, H. J. and Maurya, A. K., A review of critical gap estimation approaches at uncontrolled intersection in case of heterogeneous traffic conditions. J. Trans. Liter., 2015, 9(3), 5–9.

  • Pawar, D. S. and Patil, G. R., Minor-street vehicle dilemma while maneuvering at unsignalized intersections. J. Transp. Eng. Part A, 2017, 143(8), 04017039.

  • Mohapatra, S. S. and Dey, P P., Lateral placement of U-turns at median openings on six-lane divided urban roads. Transp. Lett., 2015, 7(5), 252–263.

  • Saha, A., Chandra, S. and Ghosh, I., Assessment of level of service for urban signalized intersections in India. Curr. Sci., 2019, 117(9), 1516.

  • Kanagaraj, V., Srinivasan, K. K., Sivanandan, R. and Asaithambi, G., Study of unique merging behavior under mixed traffic conditions. Transp. Res. Part F, 2015, 29, 98–112.

  • Dey, P. P., Nandal, S. and Kalyan, R., Queue discharge characteristics at signalised intersections under mixed traffic conditions. Eur. Transp., 2013, 55(7), 1–12.

  • Mohanty, M. and Dey, P. P., Modelling the major stream delay due to U-turns. Transp. Lett., 2019, 11(9), 498–505.

  • Bonneson, J. A., Delay to major-street through vehicles due to right-turn activity. Transp. Res. Part A, 1998, 32(2), 139–148.

  • Al-Omari, B. and Benekohal, R. F., Hybrid delay models for unsaturated two-way stop controlled intersections. J. Transp. Eng., 1999, 125(4), 291–296.

  • Milanes, V., Godoy, J., Villagra, J. and Perez, J., Automated on-ramp merging system for congested traffic situations. IEEE Trans. Intelli. Transp. Syst., 2011, 12(2), 500–508.

  • Weng, J. and Meng, Q., Modeling speed-flow relationship and merging behavior in work zone merging areas. Transp. Res. Part C, 2011, 19(6), 985–996.

  • Ma, D. X., Ma, S., Jin, F. S. and Wang, D., Estimation of major stream delays with a limited priority merge. Can. J. Civ. Eng., 2013, 40, 1227–1233.

  • Rhodes, N. and Pivik, K., Age and gender differences in risky driving: the roles of positive affect and risk perception. Accid. Anal. Prev., 2011, 43(3), 923–931.

  • Meng, J. and Weng, Q., Classification and regression tree approach for predicting drivers’ merging behavior in short term work zone merging areas. J. Transp. Eng., 2012, 138(8), 1062–1070.

  • HCM, Highway Capacity Manual 2010, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, DC, USA, 2010.

  • HCM, Highway Capacity Manual 2016, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, DC, USA, 2016.

  • Khan, T. and Mohapatra, S. S., Lateral placement characteristics of U-turning vehicles: a statistical investigation. Transp. Dev. Econ., 2020, 6(1), 1–12.

  • Oh, S. and Yeo, H., Estimation of capacity drop in highway merging sections. Transp. Res. Rec., 2012, 2286(1), 111–121.

  • Khan, T., Vivek, A. K. and Mohapatra, S. S., Comparative appraisal of critical gap estimation techniques in the context of U-turning vehicles. Transp. Res. Rec., 2021, 03611981211035761.

  • Khan, T. and Mohapatra, S. S., Effect of operational attributes on lateral merging position characteristics at mid-block median opening. Transp. Lett., 2020, 83–96.

  • Khan, T. and Mohapatra, S. S., Modelling lateral width for merging of U-turning vehicles in divided urban roads. Curr. Sci., 2021, 120(11), 1768–1777.

  • González-Iglesias, B., Antonio, J., Gómez-Fraguela, A. and LuengoMartín, M. A., Driving anger and traffic violations: gender differences. Transp. Res. Part F, 2012, 15(4), 404–412.

  • Alver, Y. and Onelcin, P., Gap acceptance of pedestrians at overpass locations. Transp. Res. Part F, 2018, 256, 436–443.

  • Yagil, D., Gender and age-related differences in attitudes toward traffic laws and traffic violations. Transp. Res. Part F, 1998, 1(2), 123–135.

  • Santamariña-Rubio,Pérez, E. K., Olabarria, M. and Novoa, A. M., Gender differences in road traffic injury rate using time travelled as a measure of exposure. Accident Analy. Prevent., 2014, 65, 1–7.


Abstract Views: 372

PDF Views: 152




  • Influence of driver and vehicle attributes on operational characteristics of U-turning vehicles

Abstract Views: 372  |  PDF Views: 152

Authors

Tathagatha Khan
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad 826 004, India
Smruti Sourava Mohapatra
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad 826 004, India

Abstract


Mid-block median openings (MBMOs) are provided to take a U-turn, which is a complex process. To make this movement a vehicle has to stop at the MBMO to find a suitable gap in the approaching through traffic stream. Two parameters, namely, service delay (SD) and occupancy time (OT) are crucial operational cha­racteristics of an MBMO, which significantly affect traffic operation. The present study examines the influence of driver behaviour and vehicle attributes on SD and OT at six-lane and four-lane divided roads. From statistical analysis, SD was observed to be less at low approaching through traffic volume (ATTV) compared to high ATTV, whereas OT was observed to be high at low ATTV, and it decreased with increase in ATTV. Male drivers showed aggressive driving behaviour compared to female drivers, and the same was validated using a two-tailed t-test. Moreover, personal vehi­cles were found to behave defensively compared to commercial vehicles. Also, loaded vehicles were obser­ved to turn their steering slowly being concerned about the safety of their passengers and goods compared to empty vehicles. The findings of this study will be beneficial in validating simulation results, defining level of service, etc. for planners in regulating the traffic efficiently.

Keywords


Approaching through traffic volume, driver behaviour, heterogeneous traffic, mid-block median opening, vehicle attributes.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv122%2Fi6%2F705-716