Effect of type of lead vehicle on following headway behaviour in mixed traffic
| Pages | 28-43 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/WJSTSD-08-2013-0036 |
| Published date | 01 April 2014 |
| Date | 01 April 2014 |
| Author | Ravindra Kumar,Purnima Parida,Wafaa Saleh |
| Subject Matter | Public policy & environmental management,Environmental technology & innovation |
Effect of type of lead vehicle on
following headway behaviour in
mixed traffic
Ravindra Kumar
Transportation Planning Department, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute,
Delhi, India and Transport Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK
Purnima Parida
Transportation Planning Department, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute,
Delhi, India, and
Wafaa Saleh
Transport Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK
Abstract
Purpose – There is gap in literature on understanding of the issues of following headway behaviour
of the driver and a lack of sufficient data in different traffic conditions. The purpose of this paper is to
find the effects of type of lead vehicle on following headway in mixed traffic condition in India on
different category of roads and flow.
Design/methodology/approach – Real-world headway data were collected through video and
extracted. Data were analysed using tools and statically approach was adopted to present the results
in detail.
Findings – Results shows the impact of type of lead vehicle on driver following time headway
behaviour under different level of traffic and types of road characteristics. It was found that driver
following behaviour is affected by the type of leadvehicle. It also shows that drivers are inconsistent in
their choice of headway.
Research limitations/implications – This research has special strategic study area of India in
typical two cities Silchar and Shillong of northeast region of India. The traffic characteristic and
composition is quite different as compared to other cities of India. Therefore the study results cannot
be generalized for whole India.
Practical implications – The result of the study has focused on impact of type of lead vehicle on
following behaviour. This can be useful to safety reduction and changing the driver behaviour
through education and display of information. However, the real application of this result is to be
implemented by local transport and road managing authority to reduce accidents and increase safety
of drivers.
Originality/value – In mixed traffic conditions, the impact of type of lead vehicle on following
behaviour affects the safety of driversand the accounting for such behaviour is never been explored in
mixed traffic condition. If the study is implemented, it can be useful to simulation modeller and
intelligent transport systems (ITS) to design and operate many in-vehicle systems for smooth traffic
processes.
Keywords Technology, Sustainable development, Sustainable environment, Science,
Driver behaviour, Research institutions
Paper type Research paper
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-5945.htm
WorldJour nal of Science, Technology
and Sustainable Development
Vol. 11 No. 1, 2014
pp. 28-43
rEmeraldGroup Publishing Limited
2042-5945
DOI 10.1108/W JSTSD-08-2013-0036
The authors would like to thank Professor Satish Chandra, IIT Roorkee, Associate Professor,
Pavitra Rajbanshi, NIT Silchar, Shri P Lyngdoh, Secretary PWD (retd.) Shillong, Shri M.M. Sun,
Secretary and Chief Engineer, Shri T.G. Nengnong, Superintending Engineer PWD Shillong,
Dr B.K. Durai, Head PME, Mr Sanjay Kumar, TA, TPD, Dr S. Gangopadhyaya, Director CRRI
and other staff who have directly or indirectly supported this project.
28
WJSTSD
11,1
Introduction
The “time headway” or “headway” is “the time, in seconds, between two successive
vehicles as they pass a point on the roadway, measured from the same common
feature of both vehicles” (Highway Capacity Manual, 2000). This parameter is one of
the fundamental microscopic traffic flow characteristics. These characteri stics
are of great importance for planning, analysing, designing and op erating roadway
systems ( Jakimavicius and Burinskiene, 2009; Mesarec and Lep, 2009). Therefore,
it must be analysed as accurately as possible based on the real behaviour of
drivers (Kerner, 2009). Traffic engineers and planners should be well aware of the real
behaviour of drivers in choosing the desired headways. In fact, they should be able to
predict the driver’s behaviours while facing the headways in order to have better
planning and traffic management through different conditions. This is because time
headways and their distributions affect different flow parameters, including capacity,
level of service and safety (Arasan and Koshy, 2003). Precise modelling and analysis
of vehicle headway distribution helps traffic engineers to maximize roadway capacity
and minimize vehicle delays (Zhang et al., 2007).
Headway distributions are also needed to run digital simulations through modelling
multilane traffic in driving simulators (Zwahlen et al., 2007). Moreover, with headway
analysis it is possible to get information from the causes of accidents and the ways
of increasing the road safety. It should be pointed out that in most capacity
modelling, the safety headway requirement is not taken into account during the model
calibration and parameter estima tion. This may partly explain why some problems
are often experienced on roadways carrying less traffic than the perceived capacity
(Yi et al., 2004).
Brackstone et al. (2009) observed that drivers follow more closely behind
trucks/van than cars. Postans and Wilson (1983) found that a frequency of headway
of less than half a second varies by vehicle types. However, they were unable to
quantify the magnitude of the variation of headway. Evans and Rothery (1976)
found that different size of lead cars had no effect on following distance, while
Parker (1996) measured individual headway for a population of drivers passing
through a road work section (approximately 25m in e ach case) and found no
difference between cars following cars as opposed to cars following trucks in
the 60-70 km/hr speed band, and a small difference in the 20-30 km/hr speed
band (with ca rs being foll owed at approx imately 12 m and trucks at 10 m). Sayer
et al. (2003) analysed the differential behaviour between cars and light trucks.
They also supported the finding that light trucks would follow 6-7 m closer than
normal cars because truck drivers are less likely to misjudge any situations.
Truck braking frequency and magnitude may be perceived as lower, hence the
leading car driver views them as a safer and more predictable vehicle to be behind.
The authors also suggested that drivers following a truck may have a reduction
in driving workload, as there is now only one vehicle on which to concentrate,
which results in a reduction in glance distributions. This gives the driver a greater
degree of preparedness for deceleration, in turn encouraging an unconscious
reduction in headway.
In Surat city, Katti et al. (1985) found through their study on arterials that for
volumes ranging from 500 to 1,000 vehicles/hr, negative exp onential distribution was
suitable for representing headways between vehicles. Mukherjee et al. (1988) evaluated
the suitability of negative and shifted negative exponential distributions to generate
vehicles approaching roads at the intersections in Calcutta, India.
29
Headway
behaviour in
mixed traffic
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