A NOTE ON THE SELECTION OF GAP ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA FOR TRAFFIC SIMULATION STUDIES

A MATHEMATICAL MODEL HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED TO DEMONSTRATE THE BIAS WHICH IS INTRODUCED IN THE COLLECTION AND PRESENTATION OF GAP ACCEPTANCE DATA AT A STOP-SIGN CONTROLLED INTERSECTION. FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE MODEL, IT IS ASSUMED THAT TRAFFIC ON THE MAJOR ROAD IS RANDOMLY DISTRIBUTED AND THAT DRIVER GAP ACCEPTANCE CHARACTERISTICS FOLLOW A NORMAL DISTRIBUTION CURVE WITH STANDARD DEVIATIONS. THE MODEL SHOWS THAT THE RESULTING GAP ACCEPTANCE CURVE IS OF THE ORIGINAL FORM BUT DISPLACED BY AN AMOUNT AS SQUARED, WHERE Q IS THE MAJOR ROAD VOLUME (VEH/SEC). THIS RESULT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY SIMULATION STUDIES CARRIED OUT WITH TRAFFIC VOLUMES RANGING FROM 300 TO 1,500 VEH/HR. IT IS CONSIDERED THAT THE EXISTENCE OF THIS BIAS NECESSITATES CARE IN THE COLLECTION AND COMBINATION OF GAP ACCEPTANCE DATA AT DIFFERENET LEVELS OF TRAFFIC VOLUME AND ALSO REQUIRES A CAREFUL APPRAISAL OF THE PROCEDURE USED TO SIMULATE TRAFFIC MOVEMENTS AT THE INTERSECTION IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE OBSERVED GAP ACCEPTANCE DATA ARE REPRODUCED IN THE SIMULATION MODEL. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 2, pp 171-175
• Corporate Authors:

  System Development Corporation

  2500 Colorado Avenue
  Santa Monica, CA  United States  90409
• Authors:
  • Ashworth, R
• Publication Date: 0

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Transportation Research /UK/
  • Issue Number: 0
  • Publisher: Pergamon Press, Incorporated

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Data collection; Gap acceptance; Intersections; Mathematical models; Stop signs; Traffic flow; Traffic simulation; Traffic volume
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00227187
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Traffic Systems Reviews & Abstracts
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 13 2004 6:56PM