Trajectory Data and Flow Characteristics of Mixed Traffic

Models of driving behavior (e.g., car following and lane changing) describe the longitudinal and lateral movements of vehicles in the traffic stream. Calibration and validation of these models require detailed vehicle trajectory data. Trajectory data about traffic in cities in the developing world are not publicly available. These cities are characterized by a heterogeneous mix of vehicle types and by a lack of lane discipline. This paper reports on an effort to create a data set of vehicle trajectory data in mixed traffic and on the first results of analysis of these data. The data were collected through video photography in an urban midblock road section in Chennai, India. The trajectory data were extracted from the video sequences with specialized software, and the locally weighted regression method was used to process the data to reduce measurement errors and obtain continuous position, speed, and acceleration functions. The collected data were freely available at http://toledo.net.technion.ac.il/downloads. The traffic flow characteristics of these trajectories, such as speed, acceleration and deceleration, and longitudinal spacing, were investigated. The results show statistically significant differences between the various vehicle types in travel speeds, accelerations, distance keeping, and selection of lateral positions on the roadway. The results further indicate that vehicles, particularly motorcycles, move substantially in the lateral direction and that in a substantial fraction of the observations, drivers are not strictly following their leaders. The results suggest directions for development of a driving behavior model for mixed traffic streams.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.3141/2491-01
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780309369275
• Authors:
  • Kanagaraj, Venkatesan
  • Asaithambi, Gowri
  • Toledo, Tomer
  • Lee, Tzu-Chang
• Publication Date: 2015

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 1–11
• Monograph Title: Traffic Flow Theory and Characteristics, Volume 2
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
  • Issue Number: 2491
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Datasets; Motorcycles; Traffic data; Traffic flow; Vehicle mix; Vehicle trajectories
• Geographic Terms: Chennai (India)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01556891
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780309369275
• Report/Paper Numbers: 15-2036
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 13 2015 8:57AM