Comparison of driver behaviour and saturation flow in China and the Netherlands

Poor performance of signalised intersections is one of the causes of urban congestion in Chinese cities. Reasons for this are investigated through a comparative study of the saturation flow characteristics on intersections in three cities in China and two cities in the Netherlands. The analysis shows that the utilisation of the roads around Chinese intersections is 20-30% worse compared to the Netherlands' intersections. One of the causes for this is the long start lag at Chinese intersections, which is mainly brought on by the presence of conflicting vehicles and pedestrians at the beginning of the green phase. Further causes are the large size of Chinese intersections, limited utilisation of available space, and driver behaviour, that is, long and irregular time headways and sudden lane changing on the observed Chinese intersections. Chinese drivers adapt themselves to local conditions and behave differently from Dutch drivers, giving a less efficient traffic system. Different driver behaviour in China means that most microscopic simulation programmes have to be adapted, calibrated and validated for Chinese situations.

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  • English

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  • Accession Number: 01469438
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Jan 16 2013 1:23PM