Statistical analysis of congestion in road traffic at an intersection

Reid, David H (1968) Statistical analysis of congestion in road traffic at an intersection. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The problem considered is that of delays caused to vehicles on a major two-lane road at its intersection with a minor road. There are no traffic lights or policemen at the intersection and delays are assumed to occur purely as a result of right-turning traffic (where left-hand-drive is the convention observed). A survey of literature relevant to this problem is made in Chapter 1. In Chapters 2, 3, 4 mathematical models of increasing complexity are proposed as idealisations of the actual situation. These models are constructed with the aims of simplicity and realism in view, so that a valid mathematical analysis of the steady-state behaviouir of each may be made. The models are based on such simplifications as the replacement of vehicles by geometrical points, the generation of vehicle arrivals by a Poisson process, and rules for the interaction of vehicles at the intersection which, although probably unrealistic in model I, may provide a reasonable picture of actual behaviour in model III. The distributions of delay to vehicles is determined under the assumptions of each of models I - III, and programmes were constructed to calculate numerical values for certain aspects of these distributions. Chapter 5 is concerned with the assessment of these models, particularly model III, against observations. The observations are described and their limitations discussed. The parameters defining model III are estimated, and the goodness-of-fit of model III to the data is considered. A comparison of model III with model I is attempted. The tentative conclusion is reached that on the basis of the data available model III may provide an adequately realistic picture of vehicle behaviour. In a final chapter some practical applications of the work are briefly considered, and further related problems are described.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Adviser: A J Howie
• Keywords: Civil engineering, Transportation
• Date of Award: 1968
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1968-72766
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 11 Jun 2019 11:06
• Last Modified: 11 Jun 2019 11:06
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/72766