Dynamic parameters of vehicles under heterogeneous traffic stream with non-lane discipline: An experimental study

On the heterogeneous and no lane disciplined traffic, the abreast maneuver of vehicles depends upon the driver behavior, vehicle type and most importantly the traffic parameters such as vehicle speed and acceleration. Hence, the drivers have two basic tasks while driving, first is to control the vehicle's position along longitudinal direction of motion and second is to control the vehicle's position along lateral direction i.e. the width of the roadway. The relation between the dynamic parameters (speed and lateral/longitudinal acceleration), can very well represent the driving behavior of vehicles in mixed with weak or no lane disciplined traffic. Hence, the study of longitudinal and lateral control of vehicles in a comprehensive manner is necessary. In the present paper, driving behavior of vehicles are studied by analyzing longitudinal and lateral acceleration/deceleration (A/D) with operating speed of vehicles on different straight roadway sections. Data are collected from five major cities of India using GPS based instrument (Video-VBOX) mounted on five different type of vehicles. The probability distribution of longitudinal A/D and the lateral acceleration are analysed, and their relationship with operating speed of vehicles are studied on roads with a different number of lanes for different vehicle types. A two-term exponential and linear relationship with operating speed are observed for lateral and longitudinal A/D respectively.