Evaluating signalized intersection capacity based on Malaysian road conditions

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Date
2007
Authors
Nurikhwani Idayu, Zainal Abidin
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Abstract
Until now, Malaysia has been using capacity analysis methods from other countries. However, with the advances in traffic engineering research in Malaysia, a manual on capacity analysis based on Malaysian road conditions has been developed. This manual is hoped to be used by engineers and practitioners when designing or conducting operational analysis for signalized intersections. One unique characteristic of Malaysian traffic that prompted the authorities to review the current capacity analysis methods is due to the uniqueness of vehicle composition on Malaysian roads. The percentage of motorcycles is very high as compared to other western countries. However, all of the existing highway capacity manuals from western countries do not take into consideration the effect of motorcycles. Yet, considering the situation in Malaysia, the high percentage of motorcycles can greatly influence the design and operational analysis of signalized intersections. Since the Malaysian Highway Capacity Manual (MHCM 2006) is just published, no studies have been carried out to verify the accuracy of the manual. In this study, comparison of the MHCM 2006 with other manuals (i.e. HCM 2000, aaSIDRA and Arahan Teknik (Jalan) 13/87) were carried out. Also, this research was carried out to evaluate the new manual by comparing the results estimated using the manual with the observed on-site data. In this research, data collection was carried out at several signalized intersections throughout the west coast of the Peninsular Malaysia. Besides observing traffic volume at the signalized intersection, stopped delay was also observed using JAMAR TDC-8. In this research, the effect of motorcycles on the estimation of saturation flow was investigated As expected, the high volume of motorcycles on Malaysian roads greatly affects the estimation of saturation flow rates and control delays. In this research, a procedure to take into consideration the effect of motorcycles in the estimation of saturation flow is proposed. Based on the results of this research, it can be concluded that the MHCM 2006 gives an accurate estimation of saturation flows and control delays as opposed to other manuals.
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Master
Keywords
Civil Engineering , Signalized Intersection , Road conditions
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