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Promet - Traffic&Transportation journal

Accelerating Discoveries in Traffic Science

Accelerating Discoveries in Traffic Science

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Doris Novak
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 6

Klemen Kavčič, Jana Suklan, Franko Milost
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 6
The purpose of this research is to investigate how logistics outsourcing performs activities that have been traditionally carried out within the outsourcer’s company. The study examines the characteristics of logistics and transport services, which are important in cooperation with service providers. Two groups were formed according to the average values of the characteristics of logistics activities. ‘Cost, quality and response’ are important for the first group, while ‘logistics, environment and the ability to adapt to client processes’ are important for the second group. The results of the survey carried out in Slovenian enterprises show that both groups are primarily interested in express freight and shipment services, the difference lying in the understanding of logistics, mutual trust and brand recognition. The findings will be useful both in business practice and for managers, providing them with a better understanding of the performance of logistics outsourcing.

Xiaonian Shan, Jianhong Ye, Xiaohong Chen
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 6

The objective of this study is to analyse characteristics of Pedestrian Interactive Behaviours (PIBs) in order to propose a revised pedestrian walkway Level of Service (LOS) in China. Field data on overtaking and evasive behaviours were collected at a metro station walkway in Shanghai, China to calculate macro and micro indicators. Occurrence intensities of these two PIBs initially increased with moderate density and later decreased with high density that reduced available space. PIBs were also analysed in terms of sideways behaviours to account for the varying difficulties of PIBs at different densities. It was found that available space for PIBs was the main factor contributing to the intensity features. Moreover, the different space demands of the two PIBs resulted in different features between them. Finally, a revised pedestrian walkway LOS was proposed based on the macro and micro characteristics of PIBs in China.


Shahriar Afandizadeh Zargari, Hamid Mirzahossein, Yi-Chang Chiu
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 6

This paper presents a two-stage model of optimization as a quick method to choose the best potential links for implementing urban travel demand management (UTDM) strategy like road pricing. The model is optimized by minimizing the hidden cost of congestion based on user equilibrium (MHCCUE). It forecasts the exact amount of flows and tolls for links in user equilibrium condition to determine the hidden cost for each link to optimize the link selection based on the network congestion priority. The results show that not only the amount of total cost is decreased, but also the number of selected links for pricing is reduced as compared with the previous toll minimization methods. Moreover, as this model just uses the traffic assignment data for calculation, it could be considered as a quick and optimum solution for choosing the potential links.


Dragan Đuranović, Radenko Miloš Marić, Daniela Nuševa, Goran Vukmirović
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 6
The aim of this paper is the analysis of indicators of corporate responsibility in road freight transport, with special emphasis on freight transport and delivery to Fast Moving Consumers Goods (FMCG) retailers and final consumer. The main task is to rank the importance of corporate responsibility indicators in freight transport from the perspective of the management of transport companies, as well as management of retail stores. In this context, empirical research was conducted on a sample of 124 managers of transport enterprises and 181 managers of FMCG retailers in Serbia. The results showed that the impact of indicators does not depend on the region, transport company and retail store. The indicators show a statistically significant dependence on FMCG type that is being transported. The conducted analysis and achieved results are important in practice as they show to the management of transport companies which indicators should be developed, so that customers (retailers), and thus the users of final products are satisfied. Disadvantages of the existing research and suggestions for future studies are provided in the paper.

Milenko Čabarkapa, Davor Brčić, Vujadin Vešović
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 6
Evaluation of the results of road safety management at the national level is carried out with a number of predefined indicators. These, predefined indicators should be measurable objectives of road safety management. They are set by national road safety strategies. This paper presents the control implementation of the Strategy to improve road safety in Montenegro for the period 2010-2019. The research showed that the five-year objectives of the National Strategy were achieved in the first years and significantly surmounted. This efficiency is achieved for two main reasons: the development of road safety management, and setting an unambitious, easily attainable goal. These findings are indicators that generally and globally set goals of reducing traffic fatalities cannot comprise at the same time national objectives in all countries. In this context, the methodological improvements of setting national strategic objectives established by the evidences on the national traffic safety issue are proposed.

Kire Babanoski, Ice Ilijevski, Zlate Dimovski
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 6

Martin Starčević, Danijela Barić, Hrvoje Pilko
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 6

Level crossing (LC) accidents are a significant safety challenge worldwide and for that reason they have been subject of numerous research activities. Joint conclusion is that human behaviour is the main cause of accidents. This study examines how and to which extent certain influential parameters cause accident mechanisms on level crossings. To gain the necessary data we used an on-line survey questionnaire that was sent internationally to key experts in the field of road and railway safety. A total of 185 experts were asked to rank how much certain parameters influence level crossings accident mechanisms and what are the best countermeasures for diminishing accidents at level crossings. To our knowledge, this is the first time that an international survey among key experts was used to gain necessary data about influential parameters regarding level crossings safety. The results of this study could be used by road and railway traffic engineers and policy makers for further enhancement of LC’s safety.


Vaska Pejić, Tone Lerher, Borut Jereb, Andrej Lisec
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 6

This paper provides a systematic review of published research on lean logistics, green logistics and the combination of both paradigms. Although prior research on all three topics exists, only a few have focused on the field of logistics as such. The present analysis comprises an examination of 98 scientific articles from 35 international journals, published between the years 1994 and 2015. The published
studies are classified by next divisions: journal, paradigm, time distribution, research stream and sector-wise focus.
Although key findings indicate that over the last couple of years research on all three topics has increased, a research gap regarding the studies of lean and green logistics when combined, has been identified. For all three topics the domination in research typology has been extracted. The findings indicate that most papers examined on the topic of lean logistics come from the manufacturing industries, whereas for the topic green logistics and a combination of green and lean topics no specific sector was identified.


Yanxi Hao, Jing Teng, Yinsong Wang, Xiaoguang Yang
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 6
Dedicated bus lane (DBL) and transit signal priority (TSP) are two effective and low-cost ways of improving the reliability of transits. However, these strategies reduce the capacity of general traffic. This paper presents an integrated optimization (IO) model to improve the performance of intersections with dedicated bus lanes. The IO model integrated geometry layout, main-signal timing, pre-signal timing and transit priority. The optimization problem is formulated as a Mix-Integer-Non-Linear-Program (MINLP) that can be transformed into a Mix-Integer-Linear-Program (MILP) and then solved by the standard branch-and-bound technique. The applicability of the IO model is tested through numerical experiment under different intersection layouts and traffic demands. A VISSIM micro simulation model was developed and used to evaluate the performance of the proposed IO model. The test results indicate that the proposed model can increase the capacity and reduce the delay of general traffic when providing priority to buses.

Kristian Jambrošić
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 6

Jianping Zhang, Liwei Duan, Jing Guo, Weidong Liu, Xiaojia Yang, Ruiping Zhang
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 6

To assess operational performance of air traffic control sector, a multivariate detection index system consisting of 5 variables and 17 indicators is presented, which includes operational trafficability, operational complexity, operational safety, operational efficiency, and air traffic controller workload. An improved comprehensive evaluation method, is designed for the assessment by optimizing initial weights and thresholds of back propagation (BP) neural network using genetic algorithm. By empirical study conducted in one air traffic control sector, 400 sets of sample data are selected and divided into 350 sets for network training and 50 sets for network testing, and the architecture of genetic algorithm-based back propagation (GABP) neural network is established as a three-layer network with 17 nodes in input layer, 5 nodes in hidden layers, and 1 node in output layer. Further testing with both GABP and traditional BP neural network reveals that GABP neural network performs better
than BP neural work in terms of mean error, mean square error and error probability, indicating that GABP neural network can assess operational performance of air traffic control sector with high accuracy and stable generalization ability. The multivariate detection index system and GABP neural network method in this paper can provide comprehensive, accurate, reliable and practical operational performance assessment of air traffic control sector, which enable the frontline of air traffic service provider to detect and evaluate operational performance of air traffic control sector in real time, and trigger an alarm when necessary.


Ming Zhang, Shuo Wang, Hui Yu
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 5
This study proposes a low-altitude wind prediction model for correcting the flight path plans of low-altitude aircraft. To solve large errors in numerical weather prediction (NWP) data and the inapplicability of high-altitude meteorological data to low altitude conditions, the model fuses the low-altitude lattice prediction data and the observation data of a specified ground international exchange station through the unscented Kalman filter (UKF)-based NWP interpretation technology to acquire the predicted low-altitude wind data. Subsequently, the model corrects the arrival times at the route points by combining the performance parameters of the aircraft according to the principle of velocity vector composition. Simulation experiment shows that the RMSEs of wind speed and direction acquired with the UKF prediction method are reduced by 12.88% and 17.50%, respectively, compared with the values obtained with the traditional Kalman filter prediction method. The proposed prediction model thus improves the accuracy of flight path planning in terms of time and space.

Aleksandar Sušić, Davor Sumpor
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 5

Mia Suhanek, Ivan Đurek
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 5
Four different acoustic environments with different loudness levels and spectral distributions were recorded and reproduced to two groups of listeners - control group and experimental group. The questionnaire used in this research relies on the semantic differential method implemented by defining adjective pairs of opposite meaning where each pair describes a sound characteristic for a particular acoustic environment. In analyzing the results, psychological research methodology was used in order to determine statistically significant bipolar adjectives that can appropriately evaluate some given acoustic environment and thus serve as a starting point for a questionnaire and methodology standardization in soundscape research.

Shumin Feng, Xianghao Shen, Baoyu Hu
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 5
As the two most important modes in public transportation, the coordinated development of bus and metro networks significantly influences the efficiency of public transportation. However, two parallel bus and metro lines belonging to different operators may lead to supply competition and consequently yield over-supply. Taking two parallel bus and metro lines in Harbin city, China as a case study, this paper, drawing on game theory, establishes a utility model based on the two lines’ frequencies, and reveals and explains the fundamental reason for the over-supply problem using a Nash equilibrium. In an attempt to resolve this issue, the study proposes a new operation mode: integrating frequencies of the two modes to obtain larger total profits then reallocating the total profits to the two modes. The case study shows that this new operation mode can effectively solve the over-supply problem while satisfying both operators of the two modes, and hence having practical value.

Adam Stančić, Ivan Grgurević, Zvonko Kavran
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 5

Integration of the collected information on the road within the image recorded by the surveillance system forms a unified source of transport-relevant data about the supervised situation. The basic assumption is that the procedure of integration changes the image to the extent that is invisible to the human eye, and the integrated data keep identical content. This assumption has been proven by studying the statistical properties of the image and integrated data using mathematical model modelled in the programming language Python using the combinations of the functions of additional libraries (OpenCV, NumPy, SciPy and Matplotlib). The model has been used to compare the input methods of meta-data and methods of steganographic integration by correcting the coefficients of Discrete Cosine Transform JPEG compressed image. For the procedures of steganographic data processing the steganographic algorithm F5 was used. The review paper analyses the advantages and drawbacks of the integration methods and present the examples of situations in traffic in which the formed unified sources of transport-relevant information could be used.


Milan Vujanić, Milan Savićević, Boris Antić, Dalibor Pešić
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 5
Intersections present a big safety problem in traffic since there has been an increased risk of crashes because of conflicts in the flows intersecting. A great number of studies done in the world show that roundabouts are safer than conventional intersections since it has been recorded that after the conversion to roundabouts the number of crashes has been decreasing. The research on applying Empirical Bayes (EB) method has been conducted by using 15 two-lane intersections in the city of Niš (Serbia), which have been converted into large compact two-lane roundabouts during the period of 2005-2013. The results show that the conversion of conventional intersections into roundabouts has positive effect on reducing the number of crashes. For all intersections, the reduction of crashes is estimated at around 76% for all crashes, i.e. 80% for the crashes with injuries. For different groups of intersections the effects are determined separately.

Duo Li, Prakash Ranjitkar, Yifei Zhao
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 5
Ramp metering (RM) has been widely applied due to its effectiveness in improving motorway traffic conditions by limiting inflow from on-ramps. A great deal of experimental and simulation-based studies have proven system-wide benefits of motorways from RM. Benefits attributed to RM in the literature include reducing travel times, increasing motorway throughputs and decreasing fuel consumption and emissions. However, RM benefits might be costing more some motorway users, e.g. some on-ramp users might be experiencing longer delay than others, which leads to an unfair allocation of RM benefits. This paper presents a coordinated ramp metering strategy, which is aimed at reducing the inequity among motorway users using different on-ramps and investigates trade-offs between efficiency and equity for the proposed strategy. Total travel time is used to measure the efficiency while Gini coefficient is used to measure equity. A combined index is proposed incorporating the two measures to serve as an objective function to solve the bi-objective control design problem. The performance of the proposed strategy is verified by comparing it to a well-established coordinated ramp metering strategy HERO using micro-simulation
software AIMSUN. Simulation results revealed that the equity of the motorway system can be improved significantly by using the proposed strategy without compromising much on the efficiency of the system.

Tomislav Rožić, Kristijan Rogić, Ivona Bajor
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 5

Inland terminals are becoming an increasingly important factor for disburdening port storage capacities and the expansion of the port gravitational areas. The above defines inland terminals as facilities with prolonged activities of seaports, or an integral part of the port. Due to increased interest in the development of inland terminals, the literature in the field of inland terminals since the beginning of its research (1980) to the latest research in 2015 has been analysed
and revised. The review will summarize the literature related to development, classification, technological processes and location of inland terminals. In the end, the paper identifies a new proposition for further research based on the current trends and developments in inland terminals as an important factor of intermodal transport.


Jasna Golubić, Zoran Vogrin, Eduard Missoni
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 5

The paper gives an overview of the specific features of anthropometric characteristics of humans – pedestrians in case of car accidents involving pedestrians and cars. Here, special attention has been paid to the configuration of the human body while moving, which is in turn related to the initial conditions of a collision. Special part of biomechanics in humans refers to their moving, where human’s walk has a specific posture as a mechanical phenomenon. Based on the carried out analysis the need has been observed for a classification of anthropologic variables by means of which the dynamic inertia moments of a walking human can be calculated, as well as the human, who hit by a car in a traffic accident flies along a production curvilinear path. With the development of ergonomics, and the accompanying increased application of anthropometry, the static anthropometry was abandoned, since the humans are considered highly variable in their dimensions, which is extremely important
for the dynamic analysis of the human body posture in the collision process.


Jurica Ivošević, Tino Bucak, Davor Sumpor
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 5
Previous studies have shown that the impact of interior aircraft noise on pilot performance was not unambiguous, neither there was any unanimous methodology used for measuring it. Furthermore, the cumulative character of noise was never taken into account. This research proposes a methodology that aims to determine the impact of accumulated general aviation aircraft interior noise on pilot performance in laboratory conditions. The assessment of the aircraft interior noise influence on Temporary Threshold Shift is integrated as well, enabling extended research of all aspects of the physiological noise impact on pilots. Methodology defines measurable noise and pilot performance parameters in general aviation, equipment requirements, necessary laboratory conditions and subject selection criteria. The analysis of the deviation from the specified flight parameters along with Temporary Threshold Shift values at different accumulated noise doses is carried out. Data is analyzed using descriptive statistics, visualization methods and linear mixed effects models with False Discovery Rate as the method for correction for multiple testing which allows the determination of the potential population effect.

Yagang Zhang, Dingli Qi, Wei Jiang, Shuang Lei
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 5
Electric vehicle as the main development direction of the future automotive industry, has gained attention worldwide. The rationality of the planning and construction of the power station, as the foundation of energy supply, is an important premise for the development of electric vehicles. In full consideration of the electric demand and electricity consumption, this paper proposes a new construction mode in which charging station and centralized charging station are appropriately combined and presents a location optimization model. Not only can this model be applied to determine the appropriate location for the power station, but it can use the queuing theory to determine the optimal number of power equipment, with which we can achieve the minimum costs. Finally, taking a certain city as an example, the optimum plan for power station is calculated by using this model, which provides an important reference for the study of electric vehicle infrastructure planning.

Wenliang Zhou, Xia Yang, Lianbo Deng, Jin Qin
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 5
Urban rail crew scheduling problem is to allocate train services to crews based on a given train timetable while satisfying all the operational and contractual requirements. In this paper, we present a new mathematical programming model with the aim of minimizing both the related costs of crew duty and the variance of duty time spreads. In addition to iincorporating the commonly encountered crew scheduling constraints, it also takes into consideration the constraint of arranging crews having a meal in the specific meal period of one day rather than after a minimum continual service time. The proposed model is solved by an ant colony algorithm which is built based on the construction of ant travel network and the design of ant travel path choosing strategy. The performances of the model and the algorithm are evaluated by conducting case study on Changsha urban rail. The results indicate that the proposed method can obtain a satisfactory crew schedule for urban rails with a relatively small computational time.

Robert Rijavec
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 4

Zhongzhen Yang, Chunyu Gao, Yixuan Li
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 4
The paper analyzes the current state of the Chinese cruise market and presents the idea of building a business model of coastal cruising. The cruise demand of middle-income families, which includes the desired travel days, ports of call, is surveyed. The data of the previous non-cruise travels and the data of future cruises of middle-income families are used to develop a model designed to identify the maximum passenger volume with minimum operating costs while taking cruise itineraries and schedules into account. A matrix coding genetic algorithm was designed to solve the model. The case study found that a voyage of 4.79 days results in equilibrium, that the annual demand is 200,840 passengers, and that the daily voyage cost is 0.843 million Yuan.

Peter Lipar, Irena Strnad, Martin Česnik, Tomaž Maher
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 4
This paper presents GIS-based methodology for urban area driving cycle construction. The approach reaches beyond the frames of usual driving cycle development methods and takes into account another perspective of data collection. Rather than planning data collection, the approach is based on available in-vehicle measurement data post processing using Geographic Information Systems to manipulate the excessive database and extract only the representative and geographically limited individual trip data. With such data post processing the data was carefully adjusted to include only the data that describe representative driving in Ljubljana urban area. The selected method for the driving cycle development is based on searching for the best microtrips combination while minimizing the difference between two vectors; one based on generated cycle and the other on the database. Accounting for a large random sample of actual trip data, our approach enables more representative area-specific driving cycle development than the previously used techniques.

Tahar Ammar Jouili, Mohamed Anis Allouche
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 4

The aim of this paper is to estimate the impact of seaports investment on the economic growth. Seaports are seen by many governments as an important factor in the strengthening of the economies. During the last two decades, the Tunisian succeeding governments have been allocating a great amount of money to develop seaport infrastructures. However, the Tunisian economy witnessed fluctuations in the economic growth rates and decrease in the rate of employment during the same period of time. This study used an econometric model by employing the Cobb-Douglas production function. The sample was composed of Tunisia's economic sectors (manufacturing, services and agriculture) over the period 1983-2011. The results of the study show that the public investment in seaport infrastructures has a
positive influence on Tunisian economic growth. The study also revealed that the biggest beneficiary from the seaport investment infrastructure is the service sector.

This paper aims to estimate the impact of seaports investment on the economic growth. The seaports are seen by many governments as an important factor in the strengthening of the economies. During the last two decades, the Tunisian succeeding governments were allocating a great amount of money to develop seaports' infrastructures. However, the Tunisian economy witnessed fluctuating in the economic growth rates and decreased in the rate of employment during the same period of time. This study used an econometric model by employing the Cobb-Douglas production function. The sample composed of Tunisia's economic sectors (manufacturing, services and agriculture) over the period 1983-2011. The results of the study show that the public investment in seaports' infrastructures has a positive influence on Tunisian economic growth. The study also revealed that the biggest beneficiary from the seaports investment infrastructure is the services sector.


Oscar A. Rosas-Jaimes, Luis Alberto Quezada Téllez, Guillermo Fernández Anaya
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 4
Vehicular traffic can be modelled as a dynamic discrete form. As in many dynamic systems, the parameters modelling traffic can produce a number of different trajectories or orbits, and it is possible to depict different flow situations, including chaotic ones. In this paper, an approach to the wellknown density-flow fundamental diagram is suggested, using an analytical polynomial technique, in which coefficients are taken from significant values acting as the parameters of the traffic model. Depending on the values of these parameters, it can be seen how the traffic flow changes from stable endpoints to chaotic trajectories, with proper analysis in their stability features.

Matija Gulić, Ricardo Olivares, Daniel Borrajo
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 4

Solving traffic congestions represents a high priority issue in many big cities. Traditional traffic control systems are mainly based on pre-programmed, reactive and local techniques. This paper presents an autonomic system that uses automated planning techniques instead. These techniques are easily configurable and modified, and can reason about the future implications of actions that change the default traffic lights behaviour. The proposed implemented system includes some autonomic properties, since it monitors the current traffic state, detects if the system is degrading its performance, sets up new sets of goals to be achieved by the planner, triggers the planner that generates plans with control actions, and executes the selected courses of actions. The obtained results in several artificial and real world data-based simulation scenarios show that the proposed system can efficiently solve traffic congestion.


Li Linchao, Tomislav Fratrović
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 4
Accidents involving large trucks very often end up with deadly consequences. Innocent people getting killed are acknowledged globally as one of the traffic safety greatest problems and challenges. While risk factors on truck-related accidents have been researched extensively, the impact on fatalities has received little or no attention, especially considering rural and urban areas, respectively. In this study, the generalized ordered logit model was used in Stata 11.0 to explore the complex mechanism of truck-related accidents in different areas. Data were obtained from The Trucks in Fatal Accidents database (TIFA). The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) indicates that the model used in this paper is superior to traditional ordered logit model. The results showed that 9 variables affect the vehicle damage level in a fatal crash in both areas but with different directions. Furthermore, 23 indicators significantly affect the disabling damage in the same manner. Also, there are factors that are significant solely in one area and not in the other: 12 in rural and 2 in urban areas.

Dejan Mirčetić, Nebojša Ralević, Svetlana Nikoličić, Marinko Maslarić, Đurđica Stojanović
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 4

The paper focuses on the problem of forklifts engagement in warehouse loading operations. Two expert system (ES) models are created using several machine learning (ML) models. Models try to mimic expert decisions while determining the forklifts engagement in the loading operation. Different ML models are evaluated and adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and classification and regression trees (CART) are chosen as the ones which have shown best results for the research purpose. As a case study, a central warehouse of a beverage company was used. In a beverage distribution chain, the proper engagement of forklifts in a loading operation is crucial for maintaining the defined customer service level. The created ES models represent a new approach for the rationalization of the forklifts usage, particularly for solving the problem of the forklifts engagement in
cargo loading. They are simple, easy to understand, reliable, and practically applicable tool for deciding on the engagement of the forklifts in a loading operation.


Dragana Šarac, Miloš Kopić, Katarina Mostarac, Momčilo Kujačić, Bojan Jovanović
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 4

Most countries of the European Union ensure certain obligations (criteria) which universal service providers must meet to ensure the realization of the universal service. These criteria vary from country to country, giving their own choice of an optimal model for the density of the postal network. Such postal network of the operator providing universal postal service must be organized so that post offices are accessible at the optimal distance from the user. This paper presents two different approaches. The first one is based on the population criteria determined in the previous study. The second one is new, a general method created to determine the minimum number of postal unit applications of Set Covering Location Problem. The authors apply both methods on real data collected from the Serbian municipalities and finally, compare the obtained results.


Draženko Glavić, Miloš Mladenović, Aleksandar Stevanovic, Vladan Tubić, Marina Milenković, Marijo Vidas
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 4
Over the last three decades numerous research efforts have been conducted worldwide to determine the relationship between traffic accidents and traffic and road characteristics. So far, the mentioned studies have not been carried out in Serbia and in the region. This paper represents one of the first attempts to develop accident prediction models in Serbia. The paper provides a comprehensive literature review, describes procedures for collection and analysis of the traffic accident data, as well as the methodology used to develop the accident prediction models. The paper presents models obtained by both univariate and multivariate regression analyses. The obtained results are compared to the results of other studies and comparisons are discussed. Finally, the paper presents conclusions and important points for future research. The results of this research can find theoretical as well as practical application.

Tina Perić, Pavao Komadina, Nikola Račić
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 4

The global growth of cruise tourism has brought increasing concern for the pollution of the marine environment. Marine pollution from sanitary wastewater is a problem especially pronounced on large cruise ships where the number of people on board may exceed 8,000. To evaluate future marine pollution in any selected period of time it is necessary to know the movement of ships in the Adriatic Sea. This paper presents the problem of marine pollution by sanitary wastewater from cruise ships, wastewater treatment technology and a model of cruise ship traffic in the Adriatic Sea considering MARPOL Annex IV areas of limited wastewater discharge. Using the model, it is possible to know in advance the routes of the cruisers and retention time in certain geographic areas. The data obtained by this model can be used as input parameters for evaluation model of wastewater pollution or for evaluation of other types of pollution from cruise ships.


Siniša Husnjak, Dragan Peraković, Ivan Cvitić
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 4
Smartphones are used to access a wide range of different information and communication services and perform functions based on data transfer. A number of subscription contracts for smartphones is rapidly increasing, and the development of mobile communications network provides higher speed of data transfer. The continuous increase in the average amount of data traffic per one subscriber contract leads to an increase in the total Mobile Data Traffic (MDT), globally. This research represents a summary of factors that affect the amount of smartphone MDT. Previous literature shows only a few of the factors individually that affect the realization of smartphone MDT. The results of the research clarify the ways which influence the amount of MDT generated by a smartphone. This paper increases the awareness of the users of the methods of generating smartphone MDT. The research also allows users to specify parameters that affect the prediction of generated MDT of a smartphone.

Chao Lu, Jie Huang, Jianwei Gong
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 4
Reinforcement Learning (RL) has been proposed to deal with ramp control problems under dynamic traffic conditions; however, there is a lack of sufficient research on the behaviour and impacts of different learning parameters. This paper describes a ramp control agent based on the RL mechanism and thoroughly analyzed the influence of three learning parameters; namely, learning rate, discount rate and action selection parameter on the algorithm performance. Two indices for the learning speed and convergence stability were used to measure the algorithm performance, based on which a series of simulation-based experiments were designed and conducted by using a macroscopic traffic flow model. Simulation results showed that, compared with the discount rate, the learning rate and action selection parameter made more remarkable impacts on the algorithm performance. Based on the analysis, some suggestions
about how to select suitable parameter values that can achieve a superior performance were provided.

Momčilo Dobrodolac, Predrag Ralević, Libor Švadlenka, Valentina Radojičić
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 3

The European postal directives and Serbian legislation as well define the quality standards for universal service obligations at the aggregate level, i.e. for all postal items transferred by the postal operator. This paper proposes a new concept where the transit time is defined by the customer and specified for each shipment. The paper considers three different models of this new concept. However, the one where a customer could choose between two alternatives: D+1 and D+3 transfer, is analysed in details. By using the attitudes of examined customers, forecasting methods and analysis of revenues from the past, it is assessed at what price the new postal service should be offered to achieve the highest revenue. The proposed methodology was tested and verified in the case of the Post of Serbia. The results indicate that the best would be to offer the service D+1 at the 40% increased price compared to the existing prices.


Licai Yang, Yunfeng Shi, Shenxue Hao, Lei Wu
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 3

The traffic behaviours of commuters may cause traffic congestion during peak hours. Advanced Traffic Information System can provide dynamic information to travellers. Due to the lack of timeliness and comprehensiveness, the provided information cannot satisfy the travellers’ needs. Since the assumptions of traditional route choice model based on Expected Utility Theory conflict with the actual situation, a route choice model based on Game Theory is proposed to provide reliable route choice to commuters in actual situation in this paper. The proposed model treats the alternative routes as game players and utilizes the precision of predicted information and familiarity of traffic condition to build a game. The optimal route can be generated considering Nash Equilibrium by solving the route choice game. Simulations and experimental analysis show that the proposed model can describe the commuters’ routine route choice decision
exactly and the provided route is reliable.


Mina Ghanbarikarekani, Soheil Sohrabi, Ali Vefghi
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 3
Optimization of signal timing in urban network is usually done by minimizing the delay times or queue lengths. Sincethe effect of each intersection on the whole network is not considered in the mentioned methods, traffic congestion may occur in network links. Therefore, this paper has aimed to provide a timing optimization algorithm for traffic signals using internal timing policy based on balancing queue time ratio of vehicles in network links. In the proposed algorithm, the difference between the real queue time ratio and the optimum one for each link of intersection was minimized. To evaluate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm on traffic performance, the proposed algorithm was applied in a hypothetical network. By comparing the simulating software outputs, before and after implementing the algorithm, it was concluded that the queue time ratio algorithm has improved the traffic parameters by increasing the flow as well as reducing the delay time and density of the network.

Xinjun Lai, Jun Li, Zhi Li
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 3
A subpath-based methodology is proposed to capture the travellers’ route choice behaviours and their perceptual correlation of routes, because the original link-based style may not be suitable in application: (1) travellers do not process road network information and construct the chosen route by a link-by-link style; (2) observations from questionnaires and GPS data, however, are not always link-specific. Subpaths are defined as important portions of the route, such as major roads and landmarks. The cross-nested Logit (CNL) structure is used for its tractable closed-form and its capability to explicitly capture the routes correlation. Nests represent subpaths other than links so that the number of nests is significantly reduced. Moreover, the proposed method simplifies the original link-based CNL model; therefore, it alleviates the estimation and computation difficulties. The estimation and forecast validation with real data are presented, and the results suggest that the new method is practical.

Goran Vojković, Neven Grubišić, Lea Vojković
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 3

Existing classification of the Croatian seaports does not fit the level and meet the needs of the economic development of the Republic of Croatia, particularly after the Republic of Croatia joined the European Union. Equalizing public service offered by a port with the purpose of the port itself (general purpose – port open for public traffic, special purpose – port not open for public traffic) limits the economic development and aggravates the implementation of the basic market policies of the EU. Therefore, modernisation of the basic classification of ports in the Croatian legislation is suggested. Basic categorization of ports should be as follows: public service ports, private service ports and private ports for private needs of an entrepreneur.


Selahattin Karabay, Erkan Köse, Mehmet Kabak, Eren Ozceylan
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 3
This paper studies a real-life public sector facility location problem. The problem fundamentally originated from the idea of downsizing the number of service centres. However, opening of new facilities is also considered in case the current facilities fail to fulfil general management demands. Two operation research methodologies are used to solve the problem and the obtained results are compared. First, a mathematical programming model is introduced to determine where the new facilities will be located, and which districts get service from which facilities, as if there were currently no existing facilities. Second, the Stochastic Multi-criteria Acceptability Analysis-TRI (SMAA-TRI) method is used to select the best suitable places for service centres among the existing facilities. It is noted that the application of mathematical programming model and SMAA-TRI integration approach on facility location problem is the first study in literature. Compression of outcomes shows that mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model tries to open facilities in districts which are favoured by SMAA-TRI solution.

Mehrzad Ebrahemzadih, Omid Giahi, Farshad Foroginasab
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 3
This study tried to find the original causes of road accidents to prevent their occurrence. This was a descriptive-analytic retrospective study which assessed 1,000 cases of road accidents leading to death during 2003-2013 using the Tripod Beta method. The latent problems, the contributing preconditions, and corrective strategies for the prevention of occurrence of these accidents were determined. The findings of this study revealed that violation of traffic safety rules, especially deliberate violations and risk-takings decreased with increasing age. In comparative status of the superficial problems, illegal and impermissible speed of drivers accounted for 19.10%, in comparative status of preconditions, violation of safety rules accounted for 32.6% and finally, in comparative status of the latent problems, the presence of financial constraints and time pressure in designing and manufacturing of the cars, and quality of city streets, roads, accounted for 20.1%, of the leading causes of occurrence of accidents in this study.

Sebastjan Škerlič, Robert Muha
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 3

Participating in the automotive industry brings new responsibilities for suppliers who, in order to meet customer demands, must strive towards improving business processes, while at the same time reducing costs. These demands can disrupt the operations of companies that do not have a system for controlling logistics costs. On the other hand, customer demands can be the cause of other types of disruptions in companies that have such a system in place, stemming from an excessive focus on cost reduction. To tackle this problem, a survey was conducted on a sample of 30 Slovenian companies that operate as suppliers in the automotive industry. Its objective was to determine how different customer demands along the supply chain can affect the business processes of suppliers and the level of logistics costs. The survey revealed that companies that use a system for controlling logistics costs experience fewer disruptions in their business processes in their efforts to satisfy customer demands. These companies also display a higher level of integration of business processes and use a different approach when dealing with the various participants of the supply chain. The survey also sets clear participation guidelines for suppliers in the supply chain of the automotive industry and points out how companies can benefit from using a system for controlling logistics costs in other ways, aside from the cost controlling aspect.


Fernando González-Laxe, Isabel Novo-Corti, Diana Mihaela Pociovalisteanu
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 3
The recent creation of transport and information networks opens up two new and outstanding options: the interconnection of the economic areas and a new mediation between offer and demand in shipping. In this document the different ways of organization adopted by shipping companies were reviewed; their agreements, alliances, mergers and acquisitions, so as to determine the different levels of hierarchy among them. Secondly, a new port classification was proposed in accordance with the structure and development of shipping companies, together with the degree of port specialization within the framework of the recent spatial integration.

Daiquan Xiao, Zhihe Wen, Xuecai Xu, Željko Šarić
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 3

Freeway greening and traffic safety has aroused more and more attention. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of flexible green planting in buffering out-of-control vehicles. The stopping distances of vehicle rushing into greening were tested at 8 group of initial speeds range from 5km/h to 40km/h in green belt, and a simplified mathematical model was built up to simulate the buffering process. The results indicated that the greening plants have certain buffering effect on vehicles and alleviate the crash damage within 30m of stopping distance for the vehicles under 40km/h, while the simplified mathematical model could reflect the buffering process of the plants actually by simulating the speed attenuation process, and it was found that the two types of resistance produced by the plants, i.e. counterforce of plants trunks and friction of branches and leaves, are the major factors during the vehicle deceleration.


Jin Xin Cao, Xiao Han Liu
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 3

Increasing traffic demand has already reached the capacity of existing traffic facilities in most cities. In order to alleviate the traffic pressure and expand the capacity of the road network, constructing flyovers has become an effective way in most cities in China. During the period of the flyover construction, work zones occupy road space, impact traffic flow characteristics and driver behaviour; therefore, this causes a significant reduction of the capacity. Researching of the traffic flow characteristics during the period of flyover construction can improve traffic organization and traffic safety around work zones. This study analyses the traffic flow characteristics around the flyover work zone based on the site data collected in Hohhot City, China. This study shows that the traditional Logistic model for the equilibrium speed-density relationship is not applied to the traffic flow around the flyover work zone. Based on an in-depth analysis of the traffic flow characteristics and specific driver behaviours, this paper proposes an improved Logistic model to depict the equilibrium speed-density relationship around the flyover work zone. To analyse the mathematical characteristics of the speed-density relationship, this paper proposes a method to insert virtual data points into the initial data, which can make the fit curve be continuous.


Zoran Miladin Papić, Goran Zovak, Vuk Bogdanović, Nenad Josip Saulić
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 3
The lane change of vehicles for avoiding hitting a sudden obstacle represents a significant and unique problem for traffic accident experts. Most mathematic models for determining the lane change distance are based on theoretical research studies and a lot of simplifications and approximations. In order to analyse the influence of different drivers and vehicles on a manoeuvre, an experimental research study of lane change was carried out at the test track which enables repeatability in the same conditions. The drivers were instructed to drive through the test track at a maximum speed without displacing the traffic cones. Based on the statistical analyses of the successful lane change manoeuvres an empirical model for the calculation of lane change distance for obstacle avoidance was formed. This model can be applied in the procedure of traffic accident reconstructions as well as within the development of the concept of modern intelligent vehicles.

Hongzhuan Zhao, Dihua Sun, Min Zhao, Senlin Cheng
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 2
With the enrichment of perception methods, modern transportation system has many physical objects whose states are influenced by many information factors so that it is a typical Cyber-Physical System (CPS). Thus, the traffic information is generally multi-sourced, heterogeneous and hierarchical. Existing research results show that the multisourced traffic information through accurate classification in the process of information fusion can achieve better parameters forecasting performance. For solving the problem of traffic information accurate classification, via analysing the characteristics of the multi-sourced traffic information and using redefined binary tree to overcome the shortcomings of the original Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification in information fusion, a multi-classification method using improved SVM in information fusion for traffic parameters forecasting is proposed. The experiment was conducted to examine the performance of the proposed scheme, and the results reveal that the method can get more accurate and practical outcomes.

Tomislav Erdelić, Martina Ravlić
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 2

Vytautas Palevičius, Vytautas Grigonis, Askoldas Podviezko, Greta Barauskaitė
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 2
A rapid growth in car ownership in the cities of Lithuania, particularly in Vilnius, has generated continuous traffic jams in the streets and thus has consequently increased negative transport impact and demand for financial and land resources. Also, a high level of car ownership requires large reserves of transport infrastructure. Therefore, it is necessary to create favourable conditions for creating sustainable urban transport infrastructure satisfying the needs of local inhabitants. Within the framework of the European Union Structural Assistance for the period 2014-2020, Vilnius city municipality administration is planning to submit an application to receive financial support for the implementation of the Park-and-Ride (hereinafter P&R) scheme for Vilnius. The aim of the paper is to work out a multi-criteria methodology for selecting the sites of P&R lots and to carry out a developmental analysis of P&R facilities by creating the above introduced scheme for parking lots in the Vilnius City. The expert method has been used for utilizing a set of relevant criteria for planning the P&R scheme. With the help of the expert
survey, the weights and significance of the defined criteria have been identified. Multi-criteria methods have been applied for calculating and presenting the developmental priorities and a strategy for the implementation of the offered proposals.

Mia Jurjević, Svjetlana Hess
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 2

Modelling of a traffic system refers to the efficiency of operations for establishing successful business performance by examining the possibilities for its improvement. The main purpose of each container terminal is to ensure continuity and dynamics of the flow of containers. The objective of this paper is to present a method for determining the amount of certain types of containers that can be transhipped at each berth, with the proper cargo handling, taking into account minimum total costs of transhipment. The mathematical model of planning the transhipment and transportation of containers at the terminal is presented. The optimal solution, obtained with the method of linear programming, represents a plan for container deployment that will ensure effective ongoing process of transhipment, providing the lowest transhipment costs. The proposed model, tested in the port of Rijeka, should be the basis for making
adequate business decisions in the operational planning of the container terminal.


Sajjad Samiee, Shahram Azadi, Reza Kazemi, Arno Eichberger
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 2
This paper proposes a novel algorithm for decision-making on autonomous lane change manoeuvre in vehicles. The proposed approach defines a number of constraints, based on the vehicle’s dynamics and environmental conditions, which must be satisfied for a safe and comfortable lane change manoeuvre. Inclusion of the lateral position of other vehicles on the road and the tyre-road friction are the main advantages of the proposed algorithm. To develop the lane change manoeuvre decision-making algorithm, first, the equations for the lateral movement of the vehicle in terms of manoeuvre time are produced. Then, the critical manoeuvring time is calculated on the basis of the constraints. Finally, the decision is made on the feasibility of carrying out the manoeuvre by comparing the critical times. Numerous simulations, taking into account the tyre-road friction and vehicles’ inertia and velocity, are conducted to compute the
critical times and a model named TUG-LCA is presented based on the corresponding results.

Shumin Feng, Haiyue Wu, Xianglong Sun, Zhenning Li
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 2
In order to explore the influence factors on perceived waiting time, a multiple linear regression model has been used to quantitatively describe the relationship between perceived waiting time and various factors. The model is established with 234 data, which is surveyed with questionnaire at three stops in Harbin, China. The results show that several certain factors (“trip purpose - where to”, “presence of a companion - whether one has a companion or not”, “having a timing device - whether one has a timing device or not”, “riding frequency - how many times one takes one line per week” and “waiting behaviour - what one does while waiting for a bus”) have significant influence on perceived waiting time, which confirms previous findings and supports transferability of results. The significance of “waiting mood - how
about the mood while waiting for a bus” and “reserved waiting time - how long one will wait” are confirmed for the first time in this study. In contrast to previous studies, “waiting time interval - for how long in one day” is a negative variable and socioeconomic variables are non-significant. And it is found that the relationship between perceived waiting time and passengers’ satisfaction with the waiting time follows a decreasing exponential distribution. With this model, the variation trend of the section, where passenger satisfaction value is larger than 0 is obviously steeper than the section smaller than 0. Such result proves that passenger mood with short waiting time is more sensitive than with longer waiting time. And the borderline perceived waiting time, distinguishing satisfied from dissatisfied passengers is proven to be 7.87 minutes when assignment interval of satisfaction is (-25.25], when satisfaction is positive (larger than 0), the accuracy being 70.30%, while the accuracy is 82.71% for
negative satisfaction (less than 0).

Bobo Zhao, Tao Tang, Bin Ning, Wei Zheng
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 2
Suitable selection of the emergency alternatives is a critical issue in emergency response system of Unattended Train Operation (UTO) metro system of China. However, there is no available method for dispatcher group in Operating Control Center (OCC) to evaluate the decision under emergency situation. It was found that the emergency decision making in UTO metro system is relative with the preferences and the importance of multi-dispatcher in emergency. Regarding these factors, this paper presents a hybrid method to determinate the priority weights of emergency alternatives, which aggregates the preference matrix by constructing the emergency response task model based on the Weighted Ordered Weighted Averaging (WOWA) operator. This calculation approach derives the importance weights depending on the dispatcher emergency tasks and integrates it into the Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA) operator weights based on a fuzzy membership relation. A case from train fire is given to demonstrate the feasibility and practicability of the proposed methods for Group Multi-Criteria Decision Making (GMCDM) in emergency management of UTO metro system. The innovation of this research is paving the way for a systematic emergency decision-making solution which connects the automatic metro emergency response system with the GMCDM theory.

Mirko Čorić, Zvonimir Lušić, Anita Gudelj
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 2
As a standard, 512 byte IrisCode templates developed with specific algorithms are stored in databases and used in iris recognition process. Future tendencies are to use exclusively real iris images rather than IrisCode templates in the iris recognition process. Many of current iris recognition systems use portable devices (e.g. iris scanners) which are often required to transmit image or template over communication channel. Image compression can be used in order to reduce the transmission time and storage capacities. Classified Vector Quantization (CVQ) and ordinary Vector Quantization (VQ) are used for compression of greyscale iris images collected from one of the available public databases of iris images. Results show that both compression methods are significantly more effective when applied to iris images than when applied to average images from everyday environments since iris images are fairly uniform and contain low
contrast levels. Originally, CVQ is used to improve the quality of edges of compressed images because they are the most important part of image for visual impression on humans. The paper presents the comparison and major advantage of CVQ over ordinary VQ in terms of significant time reduction needed for iris images to be coded, and therefore it highlights a new important application of CVQ.

Lie Guo, Mingheng Zhang, Linhui Li, Yibing Zhao, Yingzi Lin
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 2
A novel pedestrian detection system based on vision in urban traffic situations is presented to help the driver perceive the pedestrian ahead of the vehicle. To enhance the accuracy and to decrease the time spent on pedestrian detection in such complicated situations, the pedestrian is detected by dividing their body into several parts according to their corresponding features in the image. The candidate pedestrian leg is segmented based on the gentle AdaBoost algorithm by training the optimized histogram of gradient features. The candidate pedestrian head is located by matching the pedestrian head and shoulder model above the region of the candidate leg. Then the candidate leg, head and shoulder are combined by parts constraint and threshold adjustment to verify the existence of the pedestrian. Finally, the experiments in real urban traffic circumstances were conducted. The results show that the proposed pedestrian detection method can achieve pedestrian detection rate of 92.1% with the average detection time of 0.2257 s.

Elien Van de Vijver, Ben Derudder, Frank Witlox
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 2

This article scrutinizes the mutual and complex causal relationship between air passenger transport and regional development in the European NUTS2-regions with heterogeneous Granger causality analysis between 2002 and 2011. Employment is used as a relatively robust and measurable indicator of a region’s development and employment in the services sector and in the manufacturing sector is treated separately to discern basic sectoral variances. The proposed methodology allows investigating (i) if air transport in the European regions causally influences employment, (ii) if employment also leads to higher transport levels, and (iii) regional variations in this causal relationship. The results show that both directions of causality occur among the European urban regions, albeit very geographically fragmented. This indicates that air passenger transport is a necessary part of, but not sufficient condition for generating regional development. The more abundant relationships for employment in the services sector confirm the sensitivity of the services industry to air passenger transport.


Shahriar Afandizadeh, Seyed Ebrahim Abdolmanafi
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 2
This paper considers the issue of air pollutants emission for the optimal and sustainable determination of cordon location, toll level, and price of park and ride (P&R). Although air pollutants emission decreases within the cordon by the implementation of cordon pricing scheme, it may increase outside the cordon and the whole network. Hence, air pollutants emission may only transfer from inside of the cordon to its outside. Therefore, in this paper, a multi-objective bi-level optimization model is developed. A solution algorithm is also presented based on the second version of strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm (SPEA2). The results reveal that this multi-objective model can be a useful tool for the sustainable and optimal design of the cordon and P&R scheme. In addition, cordon pricing is a multi-objective problem. Therefore, it is necessary to consider air pollutants emission. By choosing another non-dominated result in the solution space, air pollutants emission outside the cordon and the whole network can be reduced without a significant reduction in social welfare.

Pitchipoo Pandian, Vincent Devanayagam Sundaram, Rajakarunakaran Sivaprakasam
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 1

Statistics reveals that the visual problems are the prime
reasons for a larger number of road accidents. The blind spot
is the major problem related to vision. The aim of this study
is to develop a fuzzy-based multi criteria decision-making
model for optimizing the area of the blind spot in the front
and sides of a heavy transport vehicle. To achieve this, the
statistical tool ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) and multi criteria
optimization techniques like TOPSIS (Technique for Order
of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution), FAHP (Fuzzy
Analytical Hierarchy Process) and GRA (Grey Relational
Analysis) were also used in this problem This paper consists
of three modules: first, the blind spots of the existing body
structure dimension used in heavy vehicles were studied
and the optimal design parameters were determined by using
ANOVA and TOPSIS methodologies; next, the weights of
the design parameters were calculated using FAHP method.
Finally, GRA-based Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM)
approach has been used to rank the vehicle body structures.
The proposed model has been implemented in a transport
corporation to compare four different types of body structures
and concluded that the body structure which was built
by an outsourced body builder is having a smaller area of
blind spot and optimal design parameters as well.


Martin Gregurić, Edouard Ivanjko, Sadko Mandžuka
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 1

To ensure higher Level of Service (LoS) at urban motorways,
new traffic control concepts are being applied since in most cases there is no available space for infrastructural build-up. For urban motorways, the mostly used control methods are ramp metering combined with additional control methods like variable speed limit control (VSLC). This paper gives a review of the current ramp metering approaches with special emphasis on cooperative control concepts between ramp metering, VSLC, prohibiting lane changes system and the vehicle itself. Additionally, a learning framework for ramp metering proposed by the authors is described. The CTMSIM Matlab based macroscopic motorway simulator with ramp metering control support is used for the simulation of selected ramp metering approaches. The simulator
is also augmented to enable the development and implementation of cooperative ramp metering approaches. The
Zagreb bypass is used as test case for evaluation of several
different ramp metering algorithms.


Sang Hyuk Lee, Daeseok Han
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 1
To reduce travel time, the actuated signal controls have been implemented at urban intersections. However, the safety impacts of actuated signal controls thus far have rarely been examined. In this assessment of the safety impact of urban intersections with semi-actuated signal controls, the safety performance functions and EB approaches were applied. The semi-actuated signal controls have increased injuries and total crashes in all crash types by around 5.9% and 3.8%, respectively. Regarding the most common crash types, such as angle, sideswipe & rear-end, and head-on crashes, semi-actuated signal controls have been seen to decrease injuries by 7.7%. Total crashes have been reduced by over 9.2% through the use of semi-actuated signal controls. This may be result of optimal signal timings considering traffic conditions during peak time periods. In conclusion, safety impact factors which have been established in this study can be used to improve safety and minimize travel times using semi-actuated signal controls.

Chi Zhang, Shiyu Liu, Jennifer Ogle, Min Zhang
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 1

Nowadays, the studies of parameter calibration for long-term work zones are limited to driver behaviour and car-following parameters, and no research was found related to calibration of the desired speed distributions during temporary work zones. Obtaining realistic results from simulations of temporary work zones is difficult. Thus, it would be valuable for gaining more valid simulation data if a method of calibrating the desired speed distribution could be applied for traffic simulation model of highway temporary work zones. The calibration method was proposed in five steps: (1) collect and analyse data, (2) plot the travel speed cumulative frequency curves and calibrate the desired speed distribution, (3) conduct simulation runs, (4) validate the simulation results, and (5) propose a new calibration method, which was assessed by T-tests, and the results are very promising. Finally, a simplified calibration method called “Five-Point Method” is presented and the recommended values of five-point are given.


Zdravko Peran
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 1
The process of acquisition of the measured dynamic values of forces between the rails and the wheels on the real measurement train and the train tracks. The conversion of the measured values into the matrices and vectors enables numerous exact qualitative and quantitative studies of the dynamic phenomena behaviour. The paper shows the possibilities of using MATLAB computer tool. All the commands in the software are given and explained. Calculating of the empirical, normal and cumulative distribution on an example of the lateral force is given in detail. The new software is exactly verified mathematically and qualified for any further use. The developed software is the tool for the development of other two phases: software for the exact automatic evaluation of the maximum values of the dynamic values and software for the automatic approval of vehicles and railway due to the driving safety, loading tracks and driving comfort compared to the limited values regarding UI C CODE 518.

Tomáš Coufal, Marek Semela
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 1

The paper presents complete results of the head-on small overlap crash test of vehicle with driver moving at a speed of approximately 12 m/s against stationary vehicle with post-crash rollover. When a crash does not involve the main crush-zone structures, the occupant compartment is not well protected. The emphasis in the paper was put on determination and presentation of crash parameters for the application in traffic accident analyses and for simulation with the help of software for accident reconstruction. The experimentally measured data from the crash test were analysed and important crash parameters which are necessary for accident reconstruction were obtained. The crash test was specific because of rollover of the impacting vehicle resulting from small overlap. The results have shown that small overlap accident is extremely dangerous for the crew with the possibility of vehicle rollover and occupant head and neck injury. Also in this case, at relative low speed, the driver suffered light neck and head injury in the following days and the longitudinal damage was relatively large. The input parameters for accident reconstruction software as the result of performed crash test were gained.


Shahriar Afandizadeh Zargari, Nazli Dehghani, Hamid Mirzahossein, Masoud Hamedi
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 1
Traffic metering is one of the effective strategies of preventing gridlock at urban signalized intersections during oversaturated conditions. This strategy could be implemented by adjusting signal timing schemes of the connected intersections of congested network in dynamic setting. This paper demonstrates the benefits of internal/external traffic metering strategy on a real case study in Tehran, the capital of Iran. For this purpose, the model outputs have been considered as input to set of SCATS scenarios for signal timing. In each test case the system is forced to use plans obtained from the model instead of using common built-in plans that had been used before, and the performance is measured using the VISSIM simulator to show differences. The results show significant improvement in network average travel time when using internal/external traffic metering strategy. Additionally, the average queue lengths are maintained near the optimal level since the model utilizes upstream arterial capacity.

Vidas Žuraulis, Dalius Matuzevičius, Artūras Serackis
2016 (Vol 28), Issue 1

The aim of this study has been to propose a new method for automatic rectification and stitching of the images taken on the accident site. The proposed method does not require any measurements to be performed on the accident site and thus it is frsjebalaee of measurement errors. The experimental investigation was performed in order to compare the vehicle trajectory estimation according to the yaw marks in the stitched image and the trajectory, reconstructed using the GPS data. The overall mean error of the trajectory reconstruction, produced by the method proposed in this paper was 0.086 m. It was only 0.18% comparing to the whole trajectory length.



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