Remedying Traffic Accidents at Intersections Through the Use of ITS Technology

Abstract

Traffic flow at urban intersections in Thailand is far from optimal as manifested by long queues, drivers' subsequent frustration which in turn has led to road accidents caused by drivers' disobedience of traffic signals. This paper describes the development of a new ITS technology to improve traffic flow at intersections and hence remedy the traffic accident situation. An Adaptive Traffic Signalization System uses CCTV cameras and image sensing software to detect vehicles on each approach of an intersection. The computation of parameters involves simulation of adaptive signal timing and phasing in order to arrive at the optimal phasing and cycle times. Software has been developed to count the number of lane changing vehicles which are the major cause of accidents at both intersections.