• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.1-14
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• 2011

The surrogate safety assessment model which was developed based on the conflict theory by FHWA in the US is software to analyze traffic conflicts using the individual vehicle trajectory data from a microscopic traffic simulation model. This study aims at assessing the safety of different signal control strategies, including pre-time and actuated signal control, using the SSAM. To this end, this study effort has developed a microscopic traffic simulation model using VISSIM through a field study, and then produced the surrogate measures, including TTC, PET, DR, MaxS and DeltaS, and the numbers of conflicts, including rear-end, right angle and lane-changing conflicts. The assessment results indicated that the actuated signal control may produce more conflicts in terms of rear-end conflicts. The use of SSAM in the safety assessments for diverse traffic alternatives in a safe and fast way may contribute to the improvement of safety in the roadway transportation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.21-32
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• 2012

Exclusive bus lane (EBL) is typically located in the roadway median, and is accessed by weaving across the GPLs(general purpose lanes) before entering from the left lane of the GPLs. To maximize the potential for successful EBL operations, a critical design issue that requires special attention is the length of bus weaving section before entering EBL. The process of developing guidelines for the length of bus weaving section can be supported by a sensitivity analysis of performance measure (safety) with respect to the bus weaving distance. However, field data are difficult to obtain due to inherent complexity in creating performance measure (safety) samples under various interesting flows and bus weaving distance that are keys to research success. In this paper, VISSIM simulation is applied to simulate the operation of roadway weaving areas with EBL, and based on vehicle trajectory data from microscopic traffic simulation models, the Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM) computes the number of surrogate conflicts (or degree of safety) with respect to the bus weaving distance. Then, a multiple linear regression (MLR) model using safety data (number of surrogate conflicts) is developed. Finally, guidelines for bus weaving distance are established based on the developed MLR. Developed guidelines explicitly indicate that a longer bus weaving distance is required to maintain desired safety as weaving volume increases.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.109-117
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• 2016

PURPOSES : The goal of this study is to analyze the operational effects of special roundabouts at large-scale rotaries in Korea. In pursuing the above, this study gives particular attention to comparing standard roundabouts with special roundabouts. METHODS : This study reviews the various types of roundabouts, creates 270 scenarios, builds networks, and comparatively analyzes the operational effects by using VISSIM simulation model and SSAM(Surrogate Safety Assessment Model). RESULTS : First, the operational effects of standard and signalized roundabouts were analyzed, and it was determined that standard roundabouts are the best in the case of under-saturated traffic volume, and signalized roundabouts are the best in the case of over-saturated traffic volume. Second, the operational benefits of a Turbo roundabout were evaluated to be generally lower than the benefits of a standard roundabout, and the benefits of a Turbo roundabout increase when right-turn traffic volume increases. Finally, the safety conflicts of a Turbo roundabout were determined to be the least and decrease when right-turn traffic volume increases. CONCLUSIONS : This study suggests that Turbo roundabouts rank highest for safety, and signalized roundabouts are best for over-saturated traffic volume. This study can be expected to provide some implications for policy decision-making.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.169-183
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• 2018

Aggressive driving leads to a greater crash potential because it threatens surrounding vehicles. This study conducted traffic simulation experiments using driving behavior data obtained from multi-agent driving simulations. VISSIM traffic simulator and surrogate safety assessment model (SSAM) were used to identify the impacts of aggressive driving on traffic stream in terms of safety and operational efficiency. Market penetration rates (MPR) of aggressive driving vehicle, coupled with various traffic conditions, were taken into consideration in analyzing the impacts. As expected, it was identified that aggressive driving vehicles tended to deteriorate the traffic safety performance. From the perspective of operational efficiency, interesting results were observable. Under level of service (LOS) A, B, and C, it was observed that the average travel speed increased with greater MPRs. Conversely, the average travel speed decreased with under LOS D and E conditions. The outcome of this study would be effectively used for developing safety-related policies for reducing aggressive driving behavior.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.98-108
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• 2013

The number of Hi-Pass lanes became 793 lanes at 316 expressway tollgates in 2011 due to the increase in the Hi-Pass use. In spite of the increase in the number of Hi-Pass lanes, there have been increased potential risks in tollgates where vehicles using a Hi-Pass lane must weave with other vehicles using a TCS lane. Therefore, there is a need for study on the safety in tollgates. To this end, this study aims at developing a methodology to evaluate the performance measures of diverse location countermeasures of Hi-Pass lanes in an efficient and systematic way. This study measured the mobility, safety and the convenience of installation and operation of Hi-Pass lanes using a microscopic traffic simulation tool, the surrogate safety assessment model and survey. In addition, this study aggregated the above three performance indexes using weight factors estimated using the AHP technique. For the test site, Dongsuwon interchange was selected. After building the microscopic traffic simulation model for the test site, the location countermeasures of Hi-Pass lanes applicable to the test site were compared with each other in terms of the mobility, safety and installing and operating convenience. As a result, there has been no apparent difference in mobility index based on delays. However, the countermeasures where Hi-Pass lanes are located in inside lanes generally showed better safety performance based on the number of conflicts. In addition, countermeasures with neighboring Hi-Pass lanes were favorable in terms of the safety and the convenience of installation and operation. The methodology proposed in this study was found to be useful to support decision makings by providing critical and quantitative information regarding the mobility, safety and the convenience of installation and operation.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.77-87
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• 2014

It has reported that a median bus-stop island on an exclusive median bus lane (EMBL) has shortened a crossing distance unit, encouraged a pedestrian's illegal crossing, and increased the number of accidents in the area. This study presents (1) the analysis of inappropriate pedestrian crossing patterns collected on exclusive median bus corridors and (2) the estimated performance of safety barriers restraining the occurrence of those. Total 19,649 pedestrian crossing data collected at the 'Sookmyung-university' median bus-stop, and the inappropriate pedestrian crossing patterns among those were grouped in terms of time and space violations. Physical safety barriers restraining illegal pedestrian crossings were considered as an alternative, and its performance in safety was quantified through microscopic simulation with conflict analyses by using surrogate safety assessment model. The findings suggest the number of conflicts reduced be 24.9 percentages compared to the one of the present condition when the physical safety barriers are placed at each of the eight ends of the EMBL pedestrian crossing.