Methods to quantify the discipline of lane-based-driving

Abstract

The quality of traffic flow has been examined by others and some of its criteria have already been established (eg the level of service), whereas the level of lane-based-driving has received little attention. It is quite possible to observe, even by naked eye, that not all the vehicles in the same lane are positioned in the centre. Rather, they take various lateral locations across the lane. Especially in those countries where some drivers cruise by occupying two adjacent lanes simultaneously, the effects of lateral distribution of traffic may have significant importance in modelling. Therefore, whenever weak discipline lane-based-driving is taken into account, the question of 'how weak' needs to be answered mathematically. This paper introduces five tools for quantitative measures of (un)tidiness. Only by means of these scales does the identification and categorisation of traffic flow data with respect to the discipline of lane-based-driving become possible, as demonstrated through examples. (A)