Traffic management parameters from single inductive loop detectors

Investigated are potential new uses for the digital output produced by single inductive loop detectors (2 m x 1.5 m and 2 m x 6.5 m) used in most European urban traffic control systems. Over a fixed time period, the average loop-occupancy time per vehicle (ALOTPV) for a detector being sampled every 250 ms is determined by taking the number of 250-ms occupancies and dividing by the number of vehicles. In a similar way, the average headway time between vehicles (AHTBV) is determined by taking the number of 250-ms vacancies and dividing by the number of vehicles. Over a 30-s period, the minimum and maximum values of ALOTPV and AHTBV ranged from 1 to 120 (an ALOTPV of 1 and an AHTBV of 120 representing free-flow conditions, an ALOTPV of 120 and an AHTBV of 1 representing a stationary queue). Identifying periods when a link was operating under capacity and at capacity and when it had become saturated could be more clearly identified by using plots of ALOTPV and AHTBV data over time compared to the more traditional percentage occupancy output. ALOTPV also was used to successfully identify long vehicles from cars down to speeds of 15 km/h