Concept of Queue Clearance Rate for Estimation of Equivalency Factors at Priority Junctions

Traffic in developing countries is often distinguished from others for its diversity in vehicular composition and Passenger Car Equivalents (PCE) becomes essential in such conditions for expressing traffic volume in terms of equivalent number of passenger cars. PCE estimation at two-way stop-controlled intersections in developing countries is further complicated by the lack of movement priority and lane discipline. The study introduces a method to find PCE factors based on the time taken by a queue of vehicles to completely clear the intersection and composition of the queue. The method is validated through simulations in VISSIM software and was then used to derive PCE factors for three intersections in India. Although the method is developed and tested to estimate PCE factors under highly heterogeneous traffic at priority junctions in India, it is quite general in nature and can be used in traffic conditions found in developed countries as well.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author