AUTOMATIC DETECTION OF TRAFFIC INCIDENTS ON A SIGNAL-CONTROLLED ROAD NETWORK

This report investigated the feasibility of automatic incident detection in a signal controlled urban road network. Part 1 contained the results of a literature review on incident detection as applied to motorways and high speed roads. The development of an automated incident detection algorithm for a signal controlled urban road network was described in part 2. The algorithm, based on detector occupancy, was tested using both simulated and real data. The real data was taken from the London and middlesbrough SCOOT systems. The simulated data was obtained by using multsim, a microscopic traffic simulation program which reproduced output from vehicle detectors on a muti-lane signal controlled road, and which also allowed for the specification of capacity reducing incidents during the simulation. The results, although not conclusive, suggested that incident detection in an urban road network was feasible. However, the algorithm needed to be adapted to suit the different road geometric and traffic conditions encountered in an urban network.