Gap acceptance behavior of drivers at uncontrolled T-intersections under mixed traffic conditions

Explicit traffic control measures are absent in uncontrolled intersections which make them susceptible to frequent conflicts and resulting collisions between vehicles. In developing countries like India, drivers at such intersections do not yield to higher priority movements which cause more crashes between vehicles. The objective of this study is to analyze and model the gap acceptance behavior of minor street drivers at uncontrolled T-intersections considering their aggressive nature. Three intersections in the northeast region of India have been selected as the case study area. Preliminary analysis of the data revealed that drivers behave aggressively, not because they have to wait for a long time at the stop line, but because of their lack of respect for traffic rules. Binary logit models are developed for minor road right turning vehicles which show that gap acceptance behavior is influenced by gap duration, clearing time and aggressive nature of drivers. The equations obtained were used to estimate the critical gaps for aggressive and non-aggressive drivers. Critical gaps are also calculated using an existing method called clearing behavior approach. It is also shown that the estimation of critical gap is more realistic if clearing time and aggressive behavior of drivers are considered.