Improving Network Reliability via Incident Management

Abstract

Network reliability has become a major issue, due to increasing traffic congestion and the adverse impact on road users, especially those who have embraced the just-in-time philosophy. Traffic incidents (e.g. accidents) are a major contributor to a lack of reliability, and there is thus an increasing interest in improved incident management. This paper describes a study involving linking a microsimulation model (S-Paramics) with the SCATS traffic signal control software, to assess the benefits of adjusting traffic signal timings to mitigate the effects of incidents. While a case study indicates that the benefits of using SCATS as an incident management tool are not large, it is concluded that linking traffic signal control and microsimulation software appears to be a promising approach for developing incident management plans to improve network reliability.