Toward the improvement of traffic incident management systems using Car2X technologies

Abstract

In addition to their environmental impact, road traffic congestions have been recognized to seriously affect commuters' safety as well as the performance of transportation systems. To address these issues, various Traffic Incident Management (TIM) systems have been implemented. Recent systems are particularly focusing on the integration of promising emergent technologies such as the Internet of Things. However, thorough studies are still necessary to make sure that these technologies are compatible with existing systems and effective within their context of use. The main goal of this research is to develop a smart TIM system which is based on Car2X communications and which aims at improving both traffic safety, commuters' mobility, and gas emissions. To assess the effectiveness of our solution, we use the following measures: stops delay, stops all, vehicle delay, travel time, gas emissions, and fuel consumption. This paper also outlines how we use our simulation platform (which was developed based on VISSIM and Python) to quantify the benefits of using Car2X communications. We run our simulations on Muscat Expressway in the Sultanate of Oman. Results are promising and include (1) the travel time decreased by 6%; (2) the average stop delay and vehicle stops were reduced by at least 9% and 27% respectively; and (3) there is a total decrease in fuel consumption and carbon monoxide emissions by approximately 16%.