Environmental effects of traffic incidents: example of Istanbul O2 (TEM) highway

Abstract

Unusual decreases in road capacity or unexpected increases in demand (for example, vehicle breakdowns and traffic accidents) are defined as traffic incidents. Approximately 25% of traffic delays are caused by such incidents. These incidents affect capacity directly (for example, partial or complete lane closure) or indirectly (drivers slowing down to observe the accident), causing delays and travel times to increase, fuel consumption to increase, and environmentally harmful gas emissions to rise. The purpose of this study is to examine the environmental effects of traffic incidents. In this regard, the environmental effects (CO, NOx, VOC and fuel consumption) of a traffic accident that occurred on the Istanbul O2 (TEM) Highway were analysed using VISSIM microsimulation program. As expected, traffic incidents were found to have negative effects on highway operation performance measures. In addition, based on this analysis performed using the simulation model, various suggestions have also been made to reduce the environmental impacts of traffic incidents.

Keywords

• Istanbul O2 Motorway
• Traffic incident
• Environmental impacts
• VISSIM

Trafik olaylarının çevresel etkileri: İstanbul O2 (TEM) otoyolu örneği

Abstract

Karayolu kapasitesindeki olağandışı azalmalar veya talepteki beklenmedik artışlar (örneğin, araç arızaları ve trafik kazaları) trafik olayı olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Trafikte yaşanan gecikmelerin yaklaşık %25’i bu tür olaylardan kaynaklanmaktadır. Bu olaylar, kapasiteyi doğrudan (örneğin, şeritlerin kısmen veya tamamen kapanması) ya da dolaylı olarak (sürücülerin kazayı izlemek amacıyla yavaşlaması) etkileyerek, gecikmelerin ve seyahat sürelerinin uzamasına, yakıt tüketiminin artmasına ve çevreye zararlı gaz emisyonlarının artmasına neden olmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, trafik olaylarının çevresel etkilerini incelemektir. Bu bağlamda, İstanbul O2 (TEM) Otoyolu üzerinde meydana gelen bir trafik kazasının çevresel etkileri (CO, NOx, VOC ve yakıt tüketimi) VISSIM mikro ölçekli trafik benzetim programı kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Beklenildiği gibi, trafikte meydana gelen olayların karayolu işletmesi performans ölçütleri üzerinde olumsuz etkileri tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca, benzetim programı kullanılarak gerçekleştirilen bu analize dayanarak trafik olaylarının çevresel etkilerini azaltmak için çeşitli önerilerde de bulunulmuştur.

Keywords

• İstanbul O2 Otoyolu
• Trafik olayı
• Çevresel etkiler
• VISSIM

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