Analysis and Modeling of Two-Wheeler-Overtaking-LMV Maneuver in Heterogeneous Traffic Stream

Traffic streams observed on the urban roads in India consist of various types of vehicles and lack the lane discipline. Modeling such a kind of traffic stream requires combined treatment of lateral and longitudinal movements of the vehicles. Motorized two-wheeler movement is peculiar and some of the researchers have adopted the porous flow approach to capture their movements. To complete the overtaking maneuver, the rider of a motorized two-wheeler has two alternative paths to choose from. Selection of any particular path is governed by various factors and this selection has several implications on the traffic stream behavior. In this study, the path selection behavior of the driver of a motorized two-wheeler (MTW), while overtaking a light motor vehicle (LMV), was analyzed and modeled. A binary choice problem was formulated to model the path selection behavior. Width available on a particular path for overtaking and the headway difference with the lead and lag vehicles on the target paths were found to have significant impact on the decision of the MTW in choosing a particular path.