CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Safety is an essential component of transportation engineering. The safety of road transportation involves many factors including driver skills, roadway characteristics, vehicle conditions, and weather. In addition to crash causation, the identification of hazards that may increase severity in the event of a crash is important. Among all contributing elements, speed is considered to be one of the most critical. Statistics show that speed is a factor in one-third of all motor vehicle fatalities (NHTSA, 2002). One mechanism of addressing roadway safety is the implementation of road safety audits.

The increase in urbanization and traffic congestion create an urgent need to operate our transportation systems with maximum efficiency. Real-time traffic signs control is an integral part of modern Urban Traffic signs aimed at achieving optimal Utilization of the road network. Providing effective real time traffic signs control for a large complex traffic network is an extremely challenging distributed control problem. Signal system operation is further complicated by the recent trend that views traffic signs system as a small component of an integrated multimodal transportation System. Optimization of traffic signals and other control devices for the efficient movement of traffic on streets and highways constitutes a challenging part of the advanced traffic management system of intelligent transportation system.

For a large-scale traffic management system, it may be difficult or impossible to tell whether the traffic network is flowing smoothly and assess its current state. Over the past few years, multi-agent systems have become a crucial technology for effectively exploiting the increasing availability of diverse, heterogeneous and distributed information sources. Researchers over the Years have adopted numerous techniques and used various tools to implement multi-agent systems for their problem domains. As researchers gain a better understanding of these autonomous multi-agent systems, more features are incorporated into them to enhance their performance and the enhanced systems can then be used for more complex application domains.

Intelligent software agent is an autonomous computer program, which interacts with and assists an end user in certain computer related tasks. In any agent, there is always a certain level of intelligence. The level of the Intelligence could vary from pre-determined roles and responsibilities to a learning entity. Multi-Agent System is the aggregate of agents, whose object is to decompose the large system to several small systems which communicate and coordinate with each other and can he extended easily. Agent-based simulations are models where multiple entities sense and stochastically respond to conditions in their local environments, mimicking complex large scale system behavior. The urban traffic system is a much complex system, which involved many entities and the relationship among them are Complicated.

Therefore, the most important issues for a learner agent is the assessment of the behavior and the intelligence level of the other agents. By sharing vital information, Traffic sign system allows people to get more from transport networks, with greater safety and with less impact on the environment. Traffic sign system helps the whole transport system to work most effectively and efficiently. Traffic sign system integrates users, transport systems, and vehicles through state-of-the-art information and communications technologies. Traffic sign system can dramatically improve travelers’ safety, efficiency and comfort. Traffic sign system helps shippers and carriers move freight to its destination reliably and efficiently. Traffic sign system helps the people who run transport systems provide better service to their customers. Traffic sign system helps get the best value from the road and rail systems we already have. Traffic sign system helps traffic flow more smoothly, reducing delays, fuel consumption, and air and noise pollution. Traffic sign system helps make public transport more convenient and affordable.

Traffic sign system often works behind the scenes. When emergency vehicles get to a crash site more rapidly than before, Traffic sign system is detecting the crash, notifying emergency services, and getting the nearest response unit rapidly to the site. Technology in a vehicle prevents skidding and helps the vehicle to stop safely; the driver may not even realize that assistance was provided, but Traffic sign system is at work.

1.2      statement of the problem

Traffic congestion is an increasing problem in cities and sub urban spend more of their time commuting to work, school, shopping, and social event as well as dealing with traffic light jambs and accidents. Traffic became heavy in all directions, more to and from cities as well as between sub urban locations. Sub urban business locations required huge parking lots because employees have to drive; there were few buses trains, or trolleys to carry scatter workers to their work place. The hope of reduced congestion in the sub urban had not been realized; long commutes and traffic jams could be found everywhere.

1.3      AIMS and objectiveS

The main aim of the research work is design and installs a traffic sign system, to design and implement an intelligent traffic signs, to develop a suitable algorithm to implement the design and to simulate the intelligent traffic control using Visual Basic programming.

The first objective is to make each of the traffic lights or semaphores smart. That is, aware of the time of day, basic turn red, green or yellow rules, and perhaps what traffic looks like in all directions based upon locally mounted signals. In achieving these aims, the following objectives will also be followed:

-         To design a simple system that is easily adaptable to the existing traffic conditions at the junction, involving a minimum of physical changes in the intersection.

-         To provide the quickest possible clearance to vehicular and pedestrian traffic in all directions at a junction.

-         To a design flexible artificial intelligence traffic light system that will take care of changes in the traffic density and character.

-         To reduce the stress of the traffic warder.

-         To reduce the occurrence of possible accident.

-         To verify the efficacy of the program.

1.4   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

        The important of this research work are:

-         It will help in reducing the occurrence of possible collision or accident and thereby improve the confidence of the driver and the pedestrian plighting through the highways.

-         The project to allay the fear of time wastage at the junctions because of unevenly directions of traffic system.

-         Since the system is capable of working for 24hours uninterrupted thereby assured constant availability of traffic control service hence reduce human effort and energy.

1.5           SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope is the design of an intelligent traffic signs. The modern method of traffic signs is indicating each light at a particular time interval to pass a vehicle at one lane and stop vehicle on the other lane. The light is broken into three (3) categories (Red, Yellow,  and Green) to signal to lane on what to do at a particular time where the red signify STOP, yellow signify READY, and green signify MOVE.

Each light is designed to turn itself on whenever it is necessary and turn off the time elapse.

1.6   limitation of the study

Traffic congestion is a serious problem despite costly effort to create an integrated method of traffic signs. The number of private automobiles used mainly by people with middle and income, has increased faster than any form of transportation in Lagos (Nigeria) and this has increased a demand of expansion of roads, parking space and improved computerized traffic signs.

1.7   methodology

The designed method employed for the intelligent traffic signs for this case study was the use of Split Cycle and Offset Optimization Technique. This technique used was use for the signal timing optimization and also to make a series of frequent adjustment for signal timing to minimize the modeled vehicle delays of the case study. The method is developed to meet the need of today`s traffic management. Visual basic was the developed program used for designing the intelligent control system of the case study and its design analysis as a functional designed method for the specification that identifies whether a new replacement system is required. This is done so as to ensure proper accuracy, efficiency and effectiveness which is the basic of a traffic signs

1.8   DEFINITION OF TERMS

        Traffic Light: A road signal for directing vehicular traffic by means of colour lights, typically red for stop, green for go, and yellow for proceed with caution.

          Intelligent Traffic System: refers to information and communication technology  that improve transport outcomes such as transport safety, transport productivity, travel reliability, informed travel choices, social equity, environmental performance and network operation resilience.

§  Traffic sign system will help all travelers get where they need to go regardless of age or disability and regardless of where they live. Traffic sign system will provide better information on available services to travelers who cannot or choose not to drive including those who are mobility or sight-impaired.

§  Traffic sign system will also help make it easier to pay for transport services. The future will include a single electronic payment mechanism to pay for fuel, tolls, public transport fares, parking, and a variety of other charges that busy travelers encounter every day. Traffic sign system will help convey the needs and interests of transport system customers to the people who manage the system, helping to ensure a transport system that is responsive to those needs and interests. Traffic sign system will help managers of the transport system to make services safer and simultaneously available for motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, and users of public transport.

§  Traffic sign system will help focus the transport system on meeting the needs of all its customers. Better meeting customer needs means a renewed focus on customer service and effective operations.