Personal and Ubiquitous Computing

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-020-01434-y

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Examining queue-jumping phenomenon in heterogeneous traffic

stream at signalized intersection using UAV-based data
Afzal Ahmed 1 & Fatma Outay 2 & Syeda Ofaq Raza Zaidi 1 & Muhammad Adnan 3 & Dong Ngoduy 4

Received: 25 May 2020 / Accepted: 27 July 2020

# Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract
This research presents an in-depth microscopic analysis of heterogeneous and undisciplined traffic at the signalized intersection.
Traffic data extracted from the video recorded using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at an approach of a signalized intersec-
tion is analyzed to study the within green time dynamics of traffic flow. Various parameters of Wiedemann 74, Wiedemann 99,
and lateral behavior models used in microscopic traffic simulation package, Vissim, are calibrated for the local heterogeneous
traffic. This research is aimed at exploring the queue-jumping phenomenon of motorbikes at signalized intersections and its
impact on the saturation flow rate, travel time, and delay. The study of within green time flow dynamics shows that the flow of
traffic within green time is not uniform. Surprisingly, the results indicate that the traffic flow for the first few seconds of the green
time is significantly higher than the remaining period of green time, which shows a contradiction to the fact that traffic flow for
the first few seconds is lower due to accelerating vehicles. Mode-wise traffic counted per second shows that this anomaly is
attributed to the presence of motorbikes in front of the queue. Consequently, the outputs of simulation results obtained from
calibrated Vissim show that the simulated travel time for motorbikes is significantly lower than the field-observed travel times
even though the average simulated traffic flow matches accurately with the field-observed traffic flow. The findings of this
research highlight the need to incorporate the queue-jumping behavior of motorbikes in the microsimulation packages to enhance
their capability to model heterogeneous and undisciplined traffic.

Keywords Vissim . Calibration . Microscopic simulation . Saturation flow rate . Karachi, Pakistan . Lane discipline

1 Introduction with weak or no lane discipline. Vehicles in such undisci-

Traffic flow modeling is widely used in the planning, design,
and operations of transportation systems. Various traffic flow
models and simulation packages have been developed so far.
These mathematical models and simulation packages are de-
signed to replicate the actual traffic flow phenomenon in a
controlled environment [1, 2]. Most of these models and sim-
ulation packages are developed for traffic streams with strict
lane discipline and speed limitations [3]. However, most of the
South Asian and developing countries have traffic streams
* Muhammad Adnan
muhammad.adnan@uhasselt.be
1
NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan
2
Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
3
Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium
4
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
plined traffic streams have different static and dynamic char-
acteristics resulting in higher heterogeneity in streams [4, 5].
Modeling the traffic flow of heterogeneous and undisciplined
traffic streams is a complex procedure and still an unresolved
problem.
Numerous research studies have highlighted the nonstan-
dard behavior of heterogonous traffic with poor lane disci-
pline. Recently, Ahmed et al. [6] studied the characteristics
of heterogeneous and undisciplined traffic streams in Karachi,
Pakistan. The study proposed a width-based cell transmission
model for heterogeneous traffic based on the observation that
the traffic flow of undisciplined streams is a function of the
width of the road rather than the number of lanes on the road.
Asaithambi and Basheer [7] studied the effect of weak lane
discipline in Chennai, India, and concluded that the lateral and
longitudinal gaps between vehicles depend upon the class of
vehicles. Nokandeh et al. [8] studied the effect of lane width
on passenger car units (PCU) on an intercity highway in India.
This study concluded that the lane widths highly affect the

driving behaviors resulting in different PCU for different lane
widths. Mallikarjuna et al. [9] studied the behavior of hetero-
geneous traffic streams and proposed a method for extracting
lateral gaps in heterogeneous traffic streams. Ahmed et al. [10]
compared the travel time predicted through Google Live
Traffic in Karachi, Pakistan, with actual travel time collected
through probe car and probe motorbike. The study concluded
that there is a significant difference between travel time of
motorbike and travel time estimated by Google Live Traffic,
indicating that the behavior of motorbikes and cars is quite
different in heterogeneous traffic streams. Kays et al. [11]
studied the heterogeneous traffic of Dhaka and developed a
flow-density fundamental traffic flow diagram as input for
Heterogeneous Cell Transmission Model (HCTM). Most of
the reported literature available on the modeling of heteroge-
neous traffic is based on modeling of traffic flow at midblock,
and very limited research is available for modeling of hetero-
geneous traffic at signalized intersections.
Signalized intersections are considered one of the most
important traffic control measures in urban areas. The basic
parameters for the operation and design of signalized intersec-
tions include saturation flow, headway, lost time, and traffic
composition [12–14]. Modeling of heterogeneous traffic flow,
especially at the signalized intersection, is more complex than
the standard traffic streams. Microsimulation is considered an
important and useful tool for modeling of heterogeneous traf-
fic. However, most of the simulation packages have been pro-
duced for traffic in developed countries with proper lane dis-
cipline and lesser vehicle heterogeneity. Therefore, these sim-
ulation models need to be calibrated according to local condi-
tions to simulate heterogeneous traffic [15, 16]. The unsys-
tematic calibration of simulation packages may result in large
errors [17]. Recently, several studies have proposed methods
for systematic calibration of simulation packages for hetero-
geneous traffic [18].
Microscopic traffic simulation packages have been widely
used to model and simulate the flow of traffic on transporta-
tion networks. Hossain [19] calibrated well-known simulation
package PTV Vissim for heterogeneous traffic of Dhaka,
Bangladesh, using field-collected data. Schultz and Rilett
[20] proposed a method to calibrate motor vehicle distribution
in Corridor Simulation (CORSIM). Milam and Choa [21] cal-
ibrated the CORSIM package by proposing a genetic
algorithm-based parameter optimization technique. Menneni
et al. [22] developed a genetic algorithm for Vissim calibra-
tion based on field-collected speed and flow data. Mathew and
Radhakrishnan [23] proposed a general methodology to cali-
brate the microsimulation package using optimization tech-
nique by genetic algorithm for heterogeneous traffic in India.
A sensitivity analysis was conducted to select the parameters
for calibration. Both the car-following models Wiedemann 74
and Wiedemann 99 were calibrated at three intersections.
Fellendorf and Vortisch [24] validated the microscopic and
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macroscopic simulation of Vissim for the homogeneous envi-
ronment. Matsuhashi et al. [25] simulated the traffic flow in
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, using image processing and
Vissim. The study concluded that the presence of motorcycles
in the traffic stream interferes with other vehicles resulting in
the reduction of speed of the entire traffic stream. Zhang et al.
[26] evaluated the feedback-based tolling system using
Vissim. Park and Kwak [27] adopted a multi-criteria approach
in TRANSIMS calibration. Traffic count and travel time
values obtained from the field were compared with the values
from the output of microsimulation through TRANSIMS. The
results showed that the proposed approach accurately calibrat-
ed the microsimulation package to represent actual field
conditions.
PTV Vissim is used for the microsimulation of selected
intersection in this research [28, 29]. Vissim is a user-
friendly microscopic behavior-based simulation package with
the ability to model vehicular as well as pedestrian move-
ments. Vissim is based on the psychophysical car-following
model proposed by Wiedemann. Lateral behavior parameters
and lane changing parameters are also included in Vissim to
simulate the traffic stream with weak lane discipline [30–33].
The existing literature contains numerous studies on the
microsimulation of heterogeneous traffic using Vissim.
Various systematic methods have been proposed by re-
searchers for calibration of simulation parameters, which in-
clude trial and error methods, iterative estimation of parame-
ters, and tuning of car-following and other driving behavior
parameters. Also, various modifications like genetic algo-
rithms, latent cubes, and image processing techniques were
introduced for calibration to make the procedure of optimiza-
tion hassle-free and convenient. This research estimates the
calibrated values of Vissim parameters using the analysis of
video recorded using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Microscopic parameters such as lateral and longitudinal gaps
at different speeds are essential inputs in modeling the behav-
ior of drivers, which can be accurately estimated using aerial
visuals taken at the bird’s-eye view through a UAV.
In contrast to other studies on Vissim calibration, which
only compare average traffic flow or travel time during the
simulation period, this paper performs an in-depth analysis of
the simulated results of the calibrated Vissim model. The pres-
ence of motorbikes in the traffic stream, which can maneuver
through spaces between cars, especially at signalized intersec-
tions, makes the modeling phenomenon complex. Although
Vissim now includes many options for heterogeneous traffic
with poor lane discipline, the queue-jumping phenomenon of
motorbikes is still unaddressed, which causes significant de-
viation of the simulation results from the field-observed data.
This research paper performs a detailed analysis of videos
recorded using a UAV at a selected signalized intersection in
Karachi. The following contributions are claimed in the
existing literature through the present study:
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i. Within green time dynamics of traffic flow are studied.
ii. The queue-jumping phenomenon of motorbikes is identi-
fied, and its effect on saturation flow rates and travel time is
studied.
iii. The behavior parameters of Vissim are calibrated deter-
ministically using actual field data obtained from a UAV.
iv. The weakness of Vissim in modeling the queue-jumping
phenomenon of motorbikes is highlighted, and its impact
on simulation accuracy is quantified.
2 Data collection and extraction
2.1 Video recording using UAV
The accurate extraction of microscopic parameters such as
longitudinal and lateral gaps requires georeferenced images
at the bird’s-eye view, for which UAV is the best-suited
equipment. UAV has now been recognized as a useful tool
in real-time and offline traffic data collection [34–36]. DJI
PHANTOM 3 UAV was used in this research to record video
of the traffic stream. PHANTOM 3 can record video at a
resolution of 4 k with a flight time of 15 min. Traffic data
was collected at a moderately busy signalized intersection
located in Karachi, known as Johar Chowrangi. This intersec-
tion was selected after conducting a preliminary survey of
most of the signalized intersections in Karachi. The following
criteria were established for the selection of the intersection:
i. No bus stop within 200 ft. of the approach of the intersec-
tion, as the busses stopping may have an impact on flow
rate and travel time of other vehicles.
ii. No legal/ illegal parking at the upstream and downstream
of the approach within 200 ft. of the intersection.
iii. Well-channelized intersection with exclusive left and
right turning movements, physically separated from the
through movement. The proportion of left and right turn-
ing vehicles is another factor that affects the flow and
speed of through vehicles.
iv. Uniform width of the approach. The approach with var-
iable width could have an impact on flow rates and travel
time.
Johar Chowrangi was one of the few intersections meeting
the above-established criteria, as most of the signalized inter-
sections do not have provision for exclusive left and right
turning movements. Johar Chowrangi is a 4-leg signalized
intersection, and only one of the approaches (from
University Road to Johar Chowrangi) was selected to perform
detailed analysis. The selected approach is a 40 ft. wide arte-
rial with exclusive well-channelized left turning and right
turning movements. The study is only limited to one approach
of selected intersection due to the amount of time required for
manual traffic data extraction from the recorded video.
The video of the traffic stream at Johar Chowrangi was
recorded from Tuesday 17 September 2019 to Thursday 19
September 2019, which includes different peak and off-peak
timings during the day. The continuous recording of the traffic
stream was not possible due to the limitation of the flight time
of the UAV. Several backup batteries were used during the
video recording to ensure maximum recording during the field
survey. In total, traffic videos for about six hours were record-
ed using UAV, which contains 175 signal cycles. Figure 1
shows the selected approach for the data collection along with
a visual taken from the drone.
2.2 Extraction of vehicular traffic flow
There is a lack of accurate tools to automatically measure
traffic flow from the video due to heterogeneity and weak lane
discipline of traffic. Therefore, traffic flow and all other data
were extracted manually from the recorded video. This re-
search evaluates within green time dynamics, for which the
time stamp at which a vehicle crosses the stop line was need-
ed. These time stamps can be aggregated to determine the
mode-wise flow per unit time (1 s, 2 s, 5 s, etc.). For this
purpose, a special C++ program was designed, which records
strokes of assigned keys on the keyboard along with the pre-
cise time stamp. Six different keys were assigned to the vehi-
cles classified in six different modes (car, bus, bike, HGVs,
pickups, and rickshaw). Each mode was assigned to a differ-
ent research assistant, and the time stamps of all the vehicles
were recorded as the vehicles cross the stop line. The program
generates a log file and provides the count of the selected
modes of vehicles for the unit of the time supplied as input
(e.g., 1 s, 2 s, or 5 s).
The traffic stream at the selected intersection is representa-
tive of the heterogeneous traffic observed in Karachi. In total,
44,525 vehicles were counted of which 19,589 (44%) were
motorbikes, 16,029 (36%) were cars, 447 (1%) were trucks,
1337 (3%) were loading vehicles, 6670 (15%) were rickshaws
and chingchi, and 453 (1%) were busses. The traffic mix at
this intersection is similar to the traffic mix reported in other
studies from Karachi and also confirms with the vehicle reg-
istration data of Karachi [6, 37, 38].
2.3 Average travel time and speed
The drone was operated in such a way that the traffic stream
within 100 ft. of the stop line was visible in the recording. The
travel time of every 5th vehicle of the selected mode was
measured to travel the tarp length of 100 ft. The time stamp
of the vehicle as it enters the segment was also recorded along
with travel time. The recorded travel time was used to estimate
the speeds of vehicles.

Fig. 1 Google image of the selected intersection and snapshot from recorded video
3 Calibration of Vissim
Calibration of a simulation model for local conditions needs
representation of heterogeneous traffic, identification of sen-
sitive parameters, and calibration of identified sensitive pa-
rameters [39, 40]. The accurate calibration of the simulation
model requires data for intersection geometry, signal phasing,
vehicle characteristics, traffic composition, and traffic de-
mand. The accuracy of a calibrated model is measured
through the comparison of the values of various simulated
variables with the field-measured values of those variables
such as travel time, delay, speed, and average traffic flow.
The framework of the calibration of Vissim is described in
this section.
3.1 Development of simulation model in Vissim
For the development of the simulation model in Vissim, four
main characteristics are considered, which include intersec-
tion geometry, vehicular characteristics, driving behavior,
and signal characteristics. For vehicle representation, Vissim
has a wide range of vehicles available in the database, includ-
ing car, bike, bus, tram, and trucks. However, heterogeneous
traffic streams in Karachi also comprise rickshaw/chingchi
and pickups. For the representation of rickshaws/chingchi
and pickup, 3D models for rickshaw and pickup were
imported in Vissim, and its static and dynamic characteristics
were adjusted to represent actual field conditions, such as
desired speed, acceleration, and deceleration. Vehicle charac-
teristics modified in Vissim are listed in Table 1.
3.2 Calibration of Vissim parameters
The process of calibration involves changing the characteris-
tics, including speed distributions, safety distances, and
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driving behavior of commuters. Once these parameters are
provided as input, a simulation run needs to be carried out to
analyze the output. For the simulation model of this research,
the performance measures considered were traffic flow, travel
time, and delays.
3.2.1 Identification of sensitive parameters
For the calibration of Vissim parameters, it is necessary to
identify the parameters which have a significant effect on
the simulation of traffic flow [41–44]. The developed model
of the intersection in Vissim was initially simulated with the
default parameter values. As expected, the default parameters
resulted in the simulation result deviating significantly from
field-measured values. The simulated traffic flow and delay
using default parameter values are compared with the field-
measured values. The results of the comparison of simulated
values using default values of Wiedemann 74 and Wiedemann
99 are shown in Table 2.
For sensitivity analysis, the default value of each parameter
was gradually changed up to ± 50%. Each parameter was an-
alyzed individually by keeping all other parameters constant at
the default value. The identified parameters with significant
effect include standstill distance, additive part of safety, and
multiplicative part of safety. For Wiedemann 99 model, the
sensitive parameters include CC1, CC2, and CC3. The sensi-
tive parameters for lateral behavior include minimum longitu-
dinal speed, the lateral distance at 0 km/h, and 50 km/h.
3.2.2 Average standstill distance or CC0
Average standstill distance is the distance that the following
vehicle desires to maintain from the leading vehicle when both
the vehicles are in a stationary state. It is the distance between
the rear bumper of the leading vehicle and the front bumper of
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Table 1 Vehicle characteristics

and traffic composition Vehicle types Length (m) Breadth (m) Desired speed (km/h) Traffic composition (%)

Car 4.00 1.60 50 36

Bus 11.47 2.50 35 1
Motorbike 1.80 0.60 55 44
HGV 12.3 2.60 35 1
Pickup 4.70 1.69 40 3
Rickshaw/Chingchi 2.60 1.40 45 15

the following vehicle. CC0 in Wiedemann 99 also represents
the same behavior parameter of commuters. The default value
for the average standstill distance is 2 m in Vissim. The
uniqueness of this study is that it uses the video recorded from
a UAV, which records the traffic stream at an angle perpen-
dicular to the direction of traffic flow. The visuals taken at
bird’s-eye view yield more accurate values of gaps between
vehicles in comparison with video recorded at an angle.
Around 500 frames were extracted from the recorded vid-
eo, covering different traffic conditions. To measure standstill
distance between vehicles, the frames were extracted when the
traffic signal was red. The extracted images from the videos
were georeferenced in ArcGIS. The standstill distance be-
tween all the vehicles stopped at the signal was plotted in
ArcGIS. In total, 16,250 observations of standstill distance
were taken. The average measured standstill distance was
0.6 m, which is more than three times lesser than the standard
values of this parameter. This also highlights the aggressive
behavior of drivers.
0.74 s, which is 17.7% less than the default value of 0.9 s. The
default value of CC1 is based on the average behavior of
commuters, including midblock, while the values calculated
in this research are measured during the green time at the
signalized intersection.
3.2.4 CC2—following variation
The following variation is the difference between maximum
following distance and minimum following distance between
two following vehicles. It is an additional distance other than
the safety distance that a driver wants to maintain from the
leading vehicle. Values for the following variations were cal-
culated in different traffic conditions for 1000 vehicles, and
the difference between the maximum and minimum following
variations was provided as an input for CC2. The average
observed value of CC2 was 2.75 m, which is 31% smaller
than the default value of 4 m for the following variation.

3.2.3 CC1—headway time

Headway time (CC1) is the distance that a driver desires to
maintain at a certain speed from the leading vehicle measured
as time gap in seconds. For calculation of headway time, a
datum point was considered on the selected approach, and the
time difference between two vehicles while passing through
the datum point was taken as headway time. One thousand
vehicles were observed for the extraction of CC1 in different
traffic conditions. The average observed headway time was
3.2.5 Additive and multiplicative part of the safety distance
The additive and multiplicative parts of safety distance are
nondeterministic values and cannot be calculated from field
data. Therefore, after calibrating all other parameters, the
model was simulated using the calibrated values of other pa-
rameters. The values of additive and multiplicative parts were
calibrated iteratively until the minimum difference between
observed and simulated flows was achieved.

Table 2 Comparison of simulated results using default parameters values of Wiedemann 74 and Wiedemann 99

Time Actual Simulated outflow Error Simulated outflow Error Actual Simulated travel Error Simulated travel Error
intervals outflow using default (%) using default (%) travel time using default (%) time using default (%)
volume Wiedemann 74 Wiedemann 99 time Wiedemann 74 Wiedemann 99
(veh/h) (veh/h) (veh/h) (sec) (sec) (sec)

0–900 1100 835 24 806 26.7 59 96 62.7 126 113.5

900–1800 1030 750 27 715 30.5
1800–2700 1144 902 21 846 21
2700–3600 1032 755 26.8 694 32.7

3.2.6 Lateral distance at 0 km/h and 50 km/h
The calibration of lateral distance is significant in representing
the weak or no lane discipline, as observed in Karachi and
many other similar traffic streams. By default, the values of
lateral distances at the speed of 0 km/h and 50 km/h are the
same (1 m), which shows that vehicles keep the same lateral
distance when the lane is followed. Whereas when the lane
discipline is weak, and the lanes are not followed, then the
lateral distance may change with the change in speed. The use
of images taken from a drone increases the accuracy of the
lateral distance estimation.
The lateral distances between adjacent vehicles at 0 km/h
were calculated when vehicles were in a stationary condition
during the red time at the signalized intersection. Five hundred
frames were analyzed for extraction of lateral distance at
0 km/h. For lateral distance at 50 km/h, 500 frames were
extracted when the speed of vehicles was 50 km/h. The aver-
age lateral gap at 0 km/h was observed as 0.5 m, which is 50%
lesser than the default value of 1 m. This value also shows that
vehicles ignore lane and stand close to each other, which is a
commonly observed behavior in such nonstandard traffic
streams. Similarly, the lateral distance at 50 km/h was estimat-
ed to be 0.8 m, which is also 20% lower than the standard
value of 1 m.
3.2.7 Minimum longitudinal speed
The minimum longitudinal speed is one of the important pa-
rameters which represent the lateral movement of
vehicles when the vehicles come to a halt. For calculation of
minimum longitudinal speed in heterogeneous traffic, the
speed of every 5th vehicle in traffic stream was calculated,
and the minimum value was taken as the calibrated value. In
total, 500 observations of longitudinal speed were taken out of
which minimum speed of 2.5 km/h was taken as an input for
Vissim.
3.3 Comparative analysis of calibrated parameters
Table 3 compares the values of calibrated parameters in this
study with the default values of Vissim parameters. The cali-
brated values show a significant difference with the standard
values, indicating that the driving behavior of drivers in local
traffic should be properly represented to improve the accuracy
of the simulation model.
The comparison of the calibrated parameters of Vissim for
local heterogeneous traffic with other studies on Vissim cali-
bration is shown in Table 4. The values of calibrated param-
eters by Buck et al. [45] for traffic in Germany are significant-
ly different from the values estimated in this study, and other
studies reported from India for heterogeneous traffic. In com-
parison with the calibration studies conducted by Mathew and
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Radhakrishnan [23], Siddharth and Ramadurai [46], and
Arkatkar et al. [47] for different cities of India, this research
estimates most of the sensitive parameters. Furthermore, the
calibrated values are different from each other in different
cities. The difference in calibrated values could be attributed
to either iterative estimation of the parameters or the type of
data used in these studies. The iterative estimation of behavior
parameters may result in significantly different values than the
actual values, as the objective function tries to find values of
behavior parameters that minimize the error of simulated flow
or travel time.
4 Results and discussion
One of the main contributions of this research is to study the
within green time dynamics of traffic flow. The results of the
calibrated model and analysis of flow dynamics within green
time are discussed in this section.
4.1 Traffic flow dynamics within green time
The higher heterogeneity of traffic streams in many South
Asian countries is a result of the higher number of motorbikes,
which behave differently in the traffic stream. This research
focuses on highlighting the different behavior of the hetero-
geneous and undisciplined traffic stream so that the modeling
and simulation of such traffic streams can be improved.
To understand the within green time dynamics, the video
recordings for the Johar Chowrangi intersection were ana-
lyzed for traffic flow dynamics during the green time at the
highest possible resolution. The time stamp of each vehicle in
sub-second precision was recorded as it crosses the stop line
by six observers, counting each mode simultaneously. A spe-
cial computer program was developed, which can determine
the cumulative flows in the desired time intervals (e.g., 1 s, 2 s,
5 s) using the recorded time stamps of passing vehicles.
Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 show within green time
dynamics by plotting measured traffic flows against the green
time (30 s) of the selected approach for selected cycles (30 cy-
cles). Traffic flows cumulated per second during the green
time for the selected cycles are shown in Fig. 2. The selected
approach of the signalized intersection is a four-lane
approach with a total width of 40 ft. Figure 2 shows a similar
trend of traffic flow within each cycle. The highest flow is
observed within the first few seconds of each green period,
which then gradually slows down. The highest per second
flow is equivalent to 25,200 veh/h or 6300 veh/h/ln. A higher
fluctuation is observed when the traffic is counted per second
during the green time.
To reduce the higher fluctuation, as observed in Fig. 2, the
flows were cumulated every 2 sec during the green time in
Fig. 3. Figure 3 shows that the fluctuation of traffic
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Table 3 Calibrated values of

Vissim parameters Parameter Default value Calibrated value

Average standstill distance 2.00 m 0.6 m

Additive part of the safety distance 2.00 0.10
Multiplicative part of the safety distance 3.00 0.35
Minimum longitudinal speed 3.60 km/h 2.5 km/h
Lateral distance at 0 km/h 1.00 m 0.50
Lateral distance at 50 km /h 1.00 m 0.80
CC0 1.50 m 0.6 m
CC1 0.90 s 0.74 s
CC2 4.00 m 2.75 m

significantly reduces when traffic is counted per 2 sec instead
of 1 sec. The highest flow for a 2-sec interval is equivalent to
19,800 veh/h/ln. Figure 4 shows the vehicular flow cumulated
at 5 s to reduce fluctuation and to get a better understanding of
green time flow dynamics. The highest flow for 5 s is ob-
served as 16,560 veh/h or 4140 veh/h/ln.
Mode-wise traffic flow of two major transportation modes
(cars and motorbikes) was explored in detail to investigate the
reason for higher traffic flows shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4.
Figure 5 shows that the highest flow for motorbikes is ob-
served within the first 5 s of the green time. The comparison
of Fig. 5 and Fig. 2 indicates that the peak flow within the
green time observed in Fig. 2 is attributed to the flow of mo-
torbikes. However, it is observed that flow for motorbikes for
most of the observed cycles rapidly decreases after the initial
5 s of green time. This indicates that motorbikes do not follow
FIFO (first-in-first-out) rule, and motorbike riders tend to
jump the queue using the available spaces between other big-
ger vehicles. Motorbikes are small in size and can easily ma-
neuver through the gaps to jump the queue of vehicles. This is
a common phenomenon observed at traffic signals. The mo-
torbike riders wait at or beyond the stop line to move quickly
once the red signal changes to green. Figure 6 shows the
motorbike flows aggregated for 2 s. The highest flow for a
2-sec motorbike count is equivalent to 14,400 veh/h or
3600 veh/h/ln. Figure 7 shows the motorbike flows cumulated
for 5 s. The highest flow for 5-s motorbike count is
12,240 veh/h or 3060 veh/h/ln.
The variation in the flow of cars during green time is shown
in Figs. 8, 9, and 10. It can be observed from Figs. 8, 9, and 10
that flows for cars are lesser during the initial 5 s and the
maximum number of cars for approximately all studied cycles
flow after the initial 5 s. Figure 8 shows the flow of cars during
each second of green time, and it reveals that the highest flow
of cars for almost all the studied cycles is observed after the
first 5 s of green time. The 5-s lag in attaining maximum flow
is due to the slow acceleration capabilities of cars in compar-
ison with motorbikes. The highest flow for cumulative per
second flow is observed as 14,400 veh/h or 3600 veh/h/ln.
This is still a significantly higher number than the standard
saturation flow rate, which is taken around 1800–2000 veh/h/
ln. The significantly higher flow of cars is due to the lane
behavior of drivers, as 6–7 lanes of cars can be observed in
reality on a four-lane road segment. Similarly, Fig. 9 and
Fig. 10 show the cumulative car flow for 2 s and 5 s, respec-
tively. The highest flow of cars aggregated at 5 s is observed
as 10,080 veh/h or 2520 veh/h/ln.
Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 show within green time
dynamics of traffic flow aggregated for different time intervals
for cars and motorbikes for selected signal cycles. In total,

Table 4 Comparison of calibrated parameters with other studies

Location Calibrated parameters

CC0 CC1 CC2 Standstill Additive part of Multiplicative part of LC at 0 km/h LC at 50 km/h Minimum longitudinal
distance safety distance safety distance speed km/h

Berlin and Karlsruhe, 2.5 1.3 – 2.1 – – – – –

Germany [45]
Jaipur, India [23] 0.8 0.8 0.32 1.3 0.28 0.16 0.30 0.42 –
Chennai, India [46] – – – 1.0 0.20 0.78 0.62 – –
Delhi, India [47] – – – 1.35 0.25 0.35 – – –
Karachi, Pakistan 0.6 0.74 2.75 0.6 0.10 0.35 0.50 0.80 0.80
(This research)

Fig. 2 Flow variation per second during the green time
traffic videos for about six hours were recorded using UAV,
which contains 175 signal cycles. The mode-wise traffic flow
averaged for each second of all the cycles is shown in Fig. 11,
which clearly shows the flow dynamics within green time.
The flow of motorbikes can be observed from the first second
Fig. 3 Flow variation during green time cumulated for 2 s
Pers Ubiquit Comput
of green time with an average flow rate of 8000 veh/h, which
further increases until the fifth second and then start decreas-
ing. On the contrary, the flow of cars is almost negligible
during the first 4 sec of green time, and it starts increasing
from the fifth second after the signal turns green. The
Pers Ubiquit Comput
Fig. 4 Flow variation per 5 sec during the green time
maximum flow of cars is observed between 7 and 10 s at
around 10,000 veh/h after which the flow starts decreasing.
Other modes of transport, such as rickshaws, pickups, trucks,
and busses, have a significantly lower flow during the first few
seconds of the green time. The highest flow of rickshaws is
observed at the 17th second. Other modes show a random
flow throughout the green time. The average flow during
green time aggregated at 5 s is shown in Fig. 12. The flows
Fig. 5 Motorbike flow variation per second during the green time
aggregated at 5 s show a smooth variation in comparison with
the average per second flows shown in Fig. 11. Figure 12
shows that the average flow of cars during the first 5 sec
was 984 veh/h, whereas the average flow of motorbikes was
10,464 veh/h during the same period. The highest flow of cars
was observed during the second interval (5–10 s) of green
time at 8208 veh/h. The exceptionally higher values of flow
during the first 10 s are recorded as the vehicles stop close to

Fig. 6 Motorbike flow variation per 2 s during the green time
each other. This behavior is also reflected through the small
values of lateral and longitudinal gaps presented earlier. After
the queue dissipation within the first half of green time, the
flow of cars and motorbikes reduces, whereas the flow of
trucks and busses is observed at a similar rate throughout the
green time.
4.2 Validation of the calibrated simulation model
The model was validated using the calibrated parameters for
the traffic data from a different time at the same intersection.
The results for validation at the selected intersection for both
Wiedemann 74 and Wiedemann 99 model are shown in
Table 5.
The results of the simulation with calibrated Wiedemann
74 parameters show that there is a very slight difference be-
tween average field-measured flows and the simulated flow.
Results for simulated flows by Wiedemann 99 are also accept-
able. Most of the studies on calibration only compare the
simulated and actual traffic flows.
Results in Table 5 show that despite reasonably reproduc-
ing traffic flows, the simulated travel times are still different
than the field-observed travel time. To investigate the reason
of this difference in travel time, the simulation results were
analyzed in detail and compared with the field-observed
values in the following subsections.
Pers Ubiquit Comput
4.3 Actual and simulated traffic flow comparison
The simulation results showed that the difference between the
simulation volume and actual volume for 15 min is within the
acceptable limits. However, the comparison of actual and sim-
ulated per second flows shows a significant difference.
Figure 13 shows the comparison of per second flows obtained
from Vissim and actual field measurements. The mean square
error between the Vissim and actual field flow is 4.64. This
difference in per second flow is due to the rapid discharge of
motorbike in the initial few seconds of green time of the sig-
nal, while the queue discharge rate for motorbikes and cars are
similar in the simulated results obtained from Vissim.
When the flow is aggregated for a cycle of 15-min interval
(as shown in Table 5), the overall simulated traffic flows show
a good correlation with the field-measured flows. However,
this difference in simulated flows at the micro level may sig-
nificantly affect the travel times, which is also reflected from
the results presented in Table 5.
4.4 Actual and simulated travel time comparison
The observation from recorded videos showed that motor-
bikes in the traffic stream tend to acquire the position near to
the stop line irrespective of their arrival time in the queue. The
motorbike riders jump through the queue, despite arriving late
Pers Ubiquit Comput

Fig. 7 Motorbike flow variation per 5 s during the green time

Fig. 8 The flow of cars per second during the green time
 Pers Ubiquit Comput

Fig. 9 The flow of cars aggregated for 2 s during the green time

in the queue to wait near the stop line.This behavior of mo- traffic stream. However, it was found that Vissim does not
torbike riders is exclusive for heterogeneous traffic and is also simulate this behavior of motorbike riders and the queue po-
observed in other cities and countries with a similar type of sition of motorbikes in Vissim is dependent upon their arrival

Fig. 10 The flow of cars aggregated for 5 s during the green time
Pers Ubiquit Comput

Fig. 11 Average of mode wise per second traffic flows

time. For testing this hypothesis, classified travel times of
motorbikes and cars were extracted from field video recording
and recording of the Vissim simulation.
The recorded videos were analyzed, and travel time for
every 5th motorbike and every 5th car were extracted
manually with a stopwatch of 0.01 s accuracy. Travel times
for 768 motorbikes and 580 cars were extracted. Travel time
for cars and motorbikes were averaged for each signal cycle.
Similarly, average travel time for cars and motorbikes were
extracted for each cycle from Vissim. Figure 14 shows a

Fig. 12 Average of mode-wise traffic flow aggregated for 5 s

Table 5 Validation of calibrated Vissim model

Time Actual Simulated outflow Error Simulated outflow Error Actual Simulated travel Error Simulated travel Error
intervals outflow using calibrated (%) using calibrated (%) travel time using (%) time using (%)
(s) volume Wiedemann 74 Wiedemann 99 time calibrated calibrated
(veh/h) (veh/h) (veh/h) (sec) Wiedemann 74 Wiedemann 99
(Sec) (Sec)

0–900 1036 1015 2.04 990 4.5 59 67.85 15 70.34 19.2

900–1800 1111 1056 5.07 1018 8.7
1800–2700 1141 1099 3.75 1063 6.98
2700–3600 1085 1060 2.33 1066 1.76
 Pers Ubiquit Comput

30000
actual flow
25000
Traffic flow (veh/hr) VISSIM flow

20000

15000

10000

5000

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Green time for the selected approach during different cycles (sec)

Fig. 13 Vissim and actual per second traffic flow comparison

comparison of classified travel time extracted from recorded
videos and Vissim simulation. The figure shows that the travel
times extracted from Vissim simulation videos for both
motobikesbikes and cars are approximately the same. Travel
time of cars measured from the field recorded videos and
Vissim is approximately the same. However, the actual travel
time of motorbikes is significantly lower than the travel time
of motorbikes simulated for each cycle through Vissim.
The lower travel times of motorbikes indicate that the
Vissim does not consider the queue-jumping behavior of
motorbike riders at the signalized intersection and simulates
traffic based on standard FIFO principle. Whereas in reality,
motorbikes skip the queue to reduce their travel time.
5 Conclusions and recommendations
This research studied the microscopic behavior of heteroge-
neous and undisciplined traffic at the signalized intersection.
Within green time traffic flow dynamics were studied in detail

100
90
80
Travel time (seconds)

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Signal Cycles
Actual motorbike travel time Simulated motorbike travel time-VISSIM
Actual car travel time Simulated car travel time-VISSIM

Fig. 14 Vissim travel time and actual travel time comparison

Pers Ubiquit Comput
with a specific focus on the behavior of motorbikes, which has
the highest proportion in the traffic mix. The analysis of within
green time flow dynamics shows that the flow of traffic is not
uniform within the green time. The flow of motorbikes is the
highest during the first few (1–5) seconds of the green time,
and it is significantly lower after the initial few seconds of
green time. On the contrary, the flow of cars and other modes
is lower during the initial few (1–5) seconds and gets its
highest value after the first few seconds. The highest overall
traffic flow is observed at the beginning of green time when
vehicles are queued close to each other. During the red time,
vehicles tend to move close to each other to occupy the avail-
able gaps, to proceed as soon as the signal turns green. This
results in a significantly higher number of lanes on the ap-
proach of a signalized intersection, which results in higher
flow when the queue discharges at the beginning of the green
time. In contrast, the vehicles approaching during green time
move at a distance, resulting in a comparatively lower number
of lanes. Therefore, the flow rates are found to be decreasing
with green time. However, if the queues are significantly lon-
ger and are not entirely discharged during the green time, then
a consistent higher flow could be observed.
The dynamics of traffic flow within green time explored in
this research shows that, contrary to the established concept,
the traffic does not flow at a constant rate during the green
time, especially in heterogeneous traffic with weak lane disci-
pline. This revelation may be useful in the design and opera-
tion of signalized intersections. In the absence of information
about the actual flow rates, engineers and practitioners use the
standard value of saturation flow rates for the design and op-
eration of traffic signals. The existing performance and the
impact of any proposed improvement are also modeled using
the standard values of saturation flow rates. The design, oper-
ation, and performance of pre-timed and adaptive traffic sig-
nals can also be improved if the system is provided with ac-
curate information about the capacity flow dynamics within
green time.
This research also calibrated the parameters of Vissim for
simulating the heterogeneous traffic with weak lane disci-
pline. The UAV-recorded video provides a better option for
estimating the values of behavior parameters. The calibrated
parameter values are significantly lower than the default pa-
rameters values and values reported in the literature for stan-
dard traffic. Like most of the existing studies, the calibrated
Vissim accurately reproduced the average flow rates for the
given simulation horizon. However, the detailed comparative
analysis of simulated and actual traffic conditions revealed
that the simulated flow from Vissim could not reproduce the
significantly higher traffic flows at the beginning of green
time. Vissim models the queue discharge at a constant rate.
The comparison of simulated and field-measured travel
times shows that Vissim accurately simulated travel time for
cars. The manual extraction of mode-wise travel time from
Vissim simulation showed that Vissim simulation follows
the standard FIFO principle, which in reality is violated by
motorbikes riders. The Vissim-simulated travel times for all
the modes were equal. However, motorbikes jump the queue
through the available spaces, which significantly reduces the
travel time of motorbikes in comparison with other modes.
This phenomenon of queue jumping by motorbike riders is a
common practice in the similar heterogeneous traffic streams,
observed in many South and East Asian countries. The im-
pacts of this behavior on flow rate and travel time have been
quantified in this research. By incorporating the queue-
jumping behavior of motorbikes at signalized intersections
and congested midblock segments, the accuracy of the simu-
lation packages and traffic flow models can be improved.
The existing traffic flow models and simulation packages
lack in modeling the queue-jumping phenomenon of motor-
bikes at signalized intersections in heterogeneous and undis-
ciplined traffic streams. Future studies could be focused on
developing mathematical models to represent this phenome-
non. A new parameter could be introduced in the simulation
packages to represent this phenomenon based on the mathe-
matical model of queue-jumping behavior. Furthermore, a
plug-in or add-on can be developed to add this capability to
the existing simulation packages.
Acknowledgments Authors are thankful to research assistants Amna
Anwar, Anoosha Shoukat, Ain ul Huda Khan, Kanwar Kumar,
Farhana, and Waqas Ahmed for their help in data collection and data
extraction.
Funding information This collaborative research in UAE was supported
by the Zayed University Research Cluster grant # R17075. In Pakistan,
the research was carried out at Exascale Open Data Analytics Lab,
National Center for Big Data & Cloud Computing (Funded by the
Higher Education Commission of Pakistan).
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