Risky Driving Behaviour Under Heterogeneous Traffic Condition On Indian Urban Expressway

Abstract

In developing countries like India, newly constructed National Highways charging fees for their use are also suffering from accident occurrence on them. One such stretch, NH-48, is also suffering from accidents over the years. Due to high access density, heterogeneous traffic, conflict points have increased on this highway and subsequently cause accidents. The comparison of results of a Personal Interview and in-field Videographic audit of drivers indicates that heavy vehicle driver is driving on the median lane and their higher share in traffic composition increases disturbance to other vehicles and forces other vehicles to change the lanes due to the difference in driving speeds. From the Videographic driver's audit study, it can be concluded that 32.7% of trucks, 54.3% multi-axle vehicles, are driving on the median lane, while only 36.6% car drivers are driving on the median lane. From the study, it can be concluded that 18.10% of the drivers are moving their vehicles with risk without following proper traffic rules and regulations while driving. Such a study might help the Traffic administration authority to capture such risky behavior of the drivers and take suitable measures to reduce such risky movements by drivers and consequently help in reducing accidents in the future.