At the end of 1995, the Driver and Traffic Management division of the then Department of Transport (DoT) commissioned a wide-ranging investigation of the potential to extend the use of Above Ground Detectors (AGDs) as an alternative to inductive loops for non-motorway vehicle detection. The ultimate goal of the project is to provide information that will enable the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) to provide guidance to AGD users. This paper presents the findings of the project, whose final report has been prepared and includes an AGD Application Guide. User expectations of 100% vehicle detector accuracy are unrealistic, but it is arguable that most detectors will detect over 99% of vehicles at least once on the approach to a stop line. For most cases, the use of Doppler microwave vehicle detectors (MVDs) is reasonably well understood. A before-and-after study was recommended, covering a representative selection of sites, aiming to quantify the impact of AGD use for approach detection on roads with speed discrimination or speed assessment loops. Other applications examined in detail included call-cancel detection and the use of the SCOOT and MOVA urban traffic control (UTC) programs. Some potential benefits and pitfalls are discussed.
Samenvatting