Driver and pedestrian behaviour significantly affect the safety and the flow of traffic at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. The driver behaviour models describe the driver decisions made in different traffic flow conditions. Modelling the pedestrian behaviour plays an essential role in the analysis of pedestrian flows in the areas such as public transit terminals, pedestrian zones, evacuations, etc. Driver behaviour models, integrated into simulation tools, can be divided into car-following models and lane-changing models. The simulation tools are used to replicate traffic flows and infer certain regularities. Particular model parameters must be appropriately calibrated to approximate the realistic traffic flow conditions. This paper describes the existing car-following models, lane-changing models, and pedestrian behaviour models. Further, it underlines the importance of calibrating the parameters of microsimulation models to replicate realistic traffic flow conditions and sets the guidelines for future research related to the development of new models and the improvement of the existing ones.

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ABSTRACT

Road safety in primary school areas is a delicate issue due to the vulnerability of children as road users. They are inexperienced traffic participants and sometimes their behavior in traffic situations is unpredictable. This paper reports a safety analysis conducted using video processing of conflict trajectories of vehicles and active transportation users (AT users). The videos were collected using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as this technology does not affect the actual behavior of traffic participants. Due to their airborne position, UAVs can conveniently gather information about driving behaviors and the exact positions of various participants. The safety analysis was conducted using surrogate indicators suitable for evaluating the risk of potential collisions as they incorporate both spatial proximity and speed. Three conflict indicators were used in the safety analysis: (i) time-to-collision, (ii) post-encroachment time, and (iii) heavy braking. The methodology was tested in a primary school area in the city of Zagreb. With the applied methodology, a total of 43 potential conflicts were identified in the school area (14 time-to-collision, 23 post-encroachment time, and 6 heavy braking). Based on the determined potential conflicts, safety measures were proposed to decrease the number and severity of potential conflicts and to increase traffic safety near school areas.

Level crossings (LCs ) represent a direct conflict between rail and road traffic. From the aspect of safety, LCs are traffic points of high risk. This is confirmed by the fact that they are often places where traffic incidents and accidents frequently occur, with consequences in human victims and great material damage. Those represent an actual problem of traffic safety which is characteristic of the traffic system of every country and in the Republic of Croatia as well. In Croatia every level crossing is protected in accordance with the stipulated legal regulations, and the protection level primarily depends on the category of the railway line (main, regional, and local) and the road (state, county, local, uncategorized), allowed speed on the line, terrain conditions, and local circumstances at the crossing location. On the Croatian Railways network in the total length of 2756 km, there are a total of 1542 LCs. Out of the total number of LCs 68.4% are protected only by road traffic signs and visibility triangle (signs informing about the approach to the crossing, STOP sign and Andrew's cross), and 31.6% of LCs are protected by devices (light-audio signals, half-barriers, barriers). The safety condition at level crossings in the Republic of Croatia is best reflected in the data on the number of traffic incidents and accidents (fatalities and material damage), as well as on the number of victims (killed or injured). This paper will introduce the current status of level crossings in Croatia, included types of LCs, statistical data of accidents, comparison with other countries, national safety programme for the protection of LCs, and research perspectives with aim of defining priority measures of improving safety at level crossings.