Investigations Of Impacts Of Junction Design On Emissions: Are Our Junctions Sustainable?

Purpose – An investigation of driving behaviour and impacts on emissions at two traffic junctions.

Design/methodology/approach – A signalised junction and a roundabout in Edinburgh have been selected. An instrumented car has been used and a GPS to monitor driving activities as well as a gas analyser to monitor the vehicle’s emissions during the evening peak hour.

Findings – Vehicles’ emissions are affected by a large number of factors including characteristics of the engine and the vehicle, characteristics of the road, the fuel used and driving behaviour.

Originality/value – Different methods and approaches have been used to investigate the behaviour of vehicles at various traffic junctions. The main aim, however, has mostly been to reduce travel times as well as traffic delays and queues at the junction. Consideration of environmental impacts has also been made, but often as a by-product of congestion reduction and not as a main aim.

Keywords Modelling of emissions at junctions, Traffic modelling and sustainability, GPS and emissions modelling, Driving cycles at traffic junctions

Paper type Research paper