MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM

1.2     Statement of the Problem

Port Harcourt and indeed Nigeria alongside other developing countries are facing serious traffic congestion problem due to rapid motorization and rapid population growth in their cities. Infrastructure development could not match the rapid motorization. As a result, serious congestion occurs almost at every intersection during peak hours mainly because of the inability of signal system to provide optimum flows, either due to the imbalance green time split or optimum band width for progressive flows. Thus this project work has come with the view of designing an expert system to check this difficulty in the urban and sub-urban metropolitan areas of our country.

1.3     Objectives of the Study

          The aim of this project is to develop and design an effective traffic control system that can monitor and regulate traffic congestions within the road network in our cities. Aims include:

1. To design a traffic system that is not only time based but traffic based on highly packed junctions.
2. To design a traffic control system that will be available round-the-clock
3. To design a system that coordinates traffic flow using the appropriate programming language.

1.4     Significance of the Study

          The uniqueness of the project is not only for clearing the traffic but it shares time slot equally between two sides of a junction. It is going to be a useful project for traffic police to prevent road accidents and promote safety on the road for road users. Since automotive technologies are gaining ground in modern day traffic-control systems and the number of vehicles and passengers is rapidly growing, traffic control systems are needed to ensure the safety of all parties involved which include, pedestrians who obediently wait for traffic signal to interrupt traffic so they can cross and drivers who also patiently wait for their turn to move.

1.5     Scope of Study

          This work is essentially intended to design an efficient traffic control system to control traffic in the urban areas and industrial estates across the country. It looks at controlling traffic in a four-way, two lane junction.

1.6     Limitations of the Study

This study was limited by some factors which include:

1. Limited materials: due to some materials being inaccessible, I only had to work with the few I could get.
2. Technical issues: owing to the fact that my system's battery had expired, I could only work on my project when there was power supply.
3. Time factor: because of the challenges mentioned above and others, the time given to finish my project work was not enough.

1.7     Definition of terms

          It's pertinent to highlight and define properly some important terms that are used in this work. They include:

Algorithm: a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.

Congestion: the state of being overcrowded, especially with traffic or people.

Control: this is the action necessary to ensure that plans and objectives are being achieved. Control as applied to road traffics is the act of directing vehicles (motorists) and pedestrian traffic around a construction zone in order to be free from accidents and other road disruptions.

Genetic: of or relating to genes or origin.

Traffic: this is defined as the vehicles that are travelling in an area at a particular time.

Traffic light: which is also known as 'stop light, traffic lamps, traffic signal, signal light, robot or semaphore' is a signalling device which is positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic. Traffic lights alternate the right of way of road users by displaying lights of standard colours (red, amber and green) using a universal colour code.

Transportation: the action of transporting someone or something or the process of being transported.