A Study on the Method of Highway Hi-Pass Lane Arrangement

Hi-Pass was introduced at the meeting of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs and was first opened up in June 2005. Since the utility rate of Hi-Pass in 2011 was 50.7%, it has been increasing by nearly 10% annually. With the increase in the use of Hi-Pass, however, there are growing safety problems. At this point of time, a criterion on Hi-Pass lane arrangement is required. Thus, this research suggests a three-stage highway lane arrangement method of mainline toll booths. This study is mainly based on conflict analyses and a conflict model is established. 1. INTRODUCTIOIN With a view to enhancing the function of highways, the Hi-Pass system was first adopted in December 2005 and extended nationwide in 2007, leading to the exponential growth in the number of vehicles using the system every year. The increasing Hi-Pass usage rates and traffic volumes have been associated with safety issues, which warrant the necessity to examine the Hi-Pass system operation. The current guideline on Hi-Pass lane operation in practice does not reflect the actual vehicle behavior in the toll plazas along the highways. Moreover, with no specific standard being defined, the safety of toll plazas and traffic flows is not properly taken into account. Accordingly, to deal with the safety issues, this study set up a criterion for three stages of Hi-Pass lane arrangement. This study investigated mainline toll plazas on the highway to suggest objective grounds that the arrangement of Hi-Pass lanes should reduce the frequency of conflicts among vehicles passing toll plazas on the highway and secure safety.