01099336

Component

This paper presents an investigation into car-following interactions on two-lane rural highways. Empirical data from several study sites on two-lane and four-lane rural highways in the state of Montana was used in this investigation. Three separate yet relevant analyses are presented in this paper. The first analysis involves a preliminary characterization of time headways and their distributions and shows how they are affected by passing restrictions on two-lane highways. The second analysis presented in this paper involves an investigation of speed-headway relationship to establish a headway threshold that could be used in defining free-moving vehicles on two-lane highways. The third and last analysis investigates the “following by choice” phenomenon on two-lane highways using data from two-lane as well as four-lane study sites. The study found that the car-following interaction generally ceases when headways exceed a value of approximately six seconds. Also, a significant proportion of drivers choose to maintain relatively short headways while following other vehicles on two-lane highways regardless of passing restrictions.

01084478

08-2200

English

14p

2008

Transportation Research Board 87th Annual Meeting

DVD

Figures (6) ; References (14) ; Tables (1)

Car following; Four lane highways; Headways; Operations; Passing; Passing zones; Rural highways; Traffic platooning; Two lane highways; Types of roads by number of lanes; Vehicle spacing

Montana

Administration and Management; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2008 Paper #08-2200

TRIS, TRB

Jan 29 2008 4:33PM