TRAFFIC INTERACTION IN THE FREEWAY MERGING PROCESS-VOL. V

VOLUME 5 OF THE FINAL REPORT DEALS PRIMARILY WITH THE BEHAVIOR OF TIME HEADWAYS BETWEEN VEHICLES AS THEY TRAVERSE A SECTION OF HIGHWAY IMMEDIATELY UPSTREAM OF AN ENTRANCE RAMP. THIS BEHAVIOR TERMED GAP STABILITY, IS DESCRIBED BY A CONDITIONAL FREQUENCY FUNCTION WHICH GIVES THE RELATIVE FREQUENCY WITH WHICH A GAP, OBSERVED TO BE OF A GIVEN SIZE AT SOME UPSTREAM LOCATION, CHANGES TO A CERTAIN SIZE IN THE MERGING AREA. THIS CONDITIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF GAPS IS ASSUMED TO BE A NORMAL DISTRIBUTION. RELATIONSHIPS ARE DEVELOPED FOR PREDICTING THE MEAN AND STANDARD DEVIATION OF THIS NORMAL DISTRIBUTION FOR A GIVEN DISTANCE AND GIVEN SPEED CONDITIONS. THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS INFORMATION IN THE CONTROL OF THE MERGING PROCESS IS DISCUSSED AND A RELATIONSHIP, DEVELOPED FROM THE INTERACTION OF GAP STABILITY AND GAP ACCEPTANCE CHARACTERISTICS, IS SUGGESTED AS A RATIONAL CONTROL FUNCTION FOR MERGING CONTROL. THE LANE CHANGING BEHAVIOR OF DRIVERS IN THE VICINITY OF AN ENTRANCE RAMP WAS ALSO STUDIED. RELATIONSHIPS ARE PRESENTED, GIVING THE GENERAL MAGNITUDE OF THIS ACTIVITY AS RELATED TO FREEWAY AND ENTRANCE RAMP VOLUMES. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Hpr, Cpr-11-2842
• Corporate Authors:

  Texas Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System, 1600 E Lamar Boulevard
  Arlington, TX  United States  76011
• Authors:
  • Buhr, J H
• Publication Date: 1967

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Freeway operations; Gap acceptance; Headways; Interchange ramps; Merging traffic; Traffic control; Traffic flow; Traffic lanes; Traffic volume; Vehicles
• Uncontrolled Terms: Change
• Old TRIS Terms: Freeway entrances and exits; Lanes
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00224857
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Bureau of Public Roads /US
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 1 1994 12:00AM