Models of Acceleration and Deceleration Rates on a Complex Two-Lane Rural Highway: Results from a Nighttime Driving Experiment

This study aims to model driver acceleration or deceleration rates on a complex two-lane rural highway when approaching or departing horizontal curves under nighttime driving conditions. The data used in this study were from a field experiment conducted in Pennsylvania. Research participant speeds were continuously tracked along the experimental roadway. Separate models were estimated for drivers approaching and departing horizontal curves using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression. Because of the existence of heteroskedasticity in the two OLS models, efficiency was gained using a heteroskedasticity-consistent standard error estimator. The results indicate that the explanatory variables associated with acceleration or deceleration rates when approaching or departing horizontal curves in the present experiment included many geometric variables, such as curve direction, the length of approach and departure tangents, length of horizontal curve, and a vertical curve index (average rate of vertical curvature). Also, the influence of successive curves was considered and included in the models presented.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Hu, Wen
  • Donnell, Eric T
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 87th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2008-1-13 to 2008-1-17
• Date: 2008

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: DVD
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 22p
• Monograph Title: TRB 87th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Acceleration lanes; Deceleration lanes; Least squares method; Nighttime crashes; Operations; Rural highways; Speed change lanes; Traffic characteristics; Traffic flow; Traffic models
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01099144
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 08-0882
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 21 2008 7:05AM