LOGNORMAL DISTRIBUTION FOR HIGH TRAFFIC FLOWS

The headway probability distributions for very high traffic flows are studied theoretically and empirically. Theoretical analyses show that the lognormal mechanism is applicable to individual headways for drivers in a car-following state. Thus the headway distribution of a traffic stream at high flows should follow the shifted lognormal distribution. Tests on a freeway data set with lane flow rates of 2,500 to 2,900 vehicles per day gave an excellent fit for the shifted lognormal distribution with a 0.3- or 0.4-sec shift. Previously the normal model had been the preferred headway distribution for high traffic flows, but in the present study it did not fit the data very well.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1993/1398/1398-017.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=LOGNORMAL+DISTRIBUTION+FOR+HIGH+TRAFFIC+FLOWS&author=M.+Mei&author=A.+Bullen&publication_year=1993
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309054672
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1398, Traffic Flow and Highway Capacity. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Mei, Minje
  • Bullen, A Graham R
• Publication Date: 1993

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 125-128
• Monograph Title: Traffic flow and highway capacity
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1398
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Distributions (Statistics); Field studies; Flow; Freeways; Headways; Physical distribution; Theory; Traffic flow
• Uncontrolled Terms: Field data; Flow rate; Lognormal distributions
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I71: Traffic Theory;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00638686
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309054672
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Oct 26 1993 12:00AM