TEST OF THEORY OF DRIVER BEHAVIOR ON HOMOGENEOUS FREEWAYS

A theory that can explain even some of the more puzzling aspects of freeway traffic flow is tested here. Some of the observations furnished to this end pertain to dynamic features of traffic that have not been previously verified with data. These include findings that (a) freeway traffic can enter a semicongested state marked by a fast-moving queue in the passing lane with unqueued flow in the shoulder lane; (b) the possible devolution of traffic to a fully congested state when vehicle speeds in the passing lane drop below those in the shoulder lane supports the contention that freeway capacity reductions can be caused by loss of driver motivation; and (c) the transition between semicongested and fully congested traffic can propagate upstream at velocities much higher than those of ordinary kinematic waves. These and other findings are in agreement with the theory, which suggests that the theory is a reasonable description of certain driver behavior.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.3141/1883-02
• Summary URL:
  http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=TEST+OF+THEORY+OF+DRIVER+BEHAVIOR+ON+HOMOGENEOUS+FREEWAYS&author=K.+Chung&author=M.+Cassidy&publication_year=2004
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Public/Blurbs/155481.aspx
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1883, Traffic Flow Theory and Highway Capacity and Quality of Service 2004.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Chung, K
  • Cassidy, M J
• Publication Date: 2004

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: p. 14-20
• Monograph Title: TRAFFIC FLOW THEORY AND HIGHWAY CAPACITY AND QUALITY OF SERVICE 2004
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1883
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Drivers; Freeways; Highway capacity; Passing lanes; Traffic congestion; Traffic flow theory; Traffic queuing; Traffic speed
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I71: Traffic Theory;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00983354
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 030909478X
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Dec 20 2004 12:00AM