PATH

Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) for Truck Platooning: Operational Concept Alternatives

Nowakowski, Christopher
Shladover, Steven E.
Lu, Xiao-Yun
Thompson, Deborah
Kailas, Aravind
2015

Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) provides an intermediate step toward a longer-term vision of trucks operating in closely-coupled automated platoons. There are important distinctions between CACC and automated truck platooning. First, with CACC, only truck speed control will be automated, using vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication to supplement forward sensors. The drivers will still be responsible for actively steering the vehicle, lane keeping, and monitoring roadway and traffic conditions. Second, while truck platooning systems have relied on a Constant Distance Gap (CDG)...

The Mass Transit Needs of a Non-Driving Disabled Population

Golledge, Reginald G.
Costanzo, C. Michael
Marston, James R.
1996

This paper examines further characteristics of the activity patterns of blind and vision impaired non-driving populations previously discussed in PATH Database Reference No. The report begins with an exploration of the activity patterns of blind or vision impaired people, followed by an evaluation of the impact of non-driving on employability and movement potential of the disabled non-driving group. The results of a survey of blind and vision impaired users of public transit facilities are then examined. Travel behavior characteristics and travel modes are studied. Possible assistive...

Evaluation of the Bay Area Incident Response System (BAIRS)

Mauch, Michael
Chung, Koohong
Ahn, Soyoung
Skabardonis, Alexander
2006

The Bay Area Incident Response System (BAIRS) is an integrated Web and GIS based incident tracking system that provides tools to improve California’s Department of Transportation (Caltrans) incident management capabilities. Currently, BAIRS aids District 4 Maintenance respond to and track over 33,000 incidents per year throughout the San Francisco Bay area.The report presents the findings from the evaluation of the BAIRS system based on field data on incidents and traffic conditions. Through the implementation of BAIRS, incident response and clearance times were reduced by about 15%....

San Diego I-15 Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) System: Stage II (Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation)

Miller, Mark A.
Skabardonis, Alexander
2010

This report describes the Stage II work –Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation(AMS) – to date of the US Department of Transportation’s (DOT) federally-sponsored Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) Program for the I-15 Corridor in San Diego County, California, between State Route 163in the city of San Diego and State Route 78 in the city of Escondido. Stage II of the federal ICM Program involves performing the analysis, modeling, and simulation work for the I-15 corridor in San Diego County. Major tasks in Stage II consist of data collection, tools and software support, models validation and...

The ISTEA/ITS Connection in California: The State of the Relationship and Opportunities for Productive and Beneficial Linkages

Miller, Mark
Jia, Wenyu
1998

This report describes research which had three objectives: 1) investigate the current state of California's implementation of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) with respect to Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), 2) assess the extent to which ITS has been integrated within the State's transportation planning process, and 3) recommend opportunities for linkages between ISTEA and ITS that have not yet been recognized. A literature search was first conduced which studied the key features of ISTEA, specific ITS-related issues, the institutional environment, and...

Corridor Deployment and Investigation of Anonymous Vehicle Tracking for Real-Time Traffic Performance Measurement

Ritchie, Stephen G.
Jeng, Shin-Ting (Cindy)
Tok, Yeow Chern (Andre)
Park, Seri
2008

This report presents the results of a multi-year research effort on the development of a real-time section-based traffic performance measurement system using inductive vehicle signatures obtained from single conventional loop sensors along a six-mile freeway corridor in the City of Irvine, California and a separate effort to investigate the potential of a new type of inductive sensor called the Blade™ for the purpose of commercial vehicle surveillance at the San Onofre Truck Weigh and Inspection Facility in Southern California. The real-time performance measurement system (RTPMS) is based...

The Influence of Close-Following Upon Cooling Module Air Flow

Browand, Fred
Marcu, Bogdan
Sharpe, Christian
1998

The purpose of this report is to experimentally determine the air flow through the cooling module (air-conditioning condenser plus engine radiator) of a Ford Windstar minivan when the van is operated at a fraction of a vehicle length behind a lead van. Pressures and temperatures are measured across the cooling module while the vans are in operation, and a standard calibration relates the pressure drop to the flow velocity through the cooling module. The Windstars are connected in tandem and driven on a test track at spacings of 0.22, 0.28, 0.38, 0.62, 0.88, and 1.0, expressed as fractions...

The Impact of Intelligent Transportation Systems on Bus Driver Effectiveness

Bailey, Diane E.
Hall, Randolph
1997

This paper examines the potential for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) to improve bus driver effectiveness. Analysis of data gathered reveals the unlikelihood of improvement of individual bus driver effectiveness measures. The authors determined that the most visible benefits were seen in the automatic processing of information related to transferring passengers and in the increased speed with which emergency and maintenance calls can be handled.

Freeway Traffic Control Using Variable Speed Limits

Lu, Xiao-Yun
Nowakowski, Christopher
Su, Dongyan
Shladover, Steven E.
2011

The work reported here includes the development of the underlying theory for detecting traffic flow breakdown at a bottleneck and for defining the speed profiles that vehicles should be following in order to maximize the flow through the bottleneck region. It also includes a preliminary test of the communication of the variable speed limit values to an instrumented vehicle for display to drivers from the general public, in order to determine their reactions to the variable speed limits. The selection of variable speed limits (VSL) to reduce traffic breakdowns is based on careful modeling...

Models of Vehicular Collision: Development and Simulation with Emphasis on Safety III: Computer Code Programmer's Guide and User Manual for Medusa

O'reilly, Oliver M.
Papadopoulos, P.
Lo, G.-J.
Varadi, P.C.
1998

This report presents a user's manual and a programmer's guide for the computer program MEDUSA. The program is capable of simulating the impacts of several vehicles. It assumes that the collision are elastic, and is consequently applicable for low relative velocity impacts. A theoretical background of the collision detection algorithm is first given, followed by user's manual and programmer's guide.