Traffic Operations and Management

Expedited Crash Investigation - With Use of Technologies for Documentation and Processing

Chan, Ching-Yao
Lian, Thang
Ko, Jeff
2007

The mobility and efficiency of California highways are impeded by the recurrent and non-recurrent congestion on a daily basis. Roadway incidents, especially collisions, often result in traffic congestion and travel delays. This project is initiated to explore the use of technologies that will potentially bring direct and immediate benefits to the law enforcement officers and other personnel who are involved in the handling of collision sites and subsequent investigations. The work carried out in this project includes three major components: (1) The experimentation of integrated vehicular...

Exploration Of Driver Route Choice With Advanced Traveler Information Using Neural Network Concepts

Yang, Hai
Kitamura, Ryuichi
Jovanis, Paul P.
Vaughn, Kenneth M.
Abdel-aty, Mohammed A.
Reddy, Prasuna Dvg
1993

A model of drivers' route choice behavior under advanced traveler information systems (ATIS) is developed based on data collected from learning experiments using interactive computer simulation. A neural network model is used as a convenient modeling technique in the analysis. Results indicated that most subjects made route choices based mainly on their recent experiences. Results also demonstrated that route choice behavior is related to the personal characteristics as well as the characteristics of the respective routes. Travel experiences had less effect on route choice and the results...

Daily Activity and Multimodal Travel Planner: Phase II Final Report

Kitamura, Ryuichi
Chen, Cynthia
Chen, Jiayu
1999

It is important that our travel be organized in an efficient way. One way to achieve this is to provide travelers with a trip planner that produces efficient travel itineraries for them. It is desired that a trip planner possess the following features in order to be useful: be able to handle multiple destinations, multiple constraints, and multiple modes; and be able to adjust travelers' preferences under different circumstances. These features cannot be found in existing trip planners. The goal is then to develop an "Itinerary Planner" that possesses all of these features. The Itinerary...

Drag Forces Experienced By Two, Full-scale Vehicles At Close Spacing

Hong, Patrick
Marcu, Bogdan
Browand, Fred
Tucker, Aaron
1998

The present study aims to document the drag reduction for a two-vehicle platoon by operating two full-scale Ford Windstar vans in tandem on a desert lakebed. Drag forces are measured with the aid of a special tow bar force measuring system designed and manufactured at USC. The testing procedure consists of a smooth acceleration, followed by a smooth deceleration of the platoon. Data collected during acceleration allows the calculation of the drag force on the trail-vehicle, while data collected during deceleration is used to calculate the drag on the lead vehicle. Results from the full-...

Economic Impact of Traffic Incidents on North Carolina’s Interstate Facilities: Final Report, January 2008

Khattak, AJ
Teague, C
Pan, X
Fan, Y
Rodriguez, D
2008

Unexpected delays due to traffic incidents represent a significant proportion of overall delay, especially in urban areas. The resulting uncertainty can represent major costs to businesses and travelers, as well as restrict employment opportunities. This study focuses on North Carolina’s Interstate facilities and businesses across the State that rely on these facilities for their daily operations and are influenced by traffic congestion due to their shipping needs. The first portion...

Anonymous Vehicle Tracking for Real-Time Freeway and Arterial Street Performance Measurement

Ritchie, Stephen G.
Park, Seri
Oh, Cheol
Jeng, Shin-Ting (Cindy)
Tok, Andre
2005

This research involved an important extension of existing field-implemented and tested PATH research by the authors on individual vehicle reidentification, to develop methods for assessing freeway and arterial (and transit) system performance for the Caltrans PeMS (Performance Measurement System). PeMS has been adopted by Caltrans as the standard tool for assessing freeway system performance, but lacks capabilities for assessing arterial and transit system performance, and strategies that combine freeways, arterials and/or transit and commercial vehicle fleets. It was shown that the...

Transient Vehicle Aerodynamics In Four-car Platoons

Chen, A. L.
Savas, Omer
Hedrick, Karl
1997

The vehicles in a platoon will experience transient aerodynamic forces as vehicles leave and join the platoon at various locations. A platoon of scale vehicle models is placed in a wind tunnel and measurements are made of the transient forces and moments as one of the vehicles is moved into and out of the platoon. The results from the wind tunnel experiments will allow the computer vehicle control algorithms to better predict the transient aerodynamics the vehicles in the platoon will encounter during leaving and joining maneuvers. \par Since a lane change (either leaving or joining a...

Traffic Management Systems Performance Measurement: Study Directions And Scope, Proposed Measures Of Effectiveness, And Proposed Action Priorities

Banks, James H.
Kelly, Gregory
1997

This report documents research focusing on: 1) analyzing performance measurements for California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Transportation Management Centers (TMCs); 2) identifying and assessing the feasibility of data collection and management activities required to support TMC performance measurement; and, 3) recommending specific actions by Caltrans and the California PATH program that will facilitate performance measurement.

Commuters' Normal And Shift Decisions In Unexpected Congestion: Pre-trip Response To Advanced Traveler Information Systems

Khattak, Asad
Polydoropoulou, Amalia
Ben-akiva, Moshe
1996

This report presents a study whose objective is to explore how people deal with unexpected congestion during the pre-trip stage and how they might respond to Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS). Travelers' route, departure time and mode selection decisions were investigated through a survey of San Francisco Bay Area automobile commuters. The effects of various factors are examined, such as sources of congestion information, trip characteristics, and route attributes. The pre-trip response to future ATIS technologies is explored through stated preferences.

Commuters’ Normal and Shift Decisions in Unexpected Congestion: En Route Responses to Advanced Traveler Information Systems Volume 2

Polydoropoulou, A.
Ben-akiva, M.
Khattak, A.
Lauprete, G.
1996

Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) are being developed to provide travelers with real-time information about traffic conditions. To evaluate the benefits of ATIS products and services, questions concerning potential market, usage, and travel response must be addressed. This paper focuses on en-route travel response to ATIS. The main objective is to explore how travelers deal with unexpected congestion and how they might respond to qualitative, quantitative, prescriptive and predictive information. Data on travelers’ route switching decisions are obtained through a survey of...