Identifying Factors Affecting the Time Taken for Drivers to Complete Freeway Merging Maneuvers under Varying Weather, Traffic, and Geometric Conditions
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 147, Issue 10
Abstract
Inadequate understanding of driver heterogeneity and characteristics creates challenges building models in microscopic traffic simulation tools that accurately represent merging behavior in real traffic. To further understand merging behavior, this study, unlike previous studies, considers age group and other driver characteristics under varying weather, traffic, and geometric conditions. A pilot study was conducted using a driving simulator to simulate merging scenarios on four-lane and six-lane freeway segments for Level of Service (LOS) A and B under clear and foggy weather conditions. A total of 100 individuals voluntarily participated in the study and their time taken to complete merging maneuvers (or merging time) was used as the performance measure. The collected data were analyzed using ANOVA and log-linear regression models, and results show that although there were statistically significant differences among age groups, “number of lanes” was the most significant predictor variable in the model because drivers required longer time merging to the four-lane freeway segment than to the six-lane freeway segment. Also, some driver characteristics and self-reported driving abilities were found to influence the merging time of drivers.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 147 • Issue 10 • October 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 17, 2020
Accepted: Mar 18, 2021
Published online: Jul 30, 2021
Published in print: Oct 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Dec 30, 2021
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