State-of-the-Art Model to Evaluate Space Headway Based on Reliability Analysis
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 7
Abstract
Stipulating a space headway is a pivotal concern in traffic engineering. Although consideration of a larger headway leads to safer traffic movement, consideration for a smaller headway can serve more traffic volume, which is significant from an economic standpoint. Implementation of a smaller headway, however, could lead to the tailgating phenomenon (short distances between two vehicles), which is perceived as troublesome and dangerous. Evaluating the space headway provides a reasonable approach to understanding the operational benefit for safety and traffic concerns. Using probabilistic analysis to account for uncertainty can be one of the best applicable methods because the headway data are not deterministic and are treated as random variables. More specifically, by emphasizing the reliability analysis, it is feasible to determine the appropriate space headway. The objective of this paper is to present a state-of-the-art approach for the evaluation of the statistical parameters of the headway by utilizing the reliability analysis. Several data sets among entire states were obtained from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 2012 and utilized in an analysis of a more pragmatic approach.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
AASHTO. (2011). “A policy on geometric design of highways and streets.” Washington, DC.
Ashtari, P., and Ghasemi, S. H. (2013). “Seismic design of structures using a modified non-stationary critical excitation.” J. Earthquakes Struct., 4(4), 383–396.
Aycin, M. F., and Benekohal, R. F. (1998). “Linear acceleration car-following model development and validation.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1644, 10–19.
Basler, E. (1961). “Untersuchungen über den Sicherheitsbegriff von Bauwerken.” Ph.D. dissertation, Schweizer Archiv für angewandte Wissenschaft und Technik (in German).
Brackstone, M. (2003). “Driver psychological types and car following: Is there a correlation? Results of a pilot study.” 2nd Int. Driving Symp. on Human Factors in Driver Assessment Training and Vehicle Design, Park City, UT, 245–250.
Brackstone, M., and McDonald, M. (1999). “Car following: A historical review.” J. Transp. Res. Part F: Traffic Psychol. Behav., 2(4), 181–196.
Brackstone, M., Waterson, B., and McDonald, M. (2009). “Determinants of following headway in congested traffic.” Transp. Res. Part F: Traffic Psychol. Behav., 12(2), 131–142.
Cruse, T. A. (1997). Reliability-based mechanical design, CRC Press, New York.
Ellingwood, B., MacGregor, J. G., Galambos, T. V., and Cornell, C. A. (1982). “Probability based load criteria: Load factors and load combinations.” J. Struct. Div., 108(5), 978–997.
Ghasemi, S. H. (2015). Target reliability analysis for structures, Ph.D. dissertation, Auburn Univ., Auburn, AL.
Ghasemi, S. H., Nowak, A. S., and Ashtari, P. (2013). “Estimation of the resonance response factor regarding to the critical excitation methods.” 11th Int. Conf. on Structural Safety and Reliability, CRC Press, New York.
Gokce, H. B., Catbas, F. N., and Frangopol, D. M. (2011). “Evaluation of load rating and system reliability of movable bridge.” Transp. Res. Rec., 2251, 114–122.
Hogema, J. H. (1999). “Modeling motorway driving behavior.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1689, 25–32.
Jang, J., Park, C., Kim, B., and Choi, N. (2011). “Modeling of time headway distribution on suburban arterial: Case study from South Korea.” Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci., 16, 240–247.
Kim, S., Sokolik, A. F., and Nowak, A. S. (1996). “Measurement of truck load on bridges in Detroit, Michigan area.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1541, 58–63.
Lertworawanich, P. (2006). “Safe-following distances based on the car-following model.” PIARC Int. Seminar on Intelligent Transport System (ITS) in Road Network Operations ITS, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Lind, N. C., and Nowak, A. S. (1988). “Pooling expert opinions on probability distributions.” J. Eng. Mech., 328–341.
Michael, P. G., Leeming, F. C., and Dwyer, W. O. (2000). “Headway on urban streets: Observational data and an intervention to decrease tailgating.” Transp. Res. Part F: Traffic Psychol. Behav., 3(2), 55–64.
Muchuruza, V., and Mussa, R. N. (2004). “Speeds on rural interstate highways relative to posting the 40 mph minimum speed limit.” J. Transp. Stat., 7(2–3), 71–86.
NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). (2011). “Traffic safety facts 2011.” U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Washington, DC.
Nowak, A. S. (1993). “Live load model for highway bridges.” J. Struct. Saf., 13(1-2), 53–66.
Nowak, A. S., and Collins, K. R. (2012). Reliability of structures, 2nd Ed., CRC Press, New York.
Nowak, A. S., Eom, J., and Sanli, A. (2000). “Control of live load on bridges.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1696, 136–143.
Nowak, A. S., and Rakoczy, P. (2013). “WIM-based live load for bridges.” KSCE J. Civ. Eng., 17(3), 568–574.
O’Connor, P. P., and Kleyner, A. (2012). Practical reliability engineering, 5th Ed., Wiley, Chichester, U.K.
Oh, H., and Mun, S. (2012). “Design speed based reliability index model for roadway safety evaluation.” KSCE J. Civ. Eng., 16(5), 845–854.
Rackwitz, R., and Fiessler, B. (1978). “Structural reliability under combined random load sequences.” J. Comput. Struct., 9(5), 489–494.
Rajalin, S., Hassel, S. O., and Summala, H. (1997). “Close-following drivers on two-lane highways.” J. Accid. Anal. Prev., 29(6), 723–729.
Rama, P., and Kulmala, R. (2000). “Effects of variable message signs for slippery road conditions on driving speed and headways.” J. Transp. Res. Part F: Traffic Psychol. Behav., 3(2), 85–94.
Saraf, V., Sokolik, A. F., and Nowak, A. S. (1996). “Proof load testing of highway bridges.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1541, 51–57.
Shrestha, D., and Chang, G. L. (2005). “A monitoring and alert system for tailgating behavior of drivers.” Vehicular Technology Conf. Vol. 2, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, 1308–1312.
Szerszen, M. M., and Nowak, A. S. (2000). “Fatigue evaluation of steel and concrete bridges.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1696, 73–80.
Thoft-Christensen, P., and Baker, M. J. (1982). Structural reliability theory and its applications, 1st Ed., Springer, Berlin.
TRB (Transportation Research Board). (2010). “Highway capacity manual (HCM).” Washington, DC.
Wang, J., and Song, M. (2011). “Assessing drivers’ tailgating behaviour and the effect of advisory signs in mitigating tailgating.” Proc., 6th Int. Driving Symp. on Human Factors in Driver Assessment, Training, and Vehicle Design, Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, IA.
Wang, J. H., and Song, M. (2009). “Studying the vehicle headway issue and its impact on the slow-down effect.” Univ. of Rhode Island, Research Transportation Center, Kingston, RI.
Yang, S., Malik, A., and Wu, Y. (2014). “Travel time reliability using Hasofer Lind-Rackwitz Fiessler algorithm and kernel density estimation.” Trans. Res. Rec., 2442, 85–95.
Yin, S., Li, Z., Zhang, Y., Yao, D., Su, Y., and Li, L. (2009). “Headway distribution modeling with regard to traffic status.” Intelligent Vehicles Symp., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), New York.
Zhang, G., Wang, Y., Wei, H., and Chen, Y. (2007). “Examining headway distribution models with urban freeway loop event data.” Transp. Res. Rec., 1999, 141–149.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 18, 2015
Accepted: Jan 6, 2016
Published online: Mar 9, 2016
Published in print: Jul 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Aug 9, 2016
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.