https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2946-5392
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Abstract
This study tests the hypothesis that an analytically estimated driver reaction time required for asymptotic stability, based on the macroscopic Gazis-Herman-Rothery (GHR) model, serves as an indicator of the impact of traffic oscillations on rear-end crashes. If separate GHR models are fit discontinuously for different traffic regimes, the local drop in required reaction time between these regimes can also be estimated. This study evaluates the relationship between rear-end crash rates and that drop in required reaction time. Traffic data from 28 sensors were used to fit the GHR model. Rear-end crash rates, estimated from four years of crash data, exhibited a positive correlation with the drop in required reaction time at the congested regime’s density-breakpoint. A linear relationship provided the best fit. These results motivate follow-on research to incorporate macroscopically derived reaction time in road-safety planning. More generally, the study demonstrates a useful application of a discontinuous macroscopic traffic model.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the National Transportation Center at Maryland for their financial support in this research.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Author contributions
The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows: study conception and design: B. Williams, I. Ahmed; data collection: I. Ahmed, S. Samandar, G. Chun; analysis and interpretation of results: I. Ahmed, B. Williams., S. Samandar; draft manuscript preparation: I. Ahmed, B. Williams, S. Samandar, G. Chun. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.