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Access Type
Open Access
Document Type
thesis
Degree Program
Civil Engineering
Degree Type
Master of Science in Civil Engineering (M.S.C.E.)
Year Degree Awarded
2012
Month Degree Awarded
May
Keywords
traffic flow theory, human factors, longitudinal control model, microscopic car-following model
Abstract
Driver psychology is one of the most difficult phenomena to model in the realm of traffic flow theory because mathematics often cannot capture the human factors involved with driving a car. Over the past several decades, many models have attempted to model driver aggressiveness with varied results. The recently proposed Longitudinal Control Model (LCM) makes such an attempt, and this paper offers evidence of the LCM's usefulness in modeling road dynamics by analyzing deceleration rates that are commonly associated with various levels of aggression displayed by drivers. The paper is roughly divided into three sections, one outlining the LCM's ability to quantify forces between passive and aggressive drivers on a microscopic level, one describing the LCM's ability to measure aggressiveness of platoons of drivers, and the last explaining the meaning of the model’s derivative. The paper references some attempts to capture driver aggressiveness made by classic car-following models, and endeavors to offer some new ideas in study of driver characteristics and traffic flow theory.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/2659320
First Advisor
Daiheng Ni
Second Advisor
John Collura