Cross-cutting Issues

This paper explores the impact of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) on traffic
operations, capacity, and congestion. ADAS can take control over specific functions of the
vehicle, and provide warnings to assist drivers in a variety of driving tasks. These
technologies were designed mainly to improve safety and provide comfort to drivers. There
is evidence that these systems may change the way drivers behave on the road, resulting in
traffic operational improvements, but a limited amount of research has been conducted to
assess these potential impacts. This study evaluated these impacts in two ways: a) through a
driver simulator (STISIM Drive) study using a vehicle equipped with two types of ADAS:
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Lane Change Assist (LCA); b) through a microsimulator
study by replicating the movement of vehicles equipped with ACC and LCA. The two studies
showed that there are potential changes in driver behavior, and subsequently in traffic
operations, when ADAS are installed in the vehicle. Also, the impact of the systems is
different for different driver types (aggressive vs. conservative). It was concluded that for the
conditions tested the ACC can significantly increase speeds for congested conditions, even at
the lowest market penetration scenario tested (20% ACC in the traffic stream). When only the LCA was present the number of lane change maneuvers increased, the throughput (VMT)
increased, and travel time was not significantly affected. When both LCA and ACC were
present, conditions improved significantly, and similarly to when ACC was available by
itself.

Authors: Lily Elefteriadou, Ph.D., Barbara B. Martin

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida

This paper presents a research of an adaptive information system to provide designated information to selected pedestrian groups, aiming to reduce congestion and achieve better system efficiency. This approach, in a broader sense, suggests the possibility of changing travelers’ route-choosing behavior and improving transportation system effectiveness by distributing designed information to selected groups in an adaptive manner, rather than distributing homogeneous information to the whole population as in traditional information systems. Both conceptual analysis and simulations show that this approach could alleviate congestion and reduce pedestrian journey time in transit facilities.

Authors: Xi Zou, Lei Guo

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida

In order to accomplish the goals of Florida’s Open Roads Policy, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Service Patrol contracts have many requirements. While these requirements are necessary, they are systematic in nature and typically require a significant amount of staff oversight. By using workflow management techniques coupled with technology, FDOT District VI has developed a software application titled Road Ranger Driver Information System (RRDIS) to more effectively manage Service Patrol contracts. This paper will give the reader an understanding on the type and number of Service Patrol contract requirements managed within the RRDIS, the functionality implemented within the RRDIS to effectively manage Service Patrol contracts and will provide feedback from various RRDIS user groups on overall experience.

AECOM Technical Services, Inc.

Florida DOT

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Traffic Management Centers (TMC) staff utilizes the SunGuide® software Event Management (EM) and Road Rangers / Automatic Vehicle Location subsystems (AVL/RR) to manage the FDOT Road Rangers. The FDOT Road Rangers (a.k.a. courtesy patrols) patrol the FDOT managed roadways assisting disabled motorists and aiding the TMC staff to manage other roadway events. To relieve the TMC staff of record keeping with the SunGuide software, some TMCs have provided the Road Rangers with laptop computers (or full size tablets) with customized software which the Road Rangers can use to record characteristics of the evolving events, services preformed, responder arrivals, etc. In late 2010, the FDOT contracted the development of a Smart Phone Application for Road Rangers (SPARR) which partially implements the functionality of the larger laptop application. The larger laptop application was analyzed as well as the paper forms used by the Road Ranger to determine the desired functionality of the SPARR. This paper describes the SPARR functionality, its implementation and the early results from using the SPARR by the FDOT District 2 (Jacksonville, FL) Road Rangers.

Southwest Research Institute

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida

This study discusses an application of an integer programming to develop the strategy for strategically locating incident response units over a large network so as to minimize incident response time. The developed model is applied for the Capital Beltway in Maryland, and the results are compared to alternatives strategies considered by practitioners. The advantage of the proposed model, especially for the multiple-unit case, implies its potential for the significant reduction in incident response time once implemented.

University of Maryland

Presented at the 18th World Congress on ITS, October 2011, Orlando, Florida