Download or read book Identifying the Impact of Truck lane Restriction Strategies on Traffic Flow and Safety Using Simulation written by Qun Liu and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The continuous growth of freight transportation over recent years has resulted in an increasing proportion of commercial vehicles on our nations' highways which has led to higher truck volumes and more severe truck-related crashes every year. Safety proponents have therefore been advocating for more restrictions to be placed on these commercial vehicles in order to reduce the interaction of these larger vehicles and passenger cars. A popular strategy is the use of different lane restrictions for trucks. However, the effectiveness of these restrictions for trucks differs from case to case due to unique factors of each site, including the type of restriction used, traffic conditions and the geometric characteristics at the site. This has motivated the author to conduct this study to evaluate the impact of these restrictions on traffic operations and safety on freeways with different traffic and geometric characteristics. For the safety evaluation, this research measures the impact of different truck lane restriction strategies (TLRS) using conflict as the measurement of effectiveness (MOE). Conflict has been proven to be highly related to traffic crushes on freeways (FHWA, 1990; Sayed and Zein, 1999; Kaub, 2000). The high frequency of conflicts has also made it possible to collect adequate data for statistical analysis. The MOEs used to evaluate the impact of different lane restrictions on operational performance were lane changes, average speed, speed distribution, and volume distribution. Due to the lack of existing highway locations with different lane restrictions considered in this study, the conflict data were collected using a traffic simulation tool - PARAMICS V3.0 (Quadstone Ltd., 2000), which can simulate the emergent interaction between vehicles but not random crashes on the road network. The effectiveness of different lane restrictions in terms of the above MOEs were evaluated for 14,400 different simulation scenarios by varying lane restriction strategies, traffic conditions (volume, truck percentage) and geometric characteristics (gradient, speed limit, interchange density). The simulation results showed that all the geometric and traffic characteristics had a significant impact on freeway safety and operation. In addition, truck percentage and volume were identified as key factors that had a significant impact on the selection of the optimal truck lane restriction strategy. The ANOVA analyses indicated that the degree of effect of truck lane restriction strategies on safety intensify with the increase in truck percentage and traffic volume. Optimal alternatives of truck lane restriction strategies under different truck percentages and volumes were identified with the objective of reducing traffic conflicts and enhancing LOS (level of service). Guidelines were then developed for the application of truck lane restrictions under alternative traffic and geometric conditions.

Download or read book A Simulation Analysis of Traffic Flow Elements for Restricted Truck Lanes on Interstate Highways in Virginia written by Lester A. Hoel and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, increases in truck traffic on Virginia's highways have raised issues concerning safety and capacity on interstates such as I-81 and I-95. Lane restrictions represent a strategy that is intended to reduce conflicts between trucks and cars and facilitate traffic flow. Field experiments to determine the effects on existing traffic under lane restrictions for an interstate freeway segment are usually not feasible, and an alternative approach was selected. In this study, the simulation model FRESIM was used to estimate various traffic flow elements. The purpose of this study was to analyze changes in traffic flow elements (density, lane changes per vehicle, and speed differential) under conditions of restricted and unrestricted truck lane configurations. Prior to application of the simulation model to actual sites in Virginia, a scenario analysis was completed. The scenario analysis tested the variability of each traffic flow element considering the following variables: traffic volume, percentage of trucks, percentage of total volume by lane, presence or absence of lane restrictions, and grade. A statistical paired-sample t test was used to determine significant differences in the values of the three traffic flow elements when lane restrictions were applied. An analysis was also completed for three case studies in Virginia, located on I-81 near Buchanan, Christiansburg, and Wytheville. Two types of restrictions were tested: restricting trucks from the left lane and restricting trucks from the right lane. From the results obtained in this study several conclusions were drawn: (1) restricting trucks from the left lane with steep grades causes an increase in speed differential and may decrease density and the number of lane changes, (2) restricting trucks from the right lane causes an increase in the number of lane changes, and (3) site characteristics dictate the effects of truck lane restrictions. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that (1) trucks be restricted from the left lane when grades are 4 percent or greater and (2) trucks not be restricted from the right lane. The study results did not support removal of truck lane restrictions in Virginia.

Download or read book Impact of Left Lane Truck Restriction Strategies on Multilane Highways in Louisiana written by Mini Radhakrishnan and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Strategies for Managing Increasing Truck Traffic written by James G. Douglas and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on 2003 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 314: Strategies for Managing Increasing Truck Traffic documents recent efforts by transportation organizations that construct, operate, and manage the transportation system and identifies truck-related challenges, planning activities for goods movement being undertaken, truck management strategies being considered, factors that have influenced the selection of particular strategies, and benefits expected from selected strategies.

Download or read book 108 1 Hearing Truck Safety and Freight Mobility 108 15 March 24 2003 written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Final Report written by Wilbur Smith and Associates and published by . This book was released on 1971 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Truck Safety and Freight Mobility written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Subcommittee on Highways, Transit, and Pipelines and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A simulation analysis of traffic flow elements for restricted truck lanes on interstate highways in Virginia written by and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 27 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Impacts and Effectiveness of Truck Lane Restrictions written by Sompong Sirisoponsilp and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Effect of Truck Strategies on Traffic Flow and Safety on Multilane Highways written by Ravi Gadiraju and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Separation of Vehicles written by Cambridge Systematics and published by Transportation Research Board. This book was released on 2010 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NCHRP Report 649/NCFRP Report 3: Separation of Vehicles - CMV-Only Lanes presents an extensive compendium of information about CMV-only lanes and examines major issues and concepts that should be understood in developing new applications of CMV-only lane concepts as a potential method for both easing congestion and reducing the number of traffic accidents on highways. Appendices to this report, including an annotated literature review, performance evaluation criteria, benefits monetization factors and unit costs, and net present value calculations for benefit-cost analysis, are available on the TRB website. This report and the supplemental information can be used by public agencies that may be considering CMV-only lane concepts in corridor studies or other planning applications. The report provides data such agencies can use to support their own evaluations of CMV-only lane projects.

Download or read book Simulating Truck Lane Management Approaches to Improve Efficiency and Safety of Highways in Knoxville Tennessee written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 105 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increased globalization has caused large increases in truck traffic on the nation's interstate system, with much additional growth expected in the coming years. This growth has elevated interest in developing new strategies to address rising levels of truck traffic, especially in dense and congested urban areas. This thesis focuses on the evaluation of several alternative lane management configurations as they compare to the current lane configuration in search of the best fit for operational improvement. This task was performed in two ways - survey and simulation. A survey of 500 long-haul truck drivers was administered in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the crossroads of major north-south and east-west interstate highways. The dataset was evenly divided between owner-operators and truck-company employed drivers. The survey suggested the alternative truck lane management configurations and most of the respondents supported moving truck lanes to the inside travel lanes to avoid merging and lane changing cars, either through traditional truck lanes restrictions or truck only lanes. The alternative lane configurations and the current lane configuration were simulated in VISSIM. Parameters such as speed, travel time, delay, and lane change were used for evaluating the configurations during simulation. A statistical test was applied to the results of the simulations. Each configuration yielded significantly different results in most cases and a few insignificant changes in other cases. One of the configurations - the optional truck only lane configuration, stood out as the best fit for operational improvements by offering high speeds, shorter travel times, smaller delay times and greater delay cost savings, and increased highway safety. Such configuration could potentially address the challenges faced by increasing truck traffic in congested urban areas.

Download or read book Evaluation of the Traffic Safety Benefits of a Lower Speed Limit and Restriction of Trucks to Use of Right Lane Only on I 10 Over the Atchafalya Basin written by Sherif Ishak and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To improve traffic operation and safety, several states have implemented truck lane restriction and differential speed limit policies on freeways. In response to an 11-vehicle crash in September 2003, the Louisiana State Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) introduced such operational policies on the 18-mile elevated section of Interstate 10 over the Atchafalaya Basin, where trucks were restricted to the right lane and their speed limit was reduced to 55 mph. The speed limit for all other types of vehicles was also reduced to 60 mph. The primary objectives of this research study were to examine the traffic characteristics and truck compliance behavior to the newly implemented policies, as well as evaluate the overall safety impact of such policies. Additionally, two opinion surveys were conducted to determine the truck drivers' perception and opinions with respect to these policies. Traffic data were collected and analyzed for four different sites along the freeway corridor using multiple linear regression, pairwise comparison and two sample t tests.

Download or read book Evaluation of Truck Lane Restriction on Non limited Access Urban Arterials written by Judith L. Mwakalonge and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate the influence of various geometric, traffic, and signalization factors that might affect the effectiveness of truck lane restriction on non-limited access highways, primarily on urban arterial roadways with significant amount of truck traffic. Because of lack of sufficient sites to conduct a longitudinal field study, VISSIM simulation software was used to evaluate operational and safety effects of truck lane restriction by varying various parameters related to the restriction. A 5-mile section of SR 70 in Fort Pierce, Florida was selected for simulation analysis. Furthermore, a network consisting of 22 roadway sections with 121 signalized intersections was simulated.

Download or read book The Effect of Truck Traffic Control Strategies on Traffic Flow and Safety on Multilane Highways written by Nicholas J. Garber and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 63 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Highway Work Zone Design and Traffic Management Decision System written by Yali Chen and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Analysis of Truck Drivers Opinions on Safety and Traffic Control on Highway Work Zones Summary of findings written by R. F. Benekohal and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study was conducted to determine the truck drivers' travel characteristics, concerns about work zone traffic control devices, and assessment of work zone features, as well as to determine the location of accidents and bad driving situations based on the experiences and perceptions of truck drivers. A statewide survey of semi-truck drivers was conducted in 6 locations in Illinois. The questionnaire contained 43 questions about truck drivers and travel characteristics, drivers' assessment of work zone features and traffic control devices, their accident and bad driving situation experiences, and their suggestions for improving traffic flow and safety in the work zones. About 930 truck drivers participated in the survey, and the responses from 834 of them were found suitable for further data analysis. The frequency of the responses to each question were analyzed. Also correlation analyses were conducted to identify the relationships among the surveyed questions. Different statistical tests were used for data analysis. Volume II of the final report, contains a detailed report of the study, including all of the information that is included in Volume I, which contains the summary of findings, conclusions, and recommendations.