For sixty years, engineers have modeled traffic flow for use in roadway analysis and design. A continuing problem with such models, though, is their inability to adequately capture the human element in the system. The human driver does not think and act in precise ways, making him difficult to model using conventional mathematical means. This research explored an alternative method of formulating driving models. It started from a psychological basis and used fuzzy logic. Fuzzy logic provided a systematic way of handling imprecision, and its constructs allowed a more intuitive model of driving, one more closely resembling the thinking and acting patterns of humans. The result of the work was a computer based road simulation toolbox containing a new fuzzy logic driver model. The toolbox provides a user with the ability to construct his own road networks, driver types and vehicle types. With these, he can simulate traffic and examine both isolated incidents and overall performance measures. Current work is aimed at conversion of the program to a Windows format for commerical release. (A)
Abstract