This paper will report findings of an instrumented vehicle study aimed at assessing one element of driver behaviour, that of car following, on UK motorways. The paper (re-) calibrates one of the most successful of such models - the Action Point model - using dynamic time series data acquired from field tests with an instrumented vehicle. Probability distributions for a number of parameters from the Action Point model are produced and a number of modifications made in order to enhance its value for use in traffic flow and simulation models. Lastly typical headways are compared with existing studies in the area, finding that current headways are far lower than believed. The rationale behind the adoption of such short headways is examined. (Author/publisher).
Abstract