The real-time kinematic differential Global Positioning System (GPS) has facilitated a new horizon in traffic engineering. Multiple car-following experiments conducted with a real-time kinematic GPS with 10 vehicles participating in a probing field gave high-quality results in headway, speed, relative speed, and acceleration. The expected accuracies for measuring position and speed were 10 mm and 0.16 km/h, respectively. The vehicles were driven in a loop consisting of two parallel straight sections connected by two semicircular curves. Different driving conditions were induced in the platoon by instructing the leading driver to follow predetermined speed variations. The experiments yielded sets of continuous observations. Headway, speed, and acceleration were measured using conventional equipment for the purpose of comparing accuracy. The accuracy of the data obtained using the GPS was superior to that of the same data obtained using conventional measurements. The variation in driving characteristics down the stream of vehicles was studied using the experimental data. The results showed that the reaction time between a change in relative speed and the corresponding change in acceleration varies during the driving process. The reaction time of individual drivers also changes along the platoon. The good-quality data were able to give high-resolution plots of acceleration and relative speed illustrating that both the reaction time and the functional relationship between acceleration and relative speed do not remain constant.
Abstract