This paper pertains to the development of a method designed to measure traffic movement in a manner which is appropriate for the testing and validation of most of the present theories of traffic flow. The primary objective was to develop a method for determining vehicle spacing and speeds for a platoon of vehicles at relatively short intervals of time. The basic procedure consisted of placing a vehicle in the traffic stream and following it by a helicopter from which photographs were taken at fixed intervals of time. The equipment and data reduction techniques are described and samples of resultant data are shown.
Abstract