Passing maneuvers on rural two-lane highways significantly affect highway capacity, safety, and level of service. This paper presents analysis of drivers' passing decisions on two-lane rural highways in an interactive driving simulator. Parameters of speed and position of all vehicles in the scenario were collected by the simulator, which enabled the calculation of gaps between each two successive vehicles. In addition to the direct observations of driving behavior examined in the simulator experiments, participants responded to a questionnaire which collected socio-demographic information and driving habits characteristics. The data collected in the combined experiment is utilized to develop a discrete choice model which explains the decision to overtake based on traffic and behavioral characteristics. The passing-gap size, speed and distance from lead vehicle were the most significant traffic-related variables that affect the decision to overtake. It was also found that driving style and selected socio-demographic variables play a significant role in explaining passing maneuvers characteristics.
Samenvatting