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A Statistical Simulation Model for the Analysis of the Traffic Flow Reliability and the Probabilistic Assessment of the Circulation Quality on a Freeway Segment

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Pompigna

    (Dept. of Civil Environmental and Mechanical Engineering (DICAM), University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy
    Faculty of Economics, Mercatorum University, 00186 Rome, Italy)

  • Raffaele Mauro

    (Dept. of Civil Environmental and Mechanical Engineering (DICAM), University of Trento, 38123 Trento, Italy)

Abstract

Measuring the traffic quality and congestion level is fundamental in highway engineering, and several decades of studies and research have pursued this specific objective, especially for freeways. Nowadays, smart technologies on personal devices and information shared by users have made available various online information platforms that provide dynamic representations of the use of the road network. If, on the one hand, these tools provide a simple and direct representation of the quality of circulation, on the other hand, their aggregated information is only partial for those dealing with traffic and highway engineering. This branch of engineering relies on multidimensional knowledge of traffic flow phenomena, and only through their in-depth knowledge, we can assess traffic quality and congestion risk. After identifying the different approaches for analyzing in quantitative terms the traffic quality on the freeway, the paper deepens the reliability approach. From this point of view, the paper aims to unite the two perspectives in the literature, namely, the probabilistic analysis of traffic instability with the characterization of speed random processes and the analysis of breakdowns with the survival analysis. For this purpose, the work outlines a procedure based on the estimation and simulation of ARIMA models for speed random processes in a freeway section, particularly on the leftmost lane, to assess the traffic reliability function. Applying the Product Limit Method to the Monte Carlo simulation results makes it possible to obtain probabilistic assessments of congestion, considering the Level of Service density limits defined in the Highway Capacity Manual. Its application to a case study makes it possible to illustrate the application of the method, which can be easily applied to historical and near-real-time data using a continuous flow of information.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Pompigna & Raffaele Mauro, 2022. "A Statistical Simulation Model for the Analysis of the Traffic Flow Reliability and the Probabilistic Assessment of the Circulation Quality on a Freeway Segment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-21, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:23:p:16019-:d:989372
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ferrari, Paolo & Treglia, Pierfranco & Cascetta, Ennio & Nuzzolo, Agostino & Olivotto, Pietro, 1982. "A new method for measuring the quality of circulation on motorways," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 399-418, October.
    2. Raffaele Mauro & Andrea Pompigna, 2022. "A Statistically Based Model for the Characterization of Vehicle Interactions and Vehicle Platoons Formation on Two-Lane Roads," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-22, April.
    3. Ferrari, Paolo, 1989. "The effect of driver behaviour on motorway reliability," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 139-150, April.
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    5. Justin Geistefeldt & Werner Brilon, 2009. "A Comparative Assessment of Stochastic Capacity Estimation Methods," Springer Books, in: William H. K. Lam & S. C. Wong & Hong K. Lo (ed.), Transportation and Traffic Theory 2009: Golden Jubilee, chapter 0, pages 583-602, Springer.
    6. Kurzhanskiy, Alex A. & Varaiya, Pravin, 2015. "Traffic management: An outlook," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 135-146.
    7. Ferrari, Paolo, 1988. "The reliability of the motorway transport system," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 291-310, August.
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