Single-vehicle data of highway traffic - a statistical analysis

TL;DR

This paper provides a detailed statistical analysis of highway single-vehicle data, establishing empirical distributions and relations, and proposing criteria for identifying different traffic states based on time-series analysis.

Contribution

It introduces new empirical distributions and criteria for traffic state identification using detailed single-vehicle data.

Findings

Empirical time-headway distributions were established.

Speed-distance relations were derived from the data.

Criteria for identifying traffic states like synchronized traffic were proposed.

Abstract

In the present paper single-vehicle data of highway traffic are analyzed in great detail. By using the single-vehicle data directly empirical time-headway distributions and speed-distance relations can be established. Both quantities yield relevant information about the microscopic states. Several fundamental diagrams are also presented, which are based on time-averaged quantities and compared with earlier empirical investigations. In the remaining part time-series analyses of the averaged as well as the single-vehicle data are carried out. The results will be used in order to propose objective criteria for an identification of the different traffic states, e.g. synchronized traffic.