CAREER: Dynamic State Transitions in Vehicular Traffic and the Effects of Driver Behavior

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The objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program award is to investigate the effects of driver behaviors, such as car-following and lane-changing, on traffic state transitions (i.e., changes in traffic conditions such as speed). This research focuses on transitions near freeway choke points (i.e., bottlenecks), merges, and ends of queues (where vehicles encounter congestion). Transitions around these regions can lead to disorderly traffic conditions, such as stop-and-go driving, due to sharp changes in speed and frequent lane-changing maneuvers. This research consists of four primary tasks of (i) collecting new individual vehicle data, (ii) analyzing general features (e.g. changes in traffic flow, density, and speed) of traffic transitions, (iii) analyzing driver behaviors and linking them to the general features, and (iv) extending/developing models of driver behaviors capable of reproducing the observed transition phenomena.If successful, this research will uncover the physical mechanisms of transitions; i.e., how individual driver behaviors (e.g., car-following, lane-changing) govern changes in flow, density, and speed in time and space. Understanding these mechanisms has important implications for mobility and safety. Transitions around freeway bottlenecks can determine bottleneck throughput and hence the delays on freeway networks. Further, vehicles in transition regions are more prone to crashes due to sudden changes in speed and frequent lane-changing maneuvers. Therefore, the results from this research will potentially advance traffic control strategies to manage congestion more effectively and improve safety. Educational and outreach activities involve the development of a project website, a smart-phone application to collect probe data, web-based modules for hands-on learning of data analysis methods and modeling. Using these means, this project will engage undergraduate and graduate students, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) high school teachers to reach out to high-school students in the long term, researchers in other disciplines, and industry stakeholders.