Gamma-GQM Time Headway Model: Endogenous Effects in Rural Two-lane Two-way Roads

Study of vehicle time headway distributions is essential in many traffic engineering applications, such as capacity and level of service analysis and, in recent years, in the fields of vehicle generation in traffic micro-simulation models and driving simulation applications. This paper presents results from an experimental analysis of vehicle time headway distributions on two-lane two-way rural roads. Analysis focused on estimating a well-known model, the gamma-generalized queuing model (gamma-GQM). A trendless analysis of observed time headways was also carried out. The endogenous traffic parameters considered as affecting time headway distributions were flow rate and flow composition (percentage of heavy vehicles). Exogenous conditions, such as weather and geometric futures, were common to all time periods and cross-sections analysed. Gamma-GQM pdf appears to be very suitable for representing real headway distributions in all the analysed situations; it fits real-time headway distributions well, despite flow rate range and traffic composition (range of percentage of heavy vehicles).