Author(s):
C. Pinnell
Publication Date
1960
Abstract
Freeway design and operation is still a relatively new phase of highway and traffic engineering and existing freeway systems have only recently experienced traffic volumes that permit a full evaluation of their operational efficiency. The designers of many existing freeways were faced with the difficult problem of designing a facility whose concept was entirely new with little or no operational data from which to guide the design. In the absence of operational data, the freeway designer was forced to use primarily vehicle performance data (size, speed, acceleration, etc.), topographical requirements and economy as a basis for design. In most cases this resulted in a lack of attention to the human aspect relating driver requirements and traffic behavior to design.|Safe and efficient entry maneuvers can be made on most of the entrance ramps in use today, but many were not designed so that the desired maneuvers are natural and easy and will automatically be performed by the individual drivers.|Freeway designers must become more concerned with the relationship of design and traffic behavior in order to obtain maximum operational efficiency on freeway facilities. This paper discusses operational characteristics of freeway ramp traffic and presents the essential elements in correlating ramp design with driver requirements.
Report Number:
Reprint No. 12
Link(s):
Document/Product
http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/TTI-1960-9.pdf
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