Comparing Heavy Vehicle and Passenger Car Lane-Changing Maneuvers on Arterial Roads and Freeways

Abstract

The behavior of drivers of heavy vehicles when making a decision or executing a lane-changing maneuver on arterial roads and freeways is investigated. Vehicle lane-changing maneuvers often result in instability in traffic flow. The impact on traffic flow of lane changes by heavy vehicles can be even more serious than that of lane changes by passenger vehicles because of vehicle characteristics and driver behavior. This impact is being exacerbated because the number of heavy vehicles and their share in the traffic steam are increasing. Models of lane-changing behavior were reviewed. It was found that the lane-changing maneuver of heavy vehicles has not received appropriate attention. Real-world data were applied to a comparison of this behavior with the behavior of passenger car drivers. The behavior of drivers is explored for both arterial roads and freeways considering the impact of the size of vehicles on the lane-changing maneuver. The results indicate that the type and size of vehicles influence the lane-changing maneuver, in particular on arterial roads. A new area of study is opened for investigating the microscopic behavior of heavy vehicles in a traffic steam with more detail and leads toward a model that incorporates the characteristics of heavy vehicles.