Author(s)

Jalal Taqi Shaker Al-Obaedi

College of Engineering, University of Al-Qadisiya, Al-Qadisiya, Iraq.

Passenger car equivalent (PCE) is an important factor which is used to convert traffic volumes containing proportions of heavy good vehicles (HGVs) to a unify measure containing only passenger cars units (PCU). This paper uses large data base of real traffic raw data extracted from loop detector before being aggregated to estimate PCEs. These detectors are located on the M25 and the M42 motorway sites in the United Kingdom. The selected sites represent basic freeway segments as they are far away from the influence of entrance (on ramp) and exit (off ramp) sections. The data are filtered properly so as to estimate passenger car equivalents (PCEs) using lagging headway method for close following situations at different speed ranges. The results suggest that for the same location, the equivalency factors are varies significantly based traffic speed. However, it is proved that such variation with traffic speed is influenced by the differences in lengths between HGVs and cars. Regression models have also been developed linking the PCEs with traffic speed.

Passenger Car Unit, Passenger Car Equivalent, Trucks Equivalency Factor, Lagging Headway, Close Following

Al-Obaedi, J. (2016) Estimation of Passenger Car Equivalents for Basic Freeway Sections at Different Traffic Conditions. World Journal of Engineering and Technology, 4, 153-159. doi: 10.4236/wjet.2016.42013.