C o m p u t a t i o n a l Te c h n i q u e s Us e d i n t h e D r i v e r P e r f o r m a n c e M o d e l o f t h e I n t e r a c t i v e H i g h w a y
S a f e t y D e s i g n M o d e l
William H. Levison, Özgür Şimşek, Alvah C. B i t t n e r , J r . , and S. J. H u n n
T r a n s p o r t a t i o n R e s e a r c h R e c o r d , 1 7 7 9, 1 7 - 2 5 , 2 0 0 1.
The Interactive Highway Safety Design Model (IHSDM) is a high-priority research area for the Federal Highway Administration. IHSDM is a software system for evaluating the safety of alternative highway designs in a computer-aided design environment. The initial phase of this research program is to develop IHSDM for use in the design of two-lane rural highways. IHSDM includes a driver-vehicle module that simulates the moment- to-moment actions of a single driver-vehicle unit. Reviewed are the computational approaches that have guided the implementation of the driver performance model (DPM) that along with a vehicle model and other components constitute the driver-vehicle module. Five major computational functions of DPM are reviewed: perception, speed decision, path decision, speed control, and path control. Comparison of model results with data from a driving simulator demonstrates the ability of DPM to account for the horizontal curve deflection angle on the speed profile.