Freeway Traffic flow rate measurement: Investigation into impact of measurement time interval

摘要: Traffic flow rate, the equivalent hourly rate of vehicles passing a point during given time interval, is fundamental measure traffic status that plays critical role in many aspects transportation engineering. The interval used measuring defined as measurement influential characteristics measures. Highway Capacity Manual recommends engineers use minimum 15-min intervals order to ensure "stable" rates. In addition, numerous researchers have commented about lack stability rates resulting from short intervals. However, there not quantitative understanding impacts (less than 15 min) on rate. This paper presents results study nearly 30,000 measurements collected at multiple freeway locations quantify impact interval. It was found stable may be calculated using 10 min, and statistically significant improvements can seen by adding 2 min