Field Experiments Demonstrate Fuel Savings for Close-Following

Mark Michaelian and Fred Browand

Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings from Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley

Abstract: There are only two ways to increase the throughput of vehicles on a highway—either construct more freeway lanes, or accommodate a shortened average spacing between individual vehicles (while maintaining speed). Providing a rational means for close-following is an attempt to accomplish the latter. The maximum throughput for a typical freeway lane is about 2000 vehicles/hour, and is roughly independent of the attributes of any particular freeway. The number is remarkably inelastic varying little over the past twenty years in spite of great improvements in the design of freeways and in the handling characteristics of automobiles (see Browand, Zabat & Tokumaru, 1997, for a recent example). Surprisingly, the average vehicle spacing at maximum throughput is approximately 35 meters. Shortening this headway to the order of a car length (five meters, typically) while maintaining a high speed would provide a significant improvement in throughput. Practical estimates that take into account safety particularly in wet weather suggest that a factor of between two and three improvement in throughput may be a reasonable goal (Kanaris, Ioannou & Ho, 1997).

Keywords: Engineering; Platooning; Fuel consumption; Fuel savings; Car following; Field experiments; Fuel injector pulse width; Vehicle spacing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2000-09-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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