Title: A simulation approach for quantifying the cost-effectiveness of freeway service patrols programs

Authors: Saini Yang, Ali Haghani, Dan Iliescu

Addresses: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. ' Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742-3021, USA. ' Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Technology Institute, Georgia, USA

Abstract: Freeway Service Patrols is one of the main components of highway Incident Management (IM) programs because of its low-cost feature and effectiveness in incident detection, mitigation and clearance. This paper presents a methodology to quantify freeway service patrol programs| cost-effectiveness with limited operation data using microscopic simulation. Simulation models are developed to test benefits of patrol service by comparing |with| and |without| scenarios under various traffic conditions. The analysis results from a case study indicate that patrol operations may have a significant impact on incident detection process, especially for incidents of low severity, such as debris and abandoned vehicles.

Keywords: freeway patrol services; impact; simulation; evaluation; benefit–cost ratio; highway incident management; traffic conditions; incident detection; road traffic incidents.

DOI: 10.1504/WRITR.2007.017094

World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research, 2007 Vol.1 No.4, pp.387 - 402

Published online: 12 Feb 2008 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article