Enhanced motorway capacity estimation considering the impact of vehicle length on the fundamental diagram

Abstract The ability to understand the underlying fundamentals of traffic flow behaviour facilitates improved planning and decision‐making for road operators. This paper presents an overview of the various models which can be used to describe the interaction between the different parameters governing traffic flows. 5‐years of measured data from Ireland's M50 motorway are used to demonstrate the application of traffic flow theory using real data, and a detailed investigation of factors affecting the fundamental traffic behaviour is presented. The road capacity is shown to be impacted by different traffic behaviour during morning and evening‐peak periods, during dry vs. wet weather conditions and between lanes on the approach to junctions. It is demonstrated that the mean vehicle length is an important factor to consider when using traffic flow models. A novel 3‐dimensional fundamental diagram model linking mean vehicle speed, mean vehicle length, and density is introduced which enhances capacity estimation and illustrates the importance of considering vehicle length when using the fundamental diagram to interpret traffic flows and estimate the capacity of the motorway.