<rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="https://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
  <channel>
    <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
    <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
    <atom:link href="https://rip.trb.org/Record/RSS?s=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" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
    <description></description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
    <image>
      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
      <url>https://rip.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle-RIP.jpg</url>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
    </image>
    <item>
      <title>An Updated Capacity Model for Mini-Roundabouts</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2452918</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Mini-roundabouts, characterized by their fully traversable central islands, provide a compact and efficient alternative to traditional single-lane roundabouts. They are particularly beneficial in areas with spatial constraints, where larger roundabouts would necessitate unwanted right-of-way impacts. The typical inscribed circle diameter (ICD) of these mini-roundabouts is often under 90 feet, and they are best suited for areas where speeds are limited to 30 mph or lower.

One of the primary advantages of mini-roundabouts is their smaller footprint, making them an effective replacement for stop signs or signal controls at intersections with moderate traffic volumes. Their traversable central island design is pivotal, offering adaptability in mixed traffic scenarios, especially facilitating the movement of larger vehicles.

However, there are aspects that require further scrutiny. In the early 2010s, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) developed capacity models for mini-roundabouts with two different ICDs. These models assumed that such roundabouts would function as a series of independent T-intersections, an assumption that may not always be accurate, especially in the presence of larger vehicles. When comparing the capacities of mini-roundabouts with all-way stop-controlled (AWSC) intersections, it is vital to understand their potential advantages and shortcomings. If mini-roundabouts do not significantly exceed the capacity of AWSC intersections, their unique positioning in traffic management might be challenged, especially when considering the cost-effectiveness of AWSC intersections.

The main objective of this research is to develop new capacity models for mini-roundabouts based on field data collected at 25 mini-roundabouts in North Carolina and other states within the midatantic and southeast regions. Video data will be recorded at all sites from 25-30 ft elevation. The videos will be analyzed using the DataFromSky (DFS) service, which the team successfully utilized in previous NCDOT projects. Vehicle trajectories will be obtained and analyzed to estimate key capacity parameters, including the critical and follow-up headways and the effect of heavy vehicles. The team will utilize a calibrated microsimulation model only to fill out gaps when field data are not available.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 15 Nov 2024 16:06:05 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2452918</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Enhancing Traffic Safety and Connectivity: A Data-Driven Multi-Step-Ahead Vehicle Headway Prediction Leveraging High-Resolution Vehicular Trajectories</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2292664</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Vehicle headway, defined as the time elapsed between two successive vehicles passing a roadway point, is a key mesoscopic-scale measure in traffic flow theory with safety-critical transportation applications, such as preemptive collision avoidance warning systems as well as connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) platoon control. Hence, it is crucial to accurately predict vehicle headway over sufficiently long future horizons (i.e., multi-step-ahead prediction) to be applicable for downstream safety-critical applications. This is a challenging task due to several random factors influencing headway, including inter- and intra-driver heterogeneity, asymmetric car-following driving behavior, and vehicle heterogeneity under mixed traffic of different vehicle classes. This becomes even more complicated under traffic congestion, which results in tangible inter-vehicle interactions and, thus, speed-dependent headways. The complex effects of the above factors on headway, along with the unprecedented amount of high time-resolution vehicle trajectory big data (e.g., datapoints recorded every 0.1 second), call for advanced data-driven headway prediction models. Deep learning architectures, particularly variants of Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), are promising candidates as they can “learn” highly nonlinear relationships from headway time-series data. However, recurrent networks are notorious for the vanishing gradient problem, which precludes learning long-term dependencies in time series data. To tackle, this proposed project will employ a state-of-the-art interpretable deep learning model for multi-step-ahead time series forecasting (e.g., next 5 seconds), which can accommodate reasonably long prediction horizons that can capture human/vehicle reaction time. Leveraging the vehicle trajectory big data from the USDOT’s Next Generation Simulation (NGSIM) dataset, the model will be trained and tested to investigate the effects on headway of microscopic traffic measures, macroscopic traffic flow, vehicle class, and lane position.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 21 Nov 2023 18:37:08 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2292664</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Estimating HCM Default Parameters for Louisiana</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/2096075</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The primary objectives of this research are to develop intersection capacity parameters that are specific to Louisiana conditions. More specifically, the research aims to estimate the saturation flow rate for selected signalized intersections and analyze critical headway and follow-up headway at stop-controlled intersections.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 09 Jan 2023 10:45:38 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/2096075</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluation of Traffic Crash Characteristics on Elevated Sections of Interstates in Louisiana </title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1745432</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The primary objective of this project is two-fold: first, to fully develop a video analytical
software to classify and count vehicle stream and have the capability of calculating vehicle speeds and/or headways; and secondly, to undertake crash analysis on selected elevated segments to look for characteristics of crashes, common issues, and similarities/differences in car and truck crashes. ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2020 15:36:43 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1745432</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Cooperative Vehicle-Highway Automation (CVHA) Technology: Simulation of Benefits and Operational Issues</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1474318</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Traffic congestion costs an estimated one hundred billion dollars each year in the United States.  To help manage driving in congested freeway environments, major automobile manufacturers are developing semi-autonomous Cooperative Vehicle-Highway Automation (CVHA) systems that keep pace with other vehicles and provide automated steering control to maintain lane position among other features. This study will utilize microscopic traffic simulation to model: (1) CVHA driving under different traffic conditions (2) CVHA driving under different operating parameters, such as minimum headway between vehicles, and (3) the interaction between non-CVHA vehicles and CVHA vehicles on the roadway.  This research will provide state agencies with operational performance analysis of CVHA in different operating environments.  This study focuses on developing the information necessary for State DOTs to make data-driven decisions regarding management of their current and next-generation infrastructure given the imminent introduction of CVHA technology; it also provides transparent analysis for state transportation officials to carefully evaluate the impacts of CVHA to their highway systems.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 13 Jul 2017 01:01:07 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1474318</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Evaluating Deployability of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) to Form High-Performance Vehicle Streams</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1441786</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) is an enhancement to commercially available automotive adaptive cruise control (ACC) systems that enables them to operate at shorter headways, increasing traffic flow capacity and providing a smoothing of traffic flow dynamics. Work under this project will evaluate the specific effects of CACC and its effect on traffic flow smoothness and capacity so that its benefits to traffic operations can be estimated and its deployment feasibility can be assessed.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2017 10:52:26 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1441786</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>SPR-4123: Strategic and Tactical Guidance for the Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Future</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1435568</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Automated vehicle (AV) and Connected vehicle (CV) technologies are rapidly maturing and the timeline for their wider deployment is currently uncertain. The objectives of this research are: (1)
Synthesize the existing state of practice and how other state agencies are addressing the pending transition to AV/CV environment; (2) Estimate the impacts of AV/CV environment within the context of (i) traffic operations – impact of headway distribution and traffic signal coordination; (ii) Traffic control devices and (iii) roadway safety in terms of intersection crashes and (3) provide a strategic roadmap for INDOT in preparing for and responding to potential issues. 
]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 22 Nov 2016 16:47:21 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1435568</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Integration of Human-in-the-Loop Driving Simulator with Microscopic Traffic Simulation</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1251918</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Driving simulator and microscopic traffic simulation are two important tools in transportation research. The former is used to study individual driver behaviors by placing human subjects in a realistic driving environment. The latter is used for traffic analysis by modeling individual vehicles and their interaction. Micro-simulation models provide realistic traffic patterns in terms of density and headway, which is something that the driving simulator lacks in its virtual environment. At the same time, micro-simulation models lack the human-in-the-loop aspect which a driving simulator could provide. This project will integrate the widely used VISSIM micro-simulation software into the equally popular NADS MiniSim™ driving simulator to create a human-in-the-loop driving environment with realistic traffic patterns. The two systems are intrinsically compatible since both use agent-based modeling to simulate individual vehicles. This project will be carried out in coordination with Iowa State University, whose study on work zone and vehicle emission modeling will use the integrated MiniSim-VISSIM system, and who will provide design input from the aspect of expert users of microscopic traffic simulation models. The output of this research will be improved traffic scenarios in the MiniSim software which will benefit all users of this system, including Mid-America Transportation Center (MATC) members University of Iowa and Iowa State University. Future applications of this capability include conducting human factors studies on impact of fuel economy displays on throttle usage and then using that behavioral data to conduct micro-simulations in VISSIM to assess impacts on vehicle emission and air quality.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 05 Jun 2013 01:01:39 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1251918</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>A Guide to Design, Policies, and Operational Characteristics for Shared Bicycle/Bus Lanes</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1231910</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Travel time for bicycles and buses can be improved with dedicated shared bicycle/bus lanes, so that neither is hindered or endangered by congestion from auto traffic. Shared bicycle/bus lanes are sometimes used in central business districts or urban areas where room for exclusive bicycle lanes is limited, and where motor vehicle congestion warrants a separate facility for buses. A recent bicycle design manual (Bicycle Design/Best Practices Manual, prepared by Alta Planning + Design for the City of San Diego, Appendix B, 2009, p.24.) lists the following a potential locations for bicycle/bus lane implementation: congested streets with no existing bicycle lanes and with moderate or long bus headways; streets with no existing bicycle lanes and with moderate bus headways during peak hours; or places that provide no reasonable alternative routing alignment. Shared bicycle/bus lanes are presently not in common use in the U.S., although they do exist in some cities in California, Oregon, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington state, and Arizona. Such lanes also exist in Ottawa, Canada; Queensland, Australia; and some cities in The Netherlands and Ireland. As the concept becomes established, there exists some variation in definition of terms, and there is a range of designs that are considered to be shared use, including bicycle boulevards, bicycle/bus lanes, roadways restricted to bus and bicycle traffic only, and bicycles that can use bus-ways. Because there can be a significant difference in operating speeds between bicyclists and buses, the design and operation of shared use facilities need to address the potential conflicts and safety issues arising from bus/bicyclist interaction, changing conditions, intersections and complex traffic situations (Bicycle Design/Best Practices Manual, prepared by Alta Planning + Design for the City of San Diego, Appendix B, 2009, p.24.)]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 03 Jan 2013 14:28:26 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1231910</guid>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>