Driver reaction time estimation from real car following data and application in GM-type model evaluation

Driver behavior plays an important role in modeling vehicle dynamics in a traffic simulation environment. To study one element of the general driver behavior, that of car following, an advanced instrumented vehicle has been applied in dynamic data collection in real traffic flow on Swedish roads. This paper briefly introduces our car following data collection and smoothing methods. Moreover, we introduce spectrum analysis methods based on Fourier analysis of car following data to estimate driver reaction times, a crucial parameter of driver behavior. As an example, we calibrate a generalized GM-type model, an extension of the classical nonlinear GM model, in stable following regime based on the estimated driver reaction times. The calibrated model is then evaluated by closed-loop simulations. keyword : Car following data, reaction time estimation, spectrum analysis methods, GM-type model calibration and closed-loop simulation.