A Study on Passenger Car Equivalent of Heavy Vehicles Considering the Road Hierarchy and Traffic Characteristics

Abstract

The necessity of reconsidering the passenger car equivalent (PCE) of heavy vehicles have been pointed out because of the improvement of heavy vehicle performance. Besides, the road network in Japan is almost completed and it is expected that the road functions will be differentiated and the traffic characteristics of heavy vehicles will also change. Therefore, in this study, the relationship between the effect of heavy vehicles on capacity and the road hierarchy and traffic characteristics was clarified by field observation data and the characteristics of PCE were analyzed. As a result, the PCE has different values depending on the road hierarchy, and it became clear that these differences are largely influenced by the proportion of semi-trailer. In addition, it is clarified that the PCE is smaller than the specified value, which suggests that not only the improvement of the heavy vehicle performance but also the increase of headway of the passenger cars may be influenced. Furthermore, methods for determining the PCE based on the road hierarchy and traffic characteristics were discussed.