Estimation of driver reaction time from detailed vehicle trajectory data

Primary interest in driver reaction time stems from its use in microscopic traffic simulation models. In this paper, we propose a new approach to estimate driver reaction time from car-following data. Using the concept of steady-state car-following, the proposed method captures the interaction of a pair of leading and following vehicles to determine the of a driver's reaction time. The car-following data uses speed and acceleration rate of the leader and the follower as well as the follower's space headway. The paper analyses two sets of Next Generation Simulation (NGSIM) car-following data and 157 reaction times of drivers are obtained. Moreover, the relationship between instantaneous speed of drivers and their reaction times are presented. The results indicate that the driver reaction time is driver dependent and speed independent which are consistent with previous studies.