Using National Freight Information to Study the Interactions Between Heavy Trucks and Passenger Cars Under Traffic Incidents or Emergencies

Our nation’s economy depends heavily on transportation infrastructure. Most businesses and industries depend on effective freight transportation systems to reach state, regional, national, and global markets. As shown in the most recent Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) results released by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the majority of our goods are moved by truck, accounting for more than $6 trillion in value and about 8 billion tons in weight in 2002. Specifically, trucks carry three-quarters of the value of the total freight shipped in the United States and two-thirds of the weight, according to this survey. With the ever-increasing demand for freight and people movement on our relatively steady highway infrastructure, traffic congestion and delay have become major factors that impede the economic growth and degrade our quality of life. The degradation in the nation’s mobility is further aggravated when traffic incidents and emergency conditions occur. Re-routing heavy trucks during such events requires thorough consideration of numerous constraints because of the height, width, clearance, weight, turning radius, etc., of these vehicles as well as the availability of suitable alternative roadways. The objective of this paper is to explore the feasibility of using national-level freight movement information in tandem with traffic simulation software to study the interactions between heavy vehicles and passenger cars during traffic incidents or emergency conditions. This research was conducted using a case study approach.