Strategies for route guidance systems taking account of driver response

Continuing research and development into new technologies for road transport systems is leading to the evolution of a wide range of dynamic route guidance (DRG) and driver information systems. These range from out-of-vehicle roadside displays providing variable message/direction signs, to in-vehicle systems, such as navigational aids, map-based systems, audible systems (e.g. radio) and fully dynamic route guidance systems advising appropriate turns at each junction encountered. This high level of system development has been matched with considerable scientific activity in system design and evaluation using offline modelling tools. For DRG systems, the challenging tasks for the models have been to realistically capture the dynamic effects of traffic and of the DRG systems, and the driver responses to each. This paper describes the development of a model RGCONTRAM designed specifically to address these issues so that efficient operational strategies for route guidance systems can be identified.