Capacity Case Study
Huch wood would a woodchuck chuck? -or- What is the real potential of a driverless system? Lets start the devil we know. The present "system" is fairly well studied and, for all its diversity, exhibits fairly consistant behaviors across all its forms. Different roads, weather conditions, and vehicles notwithstanding there is a common factor-- the driver. Drivers can be counted on to take a roadway of almost any design and reduce its capacity. Give the driver a potholed, too narrow, and winding roadway and there will be more horns than progress. Create a broad, well lit multi-lane freeway and every commuter in the region will converge on it and create a parking lot. The driver, not the road, creates a fairly firm bottom line. The average capacity for a lane of traffic at highway speeds is about 1,200 vehicles per hour. Above this number and slowdowns and stoppages become inevitable. At lower speeds the...