Car-Following Radar Data from Western Massachusetts Work Zones

USDOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center collected this dataset of freeway car-following behavior using an Instrumented Research Vehicle in western Massachusetts during summer 2016. It contains instantaneous radar and GPS data points, processed from 6 data collection runs. The data describe velocity, acceleration, and relative position for classified car-following instances.

Use Cases

• Calibrate car-following model parameters (e.g., for IDM or Gipps) using `follower_accel`, `leader_vel`, `follower_vel`, and `delta_dist` time-series.
• Analyze work zone driver reaction patterns by examining `delta_vel` and `timestamp` sequences within specific `run_instance_id` groups.
• Study acceleration/deceleration profiles of leaders and followers (`leader_accel`, `follower_accel`) under different roadway conditions classified in the related instances table.
• Validate simulated vehicle trajectories against real-world `radar_point_id` sequences containing position and speed data.

Strengths

• Data is processed, refined, and cleaned from raw radar/GPS sources, with instances classified by roadway type, congestion, and speed limit.
• Contains detailed kinematic variables per radar point, including `follower_accel`, `leader_vel`, and `delta_dist`.
• Linked to separate tables for runs and instances, providing contextual metadata for analysis.

Limitations

• Sample size is limited to 6 data collection runs from a single region and season (summer 2016), reducing generalizability.
• Geographic scope is restricted to freeways and arterials in western Massachusetts, potentially introducing regional bias.
• The number of rows (radar points) and total observed car-following instances is unknown.

Provenance

Source

USDOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), published via datahub.transportation.gov.

Collection Method

Collected using an Instrumented Research Vehicle (IRV) with radar and GPS, then processed to isolate and classify individual car-following instances.

Time Range

Summer 2016.

Freshness

Dataset was last updated on the platform in July 2024, though underlying data collection occurred in 2016.

Geography

Freeways and arterials in western Massachusetts, USA (specific area includes Springfield).