A Model and Its Applications for Predicting Passing Rate at Passing Zones on Two-Lane Rural Highways

Passing zones are designed to provide sufficient sight distance for fast vehicles to pass safely slow vehicles and contribute to operational efficiency of two-lane highways. However, lack of suitable models to predict passing rate and capacity has made it difficult to quantify operational benefits of passing zones. In this paper, a model is proposed to predict passing rate in the subject direction at passing zones using traffic and geometric factors. The model is developed based on speed and passing data collected at 19 passing zones in Uganda using pneumatic tube classifiers and video recordings. Findings show that passing rates depend on the length of the passing zone, absolute vertical grade, traffic volume in two travel directions, directional split, 85th percentile speed of free-flow vehicles and percent heavy vehicles in the subject direction. The peak passing rate also referred to as the passing capacity occurs at 200, 220, and 240 vehicles/h in the subject direction for 50/50, 55/45, and 60/40 directional splits, respectively. The model could potentially be applicable in planning, design, and safety evaluation of two-lane rural highways.