Traffic Flow Theory

Abstract

The scientific field of traffic engineering encompasses a rich set of mathematical techniques, as well as researchers with entirely different backgrounds. This paper provides an overview of what is currently the state-of-the-art with respect to traffic flow theory. Starting with a brief history, we introduce the microscopic and macroscopic characteristics of vehicular traffic flows. Moving on, we review some performance indicators that allow us to assess the quality of traffic operations. A final part of this paper discusses some of the relations between traffic flow characteristics, i.e., the fundamental diagrams, and sheds some light on the different points of view adopted by the traffic engineering community.

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