Applicability of Bluetooth Data Collection Methods for Collecting Traffic Operations Data on Rural Freeways
Steven M Click, Travis Lloyd · Transportation Research Board 91st Annual MeetingTransportation Research Board · 2012
The purpose of this paper was to present the results of an investigation into the applicability of Bluetooth-based traffic data for describing operations on rural freeways. Of issue were the impacts of typically wide rural freeway medians, lower rural freeway volumes, and the potential for lower discoverable device market penetration rates. Together, these elements could conspire to reduce the sample size from Bluetooth detection to such a degree that reported operational statistics were unreliable. Median width was found to adversely affect sampling rates, but deployment of two roadside detectors instead of a single median detector resulted in sampling rates similar to those reported for urban freeways. Because of lower volumes on rural freeways, Bluetooth-based speed estimates are of questionable confidence during overnight hours, but during typical daytime hours the sample sizes obtained provide for high confidence in estimated speeds and travel times. Thus, Bluetooth data collection is a viable method for data collection on rural freeways.