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161102-1 Report Abstract

Automating the Process for Locating No-Passing Zones Using Georeferencing Data

Mehdi Azimi and H. Gene Hawkins, Jr., Texas A&M University, August 2012, 123 pp.

This research created a method of using global positioning system (GPS) coordinates to identify the location of no-passing zones in two-lane highways.  Analytical algorithms were developed for analyzing the availability of sight distance along the alignments of two-lane highways.  The main algorithm was incorporated into a computer model that uses GPS data as the input and produces a method for locating no-passing zones.  The resulting automated system processes GPS coordinates and converts them into easting and northing values, smoothes GPS data, and evaluates roadway alignment for possible sight restrictions that indicate where no-passing zones should be located.

Keywords: Passing Sight Distance, No-Passing Zone, Two-Lane Highways, Vector Operation, Global Positioning System (GPS)

ENTIRE REPORT (Adobe Acrobat File – 3 MB)