Drivers require a sufficient distance on a two-lane highway to ensure that they can safely maneuver past an impeding vehicle. The passing behaviour of drivers is an important element of safe passing maneuvers. In this paper, field studies were conducted in different countries to determine the passing behaviour of drivers. The study involved participants of both genders in different age groups. A passing profile was established using experimental data collected by Dual Camera Car DVRs and a GPS data logger device that records the instantaneous speeds and positions of different passing vehicles. Using the collected data, linear regression models were established for the initial time, passing time, and acceleration of the passing vehicles. The independent variables of the models were driver gender, age, driving experience, and average weekly driving hours. A passing sight distance (PSD) model was then developed using the mechanics of passing maneuvers on two-lane highways. The results of the proposed model were compared with those of the design guides and existing models. The comparison revealed that the existing PSD models are either too liberal or too conservative. The proposed PSD model, which reflects current driver behavior, should be of interest to highway designers.
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