Validity of microscopic modelling of motorway traffic

Developments have recently been made in increasing the quality of data available for the calibration of microscopic simulation models, and several techniques devised for high accuracy collection. Little consideration has been given however to the acceptability of the microscopic models themselves. This paper describes the broad features of car following models in current use, their data requirements and above all, examine the pertinence of current validation techniques to the processes under examination and their intended uses.