Among various active queue management schemes (AQM), random early detection (RED) is probably the most extensively studied. Unlike the existing RED enhancement schemes, we use hazard rate estimated packet dropping function in RED. We call this new scheme HERED. The underlying idea is that, with the proposed packet dropping function, packet dropping becomes gentler than RED at light traffic load but more aggressive at heavy load. Simulations demonstrate that HERED achieves a higher and more stable throughput and performs better than current active queue management algorithms due to the lowest packet drops.