Simulation Strategies for Mixed Traffic Conditions: A Review of Car-Following Models and Simulation Frameworks (original) (raw)

Modeling of Bidirectional Mixed Traffic Stream with Weak Lane Discipline

In contrast to developed countries, traffic streams in developing countries generally consist of mixed traffic with weak or no lane discipline i.e. vehicles can occupy any lateral position within entire road width. This makes such traffic streams’ behavior complex. Therefore, existing traffic flow models often prove inadequate in simulating such traffic stream. The complexity is further aggravated when traffic movement on such roads is bidirectional. To simulate such bidirectional traffic, development of a car-following model with modifications for bidirectional traffic is necessary. This work is an investigation towards incorporation of the probable modifications in the existing models to simulate the bidirectional traffic realistically. Initially, a unidirectional model is developed which takes into account heterogeneity and ‘no lane-discipline’ nature of such traffic streams. Later, certain rules for overtaking and relevant modifications are added to develop a bidirectional model...

A two-dimensional car-following model for two-dimensional traffic flow problems

Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 2020

This paper proposes a two-dimensional car-following model to tackle traffic flow problems where considering continuum lateral distances enables a simpler or more natural mathematical formulation compared to traditional car-following models. These problems include (i) the effects of lateral friction often observed in HOV lanes and diverge bottlenecks, (ii) the relaxation phenomenon at merge bottlenecks, (iii) the occurrence of accidents due to lane changing, and (iv) traffic models for autonomous vehicles (AVs). We conjecture that traditional car-following models, where the lateral dimension is discretized into lanes, struggle with these problems and one has to resort to ad-hoc rules conceived to directly achieve the desired effect, and that are difficult to validate. We argue that the distance maintained by drivers in order to avoid collisions in all directions plays a fundamental role in all these problems. To test this hypothesis, we propose a simple twodimensional microscopic car-following model based on the social force paradigm, and build simulation experiments that reproduce these phenomena. These phenomena are reproduced as an indirect consequence of the model's formulation, as opposed to ad-hoc rules, thus shedding light on their causes. A better understanding of the behavior of human drivers in the lateral dimension can be translated to improving autonomous driving algorithms so that they are human-friendly. In addition, since AV technology is proprietary, we argue that the proposed model should provide a good starting point for building AV traffic flow models when real data becomes available, as these data come from sensors that cover two-dimensional regions.

Analysis of Single-Lane and Two-Lane Traffic Models

The purpose of this paper is to extend the existing Cellular Automata (CA) models and to use the extended CA models to describe the influence of a car accident in single-lane and two-lane traffic flow. To evaluate dynamic traffic flow, we developed a traffic flow simulator that uses CA model. It is shown that the singlelane dynamics can be extended to the two-lane case without changing the basic properties of the model. The two-lane model considered here shows quantitative improvements over the single-lane model. We also add the lane changing rules to simulate the reality traffic condition. The spacetime diagrams for single and two-lane models are considered to conclude that congestion appear to move faster through traffic as the maximum velocity increases and congestion formation in single-lane is much distinct than in two-lane. Using simulation results it has been shown that after the accident the speed of the downstream traffic tends to zero which results in serious congestion and once the accident ends the traffic flow begins to start again.

Development of Simulation Model for Heterogeneous Traffic with no Lane Discipline

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013

Indian traffic can be considered as chaotic, with various types of vehicles present with no lane discipline. In order to model Indian traffic condition, it is necessary to incorporate both the v conditions in a meaningful way. Research has been made on weak lane discipline or vehicular heterogeneity as a single entity, but both these criteria are not present in a single model. In the present study, an attempt is made to quantify the unaccounted parameters of heterogeneity for Indian traffic into the existing car-following models to form a modified car-following model. A simulation model has been developed as a software program to study the performance of the modified car-following model in replicating Indian conditions. This model is used to simulate the traffic stream and some preliminary results are obtained. They are validated with field data collected from a major road in Delhi. The model is able to satisfactorily simulate the realtime traffic conditions. Analysis is carried out for roadway traffic characteristics, distribution of vehicles along roadway width and speed distribution of vehicles. The model, after extensive validation at a later stage, can be useful for future traffic experts for application.

IRJET- STUDY OF MIXED TRAFFIC FLOW BEHAVIOR ON ARTERIAL ROAD

IRJET, 2021

The traffic scenario in developing economies is fundamentally different from that of the developed economies. The latter is predominantly composed of passenger cars and can be aptly termed as ''homogeneous'' traffic, whereas the former is composed of vehicle types with a wide variety of static and dynamic characteristics, which occupy the same right of way, resulting in an unsynchronized movement of the vehicles. Another distinguishing characteristic of this traffic is the absence of lane-discipline, resulting from the wide variation in sizes and maneuvering abilities of the vehicles. These distinctions result in some phenomena like vehicle creeping, which are absent in the homogeneous traffic. Hence, this type of traffic can be referred to as ''heterogeneous disordered'' or ''mixed'' traffic. A review of the literature has shown that most of the studies in such traffic make use of the methods and concepts developed for homogeneous traffic. Very few studies have attempted to capture and understand the distinctive characteristics of the mixed traffic. The primary objective of this paper is to provide a review of the studies on various mixed traffic characteristics in developing economies, identify their limitations and provide guidelines for the future research. Also, a detailed methodology of the simulation process for the mixed traffic is given, reflecting the ''gap-filling'' rather than the conventional ''car-following'' behavior. A comparison of the past modeling approaches is also presented and the accuracy of their implementation is discussed.

A car following model for traffic flow simulation

2016

The traffic flow microscopic modeling is basically important for the development of specific tools for understanding, simulating and controlling urban transportation systems. Car-following models have been developed to describe the dynamical characteristics of the moving vehicles. In this paper, we present a microscopic car following model based on the consideration of the driving behavior on a single-lane road. With this model, we propose an approach which permits to take into account the phenomenon of anticipation in driver behavior. A comparative study with the optimal velocity model is done. The proposed modeling approach is validated by simulation. The numerical simulation shows that the model can improve the representation of traffic flow.

A Simple Traffic Flow Simulator for Two-lane Highways

Traffic congestion is a common feature on highways in many cities of the world, including Ibadan, Nigeria. Previous studies have shown that several mathematical traffic flow models developed to analyse congestion cannot be easily generalised or adapted to varying situations. A simple traffic flow simulator was developed in this paper to simulate flow for different congestion scenarios by varying the minimum and maximum headways of vehicles. Comparison of simulated and field values for a heavilytrafficked highway in Ibadan metropolis produced an error of 35 % at high vehicular interaction.

A realistic two-lane traffic model for highway traffic

Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General, 2002

A two-lane extension of a recently proposed cellular automaton model for traffic flow is discussed. The analysis focuses on the reproduction of the lane usage inversion and the density dependence of the number of lane changes. It is shown that the single-lane dynamics can be extended to the two-lane case without changing the basic properties of the model which are known to be in good agreement with empirical single-vehicle data. Therefore it is possible to reproduce various empirically observed two-lane phenomena, like the synchronization of the lanes, without fine-tuning of the model parameters.

Evaluation of Different Vehicle Following Models under Mixed Traffic Conditions

Car-following models replicate the behavior of a driver following another vehicle. These models are widely used in the development of traffic simulation models. Only fewer studies have been conducted to compare the performance of different car following models under mixed traffic conditions. The present study focuses on the evaluation of different car following models under mixed traffic conditions. Specifically, the following four cars following models were selected: 1. Gipps Model, 2. Intelligent Driver Model (IDM), 3. Krauss Model and 4. Das and Asundi Model. These models were implemented in a microscopic traffic simulation model for a mid block section. Each of these models is then calibrated for three states: non-steady state with constant parameters across classes, steady state parameter and non-steady state with classwise parameters. Then the models are evaluated using the performance measures such as error in hourly stream speeds and classwise speeds, critical parameters and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) for speed and density values, obtained at one minute intervals.

Microscopic Evaluation of Extended Car-following Model in Multi-lane Roads

2018

This paper describes a micro-simulation model which combined car following with lane change model. For that, we proposed a new car-following model which is an extended of velocity-separation difference model (VSDM) by introducing a new optimal velocity function, named a modified velocity-separation difference model (MVSDM) which react better in braking case. The problems of collision in urgent braking case existing in the previous models were solved. Furthermore, the simulation results show that (MVSDM) can exactly describe the driver’s behavior under braking case, where no collision occurs.