Abstract
We investigate the dynamic performance of traffic flow using a modified optimal velocity car-following model. In the car-following scenarios, the following vehicle must continuously adjust the following distance to the preceding vehicle in real time. A new optimal velocity function incorporating the desired safety distance instead of a preset constant is presented first to describe the abovementioned car-following behavior dynamically. The boundary conditions of the new optimal velocity function are theoretically analyzed. Subsequently, we propose an improved car-following model by combining the heterogeneity of driver’s sensitivity based on the new optimal velocity function and previous car-following model. The stability criterion of the improved model is obtained through the linear analysis method. Finally, numerical simulation is performed to explore the effect of the desired safety distance and the heterogeneity of driver’s sensitivity on the traffic flow. Results show that the proposed model has considerable effects on improving traffic stability and suppressing traffic congestion. Furthermore, the proposed model is compatible with the heterogeneity of driver’s sensitivity and can enhance the average velocity of traffic flow compared with the conventional model. In conclusion, the dynamic performance of traffic flow can be improved by considering the desired safety distance and the heterogeneity of driver’s sensitivity in the car-following model.
Highlights
In recent years, many cities worldwide have experienced traffic congestion and the accompanying traffic safety issues, which have attracted considerable attention from numerous scholars
Xin et al [26] explored the performance of traffic flow by considering the variable time headway policies to modify the safety distance in the optimal velocity function. ey identified that variable gap policies with proper parameters directly contribute to improving the traffic flow’s stability
The driver’s sensitivity is assumed to be a constant for convenience. is assumption is not practical for the driver’s characteristics. It cannot be identical for all drivers. is study aims to explore the effect of desired safety distance and the heterogeneity of driver’s sensitivity on the car-following behavior to reveal a more realistic and reasonable traffic flow performance
Summary
Many cities worldwide have experienced traffic congestion and the accompanying traffic safety issues, which have attracted considerable attention from numerous scholars. Lenz et al [22] established an optimal velocity function by calculating the average space headway of multiple preceding vehicles and found that the proposed model can improve the traffic flow stability. Xin et al [26] explored the performance of traffic flow by considering the variable time headway policies to modify the safety distance in the optimal velocity function. Is study aims to explore the effect of desired safety distance and the heterogeneity of driver’s sensitivity on the car-following behavior to reveal a more realistic and reasonable traffic flow performance. Erefore, an improved car-following model considering the desired safety distance and the heterogeneity of driver’s sensitivity is proposed based on OVM.
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