Influence of lane change on stability analysis for two-lane traffic flow

Abstract

This paper deals mainly with the influence of lane changing behaviours on the stability of two-lane traffic flow under a periodic boundary condition. Following the description of an optimal velocity model for two vehicle groups and the derivation of their stability conditions, the feedback signals, which involve information about vehicles from both lanes acting on the two-lane traffic system, are introduced into the optimal velocity model. The control signals play a role in alleviating the traffic jam only if the traffic state is in congestion, and their role will vanish if the traffic state is in the steady state. The numerical simulations show that lane changing behaviours can break the steady state of two-lane traffic flow and aggravate the traffic disturbance, but the control method would successfully suppress the traffic jam eventually, which implies that the conclusions obtained here have certain theoretical and practical significance.