Stability Evolution of Car-Following Models Considering Asymmetric Driving Behavior

Abstract

In this paper, we relax an unrealistic assumption that is commonly adopted in the stability analysis of car-following (CF) models, that is, the equilibrium state is fixed. Specifically, the influence mechanism of the equilibrium state and equilibrium state change on the stability of CF models is studied considering the impact of asymmetry in CF models. Two state change processes are considered: acceleration and deceleration processes for symmetric and asymmetric CF models. The results reveal that significant differences exist between the two types of CF models: while the acceleration process would significantly destabilize the traffic with the asymmetric CF model, the influence of acceleration and deceleration on its stability change is identical and relatively unsignificant for the symmetric CF model.