Rationality of a non-lane-based car-following theory

Abstract

Earlier work by the author developed a two-dimensional car-following model by taking into account the lateral discomfort experienced between the neighbouring vehicles moving in the same direction. This incorporation of lateral friction in car-following theory may offer a potential breakthrough in the field of microscopic simulation. However, that model was based on a small-scale scrutiny in which the interactions between only two or three vehicles were analysed in isolation. The treatment of the problem with many vehicles in a stream of traffic, say, on a link, was not made. The present paper, therefore, develops a simulation model with various types of vehicular interactions, including lane changing, and performs certain verification checks. The results show that the simulation behaves rationally giving credibility to the approach introduced. Although a number of comparisons with empirical observations are made in the paper, complete validation and experimentation are left for further work. Furthermore, the paper draws research attention to the area so that various existing car-following models can be modified in a similar way to mimic non-lane-based car following in multilane traffic flow. Potential practical implication of the work for traffic engineers is mainly capacity assessments especially in places where the discipline of lane-based-driving is weak.

Characteristics of lateral vehicular interactions in heterogeneous traffic with weak lane discipline

“…Table 7 presents the comparison of average LC values for car-car pair as obtained from this paper with previous researches. The LC matches with the data from Mallikarjuna et al [3] as well as Gunay [8], due to similarity in traffic behavior of studied traffic in these researches to that studied in this paper. The values estimated by Dimayacyac and Palmiano [21] are showing higher sensitivity to speed, since the traffic studied was more organized and followed lane discipline.…”

“…It was found that there is a seconddegree relationship between vehicle speed and road width available for overtaking. Further, a simulation model was developed [8] based upon observations drawn from field data collection. Gunay and Erdemir [9] analyzed staggered time headways between neighboring vehicles and found that drivers prefer to pass or lag behind the vehicle in the adjacent lane, rather than driving side by side.…”

Modeling Gap-Maintenance in Heterogeneous No Lane-Discipline Traffic

“…Chakraborty et al (2004) developed comprehensive model which describe both lateral and longitudinal control of vehicles based on a force field (potential field) analogy of the driving environment. Gunay (2009) attempted to explore the issue of two-dimensional headway analysis (lateral and longitudinal) in detail for better realism in traffic flow modelling. From the literature review we can conclude that there has been limited study to model no lane-discipline traffic combined with vehicle heterogeneity.…”

Performance of Non-priority Intersections Under Mixed Traffic Conditions Based on Conflict Streams Analysis

“…Apparently, vehicles of the same class may have different sizes and occupied areas, thus making the PCU values generalized. Moreover, the PCU stipulated in most capacity manuals are derived based on homogeneous traffic concepts [14].…”