Effects Of Cooperative Lane-Change Behavior On Vehicular Traffic Flow

Modeling of driver behavior is an important issue in microscopic vehicular traffic simulations. Especially for lane-change models, cooperative behavior is in some situations inevitable to ensure a smooth traffic flow and avoid abnormally long waiting times for single vehicles. Especially in case of congestion and unconditionally required lane-changes before intersections, at highway exits or road narrows, cooperation between vehicles can significantly improve traffic flow. We analyze the comprehensive model Cooperative Lane-Change and Longitudinal Behavior Model Extension (CLLxt) from literature with regard to its influence to performance indicators of traffic flow such as average travel time and fuel consumption. To conduct the evaluation, the microscopic traffic simulator TraffSim is used. The simulation study includes evaluations for two representative scenarios - one highway exit scenario and an intersection scenario with lanes including turn restrictions. Additionally, effects of a varying traffic density are analyzed. The results reveal significant improvements for all investigated situations due to the application of CLLxt.