Traffic flow modelling is crucial for comprehending the behavioural dynamics of vehicles on a microscopic scale along a road segment. It significantly contributes to gaining insights into the performance of various traffic elements at a significant level.
The existing traffic simulation models designed for homogeneous lane-based traffic conditions fail to encompass the diverse range of scenarios encountered in heterogeneous traffic, such as multiple-leader following and passing, staggered following, and lateral shifts without lane change. Consequently, there is doubt regarding the suitability of conventional car-following (CF) and lane-changing (LC) models for Indian conditions, characterized by vehicle heterogeneity and weak lane discipline. To address these issues, this research work integrates mixed traffic features to model the vehicle-following behaviour.
The study aims to propose a modified CF model incorporating the key factors of mixed traffic such as different vehicle sizes, multiple vehicle interactions, lane position of subject vehicle (SV), relative speed and spacing, as well as local area concentration representing traffic density. Separate models are required for different following manoeuvres and for different leader-follower pairs. In addition, the study aims to propose a modified LC model, incorporating gradual and continuous lateral shifting instead of the discrete lane change.
The ultimate aim is to develop an integrated microscopic traffic flow model to characterize the actual movement of vehicles under multi-class and lane-free Indian traffic conditions. The proposed model encompasses both modified CF and LC models to correctly predict the vehicle trajectory. The required data will be collected using an instrumented test vehicle with integrated sensors.