Cellular automata model simulating traffic car accidents in the on-ramp system

Abstract

In this paper, using Nagel–Schreckenberg model we study the on-ramp system under the expanded open boundary condition. The phase diagram of the two-lane on-ramp system is computed. It is found that the expanded left boundary insertion strategy enhances the flow in the on-ramp lane. Furthermore, we have studied the probability of the occurrence of car accidents. We distinguish two types of car accidents: the accident at the on-ramp site (Prc) and the rear-end accident in the main road (Pac). It is shown that car accidents at the on-ramp site are more likely to occur when traffic is free on road A. However, the rear-end accidents begin to occur above a critical injecting rate αc1. The influence of the on-ramp length (LB) and position (xC0) on the car accidents probabilities is studied. We found that large LB or xC0 causes an important decrease of the probability Prc. However, only large xC0 provokes an increase of the probability Pac. The effect of the stochastic randomization is also computed.