A two-lane lattice model considering taillight effect and man–machine hybrid driving

Abstract

At present, drivers can rely on road communication technology to obtain the current traffic status information, and the development of intelligent transportation makes self-driving possible. In this paper, considering the mixed traffic flow with self-driving vehicles and the taillight effect, a new macro-two-lane lattice model is established. Combined with the concept of critical density, the judgment conditions for vehicles to take braking measures are given. Based on the linear analysis, the stability conditions of the new model are obtained, and the mKdV equation describing the evolution mechanism of density waves is derived through the nonlinear stability analysis. Finally, with the help of numerical simulation, the phase diagram and kink–anti-kink waveform of neutral stability conditions are obtained, and the effects of different parameters of the model on traffic flow stability are analyzed. The results show that the braking probability, the proportion of self-driving vehicles and the critical density have significant effects on the traffic flow stability. Considering taillight effect and increasing the mixing ratio of self-driving vehicles can effectively enhance the stability of traffic flow, but a larger critical density will destroy the stability of traffic flow.