Lane-based car-following behaviour based on inductive loops

Abstract

It is assumed that car-following behaviour is the same in different lanes of traffic flow, but it is necessary to investigate whether car-following behaviour in all lanes, in congested and non-congested conditions, is the same or not. For this purpose, the traffic data for a freeway in Iran (the Tehran–Qom freeway) were investigated. The results showed that by choosing the lane closer to the median, driving cautiousness will be reduced. This finding can not only be attributed to increasing speed, which is the characteristic of a lane closer to the median, but also occurs with time headway reduction. In other words, closer lanes to the median have higher speed and lower headway that will increase the capacity of these lanes. These results suggest that driving behaviour can be categorised based on the lane that the drivers select. Results also indicate that the capacity difference between inner and outer lanes is from about 7% up to 24%.