Comparing the lane-changing behaviour of Iran and the United States

Abstract

The unique geometric features, the high-speed limit and the presence of multiple lanes in highways allow them to support large volumes of traffic. However, driving behaviours such as lane-change manoeuvres reduce the functional capacity of freeways, thereby increasing the travel time and decreasing the safety of travel. Lane changes can be generally divided into mandatory and discretionary manoeuvres. The aim of the discretionary lane change is to improve driving conditions while mandatory lane change is forced on the driver following the target path. The aim of this study was to provide a count-regression model to predict the number of discretionary lane changes in freeways. The study used data pertaining to the interstate highway (I-80) in the United States and Modarres highway in Tehran, Iran, to develop linear-regression, Poisson-regression and negative-binomial models. The performance of these models and lane-changing behaviours in Iran and the United States were also compared. The developed model can be utilised in macroscopic traffic simulation software and for the determination of the level of service. According to the results, the number of vehicles in the current lane has the greatest effects on the quality of results and a comparison between Iran and the United States showed interesting outputs.