Lane Change Strategies on Freeways: A Microscopic Simulation Study

Understanding the influence of lane changing manoeuvres on the capacity, stability, and breakdown of traffic flows is a crucial issue. In a recent study, four distinct lane change strategies on freeways have been found: (1) Speed Leading; (2) Speed Leading with Overtaking; (3) Lane Leading; (4) Traffic Leading. To the best of our knowledge, combining speed choice and lane preference is not currently considered in most driving behaviour models. The principal aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of the forenamed lane change strategies on freeway traffic operations. The developed strategy-based lane change model has been implemented in a microscopic simulation environment. The study revealed that different lane change strategies may have various impact on the lane flow distribution and consequently on the freeway capacity. It has been seen that an unbalanced distribution of flow on a multi-lane freeway may lead to reduction of capacity. In addition, it has been found that the lane change rate variates under different lane change strategies. The highest traffic stability has been observed under speed leading and speed leading with overtaking strategies.