VISSIM-Based Simulation and Analysis of Upstream Segments in Ramp Areas for Optimizing Vehicle Group Lane-Changing Behaviors

Abstract EN

The traffic congestion in ramp areas is becoming increasingly prominent.

In the upstream segments of ramp areas, effective management and control of lane-changing behaviors can improve the road capacity and make full use of the existing road resource.

With the continuous development and application of connected vehicle technologies, lane-changing behaviors can be performed by vehicle groups.

Under a connected vehicle environment, the lane-changing behaviors by vehicle groups are controlled in the upstream segment in a ramp area, and the lane-changing behaviors can be completed prior to entering the ramp area.

Finally, lane-changing strategies are optimized and identified.

VISSIM simulates these proposed strategies.

This paper considers the delay as the output index for analyzing and comparing various strategies.

The results demonstrate that the delays of different lane-changing strategies are also different.

If the delays of ramp areas are to be substantially reduced, it is necessary to continuously optimize the lane-changing strategies by vehicle groups in the upstream segments.

This optimization of lane-changing strategies will effectively regulate drivers’ lane-changing behaviors, improve road safety, and increase traffic capacity.