A Cellular Automaton Model for Bi-Directionnal Traffic

TL;DR

This paper presents a bi-directional cellular automaton traffic model that incorporates passing interactions and speed variations, closely matching real traffic behavior and bridging the gap between simple models and real-world complexity.

Contribution

The paper introduces an extended CA model for bi-directional traffic that accounts for passing and speed distribution, improving realism over previous models.

Findings

Density-flow diagrams show lane interactions.

Model closely matches experimental traffic data.

Bridges gap between simple CA models and real traffic.

Abstract

We investigate a cellular automaton (CA) model of traffic on a bi-directional two-lane road. Our model is an extension of the one-lane CA model of {Nagel and Schreckenberg 1992}, modified to account for interactions mediated by passing, and for a distribution of vehicle speeds. We chose values for the various parameters to approximate the behavior of real traffic. The density-flow diagram for the bi-directional model is compared to that of a one-lane model, showing the interaction of the two lanes. Results were also compared to experimental data, showing close agreement. This model helps bridge the gap between simplified cellular automata models and the complexity of real-world traffic.