Development of lane changing logic for a high fidelity multi-lane traffic simulation model

This paper briefly presents the development of a high fidelity multilane traffic simulation model CELLSIM. The model formulation uses concepts of cellular automata (CA) and car-following (CF) models. The model is more sophisticated than CA models and simpler than CF models. The simplicity of modeling allows higher number of vehicles to be simulated. The model represents realistic behavior of traffic in congested and non-congested conditions. Development of straightforward algorithms for lane-changing are presented in detail in the paper. Lane changing is generated when a vehicle is forced to follow a slow vehicle, need to merge or diverge, or due to lane dropping. The lane changing logic replicates realistic behavior of drivers by utilizing space gaps and difference in speeds of leader and follower. The model is being validated macroscopically using three sets of field data. The model can be used to study real time traffic control for bottleneck and incident conditions. Moreover, the model has potential for managing traffic in a statewide traffic management system for disaster planning and evaluation.