Analysis and simulated modelling of discretionary lane changing behaviors

The traditional discretionary lane changing models only analyze ideal lane change provided with sufficient gaps. In this paper, discretionary lane changing behaviors are extended into three kinds: ideal lane change, decelerated lane change, and squeezed lane change. These lane changing behaviors are compared, and the influence of every behavior on traffic flow is analyzed, respectively. It points out that decelerated lane change may reduce road capacity, and squeezed lane change may lead to more jumbled and congested traffic flow. Then, the respective lane changing models including desire model and gap-acceptance model are established, their proposed lane-changing models are validated. The simulated results show that the proposed models are superior to the conventional models. This study may have an important role in microscopic traffic simulation. It can heighten the precision and profundity of lane changing behavior research.