Shaping traffic flow with a ratio of time constants

Abstract

In this paper we present how the main parameters of an optimal velocity model, the velocity adaptation time, τ, and the desired time gap between consecutive vehicles (time headway), T, control the structure of vehicular traffic flow. We show that the ratio between the desired time gap and the velocity adaptation time, T /τ, establishes the pattern formation in congested traffic flow. This ratio controls both the collective behavior and the individual response of vehicles in traffic. We also introduced a response (transfer) function, which shows how perturbation is transmitted between adjacent vehicles and permits the study of collective stability of traffic flow.