Multiple-vehicle collision induced by lane changing in traffic flow

We study the multiple-vehicle collision when a vehicle changes from the first lane to the second lane on a two-lane highway. If a vehicle with high (low) speed on the first lane enters into the second lane, it may crash into the forward (rear) vehicle on the second lane and the crash may induce more collisions. We investigate whether or not the incoming vehicle induces the multiple-vehicle collision. The number of collisions depends on the initial velocity, the initial density, the incoming velocity, the incoming headway, the sensitivity, and the relative velocity. We derive the region map for the multiple-vehicle collision induced by lane changing.