Improving highway traffic through partial velocity synchronization

In this paper we address the problem of uncoordinated highway traffic. We first identify the main causes of the capacity drop, namely high traffic demand and inadequate driver reaction. In the past, traffic and user behavior have been accurately described by cellular automata (CA) models. In this paper we extend the CA model to deal with highway traffic fluctuations and jams. Specifically, the model incorporates the communication layer between vehicles. The model thus enables us to study the impact of inter-vehicular communications and in particular the delivery of critical and timely upstream traffic information on driver reaction. Based on the newly-available traffic metrics, we propose an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) that suggests non-intuitive speed reduction in order to avoid the formation of so-called phantom jams. The results show that using such a system considerably increases the overall traffic flow, reduces travel time and avoids unnecessary slow-downs.