Exchange interaction in the time headway model in critical traffic flow states

Mitigation of traffic congestion is an important challenge for intelligent transportation systems (ITSs). However, congestion in basic sections on interurban expressways is not effectively considered in ITS design because spontaneous generation of congestion has not yet been modeled. This paper points out the difficulties of traditional approaches and proposes a new traffic flow model where only the exchange interaction of time headway is considered, which is different from standard car-following models. Through this approach, traffic flow in critical states can be approximated as connected particles, as in a magnetic model. The characteristics of traffic flow are limited to two dominant parameters expressing the robustness of time headway. The influence of the model parameters on traffic flow is exemplified through numerical simulations. This paper concludes with a discussion about the applicability of similar statistical physical models and their potential as a platform for associating the geometric design of roads with traffic capacity.