Lane Changing Models

V.Prem Raj Kumar

Assistant Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
 Introduction
• The transfer of a vehicle from one lane to adjacent lane is defined as lane change.
• Lane changing has significant impact on traffic flow.
• Lane changing models are therefore an important component in microscopic traffic
simulation
• Modeling the behaviour of a vehicle within its present lane is relatively
straightforward, as the only considerations of any importance are the speed and
location of the preceding vehicle.
• Lane changing, on the other hand, is more complex, because of the decision to
change lanes depends on several objectives, and at times some of these may
conflict.
 Classification of Lane change

• The subject vehicle in the current lane tries to change direction either to its left or to its right.
• If the gap in the selected lane is acceptable then the lane change occurs or else it will remain in the
current lane.
• The classification of lane change is done based on the execution of the lane change and accordingly two type
of lane changes exists, namely the mandatory and discretionary lane changes.
 Mandatory Lane Change (MLC):

• Mandatory lane change (MLC) occurs when a driver must change lane to follow a specified path. Suppose
if a driver wants to make a right turn at the next intersection, then he changes to the right most lane.
• This type of lane change is referred to as MLC. This lane changing model structure is shown in the left portion
of the Figure 2.
• Explanatory variables that affect such decision include remaining distance to the point at which lane change
must be completed, the number of lanes to cross to reach a lane connected to the next link, delay (time
elapsed since the MLC conditions apply), and whether the subject vehicle is a heavy vehicle (bus, truck,
etc..,).
• Drivers are likely to respond to the MLC situations earlier if it involves crossing several lanes.
• A longer delay makes a driver more anxious and increases the likelihood of responding to the MLC
situations.
• Further, due to lower maneuverability and larger gap length requirement of heavy vehicles as compared
to their non heavy counterparts, they have a higher likelihood of responding to the MLC conditions.
Figure 2: Mandatory and discretionary lane change decision tree
 Forced merging model

• Forced merging happens if the gap on the target lane is not acceptable then the subject vehicle forces the
lag vehicle on the target to decelerate until the gap is acceptable.
• At every discrete point in time, a driver is assumed to

(a) evaluate the traffic environment in the target lane to decide whether the driver intends to merge in
front of the lag vehicle in the target lane and
(b) try to communicate with the lag vehicle to understand whether the driver’s right of way is established.
• If a driver intends to merge in front of the lag vehicle and right of way is established, then the decision
process ends and the driver gradually move into the target lane. This process may last from less than a second
to a few seconds.
• If right of way is not established, the subject continues the evaluation/communication process during
the next time instant.
 Cooperative Merging

• The models discussed so far assume that lane changing is executed through gap acceptance.

• However, in congested traffic conditions acceptable gaps may not be available, and the resultant
behaviour would be different.

• For example, drivers may change lanes through courtesy and cooperation of the lag vehicles on the
target lane that will slow down in order to accommodate the lane change.
 Lane changing process

• There are no analytic relationships that encompass the entire lane changing process. Instead, it is
typically modeled as a sequence of several decision-making steps such as:

1. Desire to change the current lane

2. Selection of the target lane

3. Ensuring lane change is feasible

4. Decision to change lane based on gap acceptance

 Desire to change the current lane
• Desire to change the lane, whether discretionary or mandatory, greatly depends on the driver
characteristics and behaviour.
• Lane changes may be performed due to several factors such as reduced speed in the current lane,
queuing, forced deceleration because of the lead vehicle, etc.
• The desire to change the lane becomes stronger when the driver also perceives a higher utility in
the target lane in terms of higher speed or higher acceleration or a better position in the queue.
• Here we assume that the first step of deciding whether to change the lane arises basically from the
current acceleration of the vehicle.

• This acceleration can be computed using any car following model, say General Motors Model.
If the vehicle has to decelerate due to the lead vehicle, then the driver decides to change the lane.
• Acceleration of the vehicle in the current lane, a(n+1) can be computed by,

where α is the sensitivity coefficient,

v is the velocity of the subject vehicle,
m is the speed exponent (-2 to +2),
Δv is the velocity of the lead vehicle minus the velocity of the vehicle,
Δx is the distance gap between the lead and the subject vehicle, and
l is the distance headway exponent (+4 to -1).

If a(n+1) < 0, then it means that the driver has to decelerate his vehicle which is not desired by any
driver. In that case, the driver desires a change of lane, otherwise, it will continue in the same lane.
 Selection of the target lane
• When there is a desire to change the lane, the driver then targets a lane to shift.
• Modeling this decision is more for complex for discretionary lane changes, where the
driver needs to select a lane based on several factors, such as queue length, operating
speed, etc. (Discussion of this is out side the scope of this chapter).
• A simpler way of modeling target lane selection is based on the concept of utility
maximization.
• In this approach, one assume that the driver will select a lane that maximizes his
perceived utility.
• Utility of ith lane U i can be taken as a function of several parameters such as velocity,
gap between vehicles, acceleration, etc. In this chapter, for ease in analysis, we
assume the utility is same as the acceleration.
• Given utility of ith lane as U i, then the probability of choosing the ith lane can be given by

• where N is the number of lanes. It is assumed that the driver will choose the lane that has the
maximum probability as his target lane. Note that, in real traffic simulation, a random number is
generated and used in the decision.
 Ensuring lane change is feasible

• The lane change is said to be feasible if the subject vehicle will not collide with the rear vehicle in
the target lane. For avoiding collision, the deceleration of the rear vehicle in the target lane needs
to be less than the critical deceleration. The deceleration required for the lag vehicle in the target
lane can be computed using car following model as

• If an+1 is less than the critical deceleration, it is feasible to change the lane to the selected target lane.
Otherwise, the vehicle will continue in the current lane.
 Decision to change lane based on gap acceptance
• A gap is defined as the gap in between the lead and lag
vehicles in the target lane.
• The lead gap is the gap between the subject vehicle and
the vehicle ahead of it in the lane it is changing to.
• The lag gap is defined in the same way relative to the
vehicle behind in that lane. For merging into an adjacent
lane, a gap is acceptable only when both lead and lag gap
are acceptable.
• Drivers are assumed to have minimum acceptable lead and
lag gap lengths which are termed as the lead and lag critical
gaps respectively.
• These critical gaps vary not only among different
individuals, but also for a given individual under
different traffic conditions.
• Most models also make a distinction between the lead gap
and the lag gap and require that both are acceptable
• The probability of gap acceptance as a function of time can be written as:

• where, λ is a coefficient; T is the critical time gap; t is the actual time gap which can be computes as:

• where, g is the distance gap, and vn+1 is the velocity of the vehicle. Probability that the gap is accepted
is the product of the probability that the lead gap is accepted and the probability that the lag gap is
accepted, that is.
 Numerical Illustration
Q. The mid-block section of a three lane highway with the current traffic state is shown in Figure.

• Determine if the driver of the subject vehicle will change the lane. Given that, the maximum sage deceleration is
2 m∕s2, the critical time gap (both lead and lag) is 0.7 sec, the coefficient of the gap acceptance model is 0.78,
the sensitivity coefficient of the car following model is 25, the speed exponent is one, and the distance
exponent is two.
• Step 1. Decision to change the lane: If the vehicle n has to decelerate due to the lead vehicle in the
current lane cf, then the driver decides to change the lane.

where α is the sensitivity coefficient, v is the velocity of the subject vehicle, m is the
speed exponent (-2 to +2), Δv is the velocity of the lead vehicle minus the velocity of
the vehicle, Δx is the distance gap between the lead and the subject vehicle, and l is the
distance headway exponent (+4 to -1).

• Since, an < 0, the driver desires to change the lane

• Step 2. Lane Selection: We assume that the driver will select the lane that will maximizes the utility. Utility
of ith lane U i can be taken as a function of several parameters such as velocity, gap between vehicles,
acceleration, etc. The utility of the left, center, and right lanes are computed by finding the respective potential
acceleration gain, as below:
where α is the sensitivity coefficient, v is the velocity of the subject vehicle, m is the
speed exponent (-2 to +2), Δv is the velocity of the lead vehicle minus the velocity of
the vehicle, Δx is the distance gap between the lead and the subject vehicle, and l is the
distance headway exponent (+4 to -1).
 Assuming the utility of ith lane U i is same as ai, then the probability of choosing the ith lane (left, center, and
right) can be computed as:

Since probability of choosing left lane is higher compared to other two, we assume that left lane is chosen. Note that,
this is a deterministic selection, and better reality is to select probabilistic.
Check for feasibility:
• For feasibility, the deceleration of the lag vehicle in the target lane needs to be less than the critical
deceleration.

• The deceleration of the lag vehicle is lesser than the critical deceleration (-2.0 m∕s2). Hence, the
lane change is feasible.
 where, g is the distance gap, and vn+1 is the
Step 4. Check for gap acceptance:
velocity of the vehicle.
• Lead time gap, tf = 40∕20 = 2 sec. Probability that the lead gap is accepted is:

• Lag gap, tr = 25∕20 = 1.25 sec. Probability that the lag gap is accepted is given as:

• Probability that the gap is accepted,

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