Characteristics of mixed traffic flow with non-motorized vehicles and motorized vehicles at an unsignalized intersection

In this paper, a new two-dimensional car-following model is proposed to depict the features of mixed traffic flow consisting of motorized vehicles (m-vehicle) and non-motorized vehicles (nm-vehicle), based on the two-dimensional optimal velocity (OV) model by Nakayama et al. [A. Nakayama, K. Hasebe, Y. Sugiyama, Phys. Rev. E 71 (2005) 036121]. In the proposed model, velocity difference terms are introduced, which are regarded as important factors for traffic behavior. Numerical simulations are carried out to investigate the interaction between left-turning nm-vehicle flow and straight-going m-vehicle flow at a typical unsignalized interaction. The results show that the straight-going m-vehicle flow just next to nm-lane is disturbed more seriously than others. In addition, a well-known phenomenon in reality is observed that groups of m-vehicles and nm-vehicles pass through the intersection alternately.