Influences of overtaking on two-lane traffic with signals

Based on the cellular automata method (CA method), two-lane traffic flow with the consideration of overtaking is investigated. Discrete equations are proposed to describe the traffic dynamics by using the rules of CA model. Influences of signal cycle time (ts) and vehicular density (ρ) on the mean velocity 〈v〉 and mean overtaking times 〈c〉 of the traffic flow are discussed. The effects of slow vehicles and road barricades on the traffic flow are also studied. Simulation results shows that the vehicular density and the signal cycle time have significant influences on the traffic flow. The mean velocity of the traffic flow could keep a comparatively large value when ρ≤0.45. For a certain value of ρ, 〈v〉 displays a serrated fluctuation with ts. Therefore, there may exist a certain combination of ρ and ts which optimizes the traffic flow efficiency. As compared with the results in Nagatani (2009) [7], the model proposed here and the simulation results which took into account the effects of signal cycle time, slow vehicles, and road barricades on the traffic flow with overtaking allowed, can reflect the situation of traffic flow in a more realistic way.