Optimal separation between vehicles for maximum through a light signal

Abstract

The traffic flow through a light signal is explored by using the optimal velocity model and its improvement known as full velocity differences model. The simulations consider a single line of identical cars, equally spaced, and with no obstacles after the signal crossing line. The flow dependence on vehicle's characteristics, as it's length and sensitivity, are studied. Also, the influence of the attitude of drivers (careful or aggressive) has been used as parameters on the present work. It was found that the optimal separation between cars, defined as the distance that allows the system to carry the higher number of vehicles through the signal crossing line, is independent of the sensitivity of the system, but it does depend on the aggressive or careful characteristic of the drivers. The optimal separation is also found to be proportional to the length of the cars for a system of identical vehicles.