AN EXTENDED OV MODEL WITH CONSIDERATION OF DRIVER'S MEMORY

Abstract

In this paper, the optimal velocity (OV) model is extended to take account of the effect that the driver's memory has on the car-following behavior. The stability condition of the proposed model is obtained by using linear stability theory. The modified Korteweg-de Vries (mKdV) equation is obtained and solved. Traffic flows in the headway-sensitivity space are classified into three types as stable, metastable and unstable. Both analytical and simulation results show that introduction of driver's memory in the acceleration can improve the stability of traffic flow. It is also found that the stable region will be enlarged with the increase of the past information considered. Finally, numerical tests show that properly considering driver's memory can improve the stability of traffic flow.