Abstract
This paper investigates appropriate car-following behavior for typical drivers from the viewpoint of safety and efficiency. We analyzed relationships between two vehicle following policies and resulting control theory properties of vehicle strings, including string stability and bandwidth. We also conducted simulations of vehicle strings with different following policies for a variety of parameters. From results of these analyses, it was shown that a following policy called “Constant Time Headway policy”, with the reference time headway of 2 seconds, is appropriate for most typical drivers. This result coincides with the following policy recommended by Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD) and Japan Automotive Federation (JAF). So the result of this paper proved that recommendation of JAF and TMPD is appropriate in respect of safety and traffic efficiency.
Keywords: following behavior, constant time headway, String Stability