title: A mechanism to describe the formation and propagation of stop-and-go waves in congested freeway traffic.
abstract: This paper introduces a parsimonious theory for congested freeway traffic that describes the spontaneous appearance of oscillations and their ensuing transformation into stop-and-go waves. Based upon the analysis of detailed vehicle-trajectory data, we conclude that timid and aggressive driver behaviours are the cause for this transformation. We find that stop-and-go waves arise independently of the details of these behaviours. Analytical and simulation results are presented.
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA. jlaval3@ce.gatech.edu
authors.forename: Jorge A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Laval
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Leclercq