A k-leader fuel-efficient traffic model

Optimizing travel time and energy consumption without compromising safety to attain efficient road traffic is a key goal in transport telematics. Microscopic traffic simulations are important tools to study the impact of new algorithms on road traffic. The aim of these simulations is to achieve a high degree of realism through the use of microscopic car-following models, which characterize real-time interaction among individual vehicles. These models play a vital role in Advanced Vehicle Control and Safety Systems (AVCSS) such as collision warning, adaptive cruise control, or lane guidance and in modelling simulation of safety studies and capacity analysis in transportation science. Although a range of models have been proposed to model the longitudinal interaction between adjacent vehicles due to its importance, surprisingly few comparative evaluations of the models exist. In this paper, we first identify limitations of the prominent car-following models. We then propose a k-leader fuel-efficient car-following model and show that our model is effective in terms of safety, trip times, flow and fuel efficiency. We also highlight new research challenges and important directions for further research.