Research on traffic conditions and speed limits in confluence areas considering traffic infarction

Traffic infarction can affect traffic conditions in confluence areas, thereby affecting the advantages of travel on the road. In this work, a traffic infarction model of a confluence area was constructed, and then a traffic condition diagnosis model was determined with the lane vehicle occupancy rate (LVOR) and time headway as traffic condition indicators. A speed limit model that considers traffic infarction was also determined. Finally, taking the actual confluence area as the object, traffic conditions in this area and changes in speed limits were analyzed. The sensitivity of the models was also analyzed and the validity of the speed limit model was verified through simulation experiments. The results indicate that the LVOR increases and the time headway H decreases as the probability of traffic infarction gradually increases to 1. The throughput rate, average delay and speeds at the merging entrance and downstream exit of the speed limit control were, overall, better than those in the case of no speed limit control. In other words, an increase in traffic infarction can affect traffic conditions in the confluence area, but speed limit control can somewhat improve traffic conditions in the area.