Origins of Reverse Lane Usage Using Nagel-Schreckenberg Model

On highways with two lanes, cars are requested to run on the slow lane and are allowed to run on the fast lane for overtaking. However, on real two-lane highways, we daily observe a phenomenon called "reverse lane usage", in which the flow on the fast lane exceeds that on the slow lane. The origins of the phenomenon have not been discussed clearly. In this paper, we study a two-lane extension of the Nagel-Schreckenberg model. We employ two types of lane-changing rules: a German type and a Japanese type. The German type forbids overtaking slow cars on the fast lane through the slow lane. The Japanese type, in contrast, allows overtaking through both lanes. If the two lanes allow the same maximum speed, forbidding overtaking through the slow lane is the key for inducing reverse lane usage. If the maximum speed on the fast lane is higher than that on the slow lane, reverse lane usage is observed in the Japanese type. The effects of stochasticity in lane changing, and mixing trucks and passenger cars are also discussed.