Exploring Heterogeneity in Car-Following Behaviors Based on Driver Visual Characteristics: Modeling and Calibration

To investigate the heterogeneity of car-following behaviors across different vehicle combinations from the perspective of driver visual characteristics, the NGSIM dataset from I-80 and US-101 highways was selected and distinct car-following segments were extracted for analysis. Firstly, all the effective vehicle trajectories were extracted and categorized into different vehicle types based on their widths, resulting in four combination types of car-following segments. Visual angle and its change rate were introduced as variables representing driver visual characteristics. Additionally, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare these variables with traditional ones. The driver’s visual characteristic variables were then incorporated to improve the full velocity difference (FVD) model. Genetic algorithms were employed to calibrate the model under different car-following types, revealing pronounced behavioral variations. After implementing the enhanced drivers’ visual angle (DVA) model, substantial reductions in calibration and validation errors were observed, with calibration errors decreasing by 51.93% and 42.22% and validation errors decreasing by 56.61% and 45.26%. This indicates the DVA model’s remarkable adaptability and stability. Lastly, through a sensitivity analysis of errors, the DVA model demonstrated greater robustness toward the improved error evaluation function. By integrating drivers’ visual characteristics, this study provides in-depth insights into heterogeneous car-following behaviors, enhancing our understanding of driver behaviors and micro-traffic simulation systems.