Research on traffic operation characteristics of highway service area exit sections based on collaborative early warning
Tao Li, Xun Wang, Z.Q. Chen, Jingting Wei, Wenjie Yu · 2025
This study investigates the traffic operation characteristics of highway service area exit sections when traffic management measures are implemented. Using the VISSIM traffic simulation tool, the impact of different traffic guidance strategies on the traffic operation efficiency of upstream sections of the service area under a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) collaborative environment with early warning conditions is examined. To predict and optimize guidance strategies, a dual-hidden-layer Bayesian neural network for prediction (BPNN) model is employed to forecast traffic conditions with unknown traffic volumes, device rates, and warning positions, and to determine the optimal warning positions for different combinations. Analysis of the early warning position based on comprehensive efficiency evaluation metrics reveals that higher assembly rates lead to better results and shorter optimal warning distances. Under free flow conditions, the optimal warning distance ranges from 300m to 2000m, increasing with higher traffic volumes. Under saturated and oversaturated traffic conditions, the optimal warning distances range from 400m to 1700m and 900m to 1700m, respectively, with less pronounced effects of traffic volume on warning distance. This model demonstrates high accuracy and reliability, effectively enhancing the quality of early warning services for highway service area exit sections. The findings provide theoretical support for information warning in managing highway service area exit sections under a V2X collaborative environment and offer valuable decision-making assistance for early warning engineering applications.