Correlation velocities in heterogeneous bidirectional cellular automata traffic flow

• Heterogeneous bidirectional traffic.
• Velocity correlations.
• Strong correlation velocity in short time headway.

Traffic flow behavior and velocity correlation in a bidirectional two lanes road are studied using Cellular Automata (CA) model within a mixture of fast and slow vehicles. The behaviors of the Inter-lane and Intra-lane Velocity Correlation Coefficients (V.C.C.) due to the interactions between vehicles in the same lane and the opposite lane as a function of the density are investigated. It is shown that high densities in one lane lead to large cluster in the second one, which decreases the Intra-lane velocity correlations and thereby form clusters in the opposite lane. Moreover, we have found that there is a critical density over which the Inter-lane V.C.C. occurs, but below which no Inter-lane V.C.C. happens. The spatiotemporal diagrams correspond to those regions are derived numerically. Furthermore, the effect of the overtaking probability in one lane on the Intra-lane V.C.C. in the other lane is also investigated. It is shown that the decrease of the overtaking probability in one lane decreases slightly the Intra-lane V.C.C. at intermediate density regimes in the other lane, which improves the current, as well as the Inter-lane V.C.C. decreases.