Social dilemma structure hidden behind traffic flow with route selection

•We developed a cellular automaton model for realistic traffic flows to explore the social dilemma.•We found a Chicken-type dilemma occurring in traffic flow with giving travel time as information.•This social dilemma can be solved if the appropriate traffic information is provided.

Several traffic flows contain social dilemma structures. Herein, we explored a route-selection problem using a cellular automaton simulation dovetailed with evolutionary game theory. In our model, two classes of driver-agents coexist: D agents (defective strategy), which refer to traffic information for route selection to move fast, and C agents (cooperative strategy), which are insensitive to information and less inclined to move fast. Although no evidence suggests that the social dilemma structure in low density causes vehicles to move freely and that in high density causes traffic jams, we found a structure that corresponds to an nn-person (multiplayer) Chicken (nn-Chicken) game if the provided traffic information is inappropriate. If appropriate traffic information is given to the agents, the nn-Chicken game can be solved. The information delivered to vehicles is crucial for easing the social dilemma due to urban traffic congestion when developing technologies to support the intelligent transportation system (ITS).