Eur. Phys. J. B 69, 539-548 (2009)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2009-00192-5

Derivation of non-local macroscopic traffic equations and consistent traffic pressures from microscopic car-following models

ETH Zurich, UNO D11, Universitätstr. 41, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland

Corresponding author: ^a dhelbing@ethz.ch

Received: 19 May 2008
Revised: 9 October 2008
Published online: 3 June 2009

Abstract

This contribution compares several different approaches allowing one to derive macroscopic traffic equation directly from microscopic car-following models. While it is shown that some conventional approaches lead to theoretical problems, it is proposed to use an approach reminding of smoothed particle hydrodynamics to avoid gradient expansions. The derivation circumvents approximations and, therefore, demonstrates the large range of validity of macroscopic traffic equations, without the need of averaging over many vehicles. It also gives an expression for the “traffic pressure”, which generalizes previously used formulas. Furthermore, the method avoids theoretical inconsistencies of macroscopic traffic models, which have been criticized in the past by Daganzo and others.