The impact of iterated games on traffic flow at noncontrolled intersections
Intersections without signal control widely exist in urban road networks. This paper studied the traffic flow in a noncontrolled intersection within an iterated game framework. We assume drivers have learning ability and can repetitively adjust their strategies (to give way or to rush through) in the intersection according to memories. A cellular automata model is applied to investigate the characteristics of the traffic flow. Numerical experiments indicate two main findings. First, the traffic flow experiences a "volcano-shaped" fundamental diagram with three different phases. Second, most drivers choose to give way in the intersection, but the aggressive drivers cannot be completely eliminated, which is coincident with field observations. Analysis are also given out to explain the observed phenomena. These findings allow deeper insight of the real-world bottleneck traffic flow.