Phase diagram and transitions in U-turn traffic

Abstract

We demonstrate phase diagram of states found in U-turn traffic. Three traffic states were observed from the phase diagram: (i) free traffic, (ii) congested traffic, and (iii) jammed states. Our results showed that increased inflow of cars to the system leading to frequent car interactions allows transition from free traffic to congested traffic. We were also able to find transitions from free flow to jammed states. Furthermore, we showed that free flow regime in U-turn traffic occupies a relatively small region in the phase diagram that implies its inefficiency at high density regimes.