Dynamic Time-Division Multiplexing Control Method for Emergency Lane Opening on Freeways
Open Access
- 1 May 2026
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in Applied Sciences
- Vol. 16 (9) , 4441
Abstract
To address the issue that static strategies, such as frequent closure or fixed-time opening, in emergency lane management on freeways struggle to adapt to dynamic traffic demands, a control method for Dynamic Time-Division Multiplexing of Emergency Lanes (DTMEL) is proposed. Based on real-time changes in the traffic status of social vehicles and emergency vehicles, the method designs a dynamic time slice division strategy to achieve dynamic response in road right allocation and ensure the priority of emergency vehicle. By constructing a dynamic spatial slice model that integrates driver decision-making behavior and different car-truck ratios, it provides a quantitative design basis for lane usage under the heterogeneity of social vehicles. Simulation experimental results show that in different car-truck ratios, the average speed of social vehicles under the DTMEL control method is 8.16–15.02% higher than that under the frequent closure strategy of emergency lanes and 2.15–3.29% higher than that under the fully open strategy control. In addition, compared to the fully opening strategy, the traffic capacity under DTMEL strategy control has increased by about 6.59–8.08%. The proposed method reduced the delay rate of emergency vehicles, verifying its feasibility in improving freeway operation efficiency and ensuring the priority of emergency vehicles.Keywords
Funding Information
- Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LMS25F030007)
- ‘Pioneer’ and ‘Leading Goose’ R&D Program of Zhejiang Province (2024C01180)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (61773347)
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