Behavior-Fitting of Forward- and Backward-Looking Car-Following Models: Do Motorists Concern Following Vehicles While Driving?

Drivers may observe the information of the vehicle behind them in car-following situations, which is called the driver’s backward-looking effect. Considering the backward-looking effect, a number of models have been proposed, which are named backward-looking car-following models. In this study, by calibrating and evaluating the behavioral fitting performance of models using actual trajectory data, the existence of driver’s backward-looking behavior is verified, and the scenarios in which the backward-looking effect is more likely to occur are explored. By comparing the model calibration results and analyzing the raw trajectories of drivers, the behavior characteristics of drivers with backward-looking behavior are analyzed. The results indicate that backward-looking effect is more likely to occur under smooth traffic condition, and when the distance of the following vehicle is relatively close (<30 m). Also, drivers who potentially exhibit the backward-looking behavior tend to demonstrate safer behavioral characteristics during car-following.