When does chaos appear while driving?: Learning dynamical systems via car-following models

Abstract

We analyze the dynamics of a system of several cars in a traffic lane, each car following the ones in front of it. The effect of small perturbations in the speed of a certain car is propagated to the cars behind it in the lane. Nevertheless, these perturbations tend to dissipate along the lane. The results can be used as an activity for undergraduate students to improve their knowledge of dynamical systems, modeling, and the physical interpretation of mathematical models.