Highway Junction Rules
Use this feature to make highway traffic more realistic.
Overview
This feature implements two key changes to the way your highways work:
Vehicles can only change one lane at a time (emergency vehicles are exempt from this rule)
Vehicles are forced to stay in their lane when entering or exiting the highway
Enable
Activate Enable highway specific lane merging/splitting rules in the Policies Settings in Settings.
customize
Once the feature is enabled, it applies to all highways automatically. However, for best results you should make the following additional customizations...
Lane parity
At junctions, the number of incoming lanes should be equal to the number of outgoing lanes:
(todo: images)
In the image above:
The junction on the left is optimal - 4 lanes enter, and 4 lanes leave.
The junction on the right is suboptimal - 4 lanes enter, but only 3 lanes leave. This will impair traffic flow.
The same applies to highway exits. For example, if a 3 lane highway has a 1 lane exit ramp, the remaining highway should only have 2 lanes.
Speed parity
On highway junctions:
Entries should have acceleration lanes which allow traffic to speed up as it joins the highway
Exits should have deceleration lanes which allow vehicles to slow down as they leave the highway
These speed changes help avoid collisions between traffic travelling at different speeds.
To do this, use the Speed Limits tool to create a speed gradient along the highway ramp. The end nearest the highway should be fastest, and the end nearest your normal road system should be slower.
(todo: image)
As vehicles drive up an entry ramp, their speed should increase. As they drive down an exit ramp, their speed should decrease.
FAQ
Does this reduce frame rate or cause lag?
I've enabled the setting but nothing seems to change
Why can't I use the Lane Arrows tool?
Vanilla highway roads are somewhat limited, what are the alternatives?
See Also
Guides: