  Improper lane-changing behaviors may result in breakdown of traffic flow and
the occurrence of various types of collisions. This study investigates
lane-changing behaviors of multiple vehicles and the stimulative effect on
following drivers in a consecutive lane-changing scenario. The microscopic
trajectory data from the dataset are used for driving behavior analysis.Two
discretionary lane-changing vehicle groups constitute a consecutive
lane-changing scenario, and not only distance- and speed-related factors but
also driving behaviors are taken into account to examine the impacts on the
utility of following lane-changing vehicles.A random parameters logit model is
developed to capture the driver psychological heterogeneity in the consecutive
lane-changing situation.Furthermore, a lane-changing utility prediction model
is established based on three supervised learning algorithms to detect the
improper lane-changing decision. Results indicate that (1) the consecutive
lane-changing behaviors have a significant negative effect on the following
lane-changing vehicles after lane-change; (2) the stimulative effect exists in
a consecutive lane-change situation and its influence is heterogeneous due to
different psychological activities of drivers; and (3) the utility prediction
model can be used to detect an improper lane-changing decision.
