Saving lane change data to a file

You can record the time and place of the lane change that was made. You can restrict the evaluation to vehicle classes and individual vehicles.

You can save the following data and data formats:

Output	Text file	Database file	Attribute file from attribute list
Aggregated data	-	-	-
Raw data	*.spw	-	-

Note: This evaluation always uses metric units.

1.  On the Evaluation menu, click > Configuration > Direct Output tab.

2.  In the Lane changes row select the option Write to file.

3.  You can change the time if you wish (Using the Direct output function to save evaluation results to files).

4.  Click the More button.

The Lane changes window opens.

5.  Make the desired changes:

Element

Description

Filters

All vehicles: Includes all vehicles in the evaluation, regardless of their vehicle class Filter by vehicle classes: Takes only the selected vehicle classes into account Filter by sections: takes only the selected sections into account Sections have to be defined (Modeling sections). The level with the section and the the level on which vehicles move are the same. The middle of the vehicle's front edge lies outside the section. Filter by individual vehicles:  If this option is selected, you can right-click the list and select vehicles by their number. Only the selected vehicles are taken into account.

6.  Confirm with OK.

7.  Start the simulation (Running a simulation).

A *.spw file is saved.

Result of lane change evaluation

The lane change file *.spw contains the following data:

Element	Description
File title	Name of evaluation
File	Path and name of network file
Comment	Optional comment from the simulation parameters
Date	Time of evaluation
PTV Vissim	Version number, service pack number, build number
Data	Data block with the attributes for each recorded vehicle

The data block of the evaluation file contains the following parameters:

Column	Description
t	Starting time of lane change. t is the end of the time step in which the lane change starts. If you simulate with only one time step per simulation second, the lane change is already running for a second at this time.
VehNr	Vehicle number
v [m/s]	Speed in m/s
Link No.	Link number
Lane	Number of the old lane
New Lane	Number of the new lane
VF	Vehicle number of old leading vehicle (0 = not available)
v VF	Speed in m/s of old leading vehicle
dv VF	Speed difference in m/s of old leading vehicle
dx VF	old leading vehicle: distance in m between rear end position of the preceding vehicle and front end of the trailing vehicle
VB	Vehicle number of old trailing vehicle (0 = not available)
v VB	Speed in m/s of old trailing vehicle
dv VB	Speed difference in m/s of old trailing vehicle
dx VB	old trailing vehicle: distance in m between rear end position of the preceding vehicle and front end of the trailing vehicle
new VF	Vehicle number of new leading vehicle (0 = not available)
v new VF	Speed in m/s of leading vehicle
dv new VF	Speed difference in m/s of new leading vehicle
dx new VF	new leading vehicle: distance in m between rear end position of the preceding vehicle and front end of the trailing vehicle
new VB	Vehicle number of new trailing vehicle (0 = not available)
v new VB	Speed in m/s of new trailing vehicle
dv new VB	Speed difference in m/s of new trailing vehicle
dx new VB	new trailing vehicle: distance in m between rear end position of the preceding vehicle and front end of the trailing vehicle

Example of evaluation of lane change file *.spw

Lane changes record
 

File:    C:\Users\Public\Documents\PTV Vision\PTV Vissim 2026\Examples Demo\3D - Complex Intersection Karlsruhe.DE\Karlsruhe 3D.inpx

Comment:  Example, SC 3-10

Date:    03.01.2026 12:23:33

PTV Vissim 2026.00-00* [291097]

 
t; VehNo; v [m/s]; Link No.; Lane; New Lane; VM; v VF [m/s];

 dv VF [m/s]; dx VF [m]; VB; v VB; dv VB [m/s]; dx VB; new VF; v new VF;

  dv new VF; dx new VF; new VB; v new VB; dv new VB; dx new VB
115.10; 203; 9.55; 7; 2; 1; 175; 0.00;

 9.55; 164.28; 0; -1.00; -1.00; -1.00;  198; 12.43;

  -2.89; 22.37; 0; -1.00; -1.00; -1.00;

128.50; 39; 13.30; 9; 3; 2; 48; 12.77;

0.53; 11.31; 0; -1.00; -1.00; -1.00; 10; 12.66;

  0.64; 9.11; 98; 9.19; 4.10; 0.58;

130.70; 40; 13.56; 9; 3; 2; 48; 13.11;

 0.45; 34.45; 47; 13.02; 0.54; 13.28; 98; 11.51;

  2.05; 6.39; 57; 9.53; 4.03; 0.58;

136.50; 180; 12.04; 9; 2; 1;  68; 10.39;

 1.65; 34.99; 0; -1.00; -1.00; -1.00; 102; 12.56;

  -0.52; 31.48; 105; 15.16; -3.13; 26.58;
141.80; 88; 12.00; 9; 3; 2; 66; 12.20;

 -0.19; 18.24; 0; -1.00; -1.00; -1.00;  58; 10.29;

  1.71; 8.42; 115; 12.52; -0.52; 17.11;
144.20; 115; 11.25; 9; 2; 1; 88; 9.80;

 1.46; 15.14; 134; 12.27; -1.02; 2.95;  117; 10.61;

  0.64; 25.67; 140; 14.61; -3.36; 105.09;
144.70; 134; 11.73; 9; 2; 1; 115; 11.06;

 0.66; 2.51; 0; -1.00; -1.00; -1.00; 117; 10.20;

  1.53; 31.93; 140; 14.53; -2.80; 96.74;
152.20; 272; 8.64; 7; 1; 2; 203; 0.00;

 8.64; 156.60; 0; -1.00; -1.00; -1.00; 265; 12.84;

  -4.19; 41.51; 0; -1.00; -1.00; -1.00;
164.90; 293; 8.70; 7; 1; 2; 203; 0.00;

 8.70; 156.69; 0; -1.00; -1.00; -1.00; 272; 7.72;

  0.99; 131.91; 0; -1.00; -1.00; -1.00;
174.80; 293; 11.48; 7; 2; 1; 272; 0.00;

 11.48; 28.49; 0; -1.00; -1.00; -1.00; 203; 0.00;

  11.48; 39.70; 296; 12.99; -1.51; 17.72;
215.20; 183; 10.61; 9; 3; 2; 194; 13.61;

-2.99; 21.95; 0; -1.00; -1.00; -1.00; 204; 12.34;

-1.73; 0.64; 165; 10.61; 0.00; 9.79;
…