Behavioral adaptations of human drivers interacting with automated vehicles

Advancements in technology are bringing automated vehicles (AVs) closer to wider deployment. However, in the early phases of their deployment, AVs will coexist and frequently interact with human-driven vehicles (HDVs). These interactions might lead to changes in the driving behavior of HDVs. A field test was conducted in the Netherlands with...

Herd immunity for traffic safety in mixed automated traffic: what if cars could not crash!?

Traffic safety is arguably the most important traffic metric from a human perspective. Still, many millions of people are killed on roads every year. In this paper, the concept of Herd Immunity for Traffic Safety (HITS) is presented for the first time. This concept focuses on identifying and describing the increased level of safety that is...

On lane assignment of connected automated vehicles: strategies to improve traffic flow at diverge and weave bottlenecks

This paper presents a novel approach to improve traffic throughput near diverge and weave bottlenecks in mixed traffic with human-driven vehicles (HDVs) and connected automated vehicles (CAVs). This is done by the strategic assignment of CAVs across lanes. The main principle is to induce strategic and necessary lane changes (LCs) (by CAVs and...

Multi-stage optimal design of road networks for automated vehicles with elastic multi-class demand

With the advent of automated vehicles (AVs), new infrastructure planning concepts such as subnetworks of AV-ready roads have been proposed to improve the performance of transportation networks and to promote the adoption of AVs. However, these subnetworks should evolve over time in response to the growing AV demand, which necessitates a multi...

Adaptations in driver behaviour characteristics during control transitions from full-range Adaptive Cruise Control to manual driving: an on-road study

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) can reduce traffic congestion and accidents. In dense traffic flow conditions and when changing lanes, drivers prefer to deactivate the ACC. These control transitions between automation and manual driving could impact driver behaviour characteristics. However, few studies have analysed the magnitude and duration of...

Passenger opinions of the perceived safety and interaction with automated shuttles: A test ride study with ‘hidden’ safety steward

A necessary condition for the effective integration of automated vehicles in our daily lives is their acceptance by passengers inside and pedestrians and cyclists outside the automated vehicle. 119 respondents experienced an automated shuttle ride with a ‘hidden steward on board’ in a mixed traffic environment in Berlin-Schöneberg. A mixed...

Assessing the travel impacts of subnetworks for automated driving: An exploratory study

This study explores a network configuration concept for vehicle automation levels 3–4 (according to SAE classifications) in an urban road network having mixed traffic and demonstrates its potential impacts. We assume automated driving will be allowed on a selection of roads. For the remaining roads, manual driving (although supported by...

Taking the self-driving bus: A passenger choice experiment

At the brink of the introduction of self-driving vehicles, only little is known about how potential users perceive them. This is especially true for self-driving vehicles deployed in public transport services. In this study, the relative preferences for a trip with a self-driving bus is assessed compared to a trip with a regular bus, based on...