Comparing Merging Behaviors of Drivers with Vehicles Equipped with Level 3 Automation and Connected Messaging when Merging in a Mixed Vehicle Fleet Environment of Various Traffic Densities

Details

• Creators:
  Calvo, Jose ; Svancara, Austin ; Chao, Szu-Fu ; Lee, Yi-Ching ; Jannat, Mafruhatul ; Arnold, Michelle
• Corporate Creators:
  Leidos, Inc.
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Safety and Operations Research and Development
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Automated Vehicle Control Merging Area Traffic Density Vehicle Mix
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-HRT-25-051
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Right Statement:
  Public Domain
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Contracting Officer:
  Arnold, Michelle
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Safety and Operations Research and Development
• Abstract:
  As the number of vehicles equipped with automated driving systems (ADS) that are using cooperative driving automation (CDA) technology to communicate safety messages are anticipated to increase in the future, maintaining the safety and efficient operation of roadways is important. ADS-equipped vehicles and CDA technology need to operate smoothly and safely with other vehicles under all typical driving scenarios, especially scenarios that are common but high risk, such as lane changes and merging. Merging onto highways from onramp locations is a safety-critical scenario that has the potential to create traffic bottlenecks. The current study used a driving simulator to assess the potential of ADS and CDA technology to increase the safety and efficiency of onramp merge scenarios. The research team manipulated automation levels and communication between vehicles, in addition to platoon size. The researchers measured driver gap acceptance, braking, and trust in the ADSs and CDA systems. The results of this study show some evidence that when merging, some driver safety behaviors may be influenced by the use of L3 automation and by communication between vehicles, especially when merging with increased platoon sizes. However, subjective measures indicated that participants may have been unclear about what features were active while in the simulation, and some incongruity occurred between the participants’ expectations and how the vehicle behaved. The results of this research can be used to provide insights into how willing drivers may be to accept this kind of technology and what their level of comfort could be with using these new technologies.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  693JJ319D000012
• Collection(s):
  Federal Highway Administration Autonomous Vehicles
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:207de97104bf3513da39908d9ae43f76ca612e0850c20e1d6fd660013b9eb97e73f0151a85735fde7948e76cc7f6bcc1b69bcef8426009b3c2f2e462a62c0b7b
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/88184/dot_88184_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.85 MB ]