Assessing Autonomous Vehicle Impact on Urban Traffic Emissions and Intersection Performance

This paper exploits the potential contribution of autonomous vehicles towards sustainable urban transport through their interaction with conventional traffic. Anticipating the gradual increase in autonomous vehicles use, the research examines how the adoption of a non-aggressive, environmentally friendly driving style from a varying percentage of the traffic may influence the driving style of the rest of the traffic, taking into account, system capacity, vehicle performance and user comfort indicators. Although autonomous vehicles can be powered either by conventional internal combustion or electric engines, the contribution to urban transport sustainability examined in this research concerns the assessment of the potential environmental benefits that might arise from mixed traffic streams (driverless and conventional). The research uses microscopic traffic simulation to assess the performance of mixed traffic streams. The environmental performance of the integrated traffic flow is assessed using instantaneous vehicle emission modelling for different levels of autonomous vehicle market penetration.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AHB30 Standing Committee on Vehicle-Highway Automation.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Zavitsas, Konstantinos
  • Hu, Simon
  • Gooden, Roxanne
  • Angeloudis, Panagiotis
  • Polak, John
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2016-1-10 to 2016-1-14
• Date: 2016

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 15p
• Monograph Title: TRB 95th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Exhaust gases; Intelligent vehicles; Intersections; Microsimulation; Sustainable transportation; Traffic simulation; Vehicle mix
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Vehicles and Equipment; I15: Environment; I73: Traffic Control; I90: Vehicles;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01588975
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 16-0197
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Jan 30 2016 6:06PM