Best Practices Guidebook for Preparing Texas for Connected and Automated Vehicles

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) are destined to change how the Texas transportation system operates. Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is responsible for the nation’s most extensive state-level network, and it is essential to explore the potential impacts of CAVs on the design, maintenance, and operation of the transportation system. Research into CAVs’ mobility, environmental, legal, and safety implications for the state of Texas was conducted by University of Texas (UT) Austin’s Center for Transportation Research (CTR). This document presents the main points of CTR’s research on CAVs and develops practice recommendations, emphasizing safety, to assist TxDOT in optimally planning for these new technologies using a holistic and qualitative approach. The current state of maturity of existing and developing CAV technologies is assessed here to provide recommendations for TxDOT to pursue in the short term (next 5 years), medium term (five to fifteen years), and long term (15+ years). Identified strategies include pavement-marking updates, improving signage standards, modifying design manuals, shaping legislative policy on autonomous vehicles (AVs), and establishing rules for shared AV (SAV) use, along with other options. The guidebook is divided into five sections: (1) Overview of CAV Technologies; (2) The Current Texas Legal Landscape for CAVs; (3) Potential Benefits Using CAV Technologies; (4) Potential Safety Strategies for TxDOT to Adopt to Prepare Texas for CAV Use; and (5) Best-Practice Recommendations for TxDOT in Deployment of CAVs in Texas.

• Record URL:
  https://library.ctr.utexas.edu/ctr-publications/0-6849-p1.pdf
• 
• Summary URL:
  https://library.ctr.utexas.edu/Presto/search/SearchResults_ClearCriteria.aspx?q=(catalog.ID=(34658))
• Supplemental Notes:
  • June 2016; published October 2016.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Texas, Austin

  Center for Transportation Research, 1616 Guadalupe Street
  Austin, TX  United States  78701-1255

  Texas Department of Transportation

  Research and Technology Implementation Office, P.O. Box 5080
  Austin, TX  United States  78763-5080

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Kockelman, Kara M
  • 0000-0003-4763-1304
  • Loftus-Otway, Lisa
  • 0000-0001-5143-9513
  • Stewart, Duncan
  • Nichols, Aqshems
  • Wagner, Wendy
  • Li, Jia
  • Boyles, Steve
  • Levin, Michael
  • Liu, Jun
  • 0000-0002-6336-4931
• Publication Date: 2016-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 38p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefits; Best practices; Handbooks; Implementation; Intelligent vehicles; Mobile communication systems; Policy, legislation and regulation; Recommendations; Technological innovations; Traffic safety; Transportation planning; Vehicle sharing
• Identifier Terms: Texas Department of Transportation
• Geographic Terms: Texas
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01616929
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 0-6849-P1
• Contract Numbers: 0-6849
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Nov 21 2016 1:26PM