Impact of automated driving regulations on traffic flow: The case of Automated Lane-Changing

Abstract

International regulations on automated driving systems (ADS) are now being introduced, representing an important milestone in the deployment of connected, cooperative, and automated mobility systems. Those regulations focus on safety, and only marginally on traffic efficiency. Yet, they introduce restrictions on the operation of those systems, inevitably influencing traffic flow. An example is the UN Regulation 157 on lane changing, setting a critical distance from an approaching vehicle in the target lane. Analysis based on naturalistic data shows that human drivers often perform lane-changing maneuvers that do not fulfill these regulation requirements. The percentage of those aggressive lane-change maneuvers is increased in situations of traffic flow breakdown. A simulation framework is introduced to investigate further the impacts of the regulatory provision. The main results show that the progressive introduction of automated driving systems benefits the traffic flow and increases the average traveling speed of vehicles in congested conditions.