Can Autonomous Vehicles Enhance Safety in Heterogeneous Disordered Traffic Conditions? A Simulation-based Exploratory Study

Abstract

The emergence of autonomous vehicles (AVs) as a solution to various traffic externalities, including safety concerns such as crashes, has been promising. However, existing research primarily focuses on AVs plying in homogeneous traffic conditions prevalent in developed countries. Surprisingly, there is a significant lack of research exploring the impact of AVs on safety in heterogeneous disordered traffic (HDT) conditions, prevalent in developing countries like India. This study aims to fill this research void by conducting a comprehensive safety analysis of AVs on safety in HDT conditions. The safety analysis focuses on identifying crossing conflicts at intersections using post encroachment time as a surrogate measure. The study uses a simulation-based approach using the VISSIM software package to create various mixed traffic scenarios of AVs and other vehicles by adjusting the penetration rate of AVs. A total of 21 case scenarios were simulated and analyzed for crossing conflicts. The study's findings suggest that as the penetration rate of AVs increases, the number of conflicts decreases. Interestingly, solely replacing cars with AVs does not lead to substantial improvements in safety in HDT conditions. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Intelligent Transportation Systems Japan 2024.