Characterizing the impact of production adaptive cruise control on traffic flow: an investigation

ABSTRACT This research conducted a comprehensive study to better estimate the impact of production Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) on uninterrupted flow facilities using the highly cited ACC car-following models in the literature. Four different car-following models were investigated, including the Autonomous Adaptive Cruise Control (AACC) model, Intelligent Driver Model (IDM), California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) empirical ACC model, and the Technical University of Delft empirical ACC model. Each of the four models were recalibrated using data collected by a 2013 Cadillac SRX with production ACC engaged while following a human-driven 2013 Cadillac SRX in northern Virginia. Off-the-shelf commercial microscopic simulation software VISSIM was utilized to simulate the ACC traffic flow. Sensitivity analysis was conducted on ACC market penetration and following headway. Capacity and fundamental diagrams were used to quantify the impact of the ACC on traffic flow. Results indicate that freeway capacity highly depends on the market penetration of ACC vehicles. Small number of ACC vehicles (<25%) is beneficial to roadway capacity, while wider deployment of ACC vehicles (>75%) significantly harms capacity. The results strongly suggest the urgent need for vehicle connectivity.