A lane-changing behaviour algorithm for connected and autonomous vehicles to facilitate emergency vehicle movements on urban arterials in microsimulation

Abstract

ABSTRACT Reducing the response time of emergency vehicle(EV) is accompanied with many health and traffic-related benefits. New technologies can be utilised in creating a cooperative lane-changing behaviour for surrounding traffic to reduce the response time. In this research, the influence of lane-changing behaviour on the delay of EV and surrounding vehicles was studied in microscopic traffic simulation. A driving behaviour and a pre-emption algorithm were developed to prioritise EVs on a signalised corridor. Two areas in front of EV were defined including stopping and lane-changing areas with different behaviours in a connected and autonomous traffic environment. It was concluded that using stopping and lane-changing areas together is more favourable regarding the delays of both EV and surrounding traffic. Also, the results verified the presence of an optimum lane-changing threshold after which the EV delay became constant.