Vehicle Trajectory Effects of Adaptive Cruise Control

Abstract

Adaptive cruise control (ACC) can potentially improve quality-of-service and safety and reduce the environmental effect of the road traffic system. This article uses vehicle trajectories from traffic simulation to study effects of ACC on vehicle acceleration and deceleration rates. The analysis is based on traffic simulations with car-following models including ACC functionality and driver behavior in ACC-equipped as well as standard nonequipped vehicles. The simulation results show that ACC can improve the traffic situation in terms of reduced acceleration and deceleration rates even though macroscopic traffic properties may remain uninfluenced. This supports the hypothesized positive road safety and environmental effects of ACC. It is also established that the results are largely dependent on the assumptions made regarding driver behavior in ACC-equipped and standard vehicles. It is consequently crucial to include appropriate assumptions regarding driver behavior in traffic simulation–based analyses of ACC.