Preventing Crashes in Mixed Traffic with Automated and Human-Driven Vehicles

Reducing crash counts on saturated road networks is one of the most significant benefits of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology. To date, many researchers have studied how AVs maneuver in different traffic situations, but less attention has been paid to car-following scenarios between AVs and human drivers. Braking and accelerating decision mismatches in this car-following scenario can lead to rear-end near-crashes and therefore warrant further study. This project aims to investigate the behavior of human drivers following an AV leader vehicle in a car-following situation and compare the results with a scenario in which the leader is a vehicle with human-modeled braking behavior. In this study, speed trajectory data was collected from 48 participants using a driving simulator.The results indicated a significant difference between the overall deceleration rates and braking speeds of the participants and the designated AV lead vehicle; however, no such difference was found between the participants and the human-modeled lead vehicle.