Effect of Autonomous Vehicles on Performance of Signalized Intersections

Abstract

In this study, changes in traffic flow characteristics were examined in a mixed system consisting of human drivers and autonomous vehicles. In the study, it is accepted that in the environment where the autonomous vehicles are presented, neither vehicle to vehicle communication (V2V) nor the environment and infrastructure communication of vehicles (V2I) exist. The behavioral characteristics of human drivers (reaction time, acceleration, and deceleration, etc.) are derived from data collected from field studies, while the characteristics of autonomous vehicles are determined on the basis of assumptions in literature. Using these data together, the behaviors of the different driver profiles and the movements of the autonomous vehicles under the same conditions are compared by using the SIDRA TRIP program. By using the outcomes of the program and producing different scenenarios, a passenger car equivalence value for autonomous vehicles was tried to be obtained. In the last section of the study, the effect of autonomous vehicles on signalized intersection performance in an unconnected environment is discussed. The results show that autonomous vehicles may significantly decrease intersection capacity.