Determining Road Networks’ Platoonability

Abstract

Truck platooning has several benefits over traditional truck mobility. Platooning improves safety and reduces fuel consumption up to 15%, depending on platoon configuration. Although platooning benefits are quantifiable, platooning routes are not identified. Many factors are relevant to identifying these routes. For efficient platooning, a truck platoon needs to travel at a constant high speed for an extended distance. In addition, platoon integrity should be preserved from interfering vehicles and frequent ramps that may compromise the robustness and safety of the operation. This study presents an easy to implement approach to determine platoonable routes based on platoon configuration, speed, roadway volume/capacity, and number of highway exit and entry conflicts. Based on this approach, each roadway section is assigned a level of platoonability from one to five, where one is the most platoonable. This approach was used to analyze the highway network in Illinois. According to this approach, 89% of the interstates and freeways in Illinois are platoonable under average traffic conditions.