Road Sign Occlusion under Truck Platooning

Abstract

Truck platooning is a truck operation system in which one or more trucks closely follow a lead truck. The system is advantageous for road freight and promises to contribute to developing the next generation of road transportation due to its many benefits, including reduced fuel consumption and emissions and improved traffic flow. However, truck platooning also has some potential disadvantages, such as the occlusion of post-mounted road signs. In this study, a VisSim simulation model was used to evaluate truck platooning’s impact on road sign occlusion on four-lane and six-lane freeways. A regression model was then used to investigate road signs’ occlusion by conventional trucks and platooned trucks. The regression model found that sign occlusion increases with increasing the number of lanes on the highway, headway within a truck platoon, traffic demand (veh/h/ln), truck percentage, and platooning penetration (%). Conversely, a higher number of trucks in a platoon (platoon length) decreases sign occlusion because it reduces the overall number of truck platoons, including individual trucks. A 100% truck platoon penetration particularly caused sign occlusion for up to 82.3% of other vehicles under certain conditions. This study’s findings demonstrate the need for transportation agencies to include countermeasures for mitigating sign occlusion before deploying truck platooning.