Impact Assessment

Abstract

Automated vehicles can potentially transform the world’s road transportation system. Direct impacts include traffic safety, transport network efficiency, energy/emissions and personal mobility. Second order indirect impacts, such as the possibility of increased travel leading to more congestion and emissions, are of significant concern. This chapter discusses the direct and indirect impacts by applying systems thinking to the impacts of automated vehicles, presenting two case studies related to different aspects of automation: low speed shared shuttle and truck platooning.