Impact of Connected and Automated Vehicles on Metropolitan Road Traffic: Test Site Munich, Germany

Abstract

This paper presents two parameter sets for microscopic driving behavior models of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs). The first set is based on a real-world observation of vehicles with Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) level 2 to level 3 capabilities under real traffic conditions on the public road network in the City of Munich, Germany. The second set aims to represent SAE level 4 capabilities and adopts the parameters of the first set based on existing literature and expert interviews. A microscopic traffic simulation is conducted in a large-scale test area (where the original real-world data was collected). Simulation results show a significant decrease in network performance (defined as delay per kilometer, average network speed, and number of stops) in comparison with purely human-driven vehicles, with significant differences between the two CAV parameter sets. Contrary to the negative impacts, the SAE level 4 parameter set achieved a comparable number of stops in the network at high market penetration, compared with human driving behavior. This paper, therefore, contributes to a better understanding of how different CAV driving capabilities may affect traffic efficiency in urban road traffic. It highlights the need for further improvements of the existing technological capabilities and possible changes to the legal framework to avoid a negative impact on traffic efficiency, especially in already saturated networks.