Quickly advancing automated driving system (ADS) technologies are expected to have positive
impacts on transportation safety in the coming years. ADS technologies have the potential to change
multimodal highway and street planning, design, and operational policies and decisions.
As a result, transportation agencies that traditionally plan, design, and operate roads with human
drivers in mind will need to adapt related policies and decisions to account for ADS technologies.
ADS will change safety in many ways, not only in crash severity and likelihood but also in the
types of crashes that occur. Analysis of the impacts of ADS on safety, traffic flow, and other
important considerations will depend on data sources that do not yet exist or were not designed
to specifically examine the role of automation.
To forecast safety impacts of ADS with limited data, it is important to understand the expected safety performance of the existing facility as well as the underlying ADS factors that are expected to influence safety, such as enabling technologies (e.g., sensors, communications), human-machine interaction, and vehicle-to-infrastructure interactions.
From a TRB research report entitled, “Assessing the Impacts of Automated Driving Systems (ADS) on the Future of Transportation Safety.”
A framework was developed to help state and local agencies assess when their traditional safety-related processes and procedures may be affected and characterize the expected safety impacts of competing options. ADS (typically SAE levels 3 through 5 automation) includes many applications that are expected to impact safety, mobility, human factors, and environmental aspects of driving. The framework includes processes and procedures to assess the potential safety impacts of ADS applications under different contexts, timeframes, risks, and opportunities.
For the complete report CLICK HERE.
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