Truck Platooning Early Deployment Assessment – Independent Evaluation: Expanded Analysis Plan

Asare, Sampson; Chang, James; Staples, Barbara · 2022 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office

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Summary

This document outlines an expanded analysis plan developed by Noblis, Inc. as the Independent Evaluator for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Truck Platooning Early Deployment Assessment” project. The plan addresses the limitations of the Phase 2 Field Operational Test (FOT), which is led by California PATH and involves testing cooperative automated driving systems on a specific 1,400-mile route between California and Texas. While the FOT aims to assess fuel savings, safety, and operational impacts using four Volvo trucks, its scope is restricted to a small sample size and a single geographic corridor. Consequently, the FOT cannot fully answer broader research questions regarding system-wide impacts, market penetration effects, or generalizability to national freight networks. This report details the methodologies required to extrapolate FOT data to provide generalized answers for the Federal Highway Administration. The proposed analysis framework consists of three primary components: analyzing more truck platoons, expanded geographical analysis, and supplementary impact assessments. To address market penetration, the plan utilizes microsimulation modeling to replicate truck platoon behavior under varying conditions. This involves developing behavioral models for manual, adaptive cruise control, and cooperative adaptive cruise control modes using FOT data, followed by sensitivity analysis to determine how impacts change as the percentage of platooning trucks increases. For geographical expansion, the plan employs a K-Nearest Neighbor model to identify freight corridors similar to the FOT route based on attributes such as road geometry, network characteristics, demand, and weather. This allows for the apportionment and extrapolation of truck platooning benefits to regional and national levels. Additionally, the plan includes supplementary analyses to evaluate impacts not covered in the primary FOT assessment. These include assessing the effects of truck platoons on surrounding vehicle behavior, such as lane and speed selection, as well as broader traffic flow metrics like average travel time and throughput. The plan also proposes methods to analyze infrastructure impacts, specifically regarding the structural integrity and maintenance lifecycle of pavements and bridges. The document concludes by recommending future research areas, including the performance of platoons in wintery conditions, which are absent from the current FOT route, and the potential for cross-manufacturer platooning, as the current test is limited to Volvo trucks. This expanded analysis ensures that the limited FOT data can inform broader policy and operational decisions for the commercial trucking industry.

Key finding

The document establishes a comprehensive analytical framework using microsimulation and corridor extrapolation to generalize truck platooning impacts beyond the specific field test route and limited vehicle fleet.

Methodology

modeling

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• exposure measurement

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• Methodological Resource: dataset resource, tool software