Car-following behavioural adaptation when driving next to automated vehicles on a dedicated lane on motorways: A driving simulator study in the Netherlands

Schoenmakers, Mathijs; Yang, Dujuan; Farah, Haneen · 2021 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2021.01.010

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Summary

This study investigates how human drivers adapt their car-following behavior when driving alongside automated vehicle (AV) platoons on dedicated motorway lanes. Motivated by the anticipated deployment of AVs and the lack of empirical evidence regarding the impact of dedicated lane infrastructure on human drivers, the research aims to determine how specific road design configurations influence behavioral adaptation. The authors hypothesize that drivers will reduce their time headway (THW) when near AV platoons, with the magnitude of this adaptation depending on the type of lane separation and the driver’s sociodemographic characteristics. To test these hypotheses, the researchers conducted a driving simulator experiment in the Netherlands with 34 licensed drivers aged 20–30. Participants drove through four randomized scenarios: a baseline scenario with no AVs, a continuous access dedicated lane (CAL), a limited access lane with a buffer zone (LAL), and a limited access lane with a physical guardrail barrier (LABL). The primary metric measured was the THW maintained by human drivers relative to a leading vehicle. Statistical analyses, including repeated measures ANOVA and correlation tests, were employed to assess differences across scenarios and relationships with gender and driving experience. The results demonstrated that the type of separation significantly influenced driver behavior. Human drivers maintained a significantly lower THW in the continuous access lane (2.47 s) and the limited access lane with a buffer (2.69 s) compared to the baseline (3.24 s) and the limited access lane with a guardrail (3.17 s). Specifically, the presence of a physical barrier prevented the reduction in THW observed in other configurations, suggesting that harder separation restricts behavioral adaptation. Additionally, sociodemographic factors played a significant role: male drivers maintained significantly lower THWs than female drivers, and there was a significant inverse relationship between THW and years of driving experience, meaning more experienced drivers adopted shorter headways. The study concludes that infrastructure design critically shapes human driver adaptation to automated traffic. While dedicated lanes can facilitate closer following distances, physical barriers like guardrails mitigate this effect, potentially preserving safety margins but reducing the efficiency gains associated with AV platoons. These findings provide evidence-based insights for policymakers and infrastructure planners, highlighting that the choice between continuous access, buffer zones, and physical barriers involves trade-offs between traffic flow efficiency and driver behavioral adaptation. The results underscore the importance of considering human-machine interaction dynamics when designing future motorway infrastructure for mixed automated and manual traffic.

Key finding

Human drivers maintained significantly lower time headways when driving in proximity to automated vehicle platoons on continuous access or buffer-separated dedicated lanes compared to barrier-separated lanes or baseline conditions.

Methodology

simulator

Sample size: 34

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• following distance
• traffic density
• work zones
• acceptance adoption
• situational awareness
• speed choice

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: behavioral performance data
• Methodological Resource: tool software
• Theoretical Contribution: computational model