Automated vehicles with communication capabilities: Is there an added impact on traffic efficiency at yield sign-controlled intersections?

Georgiou, Niki; Portouli, Evangelia; Amditis, Angelos · 2025 · Crossref

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006379

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

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Summary

This study investigates whether equipping Automated Vehicles (AVs) with communication capabilities improves traffic efficiency at yield sign-controlled intersections. While prior research has established that AVs can impact traffic flow, there is a lack of specific comparisons between AVs relying solely on onboard sensors and those with connectivity, particularly in complex urban scenarios like unsignalized intersections. The authors hypothesize that communication allows AVs to perceive approaching vehicles at greater distances, enabling earlier yielding decisions and reducing unnecessary deceleration. The research employed a microscopic simulation approach using PTV Vissim software within the Hi-DRIVE project framework. Two distinct driving models were developed: "Baseline AVs," which rely only on onboard sensors and must decelerate to detect conflicts near the intersection, and "Enabled AVs," which use vehicle-to-vehicle communication to assess gaps earlier. The simulation network consisted of a major road and a minor road with yield signs, featuring 12 distinct vehicle movements. Scenarios varied traffic volumes on the major link (200, 400, and 600 veh/h) and AV penetration rates (10%, 30%, and 50%), with minor link volume fixed at 100 veh/h. Each of the 18 scenarios was run 20 times. Performance was evaluated using mean travel time and queue length for both AVs and the total mixed traffic flow. Results indicate that Enabled AVs consistently reduced travel times and queue lengths compared to Baseline AVs, though the magnitude of improvement depended on penetration rates and traffic volume. At 50% AV penetration, significant travel time reductions occurred across all six vehicle routes for all traffic volumes. At lower penetrations (10% and 30%), benefits were limited to specific routes, primarily those involving minor links. The reduction in travel time was most pronounced at higher traffic volumes; for instance, at 600 veh/h and 50% penetration, Enabled AVs reduced travel times by over 16% for minor link routes. Queue lengths also decreased significantly, particularly at medium and high volumes. The authors attribute these gains to Enabled AVs avoiding unnecessary stops, which creates a cascading positive effect on following vehicles. Interestingly, at 30% penetration and 600 veh/h, no significant benefits were observed, likely because the conservative driving behavior of the limited number of AVs failed to create sufficient gaps in the dense traffic flow. The study concludes that communication capabilities provide a measurable added benefit to traffic efficiency at yield-controlled intersections by reducing delays and congestion. These findings suggest that connectivity allows AVs to operate more smoothly in mixed traffic, particularly at higher penetration rates. The authors recommend future verification using more accurate behavioral models and broader urban setups, including other yielding patterns like four-way stops, to further validate these efficiency gains.

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• v2x connected vehicle