Integrating Transformative Technologies in Indiana’s Transportation Operations
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Summary
This report addresses the integration of transformative technologies, specifically truck platooning, into Indiana’s transportation operations. Motivated by Indiana’s strategic role in national freight logistics and the projected growth in truck volumes, the study aims to help the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) identify opportunities and challenges associated with automation and connectivity. The primary objective is to evaluate the impacts of truck platooning on safety, mobility, energy use, infrastructure longevity, and driver comfort, while developing frameworks for identifying suitable highway segments and evaluating platooning programs. The research methodology combines a comprehensive literature review with empirical data analysis. The authors reviewed existing studies on platoon planning, simulation platforms, and the various impacts of platooning. To assess human-factor impacts, specifically driver comfort regarding inter-truck headways, the team conducted a driving simulation experiment at Purdue University’s Center for Connected and Automated Transportation (CCAT) Human Factors Laboratory. Additionally, the study analyzed specific Indiana highway sections, such as segments of Interstate 65 and Interstate 70, using Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) data to estimate potential energy savings. The report also synthesizes findings from existing microsimulation models to evaluate mobility, safety, and infrastructure effects. Key findings indicate that truck platooning offers significant benefits, including fuel savings ranging from 7% to 18%, with middle vehicles in a platoon achieving the highest efficiency due to reduced aerodynamic drag. Mobility improvements are non-linear; a 40% truck platooning participation rate greatly improves traffic flow, while 100% participation could increase capacity by 92%. Safety impacts are mixed: longitudinal safety improves due to automated braking and reduced human error, but lateral safety risks increase, particularly at merging and diverging areas. The driving simulation study provided insights into driver comfort, highlighting that anxiety arises from low trust in automation and inappropriate following distances. The report also identifies that platooning can accelerate infrastructure degradation, particularly on bridges, due to concentrated loading. The significance of this work lies in its provision of actionable tools for INDOT. The authors developed a decision-support framework for identifying "platoonable" highway sections and a multi-criteria analysis framework for the ex ante or ex poste evaluation of platooning programs. These tools enable policymakers to make informed decisions regarding infrastructure investment and regulatory strategies. The report concludes by discussing future trends in Indiana’s freight transportation, emphasizing the need for INDOT to institutionalize strategies that balance the economic and operational benefits of platooning with safety and infrastructure management concerns. This research serves as a baseline for developing policies that facilitate the adoption of connected and automated truck technologies in Indiana.
Key finding
The study identifies significant potential benefits of truck platooning in energy savings and mobility while providing a structured framework for evaluating and implementing platooning segments in Indiana.
Methodology
mixed_methods
Provenance
The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).
| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | rosap | — | — | 2 | 2026-05-23 |
| archive | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
| clean | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| chunk | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-01 |
| embed | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-02 |
| enrich | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-05-23 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 3 | 2026-06-10 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 24 | 2026-06-11 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-10 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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- Methodological Resource: tool software