Impact of CAV Truck Platooning on HCM-6 Capacity and Passenger Car Equivalent Values

Recently, there has been a significant amount of research related to heavy trucks operating as connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). As argued in this paper, understand the potential impact on freeway system CAV technologies, analyses should be conducted using standard US methodological framework. Consequently, paper uses exact Highway Capacity Manual, Sixth Edition (HCM-6) equal capacity passenger car equivalent (EC-PCE) methodology estimate EC-PCEs for truck platoons segments. It was found that EC-PCE values are, average, 34.3% lower compared non-CAV trucks, indicating can have positive effect highway capacity. The decrease is function number operational assumptions, these are studied through sensitivity analysis. This demonstrates modeled HCM-6 approach, allows meaningful comparisons so traffic agencies better prepare adoption technologies.