Intelligent Vehicle/highway System Safety: Multiple Collisions In Automated Highway Systems

In this report, a comparison is drawn between the casualty rates per failure on an automated highway system (AHS) according to the longitudinal control configuration used. The comparison is drawn between closed-spaced platooning, vehicle following of the types used in Autonomous Intelligent Cruise Control (AICC) and Cooperative Intelligent Cruise Control, and a point-following configuration (PFC). The model used permits evaluation of the consequences of a failure, allowing for the multiple collisions that usually ensue.