Safety Evaluation of Turbo-Roundabouts with and without Internal Traffic Separations Considering Autonomous Vehicles Operation

Tullio Giuffrè, Anna Granà and Salvatore Trubia
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Tullio Giuffrè: Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, University of Enna Kore, Viale delle Olimpiadi, 94100 Enna, Italy
Anna Granà: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed 8, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Salvatore Trubia: Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, University of Enna Kore, Viale delle Olimpiadi, 94100 Enna, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-14

Abstract: The paper presents a microsimulation approach for assessing the safety performance of turbo-roundabouts where Cooperative Autonomous Vehicles “CAVs” have been introduced into the traffic mix alongside conventional vehicles “CVs”. Based on the analysis of vehicle trajectories from VISSIM and subsequent analysis of traffic conflicts through the Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM), the research aims to evaluate the safety benefits of turbo-roundabouts where the lanes are physically separated by raised curbs, compared to roundabouts without such curbs. The paper will then describe the methodological path followed to build VISSIM models of turbo-roundabouts with and without raised curbs in order to calibrate the simulation models and estimate the potential conflicts when a higher percentage of CAVs are introduced into the traffic mix. A criterion has been also proposed for setting properly the principal SSAM filters. The results confirmed both higher safety levels for turbo-roundabouts equipped with raised lane dividers compared to turbo-roundabout solutions without curbs, and better safety conditions under the traffic mix of CVs and CAVs. Therefore, it follows that, in absence of crash data including CAVs, the surrogate measures of safety are the only approach in which the safety performance of any roundabout or road entity can be evaluated.

Keywords: turbo-roundabouts; surrogate measures; traffic conflicts; autonomous vehicles; SSAM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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