Influence of Dynamic Traffic Control Systems and Autonomous Driving on Motorway Traffic Flow

As in many other countries, traffic demand on German motorways is continuously rising, especially during peak hours. Enhancing the road infrastructure by building additional lanes or new motorways is cost-intensive and - due to the complex planning process in Germany – extremely tedious. Thus, the government tries to maximise the performance of the existing infrastructure using dynamic control systems. The development and deployment of autonomous driven vehicles can have positive effects on the capacity of road elements. In this study the effect of dynamic control systems on the traffic flow on motorways is analysed in case studies using microscopic traffic simulation. Furthermore it is outlined that autonomous driving in an environment where access to the motorway is limited to autonomous vehicles only can have a positive effect in terms of higher capacities and more harmonized traffic resulting in fewer traffic breakdowns.