Safety Perspective on Assisted Lane Changes: Insights from Open-Road, Live-Traffic Experiments

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the safety and kinematic behaviors of five different ADAS-assisted lane change systems in real-world highway conditions, highlighting variations in assertiveness and safety margins that impact traffic flow and safety.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into the real-world performance and safety implications of commercially available assisted lane change systems, including regulatory compliance issues.

Findings

Most systems use slower speeds than human drivers during lane changes.

One system performed more assertively, completing maneuvers in about 5 seconds.

Some systems posed safety challenges by forcing trailing vehicles to decelerate.

Abstract

This study investigates the assisted lane change functionality of five different vehicles equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). The goal is to examine novel, under-researched features of commercially available ADAS technologies. The experimental campaign, conducted in the I-24 highway near Nashville, TN, US, collected data on the kinematics and safety margins of assisted lane changes in real-world conditions. The results show that the kinematics of assisted lane changes are consistent for each system, with four out of five vehicles using slower speeds and decelerations than human drivers. However, one system consistently performed more assertive lane changes, completing the maneuver in around 5 seconds. Regarding safety margins, only three vehicles are investigated. Those operated in the US are not restricted by relevant UN regulations, and their designs were found not to adhere to these regulatory requirements. A simulation method used to classify the challenge level for the vehicle receiving the lane change, showing that these systems can force trailing vehicles to decelerate to keep a safe gap. One assisted system was found to have performed a maneuver that posed a hard challenge level for the other vehicle, raising concerns about the safety of these systems in real-world operation. All three vehicles were found to carry out lane changes that induced decelerations to the vehicle in the target lane. Those decelerations could affect traffic flow, inducing traffic shockwaves.