Truck Platooning Under Real Traffic Conditions: First Insights on Behavioral Adaptations and Gap Preference of Professional Drivers.

Objective The aim of the study was to investigate (1) how different gap sizes are perceived by professional truck drivers under real traffic conditions and (2) whether semi-automated platoon driving leads to changes in driving behavior of subsequent manual driving. Background Platoon driving is a current branch in the development of automated driving in which two or more vehicles build a convoy. The lead vehicle is controlled manually while following vehicles are electronically coupled to it and drive semi-automated with small gaps in order to achieve a better traffic flow and potential fuel savings. Method In a real road experiment, 10 trained professional truck drivers completed a total o…