Federal Highway Administration National Dialogue on Highway Automation: October 24-25, 2018 Operations Workshop Summary

Breakout Session II: Digital Infrastructure

This section summarizes stakeholder discussion from the second breakout session. The following questions were asked:

• What should infrastructure owners and operators be doing to prepare for and to manage system efficiency while AVs operate on their roadways?
• What information would be useful to either collect, exchange, or share to support AV operations? In what situations could data exchange between IOOs and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) support more efficient AV operations (e.g., work zones)?
• What could FHWA be doing to support IOOs, industry, and the transportation community to support safe and efficient AV operations, as part of the broader transportation network?

Demonstrations and Pilots Can Provide Useful Information and Lessons Learned

Best practices learned from previous and ongoing pilots can be a useful source of information and lessons learned for communities interested in AVs. Pilots can provide data on the performance of AVs and their safety benefits, mobility impacts, and ability to navigate a range of roadway environments. Workshop participants suggested more systematic tracking of AV demonstrations and their outcomes to facilitate sharing of lessons learned. This could include a central location for pilot data, identification of best practices, and guidance for communities. This information should be shared in an accessible manner so organizations can easily find it. Other suggestions included increasing information sharing and partnerships between communities either participating or interested in participating in an AV demonstration or pilot. This information sharing could be facilitated between stakeholders across levels of government, different geographies, and different operational environments.

Direct Communication Between IOOs and AV Developers is Key to Addressing Operational Challenges

Workshop participants felt that more direct and effective communication between IOOs and AV developers is necessary for addressing the range of AV traffic operations challenges and issues discussed. A two-way exchange of data and information can help provide insights for both IOOs and those developing AV technologies, leading to a shared approach to address technical operations challenges. For example, IOOs have specific information about infrastructure assets, construction projects, road closures, and road regulations that would be useful for AV developers. As AV developers are testing their vehicles on public roads, they may also have access to information useful for IOOs, such as real-time road conditions, AV performance with surrounding traffic, and AV safety and mobility benefits. Several participants stated that only a joint approach can solve some of the complex operational challenges by AVs.

AV Impacts on Traffic Management Remain Unclear

The impacts of AVs on the efficiency of the transportation network and traffic management operations are not well understood. Automated vehicles could potentially have negative consequences on the transportation system (e.g., increasing vehicle miles traveled, decreasing speeds, worsening congestion, or causing safety issues). Yet, AVs may also present opportunities for implementing better practices with respect to speed management and land use policy (e.g., adaptive curb space management). Workshop participants suggested research to understand AV impacts and inform future traffic management strategies.

Multijurisdictional Coordination is Important for Supporting Nationwide AV Integration

Cooperation and communication between communities will become more important as AVs cross borders and jurisdictions. National integration and interoperability of AVs will inevitably require moving across jurisdictional lines. Coordination will be especially critical as communities will need to be able to share data that can be used by different AV technologies and systems. Workshops participants suggested developing data standards and a clear understanding of where responsibility lies for communicating data about speed limits, road conditions, and other operational factors to assist jurisdictions as they encounter AVs on their transportation network.