Driving behavior interaction with ACC: results from a Field Operational Test in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, a field operational test was conducted in 2006 to assess the impact of two advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), namely adaptive cruise control (ACC) and lane departure warning (LDW) systems. The research goal was to estimate the effects of these systems on road capacity, safety and emissions. In this paper we focus on the interaction between driver and ACC system using the data from this FOT. It is found that drivers choose headway settings according to their manual driving behavior. Moreover, they often keep the system deactivated under dense traffic conditions. It is also observed from the data that the system, once de-activated, either automatically or manually, needs some time to become again active. These findings imply that, even with 100% cars on the road equipped with ACC, manual driving behavior will still be a determinant factor.