Adaptive cruise control (ACC provides assistance to the driver in the task
of longitudinal control of their vehicle during motorway driving. The syste
m controls the accelerator, engine powertrain and vehicle brakes to maintai
n a desired time-gap to the vehicle ahead. This research describes the resu
lts of a detailed microscopic simulation investigation into the potential i
mpacts of ACC on motorway driving. In addition to simulation, real vehicle
driving profiles, obtained from instrumented vehicle experiments in three E
uropean countries, have been used to compare real following behaviour with
that of a simulated ACC equipped vehicle. This new approach has shown that
following with an ACC system can provide considerable reductions in the var
iation of acceleration compared to manual driving. This indicates a potenti
al comfort gain for the driver and environmental benefits. A number of crit
ical situations in which ACC does not perform well have also been identifie
d. The research also highlights the limitations of microscopic simulation i
n modelling the impacts of ACC because of the lack of understanding of the
interaction between the driver and the ACC system relative to the traffic c
onditions. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.