Understanding Driver Behavior Change in the Presence of CAV Platoons in the Merging Area Based on Questionnaire Survey

The interaction between human-driven vehicles (HV) and connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) leads to different traffic behaviors depending on the level of trust drivers have in CAVs. The introduction of CAV platoons has influenced driver behavior and had a significant impact on traffic flow, particularly in critical scenarios, such as merging areas. However, few existing studies have taken this into consideration. This paper focuses on the merging area on highways and investigates the underlying mechanisms behind the behavioral changes of drivers when interacting with CAV platoons. The research results indicate that CAV makes driver behavior more conservative, but the presence of CAV platoons improves this situation. CAV platoons can enhance driver trust in mixed traffic flow. This is closely related to drivers’ socio-economic attributes and subjective cognition.