Considerations on the Impact of Communication Delays on Safety in Cooperative Automated Driving

Abstract In recent years, research on cooperative automated driving has achieved significant advancements. Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication enables the sharing of information among vehicles, which is expected to mitigate traffic accidents and optimize traffic flow. In this study, we quantitatively evaluated the impact of communication delays on safety by simulating a scenario in which a connected vehicle performs an emergency stop and lane change on a highway. The analysis revealed that as communication delays increase, vehicles must decelerate more abruptly, elevating the risk of failing to meet established safety standards. Conversely, extending the communication range was found to reduce the frequency of sudden deceleration events. These findings suggest that optimizing both the timing and range of communication is essential to ensure the safety and efficiency of automated driving involving multiple vehicles operating in coordination. This contributes to enhancing both safety and efficiency in intelligent mobility systems.