General Accounting Office Report on Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems
Smart Highways, An Assessment of Their Potential to Improve Travel
Program Evaluation and Methodology Division
May 1991
GAO / PEMD-91-18
Potential Effects
A broad research consensus exists that IVHS can have noteworthy transportation
effects, although the empirical basis for this consensus is limited. The most
examined effect was on traffic congestion; 36 of the 38 IVHS studies GAO
reviewed examined this effect, and all 36 noted positive congestion benefits
likely from IVHS. However, only 4 of these studies provided results based on
direct field testing, while other results were based on either analytical
projections (19) or expert opinion (17).... [O]ne major simulaton study of
advanced vehicle control systems found dramatic possibilities in terms of
capacity and safety improvements, such as doubling of freeway capacity. This
report did, however, caution about the potentially travel-inducing
aspects of these systems, which could counteract some of the capacity
gains.
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