Benefits of connected vehicle signalized left-turn assist: Simulation-based study

Simulation modeling can play a major role in supporting the pre-deployment and post-deployment assessment of connected vehicle (CV) applications, particularly given the limited implementations of these applications and the low market penetrations of CV that can be expected in the near future. This study demonstrates the use of simulation modeling to assess the safety and mobility benefits of the Signalized Left Turn Assist (SLTA), a CV-based application at signalized intersections. The benefits of SLTA were analyzed in this study using a calibrated microscopic traffic simulation package. Real-world gap acceptance distribution was used in the calibration of the simulation model to better assess the impact of SLTA considering the real-world driver's behaviors at permissive left-turn signals. A method was developed to…