Which factors concerning perceived road safety are influenced by platooning?

Platooning is considered to be the future of transportation. The requirements, the possibilities, and the advantages and disadvantages of platooning have already been extensively investigated. Yet, the consequences of platooning on perceived road safety are unknown at the moment. This study investigated which factors concerning perceived road safety are affected when platooning is applied. Literature review and empirical research has been done in order to do so. A survey was distributed among individuals with a driver licence with the aim of mapping the relevant perceived risk factors that are affected by the implementation of platooning. The result show that when platooning is applied, road related risk factors such as road design, road layout and roadside objects affect the perceived road safety of road users. This study shows that road users perceive more safety when roads are wide when platooning is applied. It has also been shown that road users seem to perceive more safety when a clear road layout is present when platooning is applied. Finally, the results show that road users perceive more safety when roadside objects that reduce the risk of serious injury are present when platooning is applied. In addition, vehicle design also seems to be partly influenced by platooning. This study shows that road users perceive less safety when heavy vehicles platoon. Policy however, should only focus on road related risk factors. It does not make sense to ban heavy vehicle platoons, because truck platooning has many societal and business benefits.