Connected vehicle technologies can improve roadway capacity by 20 percent

[tradephoric]

http://www.itsbenefits.its.dot.gov/ITS/benecost.nsf/ID/70212CAA6C95BA5D85257B510055CD6E?OpenDocument&Query=BApp

A relatively low market penetration of connected vehicle technology (CVT) could increase roadway capacity by 20% and a higher market penetration could increase roadway capacity by up to 50%.  That type of increased roadway capacity would be huge.  Eighteen lane freeways could be a thing of the past (to the chagrin of many on this thread) if drivers utilized lanes more efficiently.  Instead of 2000 vphpl, CVT could increase capacity to 3000 vphpl (or more).  Latent demand would likely clog up any improved roadway network, but what does everyone think of connected and autonomous vehicles?  Will things be much the same as they are today or will this technology really transform how we drive? 

[kalvado]

Human response at speed  can easily be a bottleneck. Different flavors of cooperative driving are nothing new: approaches as platoon driving and adaptive cruise go along same lines of increased throughput. I would bet on in-vehicle technologies before any real long range communications. Failure of communications, cost of life-critical communication equipment, upgrade timeframe..   Too much of a hassle.
And of course there is a problem of downstream traffic distribution. It makes no sense to double traffic into downtown, when street grid can barely handle existing traffic, and parking is non-existant

[pumpkineater2]

How are we going to differentiate between CVT (Connected Vehicle Technology) and CVT (Continuosly Variable Transmission)?

[slorydn1]

How are we going to differentiate between CVT (Connected Vehicle Technology) and CVT (Continuosly Variable Transmission)?

Context, my dear Watson, context.

[Rothman]

Heh.  Just saw a presentation the other day where they had to distinguish between TMCs and TMCs (Transportation Management Centers and Traffic Measurement Corridors...or something like that...the former is much more well-known here than the latter).