Automated Highway System Field Operational Tests: Potential Sites, Configurations, and Characteristics

In 2002 the National Automated Highway System Consortium (NAHSC) is scheduled to complete its work on development of an automated highway system prototype. Upon completion of its mission, NAHSC is likely to be followed by one or more field operational tests (FOTs) in which ordinary drivers will use automated vehicles on a real roadway under test conditions. Described are objectives for such a test, potential test sites in California, and the merits of these sites for conducting different types of tests. The evaluation is based on interviews with local officials, visits to 14 sites around the state, and collection of detailed data on these highways. It is concluded that there exist many potential FOT sites provided that the federal government pays for a large portion of infrastructure costs and that the new infrastructure is turned over to local agencies upon completion of the test.