Evaluating the safety impact of employing a dedicated lane for connected and autonomous vehicles on a motorway section Miqdady, Tasneem Oña López, Rocío de Oña López, Juan José De connected and autonomous vehicles; dedicated lane traffic safety traffic conflicts CAV This study aims to analyse the safety impact of employing a dedicated lane during the transition period between manual and autonomous driving. In particular, it (1) identifies the optimal strategy for using a dedicated lane for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) according to the safety perspective, and (2) evaluates the safety improvement caused by employing a dedicated lane while penetrating different levels of automation on the road. Using a microsimulation platform (Aimsun’s next), about 20 km of motorway segment is modelled and configured with/without a dedicated lane; with mandatory use for CAVs when the penetration rate is up to 30% and optional use for more than 30%. The safety of several scenarios of mixed fleets of CAV are evaluated using the Surrogate Safety Assessment Model tool and compared at both modelled configurations (with/without a dedicated lane) under both traffic conditions (free flow and congestion). The optimal strategy to employ a dedicated lane at light volumes is when the penetration rate of high levels of automation is above 55% (optional policy) while employing a dedicated lane is always appreciable at congestion condition. 2024-07-19T09:32:37Z 2024-07-19T09:32:37Z 2023 journal article T. Miqdady, R. de Oña and J. de Oña. (2023).Evaluating the safety impact of employing a dedicated lane for connected and autonomous vehicles on a motorway section.TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PROCEDIA, 71, 244-251 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/93254 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2023.11.081 open access