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A scientific approach to determine the benefits of automation and technological innovation on road safety

The outstanding innovation in automotive has significant implications on transportation and infrastructure. The chance of having interconnected vehicles or autonomous ones would deeply change the way of conceiving the roads. It is not sure whether the introduction of such technology will decrease or increase road safety, especially in the transition phase, when there is promiscuity of vehicles traveling on roads. To assess the road safety development introduced by these technologies, this article proposes an introductory framework for urban road safety assessments. A case study is presented, by exploiting the Safety Performance Functions (SPFs) developed for 3-leg and 4-leg intersections in Bari (Italy). New scenarios with infrastructure changes and new on-board technologies enhancing the driving performances were studied, thanks to the Crash Modification Factors (CMFs). Then the outputs from the new scenarios were compared with the current scenario to assess the road safety benefits. Road safety looks to be remarkably improved by the introduction of autonomous and connected vehicles, providing ground for further studies aiming at estimating SPFs for the new scenarios.