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While automated trucking developers have established regular commercial shipments, operations and testing remain limited largely to limited-access highways like interstates. This infrastructure provides a platform or operating environment that is highly structured, with generally good road conditions and visible lane markings. To date, these deployments have not included routine movements from hub to hub, whether on or off these limited-access facilities. Benefits such as safety, fuel efficiency, staffing for long-haul trips, and a strengthened supply chain turn enable broader deployment which can enable movement from one transportation system to another. Infrastructure Enablers and Automated Vehicles: Trucking focuses on unresolved issues between the automated vehicle industry and infrastructure owners and operators that stand in the way of using infrastructure—both physical and digital—to extend use cases for automated trucking to more operational design domains (ODDs).

Manufacturers and developers of automated vehicles (AVs) often maintain that no new infrastructure enablers are needed to achieve full AV deployment aside from existing infrastructure investments (e.g., connected traffic signals, designated stops, booking software, mobile applications, separated lanes). These groups hold that a state-of-good-repair and clean lane markings are sufficient; however, much of the US receives poor grades when it comes to these features. What do infrastructure owners and operators need to know about what constitutes effective lane markings or what to prioritize in terms of safety and mobility? How do policy considerations effect these choices? Automated Vehicles and Infrastructure Enablers the first in a series on AVs and infrastructure—considers ways in which infrastructure can speed or delay deployment, mitigate hazards, and capture benefits related to AV roll-out.

Transportation infrastructure systems serve as the platform for emerging automated vehicle (AV) technologies and, in their current condition, limit the reliability of these new vehicles. Road conditions, lane markings, and signs provide essential guidance and information to both human- and machine-controlled vehicles; however, their condition and placement vary depending on local conditions, practices, and funding. Irregular sign placements and road markings confuse both human and machine drivers and can create unsafe conditions. Still, in the short term, they are the easiest factor to adjust regarding successful AV deployment. Automated Vehicles and Infrastructure Enablers: Pavement Markings and Signsexamines the issues associated with pavement markings and signs in the context of advanced automation.