Where does platoon collide?

In traffic engineering, a platoon is the group of vehicles that moves together after being released by a traffic signal and that gradually spreads out, or disperses, as faster and slower drivers separate on the way to the next intersection. Salter's Platoon dispersion between signal controlled intersections models this spreading, which signal-coordination schemes exploit to keep platoons moving through greens. The referent is a transient cluster of vehicles on a road, measured by its size and dispersion, and it differs from an engineered vehicle convoy or a military unit.[1]

Unit

The group of vehicles travelling together, and the rate at which it disperses between signals

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Described by platoon size, headways, and a dispersion model between successive signals

In vehicle control, a platoon is a string of automated vehicles that follow one another at close, electronically regulated spacing, where the central challenge is string stability, keeping spacing errors from amplifying as they propagate up the line. Swaroop and Hedrick's 1996 String stability of interconnected systems gave the formal conditions for this. The referent is a controlled dynamical convoy, measured by spacing errors and string stability, a different construct from a signal-released cluster or an army unit.[2]

Unit

The controlled convoy and the propagation of spacing errors along it (string stability)

Recovery means

A string-stable platoon damps spacing disturbances as they travel up the line rather than amplifying them

Measured by

Assessed by inter-vehicle spacing error and whether disturbances attenuate from one vehicle to the next