Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9243-2841

Date Available

4-26-2019

Year of Publication

2019

Degree Name

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE)

Document Type

Master's Thesis

College

Engineering

Department/School/Program

Civil Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Reginald Souleyrette

Abstract

Emergency response times have been shown to be directly correlated with mortality rates of out-of-hospital patients. Studies have been conducted to show the relationship between time and mortality rates until patients receive the proper treatment. With more cardiac arrests and other life threatening illnesses occurring in the United States, more emergency calls will be required as well. As of today, technological advancements have been made to reduce response times, but human factors still require certain procedures, causing delays in the run time and increasing the rate of mortality. Here we show the results of emergency response times with the market penetration of connected and autonomous vehicles. With connected and autonomous vehicles, the average time emergency vehicles spend on the roadways can be significantly decreased. Safety procedures with human drivers can be eliminated, giving the emergency vehicle a proper right-of-way through virtual emergency lanes and removing the need to slow down and avoid vehicles at intersections or during periods of heavy congestion. Our results show a three minute decrease in response time under full market penetration of the technology, reducing the mortality rate and increasing the potential to save lives.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2019.217

Funding Information

Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program

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