Abstract
Safety issue of vehicular platoons remains a critical challenge and is still open for investigation. In this study, the authors propose an accurate simulation model for vehicular platoons, taking into consideration of the kinematics and dynamics aspects of the platoon and its physical constraints. A hybrid controller formed by two different longitudinal and lateral proportional–integral–derivative controllers and two operation modes at the same time is developed and simulated using Webots. By this study, the aim is to deeply study the performance of the platoon and reveal its weakness in real scenarios. The latter includes normal/degraded operating modes, different speeds, full brake scenarios and various global positioning system accuracies. Results show the efficiency of the platoon controller even in the predefined degraded mode.