The results obtained by employing the proposed model
show that significant improvements can be obtained
with regards to the realism of the simulation results, at
the same time maintaining relatively low computational
cost. The results also point out that the stochastic models
that determine the overall, system-level additional attenuation
due to vehicles are unable to adequately represent
the impact of vehicles on the received signal power.
For these reasons, we argue that a dedicated model for
vehicles needs to be implemented in VANET simulators
in order to increase the credibility of simulation results.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section II
describes previous work on channel characterization in V2V
communication. The methodology for evaluating the impact
of vehicles on LOS and signal behavior is described in
Section III, whereas Section IV presents the requirements of
the proposed model and the means to obtain the required
data. The computational complexity of the algorithm proposed
for implementation in VANET simulators is analyzed in
Section V. Section VI highlights the obtained results. Finally,
Section VII concludes the paper.