Optically-Controlled Braking Responses to Variable Deceleration Magnitudes in a Car-Following Task

摘要

This study sought to identify which braking strategies are more often used in a car-following taskwhen only optical cues to deceleration are available (no brake lights). Previous researchidentified three braking strategies for stopping to a stationary obstruction: regulation (decelerationat a near-constant magnitude), slam-on-the-brakes (increasing magnitude of deceleration), andbang-bang (initial high deceleration followed by a less deceleration). We used a car-followingtask with braking profiles which included variable decelerations to examine which of thesestrategies is most often used when drivers are not presented with brake lights warning of thedeceleration of the lead vehicle. Results showed that individuals tend to use the slam-on-thebrakesapproach (soft-then-hard braking) more than regulated (constant braking) or a bang-bangapproach (hard-then-soft braking) when following vehicles without brake lights. These data forman important baseline of behavior for evaluating the effects of brake lights and other decelerationdisplays on braking behavior.