TESTING IMPACTS OF WORK ZONE X2V COMMUNICATION SYSTEM ON SAFETY AND AIR QUALITY IN DRIVING SIMULATOR

摘要

The safe and efficient flow of traffic through work zones is a major concern to engineers, researchers, the public, and policy makers. Various countermeasures have been proposed including improved geometric designs, enhanced control strategies, flagger training, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, etc. Fatal vehicle crashes in work zones, however, still frequently occur. In the United States in 2010, there were 87,606 crashes in work zones with 0.6% fatal crashes, 30% injury crashes, and 69% property damage crashes. This paper intends to further improve the safety and air quality in work zones through a Person/Infrastructure to Vehicle (X2V) wireless communication system, which includes the communication between workers and infrastructure (P2I) and between infrastructure and vehicles (I2V). The entire X2V system is simulated in a full-motion driving simulator. Subjects' driving behaviors were recorded and analyzed under two scenarios: with and without the X2V communication system, both considering factors like lane change, deceleration, and stopping distance for crossing workers. Meanwhile, the relevant vehicle emissions were estimated in a benchmark vehicle and a posterior survey was carried out right after the test. The results demonstrate that all subjects support this kind of X2V system. It is envisioned that the proposed system is able to improve workers' safety in work zones area in a more efficient and environment friendly way.