Effect of Changing Driving Conditions on Driver Behavior Towards Design of a Safe and Efficient Traffic System.

摘要

Over the past decade, several alternative merging configurations have been proposed and tested over conventional lane merge (CLM). This research investigates the efficiency of an alternative merging strategy known as Joint Lane Merge (JLM) in terms of its effects on drivers' behavior and traffic flow characteristics by using a full-size driving simulator combined with human factors analysis techniques. The objectives of this study are: 1) to determine the effects of work zone configuration, traffic flow levels and the distance between traffic signs on driver behavior, 2) to determine the effect of individual differences on driving behavior, and 3) to demonstrate the use of human factors analysis techniques applied to the understanding of driver behavior and performance in highway work zones. Twelve work zone configurations were modeled by using a driving simulator based on two merge layouts (CLM and JLM), two levels of traffic density (high or low) and three levels of distance between traffic signs (standard, 25% increase and 25% decrease). The dependent variables were travel time (s), average speed (mph), percent maximum braking force (%), location of changing lane (ft) and drivers perceived workload (%). Information regarding gender, personality type, years of driving experience, previous traffic offense and aggressiveness was collected through questionnaires and was considered as modifiers of drivers behavior in work zones.