Highlights An innovative and comprehensive driving simulator experiment for examining driving behaviors in the connected environment. Drivers maintain higher safety margins during car-following and lane-changing maneuvers in the connected environment. Driver interactions with pedestrians and traffic lights in the connected environment are safer. Communication delay and communication loss deteriorate driving performances and safety.
Abstract The connected environment provides surrounding traffic information to drivers via different driving aids that are expected to improve driving behavior and assist in avoiding safety-critical events. These driving aids include speed advisory, car-following assistance, lane-changing support, and advanced information about possible unseen hazards, among many others. While various studies have attempted to examine the effectiveness of different driving aids discretely, it is still vague how drivers perform when they are exposed to a connected environment with vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication capabilities. As such, the objective of this study is to examine the effects of the connected environment on driving behavior and safety. To achieve this aim, an innovative driving simulator experiment was designed to mimic a connected environment using the CARRS-Q Advanced Driving Simulator. Two types of driving aids were disseminated in the connected environment: continuous and event-based information. Seventy-eight participants with diverse backgrounds drove the simulator in four driving conditions: baseline (without driving aids), perfect communication (uninterrupted supply of driving aids), communication delay (driving aids are delayed), and communication loss (intermittent loss of driving aids). Various key driving behavior indicators were analyzed and compared across various routine driving tasks such as car-following, lane-changing, interactions with traffic lights, and giving way to pedestrians at pedestrian crossings. Results suggest that drivers in the perfect communication scenario maintain a longer time-to-collision during car-following, a longer time-to-collision to pedestrian, a lower deceleration to avoid a crash during lane-changing, and a lower propensity of yellow light running. Overall, drivers in the connected environment are found to make informed (thus better) decisions towards safe driving.
The impact of the connected environment on driving behavior and safety: A driving simulator study
2020-06-07
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
Driving Behavior in Weaving Maneuver: A Driving Simulator Study
Springer Verlag | 2016
|Driving Simulator Fidelity and Emergency Driving Behavior
Transportation Research Record | 2019
|Influence of Roadside Infrastructure on Driving Behavior: Driving Simulator Study
Online Contents | 2007
|Design of Driving Environment, Driving Behavior, and Traffic Safety
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2000
|