Investigating drivers' mandatory lane change behavior on the weaving section of freeway with managed lanes: A driving simulator study

Author(s):  
Jinghui Yuan ◽  
Mohamed Abdel-Aty ◽  
Qing Cai ◽  
Jaeyoung Lee
Author(s):  
Qing Cai ◽  
Moatz Saad ◽  
Mohamed Abdel-Aty ◽  
Jinghui Yuan ◽  
Jaeyoung Lee

With the challenges of increasing traffic congestion, the concept of managed lanes (MLs) has been gaining popularity recently as a means to effectively improve traffic mobility. MLs are usually designed to be left-lane concurrent with an at-grade access/exit. Such a design forms weaving segments since it requires vehicles to change multiple general purpose lanes (GPLs) to enter or exit the ML. The weaving segments could have a negative impact on traffic safety in the GPLs. This study provides a comprehensive investigation of the safety impact of different lengths for each lane change maneuver on GPL weaving segments close to the ingress and egress of MLs through two simulation approaches: VISSIM microsimulation and driving simulator. The two simulation studies are developed based on traffic data collected from freeway I-95 in Miami, Florida. The results from the two simulation studies support each other. Based on the two simulation studies, it is recommended that 1,000 feet be used as the optimal length for per lane change at the GPLs weaving segments with MLs. The safety impact of traffic volume, variable speed limit control strategies, and drivers’ gender and age characteristics are also explored. This study can provide valuable insight for evaluating the traffic performance of freeway weaving segments with the presence of concurrent GPLs and MLs in a highway safety context. It also provides guidelines for future conversion of freeways to include MLs.


ATZ worldwide ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (12) ◽  
pp. 62-67
Author(s):  
Christiaan Koppel ◽  
Jelle van Doornik ◽  
Bastiaan Petermeijer ◽  
David Abbink

Author(s):  
Manuel Schmidt ◽  
Christian Wissing ◽  
Till Nattermann ◽  
Torsten Bertram

AbstractThis contribution presents a novel probabilistic approach for the generation of discretionary lane change proposals with a focus on highway driving situations. The developed model is based on the quantification of the utility of driving lanes. It generates a lane change proposal if the current driving lane is unsatisfactory in the sense that the desired velocity of the automated vehicle is undershot because of a slow preceding vehicle. A driving simulator study was conducted to create a dataset for the optimization of the model parameters. The optimization goal is to accurately match the timings of the lane change intentions of all participants. Finally, the applicability of the model is shown on real data from a test vehicle.


Author(s):  
R. Wade Allen ◽  
Zareh Parseghian ◽  
Anthony C. Stein

There is a large body of research that documents the impairing effect of alcohol on driving behavior and performance. Some of the most significant alcohol influence seems to occur in divided attention situations when the driver must simultaneously attend to several aspects of the driving task. This paper describes a driving simulator study of the effect of a low alcohol dose, .055 BAC (blood alcohol concentration %/wt), on divided attention performance. The simulation was mechanized on a PC and presented visual and auditory feedback in a truck cab surround. Subjects were required to control speed and steering on a rural two lane road while attending to a peripheral secondary task. The subject population was composed of 33 heavy equipment operators who were tested during both placebo and drinking sessions. Multivariate Analysis of Variance showed a significant and practical alcohol effect on a range of variables in the divided attention driving task.


This proceedings paper was inadvertently published after the authors notified the journal of their desire to withdraw the paper from the conference. The paper was not actually presented at the conference. This retraction is being issued at the authors’ request. The Journal, Human Factors, and SAGE apologize to the authors and readers for the inadvertent publication.


Author(s):  
Harald Witt ◽  
Carl G. Hoyos

Accident statistics and studies of driving behavior have shown repeatedly that curved roads are hazardous. It was hypothesized that the safety of curves could be improved by indicating in advance the course of the road in a more effective way than do traditional road signs. A code of sequences of stripes put on right edge of the pavement was developed to indicate to the driver the radius of the curve ahead. The main characteristic of this code was the frequency of transitions from code elements to gaps between elements. The effect of these markings was investigated on a driving simulator. Twelve subjects drove on simulated roads of different curvature and with different placement of the code in the approach zone. Some positive effects of the advance information could be observed. The subjects drove more steadily, more precisely, and with a more suitable speed profile.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Suhail Almallah ◽  
Shabna Sayed Mohammed ◽  
Qinaat Hussain ◽  
Wael K. M. Alhajyaseen

The illegal overtaking/crossing of stopped school buses has been identified as one of the leading causes of students’ injuries and fatalities. The likelihood of students in getting involved in a school bus-related crash increases during loading/unloading. The main objective of this driving simulator study was to study the effectiveness of different treatments in improving students’ safety by reducing the illegal overtaking/crossing of stopped school buses. Treatments used in this research are LED, Road Narrowing and Red Pavement. All proposed treatments were compared with the control condition (i.e., typical condition in the State of Qatar). Seventy-two subjects with valid Qatari driving license were invited to participate in this study. Each subject was exposed to three situations (i.e., Situation 1: the school bus is stopped in the same traveling direction, Situation 2: the school bus is stopped in the opposite traveling direction, Situation 3: the school bus is not present at the bus stop). Results showed that LED and Road Narrowing treatments were effective in reducing the illegal overtaking/crossing of stopped school buses. Moreover, the stopping behavior for drivers in LED and Road Narrowing was more consistent compared to the Red Pavement and control conditions. Finally, LED and Road Narrowing treatments motivated drivers to reduce their traveling speed by 5.16 km/h and 5.11 km/h, respectively, even with the absence of the school bus. Taking into account the results from this study, we recommend the proposed LED and Road Narrowing as potentially effective treatments to improve students’ safety at school bus stop locations.


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