Driving Simulator Study for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Virtual Warnings to Improve the Safety of Interaction Between Cyclists and Vehicles

Globally, cyclists account for 3% of all road traffic deaths, with the highest percentage occurring in Europe (8%) where the bicycle is considered a true alternative mode of transport. Among the causes of crashes are vehicles overtaking cyclists, especially on rural roads. In this study, a new application of augmented reality (AR) warnings for connected vehicles is tested by means of a driving simulator. The overall objective of the study consists in assessing the effectiveness of three proposed AR systems in improving the safety of interactions between vehicles and cyclists, especially during overtaking maneuvers. The AR systems were tested on a sample of 46 drivers and provided them with additional virtual visual information aimed at improving the driver’s risk perception and assessment of safe distance from a cyclist. The virtual warning configurations were: (i) a yellow safety zone around the cyclist; (ii) a color-changing safety zone that changes from red to green when the driver has safe lateral space to overtake the cyclist; (iii) the same color-changing security zone but with an additional acoustic warning. The AR warnings were found to be quite effective as they helped drivers overtake cyclists more safely. With AR warnings (especially with the additional audio), it was found that drivers adopted longer distances from cyclists and entered the oncoming lane less frequently, thus lowering the risk of collision with cyclists as well as the risk of head-on collision with oncoming vehicles.

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The Effects of Edgeline Presence on Performance in a Driving Simulator under Sober and Alcohol-Dosed Conditions

Proceedings of the Human Factors Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/154193128302700416 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 329-329

Author(s):

Thomas A. Ranney ◽

Valerie J. Gawron

Keyword(s):

Visual Information ◽

Driving Simulator ◽

Lateral Acceleration ◽

Task Demand ◽

Rural Roads ◽

Pavement Markings ◽

Horizontal Curves ◽

Varying Length ◽

Alcohol Effects ◽

And Performance

Accident studies have identified nighttime conditions on rural roads as particular problems for alcohol-impaired drivers. Uneventful driving is hypothesized to result in progressive degradation of tracking performance and a reduced capability to handle the demands of hazardous locations, such as curves. To address these problems, simulations of continuous roadway treatments (i.e., wide edge lines) and spot treatments for curves (i.e., post delineators, chevron alignment signs, patterned pavement markings, and flashing displays) were evaluated experimentally. Twelve subjects drove a simulator under two conditions of task demand and three levels of BAC (0.0, 0.07, 0.12%). The objectives of the study were to determine the effects of alcohol and task demand on driving performance and to determine if providing enhanced visual information concerning roadway alignment would improve the performance of subjects when sober and/or alcohol-dosed. Alcohol effects were measured in terms of overall scenario performance, which included the number of accidents and speed exceedances, and performance on the approach and negotiation of horizontal curves of varying length and curvature. Curve approach and negotiation behavior were also used to evaluate the effects of the roadway treatments. Specific measures included spot measures of speed and lateral placement taken at eight 100-foot intervals along the curve approach and lateral acceleration and position taken continuously over the fixed portion of the curves. The results presented pertain to the effects of the presence of standard and wide edgelines. The discussion relates current findings to those from a previously conducted study.

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Regional conditions and road traffic collisions on rural roads in Chile

Journal of Transport & Health ◽

10.1016/j.jth.2020.100996 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 ◽

pp. 100996

Author(s):

María Pilar Sánchez-González ◽

Ángel Tejada-Ponce ◽

Josiane Bonnefoy ◽

Francisco Escribano-Sotos

Keyword(s):

Road Traffic ◽

Rural Roads

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Examination of Driver Visual and Cognitive Responses to Billboard Elicited Passive Distraction Using Eye-Fixation Related Potential

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21041471 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 1471

Author(s):

Yongxiang Wang ◽

William Clifford ◽

Charles Markham ◽

Catherine Deegan

Keyword(s):

Visual Information ◽

Driving Simulator ◽

Tracking System ◽

Eye Gaze ◽

Driver Distraction ◽

Experimental Results ◽

Human Information Processing ◽

Cognitive Responses ◽

Information Processing Model ◽

Eye Fixation

Distractions external to a vehicle contribute to visual attention diversion that may cause traffic accidents. As a low-cost and efficient advertising solution, billboards are widely installed on side of the road, especially the motorway. However, the effect of billboards on driver distraction, eye gaze, and cognition has not been fully investigated. This study utilises a customised driving simulator and synchronised electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracking system to investigate the cognitive processes relating to the processing of driver visual information. A distinction is made between eye gaze fixations relating to stimuli that assist driving and others that may be a source of distraction. The study compares the driver’s cognitive responses to fixations on billboards with fixations on the vehicle dashboard. The measured eye-fixation related potential (EFRP) shows that the P1 components are similar; however, the subsequent N1 and P2 components differ. In addition, an EEG motor response is observed when the driver makes an adjustment of driving speed when prompted by speed limit signs. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed measurement system is a valid tool in assessing driver cognition and suggests the cognitive level of engagement to the billboard is likely to be a precursor to driver distraction. The experimental results are compared with the human information processing model found in the literature.

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SOME TRAFFIC SAFETY ISSUES AT UNREGULATED PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS IN THE CITY

EurasianUnionScientists ◽

10.31618/esu.2413-9335.2020.5.81.1168 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (12(81)) ◽

pp. 26-32

Author(s):

V. Volkov ◽

E. Nabatnikova ◽

E. Lebedev

Keyword(s):

Traffic Safety ◽

Traffic Accident ◽

Traffic Accidents ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Hourly Interval ◽

Safety Issues ◽

The Road ◽

Probability Estimates ◽

Mode Of Transport ◽

Speed Mode

The groups of participants of the pedestrian and automobile flows, whose actions cause the greatest danger to the occurrence of conflict situations in the zone of unregulated transition, are identified. The factors determining the likelihood of a traffic accident at an unregulated transition are systematized, for which probability estimates of the occurrence of road traffic accidents are calculated. As an estimated parameter, the hazard coefficient of a conflict point of an unregulated transition is proposed, which is determined by the ratio of the probability of a traffic accident in the real-time hourly interval to the average annual probability of a traffic accident reduced to the hourly interval. The dependences of the hazard ratio of an unregulated transition are established on the most significant factors: the speed mode of transport in the area before the transition and the state of the road surface.

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PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC CONDITIONS OF RURAL ROADS AND BUILT-UP AREAS: THE ANALYSIS OF THE EXISTING SITUATION AND POSSIBILITIES OF IMPROVING TRAFFIC CONDITIONS

Mokslas - Lietuvos ateitis ◽

10.3846/mla.2010.054 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 60-66

Author(s):

Nemunas Abukauskas ◽

Egidijus Skrodenis

Keyword(s):

Traffic Safety ◽

Road Safety ◽

Traffic Accidents ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Rural Roads ◽

Traffic Conditions ◽

Foreign Countries ◽

Pedestrian Traffic ◽

Main Activity

The results of lengthy thorough investigations into traffic safety situation show that the percentage of pedestrians getting involved in road traffic accidents on Lithuanian roads is significantly higher (more than 33 % of the total number of injury and fatal accidents) than that compared to the other European Union member-states. The article studies traffic safety problems and their factors causing the largest influence on the occurrence of these accidents. Considering valuable experience gained by foreign countries, investigation was carried out to establish general and main factors causing insufficient road safety conditions and significance of these factors to road safety. The article also shows the main activity improving road safety in Lithuania and discusses the effectiveness of strategic and local (temporary and long term) measures to improve conditions for pedestrian road safety.

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Heterogeneous traffic flow model under connected vehicles environment considering cyberattacks

Modern Physics Letters B ◽

10.1142/s0217984921505370 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lizhen Lin ◽

Hongxia Ge ◽

Rongjun Cheng

Keyword(s):

Traffic Flow ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Heterogeneous Traffic ◽

Connected Vehicles ◽

Vehicle To Vehicle ◽

Car Following Model ◽

Time Extension ◽

Potential Impact ◽

The Stability ◽

Traffic Behavior

Under the Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) environment, connected vehicles (CVs) can share the traveling information with each other to keep the traffic flow stable. However, the open network cooperation environment makes CVs vulnerable to cyberattacks, which leads to changes in driving behavior. The existing theories divide cyberattacks into three types: bogus information, replay/delay and collusion cyberattacks. In addition, the mixed flow consisting of truck and car is a common form of road traffic. In order to clarify the potential impact of cyberattacks on mixed traffic flow, this paper proposes an extended car-following model considering cyberattacks under CVs environment. Subsequently, the stability of the model is analyzed theoretically, and the stability condition of the model is obtained. The numerical simulation is carried out and the result shows that the cyberattacks lead to different degrees of traffic behavior hazards such as queue time extension, congestion and even rear end collision. Among them, cooperative attack is the most serious.

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Using the Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Inference Systems to Compare the Impact of Speed and Space Perception on the Occurrence of Road Traffic Accidents

Mathematics ◽

10.3390/math8091548 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (9) ◽

pp. 1548

Author(s):

Marjana Čubranić-Dobrodolac ◽

Libor Švadlenka ◽

Svetlana Čičević ◽

Aleksandar Trifunović ◽

Momčilo Dobrodolac

Keyword(s):

Traffic Accidents ◽

Driving Simulator ◽

Fuzzy Inference ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Space Perception ◽

Road Traffic Accidents ◽

Inference System ◽

Interval Type ◽

The Impact

A constantly increasing number of deaths on roads forces analysts to search for models that predict the driver’s propensity for road traffic accidents (RTAs). This paper aims to examine a relationship between the speed and space assessment capabilities of drivers in terms of their association with the occurrence of RTAs. The method used for this purpose is based on the implementation of the interval Type-2 Fuzzy Inference System (T2FIS). The inputs to the first T2FIS relate to the speed assessment capabilities of drivers. These capabilities were measured in the experiment with 178 young drivers, with test speeds of 30, 50, and 70 km/h. The participants assessed the aforementioned speed values from four different observation positions in the driving simulator. On the other hand, the inputs of the second T2FIS are space assessment capabilities. The same group of drivers took two types of space assessment tests—2D and 3D. The third considered T2FIS sublimates of all previously mentioned inputs in one model. The output in all three T2FIS structures is the number of RTAs experienced by a driver. By testing three proposed T2FISs on the empirical data, the result of the research indicates that the space assessment characteristics better explain participation in RTAs compared to the speed assessment capabilities. The results obtained are further confirmed by implementing a multiple regression analysis.

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