Driver behavioral classification on curves based on the relationship between speed, trajectories, and eye movements: a driving simulator study

• Ano de defesa: 2022
• Autor(a) principal: Rondora, Maria Emília Schio
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Biblioteca Digitais de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Palavras-chave em Português: classificação de trajetórias; curve negotiation; driving simulator; eye movements; movimentos do olhar; performance de curvas; simulador de direção; speed; trajectory classification; velocidade
• Link de acesso: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/18/18144/tde-17052023-145001/

Horizontal curves of rural highways are prone to a considerably high number of fatalities, since an erroneous perception can lead to unsafe driving, which generally occurs when a driver fails to notice the highway geometry or changes in the driving environment, particularly curved segments. This study aimed to understand the geometric characteristics of curved segments, such as radius and approach tangents, in the driving performance towards minimizing vehicle crashes. Speed profiles and lateral position, the most common indicators of successful negotiation in curves, and eye movements were recorded during an experiment conducted in a fixed-base driving simulator equipped with an eye-tracking system with a road infrastructure (a three-lane highway) and its surroundings. Therefore, the main objective of the study was the exploration of the relationship between the behavior measures collected during the experiment and the different levels of curves geometries available. A driving simulator can faithfully reproduce any situation and enable sustainable research because it is a high-tech and costeffective tool that enables repeatability in a laboratory. The experiment was conducted with 28 drivers, who covered approximately 500 test kilometers with 90 horizontal curves comprising nine different combinations of radii and approach tangent lengths. In addition, drivers\' behaviors on each curve were classified as ideal, normal, intermediate, cutting, or correcting, according to their trajectories and speed changes for analyses of the performance parameters and their correlation by factorial ANOVA and Pearson chi-square tests. The cross-tabulation results indicated the safest behavior significantly increased when the curve radius increased, moreover, the proposed performance measures were significantly affected by the curve radii. However, the driving behavior was not impacted by the approach tangent length. A better understanding of the way drivers negotiate curves can provide valuable information for evaluating and allocating roadway-based countermeasures. The study has shown the effectiveness of the driving simulation in improving road infrastructures through the relationship between design road features and users\' behavioral parameters.