NTL Record

Title Evaluating Driver Performance on Rural Two-Lane Horizontal Curved Roadways Using a Driving Simulator
Record ID 65841
Personal Name
Creator
Bertola, Mary Anne; Balk, Stacy A.; Shurbutt, Jim
Personal Name
Contributor
Yang, C. Y. David
Corporate Creator United States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Safety Research and Development
Corporate
Contributor
Science Applications International Corporation; Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
Publisher United States. Federal Highway Administration
Publication Date 20120101
Language English
Abstract Between 2005 and 2009, single-vehicle run-off-road (ROR) crashes on two-lane rural-roadway horizontal curves have resulted in an average of 4,748 fatalities per year. Driving while familiar with the roadway, inattentive, and in a hurry have been identified as factors that increase the likelihood of these crashes. The goal of the present study was to evaluate methods that elicit familiarity with the roadway, inattention, and driving in a hurry. Fourteen participants drove a simulated two-lane rural roadway. Familiarity was elicited by having participants drive the test route seven times. Two methods to elicit inattention were used: mental mathematics problems and noun classification. Two methods to elicit being in a hurry were used: with visual travel time feedback and without. The method to elicit familiarity with the roadway resulted in significant changes in behavior when compared to driving while unfamiliar. Results suggested that solving mental mathematics problems was more effective in producing driving behaviors associated with inattention than noun classification. Both methods to elicit being in a hurry were effective in producing noticeable changes in behavior when compared to driving while not under time pressure. The promise of using these elicitation methods in driving simulators to evaluate engineering countermeasures to ROR crashes on two-lane rural-roadway horizontal curves is discussed.
Rosap ID dot:41952
Rosap URL https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/41952
TRT Terms Driving simulators; Attention lapses; Rural highways; Highway curves
General Subjects Automobile driving simulators; Run-off-the-road accidents--United States
Geographical
Coverage
United States
TRIS Online
Accession No
1470025
Contract Number DTFH61-08-C-00006
Report Number FHWA-HRT-12-073
Resource type Tech Report
URL https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/65000/65800/65841/12073.pdf
Format PDF
Database NTL Digital Repository