Interferences caused by work zones with vehicle flow can lead to a significant increase in the accident risk level. It is agreed that the improvement of work zone design is essential in order to provide an optimal driver guidance. This work reports on the outcomes of an experimental survey accomplished with the aid of virtual reality and with the aim of analysing the drivers behaviour close to work zones, identifying eventual abnormal behaviours and finding useful measures able to avoid a local decrease in safety conditions. A sample of drivers, homogeneous as far as driving experience, carried out several virtual reality driving tests on four-lane highways (with two lanes in each direction) using the driving simulator at the Inter-university Research Centre on Road Safety (CRISS) placed at University of Rome 3. The surveyed scenarios include a work zone configured according to the scheme for temporary signalling for work zones as defined in the Italian rules and three alternative work zone configurations. Speed analysis in various areas of a work zone allowed to individuate anomalous behaviours. This paper provides the designer with useful suggestions to choose the safest and most effective work zone design.
Bella, F. (2004). Safety in Work Zones: Experiences with Driving Simulator. In Proceedings of the Annual Meeting and Exhibit. Institute of Transportation Engineers.
Safety in Work Zones: Experiences with Driving Simulator
BELLA, Francesco
2004-01-01
Abstract
Interferences caused by work zones with vehicle flow can lead to a significant increase in the accident risk level. It is agreed that the improvement of work zone design is essential in order to provide an optimal driver guidance. This work reports on the outcomes of an experimental survey accomplished with the aid of virtual reality and with the aim of analysing the drivers behaviour close to work zones, identifying eventual abnormal behaviours and finding useful measures able to avoid a local decrease in safety conditions. A sample of drivers, homogeneous as far as driving experience, carried out several virtual reality driving tests on four-lane highways (with two lanes in each direction) using the driving simulator at the Inter-university Research Centre on Road Safety (CRISS) placed at University of Rome 3. The surveyed scenarios include a work zone configured according to the scheme for temporary signalling for work zones as defined in the Italian rules and three alternative work zone configurations. Speed analysis in various areas of a work zone allowed to individuate anomalous behaviours. This paper provides the designer with useful suggestions to choose the safest and most effective work zone design.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
