Safety audit for weaving maneuver: A driver simulation safety analysis

Weaving lanes are designed to ensure the crossing of two or more traffic streams traveling in the same direction along stretch of road without the aid of traffic control devices. Weaving lanes assume a key role in roundabouts characterized by wide inscribed circle diameter, where the weaving maneuver represents a crucial aspect for safety. This is confirmed by several findings that demonstrate as the weaving maneuver is one of the most difficult operation to analyze in terms of road safety. Many studies report that the combination between the length of weaving lanes and the traffic volume is a key factor to explain high accident rate along interchange zones. Bearing in mind this facet, this article proposes an analysis of driver behavior on different weaving lanes in various traffic conditions performed on an interactive driving simulator. Different lengths of weaving lane combined with different traffic flow conditions were simulated, and the different drivers' performance have been analyzed. A risk assessment has been conducted by analyzing driver's behavior as a function of driver's risk perception. It has been observed that the increase of weaving lane length is effective only when the traffic flow conditions exceed a certain threshold.