Safety Assessment of Driver Overtaking Behavior on Two-Lane Highways

Safety study of driving behaviors to reduce traffic accidents is of great significance. The primary objectives of the study were to investigate the relation between driver overtaking behaviors and traffic safety. Twelve drivers of different proficiency were selected for an experiment on a driving simulation system platform. A simulation scene of overtaking on a two-lane highway was set up. The subjects overtook in the virtual scenarios at different speeds. A total of twelve parameters - including speed, acceleration, time of overtaking process, the changes of distance and other parameters - were extracted during the experiments. These data together with the results of a DBQ (Driving Behavior Questionnaire) were analyzed and evaluated by the multiple linear regression method. The results showed that three motion parameters had a strong correlation with drivers' safety. Finally, the study presents a linear model of safety assessment of driver overtaking behavior on two-lane highways. The model may help to identify safe and unsafe drivers and reduce the number of traffic accidents.