Modeling Driver Visual Demand on Complex Horizontal Alignments
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 8
Abstract
Visual information is one of the vital elements that affect driver workload. Previous studies have modeled driver visual demand on simple horizontal curves and have found that it is significantly affected by the curve radius. This paper models driver visual demand on complex horizontal alignments that may include simple, compound, and reverse curves. Two sets of visual demand models were developed (curve models and tangent models) using visual demand data collected on 18 highway alignments on a driving simulator. The results show that visual demand is affected by the characteristics of not only the current element but also the preceding element. The characteristics of the preceding element included curve radius, curve direction (right or left), deflection angle, and lane width. As such, the developed models represent important tools for accurately evaluating driver workload on complex horizontal alignments.
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Acknowledgments
This study was financially supported by a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The writers are grateful to Dr. Paul Milgram and Dr. Alison Smiley, who extended all their help in utilizing the proper resources to carry out the entire experiment. The experiments were carried out at the Ergonomics in Tele-Operation Control Laboratory at the University of Toronto.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 8 • August 2005
Pages: 583 - 590
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 23, 2003
Accepted: Jul 7, 2004
Published online: Aug 1, 2005
Published in print: Aug 2005
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