Abstract
This paper analyses the driver’ visual behaviour in the different conditions of ‘isolated vehicle’ and ‘disturbed vehicle’. If the meaning of the former is clear, the latter condition considers the influence on the driving behaviour of various objects that could be encountered along the road. These can be classified in static (signage, stationary vehicles at the roadside, etc.) and dynamic objects (cars, motorcycles, bicycles). The aim of this paper is to propose a proper analysis regarding the driver’s visual behaviour. In particular, the authors examined the quality of the visually informa-tion acquired from the entire road environment, useful for detecting any critical safety condition. In order to guaran-tee a deep examination of the various possible behaviours, the authors combined the several test outcomes with other variables related to the road geometry and with the dynamic variables involved while driving. The results of this study are very interesting. As expected, they obviously confirmed better performances for the ‘isolated vehicle’ in a rural two-lane road with different traffic flows. Moreover, analysing the various scenarios in the disturbed condition, the proposed indices allow the authors to quantitatively describe the different influence on the visual field and effects on the visual behaviour, favouring critical analysis of the road characteristics. Potential applications of these results may contribute to improve the choice of the best maintenance strategies for a road, to select the optimal signage location, to define forecasting models for the driving behaviour and to develop useful instruments for intelligent transportation systems.
Highlights
The behaviour of a user driving an ‘isolated vehicle’ is chosen as a reference for almost all the road standards, and several safety checks have been defined in compliance with this condition
The authors considered the influence on the driving behaviour of the curve radius values and of their direction on a rural two-lane road, and they evaluated the FT, FC, TF, and NFC indices in all these various specific conditions
It is important to underline that if the results can assess that this influence is relevant, it could be reasonable and appropriate to consider reformulations and modifications in the design philosophy adopted by the major part of the countries, based on the ‘isolated vehicle’
Summary
The behaviour of a user driving an ‘isolated vehicle’ is chosen as a reference for almost all the road standards, and several safety checks have been defined in compliance with this condition. The increase in the vehicle speeds and in the traffic volumes, as well as in the activities inside the car (due to the introduction of board computers, GPS navigation systems, mobile phones, etc.), has essentially changed the situation. The continuous development of instruments such video cameras, sensors, and GPS has produced smaller and cheaper devices for monitoring the driving behaviour and, in particular, the visual activity. The researchers have deeply focused on the physiological mechanisms regulating the visual activity in the driving conditions
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