Abstract
To better understand a driver’s driving speed selection behaviour in low illumination, a self-designed questionnaire was applied to investigate driving ability in low illumination, and the influencing factors of low-illumination driving speed selection behaviour were discussed from the driver’s perspective. The reliability and validity of 243 questionnaires were tested, and multiple linear regression was used to analyse the comprehensive influence of demographic variables, driving speed in a low-illumination environment with street lights and driving ability on speed selection behaviour in low illumination without street lights. Pearson’s correlation test showed that there was no correlation among age, education, accidents in the past 3 years, and speed selection behaviour in low illumination, but gender, driving experience, number of night-driving days per week, and average annual mileage were significantly correlated with speed selection behaviour. In a low-illumination environment, driving ability has a significant influence on a driver’s speed selection behaviour. Technical driving ability under low-illumination conditions of street lights has the greatest influence on speed selection behaviour on a road with a speed limit of 120 km/h (β = 0.51). Risk perception ability has a significant negative impact on speed selection behaviour on roads with speed limits of 80 km/h and 120 km/h (β = −0.25 and β = −0.34, respectively). Driving speed in night-driving environment with street lights also has a positive influence on speed selection behaviour in low illumination (β = 0.61; β = 0.28; β = 0.37).
Highlights
Erefore, the purpose of this paper is to study the influence of driving ability on speed selection behaviour in low-illumination conditions and combine the driver’s personal attributes to separately analyse speed selection behaviours under the two scenarios of street lights at night and no street lights at night. e corresponding data were obtained through a questionnaire survey, and a multiple regression model of driving speed selection in low illumination was established to provide a theoretical basis for road speed management in low illumination
The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) value of the driving ability scale in the case of street lights at night is 0.937, which is greater than the standard value of 0.5, and the Bartlett sphericity test result reaches the level of significance (p < 0.01). e KMO value of the driving ability scale in the case of no street lights at night is 0.948, which is greater than the standard value of 0.5, and the Bartlett sphericity test results reach the level of significance (p < 0.01), indicating that the data are suitable for factor analysis [23]
Principal component analysis was used to conduct the maximum rotation of variance for the driving ability scale with and without street lights at night
Summary
E probability and severity of traffic accidents in low-illumination environmental conditions at night are much higher than those in the daytime. A study on truck-involved accidents has found that the probability of severe injury increases in the low illumination condition [2]. Studies have shown that motor vehicle drivers are one of the main factors leading to traffic accidents. A series of studies have been carried out on the effects of illumination on driving behaviours, especially drivers’ visual characteristics. Rackoff and Rockwell showed that the safety of driving at night could be improved by increasing environmental illumination to meet drivers’ demands for visual information [5]. Driver’s visual characteristics and cognitive ability are directly affected by insufficient illumination; driving behaviour is affected, showing a difference from normal illumination conditions
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