Comparative assessment of driving behavior at signalized intersections using driving simulators

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe objective of this article is to investigate the differences in driving behavior and red-light violations between drivers in two countries: Lebanon and the United States of America. To realize the stated objective, two driving simulators were utilized. The first simulator is located at the American University of Beirut (AUB), Lebanon. The second simulator is located at the George Washington University (GWU), United States of America. An elaborate experimental scheme involving the occurrence of frustrating events at signalized intersections was designed, and 35 students from GWU and 81 students from AUB participated in the experiments. Detailed trajectory data was collected, and students were compared based on three surrogate measures: number of red-light violations, time-to-junction, average and maximum velocities. The results indicated that frustrating events occurring at intersections elicit red-light violations and speeding for both samples. In addition, speeding and red-light violations follow increasing trends as students drive through successive signalized intersections and experience frustrating events. In a postdriving survey, AUB students indicated that they engage in risky driving behavior more than GWU students. On the other hand, GWU students indicated that they are more likely to violate traffic rules and also committed more red-light violations in the simulator. The results of this study have implications on driving education and enforcement, as they indicate that driving violations might not be necessarily related to risky or aggressive driving, but to an individual's tendency to violate traffic rules in general.