Abstract

This research focuses on evaluating driver visual demand on three-dimensional (3D) highway alignments consisting of combined horizontal and vertical alignments which is an important part of highway design consistency research. Using a driving simulator, ten hypothetical 2D and 3D alignments for two-lane rural highways were developed, following the standard guidelines of the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Fifteen driver subjects drove in the simulator. The data relating to visual demand information were processed and analysed using Microsoft Excel and SAS statistical software. The results indicated that visual demand on 3D curves varies widely with the inverse of radius of horizontal curvature and the inverse of K value of vertical curvature. Age played another important role on visual demand. Models for evaluating visual demand on 3D highway alignments were developed for curves and tangents. The models developed in this study have been applied to horizontal and 3D alignments to carry out a design consistency evaluation. In addition, GIS virtual reality technique was applied to present the visual demand results for a real highway on the 3D visualization model. 3D visualization not only offers a better understanding of driver workload along the highway, but also represents an important tool to effectively manage information.

Highlights

  • 1.1 BackgroundAs safety is the most important goal of transportation engineering, both for the public and for highway professionals, researchers and designers are constantly trying to develop and apply tools and techniques that improve road safety

  • This chapter explains the details of the experimental design, including the apparatus, hardware integration, experimental design, and process adopted

  • The 3D Analysis Package in Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to develop 3D visualization modeling to present the results of the visual demand measurement

Read more

Summary

Introduction

1.1 BackgroundAs safety is the most important goal of transportation engineering, both for the public and for highway professionals, researchers and designers are constantly trying to develop and apply tools and techniques that improve road safety. In Senders’ research, a Vision Interruption Apparatus (VIA) was designed to determine the visual demand of drivers (Figure 2). In this experiment, it was found that drivers need additional glimpses when driving on a complex roadway. It was found that drivers need additional glimpses when driving on a complex roadway Through using this equipment, the relationship between the number of interruptions of vision and the complexity of the driving task was identified. That VIA was evaluated by Farber and Gallagher (1972) In this experiment, six drivers were invited to drive a vehicle on a slalom course. A 3D spatial model suggests much more information than the 2D chart or graphic we are familiar with

Objectives
Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call