Human Personality Based Investigation on Distance Threshold for Freeway Landscape Pattern

Abstract

Freeway landscape design is closely related to driver performance. How to stimulate drivers’ positive physiological condition and improve overall driving performance by adopting ideal landscape design has become a research interest in recent years. This study explores the impact of changing the landscape pattern at appropriate intervals on driver fatigue and negative mental workload. Drivers’ mental performance was evaluated under three types of spatial patterns: open, semi-open, and vertical. Thirty drivers, 15 Type A Behavior Pattern (TABP) and 15 Type B Behavior Pattern (TBBP) drivers, respectively, were recruited to conduct the driving simulator experiment. Data on drivers’ physiological variation trends show that the mental workload of TABP and TBBP drivers varied under different spatial patterns. The principal factor high frequency (HF) was used to investigate the distance threshold for different freeway landscape patterns based on the analysis of physiological data collected by electrocardiogram (ECG). This study reveals that changing landscape pattern at a certain interval can benefit drivers’ physical and mental status. It is suggested that, when the design speed is 100 km/h, changing landscape pattern every 11 km can reduce fatigue and improve driving performance in both TABP and TBBP drivers. The conclusions of this study provide a rationale and guidance for agencies to adopt different spatial patterns in future freeway landscape design.