Improving road safety at horizontal curves using V2I speed warning messages

Abstract

Introduction: According to the Federal Highway Administration, a quarter of fatal collisions has occurred at horizontal curves. The average collision rate at horizontal curves was found to be three times higher than other types of highway segments. The lack of compliance with the speed limit and driver-related factors are among the main contributing factors to those collisions. Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) communications can address these limitations by providing drivers with valuable in-vehicle warning messages based on operational and safety data. There is limited effort investigating the impact of different types of V2I warning messages at horizontal curves and among different profiles of drivers. This study aims to thoroughly examine drivers’ behavior and compliance with different V2I warning messages when approaching horizontal curves. Methods: A driving simulator experiment and self-reported survey were conducted. Three main hypotheses were analyzed in this study. First, whether supplying drivers with in-vehicle V2I warning messages will positively affect drivers’ behavior at horizontal curves compared to the standard road signs. Second, whether there will be a significant difference in drivers’ behavior when receiving text and audio V2I warning messages. Third, whether seniors and female drivers will comply more with speed limit advisory provided through V2I message than younger and male drivers. Results: The Analysis of Covariance confirmed the first two hypotheses. Two main measures of drivers’ behavior found to be lower in the V2I communication scenarios compared to the base one. The audio warning message was found to be more promising in increasing drivers’ compliance with speed limit advisory when approaching the curves. Analyzing the third hypothesis revealed that younger and male drivers had higher curve initiation speed compared to females and seniors. Practical Applications: The findings of this study can be used by transportation researchers, authorities, and car manufacturers to improve the effectiveness of in-vehicle V2I warning messages among different profiles of drivers.