Abstract
This study reports the results of a pilot study on spatiotemporal characteristics of drivers’ visual behavior while driving in three different luminance levels in a tunnel. The study was carried out in a relatively long tunnel during the daytime. Six experienced drivers were recruited to participate in the driving experiment. Experimental data of pupil area and fixation point position (at the tunnel’s interior zone: 1566 m long) were collected by non-intrusive eye-tracking equipment at three luminance levels (2 cd/m2, 2.5 cd/m2, and 3 cd/m2). Fixation maps (color-coded maps presenting distributed data) were created based on fixation point position data to quantify changes in visual behavior. The results demonstrated that luminance levels had a significant effect on pupil areas and fixation zones. Fixation area and average pupil area had a significant negative correlation with luminance levels during the daytime. In addition, drivers concentrated more on the front road pavement, the top wall surface, and the cars’ control wheels. The results revealed that the pupil area had a linear relationship with the luminance level. The limitations of this research are pointed out and the future research directions are also prospected.
Highlights
China’s strong sustainable economic development has greatly inspired the construction of new highways, especially road tunnels
The analysis data of this study demonstrated that the pupil area of the driver increased in the tunnel’s inner section, gradually enlarged, and fluctuated continuously after entering the tunnel
We studied the pupil area and fixation point distribution of participants at different study, we studied the pupil area and fixation point distribution of participants at different luminance levels
Summary
China’s strong sustainable economic development has greatly inspired the construction of new highways, especially road tunnels. Road tunnels have become popular due to their advantages of reducing traffic transportation time, relieving pressure on ground transportation, and facilitating rapid economic development [1,2,3]. With the increase of tunnels, traffic accidents in tunnels are becoming more and more serious [5,6,7]. The probability of accidents occurring and the probability of being injured in tunnels is lower as compared to open roadways, the impact is of greater severity in injuries and deaths [8,9,10]. The crash rate in tunnels is twice as high as those outside tunnels [11]
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