01333504

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2248-07

http://scholar.google.com...+Lee&publication_year=2011

Driving simulators hold much promise for addressing roadway design issues. However, although simulators have demonstrated their value in experimental research addressing driver performance, their ability to support road design projects has not been as clearly established. This paper describes a design-centered framework to make simulators valuable for traffic engineers and geometric designers. This framework includes several steps: (a) identification of design issues that would benefit from driving simulators, (b) identification of simulator characteristics to match them to design issues, and (c) translation of driver performance data from the simulator to traffic behavior on the road. Several critical obstacles inhibit application of simulators to highway design. First, driving safety researchers and engineers comprise separate communities and their perspectives on how simulators can be applied to address road design issues often diverge. This paper seeks to reduce this divergence and make simulators useful to highway engineers. Interviews with engineers revealed important issues that simulators could address, such as intersection and interchange design. Second, driving simulators are often broadly defined as high fidelity, which provides little value in matching simulators to design issues. A survey of simulators and simulator characteristics clarifies the meaning of simulator fidelity and links it to road design issues. Third, simulators often produce data that do not correspond to data collected by traffic engineers. This mismatch can result from inadequate simulator fidelity, but can also arise from more fundamental sources—traffic engineers focus on traffic behavior and driving simulator researchers focus on driver behavior. Obstacles in using simulators for highway design reflect both technical and communication challenges.

01361564

11-3332

English

pp 53-60

2011

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309167680

Print

Figures (1) ; References (21) ; Tables (1)

Behavior; Drivers; Driving simulators; Highway design; Highway engineering; Highway safety; Safety engineering; Traffic engineering

Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 17 2011 6:29PM

• Acoustic Characteristics of Hybrid Electric Vehicles and Safety of Blind Pedestrians
• Age and Gender Differences in Overtaking Maneuvers on Two-Lane Rural Highways
• Auditory Detectability of Hybrid Electric Vehicles by Blind Pedestrians
• Driver Behavior on Acceleration Lanes: Driving Simulator Study
• Driving Simulator Research on Safe Highway Design and Operation
• Effects of Hybrid Interface on Ecodriving and Driver Distraction
• Effects of Individual Differences on Driving Behavior and Traffic Flow Characteristics
• Evaluation of Bilingual Sign Layout and Information Load Before Implementation of New Signing System
• Impact of Driver and Surrounding Traffic on Vehicle Deceleration Behavior at Onset of Yellow Indication
• Increasing Road Safety by Influencing Drivers’ Speed Choice with Sound and Vibration
• Measurement of Company Car Drivers’ Aberrant Behaviors, Safety Attitudes, and Safety Climate Perceptions
• Predicting Route Choices of Drivers Given Categorical and Numerical Information on Delays Ahead: Effects of Age, Experience, and Prior Knowledge
• Simulator Study of Effects of Alternative Distraction Mitigation Strategies in Driver Workload Manager