01473093

Component

For safe driving, it is essential that the driver properly recognize road alignment, pavement markings and other traffic control devices. At the same time, road surface conditions vary with weather conditions. In snowy regions, the road surface during winter can be compacted-snow, dry or wet. Under the compacted-snow condition, drivers are not able to see the pavement markings, and on rural highways, control speed according to the linear curve is important for safety. In autumn 2011 and winter 2012, the authors conducted driving tests on driving behavior and selection speed under the dry and compacted-snow conditions in curve section of two-lane highway. Ten drivers participated in a test on a road section in service. An eyes measurement system with vehicle dynamics recorder was installed on a test vehicle that traveled both directions on a 10.5-km test section of two-lane highway in Eastern Hokkaido, Japan. Ten male drivers drove the test vehicle under free-flow condition. The test vehicle was traveling in various curves of test section. The driving behavior in the curve sections recorded using a vehicle dynamics recorder on the rear seat. It was found that the selection speed of driver in the curve section is lower for the compacted-snow condition than for the dry condition, and that the variation in lateral acceleration was lower for the compacted-snow condition than for the dry condition.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AH010 Surface Transportation Weather.

01470560

13-1633

English

2013

Transportation Research Board 92nd Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; Photos; References; Tables

Behavior; Drivers; Highway curves; Highway safety; Judgment (Human characteristics); Speed; Weather conditions

Road conditions

Japan

Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2013 Paper #13-1633

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Feb 5 2013 12:24PM