Drivers' Visual Characteristics when Merging onto or Exiting an Urban Expressway

Area of Science:

• Human-computer interaction
• Traffic safety
• Automotive engineering

Background:

• Understanding driver behavior is crucial for developing advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS).
• Expressway merging and exiting present complex driving scenarios influenced by traffic density.
• Driver visual attention and behavior patterns require detailed analysis during these maneuvers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how traffic density affects drivers' visual behavior (glance duration, scan duration) during expressway merging and exiting.
• To analyze driving behavior (duration, velocity) across different phases of merging and exiting maneuvers.
• To determine the primary factors influencing drivers' visual search strategies.

Main Methods:

• Naturalistic driving study involving 10 participants (8 male, 2 female).
• Eye tracking system used to monitor drivers' eye movements.
• Analysis of visual and driving behavior across three periods: approaching, merging/exiting, and accelerating/decelerating.

Main Results:

• Traffic density significantly impacts glance and scan durations more during merging than exiting.
• The number of glances and mean glance duration are primarily linked to the specific driving task, such as the merging period.
• Drivers' visual search strategies are predominantly dictated by the immediate driving task.

Conclusions:

• Driver visual search strategies are task-dependent, adapting to the demands of merging or exiting expressways.
• Driving behavior, including duration and velocity, shows consistent variation trends across maneuver phases.
• Findings support the development of automated driving systems for gap identification and speed control.