Virtual testing of speed reduction schemes on urban collector roads

Urban collector roads are complex driving environments often encompassing both the mobility and the access road functions. In these conditions motorized traffic and vulnerable road users compete continually. Speed reduction measures may play a relevant role in these contexts, provided that such measures are also designed in compliance with the driver's capabilities and expectations. The paper describes a test procedure using driving simulation experiments, designed to evaluate the reconfiguration project of Via Pistoiese, an urban road collector located in Florence (Italy). The road improvement design consisted of several engineering treatments aimed to reduce and homogenize the driving speed, as well as to manage the co-existence of the different road users and mainly to protect pedestrians. The main focus of the research was to understand if the drivers' behaviour was according to the design hypothesis before the safety treatments are implemented in the real world. Due to the multiple engineering treatments included in the reconfiguration project, the evaluation of the overall safety effectiveness of the project rather than the single treatment safety impact was the main concern of the research study. In addition, the study aimed to assess the usefulness of the considered testing method to understand how to integrate road design with drivers' performances, especially in heterogeneous traffic environments where drivers' behaviour plays a decisive role in the success of the proposed design solutions. Fifty-eight participants drove through two immersive virtual environments, reproducing the existing configuration and the project reconfiguration, while data relating to different driving aspects were collected. Two analyses were performed. The first was focused on the analysis of the mean speed profiles and revealed that the considered engineering treatments are able to control the speeding behaviour without providing a too high discomfort to the drivers. The second analysis was finalized to evaluate the driver's behaviour approaching zebra crossing, evaluating the impact of countermeasures allowing the drivers to perceive in advance a critical situation (a pedestrian that suddenly crossed the street) and consequently to perform a smoother and safer manoeuvre. The experiments confirmed the validity of the considered engineering treatments, allowing expecting the improvement of the traffic safety in via Pistoiese, and support the usefulness of virtual reality experimentations to predict of the safety effectiveness of design solutions, taking into account the drivers' behaviour.