Effectiveness of yellow color guardrail belt at freeway exits

If the information on freeway exits is not effective or driver vigilance is not adequate, the driver may not be able to obtain the information in time, resulting in missing the exit or making a forcible lane-change that could cause an accident. To allow the driver to obtain sufficient exit information in time and get off the freeway safely, this study proposes the creation of a guardrail painted with a yellow color and located prior to the exit. The yellow color guardrail belt (YCB) aims at informing the drivers that there is an exit ahead and to pay attention to the exit information, reminding them to adjust vehicle state and driving behavior in time. A driving simulator experiment with two different scenarios (YCB scenario and baseline scenario with no YCB) were used to explore the effectiveness of the YCB. Data on eye movement, electroencephalograph, and driving behavior of the participants were obtained. The results showed that compared with the baseline scenario, in the YCB scenario, the fixation points were mainly distributed in front of the road and the fixation duration on the guide signs was relatively longer; the EEG ratio (θ + α) / β was smaller; the driver decelerated more smoothly; and the steering wheel angle was smaller. In addition, the statistical analysis showed that there were significant differences in the fixation duration, the EEG ratio (θ + α) / β, and steering wheel angle between the two scenarios. This indicated that participants' vigilance in the YCB scenario was significantly improved, where the participants paid more attention to the guide signs and had better control of the vehicle. This study recommends a new device for reminding drivers to pay attention to freeway exits, which would greatly stimulate driver's sense of space on the exit and improve traffic safety on freeways.