Effects of Collision Warning Systems on Drivers’ Freeway Lane-changing Behavior

A collision warning system (CWS) helps prevent accident occurrence or mitigate injury severity by making drivers aware of imminent danger. Using a driving simulator, this study investigates drivers’ lane changing behavior on the freeway. Lane change behavior was studied under the conditions of with/without CWS. It was found that CWS, with the aid of the gap-detection function, helped drivers to determine a safer space between the host vehicles and other vehicles to complete a lane change maneuver. The ratio of the lead to the lag was about 1:1.4. Analysis results of the experiment indicate that accidents were attributed to a relatively low travel speed for the condition and/or a short lag distance. It denotes that although CWS held a gap-detection function, it still requires drivers to maintain a safe speed and not be too late in merging into the adjacent lane to complete a lane change with safety. When the subject accepted a short lag distance, the lag vehicle might be hiding in the blind spot of the host vehicle. Therefore, it is suggested that in addition to the function of gap-detection, CWS be equipped with blind spot viewing aids to detect obstructions hiding in the blind spots.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission from Intelligent Transportation Society of America.
• Corporate Authors:

  ITS America

  1100 17th Street, NW, 12th Floor
  Washington, DC  United States  20036
• Authors:
  • Wu, Chi-Hung
  • Tseng, Pin-Yi
  • Chang, Chiung-Wen
  • Chen, Wan-Hui
  • Chang, Sheng-Hsiung
• Conference:
  • 19th ITS World Congress
  • Location: Vienna , Austria
  • Date: 2012-10-22 to 2012-10-26
• Publication Date: 2012

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: CD-ROM; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 12p
• Monograph Title: 19th ITS World Congress, Vienna, Austria, 22 to 26 October 2012

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash avoidance systems; Driving simulators; Gap acceptance; High risk locations; Injury severity; Lane changing; Travel behavior; Warning systems
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I73: Traffic Control; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01498986
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 12 2013 12:51PM