Citation

Fiolić M, Babic D, Babić D, Tomasović S. Transp. Res. F Traffic Psychol. Behav. 2023; 99: 306-318.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.trf.2023.10.025

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Night-time conditions are one of the most complex driving situations due to limited availability of visual information in the environment and limitations to the human visual system. In such conditions, road markings and road signs are the main source of information for drivers. Research has shown that road markings and road signs, if properly designed and placed, can positively impact driver behaviour and thus overall road safety. However, it is still not completely clear how different levels of road markings and road signs visibility affect drivers in night-time conditions. For this reason, we used a driving simulator to simulate night-time conditions and different levels of visibility of road markings and road signs in order to analyse the connection between the visibility of these road elements and driver behaviour and cognitive load. The results suggest that the level of road markings and road signs visibility slight increased the driving speed (about 2%), but at the same time it had a positive effect on participants' cognitive load which was at an optimal level during high visibility. Although there was no significant difference in participants' eye movements and the number of gazes at road markings, the percentage share of looked road signs was the highest in high visibility conditions, which suggests that the participants were in most cases timely informed and aware of the upcoming situation.

Language: en

Keywords

Cognitive load; Driving simulator; Night-time conditions; Road markings; Road safety; Road signs