Citation

Wang F, Ma Y, Xing G, Chen S, Wang F. Transp. Res. F Traffic Psychol. Behav. 2024; 105: 306-320.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.trf.2024.07.014

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Sand and dust storms (SDS) are characterized by their instantaneous and abrupt characteristics, and the accompanying, often quick, accumulation of aeolian sand on road surfaces contributes to increased driving risks on expressways. We investigated the combined effect of visibility conditions and accumulated sand on drivers' avoidance performance. We utilized a driving simulator to simulate SDS events and conducted tests across six different visibility conditions using 45 drivers. We analyzed the drivers' control of the vehicle's speed based on longitudinal speed and acceleration in test road segments defined as Clear, Transition, and SDS. We divided the drivers' risk avoidance maneuvers on sand-covered road segments into two strategies, lane-keeping and lateral avoidance, with a focus on the latter. We divided the drivers' lateral avoidance process into three stages: perception, decision-making, and maneuver. Key performance indicators were selected to analyze the drivers' performance in terms of their lateral and longitudinal control of the vehicle. The findings suggest that drivers reduce their speed to compensate for the limited field of view during SDS events. Lower visibility corresponds to a greater distance required for drivers to reach a relatively stable driving state and leads to higher standard deviation values for the speeds. The coupled effect is reflected mainly in the percentage of lateral avoidance maneuvers. When the visibility was 150 m or above, more than 60 % of drivers in this study chose lateral avoidance over lane-keeping, with no significant difference between visibility conditions. Only when the visibility dropped to 100 m or below did the percentage of lateral avoidance instances significantly decrease. In SDS environments, light and visibility conditions are poor and a thin layer of sand is spread across the road surface. Even under relatively good visibility conditions, a thin layer of accumulated sand is difficult to discern until the driver is relatively close to sand-covered road segments. This paper provides an in-depth exploration of driving avoidance behavior under SDS conditions. The findings can contribute to proactive intervention strategies for driving during SDS and offer theoretical insights for developing driving safety assistance systems.

Keywords

Aeolian sand; Driving behavior; Driving simulator; Sand and dust storms (SDS); Visibility