Ming Chen,Xuesong Wang,Hui Zhang,Lili Wang,Yefei He,Christian Schost,Shikai You
Abstract:Forward Collision Warning/Avoidance systems (FCW/CA) have been shown to be effective in assisting drivers to avoid rear-end collisions. The development of driver-acceptable FCW/CA systems requires an understanding of how drivers behave when involved in scenarios with different levels of rear end collision risk. This study investigated drivers’ collision avoidance behaviors using a simulated car-following task under different initial headways and different lead vehicle decelerations. Study participants drove a Renault Megane III mounted on a high fidelity driving simulator with an 8-degree-of-freedom base. The experiment used a four-factor mixed experimental design, with headway and lead vehicle decelerations being the within group factors and gender, age and driving experience being the between group factors. A total of 30 drivers were given the opportunity to avoid a collision by braking/steering when a lead vehicle slowed at initial headway distances of 1.5sec and 2.5sec, and at decelerations of 0.3g, 0.5g, and 0.75g. ANOVA with repeated measures was used to compare the collision avoidance behaviors of the participants across the different conditions. Results showed that a) drivers’ Perception Response Time was less under low than under higher headway conditions; b) drivers released the accelerator faster under short than under longer initial headway conditions; c) drivers started braking more quickly and with more pressure under the higher risk conditions, especially under large LV decelerations. The propensity of using a braking or braking and a steering maneuver to avoid the collision was also examined. The findings of this study can be applied toward the development of improved FCW/CA systems.