Effect Of Driver Information Sharing And Communication On Unsafe Driving Behaviors

Based on review of road safety researches in China, there is gap between thehuman factors research and three salient problems of road safety. They are Chinesedrivers' risk taking, aggressive driving and interacting with bicycles at intersections.There were three objective of this study:(1) to find out the most important factors of thethree unsafe behaviors;(2) to propose an approach which can be used to change thefactors and also unsafe driving behaviors;(3) to testify the effectiveness of thisapproach.First, a survey study was conducted to find out the most important motives behinddrivers' risk taking, with324valid participants. Results of multiple regression analysisindicated that sensation seeking and personal norm are the two factors attributed themost of risky driving. The influential fators of aggressive driving are anonymity,ego-defensiveness and anger. The influential facotrs of vehicle-bicycle interaction aretime to notice and traveling direction.The driver information sharing and communication system (DISC) was proposedto send information and communication when drivers were taking risk, driving infrustrated situations and interacting with bicycles. In order to evaluate the effectivenessof the DISC system, three simulation-based experiments were conducted with36drivers participated. In experiment of risk taking, the DISC system sent real-timeinformation of road environment, drivers' performance and related traffic regulation ofthe specific location both before and during drivers' risk taking. Drivers' sensationseeking, personal norm, intention to take risk and also risky driving behaviors weremeasured. In experiment of aggressive driving, the DISC system sent detailedinformation of the frustrating situations, and also communication with the neighboringdrivers. Drivers' ego-defensiveness, subjective aggression and aggressive behaviorswere measured. In experiment of interacting with bicycles at intersections, the DISCsystem sent information of bicycle direction or information of both direction and speed.Drivers' perceived risk of the interaction and their reaction performance were measured.The main results indicated that:Providing information was effective to increase drivers' personal norm, to decrease sensation seeking, intention to take risk and risky driving behaviors.Drivers' anonymity and aggressive behavior was significantly influenced byproviding the information of the frustrating situation and communication withneighboring drivers. However, no significant difference was found of drivers'ego-defensiveness, anger and subjective aggression.Providing bicycle information during interaction was effective to help driversnotice bicycle and have enough time to react, which decreased the possibility of crash.These findings provide a solid foundation to prevent risk taking, aggressive drivingand to enhance safety of vehicle-bicycle interaction. It also has implication forintelligent transportation system design.