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This article presents a framework to determine driving style and design a driver steering model considering driver characteristics. First, principal component analysis (PCA) and $K$ -means clustering are utilized to classify 30 participants into cautious, moderate, and aggressive drivers. Subsequently, a generic steering model is established based on the model predictive control method. Thereafter, the maximum lateral acceleration is extracted as a crucial indicator to represent driver characteristics, and it is calibrated through probabilistic models using the dataset, which consists of the classified drivers. Besides, point estimation model and interval estimation model are leveraged to determine driving style and adjust constraints in the stochastic programming-based steering model. Finally, simulation experiments present the variations of actual output trajectories between the aggressive drivers and the cautious drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the automated driving system has been known to be one of the most popular research topics of artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent transportation system (ITS). The journey experience on automated vehicles and the intelligent automated driving system could be improved by individualization driving understanding. Although previous studies have proposed methods for driving styles understanding, the individualization driving classification has not been addressed thoroughly. Therefore, in this study, a supervised method is proposed to understand driving behavioral structure and the latent driving styles by incorporating the prior knowledge. Firstly, a novel method is established for driving behavioral encoding and raw driving data mining. Then, the Labeled Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LLDA) is proposed to understand the latent driving styles from individual driving with driving behaviors. Finally, the Safety Pilot Model Deployment (SPMD) data are used to validate the performance of the proposed model. Experimental results show that the proposed model uncovers latent driving styles effectively and shows good agreement to real situations, which provides theoretical guidance on driving behavior recognition for better individual experience on automated driving vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas the development of ADAS seeks to improve driver's overall performance with a particular focus on traffic safety improvement; with it comes the requirement and opportunity to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of the technology in improving safety and overall road traffic efficiency. This study evaluates the effectiveness of ADAS in improving driver's risk perception in near-crash events using a novel metric from risk homeostasis theory (RHT) – Safety Margins, as an indicator. By designing a function that captures the initial and maximum risk-level of drivers when involved in a critical driving event while driving on a field operational test (FOT) route in Wuhan China; a comparison of the risk-level of drivers when ADAS was on as against when ADAS was off can be made, enabling an effective evaluation of the impact of ADAS on driver's risk perception and consequent risk mitigation. The results show that ADAS has a positive impact on the low-risk group and moderate-risk group for all drivers, but a negative impact on the high-risk group for skilled drivers. The impact evaluation is done under varying risk-levels of near-crash events with drivers of different driving experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of significant importance to select an appropriate speed for a vehicle to drive through an upcoming curve. Previous studies have mainly taken into account the vehicle–road interaction, which lacks quantitative analysis of drivers' driving behavior related to curve speed selections. In this study, a curve speed model derived from the vehicle–road coupling effect analysis is combined with drivers' driving styles which are classified into aggressive and moderate styles. Moreover, a driver behavior questionnaire based analysis is carried out for quantitative identification of the above two groups of drivers, compared with the traditional vehicle-motion-indexed classification of driving styles. Unlike previous curve speed models, the proposed model not only takes the vehicle–road coupling effect into consideration, but also introduces a driving style factor which is quantified with both driver behavior questionnaire analysis and vehicle-motion-indexed classification. The proposed curve speed model was validated with the road test data. It is found that the proposed curve speed model considering both the vehicle–road interaction and drivers' driving styles could effectively guarantee traffic safety and riding comfort in sharp curves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the rear-end early warning methods of connected automated vehicles (CAVs) is useful for issuing early warnings and reducing traffic accidents. Establishing a corresponding driving model according to CAV characteristics is necessary when designing intelligent decision and control systems, especially for the safety speed threshold. However, since traffic systems are stochastic, there are random factors that influence car-following behavior. Therefore, this study proposes a rear-end collision warning method for CAVs based on a stochastic local multivehicle optimal speed (SLMOV) car-following model. First, the SLMOV model is proposed to characterize the car-following behavior of CAVs. Simultaneously, a stability analysis and parameter estimation method are discussed. Second, the safety distance between the CAVs changes with time because the speed of the rear vehicles satisfies the SLMOV model, which is used to calculate the safety probability of rear-end CAV collisions through an analysis of the driving process. The speed threshold is assessed by controlling the rear-end collision probability. Third, next-generation simulation (NGSIM) data are used in an empirical analysis of a rear-end collision warning method on the basis of a parameter estimation of the SLMOV model. The results present the speed thresholds of vehicles under different braking deceleration levels. Finally, the merits and demerits of fixed-speed and variable-speed adjustment time intervals are compared by considering driving safety and comfort as evaluation indexes. A reasonable CAV adjustment time interval of 0.4 s is determined. This result can be used to help develop a vehicle loading rear-end collision warning system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Three ICV environment HMI groups: control, warning, and guidance, were designed to study their impact on driver's performance. • Warning group exhibited cautious and smooth acceleration before merging, while the Guidance group demonstrated better speed control after merging. • Mainline vehicle gaps had no significant impact on merging positions across HMI groups. • Guidance group merged closest to taper, Control group farthest. • Abundant gaps led to smaller initial merging gaps and shorter adjustment times for Guidance group. Intelligent Connected Vehicle (ICV) is considered one of the most promising active safety technologies to address current transportation challenges. Human-Machine Interface (HMI) plays a vital role in enhancing user driving experience with ICV technology. However, in an ICV environment, drivers may exhibit excessive reliance on HMI, resulting in diminished proactive observation and analysis of the road environment, and subsequently leading to a potential decrease in drivers' situational awareness. This reduced situational awareness may consequently lead to a decline in their overall engagement in driving tasks. Therefore, to comprehensively investigate the impact of HMI on driver performance in various ICV environments, this study incorporates three distinct HMI systems: Control group, Warning group, and Guidance group. The Control group provides basic information, the Warning group adds front vehicle icon and real-time headway information, while the Guidance group further includes speed and voice guidance features. Additionally, the study considers three types of mainline vehicle gaps, namely, 30 m, 20 m, and 15 m. Through our self-developed ICV testing platform, we conducted driving simulation experiments on 43 participants in a freeway interchange merging area. The findings reveal that, drivers in the Guidance group exhibited explicit acceleration while driving on the ramp. Drivers in the Guidance and Warning groups demonstrated smoother speed change trends and lower mean longitudinal acceleration upon entering the acceleration lane compared to the Control group, indicating a preference for more cautious driving strategies. During the pre-merging section, drivers in the Warning group demonstrated a more cautious and smooth longitudinal acceleration. The Guidance group's HMI system assisted drivers in better speed control during the post-merging section. Differences in mainline vehicle gaps did not significantly impact the merging positions of participants across the three HMI groups. Drivers in the Guidance group merged closest to the left side of the taper section, while the Control group merged farthest. The research findings offer valuable insights for developing dynamic human–machine interfaces tailored to specific driving scenarios in the environment of ICVs. Future research should investigate the effects of various HMIs on driver safety, workload, energy efficiency, and overall driving experience. Conducting real-world tests will further validate the findings obtained from driving simulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The moderating effect of driving skills on the traffic climate-driver behaviors relationship was investigated. • In Turkey, both perceptual motor skills and safety skills moderated the majority of the relationships. • In China, only safety skills moderated some of the relationships. • There are both cultural differences and similarities in the moderating effect of driving skills. Introduction: While road traffic accidents and fatalities are a worldwide problem, the rates of road traffic accidents and fatalities show differences among countries. Similarly, driver behaviors, traffic climate, and their relationships also show differences among countries. The aim of the current study is to investigate the moderating effect of driving skills on the relationship between traffic climate and driver behaviors by country. (Turkey and China). Method: There were 294 Turkish drivers and 292 Chinese drivers, and they completed the Traffic Climate Scale, the Driving Skills Inventory, and the Driver Behavior Questionnaire. The moderated moderation analyses were conducted with Hayes PROCESS tool on SPSS. Results: The results showed that safety skills moderated the relationship between internal requirements and violations both in Turkey and China. Safety skills also moderated the relationship between internal requirements and errors only in China and the relationship between functionality and violations in Turkey. Perceptual-motor skills moderated the relationships between external affective demands and errors, and also the relationship between internal requirements and positive driver behaviors in Turkey. It can be inferred that driving skills has different influences on traffic climate-driver behaviors relationship in different cultures and there might be cultural differences in the evaluation of drivers' own driving skills. Practical Applications: Among driving skills, safety skills have a more critical role to increase road safety by decreasing number of violations. Interventions to increase safety skills of drivers might be promising for road safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The FOT data from 46 participants was used to analyze the effectiveness of drivers' characteristics, including gender, occupation and experience, on driving behaviors on a freeway deceleration lane. • Male drivers recognize risk more than female drivers, and also have more aggressive driving tendencies. • Professional drivers and experienced drivers made the last lane-change as early as possible to enter the deceleration lane. • The speed of the vehicles entering the exit ramp was significantly higher than the design speed. • The minimum TTC and the maximum deceleration show that the certain driving behaviors are related to high traffic risk. Abstract Deceleration lanes improve traffic flow by reducing interference, increasing capacity and enhancing safety. However, accident rates are higher on these interchange segments than on other freeway segments. It is important to attempt to reduce traffic accidents on these interchange segments by further exploring the behavior of different types of drivers on a highway deceleration lane. In this study, with field operational test (FOT) data from 89 driving instances (derived from 46 participants driving the test road twice) on a typical freeway deceleration lane, section speed profiles, vehicle trajectories, lane position and other key parameters were obtained. The lane-change characteristics and speed profiles of drivers with different genders, occupations and experiences were analyzed. The significant disparities between them reflects the risk associated with different groups of drivers. The study shows that male drivers changed to the outside lane earlier; professional drivers and experienced drivers made the last lane change as early as possible to enter the deceleration lane; and the speed of the vehicles entering the exit ramp was significantly higher than the speed limit. This research work provides ground truth data for deceleration lane design, driver ability training and off-ramp traffic safety management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risky driving behavior (RDB) can cause panic and anger among other drivers. Under the influence of irrational emotions, RDB can reoccur, resulting in a phenomenon known as risky driving behavior propagation (RDBP). RDBP is a dangerous phenomenon, which can easily lead to traffic conflicts and accidents. It is significant to determine the propagation mechanism of RDBP to road safety. Firstly, RDBP can be considered a type of disease because three essential components of RDBP share similarities with an epidemic. A stochastic SIR model for risky driving behavior propagation (SSIR-RDBP) is constructed to quantify the mechanism of RDBP. Additionally, a Lyapunov function is adopted to prove the existence and uniqueness of the model solution. Secondly, based on current moment risk and cumulative risk, a two-stage risk approach is adopted to quantify the risk of RDBP. The Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) is used to quantify the current moment risk, and the probability of the Markov state transition matrix is introduced to describe the cumulative risk. Finally, sensitivity analysis of the model parameters is carried out to explore the intrinsic variables of the parameters. The results suggest that the risk of RDBP increases rapidly to its peak value within the first 5 s. As traffic saturation increases, the decline rate of sustainable drivers and the rise rate of recovered individuals grows cubically, and the rate of reaching peak infection increases linearly. Furthermore, the fluctuation range of risk and the maximum risk both increase quadratically. The driver's emotional control ability is strongest when the infection rate is set to 4, and the recovery rate increases linearly with road safety education. Improving the driver's emotional control ability, and increasing awareness of road safety education, can help to control the risk in RDBP. • A stochastic SIR model for risky driving behavior propagation is presented. • Two-stage risk quantification approach based CVaR and Markov chain is proposed. • Relationship between model parameters and traffic measures are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]