SAFETY IN WORK ZONES: EXPERIENCES WITH DRIVING SIMULATOR

Interferences caused by work zones with vehicle flow can lead to a significant increase in the accident risk level. It is agreed that the improvement of work zone design is essential in order to provide optimal driver guidance. This work reports on the outcomes of an experimental survey accomplished with the aid of virtual reality and with the aim of analyzing the driver's behavior close to work zones, identifying eventual abnormal behaviors and finding useful measures able to avoid a local decrease in safety conditions. A sample of drivers, homogeneous as far as driving experience, carried out several virtual reality driving tests on four-lane highways (with two lanes in each direction) using the driving simulator at the Inter-university Research Center on Road Safety (CRISS) placed at University of Rome 3. The surveyed scenarios include a work zone configured according to the scheme for temporary signaling for work zones as defined in the Italian rules and three alternative work zone configurations. Speed analysis in various areas of a work zone allowed for individualized anomalous behaviors. This paper provides the designer with useful suggestions for choosing the safest and most effective work zone design.