Investigation of Herringbone pattern and Optical Circles for Safe Driving Bahaviour at Curves Using Driving Simulator

Abstract

Horizontal curves have 1.5 to 4 times higher probability of accidental occurrence than tangent sections. Majority of these accidents are caused due to human error. Therefore, human behaviour at the curve needs to be corrected. In this study, two different road marking treatments, 1) optical circles and 2) herringbone pattern, were used to influence drivers’ behaviour while entering the curve on a two-lane rural road section. The road section is selected from the Belgian Road Network and a driving simulator is used to perform experiments. Both treatments were found to reduce speed before entering the curve. However, speed reduction was more gradual when optical circles were used. Herringbone pattern had more influence on lateral position than optical circles by forcing drivers to maintain a safe distance with the on-coming traffic on the adjacent lane. The study concluded that among other low-cost speed reducing methods, optical circles is an effective tool to reduce speed and increase drivers’ attention. Moreover, Herringbone pattern can be used to reduce accidents in the curve where the main cause of the accident is the lateral position.