Eye-Tracking Evaluation of Exit Advance Guide Signs in Highway Tunnels in Familiar and Unfamiliar Drivers

Ting Shang, Hao Lu, Peng Wu and Yi Wei
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Ting Shang: School of Traffic & Transportation, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China
Hao Lu: School of Economics & Management, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China
Peng Wu: School of Traffic & Transportation, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China
Yi Wei: School of Economics & Management, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing 400074, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 13, 1-14

Abstract: As a component of the traffic control plan, traffic signs on highways offer drivers necessary information. Unfortunately, many signs are unfamiliar to or misunderstood by drivers, especially when lacking a setting method; this includes exit advance guide signs in tunnels. These are generally set in roadbed sections, but space limitations in tunnels dictate that they must be set differently. To evaluate the effect of the setting method, an experiment was designed and conducted, during which the eye movements of 44 drivers with different familiarity levels were tracked. Twenty-two of the drivers had not previously participated in any experiment involving exit advance guide signs in highway tunnels, while 22 of them had. Time period data were analyzed, including data from before the sign appeared, when it appeared, and when it disappeared. Based on area division and Markov theory, attributes related to gaze transition were obtained, including one- and two-step gaze transition probabilities and area gaze probabilities. The results showed that gaze transition was confirmed to be significantly different between the three periods and between the drivers. Features extracted from eye movement characteristics, gaze transition paths, and gaze areas demonstrated that visual attention is more dispersed in familiar drivers during the lane-change intention period. Therefore, signs should be placed on the left wall of the highway tunnel.

Keywords: exit advance guide sign; eye-tracking evaluation; familiar and unfamiliar drivers; highway tunnel safety; Markov chain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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