The Relationship between Crash Rates and Drivers' Hazard Assessments Using the Connecticut Photolog

Abstract

Previous research into drivers' ability to assess road hazards has focused on experimenter, or expert, defined hazards. The present study attempted to use a more objective definition of hazard by comparing drivers' ratings of hazard for a series of road segments with the actual crash rates for those segments. Forty-one transportation professionals (operationally defined as “Experts”) and 38 undergraduate students (“Novices”) participated. A personal computer was used to display 24 randomly selected road segments from the 1994 Connecticut Photolog to participants, who then responded to a 6-item hazard perception survey (based on Groeger & Chapman, 1996). A Mann-Whitney U analysis indicated that the correlations between drivers' perceptions of hazard and actual crash rates were significantly higher for Experts than for Novices. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Autonomous Vehicles That Interact With Pedestrians: A Survey of Theory and Practice

“…The methods of studying human behavior (in traffic scenes) have transformed during past decades as new technological advancements have emerged. Traditionally, written questionnaires [21], [22] or direct interviews [23] were widely used to collect information from traffic participants or authorities monitoring the traffic. Some modern studies still rely on questionnaires especially in cases where there is a need to measure the general attitudes of people towards various aspects of driving, e.g.…”

“…Computer simulations [33] and video recordings of traffic scenes [22] are also widely used to study the behavior of drivers in laboratory environments. These methods, however, are criticized for not providing realistic driving conditions, therefore the observed behaviors may not necessarily reflect the ones exhibited by road users in a real traffic scenario.…”

Autonomous Vehicles that Interact with Pedestrians: A Survey of Theory and Practice

“…Eye tracking devices are one such system that can record participants' eye movements during driving [31]. Computer simulations [32] and video recordings of traffic scenes [22] are also widely used to study the behavior of drivers in laboratory environments. These methods, however, have been criticized for not providing realistic driving conditions, therefore the observed behaviors may not necessarily reflect the ones exhibited by road users in a real traffic scenario.…”

Joint Attention in Driver-Pedestrian Interaction: from Theory to Practice

“…The methods of studying human behavior (in traffic scenes) have transformed throughout the history as new technological advancements have emerged. Traditionally, questionnaires in written forms [127,134] or direct interviews [135] are widely used to collect information from traffic participants or authorities monitoring the traffic. These forms of studies, however, have been criticized for a number of reasons such as the bias people have in answering questions, the honesty of participants in responding or even how well the interviewees are able to recall a particular traffic situation.…”

“…Eye tracking devices are one of such systems that can be placed on the participants' heads to record their eye movements (see Figure 15a) during the course of driving [128]. Computer simulations [138] and video recordings [134] are also widely used to study the behavior of drivers in laboratory environments. These methods, however, have been criticized for not providing the real driving conditions, therefore the observed behaviors may not necessarily reflect the ones exhibited by road users in a real traffic scenario.…”