A Conceptual Approach for Using the UCF Driving Simulator as a Test Bed for High Risk Locations

The main objective of this paper is to illustrate the use of the UCF Driving Simulator as a test bed for high-risk locations such as signalized intersections and toll plazas. The Alafaya (SR434) – Colonial (SR50) signalized intersection in Orange County, Florida, is used to validate the simulator. The SR 434 SR 50 intersection is four-leg 6×5 signalized intersection, and has two left turn lanes and one right turn lane for every approach. Both safety and traffic measures are being used in our effort to validate the simulator and therefore prove its usability as a test bed. Safety will involve identifying the potential safety problems from the crash reports, then we will observe whether subjects will face the same problems in the simulator, thus validating it. The traffic measure would be the speed distribution. Speed measures in the field will be compared with the driving speeds of the subjects crossing the intersection in the simulator, again for validating it. Multiple scenarios is being developed covering the different safety problems and approaches to the intersection. Using the Florida Department of Transportation Crash Analysis Reporting (CAR) System, the crash reports at this intersection for the years 1999 to 2002 were obtained and analyzed. Of the 164 crashes that happened during the 4 years at the intersection, 95 have been rear-end. It has been found that most of the rear-end crashes took place in the right–turn lanes of SR 434. The new approach here is the use of crash history to identify the high risk locations and type of collisions at the intersection, and then observe the “near misses” in the simulation. If both coincide, this could be one of the validation criteria that could be used. A between-subjects 3X2 (3 age groups and 2 genders) factorial experimental design has been modeled. Sixty subjects will drive the simulator, running through 11 scenarios, mainly the right turn lanes on SR434 in both the directions, when the signal is green/red/amber for traffic on SR50 (for traffic conflict validation), the through lanes on SR434 when the signal is green (for speed validation), and the through lane on SR50 when the phasing changes from Green to Amber. Measurements of Speed, Deceleration rate, the position of stop and the steering performance, will be collected. Also the effect of gender and age will be assessed.