Project R-3505

Development and validation of a cognitive model for assisted driving systems at intersections: A situation awareness approach. (Research)

Intersections are among the most dangerous locations within a roadway network. This increased accident risk is related to vehicle maneuvering at intersections being complex, including both longitudinal and lateral movements. Interestingly, compared to other traffic flows at intersections, the left-turn traffic is more likely to be involved in a crash. The focus of this proposed research is to take a deeper look and to model the cognitive process in support of driving at intersections, with a special focus on the left-turn driver. Left-turns can be subdivided in different phases and in each phase, the underlying cognitive operations will be modelled. Based on situation awareness theory (i.e., a well-known theoretical framework within cognitive- and ergonomic psychology, used for studying mental or cognitive aspects related to safe driving) the different cognitive operations will be systematically described, integrated, and simulated. The IMOB driving simulator will be used in order to calibrate and validate the proposed cognitive model. To that end, test scenarios including intersections under various situational conditions will be designed and offered to a variety of test samples (i.e., young novice drivers, adults, 65-plussers).

01 January 2012 - 31 December 2017