Study On The Psychological And Behavioral Characteristics Of Drivers At Different Levels Of Risks On Prairie Highways

The drivers,roads,traffic,and environment in prairie highway man-machine system has its unique characteristics.The typical prairie highway has small changes in terrain and topography,the road landscape and linear shape of which is monotonous with long straight lines being the majority.The traffic volume on the road is small,and the types of vehicles are various.When driving under monotonous road traffic conditions for a long time,the workload of the driver is small,and the amount of information that needs to be accepted and understood is small,which can easily cause attention decay and psychological inertia.Once there is a sudden change in the road traffic environment,the driver’s perception,cognitive response,and decision-making needs instantly increase,leading to an increase in cognitive load and mental tension,increasing the probability of making mistakes in judgment,decision-making,or manipulation,leading to potential accidents.Therefore,in-depth analysis of the driving environment characteristics of prairie roads,identification of risk characteristics of sudden changes in the driving environment of prairie roads,and risk level assessment are conducted.Based on driver information processing models,psychological and behavioral characteristics of different levels of risk points are explored from various aspects such as perception,cognitive load,and operation.The research results have certain theoretical support and practical guidance significance for the optimization design of transportation engineering facilities on prairie highways,the identification and prediction of driving behavior risk patterns,and the active defense,short-term warning,and training intervention.Based on the analysis of typical prairie road driving environment characteristics,risk identification of sudden changes,and risk assessment grading,the prairie road driving scene is constructed,and driving simulation platforms are used to collect various indicators such as eye movement,electrocardiogram,operation,and vehicle operation of different types of drivers in different risk level road environments.The study aims to deeply explore the perception,cognition,and operational behavior characteristics of drivers at different levels of road risk points,and reveal the psychological reasons behind driver driving behavior in the prairie highway environment and its relationship with the external road environment.1.Taking a section of National Highway 109 as an example,through on-site research and combined with its design data and historical traffic accident statistics,the geometric design,traffic flow operation,safety facilities and environmental characteristics,as well as the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and causes of traffic accidents of this typical prairie highway are analyzed.Based on comprehensive consideration of the environmental characteristics of prairie highways and various factors that cause traffic accidents,the hazard assessment indicators of prairie highway sections are selected.Based on the entropy weighted fuzzy matter-element analysis method,a matter-element analysis and evaluation model for prairie roads was constructed.The risk levels of 9 road sections in three types of risk points were determined,including the risk level of curves and intersections in the intersection category,which is level IV,the risk level of X-shaped and cross shaped intersections,which is level III,and the risk level of T-shaped intersections,which is level II.The small radius curves and reverse curves in the horizontal curve are classified as Class III,while the remaining section units are classified as Class II and below.2.The"mutation"pattern of driver information perception under different categories and risk levels are compared and analyzed using gaze indicators.The average fixation duration of drivers(taking experienced drivers as an example)on a long straight-line segment is 314.64ms.When entering a curve+intersection from a long straight line,the average gaze duration increases by 43.17%.When entering a small radius horizontal curve from a long straight line,the gaze duration increases by 28.85%,and the average gaze duration in each segment of the intersection and horizontal curve shows a pattern of"increasing first and then decreasing",The driver’s gaze duration on curves and intersections is significantly longer than that on other types of intersections,and on small radius horizontal curve segments,the gaze duration is significantly longer than that on other types of flat curves.The variation pattern of fixation frequency is opposite to the duration of fixation.3.By dividing gaze interest regions and calculating the probability of gaze transfer,the differences in attention allocation characteristics of drivers at different categories and levels of risk points are compared.When driving in a long straight line,the driver’s gaze(taking experienced drivers as an example)has a certain probability of transfer between the current lane and the left,right,and other areas of the road,in addition to transferring within the current lane.The gaze transfer range is wide,and the randomness and disorder of path transfer are relatively large.When there is a sudden change in road traffic conditions(at the intersection or level curve ahead),the driver’s gaze range significantly decreases,mainly concentrated on the current lane and the inner side of the intersection or level curve,with a single gaze path and a significant gaze overflow effect.4.The blink index is used to compare and analyze the"mutation"pattern of driver cognitive load under different categories and risk levels.When a driver(taking experienced drivers as an example)enters a high-risk point on a curve+intersection from a long straight line,the average blink time decreases by 24.80%.When entering a high-risk point on a small radius horizontal curve from a long straight line,the average blink time decreases by 28.33%.The frequency distribution characteristics of the driver’s blink duration can be well fitted using Gaussian nonlinear functions,and R~2 is all above 0.85.The extreme values of blink duration frequency for drivers(taking experienced drivers as an example)at curves+intersections,X-intersections,intersections,and T-intersections are 132ms,151ms,170ms,and 191ms,respectively.The extreme values of blink duration and frequency for small radius flat curves,reverse curves,and large radius flat curves are 151ms,171ms,and 189ms,respectively.The extreme values of blink duration and frequency for long straight lines and short distance straight lines are 220ms and 200ms,respectively.At intersections and flat curves,the blink duration of each segment shows a pattern of"first shortening and then lengthening".The blink duration of drivers at curves and intersections is significantly shorter than that of other types of intersections,and at small radius horizontal curves,the blink duration is significantly shorter than that of other types of flat curves.The variation pattern of blink frequency is opposite to the blink duration.5.The heart rate growth rate and heart rate variability index RMSSD were used to compare and analyze the"mutation"patterns of drivers’mental load under different categories and risk levels.When drivers(taking experienced drivers as an example)enter high-risk points on curves and intersections from a long straight line,the heart rate growth rate increases from 5.06%to 21.7%,an increase of 16.64%,while the heart rate variability index RMSSD decreases by 26.32%;When entering the risk point of the small radius horizontal curve from a long straight line,the heart rate growth rate increased from 5.06%to 20.12%,an increase of 15.06%,while the heart rate variability index RMSSD decreased by 31.05%.The heart rate mutation rate and mutation distance of curves and intersections are greater than those of other intersections,and the heart rate mutation rate and mutation distance of small radius horizontal curves are greater than those of other horizontal curves.6.A comparative analysis is conducted using driving speed and steering wheel angle entropy to investigate the"sudden changes"in driver operation behavior and vehicle operation status under different categories and risk levels.When a driver(taking experienced drivers as an example)enters a high-risk point on a curve+intersection from a long straight line,the average speed decreases by 35.7%,and the steering wheel angle entropy increases by 113.4%.When entering a high-risk point on a small radius horizontal curve from a long straight line,the average speed decreases by 40.67%,and the steering wheel angle entropy increases by 152.0%.The driving speed of drivers on curves and intersections is significantly lower than that of other types of intersections,and on small radius flat curves,the driving speed is significantly lower than that of other types of flat curves.The variation law of steering wheel angle entropy is opposite to the driving speed.7.There are significant differences in information perception,mental load,and driving behavior among drivers in different categories of intersections,flat curves,and straight segments,with curves+intersections,small radius curves,and long straight segments being the most significant differences among each category.Driving experience is a significant factor that affects perception,cognitive judgment,decision-making,and driving behavior during the driving process on prairie highways.