Investigating dangerous overtaking manoeuvres: the effect of road design elements on the psychological state of drivers

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The field of traffic psychology as an independent and leading discipline in road safetyresearch is still fairly young, as the first issue of Transportation Research Part F was only released in 1998, yet it has grown tremendously over the past two decades and numerous studies within this field have since been conducted. The most prominent argument seems to be regarding the risk compensation theory and whether ornot drivers purposefully take risks on the road. Parallel to this, numerous studies have also been conducted on the inuence of personality and psychology on driver behaviour. Within these, some have noted that the roadway and environmental elements surrounding the roadway inuences the psychological state of drivers, even tothe extent as to affect the behaviour of individuals.In this study, the effect of road design elements on drivers' choice to conduct dangerous overtaking manoeuvres is investigated. Many have discussed the effect ofroadway elements on the psychological state of drivers, but few have considered which roadway elements contribute to drivers conducting dangerous overtaking manoeuvresand therefore this study aimed to fill this gap.The main objective of this study was achieved by analysing vehicle speed data, traffic volume data, accident data and also observing driver behaviour on three selectedroadway sections. The three road sections that were selected were all two-lane, undivided class 2 (major arterial) rural roads. This allowed for the identificationof locations along the roadway sections at which drivers exhibited more dangerous behaviour. Furthermore the roadway design elements present at these identified locations were recorded and analysed in order to determine which elements contributed to drivers conducting dangerous overtaking manoeuvres.It was found that two road design elements and one environmental element indeed contributed to drivers conducting dangerous overtaking manoeuvres. The first roadway element is the posted speed limit and the effect thereof on the psychological state of drivers and the second was the placement of road markings permitting orprohibiting overtaking. The first environmental element was the behaviour of other drivers in the vicinity. It was discovered that a wrongly applied combination of thesethree factors often led to drivers conducting dangerous overtaking manoeuvre.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University