Car-Following Model Calibration Based on Driving Simulator Data to Study Driver Characteristics and to Investigate Model Validity in Extreme Traffic Situations

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812110326
Author(s):  
Moritz Berghaus ◽  
Eszter Kallo ◽  
Markus Oeser
Keyword(s):  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Driver Behavior ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Driving Behavior ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Trajectory Data ◽  
Car Following ◽  
Model Validity ◽  
Simulator Study

In this paper we use traffic data from a driving simulator study to calibrate four different car-following models. We also present two applications for which the calibration results can be used. The first application relied on the advantage that driving simulator data also contain information on driver characteristics, for example, age, gender, or the self-assessment of driver behavior. By calibrating the models for each driver individually, the resulting model parameters could be used to analyze the influence of driver characteristics on driver behavior. The analysis revealed that certain characteristics, for example, self-identification as an aggressive driver, were reflected in the model parameters. The second application was based on the capability to simulate dangerous situations that require extreme driving behavior, which is often not included in datasets from real traffic and cannot be provoked in field studies. The model validity in these situations was analyzed by comparing the prediction errors of normal and extreme driving behavior. The results showed that all four car-following models underestimated the deceleration in an emergency braking scenario in which the drivers were momentarily shocked. The driving simulator study was validated by comparing the calibration results with those obtained from real trajectory data. We concluded that driving simulator data were suitable for the two proposed applications, although the validity of driving simulator studies must always be regarded.

Inverse Reinforcement Learning Based Driver Behavior Analysis and Fuel Economy Assessment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehmet Fatih Ozkan ◽  
Yao Ma
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Driver Behavior ◽  
Driving Behavior ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Trajectory Data ◽  
Inverse Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Driving Style ◽  
Vehicle Trajectory ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Human drivers have different driver behaviors when operating vehicles. These driving behaviors, including the driver’s preferred speed and rate of acceleration, impose a major impact on vehicle fuel consumption consequently. In this study, we proposed a feature-based driver behavior learning model from demonstrated driving data utilizing the Inverse Reinforcement Learning (IRL) approach to analyze various driver behaviors and their impacts on vehicle fuel consumption. The proposed approach models the individual driving style as cost function which is a linear combination of the features and their corresponding weights. The proposed IRL framework is used to find the model parameters that fit the observed driving style best. By using the learned driving behavior model, the most likely trajectories are computed and the optimized feature weights are used to analyze different driver behaviors. The different driver behaviors and their impacts on vehicle fuel consumption are then analyzed in real-world driving scenarios. Results show that the proposed IRL framework can successfully learn individual driver behaviors using vehicle trajectory data demonstrated by different real drivers. The learned driver behaviors promise a significant correlation between driving behavior and fuel consumption.

scholarly journals Transferability of Car-Following Models Between Driving Simulator and Field Traffic

2017 ◽  
Vol 2623 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stavros Papadimitriou ◽  
Charisma F. Choudhury
Keyword(s):  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Likelihood Estimation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Driving Behavior ◽  
Real Field ◽  
Trajectory Data ◽  
Car Following ◽  
Stimulus Response

During the past few decades, there have been two parallel streams of driving behavior research: models using trajectory data collected from the field (using video recordings, GPS, etc.) and models using data from driving simulators (in which the behavior of the drivers is recorded in controlled laboratory conditions). Although the former source of data is more realistic, it lacks information about the driver and is typically not suitable for testing effects of future vehicle technologies and traffic scenarios. In contrast, driving behavior models developed with driving simulator data may lack behavioral realism. However, no previous study has compared these two streams of mathematical models and investigated the transferability of the models developed with driving simulator data to real field conditions in a rigorous manner. The current study aimed to fill this research gap by investigating the transferability of two car-following models between a driving simulator and two comparable real-life traffic motorway scenarios, one from the United Kingdom and the other one from the United States. In this regard, stimulus–response–based car-following models were developed with three microscopic data sources: ( a) experimental data collected from the University of Leeds driving simulator, ( b) detailed trajectory data collected from UK Motorway 1, and ( c) detailed trajectory data collected from Interstate 80 in California. The parameters of these car-following models were estimated by using the maximum likelihood estimation technique, and the transferability of the models was investigated by using statistical tests of parameter equivalence and transferability test statistics. Estimation results indicate transferability at the model level but not fully at the parameter level for both pairs of scenarios.

Advance Information on the Road: A Simulator Study of the Effect of Road Markings

1976 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 521-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Witt ◽  
Carl G. Hoyos
Keyword(s):  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Driving Behavior ◽  
Speed Profile ◽  
The Road ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Road Signs ◽  
Advance Information ◽  
Simulator Study ◽  
On The Road ◽  
Accident Statistics

Accident statistics and studies of driving behavior have shown repeatedly that curved roads are hazardous. It was hypothesized that the safety of curves could be improved by indicating in advance the course of the road in a more effective way than do traditional road signs. A code of sequences of stripes put on right edge of the pavement was developed to indicate to the driver the radius of the curve ahead. The main characteristic of this code was the frequency of transitions from code elements to gaps between elements. The effect of these markings was investigated on a driving simulator. Twelve subjects drove on simulated roads of different curvature and with different placement of the code in the approach zone. Some positive effects of the advance information could be observed. The subjects drove more steadily, more precisely, and with a more suitable speed profile.

scholarly journals Investigating the impact of Innovative Treatments on Driving Behavior at School Bus Stops: A Driving Simulator Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Suhail Almallah ◽  
Shabna Sayed Mohammed ◽  
Qinaat Hussain ◽  
Wael K. M. Alhajyaseen
Keyword(s):  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Driving Behavior ◽  
School Bus ◽  
School Buses ◽  
Bus Stop ◽  
Typical Condition ◽  
Simulator Study ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Traveling Speed

The illegal overtaking/crossing of stopped school buses has been identified as one of the leading causes of students’ injuries and fatalities. The likelihood of students in getting involved in a school bus-related crash increases during loading/unloading. The main objective of this driving simulator study was to study the effectiveness of different treatments in improving students’ safety by reducing the illegal overtaking/crossing of stopped school buses. Treatments used in this research are LED, Road Narrowing and Red Pavement. All proposed treatments were compared with the control condition (i.e., typical condition in the State of Qatar). Seventy-two subjects with valid Qatari driving license were invited to participate in this study. Each subject was exposed to three situations (i.e., Situation 1: the school bus is stopped in the same traveling direction, Situation 2: the school bus is stopped in the opposite traveling direction, Situation 3: the school bus is not present at the bus stop). Results showed that LED and Road Narrowing treatments were effective in reducing the illegal overtaking/crossing of stopped school buses. Moreover, the stopping behavior for drivers in LED and Road Narrowing was more consistent compared to the Red Pavement and control conditions. Finally, LED and Road Narrowing treatments motivated drivers to reduce their traveling speed by 5.16 km/h and 5.11 km/h, respectively, even with the absence of the school bus. Taking into account the results from this study, we recommend the proposed LED and Road Narrowing as potentially effective treatments to improve students’ safety at school bus stop locations.

Analyses on the heterogeneity of car-following behaviour: evidence from a cross-cultural driving simulator study

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 834-841
Author(s):  
Qian Cheng ◽  
Xiaobei Jiang ◽  
Wuhong Wang ◽  
André Dietrich ◽  
Klaus Bengler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Car Following ◽  
Simulator Study

Calibration of microscopic traffic-flow models using multiple data sources

2010 ◽  
Vol 368 (1928) ◽  
pp. 4497-4517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serge Hoogendoorn ◽  
Raymond Hoogendoorn
Keyword(s):  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Likelihood Estimation ◽  
Joint Estimation ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Parameter Estimates ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Ratio Test ◽  
Estimation Of Parameters ◽  
Flow Models ◽  
Car Following

Parameter identification of microscopic driving models is a difficult task. This is caused by the fact that parameters—such as reaction time, sensitivity to stimuli, etc.—are generally not directly observable from common traffic data, but also due to the lack of reliable statistical estimation techniques. This contribution puts forward a new approach to identifying parameters of car-following models. One of the main contributions of this article is that the proposed approach allows for joint estimation of parameters using different data sources, including prior information on parameter values (or the valid range of values). This is achieved by generalizing the maximum-likelihood estimation approach proposed by the authors in previous work. The approach allows for statistical analysis of the parameter estimates, including the standard error of the parameter estimates and the correlation of the estimates. Using the likelihood-ratio test, models of different complexity (defined by the number of model parameters) can be cross-compared. A nice property of this test is that it takes into account the number of parameters of a model as well as the performance. To illustrate the workings, the approach is applied to two car-following models using vehicle trajectories of a Dutch freeway collected from a helicopter, in combination with data collected with a driving simulator.

scholarly journals Predicting Driver Behavior Using Field Experiment Data and Driving Simulator Experiment Data: Assessing Impact of Elimination of Stop Regulation at Railway Crossings

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshihisa Sato ◽  
Motoyuki Akamatsu ◽  
Toru Shibata ◽  
Shingo Matsumoto ◽  
Naoki Hatakeyama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Driver Behavior ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Driving Behavior ◽  
Experiment Data ◽  
Driving Speed ◽  
Railway Crossing ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Lead Vehicle

We investigated the impact of deregulating the presence of stop signs at railway crossings on car driver behavior. We estimated the probability that a driver would stop inside the crossing, thereby obstructing the tracks, when a lead vehicle suddenly stopped after the crossing and a stop regulation was eliminated. We proposed a new assessment method of the driving behavior as follows: first, collecting driving behavior data in a driving simulator and in a real road environment; then, predicting the probability based on the collected data. In the simulator experiment, we measured the distances between a lead vehicle and the driver’s vehicle and the driver’s response time to the deceleration of the leading vehicle when entering the railway crossing. We investigated the influence of the presence of two leading vehicles on the driver’s vehicle movements. The deceleration data were recorded in the field experiments. Slower driving speed led to a higher probability of stopping inside the railway crossing. The probability was higher when the vehicle in front of the leading vehicle did not slow down than when both the lead vehicle and the vehicle in front of it slowed down. Finally, advantages of our new assessment method were discussed.

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