de Waard Dick, Kruizinga Anje, Brookhuis Karel A
Experimental and Work Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlands.
Accid Anal Prev. 2008 Mar;40(2):818-28. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2007.09.029. Epub 2007 Oct 22.
The effects of an increase in Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) on merging behaviour and on mental workload of motorists during filtering in and out of traffic were studied. Participants drove in a driving simulator in a total of 12 conditions; twice in each of two weather conditions and in three traffic conditions. The weather conditions were clear weather and foggy weather. The traffic conditions were without HGVs (i.e. only private cars), the current mix of HGVs and private cars, and a condition with a 70% increase of HGVs leading to an HGV column in the slow lane. The focus of the study was on assessing effects on behaviour and mental workload during filtering into traffic, and during exiting from the motorway. During the experiment driving performance was registered, behaviour was observed, self reports were collected, and the participant's heart rate was recorded. The results showed that directly after filtering into traffic the variation in driving speed increased and the minimum time headway decreased with an increase in the proportion of HGVs. Joining motorway traffic was considered to involve greater effort and risk in the condition with a column of HGVs. The effects of the conditions on heart rate are less clear, although the moment when the participants joined the traffic is clearly visible. The effects of weather conditions were limited, drivers adapting their driving behaviour in adverse weather by reducing speed. To exit the motorway is not a difficult manoeuvre. For that reason the lane change from the left hand to the right hand lane that preceded the exit was analysed. Although increased mental effort was reported and the lane change was visible in the heart rate record, no critical changes as a result of increase in proportion of HGVs were found for this manoeuvre. However, in the condition with a column of HGVs, the exit that had to be taken was most frequently missed as HGVs obstructed the view of the exit signs. It is concluded that an increase in HGVs will make merging into traffic more mentally demanding and will decrease safety margins.
研究了重型货车（HGV）数量增加对驾驶者在进出交通流时的汇入行为和心理负荷的影响。参与者在驾驶模拟器中总共经历了12种情况；在两种天气条件和三种交通状况下各进行两次模拟驾驶。天气状况为晴朗天气和雾天。交通状况分别是无重型货车（即只有私家车）、当前重型货车与私家车的混合交通，以及重型货车数量增加70%导致慢车道出现重型货车队列的情况。该研究的重点是评估在汇入交通流和驶离高速公路时对行为和心理负荷的影响。在实验过程中，记录了驾驶表现，观察了行为，收集了自我报告，并记录了参与者的心率。结果表明，在汇入交通流后，随着重型货车比例的增加，驾驶速度的变化增大，最小车头时距减小。在有重型货车队列的情况下，汇入高速公路交通被认为需要付出更多努力且风险更大。尽管参与者汇入交通流的时刻清晰可见，但这些情况对心率的影响不太明确。天气状况的影响有限，驾驶员在恶劣天气下会通过降低车速来调整驾驶行为。驶离高速公路并非难事。因此，对驶离前从左手车道换到右手车道的变道操作进行了分析。尽管报告称心理努力增加，且心率记录中显示有变道情况，但未发现因重型货车比例增加而导致该操作出现关键变化。然而，在有重型货车队列的情况下，由于重型货车遮挡了出口标志的视线，最常错过必须驶离的出口。研究得出结论，重型货车数量增加会使汇入交通流对心理的要求更高，并会降低安全边际。
