Ju Yunjie, Chen Feng, Li Jia, Zhao Xiaohua, Dong Wenhui
Key Laboratory of Road & Traffic Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, P.R. China.
Beijing Key Laboratory of Traffic Engineering, College of Metropolitan Transportation, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, P.R. China.
Traffic Inj Prev. 2025;26(2):207-214. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2024.2401495. Epub 2024 Oct 2.
With the rapid development of expressways in the mountainous regions of southwestern China, closely spaced tunnel-interchange structures have inevitably emerged due to topographical constraints and environmental limitations. Given the unfavorable road geometry and rapid cross-section transitions, drivers face significant safety concerns. This study aims to investigate drivers' safety performance at closely spaced tunnel-interchange sections and determine how safety risks can be mitigated through improved traffic control devices design.
Thirty-nine participants conducted an experimental study in a fixed-base simulator. The test scenario was modeled on the Xingyan Freeway-S3801 and accurately reproduced in the simulator. For each safety performance metric, the driving simulator experiments yielded a dataset with 780 observations. To address the idiosyncratic variation due to individual driver differences, a series of linear mixed effects models (LMM) were developed to analyze drivers' behavior responses.
In closely spaced tunnel-interchange sections, a general impairment of both longitudinal and lateral performance was observed. This study identified potential critical impact variables in traffic control device systems. According to the LMM results: (a) Removing the 0.5 km interchange ramp exit advance guide sign located in the tunnel exit area reduces dangerous behavior in the corresponding impact area. (b) Replacing the 0.5 km interchange ramp exit advance guide sign with arrow pavement markers as an information source supports improved driver performance, promoting driver safety. (c) Adding tunnel exit distance signs within tunnels is recommended to enhance situation awareness for drivers.
This study addresses the scientific issues related to traffic control devices setup for closely spaced tunnel-interchange sections, focusing on identifying potential critical impact variables. The findings provide guidance on the design of traffic control devices for such sections and support revisions to national engineering standards.
随着中国西南部山区高速公路的快速发展，由于地形限制和环境局限，不可避免地出现了间距较近的隧道 - 立交结构。鉴于不利的道路几何形状和快速的横断面过渡，驾驶员面临重大安全隐患。本研究旨在调查驾驶员在间距较近的隧道 - 立交路段的安全表现，并确定如何通过改进交通控制设备设计来降低安全风险。
39名参与者在固定基座模拟器中进行了一项实验研究。测试场景以星岩高速公路 - S3801为蓝本，并在模拟器中精确重现。对于每个安全性能指标，驾驶模拟器实验产生了一个包含780个观测值的数据集。为了解决因个体驾驶员差异导致的特殊变化，开发了一系列线性混合效应模型（LMM）来分析驾驶员的行为反应。
在间距较近的隧道 - 立交路段，观察到纵向和横向性能普遍受损。本研究确定了交通控制设备系统中的潜在关键影响变量。根据线性混合效应模型的结果：（a）移除位于隧道出口区域的0.5公里立交匝道出口前置引导标志可减少相应影响区域内的危险行为。（b）用箭头路面标记取代0.5公里立交匝道出口前置引导标志作为信息源，有助于改善驾驶员表现，提高驾驶员安全性。（c）建议在隧道内增加隧道出口距离标志，以增强驾驶员的态势感知。
本研究解决了与间距较近的隧道 - 立交路段交通控制设备设置相关的科学问题，重点是识别潜在的关键影响变量。研究结果为这类路段的交通控制设备设计提供了指导，并支持对国家工程标准的修订。
