A Sustainable Approach to How Roadway Recognition Affects Drivers' Speed Choice

Previous research has reported that driving on a familiar roadway can influence speed choice. However, the findings have not been extensively discussed in simulated environments, which are frequently used for assessments of driving behavior and traffic safety. This study assesses the effects of familiar roadways on drivers' speed behavior in a driving simulator environment. During testing, 120 individuals drove through two blocks of four scenarios, each representing a real stretch of a mountainous Brazilian highway, with differences among the scenarios in advisory signs but with the same regulated speed. The participants could drive during the first, second, third, or fourth round, as established by random sorting. Afterwards, a Kruskal-Wallis Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was applied to search for significant differences in average speed between the rounds and scenarios. The results showed no significant differences in average speed (p-value < 0.05; alpha = 0.05); moreover, the drivers' ability and time licensed were not necessarily correlated with average speed, supporting future research with repeated scenarios towards maximizing the sample's utility for speed analysis in driving simulators.