Optimization Research Framework of Visual Environment for Small Radius Highway Long Tunnel Based on Mental Rotation Effect

The inside of a small-radius highway long tunnel is a typical weak visual reference environment，which easily induces the mental rotation effect of drivers. As a result，it becomes difficult to accurately identify the alignment，the contour of the tunnel，and the traffic information，leading to a decrease in driving performance and an increase in driving risks. To alleviate the mental rotation effect of drivers and improve the traffic safety of small-radius highway long tunnels， this paper proposes a visual environment optimization research framework for small-radius highway long tunnels based on the mental rotation effect，starting from typical driving safety issues in its visual environment. The results show that the visual reference system of small-radius highway long tunnels has characteristics such as inducing a significant transition of information，violating driving expectations，and lacking redundancy，which are prominently manifested in aspects such as discontinuous visual guiding information， inconsistent local visual reference information with the overall visual environment information，and poor collaboration between contour and alignment guiding information. Based on evaluation factors such as spatial right-of-way，driving human factors，and driving tasks，and in combination with theories such as visual perceptual constancy，global-precedance，and multi-level guiding， this paper proposes an optimization idea of constructing a constant，stable，continuous，and redundant visual reference system. In summary，this paper proposes to deploy multi-frequency，multi-scale，and multi-shape visual guiding facilities，and use local visual reference elements to construct a continuous and consistent reference clue with the overall driving environment information，enhance contour and alignment guiding，and construct a multi-level visual reference system with redundant information by leveraging the collaborative effect of high，middle，and low-level guiding information to effectively alleviate the negative impact of mental rotation effect and achieve the optimization goals of driving safety，comfort，low cost，and sustainability. This paper can provide a theoretical basis for enhancing traffic safety in small-radius highway long tunnels and small-radius optical long tunnels. © 2023 Science Press. All rights reserved.