Analysis of Driving Behavior at the Bridge-Tunnel Transition Section in Reduced Visibility Situations

Adverse weather conditions are associated with the high road traffic fatality rate in developing countries. According to the statistics publicized in by the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China, the occurrence of more than half of the traffic accidents in the past few years in China was in reduced visibility situations. However, the studies of adverse weather, in particular fog's effects on road safety, are noticeably limited. In response to this problem, this article focuses on the relationship between foggy weather and road safety through investigating driving behavior at the Bridge-Tunnel Transition section (BTTs) of highway. Data was collected by the means of driving simulator and eye tracker, and the analysis was undertaken under the analytical framework of ordered logistic model. My findings are: 1) compared to the traffic setting plan, visibility produces more significant effects on drivers' speed control under foggy weather; 2) drivers are to be less attentive when the fog is light, and tend to overestimate the then road safety; 3) heavy fog results in a higher traffic accident rate, since it hampers drivers' ability of traffic sign recognition, and delays their lane change for crash avoidance.