A Model of Driver Perception and Action in Intersections

Abstract: The objective of the research presented in this thesis is to describe driver behavior while approaching, entering and exiting an intersection. To fulfill this objective, two semi-naturalistic studies were conducted where ten driver participants drove a test vehicle through a three-way intersection repeatedly, driving straight, turning left, and turning right in a total of six possible passes. The test vehicle recorded the vehicle dynamics and position using CAN-bus data and GPS coordinates, the driver’s eye and head movements, and continuous video of the outside scene. First, a model of driver behavior while driving through an intersection was developed. The baseline for this model is the hypotheses that (1) the gaze and/or head anticipates the vehicle heading and that (2) the vehicle heading and gaze and/or head movements are sufficient to characterize the actions of the driver-vehicle system in the intersection. The model is defined by characteristic eye and head movements followed by a range of characteristic vehicle headings as a function of distance to the centre of the intersection. This characteristic sequence of actions defines five spatial zones for intersection passes. Second, the generality of the driver behavior model was tested across paths and across drivers. The major findings are that the drivers’ behavior differs across paths. Additionally, more similarities in characteristic driver actions are found across cases with the same sequences of road types (e.g. primary to secondary road or secondary to primary road) than across cases with the same intent (e.g. turning right). The drivers’ behavior conforms better to that predicted by the model in turning cases than in straight ahead passes.