Journal article
Matching Simulator Characteristics to Highway Design Problems
Transportation research record, Vol.2248(1), pp.53-60
01/2011
DOI: 10.3141/2248-07
Abstract
Driving simulators hold much promise for addressing roadway design issues. However, although simulators have demonstrated their value in experimental research addressing driver performance, their ability to support road design projects has not been as clearly established. This paper describes a design-centered framework to make simulators valuable for traffic engineers and geometric designers. This framework includes several steps: (a) identification of design issues that would benefit from driving simulators, (b) identification of simulator characteristics to match them to design issues, and (c) translation of driver performance data from the simulator to traffic behavior on the road. Several critical obstacles inhibit application of simulators to highway design. First, driving safety researchers and engineers comprise separate communities and their perspectives on how simulators can be applied to address road design issues often diverge. This paper seeks to reduce this divergence and make simulators useful to highway engineers. Interviews with engineers revealed important issues that simulators could address, such as intersection and interchange design. Second, driving simulators are often broadly defined as high fidelity, which provides little value in matching simulators to design issues. A survey of simulators and simulator characteristics clarifies the meaning of simulator fidelity and links it to road design issues. Third, simulators often produce data that do not correspond to data collected by traffic engineers. This mismatch can result from inadequate simulator fidelity, but can also arise from more fundamental sources—traffic engineers focus on traffic behavior and driving simulator researchers focus on driver behavior. Obstacles in using simulators for highway design reflect both technical and communication challenges.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Matching Simulator Characteristics to Highway Design Problems
- Creators
- John D Lee - University of Wisconsin–MadisonDaniel V McGehee - University of IowaJames L Brown - Battelle Memorial InstituteChristian M Richard - Battelle Memorial InstituteOmar Ahmad - University of IowaNicholas J Ward - Montana State UniversityShauna Hallmark - Iowa State UniversityJoonbum Lee - University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Transportation research record, Vol.2248(1), pp.53-60
- DOI
- 10.3141/2248-07
- NLM abbreviation
- Transp Res Rec
- ISSN
- 0361-1981
- eISSN
- 2169-4052
- Publisher
- Transportation Research Board
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/2011
- Academic Unit
- Occupational and Environmental Health; Emergency Medicine; Driving Safety Research Institute; Industrial and Systems Engineering; Center for Social Science Innovation; Injury Prevention Research Center; Public Policy Center (Archive)
- Record Identifier
- 9984187075902771
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