An Analysis on the Driving Behavior Considering the Trade-off between Safety and Travel Utility

Abstract

Driving behavior such as speed reduction is needed for risk aversion while driving although the behavior leads to the decrease in travel utility. In this paper, a driving behavior model applying “Subjective Risk” and “Driving Utility” is proposed as a fundamental study for the evaluation of traffic safety measures considering the trade-off between safety and travel utility. Then, the mechanism of the changes in “Driving Behavior”, “Subjective Net-Utility”, and “Social Net-Benefits” due to the changes in traffic environment is proved. Finally, the applicability of the model is confirmed with the data observed at non-signal intersections. It is found that the model can be applied to comparing the level of “Subjective Risk” and that the assumption is verified.