A Study on Influences of Long Tunnel Landscape Images on Driver Response through Virtual Driving Experiment

Abstract

Tunnels with 1.0km length or over are proven to be eco-friendly. However, driving in long tunnels is not conducive to traffic safety. Even though some studies have emphasized the traffic safety weaknesses of long tunnel driving, detailed studies are insufficient. This study analyzes the effectiveness of landscape images in a 11.055km long tunnel to improve driving safety through examining drivers responses and brain waves are against two scenarios: 1) with landscape images and 2) without landscape images, using a driving simulator based virtual reality driving experiment. Results show that the deviation of driving speed and shift distance from the centerline of driving lane are affected, and brain waves related to drowsiness reduce when landscape images are installed.