Abstract
We simulated the traffic accident prone scene by our highly realistic driving simulator. In this research, the scene was the one where an oncoming motorcycle suddenly appeares from the blind of traffic jam during a right turn maneuver. Then we measured various driver behavior in the same accident environment. As a result, high accident probability is observed in the simulated accident situation, alike in the scene in the real world. We analyzed the relation between the accident probability and the driving behavior before collision, and the following results were obtained. The driver often only has less than one second before applying brake, that is to say, the permitted avoidance time in this type of intersection accident is short. Braking before the collision reduces the probability of impact to the side of the vehicle. To avoid a collision between a vehicle turning right and an oncoming vehicle, it is important to predict the possibility of danger in the intersection and lower the vehicle speed while driving through the intersection. Driving behavior in a collision was compared among different ages of drivers and maneuver differences before collision were confirmed. The analysis of the collision patterns and driver collision avoidance behavior described above suggests that enhancing forward collision avoidance support systems such as pre-collision system is one countermeasure to help reduce the accidents.
Keywords: active safety, accident analysis, driver behavior, driving simulator