Physiological and driving behaviour changes associated to different road intersections

Distefano, Natalia · 2020 · Crossref

DOI: 10.48295/et.2020.77.4

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Summary

This study investigates the relationship between road intersection geometry and driver stress levels, specifically comparing roundabouts to standard T-junctions. While previous research has established that roundabouts reduce accident rates, there is a lack of empirical data on how these infrastructure changes affect the human factor, particularly drivers’ physiological stress and risk perception. The authors aim to quantify this impact by measuring electrodermal activity (EDA), a reliable indicator of sympathetic nervous system arousal, during real-world driving scenarios. The experiment involved nineteen participants (ten males, nine females) aged 28–50 with at least three years of driving experience. Data were collected using an instrumented Nissan Leaf equipped with GPS, cameras, and an Empatica E4 wristband to record continuous EDA. The study took place on the MUEAVI test environment at Cranfield University and surrounding roads. Participants performed crossing manoeuvres at three specific intersections: two T-junctions and one roundabout. To ensure data validity, the analysis focused only on manoeuvres executed under low or no traffic conditions. EDA signals were decomposed into tonic and phasic components, with skin conductance responses (SCRs) extracted using continuous decomposition analysis. An "Electrodermal Impact Index" was calculated by multiplying the number of SCR peaks by their average amplitude within a 100-meter window before and after each intersection. The results demonstrated statistically significant differences in driver stress between the two intersection types. Drivers exhibited a higher number of SCR peaks and greater peak amplitude when navigating the roundabout compared to the T-junctions. Specifically, the total number of SCR peaks was 58 for the roundabout versus 29 for the T-junctions, with medium peak amplitudes of 1.132 and 1.083, respectively. Statistical tests, including Kruskal–Wallis and Mann-Whitney, confirmed these differences were significant (p < 0.05). The calculated Electrodermal Impact Index was 65.66 for the roundabout and 31.41 for the T-junctions, indicating that the stress level induced by roundabouts is more than double that of standard intersections. These findings suggest that roundabouts induce higher physiological stress and heightened risk perception in drivers compared to standard intersections. The authors interpret this increased stress as a positive safety mechanism, aligning with the concept of traffic calming, where infrastructure design intentionally increases driver workload to reduce speeds and improve safety. This study provides a novel method for quantifying the human factor in road safety using physiological metrics, offering a direct measure of how intersection geometry influences driver behavior and risk perception.

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Topics

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• stress driving
• traffic density
• intersection design
• rail grade crossings
• perceptual countermeasures

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: physiological data, behavioral performance data
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource