Investigating the impact of Innovative Treatments on Driving Behavior at School Bus Stops: A Driving Simulator Study

Almallah, Mustafa Suhail; Mohammed, Shabna Sayed; Hussain, Qinaat; Alhajyaseen, Wael K. M. · 2021 · Crossref

DOI: 10.29117/quarfe.2021.0166

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Summary

This study investigates the effectiveness of innovative road treatments in improving driving behavior and safety at school bus stops. The research is motivated by the significant safety risks associated with school bus loading and unloading zones, where illegal passing of stopped buses is a leading cause of student injuries and fatalities. Data from the United States between 2008 and 2017 indicated 1,113 school bus-related crashes and 1,241 fatalities, highlighting the urgent need for interventions that encourage drivers to slow down and adhere to stopping laws. The primary objectives were to enhance safety at these locations, improve driver acceleration and deceleration behaviors, and stimulate speed reduction even in the absence of a physical bus. The researchers employed a driving simulator study involving 70 participants holding valid Qatari driver’s licenses. The participant pool consisted of 55 males and 15 females, with an average age of 26.37 years and varying levels of driving experience. The experimental design compared four conditions: a control scenario, LED lighting, road narrowing, and red pavement. These treatments were tested across multiple scenarios, including situations where the bus was stopped in the same driving lane, the opposite driving lane, and scenarios with no bus present. The study measured key behavioral metrics, including the probability of illegal passing, speed reduction, and the standard deviation of longitudinal acceleration and deceleration (SDAD) to assess driving smoothness. The results demonstrated that LED lighting and road narrowing were highly effective in reducing driver speed and minimizing illegal passing. Specifically, LED lighting and road narrowing showed significant speed reductions compared to the control group, with LED lighting proving particularly effective in reducing the probability of illegal passing. In contrast, red pavement was less effective, showing higher variability in acceleration and deceleration (high SDAD) and lower speed reduction compared to the other treatments. The analysis of speed profiles confirmed that drivers under the LED and road narrowing conditions maintained lower speeds approaching the stop zone. The study concluded that a combination of LED lighting and road narrowing could further improve student safety. The authors recommend evaluating these proposed treatments in real-world experiments to validate the simulator findings and potentially implement these innovative measures to mitigate risks at school bus stops.

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discover success Crossref 1 2026-06-08
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tag success vector_similarity 8 2026-06-11
verify success 1 2026-06-09

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