Driver Cognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Responses to Single-Day Highway Work Zones with Unexpected Lane Hazards

Pretto, Paolo; Jukic, Mateo; Prior, Manuela; Gsellmann, Inge; Muik, Thorsten; Rosenberger, Manfred · 2026 · Crossref

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007369

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged

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Summary

This study investigates the human-factors implications of single-day highway work zones, which are frequently deployed for short-duration maintenance but remain underexplored in ergonomics literature compared to long-term construction sites. The research specifically examines how temporary lane closures and minor, unexpected hazards (such as displaced cones) influence driver cognitive workload, emotional state, and driving behavior. The motivation stems from the unique challenge these zones present: they introduce abrupt roadway changes and constrained maneuvering space with little advance notice, creating a mismatch between driver expectations and actual conditions that may elevate acute stress and workload. The experiment utilized a high-fidelity virtual reality driving simulator to replicate a three-lane highway scenario. Thirty-five licensed drivers participated in a within-subject design, completing a familiarization drive followed by three conditions: a Baseline highway drive, a Work-Zone condition with a right-lane closure, and an Events condition where the work zone included minor unexpected objects in the travel lane. Data collection included subjective measures of mental workload (Driver Activity Load Index), emotional state (Self-Assessment Manikin), and behavioral metrics such as longitudinal speed variability. The Work-Zone and Events conditions were counterbalanced to control for order effects. Results indicated that while the Work-Zone condition alone did not significantly differ from Baseline in perceived stress or mental demand, the Events condition significantly increased mental demand, temporal demand, self-reported stress, and emotional arousal compared to both Baseline and Work-Zone driving. Specifically, temporal demand showed the strongest differentiation, suggesting time pressure is a key driver of strain. Additionally, longitudinal speed variability was significantly higher in both the Work-Zone and Events conditions than in Baseline, indicating sustained adaptations in speed control strategies rather than just localized reactions to hazards. Simulator discomfort did not differ across conditions, confirming that observed effects were attributable to the driving task itself. These findings suggest that even brief, single-day work zones can substantially elevate driver demand, and that minor unexpected hazards disproportionately amplify cognitive and emotional strain within already constrained environments. The study implies that temporary traffic-control designs should prioritize minimizing unexpected obstacles and ensuring the stability of traffic-control devices to mitigate unnecessary driver workload. By demonstrating that emotional arousal and sustained speed variability are sensitive indicators of driver state in these contexts, the research supports the integration of affective responses into the evaluation of temporary roadway configurations for improved safety and ergonomics.

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Summary generated by qwen3.8-27b-gittensor on 2026-08-23; verification: pending re-verification.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• work zones
• stress driving
• mental demand
• traffic density
• mental model of traffic
• automation surprise

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: physiological data, behavioral performance data
• Theoretical Contribution: theory or model