Comparative study on drivers’ eye movement characteristics and psycho-physiological reactions at tunnel entrances in plain and high-altitude areas: A pilot study

• Published in: Tunnelling and underground space technology Vol. 122; p. 104370
• Main Authors: Yan, Guanfeng, Wang, Mingnian, Qin, Pengcheng, Yan, Tao, Bao, Yifan, Wang, Xu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2022; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Automobile drivers; Automobile driving; Comparative studies; Design parameters; Diameters; Driver behavior; Elevation; Eye movement characteristics; Eye movements; High altitude; High–altitude areas; Illuminance; On-road driving experiment; Oxygen content; Physiological tests; Plain areas; Psycho-physiological reactions; Pupil size; Traffic accidents & safety; Traffic speed; Traffic volume; Tunnel entrance; Tunnels; Underground construction; Eye movement characteristics; High–altitude areas; Plain areas; On-road driving experiment; Tunnel entrance; Psycho-physiological reactions
• ISSN: 0886-7798; 1878-4364
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tust.2022.104370

•Characteristics of typical road tunnels in plain and high-altitude areas.•Eye movement characteristics at tunnel entrances in plain and high-altitude areas.•Psycho-physiological reactions at tunnel entrances in plain and high-altitude areas.•Measures drivers would adopt to cope with the danger in high-altitude areas. The safety of drivers when driving through road tunnel entrances is a major concern for researchers. Most studies on this topic have mainly focused on tunnels in plain areas. However, there are many road tunnels in high-altitude areas where environmental and tunnel design parameters, which may influence driver behavior, change with elevation. Therefore, it is necessary to explore drivers’ eye movement characteristics and psycho-physiological reactions at tunnel entrances in plain and high-altitude areas respectively. In this study, a series of driving experiments were conducted at two typical road tunnel entrances in plain and high-altitude areas through eye movement measurements, physiological tests, and a questionnaire to explore the drivers’ eye movement characteristics and psycho-physiological reactions. The results show that the pupil size of drivers is mainly related to the ambient illuminance, and the change in illuminance at tunnel entrances in high-altitude areas is greater due to fewer lights, resulting in a greater change of rate in pupil diameter. Drivers pay more attention to their surroundings in high-altitude areas due to the complex driving environment outside the tunnel; inside the tunnel, drivers focus on the central sight area where the opposite vehicle may appear in high-altitude areas and are more attentive to the road ahead because of greater traffic volume in plain areas. Lower oxygen content and a sharper decrease in illumination can hinder the information-processing ability of drivers; therefore, the fixation duration inside the tunnel is greater in high-altitude areas. Drivers believe that driving through tunnel entrances in high-altitude areas is more dangerous, which prompts them to adapt their driving behavior such as lowering the vehicle speed, paying more attention, and increasing the following distance.