Two groups of driver have made a test ride on two different times-of-day. In the Dutch province Drenthe they drove a circuit that contained four experimental tracks and one control track. These tracks have been prepared as a part of the project "Speed limiting measures on 80-km/h-roads in Drenthe". One group of drivers drove the circuit during night, the other during daylight conditions. For each experiment track and for the control track the drivers' opinion was assessed by the Road Experience Construct List (RECL). This is a rating scale, consisting of 16 constructs to be scored on a six-point scale. The scores are summarized in three factors: Hedonic Value, Activation Value and Perceptual Variation. The results show that the score on Hedonic Value (`pleasant-not pleasant') was different for the control track compared to each of the experimental tracks; this difference was larger by night than by daylight. The score on Activation Value (`activating-sleep inducing') showed an inverse effect: the control track had a lower score than the experimental tracks, independent of lighting condition. The Perceptual Variation score (`varied-monotonous') shows a trend in the same direction: the control track is somewhat less varied than the experimental tracks. (A)
Abstract