The method developed for the research programme reported in this chapter enabled an in-depth investigation of drivers' activity in the complex interactions to be found in real traffic conditions. It involved describing the actual in-situ behaviour of drivers and, on the basis of an analysis of the observed behaviour and related verbal statements characterising their activity, identifying their knowledge and the strategies they apply when managing the various road situations studied. It thus provides a way of describing effective driver practices and identifying a set of variables likely to explain them. Weighting the relative significance of these variables in relation to specific driving situations is necessary for gaining a better understanding of driver behaviour in traffic. The drivers' activity model inferred from these analyses formalises the results obtained. Its accuracy depends on the degree of refinement of the data available. The results obtained open up avenues for further research in order to make the model more comprehensive and accurate, and to validate it.
Abstract