Driving in car-following situations consists in adapting to traffic constraints and variations, and detecting "critical" variations, i.e. those which demand regulating action to avoid a collision. The purpose of this research work is to find out how the driver manages this type of road situation and how he regulates his speed and controls his distance vis-à-vis other vehicles, applying strategies that need to be identified. The methodology used entails making observations of drivers' behaviour from within a specially equipped vehicle during an actual journey on an urban motorway. To complement these observations, in-depth interviews (using assisted subsequent verbalization techniques) techniques) were conducted with the drivers. Two groups of experienced and novice drivers participated in the study. In this paper, a synthesis is presented of the main results of analysis of observational and verbal data and the contribution of an in-depth investigation of drivers' "effective" practices in the complexity of real driving situations is discussed in order to design appropriate drivers' support systems as well as to evaluate their impact on drivers' activity. (A)
Abstract