Most research on traffic behaviour has focused on the individual road user. This is illustrated by the fact that most models of driving behaviour- have been developed taking the perspective of one individual road user. When studying interaction situations, this proposes several problems as these situations always involve more than one road user. Another complicating aspect is the fact that most interactions involve time constraints. Thus, road users' expectations of the interaction situation must play a role in the interaction process. This PhD study aims to achieve a more detailed understanding of interaction behaviour in traffic and develop a model, which describes the interaction process but includes more than one road user. Aspects of the interaction situation road users use to form their expectations will also be investigated. Eventually, when a model has been developed which adequately describes the interaction process, it will be used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of road users in this process. Subsequently, the impact of (potential) Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) on the interaction process will be assessed. The main objective of this PhD study is to achieve an understanding of the way road users (in interaction) are able to gear their behaviour to one another. This still concerns a rather broad field of research, which exceeds the amount of research that can be performed during one PhD study Therefore, a number of limitations will be applied. Initially, this study will be limited to interactions between car drivers on w-ban intersections, due to practical considerations. Observation of interactions for example, will be easier to perform at an intersection (on one particular location) than on a motorway. In the latter case, the location of interactions will vary and therefore be less easy to observe. Furthermore, the initial focus will be on w-ban intersections as the amount of interactions will probably be higher than on intersections in rural areas. Finally, the great variety of road users (e.g. pedestrians, cyclists, car drivers) will initially be restricted to a subset of this large group, namely car drivers. This will also be practical if a simulator will be used, due to the fact that driving simulators are often used in traffic research. Behaviour of other road users (e.g. pedestrians and cyclists) is not yet very well represented in these simulators. This PhD study also aims to study the impact of ADAS on the interaction process. As ADAS will mostly affect the behaviour- of this particular subset of road users, this also justifies the restriction to car drivers. In interactions with other car drivers on an intersection, time is usually limited. Therefore, car drivers need to anticipate the upcoming interaction situation by developing adequate ideas about what is about to happen in the near future to be able to cross the intersection in the most efficient and safe manner. An attempt is being made to formulate a model that can be used to describe the interaction process. The model that has been developed so far is based on models of information processing to which the concept of expectancy has been added. The model as shown here serves as a working model.
Abstract