In order to give an impression of the behavioural effects of certain design characteristics of the second Benelux tunnel before it is actually built, a driving simulator study is performed to investigate the effects, among other, of the one lane tunnel tube. The planned research project consists of two parts. In the first part it is assessed to what extent drivers are willing to drive in the one-lane tube as such, and whether drivers adjust their behaviour to the one-lane tunnel tube. In the second part possible problems that result from the merging difficulty after exiting the tunnel will be investigated. It is intended to do a behavioural study in the TNO driving simulator, having subjects drive through the second Benelux tunnel while it has not yet been built. In this report it is investigated to what extent the TNO driving simulator is valid with regard to the planned research project. It is clarified that validity is only defined in relation to a specific research question. Following a description of the TNO driving simulator a survey is given of studies that investigated the validity of the TNO driving simulator. On the basis of a description of the planned simulator studies in the Benelux project, it is explored whether the simulator meets all the requirements for validity with respect to the present research questions. Absolute validity is required with regard to the choice behaviour of drivers in relation to the one-lane tunnel tube. Relative validity is required for the other behavioural measures, like following behaviour and driving speed. From the comparisons of data obtained in the driving simulator to field observations it is evident that the driving simulator has in all cases complied with these requirements in studies similar to the present project. It is concluded that the simulator can be expected to be sufficiently valid with regard to the planned research project. (A)
Samenvatting