Like in so many parts in the world Dutch roads are heavily used. Traffic jams appear on more than just highways and they are no longer restricted to rush hours. The well-known traffic jams also increase in length. The main reason for this overall increase is the fact that the Netherlands are densely populated. The road network is extremely vulnerable: a big incident on one road can cause traffic jams on many other roads far away from the incident. Due to the lack of space, the road authority is forced to implement innovative use of the existing infrastructure. Some of the solutions concentrate on increasing capacity (e.g. dynamic use of roads as a way of creating an extra lane during rush hour) where others concentrate on supporting and increasing the traffic flow (merging with electronic guidance). Regardless of what kind solution is used, the effects concerning driving and mental workload are relevant and therefore need to be considered. Time and time again it becomes clear that determining consequences (for mental workload) is very difficult. This article describes a road authority’s point of view of dealing with these consequences. One way of doing this is by measuring the mental workload of the driver. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting