PMID- 37640380 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20230927 LR - 20231011 IS - 1538-957X (Electronic) IS - 1538-9588 (Linking) VI - 24 IP - 8 DP - 2023 TI - A method for evaluating the safety of freeway tunnel sections based on driving comfort - a naturalistic driving study. PG - 670-677 LID - 10.1080/15389588.2023.2249569 [doi] AB - OBJECTIVE: Driving comfort is crucial for tunnel safety because tunnel sections on freeways often introduce significant environmental changes that can compromise comfort and increase the risk of traffic accidents. This study aimed to quantitatively evaluate the driving comfort in tunnel sections and its implications for safety management. METHODS: Four indicators were used to assess the driving comfort: heart rate growth rate (Hrgr), skin conductance response (SCR), speed, and acceleration. The CRITIC weighting method was employed to calculate a quantitative driving comfort score, and the presence and severity of discomfort were used to evaluate the safety of each tunnel area. In addition, the evaluation was based on a naturalistic test consisting of Hrgr, SCR, speed, and acceleration data. A total of 32 participants were recruited based on a web-based questionnaire screening process, after which they were tested while driving through 30 tunnel sections on the roadway. These 30 tunnels included 14 short (< 500 m), 12 medium (500-1,000 m), and 4 long (1,000-3,000 m) tunnels. RESULTS: The results revealed that the four selected indicators exhibited minimal multicollinearity and effectively captured the driving comfort. Among the indicators, SCR had the most significant contribution to the driving comfort score. Most drivers did not experience substantial discomfort while driving through tunnels. The area where drivers were most susceptible to discomfort was the middle zones of tunnels. However, drivers were more likely to experience strong discomfort in the outside exit, entrance, and middle zones of short, medium, and long tunnels, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a comprehensive set of safety evaluation methods for tunnel sections on freeways, with a focus on quantifying the driving comfort. The findings provide theoretical support for freeway management personnel in implementing personalized controls in different tunnel areas with the aim of enhancing tunnel safety and mitigating the occurrence of traffic accidents. FAU - Ge, Hongcheng AU - Ge H AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-7692-9268 AD - Key Laboratory of Road and Traffic Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, China. FAU - He, Shijian AU - He S AD - School of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Changsha University of Science and Technology, Changsha, China. FAU - Sun, Yuhai AU - Sun Y AD - Shandong Provincial communications Planning and Design Institute group Co., Ltd, Jinan, China. FAU - Xia, Zengxuan AU - Xia Z AD - Shandong Provincial communications Planning and Design Institute group Co., Ltd, Jinan, China. FAU - Fu, Xinsha AU - Fu X AD - School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China. FAU - Guo, Zhongyin AU - Guo Z AD - Key Laboratory of Road and Traffic Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, China. LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20230828 PL - England TA - Traffic Inj Prev JT - Traffic injury prevention JID - 101144385 SB - IM MH - Humans MH - *Accidents, Traffic MH - *Automobile Driving MH - Safety MH - Safety Management MH - Acceleration OTO - NOTNLM OT - CRITIC weighting method OT - Freeway OT - driving comfort OT - traffic safety OT - tunnel EDAT- 2023/08/29 00:41 MHDA- 2023/09/27 06:42 CRDT- 2023/08/28 20:02 PHST- 2023/09/27 06:42 [medline] PHST- 2023/08/29 00:41 [pubmed] PHST- 2023/08/28 20:02 [entrez] AID - 10.1080/15389588.2023.2249569 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Traffic Inj Prev. 2023;24(8):670-677. doi: 10.1080/15389588.2023.2249569. Epub 2023 Aug 28.