Abstract

The turn into same path crash scenario occurs when an intruding vehicle (POV) turns from an intersecting roadway to travel in the same direction as the main road driver (SV).  These scenarios lead to multiple fatal, injury or property damage crashes in the USA. A reason for increased crash risk associated with this scenario is due to a large speed difference between the POV and SV. Drivers responses in crashes and near crashes involving an the above defined scenario were evaluated from query of the Second Strategic Highway Research Program [SHRP2]. This research examined the responses of 92 such events of SV responding to a POV in real world events. The SHRP-2  study captured videos and vehicle telematics from specially equipped vehicles. Each event was analyzed to extract driver perception-response times (PRT) and avoidance behavior to the given hazard. All measures were compared with respect to SV factors (age, gender, response choice), POV behavior (time to conflict, stopped before intrusion.) and  environmental/ infrastructural factors (lighting, location and proximity to intersections, etc.). The study aimed to identify the trigger event for drivers to respond to the turning vehicle. Time to contact was a significant factor which affected driver response times. Drivers responded significantly faster when subjected to shorter time to conflict events compared to longer ones. Driver factors such as age or gender did not significantly influence response times.

The study aims at providing accident reconstructionist's with a response time model to apply PRT to their specific crash investigation. The study also provides the range of typical responses and how responses change based on different circumstances. As research has shown, driver responses are not constant and will vary based on contextual information available to drivers. The study also compares it's results with other studies that analyzed a similar crash type.