Driver Scanning Behavior at Urban and Suburban Intersections: An On-road Approach

Abstract

The safety of Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs), such as pedestrians and cyclists, is highly jeopardized at intersections, with driver inattention being a leading cause. It is not well known (1) where drivers distribute their visual attention at real intersections or how this impacts VRU safety, and (2) how driver attention interacts with different intersection elements from an on-road perspective. This thesis utilizes rich instrumented vehicle data from 26 experienced drivers (13 cyclists and 13 non-cyclists) to quantify drivers gaze distributions at signalized right turns. Key findings include that drivers spent the most time glancing at relevant pedestrians, irrespective of signal status, and that driver attention was heavily skewed toward leftward traffic during red lights. Additionally, this thesis outlines an instrumented study which will examine the effects of Guelph’s suburban road infrastructure on driver scanning behaviour. Reported findings can benefit broad road safety perspectives from urban planning, collision forensics, and more.