Analysis of Driver Brake Operation In Near-Crash Situation Using Naturalistic Driving Data

Abstract

A large scale of field-test investigation was conducted in Beijing using Video Drive Recorder (VDR) which could record image in fron t of the v ehicle. Fifty taxis equipped with VD R were used to collect data in real traffic environments for a whole year and a larg e volume of natur alistic driving data including crashes and n ear-crashes was collected. This paper analyzed the pre-event maneuvers of drivers and studied the characteristics of braking operations of Conflict-prone drivers. Then an ev aluation method was proposed to rate a driver's accidents avoidance ability, and to evaluate the relationships between driver's brake behaviors and accident rates. The results showed that most evasive maneuvers were within 2s before the m ost dangerous state. By comparing the n ear-crashes with crashes recorded by the VDR regarding traffic accidents in Beijing, great similarities were found in accident type and occurrence time between them. According to 100 rear-end near-crashes, if the braking time of drivers were delayed by 0.2s, 17% of near-crashes would have been crashes; and if the braking forces were decreased by 0.1g, 33% of near-crashes would have been crashes. KEY WORDS: (Standardized) driver behavior, accident, safety, (Free) brake operation, rear-end collision, video drive recorder[C1]