The impact of perceptual treatments on lateral control: A study using fixed-base and motion-base driving simulators

This research was carried out as part of the French national multidisciplinary research project, PREDIT-SARI. Using a driving simulator, it aimed to test the effectiveness of road treatments intended to inform drivers about the risk of losing control on rural roads with “crest vertical curves” (Landis et al., 2004). [Rosey, F., Auberlet, J.M., Bertrand, J., Plainchault, P., 2008. Impact of perceptual treatments on lateral control during driving on crest vertical curves: a driving simulator study. Accid. Anal. Prev. 40, 1515–1523, Scopus.] used a fixed-base driving simulator to test four perceptual treatments intended to help drivers maintain lateral control when driving on crest vertical curves and found that two of them, rumble strips on both sides of the centerline and sealed shoulders, were more effective than the others. This first study prompted us to ask if non-visual sensory cues (e.g., vestibular or proprioceptive perceptions) could influence driver perception and consequently lateral control. We therefore conducted a second study on a motion-base driving simulator, using the same virtual 3D database. The results showed that: (1) drivers drive closer to the center of their lane when there are rumble strips on both sides of the centerline, or when there are sealed shoulders, than they do with the current marking system (i.e., continuous lines), and (2) the impact of the two tested perceptual treatments was replicated on both types of driving simulator.