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Title: Developing Empathy Among Drivers to Improve Safety in Highway Construction Work Zones
Temporary traffic control (TTC) in highway work zones has significant implications and challenges in terms of safety for road users and workers. Work zone workers are increasingly concerned about the risks they face due to their proximity to live traffic on the road. Drivers tend to be less aware of the risks faced by workers in highway work zones. The public should develop empathy to increase awareness about the danger construction workers are exposed in highway work zones. The research objective was to use virtual reality (VR) with a role-playing situation with almost complete sensory immersion in a controlled environment and a driving simulator to investigate if exposing drivers to the work hazards that highway construction workers typically encounter influences their behaviour while driving through work zones. The study compared the driving behaviours in the simulator between subjects sensitized using VR to the subjects who were not sensitized using VR. The simulation included the use of a GPS device that instructed drivers to turn on a road that was blocked by the TTC of the work zone as a distraction strategy. The results indicate that participants exposed to VR made safer driving decisions than participants without the VR intervention. The results suggest that drivers' empathy towards highway construction workers in a work zone can positively impact safety, communication, and well-being.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1832468
PAR ID:
10468678
Author(s) / Creator(s):
Publisher / Repository:
XXII Conferencia Panamericana de Ingeniería y Logística de Tránsito y Transporte
Date Published:
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
highway safety, empathy, virtual reality, highway work zones, driving simulator
Format(s):
Medium: X
Location:
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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