Driver Reactions in Critical Crossing Situations

Accident analyses as well as experimental studies indicate that there is a trend towards swerving to the left side in crossing situations if the right of way is taken from the right side. Since Time-To-Arrival (TTA) influences the evasive behavior, TTA has been systematically varied in the present study. 64 participants experienced 10 crossing situations in the Vehicle in the Loop (a combination of driving simulator with a real vehicle). In two situations the right of way was taken. It became obvious that the probability of swerving into danger increased with shorter TTA.