Effect of In-Vehicle Audio Warning on Driver’s Response to the Change in Speed Limits in Work Zone Area

The change in speed limits poses a great threat to traffic safety in work zone areas. This study conducted a driving simulator experiment to investigate the driver’s deceleration behavior and verify the efficacy of an intelligent in-vehicle audio warning. Two speed limit conditions and two sight distance conditions are considered for the design of test scenarios. Forty-two participants including 22 males and 20 females were recruited to complete the experiment. The interval where the driver began to decelerate was extracted and analyzed. The results showed that (1) male drivers showed better control of speed as they adopted lower average speed and deceleration than female drivers; (2) drivers in foggy conditions would maintain a lower speed and deceleration as risk compensation; and (3) the release of audio warning could effectively reduce the average speed in the approaching zone and speed adjustment zone, enabling drivers to start deceleration more in advance.