THE VALIDITY OF A DRIVING SIMULATOR IN EVALUATING SPEED-REDUCING MEASURES

To assess the suitability of a driving simulator for evaluating the effect of infrastructural measures on the behavior of car drivers, the Dutch Road Safety Department (DVV), the TNO Institute for Perception and Daimler-Benz AG have performed a joint project. In this project, efforts have been made to simulate the impact of a series of measures aimed at reducing the speed of traffic approaching the village of Weiteveen in The Netherlands. The results obtained have been compared with the actual changes in driving behaviour that were observed after these measures had been introduced in reality. This comparison has demonstrated the feasibility of using a simulator such as the Daimler-Benz equipment to analyze the effectiveness of speed-reducing measures, applied either separately or in combination.