Driving simulation for transportation and traffic engineering studies

When transportation and traffic engineering studies are conducted in the field, the experimenter selects appropriate sites, and depending on the procedure being used, vehicles may be recorded at a point, at multiple points, or along a section of roadway. Little personal data about drivers is obtainable and there is usually no control over traffic conditions. Driving simulation offers the experimenter a safe environment and greater control over the experimental conditions. Data about the behaviour of drivers can be recorded electronically and direct interaction with drivers allows the experimenter to administer surveys to collect personal information. In this paper, three commercially available driving simulators are compared with respect to their suitability for transportation and traffic engineering studies. The DriveSafety and Oktal systems are preferred for their ability to support a wide field of view, however, the Oktal and STI systems offer users greater flexibility in developing scenarios with specific roadway designs.