Evaluation of Driving Efficiency and Safety with a Custom-Developed Simulation Scenario

Abstract

In this paper, we present a custom-developed driving simulation scenario and a vehicle model developed to evaluate driving efficiency and safety. The scenario includes different road sections, traffic conditions, and events, including a through road similar to a real road section in the city of Valladolid (Spain). The modeled vehicle is an ICE vehicle with manual or automatic gear shift. During a simulation, following a guided or a free route, the speed, rpm, gear, consumption, and traffic offences are showed in real time and stored in files for further processing. Six people drove in the scenario twice, one time with automatic gear shift and another with manual gear shift. An analysis of the results has been carried out to know the factors with influence on driving efficiency and safety. A significant relation between efficient and safe driving was found. People that took part in the experiments ranked the simulation scenario positively regarding ease of interaction, realistic experience, usefulness for driving learning, and entertainment capacity.