Improving work zone safety: Integrating VR-CARLA co-simulation and eye tracking for behavior analysis of drivers around work zones

Ensuring safety around roadway work zones is difficult which is evident by the fact that despite considerable safety measures, drivers and workers are still exposed to risks. An incomplete understanding of driver behaviors around work zones is one of the contributors to accidents and incidents, prompting the establishment of behavioral rules and a thorough assessment of driver awareness around work zones to enhance safety on roadways. Advancements in digital technologies combined with major developments in traffic simulation tools, including eye-tracking and the Car Learning to Act (CARLA) simulation platform, provides safe and realistic environments to virtually simulate diverse hazardous work zone scenarios to capture driver’s behaviors without actually exposing them to real-world risks. This study presents a multi-module immersive car simulation and interactive driving platform to capture authentic driver reactions and behaviors around unstructured work zones, by leveraging eye tracking and VR technologies combined with the CARLA co-simulator. Two scenarios with three cases of roadway work zone configurations were implemented for conducting user studies, wherein driver awareness while traversing around work zones was assessed through gaze duration and fixation ratios. The findings indicate that drivers prioritize their attention on workers exhibiting risky behaviors over warning signs, with increased emphasis on these individuals despite signage existence. Warning signs enhanced the awareness of normal workers; however, in hazardous conditions, drivers’ attention disproportionately diverted to risky workers, diminishing their focus on normal workers. Different driver awareness patterns observed based on how drivers were notified about work zones suggest that multi-type notification systems, such as dynamic digital displays, wearable devices for workers, and auditory alerts, with human notifiers at the center, be implemented to keep them aware of work zones and workers.