Research on Deceleration Behavior Characteristics of Highway Reconstruction and Extension Work Zone

To study the relationship between deceleration and facility setting mode of expressway reconstruction areas, independent variables such as the number of traffic signs and the distance between continuous construction area are selected. Under four different virtual scenes, 30 experienced drivers participated in the simulated driving test to collect data such as speed and acceleration. With the data, influences of variables on drivers in warned areas are obtained. The result shows that the distance between construction areas is positively associated with the instantaneous speed and the speed of deceleration starting point. The setting mode greatly impacts on the average deceleration during the decelerating period, and that influence weakens when the step-by-step speed limit is set. Drivers’ experience exerts a significant influence on deceleration starting point, and experienced drivers tend to slow down beforehand. Those findings provide references for the setting mode of facilities and protecting drivers in expressway reconstruction areas.