Comparing Two Driving Simulation Practice Scenarios for Steering and Speed Control

A driving simulation experiment was conducted to test the effectiveness and relative efficiencies of two practice scenarios. In Scenario 1, participants followed the posted speed limits, which ranged from 30 to 65 mph, and made 50 lane changes. In Scenario 2, participants drove at 50 mph, increased their speed as they were comfortable to do so, and made 20 lane changes. Each scenario used pylons to indicate the desired travel lanes and lane changes. The lateral position at the pylons and the travel times between pylons were used to define functions for cost and cumulative cost per lane change. These functions were tested for whether they fit a power curve, indicating whether the participants learned, were still learning, or were not learning to interact with the simulator. Both scenarios were shown to be effective in providing participants practice. Scenario 1 was shown to be more efficient, as indicated by lower variances after 10 lane changes and an increase in the range of observed travel speeds. Therefore, directing participants to travel given speeds improves their learning to interact with the driving simulator